3 Killed, 5 Hurt in Bomb Explosion; Isabela City Vice Mayor Unscathed

Isabela City, Basilan (PNA) – Three people were killed and five others were wounded while a city vice mayor escaped unscathed in a roadside bombing Thursday in this city, the police said.

Supt. Albert Larubis, local police chief, disclosed the incident took place around 1:10 p.m. Thursday in Barangay Sunrise, this city.

The bomb exploded just outside the main gate of the compound of Mayor Cherrylyn Santos-Akbar.

Larubis said investigation showed the bomb exploded while the two-vehicle convoy of Vice-Mayor Abdulbaki Ajibon has passed by the area.

The blast killed two of Ajibon’s staffs who were aboard in one of the two vehicles in the convoy. The pick-up type vehicle was destroyed.

Larubis identified the third fatality as Gregorio Heneral Delgado, a city government employee. Ajibon’s staffs remained unidentified.

He said the identities of the wounded victims, who were Ajibun’s companions on the other vehicle, were not immediately available. They were rushed to the hospitals for treatment.

He said the bomb could have been placed in a tricycle, which was in total wreck, parked along the roadside.

The bomb blast has shattered glasses of windows of the nearby houses, including that of Akbar.

Larubis said the continuing investigation was aimed at unmasking the suspects behind the bombing incident.

Thursday’s bombing incident was the second on the convoy of Ajibun at the same place.

The first was on May 31, 2012 wherein Ajibun and a Philippine Red Cross (PRC) staff were slightly wounded.

Ajibun and the PRC staff were aboard on separate vehicle traveling on opposite directions when a bomb, placed at a parked motorcycle, exploded.

Ajibun just came at that time from the session of the City Council and was on the way home. (PNA) RMA/TPGJR/NOEL M. MIRASOL