INDEED, some leaders of certain cults purporting to be associated with religion, have become so adept in controlling the minds of their followers to the point of convincing them to do even illegal and dangerous things just to curry favor or prove their loyalty.
This was well-demonstrated in the Mati City incident very recently when several armed fanatic members of a religious cult raided the Provincial jail of Davao Oriental located in Mati City, the provincial capital. The well-planned execution of the raid resulted to the escape of seven (7) prisoners led by one Cornelio Galon, reportedly the leader of a cult. In other words, the raid was intended to actually forcibly free the leader from prison. The person, according to the police, was jailed after he was arrested for illegal possession of firearms and explosives. One of the raiders who was subsequently nabbed after the attack confessed to the police that they were asked by their cult leader to do their best (or should it be “their worst”) to find ways to liberate him from jail as he was already suffering a lot from what he thought was his unjust incarceration.
This unfortunate incident perhaps should push the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) to look into the present set-up of running the various prison facilities in the country, especially those in the provinces. It is really worth questioning how the raiders successfully entered the jail compound without getting noticed by jail guards to be bringing with them firearms and other ammunitions.
Imagine, the guards were all caught in surprise and appeared to have done nothing to prevent the raiders from freeing their leader! Certainly people in Davao Oriental will be having sleepless nights with the knowledge that a man who has the fanatical loyalty of his followers is now freely roaming around the province’s remote areas. The person can definitely demand from his followers to do his bidding including possible robbery and extortion in order for him to survive and remain relatively scot-free.
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It is nice to hear that starting Monday, August 16, 2021, the City of Cagayan de Oro had already reversed to the lesser grade of quarantine level. That is, from the very strict Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) to the less stricter Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ). This development has allowed not only the local government leadership of Cagayan de Oro but also to the businessmen and people of the city to breathe an exhilarating sigh of relief. The local government of that northern Mindanao city can now be assured that the people in the area will now have more mobility and with the opening of more businesses and industries, the economy will start perking up again. More and more people will be back to their work and life will be better this time.
We believe that the most recent experience of Cagayan de Oro City was what made Davao City mayor Inday Sara Duterte-Carpio and her team of advisers paranoid in crafting more stringent measures to insulate the city from the possible entry of carriers of the latest dreaded mutation of CoViD — the Delta variant.
Somehow the lady mayor’s efforts so far have succeeded in arriving at its intention. Nonetheless, the Davaoenos’ cooperation here is of utmost importance. We cannot afford to be complacent, even just a tiny bit of it. The effect of any degree of complacency could be extremely costly to the Davaoenos’ lives and the city’s economy as well. So it is here that we must do away with such institutionalized habit of making the sign of the cross only when a lightning strikes or a thunder roars.
Literally said, what the mayor is now doing in upgrading facilities, enhancing medical personnel capabilities, improving contact tracing strategies, and above all continuously reminding people to follow health protocols are kind of positioning a defense structure ahead of the possible entry of the unseen enemy – CoViD 19. We can only hope our people will do their share in the burden of fighting this war. After all, we are in this pandemic together.
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In spite of the very difficult situation that is prevailing in this time of the pandemic Davao City is still pursuing its annual celebration of the Kadayawan Festival this year, the second time that the holding of the various celebration activities will be done on-line. We can only credit this to our leaders and to all the people who believe that this annual festivity be kept on going if only to remind Davaoenos that we have a lot to thank for to our city’s agricultural and floral abundance.
We all know that it is Davao’s bountiful harvest, its enormous gift of natural wonders including the internationally-famous Waling-waling orchid that bring the city to the consciousness of the entire country and even to the world.
So, we believe that we must strongly support and join in the virtual Kadayawan festivities even if these are done in this unique manner.
