ABSTRACT
The implications of the Battle of Marawi, where Islamic State-affiliated groups besieged the largest Muslim-majority city in the Philippines for five months during the administration of Rodrigo Duterte are grim and worrisome. A long history of Muslim marginalization and alienation in the south continues to provide a deep pool for violent radical Islamist recruiting, and an Islamic State driven from the Middle East has found a propitious spot in which to seek rejuvenation. Manila’s counter-terrorism doctrine is solid, building as it does upon a successful counterinsurgency foundation, but resources and thus capacity and capability remain of concern. Though Marawai was reclaimed – at the cost of its complete decimation – the looming challenge of extremism remains and must be dealt with.
