Article on guns in the Phiippines

[sakosf]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/philippines/10444736/Typhoon-Haiyan-gun-culture-of-the-Philippines-hinders-relief-efforts.html

[Massan]

Really...? Its the guns fault, not the fact that there are terrorists or criminals taking advantage of a natural disaster(Katrina anyone?).

I grew up in the Philippines during the Marcos regime and the way it progressed was:

- Guns were registered under the guise of being able to identify legally-owned guns versus ones used by criminals. My uncles were smart, they only registered the handguns and long guns they wanted to actually use.

- When pro-Communist protests started turning vio...lent, Martial Law was declared and required all firearms be turned into the government. Of course, the registered ones had to be turned in or they came to the address listed in the registry to confiscate the guns and arrest all involved.

- Once the guns were confiscated the crime rate started increasing. The wealthy hired off-duty Police, Military or legally-armed Security Officers (usually armed with .22 rifles) to guard their homes. The not so wealthy would pool their money and hire them to guard their residential blocks or neighborhoods.

- The murder rate against the Police, Military and Armed Security Officers also increased. The criminals would use zip guns and whatever they could to mug these individuals and steel their legally-owned guns.

- The black market for guns was so lucrative that Gun Runners would actually make trips to battlefields in the Southern Philippines to pick up guns and ammunition that are left behind. They would then sell these M-16s, M-14s, M-203s, M-60 machine-guns, etc. to criminal elements.

- The dictator used this opportunity to install his cronies and execute anyone who dared to oppose his will. The graft and corruption that started to take root succeeded in chasing away investors. Factories started closing because the cost of doing business was not feasible. The government eventually confiscated all Utility Companies and other businesses.

- Elections were rigged. As a teenager working in a polling booth, I once observed uniformed Constables dump the contents of ballot boxes and replace them from bags they brought in. There were instances where opposition candidates did not receive a single vote (not even from themselves). I watched an uncle, who was running for Congress, and his fellow party members get blown up on National TV. He broke both legs, an arm and some ribs. He spent weeks in a full body cast and on a wheelchair. Others were not so lucky.

- In the mid 1980s, the "Dictator for Life" was finally ousted and was replaced by the widow of a former Presidential candidate that he had executed right at the Airport tarmac (where he had just arrived from the US where he was living in exile).

- People hoped that this would help bring the country some stability and help in inducing some economic stability. Unfortunately, many elections and multiple coups later this has proven to be very elusive. The graft and corruption has permeated into every facet of that country and will probably require a civil war of extreme violence to be able to purge all the bad eggs to have any chance whatsoever.

- Today, they do allow "law-abiding citizens" to own and carry guns. But what the steps you have to take in order to obtain one includes an expensive Psychological Evaluation and Criminal Background Check annually. Unfortunately, the only ones who actually have to go through this process are the ones who cannot afford to bribe their way through it. The wealthy and well-connected, to include those with criminal records.

- The government has been known to suspend these permits at their leisure. One of the instances they did this was because of a shootout that occurred between two permit holders during a traffic altercation.

- One effect of loosing the RKBA is the loss of Free Speech (gee, really?). When the dictator was still in power anyone who made ANY statement, in private or in public, against the regime usually disappeared. Tens and thousands of them have never been heard from since. I remember when a particular actor who has a radio talk show made the mistake of altering a government slogan about the need for an increase in National Discipline into the need for more bicycles (this was during the fuel shortages of the 1970s) on the air. He was arrested and made to ride a bicycle under guard every morning at a military base.

- The press was culpable in helping this dictator get elected in the first place. They built him up without doing their due diligence (turns out he falsified his war record). This helped him gain popularity and the Presidency. When the press stops being an objective observer and reporter of actual news, it makes it much easier for dictators to gain a foothold. JM2CW.

Not mine but sums it up pretty well.

[randomBytes]

let's face it, the winds wouldn't have been nearly so bad but for all those guns
it stand to reason! --Senator Yee

[wjc]

BS.

The press is creating a hit piece against guns....

I sincerely hope they meet a pissed off Moro.

[Swampcrip]

I'll be there in a few weeks. Let you all know if I get shot.

[trigger945]

That's the journalist's take... Carry on...

[Trojan Bayonet]

Bovine Scatology at its finest. There is a reason why most houses are behind high walls topped with broken glass and barbed wire out there. It's the same reason why most law abiding people out there with means have firearms. Would it have to do with *criminals* running rampant across that country, not to mention *running* that country too? The writer obviously hasn't taken a "nice" leisurely stroll through Manila's slums.

[gemini1]

A news report coming from an anti gun country? first off that report has not been verified, even the other news that was reported earlier, about armed men roaming the city, turned out to be false.
I just watched the cable news this evening, the local reporter actually went to as far as the other side of the city from where residents were running away from and saying that armed men were shooting at anyone. Some claimed it could be communist rebels while others say its some local residents losing their wits due to hunger, there were also rumors of escaped convicts trying to steal anything. Local police and soldiers rush to the area but found no one but the local residents still asking for foods. The police actually suspects that organized looters from areas not affected by the typhoon might be behind the rumor spreading, to keep people away while the try to steal anything they can.
Now, as for a gun toting society? Check this out. The guy was pointing his pistol at residents, trying to stop them from ransacking his store. The people ignored his threat and were carting away canned goods and water. The gun owner ended up just shouting at them not to take anything, other than food and water or he will shoot.
Is this what those reports would call a gun crazy society?

[BroncoBob]

When I was there 15 years ago to visit my wife's family my brother in law and I went to the international mall which had a gun range in it and you could rent street sweepers there. Life was good.......

[hellayella]

A news report coming from an anti gun country? first off that report has not been verified, even the other news that was reported earlier, about armed men roaming the city, turned out to be false.
I just watched the cable news this evening, the local reporter actually went to as far as the other side of the city from where residents were running away from and saying that armed men were shooting at anyone. Some claimed it could be communist rebels while others say its some local residents losing their wits due to hunger, there were also rumors of escaped convicts trying to steal anything. Local police and soldiers rush to the area but found no one but the local residents still asking for foods. The police actually suspects that organized looters from areas not affected by the typhoon might be behind the rumor spreading, to keep people away while the try to steal anything they can.
Now, as for a gun toting society? Check this out. The guy was pointing his pistol at residents, trying to stop them from ransacking his store. The people ignored his threat and were carting away canned goods and water. The gun owner ended up just shouting at them not to take anything, other than food and water or he will shoot.
Is this what those reports would call a gun crazy society?

Prob a Chinese-Filipino protecting his store....

[SanPedroShooter]

Analysts tend to blame the colonial history of the Philippines for becoming a gun-happy independent nation. It is said that three centuries of Spanish machismo were followed by 50 years of American preaching on the right to bear arms, making for a volatile mixture.

Psssh, they should have just crouched down and licked their masters hand like the friggen UK...

Don't worry you pasty bastards, we'll be there to bail you out again someday when you need it.


I like this part:

reports of armed looting that emerged two or three days after Haiyan struck surprised no one. Even if some reports were exaggerated, the Philippines' reputation for poor law and order preceded it.

So it happened, but it didn't happen.