■ MAYOR LOOT’S PMA PEERS ASK FOR QUICK RESOLUTION OF LAST SUNDAY’S AMBUSH ATTEMPT

Some 100 retired generals and officers, all classmates of Daanbantayan Mayor Vicente Loot in the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), asked the authorities to figure out who was behind the attack on him and his family last Sunday morning and to arrest them quickly. Four persons, three of whom worked for the mayor and retired police general, suffered injuries during the shooting in Barangay Maya’s pier on the eve of the elections. The gunmen remain at large. Even as the PMA Sandigan ‘82 Association Inc. made its petition known, the Special Investigation Task Group met for the first time yesterday to take up the case. Cebu Provincial Police Office Director Manuel Abrugena said they have yet to establish the motive, adding that he would welcome the help of other agencies, including the National Bureau of Investigation.

The classmates of Daanbantayan Mayor Vicente Loot in the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) denounced the attack on the public official and his family in Barangay Maya last Sunday morning.

The petition of PMA Sandigan ‘82 Association Inc. (PSAI) urged the authorities to solve the case swiftly. It was signed by some 100 retired generals and officers.

Investigators of the Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) Maya formed by Police Regional Office 7 Director Robert Quenery to solve the attack on Loot started their first conference yesterday.

Cebu Provincial Police Office Director Manuel Abrugena said they have yet to establish the motive behind the attack, but he assured that there are developments in their investigation.

Investigators approached establishments in Daanbantayan that have closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras, but most of the cameras were not working.

Abrugena said he had talked with Loot after the incident at the Daanbantayan Police Station. Loot told him the possible reasons behind the attack.

“He did not mention any threats,” he said.

The police official said they welcome other investigating bodies to look into the incident, including the National Bureau of Investigation.