ARMM government condemns Davao bombing

COTABATO CITY, Philippines - The security council of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) on Saturday condemned the deadly bombing Saturday night in Davao City, branding the attack a serious affront to Mindanao’s local communities.

“We also feel the grief of our compatriots in Davao City. We condole with the families of those who perished in the bombing,” ARMM’s chief executive, Mujiv Hataman, on Saturday told The STAR via text message.

Hataman, chairman of ARMM’s inter-agency regional peace and order council, said he and members of his cabinet condemn the attack, for them a direct affront to Mindanao’s “tri-people,” which is comprised of the southern Muslim, Christian and Lumad communities.

Text messages have been circulating since Saturday morning in the ARMM’s island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi purporting that the Abu Sayyaf, which boasts of loyalty to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, was responsible for the bombing.

The attack was in retaliation for the deaths of more than 30 Abu Sayyaf members killed in encounters with soldiers in Sulu in the past ten days, according to local officials in the island province.

“The bombing in Davao City was an act of terrorism. It was satanic and against teachings of all religions that espouses fear of God and respect for life,” Hataman told The STAR.