Filipino legislator gunned down

Police have launched a massive hunt for the killer

A Philippines' congressman and his bodyguard have been shot dead as they left a wedding near the capital Manila.

Luis Bersamin from northern Abra province was shot twice in the head at point blank range by a man who then escaped on a motorcycle.

Mr Bersamin, 62, a vice chairman of political committees on dangerous drugs and trade and industry, had been attending his niece's wedding.

He belonged to a coalition supporting Filipino President Gloria Arroyo.

President Arroyo's adviser said she "was shocked and outraged by this gruesome, cold-blooded murder" and would make every effort to bring the perpetrators to book.

Police have launched a search for the killer.

A Quezon City police official told the Associated Press news agency another bodyguard and driver of Mr Bersamin was hurt in a fire-fight with the gunman and a 13-year-old boy hit by a stray bullet was taken to hospital.