7 killed in Mindanao bus bombing

At least 7 people are dead and many wounded after a bomb explosion ripped through a Philippine bus in the restive region of Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner Photo - Geo Solmerano).

NORTH COTABATO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 21, 2010) – At least 7 people were killed and more than a dozen injured after a bomb explosion Thursday ripped through a passenger bus in the restive region of Mindanao, south of the Philippines, the military said.

The blast occurred at around 10:30 in the morning as the bus was passing the village of Dalapitan in North Cotabato’s Matalam town. “We have deployed troops in the area to secure public places and assist in the evacuation of the wounded,” Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Hao, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said initial reports claimed that at least 7 passengers had died and many wounded from the explosion. “We still don’t know who was behind this attack, but we condemned this act of terrorism,” Hao said.

The bomb apparently went off from the baggage compartment of the bus, owned by Rural Transit of Mindanao. The bus was heading to Cagayan del Oro city from Tacurong, a city in Sultan Kudarat province.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the attack, but rebel groups are actively operating in North Cotabato and in nearby provinces of Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato and Maguindanao.

Hao said authorities are investigating the explosion.

In August, armed men disguised as policemen also torched a bus owned by Rural Transit after killing its driver and two of-duty police officers at a road block in Lanao del Norte’s Kapatagan town. Several bomb attacks on provincial buses, blamed to rebels extorting money, also occurred in recent years in Mindanao. (With reports from Mark Navales, Geo Solmerano and Becky de Asis)

Mindanao, niyanig ng lindol

KIDAPAWAN CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 7, 2010) – Niyanig ng lindol kahapon ang ilang bahagi ng Mindanao ngunit wala naman inulat na nasaktan o nasira sa mga impraistraktura sa nasabing rehiyon.

Ayon sa mga eksperto ay naitala ang lakas ng lindol sa 5.2 sa Richter scale sa North Cotabato, partikular sa Kidapawan City. Naramdaman rin ito sa mga lalawigan ng Sultan Kudarat at Davao.

“Medyo malakas ang lindol kung kaya’t naramdaman sa maraming lugar,” ani Hermes Daquipa ng Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. (Geo Solmerano)

Cotabato bus plunges in ravine, many hurt

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 5, 2010) – At least two dozen passengers were injured when a small provincial bus plunged Tuesday into a ravine in the southern Philippines, police said.

Police said the bus fell after its driver lost control of the wheel as the bus was struggling to climb an uphill road in North Cotabato’s President Manuel Roxas town.

Investigators said the bus was overloaded when it went straight down into the ravine. The driver, who was later arrested, said he also lost his brakes, according to police said.

It was not immediately known whether the bus driver has transportation papers to operate. Many of the provincial buses in the southern Philippines operate illegally and at often times had accidents under its records. (Mindanao Examiner)

North Cotabato's Agri-Products

Farmers sell their vegetables, fruits and other agricultural products in the town of Magpet in North Cotabato province in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner Photo – Geo Solmerano)

Motocross riders in action in North Cotabato

Riders compete head to head during a motocross event in the town of Magpet on its 47th foundation in North Cotabato province in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner Photo - Geo Solmerano)

Dengue, kalat sa Zambo at North Cotabato

Ang uri ng lamok (Aedes aegypti) na nagdadala ng sakit at kabilang dito ang dengue fever

ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR (Mindanao Examiner / Aug. 8, 2010) – Mahigit sa tatlong dosenang katao na ang diumano’y namatay sanhi ng dengue fever sa dalawang lugar sa Mindanao.

Sa Zamboanga City ay mahigit sa dalawang dosena na ang kumpirmadong nasawi dahil sa naturang sakit sa mga nakalipas na buwan.

Agad naman iniutos ng mga awtoridad ang malawakang kampanya sa mga ibat-ibang barangay upang mapuksa ang mga pinamumugaran ng mga lamok (Aedes aegypti) na may dala ng sakit.

Maging ang mga mamamayan ay naglilinis na rin ng kanilang mga bakuran, partikular sa mga containers na may lamang maruming tubig, mga kanal at iba pa na pwedeng pamahayan ng lamok.

Sa North Cotabato naman ay mahigit sa isang dosena rin ang nasawi dahil sa sakit mula pa nitong taon.

Sa record ng Department of Heath ay sinabi nitong Karamihan sa mga namatay sa dengue fever ay sa bayan ng Pigkawayan, Libungan, Makilala at Arakan. May naiulat rin umano sa Kidapawan City.

