QUEZON CITY, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Incarcerated Senator Leila De Lima has condemned the Philippine Daily Inquirer for its choice of the 2017 ‘Filipino of the Year.’
The Inquirer recently announced that Pinoy Ako Blog’s (PAB) Jover Laurio is its choice for the notorious award, akin to TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year.
”How dare The Inquirer choose someone who has done nothing to fight for freedom and justice for the Filipino people,” De Lima said from her jail cell at the PNP Headquarters in Quezon City.
”After all I’ve done to fight the Duterte dictatorship, The Inquirer chose to give the recognition to some previously unknown, good-for-nothing blogger just because she was interviewed by BBC,” De Lima said.
”This is not sour grapes,” the Senator added, “but common sense. What’s next, PAB will be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize? Come on!”
The Inquirer has refused to comment on De Lima’s condemnation.
MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Less than 24 hours after it handed out the 2017 film awards, the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) withdrew all recognition for the film ‘Ang Larawan,’ including Best Picture and Best Actress for Joanna Ampil.
Ang Larawan” is based on the play “A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino” by National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin, and features music by Ryan Cayabyab and lyrics from Rolando Tinio. It garnered 7 of the festival awards.
In a statement, MMFF said that it “cannot in conscience recognize a film with all the major awards when it has not even been shown widely in theaters.
Many mall and other theaters pulled the film just a day after the festival opening because it wasn’t attracting crowds just like other top-grossers, mostly slapstick and cast appeal movies like those featuring Vic Sotto and Vice Ganda.
”Come to think of it, how can a movie be considered a film festival entry when it is not even being shown starting with Day 2,” MMFF said.
There are only 8 films selected for the festival.
Maybe, the MMFF should consider bringing back double feature screenings during the festival so that a quality film can be shown in the same theater as another of mass appeal. Two for the price of one. Everybody wins!
Cinema distribution has always been a contentious point during the MMFF, with mall owners quick to shelve low-performing entries for crowd pleasers to take advantage of the holiday rush.
Ryan Cayabyab, whose music is used in “Ang Larawan,” tweeted early Tuesday a list of malls that have removed their entry.
The Adobo Chronicles 
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