Uncovering bandits
Last week, members of the Abu Sayyaf Group arrived at a remote barangay in the town of Inabanga, Bohol. It is situated about 60 kilometers away from the capital city of Tagbilaran plus another 10 kilometers more from the highway. I arrived on the day of the encounter between the government troops and the lawless elements. By the time I stepped foot in the town hall, two of the soldiers sent to combat the ASG arrived from the encounter site. They were dead. The following day, the remains of another soldier and a policeman also arrived. They were being prepared a hero's wake in their respective headquarters.
It was reported that there were six members of the ASG that were gunned down, and about eight are still on the loose but they do not pose any form of threat. Residents in the area could still not sleep at night, knowing that at any moment bandits could knock on their doors to ask for food or worse kill their family members. By daytime they are back in their homes but at night they flee to the evacuation centers to take cover, hoping that their peaceful area would not be disrupted again.
Today the blame is on a certain Joselito Melloria who was said to have married a woman from Lanao and was recruited by the ASG. He knows the ins and outs of Inabanga having grown there all his life. The terrain is too familiar and the people know him well. He is tagged as the guide who welcomed the bandits into the land of Bohol, damaging not only innocent lives of soldiers and a policeman but the emotions of the residents.
Everyone is looking forward to when these terrorists will stop, but there is no definite answer. Until they are found, they remain to be at large. We cannot discount what they could possible do, especially with the surge of tourists in Bohol now that it is ASEAN meeting time for the province. Although authorities have said that tourism and the economy is business as usual, there is always a cloud of fear that hounds Boholanos and even someone like me from another part of the country.
There is not much that we can do except to cooperate with the authorities regarding the search of those who are wanted. The government might offer up to P100,000 reward for the location of these men. They are asking us to be vigilant, to report all those who are suspicious in the community that we live in. Even mayors and officials of neighboring towns and provinces are asking the public to do the same thing; we should not tolerate these kinds of people in our land.
I guess we should also trust that the intelligence work is being taken care of and that the most elite forces are now in Bohol trying to uncover the whereabouts of these men. Lastly, we can also pray that God may bestow on our land peace.
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