(Update) North Cotabato town implements curfew following grenade attack at USM area

From the Philippine News Agency (Aug 2): (Update) North Cotabato town implements curfew following grenade attack at USM area

The local government here would begin implementing curfew hours Tuesday following the grenade attack at a police outpost situated at the perimeter of the state-run University of Southern Mindanao (USM) situated at the poblacion a day earlier.

Chief Inspector Ronnie Cordero, Kabacan police director, said that police checkpoints around the locality would also be augmented as preliminary measure to ease the tension brought about by the daring grenade-throwing incident on Monday night.

Two attackers onboard a motorbike zipped by the USM area around 7:30 p.m. Monday and hurled the grenade towards the police detachment.

Nobody was hurt in the incident, but the blast caused severe damage to the outpost.

Initial investigation points to a local drug ring severely affected by the continuing police anti-narcotics campaign in the locality as the motive behind the assault.

Accordingly, drug syndicates have long eyed USM students as a “good market” for its illegal drug trade.

Since the assumption into office of President Rodrigo Duterte on July 1, nearly two dozens of drug peddlers were nabbed while some 700 self-confessed drug users surrendered to police through their village officials.

“I am one of the (drug syndicate) targets as a few weeks ago we received information that drug groups will try to derail the massive police operations here,” Cordero said.

Mayor Herlo Guzman, for his part, has ordered the augmentation of police presence in strategic areas here following the attack.

Apart from the imposition of curfew hours, the mayor also ordered the setting up of additional police roadblocks around town during nighttime.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=909846