Through this column, I sound an alarm that should be obvious to everyone on the ground in Marawi. Our armed forces might be winning the current battle and soon Marawi will be cleared of all hostile forces, but that victory could be pyrrhic. Already, the government has spent more than P3 billion in the fight against the Maute terrorists but it looks like our efforts have not been enough to secure a permanent victory.
A complete victory in Marawi, indeed in the Bangsamoro, will belong to those who win the hearts and minds of the people. This is the second war and I am afraid we are losing this. From where I sit, watching events unfold, I do not see victory in this war happening. Instead, I see resentment building up among the evacuees, among the Maranaos. Martial law might be popular among some sectors but not as much among those that are affected by it the most.
Bobby Alonto, one of most intelligent and passionate Maranaos I know, minced no words describing the hurt of their people. In an article published in Mindanews, Bobby describes the suffering of Marawi citizens:
“The people of Marawi are an integral part of the national citizenry but while the President pays extraordinary homage to the military, he seems to have neglected consoling and empathizing with the citizenry of Marawi who are now suffering in diaspora in refugee centers and private living quarters and facing an uncertain future what with the destruction of their homes, they’re unable to return to their city, and with martial law taking on the visage of hostility and suspicion towards the very people whom the Armed Forces have sworn to protect and defend as if they are not the victims of the extremist terrorists but are themselves all wrapped up in the black flag of ISIS.”
Bobby ends his article with what he say “lies at the heart of our present consternation” and it is this: “The people of Marawi City and Lanao del Sur who have lost their homes and face an uncertain future are not treated as part of the national citizenry but ironically, unjustly, and for all intents and purposes as ‘enemies of the State.’”
I am still haunted by the voice of Samira Gutoc-Tomawis when she spoke to the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines last July:
“If Manila’s torrential rains flood our streets, Maranaos’ tears even loudly made from men in ‘pulpits’ can be as body high. The highest reproductive part of our country with a youth bulge sees as many extended kin of 40 to 50 people cramped in a home away from home.
I wonder Fathers, Bishops, if we who “counsel” the carers now need some counseling, we who provide spiritual redress in interfaith activities must be the one to be redressed. Kaya pala may five prayers kami, when the worst in us, shaitan or devil comes whispering before the 4 p.m. or 6 p.m. or 8 p.m. prayer, we have time to get back to some sanity. And there is hatred growing in hearts.
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Evacuees have to line up for relief but majority are in homes, many unserved and unreached because they don’t line up.
Mothers and women, oh the many suffering.
Babies are most affected, dehydration seeps in. They need nourishment.
Elderly need protection and dignity, one was buried right in his front yard in just a few feet of soil.”
In an online article published in Rappler that I co-authored with Alberto Valenzuela, we pointed out that opposed to the MNLF and MILF, which sought independence and now are willing to settle with the highest form of autonomy, what Daesh ISIS wants, for lack of a better term, is world domination. It seeks to establish an Islamic world order, and it is willing to do anything in order to achieve that goal. We see the transformation of radical Muslim ideology, from a purely political movement (as seen with the “National” in “Moro National Liberation Front”), to a more religious agenda (hence the Moro Islamic Liberation Front), to the combination of the two with the added goal of making the entire world an Islamic state. With beheading videos and more pronounced involvement in the drug trade, ISIS’ mode of operations definitely fits in with what the Human Security Act of 2007 defines as terrorism: “sowing and creating a condition of widespread and extraordinary fear and panic among the populace, in order to coerce the government to give in to an unlawful demand.”
Valenzuela and I quoted Karl Marx’s famous words in A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right: “Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.” Today, extremist terrorism (religious or otherwise) has become the new opium of the people, an addiction to the promise of paradise, and its ultimate high is the assurance of going to heaven as a reward for martyrdom. It is a misguided aspiration, but one taken to heart by some young people. In the context of Mindanao, it can only be addressed by meaningful change that enables real hope in the here and now of this great island. This means we must complete the peace processes with the MILF and MNLF. The passage of a good and effective Bangsamoro Basic Law is essential to that.
There is a real danger we could lose this war over the hearts and mind of the people called religious and extremist terrorism. We must respond now by making sure that the needs of the displaced people in Marawi are addressed. We must avert this by creating the Bangsamoro and putting into a place a regional government that can take the lead in this more important war of the soul of the Maranao and the Bangsamoro people.
Right now, frankly, I am not convinced that the Duterte government will be able to deliver a good BBL. The legislative proposal creating the BBL must be owned by Malacañang and it is the President and his men and women that must lead the lobbying to get this passed. No less than the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Senate President, with leaders of their respective chambers (especially their majority floor leaders Representative Rudy Fariñas and Senator Tito Sotto), must sponsor the BBL Bill.
Yes, we can win this particular battle going on now in Marawi. But, if we lose this second war, this might be the last battle we will ever win.
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