Kadalasan ay sa umaga at takip-silim umano ang paboritong oras ng mga lamok sa kanilang pagkain at ito rin ang dahilan kung bakit nalilipat sa tao ang nasabing sakit. (Ulat nina Geo Solmerano at Becky de Asis)

Filipinos praise Japan for health support in Mindanao

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 26, 2010) - Filipino villagers praised Japan for its support to rural health programs in North Cotabato province in Mindanao.

Japan funded the upgrading of a rural health unit in Libungan town and would hand it over to the local government on Tuesday. Tomonori Kikuchi, Embassy of Japan’s First Secretary, is expected to attend the turnover ceremony.

The project is funded through the Embassy of Japan's Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects) with a grant of 72,469 US dollars or approximately 3.4 million pesos.

The Libungan Regional Health Unit was constructed in 1976 and, prior to the assistance, it was one of the oldest health facilities in the Province of North Cotabato. The RHU was dilapidated and did not have enough space and basic medical equipment for providing quality health services for the residents. Since patients also come from adjacent municipalities of Alamada, Banisilan and Pigcawayan, they were forced to wait for a long time to be provided health services.

Now, with the grant assistance, a newly renovated health facility has been constructed, and medical equipment was also provided. "This is a great initiative of Japan and we are lucky that we have now an upgraded rural health unit," one villager said.

This project has been implemented under the Japan-Bangsamoro Initiatives for Reconstruction and Development. The Government of Japan launched the J-BIRD in December 2006 as part of its commitment to support peace and development efforts in Mindanao.

The J-BIRD has assisted the construction and rehabilitation of school buildings, training centers, health centers and water supply systems through the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects. As of March 2010, 40 grassroots projects have been implemented under the J-BIRD with a total amount of approximately 2.8 Million US Dollars. (With a report from Geo Solmerano)

7 soldiers wounded in NPA ambush in Mindanao

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / April 6, 2010) – Philippine Maoist rebels ambushed a military patrol and wounded at least 7 soldiers in the restive southern region of Mindanao, reports said on Tuesday.

The attack occurred in the town of Magpet in North Cotabato province where New People’s Army rebels are actively operating. Reports said the rebels used a landmine in Monday attack and that a firefight erupted between the two groups.

It was unknown if there were casualties on the side of the ambushers, who retreated to the hills after the fighting. A military truck was damaged in the roadside bombing.

Army spokesmen in Central Mindanao ignored telephone calls from journalists and could not be reached to comment on the attack. Military officials have previously trumpeted the government’s victory in the campaign against communist rebels in Mindanao.

The latest attack came a day after rebel leaders accused the military and politicians in North Cotabato of human rights violations and vowed to retaliate for their abuses.

“The people and its army, the NPA, will not take this policy of persecution sitting down. They have no other recourse but to fight back and defend them selves,” said Dencio Madrigal, a spokesman for the Valentin Palamine Regional Operations Command.

“Having failed miserably to hit the NPA, the operating soldiers have taken it out on the innocent and hapless civilians,” he said.

Last month, NPA forces also attacked a military detachment in the village of Luz in North Cotabato’s Mlang town and killed a government militia and wounded two more before ransacking an army detachment and seized 35 assorted high powered weapons.

The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines which has been fighting for decades for the establishment of a communist state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)

Maoist rebels raid Philippine village

KIDAPAWAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 27, 2010) – Communist rebels took responsibility Saturday for the raid on a southern Philippine village that killed a government militia and wounded two more.

The New People’s Army said rebels seized 35 assorted high powered weapons in the attack Friday afternoon on the village of Luz in North Cotabato’s Mlang town.

“The Valentin Palamine Regional Operations Command commends the Red fighters of Front 72 for their daring attack on the Cafgu detachment of Luz Village, Mlang, North Cotabato which garnered for the people’s war thirty five high powered rifles and other military paraphernalia,” a rebel spokesman Dencio Madrigal said.

Cafgu refers to Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit, a paramilitary group maintained by the military to guard villages against rebel attacks.

He said the attack lasted for about 14 minutes. “It was launched in the very heart of Vice Governor Manny Piñol’s stronghold, just a few kilometers away from the 57th Infantry Battalion headquarters. A Cafgu who resisted the attack was killed, while those who surrendered were left in peace,” Madrigal said.

“We would also like to express our most heartfelt thanks to the masses and allies of Mlang and other areas of North Cotabato who secretly and ably assisted us in our tactical offensive right under the nose of Manny Piñol whose notoriety as a despotic bureaucrat is known far and wide. Indeed, nothing is impossible for the NPA because the people support them wholeheartedly,” he added.

