President Rodrigo Roa Duterte offers his condolences to the families of the victims who died during the twin bombings at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Jolo, Sulu as he visited Camp Teodulfo Bautista in the island on 28 January 2019. (KING RODRIGUEZ/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO )

As probers now center their investigation on the possibility of foreign terror involvement in Sunday’s Jolo Cathedral bombing in Sulu, ally governments yesterday renewed their support to help the Philippines counter violent extremism and terrorism in battle-scarred Mindanao.

The governments of China, Russia and France have joined forces in declaring their partnership with the Philippines against the suspected presence of foreign terrorists working for the Daesh, the Islamic acronym for Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which has claimed responsibility for the attack which killed 21 and injured more than a hundred Catholic churchgoers.

Names of the victims obtained by Daily Tribune included several soldiers who died in the Sulu blast. They are Sgt. Mark Des P. Simbre, Cpl. John B. Mangawit Jr., Cpl. Minard Jann P. Ocier, Pvt. Alizon L. Ayoman and Pvt. Hernan U. Bulaybulay, all from the Philippine Army. Also killed was SN2 Jaypee M. Galicha of the Philippine Coast Guard.

Civilians who died included Leo Herbolario, Bibing Perpetua, Reynaldo Pescadera Sr., Ridzmar Mukadil, Romolo B. Reyes, Albacora Perpetua, Niseria dela Cruz, Cecilia Sanchez, Daisy P. de los Reyes, Dolores S. Tan, Fe Non, Juliet Jaime, Leah Angelica Reyes and Chenly Rubio.

One more victim has yet to be identified.

President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday vowed no letup in the government’s chase of the terrorists responsible for the attack.

He visited Jolo Cathedral on the day the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) allowed the release of a video footage showing very young members of a terror cell believed to be linked with the Ajang-Ajang faction of the Abu Sayyaf.

The Abu Sayyaf have allied itself with the extremist Al Qaeda until the death of its leader Osama bin Laden in a US military operation in Pakistan on 2 May 2011.

The Al Qaeda had quickly shifted its radicalism through the Daesh after Bin Laden’s death and it included the Abu Sayyaf, whose members carry themselves in the style of the foreign terror group, including the adoption of its flags, symbols and signs to gain international financial support.

The AFP claimed the Sulu bombers were teenagers, proof of its earlier claims that the Abu Sayyaf employs child-fighters.

But Mr. Duterte vowed to crush terror as he renewed his declaration of war against the 400-man strong Abu Sayyaf. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana was with the President in his visit to Jolo. Lorenzana named Abu Sayyaf commander Hatib Sawadjaan as behind the bombing.

NEWS | Du30: Suicide bombers carried out Jolo attacks

NEWS | Du30: Suicide bombers carried out Jolo attacks

Posted by PTV on Tuesday, 29 January 2019

Mr. Duterte ordered the AFP “to destroy and pulverize” the Abu Sayyaf.

“That’s what they want. They have weapons,” the President said. “We have a helicopter, planes, ships and cannons. Fire them! Bomb them all! Then, we’ll buy new stocks of ammunition.”

The President, however, told the soldiers to “avoid hitting the innocent ones.”

“This is not a religious war. This is an act of terrorism,” Lorenzana said.

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte salutes a wounded soldier during his visit to Camp Teodulfo Bautista in Jolo, Sulu on 28 January 2019. The President personally checked the condition of the soldiers who were wounded during the twin bombings at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel last 27 January. Accompanying the President are Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio (right). (ALBERT ALCAIN/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO) Sawadjaan is believed to be hiding in the jungles of Patikul, a third-class municipality just 26.8 kilometers away from Jolo. He is being tagged for the kidnapping for ransom and beheading of several hostages, including two Canadian men in the past years.

The attack came as majority of Mindanao was to cast its vote for the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) plebiscite. There are various claims as to whether the attack was related to the BOL.

The United Nations denounced the attack and the UN Security Council condemned the terror act as “heinous and cowardly” and “underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors” accountable.

“ISIL is part of a global insurgency,” Mr. Duterte said. “I’ve long said it is a big problem. But if it is capable (of fighting), I am too.”

“You (ISIL) asked for it, I will crush you,” a seething President Duterte said.

Reliable Daily Tribune sources revealed a wider probe that will include the possibility of looking at “foreign interest and hands” that worked out the attack.

“There are still foreign interests that do not want Mindanao to become peaceful,” one of them said. “That’s apparently for their own selfish interests.”

Former Special Assistant to the President Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go urged sobriety and vigilance of the public following the attack.

“The threat in the region remains. The public must be aware, alert and vigilant,” Go said. “President Duterte said this is not a war between Christians and Moslems. This is an act of terror. Let us help bring justice to the victims.”

Former Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile, meanwhile, said the Daesh or ISIL had long been operating in Mindanao.

“Who supports the madrasah? It’s Saudi Arabia,” Enrile said. “It is the most purist practitioner of Wahabism or Salafism.” Enrile was referring to ultra-conservative and revivalist branches of Islam.

This, as China Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang reiterated Beijing’s “strong condemnation” of the attack, saying: “China opposes all forms of terrorism and stands ready to work with the international community, including the Philippines, to jointly combat threats and challenges posed by terrorism.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a telegram to President Duterte, vowed his country’s “readiness to further step up interaction” with Philippine partners to combat terror.

The French government also condemned “the attack for which the Daesh has claimed responsibility.” The country “stands with the Philippines in the fight against terrorism.”

The Japanese Embassy in Manila also condemned the attack.

The Bureau of Immigration has placed all ports on heightened alert against the possible entry of suspected foreign fighters to boost the Abu Sayyaf numbers.

The Philippine National Police also tightened security around the St. Augustine Cathedral and other major Catholic churches against a repeat attack.

With Kristina Maralit, Kathleen Mae Bulquerin and Perseus Echeminada