Military searches for bombs again in Marawi City

ILIGAN CITY—The military is doing another round of search and inspection of houses inside the once battle zone in Marawi City for presence of unexploded bombs.

This followed the discovery of a 500-pound bomb in Barangay Marinaut in Marawi on Feb. 3.

According to Lt. Col. Elmer Oamil, commanding officer of the Army’s 553rd Engineering Battalion and deputy commander of the Joint Task Group Builder, Monday’s find was the 43rd bomb in Marawi since 2017.

It was found beneath a ruined residential building whose owners gave no consent to the government to have it demolished as part of the debris clearing effort.

Oamil said they would detonate the bomb on the same site where it was found so it would be safe for the Army’s explosives and ordnance disposal personnel.

Private contractor

From March to December last year, the government hired a private contractor to clear Marawi of debris. Of some 4,000 structures recommended for demolition, the owners of over 3,000 gave their consent to have these demolished by the private contractor.

The contractor, with the help of the Army’s explosives and ordnance experts, also searched the war-ravaged villages for unexploded bombs.

Oamil said all ruined structures were subjected to search and inspection that led to the discovery of 41 unexploded bombs by the end of 2019.

He said the Army would revisit the former battle zone, encompassing some 250 hectares, and take a second look. He added it would have been easier had all ruined structures been completely demolished.

“We could not ascertain how many unexploded bombs are still buried in the area, particularly in buildings which are not yet demolished,” he said.

But he assured that there was no need to close the area again to civilians to give way to another round of bomb search. He noted that several families had started rebuilding their homes after securing the nod from the local government’s building office.