House of Sultan Kudarat municipal mayor attacked

COTABATO CITY, Philippines - Unidentified gunmen attacked the residence of the mayor of President Quirino town in Sultan Kudarat last Thursday.

Police said the gunmen opened fire at the backyard of President Quirino town Mayor Emilio Salamanca in Tacurong City.

The attackers reportedly used shoulder-fired grenade launchers from a distance but fell short of its range and landed a few meters away from the target. The attack was reportedly the second in two days.

No one was reported killed or wounded in the attack, but the incident triggered panic in the neighborhood, police said.

Responding military and police bomb disposal experts recovered fragments of 40-mm grenade projectiles at the site, said Senior Superintendent Rolen Balquin, Sultan Kudarat provincial police director.

Balquin said investigators were still trying to determine the motive and the group behind the attack.

Relatives of Salamanca, however, said the bombing attack could be politically motivated but refused to elaborate.

The incident was preceded by last Wednesday’s grenade attack near the public market of Tacurong City that wounded four people.

The bombing, which apparently targeted the business establishment of a certain Rasul Delna, came just three days after five market goers were injured in an explosion at the public market of Tantangan town in South Cotabato, some 20 kilometers south of Tacurong City.

Chief Inspector Dario Caladrana, chief of the Tantangan municipal police, said they were still investigating the incident. – With Cecille Suerte Felipe