North Cotabato plantation workers discover IEDs

KIDAPAWAN CITY -Palm oil plantation workers in Matalam, North Cotabatodiscovered by accidentan Improvised Explosive Devices while farming at3 p.m. on Thursday, police said today. Supt. Bernard Tayong, North Cotabato Police Provincial Office (NCPPO) spokesperson, said plantation workers immediately informed farm ownerof their discovery who also called police assistance. The explosives consist of 40 mm projectile and a fragmentation grenade were found in Barangay Upper Valdevieso, Matalam, particularly at the Zerudo oil palm plantation. Responding police operatives cordoned the area and instructed the farm workers to vacate the place to avoid injuries should IEDs go offprematurely. Military’s bomb squad from the 57thInfantry Battalion immediately detonated the explosives using a water interrupter. Tayong said there were no detonating devices were found nearby. We suspected that perhaps the IEDfell froma group of armed men passing by the plantation, Tayong said.The recovered explosives are now under the custody of the military bomb experts in Matalam.