Business rivalry eyed in Puregold blast

MANILA, Philippines - Police are investigating a possible business rivalry in the explosion outside Puregold supermarket on Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City.

Chief Superintendent Elmo San Diego, director of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD), said they will look into conflicts involving the “other business interests” of businessman Lucio Co, whose family owns the Puregold supermarket chain.

“The angle of a business conflict is one of the possible motives that we will exploit in our investigation,” San Diego said in an interview.

He said QCPD investigators have been sent to talk to Co’s camp to get leads from the businessman.

Inspector Arnulfo Franco, head of the QCPD’s Explosives and Ordnance Division, said they have yet to get the results of a test to determine the composition of the improvised explosive device that was lobbed outside the supermarket Monday morning.

Franco earlier classified the IED as a “high explosion device” based on the crater it created on the pavement outside the supermarket. It also had a time fuse.

Witnesses said a man rode a taxi up to the front of the supermarket, got out of the vehicle, lobbed the IED then went back to the taxi, which sped off.         – Reinir Padua