Blasts rock Mindanao; link to Moro deal eyed

ZAMBOANGA CITY , Philippines  – Two people were killed while two policemen and a civilian were wounded in separate bombing attacks in Cagayan de Oro City and Zamboanga Sibugay on Wednesday and early yesterday.

An improvised explosive device (IED) went off near the entrance of Maxandrea Hotel in downtown Cagayan de Oro City around 2 a.m. yesterday, leaving two people dead.

Authorities identified the fatalities as hotel staff Rudy Jote, and a jeepney conductor identified only as “Toto.”

Police Officers 1 Rogelio Galilando and Dexter Gaño, who were preparing to inspect the package containing the bomb at the scene, were injured in the blast as they were just a few meters away when it exploded.

The two policemen were trying to prevent bystanders from getting near the IED shortly before the explosion.

Seven hours earlier, another explosive device went off in a garment shop in Imelda town of Zamboanga Sibugay, injuring 14-year-old Alraffy Barabadan.

Hours after the explosion at the hotel in Cagayan de Oro, police retrieved another IED, this time placed under a vehicle parked in a street adjacent to the hotel.

Investigators led by SPO2 Dennis Allan Poe Labitad said their initial findings revealed the IEDs were cellphone-activated.

Before the explosion, a hotel front desk receptionist reported to the police a suspicious looking package left by three unidentified men in front of the hotel.

Police said they caught the image of the three men who left the package through the hotel’s CCTV. The suspects reportedly left a plastic bag in front of the Oro Bicycle Store located at the ground floor of the hotel.

A security guard then asked for help from the local police as curious onlookers were already starting to gather around the area.

The bomb exploded just as the responding policemen arrived.

Although authorities knew that the IEDs were cellphone activated, they are still clueless on the motive behind the attack.

“Motive of the incident is still unknown,” said Zamboanga City-based Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) spokesman Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang.

The police and military were trying to determine possible motives of the separate attacks even as security was intensified in the region to thwart similar bombings.

Backlash?

Police authorities in both areas would not comment if the explosions were a backlash on the peace agreement to be signed by the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), with reports emerging that there were disgruntled rebel factions.

“We are checking the possible link of the explosions in Zamboanga and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), as we all know the Philippine government has an ongoing peace deal with a group while the other group feels disgruntled. But let me clarify that as of now we have no strong evidence linking the explosion to the peace deal,” said Northern Mindanao Regional Police director Superintendent Gil Hitosis.

Although police investigators have yet to gather evidence to link the blast to the peace deal, Hitosis said such possibility could not be ruled out, particularly with intelligence information that a group was disgruntled with the ongoing peace negotiation.

Hitosis said the police received reports that renegade MILF commander Ameril Umbra Kato and his group are planning to harass three to four towns in Lanao de Norte by conducting bombing activities in Iligan City.

“We are checking if the recent bombing was a translation of their threats,” he said.

Hitosis said he gave instructions to the police units in the field to be more alert.

“First I hoisted full alert status, second I ordered the conduct of checkpoints to prevent proliferation of firearms and IEDs and allied bombs, third is we are conducting follow up operation against certain personalities, fourth is increased police visibility and fifth, I ordered my men to scour Cagayan de Oro for any more bombs,” he said.

The military, on the other hand, said they are helping the police in their investigation into the incident.

“We don’t have any lead yet. Our police counterparts are handling the investigation,” said Lt. Col. Eugenio Julio Osias IV, spokesman for the Army’s 4th Infantry Division based in Cagayan de Oro City.

Aside from deploying bomb sniffing dogs within the vicinity of the Maxandrea hotel, Osias said the military also deployed its ordnance and explosive experts to assist the police in the post-blast investigation.

The explosions occurred amid a warning from Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founding chairman Nur Misuari that the forging of the framework agreement between the government and the MILF would spark unrest in Mindanao.

The framework agreement of the peace pact forged in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is set to be formally signed on Oct. 15 in Malacañang with no less than MILF chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim in attendance.

Misuari, who was the MNLF chairman when the group signed a final peace agreement with the government in 1996, branded the agreement with the MILF as a mistake.

Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez condemned the bombing incident.

“We condemn this dastardly act. We have a peaceful city. As far as I can remember, this was the first time it happened,” he said.

Rodriguez said he has reported the incident to Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. who promised to talk to officials of the Philippine National Police so that the investigation into the bombing could be expedited.

“We urge the authorities to leave no stone unturned in their inquiry and to finish it soonest and inform the public of its results. We hope this incident does not affect tourism in Cagayan de Oro and other parts of Northern Mindanao,” he said.

Rodriguez asked city residents and the police to be vigilant “against those who would like to disturb the peace of our city.” – Edith Regalado, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Jaime Laude, Jigger Jerusalem, Jess Diaz