The nation was angered by the death of 44 elite commandos of the Philippine National Police’s Special Action Force during an operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao province, that ultimately killed Malaysian terrorist Zulkifi bin Hir alias “Marwan.” The government, military and police drew flak for the avoidable deaths, supposedly due to a lack of proper coordination.
Ninoy Aquino International Airport, once tagged the worst in the world, made headlines in Novemeber due to an alleged bullet-planting extortion scheme headed by airport personnel. The racket, dubbed “laglag bala” or “tanim bala,” usually victimized foreign tourists and overseas Filipino workers. The government has since downplayed the reported incidents.
It was labeled “Fight of the Century,” but the long-awaited showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. wallowed in its own hype. A bout for the ages was promised but there was never a fight with Mayweather running, Pacquiao chasing and millions of fans ending up as the biggest losers. Mayweather won the 12-round yawner over Pacquiao, who later revealed fighting with an injured shoulder.
In March, a Cebu Pacific flight had to return to the airport to unload actress Melissa Mendez after she got into a fight with model Andrew Wolff and his friend Rey Pamaran over the latter’s reserved seats. Wolff said Mendez “smelled like a beer brewery” and even punched his friend. The actress, however, said she only wanted to take photos of clouds, and that Pamaran disrespected her.
The exploitation of indigenous peoples in resource-rich Mindanao earned the ire of the public this year, following the death of “lumad” leaders in September. The harassment has been linked to both military and paramilitary, but the concerned parties have denied the accusation. The lumad later trooped to and camped out in Manila to voice out their grievances.
Darkness shrouded the City of Lights as two major terror attacks struck the French capital this year. Just ten months after the bloodbath in the office of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo that massacred 12 people, more than 120 people were killed in a series of coordinated attacks in November at multiple locations, including a concert hall and national stadium.
In 2015, Metro Manila was named the city with the worst traffic in the world by users of road navigation application Waze. Amid the increasing number of vehicles and a deteriorating mass transport system, numerous torrential downpours this year have left thousands of commuters stranded on the road and have even turned Edsa, the capital region's major thoroughfare, into a parking lot.