A month after Martial Law

FILIPINOS, who witnessed the ills of the Martial Law declared by the late dictator President Ferdinand Marcos on September 21, 1972, earlier dreaded the version of President Rodrigo R. Duterte who placed the entire Mindanao under Martial Law last May 23, 2017 on the spate of armed clashes between government troops and members of the Maute Group in Marawi City.

While the Marawi crisis still continues, we have been praying for an end of it as the death toll from both warring parties as well as civilians also continues to rise.

But the Martial Law that we have been experiencing over the past month in the region is devoid of the human rights violations by soldiers, which were perennial during the Marcos regime.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), according to Eastern Mindanao Command (EMC) deputy commander and Martial Law spokesperson Brigadier General Gilbert Gapay, has not recorded any single complaint on human rights (HR) violations committed by troops operating on the ground.

He said the military forces lived up to their mandate to uphold human rights of the civilians and adherence to the rule of law since President Duterte declared Martial Law in Mindanao.

Gapay cited that regional offices of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) have not received any complaint on abuses made by anybody from the AFP or Philippine National Police. This is indeed worth commending.

We hope that as the Martial Law period is still in effect, our soldiers and policemen/policewomen continue to be the men and women in uniform we respect. We also hope that we all do our share in keeping our communities safe, to be vigilant and to unite as a nation so we can make their burden in protecting us lighter.

This is not the time for finger-pointing nor the time to hate each other. This time calls for us to set our differences aside and keep the Filipino spirit alive.

Our compatriots on the battle lines and those caught in the war in Marawi or even those trapped in rebel activities in Pigcawayan, North Cotabato need all the help we can give them. Constant prayers and a helping hand to meet their immediate needs would be a good way to start.

After all, this war against terrorism or against extremism is not just for our government troops to battle. This war is ours to face, too. We all need to stand together and rally each other, especially our soldiers who are staking their lives and their future, in this ugly war.