THE cities of Davao, General Santos, and Metro Manila are said to be the next targets of terrorist bombing, after three improvised explosive devices (IEDs) went off in Cotabato City earlier this week.
Police authorities said they also recovered pictures of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) being used as improvised explosive devices, thus cautioning the public to be wary of unattended LPG in their vicinity.
"Yung gas tank, sa ilalim binubutasan, pero pag nakapila siya sa mga ordinary gas tanks, hindi mo na mano-notice yun," said Felicisimo Khu, director of the Directorate for Integrated Police Operations of Western Mindanao.
Authorities readily ordered an intensified search of all gas tanks passing through checkpoints, starting in Cotabato City.
Khu said they started receiving this consistent and verified intelligence information three months ago.
"I already informed the former PNP (Philippine National Police) Chief [Raul Bacalzo] about this and appropriate measures have already been put in place," Khu said.
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, meanwhile, assured Dabawenyos that Task Force Davao along with the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) is on top of the situation.
"In the recent info, Davao was not mentioned, but just the same since we have been in and out of the list of targets, we are not taking any chances. DCPO and TF Davao work closely with Public Safety Command Center regarding the measures to take and how to respond to intel reports," Mayor Duterte said.
On Thursday, the PNP placed Cotabato City under heightened security alert level 3, the highest security alert of the PNP.
The alert was implemented by the Joint Task Force Group Kutawato after they and the Armed Forces of the Philippines confirmed that Jemaah Islamiyah expert bomb maker, Basit Usman, released Wednesday night some 20 new graduates of bomb making skills to conduct "test missions", by detonating improvised explosive devices in several targets in Cotabato City, North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat.
Khu said the 20 new bombers were divided into two groups, where 10 are initially deployed in Sultan Kudarat, and the other half in North Cotabato and Cotabato City.
These new bombers, Khu said, were trained to create a bomb from an 81mm and 60mm cartridge of a mortar.
The "test missions," Khu said, include detonating their own concocted IEDs in crowded areas.
