pinoyobserver.com

Could you tell who are Pinoys and who are Chinese here?

It’s just so unfortunate that Chip Tsao forgot to read his history. He would have read that his forebears once fought side by side with Filipino revolutionaries during our struggle against Spanish colonialism in the late 19th century. He would have seen how both Chinese migrants and Filipinos shared the same battlefield, ate the same food and used the same bolo in chopping off the heads of Western powers.

Chip Tsao must have forgotten that Hongkong once hosted Filipino revolutionaries during the war against Spain. Hongkong was considered an enclave of the Filipino revolutionaries during our Katipunan revolution.

Previous to that, the numerous wars of independence we Filipinos waged against our conquerors all show us in tandem with Chinese migrants. Even up to the Japanese occupation, our Chinese brothers fought side by side, sacrificing their lives for the sake of nation-building.

Up to this day, thousands of Filipino professionals are in constant fellowship with their fellow Chinese brothers, both here and abroad. The Chinese race and the Filipino race are inseparable.  I myself, am very fortunate to have many Chinese as my brothers. I am proud of being Filipino; yet I am equally recognizant of other people’s rights.

Chip Tsao must have been ignorant of even the struggles of Northern and Southern Chinese migrants out ekking a living here in the Philippines. They are here not as investors, mind you, but normal and ordinary Chinese who view the Philippines as a land of milk and honey. They are flocking here in our shores not as tourists, but as entrepreneurs, trying to build their futures here, not there in Hongkong.

So you see, Chip Tsao, we Filipinos are not really angry against you. We pity you for doing that cheap shot. You’re a war-monger. You’re even lower than that dog that I saw just now, roaming the streets of Manila.

You failed to grasp the fact that we Filipinos, are your blood brothers. Without our investments there in Hongkong, without our professionals working in your HK-listed companies and without our unskilled labor force, Hongkong would be nothing!

Don’t be proud of yourself. Your feet must always be firmly planted on the ground.

That Hongkong magazine where Cheap Chow writes regularly, has issued a formal apology. They taken out the despicable article from their website and even issued that apology in their printed magazine. The question is—will we move forward after this apology?

No.

The core issue is Cheap Chow’s racist remarks. Apart from referring to our country as a country of slaves, he likewise tried to bully us by writing those condescending remarks. We, Filipinos, will not allow a shock jock like Cheap Chow to do that.

We hate being bullied. When the Spaniards bullied us with their forced labor laws, we militated and kicked their butts out of our beloved land.

When the Japanese did that to our forebears, the collective consciousness of the people was roused and we struggled to oust them from our land.

When our fellow Filipino, the late Ferdinand Marcos bullied us for twenty years, we finally found the courage to oust him through that glorious revolt.

Now, this chap.

Karen Davila, the broadcaster of DZMM, failed to grasp that. She was sympathetic with Chip Tsao, without even understanding every word that that chap wrote online. She even concluded that we should respect his right as a journalist, since everybody, as she mistakenly believes, has a right to exercise self-expression. It took a cause oriented person to remind her that every right has an attendant responsibility. That right ends when racist remarks begin.

Let me remind Ms. Karen Davila that:

1. Chip Tsao was never accurate when he described us as a country of slaves. I looked at the Labour migration stats of the ILO and at no instance in our history where the Philippines became a slave/domestic servant market. Domestic servants account for a measly 17% of the entire OFW population. Even in the world, the Philippines is NOT a prime exporter of domestic servants. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka ranked first and second, respectively. Philippines is not even close.

So, Ms. Davila, Chip Tsao is not, I say again, writing accurately.

2. Chip Tsao wrote beyond the borders of decency when he wrote something about his domestic assistant. That is not fact-based writing nor a painful satire, as Ms. Davila described. It was pure and simple racism.

