Gov’t expecting to retrieve hundreds of remains in Marawi

 Government authorities are expecting to retrieve more than a hundred cadavers from the main battle area in Marawi City, an ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) assemblyman said Sunday.
Lanao del Sur Provincial Crisis Management Committee spokesman and ARMM assemblyman Zia Alonto Adiong said there were still 61 persons missing.
“Yung expected na remains sa MBA [main battle area] could be even be bigger: Nasa hundred po ang expected natin na pwede nating ma-recover diyan na human remains,” he added in an interview on Super Radyo DzBB.
“Actually, we're expecting the worst. We are actually not causing any panic here or alarm, but we're getting ready, we are expecting the worst,” Adiong said.
Adiong said that the government has buried the remains of around 100 people at the Maqbara Public Cemetery in Barangay Papandayan Caniogan in Marawi City.
Since there were more than 900 members of the Maute group that were killed, Adiong said that they were expecting to recover an estimated 600 or 700 bodies.
“These are the Maute fighters alone but they're also looking at the possibility of kung meron man, pero sana wala tayong makitang civillians diyan but nga we are getting ready for the worst scenario na mangyayari,” Adiong said.
He added that once the government forces finishes their clearing operations they would immediately start the conduct of retrieval and rescue operations.
“Kasi may 61 pa naman na missing so we don't classify them as retrieval operations. We still consider it to be as rescue operations,” he said.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana declared an end to the five-month urban warfare in Marawi City on October 23. He said that combat operations had been terminated as there are "no more militants" in Marawi.
Colonel Romeo Brawner Jr., Task Force Ranao deputy commander, said a total of 920 Maute members have been killed while 165, on the part of the government, perished.
President Rodrigo Duterte on October 17 declared the liberation of Marawi City after the deaths of terror leaders Isnilon Hapilon and Omar Maute.