The freeing of Mary Jean Lacaba after 78 days came as a surprise. I firmly believe that once again we have seen how our government could be ineffective and even irrelevant in times like these. I feel sick to my stomach that it took 78 long, grueling, painful and traumatic days for one of the three captives. The sad part is we will never really know the truth behind this. We wonder if government or private individuals paid ransom for Lacaba or if this is another “circus” carefully orchestrated by the government for any political gains. The fact still remains: We have a government and a military that cannot even protect our civilians.
I really cannot stop wondering why negotiations could take that long. Only last year, Ces Drilon was also held as captive by Muslim rebels for 10 days. Maybe circumstances were different but the process and the ends were clear. In the absence of firm government policies against kidnappers in Jolo, we cannot really say that this will not happen again. From time to time, we even affirm what they are doing and we give them resources by paying ransom. The failure of the government to assert authority is an indicator that none of the lessons of the past were really ever learned. I haven’t even started with the issue of corruption.
The people are tired of hearing and seeing the same things. It is time to reconsider our positions and policies in Mindanao and the Muslim rebels. It is time for our current leaders to assess performance and redirect resources we give our military. Is it even worth our tax money to fund the military that cannot even protect us? I demand that they really do their jobs.
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