ZAMBOANGA CITY – A bomb believed to have been set off by a cellular phone exploded outside the Andrews Air Force base here, killing two people and wounding 22 others, authorities said.
The explosion forced the diversion of the flight of President Arroyo and US Ambassador Kristie Kenney, who were on their way to Tawi-Tawi. Their plane was supposed to make a brief stopover at the Edwin Andrews Air Base (EAAB), according to Malacañang sources.
The blast occurred around 10 a.m. yesterday near the gates of the airbase, and almost ripped off the façade of a two-story building across the base.
The building housed the Air Materiel Wing Saving and Loan Association, Inc. (AMSLAI), the USAID-funded agency Alliance for Mindanao Off-Grid Renewable Energy Program (AMORE), and the office of Zamboanga Rep. Ma. Isabel Climaco.
Several bystanders waiting outside the building were hit by debris while several others in a passenger jeepney and a tricycle passing by at the time of the explosion were also hit.
American troops providing counterterrorism training to Filipino soldiers were encamped at the air base, but none of them were injured, police said.
Two men and a woman, who were both waiting to get on the plane, were killed in the blast.
Police initially identified the fatalities as Ayessa Bosmion and Emedito Talicdi, who both succumbed to multiple injuries while being rushed to a hospital.
City police chief Superintendent Lurimer Detran said most of those injured were military personnel and their dependents waiting for a transport aircraft.
He said their initial findings indicate the bomb was placed inside one of the traveling bags of the civilian passengers.
“The explosion has all the hallmarks of a terrorist bomb,” said Col. Darwin Guerra, the military’s regional anti-terror taskforce commander.
“The bomb was hidden in a bag and was detonated by remote control using a cell phone,” he said.
Guerra said military and police bomb disposal teams are now combing the explosion site to determine the type of explosive used.
Malacañang condemned the bombing and ordered the police and military to track down the suspects.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said President Arroyo has ordered the police and military to make a thorough investigation of the blast and assist the victims and their families.
“We strongly condemn this despicable act,” Bunye said. “Rest assured that the authorities will get to the bottom of this crime.”
Bunye said Mrs. Arroyo and Kenney pushed through with their visit to Tawi-Tawi to launch an agribusiness project and the P324-million bridge-road project in the region.
Kenney condemned the attack. “This is a terrible incident... We hope those who did this will be brought to justice,” she said.
Local officials led by Mayor Celso Lobregat also condemned the bombing, describing the attack “as an act of cowardice.”
Lobregat said the city government immediately provided medical relief and assistance to the victims.
Whodunit
Security forces are eyeing a diversionary attack by terrorist groups in the airbase as a prelude to more bombings.
This was the initial assessment made by investigators during a meeting following the explosion.
Western Mindanao police regional director Chief Superintendent Jaime Caringal said they are looking at the possibility that Abu Sayyaf extremists were involved in the attack.
The Abu Sayyaf has clashed in recent days with government troops in nearby Basilan.
“One possibility is that this is an Abu Sayyaf diversionary attack or a retaliation,” Caringal said.
“What we are seeing here is that the attack was carried out by the Abu Sayyaf and the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) renegades to divert military attention from Basilan and Sulu,” another senior military official said.
The Abu Sayyaf has targeted Zamboanga City in the past. The bandit group was blamed by police for two nearly simultaneous bombings that damaged a cathedral and a commercial building in April.
Caringal said the bombing was carried out by the rogue MILF’s Special Operations Group, which has tactical links with the Abu Sayyaf.
A security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said police have received intelligence reports of a plan by Abu Sayyaf to stage abductions and bombings in three southern cities, including Zamboanga.
Caringal said he placed police forces in the region on alert and ordered more street patrols.
On the other hand, Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman Chief Superintendent Nicanor Bartolome said the initial reports received by the national police headquarters revealed a vehicle might have been used by the suspects.
He said a retired police officer identified as Abdurasul Adjie Sabban has been invited for questioning after he was found to be the registered owner of a white van seen parked in front of the building shortly before the explosion occurred.
Police said the van bore shrapnel holes, leading investigators to believe that the vehicle was used by the bombers.
Armed Forces chief Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano, meanwhile, said the incident will not compromise the government’s peace initiatives with the MILF.
“We will not abandon the peace talks,” Yano said. “We assure you that evil forces will not triumph over the peace loving citizens of Zamboanga.” –With Paolo Romero, Jaime Laude, Cecille Suerte Felipe, AP