Military arrests 59 people trying to enter war-torn Marawi

Fifty-nine people allegedly attempting to enter war-torn Marawi City have been arrested by government security forces in Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga City, a regional military spokesperson said Friday.

In a statement, Captain Jo-ann Petinglay, Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command spokesperson, said the arrested persons allegedly intend to reinforce the Maute-ISIS terror group in Marawi.

Petinglay said at 10:15 p.m. Tuesday, a total of 32 people were held at a military checkpoint in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay while 27 others were arrested from a house in Guiwan, Zamboanga City.

The arrested persons claimed they were members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and that they were headed to Camp Jabalnur in Lanao del Sur for a training prior to their integration to the regular force of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

The group arrested in Guiwan said they were part of the group arrested in Ipil.

Petinglay said since there were no prior coordination or information about such movements, a quick verification was made with the MNLF and the latter denied the links with the group and the existence of any such training.

Confiscated from the arrested persons were military and police uniforms.

They were flown by a Philippine Air Force plane to Manila Friday for further questioning and custody in an appropriate facility while charges are being prepared against them by the Department of Justice.

Lieutenant General Carlito Galvez Jr., WesMinCom commander, said the arrests should allay the fears of our people of the likelihood of the rebellion in Marawi spilling over to their places because the military and the police are doing their best to contain it.

“With martial law in force in entire Mindanao, we can validly restrict and effect arrests of suspicious persons and unscrupulous groups whose actions bear with the rebellion. I commend our troops on the ground for their alertness that frustrated the movement of these suspicious persons. They have just prevented these individuals from potentially compounding the operational challenges in Marawi should they succeed in sneaking into the city,” Galvez said.

“I offer similar recognition to the local government and the local residents of Zamboanga for their vigilance and active involvement in reporting their observations of unusual activity in their neighborhood,” he added. — RSJ/KVD, GMA News