BAGUIO CITY, Philippines--It was a bloody Christmas for residents of Paracelis, Mt. Province.

The town's mayor was shot dead by gunmen as he was leaving a family gathering in Barangay Palitod, provincial and police officials said.

Mt. Province Gov. Maximo Dalog said Paracelis Mayor Cesar Rafael just came from a picnic with relatives in Sitio Siniktib when he was shot by a group of armed men on Tuesday afternoon.

Dalog said Rafael, who was in his 60s, was alone when he was attacked.

But reports from Senior Supt. Joseph Adnol, Mt. Province police director, said Rafael was with his driver when the suspects fired at their vehicle at past 1 p.m.

Adnol could not provide other details of the incident.

"This was the first time that a politician was shot dead in the province, and to think that it has to happen on Christmas Day," Dalog told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in a telephone interview.

"This has to be solved immediately. I want the (police) to do their investigation as soon as possible," he said.

Rafael, a long-time mayor of Paracelis, was recently elected president of the mayors' league of Mt. Province. His daughter, Ana Maria Paz Rafael-Banaag, is mayor of nearby Natonin town.

A community organizer in the province said it was surprising for Rafael to be attacked in Palitod because the village is his bailiwick.

"He owned a huge tract of land there. He even donated his house to be turned into a school there," the source said.

Paracelis is more than four hours drive from the capital town of Bontoc. The town shares borders with Isabela, Kalinga and Ifugao.