Lastly (3) Chip Tsao was writing from the vantage point of a person who perceives himself as above the rest. Chip Tsao, if you checked, came from an impoverished family. There is a possibility though that one of his forebears even worked as a domestic in the Philippines. He just did’nt know it. (in the 1920s and 1930’s, majority of maids employed in the Philippines came from Hongkong. They are poor Chinese. They were fired for cooking cheap chow.

Thousands of Filipinos just celebrated Earth Hour last night. Those flickering lights amidst stark darkness shows our solidarity with the rest of the world. It was a successful campaign to again, focus attention on global warming.

I would love to see that sea of humanity expressing its disgust over rampant graft and corruption in our society. I would love to see companies supporting the anti-corruption cause and marshalling the Youth against this social scourge.

If we can only do that, showing our truest and personal engagement with causes that matter, maybe we’ll be living in a better world, don’t you think?

Mr. Cheap Chow

I love Chinese food. Ask me about it and I’ll tell you where to eat the best Chinese food and what to eat. And I know what’s a cheap chow or a good chow.

And it’s not just Chinese food that I love. I also respect and love their literature. Ever heard of the Tale of the Three Kingdoms? Or I Ching? Or Tao Te Ching? Or how about the entire biography of Chairman Mao? Read his poems, read how Chairman Mao and his Chinese Liberation Army swept the whole of China and made monumental history. That’s good chow. And I did’nt imagine myself reading such rubbish coming from a cheap journalist based in Hongkong. It’s just unthinkable reading such cheap chow coming from the eminent People’s Republic of China.

Poor Chip Tsao (pronounced “cheaap chowww”). He’s a Chinese journalist over at some indescript magazine in Hongkong and he, obviously, does not like Chinese food. What he loves are all things Japanese. When the Japanese planted their flag over at Diaoyu island, a known island of China, he was one of those who shouted “bansai”! He usually watches Japanese anime and thinks of himself as a Japanese superman.

He eats purely Japanese food, especially sashimi. And he loves being with Japanese women, the anime kind.

That’s probably the reason why BBC kicked him out. When the Japanese occupied that Chinese island, he was one of those went over the fence and declared Japanese rule over Hongkong and the mainland. Good that some magazines still want him to write for them, with some exceptions though—he cannot and is barred to write about Chinese food. He can’t write about good chow, only cheap chow.

And you know what? Chip Tsao can’t understand why Filipinos acted differently when Filipinos claimed those scattered rocks in the Spratlys island as their own. No. Chip Tsao simply can’t accept the reality that most Filipinos are still proud of their being Filipinos. Not his maid, says Chip Tsao. She’s with me for all these time, cleaning my toilets and is at my beck and call, all the time. The government of my Filipina just made an unthinkable thing—claiming some scattered rocks as their own off the South China sea.

It can’t be. Chip Tsao is not familiar with the term “national sovereignty” nor does he know about “national pride” and “nationalist spirit”. Chip Tsao does not know what’s “national territory” is all about. He just have a map in his house, with a big region which he calls “MAPHILINDO” or “ Hongkong, Republic of Japan”.

And I really can’t understand why his publishers still allow him to dish out such embarrassing articles. Maybe they don’t know what good writing or cheap writing is all about? Maybe they’re used to eating cheap chow over some hawker store in Hongkong that they consider Chip Tsao’s articles and columns “world-class”? As they say, when you eat cheap chow everyday, you’ll get to be Chip Tsao.

With a face like that, who would not help the poor?

KC Concepcion, the comely daughter of Sharon Cuneta and Gabby Concepcion recently graced the United Nations. She was invited as a speaker.

KC Concepcion just appealed for world support in fighting hunger in Mindanao.

She told the crowd that the world has put greater attention to Africa when it forgot those hungry children in North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat, two of the poorest provinces in the Philippines.

For someone born with a proverbial silver spoon in her mouth, KC Concepcion surely brings smiles to everyone.

KC is our version of Paris; except that instead of destroyers and frigates, KC Concepcion surely brings great tidings for our poor brothers and sisters in Mindanao.

