“There is a time for everything.”

President Rodrigo Duterte quoted from the only part of the Bible that he said he reads – chapter three of the Book of Ecclesiastes – to boost the morale of troops of the 2nd Mechanized Infantry Brigade Friday in Iligan City, who were being deployed to join the fight in Marawi City against the Maute group.

“Lahat dito may panahon. Kung umiiyak ka ngayon, sabihin sa ‘yo, panahon mong umiyak ka. But may panahon ka rin na tatawa ka. And a panahon to be young, and a time to be old. A time to be strong, at kagaya ko ngayon, maraming rayuma, arthritis, gusto ko mang sumali sa inyo sa labanan, hanggang pasakay-sakay lang ako (There is a time for everything. If you are crying today, that means it is your time to cry. But there is also a time to laugh. And a time to be young, and a time to be old. A time to be strong, and like me today, with rheumatism, arthritis, no matter how much I want to join you in battle, all I can do is ride along),” Duterte said.

“This is the time for victory,” he added. “And we will overcome, and we will win. Right?”

“YES SIR!” the soldiers shouted in reply.

“Ingat lang (Take care),” Duterte said.

The President reassured the troops that he prays for them so that there would be “deliverance from harm”, and pledged to protect them by equipping them with the best weapons, equipment, and air assets.

He also explained that he declared Martial Law in Mindanao primarily because he was afraid of the “contamination” of the Islamic State.

Duterte acknowledged that he had been warned previously that the radicals were intending to establish a caliphate made up of Mindanao, Indonesia, Malaysia, and even Brunei Darussalam.

The Maute group, established by the brothers Omar and Abdullah Maute, had joined forces with Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, whom Duterte described as having been “anointed” by ISIS in the Middle East as “their man here”.

“So you can see that the ISIS is here already,” the President said.

He alleged that the brothers were former Manila policemen who were “enamored” by the money to be gained in the shabu business. They returned to Lanao del Sur to establish one of the biggest factories of shabu. They used their money pile to propel their movement, and obtained guns by stealing them. This was why the enemy the government forces faced was a “formidable” one, Duterte said.