Jolo blast calls martial law into question? Too early to say, says PNP
Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Oscar Albayalde inspects on Monday, Jan. 28, 2019 the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Jolo, Sulu, where twin blasts during a Sunday Mass left at least 20 killed and 112 injured. Photo courtesy of PNP
MANILA, Philippines — It is too early to question the effectivity of the prevailing martial law in Mindanao given recent incidents of violence in the region, Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson Senior Supt. Bernard Banac said Monday.
Banac said this after twin blasts rocked the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Jolo, Sulu on Sunday, Jan. 27 — the latest reported terror incident in Mindanao.
The bombings in Jolo happened just a few weeks after the Dec. 31, 2018 blast in the South Seas Mall in Cotabato City, which killed two persons and injured 34 others.
READ: At least 34 hurt, 2 dead in Cotabato City mall blast — PNP
“Kung sasabihin natin na kinikwestyon [nito ang martial law], maaga pa para sabihin iyon (If you’re saying that this calls into question the martial law in Mindanao, it’s too early to say that),” Banac told reporters in a press briefing in Camp Crame.
Banac said that investigators are now after the perpetrators of the explosions at the cathedral, but added that a review of operational procedures of security forces will come next.
PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde said that despite the martial law in Mindanao, the suspects in the blasts might have gone off the monitoring of authorities since the situation in the cathedral has normalized in recent years.
A few incidents where grenades were thrown outside the cathedral were reported in the past, Albayalde said, citing testimony of the church’s priest.
He also said authorities will look at possible lapses of officers from Armed Forces of the Philippines and the PNP deployed in the area.
“Ito ay siguro hindi na nila naisip na talagang ipapasok ito sa place of worship kagaya nito (Maybe they did not think that this will be carried out in a place of worship like this),” Albayalde told reporters as he visited Jolo.
“This will of course serve as a lesson sa atin. Probably [ang] dahilan nito kaya nakalusot iyang ganyan because several years back ay walang naging ganitong incident,” he also said.
(This will of course serve as a lesson to us. Probably the reason why this happened is there was no reported incident like this in the past.) /je
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