Kidapawan bombing mastermind surrenders

The mastermind of the Oct. 10 bus terminal bombing in Kidapawan City that killed seven people and wounded 24 others has surrendered to an Army official, authorities reported yesterday.

Police officials said Datu Musin Mamintal, a former mayoral candidate in Pikit, North Cotabato, surrendered to Col. Cardazo Luna, commander of the 602nd Army Brigade based in Carmen, also in North Cotabato.

North Cotabato Gov. Emmanuel Piñol said Mamintal’s surrender followed pursuit operations conducted by Task Force Lion Hunter, a special group organized by Piñol and Kidapawan City Mayor Luis Malaluan.

Piñol told reporters that the bombing, which the military initially called a "terrorist attack," was actually part of an extortion scheme on Weena Bus Co.

"The findings of the investigation point to the bombing incidents as part of an extortion try on Weena Bus Co.," Piñol said.

Police officials said Mamintal’s group was also behind the Aug. 28 bombing of another bus of the bus firm which was meant to persuade the company officials to pay "revolutionary taxes" amounting to P1.5 million and monthly payments of P500,000.

Police believe the bus company’s refusal to give in to demands was the motive for the Oct. 10 bombing of the bus company’s terminal in Kidapawan City.

Mamintal was tagged as the bombing’s mastermind by his cohort Datu Ali Sultan, who was earlier arrested by Task Force Lion Hunter after he was arrested on Oct. 16 at his hideout on Datu Ingkal street in Kidapawan City and identified in a police lineup by two female witnesses. Charges of multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder have been filed against the suspects.

No less than President Arroyo presented Ali and two other suspects, Abdulgani Samama and Uldarico Monserati Jr., alias Jun Palma, to journalists at Camp Crame yesterday.

The President lauded Piñol and Malaluan for their leadership in capturing the group responsible for the bombing.

"This goes to show how effective law enforcement is when local government executives take leadership roles in the fight against terrorism," the President said.

The military also implemented a massive security dragnet and deployed plainclothesmen in strategic points in Central Mindanao to guard against any bomb attack. Islamic religious leaders also volunteered to help the military monitor the activities of criminals in the region.

The cooperation that led to the arrest of Mamintal and Sultan stemmed from the people’s horror at the bus terminal bombing.

The explosion occurred around 3 p.m. of Oct. 10 as passengers and bystanders, including children, crowded the bus terminal in Barangay Perez in Kidapawan.

Investigators said the improvised explosive device was placed under a concrete bench near the ticketing booth. Army probers said the bomb was fashioned from incendiary chemicals mixed with nails and shredded cast iron, and rigged with a battery-operated, time-delayed blasting device.

The explosion, according to the probers, destroyed two buses parked nearby and caused damage to the concrete waiting shed where it exploded.