President Benigno Aquino III INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines—President Aquino on Sunday flew to Zamboanga City, which was hit by a deadly bombing on Friday, to comfort dozens of casualties and vow to bring those responsible to justice.
Under heavy security, Aquino also inspected the city jail, where members of the al-Qaida-linked terrorist group Abu Sayyaf are detained, three of them considered “high-value” prisoners.
An explosion near a bus terminal in Guiwan village here killed two people and wounded 50 others on Friday.
Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco blamed the explosion on the Abu Sayyaf, saying it was part of a plot to spring 57 detained comrades from the city jail.
It is rare for a President to see for himself suspected terrorists in jail.
A well-placed source told the Inquirer that Aquino’s visit was intended to ease fears of city residents, still haunted by memories of the deadly September 2013 attack by members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) loyal to founder Nur Misuari.
“The President’s visit is to assure the people that [the] government knows what’s happening, that [the] government is in charge here. There may have been incidents but it could have been worse,” said the source, who requested anonymity for lack of authority to speak to journalists.
The source said the city would be vulnerable to attacks from the Abu Sayyaf for as long as there were members of the group detained in its jail.
The military and the police continue to validate information they receive about possible threats to the city, the source said.
The President, accompanied by his top aides, spent 15 minutes at the city jail. Journalists were not allowed inside.
Seeing the detainees
It was presumed that the President saw for himself “high-value” prisoner Benzar Indama, brother of Abu Sayyaf leader Puruji Indama, and the other members of the terrorist group.
As of press time, there was no information available on what the President did or say inside the jail.
Aquino was accompanied in the jail inspection by Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman and Mayor Climaco.
He spent practically the whole day in the city, arriving at 9:45 a.m. on a Lear jet at Edwin Andrews Air Base (EAAB).
The President immediately presided over a security briefing and an update on the rehabilitation plan for Zamboanga City following the MNLF attack. At the briefing were the Cabinet secretaries, Climaco, Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang, and other top military and police officials.
The briefing took three hours, after which the President and the Cabinet members inspected the blast site in Guiwan.
The car bomb destroyed establishments near the blast site.
At the blast site
The President took a few steps into what appeared to be a back street where the car that exploded had been parked by an unidentified man.
Twisted metal from the damaged stores greeted the President. Debris remained scattered on the sidewalk.
From the blast site, the President motored to five hospitals where some of the injured were still being treated. He spent at least 10 minutes in each of the hospital talking to the victims.
Journalists were kept out of the hospital visit and it was not known what the President had seen and told the victims.
But Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said the President vowed to bring to justice the perpetrators of the bombing. “The government will be unstinting in pursuing those responsible,” he said.
Aquino, who once said that he does not go to wakes for strangers, paid his respects to the two fatalities in the bombing.
With his entourage, he went to La Merced Funeral Homes where the fatalities’ wake was being held. He returned to the EAAB where he presided over another round of security briefing, which was still going on at past 6 p.m.
It was the birthday of the President’s mother, the late President Corazon Aquino.
The military has tightened security in the city following Friday’s bombing. The police were still investigating the attack.
“We’re hoping that there won’t be similar incidents but we are stepping up security. The probe has not yet been concluded so there are angles to look into, connections to be established,” said Col. Restituto Padilla, AFP spokesman.–With reports from Julie M. Aurelio and AFP