Malacañang said on Tuesday, March 9, it was alarmed over the killing of Calbayog City Mayor Ronald Aquino and his two aides in Samar.

Speaking in a media briefing, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said they condemn the shooting incident.

“Kinukondena po natin iyan dahil ang karapatang mabuhay po ay ang pinakaimportanteng karapatan. At nanunumbalik po kami at naalalarma na dahil isang mayor po ang pinatay (We condemn that because the right to life is the most important right. And we are alarmed because a mayor was killed),” he said.

Roque raised alarm on the death of Aquino, noting that it could be start of political killings as the elections draw near.

“Ang demokrasya po, tao po ang humahalal; at ang ating panawagan, hayaan po natin maghalal ang taumbayan sa pamamagitan ng pagpili ng sa tingin nila ang pinakaepektibong mga namumuno (In a democracy, people elect leaders and our call is to let the people elect by choosing who they think are effective leaders),” he said.

“At saka itong (And this) political violence po has no place in a democracy,” the spokesperson added.

Aquino was reportedly on his way to the birthday celebration of his son last Monday, March 8, when he was killed onboard his sports utility vehicle by unidentified gunmen in Barangay Lonoy. His close-in security and driver also died as a result of the incident.

There were claims Aquino was killed in an ambush, but it was actually a shoot-out, prompting the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to look into the matter.