THE PINK BLOTTER of the Women and Children Desk that should exist in every police station tells not only the story of children in conflict with the law, but also of the women, lesbians, and bisexuals linked to alleged violations of the law.
IN THE PHILIPPINES, the end of Ferdinand Marcos’s 20-year dictatorship in 1986 was a tumultuous time. The new government of Corazon Aquino was being challenged on all fronts: from the Right, by ambitious military factions plotting coups; from the Left, by peasant guerrillas and angry protesters demanding radical reforms.
Aside from their regular duties, they are now expected to run after “ninja cops” or coddlers of drug syndicates, as well as investigate the cases of violent deaths that keep on multiplying each day as a result of the government’s current anti-drugs campaign.