The week that was is a showcase of Filipino creativity, exposing the means they use to become popular. Whether it's a major, major "almost there" moment on a prestigious beauty competition to a conversation over the phone with an unidentified caller that changed the mind of an already distrubed man and took the lives of foreign nationals, the Filipinos have indeed shown ingenious ways of becoming international talk of towns.
But what exactly does theses imply of the nation, of its people, of its leaders? What image is the Philippines really trying to project to the international community? Is there an image, in the first place, to project and protect?
Let's hear out what you have to say.
Indeed,the past week is a tremendous one,with all the events that has shown the negative and weak side of our society, allow me to enumerate some:
ReplyDelete-the inability of the authorities to ensure the safety of foreign tourists.
-inability to respond effectively in a hostage crisis with a minimal casualty to lives and properties.
-failure to communicate immediately to people in high office ,considering that the event is of international concern.
We again as a country is facing an extremely embarrassing situation,this is not the first time that some Filipinos captured foreigners in order for them to be noticed,who can forget the "Sipadan hostage crisis" involving Abu Sayyaf and a number of foreign tourist from Sipadan,Malaysia and many more other situations of the same kind .
On a lighter side ,just few hours after the nightmare , Ma. Venus Raj,22,Philippine candidate to the Ms. Universe 2010 boosted our weak and battered morale as she made it to the finals, she is definitely a "major major" saving grace after all that happened ,she has gone so far,had she not defended her title/crown,we would not have a competitive candidate in such a prestigious competition .
Major major blunders.
ReplyDeleteThat's what the Philippines have managed to pull out off the hat last week. This was what the whole week repeatedly reminded us of: the screw ups of our country.
Come Monday morning, August 23, 2010, the hostage crisis of Hong Kong tourists in the so called melting pot of Manila: Rizal Park, Quirino Grandstand took place. It is even very ironic to say that a few miles away from the scene of the crime is the largest establishment of the Manila Police District (MPD) and yet they have let the events escalate to a detrimental condition because they did not want to be the judge, jury and executioner of their own kabaro; the very thing they did only at a later hour.
I even watched in complete dismay the blow-by-blow coverage of the supposedly fourth estate PRESS as they televised tips for the late and already dismissed Captain Rolando Mendoza during dinner time.
I am not a person to point a finger or a few just like what the head of state has been doing this past week.
We did not pull the trigger on the eight Hong Kong tourists who only thought it better to see the Philippines’ colorful culture and sights instead of Disneyland.
We were not the money-hungry commercialized journalists who thought it great to air their coverage in real time.
We were not the by-standers who just stood there and did not notice the hump of the M-16 strangely on Mendoza’s back.
We were not the “usiseros and usiseras” who went and disturbed the crime scene just so they can have yabang stories for their sietehan.
We simply weren’t there.
But I will not disown my responsibility for my own actions and blame it on other people.
I will not say that I have never committed any major major mistake in my life. I have. Far too many to count actually.
However, I will not be like the supposedly 4th runner up winner-? Venus Raj of the Miss Universe Pageant 2010 whose conceited perception of the crisis was something Filipinos should be sad about and that when she got back from the pageant said in one of her interviews, “ciempre from sa nangyari kahapon sa hostage crisis, ngayon sa pagkapanalo ko Filipinos can rejoice again, ciempre proud na sila to be Filipinos ulit.” Another major major blunder.
As if to add to her tactless blunders on TV news she even offered that she can serve as the delegate to urge peace in Hong Kong. With that kind of stupidity? I don’t think so. I mean no wonder the Ayala Family(the organizers of the local beauty pageant) tried removing her crown earlier on with these non-person centered comments. Her ultimate question wasn’t even difficult to answer, it was but presence of mind and humility just like what the crisis called upon all involved to have.
After all, half of life is f***ing up while the other half is dealing with it.
I may not have been there. Sh*t happens and all we could do about these inter-woven socio-political news from last week to present is remember and learn from every splattered mud to our image as a nation and as individuals.
I was not in any of those “popular” events but my time will come. And soon it will be.
I could be one of the reporters or someone important and I will take responsibility of my faults no matter how small they are in such crisis. Come to think of it, I will take responsibility of every failure I will do. Always have and always will.
