Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong (File photo)
MANILA – A repeat of a Marawi Siege-like attack in Mindanao is highly unlikely as “security forces, local government units (LGUs) and the community are working hand-in-hand” under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. against all remnants of violent extremism, according to Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong on Tuesday.
The chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Marawi Rehabilitation and Victims Compensation said that with the support of LGUs, the city has been liberated.
“I don't see any reason why the same problem may pop up in the future,” Adiong said during a regular press briefing at the House of Representatives in Quezon City.
The question was raised after a clash between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and members of the Daulah Islamiyah-Maute Group in Munai, Lanao del Norte on Feb. 18 left six soldiers dead and four wounded.
“There is no atmosphere of fear in Mindanao as the people see all stakeholders working together to contain whatever is left of the Maute Group,” he added.
“Whatever is left of extremist groups are being hunted vigorously by the AFP, with the help of LGUs and members of the communities.”
He noted that the clash between government troopers and remnants of the terrorist group may just be an isolated incident, as everywhere else in Mindanao is “relatively peaceful.”
“Ang number one lang na pwede natin maibsan 'yung ganitong kaba is ‘yung presence, 'yung visibility ng ating mga (The number one thing that can quell this kind of fear is the presence and visibility of the) security agencies like police and the military. And then there are additional deployments in the area para ma-secure 'yung lugar (to secure the area),” he said.
Show of support for Bagong Pilipinas
Meanwhile, Adiong and PBA Party-list Rep. Margarita Nograles said the attendance of Mindanao lawmakers and local government executives at the Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair (BPSF) in Sultan Kudarat is an overwhelming “show of support” for President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.s’ “Bagong Pilipinas” (New Philippines) movement.
Adiong and Nograles joined Speaker Martin Romualdez on Monday to deliver assistance.
“This is actually a show of support, unity of the executive and the legislative branch na sinusuportahan natin itong sinusulong ng administration sa Bagong Pilipinas (that we support the administration’s initiative for a New Philippines),” Nograles said in the same press briefing.
Adiong said the attendance of the public and government officials in the BPSF clearly showed that secession calls have no grassroots and political support.
“I think it's very clear from Day One, it never generated support from the grassroots, the call for secession. Actually, what happened is the opposite, it brought Mindanaoan solons and Mindanao leaders together in calling for a united Philippines,” Adiong said. (PNA)
