On New Year’s Day in 2011, Reynaldo Dagsa, a Manila councillor in the Philippines, was assassinated in front of his family moments after photographing them.
The photo captures his family with beaming smiles, oblivious to the imminent terror that is about to unravel.
Reynaldo Dagsa was struck twice by gunshots – one in his right forearm and another in his chest. Despite being immediately transported to a hospital in Manila, he was declared dead upon arrival.
The photograph taken by Dagsa just before his demise played a pivotal role in identifying his assassin as Michael Gonzales, also known as Fubo of Fish Pond Area 1, in the criminal world.
Dagsa also managed to capture the accomplice of his murderer in the photograph’s background.
The Manila Police, in 2011, informed The Inquirer newspaper that Rommel Oliva was identified as the second lookout present in the photograph captured by Dagsa. Additionally, a third man, Francis Bumjal, who was not visible in the picture, was also recognized as being present during the heinous act.
According to Police Chief Jude Santos, the killer was a car thief who had been released on bail and harbored a grudge against Dagsa for having him arrested in 2010.
As per the findings of Professor Peter Kreuzer from Frankfurt University, the Philippines has one of the highest rates of violence against its political leaders in the world, surpassing even countries with the highest overall murder rates such as Mexico, Colombia, South Africa, or Brazil.
In 2021 Professor Peter Kreuzer said, “The Philippines is one of the most dangerous countries in the world to do politics”.
