Wednesday, April 30, 2008 4 armed men strafe Weena-affiliate bus By Malu Cadelina Manar
COTABATO CITY -- Two days after bombing a unit of the Peoples' Transport owned by Weena Bus Lines in Midsayap, North Cotabato, four motorcycle-riding men strafed a unit of AVM Bus Company while approaching this city.
The indiscriminate firing took place at Barangay Dalumangcob in Sultan Kudarat, just few kilometers away from this city, around 6:30 p.m. Monday.
Peoples' Transport Cotabato branch manager Eddie Soledad said four men on board two motorcycles fired at the bus using automatic rifles.
No one in the bus was hurt but its windshield and some wooden seats were hit, according to Superintendent Esmael Ali, provincial director of Shariff Kabunsuan Philippine National Police (PNP).
Immediately after the attack, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) PNP director Joel Goltiao directed Ali to conduct mobile patrol from the boundary of Shariff Kabunsuan and North Cotabato up to Cotabato City to ensure the commuters' safety.
Soledad said the attack was purely harassment against the bus firm. The company decided to resume full operations starting Monday.
On March this year, the Peoples' Transport, the lone bus firm plying the Cotabato-Davao highway, decided to cut short its trip from Davao City to Kabacan, a town in North Cotabato, due to mulcting, extortions and bomb threats.
It decided, however, to resume plying the route due to numerous requests from business groups and other individuals.
