All posts by Pol Pinoy

Government, Immigration, International, Politics, Race Relations

Donald Trump Violates His Own Immigration Policy

March 9, 2018 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

WASHINGTON, D.C. (The Adobo Chronicles, Washington Bureau) – North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, has invited President Trump to meet for negotiations over its nuclear program, a diplomatic overture that would bring together two strong-willed, idiosyncratic leaders who have traded threats of war.

The White House said that Mr. Trump had accepted the invitation.

For security reasons, The White House said that the meeting will take place in the U.S., not in North Korea — which means that Mr. Trump will be violating his own immigration policy which bars foreigners with ties to terrorism to enter the country.

Trump instructed the State Department to issue a non-immigrant visa to Kim so that he could enter America.

Immigration adovcates have criticized Mr. Trump for reneging on his immigration promise.

”It is hypocritical for Trump to issue a visa to Kim when the American president has denied legalization to Dreamers — foreign nationals who have been brought to the U.S. by their undocumented parents,” the advocates said.

The Adobo Chronicles reached out to The White House for comment, but we have not yet received any response.

Business, Government, Law Enforcement, Social Media

Rappler’s Bumpy Road To Bankruptcy

March 8, 2018 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – It is just a matter of time. The once successful and viable online news source established by Maria Ressa seems headed for bankruptcy.

It all started with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) order canceling the media license of Rappler for violation of the Philippine Constitution’s provision banning foreign ownership of media companies. The order is on appeal.

Then, in order to cope with declining ad revenue and the cost of maintaining its core of Rapplerettes, Ressa launched an online fundraising campaign many months ago. She failed to raise the P5 Million goal and had to extend the campaign. To date, a little less than 50% of the goal has been raised.

Now, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has slapped Rappler with a P133.8 Million tax evasion case. Ressa calls it “ludicrous.”

So, let’s do the math, assuming that Rappler has another source of income to pay its reporters and employees as well as its office rent, not to mention daily operating expenses.

Rappler’s foreign investor, Omidyar Network, has donated its P78 Million investment to the senior managers of Ressa’s company. Let’s assume for a moment that all the managers will donate back their share of the Omidyar donation to Rappler.

Now, let’s add the P2.5 Million Rappler has raised so far via its online fundraising campaign.

That gives Rappler a total of P80.5 Million to play with. But that’s obviously not enough to fulfill its tax obligations with the BIR. In fact, Rappler would end up more than P53 Million in the red.

Is bankruptcy in the very near horizon for Rappler?

Just asking.

Health & Medicine, Politics, Technology

Optometrist Association of the Philippines Develops New Eye Test for Jaundice

March 8, 2018 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Jaundice is a yellow discoloration of the skin, mucous membranes, and the whites of the eyes caused by increased amounts of bilirubin in the blood. Jaundice is a sign of an underlying disease process.

But there is another kind of Jaundice that affects Filipinos of a twisted political orientation. It’s called the Yellow Cult or Dilawan in the vernacular.

Today, the Optometrist Association of the Philippines announced a breakthrough in diagnosing the Dilawan-type jaundice.

The new technology involves the usual eye chart used by optometrists to check one’s vision. The difference is that for persons afflicted with the Dilawan jaundice, the letters ‘L’ and ‘P’ automatically become magnified with a yellow circle.