Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte commends the arrest of Davao city night market blast suspects.
The chief executive of Davao City praised the authorities following the arrest of the suspected perpetrators of Davao City night market explosion last month which killed 15 people and injured 70 others.
On Friday afternoon, Department of National Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana presented to the media the three members of the Maute Group who are allegedly behind the bombing of a night market in Davao City.
At a press conference, Lorenzana said the three suspects were nabbed on October 4 at a checkpoint by joint elements of the Philippine Army and the Philippine National Police in Cotabato City after they attempted to avoid the checkpoint onboard a motorcycle with no license plate.
Following the report, Mayor Duterte said that the arrest was a “welcome development,” and a step closer to attaining the justice to the victims of the explosion.
“The arrest of the suspected perpetrator of the September 2 bombing in Davao City is a welcome development to the operations of our law enforcers for their immediate capture,” the mayor said.
“This development is commendable as we vow to expeditiously give justice to the 15 victims who died and the 69 others who were wounded in the blast,” she added.
Despite the arrest, Mayor Duterte noted that the job of the AFP and PNP doesn’t end here, but authorities must still dismantle terror groups present in the country.
“It is, however, important for us to remember that the arrest must ultimately lead us to the dismantling of terror groups in our midst or result in the failure of more senseless acts of violence and extremism,” she said.
She added that the arrest doesn’t end the search for justice for the 15 people who died and 69 who were injured.
“We also need to remember that this does not end our desire to give justice to the victims and those whose lives were forever changed by that horrendous act of terrorism on the night of September 2 in our beloved city,” the mayor said.
Aside from those who were arrested, nine people have already been charged with multiple murder and frustrated multiple murder in connection with the bombing but only one of them has been identified.