CAMP BGEN OSCAR FLORENDO – The oath-taking of all new government officials in La Union last June 30 was peaceful and orderly with no untoward incident that happened however.

Two days before, the entire police force in La Union and the military had been alerted to secure the oath-taking of new officials due to a mysterious series of explosions including the recovery of grenades and improvised explosives since after the May 14 polls in various parts of the province including the capital town of San Fernando.

P/Chief Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil, Ilocos police regional director, ordered the deployment of bomb squad and intensive intelligence surveillance operation in San Fernando and other municipalities to prevent any untoward incident during the oath-taking rites.

The security alert came after an improvised device exploded at noon on Wednesday in a garbage disposal area near the road side, more than 100 meters away from the San Fernando City Hall injuring a painter of the city government.

It was the second blast that occurred in San Fernando. Barely a week before, an explosion rocked the nearby Marcos Building which houses the office of the city council and other offices of the city government.

There were two other bomb explosions that occurred in Agoo town and another in Bauang. At least four unexploded explosives and one grenade were also recovered.

Additional elements of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) and Explosive Ordinance Division (EOD) were also deployed to secure other public places in San Fernando City.

The pieces of evidence gathered at the explosion sites are now being examined to determine the explosives, Bataoil said. On the other hand, San Fernando City Mayor Pablo Ortega vowed to act immediately on the peace and order problem and will do everything to make the city peaceful and safe place to live in.

He said solution to the peace problem is his first agenda in office “to ensure the safety of city and people.”

La Union police director Sr. Supt. Franklin Bucayu hinted that the motive for these could be politics, speculating that some losing candidates may not know how to accept their defeat.