Category Archives: Government

What Obama And Duterte Talked About In The Holding Room Before ASEAN State Dinner

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(Photo credit: NBC News)

VIENTIANE, Laos (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – It finally happened on Wednesday night — the much-anticipated meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.

The meeting between the two heads of state was cancelled twice, prompted by Duterte’s colorful language supposedly aimed at Obama.

The first meeting was cancelled by The White House soon after Duterte made the expletive-filled statement.  A second meeting was supposed to happen at the state dinner hosted by the Laotion prime minister in honor of the ASEAN summit participating heads of state.  Duterte was supposed to sit next to Obama on one side, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon on the other.  That, too, was cancelled.

But in the holding room prior to the state dinner, Obama and Duterte were the last to leave for the banquet.

Here is a transcript of their conversation:

Obama: Did you bring me a barong tagalog?

Duterte:  I did.  I left it at your hotel’s front desk.  Thank you for the suit and tie you gave me.

Obama: Oh, you’re most welcome. You looked dashing!

Duterte:  I would like to apolo….

Obama: Don’t worry about it.  I wasn’t offended. I know you’re a very colorful guy.  The news media is making such a big deal out of this.

Duterte:  Those son-of-a-bitches!

Obama: Now, now…

Duterte: I’m sorry, Mr. President

Obama: I’ve heard a lot about your word war with Senator Leila de Lima…

Duterte: That whore!

Obama:  Meeting’s over.  Time for dinner!

Duterte: Put*ng ina naman.

Obama: What did you just say?

Duterte:  I said, “Thanks for this brief opportunity!”

Obama: Oh, okay.  You’re welcome!

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Metro Manila Traffic Just An Imagination — Inquirer Report

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Tugade (Photo credit: Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – At last, someone has found the one permanent solution to Metro Manila’s horrific traffic problem. 

According to a report by The Philippines’ Daily Inquirer, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said that the traffic experienced by the people in Metro Manila is just an imagination, and that in order to solve this nightmarish problem, Filipinos need to change their state of mind.

Why didn’t past administrations think of this before?

So when you leave for school or work today, don’t imagine any traffic. You’ll be surprised it will disappear instantly.

But if you happen to be stuck in traffic, buy the Inquirer and read the paper!

And no more excuses for being late!

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Philippine Media Outlets Apologize To President Duterte For Misquoting Him

image.jpegMANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – The damage has been done. It has culminated in U.S. President Barack Obama canceling his meeting with Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte at the ASEAN Summit in Laos.  All because local media outlets misquoted Duterte.  And the foreign media picked it up.

At issue was the response by Duterte to a reporter question during which the Philippine president supposedly called Obama “son of a bitch” or “son of a whore.”

But thanks to the magic of video recording and Internet sharing, the world now knows that Duterte was indeed misquoted.

Independent reviews of the tape confirmed that the curse was not directly intended at Obama.  Some expert language analysis of the tape point to Duterte hurling the expletive at reporters and columnists.

Today, the Coalition of News Media Outlets of the Philippines (CNMOP) issued a formal joint apology to Duterte for their malicious misquoting of the president.  “Our members in the news media simply wanted to improve their ratings and declining popularity,” a CNMOP spokesperson said. “We promise to do a better job next time.”

Meanwhile, several U.S. other foreign news organizations announced they were hiring Tagalog-speaking newsroom staff so that they could be more accurate in their reporting of news about Duterte.

All’s well that ends well.