EDITORIAL - Quick fixes can be deadly

Two fishermen, in two separate incidents occurring miles apart on the same day, Tuesday, were killed in similar fashion, from dynamite explosion. One was killed in San Remigio when a dynamite exploded in his hand, another in Lapulapu when hit by boulders following a blast.

In both instances, their deaths were needless, and only exacerbated conditions they probably hoped to address by taking shortcuts with one of man's oldest undertakings, which is to fish for sustainance from the sea.

Fishermen who have better and bigger means to catch fish usually do not go out on a limb for their daily haul. More often, it is the marginal fishermen, those whose catch is just enough for at least the day's meal.

It is the marginal fishermen for whom a daily catch is most pressing, a catch that must be had at whatever cost, even if it has to potentially cost a life. By using a dynamite, a catch is both quick and certain.

But a dynamite is also quick to explode, and almost certain to kill, as it certainly did the two fishermen in San Remigio and in Lapulapu. The irony is that the fates of the surviving families are just as quick and certain to move from bad to worse.

Yet one wonders where the authorities are looking. How come marginal fishermen seem to acquire dynamites with apparent ease despite the fact that these explosive items are considered illegal and contraband.

The authorities ought to have anticipated that the irrepressible Filipino penchant for taking shortcuts and quick fixes makes the acquisition of dynamites by marginal fishermen almost a clear certainty.

The authorities should have realized that given the harsh conditions prevailing in the communities of marginal fishermen, the use of dynamites is almost a given, in that it can bring food on the table quickly and certainly.