COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 20, 2011) – Philippine troops disrupted Tuesday an improvised explosive planted inside the compound of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in Cotabato City, officials said.
Officials said two other improvised bombs were recovered on Monday inside the compound after its blasting caps prematurely exploded. The blasts coincided with official assumption of Mujiv Hataman, 39, a former congressman and political ally of President Benigno Aquino, as acting regional governor.
No individual or group claimed responsibility for the foiled bombings, but officials said troops recovered leaflets with markings “Bangsamoro Islamic Movement,” a shadowy group put up by a former Moro Islamic Liberation Front leader Ameril Umra Kato.
“We are still investigating who was behind all these and their motives,” Army Major Sergio Macaranda, a spokesman for the 6th Infantry Division, told the Mindanao Examiner.
He said soldiers recovered four 81mm mortar bombs since Monday planted inside the ARMM compound. It was not immediately known how the bombers were able to sneak the improvised explosives inside which are being guarded by policemen and security guards.
Many ARMM officials in Cotabato have objected Hataman’s assumption, saying the Supreme Court is yet to act on a petition by politicians questioning the legality of Aquino’s order appointing the former lawmaker to the position.
Former Moro National Liberation Front rebels in Basilan also objected to Hataman’s appointment and held a protest rally in the province of Monday.
Hataman was also implicated in the deadly 2007 bombing at the House of Representatives that killed 6 people, including former MNLF leader and Basilan Congressman Wahab Akbar, a political opponent of Hataman. The charges against Hataman were dismissed by the Justice department for lack evidence weeks before Aquino signed his appointment paper.
He replaced ARMM Vice Governor Ansaruddin Adiong as acting regional governor after Governor Zaldy Ampatuan was arrested and jailed in connection to the brutal killings of 57 people in Maguindanao province in 2009.
Ampatuan and his father, brother and relatives were accused of masterminding the murders – considered as the worst political killings in the country – an allegation they strongly denied.
Hataman, a native of Basilan province and a former political activist, has until 2013 to serve as governor until new elections are held. His name had been floated since early this year as Aquino’s choice to run the Muslim autonomous region.
Manila said Hataman was the best choice for the job, despite reportedly strong protest from other candidates to the position. Aquino also named Bainon Karon as acting regional vice governor. (Mindanao Examiner)
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