A friend had said, the party’s over, to which I added, the circus too. With the apparent surrender of Apollo Quiboloy to the military’s ISAFP over the weekend, a combined sigh of relief from everyone hung over the city like a cloud. In the end, it really didn’t matter much which side one was on. The whole KOJC affair had become so toxic for everyone, it all but toppled down outright the romantic myth that we could finally be one as a people.
When the police siege on KOJC ended, following the surrender of its leaders to the military, that only proved one thing, and one thing only. Those who wield power can manipulate the instruments of any establishment, be it state and faith, in order to get what it wants. Forget about the rule of law. Let that sink in.
In the final tally, it doesn’t really matter if the on-ground authorities involved in the political play were either incompetent or blindsided. The reality is, despite their insurmountable numbers at leaving no stone left unturned, they still failed to deliver what they’ve promised, the capture of a state fugitive. I’m reminded of a particular Martial Law meme that went around in the early 70s, the words military and intelligence, when joined together, contradict each other.
Meanwhile, it also didn’t matter if surrendering to ISAF, instead of the police was deemed a chess-move tactic victory by the pastor and his lawyers. In the two-week siege and eventual occupation of their property by police, it has brought, not only abuses of the law, chaos, pain and not to forget, loss of life, on the side of civilians and church followers. Such a huge price to pay for such chess-like play.
A close friend had said recently, it is so difficult to finally tune out from all these toxicity because of “Too much polarization in the country, especially here in Davao… “ I can only agree. There’s still too much going on and even more so, still too much up ahead. Remember, the elections are coming up on the horizon and the crows are aloft. The trolls are out of their caves and out in the countryside. Meanwhile, the power plays continue, with all the channels of culture, including mass media, religion, and education being churned and melded into a Thanos glove that’ll threaten to snap us all. There’s no telling what tomorrow brings.
I’m trying to tune out too, in answer to my old friend. Hey man, Mangosteen is presently selling at fifteen pesos a kilo in some parts of the region.
