A MARANAO civil society leader said resentment is near boiling among Maranaos over what they perceive as neglect and indifference by President Rodrigo Duterte over their pleas.
Agakhan Mangondato Sharief said their calls, such as to end the aerial bombardments in Marawi City, are falling into deaf ears.
Sharief, who used to head the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) contingent to the joint ceasefire monitoring team in Lanao del Sur, is asking the government to allow them, the Maranao people, solve the conflict.
"Give us chance, Mr. President. Huwag niyo pong hintayin na magaya kayo kay Marcos, na kahit magunaw ang mundo, sisisihin at sisihin namin kayo, baka hindi na namin kayo mapatawad dahil sa dami ng patay sa mga civilian. Wag niyo pong hintayin na wala na kaming tiwala sa inyo (Don’t let us blame you like Marcos. We may not be able to forgive you because of the rising number of deaths in civilians)," Sharief said in a press conference Friday for the approaching Mindanao-wide People's State of the Nation Address next week.
"Sinasabi ng iba na sisihin ang Maute sa pagkasira ng aming mga ari-arian. Pero ang problema diyan is yung nakikita namin na nagbobomba is ang mga military. We fear that there will be an uprising in the Muslim community because of the airstrikes (Some would say that Maute terror group is the one to be blamed because of the damage they brought to our properties, but the problem here is, we only see military bombing the area)," he said.
Sharief offered to call for a dialogue between Maranao civil society groups and the Maute group to convince the latter to bring the war in the mountains and away from civilian properties.
"Naawa rin kami sa military kasi hindi sila sanay sa urban warfare, sanay sila bundok, kaya ilang beses naming sinasabi na hayaan niyo kaming makipag-usap para madala natin sila sa bundok at doon na magbarilan. Pumapayag naman yung mga Maute group, kasi gusto naman talaga nilang mamatay, hindi sila titigil, alam ko kasi nakakausap ko sila since May 24, but it stopped when the peace corridor ended (We pity the military because they are not used to urban warfare, they use to fight in the mountains. That is why we keep telling the military to allow us to talk with the Maute terror group so that he fighting will be brought to the mountains. The Maute group agrees with it, ‘cause they really want to die and they will not stop. I know because I’ve been talking with them since May 24, but it stopped when the peace corridor ended)," he said.
Sharief was one of the volunteer rescuers who pushed for a peace corridor, a secure space where humanitarian groups may evacuate wounded and trapped civilians and retrieve dead bodies for burial.
He also called on the government to restore the peace corridor as there are still about 300 to 500 hostages of the Maute group.
The Marawi community leader also lamented about the worsening situation of the evacuees and said one person is dying daily at evacuation centers but said these cases remain unreported and undocumented.
"Sa buong buhay namin, ngayon lang nangyari sa mga Maranao itong gulo sa Marawi, hindi ito nangyari sa panahon nga ni Marcos. Malungkot kami dahil isa kami sa dahilan kung bakit naging presidente ang ating pangulo (This is the only time that the Maranao experience this kind of war. This did not happen during the time of Marcos. We are sad because we are one of the reasons Duterte became our president)," he said.
"Hindi effective ang airstrikes, let us negotiate and talk (Airstrikes are not effective, let us negotiate and talk)," he added.