MikeLigalig.com

 Police here have warned villagers in Maguindanao to be extra careful on unexploded ordnance that could be littering in remote villages.

Senior Superintendent Alex Lineses, Maguindanao police director, issued the warning after a "signature firepower" of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front went off in the village of Kabingi, Datu Saudi Ampatuan town, killing three persons, including a nine-year-old boy, Wednesday morning.

Lineses identified the fatalities in the 11 a.m. explosion as Saiden Untag, 18; his wife Taga Kulige, 16; and Saiden’s brother Tata, 9, all residents of Barangay Kabingi.

Quoting police reports from Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Lineses said the victims were burning woods to make charcoal when the explosion occurred, killing the woman and the boy instantly.

Relatives rushed the husband to the hospital but was declared dead on arrival.

The shoulder-fired rocket propelled grenade is a signature firearm of the MILF who figured in several skirmishes with government forces in Maguindanao last year.

Lineses said the grenade did not explode during the skirmishes last year or years before but went off when triggered by the extreme heat due to charcoal making.  - PNA