BAÑOC
Recently, there are two horrifying man-made calamities that could shake the heads of every normal human being: the bombing of the concert of Ariana Grande in Manchester England and the terror attacks in Marawi City in Mindanao.
The two incidents happened in almost the same day. They only differ in the time of execution of the terroristic attacks. Both killed and injured innocent people and have caused trauma to the people around the globe.
In the Manchester bombing, 22 innocent people were killed, mostly youths, and 59 were injured, while in the Marawi City incident as of this writing, 7 were killed from the government troops; 13 from the Maute and Abu Sayyaf Group, and the rest are civilians. Many were injured.
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) armed group through its social media channels claimed responsibility for the attack of the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, while the Maute and Abu Sayyaf Groups, ISIS-inspired terrorists, are the ones responsible in the Marawi attacks. They even raised ISIS flags in some areas in Marawi City.
Either the incidents are coordinated by the said groups, considering that they have ties, or they were just a coincidence, the fact remains that in the perspective of the terrorists they succeeded in horrifying the people.
These groups do not have valid cause or crusade, except to carry out terrorism. Their lives are valueless; in fact, some of them are willing to die as suicide bombers.
Hence, while every normal human being is confused of the motives, the kind of mind-set or doctrines that these terrorists possess, it is about time that we get united to counter this kind of evil. We still believe that evil cannot defeat righteousness.
It was proven with the unity of the people of our neighboring province, Bohol. The 11 Abu Sayyaf Group members who entered Bohol were unsuccessful in their demonic plans because of the unity and cooperation of the ordinary civilians.
We call upon our elected officials from the opposition and administration to set aside partisan politics in this very time of crises. Take the road.
Be statesmen and not just politicians. There is a time for everything. We have a common enemy — terrorism. Our disunity will give strength to the enemy.
The President has declared martial law in Mindanao. It is within the bounds of the law. In fact, Congress is not without any recourse. It may approve or reject it.
Even ordinary citizens can come to court to question it, but for heaven’s sake, let us not forget our prime concern: the defeat of the enemies of peace. I believe we all love this country.
Let us unite.
The importance of unity was proven by the people of Bohol province when 11 members of the Abu Sayyaf Group entered the island province, butwere unsuccessful in their demonic plans.
Ordinary civilians took the initiative to report their presence to authorities to make sure that they do not cause harm on residents.
It is about time that we should emulate the people of Bohol.
We need to know and familiarize each other especially in the rural areas so that we can easily detect the bad elements.
Unity, cooperation and belief in the power of prayers are the armaments of the ordinary people to help the authorities to counter terrorism.
We need to do our best, and ask God to do the rest that are beyond our control. After all He said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be open to you” (Matt. 7:7).
Yes, united, we can defeat terrorism.