Yt Framework

Mayor Celso Lobregat has included politics on the bombings at Rural Transit bus along MCLL highway in Barangay Guiwan and along Suterville road near Barangay Campo Islam last Thursday night.

At a Crisis Management Committee (CMC) meeting yesterday at City Hall, Mayor Lobregat, also CMC chairman, disclosed that the authorities are eyeing on several motives to include politics.

“As of this point in time there are several motives, several angles, being looked into because we want a very thorough investigation. The possible motives that the police are looking into are extortion, personal grudge, terrorism, also the motive that there are moves to discredit the administration these are all being looked into," he said.

The mayor hopes and prays that "this is not so but we cannot discount 100%.”

During the meeting, the chief executive and other CMC members formed Task Force 9224 Suterville led by OIC City Police Director, Police Sr. Supt. James Mejia to investigate thoroughly on both bombing incidents.

Mejia said the police went to the blast sites together with Scene of the Crime Operatives for the forensics and the city police's Explosives Ordnance Division (EOD) to gather evidences and reconstruct Improvised Explosive Devices coming from the two incidents.

The police also interviewed witnesses and came up with facial description. Because of this, Mejia instructed the police that all busses coming out from Zamboanga City will be checked by the K9 Unit and EOD at the Guiwan Bus Terminal while those coming from the provinces will be checked at Mercedes by the K9 and EOD.

Aside from this, the chief of the City Police Bomb Squad P/ Sr. Insp. Caesar Memoracion said that the shrapnels found during the blast at Sangali last year were the same as the shrapnels found at the latest blast in Guiwan and Suterville.  

Lobregat was in Manila to turnover the assistance of the city amounting to P10 Million for the victims of Habagat during the two bombing incidents.

According to Lobregat, during the incident he was immediately in touch with P/ Sr. Supt. Mejia, City Administrator Anotnio Orendain Jr., and Assistant City Health Officer Dr. Carol Carabana where the CMC was immediately convened.  

The mayor arrived first flight in the morning then he immediately proceeded to the airport, then to Suterville, Guiwan, to the Bus station depo in Divisoria and then to Camp Battala in Cawa Cawa.

Seven were wounded during the explosion in Barangay Guiwan while there were no casualties in Suterville.

According to Lobregat, assistance were already given to the victims by the City Government of Zamboanga. “Your authorities are doing everything possible to make sure that peace and order reigns in Zamboanga City and that we are not resting we continue to pursue crime prevention and crime solution.”

By: R.G. Antonet Go