Jolo blasts & the BOL

THE deadly claws of ter­rorism made their scratch mark once more in a twin bomb attack in a Catholic church in Jolo, Sulu last Sunday morning, leaving 20 people dead and more than a hundred others wounded.

Although the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack, saying two of their suicide bombers detonated explo­sive belts at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, an initial military probe re­vealed that the bombs used were planted. The first bomb went off during a Mass while the second exploded from the utility box of a motor­cycle in the parking area as soldiers rushed to help the wounded.

The military earlier said the dreaded bandits of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) could be behind the blasts. However, the pipe bombs used in the attack contained ammonium nitrate fuel which was not commonly used in previous Sayyaf attacks. Foreigners could have made the bomb or taught Sayyaf members how to assemble an ex­plosive.

One alias “Kamah”, a known bomb maker and said to be the brother of slain ASG leader Sukarah Ingog, has emerged as a person of interest after be­ing caught on a surveillance camera while acting suspi­ciously outside the church before the blasts.

The bloodshed came two days after the Commis­sion on Elections (Comelec) proclaimed the ratifica­tion of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) which would create a new Muslim autonomous region and sparked hopes of quell­ing the separatist violence that has lasted for several decades.

Jolo is a base of the ASG which was not part of the peace agreement with the nation’s largest separatist group, the Moro Islamic Lib­eration Front (MILF), whose deal with the government in 2014 led to the creation of the Bangsamoro region.

And apparently, there have been lapses on the part of soldiers securing the church surroundings considering that Mindanao is under martial law. How were the bombs placed inside the church and at the parking lot in spite of the soldiers’ presence?

We understand that the Bangsamoro Organic Law was created to end the Moro insurgency but government should also be prepared for the opposition of other armed groups or the possi­bility of a creation of a new faction disputing the BOL.

You just can’t please ev­erybody all the time.

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SHORT BURSTS. Al­low me to sincerely greet each and everyone a Happy New Year.. For comments or reactions, email firing­[email protected] or tweet @Side_View. Read current and past issues of this col­umn athttp://www.tempo.com.ph/category/opinion/firing-line/