Herbie Gomez BUJIE, my daughter, was at the exact place in Davao the night before the Friday explosion. Somehow I and my family felt relieved that she was in a safer place but, as I write this, she’s still in Davao because of her work, avoiding places where she would have wanted to be during her spare time. Any parent would be worried. A group of police officers or soldiers flagged me down on my way to the office on Saturday. I stopped and slid down the side window to allow one of them to peep through. And then I was asked where I came from. I answered and smiled. He smiled back and thanked me for cooperating as he gave the signal for me to proceed. I guess we will be seeing more of this. I do not know exactly how President Duterte plans to put an end to this terrorism madness. In situations like this, the only Filipino in the best position to see the entire picture is the President. He has the best view. And so, there is nothing we, citizens, can do but  just hope that he does the right thing. He has declared a “state of lawlessness” or “state of lawless violence” in response to the bomb attack. The declaration simply means that he has invoked the powers provided by the Constitution for him to use the Armed Forces against the bombers, or specifically, Section 18 of Article VII of the 1987 Constitution: “The President shall be the Commander-in-Chief of all armed forces of the Philippines and whenever it becomes necessary, he may call out such armed forces to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion or rebellion.” In other words, his hands are not tied by bureaucracy and he has more leeway now to exercise his powers against the terrorists. Citizens were assured that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus has not been suspended. This means no one can be arrested without a good reason or jailed just like that. But we are told security would really be stepped up and there would be more checkpoints. Curfew hours may also be imposed in certain areas, depending on the need. My thoughts and sympathy go to the victims of the weekend bomb attack and their families. Why anyone would want other human beings maimed or dead in an explosion is something that’s really perplexing. All we know is that these bombers are cold-blooded and are actually convinced that what they are doing is for  some greater cause. They think differently. Their minds are simply twisted. Pastilan.