HUMAN beings are born with facticities. Based on the works of Jean Paul Sartre, "facticity signifies all of the concrete details against the background of which human freedom exists and is limited."

In other words, we cannot choose our parents, our time and place of birth, our language, environment or the race we belong. These are our facticititis and we are bound by it till death.

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However, man has also been gifted with the power of choice. We can choose what to eat, how to dress and certainly, we can choose who our next-door neighbors should be. Neighbors are not a man's factiticy.

A community is composed of neighbors with common interests and common goals. A good neighbor contributes to the growth of the community and to the continued peace and order of the locale. A community is composed of people who choose to live together, not by coercion for that would be a ghetto, but by a mutual interest to coexist peacefully.

In the light of the recent events in Maguindanao, as scions from powerful clans trickle in and settle in this peaceful city, how can authorities assuage restive law-abiding citizens that they are safe? Can we blame the tacit rejection and utter intimidation of decent people who just wish to live decent lives?

Prejudices aside, what person in his right mind would wish to live across Charles Manson, Adolph Hilter or Pol Pot, presuming these last two persons were still alive?

Robert Frost once said: good fences make good neighbors.

Why don't we Dabawenyos, build walls, as vast and as lofty as the Great Wall of China for us to become better neighbors?

It is at times like these when not only fences but walls are appropriate for us to coexist in peace. Fences are necessary when peace-loving and law-abiding citizes do not have anything in common with people with no sense of morality and dignity. We do not need Plato's Dialectic to tell us that a single rotten potatoe spoils the entire bushel.

Sobriety, as well as adherence to the popular sentiment must be heeded at times like these. Measures have to be taken in order that the city and its residents will not suffer the same fate.

We have the power of choice. Our freedom as a populace have long since been restored after the Edsa Revolution. We are free and can always say no, without violating the laws of the land.

Vox populi, vox Dei.