The Philippine Army said more than 50 rebels took part in the attack. The raiders, who arrived in a truck, were clad in black and camouflage uniforms while some disguised as farmers. They opened fired on the militias and overran the army detachment and torched six bunkers.

Colonel Benjamin Hao, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said troops were pursuing the attackers. He said the truck used by rebels had been recovered by soldiers in Tulunan town where the raiders abandoned the vehicle.
“We will not stop until they are captured,” he said.

The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines which is fighting for decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country.

Government peace talks with rebels collapsed in 2004 after communist negotiators accused President Gloria Arroyo of reneging on several humanitarian agreements, among them the release of all political detainees in the country and to put a stop on extrajudicial killings of activists opposed to Arroyo’s rule. (Mindanao Examiner)

7 soldiers wounded in roadside bombing in South RP

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / January 26, 2010) – A roadside bombing on Tuesday wounded 7 government soldiers in North Cotabato province in the southern Philippines, reports said.

It said the explosion occurred at around 6:30 p.m. on a village in Makilala town. The soldiers, who belong to the Army’s 57th Infantry Battalion, were rushed to hospital because of shrapnel wounds.

The soldiers were patrolling when the bomb exploded near them.

No group or individual claimed responsibility for the attack, but Moro and communist rebels are actively operating in North Cotabato province in Mindanao Island.

There was no immediate statement from the military about the attack. (Geo Solmerano)

Car stopped at North Cotabato checkpoint yields pistol

Policemen man a checkpoint in North Cotabato’s Tulunan where they arrested a car owner after his vehicle yielded a gun on Sunday, January 17, 2009. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Geo Solmerano)

NORTH COTABATO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / January 18, 2010) – Police arrested a car owner after his vehicle yielded an automatic pistol and ammunition at a government checkpoint in North Cotabato’s Tulunan town.

The car was stopped at the checkpoint Sunday where policemen were enforcing the gun ban. The driver, whose name was not released by the authorities, was immediately arrested after he failed to show permits and other documents for the gun.

Policemen manning the checkpoint were led by Inspector Joan Ressurecion, of the Cotabato Provincial Public Safety Management Company. The confiscated weapon was turned over to Senior Inspector Ramil Hojilla, of the Tulunan police force for ballistic examination and proper filing of charges against the driver for violating the gun ban.

“The gun owner is temporarily detained at the Tulunan police station while waiting for inquest proceeding,” said Chief Inspector Gilberto Tuzon, the company commander of the Cotabato Provincial Public Safety Management Company.

The Commission on Elections imposed a total gun ban in the country this month ahead of local and national polls to prevent election violence. Only duty policemen and soldiers and members of law enforcement agencies are authorized to bear arms.

The gun ban took effect January 10 and will stay until June this year. (Geo Solmerano)

New police group formed in North Cotabato

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / January 12, 2010) – The Philippine National Police on Tuesday said it would rename the North Cotabato Police Provincial Mobile Group to Cotabato Provincial Public Safety Management Company.

The Cotabato Provincial Police Office has two reactionary provincial mobile groups - the 1201st Police Provincial Mobile Group based at Fort Pikit in Pikit town in North Cotabato and the 1202nd Police Provincial Mobile Group based in Kidapawan City.

In a directive, the Philippine National Police said effective December 21, 2009, by virtue of General Order Number 687, all mobile groups, including the Regional Mobile Group were abolished and the Public Safety Management Company was created.

The two mobile groups of the Cotabato Police Provincial Office were merged into one and now called the Cotabato Provincial Public Safety Management Company under Chief Inspector Gilberto Balneg Tuzon. The new police group is based at the headquarters of the Cotabato Police Provincial Office. (Arlene Solmerano)

Bomb explodes in North Cotabato town

Government troops patrol the town of Magpet in North Cotabato province as residents go by their usual chores. A bomb explosion on Christmas day destroyed a cargo truck in North Cotabato's Carmen town, but there were no reports of casualties. (Mindanao Examiner / Geo Solmerano)

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / December 26, 2009) – A bomb explosion in the southern Philippines destroyed a cargo truck, but security officials said there were no reports of casualties.

The Christmas day attack occurred in the town of Carmen in North Cotabato province, a hotbed of Muslim and communist insurgencies.

