Security guard hurt in Iloilo City blast

A security guard was reported injured after motorcycle-riding men threw an explosive at a bakeshop owned by the family of Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas before dawn Monday. Radio dzXL reported security guard Carlo Ganancial was injured in the incident in Dungon-A village in the city's Jaro district at about 2 a.m. Police are now looking for at least two motorcycle-riding men who witnesses said threw the explosive. Authorities are still determining the type of explosive used as of posting time. The report said Treñas' camp suspects politics as the motive behind the incident, with the mayor claiming this was the latest in a "pattern" of political harassment. Treñas is running for a congressional post against Rep. Raul Gonzalez Jr., son of former presidential legal adviser and Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez. The elder Gonzalez, on the other hand, is seeking the mayoralty post. Also, the Treñas camp noted a past incident where unidentified men barged into a pawnshop owned by his family, and carted away several valuables. But Senior Superintendent Melvin Moncal, chief of the Iloilo City police, ruled out politics as the motive behind the attack. "No politics, I believe this is more of a criminal incident," said Moncal in a phone interview. He said the incident could have been undertaken in retaliation for the arrest of a group of robbers in the area. - RSJ, GMANews.TV