Category Archives: Social Media

Manila Bay White Sands Will Be Closed Until There’s A Vaccine

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – One of the biggest criticism about the white sanding of Manila Bay has been timing.  Many believe that spending a huge amount of money for cosmetic purposes was inappropriate at a time when the country was in a middle of a pandemic that has affected people’s health and  livelihood.

The government argued that the rehabilitation of Manila Bay has been in the works, and in the budget, even before Covid-19.

But when the “new” Manila Bay was opened to the public, all of the government’s efforts to promote physical distancing to prevent the spread of the coronavirus went out the door. Manileños descended upon the bay to get a glimpse and to experience a Boracay moment — all to the detriment of the government’s regulations on minimum health standards.

Today, the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) ordered the immediate closure of Manila Bay, vowing to keep it closed until there’s a coronavirus vaccine.

IATF’s move comes as no surprise as most of its policies in fighting Covid-19 have been consistently  premised on the mantra “until there’s a vaccine.”

To those who were able to frolic in the white sand of the bay, congratulations.  To the rest, see you on the other side of a Covid-19 vaccine!

 

Maria Ressa Next In Line For Presidential Pardon

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – The absolute pardon granted by  Rodrigo Duterte to convicted murderer, American Scott Pemberton, is fueling speculation on who’s next in line for this Constitutional prerogative granted to the President of the Philippines.

Pemberton is the U.S. marine convicted of killing Filipino transgender woman Jennifer Laude in 2014.

Duterte supporters have supported the President’s move, citing geo-politics and many other justifications for his action.

Sources close to Malacañang Palace say that Duterte is seriously considering Rappler CEO Maria Ressa as the next beneficiary of absolute pardon.

Ressa, a fierce critic of Duterte, was convicted of cyber libel by a Philippine court.  The conviction is currently on appeal. 

Political and legal analysts believe that a pardon for Ressa is quite likely on the same grounds of geo-politics, not to mention the fact that her conviction is for cyber libel, a much lesser offense than Pemberton’s murder.

If all goes well, and Ressa is pardoned, the American citizen will no longer have reason to accuse the Philippine government of “weaponizing the law” to curtail her freedom of speech or to silence her online news business.

The ball is now in the court of Duterte.

Inquirer Fact-checks Fact Checker Rappler!

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – How the world  turns. Fact checker Rappler has been fact-checked by Inquirer.

It all started when the online news source owned by convicted libeler Maria Ressa published a report practically claiming that the decades-old broadsheet is throwing in the towel. Ressa and her Rapplerettes may have thought they’ve got company in their repeated narrative about the Philippine Press’ death by a thousand cuts.

One of the most widely-circulated newspapers in the country, Inquirer’s predominantly print media assets have not been spared by the globally receding market for traditional print media. The Prieto family owned the company for 25 years before business tycoon Ramon Ang bought it several years ago.

But Inquirer published its fact-checking rebuttal, headlining its story, “No one’s throwing in the towel.” (Translation: Rappler is a liar!)

We’ll let our readers enjoy the juiciness of the rebuttal via this LINK.

Rappler and Ressa once accused The Adobo Chronicles of “not getting” satire. Well now, we can say Rappler doesn’t get factual news.