Duterte, who was dubbed “the Punisher” after a vigilante anti-hero in Marvel comic books, built his political reputation on a crackdown on the drug trade during his 22 years as mayor of Davao City.
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An improvised explosive device tore through the bustling market in the heart of the city, close to one of its top hotels, just before 11pm on Friday. Officials have claimed Islamist militant group Abu Sayyaf has taken responsibility for the blast, but that claim has not been authenticated.
The mayor also sacked the city police chief and the head of the Task Force Davao on Monday, 5 September, and apologised for the security lapses that allowed the attackers to succeed in their mission.
Broken glass and plastic chairs were scattered at the scene, which has since been cordoned off by police bomb experts and investigators.
Rodrigo Duterte, president of the Philippines, has declared a “state of lawlessness” after a bomb blast hit a night market in his home city of Davao, killing 14 and injuring 67 others. However, he clarified that his declaration did not amount to the imposition of martial law in the archipelago, Reuters reported.
“We’re trying to cope up with a crisis now”, he added.
However Duterte also ordered a military offensive against the Abu Sayyaf, a small but extremely unsafe group of militants that has declared allegiance to Islamic State and vowed to continue fighting. The militants threatened to launch an unspecified attack after the military said 30 of the gunmen were killed in the weeklong offensive.
“The office of the president texted and confirmed that was an Abu Sayyaf retaliation”.
Duterte was at a meeting some 12 km (7.5 miles) away from downtown Davao when the explosion occurred.
The visit is canceled, Secretary of Communications Martin Andanar told reporters in reference to what the first foreign trip of the president would be.
President Duterte also commanded the military last week to use their full force to stop the Abu Sayyaf after the rebel group rejected his call to stop their terror attacks. He saw at least 10 people lying bloodied on the ground, mostly fellow masseurs and their customers.
“It’s not about their qualifications, it’s about me”, Duterte said. “They were pale like dead already”.
Regional police chief Manuel Guerlan said a ring of checkpoints had been placed around the city’s exit points.
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Police say that they are searching for four “persons of interest” in connection with a powerful blast in the southern Philippines that killed 14 people and wounded 71 others.
