Man nabbed after attacking Occidental Mindoro gov with knives

SAN PEDRO CITY –– A man was arrested after attacking Occidental Mindoro Governor Eduardo Gadiano with knives inside the official’s office in the provincial capitol in Mamburao town, Tuesday.

Gadiano identified the perpetrator as Adriane Gatdula, a resident of the province, although the governor said he was still clueless about the motive.

Gatdula was already in the custody of the Mamburao police.

“The police retrieved (Gatdula’s) cellphone and maybe through that find out who he was in contact with,” Gadiano said in a phone interview.

The incident happened around 10 am as Gadiano was attending to several concerns in his office.

He said there were a lot of people in his office when Gatdula stepped in and suddenly threw by “spinning” a knife at him.

The governor was able to dodge the knife, but the suspect drew out two more knives and attempted to stab him, Gadiano said.

“I blocked him with a chair. Then with another (government personnel), we pushed him back until he was cornered in the (office) bathroom,” he said.

Security personnel then arrived and whisked the official away to safety.

Gadiano believed the attacker “meant to kill me,” but said he had not heard of any threat to his life before the incident.

LZB