AFP spokesman denies ”security lapses” in Jolo blast

February 1, 2019

A military spokesman denied lapses but admitted possible breach of security that led to the bombing in Jolo last Sunday.

"There may be a breach of security but not security lapse," Brig. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman said Friday.

Despite the deadly bombing, Arevalo emphasized that security forces were not "remiss" in their job.

"A truism that there is no unimpenetrable barrier. The AFP may have foiled 99 out of 100 attempts; but a singular successful try doesn’t mean government security forces have been remiss in their job," he said.

"The fact that five soldiers, now six, made the ultimate sacrifice during the blast prove that they religiously performed their best to protect and rush to the rescue of the victims of the blast," he added.

Last Tuesday, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana admitted a possible lapse on the security procedure as the church that was bombed is guarded by soldiers prior to the incident.

The bombing incident has resulted in the death of 22 people and injury of 101 others.

Despite the recent pronouncement of President Rodrigo Duterte about the possible involvement of suicide bombers on the incident, Arevalo said the possible suicide bombing is still subject of their  investigation.

"The President and Commander in Chief Rodrigo Duterte has made a declaration that the Jolo blast is possibly a handiwork of suicide bomber(s)," he said.

"We say that he has access to various—even unlimited— sources of information. And that possibility is among the foci of our investigation," he added.

Arevalo noted that the military is still pursuing leads that point to other possibilities.

"The AFP has not since ruled out the possibility of suicide bombing. We are, however, still pursuing leads from the ongoing investigation and testimonies of survivors that point to other possibility that it may not be suicide bombing," he said.

Lorenzana also reiterated his belief on the possible involvement of suicide bombers. But he stressed that that the AFP is still conducting some validation and evaluation of additional evidence.

"I believe, with evidence at hand that the Mt Carmel Cathedral bombing was a suicide bombing due to the following: 1) the church was heavily guarded 24 hours daily since August when threats to bomb it surfaced. Those entering were screened. All bags and belongings were checked. The bombs could have been strapped in the body of the bomber and escaped the attention of the soldiers doing the screening. 2) the presence of body parts strewn all over. According to the forensic investigators of the PNP these body parts could belong to two persons- one inside the church and one outside," he said.

"As far as I’m concerned the evidence is sufficient to call it suicide bombing. However the military intelligence is evaluating additional evidence," he added.

Lorenzana said among the information being validated is the identity and nationality of the possible suicide bomber.

"All these were information which we also got, are being evaluated. The nationality of the alleged bombers are many: Yemeni, Indonesian etc.," he said.

"All the facts point to suicide bombing but our people are validating some more data. We will soon come up with a definite conclusion," he added. Robina Asido/DMS