By: Francis T. Wakefield
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana Tuesday said that news reports stating there are about 2,000 civilian casualties in Marawi City have yet to be verified.
In a statement, Lorenzana said that operations are still ongoing and that proper authorities are still assessing, consolidating, and verifying data from Marawi City.
“For now, we once again call on the people to be more cautious and discerning. Do not accept any information as fact,” Lorenzana said.
In a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, said that based on information provided by local government units in the area, there are at least 300 civilians who remain unaccounted for.
Padilla said those unaccounted for are either trapped inside war-torn Marawi or being held hostage by the ISIS-inspired Maute Group.