Shooting is the third high-profile killing in Manila in as many weeks
A senior police officer in charge of security at the presidential palace in Manila was shot dead yesterday by unidentified gunmen, underscoring the fragility of law and order in the Philippine capital.
The shooting of Senior Superintendent Manolo Martinez brought to three the number of high-profile killings in and around Manila in as many weeks. Martinez was shot after stepping out of his vehicle at the district police station where he was chief, about a kilometre from Malacanang Palace.
The two gunmen - armed with an M16 assault rifle and a .45 calibre pistol - had stationed themselves on a nearby bridge, Manila police chief Pedro Bulaong said.
They also fired at a passing bus, wounding the conductor and a passerby.
Presidential press secretary Ignacio Bunye condemned the murder as 'a show of force that must be met with full retribution by the authorities'.
'Criminals or terrorists will not get away with this,' he said.