MARAWI CITY? A military official said Iligan City, where people have sought refuge from fighting in Marawi, is in a lockdown to prevent the fighting in this city from spreading

Col. Alex Aduca, chief of the 4th Mechanized Infantry Battalion, said the lockdown order does not mean there will be no procedure and access inside Iligan city.

“Access to Iligan City is still open. It’s just we are intensifying our security operations. We established areas where we can process evacuees so that we wont be contained by this armed groups,” Aduca said.

“We have provided containment areas so that we can process them properly. They are very much welcome. We have designated areas for them,” Aduca added.

Aduca cited information from evacuees and ground troops, Maute and Abu Sayyaf men are withdrawing except those trapped inside Marawi.

“And because they have relatives (among the) evacuees, they are joining in the influx. Hard to identify who are those sympathizers,” Aduca said.

Mamintal Adiong Jr., vice governor of Lanao del Sur, appealed Monday to local officials to reconsider.

“It’s not good to lock down. It will only add to the problem. We do not know (if) they might forcibly enter the city. We asked the military to facilitate our meeting as soon as possible,” Adiong said. DMS