PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday said he could end the fighting in Marawi City in three or more days, but said he could have ended it in 24 hours were he not bound by the Geneva Convention.
“Truth be told, were it not because government is bound by rules and the values of civilization, I [could] end this war in 24 hours. You know, I’ll just bomb everything. I have 10 new jets. All I have to do is to bomb the whole place and level it to the ground,” Duterte said in a speech during his visit to soldiers wounded in action at Camp Evangelista Station Hospital in Cagayan de Oro City.
But bound by international laws, Duterte said troops did their best to ensure no civilians would be killed.
Despite the fighting in Marawi City, which led Duterte to declare martial law in Mindanao, the President said the republic was well and stable.
“There are pockets of war fighting in Mindanao and we are still assessing the environment vis-à-vis the NDF [National Democratic Front] and NPA [New People’s Army],” said Duterte.
Duterte also said he would assume full responsibility for the bombings missions in Marawi, saying that they were carried out upon his orders.
The enemy has no compassion, he said, shooting everyone, including civilians.
“But we cannot just press the trigger of a machine gun and say to whom it may concern,” he said. “We have to get close to the target and be precise with our shots.”
At the same time, Duterte said he would not hesitate to bomb targets that cannot be taken at a huge cost to soldiers’ lives.
“That’s why I said, in 24 hours, this war will end. All I would say is fire at will at anything moving and bomb the whole place and that is it. But we cannot do it,” he said.
“And that is why we are also suffering great losses. But of course, most of them are enemies,” he said.
In the same speech, Duterte lambasted Supt. Ma. Cristina Nobleza, who was arrested for being an agent for the Abu Sayyaf, saying she was a traitor and should be hanged in public.
“I will not hesitate to do it if it comes to that. I will hang every traitor of the government,” Duterte said.
“Martial law is still not finished. I will report to the nation what we did and why we did it.”
The military missed its June 2 deadline to take full control of Marawi City from the Maute terrorist group. It is also unlikely to meet its July deadline to significantly weaken the Abu Sayyaf, which operates in the Basilan and Jolo.
On Saturday, Duterte said people involved in illegal drugs and providing funds and protection to the Maute group would be arrested soon.
“In the days ahead we will arrest all of them. Number one is the producer of shabu, those funding terrorists, they will all be arrested, whether politicians or not,” Duterte said during his visit in Cagayan de Oro City.
“We will charge you accordingly. We will detain you more than six days. There will be at once an inquest and if there is probable cause, I would like them to be detained forever,” Duterte also said.
Duterte did not provide names.
However, he said there are several drug personalities in Marawi City, where more than 200 Maute group members are believed to be still holed up more than a week after the ISIS-inspired group’s attack last May 23.
“There are a lot of them here in Marawi. That’s why the supply of shabu here in Cagayan de Oro does not end, “ Duterte said,
Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa said on Monday that the Maute group, drug lords and politicians involved in illegal drugs are protecting each other.
On Wednesday, Dela Rosa said the PNP will take advantage of Duterte’s declaration of martial law in Mindanao to address the problem of narco-politics in Mindanao.