Paquibato land mine may have been intended for mayor

AUTHORITIES are considering the possibility that Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte may have been the target of the land mine that exploded along a road in Paquibato District, Davao City.

The explosion, which wounded one soldier, occurred just as Mayor Duterte's convoy was approaching the area. The Mayor was supposed to take part in the Araw ng Paquibato Sunday.

Reports from the military indicated that while soldiers from the 69th Infantry Battalion were securing the road for Duterte's convoy to pass through, the land mine exploded, injuring one Private First Class Mata. Mata was brought to the Panabo City Hospital for treatment.

Col. Lysander Suerte, commander of the 1001st Infantry Brigade, said the City Government of Davao readily cancelled their supposed "service caravan" in the district after the incident.

"The land mine explosion, believed to be the handiwork of the CPP/NPA [Communist Party of the Philippines/National People's Army] just denied the people of Paquibato the services that the City Government has prepared for them," Suerte said.

Asked for her reaction to the incident, Mayor Duterte simply said, "No comment."

Efforts to get a comment from the NPA proved futile as of this writing. The Dutertes are deemed to be "friendly" to the New People's Army rebels, thus some could not believe that the land mine was intended for Duterte's convoy.

The Dutertes also have access to a helicopter that they use when visiting far-flung areas like Paquibato. (Ben O. Tesiorna)