Security assessment in Mindanao to follow halt of Marawi ops: DND

FILE: Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana. (PNA photo)

CLARK, Pampanga  The Department of National Defense (DND) will conduct an assessment of the security situation in Mindanao following the termination Monday of all combat operations in Marawi City.

“We will determine the security situation in the whole of Mindanao and we will make a recommendation to the President soon,” he said in a media briefing before the signing and handover of the joint declaration at the 11th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defense Ministers Meeting (ADMM) in Clark Field, Pampanga.

Lorenzana was referring to the military’s recommendation on whether or not to lift martial law in Mindanao, which will later be submitted to President Rodrigo Duterte.

Last week, the Chief Executive declared Marawi City liberated from the Maute group after almost five months of incessant fighting which started last May 23.

The conflict prompted the President to place Mindanao under martial law by virtue of Proclamation 216.

Following the termination of combat operations in Marawi City, Lorenzana hopes that reclaiming Marawi will be seen by other countries in the region as a successful fight against insurgents.

“We hope that this operational achievement in Marawi in the Philippines will be the catalyst that shall bring to the fore future cooperations and partnerships not only against terrorism but also those that shall defeat other regional and global security threats,” Lorenzana added.

The Defense Secretary is the chair of the 11th ADMM and the 4th ADMM-Plus which are being held in this province.