Twin blasts rock QC compound

MANILA, Philippines - Two improvised explosive devices went off in front of a contested property in Quezon City before dawn yesterday, destroying two vehicles.

Investigators ruled out a terrorist attack, based on the statements of a couple perceived to be the target of the explosions, Quezon City Police District (QCPD) director Senior Superintendent Richard Albano said.

The destroyed vehicles – a blue Opel Vectra and a green Hyundai Matrix – were parked in front of the compound on Ilocos Sur street in Barangay Ramon Magsaysay, Bago Bantay.

Albano said the vehicles were being fixed at the auto repair shop owned by Joel Tating, who claims to be the owner of the compound.

Albano said the two bombs went off at around 2 a.m. The Vectra’s hood was blown away, landing on the roof of a nearby house. The glass windows of four nearby houses were shattered. Some of the shards hit bystander Virgilio Agito in the right foot, knee and face, Albano said.

Tating and his wife, Charmaine Joy, went to see Albano yesterday.

According to Charmaine Joy, there had been previous encounters with a tenant who refuses to leave the compound. She showed Albano photos of an incident in April during which the Vectra’s windows were shattered following a hearing at the village hall on the property dispute.

The Tating family left the property following a robbery in 2005 that left a helper dead and Tating’s mother critically injured. The couple decided to come back after four years to occupy the property.

Charmaine Joy claimed her mother-in-law had bought the property from a sister, making her husband the legitimate owner of the property.

Charmaine Joy said the tenant was renting his space from a brother of her mother-in-law. The couple said the contract expired in January 2012, prompting them to claim the space. She showed Albano an eviction notice that was supposed to be their basis for evicting the tenant with whom they had been at odds.