‘Truth first casualty in Marawi siege’

MANILA, Philippines - If there is a first casualty in the ongoing fighting between government forces and the Islamic State (IS)-inspired Maute group, it is the truth.

“Except for the half truths, the media is on the receiving  end of all the lies on what really is happening in Marawi City,” a senior military reporter said, referring to the statement released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

The AFP report said only 15 gunmen of the Maute group were involved in the fighting.

However, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said that around a hundred Maute gunmen attacked Marawi City.

The fighting in Marawi erupted on Tuesday afternoon after security forces raided a house where they believed a leader of the infamous Abu Sayyaf was hiding.

“We are expecting the arrest of Isnilon Hapilon. They (troops) didn’t know that he was backed up by more or less 100 armed fighters, but we will be able to contain them as we go along, by tomorrow or the next two days,” Lorenzana told a midnight press briefing in Moscow.

The military’s Western Mindanao Command  spokesperson, Capt. Joan Petinglay, said only 15 Maute gunmen headed by Hapilon were in the city.

Petinglay also described as disinformation reports that the Maute group torched a school and the city jail and entered the city’s Amai Pakpak Medical Center.

But the National Risk Disaster Management Council has confirmed the reported takeover by the Maute group of the hospital, which is located near Marawi City Hall. – Jaime Laude, Janvic Mateo, Emmanuel Tupas