Tag Archives: Philippines

Human Interest, International

THE SURVEY SAYS: FILIPINOS MOST EMOTIONAL PEOPLE IN THE WORLD

Leave a comment

imageMANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles® ) – Filipinos cry a lot, laugh a lot, scream a lot, get angry a lot, pray a lot, curse a lot.  Come hell or high water, they don’t hold back on expressing emotion, especially in public. Just ask Kris Aquino, actress, television host and presidential sister.

A new U.S. Gallup poll conducted in more than 140 countries to compare how people feel about their lives has ranked the Philippines the most emotional society in the world, beating out El Salvador and Bahrain which came in second and third, respectively.

Upon hearing the news, President NoyNoy Aquino congratulated the Filipino people on yet another feather on their cap. “We’re number one yet again,” the president said, “and it just validates my earlier statement that the Philippines is the new ‘Darling of Asia.’ Now, we are actually the ‘Darling of the world.'”

The same survey ranked Singapore the most emotionless society in the world.  Maybe, that’s why the country is among the most successful economies? Go figure.

Government, Military

KIM HENARES: PHILIPPINES’ TAX WOMAN QUITS, JOINS THE MILITARY

Leave a comment

imageMANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles® ) – Filipino champion boxer Manny Pacquiao can now breathe a sigh of relief. Kim Henares, the Philippines’ chief tax woman who has been aggressively going after his prize winnings, has resigned.  Effective immediately, Kim Henares is no longer the commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

The reason? Henares has a found a new calling as a member of the Philippine military. Not just an ordinary member, but a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force.

The now former BIR chief said that she is tired of being criticized for her no-nonsense campaign to collect taxes from Filipinos, especially highly-paid athletes and celebrities. “If I can’t do my job without being seen as a villain, what’s the point?” she asked.

Henares received her credentials at formal ceremonies held today at Camp Aguinaldo, the main headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Incidentally, Pacquiao is also a lieutenant colonel in the reserve force of the Philippine Army.

International, Technology

WITH ONE MOUSE CLICK, GOOGLE ERASES SOUTH CHINA SEA ISLAND FROM WORLD MAP

Leave a comment

CaptureMANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles®) – Before today, a search on Google Maps would point you to an island in the South China Sea called Zhongsha.

Its international name is Scarborough Shoal and is one of disputed territories in the Spratly Islands, a group of more than 750 reefs, islets, atols, cays and islands in the South China Sea.  The Spratly archipelago lies off the coasts of the Philippines, Malaysia and southern Vietnam. All three countries plus China claim part of the archipelago as part of their respective territories.

With the click of the mouse, Google erased the island from the map after an outcry from Filipinos who maintained that naming the island Zhongsha would suggest that it belongs to China, when in fact, it belongs to the Philippines, or so it is claimed.

“We’ve updated Google Maps to fix the issue. We understand that geographic names can raise deep emotions which is why we worked quickly once this was brought to our attention,” Google’s office in Manila said in a statement.

China, meanwhile, has accused Google of taking sides on a territorial dispute that should be settled by the governments involved, not  by a private company.  Furthermore, China says that Google’s action is in retaliation for the Chinese government’s crackdown on gmail and the Google search engine in the Chinese mainland.

So, if there is a name of an island or body of water anywhere in the world that you are not happy about, don’t despair.  All you need is to start a petition for Google to erase it from the map. Or at least change its name.