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Philippine police disarm bomb near mayor’s house

A homemade bomb was found near the house of a Philippine mayor who strongly opposes a territorial deal between the central government and secessionist Muslim rebels, a regional police chief said yesterday.

Chief Superintendent Felizario Serapio said the bomb, made from a mortar shell and a blasting cap, was found on Friday 100m from the house of Mayor Lito Pinol in Mlang town in North Cotabato Province, 930km south of Manila.

Pinol and his brother, North Cotabato vice governor Emmanuel Pinol, led a strong opposition against an agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) aimed at expanding the autonomous Muslim region in Mindanao.

Police officers also recovered a grenade that had no safety pin inside a cinema packed with people in Zamboanga City, 875km south of Manila. Zamboanga is a hotbed of protest against the government-MILF territorial deal.

Senior superintendent Jose Bayani Gucela said the grenade was meant to explode, but failed “because of mechanical problem.”

The Supreme Court temporarily stopped last week the signing of the deal, triggering three days of clashes between government troops and MILF rebels that left 53 people dead and displaced 160,000.

Superintendent Serapio said the bomb found near Mayor Pinol’s house, the fourth to be found in North Cotabato in two days, was successfully detonated.

“Immediately after it was reported, police cordoned the area,” he said. “The bomb was detonated using a disruptor. An investigation is ongoing.”
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