COTABATO CITY – Two separate blasts on Saturday left one person injured in southern Philippines, officials said.
The twin explosions came ahead of the possible visit by President Benigno Aquino in Cotabato City for Monday’s State of the Region Address.
Earlier on Saturday, an explosion occurred along the highway in Shariff Aguak town in nearby Maguindanao, one of five provinces under the restive Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
No one was reported hurt or killed in the blast and the army said the explosion was not strong enough. But a grenade attack later in the day left one civilian wounded in Cotabato City.
Officials said soldiers and policemen were quickly deployed in downtown Cotabato where the explosion occurred, but the attacker managed to escape.
The attack targeted a dump truck that passed along Sinsuat Avenue, but a civilian, Raisma Baraquir, was hit by shrapnel, according to Captain Jo Ann Petinglay, a spokeswoman for the 6th Infantry Division.
She said the 22-year Baraquir was rushed to hospital. The truck driver, Daryl Llagono, was unhurt from the blast.
“Recovered at the blast site were safety lever and fragments of M61 hand grenade. The motive of the attack is still unknown, but authorities are already investigating the incident,” Petinglay told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
No individual claimed responsibility for the attack here.
Television network ABC 5 reported that Aquino is expected to attend the event in Cotabato City, the seat of the regional government. (Mindanao Examiner, with a report from Mark Navales)
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