CAGAYAN DE ORO (MindaNews/1 February)—Unidentified gunmen attacked Friday noon a military outpost guarding the house of detained investment scam suspect Jachob “Coco” Rasuman in Marawi City, leaving a soldier dead, an army official said.
The attack came two days after Rasuman was brought to a Regional Trial Court here by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents to face additional syndicated estafa charges.
Rasuman, the prime suspect in one of the biggest financial scams in Mindanao, was arrested in November last year for allegedly duping P20 billion from unsuspecting investors in the cities of Marawi, Iligan and Cagayan de Oro.
Col. Raul Sespena, commander of the Marawi-based 65th Infantry Battalion, said the gunmen, armed with pistols, opened fired as they approached the soldiers watching over the house of Rasuman, which is called the “White House.”
“The soldiers dispersed themselves when they saw the approaching gunmen, but one of them was unlucky,” Sespena said by phone.
He did not identify the dead soldier.
Sespena said they are still uncertain if the motive of the attack had something to do with Rasuman, who has been detained at the NBI office in Manila.
“The house was empty except for some servants,” he said, noting that Rasuman did not go home last Wednesday after he was brought to Cagayan de Oro City.
Sespena said that no one has been regularly watching the guard post since Rasuman was brought to Manila last year.
But last Wednesday, soldiers occupied the guard post again with the arrival of Rasuman in Cagayan de Oro, and also to enforce the gun ban, he said.
Sespena said they received and are verifying information that some victims of Rasuman were planning to burn the house.
The police, on the other hand, are still investigating the motive for the attack. (Froilan Gallardo/MindaNews)