Husband shoots wife, lawyer dead in Philippine courtroom

MANILA: An angry husband shot dead his estranged wife and her lawyer in a Philippines courtroom on Thursday after the woman filed a suit to have their marriage annulled, police said.   

Alan Tubale, 53, pulled out a gun and fired on Lolita Tubale, 51, and her lawyer, Rebecca Basas, 57, as they waited for the hearing to start, said Senior Inspector Jan Dale Sulit of the Las Pinas district of Manila.    The suspect fled and police have launched a manhunt.   

Investigators could not say how Tubale was able to sneak a gun into the courtroom. The background to the case is not known. Divorce is illegal in the Philippines, prompting many couples to have their marriages annulled instead.