By Ronron
May 9, 2007
Policemen in Sultan Kudarat province nabbed on Wednesday morning a man who allegedly left the improvised explosive device (IED) beside a billiard hall in Tacurong City the other day that blew off and killed three people (not five as earlier reported) and wounded 30 others (not 32, as earlier reported).
In a phone interview yesterday afternoon, Sultan Kudarat Police Provincial Director Supt. Ping Tucao said the possible suspect was apprehended at around 10 am in the nearby Isulan town of same province.
Tucao said the apprehension of the suspect came after they conducted surveillance, monitoring and manhunt operations since Tuesday evening until yesterday morning.
He said the person, whose identity he purposely withheld pending further investigation, was positively identified as the one who left a thermos at the side of the billiard hall.
Quoting bomb experts that investigating the blast site, Tucao said the IED was believed to have been contained inside the thermos since torn pieces of the latter were retrieved from the area.
Bits and parts of a cellular phone, nails, and suspected C4 substances were also recovered from the rubbles, Tucao said.
Asked if the incident was a terrorist act, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. said: “Well, it is a homemade bomb, improvised device so it is similar to the other explosives before. So, it is possible.
On the part of the PNP, Tucao said he still cannot issue a categorical statement about the motive of the blast since their investigation is still ongoing.
Esperon said with the incident happening, the terror alert level in Mindanao is immediately raised to Extreme-Critical Level, the highest of four levels./DMS
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