CORDILLERAN Police Senior Master Sergeant Joe Michael Ananayo Langbis is one of the soldiers and civilians killed following the twin explosion in Jolo, Sulu on August 24, 2020.
Condolences and messages of support poured for the bereaved family and relatives of Langbis, who is from Ampusa, Tuba, Benguet and a member of the Philippine Special Action Force.
Days before the incident, Langbis, together with personnel of Indanan Municipal Police Station, was seen distributing face masks to market vendors and customers of Indanan Public Market in Sulu to abide by health protocols amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Through a social media post, his sister, Analiza Langbis Malicdem, remembered his brother as a hero.
"I salute you my dearest brother Joe Michael Ananayo Langbis. This day on you will remain forever hero from us," Malicdem said.
The 11th Infantry Division said the first explosion occurred at 11:55 a.m. in front of Paradise grocery store in Barangay Walled City and killed six Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) personnel and six civilians.
Other AFP personnel and civilians were also injured.
One hundred meters away from the first blast, the second explosion occurred in the afternoon, resulting in the death of one AFP and Philippine National Police (PNP) personnel. Nine soldiers and policemen were injured.
The soldiers and policemen who were killed and injured were conducting roving security patrols in the area to secure the restaurants and grocery stores frequented mostly by Jolo residents.
The Joint Task Force Sulu-AFP, together with the PNP and local government unit of Sulu, condemned in the strongest term the act that killed more than a dozen and injured many civilians.
Jolo Mayor Keerkhar Tan on Monday also issued a lockdown in the town due to the incident. All entry and exit to and from Jolo will be strictly enforced, while the lockdown will be lifted until the investigation is finished.
This would be the third suicide bombing incident in Jolo.
The first incident involved a couple who blew themselves up inside the Jolo Cathedral on January 27, 2019.
On June 28, 2019, two alleged suicide bombers attacked a military command post in Indanan, also in Sulu.
The death toll has climbed, with 14 people dead and 75 injured from the two blasts. (With a report from SunStar Philippines)