Category Archives: Social Media

Maria Ressa Agrees To Plea Bargain On Tax Evasion Charges

0F1B2444-5241-4EC6-B41B-831ACC19BC3BMANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) –  If convicted of the tax evasion charges filed against her, Rappler CEO Maria Ressa could face up to ten years behind bars.

That’s too much for Ressa to handle, so instead, she has agreed to a plea bargain.

A plea bargain is an agreement between a defendant and a prosecutor, in which the defendant agrees to plead guilty or “no contest” (nolo contendere) in exchange for the prosecutor to dropping one or more charges, reduce a charge to a less serious offense, or recommend to the judge a specific sentence.

Basically, Ressa’s plea bargain involves an affidavit to be submitted to the court in which she would admit to being both a fake journalist and a fake financial entrepreneur, and instead acknowledge — under oath — that she is just an ordinary blogger, like the rest of her Rappler team.

In exchange, the prosecution and the court are expected to drop the tax evasion charges against Ressa.

It would also mean that Rappler will voluntarily shut down. For good.

All’s well that ends well!

 

 

Adobo Chronicles Names Its 2018 Person Of The Year

E64E53F9-0C0C-4CF3-AA5A-A59535A4C047SAN JOSE, California (The Adobo Chronicles, San Jose Headquarters) – It’s that time of year when TIME and other publications and organizations name their ‘Person of the Year.’

Well, The Adobo Chronicles is no exception.  We’ve been selecting our ‘Person of the Year’ every year since our inception.  If you don’t believe us, type in the phrase “Person of the Year” on our site’s search box.

Our past awardees include actor Jackie Chan, former DILG Secretary Mar Roxas, former MIAA General Manager Jose Angel Honrado, former President NoyNoy Aquino, Senator Antonio Trillanes, VP Leni Robredo and Senator Risa Hontiveros.

This year, we are proud to name Rappler CEO Maria Ressa as our “PERSONa Non Grata OF THE YEAR.”

We selected her because she had  accused us of “not getting” what satire is.  Nevermind that she and Rappler’s first fact check under their partnership with Facebook was a story published by us. So maybe, just maybe, it is Ressa who doesn’t get what satire is.

But more importantly, we selected her because of her recent tirades against the Duterte administration which she accused of harassing and intimidating her just because she is a journalist.  Nevermind that the criminal case filed against her had nothing to do with her journalism work but her alleged failure to pay taxes.

We wish her all the best as she faces not the court of public opinion but the real court of justice where what matters is not what she says about press freedom but what she can or cannot prove regarding the tax evasion charges against her.

 

MMDA To Redesign EDSA’s “Footbridge To Heaven”

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Bowing to public pressure and critcism, the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) announced today it will immediately begin reconstruction of the controversial footbridge along EDSA in Kamuning, Quezon City.

The footbridge, dubbed by netizens as “footbridge to heaven” and “stairway to heaven,” had become the butt of jokes because of its unusual steep height, rising from the ground to almost the equivalent of a 6-8 storey building. People have complained that there is no way senior citizens and persons with disability (PWDs) can make it up then down the more than 9-meter skyway.

An MMDA spokesperson detailed the design revisions approved by the agency:

  • Construction of an elevator from the ground to the top level of the footbridge
  • Construction of an enclosure for the entire span of the bridge
  • Installation of airconditioning for the bridge enclosure
  • Installation of multi-colored strobe lights inside the enclosure to make for a pleasant journey up and down the footbridge
  • Installation of of 3-D audio visual display upon reaching the top level of the bridge

With these improvements, MMDA is confident that the EDSA-Kamuning footbridge will become popular not only among local pedestrians — seniors and PWDs included — but also tourists from all over the world.

The MMDA spokesperson refused to give The Adobo Chronicles the cost estimates for the improvements to this P10 Million street project.