Lorenzana says gov’t sticks to goal ending Marawi fighting by end-September

September 27, 2017

The government is keeping its goal to finish the Marawi City crisis at the end of September  but Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the situation remains tough.

"That's what people on the ground told me, so I trust them. I'm not the one who said it will end. They were the ones who told us it will finally end," Lorenzana, the administrator of martial law in Mindanao, told reporters at the sidelines of his briefing at the House of Representatives.

Lorenzana faced the House committee on Muslim affairs which held a briefing on Task Force Bangon Marawi's rehabilitation program.

Lorenzana said the remaining Maute are still formidable.

"Yesterday [Tuesday] we incurred one dead again, a Marine, and 15 wounded. So they are still quite strong," he said.  "That is the reality we face on the ground. Just a little more sacrifice, everyone is growing impatient, especially the evacuees."

"I really feel for the situation of the evacuees. It's been very difficult for them. I always remind the troops that the longer this is prolonged, the more difficult it will be for the evacuees. There might come a time that they will be blaming us for the situation," Lorenzana said.

During the briefing, Tawi-Tawi Rep. Ruby Sahali-Tan said some evacuees were lured into prostitution because of poverty based on information from the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy.

Lorenzana said during the briefing the initial strength of the Maute was 800 to 1,000.

"Since according to our troops, we've already killed around 700, I think there's only less than 100 left within a small area [in Marawi]. As of last week, only 10 hectares were yet to be recovered," he told Sahali.

Sahali asked Lorenzana why is it taking so long for the military, numbering 6,500, to eliminate the gunmen.

"I understand the feelings of the honorable congresswoman. I feel the same," Lorenzana replied. "But the realities of the ground is very difficult to understand. The battle has been very difficult."

He explained although 6,500 troops are on the ground in Marawi, not all are in the combat area.

"We have many that secure lakes, exit points. And those in the  frontline are elite units like the Marines and Scout Rangers. So they are the only ones fighting face-to-face with the enemy," noted Lorenzana.

Lorenzana said they are about to conduct a post-conflict  assessment in Mindanao starting next month as because the Maute terrorist group is restricted to small area.

"After that, we will get a good idea how much we need to rehabilitate Marawi, how long, and how much money we need to rehabilitate," said Lorenzana.

Lorenzana said consultations will be made with the people of Marawi City and Lanao provinces if martial law is still needed in Mindanao.

"Now, if they say our area can do without martial law, we will also consider that. But, the final determination whether to continue martial law or not rests with the President," Lorenzana said. "We will be making the recommendations sometime in October.”

Sahali said if the Marawi  conflict will last longer, the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law in the House could be in jeopardy.

"The Bangsamoro Basic Law is about to be enrolled. It was numbered already as House Bill 6475," said  Sahali. "The longer the war takes in Marawi, the more scared we are that we can ensure the easy passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law...We don't want the war in Marawi to kill BBL [in] 2017," she said. DMS