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Monday, May 12, 2003
S. Cotabato guv, DILG chief eye MILF hand in blast
By Edwin G. Espejo
GENERAL SANTOS -- A faction within the country's biggest Moro separatist group was responsible for the deadly blast that killed 13 people in Koronadal City Saturday, or so South Cotabato Gov. Daisy Avance-Fuentes believes.
The governor said, however, it is not yet clear if the order to bomb the city came from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) hierarchy or just a few officials within the group.
Interior Secretary Joey Lina arrived in the province Sunday to console with the victims of the latest bombing in Central Mindanao. The attack also wounded 41 people, 10 of them seriously.
President Arroyo is also expected in Koronadal City Monday to oversee operations against the suspects as well as to condole with the families of those who died in the blast.
Police in the city remained on alert Sunday as they searched for clues to the perpetrators of the deadly bombing that killed 13 people and wounded dozens of others.
Two Muslim outlaw groups have been identified as the likely suspects so far but authorities are cautious about leaping to conclusions over who might be behind the two bombs that went off in Koronadal on Saturday.
The two bombs, believed carried by two men, exploded simultaneously in front of the public market, littering the place with dead and wounded bodies.
Shortly afterwards, another bomb, attached to a liquified gas cylinder, was found near the city fire department. Explosive experts disposed of this device safely.
Bigger plot
Governor Fuentes believes the bombing of the market in the city is part of a bigger plot to sow terror in Mindanao.
She castigated the police and military for failing to foresee and attack and believed there was "failure of intelligence."
Koronadal City Mayor Fernando Miguel said that shortly after the blast, a man identifying himself as Abu Sulaiman, a member of the Abu Muslim outlaw group, telephoned him and claimed responsibility for the bombing.
The caller warned there would be more blasts if the gang was not paid P4 million, the mayor said, adding that Abu Sulaiman had been calling him for a year demanding money.
However, the mayor said he was skeptical of the caller's claim and said that the government must widen its search for the suspects.
Military spokesman Major Julieto Ando said that Abu Sulaiman had a practice of calling authorities every time there is an explosion in the southern Philippines and claiming responsibility.
He said the investigators should look at other suspects besides Sulaiman, including the MILF.
Miguel theorized that the blast might be linked to the government's suspension on May 6 of peace talks with the MILF due to an upsurge in Muslim guerrilla attacks on civilian targets, allegedly including bombings of majority-Christian cities.
Suspects
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu previously denied that his group was behind the Koronadal blast.
Kabalu also denied the claim of police and local government officials in South Cotabato that the MILF was behind previous attacks in the city.
Saturday's powerful explosion was the third bombing incident in Koronadal and one of the bloodiest in recent memory.
In February, three people were also wounded when an improvised explosive device went off prematurely in front of the Koronadal branch of KCC Mall.
Police said the suspected bomber also died in the explosion.
The following month, the three people were again wounded when another bomb exploded inside the public market.
Governor Fuentes said police apprehended a suspect in the blast on Saturday evening. The governor declined to name the suspect, saying he is still undergoing tactical investigation.
Senior Superintendent Romeo Rufino, regional police chief, said investigators had cartographic sketches of two suspects who were seen carrying the bomb attached to the liquified gas cylinder.
However, he said the police had not identified them and could not say if they were part of any group.
No evidence
Fuentes said it is possible that Saturday's explosion is related to the two bombings in Davao City where over 40 people were killed and more than 200 others injured.
Like the governor, Lina believed the MILF was responsible for the bombing but admitted there is yet no hard evidence to pin the incident on the rebel group.
"Our police and military now are working very hard now to identify the ones responsible for placing the bombs," Lina added.
Police and military bomb experts said the bombers used a mortar casing in the assembling the powerful improvised explosive device.
The blast mangled the bodies of some victims, four of whom died on the spot.
The explosion also left a one-foot deep crater and a three feet diameter hole hall along the pavement of the southern portion of the public market.
The number of casualties could have risen had the second improvised bomb exploded at the western entrance of the market.
Police said witnesses saw a man leave behind a liquefied petroleum gas cylinder near the entrance of the public market.
A timing device was found at the bottom of the LPG cylinder fully packed with explosive material. Bomb experts immediately defused the explosive device. Sun.Star General Santos/AFP |
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