Malacañang concerned, vows decisive action against IS call

Malacañang on Tuesday said that it was concerned, but will act with decisiveness against the Islamic State's reported call to its followers to carry out attacks in various countries including the Philippines during Ramadan.

“[We will respond] with concern and with continued decisiveness,” presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella responded when asked about Malacañang’s reaction to the supposed call of the Islamic State.

Abella also indicated that the Islamic State's call could be a factor as the military was expected to set a new timeline to quell Maute forces in Marawi City.

“I don’t know if you call it affect but it’s something—our deadlines are—how would you call it—are—include all of these concerns and so I’m sure this is going to be factored in,” he said.

An audio recording allegedly of Islamic State spokesman Aboulhassan al-Mouhajer circulated on the internet on Tuesday.

In the recording, Al-Mouhajer called on jihadists to launch attacks against the United States, Russia, Middle East and the Philippines during the month-long Ramadan, which started in the country on May 26.

The ISIS-inspired Maute group attacked Marawi City ahead of Ramadan on May 23, killing and abducting civilians and torching several structures.

In the recording, Al-Mouhajer praised the Maute group for the attack on Marawi.

Abella said government forces were able to thwart the Maute group's ultimate plan of burning down and raising flags at the provincial capitol because of an information received by the military before the attack.

The military claims a total of 138 Maute group members have been killed in the ongoing conflict, which has entered its third week.

A total of 58 soldiers and 26 civilians have also been killed and thousands of families have been displaced. —ALG/JST, GMA News