Posted on June 26, 2017
Business world Introspective
It has been one month since President Rodrigo Duterte
declared martial law in Mindanao following what he said was an act of rebellion
by a group of Muslim extremists that had pledged allegiance to the Islamic
State (ISIS). Fighting between government forces and the extremists has been
intense but limited to the small city of Marawi where military bombings to
flush out the terrorists holed up in buildings are continuing. So far, reports
indicate that casualties include 268 terrorists, 65 government soldiers, and 26
civilians; as well as hundreds of thousands of mostly Muslim residents driven
out of their homes, with tens of thousands living in cramped refugee centers in
nearby towns which in turn, has led to sickness and reports of deaths.
With government forces claiming control of over 90% of the
city, there is talk that the fighting will end soon, perhaps as early as Monday
which marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Should that target be
missed, speculations are that the President would at least want to end the
siege and proclaim victory before his State of the Nation Address in late July.
Too, there is a 60-day deadline for martial law counting from the eve of May
23, which may only be extended by Congress.
While an end to the fighting and the refugee crisis would be a most welcomed development, there is nevertheless a gnawing fear among Muslims, remembering similar fierce government assaults against their communities in the past, that the end would come at too high a price -- the loss of more lives, with many civilians still trapped inside the city, some taken as hostages, and a flattened city, home to a predominantly Muslim population. The fear is that such an event will give rise to resentments that would breed more extremism over time especially among the more militant young, a case of government winning a battle but losing the war.
For now, despite the grief over Marawi, the Muslim leadership and communities are seemingly cutting the President a lot of slack, appearing to recognize the dangers of allowing ISIS ideology to take root in the country. There is apparently enough trust in the President, a fellow Mindanaoan, who from the start had professed understanding of the deep-seated nature of the country’s Muslim separatist movement and promised to give them autonomy through a federal form of government, a promise that unfortunately, is proving much harder to deliver on. Hence, the President is now talking of signing a new version of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), a proposed legislation crafted under the previous administration to create a new autonomous region in Mindanao that the previous Congress failed to pass.
The key question is, will the Marawi crisis provide impetus to hasten BBL and bring lasting peace to Mindanao or will it just feed unrest that will radicalize the major separatist groups (MILF, MNLF) that government is negotiating peace with?
The answer, it seems, depends on the President’s next moves.
With P10 billion in rehabilitation funds, will he be able to quickly and effectively rebuild Marawi, overcoming bureaucratic constraints that have left Leyte still in shambles nearly four years after typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan made landfall? And will the President be able to focus attention away from drug addicts and communist insurgents to the peace process?
Peace is a necessary condition for unlocking Mindanao’s vast potentials. The island is rich in natural resources, its climate condition is conducive to agriculture, and historical and cultural ties will allow it to forge closer economic linkages with neighboring ASEAN communities in line with the aspirations of the ASEAN Economic Community. Can the President from Mindanao rise to the occasion?
(This article features excerpts from a post for GlobalSource Partners written by Christine Tang and the columnist.)
Romeo L. Bernardo served as Finance undersecretary during Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos administrations. He is a board director of Institute for Development and Econometric Analysis.
While an end to the fighting and the refugee crisis would be a most welcomed development, there is nevertheless a gnawing fear among Muslims, remembering similar fierce government assaults against their communities in the past, that the end would come at too high a price -- the loss of more lives, with many civilians still trapped inside the city, some taken as hostages, and a flattened city, home to a predominantly Muslim population. The fear is that such an event will give rise to resentments that would breed more extremism over time especially among the more militant young, a case of government winning a battle but losing the war.
For now, despite the grief over Marawi, the Muslim leadership and communities are seemingly cutting the President a lot of slack, appearing to recognize the dangers of allowing ISIS ideology to take root in the country. There is apparently enough trust in the President, a fellow Mindanaoan, who from the start had professed understanding of the deep-seated nature of the country’s Muslim separatist movement and promised to give them autonomy through a federal form of government, a promise that unfortunately, is proving much harder to deliver on. Hence, the President is now talking of signing a new version of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), a proposed legislation crafted under the previous administration to create a new autonomous region in Mindanao that the previous Congress failed to pass.
The key question is, will the Marawi crisis provide impetus to hasten BBL and bring lasting peace to Mindanao or will it just feed unrest that will radicalize the major separatist groups (MILF, MNLF) that government is negotiating peace with?
The answer, it seems, depends on the President’s next moves.
With P10 billion in rehabilitation funds, will he be able to quickly and effectively rebuild Marawi, overcoming bureaucratic constraints that have left Leyte still in shambles nearly four years after typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan made landfall? And will the President be able to focus attention away from drug addicts and communist insurgents to the peace process?
Peace is a necessary condition for unlocking Mindanao’s vast potentials. The island is rich in natural resources, its climate condition is conducive to agriculture, and historical and cultural ties will allow it to forge closer economic linkages with neighboring ASEAN communities in line with the aspirations of the ASEAN Economic Community. Can the President from Mindanao rise to the occasion?
(This article features excerpts from a post for GlobalSource Partners written by Christine Tang and the columnist.)
Romeo L. Bernardo served as Finance undersecretary during Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos administrations. He is a board director of Institute for Development and Econometric Analysis.
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