Ten dead in Philippine election day violence: Report

Ten people were killed in outbreaks of violence as millions of Filipinos went to the polls in nationwide elections.

Manila: Ten people were killed in outbreaks
of violence as millions of Filipinos went to the polls in
nationwide elections on Monday, local authorities said.

The latest incident took place just outside the capital
of Manila where two people were killed and another was
seriously wounded in a clash between a congressman`s security
escorts and police, authorities said.

Two of the escorts were shot dead after they confronted
policemen in Bacoor town for detaining some of the
congressman`s supporters, said provincial police chief Senior
Superintendent Primitivo Tabujara.

One policeman was seriously wounded and two other escorts
were arrested, he said.

It was unclear who started the shooting with both sides
giving conflicting versions.

"This is one case that has to be thoroughly
investigated," said national police spokesman Chief
Superintendent Leonardo Espina.

Elsewhere, three people were shot dead and 10 others
wounded when police clashed with supporters of a mayoral
candidate in the southern province of Zamboanga Sibugay before
dawn, said a local military spokesman

The cause of the clash was unclear but the police were
ordered back to their stations, Captain Arnold Gasalatan said,
adding the military had secured the area pending an
investigation.

In the strife-torn southern province of Maguindanao, two
men were killed as the armed followers of two rival
politicians engaged in a gunbattle, according to national
military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Arnulfo Burgos.

One of the dead was identified as a member of an armed
group, he said.

In another incident in the south, a cousin of the vice
governor in North Cotabato province was gunned down while he
was riding on a motorcycle before polls opened, regional
police said.

He and another man on the motorbike were ambushed by
suspected gunmen of a rival candidate in Kidapawan town,
according to a police statement. The other man was wounded but
his injuries were not life threatening.

In Kapai town, also in the south, the son of a candidate
shot a man, said provincial police chief Senior Superintendent
Panares Adap.

On the western island of Palawan, a clash between
supporters of two rival mayoral candidates left one person
dead and another wounded, a police report said.

PTI

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