- Advertisement -

Ruffy Magbanua

COTABATO City–The lean attendance during the 32nd Rotary International 3870 District Convention  held in this rustic city, April 7-9, said it all: peace has remained  elusive in  the land of my birth–Mindanao.

- Advertisement -

Ahead of the convention, an improvised bomb went off at the Cotabato City State Polytechnic College moments after a band competition was held. Three college students were hurt. The incident was enough to scare off a great number of delegates coming from nearby provinces and cities.

Thanks but no thanks to the war freaks, the idiots and the fools in our midst who feared no angels as they continue to sow terror in what authorities considered an “isolated case” – a corrupted excuse every time a tragic incident occurs elsewhere in the four corners of this strife-beaten island.

Like other growth areas in Mindanao, Cotabato City (population: 260,000) has not been spared with almost all kinds of threats, man-made or otherwise, nor  natural calamities like this long dry spell we now endure, only heaven knows when parched lands could become alive and green again.

And speaking of terror, Cagayan de Oro is not an exception either.  Known far and wide as the “friendliest” city in the south, it has again hugged headlines following the ambush of Marawi Mayor Sultan Fahad Salic. And it happened  right smack in the heart of the city.

If I may ask now: “What’s happening to our city, Mayor Oca Moreno?”

This too familiar question is equally shared by Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, a frontrunner in the city’s mayoral seat as he twitted the utter neglect of  Moreno in safeguarding  the city from all forms of criminality–from petty crimes, daylight heists, to the proliferation  of drugs, among others.

For a long, long time, terror gripped this  island of 13 million voters. And as I write this piece, a running gunbattle is happening somewhere in Basilan with the embattled military in hot pursuit of the evasive Abu Sayyaf, a hide-and-seek guerrilla gunfight in Agusan between the military and  Maoist rebels, and farmers still holding their foothold to gain notice for the government to give them rice.

The  list of atrocities continue as the election fever catches up with the rising temperatures of 36C to 40C, courtesy of the ongoing dry spell. No amount of cloud seeding could deter the mighty El Nino phenomenon.

The recent Cagayan de Oro ambush was a prelude in war-torn Basilan. Eighteen of our young, well-trained soldiers were wiped out by the dreaded terror group Abu Sayyaf in a 10-hour gunbattle that proved how inutile our government is in crushing off this madness in our midst.

Mindanao’s search for lasting peace is indeed elusive. Was there a fault in our stars? Or are we the forsaken people? If this sounds incorrigible, what is?

Again, this question made famous by the late Vice President Emmanuel Pelaez serves as a re-awakening call: “What’s happening to our country, general?”

E-mail: ruffy44_ph2000@yahoo.com

Disclaimer

Mindanao Gold Star Daily holds the copyrights of all articles and photos in perpetuity. Any unauthorized reproduction in any platform, electronic and hardcopy, shall be liable for copyright infringement under the Intellectual Property Rights Law of the Philippines.

- Advertisement -