Philippine mayor killed

[News_Editor]

Philippine mayor killed

2011-05-02 00:45:29 GMT+7 (ICT)

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (BNO NEWS) -- A major in central Philippines died in a hospital on Sunday after being shot by a gunman in Samar province, the local Inquirer newspaper reported.

Calbayog City Mayor Reynaldo Uy was shot on Saturday night while attending a cultural presentation in Hinabangan town in Samar province. Samar Board Member Eunice Babalcon, who was standing next to him at the presidential table, was also hurt.

Both Uy and Babalcon were rushed to the hospital, but Uy, 59, died while undergoing surgery.

President Benigno Aquino III said during a Labor Day breakfast meeting with reporters that he has ordered a manhunt for the killer.

"I pressed [Philippine National Police Director General] Raul Bacalzo to ensure a speedy investigation… and the arrest of the people behind this dastardly act," Aquino said.

"We don't want this violence to be a precursor of even more violence so I can assure the people in the province of Rey Uy, the police, together with the armed forces, will exert maximum efforts."

Chief Superintendent Arnold Revilla, police director for Eastern Visayas, said several angles were being looked into in the killing of Uy, who was the provincial chairman of the Liberal Party.

"But we cannot set aside the possibility that politics could be one of the motives considering the present political condition there in Samar," he added.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-05-02