A GOVERNMENT air strike aimed at Islamist rebels mistakenly killed two soldiers on Wednesday, the military said, the second such deadly accident in a bloody campaign to oust the militants from the southern city of Marawi.

The accident happened when a plane bombing rebel positions in the city missed its target and knocked down buildings on to the soldiers, a military spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Jo-Ar Herrera, said in a statement.

“Large debris from heavily reinforced buildings accidentally hit two of our personnel,” Mr. Herrera said. “We are saddened by this unfortunate incident.”

He said 11 soldiers sustained minor shrapnel wounds and were recuperating in the hospital.

An air strike on Islamist rebels killed 11 government troops in May. Militants linked to the Islamic State seized Marawi on May 23 and have been resisting daily assaults by government forces using aircraft and artillery.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte said on Tuesday he needed 15 more days to defeat the militants.

More than 500 people have been killed since the fighting erupted — 389 militants, 90 members of the security forces, and 45 civilians, including the most recently discovered remains of six people.

More than 300,000 residents of Marawi City and surrounding towns have been displaced.

Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana, in a separate statement, expressed grief and condolences over what the military calls “air strike accident or mishap.”

Mr. Lorenzana said such incidents “reflect the harsh nature of urban warfare where soldiers operate in tight spaces and in close proximity to the enemy.”

“What happened yesterday and last month, when several of our marines inadvertently perished because of a wayward ordnance dropped from an aircraft, reflect the harsh nature of urban warfare where soldiers operate in tight spaces and in close proximity to the enemy. The problems we face are the same as those confronted by other nations fighting terrorists in places like Mosul, Fallujah, and Raqqa,” he said.

He added that the military is “now reviewing and recalibrating its existing doctrines in order for the troops to adapt and respond to this evolving type of war.”

CIVILIANS KILLED
Meanwhile, the remains of six people were discovered by government troops on Wednesday morning in a place that is assumed to be one of the execution sites used by the terrorists in murdering civilians.

Lt.-Col. Emmanuel R. Garcia, 4^th Civil Relations Group commander of the Western Mindanao Command (WesMinCom), said the remains are believed to be that of the six individuals whom the terror group executed in the early part of the crisis as shown on a video they released through the Internet.

Lt.-Gen. Carlito G. Galvez, Jr., WestMinCom commander said, “The brutal execution is proof of their un-Islamic ways, these terrorists do not respect anyone or anything.”

Officials said they believe the civilian casualty count would still go higher based on narrations by rescued hostages, who said more have been killed for “defying” the orders of their terrorist captors.

The basis of the counting, they explained, depends on actual body recovered and forensic examination. — Reuters with a report from Jil Daanielle M. Caro

By Kristine Joy V. Patag, Reporter

ILOCOS NORTE Governor Maria Imelda Josefa “Imee” R. Marcos has elevated the case for the release of the six provincial government employees currently detained at the House of Representatives to the Supreme Court (SC).

On Thursday, the camp of Ms. Marcos filed a 67-paged omnibus petition before the high court asking the SC to assume jurisdiction on habeas corpus case pending before the Court of Appeals (CA) of the so-called “Ilocos 6,” composed of treasurer Josephine P. Calajate, accountant Edna C. Batulayan, budget officer Evangeline C. Tabulog, bids and awards committee head Pedro S. Agcaoili, and Genedine D. Jambaro and Encarnacion A. Gaor of the provincial treasurer’s office.

The six were ordered detained on May 29 by the House committee on good government and public accountability during its probe on the alleged misuse of P66.45 million of Ilocos Norte’s tobacco funds to buy motor vehicles.

The petition also prays for the issuance of a writ of amparo against the House, particularly the committee on good government and public accountability, and its chairman, Ilocos Norte Representative Rodolfo C. Fariñas, Sr., a former governor of the province.

Ms. Marcos told the press yesterday that the whole controversy stemmed from “local politics.”

