After the fall of Marawi

IF THE “Battle of Marawi” is a “teleserye,” it is too long already. It has to come to an end. The sub-plots are already confusing the televiewers. We want to know what happened to the antagonists and protagonists at the end. The government of the Philippines has spent billions of pesos already and at the end of the war the people of Marawi will inherit “The Ruins.” Those who are not affected by war can only theatrically ask, “What went catastrophically wrong?”

President Rodrigo Duterte can only open his mouth full of asses for the Maute-Isis (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) Group. When it comes to hard-bitten local warfare, the “Battle of Marawi” is hard to beat. The fighters of the New People’s Army, Moro National Liberation Front, and Moro Islamic Liberation Front will agree with me. Those who are from Marawi feel the psychological devastation. Marawi becomes a dangerous jungle where we see the impact of war on individuals, families, and the entire city. For the residents, it is their “Apocalypse Now.”

Those who were caught in the crossfire have reached the edge of their mind. For them, Marawi becomes their killing field. The unlucky ones ended as indistinguishable collateral. As far as Marawi is concerned, President Duterte is tired of playing defense. He wants to play offense and he is taking the fight to the terrorists. President Duterte and his advisers should put an end to this war or else they will see hundreds more of Filipino soldiers lay dead.

After the war, the president has to assign his administrators to oversee the rebuilding of Marawi. There should be a shift from that sudden military occupation under the premise of Martial Law to civilian administration if the president stops Martial Law in Marawi (and in Mindanao). The planning for peace should be as fast like the planning for war. We can only hope that the Maute-Isis Group did not leave land mines and booby traps. Marawi could only be normalized after the war, if there is the fast withdrawal of the soldiers from the area. Marawi should not be militarized after it has been occupied by the terrorists. Civilian leaders should take the helm of the government. If this does not happen, the residents will consider their military emancipators as their new terrorists. If peace would happen in Marawi after the war, that peace could be fragile. The Mautes have relatives and friends who still believe in their cause. We do not pray for chaos but we can always expect car bombs to explode, shooting incidents, and mass action. For other Muslim followers of the Maute Group, this could just be the start of holy war. This could be the crowning glory of President Duterte if peace will reign in Marawi. He could he now tell the investors to come and invest in “The City of Ruins.” Who will be there to bring investments? The Chinese, the Russians, the Americans, the Japanese, the Germans, the Australians, and the member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Marawi will become the investors’ haven. The Muslims may not like that. They may not want the existence of multi-culturalism. For President Duterte, that could be a test of will and he will meet that test. For some conservative residents, that could be an abrupt power grab… a culture shock. That could be the possible negative consequence of war. In the language of the consultants, we call it “powerful, steam-rolling force.” This could be an acid test for President Duterte’s approval rating. If this will turn out to be favorable, the president can only say, “Marawi is for the world to see how a free system functions transparently with no cover-up.”

He could raise his brows higher for the United Nations to see. What has been devastated by terrorism will be converted to a productive kerfuffle. The president could now brag, “The Philippines is better off without the terrorists. We start stopping them in Marawi!” If the terrorists succeed in Marawi, it will go to the top of the list of places that are breeding grounds for attacks against Filipinos at home.

If they are cornered for a longer time, they will become more deadly because they are getting more desperate. President Duterte could be right, “Disintegrate them at all cost before they hurt further our economy, before destroying our government, before bringing us a bad name. Marawi belongs to the Philippines. We have to take it back with all of our might… room to room fighting , sniper against sniper, by dropping bombs to the nests of the terrorists, by pressuring their leaders to surrender, by praying hard that Allah will save Marawi. SSBacolod