Category: Society

Carlos Celdran tells China to kiss Filipino ass over Spratlys and Scarborough row

July 9, 2012 benign0 65 Comments

A friend of mine shared the following graphic apparently making the rounds on Facebook. It was posted on the Carlos Celdran page along with the caption “Love this map. Northwest Philippines. Haha. Kiss our 98 million asses, China. #China â€” with John Joey Ramos, Jason Alinsunurin, Jojo Garcia Dula, Michael Judd Rico and Emil Yap.”…

Culture, Economy, Government, Society

MMDA is living on a prayer instead of thinking about solving EDSA’s traffic problems

July 7, 2012June 19, 2013 Ilda 48 Comments

It seems Filipino public servants are incapable of thinking outside the square when it comes to addressing the problems that plague the nation. Most of them rely on prayer to solve issues rather than apply science and technology — an approach that could actually yield permanent solutions. Take the case of the Chairman for Metro…

Civics, Culture, Development, Government, Religion, Society

Why is Rappler CEO Maria Ressa’s Twitter account ‘protected’?

July 7, 2012May 2, 2018 benign0 20 Comments

Look whose Twitter account is set at “Protected”. Ms Maria Ressa who is CEO of “social news network” Rappler.com has set her Twitter profile so that “Only confirmed followers have access to [her] Tweets and complete profile,” and so one needs to “Click the ‘Follow’ button to send a follow request.” Ressa is a self-described…

Lifestyle, Media, Society, Tech Talk

MMDA EDSA blessing: Did the holy water evaporate before it hit the pavement?

July 6, 2012 benign0 16 Comments

I see these poignant prayers on Twitter every now and then. “God willing it won’t be traffic [sic] on Edsa today”. I’m pretty sure such prayers are uttered at least once per 1.3 person per day by the average EDSA motorist. That translates to hundreds of thousands of such prayer said each year in beseeching…

Culture, Government, Religion, Society

Teenagers and sexting: should we be alarmed?

July 6, 2012 benign0 11 Comments

According to a study published in the July issue of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 28 percent of surveyed adolescents in the United States have engaged in ‘sexting’. Sexting is the practice of taking suggestive pictures of one’s self and sending it digitally — usually by mobile phone multi-media messaging services (MMS) — to another party’s…

Education, Lifestyle, Society, Tech Talk

Why EpalWatch is both good for the country and clear evidence of its profound dysfunction

July 5, 2012 benign0 10 Comments

The impropriety of a public official plastering his or her name all over a public-funded facility or piece of equipment had recently come to light. Apparently people now feel a sense of outrage at the sight of the names and images of local politicians adorning projects and initiatives made possible by taxpayers’ funds. Don’t get…

Civics, Culture, Government, Politics, Society

Is the PBA inherently rigged as Don Allado alleges?

July 5, 2012 benign0 9 Comments

But isn’t professional sport inherently rigged? If we are to interpret the response of Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner Chito Salud to a tweet fielded by Barako Bull player Don Allado where he expressed his opinion about the way things are in the PBA, you’d think that this original of Filipino pro sport leagues is…

Glitz and Glamour, Society

Re-introduction of Spanish mandated by Arroyo in 2007, trumpeted by BS Aquino today

July 4, 2012July 4, 2012 benign0 21 Comments

The re-introduction of Spanish into the education system of the Philippines was brought to the fore during the visit of Queen Sofia of Spain this week. Though originally mandated by former President Gloria Arroyo in 2007, President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino III happened to be in a convenient position to herald the return of the…

Culture, Economy, Education, Society