MANILA, Philippines (7th UPDATE) – Four people were killed and 14 others were injured in an explosion that ripped through a passenger bus along Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) in Makati City on Tuesday afternoon.
Director Nicanor Bartolome, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief, said that the fatalities include 3 males and a female passenger of Newman Goldliner bus with plate number TXJ 710.
In a radio dzMM report, 4 of the 14 injured victims were identified as Lino Antonio, Victoriano Jeffrey, Anabelle Gozon and Mary Grace Borondia.
Bartolome said the injured victims include 9 females and 5 males. The victims were rushed to the Ospital ng Makati and St. Luke's Medical Center in Bonifacio Global City.
Bartolome declined to name the fatalities since they have not informed their next of kin.
The bus was at the north-bound loading bay of EDSA corner Buendia when it was hit by a strong explosion at around 2 p.m..
Bartolome said he has organized a special investigation task force to look into the bus explosion. He added that the city government has also formed a crisis management committee.
He said investigators are now reviewing footage of closed-circuit television cameras installed along EDSA.
Bartolome said investigators have yet to determine what type of explosive material was used. He said the police's immediate concern is to swiftly gather evidence, including parts of the bomb and parts of the bus' body, so they can remove the bus from EDSA.
He said the bus will be moved to the Southern Police District headquarters for further forensic investigation.
Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay Jr. said earlier, based on initial briefing given to him by the police, there is a strong indication that the explosion was caused by a bomb.
Binay said that when he arrived at the scene, he saw blood and some body parts inside the bus. He said he also saw a severely injured man through the big hole created by the blast on the passenger bus.
The mayor said a man and a woman were initially killed by the blast.
Bartolome said the explosive device was planted under a seat on the 6th row of the bus' right side.
"Gitnang-gitna ito eh. Sa ilalim siya malamang inilagay," he said.
He said the location of the explosion indicates that the people who planted the bomb wanted a lot of people hurt.
Footage taken by ABS-CBN News showed a huge hole created by the explosion on the right side of the bus. Windows on the left side of the bus and its windshield were also damaged.
Metro on full alert
He said police investigators are interviewing the surviving passengers, as well as the driver and conductor of the bus.
Police closed the affected north-bound lane of EDSA-Buendia. The Ayala flyover going to Cubao area was also closed. Other parts of EDSA remained open.
Bartolome announced over government-owned radio station Radyo ng Bayan that he has placed all police units in Metro Manila on full alert.
He said he has ordered all vital government installations around Metro Manila and public places secured by cops.
“We would like to ensure that all our policemen will be available and that vital installations will be properly secured,” he said.
He added:
“We encourage everyone to go on with their normal schedules. The PNP [Philippine National Police], the government, the local government in Makati, and other law enforcement agencies will continue to get to the bottom of this incident.”
Smell of gunpowder
In an interview with reporters at the Makati City Police Station, bus driver Maximo Peligro said he smelled gunpowder right after the blast.
"Kung normal na explosion yun, walang amoy na pulibura (If it was a normal explosion, there would be no smell of gunpowder)," Peligro said.
Peligro said it was impossible that mechanical failure caused the explosion since the bus was well-maintained.
"If it wasn't well maintained, we would have kept it in the garage," he said.
He also dismissed possibilities that the attack on the bus was done by enemies of the bus company's owner.
"Pentecostal kami. Nagde-debosyon kami (We are members of Pentecostal church. We have devotions [before we leave the terminal]," he said.
He said Newman Goldliner bus is owned by pastors of the Pentecostal Mission Church of Christ.
Many passengers got off before blast
Based on an ABS-CBN News interview with the bus driver, 25-year-old Michael Haralde, there were at least 30 passengers on the bus when the blast happened.
According to Haralde, the bus came from Baclaran in Parañaque City and was bound for SM mall in Fairview, Quezon City.
Haralde said they had 20 passengers when they left Baclaran, and it became almost full when they stopped at a loading bay in Evangelista area in Pasay City.
Almost half of the passengers disembarked at EDSA Ayala.
The driver and the conductor said the explosion happened before they reached Buendia corner EDSA.
They said they could not immediately recall the passengers who may have planted the bus. They said 7 people entered the bus at Taft area and 2 of them got off before they reached Buendia.
Haralde was injured on both of his legs by the blast, while bus conductor Peligro escaped the incident unscathed.
The bus driver also told reporters that some of the passengers were injured because they all panicked after the explosion.
He said that the bus' windshield was not damaged by the explosion. He said he kicked open the windshield, and majority of the surviving passengers exited the bus through it.
(reports from Pinky Webb, ANC; Dexter Ganibe and Charlie Mendoza, radio dzMM and Jorge Cariño, ABS-CBN News)
