Mortar drops near school, wounding eight children

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – Nine people, eight of them children, were hurt Thursday when a mortar shell landed near a public elementary school in the southern Philippine province of North Cotabato. Yul Olaya, the coordinator of the Bantay Ceasefire, said six of the casualties – Sittie Ansa Sumiling, 35, and five others whom we cannot identify because they're minors – were brought to the Bahay Kalinga Health Center of the Sta. Catalina Parish. The other three victims - also minors – were rushed to the Cotabato Regional Hospital. Olaya said the mortar shell, which dropped and exploded near Makasendig Elementary School in Pikit town at about 5:30 p.m., was fired from the Army’s 54th Infantry Battalion and was intended for Moro rebels. “This is the first case of violation to the SOMO. We have to investigate this to aid us in drafting and recommending guidelines in ensuring the safety of civilians," Rexall Kaalim, another senior official of Bantay Ceasefire, said. He was referring to the suspension of military operations President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared last month to give way for the resumption of peace talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Bantay Ceasefire is a group monitoring the cessation of hostilities between the government and the MILF. A report over radio dzBB quoted Armed Forces chief information officer Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. as saying that they too would investigate the matter. - GMANews.TV