The infamous Marawi Siege did not happen five years ago, as claimed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 24.
“Limang taon mula noong matinding kaguluhan, babangon na ang Marawi City (five years since the fierce battle, Marawi will be rising),” the President said, with the audience at the Batasang Pambansa applauding.
The Marawi Siege took place on May 23, 2017, or six years ago, prompting then President Rodrigo Duterte, who was then in Russia for a state visit, to declare martial law in the entire Mindanao.
The ISIS-aligned Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups seized Marawi in a bid to establish the country’s only Islamic city as a “wilaya” or Islamic State province in Southeast Asia.
At least 350,000 civilians were displaced by the siege that tested the mettle of the jungle warfare-savvy military forces in urban combat.
The five-month urban warfare between the military and Islamic militants destroyed the core of Marawi.
During his SONA, Marcos Jr. noted that communities in Marawi have rebounded from the tragedy and that many infrastructure projects have already been completed.
However, the majority of the residents in the most-affected area (MAA), previously referred to as Ground Zero, have yet to return there. In a March 1, 2023 report, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism said that out of 17,793 households in the MAA, only 100 or not even one percent have returned.
Ex-President Duterte declared Marawi liberated from terrorist clutches in October 2017, following the deaths of the top leaders of the Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups.
Some 1,100 individuals were killed in the Marawi Siege, mostly Islamic militants.
As with all our other reports, MindaNews welcomes leads or suggestions from the public to potential fact-check stories. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
