Category Archives: The Media

Film and TV, Health & Medicine, Human Interest, International, The Media, Travel

THE CURIOUS CASE OF WHITENING SOAPS IN THE PHILIPPINES

May 3, 2014 Pol Pinoy 2 Comments

Manila, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – Women the world over would die for the chance to sunbathe in Hawaii, The Caribbean, or the white sandy beaches of the Philippines – from Boracay to Puerto Princesa. They also pay top dollars (or whatever their currency is) to invest in bronzers (think U.S. Speaker John Boehner) or book sessions at tanning salons, ignoring warnings about UV rays-induced skin cancer.

Not so in the Philippines. White is better, especially among women who aspire to be on film, television, or to become beauty queens.

Whitening soaps have become priced items in the Philippines that many local and foreign soap manufacturers have invested millions of dollars to come up with products that promise whiter skin. Fruit-based soaps (papaya, citrus and others) as well as chlorine-based products have become popular in recent years.

Whitening soaps have also been among the top requests from Filipinas to their relatives in the U.S. and elsewhere when the latter ship balikbayan boxes back home.

Is this just a temporary trend or a residue from the Philippines’ colonial past?

We encourage our readers to weigh in by commenting.

Arts, Business, Film and TV, International, The Media

SPIDERMAN FILM BREAKS RECORDS IN THE PHILIPPINES; KRIS AQUINO CLAIMS CREDIT

May 3, 2014 Pol Pinoy 3 Comments

Manila, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – Despite mixed early reviews, “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” is off to a swinging start at the Philippine box office.

As announced by Columbia Pictures Industries’ Victor Cabrera, the film’s cool P112.6 million gross from April 30 to May 1—the biggest first two-day gross in the country’s history— is a milestone for the rebooted Marvel superhero.

Kris Aquino, TV host and sister of Philippine President Noynoy Aquino immediately claimed credit for the film’s box office success. She said that her series of interviews with the film’s leading actors which aired on her local TV show last week was the reason for the flick to gain enormous popularity among Filipino moviegoers.

In the interviews, Aquino told Jamie Foxx that she is the Oprah Winfrey of the Philippines, commented that Emma Stone is not that hot, and boasted to Andrew Garfield that no local or foreign film could ever surpass the opening day record of her son Bimby’s local film, ‘My Little Bossings.’

Readers are asked to weigh in on Aquino’s claim by participating in The Adobo Chronicles’ online poll.

Human Interest, International, Politics, The Media

THE PHILIPPINES’ 2016 ‘PRESIDENTIABLES’ : THE ADOBO CHRONICLES POLL

May 2, 2014 Pol Pinoy 1 Comment

Manila, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – Unlike in the United States, the vice president of the Philippines need not be from the same political party as the president. This mix and match scenario makes elections both highly competitive and interesting.

The next Philippine presidential elections is not until 2016 but already, dozens of politicians have positioned themselves to run for the top leadership positions of this country of close to 100 Million people. News names, old names (but mostly old names) have surfaced as “presidentiables,” a term coined by Filipinos to refer to people who can be in the running for president.

To assist the electorate to have well-informed opinions and decisions, The Adobo Chronicles is launching a series of polls matching possible candidates for the president and vice president combination.

We encourage our readers to participate in this worldwide poll. You can see poll results in real time. Oh, and you can vote as many times as you want, just like people do in the Philippines.