Glory in Marawi

Leaders always choose the harder right rather than the easier wrong. - Orrin Woodward

We had a brilliant lecturer who talked with experience and expertise, one of our upperclassmen who is a recipient of the Medal of Heroism, also known as the Medalya ng Kabayanihan. He talked earnestly about the police service and their role in the community. The function of the police in the community is very vital to the efficiency of the service in the police organization as a whole, as we all know that public service is a public trust. There are many kinds of problems that our community faces nowadays, depending on the situation of the area or place. Take, for example, when Sir Malimban showed us a photo of a bombarded armored vehicle of the Philippine Army that was abandoned as they were fleeing the enemy firefight during the Marawi siege. The most common problem encountered by our government troops is being ambushed and harassed by armed opposition groups that emerge from different affiliations in the country.

PCOL REX ARVIN MALIMBAN

The Marawi assault came just months after security forces attacked the mountain lair of Isnilon Hapilon, a long-time leader of Abu Sayyaf, or “Father of the Sword”, a notorious Islamist militant group known for kidnapping.

The Philippines military said Hapilon was likely wounded in the raids but managed to escape to Marawi, where he joined up with the Maute group before plotting the siege.[1]

Being a leader is indeed a huge responsibility. As a commander of the SAF combat unit in Marawi, Sir Malimban shared with us his glory as he led the anti-Maute-ISIS terrorist goup into victory and gained the success of the independence of Marawi from those terrorist groups. The real challenge in the field is lacking the resources to face the opposition but still being able to defeat them. In this situation, Sir Malimban shared with us that it is not about the firepower that matters in war or battle. According to the SAF troopers, "By skill and virtue, we triumph." Indeed, it was the bravery and skills of our local heroes that sought the freedom of our fellow countrymen. It is the reason why an effective leader in the field must invest his career in both training and education because we can put them to use no matter where we are assigned in our field of work.

In relation to our ICS subject, Sir Malimban has displayed his knowledge in creating a systematic organization to maximize the capability of the unit despite having limited resources in terms of firepower and support. He made use of all available resources, and his leadership enabled his unit to effectively carry out their objective as everyone in the task group had effectively responded to the delegation of authority.

[1] Battle for Marawi. (n.d.). In Reuters. http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/PHILIPPINES-ATTACK/010041F032X/index.html