Policeman kills street vendor in clash over Manila clean-up

Angry Manila street vendors paraded the body of a slain colleague yesterday before the office of Metro Manila Authority chairman Bayani Fernando whom they blamed for the man's death.

They held four lighted candles to symbolise the four bullets that killed vendor Iladio Tuacar on Edsa, Manila's busiest road, late on Tuesday afternoon.

He was the first casualty of Mr Fernando's no-nonsense campaign to ease traffic by ridding the pavements of vendors. It earned the soft-spoken official a second nick-name of 'murderer' on top of an earlier one, 'Hitler'.

Rob Hubbard, spokesman of the militant group Bayan, said murder charges would be filed next week against Mr Fernando and senior police officer Sabado Pujeda, the traffic policeman who shot Tuacar.

Mr Pujeda claimed he had fired in self-defence after Tuacar had fired a pistol at him.

Mr Fernando said he saw nothing wrong with the policeman's action.

However, vendors claim Tuacar, a former military man, had a licence to carry a firearm and merely fired in the air after officials seized goods he was selling.