Barangay head escapes grenade attack

COTABATO CITY – A local official actively fighting the illegal drugs trade here escaped unhurt from a grenade attack on his home here Thursday night.

Senior Superintendent Rolen Balquin, Cotabato City police chief, said Anwar Lucas, 49, chairman of Barangay Rosary Heights 10, was inside his home at 10 p.m. when unidentified men lobbed a hand grenade that bounced off his bedroom window screen and landed on his yard.

Balquin said Lucas was about to sleep when he heard a thud outside his bedroom, followed by a loud blast that shattered glass panes and damaged a government issued multi-cab vehicle.

He said if not for the window screen, the grenade might have landed in Lucas’ bedroom and might have injured or killed him.

Balquin said Lucas suspected that his anti-drugs campaign was the reason for the attack, and this was among the angles investigators were pursuing.