Gov’t won’t expand US role
Palace allays American senators’ concerns PH would become militants’ regional hub
The role of the United States in the Philippines’ counterterrorism efforts will remain limited to technical assistance. Malacañang stressed this Tuesday in the wake of some US senators’ concerns on the possible rise of Islamic State-linked militants in the Philippines.
Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said the Duterte administration is confident that Marawi City won’t become a new regional hub of the Islamic State due to intensified military offensives against the extremists.
Given such optimism, the government is unlikely to seek a larger
United States participation in counterterrorism efforts in the conflict-torn city.
“At this stage, I suppose we’ll have to take the position that it’s unlikely for Marawi to become a new hub for IS fighters,” Abella said in a Palace news conference.
“The Philippine military has already preempted the Maute Group from establishing a wilayat or province in Marawi,” said Abella as he tried to dispel the concerns raised by some US senators.
Some Republican senators have reportedly called for a bigger US role in fighting Islamic militants in the Philippines to ensure the Marawi conflict does not get out of control. But Abella said US assistance to the Philippine military will remain limited to technical assistance.
“The role of the US in relation to the IS is to provide technical assistance as prescribed by the Constitution and we will abide by that,” he said.
Asked if the American military aid was a sign of improving Philippine-US relations, Abella said such alliance has long been part of the existing defense cooperation pact.
He admitted that the President has “accepted” the government needs for assistance from foreign allies to defeat extremists threatening the country.
“He has accepted the situation at this stage,” Abella said, when asked if the President has changed his mind on refusing to see foreign troops on local soil.
The United States had earlier confirmed offering military assistance at the request of the AFP to help in the battle against terrorists in Marawi. The US assistance is limited to information sharing and surveillance, and does not include troops engaged in combat operations on the ground.
President Duterte, however, said he never asked for US aid but was thankful for its military assistance anyway.
Duterte had earlier resented US interference on local affairs, even threatening to cancel a defense pact and seek a pullout of the American troops from the country.
He also previously said he wants foreign troops to leave the country before he ends his term.
Peace Corridor Meanwhile, the establishment of the Peace Corridor has been instrumental in providing much-needed humanitarian assistance to residents affected by the ongoing armed conflict in Marawi City and municipalities that straddle Lake Lanao.
This was revealed by Wendell Orbeso, head of the Office of the PresiMahogany dential Adviser on the Peace Process’ (OPAPP) Cotabato Operations Office, which has been tasked to provide support to the GPH-MILF (Philippine government-Moro Islamic Liberation Front) Peace Corridor initiative which began last June 4.
“Since the opening of the Peace Corridor, the flow of humanitarian assistance has been continuous in the affected areas,” Orbeso said.
The Peace Corridor is a safe and secure zone for civilians fleeing the conflict, as well as a reliable space where humanitarian assistance can pass through.
To date, the initiative has helped facilitate the rescue of 270 civilians trapped in the armed battle between government forces and members of the Maute Group since the latter laid siege to the city last May 23.
The Peace Corridor was created through a collaborative effort of the Implementing Panels of the GRP and the MILF.
Under the Peace Corridor, two Joint Coordinating and Monitoring Action Centers (JCMAC) were established – one in Marawi and another in Malabang, Lanao del Sur.
Orbeso noted that media coverage on the Marawi crisis should highlight the relief efforts being carried out by local and international humanitarian organizations on the Malabang portion of the corridor.
He said the Malabang Peace Corridor has made possible the unhampered entry of relief goods in the conflict zone, something that was not possible before the initiative started.
Orbesa said the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) provincial government, through its Humanitarian Emergency Action Response Team (HEART), wanted to make sure that the assistance it brought along reached all intended beneficiaries.
Private sector support
With humanitarian assistance now made possible through the Peace Corridor, Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III said private sector’s support would be a critical element in efforts to help Marawi residents recover from the devastation caused by the conflict.
Pimentel issued the statement as the national government is poised to invest billions of pesos to rebuild Marawi City
“With government forces getting close to resolving the conflict in Marawi City, we must now start planning for the rehabilitation of the city,” Pimentel said.
The Mindanao-born senator was responding to the latest update from Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla who revealed that government forces were now in control of 96 of Marawi’s barangays.
Government troops are now working to neutralize the remaining members of the Maute Group still hiding in isolated sections of the city, Padilla said.
Pimentel said that the government is prepared to invest as much as 120 billion to rebuild Marawi but the private sector’s assistance would be needed to provide livelihood and economic opportunities for the city’s over 200,000 population. (With reports from Francis T. Wakefield and Mario B. Casayuran)