LTO official, brother gunned down in Iligan City
MARK D. MERUEŇAS, GMANews.TV
11/05/2009 | 11:54 AM
(Updated) A local official of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and his brother were gunned down by unidentified armed men in the southern Philippine city of Iligan Thursday morning, authorities said.
PAST ATTACKS ON GOV'T EXECS
The following are earlier attacks on government officials in 2009.
On February 2, armed men attacked Metropolitan Manila Development Authority - Sidewalk Clearing Operations head Roberto Esquivel’s vehicle, killing his driver and wounding his son. The official was not inside the car at the time of the attack.
On March 10, Camilo Guarin – assistant regional director of the Land Transportation Office – survived an ambush in Quezon City.
A day after the assault on Guarin, Department of Public Works and Highways Undersecretary Ramon Aquino was seriously injured after being shot while leaving the DPWH main office along Roxas Boulevard in Manila. He later died on March 19.
In April, Agriculture Undersecretary for Luzon Gumersindo Lasam was shot dead in broad daylight while crossing a bridge in Basi West village in Solano town in Cagayan province.
In June, Department of Transportation and Communications assistant secretary Elmer Soneja was on board his vehicle along Ortigas Extension in Pasig City when he was attacked. He and his companion in the vehicle were hurt in the incident.
The attack on Soneja happened a year after he testified in the Senate hearing on the controversial $329-million national broadband network (NBN) deal. - GMANews.TV
Senior Inspector Leslie Segualan told GMANews.TV that the shooting incident happened in Barangay (village) Tubod at about 8:30 a.m.
An initial investigation showed that victim Ali Datumanong, assistant district head of the LTO office in Iligan City, was on board his Isuzu Crosswind on his way to work when the assailants appeared and fired on the vehicle.
Datumanong was also the LTO licensing division chief.
The LTO official's brother Ashrab Datumanong, who also served as the LTO official's driver, was also killed in the incident.
The suspects sped off from the crime scene aboard a black and red XRM motorcycles.
Officials from the police's crime laboratory said the empty shells recovered from the crime scene came from 45-caliber and 9-mm pistols.
Makandas Mandangan, an LTO personnel, said the victims' remains will be brought to their home province of Lanao del Sur for burial.
Muslim tradition requires that the deceased be buried not more than 24 hours after his or her death.
In a phone interview with GMANews.TV, Mandangan said operations at the LTO office in the city have already been suspended.
"This serves two purposes. One, in respect of our colleague. And also for security purposes," Mandangan said.
Investigators have yet to determine a motive for the crime, but Datumanong's colleagues said they were still "clueless."
Datumanong was earlier dragged in an appointment controversy at the LTO-Iligan City. Employees from the said local office protested the appointment of Pando Pangandang as chief in May, saying Datumanong was more qualified.
"For the last 45 days meron changes sa leadership kasi nag-retire ang dating LTO chief and yung iba nag-aapply ng position," Senior Superintendent Bernardo Reamon, Iligan city police chief, told radio dzBB.
(There had been some changes in the leadership in the local agency and there were several people vying for the post vacated by the retired LTO chief in Iligan City)
The shooting incident in Iligan City happened two months after a regional official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Davao Oriental was killed by unknown assailants in Mati City. - GMANews.TV
The following are earlier attacks on government officials in 2009.
On February 2, armed men attacked Metropolitan Manila Development Authority - Sidewalk Clearing Operations head Roberto Esquivel’s vehicle, killing his driver and wounding his son. The official was not inside the car at the time of the attack.
On March 10, Camilo Guarin – assistant regional director of the Land Transportation Office – survived an ambush in Quezon City.
A day after the assault on Guarin, Department of Public Works and Highways Undersecretary Ramon Aquino was seriously injured after being shot while leaving the DPWH main office along Roxas Boulevard in Manila. He later died on March 19.
In April, Agriculture Undersecretary for Luzon Gumersindo Lasam was shot dead in broad daylight while crossing a bridge in Basi West village in Solano town in Cagayan province.
In June, Department of Transportation and Communications assistant secretary Elmer Soneja was on board his vehicle along Ortigas Extension in Pasig City when he was attacked. He and his companion in the vehicle were hurt in the incident.
The attack on Soneja happened a year after he testified in the Senate hearing on the controversial $329-million national broadband network (NBN) deal. - GMANews.TV
An initial investigation showed that victim Ali Datumanong, assistant district head of the LTO office in Iligan City, was on board his Isuzu Crosswind on his way to work when the assailants appeared and fired on the vehicle.
Datumanong was also the LTO licensing division chief.
The LTO official's brother Ashrab Datumanong, who also served as the LTO official's driver, was also killed in the incident.
The suspects sped off from the crime scene aboard a black and red XRM motorcycles.
Officials from the police's crime laboratory said the empty shells recovered from the crime scene came from 45-caliber and 9-mm pistols.
Makandas Mandangan, an LTO personnel, said the victims' remains will be brought to their home province of Lanao del Sur for burial.
Muslim tradition requires that the deceased be buried not more than 24 hours after his or her death.
In a phone interview with GMANews.TV, Mandangan said operations at the LTO office in the city have already been suspended.
"This serves two purposes. One, in respect of our colleague. And also for security purposes," Mandangan said.
Investigators have yet to determine a motive for the crime, but Datumanong's colleagues said they were still "clueless."
Datumanong was earlier dragged in an appointment controversy at the LTO-Iligan City. Employees from the said local office protested the appointment of Pando Pangandang as chief in May, saying Datumanong was more qualified.
"For the last 45 days meron changes sa leadership kasi nag-retire ang dating LTO chief and yung iba nag-aapply ng position," Senior Superintendent Bernardo Reamon, Iligan city police chief, told radio dzBB.
(There had been some changes in the leadership in the local agency and there were several people vying for the post vacated by the retired LTO chief in Iligan City)
The shooting incident in Iligan City happened two months after a regional official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Davao Oriental was killed by unknown assailants in Mati City. - GMANews.TV
