The Philippines’ conflict-ridden Mindanao Island suffered another blow yesterday when a church in Jolo, Sulu Province was bombed twice, killing at least 20 people.
The Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for the attack through a statement published by its Amaq News Agency, the SITE Intelligence Group reported.
However, the Philippine military has said that the jihadist militant group Abu Sayyaf could be behind the bombs based on CCTV footage found at the site, ABS-CBN News reported.
The police are now on heightened alert nationwide, another ABS-CBN News story states.
The first blast happened at around 8:30am while mass was being held at the Jolo Cathedral, Col. Gerry Besana, spokesperson of the Philippine military’s Western Mindanao Command told ABS-CBN News. He said the bomb came from inside the church.
The second bomb exploded in the church’s parking lot as the military was responding to the first attack. According to AFP, the military said that the bomb was inside a motorcycle’s utility box.
At least 12 civilians were among those who died, the same AFP report states. At least five soldiers and a member of the coast guard also died and 83 people were injured, Besana said.
“We will pursue to the ends of the earth the ruthless perpetrators behind this dastardly crime,” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a statement, according to AFP. “The law will give them no mercy.”
World leaders have also spoken out against the incident.
In a tweet, Pope Francis asked for prayers for the victims.
“Let us pray for the victims of the terrorist attack on the Cathedral of Jolo, in the Philippines. May the Lord, Prince of Peace, convert the hearts of the violent, and grant the inhabitants of that region a peaceful coexistence,” the tweet reads.
Let us pray for the victims of the terrorist attack on the Cathedral of Jolo, in the Philippines. May the Lord, Prince of Peace, convert the hearts of the violent, and grant the inhabitants of that region a peaceful coexistence.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) January 27, 2019
The pope also condemned the bombing during a speech in a Panama yesterday.
He expressed a “firm condemnation of this act of violence that causes more mourning in the Christian community” and said that he would “pray for the dead and the injured,” Reuters reported.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the attack “a despicable act of cowardice.”
An attack on people attending Sunday services is a despicable act of cowardice, and Canada strongly condemns today’s cathedral bombing in Jolo, Philippines. My deepest condolences to all the families affected by this tragedy.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January 27, 2019
While United States Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim expressed support for the Philippines’ armed forces.
My deepest sympathies for the tragic loss of life in Jolo. We condemn this senseless violence and we will do everything possible to support the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
— Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. Heather Variava (@USAmbPH) January 28, 2019
The church bombings happened just days after provinces part of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) voted on whether or not to establish a new region called the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Sulu, the province where Jolo is located, was the only province in the ARMM that rejected the proposed new region, Rappler reported. However, the BARMM has been “deemed ratified” by the Commission on Elections because a majority of voters across the ARMM provinces voted in favor of it.
It is believed that establishing the BARMM will help create lasting peace in Mindanao; it is one of the requirements in a peace deal between the government and the largest Muslim rebel group the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
The MILF also condemned the Jolo bombings and said in a statement posted on its website yesterday that it is ready to support efforts to apprehend the perpetrators.
“This criminal act has no place in our civilized society especially that we are about to reap the fruits of our struggle with the ratification of Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) in the just concluded plebiscite,” Mohagher Iqbal, Chair of the MILF Peace Implementing panel said.
The BOL is the law that seeks to establish the BARMM.
The entire Mindanao has been under martial law ever since May 2017, after the ISIS-linked attack on Marawi City. Military rule was extended for the third time in December last year because of alleged continued violence; it is now set to be lifted by the end of this year.
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