Lanao execs seek swift end to war

ILIGAN CITY—Fearing the fighting in Marawi City would spread to the entire province of Lanao del Sur, local officials pleaded to President Duterte for a swift and successful end to the campaign to finish off terrorists who had laid siege to Marawi.

The provincial government of Lanao del Sur also appealed to the military to minimize damage on infrastructure and civilian casualties.

According to Zia Alonto Adiong, spokesperson for the provincial government’s crisis management committee, the sooner the fighting ends in Marawi, the better for the province.

President Duterte had declared martial law in Mindanao in response to the attempt by members of two local terror groups, Abu Sayyaf and Maute, to take over Marawi to establish a caliphate of the Islamic State there.

Practical

Alonto said declaring martial law in Mindanao was a “practical solution.”

But he said the fighting should not spill over to other towns. “We need to contain it,” he said.

Adiong said the longer the conflict took, the more health problems could arise in evacuation centers.

He said some civilians staying in temporary shelters had contracted common illnesses like fever, colds and cough due to lack of nutrition, sleep and stress.

The diseases could spread, he said. —JIGGER J. JERUSALEM