Morong 43 and the Anti-Terror bill

Last Friday my good friend Rep. Raul Del Mar of the North District of Cebu City sent me this very important statement:

“Dr. Florentino S.  Solon was the 20th mayor of Cebu City, from 1978 to 1983. Before he was mayor, he had served as municipal health officer in Cebu, executive director of the National Nutrition Council, and president and executive director of the Nutrition Center of the Philippines. After his term as mayor, he was deputy minister of Health, president and CEO of Impact Foundation, and vice chairman of Asia-Pacific Impact Foundation.

A doctor of medicine who graduated from University of Santo Tomas (UST) and a master in public health, from UP Manila, he was best known to the country as the country’s “champion of nutrition” who with full dedication and energy worked for the improvement of the nation’s public health system. To us Cebuanos, he was best known as the diligent, honest and compassionate city chief executive, who looked and sounded like he’d be happier treating the sick and keeping the country’s children healthy but he did his job as well as he could.

To members of the media, he was always patient, taking criticism civilly, though it must have pained him when he didn’t deserve it.  To many of his constituents, he listened to what they had to say about how to govern and how he could serve them better. I had known him personally before I became a public official.  He impressed me as an authentic leader and a warm human being, a no-nonsense government official who didn’t confuse noise with wisdom and   didn’t mistake movement for action. Dr. Solon died Wednesday, June 17 at 88. Cebuanos have lost a true public servant and friend.”

Thank you for your timely statement on the death of Mayor Florentino Solon. Few people, especially the millennials of today remember that he was the mayor of Cebu City when he allowed my friend, David “Boy” Odilao Jr. to start the “Sinulog sa Sugbo” 40 years ago on Jan. 20, 1980. It has now grown to be the biggest festival in Asia. It was a time when mayors did their job for their constituents and country. That was Mayor Solon to me… though I was not yet with the media. May God give him eternal rest.

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Last June 4 there was an encounter in Baco, Oriental Mindoro where Jana Mendoza Y Mejarez/Lorilyn Saligumba Alias Fara, a known member of the so-called “Morong 43” was killed. Morong 43 is a euphemism for 43 alleged members of the New People’s Army (NPA) arrested in Morong, Rizal for illegal possession of firearms and explosives in February 2010 and detained for 10 months until then president Benigno Aquino dropped all charges filed by the AFP on Human Rights Day, Dec. 17, 2010. Just to remind you folks… then president Cory also released the imprisoned Jose Maria “Joma” Sison for no apparent reason, which is why today we still have the communist insurgency.

When the Morong 43 was major news, I wrote columns that the AFP was losing the propaganda campaign despite the fact that these rebels were caught with illegal possession of firearms and explosives. They posed as health workers. The police charged this group with illegal possession of firearms and explosives as military intel showed they were teaching their comrades how to make improvised explosive devices (IED). Yet no less than P-Noy released them!

It is for this reason why the Aquino political family should never be returned to power as they have helped the communist insurgency rather than stop them. This is why today we need an Anti-Terror Law and warn all politicians that they shouldn’t monkey around with our laws like what then Pres. Aquino did in releasing insurgents.

In her Facebook post  last Thursday evening, Leyte 4th District Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez appealed to understand the bill and its right target saying, “In International Law, terrorism is the highest crime against humanity. It is dishonest and a grave injustice to dilute its strength and purpose by putting activists, critics, and bashers in the same category as terrorists.” Clarifying opposition’s claims, she urged not to reduce the argument as a simple choice between human rights in one corner, and terrorism in the other.

In reading Rep. Gomez’s Facebook page, it really was thorough and well written and she explained why the Philippines needed an Anti-Terror bill. The Duterte administration is strengthening the AFP with new weapons and tactics and continued with the deal that we had with the US. It is high time that we use those weapons to fight the NPA to its eventual end and finally free the nation from their evil intent to turn the Philippines into a communist state, which we do not want to see happen in our country!

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