Chinook casualties are first Balikatan victims

The ten US soldiers who died when the MH-47E Chinook helicopter crashed are the American casualties in the war currently being waged by the Filipino and American forces against the Abu Sayyaf bandits. We condole with the families of the victims. The sad part is that they did not even die in battle. They died while in transit from Zamboanga to Cebu. This means that the crash could be attributed only to three possibilities: the chopper was defective to start with, it was not properly maintained or it was sabotaged. The last is very improbable. In contrast, only 19 Americans died in the war against the Talibans in Afghanistan. Again, ironically, only two died in battle. The other 17 died in accidents.

What made matters worse for us is that it happened while we were enjoying the peace, quiet and hospitality of the wonderful city of Davao. As we all know, the Abu Sayyaf has given the Philippines a totally wrong image abroad. Many countries have urged their citizens not to travel to the Philippines. Their concept of the country is that it is a second Afghanistan. Locally, this wrong concept also prevails when it comes to Mindanao. When we told friends that we were spending five days in Davao, many were shocked that we were taking such a bold risk. Obviously, they were under the whole misimpression that the situation in Basilan prevailed over the second largest island in the country. And – believe it or not – Davao is the largest city in the world in so far as land area is concerned. The city has a population of only 1.2 million people, but it has an area of 244,000 hectares! And twice it had the distinction of being declared as the most child-friendly city in the country. In 1997, Asiaweek magazine classified Davao as one of the 15 Best Cities in all of Asia. The following year it was proclaimed as the Finest Philippine City. The Kalakbay Award of National Tourism also recognized Davao as the Destination of the Year. It has also received awards as the Most Liveable City in the Philippines and had a record for having the lowest crime rate.

We visited Davao as part of a delegation composed of 2,000 people. Davao had all the facilities to accommodate such a large delegation. They had exotic flowers, exotic fruits and many places that would appeal to tourists, local and foreign. Davao is an example of what our entire country should be – peaceful and progressive. Gone are the days when Manila was the Pearl of the Orient. Today Davao deserves that title. Sad to say, the public image of Mindanao today in the news is about the Abu Sayyaf. It is Davao that should be the popular image of all of Mindanao.