I am from Zamboanga and I’m so relieved that the crisis is over. I know that many Zamboangueños share this feeling.
To us, it is not important if Habier Malik is alive or dead. Most of his followers are dead, and a good number of the few who survived have been captured. Practically, “naubos na ang mga tauhan niya.” Sad to say, the men he brought to Zamboanga risked or laid down their lives for nothing. But it is important that peace is now back in Zamboanga.
Our houses were burned, our properties destroyed, but what matters most is that we are alive and we survived the crisis brought about by Malik and his men, allegedly upon orders of Nur Misuari. They failed to take over Zamboanga and we thank our soldiers and police—many of them not even from Zamboanga—for beating them off.
We condole with the families of soldiers and policemen who fell in the defense of Zamboanga City. We hail and honor them for their bravery. We are sure that their families are proud of the sacrifice they made for their country. We will remember them in our prayers.
—SUZETTE T. TRAYVILLA,
suzette_trayvilla@yahoo.com