Duterte declares ‘state of lawlessness’ after bomb kills 14

DAVAO CITY-President Rodrigo Duterte declared on Saturday an indefinite “state of lawless violence” in the country, only hours after a murderous explosion in a popular night market here, killing at least 14 people and injuring 67 others.

“We will treat this as a police matter about terrorism”, Duterte told reporters early Saturday morning after visiting the site of the bombing in the heart of Davao and close to one of the city’s top hotels. However, the president was not convinced and said that they are also looking into other possible suspects such as groups that are targets of his all-out war against drugs.

Abu Sayyaf is one of three major separatist groups in the southern Philippines island of Mindanao – an impoverished, majority-Muslim region that long has chafed at Manila’s rule.

While refusing to categorically identify the Abu Sayyaf Group as responsible, Duterte said the Islamist group had made threats prior to the explosion. “We are all in mourning – said the President CBCP – for the death of innocent brothers and sisters”.

“With the state of lawlessness, he has declared everything to be under the police and the military”, said Torres, who wrote “Into the Mountain: Hostaged by the Abu Sayyaf”.

“We are doing everything to maintain normalcy in the entire country, “Dela Rosa said”.

A spokesman for the militant group Abu Sayyaf claimed responsibility soon after the attack, but the authorities initially said they were considering the possibility that drug syndicates were behind it.

National Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the Abu Sayyaf had struck back after suffering heavy casualties on its stronghold of Jolo island about 900 kilometres (550 miles) from Davao.

Friday’s incident comes just a day after Philippine National Police (PNP) announced they had intercepted a wholesale transaction of firearms meant for use in an assassination attempt on Duterte.

Abu Rami, a spokesperson for the extremist group warned of more attacks in retaliation against the military, after it launched an offensive against the group, following its killing of 15 soldiers.

There were several bombings in Davao City in the past since I became a policeman and it pained us when these blasts occurred.

Duterte, who served as a longtime mayor of Davao before assuming the presidency in June, was in the region but has not issued any statement.

Presidential Communications Secretary Martin M. Andanar, a radio interview, said Mr. Duterte’s scheduled September 3-5 trip to Brunei has been cancelled.

“I must declare a state of lawless violence in this nation, it’s not martial law”, Duterte told reporters on a Davao street at daybreak. The current administration’s policy of publicly shaming alleged cartel bosses, as well as violent anti-crime operations, have drawn the ire of drug syndicates, and condemnation from worldwide human rights groups.

Despite the emergency, Duterte said he would proceed with trips to Brunei, Laos and Indonesia starting Sunday, but a Department of Foreign Affairs official later told The Associated Press that the Brunei leg of Duterte’s first foreign visits has been postponed.

The Abu Sayyaf is a small but extremely risky group of militants that has declared allegiance to Islamic State and is notorious for kidnapping foreigners to extract ransoms.