These are my mistakes to correct.
My faults to be realized upon and remember not to REPEAT them “because I am very confident with my family and the love that they are giving to me so thank you so much that I am here. Thank you so so much!” >:D
From Brawn to Beauty….
ReplyDeleteWe definitely have nothing to be proud of, the week that was in my opinion featured the funniest and stupidest antics that could have easily beat a late night HBO double feature..
-Day 1 showcased LIVE on television on ALL networks for the WHOLE world to see how Tactically Stupid and Strategically Incapable our police force faired against ONE Rolando Mendoza who realized his dismissal from the police force without benefits ever could be the proper drive to can himself inside a tourist bus filled with tourist’s from a country that once thought that LEAD could be infused in toys for toddlers, and Carton Boxes a “Healthy” substitute for a yummy asado siopao. I for one laughed and barfed as I bare witness how the once branded Manilas FINEST stacked like little children around an ice cream truck waiting for treats, and then I thought, are these MEN “Petrified” over one demented man? Now I ask “WHERE DO WE GET OUR TROOPS?!” because last I checked “TO SERVE AND PROTECT” is incorporated in their mission statement or vision or whatever they might call it. I even shook my head in disgust when one particular officer threw in a smoke bomb and got in without even thinking that it could affect him in the process, “HEY WHERED YOU TRAIN? AT A 15 PER HOUR COMPUTER SHOP?” real life aint counterstrike sir just so you know. On a rather “blessing in disguise” positive side of the story, the act one Rolando Mendoza did was divulge the TRUE nature of our corrupt, diseased system to the whole world to see, he just lifted the lid and went on a garage sale. I’m not claiming that he should be patronized, I believe that he should be hanged, tortured, skinned alive even, but if we think about it, he really did show us that we live in a corrupt system, where the budget meant for the police force left the troops with what? A sledgehammer? Well remind me to run when the rebels, who have equipped themselves with high caliber machineguns parade down from the mountains and unleash a world of chaos and havoc around the city. Like it or not the east may be in mourning but the west is definitely laughing at us. They could help our police force by making a show entitled “The Worlds Stupidest Police Rescue” I can already hear the deep narrative voice tingling in my head, “and one guy just threw a smoke bomb, BUT WAIT it bounced back” and he finishes with “after a grueling 12 hour drama, the police force and the SWAT came out with 8 dead bodies and a brand that could affect a country’s image forever”
-Day2 the torment continues to linger when this Ma. Venus Raj,clearly a child who failed to answer a simple question and showed the typical “ok lang yan 4th pa din ako” attitude that we Filipino’s use to mend are egotistical wounds. The question “what is one big mistake that you made in your life? And what did you do to make it right?” or something which IN MY OPINION she disgustingly failed to answer, and 4th place aint a winner GIRL!! It’s just a position made so that beauty queens won’t feel bad about themselves… THERE IS A REASON WHY THE 1ST RUNNER UP gets the biggest crown, and grand prize, I know faces will frown and heads will shake, I am spitting on the 4th placer. So let’s not go and defend her with our “ok lang yan” or “at least” syndrome, you lost b*tch you lost juist because you can’t answer the freakin question LIVE with it. And if things could even get worse she even told the media when she got down the plane? “kahapon sad sila about the hostage crisis ngayon proud na sila dahil nanalo ako” something like that speech. THINK!!!! Is she for real?! I’m sorry for raining in on your parade missy, but I am entitled to say that I aint proud of your 4TH place crown. And kudos to the next Ms. International contestant, I hear that the host of the pageant is land of Lead and Melamine. Lots of luck! :3
I could say, it was one horrendous week. May it be the meaningless "battle" of the MPD to Mendoza, or Venus Raj's almost glorious moment, I had this feeling what happened that week was utterly senseless. Days passed and we're still the talk of the town. Well, the world.
ReplyDeleteYes, I understand what human rights are. But after the 11-hour hostage-taking drama, I was asking myself and the people who I talk to, "Shouldn't it be better not to negotiate with hostage-takers at all, and just have this shoot to kill order?" Those people take lives without having second thought. There is no need in prolonging their lives. I know I'm being merciless. But you can't show pity to those kind of people, now can you?
