Category Archives: Local News

Local News, Social Media

Move Over, Hot Cop Of Castro: Here Comes Carrot Man Of The Philippines

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imageBAGUIO CITY, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Obscure men and women become instant celebrities with just one snapshot posted on the Internet.  That’s what happened with Chris Kohrs, the ‘hot cop of Castro’ after an admirer snapped a picture of him while patrolling the gay Castro Street in San Francsico.  The post went viral, and the rest is history.

Now, an unassuming man from a farming family in Sagada, Mountain Province — north of Baguio City — is the new darling of the Internet.

The vegetable farmer was photographed carrying a load of carrots by a Facebook user, Edwina Bandong.  Netizens around the world went crazy.  Many have said he was a lookalike of very prominent Korean actors like Jan Geun-Suk.

His name is Jeyrick Sigmaton, and he is living proof that it doesn’t take multiple postings of your selfie photos for you to become famous.  You just need to be at the right place and right time, and be around someone with a good eye for beauty, and of course, a camera. Or smart phone.

 

Local News

California Wants To End Daylight Saving Time, Daly City Wants To Adopt Filipino Time

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Photo credit: Getty Images
Photo credit: Getty Images

DALY CITY, California (The Adobo Chronicles, San Francisco Bureau) – Daylight Saving Time (DST) could be a thing of the past in California, if a bill introduced by Assemblymember Kansen Chu (D-San Jose) is approved by the state Legislature.

AB 2496 would keep California on Pacific Standard Time year-round. Chu says there is no evidence DST reduces energy consumpion.

Hawaii and most of Arizona stay on standard time year-round. In the past, some parts of Indiana did not observe DST.

Following the introduction of the proposed bill, Filipinos living in Daly City have launched a petition asking their city council to enact a resolution that would make Filipino time the standard time year-round in this Bay Area city, oftimes referred to as “Little Manila” because of the huge number of Filipino residents.

The petition claims that Filipinos in America are having difficulties and challenges navigating between California time and Philippine time.  There is a 16-hour difference between the two time zones.  With increasing globalization, it just makes sense that we get rid of time differences, not just between the U.S. and the Philippines, but worldwide, the petition concludes.

Filipinos working in call centers and those engaged in business process outsourcing (BPO) operations in the Philippines welcome the Daly City proposal, saying that it would be nice to do business in real time.

(Editor’s note: “Filipino time” in this context does NOT refer to Filipinos being always late to appointments and schedules.)

 

Law Enforcement, Local News, Travel

Baguio City Taxi Drivers: “We’re Being Robbed By Our Passengers!”

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imageBAGUIO CITY, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – In most cities in the Philippines, taxi riders complain about drivers “robbing” them of hard-earned money, either by tampering with the fare meter or taking the long and winding road to the passengers’ destination.

Not in Baguio City, the summer capital of the Philippines, which celebrates a huge cultural festival this entire month of February, the Panagbenga.  The annual flower festival is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of tourists to this  city which boasts of San Francisco-like weather.

It is the other way around: passengers robbing taxi drivers, with the full blessing of the government’s transportation agency!

It would have been a huge opportunity for taxi drivers to earn more income, except for one thing. They’re actually losing 5 pesos each time they take on passengers.

Plastered on the windshield of all Baguio City taxis is a sign that says, “Taxi Fare, less 5 pesos.”  So if your final fare as per the taxi meter is 100 pesos, you actually will only pay 95 pesos.

There is a logical and legal explanation to all this, but it is of little concern to the taxi-riding public.  What’s important is the 5-peso saving each time someone rides a cab.  After 20 taxi rides, you’ll have enough money to buy you a Starbucks espresso!