3 members of Antique private army slain

MANILA, Philippines – Three members of a local politician’s private army were killed while six others were wounded in a shootout with policemen manning a checkpoint in Antique before dawn yesterday, authorities said.

Reports reaching the National Task Force HOPE Operations Center at Camp Crame said the suspects, who were on board a Nissan Pathfinder and a Nissan Frontier pick-up truck, shot it out with policemen in Tibiao town after breaching the checkpoint.

Six others were arrested. Police seized four caliber .45 pistols and a grenade from the group.

Meanwhile, two persons were killed when security forces of opposing bets shot it out in Mindanao.

Two bodyguards of Malalag town Mayor Ruel Paras were killed during the encounter with the escorts of his rival, former mayor Jovil Mamaril, radio reports said.

Lt. Col. Lyndon Paniza, the local Army commander, said the gunmen behind the killing were two soldiers assigned to secure Mamaril and that they had been handed over to the police.

The two candidates held campaign rallies in the same area shortly before the encounter and this may have resulted in the tense situation, said Senior Superintendent Ronald de la Rosa, local police chief.