ONE person was wounded following a grenade blast in Lamitan City on Tuesday evening, March 3, 2026.
In a press conference, PNP spokesperson Police Brigadier General Randulf Tuaño said a security guard was injured when the blast occurred around 7:30 p.m. at a construction site.
“Unang-una, nais natin linawin na hindi ito spillover ng nangyayaring kaguluhan sa Middle East. May dalawang motibo na tinitingnan kasalukuyan ang ating Police Regional Office Bangsamoro. Una, ito ay political sapagkat nabanggit ko nga ang nagmamay-ari ng nasabing construction ay ang sitting city mayor,” he said.
(First of all, we want to clarify that this is not a spillover of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Our Police Regional Office Bangsamoro is currently looking at two possible motives. First, it is political because, as I mentioned, the owner of the said construction site is the sitting city mayor.)
“Pangalawa, ito ay may kaugnayan sa extortion sapagkat base sa modus operandi na nabanggit ng regional director, may mga establishments na nangyayari nung mga nakaraang panahon na kapag may mga ginagawa ito ay parte ng extortion activities sa nasabing lugar,” he added.
(Second, it is related to extortion because, based on the modus operandi mentioned by the regional director, there have been establishments in the past where similar incidents occurred as part of extortion activities in the area.)
Tuaño said the investigation is still ongoing. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)