All-female police, military team to be sent to Marawi for rehab ops

IN RUINS What remains of Marawi after a month of fighting. —JOSHUA MORALES/RADYO INQUIRER

An all-female contingent composed of police and military personnel will be sent to Marawi City to support the ongoing reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts, the military said on Tuesday.

“They have been tasked to facilitate psychosocial intervention, peace-building, and countering extremism,” Armed Forces of the Philippines public affairs office chief Col. Edgard Arevalo said in a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo.

The soldiers and policewomen (40 from AFP and 60 from PNP) have been undergoing necessary training from Aug. 21 to Aug. 25 before their deployment.

They will be sent off to Marawi City on Aug. 29 at Villamor Air Base, with AFP chief Gen. Eduardo Año and Philippine National Police chief Dir. Gen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa to lead the send-off ceremony.

Arevalo said that the police and military leadership decided to give the reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts a “feminine touch” since the troops in the main battle area are predominantly male.

“Mas nakikita ng pamununan ng AFP at PNP na mas madali, mas approachable kung kababaihan ang ipapadala,” he said.

The gun battle between IS-linked Maute terrorist group and government forces in Marawi City, the capital of Lanao del Sur, reached the 92nd day on Tuesday. JE