MIDSAYAP, North Cotabato (MindaNews / 25 December) — Amidst the fear and the terror that the forces of evil planted in the hearts and minds of the Midsayapeños last night, December 24, 2016 when a grenade went off in front of the Sto Niño Archdiocesan Shrine and injured somhttps://mindanews.com/wp-admin/post-new.phpe 16 individuals, in the photos shared by Midsayap Vice Mayor Albert Luis Garduque, the number of faithful that sought God’s comfort and refuge during the Holy Mass today in our church remained huge and strong.
These figures do not only reflect statistics but a clear manifestation that Midsayap, our beloved town, will never bow down to these acts of cowardice and evil.
The local government’s efforts continue to be steadfast in aid of the victims and their families. Investigations are now in full swing to dig deeper into the details of who are behind these senseless acts, the motivations and possible targets.
The moment we entertain panic or create fear, doubt and anger, within ourselves, even without blood being spilled, terror has struck us. Our town has been through a lot, some much more worse than this, but our collective spirit has made us strong. It has allowed us to stand up and show to our enemies that we will never be defeated.
Today, we stood strong. It remained to be our only choice.
We thank the leadership of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte in his earnest response as he joined us in these trying times in the life of our municipality as well as the leadership of our provincial government.
In fervent prayer, let us ask for safety and vigilance among all of us in these moments. As the quote goes, ‘eternal vigilance is the price of freedom.’ (MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. Karl Ballentes is Local Legislative Officer III of the local government unit of Midsayap.
