Gunmen in military uniforms shot and killed a provincial governor and wounded civilians while the politician was meeting poor villagers at his home in the central Philippines, in the latest brazen assault on local politicians in the country, police officials said. At least six men armed with assault rifles alighted from a convoy and opened fire on Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo, hitting him and a still-unspecified number of villagers at his home in Pamplona town. 

The province has a history of violent political rivalries. The gunmen fled and later abandoned three SUVs, police said. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr condemned the mid-morning attack, which was witnessed by local officials and poor villagers who gathered in front of Degamo’s house to seek cash and medical aid, officials said. “My government will not rest until we have brought the perpetrators of this dastardly and heinous crime to justice,” Marcos said in a statement.