Former president and now Pampanga representative Gloria Arroyo on Monday threw her support behind President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of “state of lawlessness” in the wake of the Davao City blast last Friday.
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There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the explosion, which police said killed 15 people and wounded 67.
Armando Morales, a 50-year-old masseur, said the explosion threw him off his chair, adding the blast had an upward force and emitted smoke but no fireball which could have killed more people.
Malacañang has issued Proclamation 55 which declares a state of national emergency on account of lawless violence in Mindanao.
The proclamation “shall remain in force until lifted or withdrawn by the President”.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday “plenty will be killed” before the end of his campaign against illegal drugs that has led to the death of about 2,400 people since he became president two months ago.
Investigators are also reconstructing the improvised explosive used in the bombing incident, he said in a news conference.
Senior police officer Consorcio Gerones Jr from Davao’s bomb squad, said the bomb was made from parts of a 60mm mortar.
The government suspects the attack was carried out by the Islamic terror group Abu Sayyaf, which has been carrying on a low level insurgency to win a Muslim state. However, the president was not convinced and said that they are also looking into other possible suspects such as groups that are targets of his all-out war against drugs. “I warned, I remember warning everybody that there could be a reprisal because of the pressure there in Sulu which is going on”, Duterte said.
The explosion apparently struck shortly after 10 p.m. local time, and police were working to determine what caused it, though they suspect it was a bomb.
He said AFP chief-of-staff Gen. Ricardo Visaya has placed the entire AFP on red alert, directing all area commanders to coordinate with their counterparts at the PNP. She then went down to survey the scene of the blast, about 100 yards from her dorm. His term in office was noted for his hardline stance on drug crime that he has now incorporated into his national policies.
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On Saturday morning, during a visit to the blast site, Duterte told reporters that Islamist militants could be responsible.
