A suspicious bridge and a distrustful war

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

March L. Fianza

BAGUIO CITY -- During this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, what communities need are political focus and execution of disciplinary measures. We need focus in fighting so many wrongs, in addition to getting rid of the coronavirus.

            That is why I agree that violators of health protocols such as not observing physical distancing and not wearing masks properly in public should just be arrested immediately and fined, or both.

At least they will not be shot like what some cops did to violators in the Spanish flu of 1918. If not, then our efforts to keep the number of Covid-19 infections down will be wasted, and so with the efforts of our city and barangay officials.  

I read somewhere a study that found the Philippines second to Singapore in the number of people wearing masks worldwide. It said that at least 90 percent of Filipinos wear masks all the time. It means that nine out of 10 people wear masks. Comparing our leaders’ efforts to those in the USA or Brazil, it is an accomplishment. Yet, it may also be a failure.

At first, the study looks good but if you think again, it points out that 10 people out of 100 may probably get the virus or infect others. Or, 10 percent of people not wearing masks in Manila that has around 12 million population means that 1.2 million people can get infected and possibly transmit the virus to others.

The last thing we will see in the fight against the pandemic is our leaders disagreeing with each other. That is why the president clipped the functions of the DOH in containing the virus and assigning three czars for the job. Mayor Benjie Magalong was appointed as contact tracing czar which he readily accepted knowing that he can help other districts in need of his advice in their fight against COVID-19, which is helping the country as well.

With that, a silent sector in Baguio was quite disappointed when Mayor Magalong accepted his new task, thinking that the city’s efforts in sustaining the environment, protecting our forest stands and finding solutions to other problems in the city are pushed back. This, even while the mayor said he has delegated management of the city in good hands.

Perhaps, in order not to lose our fight against the virus at a time when the mayor is doubling his efforts for the city and as the country’s contact tracing czar, we might as well also exert more discipline in observing health protocols as we double our efforts in helping our leaders find solutions to other problems.

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Sometime in 2016, an army contingent in Mountain Province patrolled the mountains of Betwagan of Sadanga, Mountain Province and Bugnay of Tinglayan, Kalinga as there were reports of clearing of spaces allegedly to be used as marijuana plantation. This was suspected to ignite misunderstanding between the two barangays that could lead to a tribal war.

Bugnay and Betwagan had been at odds in the past as highlighted by a weeklong gunfight in 2002. The shooting war stopped when municipal and provincial officials from both sides intervened. Shooting wars between the two tribes in the past were ignited by a fight for a water source located on a disputed boundary.

The war between the two neighboring towns erupted again last February 13 following a shooting incident where those involved blamed each other on who pulled the first shot.

The latest firefight occurred last Monday when armed men allegedly from the neighboring town of Betwagan, Sadanga, attacked Bugnay (Tinglayan, Kalinga) territory resulting in the death of two tribesmen (from Betwagan).

There were also reports that the elected officials of one of the towns involved signed a document that fixed the boundaries but such document was not honored by the officials of the other town as it was not favorable to them.

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            I read that the 7,000- strong Police Regional Office Cordillera (PROCOR) will contribute P500 each from their salaries to help construct a footbridge project in Sadanga.

Accordingly, the bridge project was proposed to the regional task force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC) by National Security Adviser Hermogenes C. Esperon Jr. who suggested that the fund for the bridge will no longer be referred to any government agency because of the long and tedious process through the General Appropriations Act (GAA), so that the funding will be delivered within the year.

The RTF-ELCAC members will instead expedite the signing of a “pass the hat” resolution to be given to the police PDs and CDs to be used in collecting the contributed salaries of policemen. The resolution will also be used to seek support of LCEs in the Cordillera. The money, if completely collected will amount to PhP3.5 million which will help build a bridge project as “gesture of gratitude” for peace and order programs in the municipality and efforts to fight insurgency in the area.

Putting extra effort to fight insurgency is a job for all and it is not bad to get something back for one’s extra effort but there should be no strings attached to it. By the way, if a proposed project will benefit the public that is funded by donations, then it should be bided out as in a government project. A work program is needed too and the beneficiaries identified, seeing to it that the project will benefit a greater majority, not a family or a clan.

There is a buzz that the act of asking policemen to give away a part of their salary is causing a lot of heartburn among them. The contribution is voluntary so that a policeman may choose to give or not, but the subtle and not so subtle reminders from their officers that are repeated, and asking them to contribute are leaving them with no choice but to give.

Contributing part of one’s salary for a supposedly government project during the coronavirus pandemic of a scale we have never seen has added to the resentment of the policemen and their families. Some of them might want to contribute to other equally important projects. Why should they have to contribute only to solicitations from their boss?