"The assistance provided by the US forces in the current conflict in Marawi is a welcome development. Our ground troops could avail of accurate tactical intel for a more effective operations which would also help minimize government casualties," the senator said in a statement.
"Duterte should just swallow his pride and be grateful about it," he added.
Lt. Col. Jo-Ar Herrera, 1st Infantry Battalion spokesperson confirmed that US counterpart indeed provided help for the Philippine military in fight against the Maute-ISIS terrorist but he clarified that the help is limited only to technical assistance.
"No, they are not fighting. They are just providing technical support," Herrera said.
"The presence of US counterpart facilitates the exchanges of intelligence, facilitates subject matter expert exchange and also provides training exchanges and of course the technical support that we are sharing together in the fight [against] global terrorism," he added.
However, President stated that he was not aware of the help provided by the US government and stated that he "never approached America" for help.
"I am not aware of that until they arrived," Duterte said.
In Saturday, the US embassy released a statement in Manila saying, "At the request of the Government of the Philippines, U.S. special operations forces are assisting the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) with ongoing operations in Marawi through support that helps AFP commanders on the ground in their fight against Maute and ASG (Abu Sayyaf group) militants."
The US Embassy said generally speaking, the U.S. special operations forces have been providing support and assistance "in response to Philippine government requests for many years."
"As we have in the past, we routinely consult with our Filipino partners at senior levels to support the Duterte administration’s counterterrorism efforts," the embassy added.
The US government said that they would continue to work with the Philippines following the threats to both countries.
A day after a news report sightings of a"white plane" flying over Marawi City which was said to resemble a P-3 Orion, a four-engine turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft used by the US Navy, US embassy confirmed the assistance they were providing.
Source: GMA
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