Police killed three suspected armed goons of a mayoralty candidate in Antique and wounded their six other cohorts in a running gun battle in Tibiao town before dawn Sunday, a police spokesman said.

Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina, spokesman of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said the firefight erupted when a group of armed men on board two vehicles fired upon local policemen manning a checkpoint in Sitio Calaoagan in Tibao town proper.

“They were fired upon when they were about to flag down the vehicles, the ensuing gun battle resulted in the wounding of the six persons on board,” said Espina.

But Espina said three of the gunmen succumbed to serious bullet wounds while undergoing treatment at the nearby hospital.

The six remaining wounded suspects are now closely being guarded and will be subjected to interrogation to determine their affiliation.

During the investigation, Espina said they found out that the armed men were followers of Tibiao town mayoralty candidate Gil Bandojan.

“Cases will be filed against those who breached the security and attempted to kill our personnel, from there let’s see if we have enough evidence to file charges against that candidate,” said Espina.

The official said they are now conducting investigation to determine why the armed men fired on the cops or if they are planning to harass or sabotage elections.

“A special investigating team was already created in connection with the incident,” said Espina.

Espina said recovered from the vehicle, a Nissan Pathfinder, were four .45 pistols and a hand grenade. The other vehicle managed to escape.