Rep. Shernee Abubakar Tan of the Kusug Tausug Partylist (Photo from the official website of the House of Representatives, congress.gov.ph)
MANILA — A party-list congresswoman revealed on Tuesday, that unidentified persons tried to break into her car at the House of Representatives complex on Monday night in what she suspected to be an attempt to plant an explosive device in the vehicle.
Shernee Tan of the Kusug Tausug party-list group said the break-in attempt occurred between 8 and 9 p.m. at the north wing parking area for House members in the Batasang Pambansa complex.
“The rubber gasket at the car door on the right side was destroyed. Obviously it was an attempt to open my car with an evil motive,” she said in a privilege speech on the plenary floor.
The visibly distressed Tan said it was clear that the perpetrators were aware of where the CCTV cameras were located, as they acted in the blind spot. “He or she knew the locations of the CCTV that he or she could do this deed with impunity,” she said.
“The PNP (Philippine National Police) has ruled out carnapping or theft. The culprit may have intended to embed an improvised explosive device under the front seat of my car for what other motive but to cause injury or death,” said Tan, her shaky for much of her speech.
The congresswoman raised the possibility that the attempted break-in might be connected to the Friday bomb attack in Davao City that left 14 dead and several others injured.
“Our country has been jittery since the Davao bombing. We cannot therefore discount the possibility that the mastermind or masterminds intended to ride on the [incident],” Tan said.
She said she vividly recalled the November 2007 bombing at the Batasan complex, which killed three people, including then Basllan Rep. Wahab Akbar.
Tan warned that the perpetrators who might want to harm or kill House members would not succeed.
On Tuesday, security at the Batasan was strict with the cars being tightly screened, causing a bottleneck of vehicles at the entrance. SFM