REACTION/COMMENT

The Brighter Side of Balikatan

It is a fact that the Bicol Region is one of the poorest regions in the country today. It has very rich natural resources yet it cannot move on due to natural disasters it has religiously suffered since time immemorial. 

Now comes April 2009. The RP-US joint Balikatan exercise will be a sign of hope for every Bicolano to rebuild what we destroyed by super typhoons that left every Bicolanos in tears, in grief! But such hope is becoming bleak because of some wild imaginations brought about by leftist organizations pretending to be nationalist and self-righteous. The said RP-US Balikatan exercises are humanitarian in nature. No war games are to be staged! School buildings destroyed by Reming will be reconstructed. Bridges and roads will be rehabilitated from far-flung barangays. Doctors will be checking the sick and will provide medication. In short the RP-US Balikatan exercise is a pro-people undertaking that in some ways or another will lift the Bicolanos from its present depressing situation. 

Mae A. Balaoro