Iligan City, Lanao del Norte — Wearing white T-shirts and carrying white flags, barangay officials will lead residents of some villages in Marawi City as they try to gain entry into their respective villages today, Independence Day, and hoist the Philippine Flag.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and the City Government of Marawi called on the barangay officials of Marawi to a meeting yesterday in Iligan City. Eighty-five percent of the 96 village officials attended the meeting.

Norhanie Marohombsar, city local government operations officer V, DILG-ARMM, said they have issued corresponding identification tags and volunteer’s IDs for the barangay chairmen and other officials who will join in the celebration of Independence Day at the Lanao del Sur Capitol inside Marawi, but admitted that the military has yet to approve the planned “assessment-visit” of some village officials to their barangays.

Hopes are high for the village chiefs – although not all 96 barangay chairmen were present during the Sunday meeting since they had evacuated to Cagayan de Oro and other towns far from Iligan – that they can set foot on their villages today and assess the conditions there.

Wahab Dia, barangay chairman of Lumbak Marinaut, Marawi, said that aside from the white flags they were asked to bring for security and safety today, he has prepared a Philippine flag that he will raise at the first instance he will have the chance to enter his barangay hall.

The village officials will be accompanied by civic-religious leaders in entering their villages Monday.

“Gane, pag abot namu didto, amung tan-awon ang among barangay unsay nahitabo, labi na katong mga barangay na naigo jud sa kumbate og amo pud tan-awon kung nausan na ang mga panimalay sa among mga constituents og i-secure ang ilahang mga kagamitan (As soon as we reach our village, we will make an inspection as to the condition of village, especially those really hit by combat operations, along with the residents and their belongings),” Dia said.

Dia said three villages are still under the control of the armed group.

“We hope and pray that plans come true tomorrow (Monday), Independence Day – that everything is clear in Marawi and that we can already go back to our homes,” Dia – who has more than 1,000 constituents – said in the vernacular.

Dia said he expects his barangay to be badly damaged since the first firefights erupted in his village.

Efforts to locate the constituents of Marawi’s villages have been the priority of the village officials, along with the DILG, which tries to account for all the displaced persons.

Marohombsar cited two major concerns affecting the village officials. One is the actual status of their villages are not yet known and the other is access in passing through layers of military checkpoints.

“Minsan hindi sila na re-recognized kaya isa rin yan sa mga concerns nila – ang makapasok-labas sila sa Provincial Capitol na nasa Marawi upang ma-monitor nila ang kalagayan ng kani-kanilang barangays and naiwang mga residente (Sometimes, they are not recognized and that is one of the concerns – for them to be able to go in and come out of Marawi to monitor their villages and remaining residents),” said Marohombsar.

For Michael Datu Dakula, an evacuee from Marawi who is now in Iligan, he and his family miss their home. Asked if they wanted to go back today to their homes, he said: “Siyempre naman po, kasi andoon yung ari-arian namin, mga paninda namin. Hirap na hirap na po kami dito sa Iligan (Of course, because that’s where our belongings and trade items are. It’s been difficult for us here in Iligan).”

He hopes that on Independence Day, Marawi will be liberated from the terrorists and that President Duterte will rehabilitate their damaged homes.

AFP: PROPERTIES WILL BE PROTECTED

Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez, the commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Western Mindanao Command (AFP-WestMinCom), lauded the troops in Marawi and vowed to make every possible step to safeguard the properties of the people,

Galvez also assured that government troops are committed to take all actions to free remaining trapped civilians inside terrorists’ stronghold.

AFP Public Affairs Office chief Marine Col. Edgard Arevalo said fellow soldiers can draw inspiration and pride from the heroism of the troops engaged in the conflict in Marawi City.

According to reports reaching the General Headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, a major armed engagement that spanned 14 hours erupted between the Marines and the Maute-ISIS Group in the vicinity of Barangay Lilot Madaya in Marawi City.

Arevalo said the Marines were able to inflict heavy casualties on the terrorist group but at the cost of 13 killed in action and 40 others wounded in action. “We salute these enormous display of heroism and raw courage of these fallen Marines in the course of the fight to clear Marawi of the remaining members of the Maute-ISIS group,” he said.

MARINES’ MORALE HIGH

The resolve of Philippine Marine forces to defeat the ISIS-influenced Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups in Marawi City has not waned, Captain Ryan F. Lacuesta, director of the Marine Corps Public Affairs Office, said yesterday.

Lacuesta said despite the death of 1st Lt. John Frederick S. Savellano, the company commander who led troops in confronting Maute and Abu Sayyaf men in house-to-house fighting and recovered cash amounting to P52 million and checks worth P27 million on Monday, the morale still runs high among Marines deployed in the conflict area.

“Patuloy ang ginagawa nilang combat clearing operations sa lugar (They continue to conduct combat clearing operations in the area),” he added. There are currently three battalions of Marines deployed in Marawi City, he said.

AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, said despite the setback sustained by government troops, military operations continue to clear the city of terrorists. “Operations continue but we are observing a day of prayer for our fallen (soldiers),” Padilla said.

Source:
courtesy of MANILA BULLETIN

by Camcer Ordoñez

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