Ted Monteverde Sispon, 48, was on board a passenger multi-cab vehicle from Kidapawan City heading toward Matalam town when shot in front of horrified passengers at 9:30 a.m. Monday, Senior Inspector Elias Colonia, police chief of Matalam, North Cotabato, said.
Sispon had been receiving threats since October.
Colonia said Sispon, who was sitting at the rear portion of the passenger jeep, was first shot by one of the two suspects riding tandem on motorbike.
Quoting witnesses, police said Sispon was not hit.聽But the gunman聽pointed his gun at聽the driver who was forced to pull over along the highway.
Sispon, he said, tried to聽run聽but the gunman聽chased聽and finished him off.
鈥淭hey appear to be professional guns聽for hire,聽they did not even聽cover their faces,鈥� Colonia said, adding that the suspect fled on the same motorcycle after the shooting.
鈥淗e has been receiving death threats through his mobile phone,鈥� Colonia quoted the victim鈥檚 wife as telling probers.
Police investigators were in custody of the victim鈥檚 mobile phone that contained threat messages.
Police said the killing could be work-related since Sispon had told his wife about the threats he had been receiving while in the election office in Parang, Maguindanao.
The threats came after the recent barangay (village) elections.