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The fighting in Marawi is confined to two and a half villages, in an area less than one square kilometer, the military said on Friday.
The conflict between forces and Islamic State-affiliated extremists, raging for 10 weeks now, has killed 114 government troops and 45 civilians, along with 471 rebels.
Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said soldiers are in high spirits despite the growing number of casualties.
“Our troops are in a very high state of morale, all leaning forward to finish this operation at the soonest time possible,” Padilla said in a press briefing in Malacañang.
“Despite the number of casualties and wounded that we have had in the past few weeks, this does not deter the troops and our ground commanders from pursuing the mission and accomplishing the much-needed liberation of Marawi,” Padilla said.
Donations from the private sector have poured in for the families of the slain soldiers.
The government’s Landbank account for AFP casualties in Marawi has received P108 million in donations.
The Landbank account for the internally displaced persons from the city has received P834,000.
But Padilla said the numbers should not confuse the people. He said the government and the private sector are in full support of displaced Marawi residents, with the state having spent some P200 million for those in evacuation centers.
The P200 million has been used for food and nonfood items and other forms of assistance for the evacuation centers, he said.
According to Padilla, the bank donations from the private sector was its way of showing the bereaved families support for their loss.
“The private sector and the business community’s assistance to our families who have lost loved ones in the fight in Marawi is merely an indication of their commiseration and their sympathy for the families, so as to assuage the hurt that they feel or the loneliness or the sadness that they are experiencing as a matter of loss because we cannot bring back the lives,” he said.
Aside from the bank donations, Go Negosyo partners also provided P1.25 million each to the families of the slain soldiers during a recent ceremony in Malacañang. The bulk came from an anonymous businessman who donated P1 million for each family.