Village chief running for Masbate town councilor shot dead

NAGA CITY, Philippines—A pair of armed men riding a motorcycle shot dead a 40-year-old barangay captain in front of his house in Aroroy town in Masbate early Sunday evening, a Philippine National Police official said Monday.

Senior Supt. Heriberto Olitoquit, chief of Masbate PNP, said Edwin Amaro, chief of Barangay Luy-a, was also seeking a seat in the municipal council of Aroroy in the 2013 midterm elections.

Olitoquit said the still unidentified assailants armed with .45 cal. handguns shot Amaro multiple times at about 6:30 p.m. Sunday, killing the victim on the spot.

The gunmen immediately fled the scene, where police later recovered five spent shells and a bullet, according to Olitoquit.

The motive for the killing still is being investigated.