President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said he needed 15 more days to solve the Marawi crisis, a self-imposed deadline which may go beyond the 60-day limit of his martial law in Mindanao, which expires on July 22.
“I need about 15 more days,” Duterte said in a speech during the 10th Listing Anniversary of the Phoenix Petroleum Philippines at the Philippine Stock Exchange trading hall in Makati City.
But National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, in an interview after Duterte’s speech, said the deadline was only an “indicative target.”
“Ano yan, indicative target lang yun. Wala naman, hindi mo naman pwede sabihin sa labanan na 10 days lang but that’s an indicative target and we are determined to get that,” Esperon said.
During his speech, Duterte said he was wondering why the terrorists were able to amass so many ammunitions.
“Ang hindi ko talaga alam…hindi rin talaga namin—na-miss namin…karami ng armas. Anak ng…Hindi maubusan,” he said.
The Chief Executive again mentioned his desire to visit conflict-torn Marawi City.
“Kaya gusto ko talagang pumunta doon. The other day I attempted again, but Marawi is always a rainy place. I was circling Marawi, I could not land, I could not go down nearer baka matyambahan kami ng Beretta caliber 50,” he said.
On July 7, Duterte wanted to visit Marawi City on but canceled it due to bad weather.