Task Force Marawi activated

Marawi Mayor Majul Gandamra unfurls the flag and seal of Task Force Marawi during the activation ceremony at the Marawi City gymnasium on Monday, 22 May 2023. Also in attendance are (L to R) Lieutenant Colonel Jerome Redosendo, Task Force Marawi commander; Brigadier General Yegor Rey Barroquillo, 103rd Infantry Brigade commander; and, Major General Antonio Nafarrete, 1st Infantry “Tabak” Division commander. MindaNews photo by RICHEL V UMEL

MARAWI CITY (MindaNews / 24 May ) – The military-led Task Force Marawi (TFM) was activated here on Monday in support of the city’s peace and security programs.

Lt. Col. Jerome Redosendo, commander of the 500 Combat Engineer Battalion of the 55^th Engineer Brigade, was installed as TFM commander during the activation ceremony.  

He said the task force will conduct continuous education campaign to sustain the gains of peace in Marawi, which the government forces liberated from the clutches of Islamic militants after a five-month urban warfare in 2017.

“(Such activity) is vital to gain the people’s support to any undertakings,” Redosendo said.

He noted that TFM is different from the Joint Task Force Marawi, which was tasked to flush out the combined forces of the Islamic State-inspired Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups during the Marawi Siege six years ago.

Aside from the military, the TFM is composed of the Philippine National Police, Marawi Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office, Bureau of Fire Protection, Traffic Management Task Force and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, among others.

Major General Yegor Rey Barroquillo, 103rd Infantry Brigade commander, signed the activation order for the TFM on May 17 in response to the call of the city’s Peace and Order Council.

During the activation ceremony, Marawi Mayor Majul Gandamra expressed support to the creation of TFM.

The mayor said the city government acquired three pick-up trucks, a service utility vehicle and radio transceivers for the task force.

The local government also vowed to construct a permanent office building for the task force, which is temporarily holding  office at the GMA terminal here.

Gandamra said that Marawi City has been relatively peaceful after the five-month Marawi Siege.

He appealed for the people’s cooperation to sustain the peace in Marawi, which is composed of 98 villages.

On Tuesday, May 23, Marawi commemorated the sixth anniversary of the siege, which displaced at least 350,000 civilians at the height of the conflict.

Gandamra, Major General Antonio Nafarrete, 1^st Infantry Division commander and Major General Jose Maria Cuerpo II, 4^th Infantry Division commander, led the wreath laying in honor of the 168 state security forces killed during the siege.

The military rendered a gun salute to the fallen heroes of the Marawi Siege during the commemoration activity. (Richel V. Umel / MindaNews)