Philippine forces control most of a southern city where militants linked to the Islamic State group launched a bloody siege nearly a week ago, authorities said on Monday, as the Army launched air strikes and went house-to-house to crush areas of resistance.
According to government figures on Monday, the death toll was 105 people—61 militants, 20 government forces and 24 civilians.
Only small areas of Marawi remain under militants’ control after six days of fighting, said Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, the military spokesman. In recent days, gunmen have managed to fend off attack helicopters, armored vehicles and scores of soldiers.
“We can control who comes in and who comes out, who moves around and who doesn’t, and we are trying to isolate these pockets of resistance that have remained,” Padilla added.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said it is dead set at hastening efforts in restoring law and order and normalcy in the whole of Mindanao, especially in Marawi City.
“If the full cooperation of our citizens in the whole of Mindanao is obtained, then we can expedite the process of securing Mindanao on a daily basis,” Padilla said.
Padilla admitted the government does not have a timeline in clearing Marawi City of Islamist militants, but it is keen on finishing the violence the soonest time possible. “Our ground commanders have assured that the end is almost there.”
Presidential Spokesman Ernesto C. Abella said the Department of Social Welfare and Development was able to provide P1.17 million worth of assistance to affected families in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Around 12,509 families, or 59,665 individuals, have been displaced by the conflict, of which 1,018 families, or 4,278 individuals, are still staying in 14 evacuation centers, Abella noted.
He also reminded locals of Mindanao that under martial law, the Department of Trade and Industry is enforcing a price freeze on basic necessities and prime commodities. The price freeze covers Regions 9, 10, 11, 12 and Caraga, and will only expire 60 days after the declaration of martial law.
Joint session
Five senators filed on Monday Resolution 390, asking the Senate and the House to “convene Congress in joint session and deliberate on Proclamation 216” that President Duterte signed last week, imposing martial law and suspending the writ of habeas corpus in Mindanao.
Senators Francis N. Pangilinan, Franklin M. Drilon, Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, Antonio F. Trillanes IV and Paulo Benigno A. Aquino signed up as coauthors of the three-page resolution expected to be taken up at the closed-door caucus called by Senate President Aquilino L. Pimentel III soon after convening their plenary session yesterday.
After an earlier midsession caucus last week, senators affirmed that a joint session with congressmen is called only if Congress will vote to revoke or extend the President’s martial-law proclamation.
The senators’ Resolution 390 acknowledged that Section 18, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution gave Duterte “the prerogative to suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or place the Philippines or any part thereof under martial law in case of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it, for a period not exceeding sixty days.”
They, however, asserted that in compliance with this constitutional provision, “Congress has the sacred duty and peremptory obligation to seek information surrounding the proclamation, assess its factual basis and, if warranted, revoke the same.”
Justice Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre II said he has urged House Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez and Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III to convene Congress and give its approval to the martial-law declaration and not leave the matter to the Supreme Court (SC).
Aguirre said the SC would be rendered “powerless” once Congress affirmed the validity of Duterte’s declaration of martial law in the entire Mindanao, amid the ongoing clashes between government troops and Maute Group terrorists in Marawi City.
While he acknowledged the provision in Article 7, Section 18 of the Constitution that gives the SC 30 days within which to decide on a petition questioning the factual basis for martial-law declaration, Aguirre said the Court would still have to defer to the position of the President and Congress.
Butch Fernandez, Joel San Juan, Elijah Felice E. Rosales, AP
Image credits: AP/Bullit Marquez