Tabang for Marawi
It cannot be denied that the soldiers who liberated Marawi City fought their best, even sacrificing their lives and comfort for the sake of freedom. For five long months, sounds of guns and cannons were heard over Marawi City that became a normal music to the locals as day went by.
Amidst these pierce fights against the Islamic-inspired Maute, backed with other local and national terrorists, a group of soldiers who fought a new front of the battle surfaced. It went beyond the traditional fighting strand to win not just the war, but also the people. The unit who did not fight the fire with another fire, but with water.
The “Tabang” was born
The battle of weapon happened at the center of Marawi City. But outside Marawi City, another battle is about the begin. The battle of propaganda wherein people’s mind were the battlefield. The displaced families were being targeted by other threat groups and organizations due to their vulnerability. It was in this height when the Joint Task Group Tabang was created. The Civil-Military Operations Regiment immediately identified the most qualified and fitted personnel from the Regiment for the mission in Marawi.
The JTG Tabang was tasked to provide direct support to the frontline troops through information, communication and education tools (ICE). In order to fully accomplish its task, JTG Tabang was organized into four task units, namely: the Support Task Unit that provided admin and logistical support to the whole task group; the Information Support Affairs Task Unit that was in-charge of providing relevant information to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) about the true nature of the terrorist with the intent of sparing them away from the possible indoctrination, and cut the support system coming from civilians; the Civil Affairs Task Unit that assisted the local government units in determining the needs of the IDPs until its delivery by conducting needs assessment and IDP sites’ profiling; and the Public Affairs Task Unit that provided the relevant, accurate, and timely information needed by the general public about the situation in the IDP centers to draw more support and assistance externally.
The JTG Tabang’s initial contact with the people was not easy. There, soldiers experienced being ignored and others were feared especially by women and children, while some were mocked and shouted. These scenarios were common in every unit’s engagements in the evacuation centers. These are but understandable to a person who believes that their rights were stepped on and felt that they were the victims of this eventuality. However, the unit’s mission was clear – and that was to engage the IDPs and know their needs, so that these needs can be channeled to the concerned government agencies. In spite of these experiences, soldiers of JTG Tabang were persistent. No matter how much they were ignored, mocked, and feared, they kept on visiting the angry “bakwits” making them know for themselves the goodness of these soldiers.
However, after a few days, the situation changed. People can be seen running towards the soldiers, waving at the roadsides, and returning back the greetings thrown to them. The negative stories about how the soldiers bombed their houses were changed with anger against the terrorists who they now believed the reasons why the government had to use its effort in Marawi City.
Stakeholders’ engagement, a CMO’s force multiplier
One of the tasks of the JTG Tabang was to determine the needs of the IDP and address them if necessary. In order to perform the tasks given despite the limited resources and funds, JTG Tabang commander, Col Thomas Sedano used its inter-agency skills and stakeholder engagement capability to engage different local chief executives, heads of various line agencies and non-government organizations to deliver services and programs for the IDPs. It resulted to the entry of some livelihood, poverty alleviations, medical and dental, and other community-based programs that were enjoyed by the evacuees.
These activities include the GoNegosyo agro-farming training; distribution of hygiene kits, school supplies and emergency tools; various relief items; medical and dental missions; and the city mayor’s mobile kitchen dubbed as “food for peace” that benefitted almost all evacuees in the area.
On the other hand, “Food for Peace” was a result of the JTG Tabang’s needs assessment conducted in the different evacuation center. As the people were tired of eating relief items, canned and dried goods, they wanted to eat more freshly cooked healthy foods. JTG Tabang presented the idea to Mayor Majul Gandamra of Marawi City, which was eventually approved. “Food for Peace” was coined as the program brought peace messages to the recipient. While food were being prepared in front of them, JTG Tabang facilitated games and entertainment as well as psychosocial activities for the children. For the adults, a film showing and public dialogue were conducted explaining them why the incident happened in Marawi City, and why they have to condemn terrorism.
