Today is a National Day of Mourning. The whole nation is in grief on the killing of
the 44 members of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force in an
encounter happened last Sunday, January 25, 2014, birthday of the late
President Corazon Aquino, in Barangay Tukanalipao, Mamasapano, Maguindanao. Many
Filipinos demanded an All-Out War against the so-called terrorist groups like
what former AFP Commander-in-chief and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada did. To peace
advocates, this proposal is disapproving. Let us not forget that the military
victory gained by the Estrada administration was impermanent. After major
military camps of the rebels fell in the hands of the government forces, MILF
regrouped and gained more strength. Erap’s All-Out War became an open
recruitment opportunity for the Muslim rebels.
Not
few among us emotionally resorted to ethnic slurs against the Muslims and a huge
number of citizens criticized Benigno S. Aquino III for the tragic incident. As
sorrow swallows up the nation, innuendos and speculations came out from
practically all sectors of society. There are claims that SAF’s main target, Zulkifli
bin Hir alias "Marwan", Southeast Asia's most wanted terrorist with a
$5 million bounty on his head is already dead but this needs further
confirmation. Stories keep pouring and opinions coming from known groups and influential
personalities gained media attention but those voices from civilians who are right
there at the conflict areas are hardly heard.
And
once again, netizens from Occidental Mindoro as it is elsewhere, barely armed
with laptop computers instantly turned into military strategies and war
tacticians forgetting that the horrors of war has more effect on the civilian
population or the non-combatants rather than the combatants, government forces
and the Muslim separatists alike. They call for an All-Out War from the comfort
of their offices and homes that are million kilometers away from the war zones.
In just a wink of an eye, we all became “experts” in Mindanao crisis!
We
have forgotten that All-Out-War would have more serious collateral damage to
the citizenry, those who have no direct participation in the armed conflict,-
women, children and the elderly, Christians or Muslims, than the combatants.
These opinionated and prejudiced people in cyberspace are popularizing war seeing
it as the only way to end such man-made horror. History taught us that war,
both internal and external and whatever scale, has tremendous effects in
economy and the community as a whole. It would also drain resources, monetary
and other wise, from the national coffer. War can never be a top priority in
resolving social and political conflicts as stipulated in our Constitution.
As
of today, no definite figures on how many civilians were killed and how much
money the Philippine government has spent in said military campaign during
Estrada’s time much more in almost a century long history of secessionist war
in the region. As of body count, though no define figure was released, it is
safe to say that it reached a couple of hundred of civilian lives!
After
Estrada launched the All-Out War in 2000, number of refugees fleeing from the
conflict swelled to 800,000 individuals. Imagine the anguish and pain of
leaving behind almost everything you own and had worked for because of the
fighting. We cannot estimate how much the government has spent in said military
campaign but it is for sure dreadfully expensive. It was as dreadful as the
actual battle itself. Imagine, the military deployed at least two marine and
two infantry battalions, or the equivalent of around 2,400 men, not just for
days but for at least over a month. Think how many ammunitions and bombs they
needed, aside from other peripherals like food, fuel, among other logistics.
Every
massive military offensive coming from both forces is a psychologically
draining experience for every individual and family who there at the battle
front regardless of the intricacies and the untold stories behind the operation
and the encounter that cost the lives of 44 PNP commandos and 12 MILF fighters.
All we know is this: this issue has been misted up and the public are being
bombarded by confusing reports about what really happened but the
investigations are going on. But we do not completely expect full disclosure on
these investigations for truth, like peace is very elusive though the former is
necessary to achieve the latter.
Well,
based on the loud outcry of many Filipino netizens to “exterminate all rebel
and terrorist groups” in Mindanao by exhausting all the military might of the
Republic a-la Erap, it clearly shows our war-obsessed mentality is deeply
embedded in our psyche, thus unknowingly we pass this cultural conditioning
towards war and killing to our children.
As
we honor our fallen SAF44, we should remember that an All-Out War would just
put the lives and properties of civilians and the non-combatants or those having
hors de combat status as collateral damage. Putting the lives of these gallant
officers for motives and objectives only known to those who are in power and
those agencies and governments which makes profit or advancement of their
security interests out of war, needless to say deserves condemnation.
Will
we allow our police and military men as mere chips in the game of the generals
by launching another All-Out War in Mindanao and once again be betrayed by
those officials?...
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(Photo:
Inquirer.net)
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