Category: Media

Ph Congress: The country’s ‘Biggest Criminal Syndicate’ according to BizNews Asia

September 7, 2013September 8, 2013 benign0 73 Comments

The shame of being governed by what many now regard as a den of thieves is hitting fever pitch! BizNews Asia Vol.11 No.14 featured a photo of Philippine Congress in session with the caption in big bold letters “The Philippines’ Biggest Criminal Syndicate.” The Manila Bulletin cited it in its article Magazine labels Congress ‘biggest…

Crime, Media, Money Talks

Pork outrage vs viral videos: Filipinos get angry with the wrong head

September 6, 2013 Kate Natividad 29 Comments

Another week another viral video. I saw Ms Ilda’s earlier tweet where she expressed what seems to be exasperation over the attention “leaked” intimate videos routinely get… Sigh…accdng to the site stats, most Pinoys would rather read about Chito, Neri, Wally & Yosh’s s*x video than about #porkbarrelscam That kinda makes me angry. There is…

Crime, Culture, Media

Pork Barrel Corruption, Habagat Floods, and A Bright Spot or Two In An Otherwise Bleak Week

August 23, 2013March 19, 2014 P. Farol 6 Comments

Phew! That was one hectic week and I hope I don’t go through another one like that again in the next month or so. Sunday ushered in heavy rain and flooding that sank most of Manila and as usual, for me in Marikina City, I had to implement my household’s “flood disaster plan” — which,…

Media

And then, the disaster drama rolls in…

August 22, 2013 P. Farol 13 Comments

I’d guess that for every hysterical and sensationalized news report on TV Patrol/24-Oras, there are probably hundreds or thousands of stories of people who planned and prepared well for what was obviously an imminent and widespread flooding disaster in Metro Manila. I wanted to forego the usual rant about TV stations gunning for ratings by…

Media

Swim With Sharknado

August 20, 2013August 20, 2013 Gogs 7 Comments

Know who you are There’s a world wants to know you Supertramp Life is weird. Maring has caused havok in the region with floods. Many taxpayers in this country are angry over the pork barrel kerfuffle. Someone close to me is off on a training trip that she is not particularly fond of….

Metro Manila, as seen through Sean Ellis’ lens

August 19, 2013August 19, 2013 FallenAngel No Comments

The film “Metro Manila” by British director Sean Ellis had its media screening last August 13. Starring Jake Macapagal and Althea Vega as Oscar and Mai Ramirez, respectively, the movie tells the story of a family who come to the city from the province in search of work and a better life. However, what they…

Glitz and Glamour, Media

Pork is Cheap in Bahana Republic

August 19, 2013 John Bay 1 Comment

I seem to be part of the lucky few in my city where 15 out of 18 barangays are submerged in water after a continuous downpour of ‘Maring’. The great revelation in all of this is that floodwaters always have a way of bringing all things to the surface. It is a trite simile of…

Economy, Government, Media, Politics

Unprecedented call to abolish pork barrel in Philippine Congress precedes ‘million people march’ on August 26

August 18, 2013 benign0 38 Comments

I am normally ambivalent to calls for street protests organised around objects of “outrage” that could have been mitigated or prevented if Filipinos had simply participated in democratic governance properly and intelligently (such as voting wisely and applying a critical mind to politicians’ trite populist rhetoric). So I have mixed feelings about the latest call…

Crime, Government, Media, Society