President Duterte takes a rest as battle for Marawi continues

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has withdrawn from public duties this week because he is tired and needs to “rejuvenate”, his spokesman said yesterday as government forces battled Islamist militants in the biggest crisis of his rule.Duterte, 72, has not been seen in public since Sunday and missed a scheduled appearance the following day at annual Independence Day celebrations in Manila, sparking speculation about the state of his health.“He’s just taking some time off to rejuvenate,” presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella told reporters.Abella said there was no date for when Duterte would resume his official duties, although he insisted the president was healthy.“I’m saying that there’s nothing to worry about in terms of sickness,” he said. “The president is well.”Pressed by journalists to state whether Duterte had visited a doctor this week, Abella said: “I’m not privy to those matters but I’m sure he’s checked with his own experts.”Duterte was last seen in the southern city of Cagayan de Oro, visiting soldiers wounded in nearby fighting with Islamic State group-styled gunmen that is now on its fourth week.Fifty-eight soldiers and police officers have died in the clashes in Marawi city, while at least 26 civilians have also been confirmed killed.Duterte imposed martial law over Marawi and the rest of the southern region of Mindanao, home to 20mn people, on the day the fighting erupted to head off what he said was an attempt by IS to carve out its own territory there.Abella said Duterte was taking time off because of a punishing schedule since then, which included regular visits to military camps and hospitals to support troops.“It has been really brutal, so it is important to allow him this kind of rest,” Abella said.Duterte had repeatedly denied during last year’s presidential election campaign that he suffered from cancer.However he said last December that he used to take fentanyl, a highly addictive synthetic opioid, to ease the pain of a spinal injury that he suffered in motorcycle accidents many year earlier.Duterte said then his doctor made him stop using it on learning he was “abusing the drug” by using more than the prescribed amount.Duterte’s fentanyl comments attracted controversy as he has led a war on drugs in which thousands of addicts and users have been killed.Under the constitution, the separately elected vice president shall act as president if the incumbent dies, is permanently disabled or removed from office.One of Duterte’s aides later released photos which he said were taken on Thursday evening, showing the president standing up and looking healthy.A man suspected of being an Islamist bomber was arrested by Philippine troops yesterday and accused of being one of the militants that the government has been trying to clear out of Marawi City for four weeks now.Mohamed Noaim Maute, known as Abu Jadid, was arrested in a rented house in the city of Cagayan de Oro, about 60km north of Marawi City, following a tip from a civilian, according to Brigadier General Gilber Gapay.Gapay, a spokesman for the martial law implementation in the southern region of Mindanao, said the suspect was believed “to be a bomb expert of the Maute Group”. The suspect is allegedly the youngest brother of Abdullah and Omar Maute, who have been leading about 150 militants holed up in four districts of Marawi City, 800km south of Manila, Brigadier General Restituto Padilla said.Government forces earlier arrested the mother and father of seven Maute brothers who are part of the terrorist group.The Maute group is one of at least two militant organisations whose members went on a rampage in Marawi City on May 23 after government forces attempted to arrest a local leader of the Islamic State terrorist movement. The Maute group has been accused of previous bombing attacks, such as one in the southern city of Davao in September that left 14 dead.President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law in the southern region of Mindanao to boost military efforts to retake control of Marawi City from the militants.Nearly 300 people have been killed in the violence, including militants, government forces and civilians.The hostilities have also displaced more than 220,000 people and left Marawi City in ruins.On the 24th day of the crisis, an Australian journalist covering the crisis was hurt when a suspected stray sniper bullet hit him in his neck area.Adam Harvey, 43, of the Australian Broadcasting Corp, was inside the provincial capital compound in Marawi City when the bullet hit him. He was rushed to hospital, but declared out of danger.Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella urged media members in Marawi City to take precaution while doing their work.“While I understand that you would not shirk your duty in the pursuit of any story, bear in mind that there’s no story more valuable than one’s life,” he said. “Take the necessary precautions and stay safe while covering conflicts.”An estimated 300 to 500 civilians are still trapped in the conflict zone, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.“Circumstances are dire for those who are left behind,” it noted in a bulletin. “Their lives remain in danger within the fighting zone, and it’s impossible for humanitarian organisations to provide them with much needed assistance due to access and security issues.”The Red Cross also expressed concern about the plight of the displaced, amid limited supply of food and water and lack of access to sanitation facilities.“The rainy season has started, and this poses increased health risks to displaced families, especially children and elderly staying in evacuation centres,” it said.“Protracted stay under such circumstances makes the more vulnerable to waterborne and communicable diseases,” the Red Cross added.The Australian journalist who was shot in the neck has written on Twitter: “Lucky”, alongside an image of an X-ray showing the bullet lodged in his neck, close to his spine.“Thanks everyone — I’m okay. Bullet is still in my neck, but it missed everything important,” he said in another Twitter post.He was inside the provincial capitol compound where local and foreign journalists have congregated during the more than three weeks of fighting, the government’s crisis management committee spokesman, Zia Alonto Adiong, told AFP.Although the compound is secured by the military, it is only about 2km from the pockets of the city that the gunmen control.“I want to appeal to everyone you should be very careful because in our assessment the vicinity of the 103rd (military camp), the vicinity of the capitol is within the line of sight of the enemy,” local military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jo-ar Herrera told reporters in the compound after the shooting incident. Harvey was taken to the nearby city of Iligan for medical treatment, Adiong said.