NAGA CITY, Camarines Sur, Philippines—The village chief of Masbaranon in Esperanza town in Masbate was shot dead by still unidentified armed men Tuesday afternoon, an Army official said Wednesday morning.

Ali Aransado was dead on the spot after the attack at around 3:30 p.m., said Major Harold Cabunoc, public information officer of the 9th Infantry Battalion based in Camp Elias Angeles in Pili, Camarines Sur.

Aransado sustained multiple gunshot wounds in the body, added Cabunoc.

The victim was president of the town’s Liga ng mga Barangay (league of villages) and an ex-officio member of the Sangguniang Bayan (town council).

Authorities said the killing could have been election-related.

The Army immediately sent troops to the area to conduct hot pursuit operations in coordination with the police.

Meanwhile, the Jose Rapsing Command of the New People’s Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, admitted Tuesday that it was responsible for the Saturday ransacking of the house of Monching Radan, an aspiring vice mayor in Claveria town.

The town of Claveria lies in Burias Island, which is part of Masbate.

The rebels took two high-caliber firearms.

Earlier, the Commission on Elections listed Masbate as a “hot spot” due to its history of political violence.

Last week, 85 Army soldiers were deployed to the southernmost Bicol province to help ensure orderly and peaceful elections.