DESPITE the successful recapture of two vital installations in the main battle zone of Marawi City, the military on Friday admitted that Islamic State-inspired extremists might have escaped already amid the hot pursuit operations against terrorists.
As military operations in Marawi City entered its fourth month, Armed Forces spokesperson Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said state forces who retook the Marawi grand mosque and police station within Marawi’s commercial district found no signs of hostages taken by jihadist rebels, who laid siege last May.
In related developments:
• President Rodrigo Duterte fired a rifle towards Islamic State-inspired militants during a visit to the battle zone in Marawi City, the military claimed Friday.
Duterte, who visited the war-torn city Thursday night, “tried a sniper rifle and fired twice toward the direction of the terrorists” while clad in combat uniform inside the main battle area, the military said in a statement.
Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella, however, claimed the President only visited the area for a “photo opportunity.”
“Let me correct that, he was not engaging, he was simply handling this particular piece of firearm and the President is very conversant with weapons like this and he knows the limits of what he should do. Basically, as far as we can see, he was simply getting a view of that particular firearm,” Abella told reporters in a news briefing Friday.
If proven true, Duterte’s visit would be the first time for a Philippine head of state directly “engaging” inside a battle area.
• The military establishment told the police to return the favor and be professional after calling for a thorough probe on the death of an army soldier, who was shot dead by policemen in Zamboanga del Sur soon after fighting with terrorists in Marawi City.
Armed Forces spokesperson Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla told a Palace news briefing the military would be waiting if there were “procedural lapses” on the part of the police, following the death of Private First Class Rodillo Bartolome, at the time in civilian clothes waiting for a ride to visit his family, at a junction in Monte Alegre, Aurora, Zamboanga del Sur.
“Even if the emotions are high on the part of his colleagues, including those from the Armed Forces because of this incident, the Armed Forces will remain as a professional organization,” Padilla said.
“We remain in control of our troops but promise to us that you can give due process and investigate this thoroughly. This is the same that we expect from the police,” he added.
At the same time, Padilla said about 200 civilians, out of the 2,000 civilians reported unaccounted for and believed to have been hostaged by the terrorists, remained missing.
Padilla said those unaccounted for included civilians taken hostage by terrorists, those still trapped in the main battle area, and those whose bodies have yet to be claimed by their relatives.
“We will seek to rescue the hostages and we will do our best to quell the remaining resistance,” Padilla said in a news conference in Malacañang.
• The Western Mindanao Command, meanwhile, said it would not issue yet any reaction as regards the killing of the Army soldier.
“While we are all in mourning for the death of one of our Marawi heroes, we call for prayers and sobriety, as we seek for (sic) immediate resolution to this case,” Capt. Jo-ann Petinglay, Westmincom spokesperson, said in a statement.
“We would like to solicit your understanding if we cannot divulge more information to you right now since this is a sensitive matter and we wish to give due consideration to the family’s privacy,” she added.
Padilla gave assurances the military was already on the lookout for possible areas where extremists might have fled.
The military spokesperson said the retaking of the mosque and police station Thursday was a welcome development to the ongoing operations.
Padilla said: “There were two very important operational achievements our troops were able to achieve over the last few days during this week.
“One was the retaking of Marawi City Police Station, a significant development, a symbol of authority over the city, and it was located in the strategic point. And the retaking of this installation was part of our priorities.
“The second is the retaking of Marawi City’s grand mosque or the Islamic Center, an operation that allowed us to reach at this stage but took us almost a month before this was achieved. The clearing is still ongoing.”
Padilla said that the military carried out an “envelopmental approach,” not a frontal attack, on retaking the mosque as a fulfillment of the government’s earlier vow not to destroy any Muslim place of worship.
“We did not conduct a frontal attack because we wanted to preserve the grand mosque, owing to the promise of our commander-in-chief, the President, and our Chief-of-Staff, who strongly provided guidance not to destroy any place of worship, even if international protocols would allow us to do that,” said the military spokesperson.
Troops are exhausting all efforts to finish the battle “as soon as possible,” Padilla said, with the movement of the Jihadist gunmen constricted to just a “half a kilometer grid.”
“We continue to clear the other parts of the city and press on to the inner sanctum of the enemy,” he said.
On Thursday, Duterte was able to visit the main battle zone 20 days after his second visit and 94 days after the conflict started, where he repeatedly said being with his soldiers on the ground was one of his utmost concerns right now, even if it would compromise his security.
“I will be happy to die for my country. I need to be with you to show my solidarity,” he told the soldiers during his visit.
In a Palace release, Duterte was able to stop outside the safe zone to inspect the devastation near ground zero and talked to the soldiers guarding the buildings used by the members of the Maute group during the early days of the fighting.
Duterte also visited a temporary patrol base and even tried a sniper rifle and fired twice towards the direction of the terrorists.
Meanwhile, Office of Civil Defense Asst. Secretary Kristoffer James Purisima denied claims of French aid groups that the fighting in Mindanao, combined with extreme weather conditions, led to a “humanitarian catastrophe.”
“We do not think it’s a humanitarian crisis because we’re addressing the situation that’s happening,” Purisima said.
“We know what’s happening on the ground and we’re addressing all the needs of our IDPs, whether they be in our evacuation centers or home-based,” he added. With Florante Solmerin