MANILA — Mayor Vicente Loot of Daanbantayan town in Cebu is now out of danger and is recovering after accidentally shooting himself, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Thursday.
“Accordingly, he shot himself. He boarded the car of his former aide and saw a gun there. He set the gun aside but it accidentally went off. There was no indication of damage to his bones so he is out of danger and was transferred to a hospital in Cebu,” PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde told reporters.
According to the Cebu police, Loot was in Barangay Lanao, Daanbantayan town to attend a wake and was onboard a Mitsubishi Estrada with plate number ABM 8366 when a loaded pistol accidentally fired and hit his left leg.
He was immediately brought to Daanbantayan District Hospital for medical treatment. He is now recuperating at the Cebu Doctor’s Hospital.
Last May 13, the Daanbantayan mayor and his family survived an ambush by armed men in Barangay Maya. A helper and a driver were hurt in the attack.
Loot, who headed the PNP Training Service before he retired after 37 years in service, was one of the police generals named by President Rodrigo Duterte as suspected protectors of the illegal drugs trade in the country, an accusation the former has earlier denied