Throwback. Through our pen, we appealed to the government several times to create a Truth Commission to investigate the ruination of Marawi City so that it may pick up one or two ideas on how to combat urban terrorism and be ready to deal with a similar tragedy.  But our pleas fell on deaf ears.

Our unspoken purpose was to prove that while the siege triggered the war, the heavy loss of lives and damage were inflicted by government forces. And this could have been minimized if the government had adopted an open mind about solutions to the impasse. There were overtures for the surrender of the much-outnumbered and outgunned rebels, but these were rejected by the government. For what reason?

This column does not buy the claim of critics that it was to justify the imposition of martial law, which did happen, or the wild indictment that the government wanted to test the modern new armaments it had acquired from foreign countries, including fighter jets and pilot training.

Marawi presented an opportunity for the experiment. It was not likewise the bravado of army centurions who wanted to show that their forces were capable of fighting in dense forest jungles where they were trained and in the jungle of high-rise urban structures. These are innuendoes and claims which could have been validated or invalidated through investigation.

What was proven was the recklessness, if not sheer incompetence, of our jet fighter pilots who bombed places kilometers from their intended targets. In our barangay, Tolali, there was a disastrous mis-hit of a target that killed about 10 Marines, which some Maranaws described as the law of "morka" or karma in action.

Why resuscitate these tales? It is to show that the heavy damage was caused by government forces which, by the dictates of any law of any society, be it international or international human rights, moral, divine, including the Code of Hammurabi and Kalantiaw, the culprit is obliged to pay for the damage it inflicted. The amount of reparations should be reasonable or at least proximate to their claim.

That is why when the Department of Budget and Management dangled the amount of P1 billion as compensation for Marawi victims, it was met with disbelief, which led to a spirited protest. Unkind words were expressed by victims whose consciences were revolted. They could not believe that the policymakers could be so insensitive to the cry for justice by a segment of Philippine society that had suffered historical injustice from foreign invaders and their own government. The radicals among them cried state terrorism — no wonder the fire of secession and independence still burns in the hearts of many Moros. The situation tends to ignite more hostility towards the government.