Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Saturday extended condolences to Indonesia and Thailand over the recent deadly stampede in a football match and the massacre at a daycare center, respectively.
Marcos said the Filipino nation condoles and prays with the families of the victims.
“We condole deeply with the families of those lost in the recent tragedies of the Indonesia football stampede and the Thailand daycare attack,” Marcos said in a statement.
“We pray for the recovery of the survivors, healing of those left behind, and that the departed may rest in peace,” he added.
At least 125 spectators died at Kanjuruhan Stadium, Malang District in Indonesia’s East Java province on 1 October after supporters of losing squad Arema FC stormed the pitch.
Around 320 were injured in Indonesia’s worst-ever sports stadium disaster caused by rioting fans from the losing side.
Security officers fired tear gas in an aim to disperse the crowd but a stampede, unfortunately, followed, crushing and suffocating the panic-stricken spectators.
Meanwhile on 6 October at around 12:30 p.m., a former Thai policeman killed at least 38, including 24 young children, during a mass stabbing and shooting at a child care center in the Na Klang district of Nong Bua Lamphu province.
Reports said the youngest victim was a two-year-old child.
The attacker, a former police officer who had been sacked for drug use, fired and stabbed the children to death, who had been sleeping at the nursery.
Local police identified the suspect as PanyaKhamrab, a 34-year-old former police lieutenant colonel.
After the monstrous attack, he left the nursery, shot at bystanders on his way home then killed his wife and child before taking his own life.
The Philippine Embassy in Bangkok is coordinating with authorities and the Royal Thai Police to check if there were Filipinos affected.
In the Philippines, a death that also recently shocked the nation was of veteran broadcaster Percival Mabasa, known to his listeners as “Percy Lapid.”
While the President has yet to address his murder, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin assured the Mabasa’s family that the Office of the President will oversee the newsman’s case.
The Presidential Task Force on Media Security said Bersamin personally extended the President’s condolences to the bereaved family and its readiness to provide help.
“He also emphasized that the Philippine National Police will not rest until the perpetrators of this crime are brought to justice,” PTFoMS said.
PTFoMS strongly condemned the “senseless killing” of Mabasa, who was shot by a still unidentified gunman riding a motorcycle in Las Piñas City on 3 October.