Are the AFP soldiers and PNP men fighting in Marawi mere sacrificial lambs as far as the anti-Duterte blocs and the political opposition are concerned?
Since the Marawi attack broke out May 23, unexpected heavy casualties have been registered on the government side (58 Army, Marines and PNP as this was being written), not to mention the 19 counted civilians slain by the ISIS-inspired Maute-ASG combine. (And what about the 220,00 dislocated residents?)
This fact does not seem to settle well in the naughty, fertile minds of Sen. Rissa Hontiveros et al because they are blinded more by their militant, aggressive and stubborn resistance to the declaration of martial law in Mindanao by the man who unexpectedly (and soundly) defeated the PNoy-led administration party in the 2016 presidential elections.
Without equating their opposition with the deathly danger the peaceful residents of Marawi and its environs were facing at the time, Hontiveros et al are counter-moving to nullify government efforts to quell the barbaric, terroristic acts as if nothing – just nothing – was going wrong.
The raid on Marawi led by Isnilon Hapilon, now acknowledged as the ISIS-installed Amir (Emir) of Southeast Asia is not only an act of terrorism as much as it is recognized by the entire Filipino nation as an act of rebellion.
The videotape recording seized by the authorities proved the Marawi siege was prepared and executed almost to perfection by the marauding team of Hapilon and the Maute group, including the gathering and stocking of adequate supplies, food and ammunition to enable them to continue fighting up to this day.
Hontiveros seems to project herself as an “un-feeling” person, numbed to the horrifying death and destruction that has behooved not only Mindanaoans like us but also the entire nation.
She and her ilk are pseudo-nationalists. She does not deserve the title “Honorable.” More political in her approach to her duties, she has assumed – in the absence of jailed Sen. Leila De Lima – the role of an attack dog of the Liberal Party and its militant allies to discombobulate the circumstances. Without even so much expressing their concern for the safety and well-being of Marawi residents – and in much the same way express their concern for AFP soldiers and police fighting the rebels – she has prominently figured in destabilizing the Duterte administration by raising the constitutional question.
Marawi is not any different from another city or municipality anywhere in our archipelago. It is part of the Philippine territory. The residents therein are also Filipinos. We should grieve and sympathize with them. We should help them get back on their feet. They are our countrymen.
But what is Hontiveros et al are doing?
Instead of helping unite the Filipino nation, instead of spearheading efforts to assist the victims in terms of legislation, Hontiveros and company are even more creating disunity and factionalism by undermining the executive decisions of the Duterte government.
This is a most grievous and perilous time when all Filipinos should be walking arm in arm, help carry other peoples’ burdens when we can, help make positive contributions to the reconstruction of affected individual and family life – and most of all, in its strictest sense, let us all be true patriotic Filipinos – sa isip, sa salita at sa gawa.
Let us remember Hontiveros et al when the 2022 elections come around. They do not deserve the people’s mandate. (Email your feedback to fredlumba@yahoo.com.) GOD BLESS THE PHILIPPINES!
