There are at least a hundred more Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) on death row in different parts of the world. Mary Jane Veloso is still in jail. But newspapers and programs are now filled with other issues, edging out the plight of these OFWs, and the crisis of the bagong bayani in general.
Here, so that we might not forget:
Where lies hope, April 29.
Mary Jane and government spin, May 3.
Taking credit, timelines, injustice, May 6.
Pacquiao could have been our Michael Jordan, that homegrown boxer turned global iconic athlete. He could’ve spent time and energy building training camps and schools, to provide local boxers from all over the country with the best free training possible. He could’ve nurtured the new Pacquiaos, made the Philippines known for having the best boxers in Asia, if not the world. (more…)
AFTER gaining such mileage for being the resort du jour for fancy weddings and exclusive pictorials (READ: the Senator Chiz Escudero-Heart Evangelista nuptials) – the kind that makes you wonder if it’s even in the Philippines at all – Balesin Island Resort has gotten the kind of press any business for the wealthy and elite would love.
Or hate. As the resort’s press release has inadvertently asked: What is this hullaballoo? (more…)
One can’t believe it sometimes, the way the patriarchy is so pervasive in this country, the way men get away with being pa-cute and being pa-witty when asked about something they can’t quite wrap their heads around.
And no, I’m not talking about the every man on the street. I’m talking Senators of the land, making a joke out of the question of divorce.
Welcome to the Philippines. Where it doesn’t matter that the latest SWS Survey on Divorce reveals that 60% of Filipinos are actually now for it. (Inquirer.net, 23 Mar) (more…)
I am in awe of this National Youth Commission campaign In Her Shoes because it is so wrong, so offensive, so sexist, and is being sold to us by the male commissioners, including actor Dingdong Dantes in bright red high heels.
Oh yes, at 1;27AM on March 12, I have the privilege of seeing him on 9News, in a replay of Pia Hontiveros’s News.Ph show. He and NYC commissioner Perci Cendaña have brought the heels they’ve been wearing for this campaign; Hontiveros has them put it on the table (lest we don’t believe these shoes to exist?), and even has the two guests put a shoe on. She then asks them: so how does it feel?
I’d like to give Hontiveros the benefit of the doubt and imagine that I heard some sarcasm in her voice. I could of course be mistaken.
This campaign though, this campaign that imagines that the valid symbol for woman power is a high-heeled shoe — this is absolutely a mistake. (more…)