Tag Archives: Philippines

Why Filipinos Would Have Been As Happy If Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach Were First Runner-up

January 4, 2016 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

2015 Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach of the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – For a full four minutes, Filipinos were perfectly happy that their representative to the 2015 Miss Universe Pageant was first runner-up. Even Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach who now wears the crown on her head was standing comfortably in the background with second runner-up Miss U.S.A. as Miss Colombia basked in the glory of being (erroneously) named the most beautiful woman in the universe. Wurtzbach had accepted her second prize status as her fate.

For Filipinos, being first runner-up is as important as being the winner. (Even the pageant itself recognizes the importance of being second: “If for any reason, the new Miss Universe is unable to fulfill her duties, the first runner-up will become Miss Universe.”)

To validate our point, we turn our attention to Dr. Jose Rizal, the beloved national hero of the Philippines. His imposing monument, unveiled over a century ago, stands in the middle of Manila’s — and Asia’s largest — urban park, Luneta. It is among the most revered and visited monuments in all of the Philippines.

Not too many people know, unless they googled it, that the monument was not the winning entry but rather the first runner-up in an international competition to select the best design.

The monument was designed by Richard Kissling of Switzerland. The first prize in the contest was the design by Carlo Nicoli of Italy.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Government, International, Travel

Millions Of Manila Residents Seeking Refugee Status In The U.S., Europe

January 3, 2016 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

Filipinos lining up outside the U.S. Embassy in Manila

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – In just the first few days of 2016, the embassies of the U.S. and other European countries in the Philippines have reported a sharp increase in applications for refugee status, mostly from Manila residents.

The increase came immediately after John Forbes, a senior adviser of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, said that “at the rate the traffic situation is getting worse, Metro Manila may become uninhabitable within four years.”

Many of the applicants saw the prediction as an easy ticket for them to secure visas or legal documents to live in the U.S, and European countries like Germany, Spain, France and the U.K. To this day, it is extremely difficult for Filipinos to secure even just a tourist visa, especially to the U.S.

Metro Manila’s traffic situation has reached a crisis point over the last decade, making life miserable for residents.

Most of the refugee status applicants have claimed ‘economic and social persecution’ as a result of Metro Manila’s mass transportation and traffic woes which would qualify them for refugee status under the United Nations Charter.