By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
At least one person was wounded after unidentified suspects threw a grenade late Tuesday evening at a home owned by Mayor Jocelyn Alviola of Bacong, Negros Oriental.

Police identified the victim as 30-year-old Diane Jane Justiniano, the common-law wife of Alviola’s son.

Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office (NOrPPO) spokesperson, Police Superintendent Kat Ramos, said unidentified suspects, aboard a motorcycle, passed the area around 8:45 p.m. and tossed a fragmentation grenade at the house’s garage.

The grenade then exploded, with shrapnel hitting Justiniano in the right arm and damaging the mayor’s vehicle.

The suspects immediately fled the area.

Ramos said NOrPPO’s explosive ordnance disposal and special weapons and tactics (SWAT) teams were deployed following the incident in order to oversee the investigation.

Investigators strongly believe the incident was politically motivated./DGB, WDJ