Award sought for cops, soldiers slain in siege

MANILA, Philippines - An administration lawmaker is proposing the conferment of the medal of valor on soldiers and policemen killed while defending Marawi City against the Islamic State-inspired Maute group.

Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo yesterday filed a resolution calling for the conferment of the award.

“Death and heroism should forever stand as testament to the Filipino’s patriotism and serve as the vanguard against those who seek to divide and destroy the nation,” he said.

President Duterte placed the entire Mindanao under martial law as Marawi City went under siege by the Maute group. The fighting between the soldiers and the Maute resulted in power outages, damage to properties and displacement of thousands of residents.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa said ?additional forces from the PNP Special Action Force (SAF), Regional Public Safety Battalion of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Region 10 and Region 12 were deployed in Marawi to regain full control of the city.

He also appealed to the public to pray for policemen and soldiers fighting the Maute group in Marawi.

“We know how hard it is to be in a war… Imagine that their sweat, mucus, tears and anything their bodies excrete get mixed up while engaging in battle... So we who are here and not involved in the war, let us pray for them to be always safe,” an emotional Dela Rosa said during the flag-raising ceremony in Camp Crame yesterday. 

Dela Rosa also admitted that if he could have his way, he would send scalawag policemen to Marawi City to fight the bandits and give cops in Mindanao a chance to enjoy the relaxed life in Metro Manila.