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Friday, December 13, 2002
Girl dies, 4 hurt in Diwalwal blast
By Ben O. Tesiorna
DAVAO -- A child died while four others were wounded when a rifle grenade the victims were said to be playing with exploded Wednesday noon in Mt. Diwata, Monkayo, Compostela Valley.
Police said Regine Miņoza died due to the severe injuries she incurred from the explosion.
Manuel Awit, Alvin Hernandez, Dionisio Lariņo and Carlito Miņoza, on the other hand, were wounded. All were said to be minors.
Initial investigation revealed that the children were playing with the rifle grenade inside the Blucor Minerals Corporation bunkhouse at around 12:30 p.m. when it accidentally went off.
Sr. Supt. Eric Javier, Police Regional Office (PRO) directorial staff chief, said an investigation has been ordered into the incident. Among the things to be determined in the inquiry is where the children got the rifle grenade.
Javier said the grenade could have been "residues" of the arsenal the miners were believed to have kept during the times when the peace and order situation in the gold-rush area, commonly called as Diwalwal, was still very volatile.
Asked if they intend to search the tunnels and bunkhouses in Diwalwal for other possible firearms and explosives, Javier said not likely.
"Let's not expect too much from our police. What is important is nakita yung (we are seeing) marked improvement sa (in the) peace and order situation sa (in) Diwalwal," the police officer said.
Police personnel from Regions 10 and 13 comprising the PNP's Task Force Diwalwal had already withdrawn from the area.
First to withdraw were those from Region 13 or the Caraga Region. Last December 3, police from Region 10 were again withdrawn from the area so that what remained were only a little over a hundred officers.
Javier, however, said the Police Regional Office (PRO) 11 reinforced the task force with about 100 fresh graduates to ensure that the peace and order in the area is preserved. Sun.Star Davao
(December 13, 2002 issue)
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