Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 10) — The Philippine government is validating reports that two suicide bombers have slipped into the country from Sri Lanka.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana stressed that this information has yet to be confirmed, while the Armed Forces urged the public to remain calm but vigilant.
“Our people on the ground are checking,” Lorenzana said in a text message sent to CNN Philippines Saturday.
“We already have some information that we are checking with another agency,” Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Spokesperson Edgard Arevalo said in a statement.
Reports say the Sri Lankan suicide bombers have family members in the Philippines and that one of them, a female, has been in the country since November 2018. She was allegedly involved in plotting the Jolo, Sulu twin blasts that left 23 people dead in January. Authorities have tagged an Indonesian couple as behind the suicide bombing. Reports say the other suicide bomber entered the country this June, and that they are now planning to bomb churches in Luzon.
The AFP said all these information are now being validated.
“Meanwhile, we urge the public to remain calm and continue their routine. But they should remain vigilant and alert,” Arevalo added, urging the public to report any unusual observations to authorities.
Early this week, President Rodrigo Duterte expressed concern over threats of a possible attack by international terrorist network ISIS in the Philippines. A leaked alert memo warned of possible attacks on churches and establishments in certain areas in Luzon, but the AFP said they have found no credible threat.
READ: No ISIS threat to northern Luzon – AFP
