MANILA: A candidate for mayor in the southern Philippines was shot dead on Saturday, police said, bringing to at least 15 the number of people killed in violence related to national elections.
The Philippines has a long tradition of political violence — fuelled by lax gun laws, politicians with private armies and corrupt law enforcement agencies — and dozens of people are killed each election campaign.
In the latest incident, unknown gunmen broke into the home of politician Armando Ceballos in a mountainous town in the southern Philippines at dawn Saturday and shot him dead, a provincial police spokesman said.
