Grenade blast at PNP station in E.Samar town

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines  – A grenade explosion rocked the police station in Can-avid town of Eastern Samar last Friday, authorities said in a PIA-8 report.

Eastern Samar Provincial Police director Manuel Cubillo said three men, who identified themselves to civilians as members of the New People’s Army, left behind hand grenades at the Can-avid Police Station along the National Highway at Barangay 4 of the town.

One of the grenades exploded at the station’s left side, destroying the building’s windows, ceilings and roofing. No one was however reported injured by the blast, said Cubillo.

The police later found two more grenades that did not explode, but a one-hour brownout followed disabling the police to report the incident immediately.

Some witnesses told the police the three men fled toward sitio Calbang, but the policemen were also unable to conduct pursuit operations, suspecting that the incident might be a ploy to trap the police into a bigger danger.

Investigation was still going on, as of press time, to determine the identities of the three men and their motive for attacking the police station.

Chief Superintendent Arnold Revilla, director of Police Regional Office-8, has called on the witnesses to come forward and contribute information that would bring the criminals to justice.

Meanwhile, at around 3:15 p.m. on Saturday, 42-year-old councilman Gorgonio Montiago of Brgy. Dalid in Oras town, was shot dead allegedly by members of the NPA’s Sparrow Unit.

Montiago was shot while inside a bus that was refueling at a gasoline station at the outskirts of Taft town in Eastern Samar, Cubillo added.  (FREEMAN)