September | 2019 | The Adobo Chronicles

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – While many legislators are pretty much focused on reinstating the death penalty in the Philippines, Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros has proposed a more humane alternative.

Hontiveros wants convicted murderers, rapists and others convicted of heinous crimes to be “deported” to San Francisco and be forever locked up in a solitary cell on Alcatraz island.

Alcatraz, of course, is recognized worldwide as the “prison of no escape.”

The lady Senator unveiled her proposed bill a day after Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri filed Senate Bill No. 1004 seeking to establish maximum security prisons in isolated and uninhabited islands for heinous crime convicts and high-risk prisoners.

Zubiri filed the bill in the wake of the near release of rape and murder convict Antonio Sanchez, a former mayor of Calauan in Laguna, under the good conduct time allowance (GCTA).

In an exclusive interview with The Adobo Chronicles, Hontiveros said her office will work to draw up a Memo of Agreement with U.S. authorities to allocate a certain number of prison cells in Alcatraz for high-profile Filipino convicts, possibly including Sanchez.

Hontiveros’ legislative staff, however, seem to have failed to do basic research about Alcatraz.

Alcatraz today is no longer a prison but a national recreation area managed by the National Park Service — a popular destination for tourists visiting the San Francisco Bay Area.

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Got a Furtuner or a Corolla?

A traffic scheme that would ban certain car brands from EDSA on specific days is being proposed to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to address traffic congestion.

Former Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation consultant Ariston Gorospe submitted his proposed “vehicular brand reduction program” to the MMDA just days after the agency publicized another proposal – making EDSA a one-way road – which commuters and a senator called “ridiculous and not well thought of.”

It is estimated that more than half of all private vehicles that ply Metro Manila’s thoroughfares are Toyotas, and the proposal didn’t sit well with the car owners. They said they were bieng discriminated agianst because of their car brand of choice.

Gorospe’s proposal would ban Toyotas from EDSA on Mondays.

Today, the Metro Manila Association of Toyota Car Owners (MMATCA) announced that its members will stage an all-day protest motorcade along the entire stretch of EDSA this coming Monday to show their objection to the proposed ban. The Toyotans hope to put EDSA traffic on standstill.

Forget about people power. Here comes car power!