Despite Jolo blasts, martial law in Mindanao ” effective”: Panelo

January 28, 2019

Despite the bombing incidents in Mindanao, Malacanang said implementation of martial law in the area is still "effective".

  "It’s effective but this incident is isolated by the way. So we will have to investigate why it happened," Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a press briefing in Malacanang on Monday.

President Rodrigo Duterte arrived in Jolo Monday afternoon.

The twin blasts at a church on Sunday resulted to at least20 people dead, including security forces and 112 wounded.

  Panelo said there would be more bombings just like what happened  in Cotabato City before the conduct of plebiscite and in Jolo if martial law is not implemented.

  "Can you imagine how many bombings there would have been if there is no martial law there in operation?" he said.

  "There... would have been chaos and anarchy there. You see how they were able to get Marawi (City) but there was a martial law then," he added.

  On the new infantry division President Rodrigo Duterte created, Panelo said the security forces cannot certainly stop every threat by the enemy. 

  "We can only learn from lessons and introduce more stringent steps to prevent the occurrence of another bombing," he said.

  Panelo said he does not want to speculate that the bombing is related to the coming oral arguments in the Supreme Court on the extension of martial law in Mindanao.

  "As I said, we have to wait for the investigation. We can only speculate and there have been many speculations," he said.

  Panelo asid it will be "unfair" and "not good" if they will point at the Moro National Liberation Front to be behind the incident.

  "I know that Nur Misuari (MNLF founding chairman)  wants federalism than BOL (Bangsamoro Organic Law) but he didn’t oppose it actively. In fact, he was non-committal with respect to the plebiscite," he said. Ella Dionisio/DMS