15 dead in Basilan blasts
By Roel Pareño (The Philippine Star) Updated April 14, 2010 12:00 AM
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ISABELA CITY, Basilan , Philippines – Armed men in military uniforms detonated bombs yesterday then
fired on fleeing civilians, leaving 15 dead, including five of the suspects, and 13 civilians wounded, according
to police and military officers.
The first bomb went off at around 10:30 a.m. at the grandstand of a stadium in Barangay Sampurna outside
the Department of Education building after Marines and the police gave chase to a van, which failed to stop
at a checkpoint.
Three Marines and a policeman were killed in the ensuing gun battle but the bomb inside the van exploded,
killing three of the suspects.
Two gunmen, who jumped out of the van before the explosion, exchanged fire with government troopers but
were killed.
The second bomb, rigged to a motorcycle parked near the Sta. Isabel Cathedral, went off minutes later as
government forces chased the suspects.
“It heavily damaged the church but no one was wounded in that blast. The men were shooting at civilians as
they fled towards a forested area,” provincial police chief Senior Superintendent Antonio Mendoza said.
Another bomb was recovered in front of the house of Judge Leo Jay Principe in Sunrise Village near the city
hall but was immediately detonated by the police Explosive Ordnance Disposal elements led by
Superintendent Jose Bayani Gucela, regional police EOD commander.
A businesswoman, who asked not to be named, said they were already alerted and were closing shop
during the first explosion when another blast occurred beside the church.
“It was so loud and afterwards thick smoke billowed and was followed by fire. We heard glass shards falling
from several establishments near our business center,” the businesswoman said.
Abus behind the attack
Mayor Cherrylyn Santos-Akbar confirmed the number of casualties and told the media that two of the
suspects were captured and taken into police custody.
“As of now we cannot make any statement because we don’t know who were responsible for this senseless
attack. We will make sure that justice will be given to the victims,” Akbar said.
Earlier, police and military intelligence units in Basilan were convinced that the bombing could have been a
test mission for new recruits of the special operations group (SOG) of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF).
But Mendoza hinted that the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) could be behind the attack following the identification of
one of the slain attackers, Bensar Indama, the younger brother of ASG leader Puruji Indama.
Bensar, who died inside the van, was positively identified by a city councilor.
“We are pursuing eight other suspects and there are reports that they have taken two civilians as human
shields but this can’t be confirmed yet,” Mendoza said.
Authorities also traced the van used by the attackers, but Mendoza declined to name the owner, saying only it
was registered in Quezon City.
“We are investigating how the vehicle arrived here. We are also investigating right now if this recent attack is
somehow election related,” the police official said.
A call for sobriety
Meanwhile, Basilan Archbishop Martin Jumoad appealed to the people to stay calm and keep their vigilance
to help the authorities.
“I call on the men and women in uniform – we need their assistance to help neutralize the situation in the
cathedral. The Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police should neutralize the rebel
groups who have attacked the cathedral in Isabela City,” Jumoad said.
He also asked help from the Carmelite Monastery to pray for peace.
The cathedral was almost completely destroyed and the offices and quarters of the priests were ruined,
including three of the priests’ vehicles.
Cotabato Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo said the bombing only shows that the request of Bishop Jumoad
should be considered and that the province of Basilan should be placed under martial law.
Last night Jumoad led residents in a candlelight vigil at the site of the explosions.
Police and military personnel manned checkpoints and patrolled the area on foot. –Alexis Romero, Evelyn
Macairan, John Unson, AP
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DFA: Overseas voting off to smooth start
By Rainier Allan Ronda (The Philippine Star) Updated April 12, 2010 12:00 AM
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MANILA, Philippines - Over 4,000 Filipino migrant workers were able to vote on the first day of voting under
the overseas absentee voting scheme held over the weekend at various Philippine diplomatic missions
abroad.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said a total of 4,141 Filipinos working overseas were able to vote
without any glitches last Saturday.
The DFA’s Overseas Absentee Voting Secretariat reported yesterday that the Philippine consulate general in
Hong Kong had the most number of Filipino voters at 997.
The Philippine embassy in London came in second with 558 votes while the Philippine embassy in Riyadh
had 266.
The Philippine consulate general in Chicago had a turnout of 242 Filipinos casting their votes, followed by
the Philippine embassy in Singapore with 218.
The consulate general in Jeddah reported that 180 Filipinos came to cast their votes while the Philippine
embassy in Berlin had 144. The embassy in the Spanish capital of Madrid had 135 voters.
The Philippine embassy in Bangkok had 118 followed closely by the country’s consulate general in
Barcelona, Spain with 117 voters.
The DFA-OAVS said the first day of the voting went smoothly in most, if not all, of the overseas precincts
monitored.
The secretariat said it expects voter turnout to increase on the second day of voting, since it falls on a
Sunday, the usual day-off of overseas Filipino workers.
In a report to the DFA, Consul General to Hong Kong Claro Cristobal said the first-ever elections under the
new Automated Election System (AES) began in Hong Kong with an ecumenical prayer service followed by
the blessing of all 10 rooms where the 20 precinct clusters at the Bayanihan Kennedy Town Center are
located.
The precincts opened at exactly 8:00 a.m. Voters started the process of voting by checking with the bank of
seven computerized voter search terminals manned by volunteers to locate their respective precincts.
As voters made their way to their precincts on the upper floors of the voting center, marshals were on hand to
provide assistance.
The first Filipino to vote in Hong Kong was Rowena de la Cruz. It took her roughly one-and-a-half minutes to
complete the process of voting for a president, a vice president, 12 senators and a party-list organization.
But 17 would-be voters were unable to find their names on the Certified List of Overseas Absentee Voters
(CLOAV). The helpdesk constituted by the consulate general immediately informed the Commission on
Elections (Comelec) in Manila regarding the missing names.
Voting in Hong Kong will run from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Mondays to Fridays, and 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on
Saturdays, Sundays and Hong Kong statutory holidays until May 10.
The overseas absentee voting in all embassies and consulates general will end on May 10 at 6:00 p.m.
(Manila time).
All votes should be received by the end of the voting period, including those sent through mail.
Daily voting schedules will be at least eight hours a day. Individual embassies and consulates general may
adopt a flexible schedule to accommodate the most number of voters.
The Comelec said there are 589,830 registered overseas voters for the May 2010 elections.
The overseas voters will have the opportunity to elect ahead of their countrymen at home the next President,
the Vice President, 12 senators and one party-list representative.
The overseas Filipinos could cast their vote through the PCOS machines located in Hong Kong and
Singapore, by personal voting or postal voting.
The DFA said voters using the personal and the automated modes of voting should bring their passports or
other personal identification documents to facilitate the process.
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