EDITORIAL - Terror threat still there

As of last count 14 people have been killed and 75 wounded as a result of the twin blasts that hit Jolo, Sulu, the other day.

The first bomb went off outside an eatery in Barangay Walled City, where the bomber allegedly left a motorcycle that was rigged with an improvised explosive device.

The second bomb detonated a few minutes later across a gas station around a hundred meters away but still located along the same street as the eatery.

Are these perhaps the retaliatory attacks that authorities warned the public about following the arrest of Abu Sayyaf leader Anduljihad Susukan, alias “Idang”?

As of this writing no one has claimed responsibility for the incidents, but authorities strongly suspect it was carried out by the bandit group.

If it was indeed the Abu Sayyaf behind these explosions then that makes the incident even more tragic. Majority of the victims were not soldiers, security personnel, or anyone who could threaten the bandit group, they were just innocent people minding their own business. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

This grim incident only shows us that even with all the things we have to deal with right now --the pandemic, the struggle to restore the economy, and this silly move to declare a revolutionary government, among others-- we still have to deal with the threat of terror.

Terror did not stop when the global pandemic began. It is very likely that, similar to what we did, the terrorists also stayed home to avoid getting infected by the coronavirus. They were just waiting for the right moment to strike or the right occasion to remind the public they are still a force to be reckoned with.

Like fighting the pandemic, fighting terror is not a duty reserved for the government alone. As civilians we aren’t expected to directly engage in battle with the enemy, but we also have some responsibilities.

For one we can make sure the government gets important information quickly.

We can also do our part to deny terrorists access to the resources they need to carry out their operations, whether these are supplies, money, or personnel.

We can also make sure that the ideologies spread by terrorists --those of hate and intolerance-- don’t find fertile ground in our neighborhoods. There are actually quite a lot of things we can do, all without picking up a gun.

We need to do our part in the fight against terror because in all likelihood, terror will still be around long after the virus that causes COVID-19 has died out or been vaccinated.