A Tower of Troubles

A former chief of the Philippine Air Transport Office seized a control tower at Manila's international airport last weekend, a curious act of civil disobedience that had a tragic, if predictable, ending. Panfilo Villaruel, 62, and an armed companion, navy reserve officer Ricardo Gatchalian, both strapped with explosives, burst into the tower with the intention of diverting international flights away from the country. As a three-hour standoff with police was ending shortly before 3 a.m. on Saturday, Villaruel used his cell phone to send out a last distress call, which was broadcast by several Manila radio stations: "My friend, we are...