Wednesday, September 03, 2008 Editorial: Unusual days
THE editorial room has never been as busy in the more than one decade that Sun.Star Davao has been churning out the news, day after day.
The year started with civilian concerns, the most devastating of which was the sudden increase in rice prices, at one time even reaching more than P50 per kilo.
Then came an offensive by the New People's Army (NPA) in the Davao Region that saw almost daily gun battles dotted with raids of military outposts whenever the military were not looking.
It was a cat and mouse game that went on for weeks, until... the Memorandum of Agreement for Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) hogged the limelight, and alleged to be disgruntled Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) commanders raiding towns and civilian houses, killing without specific enemies, as if sending a message along the line of, if you don't give us this land, then we'll make this land a hell for you to live in.
The gun battles this time were spread much wider -- in Central Mindanao and in Northern Mindanao.
In between were the two bombing incidents that involved two Metro Shuttle buses in the same terminal in Digos City, just over a month apart.
In between these were the unrelated but equally devastating crash of the Philippine Air Force C-130 plane in Davao Gulf, with what can now be regarded as the beacon of peace and revelry, the Kadayawan Festival that packed even place in Davao full of people, but which was allowed to go on for one whole week without anyone with evil intentions tinkering with the city's peace, its people, and its visitors.
These are indeed unusual days, but Dabawenyos go on with their lives as they have done before. Maybe because they are oblivious of all that's happening and simply regard the daily television news as part of their day's entertainment.
Here's to hoping though that the seeming undisturbed state does not go with lack of concern and awareness.
The past days indicate a growing threat that may have been tempered because Dabawenyos chose to live in peace, but the threat still remains, and hovers close by... as close as Digos City the other day.
Life may appear normal, Davao may continue to enjoy the peace and order its government has been working so hard to achieve, but we know that our city remains to be a most prized target of those who want to send a message of ill-intent.
May the peace we have been witnessing not blind us to the need for each and everyone to remain vigilant, to ensure that our homes, our children, our friends are safe. The peace we are enjoying can only stay with us if we work at it.
Indeed, these are unusual times that should concern all and should gather the cooperation of all.
