Hand grenade (INQUIRER file photo / RICHARD REYES)
MANILA, Philippines — An independent investigation into the failed grenade attack against San Miguel, Bulacan Vice Mayor Bong Alvarez is currently underway, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said.
In a statement, CHR said it is concerned about the prevalence of violence in the country, especially since the 2025 midterm elections are a few months away.
Reports showed that a grenade was thrown at Alvarez’ convoy last June 4 by two unidentified suspects aboard a motorcycle.
When the first grenade failed to go off, a second one was thrown, but it also failed to detonate.
“As an independent national human rights institution, we sound the alarm on the prevalence of violence in the country,” CHR said on Tuesday.
“Continued occurrences of violence against officials undermines the effective delivery of public service to their respective constituents,” it noted.
“This becomes more pertinent as the 2025 midterm elections approach, where these acts further impair the voters’ right to make free and empowered decisions during the polls,” the commission pointed out.
“Allowing a climate of fear to grow amongst constituents can only negatively impact the electoral process. For a democratic country to thrive, we must ensure that the credibility of elections is preserved,” it added.
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CHR believes it may be an election-related incident since Alvarez has announced that he will run again in the 2025 elections.
“He also pointed out that an attempted ambush was also carried out in 2012, which led to the death of two people from his staff,” it mentioned.
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During the 2022 election season, there were also several incidents involving the hurling of grenades.
In September 2021, a grenade was thrown at the ancestral home of Cagayan de Oro 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez.
No one was harmed after the bomb did not explode.
With reports from Moss Laygo, trainee