The Pilipinas Sepak Takraw Federation Inc. (PSTFI) and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) condemned the acts of terror involving an explosion on a bus in Maguindanao Sunday morning, April 24 that injured several passengers including some members of a sepak takraw club team.
In an official statement dated April 24, PSTFI president Karen Tanchanco Caballero said “these terrorist acts have no place in sports and the Sepak Takraw Family feels the families of the victims.”
Caballero added their grassroots clubs across the country are already in touch with to provide any assistance to the victims.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this unjustified attack on the innocents,” the statement read.
In a separate statement, the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) said: “There is no justification for purposely causing pain on any person, especially one which could possibly become fatal like this bombing.”
“This cowardly act aimed to terrorize the public included athletes among its victims whose budding athletic future are unfairly dimmed by this horrible atrocity,” PSC chairman Butch Ramirez said.
Reports said the explosion occurred around 8:45 a.m. inside a Rural Tours bus parked along the roadside. The bus driver and conductor, as well as other passengers, had a stopover in Barangay Making, Parang, Maguindanao for breakfast when the incident happened.
Members of a club team from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) were reportedly on their way to compete in a National Invitational Tournament in Dipolog City with hopes of earning slots to the Philippine team bound for the ASEAN Schools Games.
Reports said injured members of the team – four athletes and one coach – are now in stable condition.