Duterte sets foot in war-torn Marawi City

After two failed attempts, President Duterte finally visited besieged Marawi City in Lanao del Sur to talk to the government troops fighting against the terrorists there.

Clad in a camouflage uniform, President Duterte gave a talk to troops and inspected recovered rebel rifles and other weapons at Camp Ranao that is outside of the battle zone but remains dangerous because of stray bullets.

His past attempts to fly to the lakeside city were aborted because of bad weather.

“The soldiers and police are very happy over his visit because this proves that the president is very firm, very dedicated in supporting most specially the operations here,” military spokesman Lt. Col. Jo-ar Herrera told reporters.

Duterte thanked the troops for their heroism and sacrifices, Herrera said.

“Dito natin nakita talaga ‘yung suporta talaga ng ating

Presidente. Pinakita niya talaga ang tapang at strong support sa ating mga kasundaluhan (Here we witnessed the support of our President. He showed bravery and strong support for our soldiers),” Herrera said.

Duterte, despite getting advice not to go to Marawi City due to security reasons, insisted on visiting the war-torn city to show support for the soldiers. He said he does not want to go to Marawi when it is already peaceful and people are already rejoicing.

Duterte tried to go to the city twice but bad weather foiled his plans during both times. He said on Friday that he will go to Marawi City “on the next few days” to visit and encourage the troops.

“Kami po ay nagpapasalamat dahil cooperative ang weather natin. Kami po ay lubos na natutuwa dahil nakabisita ang ating Pangulo (We are thankful as the weather is cooperative. We are happy because the President is finally able to visit our soldiers and police),” Herrera said.

“Very firm, very dedicated ang ating Pangulo sa pagsuporta lalo na sa ginagawang operation dito sa Marawi City (Our President was very firm and very dedicated in showing support in our troops who are doing military operations here in Marawi City),” he added.

Herrera added that Duterte’s visit definitely boosted the morale of the soldiers and inspired them in their operations against the terrorists in Marawi City.

“Ang aking nakita doon ay mayroon ding naibigay na mga goods para sa ating mga sundalo at tinignan niya rin yung mga iba’t ibang firearms recovered (From what I saw, he gave some goods to our soldiers and he looked at the different firearms we have recovered),” he said.

Marawi City has been under siege since May 23.

Duterte declared a 60-day martial law and suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in Mindanao. Both are set to expire tomorrow, Saturday.

Last Wednesday, Duterte asked the Congress in a letter to extend martial law until December 31, 2017 in order to fully quell the threat of terrorism and to aid the rehabilitation of the city.

The seven-page letter, a copy of which was seen by reporters Thursday, aims to convince lawmakers to extend Duterte’s 60-day declaration of martial law in the south until the end of the year. The statements in the letter appear to differ from his assurance last week that the Marawi crisis, the most serious he has faced so far, could end in 10 to 15 days.

In a separate report to the Senate, the military said the attackers’ main leader, Isnilon Hapilon, “allowed the escape of 96 young recruits fighting in Marawi and instructed them to continue jihad outside Marawi.” Jihad is an Arabic word that militants use to refer to “holy war.”

Duterte wrote in his letter that the leadership of the Marawi siege “largely remains intact despite the considerable decline in the number of rebels fighting in the main battle area.” Other radical armed bands “are ready to reinforce Hapilon’s group or launch diversionary attacks and similar uprisings elsewhere,” he said.

Intelligence reports that Hapilon sent funds and ordered allied militants to launch attacks in key cities across the south have been validated, he said.

The attackers’ lasting power and large arsenal of weapons have surprised Duterte and his top security officials, who acknowledged they underestimated the combat strength of the militants and their preparations, including the stockpiling of assault firearms in lakeside Marawi. Troops long used to fighting insurgents in the jungles have struggled to rout the gunmen from Marawi’s dense urban sprawl. (With a report from AP)