Lawyer Raymond Fortun: I am real target of gunman who shot my wife

Lawyer Raymond Fortun believes he was the real target of the gunman who shot his wife in front of their house in Las Piñas City Thursday evening.

“Hindi ako naniniwala na ang target dito ay yung misis ko. Yung misis ko ay napakabait na tao,” Fortun said. He was still wearing the shirt stained with his wife's blood when he talked to reporters.

“The only reason na mangyayari yung ganito is because some people are not pleased with what I do as a lawyer,” he added.



Fortun is one of the legal counsels of the petitioners against the Aquino government's controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).

He was also the lawyer of Angelito San Juan, the man who rented a Two Serendra condominium unit damaged by the May 31 blast that killed the latter and three others.

He is the younger brother of Atty. Sigrid Fortun, lawyer for some members of Ampatuan family who are currently detained for alleged involvment in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre of 58 people.

The Fortun brothers were also members of the defense panel during the impeachment trial of former President and now  Manila mayor Joseph Estrada.

Fortun's wife, Carole, is now in stable condition, the report said. Initial police reports indicate she was hit in her right cheek and the bullet exited through her nape.

In a post on his Facebook page, Atty. Fortun said “the bullet missed my wife's carotid artery by a couple of millimeters. No major blood vessels, bones or facial nerves damaged.”

He thanked friends for their prayers, and added: "Hopefully there would be no complications so I can bring Carole home for Christmas.”

According to a witness interviewed by GMA reporter Oscar Oida, two men in a motorcycle passed near Mrs. Fortun's car past 8 p.m. The victim, who had just attended a Mass, was getting off her vehicle when she was shot.

“May nakatigil na motor at isang kotse. Yung motor nasa likod ng kotse, yung kotse ang target nila,” the witness said.

“'Pag abante ko may narinig akong pumutok, nag U-turn ako pabalik, tinulungan ko si Mrs. Fortun,” the witness added.

Seconds later, Atty. Fortun arrived and rushed his wife to the hospital. — Amita Legaspi /LBG/YA, GMA News