Question—is this the learnings that KC Concepcion was able to get from spending all those years in Paris? If this is it, then, we still have hope in the younger generation of Filipinos.

I just hope that KC Concepcion continues to be mindful of her advocacies and marry late in her life. I mean, an early marriage would derail everything and that would not be good for us, Filipinos.

KC Concepcion is doing what Kris Aquino failed to do during her prime. Many thought that Kris Aquino was going to the route taken by her father, the hero Ninoy Aquino. Celebrated relationships, breakups, live ins and a widely talked about STD and eventual marriage to a cager destroyed whatever hope there is.

It’s great to love a KC Concepcion. Great to know that the daughter of two movie greats are doing the Filipino a great service. Be proud my brother Filipinos. We have a beautiful champion in our side.

I just can’t use my Nokia 70 anymore. Problems with batteries, very slow downtime and other kinks that so hard to handle. They say, Nokia 70 is the most reliable one. Yes, it is. I’ve been using it for two years and I think it’s time to retire my old friend.

Could you recommend me a reliable phone that I can use? Seriously, I don’t want an iPhone. I heard so many unmentionable things about it and I don’t want to be one of those “victimized” by it.

If you recommend me a phone here, I’ll give you a poem. Sounds good right? Just tell me if its just for you or for someone you love.

I was wont to write another piece on this Boyet Fajardo scandal simply because I really don’t want to prolong the agony of a fellow brother, Marvin Fernandez and I realized that the more we write about this, the more popular this unknown “jerk” becomes.

Seriously, we are feeding unto his ego when we talk about him. The best that we can do at this point–and i mean this very seriously–is for us to express our galit (anger) by ignoring him. Yes, we need to ignore him. But NOT his actions. Never. There must be justice here eventually.

BUT the most damning and the most hurtful thing especially for a person like him who happens to earn through his brand is simply for people to JUST IGNORE him and never to mention his name. If my readers would allow me to say this, let’s just describe him as ” The UnNamed One“.

The more we mention his name, the more popular he becomes.

Now, what have we learned from this scandal?

1. People are really biased. They form opinions based on their observations more than anything. For example, there are insidious talk about Fajardo’s gender preference as a probable explanation or cause of his actions. That, for me, is below the belt.

This person’s gender preference has nothing to do with his actions. I have many gay friends who are not like him. They are intelligent, articulate, creative and very humble with their accomplishments.

One primary example of such a person is Ricky Reyes. He’s very humble. He’s known everywhere yet nothing damning nor any derogatory reports about him.

Another one is Manny Pangilinan, head honcho of PLDT. He’s gay. Yet, look at how people respect him.

Bad people are bad just because their nature are like that. People say they’re bad because of the way they treated other people. Research says men are more violent than women. So, is domestic violence justified just because men, by nature, according to reseach, are violent-prone?

2. Wealth has nothing to do with manners. Good manners and right conduct are things which we learn from our parents. I have many influential and rich friends who are not arrogant. They don’t use their influence and they obviously don’t think of “poor” people as unequal or bereft of respect.

In fact, the richer one becomes, the more sympathetic you should be to those who are left behind the opportunity totem pole.

3. Filipinos look into the heart, not on the words. That’s the thing about us. This UNnamed One apologized already infront of national television. Yet, we are wont to forgive him because we think he’s insincere.

For me, that’s the most admirable trait about us, Filipinos. We know how to analyze and look into one’s heart. However, closer study would reveal that this trait is both harmful and good.

Good in the sense, that we are’nt easily misled by what we see. Harmful because we are not pychologists or sociologists to know what’s the level of insincerity or sincerity that a person must have for us to accept such an apology.

I remember how Gloria Arroyo apologized for that Garci scandal. Despite those puppy eyes and those kitten looks, everybody thinks she’s guilty. Yet, the anger stopped at that. We, obviously, did’nt go to the extent of demanding justice; unlike in this case, where everybody demanded that this UnNamed One be crucified, jailed, and cussed. Gloria and this UNNAMED ONE both did the same thing—they bullied us around, they used whatever influence they have and they abused whatever trust and popularity. Un equal treatment or view of justice?

