COTABATO CITY (MindaNews/11 October) – City administrator Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi said she believes she and her brother, City Mayor Japal Guiani Jr. were the targets of an explosive device planted on a balete tree at the center island on Governor Gutierrez Avenue, past 6pm Monday.
In an interview, the official said she had received death threats through text messages that said they will be killed with a bomb.
She showed to MindaNews the text messages that contained the threats.
Recently, reports said the city government has intensified its campaign against illegal drugs, kidnapping, illegal gambling and other syndicated crimes.
Sayadi said their vehicle was running fast as electric power in the city was out and it was raining, and that somewhere near the Estosan Hotel a trisikad was parked near a corner and did not look like it was waiting for passengers.
She said she saw two other men at the barter area who were texting.
“After 10 minutes I arrive home and it was only then that I learned that there was a bomb [along the street where we passed],” she said in Tagalog.
Military and police bomb experts recovered the bomb which was fashioned from a 90mm anti-tank rocket launcher.
The explosive was attached to a 9-volt battery, mobile phone and wires.
“I also coordinated with the PNP to investigate further…the mayor directed the PNP to look deeper,” Sayadi said, adding it’s no longer just about them but about the security of the people.
In September 2006, Sayadi escaped another attempt on her life, through a bomb that was planted along her route.
Sayadi had served as solicitor general of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao during the time of ARMM governor Zaldy Ampatuan, who was suspended after he was implicated in the November 23, 2009 massacre in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao which left 58 persons dead. (Ferdinandh Cabrera/MindaNews)
