DAVAO—President Rodrigo Duterte declared a nationwide “state of lawlessness” on Saturday after suspected Abu Sayyaf extremists detonated a bomb that killed 14 people and wounded nearly 70 in his hometown.
Duterte, who inspected the scene of Friday night’s attack at a night market in downtown Davao City, said his declaration did not amount to an imposition of martial law. It allows soldiers to be deployed in urban centers to back up the police in setting up checkpoints and increasing patrols, he said.
An Abu Sayyaf spokesman, Abu Rami, claimed responsibility for the blast near the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Davao University and a five-star hotel, but President Duterte said that investigators were looking at other possible suspects, including drug syndicates, which he has targeted in a bloody crackdown.
“These are extraordinary times and I suppose that I’m authorized to allow the security forces of this country to do searches,” Duterte told reporters at the scene of the attack.
He asked the public to cooperate and be vigilant.
“We’re trying to cope with a crisis now. There is a crisis in this country involving drugs, extrajudicial killings and there seems to be an environment of lawless violence,” said Duterte, who served as mayor of Davao for more than 20 years before being elected president in June.
Retaliation?
The attack came as military forces were on alert amid an ongoing military offensive against Abu Sayyaf extremists in Sulu province that intensified last week after the militants beheaded a kidnapped villager. The militants had threatened to launch an unspecified attack after the military said 30 of the gunmen were killed in the offensive.
Rami is the son-in-law of Mohammad Said, an influential militant commander who used the nom de guerre Amah Maas and was killed in the ongoing Sulu offensive. Davao City Vice Mayor Paulo Duterte, the president’s son, also told reporters that militants linked to the Islamic State group had threatened the progressive city.
Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said that the bomb appeared to have been made from a mortar round and that doctors reported many of the victims had shrapnel wounds.
Despite the emergency, Duterte said he would proceed with trips to Brunei, Laos and Indonesia starting Sunday, but a Department of Foreign Affairs official later told The Associated Press that the Brunei leg of Duterte’s first foreign visits has been postponed.
Armando Morales, a 50-year-old masseur, said the explosion threw him off his chair, adding that the blast had an upward force and emitted smoke but no fireball that could have killed more people. He saw at least 10 people lying bloodied on the ground, mostly fellow masseurs and their customers.
“I helped tie their wounds to prevent blood loss,” the still-dazed Morales said. “They were pale, like dead, already.”
Let’s pray
Police immediately set up more checkpoints in key roads leading to the city. The police force in the capital also went on full alert at midnight.
Witnesses in Davao said that the explosion took place around 9:50 p.m. The night market was full of people sharing meals on roadside tables, shopping for clothes or trinkets, or getting a massage.
Vice Mayor Duterte arrived at the night market around 10:25 p.m. together with Presidential Executive Staff Bong Go. He then ordered the closure of bars and establishments, and asked the public to go home.
The Ateneo de Davao University, which is located just across the street from the night market, imposed a lockdown after the explosion and suspended Saturday’s classes.
“Let us pray for the victims of this unfortunate incident, especially for those who died. Let us pray for those who are being treated in different hospitals and pray for their quick recovery,” the vice mayor said in a statement.
Caution
Police Regional Office (PRO)-Davao Director Manuel Gaerlan said they are conducting a thorough investigation.
“We call on all the people to be vigilant at all times and report to the police any suspicious packages or persons. Please refrain from creating or passing misleading or unverified reports to avoid confusion and panic,” Gaerlan also said.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the Davao City bombing could have been perpetrated by the Abu Sayyaf.
“We have predicted this and warned our troops accordingly but the enemy is also adept at using the democratic space granted by our constitution to move around freely and unimpeded to sow terror,” said Lorenzana.
He said he had directed the Armed Forces to be on high alert “especially in urban centers for possible other terroristic act attempts by this group.”
The defense chief appealed to the public “to remain calm but alert and vigilant, and cooperate with our security forces.” (AP/Sun.Star Network Exchange)