Category Archives: International

Miss Universe: Will History Repeat Itself?

April 15, 2016 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Quick trivia: who was the very first Miss Universe?

If you said Armi Kuusela, you’re absolutely right. The beauty queen from Finland won the Miss Universe crown at the age of 17. That was in 1952. The rest is history, so they say. She ended up marrying a Filipino, Virgilio Hilario, but not until she gave up her crown eight months into her reign. After all, the title was MISS, not Mrs. Universe.

Fast forward to 2016. This time the Miss Universe is Filipina, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach.

Miss Universe and the "Sexiest Doctor Alive" (photo from Dr. Mikhail Varshavski's Instagram page) — Miss Universe and the “Sexiest Doctor Alive”
(photo from Dr. Mikhail Varshavski’s Instagram page)

A few months into her reign, she has openly admitted that she was dating America’s “sexiest doctor alive,” Mikhail Varshavski.

Will love wait, or will history repeat itself? If does repeat, it will be the other way around: not a Filipino winning the heart of Miss Universe. Miss Universe — a Filipina — does the winning over.

International, Politics, Technology, Travel

Duterte Unveils Proposed Philippine Railway Plan In Exchange For Giving Up Spratlys To China

April 15, 2016 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – With over 7,000 islands separated by water, the Philippines has faced major challenges in bringing about fast and efficient travel within the country, thereby creating barriers in terms of trade, tourism and unity among Filipinos. Not anymore.

Previously, we reported that presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte promised, if elected, to abandon the Philippines’ claim to the Spratly islands in the South China Sea provided China builds trains that would make it easier for Filipinos to travel within their country.

Duterte’s statement caught the attention of the Beijing government and asked for more specifics.

In response, Duterte unveiled his plan for a Pan-Philippine high-speed railway system that would connect the northernmost province of the Philippines to the southernmost tip in Tawi-Tawi. The Davao City mayor wants China to pay for building the system.

China is reportedly very interested but is withholding a final decision until after the May 9 Philippine presidential elections — just in case Dueterte does not win.

International, Politics, Travel

War On Terror: Donald Trump Wants To Ban All Filipinos From Entering U.S.

April 14, 2016 Pol Pinoy 6 Comments

NEW YORK, New York (The Adobo Chronicles, Washington Bureau) – Previously, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump proposed banning all Muslim travel to the United States in order to prevent ISIS from planning and executing terrorist activity. Now he also wants to ban all Filipinos.

Trump’s new call under the war on terror came just hours after the Islamic State claimed responsibility for clashes between militants linked to the group and Philippine soldiers this week that led to the death of 23 people.

The army said the military had attacked a stronghold of rebels linked to Islamic State on the island of Basilan led by an insurgent for whom the U.S. State Department has offered a bounty of up to $5 million.

“With the grace of god we were able to detonate seven trucks carrying soldiers,” an Islamic State statement said.

Trump said that this latest encounter in Basilan shows that ISIS has arrived in the Philippines and that “we need to make sure that Filipinos affiliated with the terror group are banned from entering the U.S.”

As for the estimated 4 Million Filipinos already in the U.S., Trump said he has not closed the door to their possible incarceration if they become a threat to national security.