On the other hand, there goes Venus Raj. Don't get me wrong, I like her personality. I like her positive outlook in life, and the way she laughs. But it was not what she needed in the pageant. I understand it must have been pretty nerve-wracking to be aware of your posture all the time and waving the "wave". Still, she should have given a better answer. Better than her now renowned 'major, major'. Funny how it is interpreted as 'bonggang bongga'. All I'm saying is that she could have done better. Right.
At the end of the day, this will be another nightmare that not even a hot milk in the morning can efface.
Yes it's true.Popularity wise were on top. In a span of one week we witnessed two news that put our country in the middle of intrigues. We, Filipinos, were in between of two battling emotions. We feels sorry for the victims of the hostage crisis and in the other hand feels proud and happy for the major major winning of Venus Raj as the 4th runner-up of Ms. Universe pageant that somehow fades away the first issue. Well, in fact, these two issues got the highest rate of topic trends in some social networking sites.. -- A bad news and a good news.
ReplyDeleteAnd as a media practitioner, I just want to share my perspective about the blaming issue of the government to the detailed coverage of media about the hostage crisis. The role and responsibility of the media is to show/inform people what's happening in the country. It is not fair to blame them on the tragic result of the hostage drama. They're just doing their job, maybe in some ways they go beyond the limitations. And in relation with this, I heard that the government will impose a rule about "news black-out" or "media black-out in covering sensitive issues.
this past few weeks, Philippines became the "talk-of-the-town" because of the beauty pageant happened last August 24, 2010 and the hostage bus drama last August 23, 2010.
ReplyDeleteregarding the hostage drama, the hong kong citizens felt the anger towards the whole philippines which is not fair because rolando mendoza does not represent every filipino, not all of us can be compared to him. a mistake of a single man is not a mistake of the whole country. but i think, it is not just rolando mendoza and his family, should be the only one who will shoulder all the humiliation they get, because the government did not do their work quickly, if they responded immediately and gave the hostage-taker what he wants, which is the media and his commandments that are not that heavy, i think the whole thing will not lead to that tragic incident.
about the beauty pageant, i think we should be proud of Venus Raj because she really did well on the pageant, imagine, after 11 years, a filipino made it to the top 5. and she made this trending words called "major, major" that when translated, means "bonggang bongga". this will bring honor to the country and will somehow forget the bad issues that happen to our nation.
i could say that we should be thankful for the good things that happened to our country and pray for the bad things because there are incidents that really happened beyond our knowledge.
We, Filipinos are trying hard to build a strong image of our country. Yes indeed we are successful, We have a lots of personalities who boost-up the glory of our nation and last August 23 of this year, our major major delegate in Ms. Universe Venus Raj got the 4th place among 83 competing countries but all the glory and image of our country are Reaped off and pulled down because of the Hostage taking at Quirino Grandstand on the same date where 25 tourists from Hong Kong are involved. The image of our country is really affected by this big news that the relationship of Philippines between China has now in danger.
ReplyDeleteIn relation, this month over 5 Filipinos may be executed in China over drug-related offenses without reprieved. Most of the people said that this issue is the implication of the hostage taking last August 23 of this year. There are 27 more pending cases in China and because of the bloody incident in manila, the decision may be affected
At a Senate hearing, Esteban Conejos (DFA undersecretary for migrant workers) said that he is sure the appeal of five Filipinos will not be affected by the hostage-taking
“I'm sure that both countries will look at cases separately and will decide on the basis of the good relations that we have with China,"
But still we can not deny that it might happen. Words are easy to say but hard to prove
We can not hide the Truth that our countries image was pulled down and one thing proves that one mistake can reap all glory you have.
