Worst Sea Disasters and Tragedies

The Philippines has seen many sea tragedies.  Here’s my list of the worst based on the number of casualties:

 

1.  MV Dona Paz

On December 20, 1987, MV Dona Paz, a Sulpicio Lines owned ferry caught fire and sunk between  Mindoro and Tablas islands after it collided with a small oil tanker Vector.  More than 4,400 were killed.

 

2.  MV Princes of the Stars

On June 21, 2008, MV Princes of the Stars, a Sulpicio Lines owned ferry capsized off the coast of Romblon killing almost 900 passengers.

 

3. MV Dona Marilyn

On 1988, another Sulpicio Lines owned ferry sank  off near Leyte killing almost 300 passengers.

 

Others:

Bocaue Pagoda Tragedy

On July 2, 1993, more than 200 people died when the pagoda they were on sunk  at midday.

Deadliest Typhoons

The Philippines is hit by an average of 19 trophical typhoons a year.  Among my list of deadliest are as follows:

1.  Tropical Storm “Uring” (Thelma)

November 2-7, 1991.  It killed almost 5,000 as it passed the country.

 

2.  Typhoon Nitang (Ike)

August 31-September 4, 1984.  Typoon Nitang killed almost 1,500 in the Philippines.

 

3.  Typhoon Amy (Amy)

December 6-19, 1951.  Typhoon Amy killed 991 people.

 

4.  Super Typhoon Sisang (Nina)

November 23-27, 1987.  Typhoon Sisang killed 979

 

(List to be continued)

Unexplained Celebrity Death

Fame, fortune and mystery.  Here is my list of unexplained celebrity deaths.

 

1. Alfie Anido (December 31, 2959- December 30, 1981)

The promising career of this man was cut short by his untimely death which to this day still raises one big unanswered wuestion:  Did he commit suicide or was he murdered? 

 

2.  Marky Cielo (May 12, 1988- December 7, 2008)

His death was initially ruled as Acute Hemorrhagic Pancreatitis but some are still unconvinced of the real cause of his untimely passing.  Suicide was ruled out but no one really knows to this day.

 

3.  Rico Yan (March 14, 1975- March 29, 2002)

He died of cardiac arrest due to acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis while asleep at the age of 27, the day after shooting a television commercial for Talk n’ Text at the Dos Palmas Resort in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.  Some however say it was a case of misadventure or maybe drug overdose.  No one really knows.

Organized Crime Groups

Filipino OCGs are engaged in, among others, drug trafficking, kidnapping-for-ransom (KFR), carnapping, robbery/hold-up, prostitution, illegal gambling and smuggling .   Here is a partial list of the most notorious crime groups here in the Philippines (no order):

1.  Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB Group)

 A breakaway urban hit squad of the Communist Party of the Philippines/New People’s Army, was formed in the mid-1980s.   The Group is responsible for more than 100 murders, including the murder in 1989 of US Army Col. James Rowe in the Philippines. In March 1997, the group announced it had formed an alliance with another armed group, the Revolutionary Proletarian Army (RPA). In March 2000, the group claimed credit for a rifle grenade attack against the Department of Energy building in Manila and strafed Shell Oil offices in the central Philippines to protest rising oil prices. They are  approximately 500 members. The largest RPA/ABB groups are on the Philippine islands of Luzon, Negros, and the Visayas. (http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/abb.htm)

 

2.   Francisco Group

Formerly the Dragon or the Kuratong Baleleng Group, now led by Manuel Francisco, with 66 members armed with assorted type of high powered firearms and operates in the cities of Cagayan De Oro, Pagadian and Dipolog, and other neighboring cities and municipalities in the Mindanao (in southern Philippines), Cebu in Visayas (in Central Philippines), and Metro Manila in Luzon (in northern Philippines). The group is engaged in robbery/hold-up, carnapping, illegal drugs trafficking, and smuggling of rice and sugar. (http://www.pctc.gov.ph/updates/ocitp.htm)

 

