The governor of a province within the central Philippines and five others were shot dead Saturday by unknown gunmen, his widow said, in the most recent attack on local officials.
Police said six suspects armed with rifles and wearing uniforms just like those worn by the armed forces entered the governor’s house in Pamplona and opened fire.
His widow reported that Roel Degamo, governor of Negros Oriental Province, and five other people were killed within the shooting.
“Governor Degamo did not deserve to die like this. He served his constituents on Saturday,” Janice Degamo, who is also the mayor of Pamplona, said in a video posted on Facebook.
President Ferdinand Marcos condemned what he described as the “assassination” of his political ally and warned the perpetrators to “surrender now, it will be the best option for you.”
“My government will not rest until we bring to justice the perpetrators of this despicable and heinous crime,” Marcos added.
Filipino journalist covering Duterte’s war on drugs shot dead
Filipino journalist covering Duterte’s war on drugs shot dead
The identities of the opposite people shot within the incident haven’t been released.
Provincial police spokesman Kym Lopez said the politician was handing out aid to voters when he was shot.
Police said they were on the lookout for 10 suspects, including six gunmen, who fled the scene in two SUVs and a pickup truck before abandoning the vehicles in a close-by town.
Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos appealed to witnesses to come back forward and help police “obtain justice” for Degamo.
Degamo, 56, is the most recent goal in a protracted history of attacks on politicians within the Philippines. He is a minimum of the third person to be shot dead since last yr’s general election.
Last month, the Supreme Court declared him the rightful winner of the Negros Oriental governorship contest after a vote recount unseated his local rival, who had previously been declared the winner.
Degamo also campaigned for Marcos during his presidential bid last yr.
Mamintal Adiong, governor of the southern province of Lanao del Sur, was shot and wounded in February in an attack that killed his driver and three police escorts.
That same month, the deputy mayor of the northern city of Aparri, Rommel Alameda, and five others who were traveling with him were shot in a highway ambush.
In the bloodiest politically motivated ambush in history, the leaders of a strong southern clan and about two dozen of their supporters were sentenced to life in prison for a 2009 attack on supporters of a rival governorship candidate in Maguindanao province.
The attack killed 58 people, including the politician’s wife and relatives, in addition to 32 journalists and media employees covering the race.
