In his second State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday, President Duterte said the occupation of Marawi by Islamic State (IS) militants should have been resolved by now, but he has ordered the troops not to launch an all-out assault to protect some 300 hostages even if that prolongs the siege. He said pounding their remaining territory by air strikes might prompt the extremists to kill their hostages.
In his speech, the Chief Executive said he values human life the way he values his own life. His words: “Each life that is snuffed out translates into future generations lost. It is like cracking the acorn from which an oak tree grows—which, in turn, produce the seeds to complete the cycle of [life in] perpetuity.” To protect the hostages, the President ordered the military to wait it out. “If we have to wait there for one year, let us wait for one year,” he told the media.
Duterte’s decision to wait it out, however, does not mean the military is not capable of wiping out the remaining militants cornered in two barangays. They will continue to hunt down the terrorists, but not at the expense of the hostages.
Most everyone hopes that peace will return to Marawi soon. In the meantime, the government must focus its attention to the needs of thousands of Marawi evacuees. We need to remind government officials involved in long-term planning to give those displaced a voice in the rebuilding of Marawi. This is one good way to ensure that local resentments do not make the area an even more fertile ground for IS recruitment and prevent extremist teachings from finding fertile ground.
Duterte certainly wants lasting peace to reign in Mindanao. That’s why he is expected to push for the passage of the Bangsamoro basic law, which aims to establish a new region for the Bangsamoro, a collective term for Filipino Muslims, to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. As he said in his recent Sona, the President has learned that the economy only grows when there is peace and order prevailing in places where investors can pour in their capital and expertise. “I have learned from my experience in Davao City that investor confidence is bolstered and fortified only if a potent force and mechanism for the protection of local and foreign investments are in place,” he said.
Duterte earlier gave his word that he would see to it that Marawi would rise from the ruins of war. The President said Task Force Bangon Marawi will help fast-track recovery efforts, as he promised a P50-billion budget for the rebuilding program.
The Bangsa Moro Federal Business Council Inc. said the sheer extent of the damage to the city’s infrastructure would open opportunities for the business sector once the reconstruction process gets under way. Urging the government to use homegrown labor in the reconstruction of Marawi once it has been rid of the IS terrorists, the group said utilizing the city’s mostly Maranaw labor force in rebuilding Marawi will also help hasten the healing process, because many of them now find themselves jobless in the wake of the terrorist attack.
With Duterte’s success in securing Congressional approval to extend martial law in Mindanao, we believe the IS militants holding out in Marawi will soon face defeat. We hope this will come sooner than expected because we have damaged roads, bridges, hospitals, as well as private-and public-school buildings, among others, to rebuild.