ILIGAN BOMBING: ANOTHER BOMB FOUND IN
BARGAIN STORE
ILIGAN CITY, DECEMBER 20, 2008 (STAR) By Lino De La Cruz -
Authorities foiled another bombing attack here, a day after two bombs ripped
through two department stores in the city that killed three people and wounded
47 others.
A sales clerk alerted the police after seeing an unidentified man leave a bag in front of Selecta Snack Center, just across Jerry’s Bargain Center in Aguinaldo Street, one of the two stores bombed Thursday.
Police said the bag contained a ripe papaya. But after bomb-sniffing dogs were called in, experts found a live 81 mm mortar shell inserted in the fruit.
While bomb experts defused the explosive device, residents found a UHF radio near the site and turned it over to the police.
Police said the radio could have been used to trigger the explosive device inside the papaya but the bomber threw the radio for still unknown reasons.
Army spokeswoman Lt. Steffani Cacho said the bomb inside the papaya was safely disposed of but it was not clear if the explosive had been planted along with the two other devices or if it was planted later.
Cacho cited reports that at least four more bombs will be exploded in the city starting from Thursday until today.
Three people were killed and 47 were wounded when two remote detonated bombs ripped through baggage counters of two department stores in the city Thursday.
The bombings in the city came on the eve of President Arroyo’s visit to grace the inauguration of a vinegar factory.
Authorities and witnesses said the bombs were made from mortar shells, suggesting that only the MILF had the expertise to fashion out the explosive devices.
“Our suspects are the lawless MILF group, because of the type of IEDs (improvised explosive devices) that were used,” said Col. Nicanor Dolojan, commander of the Army’s 403rd Infantry Brigade based in Iligan.
Dolojan said the motive for the bombings was apparently “to sow terror in the area.”
‘Satanic’
A day after the blasts, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) denied involvement in the bombings, condemning the attacks as “satanic.”
“The devil advocates have again struck and spread their venom victimizing the innocent civilians. We join the civilized world in condemning this satanic activity,” said Muhammad Muntassir, chairman of the MILF committee on Da’awah (Islamic call).
Muntassir said insinuations that MILF rebels were behind the attacks were “baseless.”
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said local officials and residents in Iligan should not speculate on who could be behind the bombings and instead help authorities determine the identities of the real culprits.
“We express our sympathy to the families of the victims. There must be a thorough investigation before blaming any groups like us,” Kabalu said.
President Arroyo proceeded with her visit to the city yesterday, attending wakes and comforting the wounded in the bombings.
Mrs. Arroyo made a swift tour of the wards of the Don Gregorio Lluch hospital, where many of the victims are still confined with seven to eight people sharing a room.
The President, who was on an extended tour in Mindanao during Thursday’s attack, was overheard telling a woman with a bandaged head that she “condemns this barbaric act.”
Mrs. Arroyo also visited a mortuary and expressed her sympathies to the relatives of the dead, handing out checks to family members to help with funeral costs.
“The President condemns the ruthless and violent acts of terrorism against our communities,” presidential deputy spokesman Anthony Golez told reporters in Manila.
“We condole with the families of those killed in this tragedy,” he said. “The government will not stop hunting these terrorists until they are put behind bars.”
The President has since shelved peace talks with the MILF and demanded the surrender of rebel group commanders behind the bloody rampage in Central Mindanao last August before talks could resume.
Hardline MILF units went on a killing and burning spree in villages near Iligan in August after the Supreme Court blocked a draft peace agreement that would have given the MILF control over vast areas of the south.
Mrs. Arroyo’s helicopter touched down at a schoolyard here that was secured by soldiers manning tanks and armored troop carriers.
The President left Iligan after presiding over the inauguration of a vinegar factory yesterday. A few hours later, the unexploded bomb was found.
Red alert
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the President has ordered the police and military to increase security in other areas during the holiday season to prevent similar terror attacks.
Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Jesus Verzosa placed all police units in Mindanao under heightened alert to prevent another bombing attack.
Verzosa also ordered the National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) in Metro Manila and urban center police offices to increase police visibility and patrols.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), for its part, urged the public to be more vigilant and provide the military more information to thwart further terrorist attempts.
AFP spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres said efforts by security forces should be coupled with increased vigilance of the people, in order to prevent such attacks from inflicting damage to life and property.
“We are appealing for increased vigilance, especially among the people in conflict affected areas. We together with the PNP and other security forces are doing our best to frustrate such attempts by any lawless group to hurt the people and launch terroristic acts especially during the Yuletide season,” he said.
AFP Western Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga placed his troops under red alert following the explosions.
Allaga said troops under his command are under orders to augment security forces in the region and help the police identify and track down the suspects.
Dolojan, on the other hand, admitted that despite the stepped up security measures in the area, the bombers were able to slip in and complete their gruesome mission.
