Governor, five others shot dead in latest attack on Philippine politicians

MANILA – A provincial governor in central Philippines and five others were shot dead by unknown gunmen on Saturday, in the latest attack against politicians in this violence-plagued nation.

Local police said six suspects carrying rifles and dressed in uniforms similar to those worn by the armed services entered the governor’s home in Pamplona town and opened fire.

Mr Roel Degamo, governor of Negros Oriental province, and five others were killed in the shooting, his widow said.

“Governor Degamo did not deserve that kind of death. He was serving his constituents on a Saturday,” Mrs Janice Degamo, who is also the mayor of Pamplona, said in a video posted on Facebook.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr condemned what he described as the “assassination” of his political ally and warned the perpetrators to “surrender now”.

“I am warning all those involved in this killing: You can run, but you cannot hide. We will find you. If you surrender now, it will be your best option,” he said.

“My government will not rest until we have brought the perpetrators of this dastardly and heinous crime to justice,” he said.

Vice-President Sara Duterte also condemned the killing.

She said investigators should “start looking at the political feud that has gripped Negros Oriental and has taken so many lives”.

The condition of four other people who were shot in the incident, all civilians, was not disclosed.

Mr Degamo was distributing aid inside his compound at around 9.30am when he was shot, provincial police spokesman Kym Lopez said.

Police 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.

“The perpetrators were in full battle gear when they shot the governor several times,” Lieutenant-Colonel Gerard Ace Pelare, a police spokesman, told The Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Latest in string of political killings

Mr Degamo, 56, is the latest target in the Philippines’ long history of attacks on politicians, and at least the third to be shot since the 2022 local elections.

The Supreme Court in February 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.

Mr Degamo had also campaigned for Mr Marcos in his own candidacy for president in 2022.

Mr 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, Mr Rommel Alameda, and five others who were travelling with him were shot dead in a highway ambush.

In 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.

The attack left 58 people dead, including the politician’s wife and relatives, along with 32 journalists and media workers who were covering the race. AFP