Army’s Marawi commander vows to secure city’s rehab works

ILIGAN CITY –– The new commander of the Philippine Army in Marawi City has vowed to continue supporting the security needs of the city’s rehabilitation and reconstruction.

Col. Jose Maria Cuerpo has taken over the helm of the 103rd Brigade as acting commander following the assumption of Brig. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. as commandant of cadets of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA).

Cuerpo belonged to the PMA Bigkis-Lahi Class of 1990.

He assumed the post as the brigade’s deputy commander in June 2017, at the height of the war against Islamic State (IS)-linked militants that laid siege on the city for five months.

Cuerpo is considered among the Marawi heroes who liberated the city from extremist hands.

After the siege, the brigade has been providing security cover to debris-clearing work on the so-called most affected area of Marawi.

It has also been involved in going after the remnants of the IS-linked force, which tried to regroup in remote communities of Lanao del Sur, banking on the support of locals who have relatives in the villages.