Last August 23, 2010, the Philippines again made another history, the good one and the bad one, that made us popular again worldwide. Let me first discuss the bad one, the historical place where the inauguration of President Benigno Simeon Aquino III happened in Quirino Grandstand unfortunately this was the place where the bloody hostage taking happened wherein eight Chinese Hong Kong tourist died and the hostage taker himself former inspector Rolando Mendoza. Monday morning Rolando Mendoza hijacked a tour bus where 25 tourists from Hong Kong just to get his job back, Mendoza armed with a handgun and M16 rifle. Manila Police District tried to rescue the hostages after six of the hostages were freed, they also tried to shoot Mendoza but they didn’t do it maybe because of their camaraderie. In any angle all of us made a mistake even media, because media covered live the hostage taking without knowing that the bus carrying a television and radio and unfortunately Mendoza witnessed the arrest of his brother, he made grew to the height of anger and he shoot his two hostages after witnessed the arrest of his brother and son by the police. Mendoza also wanted that media will be the middle men. At around 7pm the SWAT team responded and tried to helped the MPD to rescued the hostages, they tried to broke the windows of the bus with sledgehammers to enter the bus, the MPD didn’t knew the emergency door of the bus. They throw four tear gas canisters to enter the bus, they used tear gas and tried to enter the bus without the gas mask. The MPD proved to us and worldwide the wrong moves and lack of materials they needed to rescue the hostages. After this nightmare, our country will suffer not now but maybe in the in the near future. The most affected by this bloody hostage taking is our tourism, after the Hong Kong government issued a top-level black alert travel for the Philippines. The Philippines authorities promised a thorough investigation. After this hostage taking tourists from other country will be scared to enter in our realm because of what happened. We feel sorry for Hong Kong, and it doesn’t mean that one represent the whole. Maybe Mendoza can do it but not all Filipinos like him.
ReplyDeleteA good one Maria Venus Raj ranked 4th place in the prestigious pageant. We must be proud to be Filipino because Ma. Venus Raj made it to be on the fourth place, but if we can imagine that was a competition and search for the Ms. Universe so it means only one will be winner. But importantly among 83 countries competing the said pageant, Ma. Venus Raj made it to the fourth place, because she stand out among the other contestant, because of her beauty, poise, and strong personality. Ms. Raj was the favourite of the crowd, and made her popular because of her answer in the question and answer portion of the pageant, we considered the question very personal and it takes days to answer the question, but Ms. Raj was flattered during the pageant because she was on the top 5, answering this question made her true Filipino for her ‘major major’ answer. Almost a decade Philippines made it through the help of Ms. Raj, of course not the Ms. Universe but fourth place. Ms. Raj proved worldwide that we can make it and stand out among 83 countries. The true bicolana made it to the top of course not worldwide but in our country. Before the pageant, she had a problem because of her nationality and she must be proud because she fought for it and the title belongs to her. Also Ms. Raj helped our country because of the hostage taking, after she placed fourth placer in the pageant, she was the talk of town, and the issue about the hostage taking shaded by Ms. Raj. Imagine if the Philippines was crowned as Ms. Universe, we are ‘major major’ issue worldwide and talk of town
Hostage taking in Quirino has been the greatest fall of our country among others, but in a larger sense this tragedy or this whole day of fear and anger shows the real people around us, who should we trust or who should not. Actually Mendoza want something that is not really negotiable, but if we look on the other side this phenomena test skills and capability of our great trusted men. At in the end we prove nothing but fame and shame among other country and sadly it’s a fall of all from a fall one.
ReplyDeleteMaria Venus Raj, the name of our 4th runner up Miss Universe. As day goes by, we hear many negative comments about her, but if we can see she is the outstanding among other contestant. Her beauty stand for last in the pageant. Regarding her major major answer in the question, it’s normal for us Filipinos to express our feelings the way we wanted to. As Pinoy I can say it’s not easy to get on the top 5 among 83 countries so let’s just see Ma. Venus Raj in a brighter side and wish that next time we will be the crowned country.
Definitely, the past week had this two trending news, the 12-hour bloodbath hostage in Quirino Grandstand and Venus Raj's "major major". Well, I know that each of us is so aware of these. I just don't want to be redundant in stating what has happened but rather share my opinion, views and reactions.
