SHOT DEAD. Mark Langam was an agent of Roads and Traffic Administration of the local government of Cagayan de Oro City. He was shot to death Friday night (Feb. 28, 2020) by an unidentified gunman while conducting a clearing operation in Barangay Puerto. (Photo lifted from the Facebook account of Mark Langam)
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Authorities are looking into the possibility that the killing of a Roads and Traffic Administration (RTA) personnel in Barangay Puerto Friday night could be work-related.
Killed by a still unidentified attacker was Mark Langam, who was part of the RTA team that conducted road-clearing operations, including the apprehension of tricycles and three-wheeled vehicles plying the national highway in Brgy. Puerto.
The road-clearing activities are based on the Department of the Interior and Local Government's (DILG) memorandum circular 2019-121 ordering local government executives to clear the roads of obstructions.
A police report said Langam was with another RTA enforcer when the motorcycle-riding suspect fired at him twice.
Maj. Evan Viñas, the city police spokesperson, said on Saturday Langam had an argument with a motorcycle rider over a traffic infraction prior to the shooting.
Langam was said to be taking a break outside a private hospital when the shooting happened.
Viñas said a bullet hit Langam on his right arm that passed through his upper torso before it exited his left armpit.
Viñas said the RTA and city police have a standing agreement that traffic officers must be accompanied by local law enforcers during operations but at the time of the shooting Langam got separated from the group.
“It’s a standard operating procedure for the police to accompany the RTA in its operations,” he said, adding that the city police’s mobile patrol and traffic units are usually the ones escorting the RTA.
In a statement, Antonio Resma, head of the city government’s road clearing team, said Langam was just doing his duty as a traffic enforcer.
Resma said the city government will review the protocol on the security and safety of the RTA enforcers, “but we will not be cowed and discouraged.”
Langam was the second RTA officer gunned down by attackers. The first one, Cris Cabingas, was shot to death in the vicinity of the Cogon public market while on duty on Dec. 30, 2016.
Mayor Oscar Moreno in a statement said he has instructed Rizalino Borlagdatan, the RTA chief, to coordinate with the police in tracking down the suspect.
“I’m very saddened by the news. Please ensure that the family of the victim is properly informed and [that] appropriate wake and burial services are provided by the city,” Moreno told Borlagdatan. (PNA)
