Suspicious car in GenSan turns out to be local exec’s

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines – Police bomb experts broke the rear window of a van suspiciously parked outside a restaurant for hours, in a region left jittery by a rash of recent bombings and the continuing turmoil in Zamboanga City, only to find a spent bullet shell inside. The vehicle turned out to belong to one of the city’s legal officers.

The authorities sent in the bomb squad, complete with a sniffer dog, late Wednesday night after someone reported that a Starex van had been left unattended in front of the Mang Gorio Restaurant since 9 a.m. and the neighborhood was getting restless.

After the sniffer dog sat down, indicating it smelled an explosive device inside, Insp. Oliver Pauya who led the explosives and ordnance disposal team said he ordered the vehicle’s rear window smashed so they could take a closer look inside.

As traffic was re-routed upon the order of GenSan police director Senior Supt. Froilan Quidilla, bomb experts combed every corner of the van. After sniffing a box in the rear of the vehicle, the dog sat down again, Pauya recounted.

The dog was not mistaken because it indeed smelled of gunpowder, he said.

Pauya said a bomb expert cautiously checked the contents of the carton and found a spent 9-mm shell.

As the EOD team continued to ascertain there was no danger, the city’s assistant legal officer, Maritess Tanegra and her husband, Frederick, arrived around 11:15 p.m. and were horrified to see the Starex van’s rear windshield broken. It turned out they owned it.

Councilor Franklin Gacal, Jr., chair of the city council’s committee on public safety and police matters, explained to the couple what had happened.

Gacal said the couple readily admitted it was their fault and that the Tanegras were not holding the police responsible for the damage.

“They admitted that it was their fault. They left the car unattended for several hours there. Government has no liability with what happened to their car because the bomb experts and the police did it to ensure public safety and welfare,” Gacal said.

Gacal said he advised the Tanegras to be more responsible, especially at a time when Mindanao is in a state of heightened alert following the crisis in Zamboanga City and a spate of recent bombings in the region.

“The welfare of the people is the supreme law. Public welfare must prevail over the rights of an individual. When you become an irresponsible person, sometimes, you have to suffer,” Gacal added.

Police said they were investigating what a spent 9-mm shell was doing in the van.