Category: Civics

How to stop Philippine Media’s systematic dumbing down of an entire nation

August 22, 2014May 19, 2022 benign0 51 Comments

It is pretty much a no-brainer. The idea that the Philippines’ entertainment industry is a massive contributor to accelerating erosion of the collective intellect of Filipinos has long been a widely-accepted fact in Philippine society. As far back as 2006, Isagani Cruz wrote about this in an Inquirer article. I cited the key excerpt in…

Civics, Culture, Development, Education, Government, Media, Society

Ramon Bautista’s ‘hipon’ joke: Davao women should lighten up

August 20, 2014 Kate Natividad 59 Comments

What I am really curious about is what possessed comedian Ramon Bautista to insinuate that Davao women are “hipon”, slang for (I am told) women who have a nice body but a not-so-nice face. “Hipon” is Tagalog for “shrimp”. So, yeah, shrimp is the word because the head of a shrimp is discarded after the…

Civics, Culture, Glitz and Glamour, Lifestyle, Media, Politics, Society

Endemic corruption in Philippine society stems from a national Trust Deficit Disorder!

August 13, 2014 benign0 9 Comments

The public puts its trust in government officials to look after the best interests of the public. A very simple tenet. Yet it is one that seems to elude the fundamental sensibilities of Philippine society. When was the last time we rested assured that a Philippine government bureaucracy, bureaucrat, or official is doing its, his…

Civics, Crime, Culture, Government, Lifestyle, Politics, Society

Will Pope Francis’s prayers make a difference to Typhoon Haiyan’s victims in the Philippines?

August 8, 2014 benign0 31 Comments

There is a world of difference between (1) making a quick visit to the Philippines, and beholding all the usual stock-standard confronting sights of impoverished Filipinos “bravely” scraping together a living and (2) growing up in the Philippines, and experiencing that poverty (either as a part of it or as an observer) everyday for many…

Civics, Culture, Development, Lifestyle, Media, Religion

People constantly fiddling with their phones are such eyesores!

August 6, 2014 benign0 8 Comments

Considering that only the creme de la creme of Philippine society was invited to grace the 5th State of the Nation Address (SONA) delivered by Philippine President Benigno Simeon ‘BS’ Aquino III, it remains quite remarkable that bad manners continued to baldly manifest itself in this chi chi occasion. Too bad for all those who…

Civics, Culture, Lifestyle, Tech Talk

Usapang Bayad at Suhol: Vice Ganda and Teddy Casiño’s Twitter exchange

July 31, 2014July 31, 2014 FallenAngel 10 Comments

Social media was abuzz for a while over a recent Twitter exchange between ABS-CBN comedian Vice Ganda and former Bayan Muna Representative Teddy Casiño. Although Vice had several tweets in relation to President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino’s recent State of the Nation Address (SONA), one in particular drew quite a bit of attention, and mixed…

Civics, Crime, Glitz and Glamour, Government, Media, Politics

Filipinos need a radically NEW kind of nationalism

July 31, 2014 benign0 14 Comments

The epic failure that was the 5th State of the Nation Address (SONA) of Philippine President Benigno Simeon ‘BS’ Aquino III this week highlights a pressing need for Filipinos to come up with a new — more modern — form of nationalistic drive. What President BS Aquino essentially did this week was break the proverbial…

Civics, Culture, Development, Education, Government, Media, Society

President Noynoy Aquino and criticism: can’t live with it, can’t live without it

July 31, 2014 FallenAngel 6 Comments

Philippine president Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino does not hide the fact that he does not like being criticized. He takes every opportunity whenever he speaks out in front of a crowd to express just how much and what he thinks of them; his recent State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July 28, 2014 was…

Civics, Culture, Government, Media, Politics