Threats of terror attacks confined to some Mindanao provinces —Lorenzana

There is no indication that the terror attacks in Mindanao will spill over to the rest of the country, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on Monday.

Lorenzana said the threat was limited to such areas as Sulu, Zamboanga and Cotabato.

"Escalation? No.  We do not see any indication that this will escalate outside Mindanao," Lorenzana said during a forum in Camp Aguinaldo.

Lorenzana said they will ask for the close coordination of the local officials with their security forces to ensure the security in Mindanao.

“To address the problem here, we are going to involve the local officials, the governor, the mayor,” he said.

Several violent attacks—some of them believed to be terror attacks—were reported in the past few months in Mindanao.

One of them was the bombing of the Jolo cathedral on January 27 where 23 people were killed and almost 100 were wounded. 

The Philippine National Police (PNP) went on heightened alert status after the Jolo explosions. All police regional directors nationwide were mandated to intensify their security measures. —NB, GMA News