Threat to peace

There’s no other option but peace. While we definitely agree that the so-called Maute “rebellion” in Marawi City has to be crushed immediately with the use of military force, we cannot help but also somehow doubt the morality of a Mindanao-wide “iron rule” at this period when the peace process is about to tackle socio-economic reforms.

There just seems to be an evil design in these seemingly orchestrated attempts to stop the peace process that is almost within our reach. There have been speculations about the timing of the Marawi attack, which coincided with President Rodrigo Duterte’s visit to Russia.

Who, pray tell me, does not want President Digong to deal with another super-power? It’s really quite obvious.

But we, Filipinos, are standing firm on our resolve to get the peace that we need so much, and it’s now or never. There is no other option but peace.

If government forces are distracted and diverted from that direction with localized disturbances, which are really symptoms of deeply-rooted social ills, and refuse to see the very roots of the “pocket resistance,” then so be it.

Throwing Mindanao into this kind of situation may be counter-productive, as it would only complicate matters for our people. It is the Mindanaoans’ hope that President Digong could see through the quagmire and not let the militarist solution completely cloud his better judgements.

As they say, there are many ways to “kill a cat” that is not as messy, but then, President Digong has to strategize, not with the muzzle of the gun on the citizen’s heads but through peaceful means.

He himself has earlier dismissed martial law as an option, but we know somehow that his hands were tied at some point of late, especially when he started surrounding himself with militarist minds.

We certainly can empathize with the President. It’s not a piece of cake to run a country that is so polarized and divided to the point that even when he tried to strike a balance in the composition of his Cabinet secretaries with diverse political leanings except the “yellows” and the conservatives, he could not, for the life of him, get them to do what he believes should be done.

Are the President’s decisions being influenced by those surrounding him who might have ulterior motives? While we believe in the President’s sound judgements before, it is really not remote that his perceptions are changing. When before he often talked about the “historical injustices” dealt on the Moro people in the past, it seemed like he has forgotten about it when he wielded martial law in the land he most revered.

Though many among us are aware about the President’s situation and the isolation that he must be feeling, we can only hope for the best. We must remember however that we can help him if we do our part in calling his attention where there are irregularities in the many branches of government. The citizenry in Davao have known it by heart. But then, as Mother Theresa of Calcutta walked the talk, “Only humility will lead us to unity, and unity to Peace.” Even the President needs to grasp and acknowledge his own frailties and to find his strength with humility.--