Category: Society

Will global ‘outrage’ over jailed Al Jazeera journalists turn into CONCRETE action?

June 24, 2014 benign0 7 Comments

Global outrage has erupted over the harsh prison sentences meted out to Al Jazeera journalists Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy, and Baher Mohamed last Monday. The three were successfully prosecuted in an Egyptian court for allegedly “undermining” Egypt’s “national security” supposedly by supplying false news and aiding terrorist movements deemed threats to the Egyptian government. Being…

Media, Politics, Religion, Society

Crime does not pay in the Philippines – or so Filipinos would like to think

June 24, 2014June 24, 2014 benign0 13 Comments

With Senator Jinggoy Estrada now on his way to the slammer, it’s two down, one to go. That’s right, Filipinos are keeping score. With glee. They see the imprisonment of Estrada along with Senator Bong Revilla and soon, presumably, Senator Juan Ponce Enrile as vindication that, indeed, crime does not pay. The three Senators are…

Crime, Culture, Society

Dear Lucy Torres: Why not a COMPREHENSIVE Anti Bad Manners bill instead?

June 23, 2014June 23, 2014 benign0 9 Comments

Seriously? A honk-free day in the Philippines? We need to get to the bottom of the kind of thinking House Representative Lucy Torres-Gomez (wife of movie idol Richard Gomez) was applying when she came up with House Bill 4542 which, according to this Gulf News report, “aims to bring to the people’s attention the importance…

Civics, Culture, Education, Glitz and Glamour, Lifestyle, Religion, Society

Did Bong Revilla Take The Lord’s Name In Vain?

June 23, 2014June 23, 2014 P. Farol 39 Comments

I didn’t want to comment about Senator Bong Revilla’s t-shirt scripture, but tonight, for some reason, I feel compelled to do so. I’ve been avoiding writing about Christian stuff not out of fear, but because I know that I don’t know enough about Christianity despite being a Catholic all my life and I tend to…

Politics, Religion, Society

Does Philippine Senator Bong Revilla deserve to be treated harshly while in prison?

June 22, 2014June 23, 2014 benign0 33 Comments

The Philippines is abuzz over the latest misfortune porn craze, the surrender to the police and imprisonment of movie-star-turned-Philippine-Senator Ramon ‘Bong’ Revilla Jr. Over the last several days Netizens are posting and sharing updates on the minutiae of Revilla’s fall from grace since he and Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Juan Ponce Enrile were implicated in…

Crime, Lifestyle, Media, Politics, Religion, Society

HK Filipino maids react to latest ‘racism’ row as impact of Singapore hate blog ripples across region

June 19, 2014June 19, 2014 benign0 36 Comments

Tensions between Filipino expat residents in Singapore and so-called hate bloggers and online trolls seems to be escalating. The Philippine embassy in Singapore has asked the Singapore government to hold accountable for inciting hatred a blogger who published an article on the site “Blood Stained Singapore” in which the Filipino community there was described as…

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

Boy Abunda Misses an Opportunity to Defend ‘Showbiz’

June 19, 2014 Hector Gamboa 13 Comments

I came across a recent piece written by Boy Abunda in The Philippine Star. Abunda contends that “Showbiz” is real as real can get and that he resents the idea of someone being a fake, a hypocrite or being deceptive when accused of “being Showbiz”. I must confess that while I do belong to the…

Glitz and Glamour, Society

Why do Singaporeans hate Filipinos?

June 18, 2014July 1, 2014 benign0 169 Comments

It’s the obvious question everyone is asking nowadays amidst a raft of hate blogs and other such digital artifcats going “viral” all over the Net. Many of these seem to have stemmed from the whole fracas surrounding a plan by Filipino community leaders to stage a 12th June Independence Day event at a major shopping…

Civics, Culture, Economy, Featured, Government, Lifestyle, Society