FILE PHOTO (Paulo C. Rizal/davaotoday.com)
DAVAO CITY, Philippines — A temporary silencing of guns and a pause in fighting between government forces and the Maute group is expected to give way to the peaceful celebration of the end of Ramadan on Sunday, June 25.
Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez, commander of the Western Mindanao Command in a statement said the Armed Forces of the Philippines has approved the declaration of its current operations in Marawi City for eight hours starting 6am Sunday up to 2 pm.
Provincial Crisis Committee spokesman Zia Alonto Adiong also told reporters that a prayer for Eid’l Fitr celebration will start at 6:30am at the provincial capitol.
“A sermon from an Imam will follow after,” he said.
Some 400 families, mostly Maranao residents of Marawi made the provincial capitol their temporary shelter since the fighting broke out on May 23.
Eid al-Fitr is an important religious holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting.
However, the fighting in Marawi which caused the displacement of 264,000 civilians mostly Muslims, has greatly affected their observance
of Ramadan.
Adiong said: “This is the saddest Eid’l Celebration in recent memory.”
“This local miltant group robbed us the chance to observe Ramadhan peacefully and stole from us the opportunity to celebrate Eid’l Fitr and be with our loved ones in this religious occasion. For centuries, this Islamic tradition has been observed uninterrupted until now,” he added.
He said families at this time can’t even “share meals together, pray together and continue observing this Muslim tradition simply because our current state doesn’t permit such “family gathering” to take place.”
Galvez said the “humanitarian pause” serces as a gesture of the government’s commitment and respect to Muslims in Marawi City.
He said the ceasefire is declared “to give reverence to the supposed peaceful, joyous and festive spiritual celebration.”
However, the Army said the ceasefire will only cover a halt in their employment of capabilities.
“The ”Humanitarian Pause” will be lifted immediately if any of the following conditions ensue: (1) our troops’ security is jeopardized; (2) safety of civilians is threatened; and (3) if the enemy starts firing and at which point anyone can exercise their right to self-defense,” he said.(davaotoday.com)
