Self-Confessed Bomber Spares Catholic Church From Attack In Philippines

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 30 Jul) – A self-confessed bomber left a pack of explosives outside a Roman Catholic Church in the Philippine capital after backing out from a mission to blow up the building.

The man first confessed to a priest about his plan and then left the explosives outside the Mount Carmel Church in Quezon City late Saturday, the television network ABS-CBN reported.

The priest, Father Henry Praveendesoza, said the 40-year old man troubled by his conscience and decided to abandon his plan to bomb the church after he saw children praying.

"Father I want to bomb the church. When I saw the children, I disarmed it and took away the wires," the priest said, quoting the unidentified man.

After the confession, the priest said he went out of the church in fear that the bomb may still explode. The man followed him and then hurriedly left. The church’s security camera showed the man fleeing the church compound.

The security video also showed a well-dressed man stepped out of a car and casually walked to the church and then took the explosives while a second man appeared to be giving instructions to two companions.

It was unknown whether they were companions of the man who left the bomb.

The failed bombing came of the eve of the opening of the 40th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Manila and two days before the start of a government offensive against Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels blamed for the killing of 14 marine soldiers in the restive region of the southern Philippines.

The MILF is currently negotiating peace with Manila.

It was unknown whether the failed bomber belongs to a rebel group or rightist soldiers who wanted to derail the peace talks.

Detained soldiers who were involved in a failed mutiny in Manila in 2003 said the military was behind several bombings of mosque and civilian targets in the southern Philippines. The bombings, they claimed, were later blamed to the MILF and the Abu Sayyaf, an accusation denied by the government.

They said a purported secret government documents dubbed as “Oplan: Green base” detailed a military plan to bomb civilian targets and then blamed Muslim rebels for the terrorism. The military said the documents were faked. (Mindanao Examiner)