Pandak "Baby" Panay

Pandak "Baby" Panay
Character in Just Cause 2
First appearance	Casino Bust
Faction	Government of Panau
Job	President of Panau
Last known status	Deceased

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Bolo finds this pleasing, but she would like more.

Pandak "Baby" Panay is the main antagonist of Just Cause 2.

Personal info[]

Pandak "Baby" Panay is the president of Panau. He was born in Panau's Kuala Cherah village on the 13th of March, 1978. According to his Agency profile, he is described as being a very "unremarkable" man and The Agency itself had originally paid very little attention to him because it was assumed nothing worthwhile would come from his actions. However, that all changed when he assassinated Papa Panay with a car bomb, after which he turned Panau into a dictatorship and immediately turned hostile to the United States. The Agency feared he may seek new alliances throughout the Asian Pacific region.

His stature is very low, which basically makes him a midget. He also appears to be obese. He owns a green chameleon as a pet. It sits on his shoulder during the mission Into the Den. It may be the chameleon that the icecream Chameleon Ice is based on. He wears a green suit and black dress shoes. Though a Panauan, Pandak is heavily influenced by Japanese elements. He hires Ninjas as bodyguards and the interior of his Wajah Ramah Fortress is built in medieval Japanese style. Pandak also says some Japanese phrases in cutscenes, such as "Bakaero!" (lit. stupid)

He enjoys the vulgar and heavy-handed poems sent to him by Colonel Virgilio, whom Pandak lovingly refers to as the "national bard". Colonel Sivanathan was his childhood friend. Pandak likes to impress girls by pretending to understand German and Dutch. He does this with the aid of pirate DVDs, supplied to him by colonel Zulkrnain. There are statues dedicated in his honor throughout all civilian settlements. They are that can be destroyed for chaos points. The statues each have a cane in their left hand, which he is never seen using. There are also Pandak "Baby" Panay Billboards that feature his face. They can be vandalized, but don't attract heat nor add chaos points.

Speculation about his name[]

The name Pandak "Baby" Panay may have been inspired by combining the names of Haiti's dictator (Jean-Claude "Baby Doc") and the island of Panay in the Philippines, which is an archipelago located in South East Asia, much like the fictional islands in the game.

The pronunciations of "Panay" in-game and in the Filipino language are different. Panay in-game is pronounced "pa-ney" and the pronunciation in the Filipino language is "Pa-nay". Both "a"s in the Filipino language is pronounced the way "a" is pronounced in continental Europe and not "ey", like in English. "Pandak" is a Filipino word, which means "midget".

Career[]

Spoiler warning: Significant plot details follow.

After the mysterious death of his father, Pandak took control of the Panauan government and unofficially replaced the democratic system with a dictatorship, placing himself at the top in an official capacity as Panau's new president. He quickly drew attention from the United States after he violated/shredded the contract that his father had previously made with the United States, immediately causing them to fear he would seek new alliances throughout the Asia-Pacific.

The Agency secretly dispatches agents Maria Kane and Rico Rodriguez to locate missing agent Tom Sheldon and topple Pandak's dictatorship so that a pro-American democratic government can be installed. The three are joined in their mission to defeat Pandak by deep undercover agent Jade Tan and Agency contact Karl Blaine, though Jade's identity would remain secret at first.

In the fight against Baby Panay, Rico begins associating himself with three illegal paramilitary factions (the Reapers, Roaches, and the Ular Boys) to gather intelligence on Sheldon's whereabouts in exchange for helping them to destabilize Panau's political situation.

In the mission "The White Tiger," Rico reunites with Sheldon, believing he has gone rogue. Sheldon explains that he supposedly cut ties with The Agency to go deep undercover in Panau after Pandak's takeover to learn more about the state of affairs.

Tom Sheldon reveals that Pandak is hiding something. Although he doesn't know what it is, he knows that the nations of China, Russia, and Japan have taken a surprising amount of interest in it. So much that they are all financially backing one of the three paramilitary factions Rico has been working for. Sheldon encourages Rico to keep working for the factions in the hopes of getting them to spill the beans about their foreign sponsors, and Rico agrees.

In the mission Mountain Rescue, Karl Blaine betrays everyone to Pandak, who has Jade Tan kidnapped and brought to his mountain fortress of Kastelo Singa. Sheldon makes amends with his superiors at The Agency and is assigned to assist Rico, Maria, and Jade in any way that he can. Because he didn’t originally know, Maria and Sheldon are quick to inform Rico that Jade is in-fact a deep undercover Agency agent, and the knowledge she has could get them all killed should it fall into Pandak’s hands.