Dolojan said military bomb experts are closely working with the police to determine the perpetrators based on the type of explosives used.
“The threat is still there, ever since it has been there. We have intensified our security measures but they were able to disguise. The attack was very bold, for them to leave the bomb in the baggage counter,” he said.
Police said the bombs were hidden in packages that were checked in at the counters. The devices went off within 15 minutes of each other.
Dolojan said this type of attack should cause the public to be more alert and report anything suspicious to authorities. –With John Unson, Edith Regalado, Paolo Romero, Roel Pareño, Cecille Suerte Felipe, James Mananghaya, Helen Flores, Delon Porcalla
3 killed, 47 hurt in Iligan blasts By Lino De La Cruz and Roel Pareño Updated December 19, 2008 12:00 AM
PHOTO
AT LEFT - Debris is scattered outside the JBC Bargain Center, one of two stores
hit by bombings in Iligan City yesterday. AP]
ILIGAN CITY – Three people were killed and 47 others were wounded when two cellphone-activated mortars exploded one after the other in two department stores 30 meters apart on the same street in Iligan City yesterday.
In Manila, Malacañang said President Arroyo would push through with her scheduled visit to Iligan City today for the inauguration of the suka pinakurat vinegar processing plant of Green Gold Gourmet Food Products in Barangay Pugaan.
Mrs. Arroyo condemned the terrorist attacks as “ruthless, violent acts of terrorism against our communities.”
Last week, Mrs. Arroyo canceled her visit to Shariff Kabunsuan after an explosion and the recovery of improvised explosive devices in the province.
The wounded – among them children – were rushed to the government-run Don Gregorio T. Lluch Memorial Hospital, Mindanao Sanitarium and Hospital, and Dr. Uy’s Hospital.
A baggage counter clerk, identified as Junly Gomonod, 18, was critically wounded in the attack on Jerry’s Bargain Center.
She was unconscious when admitted at Dr. Uy’s Hospital in Iligan City.
Military and police investigators identified one of the fatalities as Erwin Suico, an employee of one of the department stores.
The two killed were store employees assigned at the baggage counter, while the wounded were shoppers and people on the street, police said.
No group has claimed responsibility for the two attacks, but police suspect that rogue bands of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front have made true their threat to bomb the city.
Col. Nicanor Dolongan, 403rd Army Brigade commander, said shortly before the first explosion, a close circuit television at the UniCity caught two people wearing a Muslim scarf depositing a baggage at a counter outside the department store.
“Our suspects here are members of the lawless MILF group because of the type of (improvised explosive device) that were used,” he said.
Police investigation showed the two mortars wrapped as Christmas gifts were left at the baggage counters of the two department stores.
The two mortars exploded at about 1:35 and 1:40 p.m. after being triggered from a safe place by remote control with the use of a cell phone, according to investigators.
Iligan City police director Senior Superintendent Virgilio Ranes told The STAR the terrorists were able to slip in the mortars without being detected because the baggage counters were located outside the department stores.
Policemen were standing guard at the entrances of the two department stores, where they frisked shoppers and monitored pickpockets and shoplifters, he added.
The first mortar blew up at the UniCity, followed five minutes later by a second explosion at the Jerry’s Bargain Center.
Both department stores are located on Aguinaldo Street in Iligan City’s commercial district.
After the two explosions, pandemonium broke out on Aguinaldo street as shoppers and pedestrians scampered for safety.
Police immediately evacuated shoppers and workers from neighboring department stores amid the screams of sirens of emergency rescue vehicles rushing to the scene.
Banks in the commercial center also closed shop, along with the big shopping centers like the newly opened Gaisano Mall Atrium.
Lt. Col. Adane Adriatico, Army 1st Infantry Division spokesman, said authorities could not yet identify the type of bombs used in the two attacks.
However, military investigators believe improvised explosive devices were used, according to Lt. Steffani Cacho, Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command spokeswoman.
The attacks were the second and third to occur in Iligan City in four months after a bomb exploded last Aug. 18, she added.
Fashioned out of empty mortar shells and rigged with high explosives, the improvised explosive device is the signature of the MILF, according to Dolongan.
Col. Benito de Leon, Army 104th Infantry Brigade commander, has sent bomb-sniffing dogs and explosives experts to help Iligan City police in the investigations.
“We have sent K9 units and bomb experts in the area to help in the investigations,” he said.
Col. Nicanor Dolojan, Army 403rd Brigade commander, said the attacks might have been perpetrated by rogue MILF bands.
“Our suspect here are the lawless MILF group because of the type of the (improvised explosive device) that were used,” he said.
“That IED manifest their signature, using mortar rounds. That is our initial findings,”
Last month, at least three people were wounded when two budget hotels in Iligan City were bombed. - With Jaime Laude, Marvin Sy