Because it is the anniversary of the liberation of the Marawi siege and there has yet to be an investigation into the circumstance of the siege this open letter to the Senate of the Philippines will be in lieu of the weekly martial law update.
Dear Senate of the Philippines,
One year has now passed since the end of the Marawi siege. According to some reports the Marawi siege was the "most serious terror event in Southeast Asia in 15 years." It was certainly a destructive conflict which destroyed an entire city and ended the lives of 1,229 human beings. Many thousands were displaced and still remain without permanent homes. Though plans have been made and contractors sought, as of right now the rebuilding of the city has yet to begin and there is much work to be done before the city of Marawi and her people will be back to anything like normal.
But the most important work to be done has not commenced in any way shape or form. The most important work to be done is to figure out how and why this attack happened and what must be done to prevent another attack like it from ever happening again. The responsibility of this most important work lies on your shoulders.
On September 11th, 2001 the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil occurred. Shortly after legislation was passed which ultimately created the 9/11 Commission which was set up to investigate why the attack happened and how to prevent another one from occurring.
But the most important work to be done has not commenced in any way shape or form. The most important work to be done is to figure out how and why this attack happened and what must be done to prevent another attack like it from ever happening again. The responsibility of this most important work lies on your shoulders.
On September 11th, 2001 the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil occurred. Shortly after legislation was passed which ultimately created the 9/11 Commission which was set up to investigate why the attack happened and how to prevent another one from occurring.
Senators Lieberman and McCain authored the legislation that created the 9/11 Commission to investigate why America's defenses failed leading up to September 11, 2001, and how to prevent a catastrophic attack from happening again. Senators Lieberman and Collins subsequently crafted legislation to implement the Commission's recommendations and have worked ever since to ensure those laws are working to protect the American people to the greatest extent possible.
The Committee has originated a series of bipartisan legislative initiatives enacted by Congress and signed into law to organize and coordinate the federal government’s vast resources more effectively to prevent, prepare for, and, if necessary, respond to and recover from terrorist attacks or natural disasters, while also strengthening the capabilities of state and local governments, first responders, and the private sector.
Despite the controversy surrounding this commission a final report was published in 2004 which gave a detailed account of what happened not just on September 11th, 2001 but also what happened leading up to that day. Legislation designed to prevent another such attack from occurring was then passed according to the recommendations of the commission.
The Marawi attack was the Philippines' 9/11, an unprecedented and deadly terror attack committed on Philippine soil. Why has there not been a committee set up to investigate this attack? Only Senator Trillanes, through Senate resolution 743, has stated that the attack must be investigated. Why has the Senate failed to act on this resolution?
Does the Senate think that because the Marawi siege is over and done with it is time to move on? Such are the public words of DND Secretary Lorenzana who, while the battle was still raging, said:
The Duterte administration knew about the Marawi siege in advance and allowed it to happen. That is what they have said publicly. I have even compiled a video where they admit this information at various press conferences and I have sent it to members of the Senate though I do not think any of you have watched it. Here it is:
A full transcript along with sources for each clip in this video can be found here: https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2018/05/intelligence-failures-and-prior.html
Many I have spoken with about the administration's prior knowledge have accused me of being a conspiracy theorist. That is despite letting them hear the President and DND Secretary and others speak for themselves. There are many conspiracy theories floating about concerning the Marawi siege. Some think the Liberal Party funded the terrorists and that Bam Aquino was in Marawi a few days before the attack and gave the "Go" signal. Some think former President Benigno Aquino III coddled the terrorists and allowed them to build strength in the region. Some think the USA provided the weapons as well as the terrorists.
Despite whatever the President and his men have said the impetus for an investigation is the crime itself and not any conspiracy theory be it true or false. In this case the crime is the attack on Marawi by the Maute Group.
A thorough investigation from the Senate or a body created by the Senate for the purpose would dispel all conspiracy theories and the truth would come out at last, whatever that truth may be. It would also reveal exactly what happened and why and would lead to recommendations to secure the nation. The men tasked with protecting the country but who utterly failed would also be held accountable. A Senate investigation into the events surrounding the Marawi siege would be a positive step in the right direction for the Philippines and would help in the prevention of another attack.
