The conflict in Marawi is finally over. The ISIS threat has been defeated and the residents of Marawi can now start rebuilding their lives. The government’s rehabilitation effort is now in full swing with the government promising to spend billions to rebuild Marawi into a better and stronger city. To reward the armed forces, the government will be making good on its promise to increase their salary starting next year. Duterte also personally promised to give the Marawi combat veterans free airfare to Hong Kong and the government has reiterated their plan to make good on that promise. Citizens of Marawi can finally breathe a sigh of relief and our soldiers can finally get the reward they need – the warm embrace of their family.
Then comes our Vice President Leni Robredo with her idea of how to rebuild Marawi and how to honour our soldiers. If Leni Robredo had it her way, she wants to preserve the ruins of Marawi for the following reasons:
- A monument for the bravery of our soldiers.
- A monument for the resiliency of the residents in Marawi.
- As consideration for the culture of the people of Marawi.
- As a lesson and warning on terrorism and conflict so it will not be repeated.
Everything about what she said was wrong and shows how she thinks and what doctrine she follows. The best way to honour the bravery of our soldiers is not to build a monument inside the territory that was destroyed by the war. Not every resident in Marawi agrees with the declaration of martial law and the presence of our soldiers in Marawi. To some residents, the soldiers were an occupation force and building a monument in their territory is both an insult and a rallying cry for extremist recruiters. Imagine the United State of America building a monument to honour the bravery of their soldiers in the middle of Baghdad. Every jihadist website will use that as a recruitment tool to intensify attacks against the government and its citizens. Leni Robredo wants to honour our soldiers by giving the enemy a reason to recruit more combatants to attack our soldiers more.
The last thing residents of Marawi need is a monument to their resiliency. What they need most now is for the area to be cleared and secured and for the government to assist them with rebuilding their lives. Having a monument to their resiliency does nothing for residents who lost their home, their livelihood and have to start their lives from scratch.
I got so confused when Leni said preserving the ruins in Marawi is a consideration for the culture of the people of Marawi. What did she mean by this? Is she calling Marawi residents a bunch of uncivilized people who want their city to remain in ruins? I hope she meant the government should rebuild Marawi with consideration to some historic and religious sites – this is the only explanation that will make sense.
Leni also suggested providing the Filipino people and the residents of Marawi a monument to serve as a reminder on the dangers of terrorism and conflict. This statement made me think Leni was awake this whole time or was hiding under a rock. We have seen the dangers and devastation caused by terrorism and conflict. The Filipino people, and all the more the residents of Marawi, do not need a reminder. What they need to do is to move on from this conflict and to build a stronger Marawi with the help of the government.
This is the problem with Leni and the Liberal party, they are so obsessed with monuments and symbolisms from the past that they are so completely out of touch with the current reality. Leni Robredo celebrated the fact that the government spent money to build a monument for her dead husband to celebrate- I don’t know what – but she wants Marawi to remain in ruins. This just shows what is important to her – self promotion while keeping the Filipino people down and in ruins. This is what I call the Robredo doctrine and we should do everything in our power to stop her from getting her way.
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