MANILA, Philippines - The irony is that the name of the driver of the ill-fated bus that exploded on Tuesday is Maximo Peligro.

While Filipinos still can’t get a grip of how such an explosion happened at such a quiet siesta time, a few somehow got a quick sense of why it all happened: Maximo. Maximum. Peligro. Danger. Risk.

A lot of people tuned in to the news yesterday waiting for news on the bus blast that killed 5 and injured 13 more.

When police finally named the driver, a lot of people did a double take: “Run that by me again?”

During an interview with reporters, Peligro said he smelled gunpowder immediately after the blast.

"Kung normal na explosion yun, walang amoy na pulbura (If it was a normal explosion, there would be no smell of gunpowder)," Peligro said.

He also dismissed that the blast was caused by a mechanical failure since the bus was well-maintained and the damage was in the middle of the bus, not at the back where the engine is located.

While this was happening, the online community was already abuzz with the unusual name.

PopiSunga said: Maximo Peligro? Seriously?

ANDREWdecastro added: Seriously? Maximo Peligro? It’s like raaaaaiiiinn.

A Facebook user, on the other hand, said: Peligro na. maximo pa. extreme danger.

A colleague quipped: "Tatanungin mo muna pangalan ng driver bago ka sumakay next time."

Philippine Daily Inquirer’s also played with words in its headline: “Edsa bus bombing: 4 dead”

Beneath is a sub-head: “Bomb left under seat of bus driven by Maximo Peligro”

In her blog www.jessicarulestheuniverse.com, writer Jessica Zafra entitled her post: Your name is your destiny.

“Got a text from Tina. The name of the driver whose bus was bombed on Edsa this afternoon is MAXIMO PELIGRO. Seriously,” she added.

Perhaps it was destiny that named him Maximo Peligro. But such inhumane act, for surely, was not his fault.