Cotabato college sets tighter security following attacks

NORTH COTABATO, Philippines – The Cotabato Foundation College of Science and Technology (CFCST) in Arakan town  will impose tighter security measures  to prevent a repeat of Sunday’s grenade and arson attacks in its campus.

North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza, chairperson of the provincial peace and order council, said Senior Supt. Danny Peralta, the provincial police director, will provide ample protection to the students and faculty of the CFCST to ensure the continuing operation of the school.

Classes at CFCST resumed the other day following Sunday’s burning of a dormitory and the bombing inside the campus that injured 25 people, including firemen and responding policemen.

The victims were trying to put out a fire that hit the dormitory when a  bomb exploded,  causing them injuries.

Several local groups are reportedly been seeking the ouster of the school president  owing to alleged mismanagement of the CFCST.

CFCST  vice president Zaynudin Adam said classes will continue.

The state-owned CFCST accepts indigent students, among them members of  highland tribes and Moro communities in Central Mindanao.

The school also has an orphanage.

A powerful improvised explosive device was found near the school’s flagpole last year. Responding police and Army bomb experts deactivated the bomb promptly.

Mendoza has  ordered the provincial police  to investgate the Sunday evening incident.

Investigators had found empty plastic containers with petroleum residue around the burnt building. - John Unson