Police identify grenade thrower

CEBU, Philippines - Police have identified the man who was killed after trying to lob a grenade at law enforcers who were after him in Sitio Tigbao, Barangay Talamban, Cebu City, last Thursday noon.

Authorities identified the fatality as Faustino “Junjun” Navarro Jr., 34, of Barangay Punay, Aloguinsan town, Cebu, a suspected “notorious robber.”

City Intelligence Chief Romeo Santander said Navarro has a standing arrest warrant issued August 1, 2011 by Regional Trial Court Branch-7 Judge Simeon Dumdum Jr. for robbery.

Santander said Aloguinsan police have also tagged Navarro and his accomplices in a string of robberies in Aloguinsan.

“Labad gyud na sila sa ulo didto sa Aloguinsan,” he said. 

Investigation also revealed that the robbery group might have moved to Cebu City in search for more and better victims.

“They only work by chance but they are now targeting bigger targets such as banks,” Santander said.

Santander said they are eyeing the possibility that the group might have been preparing to rob a bank located a few meters from where they were renting a room.

He said they are also investigating whether or not the group is affiliated with other robbery groups from Mindanao.

The police are also checking where the hand grenade used by Navarro came from.

“EOD (Explosive and Ordnance Disposal) personnel are the only ones allowed purchasing such firepower. But we can’t discount the possibility the grenade was stolen or it might have come from a law enforcer,” Santander said.

The police received an armed person alarm an hour before the incident occurred.

Four men were spotted by the police near the entrance of a vacant lot reportedly owned by the Lhuillier family. 

When the police approached, the men ran off.

Navarro and another man ran towards Maryville Subdivision hoping to escape but perimeter fence with barbed wire prevented them from getting through.

When Navarro was cornered by the police, he pulled out the grenade from one of his pockets, yanked off the safety pin and prepared to lob the grenade.

However, Navarro slipped into a ditch and the grenade exploded. 

Navarro’s left hand was severed while his left leg was blown into pieces.

His companion, later identified as Virgillo Makiling, 62, also from Aloguinsan, was arrested by the police. The other two are still at large.  (FREEMAN)