A homemade bomb has killed up to 10 people at a gymnasium in the southern Philippines.
Police and the military put the death toll at five or six, with up to 30 hurt. The target of the attack on the southern island of Mindanao may have been Mr Vivencio Bataga, the Christian mayor of the largely Muslim town of Parang, who had survived several attempts on his life, a military spokesman said.
Filipinos are due to vote in national, regional and local elections on May 10th. Election campaigns are often marred by violence, intimidation and cheating.
The bomb, hidden on a motorcycle left outside the gymnasium, went off at about 4 p.m. (8 a.m. GMT) as hundreds of people were at a basketball game.
Mr Bataga had just finished delivering a speech when the bomb went off, the radio station in nearby Cotabato City said. The mayor was among the wounded, police said.