WE were on a boom, until the blast came.

This could probably best sum up the situation the country now finds itself in with that powerful Glorietta 2 bombing in Makati.

For who is the businessman or who is the investor who would in all recklessness, continue putting his stakes in the nation’s economy while grappling with the thought his fortunes could all go up in smoke one day, somehow?

The best antidote to a business scare running uncontrolled now is for a decisive investigation into the bloody incident and arrest of suspects and mastermind, if any. For the administration, whose misfortune it is to have been embroiled in some big national scandals just before the incident and therefore somehow falls suspect of drawing public attention away from the mess thru some means, fair or foul, the need for a complete and clear closure of this tragedy cannot be overemphasized.

For the opposition which itself stands to be benefited in a big way by any additional woe coming the administration’s way that would further alienate it from the constituency, a swift but sure investigation by the authorities would prevent its going overboard with high, maybe even unfounded, accusations that exacerbate the current national disunity.

If it was the Rajah Sulayman group, as is now being belatedly claimed by that small but deadly band of balik-Islam converts, let the facts and data show it so to the people.

Any manipulation of the investigation at this point will definitely be counterproductive for the administration and therefore unacceptable to even the more discerning and responsible members of the opposition who otherwise would probably close ranks with government if the extremists are proved – beyond any reasonable doubt – to have been behind the shopping mall carnage.

The military or police should not mess up their investigation any which way. The result – or price – of such would be too heavy to pay for a nation struggling to unite itself.