ILIGAN CITY (MindaNews / 3 Sept) – Police authorities here have foiled a bombing attempt in an ukay-ukay (used clothing) store near the Gaisano Mall downtown Sunday morning, just a few days after the city opened its month-long Diyandi Festival leading to the city fiesta towards the end of September.
But Col. Reinante delos Santos, city police director, told MindaNews hours after the commotion that initial reports from members of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team showed that the four improvised explosive devices (IEDs) wrapped in garbage bags “lacked several components” for it to be able to explode.
Major Felix Rabago Jr., commander of Iligan City Police Station 5, said that a call from a concerned citizen prompted his unit to proceed to the suspected location and cordoned off the area near Emiat’s Treasurehunt Secondhand Shoppe along Consunji St. across Gaisano Mall’s southern entrance, causing monstrous traffic as it is situated just a few meters from the national highway.
Rabago said the EOD and K9 units repeatedly searched the area for bombs, then initiated a water cannon disruptor to disable the suspected IED.
He said they found four containers with alleged ammonium nitrate (used in fertilizer but highly explosive and thus commonly used in IEDs), fuel oil, two-way handheld radio, three keypad cellphones, one-inch concrete nails, switches and wires.
Delos Santos said the EOD team is still finalizing its report and assessing the IEDs as to their potential to cause heavy damage.
He said they are still investigating as to the possible motive of those who left the IEDs in a commercial area.
Rabago said they have already secured a copy of the CCTV footage from a commercial establishment showing the movement of the suspect that carried the backpack containing the IEDs minutes before police received the report.
Iligan’s social media erupted Sunday morning as some posted that a bomb was found in the ukay-ukay store even before the police could comment on the matter. An owner of a restaurant nearby lamented that their customers hurriedly left because of the bomb scare.
Mayor Frederick Siao lauded the police for immediately responding to the call on the suspected bomb.
He assured Iliganons the explosion they heard was only the water disruptor initiated by the EOD team to make sure that the IEDs would be disabled.
The mayor said that the city will implement more security measures in the coming days. “I am asking the cooperation of everyone to follow the procedures and policies being implemented for our maximum protection,” he added.
Siao told the police to double their efforts to make sure that Iliganons will be safe, and called on the public to immediately report to the police any possible threats.
Delos Santos said an additional police augmentation force has arrived from the Police Regional Office 10.
Brig. Gen. Anthon Abrina, commander of the Army’s 2nd Mechanized Infantry “Magbalantay” Brigade, assured Iliganons of the military’s support through Task Force Iligan. (Richel V. Umel / MindaNews)
