Town mayor shot dead in the Philippines

MANILA: A Philippine town mayor who was linked by the president to illegal drugs was fatally shot in his office on Wednesday in the latest brazen attack on local officials.

Four gunmen barged into the Ronda municipality’s town hall in Cebu province and repeatedly shot Mayor Mariano Blanco, who was sleeping in his office, police said.

The men fled in a van. A police report said the gunmen ordered two watchmen to lie on the ground at gunpoint, rushed to the town hall, and then “a burst of gunfire was heard from the mayor’s office.”

President Rodrigo Duterte had included Blanco in a list of officials allegedly linked to illegal drugs.

Last year, Blanco was stripped of control over the local police due to his alleged links to illegal drugs.

SENATOR DEFIES ARREST ORDER

A senator who is Duterte’s fiercest critic in Congress remained holed up in the Senate on Wednesday to avoid what he considers an illegal arrest after Duterte voided his amnesty for his role in failed coup plots as a former rebel military officer.

Antonio Trillanes told reporters that his lawyers would file a petition to the Supreme Court to challenge the legality of Duterte’s proclamation voiding his amnesty. Amid the standoff, a small group of soldiers and policemen, including SWAT commandos, was seen outside the Senate.