‘Another Marawi siege? Never again’

DAVAO CITY – “Never, never, never again” will hostile forces ravage Marawi, President Duterte vowed yesterday as he announced plans to establish a military base in the Islamic city where security forces were still battling pockets of resistance from militants.

“Ang pangako ko kay Allah, hindi na ito mauulit (My promise to Allah, this will not happen again),” he said in remarks before soldiers in Marawi City.

“I will never, never, never again papayag ako na mag-ipon ng armas tapos gawain ng (let them gather firearms and then make)… Hindi na mangyayari ‘yan (That will never happen again).” 

The President led an emotional singing of the national anthem in the ruined city.

“‘Wag na natin itong ulitin kailanman. Sa panahon ko, hindi ako papayag (Let’s never allow this to happen. In my time, I will not allow it),” he said. “Government must have access dito sa loob (here).”

The militants who took over Marawi in May arrived in groups apparently to avoid alerting authorities. They had intended to transform the city into the capital of their “caliphate” in Southeast Asia.

On Monday before dawn, Army Scout Rangers killed Marawi siege leaders Isnilon Hapilon of the Abu Sayyaf and the acknowledged Maute group head Omarkhayyam Maute. Their killing prompted President Duterte to declare Marawi liberated.

“Either we live together in peace, makisama kayo sa Pilipino, o giyera tayo. Walang problema, marami akong sundalo. Marami kaming bala (join the Filipino or we go to war. I have many soldiers and we have plenty of bullets) ,” he said in his remarks.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I hereby declare Marawi City liberated from the terrorist influence that marks the beginning of rehabilitation for the people,” he reiterated.

The President likewise pointed out he will never leave the soldiers who have been wounded in the conflict with the Maute. He promised to extend assistance to soldiers and policemen wounded in battle in Marawi.

“I’m telling you now. I’ll never leave you. Ipwepwesto ko silang lahat (I’ll make sure you’ll have your place),” he said. 

In Manila, Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said the main battle area in Marawi may have to be “bulldozed” as it has been heavily devastated.

Andanar was in Marawi when President Duterte declared it liberated from terrorists last Tuesday.

“I was there on ground zero, talagang wala ka nang mapapakinabangan eh (everything there is worthless). You really have to bulldoze the entire area, the ground zero,” Andanar said.

Andanar said members of Task Force Bangon Marawi would meet to discuss ways to rebuild and rehabilitate the battle-ravaged city.

“We are still chasing a few people but relatively it’s already safe to rebuild Marawi,” he said.

But Andanar clarified that the liberation of Marawi would not immediately lead to the lifting of martial law in Mindanao.

“I wouldn’t say that. I would leave that to the President, because we all know there are still (terrorist) elements in Basilan and in Jolo, Sulu,” the official said.

“We talked to rescued hostages about three days ago. They said only a few (foreign fighters) remained in the battle field,” he said. 

Andanar said the terrorist position in Marawi covers no more than two hectares.

“They (government forces) have cornered the enemy. It’s just a matter of time,” he added.

A total of 847 terrorists, 163 government troopers and 47 civilians have died since the siege started last May.

The crisis also displaced 78,466 families or 359,680 persons.

Officials have yet to complete damage assessment but the defense department said at least P100 billion might be needed to rebuild the city. The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said every step in the rehabilitation efforts would be transparent.

Transparency

DILG officer-in-charge Catalino Cuy of Task Force Bangon Marawi said they have started the necessary coordination with relevant agencies for the swift recovery, reconstruction and rehabilitation of Marawi.

“Informing affected communities and the general public of what the government is doing for Marawi rehabilitation is part and parcel of public service,” said Cuy.

He again warned the public against scammers soliciting money supposedly for Marawi evacuees.

“The hands of the law will reach fraudsters who are shamelessly using the name of poor Marawi evacuees to get money from unsuspecting victims,” he said.

He urged local chief executives to help stop or arrest the scammers. “Help yourself from being a victim of extortionists and be part of the solution. These swindlers will have nowhere to run if we all take appropriate action. Let’s not be victims of their ruse,” he said.

