Bomb scare hit North Cotabato town

KABACAN, North Cotabato - A bomb scare hit this town but authorities look at the incident as a sign of maturity of residents.Senior Inspector Ronnie Cordero, Kabacan town police chief, said the baggage earlier suspected of containing an improvised bomb turned out to be negative.But Cordero said the alertness of locals in reporting their discovery to the police was a form a drill when real thing happnes.Police received a call about what was believed to be a bomb left by still unidentified person in front of 3F Fortune Friendly Shoppers department store along Rizal Avenue Saturday morning.At past 11 a.m.,Army and police bomb experts detonated the plastic bag that contained garbage and an empty bottle. The hour-long bomb experts operation caused traffic jam along the town's major street.Kabacan has been rocked by a series of deadly bomb attacks in the past carried out by suspected extortionist groups and lawless elements.