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POLITIKS |
Latest
trend when airing anti-gov’t grievances:
take hostages |
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THIS
is today’s hottest trend: If you want to
air your grievances about corruption in government,
take
a few hostages, preferably a number of people you
know so that they would not think you could actually
hurt them, and call for the media.
This was what businessman Armando “Jun” Ducat, Jr. did last March
28 when he took hostage 26 schoolchildren. The kids, who are students in his
daycare center in Tondo, were on a bus and were supposed to go on a field trip
to Tagaytay. But Ducat, knowing that the police won’t shoot at a busload
of children (unlike what the SWAT did in 2003’s air traffic control hostage
crisis), took his cue, stopped the bus, and aired his grievances near the Manila
City Hall.
Ducat, who once ran for Congress
but lost and is currently running
for councilor of Manila, must
have snapped at the thought
of spending millions to campaign
just to win a public post. Oddly, even the President of the Philippines gets
paid way lower than most private executives in the country. Talk about lugi,
net loss, and no return on investments. Lest you decide to steal from the country’s
coffers.
Anyway, the 10-hour long hostage
crisis ended with, of course,
much fanfare. Because—dyaraaaan—Ilocos Sur Governor Luis “Chavit” Singson
came to the scene and later, accompanied Ducat out of the bus when he surrendered. |
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Chavit “The
Sabit” |
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Still
on the latest hostage crisis: Oh, tell us about
the joys of showbiz. As we all know by now, Chavit
Singson
played the “hero of the day” by personally
getting the grenade from the hands of hostage-taker
Ducat.
But a funny thing allegedly
occurred inside the bus: Chavit
arrived at the scene when he
was informed by one of Ducat’s
cohorts that they took 26 schoolchildren
hostage.
Chavit, who later released an 8-page “praise release” in his favor,
immediately went to the scene and asked the police to be allowed inside the
bus because he wanted to help the children.
Inside the bus, Chavit allegedly gave out P500 bills to each kid. Chavit said
it was because Ducat demanded that he give the kids P500 each. But Ducat claimed
it was Chavit who insisted on giving money to the captives.
After Ducat’s surrender, GMA’s 24 Oras reported that Ducat handed
them a letter saying “Stop Corruption, No To Chavit Singson.”
Ducat’s supporters, who view the hostage-taker as their new hero, believe
that Singson used the hostage incident to advance his senatorial campaign. Singson
is running under the administration’s Team Unity ticket. Singson, on the
other hand, could not believe that Ducat could have written that. “Inggit,” Chavit
said, was what prodded Ducat’s taga-sulsols to assail him.
At the brighter side, at least
Singson can now replace “Chavit” with “Sabit” and
the voters would still recognize that it was him. |
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