By Minka Klaudia Tiangco Talitay, Maguindanao Mayor Abdulwahab Sabal was gunned down by an unidentified assailant in Malate, Manila Monday evening. (MINKA TIANGCO / MANILA BULLETIN) According to a report, the mayor was alighting from his vehicle at the parking area of the Manra Hotel along Quirino Avenue corner Leveriza Street at about 10 p.m. when he was shot by the gunman. Closed circuit television (CCTV) footage provided by the hotel showed that the gunman was positioned in a Toyota Innova across the street. Witnesses said they heard at least four gunshots in the area. A security guard of the said hotel said one of the glass entrance doors was shattered after it was hit by a bullet. Sabal managed to run from his vehicle towards the hotel but collapsed at the entrance, the security guard added. Capt. Henry Navarro, chief of the homicide division of the Manila Police District (MPD), said the victim died on the spot after sustaining at least four gunshot wounds. Sabal's companions, his wife Mohana Sabal, and PCpl. Alwad Guimad, a body guard, both managed to flee unscathed. Navarro said Sabal was in Manila for a convention of local chief executives in Pasay City. He only stayed at the Manra Hotel on Sunday night. The security guard said he was only picking up his baggage at the hotel before he was killed. It can be recalled that in 2016, Sabal was arrested after he was included in President Duterte's list of politicians who are allegedly involved in illegal drug activity. In the same year, the mayor was also probed for the bombing incident at a night market in Davao City. Police said they are still probing the identity of the gunman and the motive behind the killing. An empty shell of a 5.56 mm ammunition was recovered at the crime scene. Navarro said it was possible that high powered guns were used in the killing. The recovered pieces of evidence were brought to the MPD-Scene of the Crime Operatives for ballistic examination. Navarro said the MPD will be convening a task force for further investigation.