“License to Kill”

Bonifacio Antonio, Mario Rosit, September 13
Barangay Rosario, Pasig, Manila
Bonifacio Antonio, 56, was a driver. His wife worked at a pharmaceutical company,
ensuring a middle-class existence for the family and allowing their son and daughter to
attend university. After 30 years of marriage, his wife had recently retired and the couple
were planning to spend more time together. Family members said Antonio had been an
occasional drug user years prior to his killing, but not more recently. 144
On September 13, Antonio spent the afternoon at his parents’ home in Rosario in Pasig
City, meeting with his friends Mario Rosit, 51, an electrician, and another man who was a
plumber to discuss some repairs on his parents’ home. In the evening, the three men sat
outside in the alley and drank beers together. 145
Shortly before midnight, a group of six men dressed in black civilian clothes, wearing
facemasks, and armed with handguns arrived at the end of the alley on three motorcycles.
Four of the armed men approached the three friends in the alley. 146
One of the armed men asked Antonio, “Are you Buni?” Bonifacio Antonio, whose nickname
is Bonnie, replied, “Yes, I’m Bonnie.” One of the armed men immediately shot Antonio in
the head, killing him instantly. When Rosit and the other man raised their arms in
surrender, one of the armed men shot Rosit in the chest, killing him. 147 The plumber friend
shouted at the armed men that Antonio was not the Buni they were looking for, and was
spared. The gunmen then quickly left the scene. 148
According to relatives of Antonio, the SOCO police investigators arrived while the armed,
masked men dressed in black who had carried out the killing were still in the
neighborhood, leading them to believe that the killers were undercover police operatives.
144 Human Rights Watch interview with relative of Bonifacio Antonio, name withheld, October 23, 2016.
145 Ibid.
146 Ibid.
147 Ibid.
148 Ibid.
LICENSE TO KILL 56