Ricky Poca
After five agonizing months, the war is finally over in Marawi City and its residents can return safely to what was left of their homes.
But it wasn’t easy and it came at a cost for the country’s military and police since the Maute Group had the support of the international terrorist group ISIS and local groups along with some politicians supposedly involved in narco politics.
And the Maute exploited their familiarity with the terrain and the city to give the soldiers a protracted urban guerilla war. Only through perseverance and patience did the troops flush out the terrorists from their hiding places.
Making it more difficult for the troops was the Maute Group’s use of the mosque as hideouts and their use of hostages as human shields to stave off any offensive.
Though there were criticism on the troops’ performance and allegations of looting and abuse leveled at some of them, overall the soldiers sent to Marawi City conducted themselves well and followed orders.
The media were given the opportunity to verify the reports that were spread by critics of the administration, particularly the political opposition.
In fact, the opposition were careful in their criticism of the war in Marawi City lest they invite skepticism and alienation from the public. Hence, they shifted gears and focused on the alleged extrajudicial killings (EJKs) of drug suspects.
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On that front, the Duterte administration should hold itself accountable to the Filipino people and President Rodrigo Duterte made some changes by ordering the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to take the lead in the war on drugs.
I hope the PDEA’s lead role in the war will result in fewer to zero EJKs since it violates the laws and rights of the people to due process.
I support the war on drugs, but I am against EJKs and any moves to topple the Duterte administration which is barely two years old.
The political and economic elite are trying to wield their influence, but the Duterte administration has made some significant changes. Mind you that our problems cannot be solved by one person but by all of us.
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