President Rodrigo Duterte was outraged by the twin bombing that hit a Catholic cathedral in Jolo, Sulu that killed 25 people and injured 111 others.
The bombing at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel that happened on Sunday, January 27, was reportedly claimed by the Islamic State (IS) militant group, US-based SITE Intelligence Group said.
Following the bombings, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said that Duterte was both angry and disappointed over the incident.
“Of course he was so angry, for one. For another, he is so disappointed that despite the movement to tread the path towards peace and development, there are still some forces in that region who sow terror and kill and murder people,” Panelo told reporters.
Duterte is set to visit Sulu on Monday, January 28 and has ordered the military and authorities to protect the civilians there.
On Sunday, a bomb exploded during a mass attended by more than 100 people before another bomb went off at the cathedral’s parking lot moments after.
Initial investigation on the bombing show that the bombs were planted in the church and not strapped onto suicide bombers, said Western Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Arnel Dela Vega.
Photo credit: AP
