MILF teams to rescue trapped civilians during 8-hour ceasefire in Marawi

Rescue and retrieval teams composed of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and provincial government volunteers will enter the war zone in Marawi City, taking advantage of the military's eight-hour ceasefire.

Assistant Secretary Dickson Hermoso of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process said five rescue teams from the MILF and "cadaver retrieval" teams of the Lanao del Sur Crisis Management Committee will head to the conflict zone before the eight-hour ceasefire ends at 2 p.m.

During a press conference in Marawi around 12 noon, Hermoso said they were just waiting for their emissary who will lead the rescue and retrieval teams.

He said the emissaries, who were approved by the government and the MILF, had talked to the Maute group and negotiated for the ceasefire.

"Our emissaries were able to connect themselves to this group.. They (Maute group) also said in the affirmative that they will stop shooting," Hermoso said. "We hope they will do good in their words."

The Armed Forces of the Philippines announced the eight-hour humanitarian pause on Sunday night. The ceasefire, which started at 6 a.m., was implemented to allow Marawi City residents to peacefully celebrate the end of the month-long Ramadan.

Hermoso said that the rescue teams had plotted a map of areas that will be prioritized for the humanitarian operation. He said these are were identified based on calls from trapped civilians inside the war zone.

During the same press conference, Crisis Management Committee spokesperson Zia Alonto Adiong said that the calls and messages from the trapped civilians were received by their group during the first two weeks of the conflict, which started last May 23.

Hermoso said the main concern of the trapped civilians is food.

He said that the rescue teams will prioritize children and the injured civilians.

"Our mission is to retrieve warm bodies. Our volunteers from the MILF will go to the ground, knock on the doors at the houses there, use megaphones and use the local vernacular of Maranao to entice them (trapped civilians) and bring them to the safe zone," the official said.

He said the designated safe zone is the Banggolo Bridge, which had been earlier retaken by the military from the Maute group.

Hermoso said they are hoping more trapped civilians will be rescued during the ceasefire.

Authorities could not give an exact number of people still trapped in the war zone. The military earlier said the number could be between 300 and 500.

As of 12 noon, officials reported that there was no single shot fire within the conflict zone.

During the first ceasefire last June 4, he said the humanitarian group was able to rescue more than 200 civilians.

Adiong, meanwhile, reported that nearly 60,000 families affected by the conflict, including "home-based' internally-displaced persons, are being served by the regional government's social welfare unit. —ALG, GMA News