Bomb hits church in Philippines

A bomb blast outside a church in the southern Philippines has killed at least one person and injured at least eight, the army says.

The military immediately blamed the attack in the town of Cotabato on an Islamist militant group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The group has been fighting to establish a separate Islamic state.

One of its leaders denied any involvement in the attack, saying there was no religious conflict in the south.

A military spokesman, Col Jonathan Ponce, said rogue MILF militants were suspected of planting the bomb.

"The rebels are getting desperate and they are no longer choosing their targets," he said.

"They are now attacking even places of worship."

But a leader of the MILF, Mohaqher Iqbal, denied his group had been involved in the attack.

"Who needs a Christian-Muslim conflict?" he told Reuters news agency in a mobile phone text message.

"There's no religious conflict in the south. We're fighting for our right of self-determination. We're only defending our people and our communities."

Note on Philippines religion from Wikipedia

Religion

Main article: Religion in the Philippines

The Basilica Minore de San Sebastián is a Christian church that is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Philippines is one of two predominant Roman Catholic countries in Asia, the other being East Timor. It is composed of several diocese, and archdiocese. More than 90% of the population are Christians. About 80% belong to the Roman Catholic Church while the remaining 10% belong to other Christian denominations, such as the Philippine Independent Church, Iglesia Ni Cristo, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Seventh Day Adventist, United Church of Christ, and the Orthodox Church.^[82]

Religion in the Philippines
Religion			Percent
Christianity			90%
Islam			5%
Ethnic/Folk religions			2%
Buddhism			2%
Others			1%

Several Baroque churches are included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the San Agustín Church in Manila, the Paoay Church in Ilocos Norte, the Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (Santa María) Church in Ilocos Sur, the Santo Tomás de Villanueva Church in Iloilo, and the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño in Cebu.

Between 5-10% of the population are Muslim, most of whom live in parts of Mindanao, Palawan, and the Sulu Archipelago, an area known as Bangsamoro or the Moro region.^[83][84] Some have migrated into urban, and rural areas in different parts of the country, particularly in Quiapo in Manila. Most Muslim Filipinos practice Shafi'i, a form of Sunni Islam, while other tribal groups such as the Bajau, practice a form mixed with Animism.^[82]

Philippine traditional religions are still practiced by several aboriginal and tribal groups, often syncretized with Christianity and Islam. Folk religion and Shamanism remain present as undercurrents of mainstream religion, through the albularyo, the babaylan, and the manghihilot.^[82] Meanwhile, Buddhism, Taoism, and Chinese folk religion, are dominant in Chinese communities.^[84]

Religions such as Buddism, Bahá'í Faith, Hinduism, Judaism, other spiritual beliefs, and those with no religion form the remaining 5% of the population.