General Santos City—After weeks of fighting for his life, Sarangani Province gubernatorial candidate Gladden Lim passed away in a hospital in the city on Wednesday night.

The news was confirmed by Police Captain Miguel Angelo Quidilla, chief of Police Station 4 of the General Santos City Police Office.

Lim, 48, was shot on the night of 23 November inside the Seventh Day Adventist compound by a lone gunman, sustaining two gunshot wounds to the abdomen and body from a .45-caliber pistol. The attack occurred as he was preparing to leave the church after attending services.

Initial police reports revealed that Lim and his wife had already received threats to their lives. Pastor Elmer Romano, director of SDA Public Affairs and Legal Relations, condemned the attack and urged the police to solve the case and bring the perpetrators to justice.

In the upcoming midterm elections on 10 May 2025, Lim was set to compete against incumbent Sarangani Provincial Governor and Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) and PDP-Laban candidate Bong Aquia.