PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte gave another self-imposed deadline to completely liberate the besieged city of Marawi before the end of the month.
“Today, we are still fighting but I hope that by the end of the month, we’d be able to resolve the issue,” the President said in his speech in Balangiga, Eastern Samar, in an official transcript released Friday.
“As I have said, we are all Filipinos and if by the grace of God, we’re able to finish everything, the business of stopping the rebellion, not necessarily killing, we will be happy.”
Meanwhile, Duterte, a fierce critic of the United States, is now singing Washington’s praises for helping him fight pro-Islamic State group militants.
“There are so many factors involved. But I’d rather be friendly to them now,” Duterte told residents of Balangiga during a visit, according to an official transcript.
Islamic militants waving the black IS flag occupied Marawi on May 23, and have fought off a US-backed military assault for more than four months.
Despite the President’s optimism the siege would end in few days, he reiterated that there would be no need to celebrate.
“And my orders to the military is that if we win, we do not celebrate any victory in Mindanao. Simply because we are waging a war actually against our own people and it would not look good, especially people who have adopted other religions,” he said.
“So I said…you just pack up your things and go silently out of the place,” he added.
The President admitted the siege staged by the Islamic State-inspired Maute terrorists was well-planned and the government underestimated their armed capability.
He likewise assured the Maranaos that he would rebuild Marawi once the fighting was over.
The US deployed a P-3 Orion spy plane and provided other intelligence inputs to Philippine forces trying to retake the city in fighting which has left more than 900 people dead.
“I would not say that they were our savior, but they are our allies and they helped us. And even today, they have provided the crucial equipment to our soldiers in Marawi to fight the terrorists,” Duterte said Thursday.
“So without their help also, we would be having a hard time,” he said. “So we thank you [the Americans].”
Duterte marked the start of his six-year term last year with foul-mouthed rants against the US as he steered his country away from the decades-old alliance while chasing trade and investment from Washington’s rival Beijing.
During a visit to China last October Duterte announced his “separation from the United States,” stating he was realigning with China and Russia instead.
Duterte explained that at the time, he was angry at then US President Barack Obama for criticizing his centerpiece war on drugs, which has since seen at least 3,850 suspects shot dead by the police and thousands more killed by suspected vigilantes and others.
He had also denounced the US government over its bloody colonization of the Philippines in the 1900s.
“But these are all water under the bridge,” Duterte said, citing the US alliance against Japan’s occupation army during World War II.
Manila’s independence was restored on July 4, 1946, when the Stars and Stripes was brought down while the tricolors was raised at the Luneta, with Manila and Washington also signing a mutual defense treaty later in in 1951. With AFP
