Palace vows no mercy for bombers

MANILA, Philippines — The “godless criminals” who bombed the Jolo cathedral in Sulu would be crushed and pursued “to the ends of the Earth,” Malacañang vowed yesterday.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said the Duterte administration condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the bombing, which he called “an act of terrorism.”

“We will pursue to the ends of the Earth the ruthless perpetrators behind this dastardly crime until every killer is brought to justice and put behind bars. The law will give them no mercy,” Panelo said in a statement.

Panelo said authorities are looking into the bombing, which was perpetrated just days after Sulu rejected the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL).

Several foreign governments have welcomed the ratification of the BOL. They worry, however, that small numbers of Islamic State-linked militants from the Middle East and Southeast Asia could forge an alliance with homegrown insurgents and turn Mindanao into a breeding ground for extremists.

Australian Ambassador Steve Robinson, British Ambassador Daniel Pruce and the European Union expressed their condolences and sympathies to the families of those killed in the twin blasts.

“My thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones and those affected by the attack in #Sulu,” Robinson said on Twitter.

“I reaffirm Australia’s strong condemnation of all acts of terror,” he said.

The EU delegation to the Philippines conveyed its condolences and sympathies to the families of the victims of the bombing.

“I express my solidarity with the Filipino people during these trying times,” EU Ambassador Franz Jessen said in a statement.

“Filipinos have always been resilient, steadfast, and collaborative and I am certain that these values will see them through in this sad situation,” he said.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) condemned the bombing, noting the attack came following the ratification of the BOL.

“We condemn this act of terrorism that has taken place only a few days after the plebiscite on the Bangsamoro Organic Law,” CBCP president and Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles said.

“As we begin a new phase in the peace process with the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARRM), we ask our Christian brethren to join hands with all peace-loving Muslim and Indigenous People communities in the advocacy against violent extremism,” he appealed.

Deadly links

Philippine National Police chief Director General Oscar Albayalde said it is premature to say if yesterday’s bombing attacks were related to the Jan. 21 plebiscite of BOL.

Security officials were looking “at different threat groups and they still can’t say if this has something to do with the just concluded plebiscite,” Albayalde told ABS-CBN.

Albayalde noted Sulu rejected the ratification of the BOL, which could have included the province in the expanded Muslim Autonomous Region.

The province is home to the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), a rival of the Moro Islamic Liberation (MILF) that will lead the new Bangsamoro autonomous region under the BOL.

Sulu is also where smaller militant cells like the Abu Sayyaf operate.

National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. also said it remains unclear whether the bombings were related to the ratification of the BOL.

“We have yet to establish if the two explosions are related to the all-important BOL,” Esperon said in a statement.

“The BOL ends the secessionist narrative. The BOL signifies the end of war for secession. It stands for peace in Mindanao. The perpetrators are mass murderers. They are extremist criminals,” he added.

While officials are not sure whether the explosions have something to do with the BOL, Esperon said the government would not allow the perpetrators of the bombings to “spoil the preference of the people for peace.”

“Security forces have tightened up the systems to secure Sulu and the rest of BARMM. Peace must prevail over war,” Esperon added.

Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said the bombings may be related to the BOL plebiscite.

“There are elements trying to derail the Bangsamoro Organic Law,” Andanar told radio station dzMM.

“While (the BOL) lost narrowly in Sulu, the government is not losing hope and the government will find the criminals behind these (bombings),” he added.

Andanar revealed security officials have identified the suspects based on security video footage. He declined to elaborate.

“There’s a chance, there’s a possibility (that the bombings are related to BOL). We are looking at all angles... Criminals are behind these bombings. They do not have an ideology,” he added.

Andanar said security agencies, the social welfare department, and the Office of the President would take care of the needs of the families of the victims.

Lawmakers condemned the bombing and called on the authorities to immediately hunt and apprehend the attackers.

“We should all condemn those responsible for bombing the cathedral in Jolo. Targeting the innocent and the helpless is the highest form of cowardice,” Senate President Vicente Sotto III said in a statement.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri believed that those “who took part in this dastardly act just wants to taint the victory achieved by the Bangsamoro people in their ratification of the BOL.”

Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito described the attack as “an act of cowardice and desperation that has no place nor support from peace-loving Filipinos in Mindanao and the rest of our country.”

Sen. Sonny Angara said he was outraged that the bombings occurred.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan also linked the incident to the plebiscite for the BOL, and served as a challenge for the government to show what martial law in Mindanao can do to address these attacks.

Sen. Nancy Binay urged authorities to dig deeper in to the incident as it came when Mindanao remains under martial law.

“It is quite saddening that while there are initiatives to finally end the conflict to have permanent peace, there are also those who continue to terrorize and find ways to derail and impair the gains for peace,” Binay said.

Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino IV called for calm and sobriety as the government is amid efforts to put in place a new Bangsamoro autonomous region. – With Pia Lee-Brago, Paolo Romero, Edu Punay, John Unson