UNFOUNDED fear, too much worrying over something that’s non-existent, or just plain dread of people or invented or imagined enemy or situation.
So-called security sector or forces are sometimes reacting so strongly about their imagined enemies, such that they tend to see everything colored red or “communists”, as in, summing up alternative schools in the hinterlands ran by non-government organizations as “rebel schools”, not stopping for a while to consider if they are over-reacting over false claims from interest groups such as those who wanted the resources underneath or within the lands occupied by Indigenous Peoples (IP).
Why they so easily “suspects” and thus, heap uncalled for allegations against independent individuals and groups helping the Lumads help themselves is beyond me! Although we know that when money speaks, anything can easily be concocted.
One such incident happened once too many over time in Mindanao, and we’ve heard a litany of complaints from mentors teaching in Lumad schools who had to suffer being subjected to unfair accusations from members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines running after rebels.
Are the Marines in Sultan Kudarat for instance, so sure about what they were after when they chose to unnecessarily “visit” a Lumad school in this area and make accusations to the point of belittling the vital contributions of these teachers who are helping Lumad children in their education?
A teacher relayed to authorities how brazen the soldiers acted after they searched the school premises uninvited without even the benefit of courtesy.
Not only did they allegedly arrogantly brandished their guns Rambo-like by faking a gun-battle to make their presence felt and sending school children, their teachers and the whole community scampering for cover, they went ahead and sneaked into the school grounds and into the school rooms, unmindful of the confusion they are creating among the community.
“To serve and protect…” This is the vow of those who entered the Armed Forces of the country, but whose interests are they serving and protecting?
Of course there are still a lot of gentlemen and officers among the ranks of the men in uniform, but so sad that a few bad eggs could besmirch the rest of the rank and file. Indeed, I empathize with the President whose work to clean the ranks among his subordinates is getting harder and harder each day.
The mess left by his predecessors could not be swept off just like that in a matter of months… it is just too much. We, as citizens, must help our president as he tries to make sense of the kind of “government” that was handed over to him after he was chosen by the Filipino people to lead the country.
We have as much duty to serve and protect this country and not leave it to some nincompoops who know nothing but pull the trigger and shoot away.
This did not happen only recently, but has been the order of the day in IP areas where there’s no person in authority who can tell the men in uniform to behave and give due respect to the “ordinary” citizens’ rights.
We hope though that our government will seriously look into these complaints and make efforts to really investigate into these claims. The Filipinos deserve a better deal than having to be subjected to such kind of treatment.