Marawi tunnels burdens the AFP troops, PRRD to purge local government in Marawi!

                        President Rodrigo Duterte Wednesday vowed to purge local governments in Marawi City as he criticized them for not informing him about the tunnels used as shelters by the Maute terrorists.

                        Duterte said the military is having a hard time in Marawi because the terrorists are familiar with the terrain. “They have positions and yet we are not aware of it. I am blaming officials of the local government for that. I think I have to purge them. Nobody told us about the tunnels that similar to (those created by the) Viet Cong,” the president said during the unveiling of a military housing project here.

                      “They keep on running and we are having a hard time. Plus there are hostages,” he added.  A total of 777 terrorists, 47 civilians and 159 soldiers and policemen have died since the ISIS-inspired Maute terrorists laid siege to Marawi last May 23.

                       Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the Marawi crisis, which has displaced thousands of residents, would be over “within a few days.”
Duterte said the military would continue to prioritize the safety of civilians held hostage by the terrorists.

                     “I am very sad that we have lost a lot of men in Marawi and I said there will be no letup until the last terrorist is taken out,” the president said. Duterte said he has also ordered security forces to spare mosques to avoid harming captives and to avoid negative sentiments from predominantly Muslim countries.

                   “The higher interest is really there are a lot of Filipinos working in the Middle East, close to two million. I do not want to have a backlash,” the Philippine leader said.