1 more school bombed in Maguindanao

SULTAN MASTURA, Maguindanao –- Another elementary school was bombed by still unidentified men in Sultan Mastura, Maguindanao Thursday night, authorities here said.Colonel Earl Badiao, military’s 603rd Infantry Brigade, said Army personnel have been deployed in Sultan Mastura to ensure the safety of civilians and to prevent similar attacks.On Wednesday dawn, unidentified armed men fired rifle grenades toward six elementary schools in Sultan Mastura that the poll body will use as voting centers in next month’s national and local elections.
The seventh school subjected to grenade attack at about 10 p.m. was Tambo Elementary School in Barangay Tambo. The school building’s ceiling and concrete walls have been destroyed.As in previous attacks, nobody was hurt in the Tambo Elementary School attack, according to Senior Inspector Wendylyn Banico, chief of the Sultan Mastura municipal police.Colonel Earl Badiao, Army’s 603rd Infantry Brigade, said he has ordered the deployment of more troops as peacekeepers to ensure the election will push through.Kurais Dali, Sultan Mastura election officer, said no declaration yet as to whether or not the town will be placed under Comelec control. Not all schools buildings were bombed, there are still other schools that can be used on election day,” she said.Senior Insp. Ronald de Leon, speaking for the police in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PNP-ARMM), said investigation showed that an armed group wanted the town to be under Comelec control so that voting precincts will be clustered. The suspects apparently do not trust the teachers because they were identified with the current town administration,” De Leon said. He said the group supports one of the mayoral aspirants.So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the grenade attacks and strafing. Four candidates are aspiring for the mayoralty post.Bombed were elementary schools in Barangays Tuka, Dugurungan, Darping, Simuay Seashore, Tariken and Tariken Day Care Center. The latest was in Barangay Tambo.Dr. John Magno, ARMM education regional secretary, condemned the bombings. The school is clearly apolitical and it should not be destroyed due to politics because it will affect the future of pupils.” I appeal to all parties in this coming election, please spare our teachers from violence,” Magno said. (Ferdinandh Cabrera)