bury me in this dress

I received this email from a media mailing list I’m subscribed to. I just want to share this to let people become more aware of the decay that’s eating away the Philippines. The email is long but please read it entirely.

Last June 21, 2007 at around 10:30 PM, I rode an orange and white
air-conditioned bus (I think it was a JMK bus.) at EDSA cor. Aurora Blvd.
It was on its way to Muntinlupa via Skyway.

I was asleep during the entire ride until two men announced a hold-up when
we reached Guadalupe. It was between 11:00-11:30 PM. Holding a revolver
each, the two suspects told me and the other six passengers (two men and
four women) to surrender our wallets and cell phones. When I refused to
give them my gray bag, the two men pointed their guns at me and snatched my
bag. They ordered the driver to pass through the Ayala underpass to avoid
the traffic lights.

This is how the suspects looked like:

Suspect A
Mid-40’s to mid-50’s
5′6″ to 5′8″ tall
Heavy build
Has dark complexion
Has short, thick black and gray hair (bunot-style)
Has thick black and gray moustache
Was wearing clear eyeglasses
Was wearing a faded pink and gray (in horizontal stripes) short-sleeved
shirt with collar
Was wearing blue jeans

Suspect B
Mid-30’s to early 40’s
5′4″ to 5′6″ tall
Medium build
Has dark complexion
Has prominent cheekbones with sunken cheeks
Has short, thin black hair (almost crew cut)
Was wearing a yellow T-shirt with black stripes on the shoulders
Was wearing maong shorts

The Weapons
Both men used similar guns. The gun was silver with brown handle and
old-type barrel (similar to toy revolvers).

(According to the conductor, the two men got on the bus at Shaw Blvd.)

When we reached the Magallanes Interchange, the two men jumped off the bus.
Everyone was in a state of shock. The driver seemed to be in autopilot mode
as he guided the bus into the SLE. I told him to take the Bicutan Exit and
look for the nearest police station to report the incident. When we failed
to find one, we returned to the SLE and took the Sucat Exit instead. Along
Sucat Road, we finally saw a group of police officers (mobile patrol).

When we reported the incident to them, they told us that it was outside of
their jurisdiction and that we have to report the incident to the Ayala
Ave. police station incident. I asked if they have two-way radios so that
they can contact the police officers in Makati and apprehend the suspects.
Apparently, they had none. The other passengers were already feeling tired
and helpless. They did not want to return to Makati so soon after what
happened. Therefore, the driver and conductor dropped us at Alabang. I even
had to ask the conductor for 10 pesos so that I could at least pay for the
jeepney fare to Las Pinas.

Knowing that I needed a police report to have all my ID’s replaced, I went
to the Ayala Ave. police station (the one in the car park beside SM) last
June 23 to report the incident. Police Officer Valila refused to make the
report. Since the passengers jumped off at Magallanes, it was out of their
jurisdiction. He told me to report the incident to Precinct 3 (the one
along Evangelista St.) instead.