Hopefully, by the time this editorial is published, the siege in Zamboanga — which was ongoing at the time this was written — shall already be over.
It had been the longest week for Zamboanga and for many of us in Negros Oriental who have friends and family living there.
It started with the landing of about 100 armed MNLF guerrillas in some coastal barangays, who were joined by others who, locals claim, were already in Zamboanga long before that day. Then when the authorities accosted the MNLF guerrillas, a firefight ensued and the guerrillas got hostages from the ranks of the bystanders.
In the days that followed, both the authorities and the MNLF were locked in a stalemate as Zamboanga became a ghost town. Stores, banks, offices, schools, and even government offices went on forced holiday. Residents fled for safer areas. Some simply locked themselves in their homes, while food supplies started getting scarce.
We pray Negros Oriental would be spared from any such terror but the “What If” question may be lurking in our minds. How prepared are we to deal with a similar incident? Hopefully, this scenario becomes part of our security preparations. To be forewarned, after all, is of be forearmed.
