At least 11 people were injured in an explosion Friday night along Quezon Boulevard, near the Quiapo Church in Manila, police said.
National Capital Region Police Office regional chief Director Oscar Albayalde told radio DZMM that eyewitnesses reported seeing two men on a motorcycle throwing an explosive in the area.
“Ang initial po, ang sabi nga nila parang riding-in-tandem po na naghagis ito, ngunit iyan po ay vine-verify pa, at hindi pa po official iyan,” he said.
(The initial report says two people riding-in-tandem on a motorcycle through the bomb, but we’re still verifying. That report is not yet official)
Albayalde said 11 persons were hurt in the blast. He said the explosive device was a homemade pipe bomb.
According to barangay officials, two of the victims were seriously hurt. One was hit in the buttocks, while another lost a leg.
Albayalde downplayed fears that it was a terror attack. He said it was not related to the ongoing Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Manila.
“Wala po tayong nakukuhang threat or any clear o present danger with regards to any terror act na related po dito sa ginaganap na ASEAN Summit dito sa atin,” he said. “Ito pong pagsabog na ‘to malayo pong ito ay related diyan dahil ito po ang initial report sa atin ay parang dating away ito sa gang gang dito sa may Quiapo area.”
(This explosion happened far from ASEAN Summit related activities. According to the initial report, the attack may be gang related)
The Philippine Red Cross brought 2 victims to the Jose Reyes Medical Center and another one to the Philippine General Hospital, Sen. Richard Gordon said on Twitter.
Police said they are continuing their investigation into the explosion. – with reports from Michael Joe Delizo and Bianca Dava, ABS-CBN News; DZMM
This story first appeared on ABS-CBN News and is re-published with permission
