No disaster or calamity can destroy people's faith

Whenever God destroys, He also creates. Whenever edifices and businesses are adversely affected by natural or man-made calamities, new opportunities emerge if people will always look at the positive side of things. That recent killer and destroyer quake that jolted the most serene provinces of Cebu and Bohol might have reduced to ground zero many century-old cultural heritage and historical jewels, but then again, the Cebuanos and Boholanos are coming together with strong determination, setting aside politics and other parochial divides. It is an irony that it is always our enemies or our disasters that would bind us all as one people.

It has always been proven by history that Filipinos do come together whenever they are facing a common problem or enemy. Albeit in times of peace and prosperity, we tend to focus on our differences and allow ourselves to be divided by petty things and partisanship, it has been proven many times over that we are capable of being bound by a common purpose. During the Revolution against Spain, Cebuanos and Boholanos were fighting the same enemy. We may be in various battlefields and fronts, but there was a common aspiration that united us all.

Francisco Dagohoy was credited for carrying the longest-running rebellion against Spain. Lapu-Lapu was the first to rise against the might of western colonizers. And both Cebuanos and Boholanos rallied against a common enemy.

During the guerilla struggles against the Japanese Imperial Army, both the Cebuanos and the Boholanos were fighting the same adversary. Our soldiers shared the same pains and difficulties and we never surrendered without first coming together as one people, moved by the same purpose to defend our country from Japanese adventurist ambitions in the Far East. We fought all forms of subversion and communist infiltration. The peoples from these twin provinces of Cebu and Bohol have never fought against each other. We might have been divided by politics or by other walls of distinctions, but we have a lot more of common grounds than differences. This is a time that demands the best character from all our leaders and people.

And so, notwithstanding any crisis and calamity, the Cebuanos will rise along with Boholanos. These current problems even present a signal opportunity for our political leaders to join hands in leading our people to their deliverance. This is a very opportune time for Mayor Mike Rama to invite Tommy Osmeña, as well as for Governor Jun jun Davide to invite Congresswoman Gwen, former governor and congressman Pabling Garcia and all leaders of note from Cebu to speak in the same platform and rally our people to rise and recover from that nightmarish calamity. In the same manner that Governor Edgar Chato would be better advised to call for one summit of all Boholano leaders and forge a common strategy for recovery.

No disaster or calamity can ever stop a united and determined people. No crisis, no challenge is formidable enough to disable a community of persons who are moved by a common purpose. This is the time for leaders to show their constituents that they are above and beyond petty political partisanship, that our mayors and governors, our congressmen and senators are made of sterner stuff. If I may suggest, Senator Serge Osmeña and Secretary Almendras, they being the most senior leaders from Cebu, should convene a non-partisan summit of Cebuano leaders and jointly forge a Cebuano strategy for survival and recovery. If we cannot do it, then we are no better than those who have been condemned by a culture of crab mentality and parochial partisanship.

There is no calamity, no disaster that is strong enough to destroy the collective will of united Cebuanos and united Boholanos. The crisis presents a distinct opportunity. We should not miss this chance to stand up as one people. Let us prove to the people of Luzon and the people in Mindanao that the Visayans can make miracles out of the rubble of destruction. We should never be disabled by natural or man-made calamities. God has given as a will to respond to His call. We should rise just as Noah rose after the long flood that destroyed humanity except his tribe. If we miss this opportunity, then indeed, we shall have been punished for our self-centeredness and pride. And for that alone, we shall have deserve all these adversities. Whether God destroys or creates depends upon our own will. The choice is upon us then.