THE war against the Maute and Abu Sayyaf terror groups in Marawi City has already cost the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) at least P3 billion, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Friday.
The amount is rising, he added, as the battle to retake Marawi continues.
Lorenzana made the disclosure amid rumors of irregularities in some emergency arms purchases that do not require public bidding.
“We have not collated the figures, but the Army… [has] already spent about P1.3 billion. And that’s just the Army,” Lorenzana said in Filipino. “That doesn’t include the Air Force or the Marines, so what we have spent since the start is about P2.5 billion to P3 billion.”
He said the money was spent to meet an emergency, and he was hopeful that Congress would replenish those funds, particularly those used for helmets, bullet-proof vests, night vision goggles and bullets.
Terrorists who have declared allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS) attacked Marawi on May 23. Some 500 of the terrorists from the Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups have been killed since then, and 125 soldiers have died in the fighting. Forty-five civilians also died and scores have been wounded. Up to 80 civilians are still being held hostage by the terrorirsts.
The military said IS-anointed Southeast Asia leader Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon and 28 of his men were tunneling under a mosque hoping to escape the battle zone.
But Western Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Cirlito Galvez Jr. said the naval blockade was on the lookout for terrorists escaping toward the water.
“We are closely guarding all sides of the area to contain them,” Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said.
A military intelligence report obtained by the Manila Standard said Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon and 28 of his men who are ready to die for him are tunneling under a mosque hoping to escape the war zone in Marawi City.
“Isnilon Hapilon knew he was deserted by his Maranao followers so he has to find ways to bail himself and his remaining men out from Marawi City. They continue to dig in under a mosque hoping to reach the lake or the Agus River,” a high-ranking military officer said.
Another military source said Hapilon had duffle bags full of cash, jewelry and gold bars from ransacked banks and houses.
Also in the same interview, Padilla said some of the women hostages might already be pregnant because they were forced to marry some of the terrorists.
The Marawi siege, which reached its 81st day, has left some 539 terrorists and 122 soldiers dead in the fighting so far, while 45 civilians have been killed. The remaining terrorists—said to be from 50 to 70, including foreign fighters—have 100 civilian hostages. Four were recently rescued. With John Paolo Bencito