[13] The proposed Bangsamoro government planned to conduct crackdowns on firearms and local private armies and decommission their weapons once the new autonomous region is established.

Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, said poverty was also a contributing factor to the bombings as part of the long-time violence in the Mindanao region.

[20] According to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the perpetrators used a strategy similar to the 2002 Bali bombings to inflict additional casualties among first responders.

[24] On February 1, Philippine Interior Secretary Eduardo Año stated that two Indonesian suicide bombers were involved in the attacks, and were aided by local Abu Sayyaf who acted as guides.

[28] PNP chief Oscar Albayalde explained that the Indonesian bombers sailed Southwest to Jolo from Lampinigan Island (Basilan Province) on January 24 and stayed there for a few days.

[34] POLRI announced the couple identified as Rullie Rian Zeke (RRZ) and Ulfah Handayani Saleh (UHS) from Makassar, South Sulawesi.

[6] A subsequent POLRI arrest and thorough investigation of another group of Indonesian militants in Padang of West Sumatra in June 2019, confirmed the identity of RRZ and UHS.

[35] Yoga are the current connectors of Islamist terrorists organization between Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines replacing Andi Basso who is being actively hunted for his involvement in the 2016 Samarinda church bombing in East Kalimantan.

[47] Several other witnesses recalled seeing a woman who they suspected of bringing a bomb, but the claims are deemed "not conclusive" as based on the initial findings of the local PNP Explosive and Ordnance Division (EOD) lab.

[31] The group then reached Usaw in Barangay Langhub to meet with several other suspects named Kamah, Barak, Makrim and Usman who joined them to Sitio Bastiong.

[50][51] On February 20, the Philippine National Police Crime Laboratory test results showed that four leg bone specimens of two unidentified persons among the bombing victims belonging to a male and female, which bolstered the probable involvement of said couple as corroborated by eyewitness accounts.

[53] Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo stressed that "We will pursue to the ends of the earth the ruthless perpetrators behind this dastardly crime until every killer is brought to justice and put behind bars.

[58][59] Mindanao Development Authority chairman Abul Khayr Alonto also called the incident a "dastardly act of insanity" which "should not be allowed to instil fear in our peace-loving populace".

[60] WestMinCom confirmed that President Duterte had issued an "all-out war directive" order against the terror groups,[61][62] with Jolo being put on total lockdown.

[66] During the joint raid conducted by Armed Forces of the Philippines Military and PNP in Barangay Latih of Patikul, Sulu, to arrest Kamah, the suspect managed to escape even as one of his companions was killed.

[73] He was followed by Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chairman Yusop Jikiri, who stated that the bombings can: "only be the responsibility of terrorist, anti-peace, uncivilized and misguided persons".

[74] The MNLF under Emmanuel Fontanilla called upon the government to conduct peace talks with groups including ASG and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), even if they are terrorists.

[79] The World Council of Churches (WCC) expressed profound sorrow and said "In the face of this brutality, the human family, all people of faith and of good will, must stand together to recommit to respecting and caring for one another, to protecting one another, and to preventing such violence".

[80] The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Davao has called on every churchgoer to refrain from bringing backpacks and boxes inside churches and chapels due to the threat of violence prevailing in the region of Mindanao in the wake of the bombings.

[83] Dr. Rommel Banlaoi, Chairman of the non-government think tank, the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research, warns that the Jolo Cathedral bombing will pose as "a big challenge for the Bangsamoro government.

[125][126] Neighbouring Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) stepped up security in their Sabah's state to prevent foreign terror groups transiting through Malaysian East Coast major towns like Sandakan and Tawau prior to proceeding to the Southern Philippine islands.

[92][106][114][136] A few days after the cathedral bombings, following a televised statement by President Duterte that "the attacks may have involved a suicide bomber", a grenade was thrown into a mosque in the village of Barangay Talon-Talon, southeast of Zamboanga City.

[137][138] Beng Climaco, the mayor of Zamboanga City, ordered the military and police authorities to conduct a thorough investigation on the incident which they fear was: "a consequence of a tension between Muslims and Christians" resulting from the Jolo Cathedral bombings.