Manila Security forces detonated an improvised bomb that was found on Tuesday night at the cargo area at an international airport in Kalibo, central Philippines, a big airport leading to Boracay — a world renowned tourist destination famous for its talcum-like white beach in central Philippines, police spokesman said in a belated report in Manila
Authorities found the bomb in a plastic pouch of LBC, a forwarding company, at LBC's cargo area at the Kalibo International Airport in Kalibo, Aklan at 7:45 Tuesday evening, Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman Agrimero Cruz said in a press conference.
Elements of the Kalibo International Airport police station and the PNP Aviation Security Group personnel brought the package to a nearby compound owned by the National Irrigation Authority, where the bomb was detonated, said Cruz. He did not give details on the bomb.
Authorities are trying to find out through the hidden cameras at the airport the people who brought the package at the Kalibo airport, said Cruz.
Authorities also began investigating on Wednesday a certain Michael Agravante whose name was at the LBC pouch which was used to hide the bomb, said Cruz, adding that Agravante's address was Isulan town, Sultan Kudarat provinces (in the southern Philippines).
The Abu Sayyaf Group, which has links with Jemaah Islamiyah, the Southeast Asian conduit of the Al Qaida terror network operates in the south.
It has been blamed for kidnap-for-ransom, beheadings, bombings, and other terror activities not only in the south but also in Metro Manila.
Kalibo is the main airport for big planes going to Boracay. A nearby smaller Caticlan airport serves smaller planes.
Boracay has an average arrival of one million foreign tourists from Europe, the United States, China, South Korea, and other Asian countries.
