Robredo not target of Cotabato blasts—police

COTABATO CITY, Philippines—Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo’s presence here during the September 12 twin explosions might have just been incidental and he was not probably the actual target of the perpetrators, a police official said Friday.

Chief Superintendent Felicisimo Khu, chief of the Joint Task Force Anti-Crime in Central Mindanao, said the blasts occurred in places where Robredo’s convoy was not scheduled to pass through.

Robredo’s group took the shorter, less-travelled route along the Kutang Bato Square Garden toward Bishop Gerard Mongeau Avenue, which also leads  to the venue of his meeting inside the ARMM Complex here.

The bombs exploded on Sinsuat Avenue  and Gutierrez Avenue.

Khu said the real motive of the perpetrators was still unclear.

Citing intelligence sources, Khu said the targets of bomb attacks could have been senior Church officials here, such as Bishop Orlando Quevedo and others “accused as spoilers of peace.”

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“You will recall that people like ex-Governor Manny Piñol (of North Cotabato), were tagged as spoilers of peace by the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front), so there could be a group which (wants to sow havoc here),” Khu told reporters.

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Cotabato City Mayor Japal Guiani said the bombs could have been intended to sow intrigue, divide or drive a wedge among city residents who have peacefully coexisted with one another for decades.

But Colonel Doroteo Jose Jalandoni of the 7th Marine Battalion Landing Team speculated that ARMM caretaker aspirants who had been dislodged from the DILG’s short list could have been behind the explosions.

“Logic lang yan eh. Natural na magalit ka kapag hindi ka nakuha sa pinagpipilian. Pero bakit mo naman idadamay ang mga taong walang malay ditto?” he said.

Sought for a reaction, an aspirant who failed to make it to the DILG short list, Prof. Hamid Lajakahal, said any accusation should be validated, in fairness to all.

“Logically also, it’s like telling the DILG that it had allowed terrorists to take part in a legal, valid government process. In fairness to these people, including the aspirants, the government made sure that none who has a criminal record could be part of the process. We were required to submit NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) clearance,” Lajakahal said.

Guiani said he planned to convene  the city’s peace and order council to discuss the issue of the bombings and other peace-and-order problems.

“We need combined efforts here to address the problem besetting the city,” Cynthia Sayadi, city administrator, said.

Sayadi said the local government was offering P50,000 for information that would help authorities solve the bombings.

Khu said more policemen have been deployed in the city to prevent future bombings.

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