Cotabato prelate vows mental health aid for chapel blast victims

MANILA – The Archdiocese of Cotabato on Friday said it would extend mental health assistance to the victims of last weekend's explosion inside a chapel in the city.

Archbishop Angelito Lampon said it is important to address the extreme fear of some 20 individuals who were at the Sr. Sto. Niño Chapel in Barangay Rosary Heights 3 during the May 19 explosion.

"We have scheduled a debriefing for all those who attended the Bible Service that Sunday, to help them overcome their trauma," he said in an interview over Church-run Radio Veritas.

Lampon also considered it a miracle that those who gathered in the chapel survived, with only two churchgoers injured.

"I condemn the act as very unfortunate, but we pray for the perpetrator of the crime," he added.

Local police said a grenade was lobbed by two men on a motorbike.

The morning blast occurred during the celebration of Pentecost Sunday, a Christian feast that commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and the Virgin Mary. (PNA)