Running priest: Firepower not solution

Fr. Robert Reyes

ILIGAN CITY — Running priest Robert Reyes said the Marawi crisis could not be solved by military firepower alone.

Reyes was here on Friday to launch Ka-Salam, a peace campaign being supported by Oxfam and other groups.

“While members of Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups are dying, their relatives are angered. So even if the military says there’s no more Maute or Abu in Marawi, their relatives are still everywhere,” Reyes said, warning of a cycle of violence.

He said peace would have a better chance if Christians, Muslims and lumad engage in a continuing dialogue to shun all types of biases and prejudgment.

“They would say Muslims are bad but they don’t really understand. Muslims are peaceful. Islam itself means peace,” Reyes said. —Allan Nawal