The military has promised to take extra regulations to prevent a repeat of the roadside attack on President Duterte’s security convoy in Marawi City Tuesday.
Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Restituto Padilla Jr. admitted there was “a lapse in security” in the incident and said the Presidential Security Group convoy became an “easy target” since it was a marked vehicle moving in broad daylight.
“We admit that there was a lapse in security along that line when a certain member of some terrorist groups in the area may have been able to dump a piece of bag on the side of the road where they knew the convoy would be passing,” Padilla said in a Palace press briefing.
“Those are things that we are closely looking at and learning from so that nothing of that sort will be repeated again in the future,” he added.
Seven PSG members and two soldiers were wounded after their convoy was hit by an improvised explosive device in Marawi City on the eve of the President’s visit to Lanao del Sur last Tuesday. The roadside attack occurred amid the ongoing military offensives against the Maute Group in Butig, Lanao del Sur.
Duterte went ahead with his Lanao trip despite the attack on his security aides and warned the Maute Group not to force him to declare war. He also visited the wounded troops and presented them with medals and financial aid.
In the same news conference, Padilla dispelled rumors circulating on social media that the attack on the PSG convoy was staged.
“I’d like to state that whatever news that came out viral in social media coming from a certain alleged youth group is nothing but propaganda,” he said.
“The incident did and actually happened and was not something that was contrived or made up by the Armed Forces. Our men were hurt in a roadside bombing,” he added. (Genalyn D. Kabiling)