3.  Pentagon Group

Headed by Tahir Alonto with around 168 armed members, engaged primarily in KFR and operates in Mindanao. This group is a creation of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). It was organized not only to generate funds for the latter through illegal means but also insulate the MILF from accusations that its members are involved in purely criminal acts. Its leader, Tahir Alonto is the former planning and operations office of the BIAF and the nephew of MILF’s Chairman Al Haj Murad. Relatedly, there are other members of the group who are listed as members of the MILF. (http://www.pctc.gov.ph/updates/ocitp.htm)

 

4. Rex “Wacky” Salud Group

With 30 members operating in Cebu, engaged in illegal gambling and the Vicviv Yu Group with 16 members operating in Central Visayas and also engaged in illegal gambling.  (http://www.pctc.gov.ph/updates/ocitp.htm)

 

Celebrity Death by Accident

Here is my list of celebrity deaths by accident.

 

1.  Lino Brocka

Award winning director died May 20, 1991 at the age of 52 due to a car accident

 

2.  Halina Perez

Sexy acctress Halina Perez died on March 4, 2004 due to car crash.  She was only 21.

 

3.  Ric Segreto

On September 6, 1998 at around 12:15 PM, on a Sunday, Ric was riding his motorcycle from his home in Makati. He was killed in an accident on the Makati – Mandaluyong bridge, when he ran into or was hit by debris, possibly caused by workers on a construction project.  He was 46.

 

4.  Jay Ilagan

A matinee idol, he hosted Stop, Look & Listen and starred in My Son, My Son and Goin’ Bananas.He died from motorcycle accident in February, 1992.  He was 39.

 

5.  Claudia Zobel

The 19-year old actress, whose real name was Thelma Maloloy-on, died on the operating table of the Makati Medical Center three hours after the car accident occurred at 4:30 a.m.  on February 10, 1984.

Haunted Places

Ah yeah, we most certainly believed in the supernatural at a certain point in our Pinoy lives.  Here’s a list of haunted places in the Philippines:

 

1.  Diplomat Hotel, Baguio City

The Diplomat Hotel

When you encounter the Diplomat Hotel in Baguio City, you find a former seminary dating back to the early 1900?s. During World War II, Japanese occupying forces were responsible for the beheading of numerous nuns and priests. After the war, the location then became a hotel. An awkward feeling is noticed when entering the rooms. The rooms are quite large, displaying dimly lit sleeping quarters and Bibles on the side tables. During the night, guests, clerks, as well as bellhops, claim to hear the sounds of the dead. This has even been reported to occur during the day as well. Some have spotted headless apparitions wandering about the corridors, where some have even gone as far as to state that they saw ghosts carrying heads on platters. It is also believed that outside the hotel is just as scary as the inside. 

2.  Malinta Tunnel, Corregidor, Bataan

Malinta Tunnel

In Corregidor, there are hospital ruins and old bunkers that were left behind from World War II. Some claim to have heard the sounds of moaning ghosts, as well as unexplainable footsteps. The Malinta Tunnel in this city is said to be the haunting ground of an unknown spirit in the area.

 

3.  Central Philippine University

Central Philippine University

In Iloilo City, you will find the Central Philippine University, which was founded by missionaries from America. During World War II, the Japanese murdered the missionaries. It is said that some of their spirits haunt the school. Other ghosts that can be found throughout the university include a female ghost that can be seen jogging on the track by the football field; odd occurrences in Ruby Hall; and a female ghost that haunts Valentine Hall.

Controversial Movies

Here is my initial list of controversial movies in Philippine cinema:

1. Toro

Toro (Live Show) – was one of the most talked about films released in Philippine cinema, such that it was even banned in all movie theaters. The movie dealt with a very sensitive issue–the plight of the “toreros and toreras” or people who do “live shows/live sex” for a living. Despite strong prohibitions, many people were still able to watch the film. Most of its viewers believed that this movie deserved international recognition because, unlike the typical bomba (Filipino soft porn) films, which are substantially weak, Toro is a film that gave the words sex and sexuality a different meaning.

