|
In Search of Truth in Mindanao |
|
|
|
|
By Atty. Roel Pulido - AFF
|
|
Tuesday, 01 July 2008 |
|
As soon as ABS-CBN reporter and anchorwoman Ces Drilon was kidnapped by suspected muslim terrorists in Sulu, several government officials immediately blamed Ces and her team. Some said that the ABS-CBN team had it coming because they sought a known terrorist group in their own territory. Others blamed the reporters for not coordinating with the military and the local government. Still others claimed that the media’s continuing coverage of personalities and events related to terrorism in Mindanao has given the island a bad image.Indeed, Ces and her team took such a great risk to pursue a story about the Abu Sayaff’s alleged change in leadership. The said group has been held responsible for gruesome crimes such as kidnapping, beheadings of their victims, killings and bombings. It was not exactly wise for Ces and her group to have trusted them.
But the choice of whether to take the risk or not was a personal one. And it was made, out of a sense of duty. Ces and her team believed, and rightly so, that any development within the terrorist organization was something that the Filipino people ought to know. Ces and her team believed, and justifiably so, that the news we hear from official sources do not necessarily give us the true picture. And so, despite the risks, the reporters chose to seek the truth.The ABS-CBN team may have made a bad choice to trust the Abu Sayaff. But they certainly did not make a wrong decision to pursue the story, in the manner that they did.True, terrorism must never be glorified. But neither should the truth about it withheld. The people have every right to know the state of terror in our country. And the people must know exactly what the government is doing about it.Prior to this incident, the government and the military have consistently reported that the Abu Sayaff has been marginalized. In fact, they have proudly claimed that its annihilation is but a matter of time. They have also claimed that they are in control of the situation in Mindanao.Ces may have failed to make the report she planned, but she succeeded in bringing about the truths she wanted the public to know.Abu Sayaff is not dying. It continues to thrive and as Ces and her team later told us, it now attracts to its fold boys as young as fourteen years old.Abu Sayaff is not isolated. They have military camps in the mountains, they have high powered firearms, and freely go down to the communities to get supplies and charge their mobile phones.Abu Sayaff is still sowing terror, and despite getting a large share of our annual budget, the military has failed to neutralize this supposedly marginalized terrorist group.It was bad enough that Ces and her team had to risk their lives to uncover the truth. It is even worse that Ces and her team had to be tortured to get it. But the worst is the fact that after all that Ces and her team went though, the truth about Mindanao, continues to be as elusive as the bandits who abducted Ces. |
