A powerful explosion ripped through a chapel of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) in Pikit town, North Cotabato last night just as i arrived in Cotabato City last night. One person died and four others were injured. A few years ago I would have rush to Pikit to cover the bombing incident but last night I didnt. Maybe I am fooled by all this talk about peace finally given a chance in the land that knew no stability since the American occupation period. Going around Cotabato last night, I saw how a few years of no conflict have transform the city. Al Noor, their lifestyle district, is filled with people sipping cups of coffee. Rebels share tables with military officers and the talk lead elsewhere except war. Sure, there are still enough heavily armed soldiers and policemen--enough to repel an onslaught--loitering around the coffee shops-- but there is a significant decrease in tension.During the all-out war, a Marine colonel, who was a friend, advised me not to stay in that particular hotel because it was bombed twice by terrorists. at the same time, my friends from the MILF would advised me not to venture out from my hotel past 7pm. If I have to interview MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal, his bodyguards would blindfolded me and led me around a labyrinth of river canals into a small dimly-lit house where Iqbal would wait for me. Now, journalists seeking an interview can immediately see him in his office in Simuay, Maguindanao or call his mobile phone. Things like this brings me hope that another era is coming for Mindanao. Sure the killings still happened every night in Cotabato City but it is more of the organized crime rather than the Moro insurrection. Maybe someday, I can sit down with my friends from Cotabato and reminiscence the days .
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 04:09:38 +0000
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