Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 8) — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has launched a probe into the series of bombing attacks on bus lines in Mindanao after six such incidents since January 2021.
The bureau in a statement on Wednesday said the investigation, led by NBI Director Eric Distor, was meant to help prevent similar, major attacks not only in the island group but in the entire country.
Over the past year and a half, several civilians were either killed or wounded due to the bombing of buses owned by the companies Yellow Bus Line, Inc. (YBLI), Mindanao Star Bus, and Rural Tours.
The NBI said the series of incidents was preceded by a “hoax” bomb threat on January 7 of last year, during which an extortion demand was sent to the YBLI office in Koronadal City, South Cotabato.
At the time, an improvised explosive device (IED) left by two male passengers was found in a YBLI bus in Kidapawan, Cotabato.
Twenty days later, on January 27, 2021, the NBI recounted that a bomb exploded in a YBLI bus at a stopover in Tulunan, North Cotabato. A 53-year-old fruit vendor was killed and four others were injured. The military said extortion and terrorism were the motives behind the bombing.
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The second attack took place a few months later on June 3, 2021 in M’Lang, North Cotabato. A bomb ripped through another YBLI bus, killing three people and injuring six.
This year, the NBI noted four bus bombings have transpired in Mindanao.
On Jan. 11, an explosion rocked a Mindanao Star bus in Aleosan, North Cotabato, killing a five-year-old boy and wounding three people.
On April 24, a Rural Tours bus was bombed in Parang, Maguindanao, hurting at least three passengers.
The two most recent incidents occurred on May 26 in separate locations.
The authorities reported that after YBLI received another extortion demand, one of its buses was again bombed on that day in Koronadal City. Two civilians were injured.
Meanwhile, the NBI said extortion and terrorism were likewise the suspected motives behind a roadside explosion in Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat, although no one was hurt in the incident.
According to the bureau, Distor and other NBI officials and experts have already travelled to the areas of concern in Mindanao as part of the investigation.
