‘Refuse fear to take root,’ CHR urges public after Jolo cathedral bombings
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Human Rights on Monday strongly condemned the twin bombings at a Catholic cathedral in Jolo, Sulu that left at least 20 individuals dead.
Around 81 people — mostly churchgoers attending Sunday services — were also wounded after a bomb exploded at the entrance of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral, followed by another blast in the church’s parking lot.
In a statement, CHR spokesperson Jacqueline De Guia stressed that violence has no place in the Philippines.
“Our countrymen and -women have long yearned for peace in Mindanao. Such violence has no place in the country, especially that concerned areas are in the midst of forging durable peace through the Bangsamoro Organic Law plebiscite,” De Guia said.
The twin explosions happened a few days after the ratification of the BOL, which creates the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao as a replacement to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Sulu is the only ARMM province that rejected the BOL. Despite this, it would still be part of the BARMM since votes within the ARMM are considered together.
“We extend our sympathies to the families and friends of the victims as we urge everyone to stand firm on working for lasting peace and refuse fear to take root,” De Guia said.
The CHR spokesperson said a team from the commission’s central office and CHR-Region IX (Zamboanga Peninsula) would investigate the bombings.
She also called on the government to hold accountable the perpetrators of this “barbaric act.”
Malacañang on Sunday vowed that the “godless criminals” who bombed the Jolo cathedral would be crushed and pursued “to the ends of the Earth.”
‘Don’t use Jolo blasts to justify martial law’
Local rights group Karapatan denounced the bombings as a “dire violation” of international humanitarian law, which prohibits attacks against places of worship.
It, however, stressed that the twin bombings must not be used to justify the implementation of martial law and Oplan Kapayaan — President Rodrigo Duterte’s counterinsurgency program — in the entire Mindanao.
“We caution politicians and the Armed Forces of the Philippines to refrain from making mindless accusations, so as to serve their own agenda of peddling more militarist policies as these would possibly aggravate the situation and result to endangering more civilian communities,” Karapatan said.
In a press briefing Monday, presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the blasts that rocked Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral should serve as “more reason” for martial rule to be imposed in the southern Philippines.
“If you can do that under a martial law regime, then the more reason you should maintain it and be more strict in the implementation of security measures in the area,” Panelo said.
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