Manila (dpa) - A candidate for mayor and two of his followers were arrested Thursday in a northern Philippine town for allegedly being behind the bombing of the incumbent mayor's house, police said.
No one was hurt in the bomb attack on the house of Marlon Marcelo, mayor of Santo Rosa town in Nueva Ecija province, 120 kilometres north of Manila, before dawn on Wednesday.
Chief Superintendent Vidal Querol, a regional police director, identified the arrested men as mayoral candidate Antonio Romero and his companions, Pedro Padilla and Anastacio de Lara. He said the three were arrested at a police checkpoint.
Police found high-powered weapons, including an AK-47 assault rifle, and explosives inside the car of the suspects.
''The improvised explosive devices found in Romero's possession were similar in composition with the bomb that exploded in front of Mayor Marcelo's house on Wednesday,'' Querol said.
''The same bomb signature had similarities with explosives planted recently in different areas in the province,'' he added.
Police were gathering more evidence against Romero and his companions, who would initially be charged with illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
A gun ban is currently in effect in the Philippines as part of measures to prevent violence ahead of and during the May 10 presidential and national elections.
