Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. said the bomb attack at the Mindanao State University in Marawi City on Sunday, Dec. 3, could be a retaliatory attack by terrorist and extremist groups.
Brawner said the military launched successive offensives against the Islamic State (IS)-linked Daulah Islamiyah-Maute Group which led to the neutralization of its ranking leaders.
On Dec. 1, Brawner said that personnel of Joint Task Force (JTF) Central under the Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom) launched an operation targetting Abdullah Sapal, the newly-designated "emir" or leader of the DI-Maute Group, in Datu Hoffer Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur. The mission led to the death of 11 DI-Maute Group members including Sapal, he said.
This was followed by another operation by the WestMinCom's JTF Orion against Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) leader Mudzimar Sawadjaan also known as Mundi, a notorious bomb maker, in Basilan on Dec. 2. He died in the operation.
Sawadjaan was the pinpointed brains behind the Jolo Cathedral bombings in Sulu in 2019 which killed 20 people and injured 102 others.
Then prior to the 7 a.m. bombing at the MSU, Brawner said the WestMinCom's 103rd Infantry Battalion also encountered DI-Maute members in Piagapo, Lanao del Sur which led to the death of Alandoni Macadaya Lucsadatu alias "Lando" and "Abu Shams", the group's sub-leader, and the capture of his aunt, Saadia Dato Angni.
"Maaaring retaliatory attack 'yung nangyari kaninang umaga (What happened this morning could be a retaliatory attack). That is one angle that we are looking into," Brawner said.
The AFP chief alerted all of the military units in Mindanao as well as in Metro Manila to avoid an overspill of violence.
"We are continuously gathering intelligence so that we will be able to run after the perpetrators of this terroristic attack," Brawner added.
Meanwhile, Department of National Defense (DND) Sec. Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said he relayed relevant intelligence information to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. regarding the bomb attack.
In a statement released by the Presidential Communications Office, it said that Marcos blamed "foreign terrorists" for the attack.
"We are not at liberty to disclose [the foreign terrorists] but there is strong indication of a foreign element," Teodoro said, noting that revealing critical operational information will hamper ongoing missions.
"Our law enforcement operations on both sides will continue unabated and in accordance with the President's statement, we shall leave no stone unturned in order to root out the perpetrators of this heinous crime," he stressed.
Same pattern as Jolo bombing?
The attack, which occured during a mass at the Dimaporo Gymnasium inside the Mindanao State University, appeared to have the same footprints of previous bomb attacks in Sulu including the Jolo Cathedral bombing, prompting an investigation by the AFP.
The Jolo Cathedral attack refers to the twin bombings perpetrated by the Abu Sayyaf Group at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Jolo, Sulu on Jan. 27, 2019. The attack was carried out by Indonesian suicide bombers aided by the Abu Sayyaf Group, according to authorities.
"Right now, we are still conducting an investigation but we see similarities, just some similarities. We don't want to conclude yet whether those who did the bombings in Jolo are the same people who did the bombings in Marawi City," Brawner said.
Easing fears
Despite the attack, the defense chief allayed fears of Filipinos, especially those in Marawi, that similar attacks could follow as he said security measures were immediately put in place to arrest the culprits and prevent a repeat of the incident.
"Hindi po dapat ikabahala ito ng ating mga kababayan dahil nasa amin po ang responsibilidad na pangalagaan ang kanilang kaligtasan sa mga ganitong insidente (This should not be a cause for concern on the part of our countrymen because the responsibility to ensure their safety amid these incidents is upon us)," Teodoro said.
Brawner said he will go to Marawi for a command conference with AFP and Philipine National Police (PNP) commanders to determine and arrest those responsible for the attack, and ensure the safety of the people, especially the students at MSU.
"'Yung mga estudyante doon ay natatakot so dapat maassure namin sila na hindi mauulit ito at magpatuloy ang edukasyon nila (The students there are afraid so we need to assure them that this won't happen again and their education shall continue)," the military chief shared.