(File photo)
MANILA – The successful liberation of Marawi City from the hands of the Islamic State-inspired Maute terrorist group five years ago highlights the government's commitment to suppress terrorism.
"The Marawi incident showed the firm resolve of the government against terrorism. It was the turning point in a sense that since then we have seen the downward trend in frequency and intensity of terror activities perpetrated by local terrorist groups," Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar told the Philippine News Agency when sought for reaction, as the country marked the fifth anniversary of the liberation of the city.
In a separate statement, Aguilar said the AFP is joining the rest of the Filipino people in honoring the heroes who helped liberate Marawi.
"The AFP shares the honor and glory of saluting all our heroes who helped liberate the City of Marawi from the clutches of terrorism, five years ago," he added.
Aguilar stressed that the service and sacrifice made by these heroes will serve as a legacy that will live on forever in the hearts and minds of the Filipino people.
"We owe it to the valiant and courageous men and women in uniform who fought the Maute terrorist group so that we could still fly freely the Philippine Flag over Marawi City," he added.
Aguilar also said the sacrifices made by these heroes have not been in vain as the military continues to gain the trust and support of our people in the performance of its mandated duty of protecting them and the nation.
"The crisis may have been over but we have never left Marawi. Our soldiers are still actively participating in peace and development efforts to ensure that this unfortunate event in our history will never happen again," Aguilar said.
He also reiterated the call on all Filipinos to help in the effort against terrorism.
Aguilar said the fight against this threat is not the sole responsibility of the government or the security sector but of every citizen of the republic.
"We must continue to strengthen the whole-of-nation approach toward preventing and countering violent extremism. Let us motivate our people, especially the youth, to be advocates of peace in their communities," he added
The Philippine Army (PA) also joined the observance and reminded troops of the need to "move forward while learning from our experiences".
"As we have learned many lessons from this tragic incident, committed our collective efforts to rebuild Marawi City, and vowed to prevent a similar incident in the future, let us continue to put our acts together for it is only through this means that we will surely succeed," PA chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said in his message.
He also called on troops to press on with a focus on military operations and strengthen intelligence capabilities, community relations activities, and civil-military operations to contribute towards enduring peace and sustainable progress.
The Marawi siege started on May 23 and ended on Oct. 17, 2017.
An estimated 847 terrorists and 168 military and other security personnel were killed in the five-month-long battle.
The fighting was declared over on Oct. 23, 2017, after authorities confirmed the death of Abu Sayyaf leader and ISIS emir in Southeast Asia Isnilon Hapilon and Maute Group co-founder Omar Maute. (PNA)
