Grenade thrown at house of DA exec linked to slay

COTABATO CITY – A grenade was lobbed at the residence here of a regional budget officer of the Department of Agriculture, who, together with his subordinate-accountant, has been implicated in the murder of a journalist in Tacurong City three years ago.

Senior Superintendent Willie Dangane, city police chief, said a PRB-75-M72 grenade was tossed at the frontyard of Hadji Osmeña Monta­ner Tuesday night, shattering windows and glass panels at the terrace.

The bombing came less than a year after motorcycle-riding men hurled a grenade at the gate of the DA’s regional office here just as Montañer’s vehicle was maneuvering through the narrow entrance. The grenade, though, failed to explode.

Montañer was not at his house during the attack Tuesday night, Dangane said.

Sources said Montañer and regional accountant Estrella Sabay have been out of the city for a month now after a Cebu City judge issued a warrant for their arrest in connection with the 2005 murder of journalist Marlene Esperat in Tacurong City.