In 2010, he sustained multiple wounds when 2 gunmen fired shots at his car in Ermita, Manila. His aide was wounded, but other occupants of the vehicle were unhurt.
In a Philippine Star report, his wife revealed that he began receiving death threats after he won as vice mayor of Labangan that year. He ran as an independent candidate; it was his first try in elections.
During his time as vice mayor, he raised the issue of serious drug abuse in his town, despite having the military's 1st Infantry Division headquarters there.
The second attack happened in 2012, when 2 men dropped a grenade towards their vehicle in Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur. Talumpa and his wife were unharmed, but 3 others were wounded in the incident.
In an interview on ANC, the ABS-CBN News Channel, on Friday, Zamboanga del Sur Governor Antonio Cerilles described Talumpa as a staunch advocate of the government's campaign against illegal drugs.
Cerilles said he put his political opponents on the drug list based on reports linking them to the illegal drug trade. He did not name these opponents but said Talumpa defeated them in the last elections.
FAST FACTS: Mayor Ukol Talumpa
Politically motivated,
and the suspects do have that hefty drug money at hand.