By FRANCIS C. HIDALGO Jr.

TUGUEGARAO CITY , Cagayan - The director of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Cagayan Valley was shot dead by still unknown suspects here about 7 a.m. last Tuesday (April 14).

Chief Supt. Roberto Damian, police regional director, said that Gumersindo Lasam, DA director for Cagayan Valley, succumbed to gunshot wounds on the head and thigh while undergoing treatment at the Saint Paul Hospital here where he was rushed to after he was ambushed by at least two armed suspects in Solano town here.

“Director Lasam was crossing a bridge going to his farm when the suspects aboard a motorcycle shot him. He succumbed to gunshot wounds while undergoing medical treatment around two hours after he was shot in Barangay Basi West, Solana, Cagayan,” Damian said.

Police are still determining the number and type of bullets used by the suspects against Lasam, whose regional office is based in Tuguegarao City .

Authorities said they have yet to fully establish the motives behind the killing, although they also did not discount the possibility that said incident could be job-related or personal in nature.

“We are still gathering additional information for us to come up with a more accurate pronouncement,” Damian said.

Damian said they have already created the Task Force Lasam headed by Senior Superintendent James Melad, police deputy regional director for operations, to go after the DA executive’s killers.