Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday declared the country to be in a “state of lawlessness” following a blast in the city of Davao on Friday, in which the toll has risen to 14.
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Aside from the fatalities, some 60 others were rushed to different hospitals following the blast in downtown Davao City, according to presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella.
“We have predicted this and warned our troops accordingly but the enemy is also adept at using the democratic space granted by our constitution to move around freely and unimpeded to sow terror”, Lorenzana said in a statement. It occurred at a busy night market known to attract thousands on Mindanao, the southern Philippine island where the city is located. “There were many fatalities”, Batchar told Xinhua by phone.
Duterte, saying the explosion was an act of terrorism, authorized the police and military to search cars and frisk people at checkpoints, the PNA said.
The UN Security Council and UN Secretary-Generl Ban Ki-moon on Sunday condemned a deadly terrorist attack on a Philippine night market that killed at least 14 people, stressing the need to bring perpetrators to justice.
In declaring the state of lawlessness, Duterte said it “would require nationwide, well-coordinated efforts of the military and the police”. “There is a crisis in this country involving drugs, extrajudicial killings and there seems to be an environment of lawless violence”, said Duterte, who served as mayor of Davao for years before elected to the presidency in June.
“I would like to remind other officials to stay within the bounds of their official duties according to their position”, she said.
Davao City was on high alert, with police checkpoints set up throughout the city, officials said.
Manila’s airport has also been placed on full alert, general manager Ed Montreal said.
The tough-talking Duterte, who took office as president in May pledging a brutal “War on Drugs”, has come under sharp criticism for encouraging vigilante-style killings of of drug dealers and criminals.
“But this is not the first time that Davao City has been sacrificed in the altar of violence”.
Dolida’s testimony followed a report that the Davao City police were hunting down at least four “persons of interest” or suspects in the blast that resulted in the declaration of a national “state of lawlessness” by President Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte.
It happened late on Friday night while the president was on a regular weekend visit to his hometown, and as Filipino forces were conducting an ongoing military offensive against Abu Sayyaf extremists in southern Sulu province. The group pledged allegiance to Daesh (or ISIS), but any direct collaboration between Abu Sayyaf and Daesh has not yet been determined. “She was shaking and bleeding”, Tabalwon said.
Adrian Abilanosa, another witness, told the AFP news agency: “The force just hurled me”.
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Duterte, the longtime mayor of Davao City, has faced domestic and worldwide criticism since taking national office for his hardline stance on suspected drug offenders.