During Rico’s attempt to rescue Jade, Pandak responds by dispatching his special forces, an elite group of ninjas, to kill him. Pandak himself can also be heard taunting to Rico over a loudspeaker, mocking him for his foolishness. After the ninjas are dealt with, Pandak calls in his personal nuclear submarine: the U1. The gigantic submarine surfaces out of a frozen lake just outside the fortress and Panauan soldiers attempt to transport Jade to it via military convoy. Rico rescues her in the nick of time and the two escape Pandak's clutches.

Rico continues to work with the three paramilitary factions on Panau and his efforts pay off in the mission Three Kings when the faction leaders unintentionally reveal who their sponsors are: the Reapers are backed by the Chinese, the Roaches are backed by the Russians, and the Ular Boys are backed by the Japanese. Maria had been called back to Agency HQ so Rico met with Sheldon alone outside of the Three Kings Hotel. The representatives from China, Russia, and Japan are at the Three Kings Hotel during this time.

Sheldon volunteers to join Rico in defeating the foreign representatives they assist each other in an epic battle that spans all three roofs of the hotel. The Chinese fight with handheld explosives, the Russians with an armored vehicle, and the Japanese with an experimental satellite weapon. Rico defeats them all and their leaders die without revealing anything except for the fact that the United States is stupidly wandering blind about Panau and what Pandak is really up to.

In the mission Into the Den, Rico finally gains a lead of Pandak's current whereabouts and Sheldon tells him to recruit one of the three paramilitary factions for assistance. The player can choose whichever faction they want and Rico will then be transported to the Wajah Ramah Fortress in Southeastern Panau. The faction's soldiers will help Rico fight through the military’s defenses until he is able to penetrate the innermost part of the fortress where Baby Panay eagerly awaits him.

Stepping out of the shadows, Pandak confronts Rico personally and congratulates him for making it this far. Playing on The Agency’s lack of information, Pandak taunts Rico by asking whether he knows what the Americans really want to get out of Panau. The answer is oil, a gigantic and vast oil reserve that was recently discovered beneath Panauan waters. Pandak smugly states that he intends to keep all the oil for his profit, rather than losing the claim to foreign powers. This prompted him to sever ties with US.

Feeling misled and betrayed, Rico furiously rants about how stupid it is that all the governments of the world seem to care about is oil. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, Karl Blaine appears and grabs Pandak. Confessing his love for Jade Tan and believing her dead (not knowing that she's alive and never wants to see him again) by Pandak's hand, Karl decides that he no longer has a reason to live. He pulls a hand grenade out of his jacket and pulls the pin with his teeth, still clutching on to a struggling Pandak. The resulting explosion seemingly kills them both and Rico has to fight his way out of the burning fortress as Panauan reinforcements arrive.

While this appeared to be the end of Baby Panay, the mission A Just Cause proves otherwise. Rico, Sheldon, and Maria learn that China, Russia, and Japan have all secretly sent fleets of oil tankers to Panau in a greedy attempt to steal the oil for themselves while the opportunity is rife. While en route to the oil fields, Rico is intercepted by Pandak's U1 submarine which unexpectedly emerges from the ocean and quickly opens fire on Rico's helicopter.

Rico disables the sub’s weapons and is then ordered by Sheldon to infiltrate the interior. Upon entering, Rico quickly finds Pandak. Despite his now bloodied and torn appearance, Pandak is still very much alive. Rico is dismayed because he cannot fathom how Pandak survived. Pandak confidently taunts that nobody can kill him because he is "invincible". Then he picks up a unique multi-shot rocket launcher and angrily states that he is done "playing nice" with Rico. A boss battle-style fight ensures in which Rico has to defeat Pandak and his ninjas. After being defeated, Pandak is severely injured, but he manages to launch four nuclear missiles from the U1 and then escapes with his chameleon by jumping onto the USA-bound missile as it launches. Rico pursues, disabling the missiles mid-flight while Pandak attempts to stop him using an Assault Rifle. Once Rico has disposed of the Chinese, Japanese, and Russian ballistic missiles, he jumps onto the missile intended for the United States and engages Pandak in hand-to-hand combat.

Surprisingly, Pandak briefly manages to overpower Rico in this instance using his midget stature to his advantage. After landing a powerful punch to Rico's stomach, Pandak laughs that once he has Rico imprisoned, the torture will be the stuff of legends. Rico seizes the opportunity while Pandak is distracted by grabbing him by the throat and jamming his body into the engine controls before reprogramming the missile target the Panauan oil fields.

