Tag: maguindanao

The benefits of ousting President BS Aquino outweigh a Jejomar Binay presidency

February 9, 2015 benign0 11 Comments

To be fair to President Benigno Simeon ‘BS’ Aquino III’s apologists, they have a point. What is the return on an investment in time, effort, and disruption related to the ouster of the president that Filipinos are clamouring for nowadays? Indeed, perhaps it may be true that the “extra benefits” of ousting BS Aquino when…

Development, Government, Politics, Society

The burden of a historical baggage

January 29, 2015July 1, 2016 Ms. Mike Portes 20 Comments

November 23, 2009 was the day 58 lives were massacred in Maguindanao when an election convoy came under attack by uniformed men allegedly under the payroll of a powerful Ampatuan political clan. Eight years later, carnage once again stained the history of Maguindanao as more than 40 elite policemen of the Special Action Force (SAF)…

Government, The South

PNoy fails to condemn terrorist atrocity against the PNP-SAF in his speech

January 29, 2015April 24, 2022 Ilda 24 Comments

Three days after the tragic deaths of 44 members of Philippine National Police (PNP) Special Action Force (SAF) in the hands of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters in Mamasapano in Maguindanao, President Benigno Simeon (BS) Aquino finally addressed the nation. However, the people who have been speculating for days about how and why the…

Crime, Government, Politics, Religion, The South

What is taking President Aquino so long to address the nation about the PNP-SAF police massacre??

January 28, 2015 benign0 39 Comments

Recall what happened on the 7th January 2015 in Paris, France. Shots were first reported coming from the Charlie Hebdo offices on Boulevard Richard Lenoir at 10:57am. By 11:31am, French President Francois Hollande was reported to be on his way to the scene of the crime. And by 11:54 a.m. Hollande was addressing the French…

Crime, Government, The South

Mindanao carnage: Will the brutal police massacre put an end to the misguided fantasy of #Bangsamoro autonomy?

January 27, 2015December 16, 2022 benign0 51 Comments

Inquirer columnist Rina Jimenez-David called it a mere “wrinkle” in the “peace process”. “Disheartening” news that is a “cause for concern” is how she describes the massacre of 50 members of the Philippine National Police’s (PNP’s) elite Special Action Force (SAF) allegedly by elements of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and the Moro Islamic…

Crime, Government, The South

How lessons learned from #Hagupit can help deliver justice to the #Maguindanao massacre victims

December 9, 2014 benign0 9 Comments

Super Typhoon Hagupit (locally code-named “Ruby”) has come and gone, and many lessons have been learned. But the most important insight following this experience is quite tragic: that the thousands upon thousands of lives lost in previous years to typhoons were all preventable. The death toll in the aftermath of Hagupit’s visit to the most…

Civics, Crime, Culture, Government, Media, Politics, Society

Philippines’ justice system on trial, President Aquino suppresses international inquiry

November 24, 2014November 24, 2014 benign0 15 Comments

What unfortunate timing. Just as the Philippines is under the microscope for its world-renowned snail-paced justice system and lack of overall transparency, its president, Benigno Simeon ‘BS’ Aquino III, reportedly blacklists nine Hong Kong journalists from entry into the Philippines. The banning of the journalists is on account of how they allegedly “heckled President Benigno…

Crime, Government, Media, Society

The long-awaited Binay-Trillanes political cockfight: Place your bets!

October 30, 2014October 30, 2014 benign0 14 Comments

Filipinos are getting impatient. It’s been many days now since Vice President Jejomar Binay challenged his nemesis ‘senator’ Antonio Trillanes IV to a “debate”. And as the days wear on, the chances that this will actually happen get slimmer as both camps realise that this is likely going to turn out to be a battle…

Crime, Culture, Media, Politics, Society