Col. Manyakis
Encyclopedia
Story arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy
Pugad Baboy
Pugad Baboy is a comic strip created by Filipino cartoonist Apolonio "Pol" Medina, Jr. The strip is about a Manila community of mostly obese people - "fat as pigs", so to speak ....
, created by Pol Medina, Jr.
Pol Medina, Jr.
Apolonio "Pol" Medina, Jr. is a Filipino cartoonist best known for creating Pugad Baboy, a black-and-white comic strip first published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer on May 18, 1988.-Biography:...
and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer
Philippine Daily Inquirer
The Philippine Daily Inquirer, popularly known as the Inquirer, is the most widely read broadsheet newspaper in the Philippines, with a daily circulation of 260,000 copies. It is one of the Philippines' newspapers of record...
. This particular story arc lasts 35 strips long. In 1997, the story arc was reprinted in Pugad Baboy Eight, the eighth book compilation of the comic strip series. Manyakis is a loanword
Loanword
A loanword is a word borrowed from a donor language and incorporated into a recipient language. By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept where the meaning or idiom is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself. The word loanword is itself a calque of the German Lehnwort,...
borrowed from the English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
word "maniac", and is used to refer to a person with uncontrollable sexual urges
Hypersexuality
Hypersexuality is extremely frequent or suddenly increased sexual urges or sexual activity. Hypersexuality is typically associated with lowered sexual inhibitions. Although hypersexuality can be caused by some medical conditions or medications, in most cases the cause is unknown...
.
Synopsis
Sergeant Tomas is subjecting the lady civilian employees in his base headquarters office to unwarranted advances and conversation bordering on sexual harassmentSexual harassment
Sexual harassment, is intimidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In some contexts or circumstances, sexual harassment is illegal. It includes a range of behavior from seemingly mild transgressions and...
when their new Squadron Commander, Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Violeta Kainam arrives to take command. She immediately institutes a series of buzzer codes to summon specific personnel to her office, much to Tomas' disgust. Later, Col. Kainam invites Tomas to accompany her that evening to see the film Disclosure
Disclosure (film)
Disclosure is a 1994 thriller directed by Barry Levinson, starring Michael Douglas and Demi Moore. It is based on Michael Crichton's novel of the same name.The cast also includes Donald Sutherland, Rosemary Forsyth and Dennis Miller...
, but Tomas makes excuses. Undeterred, Kainam still manages to get Tomas into her car. She hands him her service firearm, a .357 Magnum
.357 Magnum
The .357 S&W Magnum , or simply .357 Magnum, is a revolver cartridge created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, Colonel D. B. Wesson of firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson, and Winchester. It is based upon Smith & Wesson's earlier .38 Special cartridge. The .357 Magnum cartridge was introduced in...
revolver, and threatens to have him arrested at a COMELEC
Commission on Elections (Philippines)
The Commission on Elections, or COMELEC, is one of the three constitutional commissions of the Philippines. Its principal role is to enforce all laws and regulations relative to the conduct of elections, initiatives, referendums, and recalls....
checkpoint since an election-related gun ban was in effect, if he refuses to go on a date with her. Out of desperation, Tomas hails a police officer manning the checkpoint and pointedly shows him the weapon, shouting that it did not have the necessary permit to be carried.
Sexual harassment
The next day presumably, the Colonel was dictating an official communication to Tomas when she began to scratch herself uncontrollably, until she rips her blouse open in the presence of Tomas, telling him to "scratch my itch". She then locks the door to her office and begins to advanced upon the horrified Tomas, who at first, aims his service pistol at the Colonel, and later climbs unto the window sill and threatens to jump out. Colonel Kainam reminds him they were three floors up. Tomas replies that it doesn't matter, as he had attended AirborneAirborne forces
Airborne forces are military units, usually light infantry, set up to be moved by aircraft and 'dropped' into battle. Thus they can be placed behind enemy lines, and have an ability to deploy almost anywhere with little warning...
training. He soon jumps out and lands on a plot planted with pineapple
Pineapple
Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...