Unable to free himself while Rico escapes, all Pandak can do is scream as the missile explodes after hitting the oil fields, killing him instantly. Regrouping with Sheldon, Maria, and Jade, Rico is asked why he allowed all of that precious oil to go to waste. Rico explains that it is probably what is best for Panau because the oil could've been the catalyst to World War III. With the foreign powers' motivation gone, Panau possibly has a brighter future ahead. Eventually, Sheldon and Maria agree and the four decide to celebrate the success of their mission with a barbecue.

Presidential policies[]

Civil rights[]

As a brutal dictator, he tortures and kills all who oppose him.

After Baby Panay took power, he began stripping down local Panauan rights and started giving them to foreigners. He made the island a playground for international millionaires and tourists. He built attractions strictly for foreigners, such as the Mile High Club, Panau Falls Casino, Three Kings Hotel, airstrips for private jets, and small beach clubs.

The government frequently arrests people for questioning the government. This grows during the revolution. The political prisoners are tortured for information and usually killed. Arrested people can be seen at all military-run road checkpoints. Many of the arrested are probably not guilty of anything. Cut audio shows that Panauan military personnel were very aggressive to Panauan citizens, even for speeding.

Baby Panay had always known that the Ular Tribe had always been wishing for more political power, mainly because they were once rulers of Panau. So when Baby Panay took power he considered them a threat, so he began stripping their rights just like any other Panauan civilian, except that the Ulars rights were diminished so much that they were even below any other Panauan citizen.

When Papa Panay lost power, his justice system went with him. Baby Panay set up a more brutal justice system. Anyone who makes a minor infraction is usually arrested and beaten. Many are innocent. Some are arrested for life, or killed. Baby Panay claims that he has killed and tortured dozens of criminals in one hour. During the revolution, most are tortured and then killed. Also during the revolution, Baby Panay declared an Execution Day, and all currently arrested citizens will be killed, due to full jail cells.

Military build-up[]

Main article: Panau Military.

When Pandak "Baby" Panay took over Panau he started a massive military build-up using the natural gas sales' money. People began complaining, saying that "this couldn't possibly be more important than ending starvation on Panau", but they were quickly silenced. This including making all harbors and airports strictly for military use, creating many new military bases, making an entire local military heavy communications network, and putting heavy military presence in civilian areas. He also built some of it for himself, like a personal fortress and an atomic submarine, the U1. A space program was also created, but it was more for military satellites than research. Lastly, he created a ring of high command military colonels, and paid them an enormous salary to give the military more power. The reason for this was because of his major ego and thrive for power, but it was probably mostly to protect Panauan Oil from invaders.

Propaganda[]

Pandak uses many Propaganda Trailers; statues of himself and billboards of himself to influence the citizens of Panau that the government and Baby Panay are to be respected. You can destroy them for money and chaos points. The Panau Broadcasting Company only ever broadcasts government propaganda, but this is usually to cover-up reports of anti-government violence.

If you grapple on the billboard and press Use/Action (E on PC), a mustache and eyeglasses will appear on his face, looking like Rico painted them there with a black marker. This is listed in Easter Eggs in Just Cause and Just Cause 2.

Panau City and new settlements[]

The country needed more space to house citizens when Baby Panay took power, so he started two projects: the construction of slums in Panau City and settling the country. In Panau City, buildings were torn down and replaced with compact condos.

Some new settlements, often in barren territories, are so small that they barely rank to town status. These settlements also meant to improve the infrastructure and to hopefully improve the economy.

Landmark construction[]

Baby Panay always wished to make Panau more powerful, so he posted a radical construction project to build many new landmarks in Panau City. This meant destroying many pre-existing buildings. He first alerts the people of this via Propaganda Trailers. This project was slowed and later canceled during the revolution.

Significant plot details end here.

Trivia[]

