CAGAYAN DE ORO (MindaNews/30 July) — Students blew whistles and staged a noise barrage Tuesday while medical representatives and doctors wore black armbands to express outrage over Friday’s bombing and demand justice for the victims.
Eight persons were killed while 46 others were injured in Friday’s blast at the Rosario Arcade in Limketkai Mall.
In an emotional gathering after a mass at the blast site at the Rosario Arcade Tuesday morning, doctors and medical representatives issued calls for a “speedy and thorough investigation.”
Dr. Tricia Marie Obrero, president of the Philippine College of Physicians, Misamis Oriental chapter demanded that the suspects who planted the bomb at Kyla’s Bistro be brought to justice for the deaths of their colleagues.
“We demand that justice should prevail. We are angry that this tragedy happened in our city,” she said.
Obrero also urged the police to be transparent in their probe so that the public would know the motive behind the blast.
“We want to know who did this. We want to know why this happened. We want our city to be safe again,” she said.
Of the eight persons who died in the Friday bombing, two were doctors from Manila and four were medical representatives. The remaining two fatalities were residents of Cagayan de Oro.
The Cagayan de Oro Social Welfare and Development office said more than half of the 48 injured were medical representatives helping the 300 doctors attending the national midyear convention of the Philippine College of Chest Physicians.
Obrero urged their members and the medical representatives to wear black armbands until Friday, when a big rally will be held by various civil society groups in the city.
“We are ashamed that this happened to our friends who thought they are safe in our city. We are also very angry,” she said.
The morning mass was followed by a noise barrage staged by students who blew whistles urging motorists to blow the horns of their vehicles and join the calls for a speedy investigation.
Ermin Pimentel of Xavier University said they will stage a similar noise barrage outside their school on Wednesday noon.
Meanwhile, Cagayan de Oro City police director Superintendent Graciano Mijares said metal fragments found in the blast site and examined by the National Bureau of Investigation revealed that the improvised explosive device was fashioned out of components from an 81-mm mortar shell and was detonated using a mobile phone.
“The bomb was detonated by mobile phone. We think the suspect detonated the bomb minutes after he left Kyla’s Bistro,” he said
Mijares said they believed that there was only one bomber who planted the bomb at Kyla’s Bistro last Friday night. (Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)
Police released three different computer drawings of the suspect based on the general descriptions of the witnesses and the images taken by the CCTV cameras.
Calling the public to help in the investigation, the police have set up a hotline 09267383603 for anyone who can identify or lead to the arrest of the bomber. (Froilan Gallardo/MindaNews)