In declaring the state of lawlessness, Duterte said it “would require nationwide, well-coordinated efforts of the military and the police”. It would allow troops to be deployed in urban centers to back up the police in setting up checkpoints and increasing patrols, he said.
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President Rodrigo Duterte was not near the scene of the blast when it happened. “It’s not martial law until it’s a threat against the people and against the nation”, said the president, who was attending a meeting 12 km away from downtown Davao when the explosion took place.
“We’re trying to cope with a crisis now”.
An Abu Sayyaf spokesman later claimed responsibility for the blast, confirming fears that the terrorist group would launch attacks on major urban centers to distract the government from its military offensive against it in Basilan and Sulu.
However, Chief Inspector Andrea De la Cerna, spokeswoman of a task force investigating the explosion, said they were not ruling out other motives for the attack.
While many believe that Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf was behind the bombing, one of its spokesman said that it had been the work of one of its allies.
Duterte also slammed the US for its human rights records in the past when it colonized the Philippines.
“Based on initial investigation, police found a shrapnel from a mortar-based improvised explosive device”, Communication Secretary Martin Andanar 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 drug dealers and criminals.
Despite the emergency, Mr Duterte said he would proceed with a trip to Brunei, Laos and Indonesia starting on Sunday.
“I did not experience them being abusive, and I don’t think they will be abusive now”, Arroyo said in a press briefing.
Police forces in the capital Manila went on full alert at midnight following the deadly blast.
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.
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Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea told reporters that “recent acts of terrorism” which included kidnapping, beheadings and the bombing on Friday night prompted Mr Duterte to sign the proclamation.
