Gunman kills Zamboanga City official

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 24, 2010) – A village official was killed in an attack Wednesday in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines, police said.

Police said Bernardo Reyes was shot in the village of Mampang where he was a member of the local council. No individual or group claimed responsibility for the attack, but the increasing number of murders in Zamboanga is worrying many residents.

Police said personal grudge could be the motive for the killing as it also claimed to other victims of hired killers in Zamboanga.

At least 8 cases of gun attacks had been reported this month in Zamboanga City.

Just early this week, an unidentified gunman shot and killed a man in an attack just outside the Coca-Cola plant in Tetuan village, just two kilometers from downtown Zamboanga.

The attacker escaped after shooting Jose Tiapon, who died in hospital due to multiple wounds in the head and body.

The plant’s security guards said the victim was an employee of the Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Incorporated. The motive of the attack was unknown, but police said the killing was likely connected to personal grudge.

Gun attacks were not uncommon in Zamboanga City where extrajudicial killings had been reported in the past. Hired killers also freely operate in Zamboanga City. (Mindanao Examiner)