Zambo Sur vice mayor survives slay try; aide hurt in Pagadian blast 

A police escort of a Zamboanga del Sur vice mayor was hurt following a slay try on the local official in Pagadian City late Wednesday afternoon, a regional military spokesperon said Thursday. Labangan Vice Mayor Ukol Talumpa was not hurt in the grenade attack, said Capt. Albert Caber of the Army's 1st Infantry Division. Caber identified the casualty as P01 Mohamad Magumpara of the Zamboanga del Sur Provincial Police Office who suffered shrapnel wounds. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment.  

Caber said the incident occurred about 5:40 p.m. Wednesday as the convoy of Talumpa was passing through Pagadian.  

At the time of the attack, the convoy was on its way back to Labangan. Talumpa was on his white Nissan Patrol while his security escorts, including Magumpara, were on board a white Crosswind van. "He [Talumpa] was the target," Caber later told reporters.

 

Caber said members of the Philippine Army explosive ordnance unit and local police who conducted investigation identified the explosive as a fragmentation grenade. — with Amita Legaspi/RSJ, GMA News