Davao VM says Marawi roadside explosion sends strong message to President Duterte

From the Philippine News Agency (Nov 29): Davao VM says Marawi roadside explosion sends strong message to President Duterte

Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte has condemned the roadside explosion of an improvised explosive device (IED) that targeted the convoy of Presidential Security Group (PSG) and soldiers Tuesday morning in Barangay Matampay, Marawi that wounded seven members of the PSG and two soldiers.

Paolo said the attack was apparently intended to send a message to his father, President Rodrigo Duterte, who is scheduled to visit Marawi Wednesday to get first hand information on the ongoing offensive against the Maute terror group, which occupied a town hall of Butig, Lanao del Sur on Monday.

"The message of the attack was clear and it targeted my father and his administration. It was meant to terrorize the government and the Filipino people," Paolo said, adding that the attack was "meant to undermine Duterte's peace efforts and his development agenda in Mindanao and the entire country."

Despite the incident and concerns for his safety, President Rodrigo Duterte announced he is pushing through with his visit.

“I’m going there. I’m going there because I am just simply going there. The advice was to postpone, I said ‘no, I will go there’ and if possible, take the same route,” the President said in his speech during the opening of a drug rehab facility in Nueva Ecija.

The military reported that the victims were in a convoy of vehicles carrying PSG personnel and Radio-Television-Malacañang (RTVM) as advanced party in preparation for the visit of the President.

Reports said the convoy was escorted by 103rd Infantry Brigade troops on their way to Marawi when one of the vehicles hit an IED.

"The enemies of peace and meaningful change are out on a rampage now that the Duterte administration's peace and development efforts are rapidly gaining momentum in Mindanao and many other parts of the country. There are groups who are not happy about what's happening now," Paolo said in a statement sent to the media Tuesday.

Following the incident, the vice mayor urged the public to help the government in its fight against terrorism.

"We have to be at all times vigilant because there are still people and groups who are out to destabilize our government and terrorize the Filipino people," Paolo said.

The IED attack in Marawi was a second attempt to undermine the administration of President Duterte.

Last Monday, an IED was found near the Embassy of the United States of America along Roxas Boulevard in Manila.

Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Ronald dela Rosa said in reports that the IED was a signature bomb of the Maute group.

In a press statement on the Marawi incident, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said the President has consistently expressed concern for uniformed personnel who bravely walk in harm’s way so that the citizenry can live in peace and freedom.

“We assure our brave men and women who put their lives on the line for duty and country that their Commander-in-Chief will never abandon them in their time of need,” he said.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=944334