For the thousands of Maranaos who are now in the different evacuation centers because of the war in Marawi City, President Rody Duterte is one of them, a blood relative and their hope for survival.
On Thursday, when the Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resourced delivered water and food aid and announced that the support was made on orders of Pres. Duterte, the evacuees in Baloi, Lanao del Norte applauded while the women cried.
Pres. Duterte has always been proud of his Maranao lineage and traces his maternal grandmothers roots to the Samporna and Camayonga clans of Lanao.
In the 2016 Presidential Elections, President Duterte thrashed all of his rivals in the Bangsamoro Areas, especially in the Lanao Area.
He has appointed three Maranaos in Cabinet and has visited the province several times even when there was imminent danger posed by the ISIS-inspired terror groups.
The Maranaos’ fondness and love for Pres. Duterte, their “Tunganay” or blood relative were evident when I and other officials of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries went to an evacuation center in Baloi, Lanao del Norte where about 20,000 people are sheltered.
When I announced in my fractured Maranao dialect that we were bringing food aid for them in compliance with the directive of Pres. Duterte, they applauded loudly.
Many of the women in the evacuation center cried upon hearing that the goods for Pres. Duterte would continue to be delivered as long as they have not returned to their homes.
They turned more excited when I said in the presence of Baloi Mayor Elias Ali that there would be a financial assistance and a no-collateral and no-interest loan for farming and fisher folk families when things have settled down.
Their reaction reflected the general sentiment among the people of Lanao, even when their lives were affected by the conflict, which agrees with the decision of the President to declare Martial Law.
The common sentiment of the Maranaos is that Martial Law will finally change their lives in a province where governance is virtually non-existent and where the poverty incidence is a scandalous 74.3%.
“There should be no let up. This is the long awaited cleansing of Lanao of drugs, terrorism and corrupt governance,” said a former Ambassador from Lanao.
(Photos by Bong Piñol)
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