Manila - The death toll in election-related violence in the southern Philippines reached 39 Tuesday after police recovered more bodies from a shallow grave, police said. Fifteen bodies were found in the grave in a hilly area in Salman village in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao province, 930 kilometres south of Manila.
Police and troops earlier recovered 24 bodies littered around the area.
Police Chief Superintendent Josefino Cataluna, a regional police director, said all bodies were riddled with bullets.
The victims were among more than 40 people seized on Monday by about 100 gunmen while on their way to file the certificate of candidacy of Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu for Maguindanao governor in next year's elections.
The gunmen were allegedly led by a scion of the Ampatuan family, a rival of the Mangudadatus.
Among those killed were Esmael's wife and two sisters, two human rights lawyers and at least 17 local journalists covering the event, according to the vice mayor.
