Philippines city mayor who shamed drug suspects shot dead
Manila, July 2 : A controversial provincial city mayor in the Philippines known for parading drug suspects in public was shot dead during a flag-raising ceremony on Monday.
Tanauan City Mayor Antonio Halili was declared dead on arrival at a hospital from a single bullet wound to the chest, sustained as he and civil servants sang the national anthem during a ceremony in city hall in Batangas province southwest of Manila.
Police Superintendent Renato Mercado told CNN that a video showed scenes of panic seconds after the shot was fired. Halili was seen standing in a line with government employees as the flag was raised. Suddenly, a single shot rang out followed by screams and chaos.
The mayor's security returned fire, according to state media Philippines News Agency (PNA), causing panic as government officials and staff ran for cover. The police official said Halili was killed by a sniper.
Another investigator told a radio station that a high-powered rifle was used in the attack.
The mayor had gained prominence for implementing a "walk of shame" for drug suspects in 2016 where he paraded them for people to see and then in 2017 when he was linked by the government to illegal drugs.
Gerry Laresma, the government employee who shot the video, told PNA that Halili had received death threats because of his strong anti-crime push.
"We are shocked, we are saddened," Vice Mayor Jhoanna Villamor, who was standing next to Halili, told radio station DZBB after the shooting.
Philippines National Police Chief Director General Oscar Albayalde said a regional special task group had been convened to investigate the killing and that the suspect parades were being considered as a motive.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque condemned the killing, saying that Halili was an ally of Rodrigo Duterte and that justice would be served.
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Indian men's and women's cricket teams wear black armbands in memory of Manmohan Singh
Melbourne/Vadodara (PTI): The Indian men's and women's cricket teams sported black armbands in their respective matches on Friday to honour former prime minister Manmohan Singh, who died in New Delhi.
Singh, a two time former prime minister from 2004 to 2014, died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Thursday after losing consciousness at his home owing to age-related ailments. He was 92.
The men’s team, led by Rohit Sharma, is playing the Boxing Day Test against Australia in Melbourne.
The women's side, on the other hand, is facing West Indies in the third and final ODI in Vadodara.
"The Indian team is wearing black arm bands as a mark of respect in the memory of former PM Dr Manmohan Singh, who passed away," the BCCI said in a statement.
Singh, also a renowned economist, was the architect and the brainchild of economic reforms in 1991 that pulled India from the brink of bankruptcy and ushered in an era of economic liberalisation that is widely believed to have changed the course of India's economic trajectory.
