Seventeen persons were injured when a suspected improvised explosive device went off in a chicken restaurant in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat yesterday afternoon, the Philippine National Police Regional Office 12 said.
Police Lt. Colonel Aldrin Gonzales of the PRO 12 public information office said the explosion occurred inside Carlito’s Chicken Haus in Barangay Kalawag 2 at around 3:15 p.m.
The victims were identified as:
1. Randy Tranquillero, of Galinato Subdivision, Isulan
2. Guiamedel Norhana of Daguma, Bagumbayan, Sultan Kudarat
The Isulan police and Sultan Kudarat police explosive ordnance division were deployed in the blast site for a post-blast investigation.
Col. Gerry Besana, spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Western Mindanao Command, said they have deployed soldiers to the area.
“A mechanized team under Lt. Fernandez immediately proceeded to the area and cordoned the explosion site,” Besana said. “An explosive ordnance disposal team is now paneling the vicinity,” he added.
Besana said all military checkpoints were ordered to implement strict measures to lock down possible perpetrators who remain unidentified.
In August 2018, six persons were killed while 48 others were injured in twin explosions in Isulan. (Francis T. Wakefield and Martin A. Sadongdong)
