Na’ay crush

AGOO, La Union – An explosion rocked a commercial building owned by the family of this town’s mayor last Thursday morning.

Mayor Franny Eriguel, president of the provincial mayors’ league, believes that the attack was politically motivated.

“It is a very cruel form of harassment against us. They want to sow terror in our town,” he said, alluding to his political opponents.

Eriguel’s wife, Sandra, won the town’s mayoral race against her closest rival, Tess Dumpit-Michelena. His sister, Eriguel, was elected to the municipal council.

But Eriguel lost in the congressional race against Butch Dumpit, a former military officer and son of Rep. Tomas Dumpit Sr. Eriguel has filed an election protest.

The blast at the commercial building also damaged the hardware store of engineer Ronnie Baldemor, a friend of the outgoing mayor.

Chief Inspector Floro Samortin, municipal police chief, said the explosion, which occurred at around 1:15 a.m., destroyed the steel door and façade of the Southern La Union Sand and Gravel and General Merchandise.

Johnny Acosta, a balut vendor, told policemen that he saw three men on board a motorcycle fleeing from the scene after the explosion.

At 8:30 a.m. last Thursday, another explosive was found in front of the house of Eriguel’s executive secretary, Dominador Regacho.

On the night of May 12, the house of Ireneo Bernardo, barangay captain of Calumbaya in Bauang town, also an ally of Eriguel, was rocked by an explosion, but no one was hurt.

Last Friday, at around 8 p.m., a time bomb contained in a backpack was found in front of the San Fernando City Hall below the monument of Speaker Pro-Tempore Francisco Ortega.

Two women saw the bomb and promptly reported it to the police. Navy bomb experts defused it.  – With Myds Supnad