Passengers hurt in Bukidnon bus blast

BUKIDNON, Philippines — Four passengers were hurt Thursday when a powerful explosion ripped through a bus in Maramag town in the province while en route to Cagayan de Oro City.

The victims,  Paquito Jivares, 61, Lyn Quadero, 21, Diolola Fostanes, 36, and Daniel Sincero, 45, were seated near the engine at the rear of the Rural Transit Bus, where the improvised explosive device was planted.

Police Inspector Jiselle Lou Longakit, speaking on behalf of the Bukidnon police office, said the bus came from Tacurong City in Central Mindanao, bound for Cagayan de Oro City.

The blast damaged the engine and shattered the protective glass panes at the rear sides of the bus.

Dozens of buses and business establishments in Tacurong City and nearby towns in the neighboring Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao provinces have been bombed by extortionists in years past.

Longakit said the wounded passengers have been declared in stable condition by doctors at the hospital where they were evacuated for medication.

Responding police bomb experts are still trying to determine the kind of IED used in the attack.