By Martin Sadongdong and Ali Macabalang
Three days before Christmas Day, a series of explosions rocked Cotabato City and the provinces of Cotabato and Maguindanao Sunday night which resulted in the wounding of at least 23 individuals.
The attacks came on the eve of the scheduled visit in Cotabato City of President Duterte to distribute certificates of land ownership awards (CLOA) to agrarian reform beneficiaries from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). The presidential event was scheduled Monday afternoon inside the BARMM compound in Cotabato City.
Major Arvin Encinas, spokesperson of the Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom), said the first explosion occurred at the corner of Sinsuat Avenue and Quezon Avenue in Cotabato City, near a bank and the cathedral at around 6 p.m.
Encinas said elements of the Philippine Army's Fifth Special Forces Battalion were patrolling the area aboard a military truck when three unidentified suspects lobbed a grenade at them.
The troops engaged the suspects in a brief firefight but the attackers managed to escape onboard a motorcycle. Encinas described the suspects as teenagers.
Encinas said 15 persons, including nine soldiers, were hurt in the attack.
“Tonight is a sad and unfortunate night for all Cotabatenos. As of this time, 16 are reported wounded,” Cotabato City Mayor Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi said as she appealed for heightened vigilance among her constituents.
The WestMinCom said they were eyeing the Dawlah Islamiyah (DI) and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) as the possible suspects.
At around 6:30 p.m., a suspected improvised explosive (IED) device suddenly exploded at Pedro Colina (PC) Hill, Barangay Rosary Heights 1 also in Cotabato City, about 3.6 kilometers from the site of the first grenade attack.
A civilian who was just passing by the area was reportedly wounded in the incident while authorities said the suspects were also riding on a motorcycle.
The military has yet to establish whether the two explosions were connected.
Two more explosions occurred at Barangay Poblacion in Libungan, North Cotabato between 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. where at least six civilians got hurt.
The last explosion was reported at a site of a trade fair in Sitio Tekwa National Highway in North Upi, Maguindanao around 9 p.m. where a civilian was wounded.
The military was coordinating with the police in investigating the series of explosions, which happened more than a week before martial law in the entire Mindanao island is lifted.
Two years since its implementation, martial law will be lifted on December 31.
Malacañang vowed to hunt down those behind the recent attacks in Cotabato in Maguindanao.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms last night's grenade attacks and explosion incidents in Cotabato and Maguindanao,” Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a statement Monday.
In the wake of the explosions, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) urged the public to remain calm but vigilant.
Brigadier General Edgard Arevalo, AFP spokesman, said the 6th Infantry Division (6ID) under the Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom) – which has military jurisdiction over the affected areas – already implemented measures to ensure the security of the residents and run after the perpetrators of the attacks who are believed to be members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).
“The 6ID is in control of the situation and implementing necessary security measures to put the situation in check, and ensure everything is brought back to normal,” Arevalo said in a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
Arevalo said the military unit has implemented measures in support of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to pursue the perpetrators in the incidents and ensure that it will not happen again, especially during the Yuletide season.
“We urge the public to remain calm. Your AFP and other government agencies are doing their best to arrest the perpetrators,” he said. (With a report from Argyll Geducos)