ReplyDeleteYeah, both Mendoza and Raj made a mistake. Instead of laughing and saying negative feedbacks and blaming even the media, or whoever was present in the said hostage-taking and pageant, why don't we just urgently pray and seek assistance from Almighty God that the hostage case will be solved immediately and given justice so that the gap between the Philippines and Hongkong will no longer be far from what we are expecting? We shall look into all angles of the case. Let us put an end to all these grim scenarios especially so when it puts our image in a purely negative light for government failure to protect the lives of our citizens as well as other foreign nationals who happen to be our guests. Let us hope that the results of the investigations will square with the facts.
Why don't we be happy and proud of Venus Raj despite her "major major" flaw during the question and answer portion in the pageant? She then gave pride to our country because of that runner up. Although, not a winner for me or even a runner-up, come to think that among those 83 women, she made it to the top 5. That was indeed awesome because for me, Venus is not that pretty though.
We have one heart. We all share pain and sorrow. This time we shall cast away the blame on whoever and whichever is to be blamed. We have to help one another.Anyone who holds the power and authority should be psychologically and emotionally stable because there will be no stability in the society if the people in power are unstable themselves.
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ReplyDeleteWe, filipinos, now-a-days are very unbecoming citizens to our own country. We deny our nationality and We try to be like others thinking that we might become famous too. But in the first place we have our own dinstinct and unique quality that will make us more popular among others in terms of inner beauty. And beyond are imperfections we still stand up for the greatness of the Philippines.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened in the past weeks are indeed a very terrifyng and at the same time glorious experiences for us, mixed emotions as others said. The hostage drama gives not only foreign national but also us, filipinos, a very traumatic experience. I'm not against our government neither on the local police but for me it is very unprofessional in their part. Everthing seems unorganized and unplanned. But after all we could not blame each other because it is still nobody's will. It is just so happen that those people are on that place to do their own roles. For the foregn nationals who blamed, blames and keep on blaming filipinos as a whole, I know that there will come a time that they will understand that no one wants to happen that very tragic event. it is fair enough to the filipinos to be respected. Same as what had happened to Ms. Venus Raj after joining and winning on the Ms. Universe event. Filipinos should be proud and respect her for giving as a very victorious competition after all of the sadness we felt on the hostage drama. We shold not ask for more because having Ms. Venus Raj to represent the Philippines in an international beauty pageant is a blessing enough to give our country a very prestigious standing.
These experiences, bad or good, happened for a certain reason and whatever that reason is, it is still our responsibility to learn from it and be more aware on whats happening around us especially if a huge numer of people are affected. History just repeat itself it is just happening over and over again but I still believe that the time will come where we will change everything without asking anything .We might fall as hard as we could, others can make us down and what so ever but I know that people in the Philippines have a pure and clean heart. We will not let us these things to happen and we will keep on moving forward for the benefit of all. After all i can still proudly say that I am a Filipino.
Our country as the talk of towns about the hostage drama happened in Quirino Grandstand and the major-major winning of our candidate in the pageant brought filipinos out their two emotions, to be happy, and to be sad.
ReplyDeleteWe, filipinos used to extend our sympathies with the victims of the bloodshed drama, what can we do now is to lift it over to our god because i believe that theres a reason behind everyday drama. Lets just pray for those victims, and pray for the guidance of almighty god to all of us.
The winning of our candidate who named Ma. Venus Raj gave as a break out of the first issue. Maybe its just a manifestation of god to us to don't lose hope, never break down, never give up. Imagine, after 11 years of joining the Miss Universe pageant, we again made it to the top. Lets just all live our life according to gods will. And pray for the peace.
peace to all of us.
Looks like the credibility of the Philippines for responsible and good governance has been tainted more with the recent most unfortunate event that involved the loss of several Chinese nationals’ lives last August 23.
ReplyDeleteThough much has been said that this hostage taking is indeed a very isolated case, it does not omit the fact that the government was unable to efficiently manage the crisis towards a better turnout. It should be know, that the government should display the highest display of professionalism and competence but this is not the case for the Philippine government. Given this, recently elected Benigno Aquino administration is put to the test.
Can I consider a good thing that Maria Venus Raj got the 4th place in the prestigious contest? I don’t think so, because it is not good to conceal the mistakes we had on the hostage crisis. In addition, the Philippines should look forward in fixing and improving its system.
Overall, surely there will be implication on the foreign countries since a lot of Philippine nationals work abroad.
