‘Paki-explain. Labyu.’

Netnet Camomot

“LADIES and gentlemen, I hereby declare Marawi City liberated from terrorist influence. That marks the beginning of rehabilitation,” said President Rody Duterte on Tuesday.

Before Pinoys, especially Marawi’s displaced residents, could jump for joy, Gen. Eduardo Año, Armed Forces chief of staff, had to clarify that “there are still skirmishes” in Marawi and what the president meant was that the remaining extremists are now “leaderless and they have no more organization.”

If Ina Moran aka Michael V in his “Ikaw at Ang Ina” segment in “Bubble Gang” were asked to comment on this, surely he will say, “Paki-explain. Labyu.”

One has to search far and wide for the positive side of a siege. Much like what a natural-disaster survivor does as he tries to gather his few remaining possessions. At least he survived. At least he’s alive. At least he has his family. Others are not as lucky.

There are people who would go to the extent of saying they’re blessed. Does that mean others are not?

How to define blessed?

It’s easier for the rich to move forward—with their millions in the bank, they can easily rebuild and continue their businesses. Let’s ask them if they feel blessed.

Those in power today can also easily move forward. They have connections in the right places, they’re kumpare or kumare with other powers that be, they’re on a first-name basis with presidents not only of Pinas but also of other countries. Let’s ask them if they feel blessed.

The one possessing extra loads of positivity can move forward, too, and no need to ask him if he feels blessed. Of course his answer to that will be a resounding Yes!

In Pinas, Marawi has been undergoing the most changes, proving that change is indeed the only constant thing in the world. But those changes have been painful, with houses and buildings reduced to rubble. Its ability to move forward will depend on its residents’ willingness to open their city to nonesidents. Before the siege, it was always advisable to have an escort in going to Marawi. The escort didn’t have to be the military. It could be a Marawi resident who could ensure your safety and security, provided you leave Marawi by 1 pm.

Nowadays, relief workers and volunteers can stay there up to about 6 pm and still have a semblance of being safe and secure, thanks to martial law.

Imagine having a stopover and lunch in Marawi as you travel to other parts in Mindanao—this will be possible in the future once the main battle area is rebuilt. Yes, we can dream, can’t we?

There was a time when you also dreamed of phasing out old rickety jeepneys and it will finally become a reality next year once they’re replaced by e-jeeps.

With all these changes, is it now safe to dream of having a modern railway system in Mindanao? Imagine traveling by train with a stopover in Marawi on your way to Cotabato. Yay!

Once upon a time, former President Noynoy Aquino said, “Pagdating naman ng 2015, hindi lang natin mapapabilis ang biyahe mula Baclaran hanggang Bacoor kundi madadagdagan din tayo ng tinatayong 250,000 na pasahero ang maisasakay kada araw dahil sa LRT Line 1 extension. At ‘pag hindi ho nangyari ito, nandiyan po si Secretary Abaya na mangangasiwa ng proyektong ‘to, dalawa na kaming magpapasagasa siguro sa tren.”

Jun Abaya was then the secretary of the Department of Transportation and Communications.

By the end of 2015, the LRT project was far from finished and some Pinoys began to ask if the “magpapasagasa siguro sa tren” would happen. This prompted then Communications Secretary Sonny Coloma to say that the president’s “statement should not be taken literally.”

“Rome wasn’t built in a day,” as the saying goes. And there’s the cynical and skeptical Pinoy reacting with, But that’s the LRT, not Rome!

Let’s go back to Coloma: “Statement should not be taken literally.”

And here’s Ina Moran again: “Paki-explain. Labyu.”

The end of the Marawi siege has had its share of unmet deadlines—June 2, June 12, July 24, Oct. 1, Oct. 15—and these taught authorities to stop setting any.

They did kill the two remaining extremist leaders a few hours after the Oct. 15 deadline. Most probably that’s what the latest deadline meant.