A throwback. 23 May 2017 may as well be a “Day of Infamy” for the Maranaws of Lanao. It is a date that will be long remembered, if not immortalized, in history tomes. The City of Marawi, which prides itself as a “Madinat Salam” or City of Peace, in sync with its official name of “Islamic City,” sustained the most devastating attack by errant Islamic extremists who were of their own blood. This provoked the state’s defense and security forces to unleash their might, including carpet bombing, to extricate the enemy. It was a nightmare like no other. After five months of skirmishes and with the dust of battle settled, homes and structures had been flattened to rubble and residents were scrambling for temporary shelters.
Fast forward to today. 23 May 2023 was commemorated as the sixth year after the siege. Civil society groups as usual had a field day ranting about the delay in the rehabilitation of the city ruined by a war not of their making. Media reported on the status of the government projects to repair and reconstruct damaged structures. This focused the national consciousness again on the tragedy and the pitiful condition of the evacuees or internally displaced persons. In fact, a special forum sponsored by a prestigious group was held for the purpose.
This writer, along with three others, was invited by the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy, a non-government group that has etched its name in the dissection and discourse of national, regional, and international public interest issues by sponsoring fora and podcasts. The forum’s theme was appropriately titled “Eyes on Marawi Forum: IDPs Six Years after the Siege.” It was held last 22 May, on the eve of the remembrance of the Marawi Siege.
While the venue was the University of the Philippines in Makati City, it was beamed live digitally through Zoom with the organizer providing the meeting identification and the passcode allowing whoever participated online a chance to interact through questions. It was unfortunate though that the Internet signal was patchy and participants from Marawi and other parts of the country failed to participate actively but were able to phone in their questions.
It was more of an exchange of insights. We were given only 10 minutes for our presentation. I would say have a mouthful, given that the subject is close to my heart and I have written not a few articles discussing the siege. But I was able to squeeze into my speech some material facts: The 2017 siege was the second rebellion experienced by the Marawi residents because the first one was on 21 October 1972, a month after Martial Law was declared by then President Marcos Sr. The difference though between the first and the second rebellion was that the former lasted for only 2-3 days before it was quelled with the coming of then-Chief of Constabulary, Fidel Valdez Ramos, who later became president. And this was the reason the residents did not bring with them their personal belongings, money, jewelry, and other prized possessions when they evacuated in 2017, thinking this siege also would not last long.
I likewise mentioned the constant miserable condition of the IDPs, some suffering PTSD and emotional distraught in their temporary shelters, and the fact that the government had constructed permanent shelters which are occupied by victims. Also, the fact that the city government was able to negotiate successfully with the owners of the lands where the temporary shelters were constructed to extend the lease after it expired last year.
In a PowerPoint presentation, the materials for which were provided by Task Force Bangon Marawi, I showed the public infrastructure that was completed while the rate of completion of the rest is about 90 percent. This was news to many. Of course, the administration of then-President Rodrigo Duterte promised completion of all the projects before it bowed out of office. But there were unavoidable circumstances that conspired for the delay, including natural causes like the weather.
When shall we see Marawi rise from the ashes of war like the Phoenix?
Kudos to the PCID helmed by former Secretary Amina Rasul-Bernardo for the successful staging of the event.