Gunman kills left-wing activist, police say

MANILA (AP) - A man fatally shot a left-wing activist in a central Philippine city on Tuesday in an attack that coincided with a Manila conference called by the Supreme Court to find ways of halting a wave of killings of government critics.

Charlie Solayao, a fish vendor who was an active member of a left-wing political party, was walking with his wife toward a coastal area in Tacloban City when a man alighted from a motorcycle driven by a companion and shot him twice, police investigator Henry Apuya said.

As Solayao, 50, lay bleeding on the ground, the man shot him three more times to make sure he was dead. His wife was not harmed, Apuya said.

Police have not identified the attackers or the motive for the attack, he said.

His wife told investigators her husband had not received any threats or gotten involved in any conflicts, he said.

Solayao was active in the left-wing political party Anak Pawis, and was vice president of a fish vendors' association and an urban poor group. He often joined anti-government protests, according to his friends.