China claims PHL, bishops worship Idol, and #charicepempengcoproblems
Order of the week: Pray for Jessica Sanchez
MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Catholic Church is very active these days, making all kinds of news like asking Manny Pacquiao to be a Bible ambassador and saying that Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago is worthy of the fires of hell. This time, the clergy is urging Filipinos to support and pray for Jessica Sanchez, the half-Filipino finalist of this season’s American Idol. According to Father Garganta of the CBCP, “it is but right to vote for the 16-year-old singer,” now that the finale is near. The subtle influence of the Catholic Church is becoming more obvious and it won’t be long before they try to control our sex lives. Oh, wait. They already are.
Hashtag of the week: #charicepempengcosextape
Mo Twister is at it again, this time raising trouble by spreading #charicepempengcosextape on Twitter with DJs Tin Gamboa and Mia Ba-yuga for GoodTimes on Magic 89.9. There is no sex tape, but the three have been suspended from the station for two weeks as punishment. We’re not surprised that Mo could think of something like this, but we’re surprised at how he readily apologized to the singer, saying that the joke was dumb, cruel and immature. We like to think he has matured over the past months, but it’s also possible that he’s afraid of retaliation by the superhero team similar to The Avengers: David Foster & Friends.
Confusion of the week: Philippines part of China
The Scarsborough Shoal dispute has reached another high as a Chinese anchor declared on national television that it is an indisputable fact that the Philippine islands belong to China’s territory. The statement was a mistake and only referred to the Scarsborough Shoal but equally disturbing are the tweets from Chinese nationals supporting the claim. It’s one thing to claim an island as theirs, but we thought the Church controls us as a country. Apparently, it’s China. We should have been informed.
Top model of the week: Jinkee Pacquiao
Jinkee Pacquiao is channeling Tyra Banks in her new hotel, a modern joint located in husband Manny’s hometown of General Santos City. While opening a hotel may seem more Hilton, the hotel’s main décor consists of boxing pictures of Manny and — get this — Jinkee’s glamour shots. It’s clearly an homage to Tyra’s model abodes on America’s Next Top Model, but imagine the confusion when Tyra books the hotel for the competition and chances upon pictures of Jinkee smizing. For the sake of high fashion, we wonder what Andre Leon Talley would think.
Mood swing of the week: NAIA to remove terminal fee (again)
NAIA seems to be having mood swings as they decided to again remove the terminal fee for all domestic flights, starting August, followed by international flights. The move was done after the Manila International Airport Authority revealed that the Philippines is one of the two countries that manually collects terminal fees. By including the fee in plane tickets instead, it aims to minimize the hassle experienced by passengers in traveling. It’s all good but what we’d like to see is the inclusion of “hidden charges” in promo fares, which if you think about it, is kind of deceptive.
Political incorrectness of the week: P-Noy in security risk with burka-clad woman
A major daily (not ours!) is in hot water for publishing a photo of the President shaking hands with a burka-clad woman with the caption: “Security risk?” It didn’t receive the same attention as the controversial Bela Padilla and FHM cover but we feel that this is more politically incorrect and offensive. We’re sure it wasn’t done on purpose (like it always is), but remember: prejudice is ugly, whether exposed in a bikini or all covered up.
