Aquino orders probe into Cagayan de Oro blast

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III condemned on Sunday the explosion that rocked southern city of Cagayan de Oro where six people were killed and 48 were wounded Friday night.

Deputy presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte said that Aquino ordered authorities to bring to justice whoever was behind this "act of senseless violence."

"The president ordered a clear investigation, that the right process is followed, to determine who was behind this explosion," she said in an interview over a state-run radio station.

She said probers were reviewing the CCTV cameras in the area and Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas had flown to the place to ensure that the process was being followed.

"They are trying to reconstruct now the crime scene because apparently the owners were allowed to clean up even before a clearance was given by the police," said Valte who refused to speculate as to the motive of and whoever was behind the incident.

The bomb blast occurred in a posh restaurant filled with doctors and other health workers after a national medical convention on Friday night. A provincial council member was one of the six fatalities in the explosion inside a mall in downtown Cagayan de Oro city in Mindanao's Misamis Oriental province. (PNA)