Negros Oriental Governor Degamo is the latest target in the long history of attacks on politicians in the Philippines.
A provincial governor in the central Philippines and five others have been shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the latest attack on local politicians.
Police said six suspects, carrying rifles and wearing uniforms resembling those used by the armed forces, entered the governor’s home in the city of Pamplona and opened fire.
Roel Degamo, governor of Negros Oriental province, and five others were killed in the shooting, his widow said.
“Governor Degamo did not deserve such a death. He ministered to his constituents on a Saturday,” said Janice Degamo, who is also the mayor of Pamplona, in a video posted to Facebook.
Police said in a statement on Saturday that the condition of the hospital victims was unknown.
Degamo, 56, is the latest target in the long history of attacks on politicians in the Philippines and at least the third to have been shot at since local elections last year.
President Ferdinand Marcos condemned what he called the “assassination” of political ally Degamo and vowed swift justice for his killers.
Last month, the Supreme Court declared Degamo the legitimate winner of the Negros Oriental governorship contest after a recount unseated his local rival, who had previously been declared the winner.
attacks on politicians
Mamintal Adiong, governor of southern Lanao del Sur province, was shot and wounded in an attack in February that killed his driver and three police escorts.
That same month, the deputy mayor of the northern city of Aparri, Rommel Alameda, and five other passengers were shot dead in an ambush on the highway.
The leaders of a powerful southern clan and some two dozen supporters were sentenced to life imprisonment for an attack on supporters of a rival gubernatorial election in Maguindanao province in 2009. The attack killed 58 people, including the politician’s wife and relatives, as well as 32 journalists and media workers.