Wednesday, August 27, 2008 Ledesma: Grand celebration By Jun Ledesma Sunbursts
THE nightmarish events that unfold in many areas of conflict in Central and Northeastern Mindanao have not dampened the jovial and festive mood that characterized the celebration of Kadayawan Festival.
We salute Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and the peacekeeping forces for keeping an eagle eye on security concerns. At a time when MILF renegades pillage towns and remote barangays in Lanao del Norte, North Cotabato, and Sarangani, we cannot thank enough Mayor Duterte for ascertaining that peace and order prevail throughout the duration of the Kadayawan festival.
What seemly are not perceptible and apparent are the "tripping points" that Mayor Duterte and Task Force Davao have established in many sensitive areas in Davao City. The TPs are virtual eyes and ears of the Mayor. Our Muslim brothers keep watch over the coastlines while the Lumads aid the Christians in keeping an eye on possible places of entry in the hinterlands.
It matters a lot when local leaders maintain a working and friendly relations with his constituents for it spells the difference between vulnerability and security of a city as big as Davao.
When you see Mayor Duterte and his daughter Inday, the Vice Mayor, at ease in a crowd you know that everything is well and secured. This year's celebration drew an unprecedented visitors and spectators to the city.
Despite travel advisories I swear we have more foreign tourists this year than in the past. Many Dabawenyos who had taken residence abroad came home. Kris Kabasares, who once served as San Francisco chief info man, and his wife is in town.
Dennis Villanueva, a savvy media person whose singing voice is unmistakably a cross between Frank Sinatra and Michael Bubble was seen in company with his barkada at the plush Marco Polo Hotel. Dennis now lives in Florida. (I'll see you in September -- as the song goes.)
I wish we can extend this atmosphere of peace to the last islet in Sulu. When there is brotherhood among us, there is no room for animosities. In Davao City we break bread and break the walls that keep us apart.
As Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy would say in his modest compliments to Duterte, "Our Mayor treats everybody equal. No one is above the law. He makes everybody feel secured therefore needing a gun is the last thing anybody would think off."
