Politics possible motive in Basilan blasts - military

MANILA, Philippines - Military authorities are looking into politics as one of the possible motives behind the twin explosions that rocked Lamitan City, Basilan on Thursday evening.

Col. Carlito Galvez, commander of the Army’s 104th Infantry Brigade based in the island province, said that they are looking also at the possibility that blasts were a retaliatory attack of the Abu Sayyaf work or a handiwork by lawless groups.

“It could be politics, but we are still conducting interviews on possible witnesses,” Galvez said.

The first blast took place in front of the house of Lamitan City Vice Mayor Areligh Eisma along Aguinaldo Street, Barangay Maganda at about 9:04 p.m. Six minutes later another explosion hit the main gate of San Isidro Chapel in Barangay Colonia.

Galvez said nobody was injured in the twin blasts that damaged the pick-up vehicle of Eisma and the gate of the chapel.

For more than a week now, an Army battalion has been running after the Abu Sayyaf Group led by  Puruji Indama and Isnilon Hapilon whose group have been established to be coddling two Jemaah Islamiyah militants in their jungle lair in Tipo-Tipo town located at the opposite side of the island province.

Lamitan City Mayor Roderick Furigay, meanwhile, said that the blasts could not be related to the local elections on May 13.

Furigay, on his last term as mayor of Lamitan City, is running as the vice mayoralty candidate of his wife who in turn is being challenged by Vice Mayor Eisma for the city’s mayoralty post.  - Kathryna de Bustos