Category: Crime

The Mendoza bus hostage massacre: Remembering the victims of a preventable tragedy

August 14, 2011 benign0 51 Comments

Ill-equipped, ill-trained, ill-prepared, and ill-thought-out. These are words that can easily describe anything to do with the Philippines across the board — from its politicians, to its law-enforcement officers, to its Media, and ultimately to the very people they serve (and are consequently reflections of). The propensity to fail consistently is ingrained into the very…

Crime, Media, Politics, Society

Rioting in London: How it could happen in the Philippines

August 12, 2011August 12, 2011 Ilda 33 Comments

Rioting. Looting. Mugging. Stealing. These are activities people would normally associate with street gangs. But the recent mayhem in London that involved all those activities has baffled every expert in every society. They are baffled because the people involved didnâ€™t just come from the â€œalienated poor, those without hope, lashing out in rage and despair.â€…

Crime, Culture, Education, Society

Senator Zubiri resignation: Is it an admission of guilt?

August 5, 2011 Ilda 22 Comments

Quite a number of Filipinos were shocked by the news that Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri had filed his resignation following allegations of electoral fraud during the 2007 senatorial elections. The move was a first in Philippine political history. There has been no Filipino public official on record who resigned out of delicadeza or shame in…

Civics, Crime, Culture, Government, Politics, Society

What makes men like Anders Behring Breivik?

July 26, 2011 benign0 6 Comments

People who believed they were right, continue to believe that they are right, and then go on to make people believe they are right, and then proceed to surround themselves with people they have successfully persuaded to see this self-conceived righteousness… Perhaps this is one of many ways a psychopath is made, and from which…

Crime, Politics, Society

Election fraud did not just happen in 2004, it happened in other elections too!

July 24, 2011May 11, 2016 Ilda 31 Comments

“Pinpoint the mastermind behind the Hello Garci scandal and prosecute all those who participated in this shameless act”. These are the exact words of deposed former president and convicted plunderer, Joseph “Erap” Estrada regarding allegations of cheating in the 2004 Presidential elections. His statement reeks of vendetta. It seemed like a good idea then, but…

Crime, Government, Politics

Why re-opening the Hello Garci case is like the second invasion of Iraq

July 20, 2011 benign0 76 Comments

Making news today is another blast from the past — the re-opening of the 2004 election cheating scandal that engulfed most of former President Gloria Arroyo’s term from then ’til 2009 and a new investigation mounted on the back of a possible testimony from Zaldy Ampatuan and Lintang Bedong both of whom have admitted to…

Crime, Politics

Do Filipinos need iron-fisted leadership?

July 8, 2011November 26, 2015 Ilda 103 Comments

Filipinos do not know what they want. In 1986, hundreds of thousands of Filipinos took to the streets to rally against the late strongman, former President Ferdinand Marcos. The three-day protest eventually led to the ousting of the so-called “dictator” and alleged human rights violator. Twenty five years later, Filipinos from the Mindanao region of…

Civics, Crime, Development, Government, Politics, Society

Law and Order – Philippine style

July 6, 2011December 4, 2015 Ilda 334 Comments

The longer I write about Philippine society and its politics, the more convinced I get that the country’s state of law and order is a joke. Take Davao City for instance. All this time I thought that the city was a model for what following the “rule of law” could do. It turns out, to…

Civics, Crime, Culture, Politics