A FORMER mayor of Sapang Dalaga, Misamis Occidental was gunned down yesterday by an unidentified assailant wearing a police t-shirt as he was about to attend his own trial for murder at the Manila City Hall.

Reynaldo Yap, 45, died from multiple gunshot wounds at the Philippine General Hospital.

Wounded in the assassination were Yap’s bodyguard, Peter Villanueva, 37, of San Vicente, Baho, Misamis Occidental, and Bella Santos-Nocum, 70, a member of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, of 5125 Quirino avenue, Tambo, Parañaque City.

"It’s a clear case of political vendetta. Former Mayor Yap was facing murder charges filed by the family of his political opponent in his hometown of Sapang Dalaga," Mayor Alfredo Lim said.

Reports said that Yap was the fifth member of his clan to die from a politically motivated killing.

Villanueva was listed in critical condition at the Manila Doctor’s Hospital. Nocum was taken to PGH with a bullet wound in the foot.

Yap’s trial was being held in the sala of Judge Zenaida Daguna at the fourth floor of City Hall.

The gunman first shot Yap at close range with a .45 cal. revolver and then shot Villanueva before losing himself in a panicking crowd, getting past court security personnel and policemen stationed on the ground floor of City Hall.

The killer was described as 5’8" to 5’9" in height, and weighing about 200 lbs.

Policemen inside the building said they were not able to go after the killer because they were required to deposit their firearms at the entrance to City Hall.

Lim later told a news conference that metal detectors and surveillance cameras will be installed in the three main entrances to the city hall in addition to the mandatory search for firearms and other deadly weapons from visitors.

Investigators are also verifying information Yap received death threats from some groups, including the communist New People’s Army.

Chief Justice Reynato Puno reiterated his call for law enforcement authorities to secure courtrooms and personnel, saying the senseless killing is "indicative of a disturbing trend."

"It is also a reflection of the growing contempt for the rule of law, which has resulted in victim after victim felled by the bullets of criminals who do not fear the consequences of their actions," he said.

There were previous attempts on Yap’s life, the last in the early 1990s during Court of Appeals hearings after his conviction for the murder of former Mayor Victorio Cebedo of Rizal, Zamboanga del Norte shortly before the 1992 elections. The confessed gunman, Juditho Cara, had pointed to him as the mastermind.

In that case, Yap was sentenced to life imprisonment. However, the appellate court reversed the decision and ordered Yap’s release.

While he was in jail, another Cebedo was murdered two years ago. Witnesses named Yap as the mastermind.

His father Reyno was the first Yap who was slain, apparently for political motives. He was mayor during the 1970s.

His three other uncles who all held local positions were murdered, one of them in Cagayan de Oro City when Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. was mayor.