BULUAN, Maguindanao — Maguindanao Governor Esmael Mangudadatu has offered a cash bounty for anyone who can provide information that will lead to the identification and arrest of the suspects in twin explosions in Upi, Maguindanao Friday night that injured five people.
Mangudadatu, in a statement, also condemned the grenade attack and the setting of improvised explosive device at around 7:45 p.m. in the village of Borongotan.
He did not specifically reveal the amount he put up for the arrest of suspects but stressed those responsible must be held accountable.
The first blast, which happened at around 7:45 p.m. during a heated argument among basketball players, injured four people. Two of the victims , were identified as Jonathan Lingatong and Allan de Guzman.
Two others sustained only minor shrapnel injuries. The victims were among the more than 150 local folks watching a basketball tournament when the grenade-throwing transpired.
Responding policemen recovered a safety lever for a fragmentation grenade at the blast site.
The second blast, meanwhile, occurred minutes later and also hurt Police Officer 1 Marjun Lahaylhay of Upi town police as a roadside bomb was set off as he drove the police car in responding to the earlier blast.
Mangudadatu appealed to the people of Upi not to speculate and just allow the military and police to resolve the issue.
“Let us remain vigilant and help the police locate the perpetrators,” he said.
In December last year, a police officer and seven Marine troops were hurt in a similar grenade attack. Suspected extremists fired rifle grenades toward a roadside detachment in Barangay Poblacion, injuring a duty police officer.
As elements of Marine Battalion Landing Team (MBLT-1) arrived to help the police probe the incident, a roadside bomb was set off, wounding government forces.
The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), an ISIS-linked armed group in Maguindanao, claimed responsibility for the December bomb attacks. (Edwin Fernandez/PNA)
