MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Recently, The Adobo Chronicles reported that presidential candidate Senator Grace Poe’s son, Brian Llamanzares, drew flak online for posting on his Instagram a picture of him wearing a pair of shoes worth an estimated $19,999.99 on eBay. It was supposed to be a 2011 Limited Edition Nike Mag 10 Back to thie Future Martyi McFly shoes.
Now, with the controversy surrounding Manny Pacquiao’s comments about gay men and women and about same-sex marriage, Nike has dropped the boxer and congressman from its celebrity endorsers.
Nike’s action elicited mixed responses from Filipinos, and one camp in Cebu City burned their Nike shoes in public in protest of the megabrand sports company’s firing of Pacquiao.
Today, Senator Poe denied that her son’s Limited Edition Nikes were among those set ablaze in Cebu.
CEBU CITY, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – In the Philippines, you are either pro-Manny Pacquiao or anti-Manny Pacquiao, and the conflict has turned to shoes.
Since Nike announced that it was severing its ties with the Filipino champion boxer after his disparaging comments comparing gay men and women to (worse than) animals, Pacquiao fans, bishops, politicians, LGBT advocates and practically people on the street have engaged in what is being called the Nike War.
In Cebu, the Queen City of the South, pro- Pacquiao actvists burned their Nike shoes in protest of the company’s move to fire Pacquiao. In Manila, mall shops selling sports shoes and paraphernalia have reported a sharp increase in Nike sales, apparently from shoppers who agree with Nike’s decision to drop Pacquiao.
Even the Church has entered the fray, with a Filipino Evangelical bishop criticizing Nike for dropping Pacquiao, saying the megasports brand failed to consider all the heroic accomplishments of the congressman from Sarangani, including his ministry to the poor people. The bishop is calling for Filipinos to boycott Nike.
In the political arena, and unrelated to the Nike controversy, a senatorial candidate has asked the Philippines’ electoral body, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to disqualify Pacquiao from the senatorial race because his upcoming April 9 fight with Timothy Bradley in Las Vegas would result in unfair advantage for the boxer in as far as media exposure is concerned. COMELEC rules provide for equal air time for all candidates.
Meanwhile, ADIDAS is reportedly recruiting sales reps to promote their shoes to take advantage of the ongoing Nike controversy in the Philippines.
In the Philippines, they take not only their boxers, but also their shoes , very seriously.
Duterte, left, meets with Ilocos Governor Imee Marcos
LAOAG, Ilocos Norte (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, candidate for Philippine president, has anointed his successor should he be elected in the coming May elections. And it is not his VP running mate Senator Alan Cayetano. Rather, it is Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr.
Duterte is running under the banner of the PDP-Laban Party while Marcos is the VP candidate of the People’s Reform Party.
The mayor made the statementin a meeting with Ilocos Governor Imee Marcos, during which he extolled the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos whom he considers a friend.
In the same meeting, Duterte said that if as president, he does not solve the criminality and other problems of the country within three to six months, he will turn the presidency over to Bongbong Marcos.
Cayetano has not returned our calls for comment, but we suspect he is very heartbroken.
MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Recently, The Adobo Chronicles reported that presidential candidate Senator Grace Poe’s son, Brian Llamanzares, drew flak online for posting on his Instagram a picture of him wearing a pair of shoes worth an estimated $19,999.99 on eBay. It was supposed to be a 2011 Limited Edition Nike Mag 10 Back to thie Future Martyi McFly shoes.
The Adobo Chronicles 
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