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Wednesday, March 17, 2004
1 killed, 4 wounded in poll-related attack
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Unidentified armed men fired on a house, occupied by followers of a mayoralty candidate of Buug town last Monday, killing one person and wounding four others in what could have been another poll-related incident.
This, as President Arroyo ordered the PNP to immediately act on election-related violence as she expressed concern over the rising number of such incidents.
The Southern Command said the victims were said to be supporters of Buug mayoralty candidate Junam Lagas.
The wounded supporters were rushed to St. John Hospital in Buug, Zambaonga del Sur.
Initial investigations conducted by responding authorities disclosed that the victims were resting inside the house when suspected supporters of another political candidate fired at them.
The armed men fled towards Malangas town of the same province.
The police apprehended 13 supporters of Lagas for illegal possession of firearms and violation of the election gun ban. Confiscated from their possession were eight assorted firearms.
The apprehended supporters are presently detained at the Buug Municipal Police Station.
Bomb explosion
Meanwhile, a homemade bomb exploded under the seat of a pedicab parked in front of the immigration office, at downtown Jolo, Sulu, injuring a woman, the Southern Command said Tuesday.
The bomb, believed planted by the extremist group Abu Sayyaf, exploded Monday in front of Perlas Pawnshop building and the Bureau of Immigration Office, located along Marina Street, Jolo.
The explosion totally damaged the pedicab and inflicted first-degree burns on the victim's head and arm.
The victim was immediately brought to the Integrated Provincial Hospital for treatment.
The explosion took place just as several Abu Sayyaf members appeared in court on charges of kidnapping in Jolo Island Monday, military commander Brig. Gen. Alexander Yapching said.
"We are still lucky that not so many people were in the area at the time of the explosion," Yapching said.
The device was made from an 18-millimeter mortar shell rigged to containers filled with gasoline and planted on a parked pedicab. Abu Sayyaf rebels used such bombs in previous attacks.
The Abu Sayyaf is a small group of Islamic extremists considered terrorists by Philippine and US authorities. At one time, the group is believed to have had loose links with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
Apart from a spate of bombings, the rebels are also blamed for kidnapping foreign and local tourists, businessmen and Catholic missionaries.
The government said military successes on the field have downgraded the Abu Sayyaf's capability and that its ranks have dropped to between 300-500 from more than a thousand in previous years.
"Government operation against the Abu Sayyaf is continuing and as a matter of fact, we have intensified the hunt on Abu Sayyaf terrorists in the island," Yapching said.
Meanwhile, President Arroyo, in a statement, said the police should closely monitor identified and other potential hotspots as well as intensify intelligence activities to anticipate attacks, make the appropriate warnings and secure those at risk.
"I am concerned about the rising cases of election violence and I would like the law enforcement authorities to take stock of the whole situation and do something about it. The credibility of the elections depends as much on how the campaign is conducted on a high plane and the extent to which we can control the level of violence," she said.
At least 45 persons have already been killed while 100 others have been injured since the campaign period for national candidate started in February 10. Of the 45 persons killed, six of them were local candidates.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the police already identified at least 30 areas in Metro Manila as election hotspots. (JMR with a report from AFP)
(March 17, 2004 issue)
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