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Date: 22 January 2010
Source: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=542926&publicationSubCategoryId=200

Masbate village chief killed in poll violence
(philstar.com) Updated January 22, 2010 03:24 PM

MANILA, Philippines (AP) – Gunmen barged into the home of a village leader in the central Philippines, killing him in front of his family in the latest violence ahead of May elections, the military said Friday.

Danny Amor was shot several times in the back with silencer-fitted pistols as he had dinner at home with his family in Masbate province’s San Jacinto township late Thursday, said Maj. Harold Cabunoc, an army spokesman. 

Cabunoc said politics was believed behind the killing, the second poll-related murder in the province in three days. The head of a village leaders’ association was shot dead Tuesday in Esperanza township. 

In May, Filipinos will vote for a new president, senators, congressmen and officials down to the village level. Elections in the Southeast Asian democracy are typically marred by bloodshed and fraud. 

In November, 57 people were massacred in the southern Philippines on their way to register a gubernatorial candidate — the worst election-related violence in the country’s history. Members of a rival clan have been arrested but only one has so far been charged over the killings.

In an attempt to forestall violence ahead of the polls, two weeks ago the Philippines initiated a five-month, nationwide ban on carrying guns in public, and at least 357 violators have been arrested so far, including 52 police and military personnel found with weapons while not in uniform or on duty. 

On Wednesday, National Police Chief Jesus Verzosa put Masbate province under special police watch because of the province’s history of poll violence. Nearly a third of Philippine cities and municipalities have been identified as potential hotspots for election unrest.