Image is used for representation only. | Photo credit: AFP
Gunmen dressed in military uniforms shot dead a governor and five civilians on Saturday as provincial leaders met with villagers at their home in central Philippines, fresh attacks on local politicians in the country, police said. In the most brutal attack, police said.
At least six men armed with assault rifles and wearing military-style camouflage and bulletproof vests got out of three SUVs and opened fire on the governor of Negros Oriental, Ruel Degamo, killing him and at least five others in the town of Pamplona. I was killed in front of his house. . The province has a history of violent political rivalries.
Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo, wife of the slain governor, said in a Facebook video that five villagers were also killed.
She demanded justice and said her husband “did not deserve this kind of death. He was serving constituencies with his department heads on Saturday.
A total of 10 suspects were seen fleeing the scene and later abandoned the SUV, police said. The police established security checkpoints and started searching for the suspects across the province.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. condemned the mid-morning attack, which occurred as poor villagers gathered in front of Degamo’s house to seek medical and other aid.
“My government will not rest until we bring the perpetrators of this heinous and despicable crime to justice,” Marcos said in a statement.
Marcos said without elaborating that authorities had “collected a lot of information and now have a clear direction on how to proceed to bring those behind the killing to justice.” “We will find you, if you surrender now, that would be your best option,” he said addressing the mastermind and assassins.
Digamo’s killing underscores that even local politicians are not immune to the high-profile gun violence that persists despite the government’s pledge to tackle it.
Last month, Gov. Mamental Alonto Adeong Jr. of southern Lanao del Sur province was injured and four of his bodyguards were killed in an attack on his convoy. Police said they killed one suspect in a shootout.
In a separate recent attack, unknown assailants, reportedly wearing police uniforms, opened fire on the van of Rommel Almeida, the vice mayor of the northern town of Apari, killing him and five colleagues in the northern province of Nueva Vizcaya. The accused are still absconding.
Crime, decades-long Muslim and communist insurgencies and other security concerns have been inherited by Marcos, who took power in June last year.
