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| Southeast Asia |
| Bongbong [Marcos]: 'Guns for hire' sow terror in Ilocos Norte |
| 2004-08-14 |
| By Leilanie G. Adriano, Northern Luzon Bureau Saturday, August 14, 2004 LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte—"Hired guns" are behind the series of still unsolved killings in Ilocos Norte, including that of the broadcaster Roger Mariano, according to Gov. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos. You just gotta trust someone with a name like "Bongbong." Citing a police intelligence report, Marcos said the killers, who continue to sow terror, are not from Ilocos Norte but outsiders whose services were hired by "Even if this He said that aside from Mariano, hired assassins were also believed to have been behind several still unsolved high-profile killings in the province in the past three years. "Which I had nothing to do with!" |
| Posted by:Zenster |
| #8 I don't know if you will see my answer Zenster. Basically, Marcos alone is not at fault, Long-standing economic policies that suppressed foreign investment are high among the non-Marcos factors. Interestingly, it was in Marcos day that the first cracks in this began, and Ramos did the most to liberalize. But now the investment sink of China has robbed the Philippines of the window of opportunity. The Philippines has always had a rather distributed land-ownership, compared to some other countries. The problems of large landowners were only in a few places. Land reform has been slowly on-going for decades. It hasn't helped much in terms of rural development, if at all. |
| Posted by: Anonymous4870 2004-08-15 9:01:42 PM |
| #7 I would put the cost of Marcos at @ 5-6 years of growth, basically 1980-86, plus the excessive borrowing towards the national debt has hampered the country with interest payments since. Thank you for the insight, A4870. I'm obliged to dispute the 1:1 ratio of years in power versus period of decline during the Marcos regime. The untold BILLIONS looted by the Marcos family represented vital propellant for the Philippines' rising star as an Asian mini-dragon. Instead, they are faced with a declining industrial base and flat tourism statistics that are strangling their economy. Until Arroyo's recent gaffe in Iraq, I had high hopes for her economic expertise helping life in the Philippines out of it's current doldrums. I'm interested to see your own assessment of what impact her pursuit of agrarian land ownership reforms might have. The struggle to more equitably redistribute property allocated by artificial colonial era land grants is much akin to Mexico, where some 1% of the population holds 90% of the arable land. These same propertied Philippine families are politically well-connected and represent a tremendous obstacle to any possible land reform. What do you foresee as a solution to this seemingly intractable problem? |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-08-14 5:01:48 PM |
| #6 Bongbong is the only son of the late President. He has two sisters. Ilocos Norte is a province, the Marcoses are influential across all the other Ilocano-speaking northern provinces - Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, etc., but he is governor of only one. Ilocos Norte is no worse run than any other province in the country, but that isn't saying much of course. This sort of thing has happened in many places. I would put the cost of Marcos at @ 5-6 years of growth, basically 1980-86, plus the excessive borrowing towards the national debt has hampered the country with interest payments since. |
| Posted by: Anonymous4870 2004-08-14 3:59:24 PM |
| #5 Is he related to former President Ferdinand "Deaddead" Marcos? Yes, he is. ("Deaddead" snicker). Thank you for the translation, A4870. Do you have a read on Bongbong's Remember folks, it was Bongbong, Ferdinand and Imelda (with other family members) that sat on their yacht drinking Dom Perignon Champagne and singing "We are the World" as their fellow countrymen starved. Ferdinand Marcos' unrestrained plundering single-handedly retarded his entire nation's progress by numerous decades and further entrenched a looting mentality that continues to haunt the Philippines to this day. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-08-14 3:04:34 PM |
| #4 whoa! bongbong! i do love a double header! |
| Posted by: Half 2004-08-14 1:16:50 PM |
| #3 Gov. Ferdinand âBongbongâ Marcos. Is he related to former President Ferdinand "Deaddead" Marcos? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2004-08-14 12:48:29 PM |
| #2 Bongbong - Halfempty, there's your missing tube, dude! |
| Posted by: Raj 2004-08-14 12:47:09 PM |
| #1 Its not the "Bong bong" part thats the problem. Filipinos love silly nicknames. Its that "Marcos" thing. Translation of the line in Tagalog - "The PNP is looking into and investigating who were the true targets of Rogers stories, there lies the problem" The cash amounts to $2-3 million |
| Posted by: Anonymous4870 2004-08-14 10:53:37 AM |