Defense chief sees end to Marawi crisis in 10-15 days

From the Daily Tribune (Oct 6): Defense chief sees end to Marawi crisis in 10-15 days

Fifteen more days and the Marawi City siege will be over!

“Ten to 15 days will be long, within this month, middle of this month, it will be over,” Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana yesterday declared.

Less than a week after his latest “deadline” did not materialize, Lorenzana, who is also the chairman of Task Force Bangon Marawi, cited the hostages still being held by the Islamic State (IS)-inspired terrorists as among the primary factors for the delay in the completion of the military operations in the besieged city.

The Defense chief earlier said the Marawi City siege would be over by September 30. Later, he claimed that the military could finish the operation last Sunday. “Now, I can understand the reluctance to finish the job end of September because they were actually thinking of saving the civilians inside…if they went in there full blast, they could have killed everybody,” Lorenzana stressed.

“So now I see the wisdom of the military commanders on the ground to do it slowly and carefully…every life that we can save there is worth the delay,” he added.

Malacañang, for its part, yesterday noted that Maute militants continue to display resistance against government forces despite pushing and constricting the enemies into a tighter space.

“While rebels remain holed up in a small portion of the city, they show tenacity and resistance,” presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella, in a statement, said.

But military operations, he added, are continuing without let-up in a final push to finally end the four-month rebellion.

“Military operations are focused and intense and necessitate time to rescue remaining hostages, and bring to a decisive conclusion the Marawi rebellion,” Abellla stressed.

Malacañang also welcomed the rescue of 17 hostages from Maute terrorists, saying the military is focused on bringing the Marawi rebellion to a decisive end.

“Government troops have successfully rescued 17 Maute hostages. We see this as a positive development toward the liberation of Marawi from the hands of terrorists,” the Palace official stressed.

Rescued hostages are now at 1,733 while Marawi City residents slain or executed by the bandits are put at 47.

The number of slain lawless elements is placed at 753 while government losses are at 155 since fighting started last May 23 after a botched attempt to arrest Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon and his cohorts.

 P10-B Marawi rehab

Meanwhile, the Senate finance committee has allotted P10 billion for the rehabilitation of Marawi City in 2018, under the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund.

This was announced by Sen. Loren Legarda, committee chairman, during her sponsorship speech on the proposed 2018 budget.

According to the lawmaker, the Senate supports the move of the House of Representatives to provide for the rehabilitation of the war-torn city, however the committee stood firm that the budget for the quick recovery, reconstruction, and rehabilitation of Marawi should be increased.

Legarda said the P10 billion is on the top of the P5 billion given for 2017 from the Contingent Fund and funds of various government agencies.

She added the panel’s proposal also includes a P500-million subsidy for a loan facility for Marawi residents which will enable them to rebuild their ruined houses.

“We hope that this process of heritage mapping and its intended outputs can hasten the psychological healing of the affected populace and strengthen our cultural bonds with our fellow Muslim Filipinos. These budgets go with our fervent prayer that we may immediately see hope, dignity, and peace restored in Marawi City and other affected areas,” Legarda stressed.

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