Vice President Sara Duterte honored the six slain soldiers who died during a military operation against three suspected Maute Group members in Munai, Lanao del Norte over the weekend.

Vice President Sara Duterte, in a video message, condoles with the bereaved families of the six soldiers who were killed in an encounter with Maute Group in Lanao del Norte. (Screenshot from Inday Sara Duterte/Facebook)
 

In a video message posted on her social media accounts on Tuesday, Feb. 20, the official said that words are not enough to honor the soldiers.
 

“Ang kanilang kabayanihan ay kapalit ng kaligtasan ng mga Pilipino hindi lang sa Mindanao kundi sa buong Pilipinas (Their heroism is in exchange of the safety of Filipinos not only in Mindanao but in the whole Philippines),” she said.
 

“Sumasaludo kami sa inyong mga pumanaw namin na sundalo. Pinakadakila ang magbuwis ng buhay para sa bayan (We salute you our fallen soldiers. To die for the country is the most noble),” she added.
 

As a Mindanaoan herself, Duterte said that the fight against terrorism is deeply “personal” for her and called on Filipinos to unite in condoling with the bereaved families of the soldiers and in fighting against what she called enemies of the state.
 

“Sa ating pakikiramay sa kanilang mga pamilya ay tandaan sana natin na totoo ang banta ng terorismo at wala itong pinipiling biktima (In condoling with their families, let us remember that the threats of terrorism is real and it doesn’t choose its victims),” she stressed.
 

“Tandaan din natin ang panganib ng pangangalap ng kabataan sa terorismo (Let us remember the dangers brought by terrorism in recruiting the youth).”
 

For the Vice President, a “concrete example” of terrorism in Mindanao was the bombing of the Roxas Night Market in her hometown of Davao City in 2016 and the Marawi Siege in 2017.
 

But she also reminded that the Marawi Siege, when government forces engaged in a five month-long armed conflict with the Islamic State-linked Maute Group, was proof that Filipinos will not easily give up their freedom, peace, and progress.
 

In a statement, the Philippine Army’s 1st Infantry Division said six military personnel from the 44th Infantry Battalion and at least three suspected Maute members were killed in the operation last Feb. 18.
 

This operation is part of the continuing efforts to neutralize the perpetrators of the Mindanao State University (MSU) bombing on Dec. 3 last year.