Palace says successive bombings in Jolo, Zamboanga depict 'godlessness' of mass murderers
Malacanang said on Wednesday successive attacks in two places of worship, the latest of which was at the mosque in Zamboanga City, show the "godlessness" of the perpetrators.
In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo acknowledged that the latest explosions were challenge to the ability of the Duterte administration to ensure the safety of the people in southern Philippines.
"This latest act of murder apart from the terrorists sowing terror in the Mindanao region, coming as it does in the wake of the Jolo dastardly bombing, is a taunting challenge to the capability of the government to secure the safety of the inhabitants in Mindanao," he said.
"The successive attacks on two different places of worship depict the ruthlessness and the godlessness of these mass murderers," the official added.
Three people were killed and four others were injured when unidentified suspects lobbed a grenade inside a mosque in Barangay Talon-Talon in Zamboanga City past midnight on Wednesday.
The incident took place three days after the twin blasts at a cathedral in Jolo on Sunday while a mass was ongoing. At least 21 people died and over a hundred others were injured in the bombing incident.
"The Armed Forces of the Philippines will unleash its might and weaponry against these enemies of the state and hunt them ferociously and relentlessly until the law rolls down its guillotine on them," Panelo said.
The military said one of the suspects in the explosion in Jolo cathedral was a brother of a slain sub-leader of the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group.
Investigators have yet to identify the suspect in the Zamboanga bombing.
Despite the bomb attacks, Panelo said the government would continue to bring peace in Mindanao.
"The quest for peace and progress by the Bangsamoro people will not be stalled by any obstacle thrown at their path. The movement to change the face of Mindanao and the oppressive conditions affecting its people shall move forward despite these acts of terrorism," he said.
"We assure those who live and sojourn in that part of the region that the government will secure their safety and provide them with whatever support they need with dispatch and sufficiency," Panelo said. Celerina Monte/DMS
