Report linking guv to grenade attack denied

PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) denied a published report linking Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan to a grenade explosion last year at a carnival in Luuk town.

The September grenade attack killed three people and wounded several others.

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Chief Inspector Amil Baanan of the Sulu Provincial Police Office, said the attack was triggered by a business rivalry between two amusement game operators at the carnival.

“This is business rivalry. We already have a suspect who is still at-large. We already filed the case and we are still hunting down the suspect,” Banaan said in vernacular.

Banaan issued the statement after reports stating that at least six people filed the case against Tan, a known philanthropist and a religious man, were published.

The report did not state Tan’s side or the PNP about the incident.

Tan’s supporters branded the report as black propaganda and politically motivated.

“Who else would do that but those people with evil motives, those who cannot speak about their accomplishments because they have done nothing to improve the lives of the Tausugs or bring peace and development to Sulu just as what Governor Sakur Tan brought us since winning by a landslide the 2007 elections,” said Hajji Usman, one of Tan's supporters.

He said Tan’s political foes have been pestering the governor with incredible accusations and various lies. (Bong Garcia)