I'm neither pro-administration nor pro-opposition, and am not bothered by it one bit. I just observe independently and I don't contribute to public policy. I'm retired, a septuagenarian, and largely not listened to nor read. In other words, I express my ideas probably largely for myself as only a very few people read my blog. Those who read me must do so to understand what I'm saying, but those reading me to prepare to rebut all what I say are not welcome to my blog.
Not that there have been no killings in the past, but since the start of the drug war by the government there has been an increasing number of deaths in the hands of the police, and vigilantes, and not unlikely other criminal elements trying to take advantage of the situation to get rid of competitors in the drug business. If we look at the data, it's bad, really bad. The problem is that on the basis of media reports this country looks more like a nation of criminals and the government is not even trying to counter such public image. And, of course, the opposition is enjoying, to the hilt, its "freedom of speech" to accuse everybody in government, particularly President Duterte, of wrong doing without even producing an iota of evidence. How could they? ... Well, this is all politics.
And we all say, "it's a free country."
Well, I don't like what's happening in our country, so I am complaining. I'm not only complaining, but I am also proposing to at least partially solve the problem. Of course I do expect people to agree or disagree with my idea. If you agree with the idea, say your piece and perhaps even suggest how we could improve the idea being proposed. If you don't agree, say your piece just the same then shut up. If you're a Troll, you're not welcome. Keep out of the way.
Now, here's what I'd like to say. Don't kill the criminals, specially those arrested for drug-related crimes. Herd them to an island. What kind of an island? I have an idea and I'm giving an example of that island. The island I'm referring to is Di'nem Island, part of the island-municipality of Itbayat in Batanes. I'm not offering Di'nem because I can't do that. I'm just giving this as an example. Why is this a good example? Well, look at the basic characteristics of the island. Let me say here that the Itbayatens, the natives of Itbayat, would probably not agree with this idea, too. This idea may make sense or it may not make any sense at all. Just read on.
The National Government should negotiate with (NOT IMPOSE ON) the Provincial Government of Batanes and the Municipal Government of Itbayat to use the island of Di'nem (also known as Diogo Island, Isla Diego, Rodonta) as a prison island, much like the island of Alcatraz in the US. The island is an uninhabited volcanic island (Philvocs says it's extinct). Di'nem is a small round island about 513 meters high, 1.21 km in diameter, 5.6 km southeast of Itbayat. The island does not have beeches, only cliffs around the entire island. It has a steep westerm side that drops some 50-200 meters straight to the sea. Its eastern side hosts four islets, the largest of which is about 0.8 km eastwards to the Pacific Ocean. The whole Di'nem Island is surrounded by deep and dangerous sea with very powerful undercurrent. Put mildly, the island is inaccessible and inhospitable
Of course, if you keep prisoners on this island, the Philippine Coast Guard must maintain constant sea patrol around it, and while doing that the PCG ships could also watch out for Taiwanese poachers that abound in the area. The island would definitely be more inhospitable and unfriendly compared to the island of Alcatraz in the US. Prisoners on the island would not drown during tsunamis because even a huge tsunami would probably reach only a tenth of the height of the island cliffs. They will have to co-habitate the island with poisonous reptiles, wild animals, and insects, though. Would prisoners be able to escape? They most certainly could try and the sharks in the area would probably have feasts as well. If the sharks would not be active, no one would survive the powerful undercurrent pushing toward the Pacific Ocean.
There are pluses and minuses to this idea. There are thousands of uninhabited (in fact, even unnamed) islands all over the Philippines to consider. My sense is that the National Government would probably prefer an island close to the seat of government, in which case Di'nem would certainly have to be excluded. But the question at this time is: is our society ready for this idea, or am I too inhuman to even think of it?
