Negros Oriental Governor Degamo is the latest to be targeted in a long history of attacks on politicians in the Philippines.
A provincial governor in the central Philippines and five others were shot dead by unknown gunmen in the latest attack on local politicians.
Police said six suspects carrying guns and dressed in uniforms similar to those worn by the armed forces entered the Pamplona city governor’s house 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 this kind of death. He was serving his constituents on a Saturday,” said Janice Degamo, also mayor of Pamplona, in a video posted on Facebook.
Police said in a statement on Saturday that the conditions of the hospitalized victims were unknown.
Degamo, 56, is the latest to be targeted in the long history of attacks on politicians in the Philippines, and is at least the third to be shot since local elections last year.
President Ferdinand Marcos condemned what he described as the “assassination” of political ally Degamo and promised to bring swift justice to his killers.
Last month, the Supreme Court declared Degamo the legitimate winner of the contest for governor of Negros Oriental following a recount that toppled his local rival, who had previously been declared the winner.
Attacks on politicians
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 vice-mayor of the northern town of Aparri, Rommel Alameda, and five other people traveling with him were shot dead in an ambush on the highway.
The leaders of a powerful southern clan and around two dozen supporters have been sentenced to life in prison for a 2009 attack on supporters of a rival in the gubernatorial elections in Maguindanao province. The attack left 58 dead, including the wife and relatives of the politician, as well as 32 journalists and media professionals.