4. Filipinos have a fairly judicious side. When we saw the video, we immediately said that there’s injustice here. Probably because many of us identified with the condition of Marvin and we, at one point in our lives, encountered such contemptuous behavior.

The good thing is, Marvin became a rallying point; an obvious representative of the oppressed and as such, merits our collective response. I must say that this scandal should be a learning to everyone that we must act with promptness when we see oppression happening right before our very eyes. That, every bit or semblance of oppression should never be glossed over or pass on simply because the oppressor is mighty, is rich, is influential or claims to be popular.

Filipinos still has a sense of what’s right and what’s terribly wrong; but we need to apply this lesson in every circumstance and in every aspect of our lives.

We must simply act when we are oppressed. We must act to correct a wrong immediately. We must always think that injustice, in all its forms, should be addressed with dispatch.

5. Every Filipino are being bullied. By being angry with this UNNAMED ONE, we proved to the world that we still have the temerity to stand up against bullies. This UNNAMED ONE is definitely a bully. Bullying in school, in the workplace and everywhere SHOULD STOP. And the power to do so rests in the hands of the People.

We are being bullied by this government in the form of economic sabotage. Graft and corruption is a form of sabotage. People in government rob us of our monies and is therefore, sabotaging our economic growth.

We are being bullied by this government by forcing us to pay exorbitant taxes, like VAT. VAT oppresses the poor. We pay more taxes than the rich.

We are being bullied by this government when they try to ram constitutional changes right before our very eyes. People in government want to change how we live and how we view things simply because they want to extend their evil rule in this country.

And lastly, we are being bullied because we wallow in poverty and oppression when they, our public servants, enjoy the trappings of power and wealth. Our inherent right is to live decently. It is our right to enjoy good service since we are all taxpayers. Yet, the reality is we are being bullied into submission and denied our right to good service.

Let us join hands and stop this bullying. Bullies, like this UNNAMED ONE, should be meted with the People’s Justice.

Who is this Senator of the Land who reportedly paid 300,000 pesos just to have sex with a young star from a Television network?

As reported by one of the legislative staff of the Senator, the incident happened a few weeks ago. Allegedly, this comely Senator had sex with the star in an exclusive hotel for two days.  The hotel is in Makati City.

Now, comes the penultimate question—who is this pretty, young and sexy little thing that the Senator made as his sex toy for two days?

This pretty young and sexy little thing is being packaged by her network as a purely decent and virginal actress. She started young and had some success in the field. She’s sweet on cam but reportely voracious in bed.

She’s considered as one of the hottest stars around. Hottest because of her beautiful face, with a matching sexy body to boot. Her face is quite virginal and she’s being lusted by many because from her days as a child star, many people already said that she’ll be one of the country’s “hottest” (see Hottest Filipina on this site).

The alleged sexual encounter was arranged by the manager of the star and the member of the Senator’s legislative staff. According to reports, the pretty young and sexy star agreed. Reportedly, the star also had a “secret crush” with the senator. The senator is said to have a prowess like Dolphy’s.

Going back to my earlier question….who is this senator again? Who is this senator who paid 300,000 just to make love to this pretty young and sweet and sexy star for two glorious nights in one of the posh hotels in the country?

Do you want clues? He’s quite a charmer and reportedly is one hell of a senator who works his butt off. He’s a hard worker, bright and charming, according to his wife.

Read RickyLo today. He published Girlie Rodis’ statement on the supposed Dingdong-Rachel dangerous liaisons. She said there is really nothing going on between Dingdong and Rachel, former lovers, now close friends and musical collaborators. And I believe her.

Rachel Alejandro back to ex BF? crap!

