September 09, 2013:
I woke up to the sound of gunshots
and explosions. A supposedly special day for me, turned to be the first day of
terror. My city was under attack. MNLFs were found spreading havoc in five
barangays; one of which was situated near our bank’s main branch. I called our
manager and she, by the order of the higher heads, called off work. I was
somehow happy to spend a day for rest with my mindset on “this is just another
show…it will pass.” I continued on watching the local news and even went for
movie trips (of course we all stayed at home). They had high-powered ammunition
and weapons; more advanced than what the police/military had. It was chaos. Hostages
were taken and fighters were killed in action.
September 10, 2013
Fire broke out in one of the affected
area; it was said that the rebels burned houses to once again strike terror. People
were told that the situation is under control yet the number of rebels
increased. How did they manage to enter the “contained” zone? Where do they get
backups? More hostages are held captive. What used to be a four-digit number
for evacuees turned five. Hostages were used as human shield and once again,
Secretary Mar Roxas said that these are not hostages because they were not
hand-cuffed and they could go freely whenever they want to. And so, because of
that, I want him to go up there and tell those rebels to hold him as hostage
for the purpose of goodwill. F@#$ you DILG Secretary. PNOY told media that
Zamboanga is not in a state of emergency. Why? Because his men insist that
everything is under control (yes… their control). Again, I am dismayed. What
can we see that they can’t? We are getting sleepless nights because armed men
are causing mayhem in our city. People are panic buying. Stores and Banks are
closed. Where is business as usual?
September 11, 2013
Surprisingly, the mayor asked for
business to open and continue operations because everything is under control.
Our head offices had their own discretion whether or not we should open. Sadly,
we had to. I would gladly report back to work but not on a situation like this.
We were only an hour open when the mayor called off operations again.
WTF!? How could she risk our lives just
like that? Shortly, a few hours just after we had the chance to go home, the
barangay where our bank was located, was under attack. Geez, what could have
happened if we were still there? What’s wrong with you leaders? Back home, we
had to pack-up and get ready in case the rebels will pass by our vicinity. The fear
is sinking in. News were aired that women hostages were raped. And yet our
local government were busy brainstorming as to how these rebels can “leave the
city peacefully” meaning, they shall go unharmed… unpunished. Again, F@#$ you
all.
A thief is beaten to death just
for stealing food, material, or whatever from a single person. A rapist is
automatically put to prison. A killer, when caught suffer the rightful
punishment. But terrorists get to be negotiated… a 10-billion scammer gets
special treatment… and so on… where is justice? How can we build up hope in
these worthless leaders?
I want my peace back.
