ARMED Forces spokesman Maj. Gen. Restituto Padilla and security expert Richard Heydarian agreed that the presence of hostages made it difficult for the military to defeat the Maute group.

Padilla said the military leadership could easily obliterate the Maute extremists if it wanted to, by flattening the buildings where the Maute extremists were hiding, regardless of the hostages they were holding since Day 1 of the rebellion.