Army deactivates 3 grenades in North Cotabato

From the Philippine News Agency (May 10, 2023): Army deactivates 3 grenades in North Cotabato (By Edwin Fernandez)

DEACTIVATED. A military bomb expert examines the three rifle grenades left unattended by warring families in Midsayap, North Cotabato, recently. A resident of the conflict-affected Barangay Tugal in Midsayap led the soldiers to the location of the explosives on Tuesday (May 9, 2023). (Photo courtesy of 6ID)

MIDSAYAP, North Cotabato – Military troopers defused three live rifle grenades found unattended at a makeshift shelter in Barangay Tugal here, an official said Wednesday.

Lt. Colonel Rey Rico, the Army’s 34th Infantry Battalion commander, said soldiers serving as road security back up to the local police safely disarmed the explosives discovered by a villager on Tuesday afternoon.

“These could be owned by one of the two warring families who figured in a shooting war last week,” Rico said.

Police and military personnel were escorting a team of social workers conducting an assessment of displaced families in Barangay Tugal when a civilian approached and informed them about his discovery.

The villager guided the soldiers and bomb experts to the site where the grenades were located.

“Our bomb experts successfully deactivated the grenades,” Rico said.

Brig. Gen. Donald Gumiran, commander of the 602nd Infantry Brigade, said the displaced civilians have been temporarily staying at the village center.

He said the displaced families were from the sub-villages of Mapayag, Labo, and Basak where the warring parties clashed due to “rido” (family feud) over territorial disputes.

Barangay Tugal is among the 63 villages in North Cotabato that now form part of the Special Geographic Area in the province under the expanded Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1201147