Category Archives: Government

President Aquino Defends Chinese Attack On Filipino Fishermen In Disputed South China Sea

March 4, 2016 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Fire hoses, not water cannons, were used recently on Filipino fishermen by Chinese coast guards in the Philippines’ Panatag Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc in the disputed South China Sea territory, President NoyNoy Aquino has clarified.

The President said the government has already obtained the affidavits from the fishermen who were reportedly prohibited by a Chinese patrol ship from fishing in the shoal. His statement came during his meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak at his office in Putrajaya.

“I brought it up as part of our discussions before the expanded bilateral (meeting). I mentioned that there has been this reported recent issue again on Scarborough,” the President said in a media interview in Kuala Lumpur last Friday.

“Fire hose, not water cannon, was used based on the report I received. We have affidavits from the fishermen involved,” Aquino added.

Today, Malacañang responded to critics who condemned Aquino’s statement which seemed to defend the Chinese action.

“It’s just like stabbing someone with a butter knife as opposed to a steak knife,” a presidential spokesperson said. “It is not the same, just like there is a difference between a water hose and a water cannon.”

Huh? The president’s statement may be dumb, but the justification issued by his press office is dumber.

It’s more fun in the Philippines.

Government, Politics

If Elected President, Mar Roxas Promises To Move Baguio’s Mansion House To The Laperal White House

March 2, 2016 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – It’s political campaign season in the Philippines and, as expected, the presidential candidates are making their respective promises to the Filipino electorate. The Aquino administration’s candidate, former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, is no exception. He continues to tow the line of Daang Matuwid (Straight Path).

His promise? If elected, he will abandon the summer residence of the president of the Philippines — the Mansion House — and move to the Laperal White House on Leonard Wood Street.

The White House is a historical building orignally owned by the Laperal family and converted into a museum. It is known by many to be haunted. It was occupied by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II and served as a garrison, where — if some stories are to be believed — they brutally tortured and murdered many. Among them, the Laperal family, except Don Roberto, who would survive the war only to accidentally slip and fall to his death from the stairs in front of the house.

Roxas said that giving up the expansive and elaborate Mansion House — one of Baguio’s top tourist attractions — would be in keeping with Daang Matuwid, which aims to abandon government excesses.

On the other hand, Roxas said, he’d rather live in the White House during his visits to Baguio. ‘There is a very prestigious and presidential feel to it. It will put me in equal footing with the president of the United States whose official residence is also called the White House.”