FORMER Pangasinan governor and congressman Amado "Ama" Espino Jr. was ambushed on Wednesday, September 11, according to Senator Richard Gordon.

Gordon, who is chairman of the Philippine Red Cross, said Espino "is now fighting for his life in a hospital in Pangasinan."

Police Colonel Red Maranan, director of the Pangasinan Police Provincial Office, said two of Espino's bodyguards were killed and two others were wounded.

Gordon, on the other hand, said in his Twitter post that all of Espino's five bodyguards were killed as they "heroically shielded Espino with their bodies".