Grenade blasts near ex-DOJ chief’s house

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — A grenade went off near the resident’s compound of former Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, Sr. at Barangay Quintin Salas in Jaro district of this city. No one was however reported injured on the alleged grenade-throwing incident that occurred around 2 a.m. yesterday.

Police only did an ocular investigation four hours later claiming that the Gonzalezes did not report the incident to them.

Chief Insp. Gilbert Gorero, chief of the Jaro Police, said: “We only knew about it through the media. They (Gonzalezes) claimed that they called our police station but the number they dialed was the number that has not been in service for several years already.”

Police recovered a safety lever pin of M26 A1 fragmentation jar-type grenade and lacerated coil spring at the plant box outside the Gonzalez compound. “We could not rule, for now, if the grenade is really intended to be thrown at the house of former Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr.,” Gorero said.

He said the grenade exploded at the gutter, and if it was intended to harm the house occupants, the suspect could have easily thrown it over the four-foot fence.

Neighbors did not see any one that could have thrown the grenade and that they only heard a blast. But the complainants claimed to have heard a motorcycle that sped off just in time the explosion was heard.

In a radio interview, Gonzalez believed that the incident is part of the continuing harassment against them. He hinted that their political nemesis might have known about the incident. “If the person is desperate for power, anything can happen,” he added.

Gonzalez’s son, former Rep. Raul, Jr. is running for congressman against incumbent Rep. Jerry Treñas, under the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).

In the 2010 elections, Raul, Jr. lost to Treñas while Raul, Sr. was defeated by Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog.

Meanwhile, Jeffrey Celiz, Mabilog’s executive assistant for political affairs, said the reelectionist mayor condemned the incident. “Our mayor also called for an in-depth investigation on the incident,” he said, adding that some quarters might use the incident as a black propaganda against their camp.

Celiz also did not discount the possibility that the incident could be related to Gonzalez, Sr.’s job as a former DOJ chief. (FREEMAN)