Who is a Filipino?

A woman believed to be the sister of a former beauty queen/actress was fished out of the Navotas fish port waters. The body was enclosed in a metal box filled with cement, reminiscent of gangster movies in the way they disposed of the bodies of their enemies. The woman is believed to have been murdered two years ago, and was only found through the confession of one of the alleged henchmen who carried out the gruesome deed.

Guilt apparently played a big role in the suspect’s confession, stating it was the first time they had to kill a woman. Yes, that qualifies as a confession that there are others! Is he going to divulge the location of the others as well? The authorities should well look into this!

The alleged mastermind - the woman’s father-in-law and his brother, who happens to be a fishing magnate. How ironic is that? Her body is fished out, which could cause the arrest of a bigger fish!

Now don’t tell me that this whole plot was just thought of by the alleged brains behind the crime. I’m sure this monster has had his fill of gangster movies, and decided that he could do it as well, with all that wealth and power. Life imitating art. I heard the father-in-law was also a lawyer? I can’t help but recall that joke about a thousand lawyers at the bottom of the ocean.

Apparently what led to the crime was a bitter custody battle between the victim and her estranged husband over their two children, something children should never have to go through. The husband won the case, and the mother disappears. And now she comes back for justice.

There already is a body, and there is a witness. Let’s hope so. But this is the Philippines, where rich criminals often go unpunished, or are granted pardons, even for the most heinous of crimes!

   This is yet another story of violence against women. And to think we even have a woman president.

Then there is that case of a shopping mall magnate who shot his wife. I certainly hope this crime does not go unpunished. The manner by which they chose to silence this mother is reprehensible to say the least, and merits punishment in its highest form. How a parent would resort to this kind of behavior is beyond me. I cannot help but think of the children as well. Exactly how would they see their relatives after this, including their father, is just disturbing!