Duterte to spend more time in Mindanao until Marawi crisis is over

We are fighting an enemy without honor, whose bankruptcy in its minds and hearts is very clear.
President Rodrigo Duterte

CLARK FREEPORT—Don’t expect President Duterte to be in Malacañang or in any part of Luzon and the Visayas in the next days or weeks.

“I will be spending more time in Mindanao because there is still fighting [in Marawi City]. Every now and then I will go to the brigades to check on their morale, readiness and everything,” Mr. Duterte said on Wednesday after receiving China’s donation of weapons and bullets worth P312 million to help fight terrorism in Marawi and other areas in the country.

“So you won’t likely find me here, except when there is an important appointment. I will be spending most of my time in Mindanao,” said Mr. Duterte, a former Davao City mayor.

His absence since June 12 raised questions about his state of health. He resurfaced on June 17 in Butuan City, and visited Iligan and Cagayan de Oro cities on June 20. He also attended the Eid al-Fitr celebration in Malacañang on June 27.

The initial donation of China consisted of 3,000 rifles, 90 sniper rifles and almost six million rounds of bullets, according to Lt. Gen. Eduardo Año, Armed Forces chief of staff. These were delivered by four Russian-made cargo planes that landed at Air Force City here on Wednesday.

Zhao Jianhua, Chinese ambassador to the Philippines, said: “Terrorism is the enemy of both China and the Philippines … It requires our military to further enhance cooperation in this area … The Chinese side would like to explore the possibility of joint intelligence-sharing and joint military exercises in the area of fighting terrorism.”

In his speech, Mr. Duterte thanked China for the weapons and said he would use them with “ferocity,” and not with “the brutality” displayed by the Maute group.

“We are fighting an enemy without honor, whose bankruptcy in its minds and hearts is very clear,” he said. “They have no objectives, no ideologies, not even relating to anything supernatural or God …. Their task is to destroy and kill.”

But he said: “I will not be part of any cruelty and brutality but we will have ferocity to defend our values of democracy and [our] sovereignty … We do not decapitate. We do not hang people.”

“If you are there in Marawi and you are holding a gun and you are not a member of the [Armed Forces of the Philippines] and the [Philippine National Police], you will be shot to death. That is my order. If not, you can escape [and] you come back one day to plunder another part of Mindanao,” he said.

Año said fighting terrorism “needs the continuing interaction of nations.”

The monthlong siege of Marawi by the Maute group would be defeated “very soon,” he said, “because of the enduring commitment of soldiers [who] shoved the enemy against the wall.”

The second batch of military donations from China will arrive in the next months, Zhao said.

He also announced a separate donation of P5 million for the families of soldiers killed or wounded during clashes in Marawi and another P15 million for the rehabilitation of the city.

Saying that fighting terrorism was “extremely important,” Zhao said both the Philippine and Chinese governments would have to address poverty as one of the root causes of terrorism.

According to Mr. Duterte, cooperation was achieved in his visit to China in October last year. China, he said, had reiterated its offer to help when the Marawi crisis erupted.

He also said his lifting of martial law in Mindanao would depend on the assessment and advice of the military, police and the Department of National Defense.

The Maute group was involved in the trade of illegal drugs, Mr. Duterte said, adding that drug lords and narcopoliticians were accomplices to the growth of terrorism in Mindanao.