'Gift bomb' kills woman in Taguig City

(Updated 1:50 p.m.) A woman was killed when an explosive device in a gift box went off in Taguig City on Wednesday, two days before the New Year and a day before the Rizal Day bombing anniversary. Radio dzBB's Mao dela Cruz cited initial police information identifying the fatality as Yvonne Chua, described as 30 to 31 years old. An initial investigation showed the explosion happened inside the victim's two-storey house at Block 10, Lot 21 along Acacia Avenue at the Mahogany Place III Subdivision in Barangay Bambang, Taguig City, around 10:30 a.m. The woman was opening her package when the explosive device went off, authorities added. Asked if the woman died in the incident, Senior Police Officer 3 Cesar Vilarao of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) told radio dzBB: "Patay, patay." He said the victim sustained wounds in her abdomen and legs.
View Larger Map The victim's husband and their seven-year-old son were not hurt in the incident. Initial information reaching police indicated that the gift came from Parañaque City, although the sender is yet to be identified. In a later interview, Philippine National Police spokesman Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr said the victim was a "plain housewife." As of posting time, NCRPO chief Director Nicanor Bartolome was already on the way to the area to lead the investigation of the incident. Further investigation revealed that the explosion was caused by a grenade, the pin of which was designed to get pulled once the package was opened. Two more grenades were recovered from the crime scene and did not detonate. Investigators said the gift was originally sent to the Chuas' other residence in Parañaque City, and Yvonne had it picked up by their driver and brought t their Taguig home. Namesake Meanwhile, seasoned investigative journalist Yvonne Chua of the Vera Files clarified on her Facebook page that she was not the same person identified in the report. "My dear friends, I'm all right. The victim is a namesake. Thank you for your concern," said Chua, who teaches journalism at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City. Security remained tight inside the subdivision as operatives from the Explosives and Ordnance Division of the city police were inspecting the victim's residence. The bombing happened a day after Bartolome assured the public that the trouble triggered by a Christmas Day bombing of a church in Jolo, Sulu, would not spill over to Metro Manila. Bartolome told GMANews.TV in an earlier interview that the 7,000 Metro Manila policemen who were deployed for the holidays would be alerted to watch over what police considered as "critical areas." Earlier in the day, the Department of Transportation and Communications enforced tight security at the Light and Metro Rail Transit systems on the occasion of the Rizal Day bombing that happened a decade ago. On Dec. 30, 2000, a bomb exploded inside a packed LRT coach in Manila, killing 22 people. Authorities have linked the Abu Sayyaf group, which has links to the international terrorist group Al-Qaeda, to the incident. [See related: Rizal Day bombing chronology] — LBG, GMANews.TV