THE military said Monday it may be forced to bomb mosques in Marawi City as Maute members have holed up in places of worship amid heavy fighting that has raged for almost two weeks.
“There are provisions that may allow for us to take action against them… We are studying this carefully,” said Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, speaking in Filipino.
“I’m not saying we will bomb them, but we’re studying this carefully, because AFP chief Gen. Eduardo Año has told us to avoid doing that as much as possilble,” he added.
Padilla said there were specific exceptions to restrictions in the Geneva Convention against attacks on places of worship. One of these is if they are being used to incite violence.
“There are exceptions. Whether the armed combatants force themselves into a hospital or a place of worship, we can use violence [to drive them out],” he added.
The government previously said that the Maute terrorists were using human shields and turned madrasahs into staging areas and mosques into sniper nests.
According to the AFP Standing Rules of Engagement, “cultural, religious and historical landmarks, civilian population centers, public utilities and other non-military structures, shall be protected and shall not be attacked except when they are used for military purposes.”
Padilla admitted that the presence of civilians, whose exact locations were not known, complicated the military campaign to gain full control of Marawi City, which was overrun by Maute terrorists on May 23.
Padilla also said ground commanders were the ones who could determine when the siege of Marawi City would end, despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s estimate of “about three more days” to end the crisis.
“The basis for determination of any military action on the ground, will be the call of the commander. They are the ones who are fully aware of the situation, gravity of the situation they face, as well as the solutions they have to address,” Padilla said.
Padilla again urged the Maute group to surrender as other rebel groups were poised to join the war against them.
Government chief negotiator and Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said Sunday night that a ceasefire with communist rebels would soon be ironed out to discuss their offer to help in the war against terrorists.
“We anticipate the immediate signing of the ceasefire agreement, which shall bind both parties pending the issuance of ceasefire declarations that are unilateral but simultaneous and reciprocal, subject to the basic guidelines,” Bello said.
On Friday, communist rebels offered to “cooperate and coordinate” with the Duterte administration in its fight against terrorism should the government return to the negotiating table, but Duterte, who earlier said that he’s “not keen” about the idea, demanded they first rescind orders for the New People’s Army to intensify attacks on government troops.
The National Democratic Front of the Philippines earlier said the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the NPA may be bound by a ceasefire agreement in specific areas to “counteract the Maute group and the Abu Sayyaf.”
On Sunday, Duterte said he accepted the offer extended by Moro National Liberation Front founding chairman Nur Misuari for 2,000 of his fighters to help in the ongoing fight against the Maute.
The President said these fighters would be integrated into the Armed Forces.
But Padilla said Monday no protocols have yet been established for the MNLF to join the fight against the Maute terrorists.
“The mechanisms for this kind of arrangement need to be discussed thoroughly prior to its implementation. Right now, we don’t have the appropriate protocols. We don’t have the appropriate coordinative elements on the ground to make this happen,” Padilla said.
“This may come later, after the resolution of the Marawi incident, but not during this time, because we have not discussed how to implement it yet,” he said.