The secret of Z

Z is for Zamboanga.

For many decades, Zamboanga has remained a distant beautiful place for many Filipinos. In the ’60s she was the Queen of the south and in many ways was the equivalent of what Boracay Island was in the early ’80s.

In large part Zamboanga was an exotic island destination where you could swim on white sand beaches, search for turtle nests, and gaze in awe of beautiful women and colorful Vintas.

In the past years, all the beautiful things about Zamboanga have been tarnished by criminal activity in the form of terrorism and kidnapping largely done by bandits based in neighboring Basilan Island.

The only reason I ever had for going to Zamboanga was to use it as a jump off point for the ferry ride to Basilan Island where we were sent to report on the Abu Sayyaf terrorist activities ten years ago.

I recently visited Zamboanga as a seminar speaker for Go-Negosyo and on this particular trip, I came to know more about the province, its people and their aspirations for a better Zamboanga, a province free from the threat of terrorism and criminality.

Without a doubt, the people particularly those in business and government have started to recognize the need to develop business skills, redefine their perspective on the province, and what needs to be done and who can help achieve that goal.

As proof of changing priorities, I discovered from many local leaders and businessmen that they are now putting greater emphasis on capacity building and empowerment of people rather than “entertainment”.

Instead of investing money on “concerts” and sporting events, people in different provinces are now promoting “seminars” and “training forums” where experts and experienced individuals are invited to give talks or conduct training workshops.

Given a choice between hosting the PBA games in Zamboanga or organizing a training workshop for farmers and hobbyists, mayors and government agency heads immediately rejected the PBA suggestion pointing out that it would be a lot of money going out but very little benefit coming into Zamboanga.

Perhaps the DILG, the League of Governors as well as Mayors should take an official stand on the matter of prioritizing learning opportunities for their constituents and discourage government offices from utilizing scarce resources for fiestas, beauty contests or events that don’t really result in capacity building or empowering people to be economically and professionally successful.    

In spite of their aspirations, residents and business leaders are psychologically held hostage by unseen terrorists. At one point or another, every person I spoke with would talk or point to the island of Basilan as if it was a monster bound to wake up and attack Zamboanga. It is not the island they fear but the terrorists and kidnappers who have used Basilan as their lair.

Ironically, sitting in between Zamboanga and Basilan like a child caught between feuding parents is the small island of Sta. Cruz which undoubtedly can give any Island destination a run for their money. Unlike the white powdery beaches of Boracay, Sta. Cruz Island is surrounded by what locals describe as “pink sand”.

I noticed that many locals often looked at Sta. Cruz like paradise lost because once upon a time, Sta. Cruz was their summer playground where many memories were made.

Realizing the clear need to establish a security blanket for Zamboanga and Basilan, and having talked about changing mind-set at the recent Go-Negosyo seminars, I suggested to the local businessmen the idea of pushing for the establishment of an airstrip and a major base to be built on Sta. Cruz island which can also be a vacation R&R camp for ALL AFP personnel and not just spoiled senior officers.

Most camps always have a golf course and a tennis court for senior officers but have you ever heard of an R&R camp for our brave and dedicated personnel of the AFP?

Not only should there be R&R destinations in the south, we should start thinking about building a major base for the combined services in this part of the country. If the government can have a Malacanang of the South, why not build a major military network in the south where a lot of security threats are coming from?

Why should Filipinos rely on a hope and a prayer that government might one day do something about it? The people of Zamboanga should use the campaign as an opportunity to test candidates on what they can accomplish even before the people elect them.

Instead of asking for proof of life when a relative is victim, we should ask politicians proof of influence, ability to inspire people to come together and produce real solutions to real problems.