DAVAO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / May 3, 2012) – Philippine soldiers arrested a man who was trying to smuggle improvised landmines and incendiary bombs in Compostela Valley province in the restive southern region of Mindanao where security forces are battling communist and Muslim insurgents.
Officials said troops discovered the explosives during a routine inspection at a military checkpoint Wednesday night in Pantukan town. The 35-year old truck driver, Oliver Bolusan, was arrested and interrogated by the military.
Lt. Col. Jerry Borja, commander of the 71st Infantry Battalion, who said they seized a dozen landmines and several incendiary bombs from the truck. “These bombs can easily bring down a small building,” he said.
Borja said the bombs are owned by the communist rebel group New People’s Army, which is fighting for decades for the establishment of a separate Maoist state in the country. But he did not say whether the driver is a member of the NPA or just a courier. (Mindanao Examiner)
20