Mia Mascariñas-Green was driving home in Bohol on February 15, 2017 when two gunmen started shooting at her from either side of her car while her 10-year-old daughter and 23-month-old twins were in the back seat.
“It was 28 bullets shot at an unarmed mother driving her kids home,” Stuart Green, who’s determined to find justice for his beloved wife, lamented to The Guardian.
“I don’t really believe in miracles. But you have two shooters on the opposite side of the car, basically shooting towards each other with my wife in the middle. Our three kids are half a meter behind and not one bullet grazed them.”
“I don’t really believe in miracles. But you have two shooters on the opposite side of the car, basically shooting towards each other with my wife in the middle. Our three kids are half a meter behind and not one bullet grazed them.”
Philstar reports that aside from their kids, there was a household helper sitting in the back row of their Toyota Innova who was also unharmed. They also reported that, because there were two gunmen on either side of the vehicle, the killing seemed to be premeditated.
Stuart Green moved to the Philippines in the 90s as a volunteer, hoping to help empower local fishing communities to fight for their rights. While at an environmental legal conference, he met Mia and the two fell in love.
Stuart not only lost his wife, but his “hero and best friend.”
“She deserved the best sending off I could give her. That was my focus,” he shared. “It was a beautiful union and she was quite an amazing lady.”
Mia, 49, was a lawyer whose main work involved environmental, women’s and children’s issues.
The Guardian reports that, according to Stuart’s affidavit, the “organized hit” was most likely due to a family dispute over the ownership of a beach resort in Bohol, where the Stuart family lived.
The Bohol Tribune reports that the prime suspect in the killing is Lloyd Lancer Sylio Gonzaga, a temporary resident of Alona Embrace Hotel in Panglao, Bohol.
“I started to put two and two together but Mia said everything was fine. I now regret not forcing the issue,” lamented Stuart. “We thought we were good at security … we thought because she’s local, she knows everyone, everyone knows her, she felt a bit immune to it. We have a very secure house, we have dogs, we follow basic protocols. It just wasn’t enough.”
“She believed there was legal process in place and if you were good enough, you could always win over bad.”
It is this long-held belief that Stuart paid tribute to, while speaking about his wife at her funeral.
“Mia was very strong that the kids deserved a good education and I’m now in a situation where I can’t totally guarantee that,” confided Stuart. “I’ve had an amazing 21 years in the Philippines where I’ve lived in fishing villages and seen the beautiful side of the country. And this is the first time I’ve been introduced to the other side of the contrast here. And it has really changed my perspective.”
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