(UPDATED) Rappler brings you a documentary on the biggest crisis to hit the young administration of President Rodrigo Duterte – a full-blown war in Marawi City.
Local armed groups that pledged allegiance to international terrorist network Islamic State (ISIS) laid siege to the city in an attempt to establish an Islamic caliphate in the Philippines.
It took 153 days to end the war. See the terror, get to know the heroes, and learn the lessons of the war that dragged on for 5 months.
The documentary has 12 segments. Watch them separately below.
INTRODUCTION. The Marawi crisis is the biggest crisis to hit the young administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.
GROUND ZERO. The clashes erupted on May 23 in a safe house in barangay Basak Malutlut, where supposed Islamic State emir and Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon was spotted by a military intelligence agent.
CHRISTIAN HOSTAGES. Marawi Bishop Edwin Dela Peña narrates how Father Chito Soganub was taken hostage the night of May 23.
MEDAL OF VALOR. First Lieutenant Geraldo Alvarez fought a fierce battle with Maute fighters in the first 5 days of the war. He saved 15 of his men from certain death, a remarkable achievement that earned him a nomination to receive the Medal of Valor, the highest combat award.
WAR DURING RAMADAN. Marawi is notorious for loose firearms. Many ignored the first gunshots, dismissing them as part of clan wars that would end as abruptly as they started. They were wrong.
ISIS IN THE PHILIPPINES. Back in the safe house in Basak Malutlut, the military recovers a video showing Isnilon Hapilon and the Maute Brothers planning the attack. Then Armed Forces chief General Eduardo Año details what they found out.
URBAN WARFARE. The terrain in Marawi proved difficult for Filipino troops used to fighting in the jungles. Generals who hunted down Hapilon in Basilan lead the operations.
GREEN BUILDING. The Marawi war forced young officers to grow old beyond their years. First Lieutenant Billy Codiam of the Philippine Military Academy Class 2014 finds himself in the thick of the battle.
FINAL PUSH. Colonel Mon Almodovar, commander of the 3rd Scout Rangers Battalion, explains how they adjusted to the tactics of the Maute fighters. His unit would prove instrumental in ending the war.
BUTIG AND THE PEACE PROCESS. The war with ISIS-linked groups did not start in Marawi. It was in Butig, where the Maute brothers operated for years.
LIFE GOES ON. Former Maute hostage Lordvin Acopio describes his life inside the battle area and shares his encounters with Isnilon Hapilon and Omar Maute.
THE WAR ENDS. Isnilon Hapilon and Omar Maute are killed in an assault led by Colonel Almodovar.
(Editor’s note: We said in conclusion that it’s the longest war since World War II. We meant it’s the longest Philippine military operation since World War II.) – Rappler.com
How does this make you feel?