Remembering the past and facing the future

MAY 23, the second year of the commemoration of the Marawi Siege. The day that we all wanted to remember the past in order to move on and learn from the experience. That day was sad and overwhelming yet eye-opening. In many parts of Marawi, there are different activities launched and done in order to commemorate the plight of Marawi since May 23, 2017.

It has been two-years now, yet, there are still about 100,000 individuals who are considered homeless and are not served with temporary shelters and more are homebased. This is not a sign of progress to some. Many are still in quandary and do not know how to reach out to authorities in order to share their thoughts and feelings about their plight.

The S’bang ka Marawi radio program on May 23, 2019 was able to facilitate the conversation of Saguiaran IDPs and City

DISCLAIMER: The views and commentaries made by columnists or authors in the Opinion Section, are protected by their Consitutional Right to freedom of expression and the press. However, their opinions and perceptions on the topics they discuss here are independently owned by the writers, and they DO NOT reflect the stand or position of the Editorial Board, and the Management, as a whole. Mayor Majul Gandamra about their sacrifice in their tents. It was made clear there that the Mayor had not been informed of the real situation experienced by the IDPs who were promised to have their shelters during its ribbon cutting on February 19, 2019 by the defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). It was thru the radio guesting where they had the chance to communicate. Hence, media indeed played a great role.

Now, as we move forward, we cannot help but remember the past as we focus on the future. In the light of the importance of information dissemination and mediation, situations of misunderstanding can be minimized. Like the case of the newly installed Bangsamoro Autonomous region, many of the employees around BARMM had been very hopeful of what to expect for tomorrow. The inability of the BARMM (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao) officials and agencies to provide concrete plans for ARMM employees became a difficult predicament for all.

Friends from ARMM agencies were informed by new BARMM ministers that there will be mass employment resignation to give time for the new structure of employment in 2020. This news is not a surprise, but it came as a haunting revelation that there will be another form of tremor that can lead to the inability of our nation to attain peace. If this predicament is not addressed accordingly, peace and development of Muslim Mindanao region will be at stake, once again.

People of BARMM, would we allow the haunted history to repeat itself? Or worse, we would be killing dreams and hopes of our own people right before our very eyes?

I am not judging the wisdom behind the plans of BARMM, but I am trying to look at things in proper and objective perspective.

If we are really serious about cleaning and refining the defunct ARMM structure, a good plan that is attuned with the civil service commission should be laid down for everyone to understand. A mere announcement for all to resign within the year won’t help at all in our quest for Peace.

For the sake of proper information dissemination, I beg the current BARMM to issue a concrete plan for our employment retrenchment structure. Let us not allow our people to be in a dilemma whether to support the wisdom or to curse the situation. We are supposed to be better than the past, aren’t we?

I understand that there were ghost employees, undeserving individuals in certain positions, employees occupying items which they do not deserve, agency duplications, and many others to mention. However, mass resignation without a plan is not the solution. There are civil rights that we need to respect and rules in tenure to adhere to.

Our BARMM is the hope that we all waited for. It should not be the dote that can end all dreams and persecute hopes. Let us have the heart to be candid and absolute of our plans in implementing our everlasting freedom.

To all the employees who are doing their best, do not be worried. Allah has greater plans for those who do well. Patience (Sabr) is what makes us good Muslims.