The casualty toll in the aftermath of Typhoon Pablo (Bopha) could reach more than 1,400 which is almost equal to the carnage wrought by Typhoon Sendong (Washi) in 2011. According to recent reports, the human toll is rising as search-and-rescue efforts to recover the missing drag on…
The toll from the powerful typhoon that swept through the southern Philippines last Tuesday has reached 620 while the number of missing people also risen to 817, authorities said Sunday.
According to Benito Ramos, executive director of National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), they were not giving up hope of recovering more survivors as the search, rescue, and retrieval operations were being carried out, Xinhua reported.
As if to punctuate the dismal attention imperial Manila has for so long applied to the plight of Mindanao folk, news of the unexpected defeat of Filipino boxing champ Manny Pacquiao in the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez hogged prime front page real estate in the top online media outlets of the country. The Inquirer.net called the “stunning” outcome a “calamity in Las Vegas” while commenters hinted at a possible “national day of mourning” in honour of the fallen hero of “Pinoy Pride”…
[Image captured from Inquirer.net front page on the 10th Dec 2012 1630H AEDST.]
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…while stories on this “calamity” dominated not only news but opinion pieces in the ABS-CBN News website.
[Image captured from ABS-CBN News front page on the 10th Dec 2012 1630H AEDST.]
The scale to which Filipinos have lost perspective and got their priorities screwed is astounding. And it is all reflected in what were once considered to be the “heroes” of all that is purported to be good about this sad Republic — the Philippine Media.
The irony that seems to escape die-hard Pacquiao “mourners” is that it is in defeat that Pacquiao exhibited character that his fans could truly be proud of. “I want to congratulate Juan Manuel. I have no excuses. It was a good fight and he deserved the victory,” Pacquiao said in his official statement to the media.
No excuses.
It is the most valuable of insights that Filipinos, in keeping with their renowned reputation as chronic point-missers, that are routinely lost in Philippine society.
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
there goes that “Filipino Pride” mantra… most Pinoys nga naman talaga…
and add up the “religion” factor on his defeat, and those tongressmans who went to Vegas while hundreds are still suffering out there at ComVal
I facepalmed on those people who wanted Manny to go back being a Catholic. He will be lost even more if he do that.
But as a Christian myself, his loss has nothing to do with it. It seems many of them never understood the word ‘SPORTS’.
Pacman’s loss will really test his hold on his new faith, to see if his conversion is genuine or not.
I like your point but what about Manny? He too is a “Tongressman” as you called them. Why wasn’t he villified for going to Vegas like the others? Maybe it was Karma that took the Pac Man down? Maybe he should have been in Mindanao helping with the relief in stead of filling his pockets in Vegas. Whats more important? I would like to know,
Manny lost because he wasn’t focused. He said so. His entourage says so. His trainer says so. Even the bookmakers in Las Vegas thought so. Heck, the coverage of his training showed he wasn’t focused on the fight. He had all sorts of things going on around him. And apparently he didn’t get enough sleep doing Bible studies late into the evening. Chances are — he would have lost even if he was spending time in Mindanao doing relief work.
So now apparently the more important thing for some people who can’t stand losing is to stage another rematch. Good God. Wake me up when its all over.
I just vilified him for exactly that, Bill. http://weatheronneptune.wordpress.com/2012/12/10/smacking-the-self-esteem-out-of-an-entire-nation/
Hi Bill…
On what I’ve understood on your reply it seems it would narrow down to this:
“Since he is now a “tongressman”, maybe he must set aside his boxing for his ‘service’ on his constituents as a congressman.” (or such)
For the record, I wouldn’t want him in Congress. I’d rather have him in the ring than in the largest crocodile farm. As the saying goes: “No slave can serve two masters”. It is my opinion that he must do his job as a congressman (the good-guy job) NOW rather on his boxing career because in the first place, he ran for Congress and won.
And I won’t say it’s karma that brought him down, rather it was Marquez’s fists and determination.
🙂
“For the record, I wouldn’t want him in Congress. I’d rather have him in the ring than in the largest crocodile farm. As the saying goes: “No slave can serve two mastersâ€.”
Moreover, like Mufasa said to Simba in The Lion King, “Remember who you are”. He better focus more on what he had achieved the most of his entire life: being one of the greatest boxers in the world.
Yeah i also just noticed that whole changing religon thing too. Talk about a skewed sense of priorities.
Funny but Mindanao could sink into the ocean and Filipinos could care less but Manny loses and its like suicide hotlines go into overdrive.
I was very disgusted in the reactions of a lot of people – saying that Marquez cheated for throwing that KO punch at the last second before the bell (which is very very legal), Marquez got lucky, etc.
Da Pinoys are never defeated – only had bad luck or cheated out of a victory. Disgusting.
I have people on Facebook blurting out the same thing (“OMG Marquez cheated!!111~1”), even if Pacquiao already graciously congratulated Marquez on a good fight.
Yep, turns out some people really can’t put their priorities straight.
I’m sorry but what we saw yesterday will be nothing new to GRP readers. Mass media is not a one way street. It’s a reflection of the audience good and/or bad. Refer to when I wrote about Boxing and Brain Damage here in GRP. The whole point is boxing causes brian damage with those powerful blows to the head but in the Philippines paying attention to boxing with exponential zeal for the purposes of KSP causes brain damage too. As usual Fishball comes down on the wrong side of that argument as displayed in the FA blog on the same topic. Just like her master.
I agree… Still the same bollocks as typhoons are battering the islands regularly and the same crap is going on the casualties and destruction.
Also, I’m waiting for “Fishball’s facepalmic reaction”, or I’m just too early? 😀
Following the mainstream or “uso” in the Philippines can do a lot of brain damage, too.
Manny Pacquiao is a very upstanding individual in my view. He is very sincere in his actions and desire to help others. The problem is that he is surrounded by hangers-on who will drop him like a hot potato when the times get rough. After this match, there are unsurprisingly many crabs who are celebrating his defeat.
Right now, he is still on top even after this defeat because of the amount of money he has. But when it runs out, and it inevitably will at the pace he’s going, he’ll just be another victim of vindictiveness.
He should get his priorities straight. If he wants to continue in boxing, he must give it 100%. It is this sport that gave him money, fame, and respect. No one would give him a second look if he was not a boxer. It is sad that he does not understand this because the people around him keeps giving him the “hero” complex, which will lead to his downfall as we are already seeing now.
If the Philippines were a school, it’s students would be over obsessed with extra-curricular activities.
However, when the students receive their report cards, they would be surprised that they somehow received failing grades.
Funny how a people who claim being “cheated” when nothing gets their way are the same types who would likely cheat on their fellow man just to get to the top.
Pinoys, stop embarrassing yourselves. It’s not even worth it to poke fun about.
Filipinos cannot understand their priorities. The people who are victims of the typhoon, are more important than the loss of Pacquiao…
I have to agree on this issue. Maybe the Congressman needs to lose to have a wake-up call on what his “responsibility” should be. He could have cancelled the match to help the victims but well, there you go.