The chief executive of the capital town of Jolo in Sulu said Thursday the situation in the area had returned to “normal” days after two suicide bombings left 15 people dead and 78 others wounded.
Mayor Kerkhar Tan, however, said intelligence information suggested another terrorist attack was possible in Jolo.
Tan, interviewed on Dobol B sa News TV, heard nationwide, said placing Sulu under martial law was not the solution to the terror threat.
On Wednesday, Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command Major General Corleto Vinluan said four Indonesian women who might carry out suicide bomb attacks in the country remained free in Mindanao.
Brig. Gen. William Gonzales, commander of Joint Task Force Sulu, said the suspects in the recent bombing attacks were both widows of known terrorists, whose nationalities have not been determined.
He said one of the suspects was identified as Nanah, allegedly the wife of Filipino suicide bomber Norman Lasuca, while the other was Inda Nhay, allegedly the wife of Abu Talha, the Abu Sayyaf’s liaison to ISIS who was killed during a firefight with troops.
At the same time, the chief of the Philippine National Police rejected the call of two senators – Senators Franklin Drilon and Risa Hontiveros — for the removal of police officers in Jolo, following the twin bomb blasts.
“Unless there is sufficient evidence establishing criminal involvement or administrative lapses leading to the attack, the PNP maintains full confidence in our ground personnel,” police chief Gen. Archie Gamboa told reporters.
The military is investigating suspected blood ties between the nine officers and the bombers, Vinluan said.
President Rodrigo Duterte has three options to address terrorism in Mindanao.
In a virtual Palace briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said it was best to wait for the President to decide after considering the recommendations of the police, military, and other top officials.
Roque said Duterte could decide to implement the Anti-Terrorism Law to address terrorism.
“There’s nothing left to do if the President decides to implement the Anti-Terrorism Law because it’s already a law which is already being implemented,” he said.
Roque, in an interview over CNN Philippines on Tuesday, said Duterte needed to be “very careful” in assessing the recommendation because there should be a “legal and factual” basis to declare martial rule in Sulu.
Even if Duterte failed to tackle the Jolo bombings in his public address last Monday night, Roque said, the President had directed the top officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police during a joint command conference to take appropriate actions.
“The fact that he (Duterte) did not say anything, it’s probably because he has given the necessary orders to the top brass of the AFP and the PNP, and you don’t discuss what you intend to do as far as the situation on the ground is (concerned) publicly,” he said.
On Tuesday, Army Chief Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana proposed the reimposition of martial law in Sulu to control the movement of terrorists.
Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. also supported the army chief’s proposal, saying it would prevent another bombing attack in Sulu.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana also said the Senate saw no need for martial law in Sulu since the Anti-Terrorism Law was already in effect.
Enacted last July 3, the anti-terrorism law became effective on July 18.
Senator Panfilo Lacson, however, pointed out that the agencies tasked with crafting and issuing the IRR of the law had yet to do the task.
Roque said petitions against the law filed before the Supreme Court would not affect the crafting of the IRR.
Reports showed the first explosion happened along Serrantes Street in Walled City village in Jolo at about 11:53 a.m. on Monday, while the second occurred just 100 meters away at 1:06 p.m.
The attacks were reported to have been carried out by two Abu Sayyaf Group suicide bombers.
One of the suicide bombers was an Indonesian national who was said to be the wife of 23-year-old Norman Lasuca, the first identified Filipino suicide bomber; while the other was the wife of Talha Jumsah alias Abu Talha, a slain bomb expert who served as the ASG’s liaison to the Islamic State (ISIS).
Senator Risa Hontiveros said there must be a full investigation “with no-cover ups” into the bombing incidents.
She said the “full truth, no matter how ugly or inconvenient” behind the two incidents must be revealed, as she called for the relief of the entire Jolo police force in order to pave the way for a thorough, transparent investigation.
“What the relation between the August 24 bombings to the killing of soldiers last June 29? Did some policemen put Jolo and our nation at greater risk when they not only interfered with Army intelligence operations, but also killed our operatives?” Hontiveros said.
“Did terrorist elements somehow influence, directly or indirectly, the killing of these soldiers?” she added.
Hontiveros said that the investigation on the Jolo blasts should also touch upon the deaths of the four army intelligence operatives who were shot and killed by PNP officers.
Although the PNP claimed the soldiers should have first coordinated with local police, Hontiveros, citing information from what she called credible sources, said the local police units at the “time knew about the identities of the four-man intelligence team as well as their designations, and that in turn, this was made known to the PNP leadership.”