Unexploded grenade hurled at Siquijor councilor bet’s house

SIQUIJOR — Unidentified men threw a grenade at the house of a candidate for councilor at Barangay Cang-agong, Siquijor town, in Siquijor province on Saturday night.

Barangay (village) Cang-agong chief Danny Lozada, 43, was lucky that the grenade did not explode, said Inspector Epimaco Benologa, officer-in-charge of Siquijor Police Station.

Lozada, an independent candidate, is supporting the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) under former Gov. Orlando Fua, Sr., who is running for governor against Gov. Zaldy Villa of the Liberal Party.

Benologa said the unexploded grenade was discovered at around 10 p.m. on Saturday at the porch of the two-story house of Lozada.

While watching TV, Lozada heard something fell on the porch. When he checked, he found a grenade and immediately called the police.

Benologa said they didn’t find the grenade’s safety pin or lever.  They immediately cordoned off the area.
As of 12:30 p.m, they were waiting for Army bomb experts to defuse the grenade.

Benologa said they were still investigating who could be behind the incident.

“As of now, I can’t give a conclusive statement. I can’t say if the motive is politics or personal grudge since we are still investigating,” Benologa said in a phone interview.

Siquijor, a fourth class municipality in the province of Siquijor that serves as its provincial capital, has a population of 25,231. It has at least 19,364 registered voters.

The province is under the election watchlist due to potential intense political rivalry ahead of the May 9 elections.

Siquijor has 6 towns–Larena, Lazi, San Juan, Maria, Enrique Villanueva, and Siquijor–with at least 68, 988 registered voters.

Benologa said the  intense political rivalry and history of election-related violent incidents, especially among candidates at the provincial level, have been validated by the regional Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Center.

Benologa said that the PNP is prepared for any eventuality although, he said, the intensity of political rivalry is not characterized by violence but by election propaganda.

He hopes the  elections in Siquijor will be peaceful and orderly.

“So far, there is nothing to worry about on peace and security matters as the political climate in Siquijor is still normal,” added Benologa. JE/rga