The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday said the cause of the midnight explosion that occurred outside its main compound in Manila ahead of the State of the Nation Address (Sona) last Monday remains unknown, but assured that the premises remain secure.
The blast at the DOJ was one of two suspected improvised explosive devices (IEDs) recovered near government sites hours before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s fifth Sona.
‘What we can assure you is that the whole DOJ compound is secured and continually remains to be secured,’ Justice Undersecretary Ian Norman Dato said in a press briefing.
‘The PNP (Philippine National Police) has scoured the area and made sure that it remains safe and secure for everyone,’ he added.
The first device detonated near the DOJ entrance at 12:17 a.m. on Monday before evidence was retrieved that morning, while a second suspected IED was recovered near the Senate premises in Pasay City later that day.
On whether the two incidents were coordinated to disrupt the Sona, Dato noted that authorities have not yet established a link.
‘We will go where the investigation will lead us. Whether there is a connection or for whatever purpose the act was done-we don’t know yet,’ Dato said, stressing that the DOJ will continue its operations despite the recent incidents.