It was to be the first leg of a week-long tour of Southeast Asia, Duterte’s first overseas trip since coming to power on June 30.
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Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar told reporters that investigators have found shrapnel from a mortar-based bomb, indicating Friday’s attack was created to inflict mass casualties. But his visit to Indonesia, which was to begin Thursday, remains uncertain.
Any punitive actions should be in the furtherance of protecting the country to stop terrorism, President Duterte told reporters after an ocular inspection of the blast site early Saturday morning. It was around 10 p.m. when the bomb exploded at a popular night market.
The tough-talking Philippine leader, who had been mayor in the city of 1.2 million people for over 20 years before winning the presidency last May, was expected to go to the site of the incident, officials said.
Some commanders of the Abu Sayyaf, which is blacklisted by the United States and the Philippines as a terrorist organization for deadly bombings, ransom kidnappings and beheadings, have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. Duterte clarified the state of lawlessness is not martial law and does not involve the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus.
Duterte has ordered an all out military offensive against the extreme group Abu Sayyaf in retaliation against the killing of 15 government troops in fierce fighting against the group in the south.
The 480-strong terror group is concentrated on Mindanao, an impoverished but resource-rich region that remains underdeveloped due to conflict and violence between the government and extremist groups.
However, Davao itself is largely peaceful and Duterte has been credited with transforming it from a lawless town to a southern commercial hub for call centers and offshore business processing services.
In another interview, over dzMM, Chief Public Attorney Persida Acosta said she would probably issue the same declaration were she in Duterte’s shoes and voiced optimism there would be no undue curtailment of civil liberties. “I have this duty to keep intact the integrity of the nation”. “There will be major checkpoints”.
Duterte was in the presidential guesthouse in Panacan village, some 15 kilometers away when the explosion happened, his aides said. The declaration has yet to be formalized.
At least 14 people were killed and another 67 were wounded in the explosion, police said.
Some government units are already stepping up security.
National police chief Ronald dela Rosa told a briefing in Manila that the Abu Sayyaf was a top focus of investigations, although he did not definitively lay the blame on the group, saying other leads were also being followed. Police forces in the capital also went on full alert at midnight.
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National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in a statement Friday that local authorities in the Philippines continue to investigate the cause of the explosion, and the United States stands ready to provide assistance to the investigation.