Reports from international terrorist monitoring groups allege that the fact that a tiny ISIS cell in the Philippines was able to hold a city for 5 months has been a major piece of propaganda and terrorists from around the world are making their way to the Philippines to continue the jihad. The fight is far from over and the worst could be yet to come. Without a thorough investigation into all the circumstances surrounding this siege and a subsequent strengthening of the nation's defences and intelligence apparatus it is only a matter of time until ISIS strikes again.
So why has an investigation yet to happen?
Investigate the Marawi attack now!
Thank you for your time.
The Marawi attack was the Philippines' 9/11, an unprecedented and deadly terror attack committed on Philippine soil. Why has there not been a committee set up to investigate this attack? Only Senator Trillanes, through Senate resolution 743, has stated that the attack must be investigated. Why has the Senate failed to act on this resolution?
Does the Senate think that because the Marawi siege is over and done with it is time to move on? Such are the public words of DND Secretary Lorenzana who, while the battle was still raging, said:
"The time of blaming somebody or pointing somebody is past that, ito na nga nangyari. We can no longer bring back the lives of those 110 people killed, 900 wounded."
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/07/27/1722033/dnd-admits-lack-intel-validation-marawi-siegeWhat good does moving on do if we do not learn from our mistakes. Does the Senate know the nature of the reported mistakes of the Marawi siege? Have the Senators read the news or been informed by their contacts in the military? Are they aware that despite spending billions on intelligence the DND ignored intelligence reports? Are they aware that the DND and AFP knew about the attack by at least April 18th, 2018? Is the Senate aware that the Duterte administration had cabinet level meetings about the siege before it happened? Is the Senate aware that President Duterte admitted the government's soft stance on terrorism was to blame for the stockpiling of weapons in Marawi because the AFP was not allowed to confront anyone bearing arms lest they be MILF whom the government had an agreement with? Is the Senate aware that the DND had an inside man in Maute and they knew all the movements of the group? Is the Senate aware that the AFP was not ready for the Battle of Marawi because they completely ceased urban warfare training?
"It's a skill we used to have but we lost along the way because we didn't use it. We keep training our people in what we call the military operations in urban terrain, MOUT. But we seldom use it, we never use it, so we stopped teaching our people at the Marawi camp. So now we have to reacquire that skill plus the necessary equipment that goes with it.
http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/05/18/ph-looks-to-acquire-facial-recognition-software-drones-to-boost-counter-terrorism-effortsI am an anonymous person with no political or military contacts. All the information I have comes from what is reported in the media. What other failures happened that the media has not reported of which the Senate is aware? Surely there are more.
The Duterte administration knew about the Marawi siege in advance and allowed it to happen. That is what they have said publicly. I have even compiled a video where they admit this information at various press conferences and I have sent it to members of the Senate though I do not think any of you have watched it. Here it is:
A full transcript along with sources for each clip in this video can be found here: https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2018/05/intelligence-failures-and-prior.html
Many I have spoken with about the administration's prior knowledge have accused me of being a conspiracy theorist. That is despite letting them hear the President and DND Secretary and others speak for themselves. There are many conspiracy theories floating about concerning the Marawi siege. Some think the Liberal Party funded the terrorists and that Bam Aquino was in Marawi a few days before the attack and gave the "Go" signal. Some think former President Benigno Aquino III coddled the terrorists and allowed them to build strength in the region. Some think the USA provided the weapons as well as the terrorists.
Despite whatever the President and his men have said the impetus for an investigation is the crime itself and not any conspiracy theory be it true or false. In this case the crime is the attack on Marawi by the Maute Group.
A thorough investigation from the Senate or a body created by the Senate for the purpose would dispel all conspiracy theories and the truth would come out at last, whatever that truth may be. It would also reveal exactly what happened and why and would lead to recommendations to secure the nation. The men tasked with protecting the country but who utterly failed would also be held accountable. A Senate investigation into the events surrounding the Marawi siege would be a positive step in the right direction for the Philippines and would help in the prevention of another attack.
Reports from international terrorist monitoring groups allege that the fact that a tiny ISIS cell in the Philippines was able to hold a city for 5 months has been a major piece of propaganda and terrorists from around the world are making their way to the Philippines to continue the jihad. The fight is far from over and the worst could be yet to come. Without a thorough investigation into all the circumstances surrounding this siege and a subsequent strengthening of the nation's defences and intelligence apparatus it is only a matter of time until ISIS strikes again.
So why has an investigation yet to happen?
Investigate the Marawi attack now!
Thank you for your time.
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