ILIGAN CITY -- A lawyer was shot dead by a still unidentified gunmen outside his office in this city around 6 p.m., Tuesday, August 23.
Police Chief Inspector Jassper Ian Pasco, station commander of Police Station 5, identified the lawyer as Allen Evasan, 60, a resident of Barangay Merila, this City.
Witnesses said Evasan had just come down from his office and was walking to his car parked along Badelles Street.
Evasan was shot as he was fixing his things at the trunk of his vehicle when unidentified gunmen on board a black Montero Sport SUV opened fire using a .45 caliber pistol at close range, hitting Evasan in the head.
Pasco said, "Evasan sustained two gunshot wounds - in his left cheek and forehead. Responding Rescue 811 team brought Evasan to one of the hospitals but the attending physician declared Evasan dead on arrival."
"We are still gathering information from the immediate family of Evasan that may lead to the motive of killing, however sometimes in the mid of 2014 a grenade was lobbed and exploded inside the premises of his residence but no one was hurt as Evasan and his family were not around at that time," Pasco said.
Presiding Judge of Regional Trial Court Branch 25 in Cagayan de Oro City, Judge Arthur Abundiente, condemned the murder and called on investigators to leave no stone unturned in the hunt for Evasan’s killers.
Abundiente said Evasan was just doing his job as a lawyer and might have stepped on toes of powerful people.
"It's not intentional since it is always expected that the case is always adversarial in character," Abundiente said.
Abundiente said Evasan had filed a case in his sala but the records were destroyed by the fire that gutted the Hall of Justice in Cagayan de Oro City.
Members of the Integrated bar of the Philippines Iligan City-Lanao del Norte Chapter condemned the brutal and senseless murder of Evasan.