The announcement of AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Eduardo Año that by today, as we celebrate our country’s 119th anniversary of independence, the Philippine flag will be flying in Marawi City, tells us of the challenges in keeping our country safe while maintaining a vibrant democracy. That a part of our country is not in the control of government shows how serious the challenges are.
“The chief of staff made an announcement hoping that by Monday, we can freely wave our flags in every corner of Marawi and we are working feverishly to do that, to ensure we are able to do to a big extent what was announced by the chief of staff,” Armed Forces spokesperson Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said in a Malacañang briefing last Friday.
Next day, we got the devastating report that 13 Marines were killed in action and 40 other soldiers were wounded in a 14-hour ferocious battle with Islamic militants to liberate the city.
