KORONADAL CITY , Philippines — The city government of Koronadal is offering a P100,000 reward money for anyone who can provide the authorities a lead for the identification, arrest and prosecution of persons or groups behind the Sunday bombing.
Mayor Peter Miguel Monday, announced “The city government is offering P100,000 reward to help fast track the police investigation.”
Miguel said the reward will go to any person who can help identify the suspects.
Philippine National Police Director Chief Superintendent Oscar Albayalde, who visited the blast site Monday said he will not relieve any of his men as yet “No police heads will roll,” but stressed “I give the two officials the time to investigate, arrest the suspects and solve the crime.”
After the close-door meeting with Police Supt. Ronald Allan Penaverde, Koronadal City police director and Senior Supt. Nestor Salcedo, South Cotabato police provincial director, Abayalde told reporters that the convenience store security guard noticed the “sando bag” left unattended in front of the store.
The guard picked-up the package and noticed it was quite heavy. Suspecting it was an explosive, he quickly alerted the police.
Abayalde revealed, they have now the facial components of the two persons who separately left improvised bombs, as retrieved from the city’s CCTV cameras.
The police kept the capture images and was not shown to the public.
Police investigation revealed, a man placed the IED in a parlor tricycle near the Catholic Cathedral while the woman placed the other IED in front 747 convenience store.
The IED in the pedicab went off at 12:15 p.m. that wounded two persons. The one left by a woman in front of the convenience store was safely detonated by police bomb experts.
Abayalde visited the blast site and had a chat with the blast victims, Dindo Legalag, 44 of Barangay General Paulinos Santos s and Generosa Festin, 44, vendor of Barangay Topland, both residents of Koronadal City.
The IED was fashioned from black power with cut nails and cut metal sheets as shrapnel. It was to be activated by a mobile phone.
Earlier, Chief Supt. Marcelo Morales, the police director for Region 12, said the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) are among the possible suspects.
“It was a diversionary tactic of the BIFF due to the series of arrests we made in the region,” Morales said in a news conference. Several BIFF members, including bomb experts, have been arrested in separate police operations in Sultan Kudarat, Saranggani and Gen. Santos City.
But Abu Misri Mama, speaking on behalf of the BIFF, denied involvement in the attack. But accused the military and the police of doing it “and then put the blame on us.”
Mama said, the BIFF does not attack non-combatants. He explained, the BIFF are mainly based in Maguindanao, and had lied low following massive military offensives. “We rested since last month,” he added.
As a result of the Sunday explosion, Morales set up more police and military checkpoints around Koronadal.
Morales also placed the entire PNP 12 on alert status to prevent similar attacks in the future.-Edwin O. Fernandez
