COTABATO CITY - Two Catholic worshippers were wounded on Sunday morning after an unidentified man tossed a grenade at a chapel in the restive southern Philippine city of Cotabato.
The attacker escaped on a motorcycle driven by another man after the daring assault in the village of Rosary Heights in downtown Cotabato. The blast occurred while worshippers were attending a bible study.
The mayor Cotabato, Bruce Matabalao, condemned the attack and urged locals to help authorities by providing information on the the suspects.
"HUWAG MATAKOT! LABANAN NATIN ANG KARAHASAN! Sinusubok na naman ng mga halang ang kaluluwa ang kapayapaan at kaayusan ng Cotabato City. PAGPAPAKITA LAMANG ITO NG KAWALAN NG TAKOT SA DIYOS dahil hindi man lamang ginalang ang bahay sambahan ng mga kapatid nating Katoliko. INATASAN KO NA ANG BARANGAY AT ANG ATING KAPULISAN NA KUNIN SA LAHAT NG PARAAN ANG MGA SUSPEK," Matabalao said in a statement.
"Sa may alam sa pagkakakilanlan ng mga salarin, may malaking REWARD tayong ibibigay. Sa mga Cotabateño, muling ipinaparamdam sa atin na tayo ay matakot at sumunod dahil sa takot. Huwag tayong magpadala sa mga ganitong dirty tactics," he added.
No individual or group claimed responsibility for the explosion, but it occurred five months after a pro-ISIS group called Dawlah Islamiya bombed a Catholic mass inside the Mindanao State University in Marawi City in December.
The same group, backed by hundreds of local and foreign militants, also laid siege on Marawi on May 23, 2017 and street fighting lasted about five months and displaced nearly 400,000 people and killed more than 1,000 more. (Mindanao Examiner)
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