Angles in Loot ambush

Authorities are eyeing several motives behind the failed assassination of Daanbantayan Mayor Vicente Loot last Monday. But of all possible causes, investigators should thoroughly look into at least two angles.

We all know that Loot is one of the four former police generals accused by President Rodrigo Duterte of being involved in the illegal drug trade. One of them, Marcelo Garbo, was assigned to Cebu during the Aquino administration.

Loot would vehemently deny allegations he was a drug protector, saying he never acquired properties from illegal drugs. He said most of their wealth came from his wife, a former mayor who ruled the town for more than 10 years.

Despite the seriousness of the allegations, there was never a case filed against Loot since no evidence has been unearthed directly linking him to drugs. However, the road was filled with blood following Duterte's accusations with many personalities allegedly involved in drugs being killed.

Another angle that is worth looking into is politics. We all know that Daanbantayan was one of those areas of concern during the 2016 general elections. Loot won the mayoralty race by a slim margin. His opponent filed an election protest, alleging Loot resorted to "intimidation, terrorism, harassment," among others.

Finding it "not meritorious," the Commission on Elections dismissed the case. Now, it's been a year and a half since the dismissal of the case but Loot still believes politics may have been involved in the failed attempt on his life.

The hands of the authorities may have been busy sketching politics and illegal drugs as the two best possible motives in the incident. But there are other angles -such as business and personal- that they should also look into.

As the Loot ambush was the latest highprofile incident rocking Cebu of late, Cebuanos hope that the incident won't become another unsolved case going into the trash bin.