Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)
Update
WITH the “decisive leadership” of President Rodrigo Duterte, a Cabinet member on Saturday said justice will be swift for the victims of the deadly blast in Davao City that claimed the lives of 14 people and left 71 others injured.
“We are confident that our security forces under the leadership of President Duterte as Commander-in-Chief will be able to bring the culprits to justice, swiftly restore peace and order to the nation and guarantee the safety of the public,” Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said in a statement.
Dominguez, a classmate of Duterte at the Ateneo de Davao University, likewise condemned the bombing that hit the city’s night market on Roxas Avenue.
“I am deeply saddened by this bombing and strongly condemn what can only be described as an act of terror,” Dominguez said.
The secretary also sent out his condolences to his fellow Davaoeños who have been affected by the tragedy.
“We extend our deepest condolences to my fellow Davaoenos who lost their loved ones in this tragedy,” he said.
For his part, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, a known close friend of President Duterte, said the government is within its right to annihilate the Abu Sayyaf bandits with all the government’s resources.
Duterte placed the country under a “state of lawlessness” following the blast. The police and military also raised to full alert all security units nationwide.
“I join the rest of officialdom and the Filipino people in strongly condemning the bombing of a crowded night market in Davao City that claimed the lives of at least 14 innocent people and injuries to more than 70 others,” Alvarez said.
“I understand that the Abu Sayyaf Group has claimed responsibility for this cowardly and senseless act of violence. If this is confirmed, then government is well within its right to run after them with hammer and tongs and to neutralize them with all the resources at its command. I fully support President Duterte’s declaration of a state of lawless violence not just in Davao City but throughout the country,” he added.
Alvarez said declaring a state of lawlessness would give the police and military all the means to carry out deterrent measures against terror groups, as well as against criminality and illegal drug proliferation.
The Speaker also urged the public to rally behind Duterte in his administration’s continuous campaign against terrorism and criminality.
“I urge our people to likewise support the Duterte administration’s resolute campaign against terrorism and criminality. We should all stand united behind this effort as we need law and order to propel inclusive economic growth in the years ahead,” he said.