Every bad situation has a nightmare equivalent. The nightmare equivalent of mayoral misuse of public office and public property for personal benefit seems to have occurred in the Philippines.

According to an article in today's New York Times, a town mayor has been accused of leading, and participating in, a massacre of 57 people, including 30 journalists. The people were in a convoy on the way to the provincial capital to file candidacy papers for the gubernatorial election. The mayor is also running for governor. The other candidate is a former ally of his.

The candidate's wife, three sisters, and an aunt were in the convoy; all were killed. According to the article, the mayor "personally directed dozens of his armed supporters to take the victims to a hilltop, where they were killed and buried. The graves were reported to have been dug with a backhoe belonging to the Maguindanao provincial government."

All those municipal backhoes used to dig up favored individuals' lawns for swimming pools pale in comparison with this nightmare misuse of public resources.

Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics

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