Mindanao situation is greatly exaggerated

The question on whether Abu Sabaya is really dead or still alive reminds us of an incident that happened during the liberation of Manila. The whole city was full of dead bodies. If they were not buried, they could be the cause of an epidemic. So doctors went around and instructed people to bury the dead. In one instance, a person that was pronounced dead weakly uttered, "I’m still alive!" One of the two persons who were carrying his body said, "There’s a dead guy here who knows more than the doctor."

I also recalled that during martial law, my family suddenly got calls from friends in Washington, D.C. to condole about my death. My wife immediately said that I was very much alive. I called a friend in Washington to find out how the rumor about my death began. It turned out that there was a Filipino party and someone was talking about someone who just died. One of the persons present expressed his surprise by loudly saying, "Namatay!" Then someone asked, "Ano ang kinamatay?" Another person replied, "Cirrhosis." "Si Roces, namatay si Roces!" someone exclaimed. That’s how the rumor began. As Mark Twain would have said, the reports on my death were greatly exaggerated.

Now people are discussing the claim that Abu Sabaya was killed in battle. To complicate matters, 21 people died in Mindanao during the encounter between our Armed Forces and the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association. It is a good thing that our soldiers were prepared. For the Benevolent Missionaries were illegally armed to the teeth. What we cannot understand is how such a group could have existed without the knowledge of the authorities?

Our image of Mindanao was always that it was the land of opportunity. We recall that when we were in high school in the Ateneo, President Manuel L. Quezon gave a lecture urging us to all go to Mindanao. Some of the top student leaders responded to the challenge, but then the war broke out and changed all plans.

We spent three days in Davao City last February and we were impressed with the progress of the city and the peace and order that prevailed. The Abu Sayyaf has given the world the impression that the Philippines is in the hands of terrorists. And now comes the Benevolent Missionaries to project an even more ridiculous situation. The Abu Sayyaf group are plain bandits. The Benevolent Missionaries are an armed religious group with a "Divine Master" who has been found positive for shabu. The Benevolent Missionaries will be a bigger problem than the Abu Sayyaf. It is easier to deal with bandits than armed groups that we cannot even classify. They have tested "Divine Master" Ruben Ecleo Jr. for drugs. They should go one step further. They should check his sanity.