The Law: Public Unsafety

For the sons of rich, prominent Filipinos, impulsive lawbreaking is nothing to worry about. Even in cases of assault or murder, the police are apt to stall, witnesses to forget, and prosecutors to drop charges. Thus, Manila barely blinked recently when two well-dressed bucks shot and killed a man outside a brothel, and fled in their car. Then, surprise. Under Secretary of Justice Claudio Teehankee almost immediately produced one of the suspects — his own son, Roberto, 24. "I've been urging prosecutors to let the chips fall where they may," explained the intense, crusading Teehankee. "I simply...

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