Edener Benitez Fabella
23 Oct 2007

 

 

I don’t know about you but every time our security forces in the country declare they are on ‘heightened alert’, it gives me a reason to worry. It isn’t I’m expecting there’ll be a shooting at noon at the OK Corral or them crooks coming down the mountains to slug it out blasting away at anything that moves.

The word ‘heightened alert’ is like motivating the four horsemen of Apocalypse to hasten judgment day? In the process, you end up confused in where to hide you ask; am I safe tucked under the bed or am I going to fit in an ‘aparador‘?

Haven’t you noticed whenever something criminal occurs like the Makati Glorietta mall blast, our generals with stars on their shoulders shining come out swinging? It is always after the fact when the dastard deed has been committed that our generals in the PNP and AFP begin to hunker down on serious business… why is that?

Why are they so efficient in staying on ‘heightened alert’ when they see people going out in the streets to protest government’s malfeasance and yet, inordinately incompetent in other critical moments?

For Pete’s sake. Where do you draw the line in determining the difference between heightened alert, regular alert, red alert and other acronyms our generals love to concoct amplifying idiocy?

Do they use ‘relaxed alert’ maybe ‘half alert’ today ‘bahala na alert’ tomorrow’? How do you narrow down specifics so the regular Joe Blow down the street can decide when it is time to duck? At least when Rustan and ShoeMart announce they are having a ‘Blue light alert’ specials, it means in a matter of minutes, rolls of toilet papers will be grabbed by shoppers along with whatever else that gets in the way.

Contrast it with the way our generals issue alert modes, there maybe truth to buzzwords going down the pipeline of soldiers’ cue when these generals are doing ‘quickies’ alert kayong lahat kay misis mga bata!

I heard this is the joke making the rounds… true?

Miron: Madam, meron pong mall na binomba./ Wala akong pakialam.
Miron: Madam, marami pong sugatan./ Heh, sinabi ko na wala akong panahon dyan.
Miron: Madam, nadiskubre po ang Yamashita treasures nang sumabog sa mall. / Bakit di mo agad sinabi? Sige tawagin mo si Tabarotti at nang me katulong tayong magbilang!

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