THE connection between the two bombing incidents has yet to be established (I hope that there is none) but the fact that two Mindanao cities were rocked by bomb explosions within ten days of each other is scary enough.
A total of 14 people died in the explosions, eight in Cagayan de Oro on July 26 and six in Cotabato last Monday, attesting to the massively destructive character of this modern day menace to society.
One shudders at the thought of how many more lives could be lost to explosives before the madmen who derive pleasure from indiscriminately hurting people can be wiped off the face of this planet, assuming they could be.
In the Cotabato bombing, the explosives were loaded in a multicab when they were set off just as a convoy carrying the city’s administrator was passing by, raising fears that we may have seen the advent of car bombing in the country.
Actually, it was not the first time ever that a car bomb attack occurred in that part of troubled Mindanao. The Philippine News Agency reported yesterday that, including the explosion of bombs loaded in a tricycle in Datu Piang, Maguindanao in June 2002, there have already been five bomb attacks in Maguindanao and Region 12.
That 2002 explosion killed then Datu Piang Mayor Saudi Ampatuan, son of former Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr., according to the PNA.
The following year, a car bomb exploded near the Cotabato airport terminal, killing two and wounding 20 others. In 2005, a car bomb was set off just as Ampatuan Sr. was passing by in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao. Ampatuan Sr. escaped death but eight people did not.
The fourth bomb attack targeted the convoy of Ampatuan’s successor, Esmael Mangudadatu, in Tacurong City. Two people, including provincial board member Russman Sinsuat, were killed.
The PNA report did not say if anyone had been arrested in connection with the four earlier bombing attacks. In the latest one, three suspects are said to be already in police custody, sparking hopes that the crime could be solved.
There is no such luck for the families of the victims in the Cagayan de Oro incident.
Until now, the police seem to be clueless on who set off the bomb and why. I thought that a CCTV camera captured the faces of the suspects. Why has there been no arrest so far?
Without meaning to be alarmist, I think that we should all work together if we want to avoid the tragedy that struck the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Cotabato. I am happy to report that finally, someone in City Hall has reacted positively to my suggestion to require certain business establishments to install CCTV cameras in their premises.
On the day that Cotabato was rocked by explosion, I received an e-mail from Rodolfo Peneyra, the administrative officer of Cebu City Councilor Mary Ann de los Santos. He said that the councilor sees the importance of a CCTV ordinance.
He revealed that in 2011, Councilor Sisinio Andales proposed a similar measure but it was downgraded into a resolution. De los Santos wants to revive the proposal, Peneyra said. That’s welcome news.
The compulsory installation of CCTV cameras need not be applied to all establishments.
A reasonable classification of businesses that are subject to the requirement can be made, based on the capital, the nature of the business and the number of people they deal with.
At the same time, the government should look into the possibility of enlisting the assistance of cable television providers that are doing business in the city in monitoring the city’s streets like they did in a town in Bulacan (Valenzuela, if I am not mistaken).
It would fit perfectly under Mayor Mike Rama’s public private partnership program.
(frank.otherside@yahoo.com)