LTO personnel ambushed in Surigao City; 1 dead, 2 wounded

BUTUAN CITY –– Personnel from the Land Transportation Office (LTO) in the Caraga Region were ambushed at 8:10 a.m. Wednesday, July 17, as they were en route to Surigao City, police said.

The attack killed Felixberto Loayon, leader of LTO’s regional enforcement team, according to Christian Rafols, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office 13.

Loayon’s two companions, whom police identified as Rene O. Sinangute and Frede V. Wabina, were injured.

According to Rafols, Loayon’s team was aboard an LTO official vehicle. As the vehicle reached Sitio Bioborjan in Barangay Rizal, heading towards the City proper, an undetermined number of gunmen opened fire at them.

Maria Kristina Cassion, officer-in-charge of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in Caraga, suspected that the ambush could be “a retaliatory attack” on the agency’s massive drive against ‘colorum’ public utility operators.

“We are saddened by the untimely death of sir Loayon; he has been our partner and counterpart in the field in enforcement operations,” Cassion said.

“We have worked together several times in apprehending unlicensed public utility operators in line with our anti-colorum campaign,” Cassion added. /lzb