People scamper to safety after Cotabato City mall blast

A video from Cotabato City police shows people crowding the stalls in front of South Seas mall before the explosion occurred on the afternoon of December 31, 2018.

As seen in a report on GMA News' “Quick Response Team,” the video showed people frantically running for safety after the explosion, which was followed by smoke.

The blast, caused by an improvised explosion device, killed two people and injured at least 45 others based on the accounts of the Philippine Army.

The police suspects extremist group Daulah Islamiyah, the breakaway group of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, as the perpetrators of what the authorities call a cowardly terror attack.

As this developed, Governor Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao condemned the New Year's Eve explosion and vowed justice for the victims.

“We are irrevocably grieved about the casualties incurred. We condemn this act and call for a thorough investigation,” Hataman said.

“We need to make sure such acts like these never happen again, and that the perpetrator is brought to justice,” he added.

Cotabato City is one of the areas whose residents will cast their vote in a plebiscite on the ratification of the proposed Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), which replaces the ARMM with a Bangsamoro Autonomous Region governed by an elected Bangsamoro Parliament.

The plebiscite for the BOL will take place on January 21 and on February 6, 2019. — Llanesca T. Panti/BM, GMA News