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Saturday, May 13, 2006
Editorials: Terrorist threat
The bombing attempt the other day in one of the malls in Cebu City came in the heels of the arrest of two Indonesians who were among the group acting suspiciously in a hotel along V. Rama Ave. last Saturday.
In this case, it would have been prudent for people not to jump to conclusions or weave scenarios that would unduly spark public alarm.
But worries about the terrorist threat are always difficult to contain.
Balancing act
Admittedly, doing the balancing act in such a serious matter as security is difficult.
One can, for example, downplay the recent incidents, but it can lead to overconfidence and therefore complacency, giving terrorists more leeway in effecting a successful hit.
Or one can jump to conclusions, but it could lead to a terrorist scare and therefore anarchy or paralysis, which means playing into the terrorists’ hand.
But the difficulty in performing the balancing act can be lessened by being objective, or for all those concerned to go to the bottom of the incidents.
Facts, not speculations, should prevail.
Preparation
A positive note to this is that the incidents could effect a change in the preparations for the Asean summit that will be held here in December.
Indeed, what has been apparent in the hoopla about this international event is that the focus is on infrastructure and other peripherals, like the challenge of finishing the construction of the Cebu International Convention Center on time.
In contrast, there has been no visible and urgent effort by the body overseeing security preparations for the Summit to lay down the needed security net in Metro Cebu.
Hopefully, the incidents mentioned earlier would already jolt law enforcers into action considering that fending off the terrorist threat is not an on-and-off thing but a continuous undertaking.
Speculations
Meanwhile, it would be good for government officials and other sectors to stop the speculations and allow the experts to do their thing with the least of distractions.
In situations like this, it is always good to defer to those with better knowledge in dealing with terrorist threats.
Besides, a unified counter-action is always better than a disorderly one.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (May 13, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
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