Category Archives: Environment

Environment, Media, Race Relations

Agence France Presse (AFP) Still Thinks Filipinos Are Dogs!

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MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Among the many myths and xenophobic comments about Filipinos is that they are dog-eaters, but the Agence France Presse (AFP), the international news agency, thinks worse: that Filipinos are dogs.

Case in point: in a photo caption describing the possible negative effects of El Niño, AFP described as a “Filipino farmer” a dog walking through a drought-ridden field in the Philippines.

What’s worse, The Manila Times, one of the oldest and most respected newspapers in the Philippines, and possibly all of Asia, carried the photo and caption, as if in agreement with AFP!

Let’s give both the AFP and Manila Times a Pulot-sir Award!

Environment, Government, Science and Environment

Senator Koko Pimentel: Suspend Government Work When It’s Too Hot Or Too Cold.

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MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – “Sala sa init, sala sa lamig” is a common Filipino saying that conveys ambivalence, unpredictability and indecision. This expression also alludes to the volatile environment of the country, both literally and figuratively: a tropical weather on the one hand, and on the other, a political culture sustained by accommodation and largesse.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III is an avid fan of this saying. On Monday, he urged the government and employers to suspend work during the hottest period of the day.

What’s more, he also proposed the same work suspension when the weather gets too cold, especially in places like Benguet, Mountain Province, Tagaytay and Antipolo.

For Pimentel, the work environment should be just right — not too hot and not too cold!

Environment, International, Technology, The Media

Nobel Laureates Stand Up For Nuclear Plants, Maria Ressa Is Missing!

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BERLIN, Germany (The Adobo Chronicles, Berlin Bureau) – Nobel laureates and leading scientists are urging German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to stop his country’s nuclear exit, saying that eliminating this major source of low-carbon power while reopening coal power plants endangers the global climate.

Visibly absent from this group of Nobel laureates is Maria Ressa.

The Adobo Chronicles reached out to Ressa at her posh Rappler office and asked her why she hasn’t added her name to this urging.

She said science, environment and technology are way beyond her limited expertise, and added, “But you can ask me anything about the law being weaponized to curtail press freedom, holding the line, death by a thousand cuts, how to stand up to a dictator or a lie told a thousand times becoming the truth, then we can talk!”

Well, no one can be all-knowing.