Suspect in Alabang blast falls

The primary suspect in the grenade blast in Alabang, Muntinlupa City was arrested by the Southern Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and Rodriguez police Wednesday night.

Senior Inspector Anastacio Benzon, Rodriguez police chief, identified the suspect as Alex Samad Hasim of Athletic Road Block 13, Rodriguez, Rizal, believed to be behind the explosion which killed two children and injured more than 30 persons.

He is the second suspect to be arrested by the police. Last week, Omar Racman, 35, was arrested at Lazaro Compound, Calamba, Laguna after he was identified by witnesses as one of the three persons who lobbed the grenade.

Benzon said that the CIDG coordinated with the local police around 5:30 p.m. and informed them that they would be conducting a surveillance and possible arrest of Hasim.

Authorities were able to arrest Hasim, who is a member of the Office of Public Safety and Security, at around 6 p.m. along Litex Road in Quezon City where he was detailed.

"There was no resistance on his (Hasim’s) part. He was just surprised to see us and he asked us why are we arresting him," Benzon said.

Benzon added that they are still identifying possible cohorts of the suspect who are also hiding in Rizal, especially in Rodriguez.

Hasim is now detained at the CIDG in Fort Bonifacio pending the filing of appropriate charges against him.

On Jan. 21, while Alabang’s Traffic Environment and Discipline Unit (TEDU) members were conducting operations against illegal vendors, a suspect threw a grenade at them.

The TEDU was about to confiscate the merchandise of illegal vendors when the grenade was lobbed at them. An eight-month-old girl and her four-year-old sister died when the grenade exploded. More than 30 persons were injured and rushed to hospital.