Iligan City intensifies security checkpoints

Authorities in Iligan City were working doubly hard on Thursday to ensure the city's security following reports that several members of the ISIS-inspired Maute group have entered the area.

A report by GMA News' Bam Alegre on 24 Oras said intelligence reports found that at least 300 armed individuals were sighted on Thursday morning in the town of Tagoloan, Lanao del Norte.

Iligan City chief information officer Jose Pantoja said the local government is already coordinating with the police and military for the city's peace and order.

"Imagine 300 armed men sighted? So ngayon we are coordinating with the PNP and the military, and the local government," Pantoja said.

Pantoja added that they are also willing to tap civilian groups, particularly those with licensed firearms.

"If the worst [happens] dito sa Iligan, kami dito in the city proper alone, we are ready because all civilian groups, particularly the licensed [gun owners] sa Iligan, tina-tap na namin ngayon to help prevent yung ibang militants na gusto sumira sa peace and order namin sa Iligan," he said.

The military said it is still verifying the information.

Iligan City sits about 38 kilometers from Marawi City, where government forces have been fighting the terrorists since May 23.

At security checkpoints across Iligan City, all bags and passing vehicles are thoroughly inspected by authorities, which has affected traffic flow, the report said.

Meanwhile, several Lanao sultans traveled to Iligan City to collectively condemn the attacks of the Maute group.

Sultan Camid Gandamra Sr. challenged the Maute members to fight the military in the open and not take refuge in Marawi City's mosque.

"Please, if you are really claiming to be a Muslim, do not occupy the mosque in Marawi City and elsewhere. Why don’t you go to the open and fight the military? If you are true fighters," said Gandamra, father of Marawi Mayor Usman Gandamra.

The AFP had earlier said it would not bomb the mosque where the Maute members used to stash arms or launch armed activities.

Sultan Mamasaranao Mulok, for his part, pleaded for President Rodrigo Duterte's help in ending the Marawi crisis.

"Kami po ay umiiyak sa nangyari sa aming mga tauhan sa Lanao del Sur. 'Di namin gusto itong nangyari. Please lang Presidente Duterte, please help save the people of Marawi City," an emotional Mulok said. — Joseph Tristan Roxas/BM, GMA News