'Trending topics' Zubiri and Cris Lao reflect the character of Pinoy chatter

By -

Just two unrelated events over the last couple of days have set the Philippines' chattering classes on fire again. The resignation of Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri and the unfortunate mistaking of a car for a submarine by a certain Christopher Lao have become fodder for speculation and low-brow entertainment.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular this week

Iconic Filipino film maker Peque Gallaga on the Typhoon #YolandaPH tragedy

By -
Image
Not since Marcos have we as a people been so polarized. As far as our hearts and minds are concerned it's like we're in the edge of a civil war. We are forced to take a hard look at ourselves and what we value. Because of this, we are fighting friends in coffee houses, on the telephone, and on Facebook. We are a people whose lives have been upended. We don't know what to do to get things done right and right away. We lash out. We insult our leaders trying to get them to do a lot more than to pose for photo ops – of giving out relief goods on a one-by-one basis. We cry desperately for demonstrable government response – we get almost next to nothing. It is increasingly apparent that local media goes hand in hand with self-servicing Malacañang press releases which are more concerned with their showbiz image than confronting, accepting and dealing with the problem. What our leaders tell us is contradicted by the reports from international commentators who are understandably...
Read more

#LeniLeaks the Global Filipino Diaspora Council's plans to seize power in the Philippines!

By -
Image
The latest on Leni and her BFF Loida…..I managed to get a peek at the explosive “#LeniLeaks” Yahoogroup before it was switched to private (yup, it took the yellow twats half a day to change the settings after the thing went viral). My thoughts: 1. This yellow group calls itself GFDC, which stands for “Global Filipino Diaspora Council”, but I think “Geriatric Filipinos Destabilization Council” suits them better, because the most active members of the group are senior citizens with long careers in ouster plotting (i.e. Loida Lewis, her sister Imelda Nicolas, Vicky Garchitorena, Yoly Ong, Fr. Villarin of Ateneo, Black and White Movement, etc). Tumanda na, sila-sila pa rin. From Marcos to Erap to Gloria, oust pa rin ng oust. Yan lang talaga ang alam nilang gawin. 2. The yellow dinosaur demographic might also explain why a) they’re still using yahoogroups, b) they didn’t notice their posts were set to public, and c) they think they’re the saviors of the Philippines despite their epi...
Read more

Over 100M-peso cost of #DongYanWedding shouldered by GMA Network as publicity investment!

By -
Image
I was correct with my gut feelings. My friendly butiki, who listens to everything inside the executive offices of GMA7, confirmed that it was the network that paid for everything (repeat, everything) in the so called 'royal wedding'. It was over Php100m on the wedding day alone, not including other expenses in the pre-nuptial activities. This is an eye-popping amount if it is just a wedding expense (as I am one of those who think that a 20m wedding is already stupid and insensitive in a Third World setting, even if one could afford a 500m one). Over 100m, however, is a justifiable amount, even cheap vis-a-vis the ROI, if it is accounted as marketing and advertising expense of a large corporation that regularly spends much more anyway in their ads and promos. If the network has been able to project that their signature stars are bigger than those from competition, then they would have been able to deliver the message that GMA7 is the bigger kid in the block (don't get me...
Read more

An open letter to CNN on their reporting on the #YolandaPH disaster in the Philippines

By -
Image
This "open letter" was found making the rounds on social media: * * * Dear Sirs: I just wanted to make some comments on the reporting of the CNN International crew here in Manila, regarding the relief efforts for the victims of super-typhoon Haiyan (which we locally call typhoon Yolanda). First, full disclosure: I am a retired Filipino executive and computer person. I was born in the Philippines and spent all my life here (save for some very short overseas stints connected with my career). I have worked with a large local Philippine utility, started up several entrepreneurial offshore software service companies (when outsourcing was not yet in vogue), and also served as the Philippine country head for a multi-billion dollar Japanese computer company. This diverse work background allows me to always see both the local and global point of view, and to see things from the very different standpoints of a third-world citizen, and a person familiar with first-world mind...
Read more