Firearms and live ammunition seized by Manila police.
MANILA: At least seven people were killed while a presidential aide survived an ambush during mid-term elections in the Philippines yesterday, authorities said.
The Philippines is infamous for a brutal brand of democracy in which politicians, particularly at local and provincial level, are willing to bribe, intimidate or kill to win. The killings were reported in the south, where a Muslim separatist insurgency has been waged for decades and political warlords employ private armies.
In the most violent incident, supporters of rival candidates for mayor on a small southern island in the Sulu archipelago opened fire on each other, leaving three combatants dead, police said.
Gunmen opened fire on a vehicle carrying voters on the nearby island of Jolo, killing the driver and wounding four passengers.
Three supporters of a local candidate were killed and eight wounded by gunmen in an attack in the southern province of Zamboanga del Sur.
President Benigno Aquino’s political adviser Manuel Mamba escaped unharmed after his convoy was attacked in the northern town of Alcala. Presidential spokesman Ramon Carandang said Mamba was in the area to support a brother who was a candidate for provincial governor under Aquino’s Liberal Party. Mamba told radio station DZMM in Manila he saw his brother’s rival brandishing an AK-47 assault rifle as his convoy passed on the national highway. He said he heard shots which hit one of the vehicles in the convoy. More than 60 people have been killed in the lead-up to the poll.
Police in Manila seized firearms and live ammunition from a group of 14 men. They were also found in possession of four 45-calibre pistols and live ammunition near an elementary school being used as a voting centre, in violation of a gun ban on election day.
More than 52 million Filipinos were registered to vote for some 18,000 government positions, including half of the 24-seat senate and all of 300 congressional representative seats. The remainder were provincial and municipal positions. AGENCIES
