All posts by Pol Pinoy

Mark Zuckerberg To Maria Ressa: You’re A Bully, Persona Non Grata!

MENLO PARK, California (The Adobo Chronicles, San Jose Bureau) – Mark Zuckerberg has had it with Maria Ressa’s self-defecating antics.  He called the Rappler CEO a bully and a persona non grata, describing her as someone who likes to bite the hand of the one who feeds her.

Zuckerberg made the comment after Ressa once again complained that her predicament — including several charges brought against her for violating Philippine law — are to be partly blamed on Facebook.

In the past,  Ressa had accused Facebook of sowing political division among the public and allowing the proliferation of online “trolls’ and “fake news.”

Ressa’s accusations seemed to have earned for her and Rappler the Facebook designation of “fact-checker” of misinformation spread on social media in the Philippines.  Perhaps Mark Zuckerberg wanted to “appease” Ressa for her tirade against the giant social networking site.

But from all indications, Ressa’s motivation in criticizing Zuckerberg seems anchored on her vested business interest and the preservation of her online news start-up that has begun to lose credibility and following.

One of her infamous taglines was that it was time “to take back the Internet” as if she and Rappler owned it.

Well, but Zuckerberg owns Facebook and would not allow Ressa to bully him into giving in to her whims and illusions of grandeur.

From one CEO to another!

 

Maria Ressa Responds To Online Petition For Revocation Of Her Dual Citizenship

85E74EC0-AE6D-482F-AA8F-84BD2FF1C488MANILA, Philippies (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – An online petition urging the Philippines’ Department of Justice (DOH) to revoke the dual citizenship of Rappler CEO Maria Ressa has, as of this writing, garnered over 7,000 signatures — more than the total number of islands in the Philippines.

The petition, started less than 48 hours ago, cites Ressa’s efforts to destablize the government and the Filipino people by claiming “suppression of Press Freedom,” “political harassment and intimidation.” It urged DOJ through the Bureau of Immigration to review Ressa’s activities which the petitioner says violate her oath of allegiance when she became a dual citizen. She also has U.S. citizenship.

Natural-born Filipinos who have naturalized as foreign citizens are allowed under Republic Act  9225 to re-aquire Philippine citizenship but must swear to uphold the Constitution, follow the law and recognize duly-constituted authorities.  Ressa faces several cases  for violating the Constitution and Philippine laws.

Responding to the petition, Ressa told The Adobo Chronicles that if the number of signatures reaches 16 Million — the number of votes Rodrigo Duterte garnered in the last Presidential elections — she will voluntarily give up her dual citizenship and relocate to her other country, America.

Additional signatures to the petition are still being accepted HERE.

 

 

 

Journalist Inday Espina Varona To Be Charged With Rebellion

C2A5DC66-FC98-4E9F-AF68-8037437C5455MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Be careful what you tweet because it could get you in trouble — deep trouble.

Because of a single post on her Twitter account, journalist Inday Espina Varona now faces rebellion charges, not because she called President Rodrigo Duterte a “tyrant” (this tyrant recognizes and respects free speech) but because she saluted, not the Philippine flag, but the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed insurgent group that has been fighting the government for decades.

In her tweet, Varona said “saludo”  (salute) to the NPA which, in effect, qualified as rebellion against the duly-constituted government of the Philippines.75689735-C948-4253-B8A0-7F57DC64B4F0

The LGBT community, however, praised Varona for advocating on their behalf and for defending same-sex marriage.