Wild West Show Comes to the Philippines

Philippine mayor-elect offers bounties for

wounded, dead criminals

By Amy R. Connolly


Tomas Osmena, mayor-elect of Cebu City, the Philippines, is offering cash rewards to police and local residents for killing or maiming criminals. Photo by Mike Gonzalez/Wikimedia

CEBU CITY, Philippines, May 20 (UPI) -- The mayor-elect of Cebu City, Philippines, announced he is offering cash rewards to police and local residents for killing or maiming criminals in an effort to curb crime.

Tomas Osmena has rewarded an off-duty police officer who shot and injured two robbery suspects. Officer Julius Sadaya Regis was awarded $107 for injuring the suspects. Had he killed the suspects, his cash awards would have gone up.

"To get the P50,000 ($1,071), the criminal should be dead," Osmeña said. "What is important is that the robbers will be scared. I am just giving them a warning."

Osmena, who was elected to office two weeks ago, took his idea from President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, who promised to kill criminals to bring peace to the country.

Osmena said criminal killings must be done legally and with a licensed gun. He said the rewards would not be taken from city coffers. When asked who would supply the funds, he said, "It's none of your business." He said he is not concerned about vigilantism.

"I will not compromise the safety of our people," he said. "I will defend them. I don't care who gets in the way."

President elect Duterte was Mayor of the city of Davao. Popular with the locals due to his successful zero tolerance policies against criminals, he earned the nickname "The Punisher". Vigilante groups tied to Duterte are thought to be responsible for the execution of drug traffickers, criminals, gang members and other lawless elements. 


Over a period of 20 years, he turned Davao City from the "murder capital of The Philippines" to what tourism organisations now describe as "the most peaceful city in southeast Asia," and what numbeo.com ranks as the world's fourth safest place. Nonetheless, Duterte has drawn criticism from various sources, particularly the press and the Philippine National Police, which contest the effectiveness of his policies.

I wonder how they can contest the effectiveness of his policies with results like that? They can complain about the methods he employs, but not the effectiveness of it. We can certainly hope and pray that he is able to clean up the child prostitution, child pornography, and sex tourism that are rampant in the Philippines. If he can do that, I have no problem with the example he has set for other mayors like Osmena, and God bless him.

Anti-Migrant Soldiers of Odin Patrol Estonian Streets

Estonian Defense Ministry doesn't want anti-migrant groups patrolling streets

© Sam KIingsley / AFP

Activists who want to make the streets of Estonian cities safer should address the national police volunteer organization instead of joining anti-migrant patrols organized by suspicious organizations with questionable aims, the country’s defense minister said.

The organization Soldiers of Odin that first emerged in Finland is now also gaining popularity in Estonia. According to the Delfi media outlet, its members are planning to conduct regular street patrols to keep a close eye on refugees. 

The country has received fewer than 1,000 since the 1990s, and none of the current EU-established quota of 550.

According to open data on Facebook, there are up to 5,000 members of Soldiers of Odin in Estonia. Some of them, Eesti Päevaleht newspaper reports, are high-ranking military officials and members of Kaitseliit (Defense Union), Estonia’s volunteer paramilitary unit and an integral part of the national military.

Estonia’s Minister of Defense Hannes Hanso has spoken against the members of the national military joining groups with “unclear goals.”

Law enforcement functions should be reserved for state structures, Hanso said.

“Those eager to contribute to the security of the society should side with police voluntary helpers, which stand guard over the values of democratic society, have fulfilled the necessary training and have no criminal past,” the minister said.

Hanso made a point that every serviceman and Kaitseliit member has sworn to protect the Estonian state and all of its citizens not selectively but as a whole entity, stressing that patrols of self-proclaimed groups would never help to ensure the feeling of safety of the citizens, and lead “rather to the contrary.”

When the Soldiers of Odin opened a subsidiary office in Tallinn, they announced the preconditions for those wanting to join the organization: the potential recruits must be above 18-years-old, and neither be Muslim nor an “all talk couch warrior.”

The group insists that a member should not have a criminal record of proven violence against women and children, although other convictions are not as relevant.

The group plans to form squads of 10-20 vigilantes to patrol rough parts of Estonian cities, Eesti Päevaleht reports. The group has  Muslim refugees’ violations of order top on its agenda, but it is not their only concern.

The Soldiers of Odin group is planning to hold a presentation torchlight procession on February 24.