Category Archives: Tourism

Beauty, Government, International, Tourism

Philippine President Duterte Orders Free Admission To 2017 Miss Universe Pageant In Manila

August 2, 2016 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has been clear from the very beginning: hosting the 2017 Miss Universe Pageant is not a priority of his administration and he does not want to spend a single centavo of government funds to stage the popular beauty contest in his country.

So, while pageant will still be held at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila on January 30, 2017, it will be funded 100% by the private sector.

But then there is one problem.

Tickets to the pageant finals have gone on sale and the prices are astronomical. A VIP ticket reportedly costs over P35,000. General admission is fixed at P3,700 which amounts to more than a week’s pay for minimum wage earners.

“I cannot allow the pageant to be held in my country and yet my countrymen will not even be able to afford and watch the show,” Duterte said.

He then issued an Executive Order directing organizers to make the pageant free admission.

“I don’t care how the private sector will finance the pageant, so long as it will not involve any drug money,” the president emphasized.

Business, Politics, Tourism

In Hawaii, No ‘Aloha’ Spirit For Donald Trump

August 1, 2016 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

HONOLULU, Hawaii (The Adobo Chronicles, Honolulu Bureau) – Everywhere you go in the islands of Hawaii, you will always find the ‘Aloha’ spirit. You’ll always feel welcome, appreciated, loved.

You get lei’d upon arrival at the airport. You are greeted with ‘Aloha’ the moment you step into an ABC Store. And the locals are not shy in thanking you for everything with a warm and sincere ‘Mahalo’ (thank you).

But when it comes to politics, the residents of Hawaii have no qualms about publicly expressing their preferences.

Despite the Donald Trump presence — notably a Trump Tower in the heart of Waikiki — businesses, residents and (hopefully) tourists are #WithHer.

To Donald: e kala mai i a`u (please forgive me/sorry).

International, Tourism, Travel

SHOCKER! Manila Not In The List Of Top Ten World’s Worst Cities For Rush-Hour Traffic!

July 28, 2016 Pol Pinoy 1 Comment

Bangkok, world city with the worst rush-hour traffic

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – The world survey on the top ten cities for rush-hour traffic is out, and Manila is not on the list!

This comes as a big shock not only to Filipinos who deal with nightmarish traffic everyday but also to past and present government officials in charge of the country’s transportation and communications.

Money.CNN.com lists Bangkok as the city with the world’s rush-hour traffic, followed by Istanbul and Mexico City. Rounding up the top ten are Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Bucharest, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Zhuhai.

The Adobo Chronicles reached out to CNN Money to ask why Manila did not make the top ten list.

A spokesperson for CNN said not to worry, because the list only includes cities with the worst “rush-hour” traffic. He said, the criterion disqualified Manila because in this Philippine city, there is traffic not only during rush hour, but every hour every day.

“That would be for the next survey,” he said, “and I am very confident Manila will make it to the top ten, if not the No. 1 city.”

Glad we asked.