Police classify Antipolo an election hot spot

MANILA, Philippines — Antipolo, a popular destination in Rizal for religious pilgrimages to a shrine of the Virgin Mary, is now on top of the provincial police’s list of election “‘hot spots.”

According to Senior Superintendent Rolando Anduyan, Rizal police director, Antipolo City was classified as a spot for “intense political rivalry” on Friday, a day after an “attempted explosives attack” in front of a local Liberal Party headquarters on C. Lawis Extension in Barangay (village) San Luis.

Superintendent Manuel Placido, Antipolo chief of police, said the RMC Pavilion was frequented by Mayor Nilo Leyble and his supporters, but only the compound’s caretaker, Feliz Bulic, was in the area when the botched bombing attempt happened.

It was  Bulic who found the fragmentation grenade, three Molotov bombs and a “used” teargas canister on the main road outside the compound, the police said.

Bulic told the authorities that prior to the discovery, he woke up around 3 a.m. because something had sent tears to his eyes. He said he went out to check the surroundings but found nothing because it was too dark.

According to Anduyan, the grenade did not explode because it was “old” and moisture had gotten inside it.

The Molotov bombs, meanwhile, Placido said, also did not explode because the bottles that contained the gasoline  were  “too hard” and did not break when thrown.

Anduyan said “many people” could have been hurt had the devices exploded.

According to Anduyan, the “high fence” surrounding the compound prevented anyone inside from seeing anything, adding they had yet to find witnesses from the outside who could shed light on the incident.

Anduyan was quick to add, however, that  they had determined the origin of the teargas, which he said was a type sold only to members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police.

Because of the “limited supply” of such in these organizations, he voiced suspicion the teargas canister had come from the black market, but refused to provide further details.

According to Anduyan, this was the first time the city was classified as a place where there was “intense political rivalry” since elections in Antipolo were “generally peaceful.”

The new classification, he said, enabled him to augment the local police forces patrolling in the city with “more than 100” men from the Regional Public Safety Battalion, and the Special Action Forces.

“I’m just anticipating…. What if the other camp retaliates? There should be ‘full-forced prevention’,” he said, adding the “attack” was “political” in nature.

Placido, for his part, however, said that while there was an “intent to create fear,” it could “only be speculated” that the move was “political.”

Anduyan said the PNP national headquarters had been informed about the city’s new categorization.

“(Whoever) did this had the intent to hurt. If you throw a grenade, you want to hurt people, What more if you add Molotov bombs to that,” he said.

In a statement, Leyble condemned the explosives-throwing incident.

“It is sad the things that are happening in Antipolo now. Is it necessary to… throw grenades, use violence and scare tactics only because they want to be leaders of this city? Let us think hard if this is the leadership we want for Antipolo,” he said.

Leyble is pitted against incumbent Rizal Gov. Casimiro “JunJun” Ynares III for the Antipolo mayoral post.

“This kind of violence, harassment, has never happened in our city…. We will do what we can to hold those who did this accountable. Evil should not win in Antipolo,” he said.

In a separate statement, however, Ynares said he was also saddened by what happened.

“This incident saddens me. Like you, I want to know what really happened here so that those who did this will be held accountable,” he said.

He urged the people to wait for the results of the police investigation “before coming up with any conclusion.”

“At this point, this is a matter [should be handled] by the police; let us allow them to investigate,” he said.