Grenade event in Cotabato area, Philippines on Mon 12th August 2024

Unexploded grenade found on roof of café owned by former BARMM minister’s child

An unexploded fragmentation grenade was found Saturday morning on the roof of Café Mindanaw, a coffeehouse on Ramon Rabago Street in Cotabato City owned by the child of former Bangsamoro Interior minister Naguib Sinarimbo.

In a statement, Sinarimbo said he considers it a threat because aside from catering to its regular customers and high-profile guests, the coffeehouse serves as temporary office and venue for meetings of Serbisyong Inklusibo-Alyansang Progresibo (SIAP), a political party that will join the first election for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao next year.

He did not discount the possibility that the “threat” was “politically related.”

Sinarimbo, current chair of SIAP Cotabato City chapter, said in his statement that the grenade was thrown on the transparent roof of the cafe and “had its secondary pin which resembled a C-shaped paper clip kept on it.”

The image of the recovered explosive posted on Sinarimbo’s Facebook page on Saturday showed that it is a WWII MK2 pineapple fragmentation grenade.

Sinarimbo told local media that he has been receiving threats through text and rumors, but believed that “threats should not be normalized.”

He condemned the incident and called for “a thorough investigation by the police,” saying that “acts of violence are unacceptable in a free and democratic community like Cotabato City.”

He urged authorities to review CCTV footage from surrounding establishments to help track down the perpetrator.

He also encouraged authorities to set up CCTVs in public spaces to enhance security information systems and improve surveillance against crimes.

Police personnel were dispatched to the scene but Sinarimbo said “they’re still waiting for reports and security assessment from law enforcement.”