The picture told only half the story

This paper’s front page picture yesterday showed the bodies of three policemen sprawled on the pavement. They and four others were killed in an ambush by the New People’s Army in Guihulngan, Negros Oriental, the accompanying report said. But that was only half the story. The other half portends more violence and that is more distressing.

Many years ago, I had the unwelcome assignment of breaking to a young man, who was staying with us, news of his father’s death. He was a town policeman in Masbate and was ambushed by the NPA on his way home from the school where his wife taught. I can still recall how the color drained out of the son’s face after I told him what happened. He sat silently and then walked away without saying a word.

He was probably too shocked to comprehend why his father had to die and under those circumstances. But I knew why. The government had just declared that they were no longer talking to the rebels and warned of an all-out war.

I wonder how many young children the slain policemen left. Who’s going to break the sad news to them? How are they going to cope with their loss?

And even more importantly, how many more orphans will this insane war leave? How many more widows? We’re not only talking of those on the government side. Surely, those rebels have families, too.

The irony of it all is that we thought that we finally had a shot at ending this war after President Duterte assumed office. He promised an all-inclusive government and, as proof of his sincerity, appointed known NPA sympathizers to his Cabinet. Then he ordered the resumption of the peace talks that were stalled during the Aquino administration.

And now, we’re back to square one. Duterte and communist leader Jose Maria Sison who used to be chummy with each other (the then presidential candidate even called Sison and had a long televised conversation with him during the presidential campaign) are now trading insults, even threats of physical harm.

And if the Guihulngan ambush signaled the start of an all-out war, it is going to be sad. Very sad.

Heard through the grapevine: A ranking official of an educational institution has been replaced after the dean of one of its colleges threatened to resign along with the faculty members over the shabby treatment that they were getting from the official. It all started when security guards, acting on the official’s orders, barred a professor’s vehicle from entering the campus because it didn’t have a sticker.

The professor explained that a sticker has in fact been applied for the brand-new vehicle but the guards were adamant, citing the official’s order. The dean went down to intercede for the professor and even attempted to open the gate but was stopped by the guard.

Exasperated, the dean, who is well-respected in the profession, complained to the board, telling them in no uncertain terms that they have had enough of the official and will resign en masse as a protest. The board replaced the official and averted the threatened mutiny.

He was probably too shocked to comprehend why his father had to die and under those circumstances