Alert residents foil bomb attempt in Cotabato City

COTABATO CITY --- Police and Army bomb experts deactivated Wednesday night (May 9) an improvised bomb along a busy alley in Barangay Bagua here.

The discovery of the improvised bomb fashioned from 81 mm mortar with mobile phone as triggering device briefly interrupted the campaign period for Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) here.

Quoting witnesses, re-electionist village chair Bimbo Diolonen said two men were seen entering the densely populated village at past 7 p.m. and left what appeared like a bag beside the narrow alleyway.

Residents noticed the suspicious item and alerted authorities who quickly sealed off the area.

“At past 8 p.m., the IED was deactivated after several attempts of disrupting it,” Senior Superintendent  Rolly Octavio, city police director, said.

An Army disposal bomb expert who responded at the scene said that after the IED was deactivated using a water disruptor, he noticed traces of suspected shabu substance in the site where the bomb was found.

The police said intense rivalry has been observed in the village.

Diolonen, the village chairman, said it was the first time an IED was planted in the village since he was elected village chief.

Cotabato City Mayor Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi lauded the civilians for quickly alerting the police, preventing a potentially bloody Wednesday evening. (Edwin Fernandez, PNA - Cotabato)