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—Witnesses saw two men lurking in front of a pawnshop the night before an improvised explosive devise went off in North Cotabato, said Midsayap police chief Superintendent Renante Delos Santos.
In an interview with Radyo Inquirer 990AM, Delos Santos said the two unidentified men were loitering in front of the M Lhuillier Pawnshop at around 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
One of the men was seen seated on the pawnshop’s concrete bench as the other one stood at a corner, possibly serving as a lookout.
Authorities said the IED, which exploded at 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday, was planted on the said bench reserved for clients of the pawnshop.
“The said area is dingy at night. There are no people. [The witnesses] observed that the two men moved around a lot. One of them sat on a bench. The other one seemingly stood guard by a corner,” said Delos Santos in Filipino.
Delos Santos lamented the absence of a CCTV camera in the area, since the pawnshop owners have yet to install such security devices.
He reminded the public to stay alert and report suspicious incidents, instead of waiting for untoward events to happen.
Delos Santos said the province has been on red alert since the Cotabato City blast. The recent attack which damaged the facade of the Lhuillier pawnshop and alarmed a local radio station operating on the second floor of the building, happened amid regular patrols by Cotabato police and their K-9 units.
On Tuesday, Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao Governor Mujiv Hataman told Radyo Inquirer that they are trying to impress upon the public that security is the responsibility of both the state and the community.
He said perpetrators of such crimes are most likely residents of the community and that anyone with relevant information should come forward.
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