2 dead, 2 injured in Oro blast

CAGAYAN DE ORO --Two civilians were killed while two policemen were wounded when a bomb exploded near a hotel in Cagayan de Oro City Thursday dawn.

Five hours after the first explosion, police found another bomb placed inside a bag placed under a vehicle owned by a television network, which was parked beside the same hotel.

Police identified the fatalities as Rudy Jote, who died on the spot, and a certain alias "Toto" who was rushed to the Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC) , but died after two hours.

Police said the fatalities happened to pass by the vicinity of the Maxandrea Hotel at around 2 a.m. when the bomb exploded.

Those injured were identified as Police Officers 1 Dexter Daño and Rogelio Canilanza assigned at the Police Station 2 in Cogon, who were among those who responded in the area.
 
Five hours after, another bomb placed inside a bag was discovered under a green Frontier vehicle owned by the local television station of GMA Network, which was parked beside the hotel.
 
Operatives of Explosive and Ordnance Disposal (EOD) successfully detonated the bomb.
 
S/Sgt. Dante Valmoria, chief of the Philippine Army K9, said it could have been a series of bombing had the second EID not been discovered and detonated.
 
Authorities recovered at the crime scene several fragments like concrete nails used as shrapnel, canister, metal strip, fragments of motherboard of a cellular phone and a SIM pack.
 
Senior Supt. Gerardo Rosales, chief of the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (Cocpo), told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro they don’t have any lead yet as to the motive of the bombing.
 
“We’re still conducting further investigation at wala pang concrete evidence na puwede nating ma-connect sa anumang grupo ang pangyayaring ito,” Rosales said.
 
Based on the closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera of the hotel, three men wearing jackets and caps left the cellophane beside the hotel prior to the explosion.
 
Police initial investigation showed that the hotel’s security guard discovered the cellophane at around 1:45 a.m. and reported it to the staff at the hotel’s desk who immediately called up the Cogon Police Station.
 
The bomb exploded shortly after the police arrived in the area.(Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro)