- Last week, Senators revealed that President Duterte requested additional funds for 20,000 soldiers.
- The president met with lawmakers to show them intel that suggests terror groups are planning to attack 3 cities in Mindanao.
- Find out other details in the following article.
Last week on August 2, Senators revealed that President Rodrigo Duterte requested funds from lawmakers to recruit an additional 20,000 soldiers. This is to quell the so-called rising threats of IS-allied militants and terror groups in the Philippines’ southern region.
According to this report by ABS-CBN, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said this in a released statement:
“The request of the President for additional 20,000 troops is part of our intensified security posture to guard areas in the country where there are continuing security threats,”“The deployment of troops to Marawi and other points in Mindanao needs to be rebalanced to ensure maximum effectiveness,” he added.
The conflict in Marawi City has been on-going since May 23, and shows no signs of ending anytime soon. Thousands of government troops have been stationed in the city in their attempts to restore order into the city and the region.
Apparently President Duterte had called for an urgent meeting with a group of Senators last August 1. He shared intelligence reports which suggested that Islamic militants are planning to launch an attack on three cities in Mindanao. The three cities in question weren’t mentioned in the report.
“He wanted to relay to us that he needs 20,000 more soldiers for the entire Armed Forces of the Philippines,” said Senate majority leader Vicente Sotto.
“He wants to make sure that in his tenure, he will be able to resolve the problem of peace and order.”
For his part, Senator Panfilo Lacson said “we’re willing to help” saying that soldiers currently stationed in Marawi must be fatigued from battle after two months of fighting.
“We need fresh legs, so in legislation we can help by fast-tracking the budget to increase the troop ceiling,” Sen Lacson added.
Three other senators revealed that Duterte was serious about pursuing these potential targets by the IS-aligned extremists. That’s why he requested for the additional funds for more soldiers as well as military equipment and intelligence gathering capabilities.
What can you say about this recent announcement by the Duterte Administration for an additional 20,000 soldiers?
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