DAVAO CITY—Malacañang turned down the conditions of the revolutionary group National Democratic Front (NDF) that it would fight alongside government soldiers to crush the Maute and Abu Sayyaf forces that attacked Marawi City.
On Thursday Presidential Spokesman Ernesto C. Abella quoted the brief Palace statement the potential cooperation was unlikely.
“The potential cooperation is unlikely with the NDF’s saying it would cooperate with the government in fighting the Maute Group if we would lift the declaration of martial law and the all-out war policy,” the statement said.
It said the Duterte administration would rather tread the path of dialog with its citizens.
“To show that the CPP-NPA-NDF [Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army] is truly in pursuit of peaceful coexistence, we must stand against a common enemy without conditions,” it said.
A day earlier, the NDF posted on its Internet web site that “to accomplish cease-fire, coordination and cooperation between the forces of the GRP [government of the Republic of the Philippines] and the NDF within Marawi against the aforesaid terrorist groups, the GRP must at best unilaterally withdraw its all-out war policy and martial- law declaration or at least,” the NDF said, “the government should allow its negotiating panel to meet with the NDF negotiating panel to start discussing coordination and cooperation in Marawi and subsequently on a wider scale.”
It said it has already instructed the Moro Resistance and Liberation Organization (MRLO) inside Marawi to assume home-defense tasks against the Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups. It added it has also directed NPA units close to Marawi “to redeploy for the purpose of mopping up, holding and blocking operations.”
It said the MRLO and the NPA “can coordinate and cooperate with the Armed Forces of the Philippines by keeping a safe distance, maintaining independence and initiative and avoiding problems of getting mixed up with the AFP and PNP units.”
“The localized cease-fire, coordination and cooperation can be agreed upon if the GRP and NDF negotiating panels meet first and discuss matters in detail,” the NDF said.
The statement signed by NDF chief negotiator Fidel V. Agcaoili said a government-NDF meeting was “not too late because the terrorist attack on Marawi might still be prolonged or if suppressed soon, might recur in other parts of Bangsamoro.”
Abella also said it was up to the President to determine if the speed of the operation against Maute Group, including the arrest of key personalities of the terror group, may warrant an early lifting of martial law before the end of the 60-day period.
Martial law was declared on May 23 across Mindanao.
Abella said Duterte has repeatedly said he would rely on the assessment of the security forces in Mindanao on the safety of island against terror attacks, and after the President would have conferred with his security and military advisers.
Brig. Gen. Gilbert Gapay, designated martial-law spokesman in eastern Mindanao, said the 2,651 checkpoints established across Mindanao, and the 1,082 security patrols conducted have netted the arrest in Davao City on Wednesday night of Marawi City Mayor Fahad Panarigan Umpar Salic and Cayamora Maute, the father of the Maute Group founders, Omar and Abdullah.
Gapay said Salic was listed in the wanted persons for allegedly providing logistics in the formative years of the Maute Group, while the elder Maute was wanted for charges of illegal detention, illegal possession of firearms and multiple murder.
Salic was arrested with three other persons, while Maute was arrested along with his second wife Kongan Alfonso Balawag, their daughter Norjannah Balawag Maute, her alleged partner Benzarali Tingao, and driver Aljon Salazar Ismael.
The driver was released later at 9 p.m. Wednesday after it was established he was just the driver of the van and had no connection with the Mautes.
Abella said some 1,561 persons have been rescued from different locations inside Marawi City. The number is half of the estimate of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao that said there were about 3,023 residents trapped in the fighting in Marawi City. The International Committee of the Red Cross placed a higher estimate of 3,700.