Antimining activists or disgruntled employees could be the brains behind the grenade attack that rocked the main office of Philex Mining Corp. in Pasig City in the wee hours of Friday, the police said.
It was the second explosion in two months that apparently targeted the company chaired by high-profile businessman Manny V. Pangilinan and now considered the country’s largest gold and copper producer.
No one was killed or injured in the 3 a.m. blast which left small cracks on the outer walls of the Philex office on Brixton Street, Barangay Kapitolyo, according to the city police chief, Senior Supt. Alfredo Calama-an.
At least three security guards—Resty Sangki, Allan Sagittarius, and Arnel Gayo—saw two motorcycle-riding men hurl a grenade at the sidewalk in front of the building, Calama-an said.
Police recovered from the blast site a fragment of a grenade’s safety lever and safety ring, along with some bits of shrapnel.
Calama-an noted that it was the second grenade-throwing incident aimed at Philex’s headquarters this year. On June 2, a man also lobbed a grenade in front of the building. No one was hurt in the earlier explosion.
He said investigators were looking at two angles: “This may have been done by employees of the company who are frustrated over a labor dispute with the management, but we are not discounting the possibility that this was done by antimining activists.”
“We condemn this criminal act and whoever is responsible will be brought to justice,” said Mike Toledo, Philex senior vice president for corporate affairs.
“We assure our employees, business partners and the general public that we are taking steps to ensure security. The incident is under control and it’s business as usual,” Toledo added, noting that the damage to the company’s property was minimal.
Toledo said the company will employ additional security personnel, seek increased police presence in the area and install additional security equipment such as closed circuit television cameras.
He said the company still had no lead as to the suspects and the motive behind the explosion. “We have not received any call or communication claiming responsibility for the incident. We have not been subjected to any form of threats.”
The country’s largest gold and copper producer earlier reported a 26-percent decline in its core net income in the first half of 2012 to P2.1 billion from P2.84 billion last year. With a report from Ana G. Roa