5 Cotabato blast suspects nabbed

Police have arrested five teenagers in connection with a grenade attack on a crowd of concert-goers Wednesday night in Cotabato City that left at least seven people dead and at least 125 others wounded.

The suspects, aged 14 to 17 and believed to be members of the so-called 18-K Gang, allegedly got mad after a rock band turned down their request to play a popular song entitled "Stupid Luv" by the rap group Salbakuta.

Other reports indicated, however, that the gangmembers went onstage and wanted to do their own act, but the performing group rejected them.

Police identified the suspects as Jasmin Sinsuat, Pelot Cabud, Nasser Datukali and Musib Mamalinta, all Maguindanaoans; and Munabantog Natangcop, a Maranaw.

Cotabato City police director Senior Superintendent Sangacala Dampac said witnesses have pointed to Mamalinta as the one who tossed the grenade into the crowd watching the concert by the "Brothers and Friends" band at the compound of St. Joseph Parish Church in Notre Dame Village.

Mamalinta reportedly has pending cases for allegedly stabbing two high school students in the city.

Sources said other members of the gang were being monitored by the authorities on suspicion of drug trafficking.

Two of the fatalities, identified as Ayob Lucman, 25, and Antonette Cabrera, 24, died on the spot.

The five others, Anne Sheila Jasmin, 22; Aljan Macalawan, Marissa Tan and her cousin Lyka Tan and a certain Alminah Kayug reportedly died while undergoing treatment at the Cotabato Regional Medical Center.

Some of those injured were sent home after treatment for superficial wounds in various hospitals.

Police investigation showed that Mamalinta’s group got angry after the band refused to play the song of the rap group Salbakuta because they were not familiar with the lyrics.

The concert was meant to highlight the community’s celebration of the feast of its patron saint.

"They threatened to harm the members of the band and left," Dampac said, adding that minutes later, there was a loud explosion and ensuing pandemonium. There was a stampede as everybody ran for his life.

Police said the explosive was wrapped with iron-shavings, which led to the large number of victims.

"This is a mindless act, pure animality. Imagine killing innocent people, including children, just because of something as petty as this," said Central Mindanao police director Senior Superintendent Bartolome Baluyot.

With the arrest of the teenagers, police ruled out the involvement of Muslim rebels.

However, Acting Press Secretary Silvestre Afable Jr. hinted that the grenade-throwing incident was the handiwork of terrorists. "I am sure that the military and the police are now tracking down the perpetrators of this bombing," Afable said.

Cotabato, which has a mixed Christian and Muslim population, is one of the cities police said has been targeted for attacks by the Abu Sayyaf.

A series of explosions caused by home-made bombs rocked General Santos City last month, killing 15 people and wounding dozens.

The attacks were claimed by a man who said he was a spokesman for the Abu Sayyaf.

Meanwhile, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) condemned the Cotabato bomb attack, branding it as a "most terrible crime, a dastardly act of the basest kind."

CBCP president Archbishop Orlando Quevedo said the attack at the church compound "makes the crime even more condemnable."

"How the level of crime has gone down so low in our society. Even the sacredness of the day and the sacredness of the place have been treated with disdain," Quevedo lamented.

He said the incident transformed a fiesta celebration into a day of tragedy and infamy. — With reports from Marichu Villanueva, Roel Pareño