Grenade blast at UNA local bet’s house in Bacolod; no one hurt

BACOLOD CITY—Unidentified persons on Wednesday night fired two M-203 grenades at the house of Mayor Lourdes Escalante of Manapla town, about 44.7 kilometers of this city.

No one was hurt but the grenades destroyed the walls of the dirty kitchen of the house in Barangay (village) Punta Mesa, Manapla, said Escalante’s husband, Manuel.

Manuel, a former town mayor who now serves as executive assistant to his wife, said Lourdes was meeting with Manapla department heads inside the house when they heard the explosion about 10:40 p.m.

He said that based on the trajectory of the grenades, these may have been fired from a farm across the river.

Manuel said they didn’t know how many persons were involved since it was dark at that time.

“It could have been an assassination attempt, or harassment,” he said.

Lourdes is seeking reelection under the United Negros Alliance, which is headed by Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr.