Originally published on December 20, 2013
Four people, including a town mayor who had survived two previous assassination attempts, and his wife, were shot dead outside Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila on Friday morning.
Ukol Talumpa, mayor of Labangan in Zamboanga del Sur, was waiting for a ride outside the terminal with his family after a flight from Zamboanga City at 11:15am. The family was being escorted by bodyguards.
The gunmen, reportedly in police uniforms, waited for the mayor at the loading bay outside the airport. The assailants were on a motorcycle and fired at close range, killing the mayor, his wife, an 18-month-old boy and a 25-year-old relative. Four other people were injured.
The gunmen were chased by airport security but managed to escape. No surveillance cameras were installed at the crime scene, which may hinder the investigation.
Talumpa, a member of the opposition, defeated the incumbent, an ally of President Benigno Aquino, in a tight election last May.
Talumpa had survived previous assassination attempts in 2010 and 2012. In the first attack, he was wounded after two gunmen fired at his car in Ermita, Manila. Two years later, two attackers dropped a grenade near his car in Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur. Talumpa.
Political assassinations are not uncommon in the Philippines. AFP reported that more than 60 people were killed in last May's elections.
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