By Ali Macabalang
KIDAPAWAN CITY – Another explosion rocked Central Mindanao Sunday night, ripping through a videoke bar in the bustling town of Midasayap in North Cotabato.
This file photo taken on October 3, 2017 shows crime scene tape and red balloons outside the Route 91 festival venue after a gunman killed more than 59 people and wounded more than 527 others when he opened fire on a country music festival in Las Vegas, Nevada. (AFP PHOTO / Mark RALSTON / MANILA BULLETIN)
The latest blast, traced initially by investigators to an improvised explosive device, happened about eight hours after an IED exploded in Gen. Santos City where seven persons were reported injured.
“Nobody was hurt and bomb experts are still conducting post-blast investigation,” Senior Inspector Jumrell Amotan, Midsayap town deputy police chief said.
Amotan said the Sunday blast happened at 7:15 p.m. inside Theresa’s Place Videoke bar in Barangay Poblacion 4 in Midasayap, a progressive town bordering North Cotabato and Maguindanao.
The videoke bar management told police investigators that three men arrived on board a motorbike and ordered one liter size of soft drink and bread.
A few minutes later, the three men, with ages ranging from 25 to 30 years old, left, saying they were done when bar workers asked them why they were in a hurry.
The three unidentified persons were the lone customers that time at the videoke bar, a night spot drawing several patrons regularly.
As soon as the three men left the videoke bar, a loud explosion ripped through the establishment that was made of light materials, bar workers told investigators.
No one has claimed responsibility for the incident. The blast site is located about 50 meters away from the Midsayap police office.
The blast was the fourth bomb attack in Central Mindanao this month. The first two happened in Isuan town, Sultan Kudarat where close to 40 casualties were reported. The third blast happened in General Santos City barely eight hours before the Midsayap explosion.
Police authorities in Cotabato City have imposed a lock down as part of the stringent security measures. (