Hanoi (VNA) – Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong sent hiscondolences on January 28 to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte over the twin terror bomb attack at a cathedral in Jolo Island, Suluprovince that occurred the previous day.
The same day, Deputy Prime Minister and ForeignMinister Pham Binh Minh also expressed his sympathy to PhilippineForeign Minister Teodoro Lopez Locsin.
The twinexplosions happened after mass at 8am (local time), leaving as many as 20 dead and dozens injured. Thevictims were mostly government troops and civilians.
Thebombings took place days after the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law(BOL), a new law that paves the way for the creation of a wider autonomousregion for Muslim Filipinos in Mindanao.
AlthoughMuslims overwhelmingly approved the law, Sulu province, where Jolo is located,voted against the autonomous government.
ThePhilippine Commission on Elections had previously announced that the law wasratified following the approval of more than 1.5 million votes. –VNA