If the soldiers fighting the ISIS-inspired Maute and Abu Sayaf groups in Marawi have something to look forward to, it is President Digong’s cajoling them to “stay alive and go to HK when the job is done.”
That statement was not a joke.
The Marawi conflict has become a protracted battle which tilts in the favor of our AFP personnel because the rebel terrorists are either going to die fighting or die of hunger and thirst, whichever comes first.
This is not to say that the soldiers can relax their guard.
Digong is merely advising them not to rush and risk in venting their anger on these marauders in their desire to end the battle ASAP.
The lairs of the enemy are like a maze, difficult to penetrate because they use their hostages to shield them.
“We are winning the battle. As a prize for your valor, I might treat you to a trip to HK,” the President said in a pep talk with the front-liners over a weekend ago.
I am certain the President will keep his promise. A trip to HK is a small price to pay for the heroic deeds (and the lives they paid dearly for) the AFP men and women are doing in Marawi.
This morale-boosting statement testifies to the down-to-earth simplicity and sincerity PRRD is showing not only to the soldiers but to all the citizens.
You don’t need to be a seer to recognize that the war in Marawi is a prelude to a much bigger challenge which Digong is preparing for. His presidential foresight is best exemplified with his message to Congress of the need to recruit 20,000 enlisted men to strengthen the country’s armed forces.
As the ISIS is slowly being repelled in Syria, (based on international dispatches), there is this gnawing apprehension that Southeast Asia could be a better geographical strategy to establish their caliphate.
With ASF’s Isnilon Hapilon already chosen as its emir in the area, there is no doubt in the minds of our authorities that Marawi is indeed the launching pad of the ISIS ambition to establish its caliphate in the region.
All of us realize that these threats are for real.
These rebel terrorists are jihadists and are ready to die for their beliefs regardless of the consequences.
Congress should act with dispatch. Being an archipelago, our country’s corridors are susceptible. Drugs, arms and all kinds of smuggling have remained unabated until today which goes to show that entry to our shores is easy.
Our enforcement agencies should not be caught with their pants down.
The request of the President for additional 20,000 troops is meant to address continuing security threats, from the tip of Luzon down to the loosely-sewn southernmost parts of the Philippines.
Digong visualizes a very strong, adequately prepared AFP in the next two years.
Upgrading the equipment and military hardware the soldiers are currently equipped with is a well thought out strategy. “I have lost a considerable number of fighting men in Marawi. I need more to be trained in the SAF (Special
Action Forces).”
All of Mindanao should stay alert. The prompt action of Congress to extend martial law (despite the frantic protestations of the Liberals and the opposition) in the island of Mindanao preempted these rebel terrorists from gathering a larger mass base.
Our country, like most elsewhere in the world, is being besieged from all sides. The anti-Duterte groups, mainly the Liberal Party stalwarts, are aiming to topple him. The communist insurgents, the BIFF, ASF and smaller groups of Maute supporters and the drug lords are converging.
The resoluteness of PRRD to put his foot down on illegal drugs and criminality, corruption and other issues affecting national governance is the sterling quality the country needs from our national leaders.
I wish our soldiers “Bon Voyage!” when they board their plane to HK for a well-deserved R & R. (Email your feedback to fredlumba@yahoo.com.) Joshua 1:9: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” GOD BLESS THE PHILIPPINES!
