PNP releases photos of 2 suspects in Cotabato blast

The Philippine National Police (PNP) released on Saturday the photos of the two suspects linked to a deadly bombing incident in Cotabato City on New Year’s Eve.

Superintendent Aldrin Gonzales, regional director of Soccsksargen Police Regional Office (PRO-12), said the photos of the two suspects were lifted from the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footages obtained from the management of the South Seas Mall, the establishment where the bombing incident happened.

The PRO-12 has yet to release the official description of the suspects but based on the photos alone, the primary suspect appears to be a man in his late 20s or early 30s. He had a back pack.

“Siya ‘yung nag-iwan ng IED sa loob ng mall at ‘yung nakita na naghulog ng isa pa sa labas (He was the one who left the IED [improvised explosive device] inside the mall and the one seen dropping another one outside),” Gonzales told the Manila Bulletin in a phone interview.

Meanwhile, the second suspect was a bit older compared to the primary suspect. Gonzales said the accomplice acted as a lookout.

However, Gonzales said the investigators have yet to identify the suspects.

He urged the public to report to the police any information which could lead to the arrest of the two men.

“Pinag-aralan ng investigators natin ‘yung CCTV na nakuha ng SITG South Seas at sila talaga ‘yung nakita sa mga footage (The investigators studied the CCTV obtained by the SITG South Seas and the suspects were really the ones seen in the footages),” he stated.

According to Gonzales, the next objective is to identify the suspects and determine what group they belong to so that the police could arrest and file double murder and multiple frustrated murder charges against them.

Earlier, PNP chief, Director General Oscar Albayalde said the police are looking at the possibility of a terror attack perpetrated by Islamic State (ISIS)-inspired terror groups in Mindanao behind the incident.

The bombing incident occured in front of the South Seas Mall in Poblacion, Cotabato on December 31, 2018.

Aside from the IED that exploded outside the mall, bomb experts also found and detonated another IED at the baggage counter on the second floor of the mall.The explosion claimed two lives and resulted to the injury of 34 others.