“A major, major Philippines..”
ReplyDeleteA very controversial Philippines, that's what we have right now because of the hostage fiasco happened in the Quirino Grandstand wherein Senior Inspector Mendoza killed by the snipers when he started to shot his victims. Eight Chinese nationals died, but the major, major question is, who had killed them? Is it Mendoza or the snipers? There’s also a conclusion that the Assault Team, who hit the window with a hammer, killed one of the victims. And what happened at the end of this hostage fiasco is a mess of controversy and finger pointing. We don’t know whom to blame. Many personalities are involved in this case, and they are pointing other persons, too. People blaming the Manila Police District, but for me, they have done their best to save the hostages. Even if they what they have done seemed not enough, they still gave their lives to save the hostages of Mendoza. We shouldn’t condemn them.
With Ms. Universe-4th Runner Up Venus Raj, I think she did great. But she was pressured, which sucked. Her “major, major” answer really made a big controversy and intrigues. But we cannot blame her, because even the former president of the United States, George W. Bush, can’t answer the question.
Does “jejemon” affects the mind of Raj when she is answering the question?
The term “major, major” continues but the question among netizens is, will it have the same fate as “jejemon”, which became the country’s word of the year. Does the “major, major” could replace the “jejemon”?
Despite the mistake of Raj, being number five at a time when the Philippines is under fire because of the hostage-taking incident is already a huge feat.
People hate Filipinos for the hostage fiasco last week, right? Then, should I hate Chinese people for the Lead Poisoning and Melamine Contamination wherein not eight, but hundreds, maybe thousands have suffered. Is it right to blame a whole nation for a mistake of one man? If you do, then you are the most certainly “dense”. No arguments, just an opinion.
What happened to the Philippines is a chance for major growth for the Filipino people if that's truly what they want. The only way a mistake can be justified is, if there is a learning curve to it. It really showed how much we need to improve in our systems. It was very sad that lives were lost. This could have been a bloodless event. I’m very sad as with any life that is lost because of people's stupidity.
It's an annoying news to my ears for almost 2 weeks. Untrained police force and unplanned situation made it worst. Is it not clear that the policemen still did their job?
ReplyDeleteAugust 23, 2010, I wasn't able to watched the whole story of hostage drama. I just heard the news at the bus on my way home. I also feel sad for what happened. Its a shameful thing for us. And they should not blame us for what happened. It is not the mistake of our country.
August 24,2010, Maria Venus Raj became the fourth runner up in Miss Universe. That said to be the good news after the hostage drama. Yes it is, and she made us proud, but is it enough to cover what happened the day before the beauty pageant? A major title over a major tragedy.
We are pulled down because of what happened. But life still goes on. We should not be stuck for this. We still have a lot of problem to solve and image to clean. Anyway, everything is done. We could not do anything about it. We just need to be open minded and learned form the mistake happened. Everything happens for a reason.
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ReplyDeleteCONSISTENTLY INCONSISTENT. -yah, that is the best description we could give to our country as of now.
ReplyDeletePhilippines experienced a remarkably history. Pres. Noynoy Aquino seems to have tougher challenges to deal with. And the Nation seems to have tougher issues coming.
Enough of summarizing what had happened last August 23, 2010. We ALL KNOW LITTLE AND EACH FACTS about it. THE WHOLE WORLD KNOWS ABOUT IT.
Honestly, I was really devastated. Not because I have friends or families who were victims in the said hostage crisis but because of the fear and shame. Fear for our country. Fear that Philippines might not gain it's enough trust to the whole world. Fear of having an injustice system. Fear for the government that they might not be able to accomplish the case justifiably.
Fear that our neighboring countries would be scared to visit us and even be scared to each one of us.
Shame not because of being a Filipino - who just experienced a holocaust-like scenario. I am shameful because most of my countrymen, believes that Philippines would not surpass these dramas.
They are blaming everyone. The policemen. the suspect. Even our President, they blame him.
If you were in their position, you will do the same thing. You will act the same thing. Yes. Maybe policemen lacks, but the blame is not all from them.
I really admired the guy who wrote for the Nation. Apologizing that he could have helped his country men. If we think just like him, I believe Philippines is at its peace.
