Davao City – In the wake of the recent bombing in Jolo, Sulu, the city government of Davao will implement the ‘No Backpack policy’ in churches and other places of worship in the city.
“The city mayor has instructed us that churchgoers should no longer bring backpacks in going inside their places of worship for security reasons,” Public Safety and Security Command Center head, Benito de Leon said.
The PSSCC head further said that instead, churchgoers are advised to bring small handbags or purses in order for security forces to monitor suspicious activities more efficiently.
“In that manner, we could avoid an incident, wherein some malicious individuals could put in explosive devices in backpacks, the same scheme that happened in Jolo,” de Leon added.
However, in the event of unforeseen circumstances where the churchgoers would bring big bags, the PSSCC is asking for the public’s cooperation to submit themselves to inspection.
De Leon also said that they have coordinated with the parish priests in Davao to include this call in their announcements.
Davao City will deploy joint forces of the Davao City Police Office, Task Force Davao and the Davao police auxiliaries to man the inspection in the churches within the city.
On Sunday morning, two bombs exploded about a minute apart during a mass at the Jolo Cathedral in Sulu, killing 27 individuals and injuring more than 100 people. CIO