PH military chief says Maguindanao attack is ‘isolated case’

MANILA, Philippines – The chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), General Gilbert Gapay, said the night attack on Datu Piang, Maguindanao on Thursday was clearly different from the siege of Marawi for months in 2017.

Another Marawi siege incident would be “highly unlikely” at this point, the AFP chief told an online press conference.

“They have already learned their lessons from Marawi and we can consider what happened in Datu Piang as an isolated case and it is very far from another Marawi incident,” he added.

The small gang of terrorists, allegedly from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), burned a police car during the attack. Troops responded immediately, Gapay said.

Local armed groups with ties to the Islamic State and a few dozen foreign fighters occupied the city of Marawi for five months in 2017 while trying to establish a caliphate in Southeast Asia. It left hundreds dead and thousands displaced from their homes. It was the biggest security crisis in the Philippines in recent years.

Gapay said the BIFF force was already “in decline” and “not strong enough” to carry out an attack on a scale similar to the Marawi incident.

“They’re not really that strong, but like I said, this is terrorism that we face and they usually attack every time we let our guard down,” he said, and called for the support of the general public.

“Due to the limitations in terms of security forces, we do not have so many troops, nor do we have so many policemen to really monitor every inch, every corner of a certain area,” he said.

“We call for cooperation, support and collaboration with other stakeholders to really improve our vigilance so that we can protect communities from such terrorist attacks,” Gapay said.

/ MUF

Read next

Don’t miss the latest news and information.

For comments, complaints or inquiries, please contact us.