The Philippines: where armed soldiers and cops run amok for a "cause"

Mistress of Jolog Central, Ellen Tordesillas, called the occassion "Proof that good things can come out of Congress". The Philippine House of Representatives today approved President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III's Proclamation 75 granting "amnesty" to rebel "soldiers" Antonio Trillanes and Danilo Lim. Funny how what can now be considered "the first initiative of President Aquino which has been passed by Congress" involves the cutting loose of a bunch of crooks even as he coddles personal cronies whose gross incompetence had contributed to the preventable deaths of eight Hong Kong tourists in a tragic hostage drama back in August 23.

How this single biggest achievement of the Second Aquino Administration in the last six months (aside from winning popularity contests) marries up with the "anti-corruption drive" that defined Noynoy's campaign, one can only guess.

Perhaps then, Filipinos shouldn't be too "surprised" over screws being turned on Malacanang's promises to turn the Philippines into a haven for wealthy Chinese tourists.

'We find it surprising that this updating of Hong Kong's black travel advisory comes at a time when a number of Manila-based foreign embassies have lowered their travel alerts,' [foreign ministry spokesman Eduardo] Malaya said in a statement.

The Hong Kong security bureau's advisory discourages all travel to the Philippines, which is entering its traditional peak December to February tourism season when many Hong Kong tourists visit.

Who can blame them when the Philippines has become known as a country that makes heroes out of military and police personnel running around for a "cause" armed with high-powered tax-funded weapons.