Candidate for councilor shot dead in Davao del Sur

A candidate for councilor in an island town in Davao del Sur was shot dead in Digos City on Monday night, a belated police report said on Wednesday. McArthur Cortez, 46, a candidate for councilor in Sarangani town, was gunned down by a still unidentified man while waiting for a ride in Lapu-Lapu extension in Digos City at about 7:30 p.m., the police report said. Recovered in the crime scene were three bullets from a .45-caliber pistol, the report added. Police are still investigating the motive of the killing as of posting time. Seven towns in Davao del Sur — including Magsaysay, Sulop, Matanao, Malita, Bansalan, Hagonoy and Sta. Cruz — have been tagged by the Commission on Elections as hot spots for the upcoming May polls due to the presence of private armed groups and heated political rivalries. Comelec Commissioner Lucenito Tagle earlier said the poll body received a request from several local officials asking that Zamboanga Del Sur, Nueva Ecija, Maguindanao, Ilocos Sur, Iloilo, and Pangasinan be also placed under its control. The Comelec has yet to announce which areas would be placed under its control. In the 2007 polls, statistics from the Philippine National Police showed that 100 people were reported killed in election-related violence. In the 2004 presidential elections, a total of 189 people were reported killed while 279 others were wounded. — with Andreo Calonzo/RSJ/KBK, GMANews.TV