He added an Information Management and Strategic Communication Support Group (IMSCSG) headed by the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) and co-headed by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) has been created to ensure transparency and prevent irregularities.

“Now is the time to show and tell the Filipino people what the government, as a whole, can do through close cooperation and one vision at iyon ng makauwi ang mga taga-Marawi sa kanilang lungsod na mapayapa at maunlad (so residents of Marawi can return to a peaceful and progressive city),” said DILG Assistant Secretary for Special Concerns Marjorie Jalosjos. She said the IMSCSG would ensure that all Marawi rebuilding narratives are consistent and accurate.

“There is a development master plan to bring back a better Marawi and Ranao (Maranao people’s term for Lanao del Sur),” she said.

Marawi Bishop Edwin dela Peña, for his part, lauded the breakthroughs in the campaign to liberate Marawi and urged the administration to lift martial law in Mindanao and set into motion at once a massive rehabilitation program.

“Thank God! We can now start rebuilding Marawi City and the return of peace and order in the city, in the entire Mindanao and the whole country. Praise be to God!” he said in a statement.

Dela Peña expressed belief there is no more justification for military rule in the region.

“It is because the siege of Marawi was used to justify the declaration of martial law for the whole of Mindanao,” he argued.

“I am willing to grant the government a little more time to keep martial law if, by it, the rehabilitation of Marawi would proceed much faster,” he added.

Revenge attacks

While the death of Hapilon and Maute may have signaled the end of organized resistance of the militants to government forces, their followers might be preparing retaliatory attacks even against civilian targets.

Chief Supt. Reuben Theodore Sindac of the Police Regional Office-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PRO-ARMM) issued the warning as he ordered his men not to let their guard down. Hapilon was from Basilan while Maute was an ethnic Maranao.

Hapilon was the self-proclaimed “emir” of all Islamic State-inspired groups in the “caliphate” of Southern Mindanao. Maute was co-founder of the Maute terror group, also known as the Dawlah Islamiya.

“We are not taking chances. It’s better ready than sorry. These are fanatics to the core and protecting innocent people from them is so necessary,” Sindac said.

Six members of the ARMM police have been killed and 61 others wounded in encounters with combined Abu Sayyaf and Maute gunmen since the outbreak of hostilities in Marawi City on May 23.

Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr. of the Western Mindanao Command said on Wednesday that units of the 6th Infantry Division in central Mindanao were prepared for retaliatory attacks from the remaining Maute terrorists and from a sympathetic group, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

Galvez said the activities of a third group, a more radical faction in the BIFF under Esmael Abdulmalik, are also being monitored by security forces.

Local IS-inspired groups are known for using improvised explosive devices against non-military targets to avenge losses in encounters with government forces.

Forces of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has a ceasefire pact with Malacañang, killed 29 followers of Abdulmalik and took over their camps in Salibo town in Maguindanao early this month following seven weeks of deadly encounters that also left more than a dozen MILF guerrillas dead.

“Our security efforts against violent religious extremists in Maguindanao are being assisted by the MILF,” Galvez said.

The government and the MILF are bound by an interim truce, the 1997 Agreement on General Cessation of Hostilities, to cooperate in maintaining law and order in potential conflict-flashpoint areas in Mindanao.

Sindac said Police Director General Ronald dela Rosa, who accompanied President Duterte to Marawi City, had directed the PRO-ARMM to enlist the help of municipal and provincial peace and order councils in protecting local communities from revenge attacks by Maute and Abu Sayyaf gunmen.

“We also tapped the support of the local religious communities towards that goal,” Sindac said.

Sindac and other senior PRO-ARMM officials were in Marawi City Tuesday when Duterte declared the liberation of the city from the militants.

He revealed the chief of the Marawi City police, Supt. Ebra Moxsir, would intensify religious programs of PRO-ARMM meant to counter the recruitment activities of the Maute terror group.

“Supt. Moxsir will lead these programs because he is an Islamic theologian. These non-tactical community projects are being supported extensively by our director general,” Sindac said. – Alexis Romero, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Edu Punay, John Unson