President Trump declared the US-Iran war would be brief, but a month in, no end is in sight. Despite his repeated claims of victory, the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, continued bombings are called for, and Iran keeps launching missile strikes at US bases in neighboring Gulf states. The war, clearly, is not over.

Something unusual is the tempo of the war, particularly in the US's actions and pronouncements.

Over the past few weeks, a pattern appears to be emerging. During the week, the usual incoherent and contradictory pronouncements by President Trump seem to be focused on the markets. Major announcements or escalation of attacks occur at the end of Friday, when the stock market has already closed for the weekend. Then, before the markets open Monday morning, President Trump would post on his social media platform, which would appear to placate market concerns, often triggering a sudden upward spike that stabilizes the markets. Later on, when it is posted and shown to be erroneous or a lie, the market dips and drops.

The pattern is clear: Major market moves follow political statements. Last Monday offers the sharpest example. On March 23 at 7:04 a.m. EST, President Trump posted, “The US and Iran have had productive discussions to end the Iran War.” Six minutes later, the S&P 500 gained 240 points — adding $2 trillion in market cap. Twenty-seven minutes later, Iran denied any contact. By 8:00 a.m. EST, the S&P 500 had dropped 120 points, erasing $1 trillion in value. That’s a $3 trillion swing within an hour, driven by shifting headlines. Interesting part of this? The Financial Times reported that some traders placed $580 million in oil bets ahead of President Trump’s social media post on Iran talks. As a result, those who made a purchase made a lot of money. All within an hour. There were patterns already pointed out by some market analysts of insider trading, but last Monday was the most blatant.

News reports have pointed out that, before the war broke out, members of the Trump family invested in companies that appear to have secured military contracts from the US government. From investing in companies that produce weapons and missiles, to a company that looks like it is securing a contract to make drones for the war effort. With so many countries dragged into this war and with so many attacks, the weapons that had been in stockpile by the US and other governments are getting depleted and need replenishment. Soon. With President Trump asking Congress for $200 billion for the war, it seems it’s a boon for the military industrial complex.

This war is different from other wars, because, unfortunately, what some people pay attention to, are not the 236 healthcare centers in Iran that were destroyed, the 9,218 commercial units in Iran that US/Israel has bombed, the 67,414 homes in Iran destroyed, the 498 schools bombed in Iran, the use of white phosphorus on civilian population in Lebanon by Israel or the use of cluster bombs by Israel on Lebanon and by Iran on Israel. Also, the military facilities and transportation hubs across the Gulf states targeted by Iran, in retaliation for strikes by the US and Israel, which caused damage to targets in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain.

No, for some, the numbers that have unfortunately mattered are the surges and drops in the stock markets, and how much some profit from it. The billions of dollars in defense contracts that will be awarded, not only to replenish depleted armories, but also to stock up on their arsenal.

To some, war is not dictated by the human cost — the lost lives, children killed, families forever torn apart, the homes, schools, medical facilities and civilian buildings bombed. This is shaping up to be a weekend war quantified by money and profit. And that, is a real tragedy.

(The author is a former Comelec commissioner. He is a pioneer of automated elections being a member of the Commission that successfully modernized Philippine elections in 2010. He remains involved in public service as an election lawyer.)