Cotabato (Philippines), Apr 05: A bomb at a bus terminal injured the mayor of a southern Philippine town and at least eight other people today, the military and police said. Vivencio Bataga, the mayor of Parang town in Maguindanao province suffered a minor cut on his neck when the bomb went off at around 3 pm (1230 IST), said Maj. Gen. Generoso Senga, commander of the army's 6th infantry division.
Senga said the bomb, which was placed under a bench at the terminal, appeared to have been intended for Bataga, a former army colonel known for his tough policies against Muslim separatists in the area. The bomb exploded as Bataga was walking back to the nearby town hall after inspecting a site adjacent to the terminal where workers earlier in the day demolished stalls of illegal vendors, said chief inspector Danilo Bacas, a regional police spokesman.
Bacas said those injured included a 5-year-old boy and a 54-year-old woman. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack and there was no immediate description of the bomb.
It was the second such attack in less than a week in Parang, about 850 kms south of Manila. On Thursday, unknown assailants lobbed a grenade at a gas station fuel pump, injuring five people. Bureau Report