Yearly Archives: 2014

Politics, Same-sex Marriage, Tourism

PHILIPPINES’ QUEZON CITY GOES AFTER WORLD ZUMBA RECORD; SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IS NEXT

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BautistaQuezon City, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – October marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of Quezon City, former capital of the Philippines and part of the larger Metro Manila.

The city government, under the leadership of former child actor Mayor Herbert Bautista, is going for the big guns as part of celebrating this milestone.

zumbapartyOn October 12, Quezon City is holding what it hopes to be the largest Zumba class in the world and has set its eyes on the Guinness World Record.

But Bautista is not stopping there.  He has announced that he wants his city to be the first in the Philippines and in all of Asia to recognize same-sex marriage.

None of the countries in Asia allow same-sex marriage and none would recognize such marriages performed elsewhere in the world where it is now legal.

Bautista however acknowledged that even if he succeeds in bringing same-sex marriage to Quezon City, he knows it would not be valid since cities cannot establish their own marriage laws. (In the U.S., same-sex marriage laws are established by individual states).

As an alternative, Bautista said plans to hold the largest invalid same-sex mass wedding in his city, and achieve another Guinness World Record. He will personally officiate the mass wedding which he hopes to organize and schedule on February 14, 2015.

“This will be my Valentine’s gift to the city, and to my millions of LGBT friends and colleagues,” he said.

 

Business, Economy, International, Law Enforcement

CANADA TO PHILIPPINES: RETURNS NOT ACCEPTED ON GARBAGE EXPORT

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trashOntario, Canada (The Adobo Chronicles) – A total of fifty 40-foot container vans of garbage recently arrived in Manila’s International Container Port.  It was supposed to be an export of scrap plastic materials for recycling, consigned to a Metro Manila trading firm by a Canadian company identified as Chronic Plastics.

It turns out that the shipment contained mostly toxic garbage, and was in violation of the Philippines’ Tariff and Customs Code, better known as the “Toxic Substances and Hazardous Wastes Control Act of 1990.”

Alerts were promptly issued on the shipment because the consignee had submitted incorrect documents for the importation, which has a declared value of over $220,000.

Ariel Nepomuceno, customs deputy commissioner for enforcement, warned “this junk dumped in the Philippines could pose biohazard risks to our people.”

Both the Bureau of Customs and the consignee firm have asked the Canadian shipper to take back the garbage.  However, Chronic Plastics laughed the request off, saying that it has a policy of “No return, no exchange.”

A spokesperson for Chronic Plastics said that all sales are final, especially for garbage waste.  “The only way we can accept a return is if the Philippines can assure us that the return shipment will be in the exact same condition as when it first left the Canadian port,” he said.

That doesn’t seem to be possible, as it was reported that garbage juice is now leaking from the container vans.  It’s been sitting for almost a year now at the Customs container yard and shipping it back to Canada will take another 3 months.

Politics

IN THE PHILIPPINES, PIGS DON’T FLY BUT THEY LIVE IN AIR-CONDITIONED PIG PENS

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pigs flyManila, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – Elsewhere in the world, pigs have wings and they can fly.  In the Philippines, they live in air-conditioned pig pens.

The luxurious pig residences are allegedly part of a 350-hectare real estate property owned by Vice President Jejomar Binay.

Binay, whose alleged involvement in the overpricing of the Makati City Hall Building 2 which began construction during his term as city mayor, is now being investigated for questionable property in his home province of Batangas.

propertyDuring a Senate investigation into the overpriced city hall building, former Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado, presented a slide show of what he says is the Vice President’s properties in Batangas.  One of the properties showed a huge hacienda in Rosario, where Binay keeps horses, pigs and fighting cocks.

Mercado also showed a 5,000 square meter property with a mansion in the town of Laurel, which he says is also owned by Binay.

The Vice President has denied owning the properties.

Mercado added that the piggery is air-conditioned because Binay’s wife, Elenita, did not like the smell of pigs.

According to the latest polls, Binay is the leading potential candidate for President in the 2016 Philippine presidential elections.  The Vice President is said to focus his campaign platform on providing housing and improved living conditions for millions of poor Filipinos.  And yes, pigs as well.