"What happened in Jolo should not stomp us into submission."
What a sad and tragic day. Just as the dawn of a possible lasting peace in Muslim Mindanao seemed to be at hand with the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) by an overwhelming majority of voters in the area of autonomy, a bombing incident ripped through the heart of Jolo. As of last count, no less than 23 have been confirmed dead, 15 of whom were members of the military. The rest were civilians hearing mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral.
That this happened even as Mindanao is under martial law speaks well of the state of affairs in the country’s second-biggest island. It also puts into question the standing of our intelligence operatives whose efficiency and resourcefulness will now be put into question. How did this happen at all considering that this was the same place of worship which was the site of another tragic bombing years ago. Laxity? Complacency? Inefficiency? We will have to ask our security forces to give plausible answers as we proceed with the investigation and inject a sense of safety and normalcy not only in the area but in others in the region of martial law.
How this bombing incident will now affect the peace in that benighted land and with it the transition into the new Bangsamoro Autonomous Region has yet to be cleared. But there is no question that this tragic incident will definitely be high up in the calculation of concerned officials who will now have to determine who and what prompted the group to mount this heinous crime. There are a number of theories at this time – from politics to terrorism – and even just a warning to those who voted against the ratification of the BOL.
Whatever the outcome of the probe which is now under way, one thing is clear: the peace which was expected after the BOL ratifictaion will be like those in the aftermath of previous exercises towards full-blown autonomy – an uneasy, not an enduring peace – which for all intents and purposes does not bode well for this latest experiment in pursuit of the doable and sustainable autonomy that the country has been hungering for for years.
In any event, we and not just the residents of the area of autonomy or even Mindanao should all be working to ensure that we proceed with all deliberate haste in putting the structures of autonomy in place. This incident should not stomp us into submission. But in moving on we should at the very least pledge that incidents like this will never happen again. “Never Again” should now be the main battle cry of all those who care for peace as the foundation for progress and development in that benighted region. And specially we should vow never again will civilians and, of course, our soldiers be injected into harm’s way as what happened in Jolo yesterday.
In that same breath, we join in President Duterte’s “Never Again” vow as he declared January 25 a national day of remembrance. It was on that day four years ago when 44 brave young men belonging to the elite PNP Special Action Force (SAF) gave up their lives in pursuit of Southeast Asia’s most wanted terrorist, the Malaysian Marwan. That should be the nation’s vow as well. We are very much aware of the sacrifices of our security forces as they try their very best to keep the peace in the region. Never again should they suffer the same fate as the SAF 44.
As the President himself noted in declaring January 25 a day of remembrance: “ Never again will we allow a recurrence of such tragic event. Those in authority must learn from the mistakes of the past otherwise those valorous men in uniform would have died in vain.”
Indeed, as we commemorated the bravery of the SAF 44 and grieve with the death of the 15 soldiers who just died in that Jolo bombing, the least that we can do is expedite the release of benefits due them. We should not let their families suffer anymore than losing their loved ones with all the bureaucratic goobledygook which usually accompany the issuance of benefits to the men in uniform. But more than the immediate release of benefits is to bring to justice those who perpetrated the heinous crimes. Never again should we let those who did these grievous deeds go unpunished. Justice delayed is justice denied. Never again should we let these brave men die in vain.