Though Dingdong is NOT happy with the way things are going in his marital relationship with the former Jessa Zaragoza, sources say, Dingdong’s parents want them back together. For a while, they split and since yesterday, reports say, the couple has now reconciled. But, what was the marital misunderstanding all about?

Some malicious gossipers say, Dingdong reportedly had a “romantic liaison” with another woman. That is unbelievable. Dingdong, as some of his friends know him, has decisively ended his gallivanting days. He’s now a family man and a committed one at that.

Yes, when he was a bachelor, he’s one of the most desirable guys around. Just look at the roster of beautiful girls who were linked with him.

Dingdong also has a child already and knowing guys (I’m a guy and a married one at that), they’ll think twice.

Yet, who’s the other woman?

Some say its Ruffa Mae Quinto, which is, again, unbelievable since Quinto has a foreigner boytoy now. Others surmise its Rachel, which, is not true. This Dingdong-Rachel thing is just a showbiz gimmick, a publicity stunt meant to arouse the interests of the concert-going public.

Now, on the flipside,

Will their respective handlers please admit to the public that this is just a publicity stunt? That it’s part of their promotional strategy for Dingdong-Rachel concerts? And that Dingdong is again saving up for another run in QC?

First, let me put everything in perspective.

The Facts

This so-called “scandalous” incident started when an unknown fashion designer name Boyet Fajardo went to Duty-Free Philippines to buy chocolates. He just came from China and reportedly wanted to buy pasalubong for his staff.

According to him, he was tired and stressed out. After disembarkation, he went straight to Duty-Free. In an interview with the now-controversial Fajardo, Alex Santos of TV Patrol found out that Fajardo managed to buy at least three items in three counters. On all those purchases, he presented his Philippine passport.

On the last counter, Counter 5, this is where Fajardo encountered some problems. Based on his interview with some TV reporters whom I know, Fajardo claimed to have seen Susan Gonzales, the duty cashier nudge Marvin Fernandez, the new assistant. Fajardo claims that Gonzales nudged Fernandez when they saw his disabled left arm (according to an editor friend, Fajardo has a limp. He can’t use his left arm since its shorter than his right and he can’t move it).

Fajardo approached Counter 5 and presented his unsigned Equitable Mastercard gold card (This is according to reporters who interviewed Fajardo).

Fernandez, who’s new in the job, asked Fajardo if he can show any form of identification. As the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) at DFP, Fernandez was just doing his job. He’s still three months on the job yet, according to reports, Fernandez is known for his honesty and a stickler to the rules. In fact, Fernandez is a member of a religious group known for their honesty and integrity.

Anyway, as what is expected from him, Fajardo showed his passport. Fernandez noticed that the passport did not bear Fajardo’s signature. In old passports, your signature just happens to be at the back flap. In Fajardo’s case,  a US Visa was plastered on the old flap.

Since both the passport and the credit card which Fajardo presented bore no signature, as what the SOP is, Fernandez asked for other forms of ID.

Fajardo, at this point, went ballistic. The gay fashion designer claimed that the other counters found nothing wrong with his passport. Why is he now suddenly being asked for it?

Fernandez calmly told him that it is Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for him to ask the customer some form of identification. Yet, according to reports, Fajardo just berated the poor guy.

It was at that point that Susan Gonzales supported her colleague against Fajardo. When Fajardo was castigating the two employees, the duty sales manager approached them. Fajardo requested that he be given the chance to explain his side. He asked for a place where they can sort things out.

Yet, instead of asking the parties to cool down and go to another place to calm the situation, the manager just asked Fernandez to kneel down before Fajardo, ” to end this thing once and for all, just do what the customer (Fajardo) wants”.

Now, you’ll ask—was’nt Fajardo who asked (or ordered Fernandez) to kneel before him? Again, basing on reports, Fajardo claims that it was the manager who actually told Fernandez to do the unthinkable.

For me, whoever ordered this despicable thing is irrelevant. If, Fajardo’s claims are true, that it was not him, then probably the reason why the manager suggested such a thing to Fernandez is because Fajardo was bullying them.

