COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 11 Jan) – The Philippine National Police sacked the local police chief after two bombings rocked Cotabato City in a span of 5 days and killed one person and wounding eight others.
Senior Superintendent Peraco Macacua was replaced Thursday by Senior Superintendent Panares Adap as the new Cotabato City police chief, a police officer Mary Culanag said. "There is an order from the regional police office and we have a new chief," she told the Mindanao Examiner.
Local authorities said an improvised bomb exploded late Wednesday near a garbage pit killing one person and wounded six more, mostly scavengers.
At least two people were also injured in a bomb explosion in downtown Cotabato City last Friday. The explosion shattered glass windows of several restaurants, but caused little damage to buildings near the blast site.
Policemen and soldiers also recovered and disarmed two more homemade bombs, assembled from 60mm mortar heads. No group admitted to the attack, but police and military believed the bombing was the handiwork of Moro rebels tied to the Jemaah Islamiya and the Abu Sayyaf. Both groups were previously linked to similar attacks in the region.
Former Muslim rebel-turned-mayor of Cotabato City, Muslimen Sema, did not give any statement about the blast.
Philippine authorities tightened security Thursday in the southern region of Mindanao following the spate of bombings that killed at least 6 people and wounded dozens more.
Six people had died and at least 33 others injured, many seriously in Wednesday bombing of a lottery outlet in General Santos City at around 6.45 p.m., according to local police chief Senior Superintendent Alfredo Toroctocon.
“We are still investigating the attack. Our SOCO (scenes of crime officer) team is in the area investigating the blast,” Toroctocon said on Thursday.
Another blast hit Kidapawan City at around 8.45 p.m. Wednesday and wounded two people.
President Gloria Arroyo’s spokesman Ignacio Bunye condemned the bombings.
“The bombings are acts of desperation in view of our strong gains against terror. The Filipino people will not be cowed and our government shall step up the fight on all fronts,” he said, adding, the President expressed her sympathies to the families of the victims.
“The authorities, with the support of the people, will leave no stone unturned in the conduct of the investigation and to bring to justice these agents of fear and terror. The fight against terror is everybody’s business. We have faced these threats in the past and we shall continue to neutralize them," Bunye said.
Security forces scrambled to stop the spate of terror attacks in Mindanao island. Police and military suspect the blast in General Santos City was the handiwork of the three terror groups.
The three blasts coincided with the opening of the 12th ASEAN Summit in Cebu island in the central Philippines.
Australia earlier warned its citizens of a possible bomb attack in the Philippines, but Filipino authorities ignored the report fearing it would scare aware summit leaders.
“We advise you to exercise a high degree of caution in the Philippines because of the high threat of terrorist attack. We continue to receive credible reports that terrorists are planning attacks against a range of targets, including places frequented by foreigners.”
“Some reports suggest that terrorists could target sites in Metro Manila, Mindanao including the Sulu Archipelago, and Cebu Province. If you do decide to travel, you should exercise extreme caution when you are in the Philippines,” Australia warned. (Mindanao Examiner)
1 comment:
Bombs prove nothing. Nothing accomplished. Wasteful.
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