Zamboanga del Norte councilor slain in gun attack

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Unidentified gunmen killed a town councilor in Zamboanga del Norte on Monday.

Ernesto Bihag Jr., 46, of Liloy town was driving his Toyota Fortuner on his way to the municipal hall when a Toyota Innova overtoook his vehicle along the highway in Barangay Comunal and opened fire, Brig. Gen. Ronaldo Genaro Ylagan, Zamboanga peninsula police director, said.

Police said the victim’s car overshot a road shoulder and crashed into a mahogany tree.

Responding policemen retrieved the bullet-riddled body of the councilor.

The victim was declared dead on arrival in a hospital.

Ylagan said pursuit operations for the suspects were ongoing.

Probers are looking into several angles, including politics, as the motive for the killing.