Bombs explode outside Peter Lim’s office in Mandaue

DAMAGE An explosion at Hilton Motors, an establishment owned by controversial businessman Peter Lim in Mandaue City, damages a truck. —NORMAN MENDOZA

CEBU CITY — Two improvised bombs exploded early Thursday outside the office of controversial businessman Peter Lim at Barangay Subangdaku in Mandaue City.

No one was hurt but the explosion destroyed the bumper of a mini dump truck, the left window of another truck and the main electric switch of Hilton Motors Corp., a heavy equipment dealer in Cebu province.

Damage to the display center was placed by the police at P26,000.

Jun Fuentes, spokesperson for the Lim family, said: “We leave the matter for authorities to investigate. If they want anything from us, the office is open.”

Lim, he said, was in Metro Manila when the explosion happened.

Lim is facing an investigation at the Department of Justice (DOJ) after he was publicly identified by President Duterte as a big-time drug lord, a claim the businessman had denied.

The drug trafficking charges against Lim were earlier dismissed by a panel of prosecutors.

But public criticisms and a threat from Mr. Duterte prompted then Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II to reverse the panel’s ruling and order another investigation of the charges against Lim. Aguirre later resigned from his post.

Senior Supt. Roberto Alanas, director of the Mandaue police, said the attack “could be related to a possible business competition or was scripted.”

He formed an inter-agency task force composed of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Canine Group, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Central Visayas and the Mandaue City police to look into the incident. —REPORTS FROM NORMAN MENDOZA, FE MARIE DUMABOC AND ADOR VINCENT MAYOL