Up for martial law

Tomorrow it will be a week since the Maute group has taken over the city of Marawi in Mindanao. It will be a week since the country was in shock at what the terrorists did to their fellowmen. Up to today it is still quite puzzling why they chose Marawi and why their principles led them to become what they are today. The news is still filled with people leaving the city, hiding in fear and wanting just to get away from the place that they once called their home. The students who are anticipating the new semester have to flee back to their homes for safety.

In Bohol, there are reports of a twenty-year-old-Bohol native who was shot in Marawi. The man is said to be a welder in Marawi City and when he couldn't speak the Maranao language of the locals, he was threatened and shot in the arm and the leg. He sought help from the military and is now home in Jagna after escaping via Cagayan De Oro City.

I'm sure there are still many like him who are also victims of this unexplainable group which seem to be only after their agenda, not overlooking the implications of the public. Martial law is still in effect in Mindanao, yet there is no fear that the mistakes of the past will be repeated again. On social media, we see people taking selfies with the military and cooperating during checkpoints. Of course, identification is required but if you don't have anything to hide you wouldn't run away from the authorities.

The pronouncement of including the Visayas under martial law still remains and the reactions are mixed from different sectors. If you ask me, there is threat even if we can say that the security of the authorities is in place. We can never discount threats. A perfect case in point was what happened in Napo, Inabanga. Who would have thought that a peaceful place far from the center of Bohol would be swarmed by the Abu Sayyaf Group and the military exchanging gunfire? It only goes to show that we must be on our toes always and anytime.

I long for peace just like anyone else does. Who wouldn't? In a new administration such as this where change was promised in a drastic way, we also hope that there would be no innocent lives that would be taken. We need a country that is strong economically, with a government that can stand on its own decisions.

Our leaders need prayers as well. They cannot decide on their own. With the notion that martial law in Mindanao may be extended up to more than two months, then discerning is most likely needed and a prayer that terrorism will be put to a stop. I'm up for martial law if it is what we badly need right now for peace.

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