ZAMBOANGA CITY—A bus driver thwarted a grenade attack on his bus on Monday, the local police reported.

Investigators said the grenade was discovered under the driver’s seat while the bus was about to proceed to the terminal to pick up passengers for its first trip to Zamboanga del Sur from this city.

The bus driver, Julio Bernardo, told the police that he immediately stopped the bus that was about to leave the garage at about 2 a.m. Monday after sensing that “something is connected to the bus’s front wheel.”

When he inspected the wheel, Bernardo found a nylon string tied to the tire rim. The other end of the string was attached to the safety pin of the grenade that was placed under his seat.

Explosive and Ordnance Demolition (EOD) personnel of the Zamboanga City police safely retrieved the explosive, an MK-2 fragmentation grenade.

“It is a booby trap. The grenade will explode once someone trips the nylon string,” said Senior Police Officer 4 Roy Resuento, one of the EOD personnel who retrieved the grenade.

Both the local police and executives of the Rural Transit Bus Co. brushed aside that the fragmentation grenade was planted by a terror group.

Resuento said it is clear that the target of the suspect or suspects is the bus driver, based on the way the grenade was planted on the vehicle.

Resuento said the possible motive is personal grudge, saying that Bernardo, the bus driver, is the target and not the passengers.

Rural Transit Bus Co. Zamboanga head Efren de la Cruz said they will conduct a separate investigation to determine who placed the grenade.

De la Cruz said that from now on the company will require all employees to undergo a thorough inspection before being allowed into the garage.

The Rural Transit Buses ply daily from this city to the provinces of Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur and as far as Cagayan de Oro City.

NFA men escort rice trucks to outlets

SPECULATIONS rose and grim images flashed, across Central Luzon, a major producer of the Philippine main staple, as government men escorted traders ferrying truckloads of National Food Authority (NFA) rice to their outlets. Rolling stores, described as a “quick response” solution to the rice shortage, were also readied.

THE Philippines’ approach to inflation “is quite impressive.” This accolade is from the World Bank (WB), which said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has done a good job at managing the economy, deftly avoiding cost-push inflation no matter an externally driven peso liquidity surge.

THE National Democratic Front (NDF) said on Tuesday that it is willing to resume the stalled peace talks with the government and is not backing off, as claimed by a spokesman for the administration.

HONG KONG (via PLDT)—The Philippine government will ask Hong Kong labor officials to consider the possible reversion of the minimum wage for Filipino domestic helpers there to prerecession levels, President Arroyo said on Tuesday.

NOT contented with his plan to file before the Vatican a formal complaint against Archbishop Oscar Cruz of Lingayen-Dagupan for conduct unbecoming, a legislator wants the bishop criminally prosecuted and asked the people he “demonized” to seek redress before the courts.

THE left-leaning fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) on Tuesday accused Japan of bribing the government through the P7.8-billion supplemental loan to finance the completion of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) in exchange of the ratification of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (Jpepa).

CLARK FREE PORT—Officials of the Clark International Airport Corp. (Ciac) said emergency preparedness at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (Dmia) will contribute to the growth and development of the airport here.

ZAMBOANGA CITY—A bus driver thwarted a grenade attack on his bus on Monday, the local police reported.