Sunday, August 19, 2007 Bus firm appeals for patience; extort group linked to JI, Abu
KORONADAL CITY -- An official of Yellow Bus Line, Inc. has asked the riding public to bear with stricter security measures that will be put in place when it resumes operation even as police authorities linked the Alcobar extortion gang to the Jemaah Islamiyah and Abu Sayyaf terrorist groups.
Olimpio Par, Yellow Bus operations manager, made the appeal as complaints from commuters, especially workers, mount on the lack of public transport in the area.
Many public and private employees reportedly came in late to their respective workstations due to insufficient public transport vehicles.
The firm suspended its operation since August 4 after a twin blast rocked its private terminal on Friday in Koronadal City that resulted to the death of a person and injuries to 14 others.
On August 5, officials of the firm, which is plying the key cities of Davao-General Santos-Koranadal-Tacurong and parts of South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat for 48 years now, met with government security officials on the security measures that will be implemented by the company.
One of the key safety precautions that will be observed at the terminal of Yellow Bus in Koronadal will be the "one entrance, one exit" policy for passengers," Par said, adding that police and military personnel will help in the security arrangement.
Par said they are expediting efforts to resume as soon as possible its stalled service to stop the inconvenience to the riding public.
But he gave no date as to when operations would continue.
"We are looking at the safety of the riding public," Mr. Par said in reaction to public demands that the firm lift the suspension.
Friday's attack on Yellow Bus, which has around 140 air-conditioned and ordinary units, was the third for the company and the deadliest so far.
Senior Superintendent Robert Kiunisala, South Cotabato police director, claimed on Monday the Alcobar group that claimed responsibility for the attack has links with the Jemaah Islamiya and Abu Sayyaf terrorist groups.
"Authorities are now hunting the male suspect based on the sketch provided by witnesses," he told reporters.
Based on the cartographic sketch, the suspect is "thin, 5'3" tall and 18 to 20 years old."
Alcobar has been demanding at least P2 million protection money but which the firm rejected.
Kiunisala also said the gang, whose leader's identity remains a puzzle to authorities, may have been comprised by rogue elements of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
He said that authorities have traced the phone calls of the Alcobar group to Yellow Bus originating from Sultan sa Barongis and Salipada K. Pendatun towns in Maguindanao, considered traditional strongholds of the MILF rebels.
"This Alcobar group maybe part of a bigger picture in Mindanao," Kiunisala said, apparently referring to the decades-old secessionist rebellion waged by the Moro rebels. (BSS)
