Bad weather keeps battle-ready Duterte out of warzone
ARMED President Duterte was all set to visit the troops in Marawi City on Friday but bad weather stood in the way. —MALACAÑANG PHOTO/ VIDEOGRAB
A gun-toting President Duterte has made a surprise visit to a military camp close to a city where Islamic State (IS) group-inspired militants are battling security forces.
Photos and video footage of his camp visit on Friday released by his office showed the 72-year-old leader wearing a camouflage military uniform with rolled up sleeves and an Israeli-made Galil submachine gun slung over his shoulder.
Mr. Duterte, who also wore a dark bull cap, walked with soldiers and aides at the Philippine Army’s 2nd Mechanized Infantry Brigade camp in Barangay Maria Christina, Iligan City, about 25 kilometers from Marawi.
Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar said the President had planned to visit the troops in Marawi.
“The President, as commander in chief, will not back down from violent extremists,” Andanar said. “He is ready for combat and it only shows that he is one with his soldiers.”
Duterte said bad weather stopped him from flying into Marawi where he wanted to be with “the fighting forces of government.”
“I should show my face there. You don’t go there when it’s peace time already,” he said. “It’s not like you place yourself in jeopardy. But during the fighting, you should show yourself that you are one (with the troops in) our desire to protect the Republic.”
It was the second time Mr. Duterte tried to visit Marawi since he declared martial law in Mindanao on May 23. Bad weather also forced the cancellation of his first trip on June 8.
More than six weeks after hundreds of IS-inspired gunmen attacked Marawi, the militants were still holding out in about 800 buildings, and up to 300 civilians remained trapped, the military said on Friday.
The fighting has left 366 militants, 87 soldiers and police, and 39 civilians dead, according to officials. Nearly 400,000 residents of Marawi and nearby areas have fled the fighting. —With a report from Agence France-Presse
