Gov’t troops recover 22 cadavers of Maute members

At least 22 cadavers of members of the Maute group have been recovered by government troops in the main battle area, Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Major General Restituto Padilla said Wednesday.

Padilla said the cadavers were recovered over time as the troops slowly penetrate the buildings occupied by the Maute group.

He said they allowed the Philippine National Police Scene of the Crime Operatives to enter the buildings early Wednesday after they have thoroughly cleared the area.

"Ngayon araw sinubukang maayos ang area at nang ma-clear ay pinapasok na ang PNP-SOCO. Dahil na-clear na, sa dalawang gusali naka-recover ng 22 cadavers, 18 dito sa isang building at apat sa isa pa na pinagmumulan ng retaliatory fires," Padilla said in a press conference.

He said PNP SOCO personnel are now determining the identities of the cadavers.

"Interesado rin kami malaman kung sino 'yang mga na-recover kaya nakiusap kami sa PNP na madaliin ito dahil baka isa diyan ang leader ng grupong ito," he said.

He said there is a probability that there was a Maute leader among the cadavers as the bodies were recovered in an area where government troops received heavy resistance.

"The firefight was heavy. We could not penetrate building because of resistance," he said.

He added thousands of ammunition have been recovered in the area, aside from the firearms, rocket-propelled grenade, and improvised explosive devices.

He said none of the cadavers recovered were of women and children.

Asked if there were foreigners among those dead, Padilla said they cannot confirm it yet by mere appearance of the cadavers.

"Hindi tayo nakakasigurado hangga't hindi natin nakukuha ang resulta ng isasagawa ng SOCO," he said. 

Only about five hectares left

Padilla also said that continuous offensive of government troops left enemies with only less than five hectares to move around. He added they have yet to clear 150 buildings.

"Ang lugar nila napaliit natin, less than five hectares na lang. Ang naiiwang buildings ay 150 na lang," he said.

He said revelations from the rescued hostages validated reports that the number of enemies still in Marawi are around 38 to 40, and many of them are already wounded.

Padilla added the enemies are still holding 42 hostages and "quite a number of them are children."

He said this was the reason they are very careful with their operations.

"Pagpasok sa looban ay nananatiling maingat dahil sa presensya ng hostages. The safety of hostages remain our paramount concern," he said.

He said on the 142nd day of the Marawi firefight, 160 government troops have been killed including a junior officer who was killed while leading the attack on one of the buildings occupied by Maute.

Meanwhile, 802 enemies have been killed, including the 22 recovered cadavers. —KG, GMA News