A spokesman for the militant group Abu Sayyaf has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the president said authorities are considering the possibility that drug syndicates were behind it.
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Meanwhile, Sen. Dick Gordon on Sunday allayed fears of another martial law, saying what the President announced early Saturday morning was different. The two leaders plan to convene at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in Laos.
Duterte led a controversial presidential campaign marked by inflammatory speeches that prompted comparisons with the U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
The blast, which took place in President Rodrigo Duterte’s hometown, killed at least 14 people and injured over 70 others, prompting a “state of lawlessness” to be enforced.
Duterte-Carpio said the money, which came from the funds of the city government, would be given in exchange for any information leading to the arrest of those behind the blast.
Malacañang has issued Proclamation 55 which declares a state of national emergency on account of lawless violence in Mindanao.
The document was signed by Duterte and Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.
Officials believe Abu Sayyaf orchestrated the attack in retaliation for the Philippine government’s military offensive against the group in Jolo, the group’s island stronghold in the far south of the Philippines.
He thus said that the proclamation of a national emergency on account of lawlessness would remain in force and effect until lifted or withdrawn by him. “They can do what they really need to do until such time that I can say it is safe”.
However, he clarified that his declaration did not amount to the imposition of martial law in the archipelago, Reuters reported. He saw at least 10 people lying bloodied on the ground, mostly fellow masseurs and their customers.
The attack occurred while Duterte was in Davao, located some 980 kilometers away from the capital Manila. The talk has been intensified by a crackdown on drugs that has killed more than 2,000 people since his June 30 inauguration.
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Police have artist sketches of a man who left a backpack containing the powerful improvised bomb before it exploded on Friday, said the national police chief, Ronald dela Rosa, adding that composite sketches were being prepared for the others two women and a man.
