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Thursday, April 26, 2007
3 US agency workers injured in attack
By Nelson C. Bagaforo and Ben O. Tesiorna
DAVAO CITY -- Three United States aid workers were injured Tuesday night after unidentified men lobbed two grenades at their office in Pikit, North Cotabato.
The victims -- identified as Mario Tabaosares, 26; Alfredo Cabardo, 53; and Damrod Dalandangan, 28 -- were all engineers of the Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) program under the United States Agency for International Development (USAid).
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The three sustained shrapnel wounds and are recuperating at a hospital.
GEM has been conducting development and humanitarian works in Pikit and other areas in Mindanao.
An employee of GEM's main office in Davao City refused Wednesday to give statements about the incident, saying they were prohibited from issuing comment.
"Just wait for the US Embassy to issue statements. We are not authorized to issue any statement," the employee, who refused to be identified, told Sun.Star Davao over the phone.
Unidentified men reportedly lobbed two grenades near the GEM office at around 7 p.m. Tuesday. One of the grenades exploded while the other did not.
Initial investigation said the victims were seen outside the GEM office before the blast.
North Cotabato Governor Emmanuel Piñol said the attack was triggered by GEM's refusal to pay "protection money" to men who have been demanding such payments through mobile phone text messages.
He did not say which group was behind the attack but in the past, former Moro rebels had resorted to extortion to get money.
Authorities launched an investigation into the incident, noting that the office recently received extortion letters.
This development came amid military reports that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) was planning to bomb the ongoing Palarong Pambansa (national games) in the nearby Koronadal City in South Cotabato.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu, however, denied the report, saying "there is no truth or basis" to it. (Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Dumaguete. (April 26, 2007 issue)
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