, acquiring numerous wounds and scratches all over his body as a result.
Later, Tomas confides to Noli that he needs a lawyer to pursue his sexual harassment case against his commanding officer. Noli needed a bit of convincing that Tomas was the victim, especially when taking Tomas's womanizing habits into consideration, but he soon introduces Attorney Adriano to Tomas (who also displays the same reaction as Noli when Tomas points himself out as the harassed). The lawyer conducts a preliminary investigation into the case, but soon pronounces it indefensible, due to Tomas' previous actions that may be given a negative spin by the accused's defense. Tomas has no choice but to accept the status quo.
Hidden agenda
The Colonel later orders Tomas to sign the delivery receipt for a FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Mirage
Mirage (aircraft)
Mirage is the name of a series of delta-winged fighters and bombers that have been produced by the French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation, flown by the French Air Force, and widely exported to foreign counties.* Dassault Mirage III...
fighter plane valued at 38 million USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
. When Tomas refuses to sign the document, since he could not verify its delivery, Col. Kainam threatens to pursue an attempted rape and grave threats suit against him. Tomas, wanting no part in defrauding the government, seeks Noli's aid once again, and Noli has the bright idea of breaking into the Colonel's computer to discover her hidden agenda.
Noli produces Boyet Pipino, whom he describes as a "Computer Whiz of the Decade". Boyet Pipino initially stood aloof from the task, saying that he was not a hacker
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
and that it was against his principles to break into someone else's computer. He however, changes his mind when Tomas ridicules him as a "fake". He tries several combinations of words associated with the Colonel as passwords and soon hits the jackpot by using the reverse spelling of her surname, "maniak". Browsing through the computer files they at first see nothing but games and some porn. Upon accessing Kainam's e-mail correspondence though, they discover that she was in cahoots with a certain politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
who was amassing campaign funds. They also find a balance sheet
Balance sheet
In financial accounting, a balance sheet or statement of financial position is a summary of the financial balances of a sole proprietorship, a business partnership or a company. Assets, liabilities and ownership equity are listed as of a specific date, such as the end of its financial year. A...
listing a series of amounts that suspiciously mirrored the amounts of money seized at various bank robberies since the election campaign began. They conclude that Kainam was involved in the robberies as well. Before Pipino could print the balance sheet, they lost power and Kainam steps into the room armed with a machine pistol, saying that she had tripped off the circuit breaker.
Endgame
As Tomas and Noli tell Kainam that her game was now up, and that everyone would know her true agenda, she counters by bragging that nobody discovered that she and her cohorts were also responsible for the late Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr.'sBenigno Aquino, Jr.
Benigno Simeon "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. was a Filipino Senator and a former Governor of Tarlac. Aquino, together with Gerry Roxas and Jovito Salonga, formed the leadership of the opposition to the Marcos regime in the years leading to the imposition of martial law in the Philippines...
assassination. As she was about to name the group's mastermind, Tomas suddenly hits her over the head with the computer's system unit, causing her to lapse into amnesia
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
.
Tomas decided to report everything to higher authorities, even though Noli discouraged him. His report was dismissed by his immediate superior, who pronounced it as "preposterous".
Trivia
- This is Attorney Adriano's first appearance in a story arc; he would appear again in MatronaMatrona (Pugad Baboy)Matrona is a story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 23 strips long...
. This character is based on Attorney Adriano Lecaros, one of Pugad Baboy, Inc.'s directors. - Boyet Pipino is based on another Pugad Baboy, Inc. director, Boyet Espino. Pipino is Filipino for cucumberCucumberThe cucumber is a widely cultivated plant in the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, which includes squash, and in the same genus as the muskmelon. The plant is a creeping vine which bears cylindrical edible fruit when ripe. There are three main varieties of cucumber: "slicing", "pickling", and...
