Ambushed Batangas vice mayor dies

MANILA, Philippines - Talisay, Batangas Vice Mayor Florencio Manimtim Jr. died yesterday at the San Juan de Dios Hospital, three days after a gunman shot him in front of a fast food restaurant at a Pasay City mall, police said yesterday.

Superintendent Samuel Turla, deputy city police chief, said Manimtim died at the hospital’s intensive care unit after undergoing surgery at about 3:22 a.m. yesterday.

His remains were brought to the Rizal Funeral Homes. Relatives refused to issue a statement to the media.

The gunman shot Manimtim three times as the victim was walking toward his car at the corner of Harbor Drive and Sunset Avenue. The gunman then walked to a motorcycle driven by an accomplice, and they sped toward EDSA. Security guards tried but failed to catch them.

Turla said investigators have been coordinating with the Talisay police to track down the persons believed to be responsible for a previous attack on Manimtim.

“We are looking into politics as the possible motive in the killing,” he said.

According to a police report, the victim had a meeting with his lawyers on a pending election protest.

Senior Superintendent Federico Castro Jr., Southern Police District’s deputy district director for operations, said investigators are eyeing several angles in the killing, but the strongest seems to be “family feud related to politics.”

He said there have been several threats against Manimtim before Thursday’s attack.

Last August, gunmen shot Manimtim in the head while he was attending the funeral of a relative. Castro said police officers are now after his killers, whose images were caught by a surveillance camera at the mall.