MANILA, Philippines—The man who was seen leaving a backpack at the roast pig store in front of the Cotabato Immaculate Conception Cathedral before the explosion that left five people dead and at least 40 wounded has been identified.

Rico Aburva, 34, was arrested inside the compound of the Cotabato Immaculate Conception Cathedral right before the bomb went off, said Chief Superintendent Josefino Cataluña, director of Central Mindanao region police.

Aburva is now undergoing police interrogation to determine his involvement in the incident.

Cataluña said that police will also be looking at footage from the closed circuit television camera from the nearby Central Bank office to possibly identify those responsible for the brutal attack.

A powerful explosion rocked Cotabato City early Sunday morning when civilians were hearing mass at the church.

City police chief Senior Superintendent Willie Dangane said police are now coordinating closely with the city’s crisis management committee under Mayor Muslimin Sema.

“Our immediate concern at the moment is to attend to the casualties who were brought to different hospitals,” Dangane said.

“At the same time, we are also initiating incident management measures to prevent the situation from getting out of hand. The last thing we need is a panic situation in other key cities in the region,” he added.

Police in the nearby regions, particularly in Western Mindanao and the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, have also been alerted to prevent similar incidents from occurring in these regions, said Director Felizardo Serapio Jr., Directorate for Integrated Police Operations in Western Mindanao.