The deadly blasts at the Jolo Cathedral in Sulu last Sunday were carried out by suicide bombers, a ranking Philippine National Police officer disclosed Friday.
Senior Supt. Pablo Labra, chief of the Sulu Provincial Police Office, made this assessment, citing the accounts gathered by investigators from at least 36 witnesses who survived the incident.
According to Labra, witnesses told police that they noticed a woman accompanied by a man as they entered the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral during the Sunday morning mass when the explosions happened.
Citing witnesses’ accounts, Labra said that the woman was about 5’2″ to 5’3″ tall, slim, had a backpack and a gray or dark-colored hoodie jacket, and was acting “suspiciously.”
“Doon sa cathedral, kilala nila ang mga nagsisimba. Ayon sa mga witness, nakuha ang atensyon nila kasi hindi pamilyar itong babae. Nagsabi sila sa mga otoridad na suspicious ang actions dahil lingon ng lingon,” he said in a press briefing in Sulu.
Moments before the first explosion occurred inside the church, Labra said the man left the woman. After that, the blast occurred and the woman was nowhere to be found.
Labra said the witnesses could not immediately tell the nationality of the man and woman.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana earlier claimed that a Yemeni couple belonging to a group of at least 40 terrorists being monitored by the military was behind the attack.
The cathedral has been the subject of numerous security attacks since 2010, police said, prompting them to ban backpacks inside. This security measure has prompted questions how the suspected suicide bomber managed to sneak a backpack inside.
Labra said the woman may have concealed the bag inside the jacket but he later admitted there may be a lapse on the part of the security.
Meanwhile, 22 persons have died from the bombing after the family of 68-year-old Thelma Villanueva decided to remove her from life support.
Three pieces of limbs which are believed to be two pairs of feet from a man and a woman were also recovered at the blast site, Labra noted. He said further tests are needed to confirm the identities of the recovered body parts.
“Mayroong two pairs of feet na nandiyan, one pair could be belonging to a lady, one pair could be belonging to a male person. Kailangan pa i-subject for forensic and deoxyribonucleic acid testing,” he said.
The Sulu police chief said a witness recognized one pair of feet as belonging to the suspicious woman because of the “clothing.”
“This witness told our investigators that the paa that he saw sa hospital could be belonging to the lady because of the clothing,” Labra said.
President Duterte was the first to make a pronouncement that the Jolo blast was caused by suicide bombers.
Police pointed to at least three persons of interest caught in a closed-circuit television footage but after they surfaced to clear their names, they have since been ruled out of the case.
Labra assured that the results of their initial investigation were based on concrete pieces of evidence such as the accounts of the witnesses, and denied speculations they were merely riding on the President’s word just to say there was a progress on the probe.
The President has a wide access, a wide source of information. “Sa atin naman as investigators, nagbe-base kami sa kung anong meron doon sa crime scene,” he said.
Meanwhile, Moro religious leaders have prohibited backpacks, big bags, boxes, and bulky plastic bags inside all mosques in Davao City starting Friday.
In a letter to Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte dated Jan. 31, 2019 and signed by Madrasah Comprehensive Development and Promotions Program Executive Director Aleem Jamal S. Munib and Aleem Muhmaad Y. Pasigan, the Grand Mufti or the highest Muslim cleric in the Davao region, the guidelines stated that only small bags for money, keys, and mobile phones are allowed inside the mosques in compliance with the new security protocol
implemented by the local security forces.
The religious leaders released the guidelines following the Jolo incident and the Zamboanga mosque blast Wednesday that killed two persons and injured four others.
The guidelines were created during the meeting with the Imam at the Madrasah office in the city on Thursday, or two days after Mayor Duterte announced the prohibition of backpacks, big bags, boxes, and bulky plastic bags inside places of worship in the city.
To ensure maximum security, female security personnel will subject the “Niqabi” or Muslim woman wearing “niqab” or a face veil to a body check. Vehicles will also be checked before entering the premises of the mosque.
Religious leaders are required to obtain authorization to secure mass, worship, and any religious celebration. Sleeping inside the mosque is no longer allowed.
“Tablig” or Islamic preachers will not be accommodated in Muslim communities until further notice while any suspicious or new individuals in the community will be profiled. (Martin Sadongdong and Antonio Colina IV)
(Martin Sadongdong)
