MILF vice chair: Jolo bombings not the work of 'revolutionary people'
In this Sept. 4, 2017 file photo, President Rodrigo Duterte meets with Moro Islamic Liberation Chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim during a meeting in Malacañan Palace. Also joining Murad are Bangsamoro Transition Commission Chair Ghazali Jaafar, and Moro Islamic Liberation Front peace implementing panel Chair Mohagher Iqbal.
MANILA, Philippines — The Moro Islamic Liberation Front condemned the bombing at a cathedral in Jolo, Sulu, saying it could not have been the work of a "true revolutionary organization."
In an interview on ANC's "Early Edition" on Monday, MILF vice chairman Ghadzali Jaafar—also chairman of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission that worked on the draft the Bangsamoro Organic Law—said "this incident saddened us and we condemn those who planned the bombing and those who did it."
"We sympathize with our Christian brothers who are victims of the bombing. Actually, this is not expected and it is not the work of revolutionary people," Jaafar said.
The Bangsamoro Organic Law, ratified by the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and Cotabato City in a plebiscite last week, is meant to implement the 2014 peace agreement between the government and the MILF.
"Revolutionary people will not kill [their own] people... those who died in that church are all residents of the Bangsamoro government," Jaafar, who said it would be best to wait for the results of a government investigation into the bombings, said.
"[T]o conclude at this point in time is speculation because there is no result of the investigation yet," he said when asked if he believes the bombings are related to the BOL. The province of Sulu rejected the BOL at the plebiscite but votes there were counted alonsgide those cast in other provinces in the ARMM.
"No revolutionary group or revolutionary members of a true revolutionary organization would do that, because when you plant bomb in the middle of a population, of course, there will be victims. Some will die, some will be wounded. But, who knows? Those who died or are wounded in a bombing [could be] your relatives, and friends, and maybe supporters."
The Philippine National Police said earlier Monday that it is looking into unnamed "threat groups" that may be behind the bombing. Authorities are working on recreating the IEDs used in the bomb attacks, with Director General Oscar Albayalde, PNP chief, saying the components and explosives used in the improvised bombs could be a "signature" that would help identify who is behind the attack.
"We are looking into threat groups. There are those claiming that they are behind it. We are also looking into them," Albayalde said in Filipino in a televised interview with reporters.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the bombings, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist activities. But it has also claimed responsibility for incidents in the past that later turned out to be unrelated.
In June 2017, IS, sometimes also called the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, claimed responsibility for a shooting incident at a Pasay City casino later determined to have been the act of a man who was in debt and had been banned from casinos because of a gambling problem. — Jonathan de Santos
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