Police Assault Kills 2 in Airport Tower

November 8, 2003

The former chief of the Air Transportation Office (ATO) and head of the Philippine Aerospace Development Corp. (PADC) was shot and killed, along with his companion, Saturday at about 2:30 a.m. Two grenades, a 9mm pistol, and a .45-caliber pistol were found near the dead men.

The control tower of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 was assaulted by a combined team of the Special Operations Unit and Special Weapons and Tactics team of the Aviation Security Group (ASG) of the National Police. Killed were retired Air Force Col. Panfilo Villaruel Jr., 62, and Navy Lt. SG Ricardo Gatchillar, 38, who earlier seized control of the tower.

Police claimed Villaruel refused to negotiate and that they fired at the assault team first. Villaruel at the time he was shot was talking on the telephone with the radio-television journalist Arnold Clavio, and it was being aired live on radio station dzBB. Listeners heard what apparently were his last gasps of life.

Villaruel’s driver, Manuel Salva, had earlier been asked to buy food but never came back, thus saving himself. Clavio had asked Villaruel what prompted him to take over the control tower. “You are one of those who say that we must put the Philippines in order but nobody listens. Maybe its time we drove the Filipino to the truth, the real truth,” replied Villaruel.

He was asked what message he wanted to relay to listeners and Villaruel said: “It’s very simple. Look at the newspapers, hear the debates, there you will see the reason. We just take pictures but nobody does the right thing.”

Villaruel was apparently referring to the unresolved impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. and the alleged fondness of President Arroyo to have her picture taken whenever an opportunity presents itself.

“I am just an ordinary man. I could see that we’re going nowhere. I am an inventor [of airplanes] and if I could see that one engine is turning left and the other is turning right, I’m sure we’re going to crash.”

Villaruel said it was pointless to talk since nobody would listen anyway. He asked somebody like a general to come up and discuss things with him. He added he allowed all arriving flights to land safely because he has no intention of harming anyone. After entering the control room at the top of the tower, he asked the air traffic controllers and the technicians to leave so that nobody would get hurt.

The conversation went on for about 13 minutes after which a loud explosion was heard, followed by sporadic gunfire. In the din could be heard someone saying, “We are being shot at. We are being killed. We surrender!” followed by a gasping sound. Clavio tried calling Villaruel’s name several times but nobody responded. Instead, the listeners heard heavy breathing and what seems to be the last gasps of a dying man.

Senior Supt. Andres Caro, the chief of ASG, said the assault team was left with no choice but to assault the tower because Villaruel has refused to negotiate. He claimed, “They were the first to shoot. We had no choice but to neutralize them.”

The airport assistant general manager for security, retired Brig. Gen. Angel Atutubo, said Villaruel had two gunshot wounds in the head.

On Saturday at about 7:30 a.m., an official who had been to the tower described the place as strewn with the brains of the fatalities. “They are measuring the distance of the blob of brains around the area in relation to the body.”

After a few minutes, two bodies heavily wrapped in blankets were lowered out of the control tower and placed into an ambulance. When photographers removed the blanket, they saw the faces of the victims wrapped in tape with blood oozing onto the ambulance floor.

Today had an exclusive interview with some senior air traffic controllers, including the six who were on duty on the night the assault happened.They requested not to be named since they hold sensitive positions, but revealed that as early as Friday, Villaruel had been making the rounds of the different agencies such as Area Control Center, Approach Control Center, and Control Tower.

As a former ATO chief, the airport officials deferred to Villaruel, who was allowed to talk to the air traffic controllers. Villaruel was allegedly trying to sell a software for the ATO for its radar and telecommunications system, although it appears now that the victim was simply trying to get the officials guard down so that he would have access to the aerodrome cab, the other term for the control tower.

Villaruel was able to gain entry at about 3 p.m. Friday, with his driver and companion but went out and came back at about 4 p.m. bringing with him an excessive amount of Chinese food, which he gave to the controllers and technicians. They were also given gallons of ice cream. “The food was so plentiful it was good for two days,” joked one of the controllers.

As the night wore on, they said that Villaruel asked them many things, including the treatment they were receiving from government. They related a litany of complaints such as having to do a lot of overtime only to be paid in installments, lack of housing, and salary not commensurate with the sensitive and dangerous jobs they are doing.

Villaruel in return told them of his own frustrations with the government, embroiled as it is in the Jose Pidal scandal and the Davide impeachment case. He added the administration had imprisoned ordinary soldiers accused of selling ammunition and gasoline, “a pittance, compared with the big shots” who are able to bag multi-million peso projects through bribery. “There’s too much corruption.”

Villaruel’s companion remained silent most of the time and commented only when the former called his attention by saying: “I don’t know about this aide, he might even be the one who will shoot me. Are you with me all the way?”

Gatchaliar replied, “Don’t worry sir, I will not abandon you.”

At about 10 p.m. the air controllers were getting edgy as Villaruel told them of his plan to take over control of the tower, but made sure that all arriving flights should land first. Two of the last flights were allowed to land, Cathay Pacific, which arrived at 11:30 p.m., and Egypt Air, which touched down at midnight.

When the last flight had safely parked, Villaruel allowed the six controllers -- four men and two women -- to leave and instructed the tower technicians a few floors below to also get out of the area.

Until the last moment, Villaruel was raging against the inhumanity of society, noting the squatters along Roxas Boulevard, hidden behind the facade of tourist’s attractions; the huge government debts, and the purchase power adjustments shouldered by the masses.

“Let us hope that Pilo [Villaruel’s other nickname] did not die senselessly,” said one of his former subordinates, who remember him as someone truly proud to be a Filipino.

Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza had ordered an immediate investigation to determine what lapses in security there may have been. He also wanted to know who may be negligent in order to sanction them. Mendoza said it will be the police that will investigate the assault.

President Arroyo said shortly after the incident that, “Nothing will ever justify the taking over of an international airport control tower and prejudice the lives of air passengers. There can be absolutely no excuse to terrorize the public in this manner.”

Arroyo allayed fears of another destabilization attempt saying initial investigation indicated Villaruel was motivated by personal reasons and not part of a larger plot.“The nature, source, and magnitude of this incident show that it is not an attempt to take over the government. No unauthorized movements of troops have been detected as of this time anywhere in the country. No unusual threats directly or remotely related to the incident have been monitored,” she added.

But as a precaution, the police and the military are now on maximum alert, checkpoints along the perimeter of Metro Manila are up, and security monitoring posts in the provinces and key urban centers are operating with.