The Philippine National Police are now looking for four persons of interest in Davao City blast that have killed 14 individuals and injured 67 civilians.
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National Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa told CNN on Saturday the blast late Friday was caused by an improvised explosive device made of mortar rounds – which pointed to extremist groups.
Asked if the Davao City attack had anything to do with President Rodrigo Duterte’s war against drugs, Andanar said,”We can not deny the fact that we also have enemies (among) the drug lords”.
The President also warned that reprisals could be expected from terrorist group Abu Sayyaf, who claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the Philippine Star newspaper.
“It’s still there. We are not totally discounting that”. He said Daulat did it to sympathize with the Abu Sayyaf, which is being pursued by thousands of soldierss in Sulu.
Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said that the bomb appeared to have been made from a mortar round and that doctors reported numerous victims had shrapnel wounds.
Sara Duterte-Carpio, the mayor of Davao, Philippines, has announced a cash reward of 2m Philippine peso (£32,262, $42,975) for anyone who delivers the perpetrators of the recent Davao blast alive.
It is one of two militant groups in the south who have pledged allegiance to Daesh, prompting fears during the stalling of a peace process between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front that it could make inroads in a region torn by decades of armed conflict.
He also stressed it is not martial law, no curfew is being imposed and there is no timeline for its implementation.
The two officials said it allows the President only to tap the military to support the police in law enforcement, which means there would be more checkpoints and visibility of police and military around the country. I took what happened personally, there will be strained relationship between us if they continue to stay in their posts, Duterte-Carpio reportedly said.
Duterte will meet Barack Obama at a regional summit in Laos on Tuesday, although he has made it clear he will take no lecture on human rights from the United States president. “A week ago 15 soldiers were killed in Patikul and on September 2 the bombing took place in Davao”, were the reasons that prodded the President to issue the proclamation.
Police have insisted they only act in self-defence and say the other murders are carried out by drug syndicates trying to silence their members.
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At the same time, the said proclamation gives “due regard to fundamental and civil political rights” and has nothing to do with martial law or the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, the statement clarified.