I am afraid that the government would come up to a justifiably resolution regarding the incident. With the justice system we have, it's quite impossible.
I am honestly thankful to, MS. MARIA VENUS RAJ. She did a great job! after a tragic happened the night before her prestigious moment. She was able to give light and was able to bring back the strength, courage and confidence of every Filipino people around the world.
After the rain, here comes the rainbow. She was able to prove to the world that despite of the Filipinos' struggle we could always rise and rise again.
I AM INDEED, PROUD TO BE A FILIPINO. WITH ALL THE COURAGE AND CONFIDENCE THAT WE HAVE, WE CAN PROVE TO THE WORLD THAT FILIPINOS-STRONG AT HEART.
GOD BLESS THE PHILIPPINES. :)
What a “major major” image the Philippines is waving to the whole world!
ReplyDeleteAfter Pnoy was once watched taking his aught in Manila grandstand, now in the same place in August 23 this year, the whole world frighteningly followed over their television and internet the hostage drama from the beginning till the end. This involved senior supt. Rolando Mendoza with his foreign hostages from Hongkong and China.
This hostage crisis shook the administration’s preparedness in solving the drama fast as they could. Filipinos and the international community witnessed the weakness of the Manila Police District in handling the hostage crisis.
After hours of negotiation and “barilan” with the hostage taker and the policemen, a bloody ending for the eight victims which were out from the bus dead already, hostage taker Mendoza dead, other survivors who got traumatized.
Let’s face it, The Philippines got it to the top of the most talk about and most followed incident in the world because of this hostage crisis Some discriminate the Filipinos in general “Filipinos are monkeys”, others belittle the Philippines as a country.
I think these statements are not helpful; instead these might just instigate bigger problems on the Philippines and Hong Kong’s relationships. The hostage taker doesn’t represent the whole country. This is an incident that could happen in any country even in Hong Kong.
The image of the Philippines is somehow affected by this and the country could only mend this through its thorough investigation and provide a believable report to show the international community that the country is really taking this seriously and is one of them looking justice for the victims of the horrible hostage crisis.
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ReplyDeleteI was not impressed AT ALL by these.
ReplyDeleteI must admit though, the hostage-taking at the Quirino Grandstand had me at the edge of my seat. I was so amused by the SWAT team making total fools of themselves out there. I mean seriously. *rolls eyes* talk about no PROPER training. I swear, I will NEVER look at policemen the same way again. Not that I had high regards for them in the first place.
I always believed that being a policeman, or a soldier in the army doesn't mean that you have NO FEAR, heck, everyone is afraid of something, but that is EXACTLY what a soldier must have; he has to have fear so he can have the COURAGE. The courage to help a child or an elderly about to cross the street, or to shoot an enemy right in his face if need be. To understand fear is different from cowering in it. And that was exactly what the SWAT team showed that night, they COWERED in fear, instead of facing it head-on. It made me realize that these MEN (I kinda regret calling them that) were not willing to die in the stead of those tourists inside that bus. They are SELFISH. Which completely contradicts with their line of duty, for goodness' sake. They are supposed to consider the lives of those in danger before their own, I believe that's how it goes when you're a soldier. Want me to be completely honest? they DISGUSTED me. then again, I'm just a commoner who obviously doesn't know what she's talking about.
And DON'T even get me started on Venus Raj's "major major" speech. I'm proud of her, though.
And on the brighter side, its a "major major" success for Filipinos that Ms. Maria Venus Rah got the fourth place in the prestigious Ms. Universe held in las Vegas, USA just a day after the hostage crisis in Manila. This success somehow builds again the morale of the people in the country. ager so many years of not being even in the top 15, 10 and on top five, it's overwhelming to fee that she finally made it.
ReplyDeleteagain, people have something to say about her, messing up in the question and answer portion of the beauty pageant. "major major" comments and opinions were stated probably suggested to Venus in her "major major" English problem.
but come to think of it, that yes, the BB. Pilipinas has been sending "english expert candidates" but unfortunate on their part, they could not even make it to top 15.
how can you be so proud of yourself if you can't use your expertise in the pageant? its useless right?
so, regardless of the fact that she messed up her answer, and could win the crown, its fine with me. she still makes the country proud in the international community.
