02675: Grim Week


Yesterday Tanauan City Mayor Antonio Halili was shot dead during the Monday morning flag ceremony. The shooting was in broad daylight and it seems it was some sort of a sniper or other long-range shooter. He was a somewhat controversial figure given his "Walk of Shame" practice that had drug personalities paraded around the city in a shame campaign and yet he was also one of the mayors "stripped" of their police powers due to possible connections to the drug trade.

Today news broke this afternoon that the mayor of General Tinio town in Nueva Ecija, Mayor Ferdinand Bote, was also shot dead by unidentified motorcycle-riding suspects. Seriously, two dead mayors within just over 24 hours. He doesn't seem to be (in)famous for anything, but I'm sure the media is still digging for possible factors in his death to broadcast as headlines tomorrow.

What is going on here? As much as two points make a line, they don't necessarily define a pattern. But if this keeps up, we may have something that seriously requires significant concern apart from the already prevalent concerns related the on-going drug war and the many deaths that we can't help attribute to it even though the police continue to refer to most of them as "deaths under investigation".

And now we're getting statements that either the Catholic Church is planning on ousting the President or the Communists are or both. It's the kind of ridiculous rumors that feel like they're right out of the Marcos-style Martial Law Playbook or something.


Comments