Category: Society

Filipino maids banned from using elevators in Manila’s luxury condos!

November 20, 2014November 28, 2022 benign0 97 Comments

The management of an Icon Residences luxury condominium building in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig has been called out for what Filipino netizens allege are “discriminatory” building access policies. A certain Poch Ceballos posted a photo on Facebook of a letter issued by the building management with the following caption: When Filipino maids in HK…

Civics, Culture, Lifestyle, Society

Jejomar Binay will be President of the Philippines even if Mar Roxas declares his candidacy

November 17, 2014 benign0 29 Comments

So now everyone pretty much agrees (perhaps grudgingly) that Philippine Vice President Jejomar Binay will be President of the Philippines in 2016 — that is, unless the clowns who have been defaulting to the political strategy of last resort, mudslinging the public favourite, can come up with a viable challenger. Alas, the only bozo they…

Politics, Society

5 things that will happen when Jejomar Binay becomes Philippine President

November 15, 2014February 13, 2017 Ilda 212 Comments

A lot of Filipinos are scared of a Binay Presidency. A Catholic priest even said it is a “scary prospect” after meeting Vice President Jejomar Binay himself. It is quite understandable why. If Vice President Jejomar Binay wins the Presidential Election in 2016, he will simply continue the world-renowned Filipino tradition of patronage politics. This…

Crime, Development, Government, Politics, Society

In the #Philippines, ‘human rights’ is just a fashion statement

November 13, 2014 benign0 9 Comments

I recall making the assertion in my book way back in 2006 that the Philippines is a society that is inherently unjust. So far I haven’t been proven wrong. The Philippines today remains a society that continues to exhibit an utterly weak tradition of honour. Small surprise that its military capability is now a showcase…

Culture, Society

Binay kids being ‘dragged’ into scandal, Nancy appeals for restraint

November 11, 2014November 11, 2014 benign0 19 Comments

The most tragic thing is when children suffer from the sins of their parents. That’s pretty much the plot underlying The Human Condition. So with regard to Senator Nancy Binay’s recent lament that the vilification of her family’s politics is starting to touch her children, well, here’s a cliche to consider: It comes with the…

Civics, Crime, Culture, Media, Society

A country under an inutile gov’t: The #Philippines 12 months since Typhoon #Haiyan struck

November 10, 2014November 10, 2014 benign0 29 Comments

The marking of the first year’s anniversary of the visit of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) to the Philippines in November 2013 is a bittersweet one. While the disaster devasted millions of Filipino lives, its most appalling legacy is the vast open wound it left in the Filipino’s collective psyche — the realisation that theirs is an…

Culture, Development, Environment, Government, Media, Religion, Society

Colegio de San Agustin road rage! Is the Philippines home to a decent society?

November 5, 2014November 5, 2014 benign0 50 Comments

We make one big assumption whenever we express indignation and outrage over the instances of banal injustice that make regular news fodder in the Philippines — that ours is a “decent” society. But step back and ask a more fundamental question: Is Philippine society really a decent one? Just now I spied a recent post…

Civics, Crime, Culture, Education, Lifestyle, Society

The First World can’t help the Third World because they don’t understand Third World poverty

November 4, 2014November 4, 2014 benign0 48 Comments

Q: What do the conflicts in the Middle East, pestilence in Africa, and chronic poverty in the Philippines have in common? A: The West’s insistence that it can “help” the Third World. How many more times will the West’s intervention in the Third World end in disaster? Many more times — because the First World…

Culture, Development, Economy, Lifestyle, Society, Technology