BAGUIO CITY — A former vice mayor labeled one of the country’s most wanted fugitives was killed in a gunfight with police early Wednesday at his home in Kalinga province, authorities said.

Corey Dickpus was declared dead at Kalinga District Hospital shortly after 2 a.m. following a shootout at his residence in Sitio Tocpao, Barangay Poblacion. One police officer was wounded in the exchange.

Dickpus, a former village chief who unsuccessfully ran for vice mayor in the May 2025 elections, carried a P1-million bounty for his arrest. The Philippine National Police listed him among the nation’s most wanted individuals, primarily as the lead suspect in the 2000 massacre of five traders from Pangasinan.

Despite the gravity of the charges against him, which included double murder, Dickpus was a polarizing figure in his community. To many “kakailyans,” or village mates, he was a “Robin Hood” figure known for his local generosity.

Police said arresting Dickpus had long been a challenge because residents were often prepared to hide or defend him from law enforcement.

“The suspects’ village mates would often shield him whenever law enforcers attempted an arrest,” police officials said in a statement following the raid.

The wounded officer, whose identity was not immediately released, is being treated for his injuries. Authorities have not yet disclosed further details regarding the specific warrant being served at the time of the shootout.