Soon Cory Aquino was in charge of the Philippines--and hope was everywhere. Ocampo shares his memories and regrets in this work published soon after Aquino's death.
"Death by Garrote 2" alludes to such imagery as EDSA 1986. Ocampo does so by contrasting the Collapse of the Marco's regime with the Twin Towers collapsing on 9-11. In his other essay, "Death by Garrote", Ocampo had left the reader with the impression that, in contrast to hanging or other forms of capital punishment, death by garrote was quick and clean.
However, in this second essay, Ocampo reveals how things can go wrong. Ocampo discovered this as he reviews Joseph Earle Stevens' YESTERDAY IN THE PHILIPPINES, published in 1899 with photos. In the work, there is presented an execution of two Filipino brothers. "The executioner, in a derby hat, black, coat, white breeches and no shoes, took his position behind the post at one side of the scaffold, and the first victim was carried up out of the cart and seated on the narrow bench. He was too weak to help himself or make resistance; the black cloak was thrown over his shoulders, a rope tied around his waist, the hood drawn over his face, and the color [of the garrote] sprung around his neck. Then the two priests.. held crucifixes before him, and sprinkled holy water over the hood and the long black death robes, the chief prison official waved his sword, the executioner gave the big screw-handle a sudden twist till his arms crossed, and without a motion of any sort, except for the slight forward movement of the naked feet, the first of the condemned men had solved the great problem.(p. 8)"
However, Stevens related that something went awry with the second execution. "There was a mechanical failure, a worn or rusty screw-thread did not kill the victim with one turn of the handle. Someone came up to help the executioner give the handle a second turn and for this act of mercy he was fined $20. The confusion brought some comic relief to the scene, one of the candles held by an acolyte nearly set fire to the robe of one of the priests!"
Bitingly, Ocampo concludes, "In minute everything was over and everyone looked forward to the next execution. I used to think the garrote was swift and relatively painless. This account makes us realize that if something can go wrong, it sometimes does." I imagine this is a common warning given by most historians to all new generations seeking to takeover and claiming to desire to do better than their elders.
Despite the seriousness of Ocampo's writings at times, his scattered sketches --of history, of food, of heroes, of traditions, and important memories of the Philippines and Filipinos gathered worldwide by the author, usually--are usually be a fun read.
I recommend this work, but suggest the author always undertake proper fact checking. For example, in one chapter on "bastard sons" or illegitimate kids who became heroes and leaders, Ocampo claimed that Adolf Hitler was an illegitimate child. However, a quick online search demonstrates that it was not the young Adolf--but Hitler's father, named Alois Hitler, Sr. (born Alois Schicklgruber), who was what one calls an illegitimate child, i.e. born of an unwed mother in Austria.
FINAL NOTES ON JOURNALISM IN THE PHILIPPINES
Luckily, unlike in decades past, the Philippines now has one of the better journalistic reputations in Asia. On the other hand, "[w]hile the Philippine press is undoubtedly the liveliest and freest in Asia, deadline pressures, extreme competition and budgetary constraints make it difficult for many journalists to delve into the causes and broader meanings of news events." This was why in 1989, 3 years after EDSA, nine Filipino journalists founded the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ).
Last week, the PCIJ responded to President-Elect Duterte's downgrading of reporters by publishing the following:
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
