DAVAO CITY — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will not yet lift the Martial Law in Mindanao despite the killing of the two leaders of Maute Group in Marawi City.
AFP chief-of-staff Gen. Eduardo Año said even if the crisis in Marawi City is already finished there are still terror threats in other places in Mindanao that need to be addressed.
“Meron pang mga threats dito na kailangan pang tapusin katulad ng Basilan at Sulu pati na rin Maguindanao, yan ay ang susunod na step na ating gagawin (There are still threats that need to be done such as in Basilan, Sulu and Maguindanao and that is our next step to be done),” he said during a press briefing on Tuesday night at the Eastern Mindanao Command in Panacan, Davao City.
Año said the troops deployed in Marawi City during the siege will be brought to these places for them to address the threats.
“Pagpupursigihan natin na masupil ang mga terrorists sa mga lugar na iyon (We will do our best to eradicate the terrorists in those areas),” he said.
However, the lifting of Martial Law will be the discretion of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Ano said that he can recommend to the president to lift the Martial Law only to some areas.
“Magkakaroon pa tayo ng assessment (We will still have an assessment),” he said.
Meanwhile, Año bared that the 8,000 new recruits for the Philippine Army will be completed by November this year of which the majority will be deployed in Mindanao.
He also saidafter the Marawi City crisis, the whole force of AFP will be focusing on eradicating the New People’s Army (NPA).
“By January, additional 5,000 troops will be recruited sapagkat gusto natin mangyari na sa katapusan ng 2018, wala ng CPP-NPA kahit isa sa buong Pilipinas (because we want to happen that by the end of 2018 there will be no CPP-NPA in the whole Philippines),” he addedd. (Armando Fenequito Jr/PNA)
