DAVAO CITY – The Task Force Davao could not yet trace the owner of the bag with an explosive left on the roadside near an Army checkpoint in Lasang, this city, but it was similar to the material used by the New People’s Army (NPA).
“We have not identified yet the perpetrator/s in the IED (improvised explosive device) incident. The signature of IED has similarity with the IED used by NPA in their terroristic acts,” said Task Force Commander Col. Nolasco Mempin in an interview Friday.
Mempin said he could not speculate as to the intent, but assured the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in Davao is always on guard and on high alert against the NPA continued terror activities.
On Thursday, personnel at the Task Force Davao checkpoint in Lasang, this city discovered an IED placed inside a bag left at the roadside some 1.2 kilometers from the military checkpoint that put the traffic at a standstill for an hour.
Mempin said the unattended bag was noticed by a concerned citizen at around 6 a.m. on Thursday prompting the Task Force to send one squad of Task Group Lawin K9 immediately to the area to verify the reported unattended baggage.
The K9 sniffed and indicated positive reaction, Mempin said. The Explosive Ordnance Division (EOD) team then rendered safety procedure to the IED.
The item was safely recovered and it is now in the custody of TF Davao EOD and K9 team for proper disposition.
“May nag report sa Lasang Detachment may suspicious item sa gilid ng highway, thus, our EOD and K9 team proceeded and validated. It turned out positive and EOD rendered safety procedure to recover said improvise explosive device (Someone reported to our Lasang Detachment that there was a suspicious item on the side of the highway, thus, our EOD and K9 team proceeded and validated. And it turned out positive and EOD rendered safety procedure to recover said improvise explosive device),” Mempin said.
Capt. Damaso Enano, spokesperson for TF Davao said, “We cannot directly say but we know that there are so many activities to be held in the city.”
“It was detonated so it means paputukin talaga dahil kompleto siya (it will really be exploded because it is complete),” Enano said.
The incident on Thursday was not the first time that the task force prevented any plans to create trouble in Davao.
Last year, Task Force personnel also foiled plans to bomb the city after an unattended bag with an IED was also reported left inside the compartment of a bus entering Davao City. (Rhoda Grace Saron/PNA)