. - Attorney Adriano quotes from the Michael CrichtonMichael CrichtonJohn Michael Crichton , best known as Michael Crichton, was an American best-selling author, producer, director, and screenwriter, best known for his work in the science fiction, medical fiction, and thriller genres. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and many have been adapted...
novel DisclosureDisclosure (novel)Disclosure is a novel by Michael Crichton, published in 1994. The novel is set in a fictional high tech company, just before the beginning of the dot-com economic boom...
: "Sexual harassment is not about sex, it's about power." - Boyet, Tomas and Noli find numerous Personal computer gamesPersonal Computer GamesPersonal Computer Games was a multi-format UK computer games mag of the early/mid eighties.-History:It is famous for launching the careers of several notable games journalists of the '80s including Bob Wade, Peter Connor and Chris Anderson. Anderson would later launch Amstrad Action, and Future...
in Col. Kainam's machine, among of which include: Doom, Doom II, Rebel AssaultStar Wars: Rebel AssaultStar Wars: Rebel Assault was the first CD ROM-only game published by LucasArts, set in the Star Wars universe. It was released for the PC followed by subsequent releases on the Sega CD, Mac and 3DO platforms.-Summary:...
, Jane of the Jungle, LemmingsLemmings (video game)Lemmings is a puzzle computer game developed by DMA Design and published by Psygnosis in . Originally developed for PC and Commodore Amiga, Lemmings was one of the most popular computer games of its time, and several gaming magazines gave it some of their highest review scores at the time...
and Prince of PersiaPrince of PersiaPrince of Persia is a platform game, originally developed by Jordan Mechner and released in 1989 for the Apple II, that represented a great leap forward in the quality of animation seen in video games....
. Tomas initially suspects that the first three are plans for counter-insurgencyCounter-insurgencyA counter-insurgency or counterinsurgency involves actions taken by the recognized government of a nation to contain or quell an insurgency taken up against it...
operations. - When Col. Kainam is hit over the head with the computer's system unit, she lapses into amnesia, but then remembers, erroneously and not stated explicitly, that she is Miriam Defensor-SantiagoMiriam Defensor-SantiagoMiriam Defensor Santiago is a Senator of the Philippines. She is a lawyer, former trial judge and professor of constitutional and international law. She served as the Commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation in 1988 and the Secretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform from 1989...
. The "fungus-faced President" she refers to is then-Philippine President Fidel V. RamosFidel V. RamosFidel "Eddie" Valdez Ramos , popularly known as FVR, was the 12th President of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. During his six years in office, Ramos was widely credited and admired by many for revitalizing and renewing international confidence in the Philippine economy.Prior to his election as...
. - Col. Kainam's computer was equipped with the Intel 80486Intel 80486The Intel 80486 microprocessor was a higher performance follow up on the Intel 80386. Introduced in 1989, it was the first tightly pipelined x86 design as well as the first x86 chip to use more than a million transistors, due to a large on-chip cache and an integrated floating point unit...
microprocessorMicroprocessorA microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
. - Tomas catches on to the ghost purchase when Kainam says that there is no Mirage fighter on the flight line because it is a mirageMirageA mirage is a naturally occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays are bent to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French mirage, from the Latin mirare, meaning "to look at, to wonder at"...
. - Tomas' chauvinismChauvinismChauvinism, in its original and primary meaning, is an exaggerated, bellicose patriotism and a belief in national superiority and glory. It is an eponym of a possibly fictional French soldier Nicolas Chauvin who was credited with many superhuman feats in the Napoleonic wars.By extension it has come...
rears its head once more when he objects to the entry of Kainam. He says in TagalogTagalog languageTagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
, "Sir, I already have a female commander at home (Barbie); do I need to have another here at the office?" (Note:refer to the above image for the original dialogue.) - Kainam's sudden cut-off by Tomas just as she was about to reveal the name of the brains behind the Ninoy assassination is an oblique reference to the fact that the mastermind has not been unmasked for many years now.