Blast kills boy, 2 others wounded as President Arroyo visits Mindanao

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 17, 2010) – An improvised bomb exploded Wednesday as President Gloria Arroyo inspected troops in the volatile region of the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said the blast killed a nine-year old Tata Palao and wounded two children in the town of Datu Odin Sinsuat in Maguindanao province where Arroyo visited.

The children were getting firewood in the village of Kabingi at around 11: 45 a.m. when Palao stepped on the mine, said Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Hao, spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division.

Hao said the boy did not reach the hospital alive. He said the bomb was believed planted by Moro rebels a long time ago. “The IED was believed planted by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels a long time ago,” Hao told the Mindanao Examiner.

Arroyo inspected soldiers at an army base in the province as part of her visitation in Mindanao. The President is to step down in June after her term ends, but is also seeking a congressional seat in her hometown in Pampanga province in Luzon Island.

The MILF is the country’s largest Muslim rebel group which is currently negotiating peace with Manila. The explosion also occurred just as a team of international truce observers arrived in the province. (Mindanao Examiner)