ZAMBOANGA CITY—Two explosions rocked this city early Sunday morning amid tight security as national games are being held here.
No casualties were reported.

The explosions occurred a few days after the embassies of the United States and Australia issued  travel advisories warning their citizens not to travel to this city owing to threats against foreigners.
The explosions took place within five minutes of each other.

Col. Darwin Guerra, Task Force Zamboanga commander, said the explosions were more meant to scare than kill.

The first explosion took place around 4:30 a.m. at the Immaculate Concepcion Metropolitan Cathedral on La Purisima Street, and the second around 4:35 a.m. in front of a bank on Veterans Avenue.

Guerra said while there were no casualties in the two explosions, a priest’s car was damaged at the Metropolitan Cathedral. The church’s glass panels were also shattered.

The first bomb was placed beneath the church’s right wing spiral stairs while the second one was left at the side of the road in front of a building that houses the Department of Foreign Affairs’ passport office and Maybank on Veterans Avenue at least 1.5 kilometers away from the cathedral.

Both bombs were fashioned out of 60mm mortar shells, initial findings of Explosive and Ordnance Demolition investigators reveal.

“Nananakot lamang ang mga salarin,” Guerra said, adding the mortar shells are old stock. He downplayed the incidents as “isolated cases.”

Supt. Jonathan Perez, officer in charge of this city’s police, said investigators have located witnesses who could help them identify the bombers.
“Investigators are coming up with the artist sketches of the assailants behind these incidents,” Perez disclosed without elaborating.

Security has been tight in and around this city because the Private Schools Athletic Association sports meet is being held here.

The athletic event, which is being held at the Joaquin Enriquez Jr. Memorial Sports Complex and participated in by private-school students from the country’s 16 regions, reeled off on April 8 and ends on April 14.

Guerra said military police authorities in this city has not monitored bombing threats.

The US Embassy has issued a travel advisory on April 1 followed by the Australian Embassy on April 3 advising their respective nationals to refrain from traveling to this city.

The US Embassy said in the travel advisory that it had received information that extremist elements may be planning to kidnap Americans or other foreigners.

The target areas for kidnapping are hotels or other public places within this city, according to the US travel advisory.

Teodoro, Esperon push pardon

DEFENSE Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr., Armed Forces chief of staff, would recommend to President Arroyo the granting of executive clemency to the nine junior officers who were convicted last week by the Regional Trial Court in Makati for coup d’état.

ZAMBOANGA CITY—Two explosions rocked this city early Sunday morning amid tight security as national games are being held here.
No casualties were reported.

HOG raisers criticized meat processors for their claims that the price of canned goods and processed meat products will increase by as much as 20 percent due to a new policy of the Department of Agriculture (DA) restricting importation of pork products.

HOUSE leaders have vowed the swift passage of two important bills—one that would promote food production through corporate farming and one that would impose higher penalties to hoarders of prime commodities—when Congress resumes session on April 21 to address the prolonged rice problem until 2010 as projected by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

With just one more day to go before the April 15 deadline for filing of income-tax returns (ITRs), the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) had advised all electronic filers (e-filers) belonging to the Large Taxpayers Group and the top 10,000 under the revenue district offices (RDO) to declare their true income for 2007 and refrain from making “No-Payment” or “No-Operation” declarations in their returns; otherwise, they face stiff penalties and possible criminal charges for tax evasion.