COTABATO CITY – The number of casualties in the deadly New Year’s Eve bombing in southern Philippines has risen to 47 and security officials have quickly blamed pro-ISIS militants for the attack.
Gov. Mujiv Hataman, of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said 2 people were killed and 45 more injured when a bomb went off outside the South Seas Mall in the busy business district of Cotabato City.
“Forty-five people are injured, with 2 dead as of this writing,” Hataman said late Monday, condemning the attack and calling it a “terrorist act.”
“We are irrevocably grieved about the casualties incurred, thoroughly condemn this act, and call for a thorough investigation. We need to make sure acts like these never happen again, and that the perpetrator is brought to justice.”
“We urge investigators and all civilians to not be caught up in the chaos surrounding this terrorist act. We cannot afford to be divisive at this moment. Only by melding together can we bring about peace and justice,” he said.
Hataman also joined other leaders in offering prayers for the families of those who perished and wounded in the bombing.
“We are united in praying for the families and their loved ones who have passed away, as well as those who have been injured and their families. Evil acts like these will be punished in this world and the next, while all good deeds will be rewarded,” he said.
The bomb was believed planted on a motorcycle taxi parked outside the mall where people gathered to buy gifts for the New Year’s celebration.
No individual or group claimed responsibility for the attack, but the bombing occurred just as residents were opposing the inclusion of Cotabato to the proposed Bangsamoro autonomous region under the rule of the rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
The MILF, which signed an interim peace deal with Manila in 2014, has been campaigning hard in Cotabato for the ratification of the controversial Bangsamoro Organic Law which – if approved in a referendum in January and February – would replace the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Mayor Frances Cynthia Sayadi has strongly condemned the bombing and calling it terrorism and evil. “We will stand up against terrorism. We will fight against evil,” she said.
“This is not just another terroristic act, but an act against humanity. I cannot fathom how such evil exists in this time of merry making of our fellow Cotabatenios,” Sayadi said.
“It is unimaginable how some people can start the New Year with an act of cruelty but no matter how you threaten us, the people of Cotabato City are resilient and we are stronger than how you think we are,” she added.
In August 2013, a car bomb also exploded along Sinsuat Avenue in Cotabato City and killed at least 8 people and left more than 40 others wounded. (Mindanao Examiner)
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