AFP spox says now is not the time to blame security forces for Jolo blasts

Now is not the time for finger-pointing, the military said Tuesday following Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año's statement that the bombing attack on a cathedral in Jolo, Sulu, over the weekend showed lapse in security.

“This is not a time to blame any agency or security forces,” Colonel Noel Detoyato, spokesperson for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), told GMA News Online via text.

Twenty-one people were killed and almost 100 others were wounded in the two bombing attacks on Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Cathedral on Sunday morning while a Mass was being held.

The attack occurred even as the entire Mindanao is under martial law and despite the presence of soldiers at the vicinity of the church.

“Downtown Jolo is only one of the areas where security was heightened,” Detoyato said.

He said that like in all cases of terrorism, perpetrators always find "small holes" to conduct atrocities.

“The incident in Jolo is not an exception where, notwithstanding stepped-up security posture, and the many instances where we foiled terrorist attempts, this still happened,” Detoyato said.

Detoyato noted that the United States and several European countries—despite being advanced in terms of technology and competencies—have all been hit by terror attacks.

“This incident only calls for Filipinos to unite our thoughts and actions to send a strong signal that we will not cower in fear. We condemn all these acts of terrorism,” he said. —KBK, GMA News