Celebrities pray for peace in Marawi City

25 May - Celebrities recently took to social media to express condolences and ask fans to pray with them for peace in Marawi.

The thoughtful words were sparked by the recent clash between the military and terrorist groups in the capital city of Lanao del Sur, Mindanao. One police officer has died and five others have been wounded in the clash against Abu Sayyaf and Maute groups on 23 May, while President Rodrigo Duterte has now declared Martial Law in the area.

Actress Anne Curtis, who shared her prayers on Twitter, wrote, "Praying for peace in Marawi... please be safe, my countrymen", while Bianca Gonzalez expressed, "Terrorism knows no boundaries and recognises no moral code. It seeks to divide us, in that it must fail. These are monsters, not any race."

"My Love from the Star" actress Jennylyn Mercado asks everybody to try to be kinder in order to minimise the distressing event, and Alex Diaz wrote, "Isis is not Islam. Religion is not violent", and added the hashtag "PrayForMarawi".

Actor Jake Ejercito, on the other hand, slammed those who turned the issue into a political debate, and wrote, "How some people are politicising the events in [Marawi] right now is beyond distasteful. Ditch your yellows/reds. Stand united against hate"

Others like Ria Atayde, beauty queen Kylie Verzosa, Mae Cruz Alviar, Coleen Garcia, Maxene Magalona all lent a prayer to the victims of terror attacks that happened at the same time, including the bombings in Manchester and Bangkok, respectively.

(Photo Source: Kylie Verzosa Instagram)