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55 killed before Philippine polls
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A MEMBER of parliament and his aide were gunned down while campaigning in Quezon province south of Manila, raising the death toll in poll-related violence to 55, police said on Sunday.
Marcial Punzalan, an outgoing member of the House of Representatives, was shot by five armed men while addressing a crowd in the town of Tiaong in Quezon just before midnight on Saturday.
An aide was also killed while two other supporters were critically wounded, police said.
Punzalan, 54, was campaigning for his wife Lynnes who is running to replace him as representative of Quezon province in Monday's congressional and local elections.
Both are members of President Gloria Arroyo's ruling People Power Coalition (PPC), which is to face-off with ex-president Joseph Estrada's opposition party for control of Congress.
Lawyers for the Punzalan family on Sunday asked the independent poll watchdog Commission on Elections (Comelec) to place Quezon under its direct control to prevent further bloodshed.
Police said there was no suspect for the attack, but acknowledged it could be politically motivated. Punzalan's wife is competing with four other candidates from prominent and powerful families.
Punzalan was senior member of the House of Representatives and the author of several key pieces of legislation, including a landmark clean air act and the deregulization of the country's oil industry.
The Comelec, which will supervise and conduct the triennial polls, has been assigned 5,000 soldiers under its direct command for quick dispatch to any "hot spot" in Monday's elections.
It had earlier placed six provinces, six cities, 57 towns and five villages -- where trouble is likely to occur -- under its control for a swift military deployment.
Some 600 soldiers and seven armoured troop carriers will be on stand-by in the capital alone, amid reports of plans by unknown groups to sabotage the polls.
(SD-Agencies)
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