AFP says declaration of Marawi liberation not premature

Soldiers pursue a suspected straggler in Marawi City after he was sighted in the main battle area on Thursday, Nov. 2. Suspected Indonesian terrorist Muhammad Ilham Syahputra, who was arrested Wednesday, claimed 39 more Maute terrorists and sympathizers remain in the main battle area. 

MANILA – Despite the reported presence of stragglers in war-torn Marawi, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Friday insisted that the government did not prematurely declare the city’s liberation from Islamic State-inspired terrorists last week.
AFP Spokesperson Maj. Gen. Restituto Padilla Jr. defended government's declaration of the end of hostilities in Marawi City even while some terrorists were still known to remain in the battle area.
“Iyung declaration ng liberation ay iyong punto na wala na itong bearing. Iyung mga naiiwang stragglers, they are leaderless, they have no direction. They are merely fighting for survival. So they have no impact on the overall security of the place,” Padilla said in a news conference in Malacañang.
Duterte declared the liberation of Marawi City on Oct. 17, a day after government troops killed terror leaders Isnilon Hapilon and Omar Maute.
On Oct. 23, exactly five months since the siege erupted, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the battle in the city was finally over.
Despite these declarations, several terrorists were reportedly spotted in the city. A suspected Indonesian terrorist identified as Muhammadin Ilham Syahputra was arrested in Lanao del Sur Wednesday as he was trying to flee from government troops.

Marawi evacuees start returning home

Hundreds of evacuees continue to be housed for almost five months now in a multi-purpose hall at Balo-i township, Lanao del Norte province after fleeing the besieged city of Marawi Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017 in southern Philippines. There was joy among the evacuees at news of the two Muslim militant leaders Isnilon Hapilon and Omarkhayam Maute involved in the siege were killed by Philippine troops Monday. AP Photo/Bullit Marquez

LANAO DEL SUR — Displaced Maranaos started returning on Sunday to villages in Marawi City that they were forced to abandon on May 23.

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Assemblyman Zia Alonto Adiong of the 24-seat Regional Assembly in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao told The STAR on Sunday that authorities have allowed the return of evacuees to areas declared safe by security advisers, among them bomb disposal experts.

“Residents of Barangay Basak Malutlut started returning to their homes today, October 29,” said Adiong, spokesman of the Lanao del Sur provincial crisis management committee.

Marawi City is the political and administrative capital of Lanao del Sur, which has 39 towns.

It was in Barangay Basak Malutlut were government forces and combined Maute and Abu Sayyaf gunmen first clashed on May 23, sparking a conflict that lasted until October 23.

“We are thankful to the office of Marawi Mayor Majul Gandamra and all other agencies and cause-oriented groups helping return evacuees to Marawi City,” Adiong said

Brake failure not likely in Batasan truck accident: truckers' group

MANILA - It is unlikely that the brakes failed on the truck which killed 5 people in Quezon City last Thursday, an official of a truckers' group said Sunday.

Alberto Suansing, director of the Confederation of Truckers Association of the Philippines told radio DZMM that the pneumatic brake system on trailer trucks is different from hydraulic systems found on most vehicles.

Suansing said that with a pneumatic brake system, a driver only needs to flip a switch to activate the emergency brakes.

"Nataranta yung driver. Hindi nya nakalabit yung switch na mag-a-activate ng emergency brakes," Suansing said.

(The driver panicked. He forgot to switch on the emergency brakes.)

He added that the accident could have been avoided if the driver was better trained.

"Unfortunately, mahirap ma-determine yung skills ng nagmamaneho... Sa LTO (Land Transportation Office) hindi gaanong nasusukat yun," Suansing added.

(Unfortunately, it's hard to determine the skills of a driver. At LTO, it is not assessed very well.)

At least 5 people were killed when a 22-wheeler truck carrying steel bars plowed into a tow truck, 2 cars, 1 jeepney and 1 motorcycle on San Mateo Road, Barangay Batasan Hills, Quezon City last Thursday.

The accident also caused heavy traffic for several hours in the area.

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.

Ilang tips para sa maayos na pagdaraos ng Undas

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Nakaugalian na ng mga Pilipino ang pagdalaw sa mga puntod ng yumaong mahal sa buhay tuwing Undas. Narito ang ilang tips para maging matiwasay ang pag-alala sa mga pumanaw.

Mga biyahero para sa Undas, dagsa na sa mga pantalan, bus terminal

MANILA - Nagsimula nang bumuhos sa mga pantalan at bus terminal, Linggo, ang mga pasaherong pauwi sa mga probinsya para sa Undas.

Sa Araneta bus terminal sa Quezon City, pahirapan na para sa mga chance passenger ang pagsakay sa mga bus, lalo na ang mga papuntang Bicol.

Kuwento ng ilang pasahero, Sabado ng hapon pa sila naghihintay ng masasakyan.

"Sobra talaga ang tagal, hindi katulad ng dati. Ngayon lang ako nakaranas ng ganito," sabi ni JR Puro.

"Hintay-hintay lang daw, puno kasi lahat ng bus e," dagdag ni Jomar Santos.

Dagsa na rin ang mga biyahero sa hilera ng mga bus terminal sa EDSA-Cubao.

Sa Five Star terminal, 20 bus na biyaheng Pangasinan, Tuguegarao, Cabanatuan at Tarlac ang dumarating kada oras.

Mas marami pa naman ang mga bus kaysa mga pasahero sa mga paradahan ng Jac Liner, Genesis, Jam Liner at Super Lines.

Nawalan naman ng cellphone ang isang Korean national sa Batangas Port, ayon sa Philippine Coast Guard.

Wala pang eksaktong bilang ang pamunuan ng pantalan, pero kumpara nitong Sabado ay mas marami na anila roon ang mga pasaherong patungong Mindoro, Romblon, Marinduque at iba pang parte ng Visayas.

Nagsimula na ring humaba ang pila ng mga pasahero sa Cebu North at South Bus Terminal sa Cebu.

Binigyan ng Land Transportation Office ang mga pasahero ng complaint form para maisumbong ang mga kaso ng labis na singil sa pamasahe, overloading at reckless driving.

Samantala, una nang sinabi ng Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) na hinigpitan na ang seguridad sa 39 commercial airports ng bansa.

Winnie Monsod Wants PH Doctors To Assess President Duterte’s Mental Health

 


According to winnie monsod, he must believe for review of the Philippine Medical Association or other groups of doctors the mental health of President Rodrigo Duterte to determine if he is still fit to be president of the Philippines.

"Our Philippine Medical Association, or whatever psychological or psychiatric associations should get together and assess the President's behavior." -Winnie Monsod