The country’s solicitor-general lauded the decision of the Supreme Court that affirmed Proclamation No. 216 issued by President Rodrigo Duterte in May this year declaring martial law in Mindanao.
Alongside the fighting they waged against government forces for more than 40 days now in Marawi City, members of the Maute Group were also into looting spree by ransacking abandoned residences, stealing cash, pieces of jewelry and other valuables.
Amid human rights complaints from groups, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said he is hopeful that the Supreme Court will rule in favor to the legality of the declaration of martial law in Mindanao.
As of 6 PM on Sunday, July 2, a total of 84 troopers were already killed as the air and ground assaults continue to topple down the remaining forces of the ISIS-linked Maute group still holed up in Marawi.
More than P20 million worth of livelihood projects of a federation of cooperatives of the Moro National Liberation Front were completely damaged as the air and ground assaults by the government against the ISIS-linked Maute Group in Marawi continue.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has compared the New People’s Army, the armed-wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, to that of the Islamic State, saying the former are revolutionaries with objectives unlike the latter that is “dedicated to the destruction of mankind.”
The high cost of the fighting in Marawi City is undeniable with the increasing count of civilian casualties and destruction of properties as the conflict goes on to this day.
Almost 40 days since the declaration of Martial Law, but government’s fight to reclaim Marawi City from ISIS-linked Maute group goes on.
The photos also show the extent of damage to lives and properties brought by the ongoing war between the Maute group and government troops. (Photos by Zia Alonto Adiong/Provincial Crisis Committee of Lanao del Sur)
The Task Force Davao said the four activists who were held in a checkpoint Wednesday evening were flagged for being “suspicious individuals.”
