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Sunday, March 20, 2005
Don't allow terrorists to change your way of life, Dabawenyos urged
By Ben O. Tesiorna
DESPITE the recent decision of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to raise the alert level from orange to red, Davao City First District Representative and House Majority Leader Prospero Nograles urged the public not to allow themselves to be engulfed by fear amid threats of retaliatory attacks by the Abu Sayyaf.
Nograles said the public should not allow terrorists like the Abu Sayyaf to change their way of life because by doing so the terrorists "shall have succeeded in their achieving their objective of sowing terror in our hearts."
Nograles said the threat of Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Soliman that his group will launch more terrorist attacks to avenge the death of the their comrades who staged a daring siege at the Metro Manila Rehabilitation Center (MMRC) in Bicutan, Taguig City might be real but this does not mean that public should already stop doing the things that they normally do.
"We should not stop going to work. We should not stop going to the malls with our children. We should not stop going to the grocery story to buy our needs. We should not stop going the movie houses with our love ones. We should continue going to our churches to praise our God. We should continue with our way life because otherwise, we will allow ourselves to become virtual hostages of the Abu Sayyaf right in our own homes," Nograles said.
Nograles said the public could replace their fear with utmost vigilance as he urged President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to immediately tap barangay leaders nationwide and the country's Muslim political and religious leaders to heighten the monitoring of possible terrorists who may have sought refuge in their respective communities.
"We should be more vigilant than ever. Everyone should do their share in helping the government to avert any terrorist attack," Nograles said.
He added the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines should tap every available personnel that they have, including military personnel who are doing clerical jobs inside military camps, to help ensure the security of civilians.
Mayor Rodrigo Duterte upgraded Saturday the alert level in the city from orange alert to red as Christians celebrate the Holy Week.
The level of alert in the city be raised to red" due to a severe risk of attack on government facilities, public utilities and places where people converge.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (March 20, 2005 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
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