A SURIGAO City prosecutor is in critical condition after he was attacked outside his home Monday morning, February 6.
Surigao City Prosecutor Manuel Navarro Tesiorna, 47, a resident of Canlanpa Homes, Barangay Canlanipa, Surigao City, was shot by a man on board a motorcycle around 7:50 a.m. Monday barely five days after a former judge was killed in the same city, police investigators said.
Police Officer 3 Cesar Hohans Castillo, investigating officer from the Surigao City Police Office (SCPO), said Tesiorna was washing his car just outside the gate of his house when the gunman fired at him multiple times, hitting him at the chest, neck and back.
Police said the gunman and another man on board an XRM Honda motorcycle were both wearing masks.
Tesiorna was immediately brought to the Miranda Family Hospital where doctors said he needed blood transfusion. He was later airlifted to Cebu City for treatment.
The attack on Tesiorna happened four days after retired judge Victor Canoy, 70, was shot while dining at an eatery along Borja Street around 11:25 a.m. of February 2.
Canoy used to be the presiding judge of Regional Trial Court Judge Branch 29 in Surigao City.
Canoy was reportedly buying food at an eatery along Borja Street around 11:25 a.m. when a lone gunman shot him from behind at point-blank range.
Eyewitnesses from the eatery told police investigators that Canoy crawled toward the suspect and was able to hold the feet of the gunman who shot him in the head several times.
Both Canoy and Tesiorna lived in the same area in Surigao City.
The Police Regional Office-Caraga are now investigating both incidents. It is still unclear whether both attacks are related to illegal drugs.
The retired judge and the city prosecutor are both known to have handled drug cases in their respective jurisdictions.
The SCPO said the city prosecutor sought police protection last week after Canoy was killed.
A policeman assigned to the prosecutor was on his way to the house of the victim when the gunman attacked.