The Masacre of the Filipino Soul

The righteous indignation of people on the Basilan Fiasco should not only be tolerated. Indeed it is what every right-thinking Filipino should be feeling now. Let the authorities investigate, let the peace panel call for sobriety, let the MILF pontificate about the actions taken by their combatants. The fact remains that 19 soldiers lay needlessly dead after an ambush.

Consider:

1. The AFP is the legitimate armed organization of the Philippines. Last I heard, all of Mindanao is still part of the Philippines. Our AFP does not need to get approval to serve a lawful warrant of arrest to a fugitive from the law,

2. Let us leave religion or God out of this. This is not about Muslims or Christians. This is not about addressing the plight of our minority brothers. Their plea for justice and right to self-determination remains a valid issue. This is all about terrorism and lawlessness - and the need to deal with them decisively and permanently now. Get terrorism out of the picture and it will be easier to talk about, and actually realize, peace and development. We may even be able to achieve it in our lifetime,

3. Let us stop sugar-coating the Peace Talks. Let us call a spade a spade. The MILF did not even bother to deny the attack, and appears to be justifying it even. I must agree with those that call for the suspension, not abandonment, of the peace talks until the MILF deliver on their end of the bargain. How can we talk peace with people who wait for every opportunity to pounce and stab us in the back? It's like talking with someone with our hands tied while they hold a sword in their back. Let the MILF walk the talk first, then we can talk peace again.

I am a peace-loving person, but fight if we must if that is what is needed to achieve it. Like a masterful surgeon, the AFP must learn to remove these "cancers" without adversely affecting the healthy parts of the body - our country. Our military strategists are not without blame either. They ovbiously failed to see ahead and plan for this incursion into enemy territory. There is a lot of room for improvement. Our AFP cannot be always the villains, and perceived to be stupid and incompetent at that.

There is no easy way towards peace, and we cannot just sit by the sides while all these killings slowly but surely desensitize our sense of right or wrong. When the culture of impunity merges with the culture of indifference, there is no way to go but the pits.

I mourn the most for my Pilipinas. Our Pilipinas.