CAMP PRESIDENT QUIRINO, Ilocos Sur—Some P1.2 million worth of flue-cured tobacco leaves were damaged when a group of armed men burned a warehouse of the Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corp. (PMFTC) in Sidaoen, Sta. Cruz town on Sunday.

The police said at about 2:25 a.m. on May 22, a group of unidentified armed men used an improvised homemade bomb and spread gasoline outside the premises of the warehouse. Afterward, the suspects burned the stacked tobacco leaves inside the warehouse and fired long firearms to scare off would-be rescuers.

The police report stated that the suspects gained entry at the back portion of the warehouse and burned and damaged sacks of tobacco leaves estimated to cost around P1.2 million. The suspects fled after the incident; no one was reportedly hurt.

Investigators recovered several empty shells from M-16 and M-14 rifles a few meters from the warehouse and debris from an improvised bomb.

The police said the motive of the incident is still unknown. They are currently investigating the incident to identify the suspects with help from investigators of different police units in the region, including the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, the Scene of the Crime Operatives, and intelligence operatives through the direct supervision of acting Ilocos Sur police director Sr. Supt. Reynante Partible.

“Details still remain unclear, and the incident is now under investigation by authorities. PMFTC is fully cooperating with authorities,” said Elmer Mesina, PMFTC spokesman in a statement.  “The buying station in Sta. Cruz town purchases flue-cured Virginia tobacco on behalf of PMFTC. It also serves as a depot for storing quality tobacco harvested by farmers in nearby municipalities before being processed into cigarettes,” he added.