Malacañang strongly denounced on Monday the second deadly blast at an Internet café in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat, that left two dead and 11 others injured.
The Sunday explosion came just four days following another explosion of an improvised explosive device that rocked the same city, which also killed three and injured 30 others.
Malacañang said it is also “deeply saddened” on the number of deaths and injuries.
Reported fatalities include 18-year-old John Mark Luda and a 15-year-old victim, who succumbed to a cardiac arrest while undergoing operation for wounds.
Asked if the latest attack will prompt the extension of martial law in Mindanao, Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque Jr. said in a radio interview that it is still too early to make a judgment since the declaration will still last until the end of the year.
“Well, I think t’s still too early since it is in December when this existing martial-law declaration will expire and September just started, but, of course, if these circumstances continue, we will really see that rebellion persists, because that is the legal basis. But we will see, the President said there is someone scaring the public,” Roque said in Filipino.
Earlier, Malacañang said they are open to the possibility of extending martial law in Mindanao following the first deadly blast.
In a separate news statement, Roque said the President has been kept abreast on all developments by the Philippine National Police, which has already ordered its men to increase visibility and patrol and tighten security.
“We ask the residents to report anything suspicious to the authorities as we bring to justice all culprits behind this dastardly attack,” Roque said.
The President has declared martial law in the entire Mindanao island amid the clashes between the government troops and the Maute Group terrorists in Marawi City May last year.
In Masbate, meanwhile, a homemade bomb also exploded in the province’s pier, damaging speedboats of the Army and the Coast Guard, according to a news statement from the Armys’s 9th Infantry Division.
The bomb went off at around 12:30 a.m. on Monday at Pier Site, Barangay Bapor, Masbate City, and about 50 meters away from a Coast Guard station in the area.