Ex-mayor’s brod linked to drugs slain

A member of a political clan in Laguna province, who was suspected of involvement in illegal drugs, was shot and killed by a group of armed men in San Pablo City on Thursday afternoon, police said.

Damaso Amante, 64, was driving his Toyota Innova when at least three gunmen aboard another Innova attacked him in Barangay Del Remedio at 1:30 p.m., said Senior Supt. Joel Pernito, Laguna provincial police director.

Amante died while being taken to a hospital in the city.

He was a younger brother of former San Pablo City Mayor Vicente Amante. Vicente served as mayor from 1992 to 2001 and from 2004 to 2013, until he was succeeded by his son, Loreto.

Supt. Ronan Claravall, San Pablo City police chief, said police recovered at least 50 slugs from different guns in the crime scene.

Claravall said: “We do not want to speculate [about the possible motive] at this point.”

In May 2016, Damaso ran under the Nationalist People’s Coalition but lost as fourth congressional district representative of Laguna. The Amantes are allied with the United Nationalist Alliance.

In an interview in August last year, Vicente named Damaso as an illegal drug “pusher” and their other brother, Edwin, as a “user.”

Vicente said he wanted to clear his name of any involvement in the illegal drug trade after President Duterte named the Amantes as among local officials included in the government’s drug watch list.

Damaso also faced illegal drug charges following raids in 2001 and 2007, but these cases were eventually dismissed.