Pipe bomb planted in SUV similar to 2003 attack

A pipe bomb that was planted under the flooring caused the explosion that set ablaze a Nissan Patrol in front of the SM City-North EDSA mall in Quezon City last Sunday, the Central Police District said yesterday.

CPD director Chief Superintendent Nicasio Radovan Jr. said bomb disposal experts found fragments of a pipe bomb planted on the flooring under the backseat of the silver SUV owned by members of the Aguirre-Dy family.

Radovan said a pipe bomb is a type of explosive device that can be set off by sudden movements.

"A moving car can trigger an explosion," Radovan told The STAR.

Investigators are still trying to determine the motive and the identities of the perpetrators of the bomb attack that injured at least three members of the Aguirre-Dy family hurt.

Radovan said similar type of device was used during a similar attack that killed a Dy family member in Valenzuela two years ago.

He said investigation has been hampered by the family’s refusal to cooperate with police.

"They are not giving us details," Radovan said.

He said the CPD will coordinate with other police units to compare notes on similar attacks carried out against the family.

The Nissan Patrol was on the southbound lane of EDSA near SM City when the pipe bomb exploded, setting off a blaze that completely gutted the vehicle.

Adelfa Aguirre, her daughter Pamela and son Patrick were rescued and rushed to the Capitol Medical Center. A fourth passenger was unhurt, but was in a state of shock when police and rescue teams arrived.

Same bomb

On April 21, 2003, bunker fuel oil distributor Peter Dy was killed while his driver and an innocent female bystander were hurt after an improvised pipe bomb exploded inside the victim’s Mitsubishi Pajero as it passed the Karuhatan public market in Valenzuela City.

Dy, 55, was pronounced dead on arrival at the Fatima Medical Center while his driver of eight months, John Fajardo, 25, survived the blast with minor wounds in the right thigh, right arm and right cheek. A woman walking by the roadside when the blast occurred, sustained a laceration in the head.

The Northern Police District Office confirmed after forensic examination of the shrapnel pieces that the explosive used was an improvised galvanized iron pipe bomb.

He said the bomb exploded from the floor on the front passenger side of the victim’s red Pajero where he was seated. Recovered inside the vehicle were shrapnel and iron fragments, six AA batteries and parts of a shattered timer.

Still unsolved

Former handlers of the case told The STAR yesterday that the Peter Dy case remains unsolved because the victim’s family refused to cooperate.

Chief Inspector Filipinas Francisco-Papa, Scene of the Crime Operations-Central Police District (SOCO-CPD) chief, told The STAR that they are exhausting all efforts under the circumstances.

Valenzuela police sources, who declined to be named, said they found out that the "job" was done by an expert.

"On hindsight, we found that for a time before the blast, the Pajero’s alarm system was not functioning because the wiring was cut. If the alarm had been working, it would have obstructed the triggering device of the bomb and would not have exploded. Magaling ang gumawa," the source said adding that the SWAT-EOD of Valenzuela reconstructed the pipe bomb used in the incident. The source also said that it took time for the suspects to plant the bomb.

Chief Inspector Filemon Porciuncula of the SOCO-CPD also revealed that the car used by the Aguirres and Patrick Dy had been reportedly kept at a repair shop for a checkup for some time before it was redeemed by the owners.

This, Porciuncula said, could have given the suspects the opportunity to plant the bomb, a similarity noted in the Valenzuela incident.

The same sources said the family refused to cooperate, but relatives said the Dys have nothing that would give reason for others to kill them.

"Marami nga ang may utang sa kanila. Wala silang atraso pero sila pa ang naagrabiyado," one source told The STAR.