(Eagle News) — The Philippines joined the international community in condemning the terrorist attack in Barcelona on Thursday that left at least 13 people dead and injured more than 100 others including two Irish citizens of Filipino descent.
Malacanang and the Department of Foreign Affairs issued separate statements condemning the attack.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to the families and loved ones of the innocent victims who perished and those who got injured in Barcelona,” said Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella in a statement.
“We are one with the peace-loving people of the international community in condemning this latest attack in Spain on Thursday that left at least 13 people dead and injured more than 100 others,” he said.
Abella said that the DFA, through the Philippine Embassy in Madrid and the Honorary Consulate in Barcelona, is closely monitoring the situation and has been in touch with the authorities and leaders of the Filipino community.
The DFA also expressed its condolences to the Spanish Government following the incident that left two Irish citizens of Filipino descent injured.
“The Philippines condemns in the strongest terms this disturbing act of terror perpetrated by extremists against innocent men, women and children in Barcelona,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano said in a statement.
“We stand in solidarity with the people of Catalonia and all of Spain and the rest of the world as we fight this common scourge,” Secretary Cayetano said as he expressed Manila’s sympathies to the Spanish government and to the families of the victims.
According to reports from the Philippine Honorary Consul in Barcelona, the terrorist attack involved a vehicle that plowed through pedestrians in Barcelona’s Las Ramblas tourist district.
The DFA said two Irish citizens of Filipino descent had been injured in the incident. It did not release the names of the four members of the Irish family of Filipino descent — — two of whom had been injured in the incident — but said the Philippine Honorary Consulate went to the hospital to check on them.
The DFA said Honorary Consul Jordi Puig Roches reported that the mother and her daughter have been released from the hospital but that the father and his son are still under observation and are being assisted by the Irish Honorary Consul there.
The DFA said the Philippine Embassy in Madrid and the Honorary Consulate in Barcelona have been in touch with authorities and leaders of the Filipino Community to make sure that the 20,000 other Filipino residents of the northeastern Spanish city are safe.
The terror attack came two days after Secretary Cayetano called on the more than 10 million Filipinos abroad to exercise more vigilance in the wake of terrorist incidents all over the world.
(based on statements from PCOO, DFA )
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