Police can’t say yet who was behind CDO bombing

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines—Police authorities here said Thursday’s bomb explosion outside a hotel in the city’s Cogon area that killed two people and injured two police officers  should not be tied  immediately to the  framework agreement between the government and Moro rebels.

Representative Rufus Rodriguez said earlier there was speculation the bombing was the handiwork of factions unhappy with the agreement.

But Chief Superintendent Gil Hitosis, Northern Mindanao police chief, said people should stop speculating because it was not helping the investigation.

Hitosis said the authorities still faced a blank wall with respect to the identities and motive of  three men suspected to have planted the two bombs, one of which exploded, outside the Maxandrea Hotel here.

“We are still gathering witness accounts and there is no definite picture yet that can be inferred,” Hitosis said following a command conference on Friday was attended also by Rodriguez and other officials.

Rodriguez said what was definite was that the police had secured video taken by the hotel’s CCTV and it was being analyzed.

Rodriguez said security has also been tightened in the city as the police were still trying to find out what group was behind the blast and what the motive was.