Second Philippine mayor shot dead
Manila, July 4 : A second Philippines town mayor has been shot dead by an unknown assailant, a day after another mayor was assassinated by a sniper in a brazen daylight attack, police said on Wednesday.
Mayor Ferdinand Bote of the town of General Tinio in Nueva Ecija province was gunned down by a motorcycle-riding suspect in nearby Cabanatuan City on Tuesday afternoon, the police told CNN Philippines.
Bote was struck multiple times while riding in his SUV.
He was declared dead on arrival at a hospital and an investigation has been launched.
"We assure everyone that we would discharge the state obligation for every murder. We will spare no effort in getting to the bottom of this latest violent crime," presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said.
The killing comes just over 24 hours after Tanauan City Mayor Antonio Halili was killed by a single shot to the chest while attending a flag-raising ceremony.
Halili was a controversial ally of President Rodrigo Duterte who gained notoriety for his policy of parading people arrested for drug offences, reports CNN.
It was revealed on Monday that Halili had been stripped of his authority over local police in October 2017 on an order from the Department of Interior, according to Police Chief Superintendent Renato Mercado.
It remains unclear if the two deaths are linked.
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Second PUC results: Life convict clears exam with distinction, DGP lauds effort
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Bengaluru: A life convict lodged in Ballari Central Prison has successfully cleared the second PUC examination.
Ashok Kumar S, who appeared for the examination under prison escort, secured 481 marks out of 600, registering 80.1 percent.
Director General of Police (Prisons and Correctional Services), Alok Kumar (IPS), shared the development on his official ‘X’ handle, commending the inmate’s achievement.
In his post, he stated that it was heartening to see a life convict score over 80 percent in the examination, adding that the inmate had appeared from Ballari Central Prison under escort.
It’s heartening to see that one of our life convict prisoners Ashok has obtained 80.1% marks in PUC exam. He appeared under Prison escort from Ballari Central Prison for his exams.
— alok kumar (@alokkumar6994) April 9, 2026
Glad to see that Walls of the prison has not subdued his hopes for a better future. pic.twitter.com/Nzlcy076SR
He further noted that the achievement reflected that the “walls of the prison have not subdued his hopes for a better future.”
Alok Kumar in his post also shared the result sheet of Ashok.
The Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) declared the second PUC results for 2026 on April 9.
A total of 6,32,200 students appeared for the examination across all streams, of whom 5,46,698 passed, recording an overall pass percentage of 86.48 per cent.
