Palace defends Duterte: He warned military about ISIS

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte already warned the Philippine military to prepare for ISIS last year, Malacañang said on Friday, as it defended the chief executive against criticisms that the government’s drug war overshadowed terrorism.  

Ernesto Abella, the presidential spokesperson, said that a month and a half after Duterte took office he had already warned the Philippine military that the country would be “plagued with the ISIS disease”.

“He was also pointing it out as of last year that there was indeed a looming danger except that [on] that particular stage, it was a stage of indoctrination. However, already it was perceived even during that time,” Abella said at a televised press briefing on Friday.

Abella’s comments came as government forces continue to battle Islamist militants in Marawi, a once-bustling town of 200,000 residents in Mindanao.

Based on the latest government information, the clashes have already killed 303 militants, 82 security personnel and 44 civilians.

The battle began on May 23 when government troops tried to arrest Isnilon Hapilon, an Abu Sayyaf subleader and the appointed emir of the so-called ISIS in the region.

Government personnel, however, encountered strong resistance from the combined force of Maute and Abu Sayyaf fighters, prompting Duterte to declare military rule in Mindanao, an island of 22 million south of Manila.

Abella said the dangers were caused by indoctrinating and driving the masses to a certain ideology which he described as a radical form of extremism.

“Nakita na ng presidente ‘yung mga inherent, ‘yung mga looming dangers dahilan sa mga presensya ng ilang mga tao na mukhang ang kanila namang dala-dala ay hindi bala kundi bala para sa utak,” he said.

Duterte recognized that the angst and anxiety of the Muslim community in the Mindanao region were rooted in social discrimination and social injustice, Abella said.

The president believes that these problems, which have plagued Mindanao for decades, will be solved by federalism, according to Abella.

Abella urged Filipinos to unite and embrace their identity to see that the president’s aim was to address social injustice.

“At the end of the day, it’s really a whole systems approach of government that will look after economics, social justice, law and order, peace and also a sense of we all belong to one nation,” he added.