President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said he was assuming full responsibility for all the `faults’ in the handling of the Marawi siege, the five-month-long armed conflict waged by the Maute Gang, and which began exactly a year ago.
“We had a very sad experience in the Marawi siege and we all know that we’ve fallen short in some respects in the way it was handled,” the President said in a speech during the 120th anniversary of the Philippine Navy at the Coconut Palace in Manila.
The President said it was hurtful that there were deaths in the siege.
“I assume full responsibility,” he said, adding that he did not anticipate that the gang would have “so much ordnance and that the fight would took us about four months to finish.”
“All of these faults, if it is indeed one, or our faults, it belongs and it falls on my shoulders as Commander-in-chief,”the President said.
He lamented that the Marawi siege “leaves a dent in my own history when I go out of government service.”
The Chief Executive also cited the difficulty of being in a visit to Russia when the Marawi siege happened.
“That is a painful realization to be signing something about your country, about the safety of your country, about the safety of the people and to give orders outside of the Republic of the Philippines,” he said, referring to his order declaring martial law in Marawi City.
President Duterte also said the Marawi rebellion was funded by shabu, pointing out that the siege happened when police was serving the warrant of arrest of Maute members relative to illegal drugs.
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