Category Archives: Government

Not So Fast, COMELEC Chair Andy Bautista Says Of His Resignation

A6BD07CC-EEFF-4B73-BF99-389E7DE94D9CMANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – While many saw it coming, others were shocked at the resignation today of Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Chair Andy Bautista.

Bautista has been accused of having unexplained wealth by no less than his wife Patricia.  

Bautista’s resignation came in the form of a letter addressed to his  COMELEC family and first reported by GMA News. A screen shot of the letter immediately went viral, showing Bautista’s intent to step down by the end of the year.

But in an exclusive interview with The Adobo Chronicles, he said his letter was “edited,” saying the signed original indicated his resignation by the end of the year 2022.  He provided us a copy of the original (see photo.)

So it looks like Bautista’s resignation is really a non-resignation, at least until 2022.

World Leaders Seek Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s Advice

17D50B3F-D5A2-49F2-82B1-32AE3FFB6DCCPARIS, France (The Adobo Chronicles, Berlin Bureau) – While the Liberal Party and other Opposition groups are celebrating the drop in Rodrigo Duterte’s satisfaction and trust ratings as per the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, world leaders have been calling the Philippine President for advice.

The survey showed that Duterte’s net satisfaction rating dipped to 48 percent in September compared to last June’s 66 percent.  His trust rating also declined to 73 percent from last June’s 82 percent. 22294D83-6E55-4ED9-9ACB-F956AA773391

Still, Duterte has the highest ratings compared to the most influential of world leaders.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s satisfaction rating is 36 percent. British Prime Minister Theresa May earned a 34 percent satisfaction rate. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had a July approval rating of 34.2 percent. The latest rating for German Chancellor Angela Merkel was 34 percent. Donald Trump’s approval rating is currently at 32 percent.

During the phone calls with Duterte, the world leaders sought advice on how to increase their satisfaction and trust ratings among their respective constituents.

Duterte’s advice? “Just be true to yourself.”

Great advice.

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The Real Reason Why Rappler’s Maria Ressa Did Not Attend Senate Hearing On Fake News

FC0DDD43-86BD-4555-9807-90DEA2796178.jpegMANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – There is still a lot of speculation on why Cocoy Dayao and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa did not show up at last week’s Senate Hearing on ‘Fake News.’

Well, those speculations can now  be put to rest — at least in as far as Ressa is concerned.

In an exclusive interview with The Adobo Chronicles, Ressa said that the invitation to attend the hearing was sent to Rappler’s fake address.

”As an online-only news source, we do not have an actual office building or phyisical address unlike all the other publications and broadcast networks,” Ressa said.

”We have a fake postal address but because it is fake, no snail mail ever reaches us.  Everything is ‘lost in the mail,’ “ Ressa added.

So there you have it, dear Senators.  If you ever issue a subpoena to Ressa, call her or text her so that she can come personally pick it up.