Grenade blast ends marital spat in AFP camp

MANILA, Philippines — A woman reportedly caused a grenade to explode inside her house in Camp Aguinaldo, the Armed Forces of the Philippines headquarters in Quezon City, after a spat with her soldier husband on Sunday morning.

Erliza de Guzman, 34, and her 11-year-old son suffered shrapnel wounds while her husband, Staff Sgt. Larry de Guzman, had bruises on his body due to the blast.

Only the couple’s 5-year-old daughter came out of the incident unharmed.

Erliza and her son were taken to the AFP Medical Center on V. Luna Avenue for treatment.

According to AFP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, the explosion happened around 6:30 a.m. in one of the apartments for enlisted personnel. He did not give additional details, saying an investigation was still ongoing.

“The incident appears to have emanated from a domestic problem where the spouses [were] engaged in a heated argument [beforehand],” he said in a statement.

“Investigators from both the AFP and Philippine National Police Scene of the Crime Office [were] doing a deeper investigation since there were indications that the wife could have triggered the explosion while the husband was about to leave their abode,” he added.

Arevalo said that adjacent housing units were not affected by the explosion and that the AFP was giving the necessary assistance to the De Guzman family.