MANILA, Philippines - With the word “demolition” split into two and its letters printed on the surface of the C4 bombs found recently in Quezon City, it was obvious that the two packages recovered separately came from the same original block of explosive device.
In an interview with The STAR, a source said this indicates that the same person or group was behind the two C4 bombs that were found separately at the Department of Agriculture and outside One Burgundy Plaza on the morning of June 29. The source said that when combined, the measured weights of the two packages are close to the supposed weight of a type of C4 bomb called “Charge Demolition M112.”
Based on a document obtained by The STAR, the original C4 bomb that became the source of the two packages separately found on June 29 had the marking “Charge Demolition M112.”
Printed on the surface of the package found outside One Burgundy Plaza on Katipunan Avenue were the word “CHARGE” and the letter “D” and what appeared to be a cut portion of the letter “E” from the word “DEMOLITION.” On the other hand, the explosive device found at the DA compound on Elliptical Road had what was obviously a cut portion of the letter “M” and the letters, O, L, I, T, I, O, and N, and the marking “M112.”
According to the source, the one found outside One Burgundy Plaza weighs 271.55 grams. The explosive device found at the DA compound weighs 284.62 grams. “When combined, the total weight is 1.21 pounds. This is close to the weight of a Charge Demolition M112 bomb which is 1.25 pounds,” the source said in a recent interview. The source also said that the original block of the C4 bomb was cut into two pieces “on purpose” to remove the lot number – which is supposedly also printed on the dark green surface of the block that could give a clue as to the origin of the explosive device.
The source noted that the missing 0.04 pound from the total weight of the device covers the portion of the original block where the lot number is supposed to be printed.
Authorities are currently coordinating with the Philippine Bomb Data Center to find out the source of the two explosive devices.
The incidents at the DA compound and outside One Burgundy Plaza came a day after the bombing at the Office of the Ombudsman also in Quezon City. Another bomb scare hit the Office of the Ombudsman on the same week but it turned out to be a hoax.