© Provided by GMA News Online President Rodrigo Duterte, in his speech during the inauguration of the Armscor Shooting Range in Davao City on Monday, February 26, 2018, declares there will be no let up in his war on drugs. Toto Lozano/PPD
President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday slammed foreign terrorists who supposedly recruited Moro fighters during the five-month Marawi siege last year.
"Wala akong sama ng loob sa inyo. Hanggang ngayon, kinalimutan ko na ‘yun. Galit ako sa mga taong tagalabas at pumunta dito para udyukin ang mga Moro na lumaban sa gobyerno at makipag-away," the President said in a speech in Marawi City.
"At ang dala-dala nila, hindi naman relihiyon. Ginagamit lang nila ang relihiyon. Ang alam lang nila, alin man doon sa lugar sa Middle East hanggang ngayon, sira ang Middle East at nawala na sila ng pwestong pumupunta dito at maghanap naman ng away. Walang alam ‘yan kung hindi magpatay ng tao at magsira," he added.
The military said last year militants from as far away as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Chechnya in Russia and Morocco had joined local terror group Maute and their sympathizers accused of staging rebellion for the purpose of establishing an ISIS province in Mindanao.
Government forces battled the Maute Group for five months from May last year, leaving more than 1,000 people dead, mostly terrorists, and displacing hundreds of thousands.
"Ngayon, mapipilitan ako gamitin ang lahat ng puwersa ng Pilipinas because kung hindi lalaki at hahaba ang giyera. Alam ko na masama ang loob ninyo. Alam ko na maski na papano, meron kayong sugat dahil nga ang gobyerno, nakipag-away diyan mismo dito sa Marawi at maraming nasira na bahay," Duterte said.
Some P51.6 billion would have to be spent for the rehabilitation of Marawi City and nearby towns devastated by the five-month fighting, according to the Office of Civil Defense.
In the same speech, Duterte renewed his call for the passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) in Congress which he said would help the administration achieve its goal of shifting the country's form of government to federalism.
"‘Yang BBL na ‘yan titingnan namin, lulusot ‘yan. Talagang sabi ko, pagkatapos niyan, if it’s earlier than 2020, ‘pag meron federal at bagong presidente which will call for an election, I will step down by 2020. Hindi ko na hintayin ‘yung 2022," Duterte said during the inauguration of second phase of the Bahay Pag-asa Project intended for displaced Marawi City residents.
Both the Senate and House of Representatives are currently holding consultations on the BBL, which aims to end decades of strife in Mindanao by creating a political entity that would replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Duterte earlier raised the possibility of a war in Mindanao if Congress failed to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law or if the proposed shift to a federal form of government will not push through. — MDM, GMA News