Church tightens security measures

MANILA, Philippines — The Catholic Church and the Davao City government banned big bags in churches as part of stringent security measures following the attack on a cathedral in Jolo, Sulu last Sunday that left at least 21 people dead and more than 100 wounded.

Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, issued a circular to 38 parishes in the city stating that beginning yesterday, churchgoers are not allowed to bring “bags, backpacks, knapsacks, boxes, cartons and the like into the church” and its premises due to the “current peace and order situation.”

Presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said the ban on backpacks will cover other places of worship following the twin blasts that struck the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral in Jolo and the explosion inside a mosque in Zamboanga City before dawn yesterday that killed two persons and injured four others. 

The Davao archdiocese is the biggest in Mindanao covering about 1.4 million Catholics in Davao City, Samal City and Talaingod town and also in Digos, Tagum and Mati cities.

Valles explained that such preventive measure was implemented upon recommendation of security officials.

The mayor said she instructed local security and safety officials to implement the order to thwart any attacks similar to what happened in Jolo and in Zamboanga City.

Checkpoints will also be put up in strategic areas aside from those manned by Task Force Davao personnel.

The attacks in Jolo and Zamboanga City came just days after the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law that will expand the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Authorities tagged the Abu Sayyaf as the group behind the incident. 

Solidarity walk

An inter-faith solidarity walk will be held on Sunday in Quezon City to condemn the bloody bombings in Mindanao, according to Bong Nebrija, EDSA traffic czar of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

Nebrija said more than 4,000 Muslims and Christians will join the inter-faith solidarity walk. He was the representative of the MMDA during the meeting with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) yesterday regarding the event. – With Robertzon Ramirez