COTABATO CITY—Police bomb experts on Monday morning defused an improvised explosive device planted beside the barangay hall of Rosary Heights 10, Cotabato City.
Kagi Bongol Mamalangkay, village chairman of Barangay Rosary Heights 10, said the attempt could be meant for him or his visitors to an Islamic “thanksgiving” event known as “Kanduli.”
Senior Insp. Roel Zafra, speaking for the local police, said the IED, fashioned from two rounds of M-203 rifle grenade attached to one MK-2 fragmentation grenade with mobile phone as trigger mechanism, was safely deactivated at 11:40 a.m.
After the deactivation process, police bomb experts also found switch diagram, wires and 9-volt battery. It was not clear who was behind the attempt.
Zafra said investigation on the matter is ongoing.
“This was a high-caliber bomb, it was meant to kill or maim people,” Zafra said, adding that had it exploded it could have damaged the village hall.
“We are looking at one or two groups to be behind the attempt,” he said.
Mamalangkay said it was clearly politically motivated since the thanksgiving party for a dead relative had local candidates as visitors.
Zafra said the village compound located along San Isidro Street, has no closed-circuit TV cameras that could have helped the police in identifying the suspects.
He appealed to the public to remain vigilant and help the police foil any attempt to disrupt the city’s peace and order situation. PNA