What a storeowner thought was a child’s plaything was actually far deadlier.
A grenade was found at the corner of Sausa and San Juan streets in the village of Rosary Heights 1, Cotabato City earlier today, just minutes before polling precincts for the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) plebiscite opened, reports state.
Storeowner Mardy Magbanua found the bomb and told radio DZMM in Filipino: “I thought it was a toy, I picked it up. I showed it to my companion, who said ‘That’s a grenade.'”
The bomb was just around 20 meters from the Rojas High School, a polling precinct, Rappler added.
That was close.
A bomb squad was deployed soon after and they were able to safely detonate the bomb by placing sacks of sand around it at 7am, ABS-CBN News reported.
GMA News reported that despite the bomb, Cotabato City residents still went to the precinct to vote on the ratification of the BOL.
If ratified, the BOL will create the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), which will replace the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Mindanao is one of the Philippines’ three major islands where a majority of the country’s Muslim population resides.
READ: Bill that will create new autonomous Muslim region in PH to be signed by Duterte today
The new autonomous region is one of the requirements found in the 2014 peace agreement, called the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, between the government and the largest Muslim rebel group the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
It is believed that approving this new region will help create lasting peace in Mindanao, which is often the center of conflict involving Filipino Muslims. If ratified, the MILF said it will decommission at least 12,000 of some 30,000 to 40,000 firearms that the group owns.
The BOL will provide the Bangsamoro government powers without prejudice to the general supervision of Duterte. Aside from that, the BOL will provide the BARMM a bigger revenue share and full control of its resources.
MILF Chairman Al Hajj Murad Ebrahim is one of the voters who has cast his vote in favor of the BOL today, CNN Philippines reported. There will be another plebiscite in other areas in Mindanao on Feb. 6.
Police are still trying to determine if the bomb had any links to the historic plebiscite at all, a Philippine Daily Inquirer report states.
