Gunmen shot and killed a town mayor and two of his bodyguards during a brazen attack in the northern Philippines early on Monday.
Carlito Pentecostes Jr, mayor of Gonzaga town in Cagayan province, was gunned down about 7:30am by men dressed as policemen while he was attending a flag raising ceremony in the town square, a military spokesman said.
The mayor's bodyguards and policemen opened fire on the gunmen, believed to be communist rebels, sparking a firefight that resulted in the death of two security personnel, said Major Emmanuel Garcia, commander of the military’s 1st Civil Relations Group.
"It's hard to say right now [who the attackers were]. We are still not sure," said Major Garcia. "The armed men withdrew immediately."
He added that the gunmen also stole a police car.
Senior Superintendent Gregorio Lim, provincial police chief of Cagayan, said at least eight gunmen attacked Pentecostes who sustained three gunshot wounds.
The military last week warned that communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels were out to avenge the arrest last month of two of their leaders, Benito and Wilma Tiamzon.
Last week, communist rebels attacked several mining companies and burned equipment.
"The turn of events... only shows how uncontrolled sub-units of the NPA are, basically because no one is really leading them," Major General Ricardo Visaya, commander of the 4th Infantry Division said on Monday.
The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, which has been waging a guerilla war against the government since 1969.