(Eagle News) — The Palace on Wednesday, July 3, said it considers the killings of “high-profile figures” as an “attempt to erode confidence” in President Rodrigo Duterte.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque noted the President’s “main platform of governance,” after all, “rests on fighting crimes.”
According to Roque there was no “culture of impunity” in the country as the government “does not condone any state-sponsored killing.”
In fact, he said the Philippine National Police was “sparing no effort to find and capture the killers of the two slain mayors.”
“Our people have acknowledged the President as the protector of people, as evidenced by surveys giving him high satisfaction, approval, trust and performance rating,” he said.
On Monday, July 2, Tanauan, Batangas Mayor Antonio Halili was shot as he was presiding over the city’s flag-raising ceremony.
He died as he was rushed to the hospital.
A day after, General Tinio, Nueva Ecija Mayor Ferdinand Bote was shot dead as he was leaving the National Irrigation Administration office in Cabanatuan.