Slain mayor hailed by townmate
Police investigators examine the bloodstained pavement at the Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport following an ambush of a southern Philippine town mayor Friday Dec. 20, 2013 at suburban Pasay city south of Manila, Philippines. Labangan Mayor Ukol Talumpa was fatally shot Friday in an attack at Manila’s main airport that also killed his wife and two other people, officials said. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines—Mayor Ocol Talumpa of Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur, who was killed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila on Friday, was a no-nonsense guy who did not care if his enemies were out to kill him, a member of the Labangan municipal council said Saturday.
“He was the only mayor whom we knew as straight and very humble,” Eddie Relacion told the Inquirer by phone.
Relacion said even if they knew that the threats against Talumpa were real, the mayor’s death still came as a shock to most residents of Labangan.
“Our hearts are bleeding over his death,” he said.
The slain mayor’s first name was Ocol, not Ukol as reported earlier
Relacion said Talumpa always wore a smile and would easily laugh at the simplest joke.
“But he would not mind telling people they were thieves or drug addicts,” he said.
Relacion said the threats against Talumpa increased when he led the dismantling of suspected drug havens in Labangan.
Even suspected drug lords packed up moved to other places, he said.
“Even a known warlord left Labangan because of his campaign,” Relacion added.
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