The continued engagement of the JTG Tabang has resulted to the activities such as Peace Poster Making Contest, song interpretation of “Bangon Marawi”, free block time radio program at 94.5 Cool FM Iligan City and 94.1 U-Radio in Mindanao State University, beef-sharing (live stocks), and other activities with high impact to the IDPs. Thwarted mass movement
Despite the efforts to help the IDPs assimilate to the present condition in Marawi, there were still some individuals who were agitating the evacuees and organizing them to stage a mass protest on the 24th of July. These individuals were citing some alleged violations of soldiers, looting, arson, bombing, air strikes and the likes to make the people angry and easy to mobilize.
Moreover, they were also enticing the people to move back to Marawi City amidst the ongoing encounter as their action to force the government to immediately end the conflict. If the march towards Marawi will pursue, the military offensives being undertaken to track down the terrorists will be affected. And the terrorists leaders will eventually escape and sooner stage another terrorist attack.
With no time to waste, Colonel Sedano immediately sent teams to the identified evacuation centers that were being organized for the said march off. As the daily visit and dialogue with the evacuees prospered, people became aware that these actions may only worsen the situation and that the only intent of the organizers was to use them for the terrorists to evade the attacking soldiers.
As a result, no one joined the protest march. Instead, IDPs conducted their own version of peace rally in their respective evacuation centers in protest of the Maute terrorists and terrorism. People in the evacuation centers cried to stop terrorism and disputed the claims of their organizers about the alleged abuses perpetrated by the soldiers which were used to make them angry and participate in the rally.
People’s Mind: A Different Battlefield
The JTG Tabang’s two pronged efforts of providing information support to the main battle area while managing the information needs of the IDPs dealt with a very significant battlefield that are not seen or felt – the people’s mind.When Maute terrorists occupied the city attempting to conquer the land to be declared as their Caliphate, government soldiers were deployed surrounding the city and forced them to vacate the area leading to numbers of casualties, and destruction of properties. After more than five months, the government successfully reclaimed the city from the terrorists.
While doing so, another battlefield emerged--the people’s minds. The war in Marawi City might be over, but the war in the minds of our people who were affected by the incident still persists. Mao Tse Tung’s famous maxim says, “Whoever wins the propaganda, wins the war”. This is the war of perception… the people’s perception. Therefore, whoever wins the people will eventually win the war.
Word war was significantly used in the frontlines. Through the loudspeakers, civilians caught in the crossfire were guided to a safer ground, hostages were given hope to stay longer until they were successfully rescued, fighting morale of troops were boosted, and some terrorists were called to surrender.
However successful and already won the war in Marawi City, the war in the minds of these people is still ongoing. These people, especially those who were greatly affected by the siege are very crucial to this battle.
The armed conflict that happened in Marawi City has developed a mental conflict among our people. The relatives of the slain terrorists and the soldiers, the owners of those properties destroyed, the love ones of whose rights were deprived, and everyone became the key players of a war developed mentally. A war that is very critical to everyone.
Everyday, they are cramming for information. Questions of when, why, and how are just a few of the information that they are yearning to learn. If the right information will not be delivered to them, in due time, we might be facing another fate similar to what happened in Marawi City.
‘Peace is Possible’
The five-month conflict in the Islamic City of Marawi has claimed lives of around 165 soldiers and 50 civilians with almost 800 terrorists killed. With the relentless efforts of all units deployed in the city and its neighboring municipalities and various entities both private and government corporations and organizations, and the immediate communities, the city was liberated from the terrorists occupation.
In spite of what happened, everyone remains optimistic that peace is possible. And that, to represent that hope, the peace mural dubbed as, “Peace is Possible” was conceptualized.
“Peace is Possible” wall will depict a story of the collaboration and cooperation that will lead to the successful attainment of peace which is exactly what happened in the liberation of Marawi City from the terrorist ISIS.
The mural was sketched by the different stakeholders and agencies that played significant role in supporting the frontline troops during the liberation of Marawi. More over, the wall now serves as a remembrance that peace can be attained even in the pressing time.The remember Marawi incident is a good lesson of the past for the people to embrace peace that would lead them to totally reject violent extremism.
The mural also reminds the people in Lanao about the sacrifices of the soldiers in liberating Marawi and the support given by the people that boosted the morale and government forces’ will to fight.