It was unknown whether the bombing was carried out by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front or the communist New People’s Army rebels and officials said authorities were investigating the motive of the attack.

Police said the improvised explosive, assembled from a 60mm mortar bomb, was planted under the truck parked in downtown area.

“No casualties were reported in the explosion,” said Inspector Winston Seniel, the town’s police chief.

He said the truck was owned by vegetable trader Eddie Untalan, who reported receiving extortion demand from the Al-Khobar gang, blamed for the spate of kidnappings and extortion activities in the southern Philippines.

Police said the gang was demanding one million pesos from Untalan in exchange for his safety. (Geo Solmerano)

Christmas tree displays in North Cotabato

Christmas trees made of indigenous materials line up a village in Magpet town in North Cotabato province in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Geo Solmerano)

Horse Fighting in Mindanao

Horse fighting in the southern Philippine province of North Cotabato still attracts locals and foreign visitors. (Mindanao Examiner Photo by Geo Solmerano / Artwork by Jung Francisco)

North Cotabato ambush kills army soldier

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 10, 2009) – Gunmen ambushed and killed a government soldier on Thursday in the southern Philippines where security forces are battling communist and Muslim insurgents.

Police said the soldier, who was with a government militia, was visiting his farm in the village of Inas in North Cotabato town of Mlang when gunmen ambushed him. The militia was able to escape the ambush.

Police identified the soldier as Sergeant Tatu Sugang, a member of the Army’s 38th Infantry Battalion. His M16 rifle was also taken by the attackers.

The attack on the soldier came a day after security forces arrested five men implicated in the spate of bombings in Mindanao. The five were arrested in the town of Tantangan in South Cotabato province.

Police said the men are members of the Al-Khobar Gang, a criminal group tagged by authorities as behind the series of extortion activities and kidnappings-for-ransom in Mindanao. (With a report from Geo Solmerano)

Gunmen attack police post in North Cotabato, 3 wounded

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

1 killed, 20 wounded in North Cotabato grenade blast

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 20, 2009) – One person was killed and at least 20 others wounded in a grenade explosion Thursday in North Cotabato province in the southern Philippines, an army spokesman said.

Colonel Jonathan Ponce, of the 6th Infantry Division, said the blast occurred at around 2.10 a.m. in the village of General Luna in Carmen town.

He said a 26-year old man, Kairekay Minanga, was killed in the explosion and that at least 20 more people were wounded in the attack.

“A grenade throwing transpired in the village of General Luna resulting to the death of Kairekay Minanga, a farmer, and wounding of at least 20 people. The incident is still being investigated,” Ponce said.

But police reports said Minanga was carrying the fragmentation grenade when it exploded. (Geo Solmerano)

6 hurt in North Cotabato road accident

Civilians help push a van which overturned on a highway in North Cotabato province on Sunday, August 9, 2009. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Geo Solmerano)

NORTH COTABATO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 9, 2009) – Six people were injured on Sunday afternoon after the passenger van they were riding overturned on a highway in Makilala town in North Cotabato province in the southern Philippines, police said.

Police said the van was traveling on the when one of its front tire burst. The van, which came from Davao City, rolled six times and landed on a bushy area.

The wounded, including the van’s driver, were rushed to hospital. (Geo Solmerano)

8 wounded in Mindanao mortar explosion

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 7, 2009) – The Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the Philippines largest Muslim rebel group, accused government troops of firing a mortar round that wounded at least 8 people in North Cotabato province in Mindanao.

Eid Kabalu, a senior MILF leader, said the mortar exploded Thursday afternoon near a government school in the village of Macasendeg in Pikit town where children were playing.

He said soldiers deployed in the town fired the mortar to break up fighting between two groups of warring families; one of them has links with the MILF and the other with the army.

“The soldiers sided with one group and that worsened the situation. Instead of initiating peace talks to stop the fighting, the military - as it always did in the past - preferred war over peace and the result - eight people were injured in the mortar fired by soldiers,” Kabalu told the Mindanao Examiner.

The Army’s 6th Infantry Division said the police are already investigating the blast.

“There is a police investigation going on and we cannot say anything more,” said Colonel Jonathan Ponce, the army spokesman.

Manila has resumed peace talks with the MILF after a yearlong fighting killed more than 1,500 soldiers and rebels and displaced more than 600,000 civilians in Mindanao.

The MILF is fighting the past three decades for self-determination. Peace talks collapsed in August last year after the failed signing of the Muslim homeland deal which the Supreme Court ruled was unconstitutional. (Mindanao Examiner)