Drones, driverless cars potential terror weapons

Laging huli ang pagsisisi, the Tagalogs say, regret always comes last.

One of these years a devotee is bound to be crushed to death in the increasingly rowdy procession of the Black Nazarene in Manila. The highlight of the godly event, for many, is the irreligious jostling through the thick crowd as the carroza (carriage) passes by, to jump onto others’ shoulders and wipe a kerchief on the wooden icon. It’s a miracle there has been no fatality to date. In case of such tragedy, maybe only then would Catholic clerics impose discipline on the millions of participants.

Or maybe not. Going by their justifications for devotees pushing and punching for position, the priests may just shrug off a fatality as God’s will. “People are exuberant in thanking the Nazarene for the miracles in their lives,” they say. “It’s this generation’s way of expressing deep devotion,” in contrast to the sedate formal-dressed devotees in photos of the past century.

In sum, the fatality would be treated as mere statistics, along with the 1,200 or so who suffer fractures, bruises, and deep gashes every Traslacion. (A devotee died of heatstroke, another of heart attack on the procession sidelines in 2016.)

In flawed interpretation of the separation of Church and State, clerics believe themselves exempt from safety laws. A pilgrim lass was killed when a hastily hoisted loudspeaker fell on her during the Mass presided by Pope Francis in Leyte in Jan. 2015. The local organizers thought nothing of the fatal negligence. It had to take a query from the Pontiff about her condition for the priests to search out and condole with the grieving parents.

Safety is thrown to the wind in churches on Maundy Thursday. Lights are turned off and candles lit by each of the evening Mass-goers. No one thinks of potential disaster in case of accidental fire and stampede through narrow doors and gates.

It borders on hypocrisy for clerics to preach about valuing human life yet ignoring the safety of limbs.

Priests tell the faithful the whole year to shun fanaticism. They scorn the examples: the dozen or so penitents who have themselves nailed to crosses on Good Friday in Pampanga, and thousands others elsewhere who razor then flagellate their backsides. Yet on that one day each year on the Feast of the Black Nazarene, they promote careless or willful hurting of others in the name of devotion.

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Safety and security are never priorities of carefree Filipinos.

The Comelec spends billions triennially on poll automation, yet did not see fit to secure its website from hackers. Needlessly, negligently it installed on that website six voter databases. Thus were cyber-criminals able to steal confidential personal data of 55 million citizens – now all prone to online fraud and identity theft.

Negligent too was the warden of the provincial jail in Kidapawan, North Cotabato. Security was so lax that eight intruders were able to penetrate the compound and liberate five terrorism indictees, and 158 assorted other inmates. The attack came in the wake of nationwide red alerts against Islamist bombings, and a series of jailbreaks in nearby cities in Central Mindanao. The warden had the gall to claim the attackers numbered more than a hundred, so easily were able to overpower the dozing jail guards. Talk about sleeping on the job.

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Still on safety and security, the authorities have not begun to register the hundreds of aerial drones now in private hands. Those drones are potential terrorist weapons of mass destruction. A toy version costing about P35,000 can carry up to 20 pounds (9.1 kilos) of load. What if a terrorist obtains five or ten such drones, fits them with explosives, then scrambles them to ram a commercial jumbo jet just taking off or landing? Maybe only then will the authorities act. Maybe not. For decades they had allowed the proliferation of unregistered SIM cards. With millions now in the hands of cell phone subscribers, they no longer can require prior registration. So junk-text marketeers abound, along with terrorists who remotely detonate bombs by mobile handsets.

In early 2016 the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines came out with a “Drone Policy.” Two features were highlighted: the official naming of drones as remotely-piloted aircraft systems (RPAS); and a fine of P300,000 on persons who fly those without permit in the vicinity of airports, military camps, and Malacañang. How would those policies deter terrorist drone attacks? Ask them. No, don’t bother. They’re the same guys who failed to issue car plates so that motorists had to paste up cardboard alternatives, let colorum buses and jitneys proliferate, and issued driving licenses to the blind.

Also potential security threats are driverless cars, which are about to break into the world market. Unregulated and unregistered, such car would be a terrorist’s delight. No longer would he have to strap himself up with body-bombs in self-sacrifice. He just needs to pack the driverless car with ammonium nitrate fertilizer, then remotely guide it to the target. Kaboom!

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