The country woke up to marvelous news Friday morning – Fr. Bossi has been released! Looking frail and disheveled, the meek Italian priest lost about 15 pounds, thanks to a daily diet of dried fish, salt and rice. A diet that would put the South Beach diet to shame! According to Fr. Bossi, they had to constantly be on the move as security forces were conducting pincer moves around them. As the noose was slowly tightening around the bandits, they had to find a way out of the whole situation. This eventually led to the release of Fr. Bossi, although reports that a P4 million payment for “board and lodging” is circulating. According to Fr. Bossi, his captors treated him well, with no threats to hurt or kill him. He was even joking with them and getting into lively discussions about the differences between Christianity and Islam. He slept in hammocks and walked a lot, prompting him to quit smoking as he would be winded really fast. I guess these are what P4 million pesos can buy today in Lanao del Norte! This also looks like a case of the Stockholm Syndrome, wherein hostages would eventually “embrace” their captors because of familiarity, complacency or a feeling of non-hostility between them. This becomes particularly dangerous especially when a release or a rescue is imminent. The bottom line is that it is still a hostage situation, no matter how nice the captors seem to be.
Another factor that caught my attention is the “psy-war” technique used by the military in dealing with the kidnappers, who according to Fr. Bossi were Abu Sayyaf bandits. The military maintains that it was the MILF “Lost Command” that took Fr. Bossi. The leader of the bandits was told that they (the military) also had his family in their “custody.” This apparently softened the otherwise arrogant and harsh stand of the ring leader, prompting negotiations for the eventual release of the priest. An eye for an eye, as they say. I have no qualms about this technique used by the military, although I’m sure this would not sit well with the so-called human rights advocates, who have remained deafeningly silent about the cruelty brought upon the 14 Marines who perished in Basilan. Is it because soldiers were beheaded and not civilians. Can you say double-standard? The Israelis are a great practitioner of this sort of military and security doctrine. Any attack on their country and its civilians is instantly met with an equal or greater response to the enemy. I guess when you’re surrounded by enemies you have no choice but to be vigilant and aggressive. I believe this is the language that must be used in dealing with these vermin. They have to be shown that the government and the nation will not tolerate that kind of activity, whatever your idealism or purpose is. We simply cannot just turn the other cheek.
Of course, the whole Basilan incident should not be forgotten either. Just because the MILF spokesman smugly stated that they were right in saying that Fr. Bossi was not in Basilan, and that the encounter with the Marines was a legitimate one, we should soften our stand on the whole thing. Ten soldiers were still beheaded as an insult to the government and the nation. And to claim territory on a sovereign country is simply preposterous! And with the release of Fr. Bossi, the military can now act and fight with both hands. If the peace process becomes the cost of this operation, then so be it. A ceasefire was in place when the Basilan encounter took place. The MILF should have honored that instead of shooting first, beheading second and talking later. Even animals give off warning signs and actions when their territories are breached. But I guess to compare these gunmen to animals would be insulting to the latter.
It is also coincidental that the good news of Fr. Bossi’s release comes a few days before President GMA’s SONA. This, coupled with the very strong showing of the peso against the US dollar gives the president a lot of political capital, and first aid to her hemorrhaging administration, ratings wise. It also gives the rationale and moral ascendancy in furthering the Human Securities Act, which is currently meeting stiff resistance and criticism from a lot of sectors. On the other hand, victims of terror and the like have lauded the new law in the hope that their respective ordeals would no longer be repeated, at least in the Philippines. The chief executive herself has asked that the law be given a chance to work, before its critics flatly condemn it. That may be a fair request, but sometimes, must you be bitten by a snake to find out if it’s poisonous? I guess we will have to.