Monthly Archives: October 2015

Business, Law Enforcement

NEWEST PHILIPPINE SHOPPING MALL SHUT DOWN ONE DAY AFTER IT OPENED

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Opening day crowd at new Philippine Mall in Cabanatuan City
Opening day crowd at new Philippine Mall in Cabanatuan City

CABANATUAN CITY, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – On October 9, the newest mega mall in the Philippines opened in Cabanatuan City, north of the capital, Manila. On October 10, the mall was shut down by the police and fire marshall.

The reason?  Fire code violation.

Tens of thousands of residents of Cabanatuan and nearby towns and cities flocked to the new mall to be among the first to experience airconditioned shopping and presumably to get a glance of the opening day festivities featuring Queen of All Media (and presidential sister) Kris Aquino, who was among the celebrity guests.

As it turned out, the mall was filled to capacity and there was no room to move about (see photo).

The crowd reminded Filipinos of the everyday ocurrence for commuters on Metro Manila’s Light Railway System, the  MRT. image

Police and Fire Marshalls said that the mall violated maximum capacity limits, creating a high fire hazard and potential  fatal stampede.

With the kind of government bureaucracy in the Philippines, it may take months before the mall will be allowed to reopen.

Religion

PHILIPPINES’ VICE PRESIDENT REACTS TO BISHOP’S CALL FOR VOTERS NOT TO ELECT THE CORRUPT

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Villegas, left, and Binay
Villegas, left, and Binay

ANGELES CITY, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – The president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)  reiterated the Church’s call for voters not to elect corrupt candidates to office.

“Sinners can be forgiven but you cannot forgive the corrupt,” Bishop Socrates Villegas said. “If we say that corruption is one of our nation’s deepest scars and heaviest cross, and if candidates already have a history of corruption, let’s think twice, thrice, a hundred times before voting for them.”

Reacting to the bishop’s comments, Vice President Jejomar Binay accused the CBCP of meddling in politics by suggesting that Catholics not vote for him.

“May I remind the good bishop that there is separation between church and state, and that he should not be judging my career  and record as a politician, or derailing my campaign to be the next president of the Philippines,” Binay said.

Business, Film and TV

CAUCASIAN AMERICANS PROTEST DISNEY’S CASTING OF ‘MOANA’

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imageHONOLULU, Hawaii (The Adobo Chronicles) – Earlier this year, when Columbia Pictures released the film ‘Aloha,’ Asian American groups protested the casting of Caucasian actress Emma Stone as Allison Ng, a character who was supposed to be part Hawaiian.

Now it seems that the tables have been turned.

Caucasian Americans are criticizing the casting of a Native Hawaiian in the role of a Disney princess.

For many decades, Disney Pictures has always cast white or fair-skinned princesses and other characters like Elsa in ‘Frozen, ‘Ariel in ‘The Little Mermaid,’ as well as the well-loved heroines in ‘Cinderella,’ ‘Sleeping Beauty,’ and ‘Snow White.’

Not only has Disney named its latest screen character, ‘Moana,’ but it has also chosen a Native Hawaiian to be the voice behind this Polynesian princess.

Disney’s recent announcement confirmed the casting of 14-year-old Auli’i Cravalho who hails from Mililani, Oahu, as Princess Moana. image

The protesters lamented the fact that by casting a person of color to play the role of Moana, Disney has broken a long-held tradition of whiteness which has always made its fictional characters click and tick among American families as well as audiences worldwide.

When asked about the protest, executives at Disney Pictures merely said, “We don’t comment on ongoing controversies about our films.”