The Philippines government has condemned the van attack outside a London mosque that left one person dead and 11 injured.
“The appalling attack stands against the shared values of the Philippines and the UK as peace-loving and tolerant societies that respect all religions,” the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement.
“The Philippines expresses its condolences and sympathy with the victim, the injured and their families — and reaffirms its solidarity with the United Kingdom in the fight against terrorism and all its forms,” the DFA added.
The attack happened in the early hours of Monday, June 19, when a van ploughed into a group of Muslims who were gathered outside Finsbury Park Mosque after breaking their Ramadan fast.
London police chief Cressida Dick described it as “quite clearly an attack on Muslims”.
In its statement on Tuesday, the DFA added that the Philippine embassy in London “is monitoring the incident,” and that “so far, there are no known Filipino victims”.
“The embassy stands ready to offer assistance and calls on the Filipino community to reach out with any information on kababayans (countrymen) possibly affected by this attack,” the DFA said.
This attack near a UK mosque is the 4th terror strike in Britain in the last four months, and follows atrocities in Manchester and on Westminster Bridge and London Bridge.
The suspect in the latest attack, Darren Osborne, aged 47, reportedly shouted “I want to kill all Muslims” as he drove a van into the crowd of worshippers. He was arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation or instigation of terrorism including murder and attempted murder.
Camera phone footage showed him being captured by worshippers, who attacked him as he screamed, “Kill me”. When he was eventually arrested and loaded into the back of a police van in handcuffs, he blew a kiss to the crowd.
London is also continuing to mourn the Grenfell Tower fire, in which 79 people are now thought to have died, including Filipino pensioner Mrs Ligaya Moore.