“License to Kill”

Virgilio Mirano, September 27
Barangay North Bay Boulevard South (NBBS), Navotas
Virgilio Mirano, 39, was a father of two who had previously worked as a pump operator in
the municipal flood control office. He had lost his post following municipal elections when
newly elected leaders appointed their supporters to municipal jobs. 188 Following his firing,
he worked only occasionally in construction, and began using shabu “occasionally, when
he had some money,” according to his relatives.
Mirano’s relative interviewed by Human Rights Watch said that at 11:30 a.m. on September
27, barangay officials hand-delivered him a letter, ordering him to appear at the local
municipal grounds on September 30, for a mass “surrender” ceremony. Virgilio discussed
the letter with his brother, who advised him to lie low until the ceremony. 189
At about 3 p.m. that day, Mirano briefly left his home, where a lodger was celebrating his
birthday, to go buy some coffee nearby. 190 Almost immediately after he returned home, four
armed men dressed in civilian clothes and wearing face masks burst through the door, and
ordered all the occupants to go outside. 191 Minutes later, the armed men took Mirano
outside into the alley in front of the home. As he begged for his life on his knees, the men
shot Mirano six times, killing him while his relatives watched. 192
The assailants had arrived on two motorcycles, but a mobile uniformed police unit was
nearby, operating an ad hoc checkpoint just two blocks away, according to witnesses.
Following the killing, one of the gunman was seeing giving a thumbs-up sign to the nearby
police officers, and shouted “OK, all clear!” to the uniformed officers. 193 The four gunmen
then proceeded to drive their motorcycles unimpeded away from the scene through the
police checkpoint. 194
188 Human Rights Watch interview with relative of Virgilio Mirano, name withheld, Barangay NBBS, October 22, 2016.
189 Ibid.
190 Ibid.
191 Ibid.
192 Ibid.
193 Ibid.
194 Ibid.
65 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | MARCH 2017