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Quotable
Quotes |
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“A
statement has to be made, that we will not legitimize
the biased officiating that is rampant here, not only
in boxing and not only against the Philippines.”
- PSC Commissioner and RP Deputy Chef de Mission Richie
Garcia, in defense of the RP boxing team’s near-walkout
at the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand.
“I don’t
know what they are trying to achieve by doing this,
there was nothing wrong with the judging.”
- Amateur Boxing Association of Thailand President
Gen. Taweep Jantararoj regarding the RP team’s
allegation that the SEA Games boxing judges are biased
in favor of Thailand’s team. This after Thailand
boxing officials noted that the Philippines sent a
“B team” instead of the country’s
boxing stalwarts.
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“That
wretched law had caused untold suffering and torture
to many innocent victims.”
- Senator Joker Arroyo in protest of the government’s
plan to revive the Anti-Subversion Law. |
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| De
Numero |
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51 |
Fixed peso
exchange rate for the US$25 Overseas Workers
Welfare Administration fee imposed on all Overseas
Filipino Workers. Since the US dollar has already
dropped to a little more than P41, and after
receiving numerous complaints from OFWs for
overcharging, the Philippine Overseas Employment
Administration has announced that it will lower
the fixed peso exchange rate to P42 starting
January 2008. |
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3,000 - 4,000 |
Estimated
number of Walruses above the Arctic Circle
that died due to stampede,
caused by the disappearance of sea ice—a
global warming effect. |
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228 |
Total number of medals
of the Philippines at the 24th SEA Games
41 Gold 91 Silver 96
Bronze |
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Lawmakers
Penalize Religious Libel in Mass Media |
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Finally,
a law holding liable to offensive use of word ‘Muslim’ and ‘Islam’ associating
it to crime commission had been proposed.
Representative Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara
of the Aurora Province filed the House Bill 100 also
known as “An Act Prohibiting the Use of the Words ‘Muslim’ and ‘Christian’ in
Mass Media to describe any Person Suspected of or Convicted
for Having Committed Criminal or Unlawful Acts, and
Providing Penalties for Violation Thereof.”
While the law also punishes the use of the word “Christian”,
never has the mass media used it to describe criminals
the way “Muslim” or “Islam” has
been since the inception of Philippine media.
Rep. Yusop H. Jikiri of the First District of Sulu,
who came from a pre-dominantly Muslim community, supports
the bill by co-authoring it. “HB 100 is a defining
law which will finally end to the stereotyping of Muslims
as kidnappers, drug pushers, terrorists or other related
criminal acts,” said Rep. Jikiri.
“
If educated on the history of the Bangsamoro people,
I am certain that the media will appreciate us as a
group of cultured people who resist oppression by fighting
all forms of invasion for the good of the country,” Jikiri
further said.
HB 100 imposes “a fine ranging from One Thousand
Pesos (P1,000.00) to Ten Thousand Pesos (P10,000.00),
or both, at the discretion of the courts,” to “any
person found guilty of violating the particular prohibited
act.
“
The Editor-in-Chief, in the case of print media, and
the news editor in the case of broadcast media and
other forms of mass media, shall be imposed a fine
not lower than Fifty Thousand Pesos (P50,000.00),” the
bill further stated.
The Tausug, Maguindanao, Maranao and other ethno-linguistic
group communities welcome this conscious effort to
be just and fair to the adherents of Islam in the Philippines.
by Bernie Concepcion |
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| Tarantino and
the Barong |
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Though
a good number of Pinoys were thrilled to see Hollywood
director
Quentin Tarantino wearing the Filipino Barong Tagalog
during his announcement of Golden Globe nominees,
a number of fashion police were not. Some say that
Tarantino, who revealed the nominees for the drama
category last December 13 in Los Angeles, California,
did not do justice to the elegance of the Barong
Tagalog as he looked as though “he just got
out of bed.”
One web critic, Defamer, is one of the firsts to
comment on Tarantino’s not-so-red-carpetish
attire at the Golden Globes event.
“We’ve already received some comments expressing
shock at Quentin Tarantino’s less-than-tidy appearance
at this morning’s Golden Globes announcement
ceremony, a distressing combination of uncombed hair
and decidedly casual, girth-obscuring shirt that momentarily
distracted us from the names of the fine films he showed
up to celebrate.”
But to many Pinoys, keber! Di ba? Tarantino, after
all, is not well-known for his fashion sense but for
his quirky and fashionably cool films. Thus, seeing
him wear the Barong in a Hollywood event is still a-ok
for many proud Pinoys. |
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Irony of Ironies |
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Remember
the days when the peso dropped at tremendous
speed? Many companies complained how they lost
a lot of
money due to the peso depreciation. Now that
the dollar is fast dropping (because it doesn’t
necessarily mean that the peso is getting stronger),
several industries are also complaining that
the dollar drop is hurting their business.
As reported in the The Manila Bulletin:
“Seaweeds producers see job losses due to peso appreciation
The Seaweed Industry Association of the Philippines
(SIAP) has sought the assistance of Sen. Mar Roxas
to seek for government’s intervention on the
uncontrolled peso appreciation which hurts exporters
and overseas Filipino workers (OFW) the most.”
So what does this say about the Philippine economy? |
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