Tag Archives: Philippines

VATICAN SCOLDS CATHOLIC FOUNDATION OVER NEW COMIC BOOK

September 28, 2014 Pol Pinoy 1 Comment

Vatican City, Italy (The Adobo Chronicles) – The Vatican has sent a stern reprimand to the Communication Foundation for Asia (CFA) for spreading false information that Pope Francis is merely a comic book superhero.

Based in Manila, CFA is a not-for-profit foundation whose mission is to harness the power of communication in order to promote Christian values and empower people in need towards social transformation.

In preparation for the Philippine visit in January by Pope Francis, the foundation has published a new comic book depicting the leader of the Catholic church as a fictitious character in the likes of Superman, Batman and Spiderman. The comic book’s title is “A Pope Named Francis.”

In its letter, The Vatican said that “Pope Francis is a real person, not a comic book superhero. While he seems too good to be true because of his down-to-earth policies and actions, the Pope is real. Let us not mislead our children – and adults – to believe otherwise.”

In view of the scolding, the foundation is now considering several alternatives on what to do with the millions of copies of the new comic book. One of the options being mulled is to burn the copies in a huge bonfire to be held at Rizal Park (Luneta) in Manila on the eve of Pope Francis’ arrival in the Philippines.

To cover the cost of producing the comic books, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is designating this Sunday’s collections to reimburse the foundation. CBCP appealed to the Filipinos to drop real money — not play money — in the collection basket.

International, Politics

PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT AQUINO VERY NERVOUS ABOUT CHINA

September 24, 2014 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

New York, New York (The Adobo Chronicles) – In a recent interview with The New York Times, Philippine President NoyNoy Aquino admitted that he was very concerned about China.

Aquino, who is in New York attending a United Nations summit on climate change, said that the Philippine government is getting mixed messages from China with regards to the diplomatic relations between the two countries, as well as the territorial dispute over islands in the South China Sea.

But in an exclusive interview with The Adobo Chronicles, the Philippine leader expressed his worst fears regarding China.

Chinese Filipinos are one of the largest overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia. Filipinos with at least some Chinese ancestry—comprise 18-27% of the Philippine population. That’s more than a quarter of Philippines’ 100 Million population.

Aquino said that if China succeeds in laying claim to the disputed islands, it may also lay claim to the more than 25 Million Chinese Filipinos, including Aquino and his family. Aquino, by virtue of his mother Cory Aquino’s heritage, is among the Chinese Filipinos living in the Philippines. Cory comes from the Cojuangco family, one of the richest and most influential Chinese Filipino family dynasties in the country.

“I am afraid that 25 Million Filipinos will be claimed by China as Chinese citizens and that real estate, property and businesses owned by Chinese Filipinos in the Philippines will be sequestered by the Chinese government,” Aquino said.

The beleaguered Aquino said this will result in a divided Philippines and a dual government – one democratic and one communist. He suspects that if China succeeds in establishing partial rule in the Philippines, Manila could lose its Chinatown as it would become the seat of the Chinese govenrment in the Philippines. Manila’s Chinatown is one of the biggest and the oldest of Chinatowns in the world.

Aquino refused to answer questions regarding what might happen to Hacienda Luisita, the vast agricultural land in the Philippine province of Tarlac owned by his family. The land has been the bitter subject of the decades-long agricultural reform movement in the country.

Food, International, Politics

PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT AQUINO INSULTS A KENNEDY DURING A MEETING IN BOSTON

September 23, 2014 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

Aquino with Kennedy, right, and Mayor Setti Warren of Newton

Boston, Massachusetts (The Adobo Chronicles) – President NoyNoy Aquino shared a pepperoni pizza with U.S. Representative Joseph Kennedy III at a pizzeria that was one of the Philippine leader’s favorites when his family lived in exile in Boston.

Aquino met with the grandnephew of U.S. President John F. Kennedy at Bill’s Pizzeria in Newton on Monday morning, prior to his scheduled policy speech at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Except for a photo coverage, reporters were not allowed at the meeting between the two scions of their countries’ most influential political families. At press time, details of their 30-minute meeting have yet to be released.

However, sources close to Kennedy said that the congressman was extremely upset and insulted when the Philippine president asked for a knife and fork for his pizza slice. “Over here in Massachusetts, or anywhere in the U.S., we eat pizza with our hands, never with any utensil,” Kennedy reportedly told Aquino. Apparently, Aquino wanted to impress upon Kennedy that while Filipinos are known for eating their food with their hands, they also know how to use utensils.

The sources also said that while Kennedy was pleased to meet with Aquino, he was disgusted that the breakfast meeting was held at a pizzeria. “In America, we don’t eat pizza for breakfast. We eat pancakes, bacon and eggs,” Kennedy said.