Iloilo solon's house bombed

The house of Iloilo Rep. Raul Gonzalez in Jaro town, Iloilo was bombed and strafed after midnight Friday.

Jaro police commander Alfonzo Marduque said the suspects have already been identified but he withheld their names so as not to jeopardize the investigation.

Gonzalez and his son Dennis were in the house at the time but were unhurt. They were roused from sleep at about 12:30 a.m. Saturday by gunfire and a grenade explosion outside the living room.

A caliber .45 bullet pierced through Dennis Gonzales' room. The blast shattered windows, flower pots, tore the ceiling, gouged a small crater and sprayed shrapnel on the wall outside the living room.

The attackers fled onboard an owner-type jeep towards Iloilo City.

Police found several bullet shells and a grenade safety lever outside the house.

Speaker Manuel Villar Jr. urged the police to conduct a speedy investigation.

One of the suspects, according to police, was identified only as Tano of Oton, Iloilo. He was recently spotted in Iloilo after spending some time in Palawan.

Police are trying to determine if the attack was related to two similar grenade attacks on the house in Oct. 28 and 31, 1998.

Gonzales was elsewhere in both incidents.

Gonzales had filed double murder charges last Feb. 29 in connection with the first two attacks against newspaper publisher Bernie Miaque of the Daily Informer, Miaque's brothers Ronnie and Benjie, Daily Informer legal counsel Tranquilo Gale, one alias Totong Gomez, one alias Dulom and an alias Boboy.

Gonzales believes the latest attack was related to the 1998 incidents.