The presence of military officers in malls, commercial establishments and other public areas may or may not alarm the general populace; but so long as they don’t harass and not disrupt the movement of people or clamp down on their activities, a lot of people, including myself, can live with it for now.
Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma’s call on the public to cooperate with the government’s state of national emergency due to lawless violence may surprise a lot of people especially those who know him for being sympathetic to progressive views.
Just as surprisingly, the militant groups aren’t exactly raising too much of a howl over the proclamation but are more focused with the impending burial of the late president Ferdinand Marcos’ remains at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
But with the advent of social media in which nearly everything and anyone can report on incidents with their mobile devices, any abuse committed by police or law enforcement agencies can be reported through Facebook, Twitter and other online platforms.
That said, public vigilance against the perpetrators of the Davao City bombing and those terrorists should also be augmented with vigilance against any abuses to be committed by law enforcement agencies and the military.
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By this time now, we’ve learned about the horror stories, the losses and the overall tragedy and outrage over the Davao City bombing, but the question on a lot of people’s minds is why the declaration covered the entire country and not isolated there, where the police and military can better focus their resources and personnel to arrest and bring the perpetrators to justice.
But owing to the President’s intensified war on illegal drugs and terrorism which he peppered with graphic and colored language, i.e. “I will eat them alive”, it’s no wonder that his targets will only respond with the same excessive violence.
The escalation of violence is what concerns a lot of people who live in areas outside of conflict zones like Sulu and some areas of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.
Whether such violence will ever reach Cebu or Manila, one doesn’t know. But we certainly cannot rule it out. That it occurred days before this week’s long holiday break for Cebu residents makes it all the more disturbing and depressing.
That said, it’s not as if we are totally helpless against it. There are the usual reminders to always be observant and not get too distracted by the sights and sounds of usual crowd drawers like malls, beaches, outdoor venues and so on.
I would rather not speculate nor specifically identify which areas are most vulnerable to bombings or suicide attacks. There are the police, the military and other law enforcement agencies and persons in authority with expertise that have done that and speculating will only give suggestions to these criminals on where to strike next.
It also doesn’t help that there are a lot of malicious minds out there who send hoax text messages or online posts claiming that there’s a bombing in this and that place and fanning panic by spreading these rumors to everyone they know.
The police said they already have teams to monitor the prank text messages and online posts and we hope they are already cracking on this.
As to whether there is a timetable for the President to declare an end to the state of emergency, only he knows, but I join the others in hoping that it ends soon.
The sight of soldiers in full battle gear guarding malls and other places soon gets to you regardless of whether you are a military aficionado or an army brat. They also have other things to do like the war on illegal drugs of course.
With the police having identified some of the suspects, I just hope the end of the state of emergency comes sooner.
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The agreement between the Cebu City police and nightspot owners for closer cooperation in monitoring and flushing out illegal drug use and drug pushers should mean quieter, more peaceful nights out ahead.
The city police already have more than their hands full keeping tabs of unruly drunken behavior in the streets and in the city’s nightspots and keeping drugs out as well as the daily curfew will mean fewer people making trouble in the streets.
That’s nice for a change.
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