Pandak means "short" in Tagalog, a language spoken by the Tagalog people in the Philippines.
Panay is rarely a surname in Southeast Asia. However, Panay is the name of an island in the Visayan Isles of the Philippines, divided into 4 provinces: Iloilo, Capiz, Antique, and Aklan. Iloilo City is the regional center of the Island and of Region VI in which Panay belongs.
- There are several theories revolving around the name of the island:
  - Based on a Spanish expression "¡Pan hay en este isla!": When Miguel Lopez de Legazpi's expeditionary forces suffered hunger on their way to Manila (Maynilad) and exclaimed on the existence of bread when they stumbled upon the island, which eventually became the name of a rural municipality in Capiz which would later become the name of the entire island.
  - From a Proto-Visayan compound word "aninipay", where "ani" means "to harvest" and "nipay" is a certain variety of hairy grass with stingy barbs, prevalent during the Ati settlement of the island, centuries before the arrival of the Visayans.
  - Story from the Visayan epic "Maragtas": There was a connection with the Buddhist kingdom of "Pannai", which existed around the Malay peninsula until its decline during the Tamil domination under the Chola Empire in 14th Century. The Confederacy of Madya-as in the island of Panay was considered as the successor-state of Pannai kingdom and its subjects from the Sri-Vijaya confederacy in Malay peninsula became the ancestors of modern Visayan people.
Just like Rico, who was based on many action and spy movie characters, Pandak was also based on a combination of many different real and fictional characters. Examples include:
- Kim Jong Il, one of the former rulers of North Korea.
- The warden's son in the comical martial-arts action movie "The Story of Ricky".
- He looks like he may have been based on Kim Jong Un, the current ruler of North Korea, who's well-known for his nuclear threats. Despite the similarity in both military policy and appearance, this is highly unlikely, as Kim Jong Un was still a relatively unknown person at the time of the making of the game, and was not even first in the North Korean line of succession.
- His haircut looks similar to that of Adolf Hitler.
- The "Baby" epithet may have been inspired by Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, dictator of Haiti, who, inherited his rule from his father, François "Papa Doc" Duvalier. Pandak "Baby" Panay likewise inherited his rule from his father, Papa Panay. In both cases, the elder leader had relatively warm ties with the United States, despite major atrocities against the people, cults of personality, and shamelessly rigged elections. The younger leader ratcheted up the level of atrocity and corruption, while also scorning the U.S. and turning relations cold.
His pet chameleon looks similar to Chameleon Ice ice-cream.
There are ripped posters in some Panau City alleys of someone who looks very similar to Baby Panay. This was an earlier version of him during game development. See more at Cut game content.
Pandak has reportedly spent some time at the Mile High Club according to Razak "The Razor" Razman who tells Rico, " The Mile High Club has dirt on everybody in Panau, even Baby Panay".
Interestingly, he is the only antagonist in the Just Cause Game Series to have never enlisted the services of the Black Hand.
- However, he did enlist the help of an independent foreign mercenary seen in Mercenaries Must Die, but only to serve as an advisor for the Panauan Military's Anti-Gang unit.
Of all the head of state antagonists in the Just Cause Game Series, he is the only one to have meet Rico twice in person. Pandak first met Rico on the Wajah Ramah Fortress during 6th Agency Mission Into the Den and the second/last time was on the submarine during A Just Cause. Other heads of state have only personally met Rico once during the final missions of the games. In the JC1 Taking Out The Garbage Vol. 3 Salvador Mendoza met Rico for the first and last time on the Excelsior plane. In the JC3 final mission Son of Medici, Sebastiano Di Ravello at the Volcano island met with Rico for the first and last time in person. In JC4, Oscar Espinosa never met with Rico in person, only having a telephone call in the final mission, Operation Illapa.
In the mission A Just Cause, Pandak uses various weapons in his fight against Rico.
- His trademark weapon is a unique rapid-fire Rocket Launcher. This weapon can fire multiple rockets in rapid succession and is basically an automatic weapon. This weapon is available in some Just Cause 2 Multiplayer servers and reveals that this rocket launcher has 116 rockets to one clip.
  - Pandak is proficient with this auto launcher and can be a very dangerous opponent if the player is unprepared. He also has a large amount of health and can take a lot of damage before the player defeats him.
  - If it is obtained through mods, or a glitch, the launcher's name appears on screen as "Rocketlauncher_LoD_ComtrollerDiffs_Panay".
- He later fights Rico a second time with an assault rifle during the shoot-out on top of the nuclear missiles.
Baby Panay possesses an unnatural amount of resilience, making him possibly the most durable antagonist in the Just Cause Game Series.
- In the mission Into the Den, Pandak somehow manages to survive a grenade explosion that was only a few inches from his face while that same explosion kills Karl Blaine, though this could be explained by pushing Karl away before the grenade blew.
- In the mission A Just Cause, Pandak is able to withstand a high amount of damage from bullets and/or explosives while he is fighting against Rico.
  - Even after Rico defeats him, Pandak still has enough strength to keep standing on two legs, launch four nuclear missiles, and fire an assault rifle at Rico with high accuracy while the two of them are dueling atop the missiles themselves.
Pandak is indirectly mentioned in the introduction of Just Cause 4 by Gabriela Morales, leader of the Black Hand. As she is briefing her employer, Oscar Espinosa, about the threat of Rico Rodriguez, Gabriela tells him that Rico is responsible for deposing half a dozen heads of state over the course of his career. At the exact same time she is saying this, an image of Panau is displayed on the briefing screen. This means that the Black Hand is well aware of events in Just Cause 2 - despite their absence.