NATIONAL Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Director Guillermo Eleazar commended Sunday, February 24, the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) security for being able to detect the grenade being carried by one of its passengers Saturday evening, February 23.
"The fact na na-detect nila ang granada, ibig sabihin ay effective ang kanilang security system, ang coordination ng personnel," Eleazar said.
At around 7:30 p.m on Saturday, security personnel at the MRT Cubao station accosted 29-year-old Christian Guzman after a hand grenade was detected in his backpack when it passed through an X-ray machine.
The live grenade is wrapped by a packaging tape and placed inside a cellphone box.
To his defense, Guzman identified himself as a former soldier.
He said he is heading home in Cavite.
However, Eleazar said they found that the fragmentation grenade is owned by Guzman’s brother who is a soldier.
He said investigation as to how the man got hold of the grenade as well as if his brother has a liability of the incident is ongoing.
Meanwhile, in a statement, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said they will conduct probe on the incident which they consider serious.
“The DOTr MRT-3 would like to stress that this matter will be taken seriously. We ask the patience and cooperation of our passengers as we further tighten the security measures being implemented in our stations. Please understand that these measures are being done to protect the safety and security of our passengers,” it said in a statement.
“We also want to encourage our passengers to remain vigilant and report immediately to our security personnel items, activities, and even individuals that they may find suspicious inside our trains or stations. We will not take this sitting down,” it added. (SunStar Philippines)