Passenger van bombed in Davao; 1 hurt

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – An improvised bomb exploded  in a passenger van outside a shopping mall here yesterday morning, wounding at least one person. 

Chief Superintendent Wendy Rosario, Southern Mindanao regional police office director, said the van’s dispatcher, who has yet to be identified, was wounded.

Rosario said the bomb exploded when the dispatcher checked a bag that was left unattended.

The van, which had 10 passengers, including eight women, came from Pikit, North Cotabato. The passengers had just alighted from the vehicle when the explosion occurred.

Rosario said authorities are still investigating the motive and searching for the perpetrators of the bombing.

“It was clear that the explosion was meant for the owner of the van because the suspect waited for the passengers to disembark,” he said. 

On Sunday, seven persons were wounded in separate grenade explosions in Cotabato City and Kabacan in North Cotabato. It was the second grenade attack in the province within three days.