MICT Customs collector shot, wounded

A DISTRICT collector at the Mindanao International Container Terminal (MICT) in Tagoloan town, Misamis Oriental, was wounded after he was shot by two suspects riding in a motorcycle Thursday night along Kauswagan junction in Cagayan de Oro.

Superintendent Salvador Radam, station commander of Carmen Police Station, said the victim, lawyer Enerlito G. Aquino, sustained a gunshot wound in his left arm from a caliber .45 pistol.

Aquino was rushed to a nearby hospital by a concerned citizen and is now reportedly out of danger.

Police said Aquino was on his way home to Xavier Estates on board his red Mitsubishi Pajero around 8:30 p.m. Thursday when the suspects shot him at close range while in an intersection.

Radam said the suspects, who were on board a red motorcycle, stopped beside Aquino’s vehicle when the traffic light turned red and shot him.

Aquino told police investigators that the suspects did not cover their face but were wearing a cap.

He failed, however, to take note of the motorcycle’s plate number.

Radam said they have yet to establish the motive of the incident but police believed it is work-related and has something to do with the anti-smuggling campaign of the MICT.

He said Aquino mentioned that the attempt may be because of his strict implementation of the bureau’s policy and the disclosure of several smuggled items in the past few months at the container terminal.

“Maybe, he had stepped on someone because of his strict management,” Radam said.

Police authorities are still conducting deeper investigation on the case.

Published in the Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro newspaper on March 03, 2012.

By Annabelle L. Ricalde