The Threat from the Heart of Mindanao

Kompas/B Josie Susilo Hardianto

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Taxi driver Mike strongly rejected our request to drive us to Marawi. No matter how much we offered, he would refuse. "Even if you gave me 50,000 pesos, I would not go, even if you gave me more than that, I would not accept it," said Mike, a taxi driver in Iligan, a small town, about 38 kilometers from Marawi.

According to Mike, whoever goes to Marawi now is crazy. "If you ask another taxi driver, they will also reject it," Mike said. He knows Marawi is a beautiful place, beside Lake Lanao, but is no place to go right now. "That place is very dangerous," Mike said. The danger is due to the armed conflicts, which have engulfed the area.