Mayoral candidate gunned down

Manila: A mayoral candidate in the May 14 mid-term elections died after being shot at close range by unidentified gunmen in the central Philippine province of Cebu yesterday, a police report said.

Two motorcycle-borne gunmen fired repeatedly at Rogelio Ilustrisimo Sr, a former mayor of Sta Fe in Cebu's Bantayan Island, as he stepped out of the office of the Commissions on Elections (Comelec). The assassins then made good their escape.

Authorities attributed the incident to intense rivalry in the run-up to the elections. Ilustrisimo Sr was the 31st victim of fatal election-related violence since January, when campaigning for the May 14 polls began. A suspect was arrested, sources said.

Goons, guns and gold

Politicians have been flaunting 'goons, guns, and (money) gold' to make the most of the electoral opportunity.

On Tuesday, unidentified gunmen shot dead Buenaventura Recta, a village chairman, who was running for municipal councillor in Leyte, central Philippines.

In an earlier incident, Joselito Motas, chairman of Sabang village in southern suburban Cavite, was driving home from a political meeting on Monday when unidentified men directed automatic gunfire on his car, killing him instantly.

The same day, gunmen with automatic handguns shot dead Nardito Ongcal, a village council member of Bangekurehan in southern Philippines' Campostela Valley. The shooting, inside a cockpit, came after political rivals had forged a ceasefire agreement.

Also on Monday, Julian Resuello, mayor of the northern city of San Carlos in central Luzon died at Saint Luke's Medical Centre in suburban Quezon, where he was being treated for gunshot wounds to the stomach that he sustained during a beauty pageant in his hometown on Saturday.

Last week, a town council candidate and a policeman were killed and 17 others were wounded, including three policemen, allegedly by rivals, in the town of Jaen in northern Luzon's Nueva Ecija province.

- With inputs from Rafael Juan, Correspondent