FORMER MARAWI RESIDENT SHARES WHAT ENDEARED HIM TO THE TROUBLED CITY
Despite the violence that erupts there every now and then, PO3 Joselito Catabas has fond memories of Marawi City, where he lived for more than a decade. He sometimes witnessed clashes with government troops and private armed groups, but he still grew to love the city and even embraced its religion. He recalled how Marawi can feel like paradise when the gunfights subside. “It’s a beautiful place if it was peaceful,” the 48-year-old police officer said.
PO3 Joselito Catabas was in fourth grade when his family left Butuan in the ‘80s to move to the capital of Lanao del Sur; when he was 15, he lived with his aunt, a teacher at the Mindanao State University The 38-year-old member of the maritime police, who moved to Cebu in the mid1990s, joined the police force in 1997; Catabas, who, at one time, lived with a Muslim family, converted to Islam in 2009
Rolling hills, mountains, valleys, and Lake Lanao—these scenic spots of Marawi City left an impression of paradise in the mind of PO3 Joselito Catabas when he was still young.
The fog and cold weather still haunt his memory.
The city, however, had other facets. He also remembered the bloodshed, gunfights, and the religious divide.
“Nindot gyod lugara kon way gubot (It’s a beautiful place if it was peaceful),” said the 48-year-old police officer.
When the Maute group attacked the city last week, he called his friends and relatives. They were all safe.
Catabas, now a member of the maritime police, was a fourth grader when his Christian family transferred to the Lanao del Sur’s capital city from Butuan City in the 1980s.
He lived with his aunt, a teacher at the Mindanao State University.
What made Catabas, then 15 years old, curious was the con- crete basement. He soon found out that it was an essential architectural design for survival.
“Almost all houses in Marawi have one. It’s where people seek refuge in times of trouble,” he said in Cebuano.
Government troops and a private armed group of a politician
often clashed in the city.
Violence, said Catabas, was part of their lives. Despite this, he made friends with many locals.
The basement of his aunt’s house was about 10 feet tall and seven feet in width. It could accommodate about 15 persons.
He recalled sleeping more than five times in the basement.
After he graduated in 1991, Catabas accompanied Maranao traders to Iloilo City. Three years later, he came to Cebu to join his uncle.
Catabas joined the police force in 1997. His last visit to Marawi City was in 2003.
He branded the Maute group’s actions, including the attack on the city, as deviating from Islam, which promotes peace.
The police officer converted to Islam in 2009.
When he was still a college student, he worked for the family of his Maranao teacher. Their kindness and dedication to their faith moved him.
“They changed the way I viewed Islam,” Catabas said in Cebuano.
Nindot gyud lugara kung way gubot (It’s a beautiful place if it was peaceful). PO3 JOSELITO CATABAS Actor