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> It's sort of an open secret that in the Philippines you can bump someone off for PHP 10K. That's a pretty strong claim (as are many other statements). Is the

> It's sort of an open secret that in the Philippines you can bump someone off for PHP 10K. That's a pretty strong claim (as are many other statements). Is there something to back that up? > The president was already doing this in Davao before being elected to the national office. And this was already happening throughout the country I've read the former many times, but never the latter. > Perhaps the drug war is the first push against corruption. I don't see how murder, a refusal to punish murderers, and the effective elimination of rule of law and the judiciary is going to stop corruption. It's the worst possible corruption, and it's a fantasy that the person perpetrating this policy is somehow going to be otherwise honest, or that society, without these critical institutions, will be better able to deal with corruption. It's ok to kill people, just don't embezzle any money? There's also the minor problem of the complete disregard for individual life and liberty, which is harming a huge number of people.

hawkice 10y ago
>> It's sort of an open secret that in the Philippines you can bump someone off for PHP 10K. > That's a pretty strong claim (as are many other statements). Is there something to back that up? That's about $215 US, for the record. From the time I spent in Davao back when Duterte was mayor: no one I met was afraid of any crime, certainly not some weird public assassination market. The only people that you'd ever have to worry about were police, and that was only if you were a criminal yourself. That being said, that was back when he was a somewhat crazy mayor and not President. So maybe there's been a shift in the politics and perception of these things? I can say the city was tremendously livable and while there was some anxiety about him and the extrajudicial killings, it was offset by dramatically reduced worries about normal crime for everyone I spoke to about it (which says a lot, I think -- WHAT it says is a bit more complicated).
- pyre 10y ago
  To be fair, there are many places where the police do shady things, but a certain segment of the population don't see any issue with it because it's always those "other" people feeling the brunt of it and "they were probably up to no good anyways." There are many white people that feel this way about police violence against black people in the US. "Well, they were black so they were probably up to no good; therefore the police only do bad things to bad people."
- hackuser 10y ago
  > that was only if you were a criminal yourself Who says who is a criminal? Are Filipino police somehow far more gifted than those elsewhere and are completely non-corrupt (never using their powers for other than justice), and never arrest the wrong person? It's safe as long as you are not the one getting killed. Mussolini, Hitler and Stalin offered similar security.
  - hawkice 10y ago
    I was speaking to the nature of their anxiety, not the probability they'd be killed or by whom. I was also trying to describe their perceptions, not the objective state of affairs. I think you'll find your comment to be oddly hostile and non-responsive.
    - hackuser 10y ago
      While I don't agree with your characterization of your prior comment (at least as it was written, of course I don't know your intent), I'm sorry you felt my response was hostile; that's not what I meant to convey.
pyre 10y ago
> Is there something to back that up? Did you not read the "open secret" part? While it may or may not be true, you're going to have a hard time finding an "official" source for that kind of open secret.

hawkice 10y ago

>> It's sort of an open secret that in the Philippines you can bump someone off for PHP 10K. > That's a pretty strong claim (as are many other statements). Is there something to back that up? That's about $215 US, for the record. From the time I spent in Davao back when Duterte was mayor: no one I met was afraid of any crime, certainly not some weird public assassination market. The only people that you'd ever have to worry about were police, and that was only if you were a criminal yourself. That being said, that was back when he was a somewhat crazy mayor and not President. So maybe there's been a shift in the politics and perception of these things? I can say the city was tremendously livable and while there was some anxiety about him and the extrajudicial killings, it was offset by dramatically reduced worries about normal crime for everyone I spoke to about it (which says a lot, I think -- WHAT it says is a bit more complicated).

pyre 10y ago
To be fair, there are many places where the police do shady things, but a certain segment of the population don't see any issue with it because it's always those "other" people feeling the brunt of it and "they were probably up to no good anyways." There are many white people that feel this way about police violence against black people in the US. "Well, they were black so they were probably up to no good; therefore the police only do bad things to bad people."
hackuser 10y ago
> that was only if you were a criminal yourself Who says who is a criminal? Are Filipino police somehow far more gifted than those elsewhere and are completely non-corrupt (never using their powers for other than justice), and never arrest the wrong person? It's safe as long as you are not the one getting killed. Mussolini, Hitler and Stalin offered similar security.
- hawkice 10y ago
  I was speaking to the nature of their anxiety, not the probability they'd be killed or by whom. I was also trying to describe their perceptions, not the objective state of affairs. I think you'll find your comment to be oddly hostile and non-responsive.
  - hackuser 10y ago
    While I don't agree with your characterization of your prior comment (at least as it was written, of course I don't know your intent), I'm sorry you felt my response was hostile; that's not what I meant to convey.

pyre 10y ago

> Is there something to back that up? Did you not read the "open secret" part? While it may or may not be true, you're going to have a hard time finding an "official" source for that kind of open secret.