HLURB lawyer shot dead outside office in Quezon City

An arbiter for the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) was gunned down in front of the agency’s office in Quezon City Thursday afternoon, according to a police official.

Superintendent Michael Macapagal, commander of the Quezon City Police District’s Station 9, said that lawyer Leonardo Jacinto Soriano was declared dead on arrival at Philippine Heart Center for Asia.

A police investigation showed that the victim was driving his car on Malakas Street around 4 p.m. Thursday when he was shot by a still unidentified man.

Macapagal said the gunman might have waited for the victim in front of the HLURB, mingling with the people going in and out of the gates to avoid being conspicuous.

He added that the gunman found an opportunity to kill the victim when Soriano, who was driving his car, briefly stopped while leaving the agency to see if there was any oncoming traffic on Malakas Street before he drove out on the street.

The police official said that according to witnesses, the gunman escaped by boarding a motorcycle driven by a cohort right after the shooting.

Macapagal said that investigators would look into the cases handled by the victim for clues on who may have wanted him dead.