SECURITY forces on Friday arrested five looters who robbed abandoned houses in war-torn Marawi City.
Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said the five looters, pretending to be rescued residents, were caught red-handed, in possession of cash, cell phones and jewelry stolen from abandoned houses.
The suspects, all from Iligan City, were turned over to the police for investigation and the filing of charges.
Residents of the city had hastily left their houses, leaving their cash and valuables behind when Maute group terrorists overran the city on May 23.
Government soldiers have been trying to dislodge the terrorist groups, which includes members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and the Abu Sayyaf.
The terrorists overran the city after government troops launched a raid to capture top Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon.
An estimated 150,000 Marawi residents have left the city and fled to neighboring towns.
“The arrest of the civilian looters disproved the propaganda being peddled by Maute-IS sympathizers accusing soldiers [of] looting in the city,” Col. Edgard Arevalo, AFP Public Affairs Office chief, said.
On Tuesday, ground troops recovered P52 million in cash and P27 million in stale checks from a Maute safe house in Mapandi, a few kilometers away from the city.
The displaced residents face deadly health risks, relief groups said Friday after a fleeing mother told the Agence France-Presse her baby died because of a lack of medical care.
The onset of the rainy season could worsen the situation, the International Committee of the Red Cross warned as it said it had already observed a spike in diarrhea, respiratory illnesses and other ailments.
“The health situation is not yet critical at this point, but we fear that this may worsen in the coming days with prolonged displacement,” said Jose Amigo, health coordinator for the ICRC in the Philippines.
About 240,000 people have been displaced by the fighting in Marawi, according to the government.
The unrest began more than two weeks ago when hundreds of extremists rampaged through the city waving black flags of the Islamic State group.
President Rodrigo Duterte said the attack was part of a wider plot by IS to establish a base in the southern region of Mindanao, and declared martial law there to quell the threat.
Twenty civilians have been confirmed killed due to the fighting, according to the government, but the true number is likely to be higher with authorities yet to clear the roughly 10 percent of Marawi still being held by the militants.
About 2,000 people are also believed to still be trapped in those areas with some being used as human shields, according to authorities.
Meanwhile, about 90 percent of the evacuees have sought shelter in the homes of relatives and friends rather than evacuation centers, according to government data, and aid workers have not been able to help all of them.
Among those staying with friends and relatives was Emmalyn Macababayao, 37, who said her one-year-old son died after getting sick during a six-day ordeal to escape Marawi.
“While fleeing I held on tight to my elder son with my left hand while the other was breastfeeding,” Macababayao said as she began to cry.
“The baby that time felt so hungry. It was raining so hard, we all got wet. It was a long walk, I was just crying, feeling helpless and in despair. But I kept holding tight to my children. I felt so afraid… I was alone.”
She said her son died three days after reaching a relative’s house, after not being able to get medical treatment for a fever and diarrhea.
The military said Friday it hoped to defeat the militants by Monday, which is Independence Day.
But heavy fighting continued in parts of Marawi on Friday. With AFP