Davao City cops still analyzing blast evidence

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Local authorities are still piecing together evidence found in cinemas in two malls where explosions took place Monday night.

 â€œWe are now determining who could be behind the two blasts based on what we found in the improvised explosive devices used,” said Senior Superintendent Ronald de la Rosa, city police chief.

No one was injured though in the blasts that hit Cinema 1 of SM City along Quimpo Boulevard and Cinema 5 of Gaisano Mall along J.P. Laurel Avenue.

De la Rosa said investigators are also analyzing other details of the twin blasts that could help solve the case.

The bombs used in both incidents were reportedly placed in beverage tin cans containing a nine-volt battery as power source, a cellular phone as triggering device, an electric blasting cap, and high explosive fillers (RDX and PETN).

No shrapnels or fragments were recovered in the blast sites. Authorities said the improvised explosives were designed merely to scare people and not to harm them.

But De la Rosa said the impact of the blasts could still kill those near the point of explosion even if the bombs did not have shrapnels.

A STAR source said the improvised explosives used in both cases were actually commercial types used in road and mine blasting.

Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has ordered tighter security measures in the city. Mall owners were also told to install high-definition closed-circuit television cameras in strategic places, and those who don’t face closure, Duterte warned.