Bam, Kiko condemn killing of university president

Two Liberal Party senators “strongly condemned” on Sunday the “senseless killing” of Cagayan de Oro state university president Ricardo Rotoras.

“We strongly condemn the senseless killing of university president Dr. Ricardo Rotoras,” Sen. Bam Aquino and Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan said in a joint statement.

Aquino, assistant minority leader, and Pangilinan said they both worked closely with Rotoras for the passage of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act as president of Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges.

The act, which was signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte on August 3, 2017, gives access to “quality tertiary education by providing for free tuition and other school fees in state universities and colleges, local universities and colleges and state-run technical-vocational institutions.”

“His untimely death is a great loss to the country’s push for quality education for every Filipino,” they said.

“We call on authorities to leave no stone unturned to ensure that those behind the killing be brought to justice and punished for their deplorable act,” the senators added.

Rotoras, president of University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines, commonly known as USTP, was shot dead outside his house at Golden Glow North Subdivision at about 1 a.m. of Saturday, the police report said.

He bore multiple gunshots and was rushed to JR Borja General Hospital by his driver but was declared dead on arrival.

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