‘Bomb-for-hire’ may be behind deadly Cotabato blast—PNP

Investigators look for evidence among wreckage after a car bomb explosion in Cotabato city, on the southern island of Mindanao on August 5, 2013. A powerful bomb exploded at the centre of the southern Philippines city of Cotabato on August 5, killing five people, police said. AFP PHOTO / Mark Navales

MANILA, Philippines — As the death toll in Monday’s powerful explosion in Cotabato City rose to nine, the Philippine National Police on Tuesday said the attack might be the handiwork of a group of assassins involved in “bomb-for-hire.”

Monday’s deadly blast, which also left 30 others injured, happened barely two weeks after a bomb went off inside a restaurant in Cagayan de Oro City, killing six people and wounded over 40 others.

Senior Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac, PNP spokesperson, said the bomb rigged to a vehicle parked along Sinsuat Avenue may have been intended for Cotabato city administrator Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi, whose bulletproof vehicle was passing by when the bomb exploded.

Sayadi was unscathed in the attack, but two of her police escorts aboard the security van following her vehicle were killed.

“We’re looking at the possibility that this could be an emerging modus (of a criminal syndicate). They could have placed the bomb instead of (using firearms) to ambush the target,” Sindac said in a press briefing at Camp Crame.

“Instead of gun-for-hire, this might be bomb-for-hire,” he continued.

He also noted reports that Sayadi, sister of Cotabato City Mayor Japal Guiani Jr, had escaped two previous attempts on her life.

“Since (the assassins) had failed to kill her using guns, they may have resorted to using explosives this time (since) the subject or target was using a bulletproof vehicle,” Sindac said.

He said 13 of the 30 people who were wounded in the attack remained in hospitals in Cotabato while the rest were allowed to go home.

While police investigators were considering the possibility that the incident was a “personal attack on the city administrator,” Sindac said the PNP was not discounting other motives such as terrorism.

“This is just one of the possible angles… and we are exploring this more seriously. But we are not discounting all others angles related to this incident,” he stressed.

Most of the casualties “seemed to be related to one personality,” Sindac added, apparently referring to Sayadi.

Asked if the explosion was related to the global terror alert that the US government had issued a few days ago, he said the police “don’t see any immediate or direct connection” of the attack to the US terror warning.

“We are also not discounting that this is connected to the Cagayan de Oro incident,” he said.

He said PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima had directed the local police to locate the perpetrators and conduct a thorough investigation of the blast.

Purisima also ordered all police units to beef up their security measures by intensifying the PNP’s three-tiered defense system-intelligence gathering, target hardening and incident management.

Unlike in the Cagayan de Oro bombing, Sindac said personnel of the Cotabato police cordoned off the blast site.

“We have to commend the police investigators. They are more thorough this time around in their crime scene investigation,” he said.

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