Negros town councilor, uncle killed in ambush

BACOLOD CITY — A town councilor and his uncle were killed after their campaign convoy was ambushed in Moises Padilla town, Negros Occidental, on Thursday, police said.

Police Capt. Junji Liba, town police chief, said Mark Garcia, brother of Moises Padilla Vice Mayor Ella Garcia-Yulo, and their nephew, Councilor Michael Garcia, died after armed men on board a pickup truck and motorcycles shot them in Barangay Inolingan at 10 a.m.

Yulo, who is running for mayor against reelectionist Mayor Magdaleno Peña, survived the attack.

The ambush came 20 days after Yulo and her husband, Felix Mathias Segundo Yulo III, were granted bail after almost seven months in jail for possession of explosives and firearms charges.

The Commission on Elections earlier placed Moises Padilla under Category Red, or an area of grave concern, for the May 13 elections. —CARLA P. GOMEZ