Wednesday, January 10, 2007 Malilong: Let us protect our guests from harm By Frank Malilong Jr. The Other Side
BARRING last-minute hitches, meetings related to the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit shall have started today. We have been told of the immense economic benefits Cebu will earn from our hosting of the gathering but nothing compares with the sheer honor of having so many heads of state and other dignitaries walking on Cebu soil.
But that honor does not/did not come cheap. I am not talking about the money that we spent in constructing the Cebu International Convention Center and in beautifying our streets or of the personal inconvenience we will have to suffer when certain roads are closed to ordinary traffic during the summit.
I am talking about our tremendous responsibility of keeping all our guests safe from harm while they’re here. The eyes of the world are upon us and you can imagine how embarrassing it can be if even just one of our visitors suffers from say, food poisoning. (I hope nobody will again commit the mistake of offering budbud to a guest without telling him that he’s not supposed to eat the wrapper the way his Mandaue host did to the deserving Dennis Rodman.)
Of course, we all know where the real danger comes from. Sadly, neither science nor civilization has prepared us for the emergence of a rare and deadly strain of dementia that drives the afflicted to inflict as much damage as possible to humanity to attract attention to their cause.
The terrorist does not see reason, only opportunity and, unfortunately for us, a gathering such as the Asean summit provides a magnitude of opportunity to sow mayhem. The summit is to terrorism like magnet to metal: it attracts.
Yesterday, I wrote about the palpable lack of excitement in the air as we approached this week’s summit and noted that it could have been due to the severe disappointment that we endured when the event, which was originally scheduled in December last year, was postponed. If we did not at all appear stirred, it was because we were wary about being in for another disappointment if the summit were to be postponed again.
Well, here it is, folks. When I wrote this, word was that there is going to be no typhoon that will deter the heads of state from coming here or send those who have already arrived scurrying home. Again and God forbid, barring any hitches, summit-related activities may have started by the time you read this.
In that event, we shall have begun carrying our cross: that of protecting our guests from harm. The burden is heavy but it can grow lighter when resting on so many shoulders. Let it therefore be our personal commitment and responsibility to keep every Asean guest safe and unharmed.
I am not suggesting that we run after the criminals or terrorists (as if there is a difference) ourselves; just report anything suspicious to the police. To paraphrase Mayor Tommy Osmeña, in this era of insane violence, it is wise to be paranoid.
