DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 03 Dec) — Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III has asked the Philippine National Police and other law enforcement agencies to “work double time to arrest the killers” of the president of a state university in Cagayan de Oro “and unmask the mastermind.”
Dr. Ricardo Rotoras, 48, president of the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines (USTP) was killed by two unidentified gunmen outside his house at Golden Glow North Subdivision in Barangay Carmen in Cagayan de Oro City at around 1 a.m. Saturday.
“I am alarmed and outraged by this latest attack on our law-abiding and dedicated public servants. I urge the police to work double time to arrest the killers and unmask the mastermind,” said Pimentel, who hails from Cagayan de Oro City.
“We are a peace-loving society and killings of this nature must be stopped. The police must do its job to protect and secure the people against rouge elements of society,” he said, adding that Rotoras was a “big loss” to the people of Cagayan de Oro City.
Rotoras was president of the USTP since 2006 and was elected president of the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC) for the fourth consecutive term.
Mayor Oscar Moreno on Saturday announced via Mellow Touch 95.7 radio that he had asked the help of Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre and the National Bureau of Investigation for the speedy resolution of the case.
“This is very sad and a great loss to the academic community and Mindanao,” Moreno siad.
The city government has some collaborative projects with USTP including the establishment of the Building Permit Management System at the Office of the Building Official.
The Cagayan de Oro-based Gold Star Daily quoted Carmen police head Chief Insp. Ritchie Salva as saying initial investigation showed Rotoras suffered six gunshot wounds,
A witness told the police that he saw two men walking away from the area after the shooting and were fetched by a black pick-up truck. (MindaNews)