 

2.  Imelda

This is a documentary on one of the Philippines’ most popular personalities, the former First Lady Imelda Marcos. The film explores Imelda’s complex persona, documenting her stellar rise to power and her plunge into notoriety. This film showed the controversial opulence of the Marcos family amid the poverty of the people they enslaved. Initially, Mrs. Marcos opposed the public showing of this film in the Philippines. She even secured a temporary restraining order (TRO) from a local court, banning it from public viewing. Eventually, the former First Lady allowed it to be shown, with a condition to omit the word “documentary” attached to it.

 

3.  Jose Rizal

 This film is dubbed as “controversial” in the sense that it created a buzz as one of the biggest-budgeted films ever made in the history of Philippine cinema. It had a record breaking (by Philippine standards) P80-million budget or US$2 million. This biographical epic went on to become the most successful Filipino film of all time. Diaz-Abaya also settled a bitterly-debated issue on Rizal’s alleged retraction of his strongly anti-colonial and anti-clerical writings, since this film portrayed Rizal as the prodigal son who returned to the colonial Catholic religion of his oppressors and renounces the very works that “served to restore dignity, self respect, pride, and patriotism among the Filipinos”. This three-hour epic won several prestigious awards and has also premiered at several well-known film festivals around the world.

 

4.  Red Diaries

Red Diaries – tells the story of three different women, all of them played by Assunta da Rossi. One is a kept woman whose love affairs with many men end up in a bizarre triangle of illicit romances. This sexy film was almost banned, not because of its sexual theme, but because according to the Philippine National Police, it allegedly put the image of policemen in a bad light. The former chief of the national police, Leandro Mendoza, protested the showing of this movie claiming one of the three episodes is a direct insult to the police organization as it talks about a martyr wife of an abusive police officer who allowed his colleagues use his spouse. However, this protest proved futile and the movie was shown despite opposition.

 

5.  Orapronobis (Pray For Us)

 The movie was banned during the Aquino administration for depicting political killings, proliferation of paramilitary vigilantes and the abduction of rebels or non-conformists. The plot was based on actual incidents in the Philippines. According to director Lino Brocka, this film primarily deals with the human rights violations under the Aquino administration.

 

6.  Kontrobersyal 

 A movie created by National Artist for Film Lino Brocka in 1980 which deals with condemning and deploring pornography, ironically, was also deemed pornographic. Most of the scenes were deemed obscene and offensive to the viewers and was almost banned in Philippine cinemas.

 

7.  Bona

Another 1980s film by Brocka for which he was criticized for using well-known movie stars to “attack the star system”. Bona is a dramatic film about a schoolgirl who falls in love with a shiftless, aging gigolo, her willingness to eventually become his servant, and her formidable revenge in the end. The character of Bona was played by acclaimed actress Nora Aunor.

 

8.  Burlesk Queen

A 1977 film considered controversial because of Vilma Santos‘s character as a stripper. To support her paralytic father, Chato (Vilma Santos) works as a utility girl for burlesque star Virgie Nite (Rosemary Gil). When Virgie gets drunk on the night of her scheduled show, Chato pitches in for her. She was wildly accepted by the audience, defied her father’s admonitions and became an instant sensation. Vilma, known for portraying wholesome roles, shocked the movie industry when she did this film. Her provocative dances in the movie did nothing to help allay this reaction.

 

9. Tatlong Hambog

This 1926 silent film which starred a race car sportsman, Luis Tuason and a vaudeville actress, Dimples Cooper was considered controversial because it was the first Filipino movie with a lips-to-lips kissing scene, considered scandalous at that time.

 

10.  Hinugot sa Langit

This Ishmael Bernal film made in 1985 starring Maricel Soriano was considered a controversial film because it tackles the issue of abortion, something the Catholic Church deemed unsuitable.

 

11.  Scorpio Nights

This is a 1985 movie directed by Peque Gallaga featuring Anna Marie Gutierrez and Dan Fernando. Aside from its provocative scenes and excessive skin exposure, the film is also a metaphorical representation of Philippine society during the early 80′s. It received an X rating from the MTRCB, forcing it to be shown only in the Experimental Cinema of the Philippines.