(UPDATED) Philippine authorities have asked Philadelphia police to speed up investigation, and render justice to the family of a 36-year-old Filipino lawyer visiting from the Philippines, who is on life support after unknown gunmen shot him and his mother while on their way to an airport Saturday.
The lawyer, identified as John Albert “Jal” Laylo, was hit in the head by one of six bullets fired at their Uber car, Consul General in New York Elmer Cato reported.
Information earlier relayed to Cato’s office said Laylo had succumbed, but Cato corrected this on Sunday evening.
“We have just been informed that Atty John Laylo, the victim in Saturday’s random shooting incident in Philadelphia, remains on life support. He has not been pronounced dead, contrary to earlier information conveyed to the Consulate General of the Philippines in New York. We ask kababayan to pray with us so that he would be able to pull through,” Cato said in a viber message.
In an earlier statement, the consul general had said: “We are also in touch with police authorities in Philadelphia who informed us that the case is being investigated and that no arrests have been made so far.”
According to Cato, the Consulate General in New York first received an alert about the shooting from incoming Secretary of Migrant Workers Susan Ople.
“As soon as we were informed of the incident we reached out to relatives of the victim and authorities in Philadelphia. Deputy Consul General Arman Talbo, who was then in Philadelphia, was also instructed to proceed to the hospital where the shooting victim and his mother were taken.
“Based on information gathered by the Consulate, the victim and his mother, who were visiting relatives in Philadelphia, were on their way to the airport at around 4 a.m. to catch a flight to Chicago when shots were fired at Uber car they were riding in.”
Cato said the victim “was hit in the head by one of six bullets fired by suspect/suspects and was taken to a local hospital where he was declared in critical condition. The mother sustained minor wounds from shattered glass from the car window.”
Deputy Consul General Talbo and a leader of the Filipino Community in Philadelphia were able to talk to the mother, Cato said, adding he himself also assured the mother “that we are ready to extend the necessary assistance.”
The Philippine Consulate General in New York urged authorities in Philadelphia “to do what is necessary to bring the perpetrator of this crime to justice.”