Local ‘dispute’ eyed in Iligan blast

ILIGAN CITY, Philippines –A dispute between two groups could have triggered Saturday evening’s grenade attack that killed two people (not three as earlier reported by authorities) and wounded 24 others here, the police said on Sunday.

Police cordon the blast site after an unidentified man tossed an explosive device into a crowded tourist area in Iligan City, in sourthern island of Mindanao on May 5, 2012. Two people were killed and 19 others injured. AFP /RICHEL UMEL

The initial number of wounded was placed at 36 but was trimmed down after the police double-checked their list against hospital admissions.

The fatalities were identified as Junile Dumalagan, 24, of Barangay Del Carmen; and James Hangad of Sta. Elena village, both were college students on a night’s out in the area.

Children and middle-aged people, meanwhile, were among those injured when a hand grenade exploded in a crowded bar and killed two people in Iligan City around 7:50 pm Saturday night.

Captain Albert Caber, spokesman of the Army’s first infantry division, said the four children hurt in the blast were as Louie Jay Baliwag, 10 and  Princess Erich Baliwag, 5, who were brought to the Dr Uy Hospital;  and Abdul Gapur Maruhom, 11 Anipa Makalangkad, 12, who were brought to the Mindanao Sanitarium Hospital

Other casualties brought to the Don Gregorio T Lluch Memorial Hospital were identified as Arnold Tiongo, 46, Joel Abriol, 34, John Paul Ponce, 25, Albert Gongob, 21, James Dumalagang, 25, Frestelle Cabahug, 25 while Danilo Gabrinab, 41, Eric Salcedo, 38, Aldrin Magsayo, 42, Dianne Gapus, 18, Rey Soong, 22, Sunny Mendez, 21, Liziel Lubguban 34, Dawn Gapus, 19, Jennifer Delos Santos, 28, and Elmelita Ibarat were brought to Mindanao Sanitarium Hospital.

Those rushed to the Dr Uy Hospital were Fe Mykeil Gonzalez, 19, Sherralyn Refuelo, 23, Maribel Cabalet, 21, Earl Russel Reveso, 21, Mahall Rose Tantho, 31, Laila Lamela Candog, 30 while Marilou Aligno, 35, Manuel Maramibel, 42, Ric Manego, 26, and Aliah Basani were at the Iligan City Hospital.

Chief Superintendent Celso Regencia, city police director, told the Inquirer by phone that the findings had boosted initial theories that the explosion on El Centro, a popular rendezvous for Iliganons, was not the work of terrorists.
Regencia had earlier said that prior to the explosion, which hit a section of Roxas and Quezon Avenues, the police’s intelligence community had received information about a terror plot targeting several areas of the city.
But he said this was not enough to draw conclusions on the identities of the perpetrators.

After further investigations, Regencia said the police had determined that one of the groups, who felt aggrieved from a still unknown dispute, wanted to exact revenge and staged the grenade attack.
A source privy to the investigation said one of the wounded victims was the possible target of the attack. He did not say who the victim was.

“We will consolidate reports as soon as our conference with other police station commanders in Northern Mindanao is over,” Regencia said.

Regencia said the police had secured footage from a closed-circuit TV camera and will look into its contents for possible identification of the man, who threw the grenade.

Shortly after the explosion, unidentified man was seen hastily leaving on an Asian Utility Vehicle.

Regencia said it was not immediately known how many people were on the AUV as it sped off amid the chaos.

The injured victims were rushed to hospitals by volunteers, policemen and soldiers responding to the incident, he said.

Col. Daniel Lucero, commander of the Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade, said post-blast investigators had recovered fragments of the grenade.

In July 2010, a grenade attack in the city was blamed on a group of car thieves, who were angered by a police crackdown on their activities.

Seven people were injured in the said blast that hit the Iligan public market at dawn.
In July 2009, a car bomb also exploded in the city, wounding at least 9 persons, including three soldiers.

The police and the military did not make public the result of their succeeding investigations of the incident but they initially said the attack was terror-related.