A writ of amparo seeks to protect life, liberty and security of individuals from harassment and threats by the state.

The petitioners said that the writ of amparo will “protect the actual and threatened violations and infringement of their constitutionally guaranteed rights to liberty and security of person.”

Ms. Marcos also sought for a temporary restraining order against the House proceedings on the tobacco fund case.

The six detainees, through Ms. Marcos, earlier asked the Court of Appeals (CA) for an issuance of a writ of habeas corpus for their release. This was granted by the CA and a show cause order was also issued against House sergeant-at-arms Roland M. Detabali, but the House refused to heed the order.

Instead, the House committee asserted that the CA has no jurisdiction over the case and in return, issued a show cause order against the three justices of the CA Special Fourth Division.

House Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez and the judiciary — including Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes P.A. Sereno and CA Presiding Justice Andres B. Reyes — have been in loggerheads over the case.

‘HOSTAGE CRISIS’
Ms. Marcos, in a press conference, branded the continued detention of the “Ilocos 6” as a “hostage crisis.”

“Incarcerating my poor old defenseless employees in order to testify against me and against the province is not only illegal, cruel, and evil, it is also cowardly,” Ms. Marcos said.

Taking a leaf from the popular television series, Game of Thrones, Ms. Marcos said: “If this is truly the Game of Thrones, please be warned today: The North Remembers, and it will never forget.”

The tag line “The North Remembers” is used by the series’ fictional House Stark, known for their nobility and humility, from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, which was adapted by international channel HBO.

The remark of Ms. Marcos, daughter of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, drew a buzz on social media.

INVESTMENTS in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in the first six months of the year was up 74% to P3.65 billion from P2.1 billion in the first half of 2016, the Regional Board of Investments (RBoI) reported.

“Despite the Marawi crisis, the investment prospects of ARMM continue to show signs of resilience and dynamism because the crisis area has effectively been contained by the government,” Ishak V. Mastura, RBoI chairman and managing head, said in a statement released by the ARMM government.

The RBoI registered three major projects so far this year:

P32-million fish processing and cold storage project of Abing Seafoods and Cold Storage in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi;

P33.5-million cargo shipping project of J. Sayang Shipping Lines, Inc., also in Bongao, for inter-island trade and cross-border shipping with Sabah, Malaysia; and

P3-billion telecommunications carrier project of TierOne Communications International, Inc. (TierOne) covering the entire region.

TierOne Communications was originally aiming to start the rollout of the project in Marawi City, but it is now re-evaluating its timetable in view of the still ongoing battle between government forces and a local extremist group. ARMM said TierOne officials will now be planning the installation of facilities in Marawi in coordination with the government’s rehabilitation and reconstruction program.

Under the company’s revised plan, the pilot area for installation will now be the ARMM compound in Cotabato City to serve the regional agencies. TierOne’s project will cover cellular service in 2G to 4G, LTE and broadband wireless internet to homes and enterprises as well as Wi-Fi for public areas.

Meanwhile, Mr. Mastura said he expects more investments in the second half of the year.

“We expect banana plantation investments in Maguindanao to continue with hundreds of millions worth to be registered this year with RBoI. There is a port services project worth P100 million, a bulk water treatment project worth around P200 million, and a cacao plantation project that will pour in P1 billion, all of which will hopefully be registered this year,” he said. — Mindanao Bureau

THE COURT of Appeals (CA) has ordered Justice Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre II to comment on the petition filed by Manila City Prosecutor Edward M. Togonon, who was ordered suspended by the justice chief for not following a department order on the release of three detainees.

Mr. Aguirre ordered a 90-day suspension for Mr. Togonon after the latter supposedly refused to release three detainees whose drug charges have been dismissed.

Mr. Togonon asked the appellate court for a temporary restraining order on the suspension order. In his petition to the CA, he said Mr. Aguirre committed grave abuse of discretion.