Fajardo, as what witnesses say, was shouting invectives and asserting himself. He was dropping off names of influential people left and right, just like that scene involving an ABS-CBN reporter who was mauled by a Congressional staff member.

Anyway, there is reason to believe that Fajardo’s suggestions (” I will never forgive you if you’ll not kneel down before me”–paraphrased already in English) were misinterpreted because Fajardo himself  continued on bullying these poor employees. Though the suggestion was rightly viewed by Mr. Fajardo’s spokesperson as ” creative outburst”, yet, it led to this highly contemptuous act which we now saw on the video clip.

The Fault

What’s now the fault of Fajardo? Though I believe Fajardo did’nt mean to commit a crime, yet, he can be sued for oral defamation since the two victims claimed that he cussed and made names (” you pig! or something to that effect).

Will Fajardo be jailed for it? Yes. In the Revised Penal Code, oral defamation carries a penalty of imprisonment.

Now, who’s fault is it?

Obviously, if you look at all angles, it was plain and simple bullying. Fajardo bullied the poor DFP employee Marvin Fernandez. Fajardo tried to harass, bull and he wanted to really humiliate Fernandez. Fernandez, for those who don’t know, is a homosexual.

Being new in the job (he’s not a regular member of the union of Duty-Free Philippines and just started three months ago), Fernandez is as vulnerable as anybody in that situation. The fact that Fajardo was name dropping (according to accounts, Fajardo even name dropped the name of the head of DFP, Formoso) caused Fernandez to quake in fear. Fajardo exploited the situation by bullying the duty manager, who, probably thought that “customers are always right” and ordered her staff to do the horrific act.

The Lesson

The lesson here is simple—some customers are NOT always right. Customers who think of themselves as members of the elite think they deserve special or extra special treatment. They don’t.

In fact, those who are celebrities or they think they’re popular (like what this Fajardo thinks of himself) is expected to behave more civilly than others. Public celebrities are expected by the people to be role models. They are NOT expected to behave like savages or “lords”.

Boyet Fajardo should always be reminded of his roots. Fajardo claims that he was once a cashier. That’s the reason, says one reporter friend, why he claims to empathize with Fernandez (apart from of course, the most obvious–they’re both gays).

Mr. Fajardo should also be reminded that all the riches in the world can’t buy you humanity. You can’t buy decency and right conduct. You obviously cannot buy respect. You simply don’t.

Respect, like any other thing in this world, is earned. And you earn it, not because you’re rich or you’re a “celebrated fashion designer” as you so claim, but because people genuinely love you.

When you’re truly loved, you’re truly respected. And when you’re respected, that’s the time that you become popular. And when you’re now popular, that’s the time that you should be more responsible. And when you’re more responsible, that’s the time that people think highly of you as a celebrity.

IN this case, Mr. Fajardo, you’re not loved. You’re hated. Because you failed to earn respect. When you lack respect, you’re simply unpopular. And when you’re unpopular, you simply are not responsible. And when you’re not responsible for anything, reality strikes you like a thunderbolt.

You are not a celebrity, Mr. Fajardo. You’re simply a flash in the pan. Some people call you now a douchebag. Yet, what I can say is, you’re simply a cause celebre.  Or probably a monstrosity.

Solution?

For Mr. Fajardo, leave this place. Go to a place where passports are simply recognized as an important document.

For Mr. Fernandez, continue the fight. You are a very good employee. Continue to be honest. Yet, I also suggest that you forgive Boyet. Afterwards, sue him.

For union president Dennis Mallari—I just got this information that you’re just using this incident as your political vehicle. Don’t. People, especially reporters and journalists, are hot on your trail. Don’t exploit Mr. Fernandez.

And for all customers of Duty Free Philippines—-next time, try to behave properly. Think that no one sees you but God? Look again. There’s a camera out there. And YouTube is just a click of a finger.