Betrayal and hypocrisy (3)

Jeremy Simons

Conclusion

DUNEDIN, New Zealand–The real issues in Marawi had much less to do with a terroristic ideology, and much more to do with solvable concerns of governance and corruption. There was still openness to dialogue by the Maute leaders even after the siege started, which was known by the government side. One informant who was close to the efforts taken to address the situation shared the following:

“Reliable sources say that [MILF commander] Bravo’s lieutenants talked with the Maute group leaders… [and] that they informed the military of the concerns of the [Maute] militants, including the most serious ones: alleged military involvement in kidnap for ransom that victimizes Maranaos. The Maute knew it… because some of them were in the “business” for some time mainly for fund raising… The second thorny issue… never mentioned in the media is the brewing feud between the clan of the present ruling politician (former Governor, now Vice Governor Mamintal Adiong, Jr.) of Lanao del Sur who, according to the Maute, controlled everything and got all the government funds.

The Maute reportedly wanted the government to investigate the 32 corruption cases against the governor filed by some of their relatives that seem to be in oblivion after Adiong’s family allegedly spent nearly half a billion pesos bribing national officials in the Commission on Audit and other offices. Some of the cases by the Maute family were against Adiong and Jimmy Pansar, the Mayor of Butig who is the rival of the Romatos in Butig.”

One theory, then, about the continued military response by the government in spite of these potential negotiations was their interest to silence the Maute, who had knowledge of high level corruption in the military, MILF, and government.

In the light of the culture of corruption in Mindanao, the efforts Dureza made, and continues to make, to keep drug-involved members of the Ali and Salic clans free from accountability, while disturbing, are not surprising if government officials could be exposed in the process of a genuine negotiation.

Still one questions the head of the Opapp, who is supposed to lead in the implementation of peacebuilding that deals with root causes of conflict when he engages in activities exactly opposite to such objectives.

A Maranao development worker in Marawi, himself a former supporter of Duterte, called this the “selective justice” of the Duterte administration. Perhaps, a better word is hypocrisy.

This entire situation also raises serious questions about the data used to justify the declaration of martial law before Congress and the Supreme Court. It is perhaps the reason why Marvic Leonen, the Supreme Court justice with the most in depth knowledge of Mindanao, voted against the imposition of martial law anywhere in Mindanao.

As a colleague points out, the Supreme Court abdicated its duty to properly appreciate, examine, and delineate these realities and the “accurate” vs “sufficient” facts presented by parties in the martial law Supreme Court review hearings. Had they taken the time to do so, they would have discovered that in fact, the President himself failed in preventing the escalation of the Marawi crisis. There was apparently no lack of intelligence at the highest levels of the administration, nor a breakdown in the ‘appreciation’ of that intelligence, regarding the presence of the Maute and Isis. Duterte was in close communication via his peace advisor, various clans connections, and political allies, many who had already been exposed on the list of drug-connected politicians.

At the onset, many local residents in Marawi had welcomed the declaration of martial law in the hopes that it would be used to hold accountable corrupt and ineffective leaders. Unfortunately, they were sorely and tragically disappointed. Rather, the Duterte administration worked through Opapp to protect its chosen people in Lanao and their Isis-affiliated political base that was financed by drug sales. It was this collusion that led to the influx of other Isis-affiliated groups and eventually the full blown crisis in Marawi.

Thus, not only do the people of Marawi suffer, but the government’s actions have undercut and destroyed much of the peace process itself. Hundreds have died as a direct and indirect result, hundreds of thousands were displaced, human rights abuses suffered by survivors at the hands of the military and the attackers, and there is incalculable damage to infrastructure and economy. And so not only Mindanao, but all Filipinos bear the cost of Duterte’s Marawi fiasco in Mindanao.

Meanwhile, back in Manila, Duterte complains about high-priced consultants, selective justice, and drug-protecting public officials.

(Jeremy Simons worked in Davao as a peace and restorative justice advocate from 2008 to 2017. He is currently a doctoral candidate at the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies in New Zealand and can be reached at kalinawsamindanao@gmail.com -Mindanews)