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On Wednesday, Armando Ducat Jr. held 26 children
hostage to dramatize his demand for better education and better
housing for the poor children—the ones he was holding hostage.
Thank God, the incident ended peacefully. Last week, a man took four
people hostage at the Regional Trial Court in Taguig. It ended
violently with the death of the hostage-taker.
Is hostage-taking now the new way
to deal with an unresponsive government or to get justice? These
incidents highlight the mindset of da pipol. We no longer have faith
in the rule of law. We need to take the law into our own hands.
In the areas of conflict, armed
groups use force to get what they want. Remember, in February, the
MNLF hostaged Gen. Ben Dolorfino and Undersecretary Ramon Santos
because government kept rejecting dates for the tripartite meeting
to assess the implementation of the 1996 GRP-MNLF Final Peace
Agreement.
It seems Metro Manila residents
have followed suit. In the case of Ducat, this was not the first
time he has used hostages to get what he wants. In the 80s, he held
two priests hostage to dramatize corruption in the church. Although
the church did not file charges, Ducat was jailed briefly.
Perhaps this is the new way of
getting justice. After all, we have been held hostage for years by
criminals in the guise of government officials.
My family has supported the
education of young Tausugs for the past four years through
scholarships. Perhaps we should hold them hostage and demand that
government provide the equitable share of resources ARMM public
schools need for the education of our youth.
We have been supporting over 50
scholars. We are proud to announce that of those graduating, four
are graduating with honors: Sheara Jane Jamaluddin—honorable
mention, Notre Dame of Jolo—girls high school; Nurhaida S. Masahud,
salutatorian, Sulu State College; Ahmad Sampang Musahari,
valedictorian, Mindanao State University High School; and Sitti
Mardiya A. Sariol, valedictorian, Sulu State College.
Two years ago Sheara Jane
Jamaluddin and Ahmad Sampang Musahari represented our community in
a dialogue with Australian Ambassador Ruth Pearce and US Ambassador
Francis Ricciardione. They impressed the ambassadors with their
thoughtfulness and eloquence, as they called on the ambassadors to
support education for Muslim youth instead of supporting war.
The following year Ahmad Musahari
and Nurhaida Masahud were invited for a 45-day travel grant from the
US Embassy to meet with their peers. All of them are graduating with
honors.
This year, we are looking for
sponsors for their college education. Perhaps we should hostage our
scholars. As Ducat has clearly shown, the ends justify the means.
Especially when the medium has the collateral benefit of providing
media coverage for an administration senatorial candidate.
I found the coverage of the Ducat
hostage-taking incident suspicious. A media source informed me that
government stations are not supposed to give hostage-takers media
mileage. But the government did give media coverage, especially when
Chavit Singson came on the scene. (Is it true that Palace officials
were calling TV stations, asking anchors if they wanted to interview
Singson and Ducat? How strange is that, if true . . .)
Back to my devious copycat plan
to hostage our scholars: I know! We will make sure Sultan Jamalul
Kiram of Team Unity joins the negotiations! After all, he is Tausug.
These young people are his constituents. If he becomes the
negotiator, his constituents will get to know him. And vote for him.
For good measure, we should also
invite Robin Padilla to help negotiate. Media celebrities carry more
weight with government compared to elected representatives.
Has it come to this? Are our
interests no longer represented by our senators, congressmen, local
government officials? Definitely, most of us know we are not
represented by the Head of State. Is the system so corrupt and
ineffective that citizens like Ducat can feel confident in holding
all of us hostage?
You tell me. Right now, I am busy
finalizing my copycat plan to hostage our Tausug scholars.
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