GRENADE LOBBED AT ABRA TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S HOME THURSDAY DAWN
BANGUED, Abra
Abra police reported that a grenade was lobbed at the home of La Paz town municipal administrator Perfecto “Pope” Bolos Cardenas early Thursday morning. The incident occurred on Rizal Street, Zone 6, in Bangued, Abra’s capital.
Fortunately, no one was hurt in the explosion. Bangued town police chief Major Paul Claveria said the grenade was lobbed at around 2:00 AM but was only reported to them 2:35AM. Investigators from the Abra Provincial Explosive Ordnance and Canine Unit (PECU) found a safety lever and safety pin from an unidentified hand grenade at the scene.
Major Claveria mentioned that they are currently reviewing CCTV footage to identify the suspects. Although a motorcycle-riding individual was seen in the vicinity through the CCTV, it remains unclear if this person is connected to the incident. “Wala pa po concrete na evidence as to the incident if the motorcycle rider and his passenger seen in the CCTV is the real perpetrator, although it is a coincidence with the explosion,” he stated.
Claveria hinted that a deeper investigation is suggesting another scenario, though refusing to divulge more details pending conclusive findings.
Cardenas, a former three term mayor of La Paz town and also a retired director of Civil Service Commission (CSC) Abra, is slated to run for the mayoralty post in Bangued. La Paz town Mayor Joseph “JB” Bernos, who also serves as the national chairman of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP), has refrained from concluding that the attack was politically motivated. However, he acknowledged that Cardenas’ name is well-known in Bangued town politics. Cardenas was a former three termer councilor of Bangued and once a member of the Sanguniang Panlalawigan. He retired from his role as director of Civil Service Commission (CSC) Abra after the pandemic.
Artemio D. Dumlao/Leia Daulayan/UC-Intern/ABN
