DAVAO CITY - President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday promised to provide additional security detail to local executives amid the spate of recent killings across the country.

League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) President Maria Fe Brondial said Duterte made this promise during LMP's 2018 Mindanao Island Cluster Conference in Davao City.

"Sinabihan niya si [DILG OIC Eduardo] Año para sa security ng mga mayors at ina-allow niya na magkaroon kami ng security," she said.

During the conference that was attended by nearly 500 government officials, Brondial said some local executives expressed fears about their safety.

"May mga mayors na worried sa ganun," she said.

In his speech, Duterte said he understood their concerns since he also served as mayor in Davao City for two decades.

Tanauan Mayor Antonio Halili of Batangas was shot dead last week during a flag ceremony. The gunman was supposedly perched on a grassy area near the crime scene.

A day after, General Tinio Mayor Ferdinand Bote of Nueva Ecija was shot at close range by unidentified gunmen.

Trece Martires Vice Mayor Alex Lubigan of Cavite was killed in an ambush in his town on Saturday. His driver also died in the incident.

This week, Sapa Sapa Vice Mayor Al-Rashid Mohammad Ali of Tawi-Tawi was ambushed by motorcycle-riding gunmen.

- with a report from Bonna Pamplona, ABS-CBN News