Natural and man-made problems and disasters

First, there was the Ultra Stampede. Up to this day, no one really knows what caused the people to stampede. There was absolutely no danger to run away from. What caused the people to panic and step over old women? Now, we have the problem of natural disasters, meaning landslides and floods. In a way, these disasters were also started by men, meaning the persons who went into illegal logging activities. The continuous rains just served to cause the landslides.

What it all means is that we must take the necessary measures to minimize the dangers that we face when we have activities that gather a big crowd and take the necessary steps for the proper preservation of our environment. The first problem involves taking steps to ensure that crowds do not turn into mobs. The Filipinos are a disciplined people. The best proof of this was the EDSA Revolutions. We have two of them that toppled existing governments and both were perfectly peaceful. No one was injured or hurt and there was no destruction of properties. In Paris now, tens of thousands of cars have been senselessly burned.

We hope and pray that the celebration that will mark the 20th anniversary of EDSA I will again be an example of our national discipline. What makes us feel proud of our people at this moment is the way many government and private agencies are responding to the landslide tragedy that struck Saint Bernard, Southern Leyte. To make matters worse, another landslide has taken place in Zamboanga City. As in Leyte, it was caused by continuous heavy rains.

Worse than both natural disasters is the bomb blast in a bar in Jolo, Sulu that killed a person and injured 20 others. Obviously this was the work of terrorists.

Still we would say that when one follows the World News, the Philippines is still a very fortunate nation. We hope that the likes of Typhoon Katrina never happens in the Philippines. Or that an earthquake that recently took place in South Asia does not happen in our archipelago.

Natural disasters are bad enough. The worst thing about them is that they cannot be avoided. Man-made disasters are worse because they definitely can be avoided. We have many, many problems in the world today. But there is no problem that can be solved with terrorist acts. Terrorism can only aggravate the world’s problems.

We look forward to a peaceful EDSA I commemoration. We are glad that the authorities are taking all the preventive measures to ensure that it be a peaceful celebration. Sad to say, we have terrorists in our midst who will consider it an achievement if they manage to kill as many innocent persons during that occasion. It proves that peace must begin with one’s self.