Report: Prosecutor shot dead in Lanao del Norte

(Updated 9:45 p.m.) Unidentified men shot dead the provincial prosecutor of Lanao del Norte province while the victim was jogging with his colleagues early Wednesday morning, a radio report said. Radio dzXL reported that Provincial Prosecutor Macadatar Marsangca succumbed to gunshot wounds in the head after being shot about 6:45 a.m. Marsangca was jogging with some of his colleagues near the Pryce Property area in Tubod village in Iligan City when he was shot, the report said. Police are still looking into the motive behind the killing. The gunmen fled on a motorcycle toward Tambacan village after shooting the victim. Witnesses described one of the gunmen as slim and curly-haired. The report quoted Marsangca's colleagues as saying he was a good man and had no known enemies. In an interview on dzBB, Iligan City police chief Senior Superintendent Bernardo Reamon said that before the shooting Marsangca received warnings regarding the cases he was handling. “Ayon sa report, sensitive cases po ang hawak nitong si Marsangca (he was handling sensitive cases), Reamon said without elaborating. According to dzXL report, police investigators are looking into whether the shooting was work-related, or part of a rido (family feud), which the report did not elaborate. Prosecutor General Claro Arellano of the Department of Justice (DOJ) denounced the killing of Marsangca and ordered Region 10 Prosecutor Jaime Umpa to gather possible witnesses in Marsangca's killing and place them under the DOJ's Witness Protection Program. He also asked the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct a parallel investigation. "The untimely death of [Masangca] in the treacherous hands of still unidentified assassins is a despicable and senseless act of cowardice that is condemnable in any civilized society," he said in a statement. The Prosecutors' League of the Philippines said Marsangca's death is only one of the attacks on government prosecutors. Last July 20, three unidentified men attempted to abduct Cagayan de Oro prosecutor Irene Meso, who was able to escape the suspects. Because of the two incidents, the PLP called on the government to allow them to carry their own firearms without having to apply for permits to carry one. "If the government cannot lend protection because of its meager resources and manpower, then the least it can do is to allow its prosecutors to arm themselves so that we can be able to put up a semblance of defense in case we or members of our family are attacked," they said in a separate statement. — with Sophia Dedace/LBG/RSJ/KBK, GMANews.TV