Monthly Archives: June 2018

Government, Human Interest, Politics, Social Media

Florin Hilbay’s Cryptic Independence Day Tweet

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3D89DBF9-0994-4159-A068-3F724C79B7EFMANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Internetdom was awash with speculation, confusion and gossip resulting from a cryptic tweet posted by former Solicitor General Florin Hilbay on June 12, Independence Day.

His tweet, accompanied by a photo of Vice President Leni Robredo saluting the Philippine flag during Independence Day ceremonies, said:

”No 2, we’re all waiting for the day you assume your rightful place — No. 1.”  It also bore the hashtags #IndependenceDay2018 and #BabaeAko.

Netizens who saw the tweet asked, “Was Hilbay referring to Robredo, the No. 2 highest official of the land, or Robredo, the No. 2 in a rumored romantic relationship with a married man?  (A Manila Times column recently speculatated that Robredo’s refusal to confirm or deny the rumor gives the impression of truth.)

Others said, “Does No. 1 mean the presidency, or a reference to being the No. 1 partner in a romantic relationship?”

As far as the hashtags are concerned, some asked if  #IndependenceDay2018 implied a forthcoming court dissolution of a marriage, and if #BabaeAko represented Hilbay’s take on ‘the other woman.’

These are all speculation of course, but we welcome any input from Hilbay or the Office of the Vice President.

#WeAreWaiting

Film and TV, Government, International, Politics, Social Media

Leni Robredo Agrees To Be Interviewed By BBC’s Stephen Sackur With Two Conditions

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10B4C023-4DFA-4211-8C64-1018ABBA79FBQUEZON CITY, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Quezon City Bureau) – In a still on-going poll by The Adobo Chronicles, a majority (not just plurality) of respondents have indicated that Vice President Leni Robredo is their top choice to be the next guest of Stephen Sackur on his BBC program ‘Hardtalk.’

So far, Sackur has interviewed Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, Senator Antonio Trillanes and lately, ousted Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.  In all three interviews, Sackur asked hard-hiting questions which the interviewees had a difficult time responding to.  For Trillanes and Sereno specifically, their appearance on the show were dubbed by many as an embarrassment.

Now, Sackur has officially extended an invitation to Robredo to be his next Filipino guest.

297E40D2-2209-42C7-9002-B0A96E134778The Adobo Chronicles has learned that the Vice President has agreed to the interview with two conditions:

One, that the interview will be live at the BBC studios in London with airfare, accommodation and shopping allowance provided by BBC.

Second, that Robredo will bring along an interpreter, her spokesperson Georgina Hernandez.  Robredo will be responding in Tagalog. Hernandez will be translating Sackur’s questions into Tagalog for Robredo to answer.  Robredo also wants assurance from Sackur and the BBC that if Robredo’s answer would be inaccurate or embarrassing, Hernandez will have the option to revise the Vice President’s response.

Neither Sackur nor BBC has indicated consent to Robredo’s conditions.

Stay tuned.

Government, International, Media, Politics

Sereno Interview On BBC: What Did The Inquirer See Or Hear That Most Of Us Didn’t?

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6D87F9FC-55C4-4CA8-A07A-747BF0FE9B74MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Moments after that live, BBC interview with Maria Lourdes Sereno, Internetdom exploded with posts and comments practically tagging the ousted SC Chief Justice’s responses to hard-hitting questions by host Stephen Sackur as a disaster, and concluding that she embarrassed herself, and the country.

But the Philippine Daily Inquirer saw it much differently than the rest of us.  In its report about the Sackur-Sereno encounter, the newspaper painted her as some heroine, one out to give voice to the voiceless Filipinos.

So what did Inquirer see or hear that we didn’t?

The Adobo Chronicles investigative team looked into how Inquirer came up with its story and this is what it found out:

Inquirer assigned a newbie, an unpaid intern reporter to cover the story by watching the YouTube recording of the ‘Hardtalk’ program. The intern turned off the audio of the program while she played her favorite Internet game, FarmVille 2 on a split screen.  She got so immersed in the game for most of the duration of the interview.  Realizing she’s missing out on writing a juicy report that could cause her firing, the Intern then turned the audio back on which was at about 25 minutes into the 30-minute interview.

354ED6CB-7743-4094-AD1F-8D5E2E085463And the rest is history, the Inquirer came up with its headline story, so different from what everyone else saw and heard.

Now  you know.