9 dead, 9 wounded in Cotabato bus blast

MANILA, Philippines – Nine people were killed and nine others wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded inside a passenger bus in Matalam, North Cotabato yesterday morning.

Senior Superintendent Cornelio Salinas, North Cotabato police director, said the bomb exploded at 10:30 a.m. inside the Rural Transit (RT) bus with license plate KVR 480 and driven by Arlan Tadio, en route from Cagayan de Oro City to Tacurong City.

The bus was cruising along the national highway in Barangay Dalapitan, Matalam when the blast occurred.

Lt. Col. Benjamin Hao, spokesman for the 6th Infantry Division based in Awang, Maguindanao, said the fatalities included bus conductor Brian Galagas, Romil Española, Tanting Usop Dalidan, Lita Mansano, Slornie Belong, Camino Abson, Adam Guimid and Guaria Duad. The identity of the ninth victim was not immediately known.

Initial investigation showed that the suspects left the IED in the overhead baggage compartment on the right side of the vehicle.

The powerful blast created a big hole on the right side of the passenger bus.

Salinas said the bombers could have boarded the bus, which had no air conditioning, along the highway in Kabacan town and then alighted at the bus terminal in Matalam before the bomb exploded along the highway.

He said investigators are trying to establish the signature of the explosives that could have been planted by members of extortion gangs that prey on owners of bus companies.

“We are checking if the explosives have the signature of al-Khobar or other extortion groups in the area,” Salinas said.?He said elements of the police Explosives and Ordnance Division (EOD) reportedly found fragments of an 81mm projectile, which would still be examined to verify what type of EID was used.

Matalam police chief Inspector Donald Cabigas said the last bus bombing in the vicinity of Matalam in 2007 was blamed on the al-Khobar group, a gang of former Muslim insurgents that had taken to banditry.

The group carried out a series of bombings since 2006 to extort money from rural businesses, he said, but police have yet to determine whether al-Khobar was still active in the area.

Police said that investigators were looking for a group of men who got off the bus shortly before the explosion.

Col. Santiago Baluyot, commander of the 102nd Army Brigade based in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay, said the RT liner that also operates in Western Mindanao had been attacked in previous bomb incidents by armed men allegedly belonging to an extortion gang.?“So we have alerted troops conducting checkpoints to be on the lookout even as our intelligence units have been tracking possible threats to thwart similar attacks and protect the riding civilians,” Baluyot said.

Bomb threat at PSE

A bomb threat stopped yesterday’s trading at the Philippine Stock Exchange in Makati, officials said.

Police bomb disposal teams and sniffer dogs were dispatched to an office tower housing the exchange’s trading floor in the financial district of Makati while hundreds of office workers filed out of the building.

Exchange president Val Antonio Suarez said trading would resume once police gave the all clear.

“We halted trading for security reasons. We implemented evacuation measures immediately for the safety of the employees and trading participants,” he said in a statement.

Suarez did not say where the threat came from or how it was sent.

Makati police desk officer Rolito Pelayo said employees called the police to report the bomb threat. But he said he did not know how the threat was sent to the exchange.

Pelayo said police did not immediately find any evidence of a bomb.

The Philippine stock market has been on a rally this year amid bullish business prospects under the new administration of President Aquino.

Mr. Aquino yesterday directed Philippine National Police chief Director General Raul Bacalzo to immediately arrest the bus bombers in Cotabato.

“I’m talking to General Bacalzo to get further update on how we can harden suspected objects of attention by terrorist groups so we can ensure the safety and security of our people,” he told Palace reporters in a chance interview at the Presidential Guesthouse.

According to the President, who administered the oath taking of Bacalzo as the country’s top cop, law enforcement agencies are still validating reports that all of these threats in Mindanao are inter-related.

“You can harden for instance the cities, the main centers of population. We will come up with other methods whereby we can enhance the security of our populace,” Mr. Aquino said.

