LIBERATION OF MARAWI

The courage displayed by PCOL REX ARVIN TORRES MALIMBAN earned not only the admiration of the members of the PNP but also of the people he had sworn to serve. We are very honored to have not only one of the youngest graduates of the Philippine National Police Academy but also one of the heroes of the Marawi Siege last 2017. He is one of the most promising PNP personnel who risked his life for the safety and well-being of the Filipino people.

On the 17th day of October, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte declared Marawi liberated from the Maute group, the Islamic State of Lanao. In the aftermath, it was not only the mark of gunshots on walls that remained. The siege lasted for about five months and turned the whole city into rubble and ashes. An estimated 1,200 people died during the battle. While most were armed extremists, Amnesty International reported that the militants took civilians as hostages and carried out extrajudicial killings. Several civilians killed during the siege remain unidentified until this day. Given the declaration of the city's liberation, is Marawi City genuinely liberated?

No matter how painful it is to remember, the people of Marawi still commemorate the day that the city gained freedom from the gunshots and bombs brought about by the fighters' efforts for release. If I were in the shoes of the victims of the Marawi Siege, celebrating the day of its liberation would be like going back to the day when people ran for safety while bullets rained down incessantly. That would be a traumatic experience, but there is always a way out of every tunnel. It might be too traumatic, but there's no other way out of these memories but through. As the proverbial saying goes, "If you are going through hell, keep going."

It should also be noted that liberation is limited to physical freedom. It also means being free from your thoughts, fears, and doubts. Independence means healing from the things that have caused you mental, emotional, and psychological torture. Healing the mind and the heart is also a part of liberation.

The next step is to make use of your senses. Your senses, mainly sight and hearing, can provide a wealth of vivid information about your and other people's emotions and situations. However, it is essential to note that your sensemaking is frequently filtered by self-talk. Despite what your inner voice may be saying, a frown, for example, does not always indicate that someone is angry; a groan does not always suggest that the person you're speaking with is bored.

The last step is tuning into your feelings. It may not be easy if you do not enjoy thinking deeply about their feelings. Your feelings are emotional reactions to your experiences. Like your senses, emotions provide helpful information about what is happening around you if you tune into them.

There are more ways of self-reflection, and you are the one who is in control of what you will use to understand yourself. As May Sarton puts it, "We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange that self may prove to be." If we understand and know ourselves better, we will know our strengths and where we excel. And if we know our true selves, we will be more confident in doing things out of our comfort zones. Now, do you want to do and explore things that are outside your box? You can, but first, ask yourself the question I asked before the first paragraph and reflect on it.

The Liberation of Marawi is an eye-opener for everyone. We need to be prepared anytime, for we never know when the enemy will move against our government. In addition, the leftists have also become knowledgeable about modern technology and can adapt to the world's changes. Their long-term evasion has caused other rebel groups to admire their skills and tactics, and they might even be lauded as exemplary in pushing the ideals of the rebellion. As members of the PNP and the Military, this instills in us the need to undergo more intensified training and skills which can equip us to be more strategic and prepared for similar challenges in the future.