THE deadly blast in Jolo of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Cathedral ushered gory memories of similar vicious bombing incidents of San Pedro Cathedral in Davao City.
These dastardly and bestial attacks, especially on the house of worship, are condemned by both Christian and Islamic religions and can only be carried out by extremists. Both incidents were carried out under the aegis of martial law.
The Davao tragedy happened in the waning days of the Marcos regime. I must say that in both incidents, the enforcement of martial rule was not as tight and the security measures were wanting. President Rodrigo Duterte could not hide his anger that the twin blasts in Jolo were carried out inside and outside the church.
What happened in Jolo should be an expensive lesson for our law enforcers. I have personally witnessed the lackadaisical attitude of police elements that are supposed to keep the security at the Redemptorist Church in Davao. Instead of posting themselves in one or two in strategic parts or moving around the church, they are all clustered in one corner where it is shaded, either rumormongering or texting.
The homemade bomb used in Jolo must have been big, considering the extent of the damage and the number of people killed and maimed. If the security was tight enough, the bombs could not have been brought inside the church.
All these are beyond us now. After we bury the dead, we should continue to care for the wounded. The president has ordered a stand down in Jolo and an all-out-offensive against the terrorists that seemed to move around freely, kidnapping people be they Christians, Muslims, foreigners, locals, men, women, children or adults.
The police and the military should not waste their time thinking and analyzing whether the perpetrators were Isis or the Abu Sayyaf, whether the incident was politically motivated or a terrorist attack. It was plain carnage and whoever carried it out must be pursued to the ends of the earth and annihilated. The supremacy and strength of the government forces against these criminals must prevail because weakness and apathy invite aggression. Stop moonlighting as security guards of mining firms in Tawi-Tawi. That is not your sworn duty.
The Bangsamoro Organic Law has been ratified. It is a demonstration of sincerity of the Duterte administration in fulfilling the desired autonomy in what was once the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. It is now the turn of The Moro Islamic Liberation Front to demonstrate its sincerity to assist the government in hunting down the perpetrators. As to the Moro National Liberation Front, whose leader Nur Misuari, is a veritable brother to Duterte, you know every inch of the ground of the island provinces of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. The time has come to prove you are worthy of your friend’s trust and confidence.
Join hands with him to end once and for all the evil that lurks in your region for there is no better time than now to make your land and your people prosper.