May 21, 2000, The Philippine Star, 11 hurt in latest blast in Cotabato, by John Unson,

According to Capt. Noel Detoyato of the Army's 6th Infantry Division, an improvised bomb made of 81-mm. mortar powder was used in the blast that took place near a bus terminal along Quezon Avenue in Midsayap. No one has claimed responsibility, as in the other previous incidents that included last Wednesday's explosion at Glorietta shopping mall in Makati City. 

Investigators will ask American experts to examine bomb fragments from the Glorietta blast that wounded at least 13 people, mostly teenagers. "It is still speculative as to what the motive is behind this bombing," said Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora, referring to the Glorietta blast. "To remove all speculation, the materials that were used to make the bomb... have been sent to the United States for analysis." 

Zamora said investigators were "unfamiliar with what was used in the explosive." He did not specify which US agency the bomb fragments were sent to. Police earlier suspected that the explosion was an offshoot of fights between youth gangs at the mall. But bits of electrical wire, a battery and a blasting cap found at the scene led a police bomb expert to believe a professional instead was involved but not Muslim rebels. 

The Makati explosion triggered fears that the violence in the Muslim secessionist war in Mindanao had spilled over the metropolis. Although authorities said no link has been found, security in Metro Manila was tightened. 

"Many experts have said that if rebel forces are pressured, they probably will resort to terrorist activities or guerrilla warfare and that is maybe what we are seeing," Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado said. 

But Metro Manila Police Office director Chief Superintendent Edgardo Aglipay claimed that a group of disgruntled individuals close to former President Fidel Ramos may be behind the Makati blast and a recent rocket grenade attack on Camp Crame. He did not name names. Aglipay said in a radio interview this group was out to embarrass the Estrada administration. 

A police official, who declined to be identified, claimed that intelligence reports revealed that the group's members were from the police force, and were also out to embarrass Philippine National Police chief Director General Panfilo Lacson. 

"Why explode a bomb at Camp Crame and not at Camp Aguinaldo? Why plant a bomb at an abandoned place inside a mall when movie theaters are the best targets?" he said. "They could have delivered a direct hit at Camp Crame's 'White House' (Lacson's official residence) but they chose not to because they wanted to simply deliver a message to the chief of the national police," the official said. 

Meanwhile, police blamed the Midsayaf blast on the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The bomb, made from a mortar shell and triggered by a timing device, exploded at a bus terminal in front of a bakery. The explosion also damaged two Mitsubishi L-300 vans that ply the Davao City- Cotabato route and were on a stop in Midsayap. 

Sources within the MILF denied the group was behind the bombing. "We do not use such strategies. Why we would hurt civilians? In fact, our forces pulled out from where there was intense fighting because we were thinking of civilians," a source said. 

Authorities identified among those wounded as Mario Ortiz, 35; Eduardo Disanter, 27; Aliza Jean Aquino, 6; Ann-Ann Ibot, 20; Hagarin Gayak, 24; Teodoro Alvarado, 36; Henry Filipinas, 34; Jun Urdaneta, 24, and Luis Ray Martinez. The victims were reportedly waiting for a ride at the terminal when the bomb exploded. 

North Cotabato Rep. Anthony Dequiña, whose province is a hotbed of the MILF insurgency, said police were hot on the trail of the bombers. At Rizal Park in Manila, patrolling policemen found a sack containing a stick of dynamite along Bonifacio Drive, but Aglipay said it could have been the work of "pranksters." 

"The dynamite cannot harm anyone because there was no blasting cap to ignite the materials," he said. Western Police District director Chief Superintendent Avelino Razon Jr. said, "Our operatives got suspicious of the sack so they checked it. But when they felt that this could be another bomb, they decided to call the bomb disposal unit and secured the area." Razon has ordered increased patrols in the city to prevent similar incidents. 

Two weeks ago, a small explosive made from firecracker gunpowder exploded in the park and wounded a man sleeping on a bench. Police blamed that incident also on pranksters. The MILF and the extremist Abu Sayyaf have been blamed for a rash of bombings in Mindanao. 

Last Thursday, two grenade attacks rocked the town of Jolo, killing nine people, and Zamboanga City, killing one woman. Several people were hurt in both incidents. Last Friday, a grenade attack on a police station in Isabela, Basilan wounded two people. The bombings came after a military offensive against MILF positions on the Secretary Narciso Ramos Highway in Maguindanao late last April prompted an MILF threat to target cities in Mindanao. -- With reports from Edith Regalado, Jose Aravilla, AFP, AP