2 dead, 6 hurt in bus blasts in South; Suspect In Ozamiz BombingFalls

COTABATO CITY - Two persons were killed and six others were wounded in two bus bombings in North Cotabato and Kidapawan City yesterday as police detained a Moro guerrilla leader suspected of being behind a ferry blast in Ozamiz City last month.

The first bomb went off inside a bus at the passenger terminal of the Weena bus firm in the town of Matalam in North Cotabato, injuring a civilian, police said.

A second Weena bus, which was bound for Davao, was attacked in Kidapawan City, adjacent to Matalam, a few hours later, killing two persons and wounding five others.

Superintendent Alex Paul Monteagudo, provincial police director, said the latest attacks may be part of previous attempts to extort money from the bus company by armed groups linked to the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) or could be part of a broader destabilization scheme of the MILF itself.

It was the latest in a series of bombings and attempted bombings of public conveyances in Mindanao in the past few weeks.

Col. Rafael Romero, Armed Forces spokesman, said there are indications that the bombers could belong to the same group behind the Ozamiz blast.

"We believe this is part of the extortion activities of armed lawless elements in the area and not part of any destabilization move," Romero said.

The most deadly case was a series of blasts aboard a ferry at the port of Ozamiz City last Feb. 25 which killed 45 people.

MILF spokesman Ghazali Jaafar denied his group was behind the latest bombings, saying "these are the handiwork of extortionists and we condemn the attack against non-combatants."

In a separate development, MILF commander Amanodin Tomarompong, a suspect in the Ozamiz bombing, was captured last Monday following a police raid on his hideout in the town of Maigo in Lanao del Norte, said Maj. Salih Indanan, spokesman of the Armed Forces' Southern Command.

The suspected ferry bomber was arrested after a brief firefight with police, Indanan said, citing a police report. His two armed companions escaped.

The military has blamed the separatist MILF of being behind the ferry blast.

"The suspects tried to escape and engaged the policemen in a running gunbattle. Tomarompong was cornered in the village, where he was captured," Indanan said.

He said the bombings were part of extortion rackets run by the MILF, which is seeking to set up an Islamic state in Mindanao.

In reaction to the bombings, Maj. Gen. Gregorio Camiling said he was dispatching explosives experts to bus terminals in North Cotabato, Maguindanao and Davao to help guard against such incidents.

This week, suspected MILF guerrillas also sent a ransom demand for P10 million to the family of kidnapped sugarcane plantation owner Genaro Torqueza, saying they would harm the businessman if his family did not respond in two days, Monteagudo said.

Torqueza, 41, and his driver, Avelino Alegario, were aboard a pick-up truck when they were snatched in Barangay Kilada, Matalam, North Cotabato last Feb. 29.

The kidnappers, led by MILF commanders Sanguili Kabilog and Odin Alonto, relayed the ransom demand to local officials negotiating the captives' release, the military said.

Zamboanga City Mayor Maria Clara Lobregat has offered a P200,000 reward for any information that could lead to the rescue of teachers Leticia Calo and Maybeline Apolinario who were seized last Thursday, and the arrest of their captors, believed to be extremist Moro rebels.

Three other men are still being held captive in Sulu. They are bank teller Patrick Viray, businessman Edwin Induso and bookkeeper Andres Amante of the Philippine Federation of Family Planning.

Meanwhile, police disarmed a homemade bomb outside a restaurant in Jolo, Sulu last Monday, police said.

The explosive device, believed planted by Abu Sayyaf rebels, included a grenade, two kilograms of ammonium nitrate and two blasting caps rigged to a timing unit.

Vincent Samsuya, owner of the restaurant, Friend Coffee Shop, alerted police when he found a suspicious large plastic gallon jug outside his premises at about 6:30 a.m.

Had the bomb exploded, Superintendent Candido Casimiro, Sulu police chief, said it could have caused a huge fire since the area is dotted with small establishments and houses of light materials.