The Manila Police District has apparently drawn a counterattack at its very doorstep.
An MPD precinct in the Sta. Ana area was rocked by an explosion before dawn Friday in what officials believe to be a strike avenging the arrest of a gang leader and the death of his relative.
Nobody was hurt but the blast damaged the precinct’s entrance and parts of the roof, as well as glass panels, doors and the frontage sign, according to Station 6 commander Supt. Remegio Sedanto.
The explosion also left a small crater, he said.
Sedanto said two men in a car were seen driving past the precinct at the corner of Dagonoy and Crisolita streets and one of them hurled what appeared to be a pillbox or an improvised explosive device around 3 a.m.
The officer said he was looking at several suspects, including members of a robbery and drug trafficking group whose leader, Arnold Caranto, was arrested in an MPD operation that killed his nephew on April 8.
“We have strong leads that the explosion was the work of the members of this syndicate,” Sedanto said.