Thickly populated Baguio village bombed

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – Two fragmentation grenades were lobbed on a thickly populated village a few meters from the Baguio City Hall and Justice Hall midnight Sunday.

Biboy Pascua who was sleeping at his house at Labsan St., a very populated area, was almost killed by the blast, said his mother Lolita Corpus Pascua who narrated it was the second grenade lobbed at his son’s house that night.

The first luckily did not explode, added the elder Pascua who claimed that a long-standing family feud over real estate properties fueled the grenade throwing.  “Matagal na kaming hina-harass para umalis kami dito,” she said.

Explosives and Ordnance experts from the Baguio City police identified the explosives as M67 fragmentation grenade that damaged the roof of the younger Pascua, and sent deadly shrapnel to his mother’s house virtually beside his.

Eye witnesses said Baguio City police investigators have pointed at two suspects who almost killed Biboy who is now recuperating at the hospital.

Baguio City police officer-in-charge Superintendent Florante Camuyot said the suspects are now in their custody but refused to name them while an air-tight case is being readied.

Camuyot vowed he too is alarmed how fragmentation grenades are turning into the hands of civilians. “We are now tracking down where these grenades came from.”

Last month, two young college students died at the hospital a few days after “drive-by” suspects lobbed an MK2 fragmentation grenade against their group just below SM Baguio at Upper Session Road.

In November 2008,  another MK2 grenade was lobbed by a supposed street gangster inside a computer shop in front of the Saint Louis University hurting 12 young students.

Acting city mayor Daniel Farinas has affirmed “peace and order as well as public safety is still Baguio’s top concern,” hence asking the police to probe these blasts sincerely.