Even during crisis, opportunists find a way to take advantage of the situation—this time at the expense of dead and wounded soldiers and displaced persons.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Wednesday warned the public to be wary of people masking as representatives of charity groups to amass money for their own pockets.
AFP Spokesman Restituto F. Padilla made the call in a news briefing after the military received reports of scammers reportedly using the crisis in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, for their modus operandi.
“For my first item of the day, I [would like to] send over a notice to the public that there has been an
observable increase in scammers trying to raise money for our soldiers by way of benefit dinners, lunches or what have you,” Padilla said.
To this, Padilla has one instruction: “Please do not believe them.” The military spokesman said these are illegitimate fund-raisers and there is only one valid bank account intended for soldier casualties and affected civilians of the crisis.
“As a warning to the public, again, we would like to ask everybody to be on the lookout for these scammers and let your telcos know of the numbers they’re using so that they can be blocked and cannot go on with their nefarious activities,” Padilla said.
The government on Monday has opened two bank accounts—one for soldiers and the other for displaced persons—under the Land Bank of the Philippines to serve as depository for the casualties of the conflict.
As of Tuesday, the depository for soldiers killed-in-action jumped to P508,500, according to Presidential Spokesman Ernesto C. Abella. On the other hand, the charity fund for displaced persons soared to P187,500, just two days after the bank account was opened.
“Please be reminded that this is the only official depository account and please do not give, especially financial donations, to any other supposed solicitations,” Abella said. Casualties from the government side swelled to 66 already, as fighting in Marawi City continues in spite of claims by the authorities that the conflict is nearing its end.
For those willing to donate for families of soldiers killed in action, you may deposit your financial aid at account name AFP Marawi Casualty, account number 00000552107128, at any LandBank branch.
For those willing to donate for displaced persons of Marawi City, you may deposit their financial aid at account name Marawi IDP, account number 00000552107136, at any LandBank branch.
Meanwhile, President Du-terte said in an interview with reporters in Cagayan de Oro City he will call Widodo on Wednesday to inquire about Indonesian nationals reportedly fighting on the side of Maute Group terrorists.
“I’ll be talking to Widodo [on Wednesday]. He will ask questions and I have so many questions for him,” Duterte said. “Most of them [Maute Group terrorists] are believed to be Indonesian nationals.”
Duterte revealed the information after he was asked if he is still keen on expanding his martial-law declaration to the Visayas, to which the Chief Executive said is “not called for at this time”. However, he said it is necessary to suspend the privilege of writ of habeas corpus in the Visayas to prevent the Islamist militants from gaining a foothold in the middle third of the Philippines.
Mindanao is presently under martial law, with the privilege of writ of habeas corpus suspended.
Indonesian authorities in early June said there are about 1,200 Islamic State (IS) operatives rounding the Philippines as part of the IS in Iraq and Syria’s effort to establish a caliphate in Southeast Asia. According to Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu, 40 of the 1,200 IS fighters in the Philippines are of Indonesian nationality.
Security forces has slain foreign fighters in the ongoing conflict in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, as some were identified to be Malaysian, Indonesian, Yemeni, Saudi Arabian and Chechnyan.
Defense Undersecretary Ricardo A. David Jr. said foreign fighters might have used backdoor channels in the Sulu and Celebes Seas to join their fellow IS-pledged militants in southern Philippines. “That’s why they were able to muster the operations in the area of Marawi City,” David said in a security forum in early June.
As a response to the emerging security crisis, the Philippines on Monday entered into a trilateral maritime patrol with Indonesia and Malaysia in the Sulu Sea to heighten the region’s war against terrorism and transnational crimes.
The trilateral maritime patrol allows Philippine security forces to cross Indonesian and Malaysian border waters in cases of hot pursuit and vice versa. Aside from this, the three countries will have an exchange of liaison officers and sharing of assets, such as patrol ships, under the agreement.
The joint patrol is intended to foil terror attacks and activities of the Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups in Mindanao, which are notorious for kidnapping tourists, fishermen and sailors in the Sulu Sea.