Six suspects carrying rifles and dressed in uniforms entered the governor\u2019s home in Pamplona town and opened fire
\n MANILA
\nA provincial governor in the central Philippines and five other people were shot dead by unknown gunmen on Saturday, his widow said, in the latest attack against local officials.
\nLocal police said six suspects carrying rifles and dressed in uniforms similar to those worn by the armed services entered the governor\u2019s home in Pamplona town and opened fire.
\nRoel Degamo, governor of Negros Oriental province, and five others were killed in the shooting, his widow said.
\n\u201cGovernor Degamo did not deserve that kind of death. He was serving his constituents on a Saturday,\u201d Janice Degamo, who is also the mayor of Pamplona, said in a video posted on Facebook.
\nPresident Ferdinand Marcos condemned what he described as the \u201cassassination\u201d of his political ally and warned the perpetrators to \u201csurrender now it will be your best option\u201d.
\n\u201cMy government will not rest until we have brought the perpetrators of this dastardly and heinous crime to justice,\u201d Marcos added.
\nThe condition of four other people who were shot in the incident was not disclosed. The politician was distributing aid to constituents when he was shot, provincial police spokesman Kym Lopez told AFP.
\nPolice said they were searching for 10 suspects, including the six gunmen, who fled the scene in two SUVs and a pickup truck before abandoning the vehicles in a nearby city.
\nDegamo, 56, is the latest target in the Philippines\u2019 long history of attacks on politicians, and at least the third to be shot since last year\u2019s local elections.
\nThe Supreme Court last month declared him the rightful winner of the contest for the Negros Oriental governorship following a recount that unseated his local rival, who had previously been proclaimed the victor.
\nDegamo had also campaigned for Marcos in his own candidacy for president last year.
\nMamintal 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.
\nThat same month, the vice-mayor of the northern town of Aparri, Rommel Alameda, and five other people who were travelling with him were shot dead in a highway ambush.
\nIn the bloodiest politically motivated ambush on record, the leaders of a powerful southern clan and about two dozen followers were sentenced to life in prison for a 2009 attack on supporters of a gubernatorial election rival in Maguindanao province.
\nThe attack left 58 people dead, including the politician\u2019s wife and relatives, along with 32 journalists and media workers who were covering the race.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Six suspects carrying rifles and dressed in uniforms entered the governor\u2019s home in Pamplona town and opened fire MANILA A provincial governor in the central Philippines and five other people were shot dead by unknown gunmen on Saturday, his widow said, in the latest attack against local officials. Local police said six suspects carrying rifles […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":317417,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-317528","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n