Seeing the Facebook photo of PO2 Wendell Candano of barangay Lawaan, Dumanjug town in Cebu carrying his son a few days before he died along with PO1 Romeo Cempron—a native of Danao, Bohol province who made his home in Consolacion town, Cebu and more than 40 others is heartbreaking to say the least.
Those who learned about his fate and the other police officers who were killed while trying to arrest a suspected bomb maker that they supposedly killed would understandably be apprehensive about the ongoing negotiations for a permanent peace accord between the national government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
For people in Cebu who are largely shielded and unaffected by the armed encounters between the military, police and the Moro rebels who’ve sought independence, the deaths of Candano and Cempron hit close to home, bringing the Mindanao conflict right to their doorsteps.
It’s when a neighbor’s conflict comes straight to your doorstep or backyard that things get personal and this is the case for Filipinos living in Cebu whose loved ones are stationed in Mindanao and have been harmed or, worse, killed in armed encounters that still occur sometime after an interim peace agreement is signed between the national government and the MILF.
The encounter between the police commandos and the MILF was the second major clash that occurred since a ceasefire took effect last year. In April of last year, two soldiers were wounded and 18 Moro rebels were killed in a clash in Basilan.
The latest incident drew public outrage as well as accompanying howls of bloody retribution. No surprise that Manila City Mayor and former president Joseph Estrada called for a return to the all-out war policy that he pursued which later resulted in the government capturing the MILF’s biggest stronghold.
There were lots of angles that came out in the wake of the attack, including reports about the presence of American soldiers in the encounter site which sparked speculations of US involvement.
Still, despite the MILF’s assertion that the operation was done in their territory, they would have to answer why a suspected bomb maker was reported to be staying in their area. The police aren’t there looking for an excuse to get into a fight. Yet, with everything that’s happened so far, one question needs to be asked.
Would turning back from ongoing peace talks and a fragile peace accord borne out of years of patient and open negotiations be the only ideal and practical solution to years of conflict that has caused bloodshed and social and economic dislocation for everyone concerned?
The carnage that happened in Maguindanao may draw different, oftentimes passionate views on that issue but the answer is ‘no.’
With a fragile peace accord in place, the Filipino people have few options but to stay the course for peace in Mindanao and the rest of the country, if only for our collective future and to those who died like PO2 Wendell Candano and PO1 Romeo Cempron to keep the peace.
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