Government intelligence agents say they have uncovered an assassination plot against seven senators that was supposed to have been carried out during a public hearing in Zamboanga City on the forthcoming elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Minda-nao (ARMM).
Reports reaching the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City said the plot was aborted when the bomb intended for the lawmakers exploded prematurely last Jan. 10.
The accidental blast reportedly killed three Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas who were assembling the explosives supposedly to be planted inside a vehicle that was to be driven through the security cordon for the hearings set last Jan. 14-15.
The explosion shattered Room 227 of the Atilano Pension House being occupied by the three fatalities.
The senators who attended the hearings in Zamboanga City were Majority Leader Franklin Drilon, Minority Leader Teofisto Guingona Jr., Rodolfo Biazon, Juan Flavier, Sergio Osmeña III and Juan Ponce Enrile. They stayed at the Orchids Hotel during their two-day visit to Zamboanga City.
"They (plotters) had everything planned out. They were willing to go to great extremes to complete the mission," an ISAFP source told The STAR.
The source did not say if the assassination plot had the approval of the MILF hierarchy, which denied any involvement in the incident.
The discovery of the plot prompted the military's Southern Command to tighten security for the lawmakers.
"Instead of proceeding directly to the hotel, the senators were taken first to the Southern Command headquarters. Later on, they were moved to the hotel under tight security," the source said.
Recovered from the blast site were cans of ammonium nitrate, timing devices, a caliber .45 automatic, MILF identification cards and a list of telephone numbers of certain department stores.
Killed in the explosion were suspected MILF rebels Patah Samdani Jr., a student of the Basilan State College; Abdul Patah Ahmad of Malangas, Zamboanga del Sur, and Patrick Lim of the Jamaitu Foundation Marawi al-Islamia Inc. Two other suspected rebels were also injured in the blast.
The MILF has denied knowing the three fatalities.