Statement of Sen. Richard J. Gordon on the release
of ICRC worker Eugenio Vagni

We are elated to receive the news that ICRC worker Eugenio Vagni has been released.

We congratulate the Red Cross and its local chapters in Sulu; the local government of Sulu; Sulu Vice-Governor Lady Anne Sahidula; the police and soldiers who died; and even the Abu Sayyaf who demonstrated forbearance. We also offer our profound sympathies to those who lost their lives in the process of freeing the ICRC hostages.

Even as we express our joy for the freeing of the last ICRC hostage, we also realize that the government must work much harder to deliver good governance to the province of Sulu as well as other provinces in Mindanao that face similar situations. Education, health services, jobs, and livelihood must be delivered if we are to hope that what happened in Sulu will not happen again.

We must learn the lesson that peace does not come about on its own, it must be worked on relentlessly and it must be earned.