“Without necessarily giving due course to the Petition, respondent are required to file Comment thereon, to the Supplemental Petition and to Show Cause why no TRO and/or WPI should be granted within ten (10) days of notice to which petitioner may file a Reply within five (5) days from receipt of private respondents’ Comment,” the CA order penned by Executive Clerk of Court III Caroline G. Ocampo-Peralta reads.

According to Mr. Aguirre, the city prosecutor failed to comply with Department Circular (DC) No. 004 that says a respondent whose case for violation of Republic Act (RA) No. 9165, the comprehensive anti-drug law, has been dismissed shall be immediately released from detention even if the case is pending before the Department of Justice (DoJ) for automatic review.

The case stemmed from the dismissal of charges against Api Ang, who was arrested in a drug raid on Nov. 21, 2016. Mr. Ang eventually died in detention last April. Mr. Aguirre noted that Mr. Ang remained in detention despite the dismissal of drug charges against him.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) also received orders from the Justice chief to probe the case. A similar investigation was also ordered by the National Capital Region Police Chief Director Oscar D. Albayalde, on the 25 police officers who arrested Mr. Ang by allegedly planting drugs as evidence.

Mr. Aguirre has designated DoJ-Witness Protection Program head Alexander Ramos, his fraternity brother from Lex Talionis fraternity, as the officer-in-charge. — Kristine Joy V. Patag

AROUND 600 participants from Western Visayas are expected to attend the Iloilo City stop of the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 road show today, including representatives from nongovernment organizations, cultural scene, and the academe. Among the invited resource speakers are Harriet Ong Bengzon of Pueblo de Panay on increasing access to economic opportunities; Atty. Irene Mae Alcobilla, vice-president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Antique Chapter on reaching the full potential of the demographic dividend; and Jose Mari Oquiñena of Gawad Kalinga, who will discuss the promotion of culture and values. The PDP 2017-2022 is the administration’s first medium-term plan anchored on its 0-10 point socioeconomic agenda and geared towards the long-term AmBisyon Natin 2040 vision. NEDA Assistant Secretary Mercedita A. Sombilla will discuss the highlights of the PDP. — Louine Hope U. Conserva

THE DEPARTMENT of Transportation (DoTr) is eyeing to have 40 routes for the Point-to-Point (P2P) bus service by the end of the year as it announced Wednesday that there are now eight lines in operation, up from only two a year ago. The number of buses in service has also increased to 85 from 36.

The eight existing routes are:

• TriNoma (North EDSA) to Glorietta 5 (Makati)/Centris to Glorieta

• Robinson’s Galleria (Ortigas) to Park Square Makati (Makati)

• Alabang Town Center (Alabang) to Greenbelt 1 (Makati)

• SM North EDSA (North EDSA) to SM Megamall (Ortigas)

• Fairview to Makati

• Alabang (Starmall) to Ortigas

• Alabang (Starmall) to Bacoor, Cavite

• Alabang to Dasmariñas, Cavite

AN UNDERGROUND railway linking passenger terminals has been included in the P209-billion expansion plan for the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) proposed by GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. (GMAC). The unsolicited 50-year master plan was presented Tuesday by Andrew Acquaah Harrison, GMAC chief executive advisor, to Cebu Governor Hilario P. Davide III. The plan was submitted to the national government on June 7. Mr. Davide, in a statement yesterday, expressed support for the project saying, “I’m looking forward for the realization of this project. I believe this will spur economic growth for Cebu.” At the same time, Mr. Davide recommended that GMAC present their plan to other stakeholders, including business groups, heads of local government units, and nongovernment organizations such as the Metro Cebu Development and Coordinating Board. GMAC’s plan includes the construction of a second runway, third terminal and the management of airside facilities operation. GMAC won the contract for the P17.52-billion MCIA Passenger Terminal Building project under the Aquino administration’s flagship public-private partnership program and the concession to develop the airport for a period of 25 years.