EDITORIAL – The Loot incident

As far as the police are concerned, the camp of Daanbantayan town Mayor Vicente Loot seems uncooperative in the investigation into last week's accidental shooting that left the mayor wounded and hospitalized.

Investigators from the Cebu Provincial Police Office are reportedly having a hard time looking into the incident since no one seems to cooperate. They even have yet to recover the gun involved in the accidental shooting.

CPPO director Senior Superintendent Manuel Abrugana said they have been searching for the gun and that no one from among Loot's security escorts would admit ownership. "Tulad ng mga tinatanong ng ating kapulisan kung nasaan ang baril, bakit nawawala? Sino ang nagmay-ari ng baril? Walang gustong umamin sa kanila (security escorts)," he said.

According to reports, Loot accidentally shot himself when he sat on a gun inside a vehicle while they were on their way home from the wake of a supporter. He reportedly told police that when he reached for the gun, he accidentally pulled the trigger.

Despite request from police for him to undergo paraffin test, the mayor refused. He said he does not want to experience unnecessary pain, adding he already admitted and signed that he touched the gun.

Investigation into the incident will never bear real result if Loot and his camp continue refusing to cooperate. Their cooperation is very vital to the public's quest to know the circumstances surrounding the incident.

That is why Loot and his camp should not put any obstacle in the investigation so authorities won't be hindered as they explore all angles in the incident. As a former police official himself, Loot should know that in any probe, refusal to cooperate from any party in a particular case only produces half-baked results.

Loot will have nothing to gain if he and his camp remain uncooperative with the authorities. Instead, such defiance will only create perception that he and his camp are hiding something.