UPDATES WITH DUTERTE'S CANCELATION OF BRUNEI TRIP
By Hader Glang and Roy Ramos
ZAMBOANGA CITY, the Philippines (AA) – Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte declared a “state of lawlessness” Saturday after an explosion claimed by a Daesh-linked militant group killed 14 people and injured 71 others in his hometown in the country’s troubled south.
Duterte told reporters in Davao City, where he served 22 years as mayor, that his declaration did not amount to imposing martial law, but rather ramping up military and police presence countrywide to combat terror threats and to step up the campaign against illegal drugs and other criminality.
"These are extraordinary times. We are trying to cope up with a crisis now. There seems to be an environment of lawlessness. I just might declare a state of lawless violence in this country," Duterte was quoted as saying by GMA News.
"It's not martial law but I am inviting now the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the military and the police to run the country in accordance with my specifications," he added.
The explosion rocked a night market in the city after 10.00 p.m. (1400GMT) Friday, and has since been claimed by the Abu Sayyaf, who had issued statements threating to launch more attacks amid intensified offensives against the group in majority Muslim southern island provinces.
Duterte said Saturday that the Abu Sayyaf, who he refrained from confirming as responsible for the blast, had made threats before to the late night incident.
He revealed that authorities had received information of a possible attack by the group, but could not frisk citizens -- a move that could be deemed “fascistic” -- as such is “the price of being a democratic state”.
"They [Abu Sayyaf] gave us the warning. Not only in Jolo [is Sulu island], but in other places. We were forewarned, we were ready," GMA quoted him saying.
He underlined that his administration’s top law enforcement and intelligence officials had earlier traveled to Davao City for that reason.
The explosion prompted Duterte to cancel his official visit to Brunei scheduled for Sept. 4-5.
The bombing comes after an Aug. 29 military operation in Sulu left 15 soldiers and 30 Abu Sayyaf members dead.
Since 1991, the Abu Sayyaf -- armed with mostly improvised explosive devices, mortars and automatic rifles -- has carried out bombings, kidnappings, assassinations and extortion in a self-determined fight for an independent province in the Philippines.
It is one of two militant groups in the south who have pledged allegiance to Daesh, prompting fears during the stalling of a peace process between the government and the MILF that it could make inroads in a region torn by decades of armed conflict.
The blast came 24 hours after authorities announced a full alert status in Zamboanga City where the Abu Sayyaf was anticipated to be plotting bomb attacks as "diversionary tactics" over the ongoing military offensive at their two strongholds in nearby Sulu and Basilan provinces.
Gma
he underlined that he will not be suspending the writ of habeas corpus.
Under such state, Duterte said he would allow searches of motor vehicles at checkpoints.
"You stop at checkpoints. If you see a sign and there are soldiers flashing their lights, switch off your headlights, switch on the light inside your cars because I'm authorizing them to search," Duterte said.
"So if you do not have anything to hide, I am suggesting that you be liberal enough to understand us because we are trying to cope up with a crisis now," the president said.
Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella was quoted by the Sun.Star website as saying that the confirmed number of fatalities in Davao City -- where Duterte served 22 years as mayor -- stood at 10 while 60 others were injured.
C/Insp. Milgrace Driz of Davao City Police had earlier told GMA News that 25 people were reported dead at the Southern Philippines Medical Center
"We are now locking down Davao City with checkpoints," she said.
Davao City police spokeswoman Sen. Insp. Catherine dela Rey said the explosion took place at around 10.20 p.m. (0220GMT).
Davao Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte -- the son of the president who was paying his usual weekend visit to the city -- rushed to the site shortly after along with Presidential Executive Staff Bong Go.
They instructed the public to return to their homes and ordered that nearby bars and venues close for the night.
"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 younger Duterte said in a statement.
“There are at least 10 people who perished because of the incident and a number were reported wounded,” he added.
"Rest assured the authorities are on top of this incident. Right now, we cannot yet give definite answer to as to who is behind this as we are also trying to determine what really exploded.”
A police investigation is ongoing into the incident, which came just days after police announced they had thwarted a plot to assassinate President Duterte.
Security forces in southern Mindanao island have been tightening security in past days after Daesh-linked militants threatened to launch attacks amid an intensified military offensive against the Abu Sayyaf group.