Bukidnon bus blast injures four passengers

BUKIDNON, Philippines — An improvised explosive device (IED) ripped through a passenger bus in the town of Maramag, Bukidnon. Four passengers were hurt in the blast.

The victims were identified as Paquito Jivares, 61, Lyn Quadero, 21, Diolola Fostanes, 36, and Daniel Sincero, 45. All four were seated towards the rear end of the Rural Transit Bus, near the engine, which was where the bomb had been planted.

Jiselle Lou Longakit, Police Inspector with the Bukidnon police office, said that the bus was bound for Cagayan de Oro City from Tacurong City in Central Mindanao.

The inspector added that the four injured passengers have been declared in stable condition by attending physicians at the hospital to which they were rushed for treatment.

Bomb experts were still trying to pinpoint the specific type of IED used in the blast, which damaged the engine and shattered the glass of the bus.

According to authorities, bomb attacks on business establishments and buses are not uncommon in Tacurong City and and in town in the nearby provinces of Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao. The bomb attacks have been linked to terror activities carried out by extortionists in the area.