Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff General Eduardo Año expressed belief that the military is drawing closer to the conclusion of the crisis in Marawi City each day.
In a recent visit to the city together with other defense and military officials, Año said government forces are constantly and daily gaining battle space while the Isis-inspired Maute Group terrorists’ grounds recede by the day as troops press-on relentlessly with their advance.
“We have the momentum; we dictate the operational tempo; we have the support of the people at large. Thus we are confident that the triumph of the forces of good against that of evil is irreversible,” Año said.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, who also visited the warn-torn city, assured that government is now focusing on the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Marawi as the defeat of the Maute-ISIS Group looms.
AFP Public Affairs Office (PAO) chief Colonel Edgard Arevalo, said as of 6 p.m. Saturday, the terrorists have suffered 367 killed while a total of 367 firearms have been recovered from them.
Meanwhile, some 39 civilians have been mercilessly killed or executed by the Maute Group. A total of 1,722 civilians who were held hostage or trapped in the main battle were either rescued or brought out of harm’s way. (Francis T. Wakefield)