"Yung bullet and nawasak, hindi yung buto. Nagulat yung doctor," Sangcad said. The police officer was also shot on his had, the bullet pierced into his hand but, again, miraculously, did not penetrate any deeper.
However, it would've brought more good news if there were less government troops killed in action.
As of June 11, 58 government soldiers have been killed in action and 20 civilian casualties according to Lt. Col. Jo-Ar Herrera, the Army’s 1st Infantry Battalion spokesman.
Including the in the body count is Army First Lt. Frederick Sabillano, commander of the team that recovered almost P80 million cash and checks hidden by the Maute group in their hideout.
"We are saddened with the result... we have fatalities on the government side. We have incurred 13 killed in action," Herrera said and added 40 other troops wounded in clashes.
There were also reports that the Maute brothers, Omar and Abdullah were also killed during gunfight.
"We are still awaiting confirmation. We are still validating those reports but there are strong indications," Herrera stated.
The battled have been going on for almost a month now, and according to the government, the Maute's offensive attacks have been diminishing little by little.
"We draw inspiration and pride from the heroism of our troops engaged in the conflict in Marawi," Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Public Affairs Office chief Col. Edgard Arevalo said.
"This temporary setback has not diminished our resolve a bit. It instead primed up our determination to continue our prudent advances to neutralize the enemy, save innocent lives trapped in the fighting and set the conditions for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Marawi," he added.
AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla stated that most of the city have been cleared from the terrorists' control.
"As long as we sustain the fight, as long as we are able to destroy the elements of the local terrorist group, we can reach that," Herrera said.
Meanwhile, Lanao Muslim religious leaders plead to President Rodrigo Duterte to cease offensive attacks by the government. They fear that after the war against terrorism, the Marawi City resident will no longer have anything left due to the sever firefights and aerial attacks coming from the government to fight against the notorious Maute group.
They also said that would like to have a chance to speak with the Maute group given the fact that some of the members are their relatives.
President Duterte imposed martial law in the entire island of Mindanao to resolve the siege caused by the ISIS-linked Maute terror group on May 23. The battle is almost on its 4th week. Military officials stated that they will no longer predict any deadline and will just focus in wiping out all terrorist and threat in the island.
Source: GMA, Philstar
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