Lorenzana admits security lapses, intel reports on bombing of Catholic Churches
Credit to Author: DEMPSEY REYES| Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2019 09:49:11 +0000
DEFENSE Secretary Delfin Lorenzana admitted on Tuesday that there were lapses in security amid intelligence reports reaching the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) as early as August 2018 that Catholic Churches in Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga would be bombed.
In a text message to reporters, Lorenzana said that based on these reports, Jolo was the “most probable” target, prompting the military to increase security at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral 24/7.
“We will never know how the bombers got in or near the church as the soldiers guarding the main door all died. Other soldiers who were getting in to rescue the victims of the first explosion inside the church were also hit by the second bomb,” Lorenzana said.
When asked if there were lapses on the part of the security, Lorenzana said: “Was there [a] lapse? While we were briefed that all people going inside were searched, it was possible that there may be lapses in the procedure.”
Col. Noel Detoyato, military public affairs chief, backed the statement of Lorenzana, saying there will always be lapses in security in every situation.
“If there is crime, there will be lapses, because if it is 100 percent security and no lapses at all, no crimes will have been committed,” Detoyato told reporters in a news conference at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
“Terrorism is a very complex crime that even nations with very advanced technology, there will still be lapses,” he said.
Detoyato also dismissed claims that the attack on the cathedral was the handiwork of suicide bombers because the explosives that were planted inside the church were detonated through a cellphone.
Detoyato said an unidentified woman brought the bag inside the church during the cathedral’s second mass from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Based on the military’s initial report last Sunday, the first explosion was recorded at 8:28 a.m.
Detoyato said there were no leads on the second blast.
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