Butuan City – At least three civilians were wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off anew in Central Mindanao, a report reaching the area command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) yesterday stated. The report also stated that the IED was planted and detonated just 100 meters away from the residence of Mayor Samer K. Uy in Barangay Buayan, Datu Piang, Maguindanao Province. “Our bomb disposal experts from the 54th Infantry Battalion immediately proceeded to the site of explosion to help the police in the investigation and to cordon off the area,” said Army’s Eastern Mindanao Command spokesman Maj. Randolph G. Cabangbang. Cabangbang identified the wounded civilians as Adshere Akmad, 32; Mohalidan Undungan, 30; and Kudting Latip, 25. They were immediately brought to a nearby hospital for medical treatment, he said. The IED was fashioned out of a 60mm mortar, Cabangbang said, quoting an initial report coming from the 6th Infantry Division based in Central Mindanao. However, the motive behind the bombing and the identities of the perpetrators are yet to be established by the AFP and Philippine National Police investigating teams, he said. (Mike Crismundo)

1 dies, 24 injured as bus falls into ravine in Davao

Zamboanga City – A provincial bus fell into a ravine in Malita, Davao del Sur shortly before 8 p.m. last Saturday killing one passenger and injuring 24 others, the police reported yesterday. The police identified the lone fatality as Arnel Masunong, a baker and a resident of Poblacion Malita. The injured passengers were brought to the Malita District Hospital, while five of them were later transferred to the Davao Medical Center (DMC) in Davao City, the police report added. Two of those that were transferred to DMC were Maricel Saranya, 22, a nurse who sustained burns in some parts of her body and Boy Garcia, 25. The bus driver Demie Castillar and his conductor Antonio Catoc were among those that were injured, the police said. Some of the passengers only sustained minor injuries, the police added. One of the passengers identified as Councilor Bradley Bautista, president of the Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) in Davao del Sur, said the ACF Bus was traveling to Malita from Davao City when the driver lost control in Barangay Kinalapong, a few meters away from Poblacion Malita. Bautista said he noted that the bus had already experienced mechanical trouble as it approached Barangay Kinalapong before it fell into the ravine. (Nonoy Lacson)

1,000 DepEd field officers to join Educators Congress

Butuan City – Some 1,000 field executives of the Department of Education (DepEd) in Southern Mindanao are expected to converge here on Wednesday for the start of their three-day Mindanao Educators Congress (MEC) to be held at the Almont Hotel Inland Resort in this city, with DepEd Secretary Jesli A. Lapus as keynote speaker. Host Caraga DepEd Regional Director Isabelita M. Borres said the Mindanao Educators Congress will focus on its theme “Forging Efforts Towards Achieving Education-for-All (EFA) Goals.” Borres said the MEC, the biggest gathering of basic education field executives in Southern Philippines, primarily seeks to review existing educational programs and projects as they correlate to the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) and EFA targets in Mindanao’s six regions. The congress, Borres said, also intends to assess significant practices in the delivery of basic education as well as benchmark locally implemented projects which include the Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao (BEAM) that is funded by the Australian Assistance for International Development (AusAID) and the Madrasah Education which the DepEd institutionalized two school years ago in all Muslim-populated elementary schools in the south. (Tony Pe. Rimando)