ZAMBOANGA CITY, 3 March 2007 — A leftist union leader was gunned down yesterday in the southern Philippine province of Davao del Sur as extrajudicial killings that has placed the Southeast Asian country under international spotlight continues.

Police and colleagues of 53-year-old Renato “Atong” Pacaide was shot dead by motorcycle-riding men along Rizal Avenue, corner Lim Street in Digos City at 10:45 a.m.

Chief Superintendent Geary Barias, Digos police director, said the victim had a gunshot wound in the head.

“Our cops should take their investigation seriously because this is a serious government concern,” Barias said.

Pacaide’s colleagues blamed the military for the murder, saying he was targeted because of his affiliations.

Pacaide was the secretary-general of Nagkahiusang Mag-uuma sa Davao del Sur (Namads) and coordinator of the party-list group Anakpawis in the province.

Anakpawis, or “toiling masses,” is part of Bayan, the country’s biggest left-wing alliance whose members nationwide had been hit hard by extrajudicial killings that has been condemned by the United Nations, the European Union and lately by the United States.

Some relatives and colleagues of Pacaide told police he was organizing a labor union action against a planned layoff of 80 workers from a local company, regional police chief Andres Caro said.

Pacaide’s daughter, who was with him when he was shot by one of two men on a motorcycle, was unhurt, Barias said.

“We hold the government and the armed forces responsible for the killing of Pacaide,” Editha Duterte, a regional spokesman for Anakpawis, said.

In the midst of national and international condemnation against political killings, the senseless and brutal killings against members and leaders of progressive party-lists and organizations continue without compunction,” Duterte said.

Duterte accused the military of political partisan. She said soldiers, from the army’s 39th Infantry Battalion, have been campaigning against Anakpawis and its allied party-lists in Davao del Sur.

Local human rights group Karapatan says more than 800 activists have been killed since President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo took power in 2001. Police say 116 activists have been slain.

The military has denied involvement in extra-judicial killings, saying the number of deaths is inflated.