He downplayed speculations, however, that the Mindanao incident was related to the PSE bomb scare. “The one in Mindanao and the one in PSE, I think at this point, there are no indicators that they are connected.”

Mr. Aquino also expressed condolences to those who died in the bus bombing incident.

“These things are always a concern for the Palace. The police are investigating the blast (in Cotabato). We are still waiting for information but the Palace condemns this act of violence,” Communications Group Secretary Ricky Carandang told reporters.

As for the bomb threat at the Philippine Stock Exchange in Makati City, the government was thankful that no bomb was found by elements of the explosives and ordnance from the Makati police.

“The police swept the Makati stock exchange office and found no explosives. So, certainly it’s a concern but we’re happy to know that there was no actual explosive,” Carandang said in a news briefing.

When asked to comment further, especially because the prank call was focused on one of the country’s vital business institutions, the Cabinet member refused to speculate, noting that the police have just begun to investigate the incident.

“It’s too early to make any conclusion about that. The investigation has just started, so we will not make any premature comment about that,” Carandang said.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) condemned the latest bombing and vowed to assist police authorities in investigating the incident. ?“We condemn in strongest terms the group behind this dastardly act. We sympathize with the relatives and loved ones left behind,” AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta Jr. said. ?“We will provide whatever support required by the PNP (Philippine National Police) as they are the main investigators of the incident,” he added. ?Mabanta said AFP chief Gen. Ricardo David Jr. has ordered the military to conduct intelligence operations in the area.?“The chief of staff wants the troops to intensify intelligence gathering and to assist the PNP in conducting investigations,” he said. ?Meanwhile, intelligence sources said yesterday’s bombing could be a retaliation by a unit of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to protest the government’s refusal to release Educard Guerra, also known as Abraham Yap Alonto, who was arrested last Sept. 22 at the Davao International Airport while on his way to a United Nations Human Rights Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

The MILF has filed a formal protest before the government peace panel, demanding that Guerra be released immediately.

Military and police sources said Guerra is very valuable to the MILF because of his expertise in making IEDs.

“As early as two weeks ago there were already reports that the MILF’s special operations group would fight back by carrying out a bombing mission if Guerra is not released. And true enough, the bombing occurred,” The STAR source said.

The MILF stressed that the charges that led to Guerra’s arrest were not clear and that they demanded that he be released immediately.

“The arrest (is also) a blatant violation of the (government)-MILF ceasefire agreement and the spirit of the current peace talks, and documents signed by the parties, which provided for the safety and security of MILF members who are directly and principally involved in the peace process,” said Mohammed Ameen, chair of the MILF central committee secretariat.

Ameen explained that Guerra’s continued detention could affect the planned resumption of the long-stalled peace process.

Last month, three separate bombings rocked Cotabato City and a commercial district in Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao.?No one was reported injured after the three explosions, but the attacks caused panic among residents.?Investigators said extortionists could be responsible for the three separate blasts.

Police said the first improvised explosive device went off last Sept. 4 near the terminal of the Weena Bus Co. along Magallanes Street in Cotabato City.?Police said another IED fashioned from a live 60 mm mortar attached to mobile phone exploded at about 9 p.m. last Sept. 5 at an intersection near the supermarket in Cotabato City.?“It’s a busy spot but fortunately it was empty of people when the IED went off,” said the city’s police director, Senior Superintendent Willie Dangane.

The bombing was followed by another IED explosion at around 3:30 a.m. last Sept. 5 at the house of Hilario Hernando Henorio in Barangay Bulalo, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao.?The IED exploded near a residential area not far from establishments owned by Filipino-Chinese traders.?Senior Superintendent Marcelo Pintac, director of the Maguindanao provincial police, said the IED that exploded in Sultan Kudarat was made of an 81 mm mortar projectile rigged with a battery-operated blasting mechanism attached to a cellular phone.? With Roel Pareño, Edith Regalado, John Unson, Alexis Romero, Jaime Laude, Delon Porcalla, Aie Balagtas See, AP -Cecille Suerte Felipe (The Philippine Star)