LANAO DEL SUR: Tension ran high in Balabagan town here after the vice mayor refused to step down as acting mayor despite an order from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for the incumbent to resume office.

Mayor Edna Ogka-Benito said supporters of Vice Mayor Quirino Sampiano—many of them armed with steel pipes and sticks—have blocked the municipal building and prevented her and government officials from reporting to work.