Bomb found near site of visit by US official's wife

MANILA (AFP) - A home-made bomb was found in a suburb of the Philippine capital Manila, police said Friday, close to a housing project due to be visited by the wife of US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte.

Explosive experts disarmed the device, which consisted of a cellphone as a triggering device and ammonium nitrate as the explosive.

It is thought the device malfunctioned and did not explode when the phone rang, police said.

In a statement, police said that the bomb was contained in a styrofoam food container near a government building.

Press reports said it was found Thursday around a third of a mile (half a kilometre) from a charity housing project later visited by Diane Negroponte.

Police did not specifically link the device to her scheduled stop.

Two boys heard a cellphone ringing inside the food container and opened it but reported the find to the building guard when they realised it was a bomb, the police report said.

It was not clear who planted the device or what the motive was.
Manila has been hosting a meeting of foreign ministers of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), attended by Negroponte and many other top officials.

The US embassy was not immediately able to comment.