I’m not a big fan of horror and violent entertainment but I love watching those ancient settings of Korean and Chinese movies and dramas. Like for example those set in the 12th-century “Joseon” era of ancient Korea. In addition to the colorful and cultural traditions I’m both bemused and drawn to their idea of sheer raw justice for criminals in those days.
One example is the way they would wrap a person in a grass mat like a corn dog then beat the life out of them with paddles. Another is how they would put a person on public stage with his or her head on a wooden block, then an executioner with an ax would do a slow choreography behind before dropping the ax on to the neck. One that’s so horrifying, however, is by tying all fours of a person to horses then pulling them apart like pulled pork.
In those days when a noble or a high-ranking official is caught guilty or even suspected of a crime they would sequester all his possessions, execute him in one of the methods described above, then kill all family member from oldest to youngest – the idea is to remove all future generations.
These may seem extreme and inhumane but still that’s what the law of the land called for during those days. It’s like the current death penalty for drug possession in countries like Singapore and Malaysia that the West thinks is very excessive, but that’s what their law calls for. And it has been very effective.
Now comes to mind, the Philippines’ newly-elected President Duterte has his own idea of how justice is to be served but he may still get some fresh ideas from watching these movies. There’s so much crime and corruption in the country that even though there’s a prescription for justice crime just goes on like there’s no law. There’s so much disregard of the law – not by common criminals but by the leaders and so-called lawmakers themselves, and all the likes of the Binays.
One that’s so mystifying and convoluted in the Philippines sense of justice is how they still allow the Marcoses to run and hold political office. As outgoing president Aquino said in a recent Wall-street Journal interview the Marcos’ family have not shown any remorse in what they did. One recent Facebook post was somebody inviting virtual friends to support bringing back the Marcoses to Malacanang – this guy must have no inkling of Philippine history.
Hopefully President Duterte would already have a plan in place either to do all he has to do within six years in office, or how to extend those six years until he’s achieved his cleansing mission. My own two-cents is he should find a way to suspend the constitution, start from the high-places of corruption, sequester all personal possessions and jail entire generations of kins. But before he do these he would already have trained those who would dance the executioner’s dance and already have an expanded stable of horses to pull the pork.