Police officers check a vehicle in the Philippine Province of Negros Oriental on Saturday. AFP

The killing of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo at his home on Saturday by at least six men armed with assault rifles and wearing military-like camouflage uniforms and bullet-resistant vests was the deadliest in a series of attacks on politicians in recent weeks in the country.

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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. condemned the killing of Degamo, who backed him in the presidential election last year, and said his "government will not rest until we have brought the perpetrators of this dastardly and heinous crime to justice.”

Degamo was meeting poor villagers who were seeking medical and other help when the armed men walked calmly into his residential compound in Pamplona town and opened fire. They fled in three SUVs, which were later abandoned in a nearby town and from which about 10 men were seen fleeing, according to police reports.

Police officers at a checkpoint, hours after the provincial governor Roel Degamo and five others were killed. AFP

At least 17 others, including a doctor and two army soldiers, were wounded, police said.

Police quickly set up road checkpoints and later Saturday arrested three suspects, including two former army soldiers, and killed one in a clash as they chased the gunmen. A number of rifles and a pistol were recovered from the suspects, police said without elaborating or disclosing if they have determined a motive for the attack.

Degamo, a longtime politician, initially lost the race for Negros Oriental's governorship in last year's elections but was later installed governor after filing a court petition. He said a few years ago without elaborating that he had received death threats in the province, which has a history of bloody political conflicts and communist insurgency-related violence.

Degamo’s killing underscores that even local politicians are not immune from high-profile gun violence that has persisted despite the government’s pledge to combat it.

Associated Press