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3 blasts recorded in Lanao Norte day before BOL plebiscite

By Divina Suson

February 6, 2019, 8:35 am

A personnel of the Explosive Ordnance Division checks on a motorcycle in front of a Catholic church in Barangay Maranding, Lala, past 2 p.m. Tuesday (February 5) while the confirmation mass for some 800 youth is ongoing.  (Photo by Divina M. Suson)

 ILIGAN CITY -- Another explosion occurred in Sultan Naga Dimaporo town in Lanao del Norte at about 10 p.m. Tuesday evening.

This was the third explosion that happened in the province on the eve of the plebiscite in Lanao del Norte, which will decide the fate of the province's six municipalities on the question of inclusion in the new Bangsamoro government.

At past 4 p.m. on the same day, an explosion occurred in Barangay Maranding, the business center of Lala town, while another blast occurred in Kauswagan town, minutes later.

Lala is 60 km. away from Kauswagan while Sultan Naga Dimaporo is about 20 km. from Lala.

The three towns are not part of the six municipalities proposed to be included in the Bangsamoro area.

Col. Alex Aduca, commander of the Joint Task Force Plebisito, said a small improvised explosive device (IED) was thrown by unidentified person, on board a hauler truck locally called the “kumong-kumong", along the highway in front of a gasoline station while another IED exploded at the back of the municipal hall in Kauswagan.

The explosive in Kauswagan, according to Aduca, was wrapped in plastic and was placed besides a dump truck.

No casualty has been reported in the three blasts.

Checkpoints have been intensified after the explosion.

"We don't do just plain view explosion. We will check every vehicle that passes," Aduca said.

Meanwhile, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) 10 (Northern Mindanao) has not received an official request or order from the national office to temporarily disrupt signals on Wednesday, the day of the Bangsamoro Organic Law plebiscite.

"There's no request as far as our regional office is concerned," said Teodoro Buenavista Jr., regional director of NTC-10.

This was in response to stories circulating on social media that there will be no signal throughout the province during the conduct of the plebiscite. (With reports from Nef Luczon/PNA)

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