So before you comment on her, ask yourself first, what have you done for the country? If nothing, then it’s good for you to shut your mouth and just be happy for her!! Well, don’t say you’ve got the freedom of speech or whatsoever, to say whatever you like to someone when you know actually you’ve got no right to speak up against that someone.
Kudos to you Venus Raj! Ganda mo teh
The Philippines is definitely on the spotlight.
ReplyDeleteLast August 23 and 24 the Philippines made a big noise, not only on its local territory but internationally! As 1 "major major" unexpected event and another "major major" victory was happened.
It is very disappointing to hear the first one but a little bit proud on the second. The first incident will definitely make a bad impression towards the Philippines. As a result the Philippine tourism lost it's goal of making the Philippines the number one tourist spot in the world. To think that the victims of the said hostage taking are foreigners. This incident will surely affect the tourism here in our country and as stated that the trauma of the foreigners regarding this issue will last for about ten months. In this issue I can say that the Philippines has nothing to project. We tend to walk bow-headed and ashamed as a result of it. All the Filipinos in the country and even abroad are involved as they (the foreign country) involved us. It is said that the mistake of only one person is not a mistake of the whole nation. But as it happen we are not capable of escaping it instead facing it.
On a lighter side Maria Venus Raj, make us somehow proud of what she got on the prestigious Miss universe 2010 as she won as the "major major" fourth runner up of the pageant. Imagine out of I think 83 countries she's beauty emerge. Although it is kind a disappointing to hear her answer on the Q&A portion of the pageant we must understand her.. She's almost at the top but its her answer that makes her on the last spot. Regarding this issue former beauty queen Gloria Diaz suggest that the Philippines must hire a translator, because she thought that Raj thinks in tagalog and answers in english at that time. I get her point, but I think it is very obvious that Raj got nervous that time. Although somehow hiring a translator is quite good. Whoever the next woman to fight for the Miss Universe pageant will surely be comfortable with her answer and by the help of the translator will probably deliver and express her answer on the judges more confidently and without being nervous. Now, Miss Gloria Diaz is unwelcome (persona non-grata) in Cebu because of her "discriminating" statement towards Cebuano according to the governor of Cebu and some of its representative. It is quite funny to hear this news,Ms. Gloria Diaz has already explain in public and I think the Cebuano misinterpret what she said.
Well, in this issue (winning of Ms. Venus Raj as the Miss Universe fourth runner up) I think we must be PROUD, it is not that bad to be the fourth runner up, the Filipino has something to project by this issue and the Philippines proved that the Filipino are GOOD LOOKING and INTELLIGENT only if we do not feel nervous. Yeah! that's right. :)
"what is one big mistake you've done in your life and what did you do to make it right?--this was the question that was asked to our very own Miss Philippines Ma. Venus Raj during the Miss Universe 2010.
ReplyDeleteWeek ago, the Philippines had been in a perilous situation. What had happened was really a "major,major" problem for every Filipinos. We are in the most-talked issues all over the world. Who committed the mistake? Is it the authority? the media? the hostage-taker? Everyone kept on blaming others. And that what makes a "major,major" problem. Maybe if we will stop blaming each other, we can make the problem easier to be solve. We can do something to make it right. After all, the damage has been done. Many lives have been taken, relationships are already broken, the good image had been destroyed. We cannot do nothing anymore. It all happened with just a snap. But it's not the end of everything. We have to move forward, let go.. the best is yet to come for the Philippines.
Last week is indeed a very terrible yet inspiring and tremendous week. The issues made the Philippines at the top of the breaking news and the “talk-of-the-town” all over the world. That made us popular again. We felt scared and a little bit disappointed for what had happened to the hostage-drama and happy for the “major major” winning of Ms. Maria Venus Raj in the said pageant, mixed emotions as others said. This news (the winning of Ms. Raj), however, lower the tension of what had happened in our country.
ReplyDeleteLet’s first discuss the 12-hour hostage drama that happened last August 23 in Quirino Grandstand. What had happened in this crisis is very terrible, a little bit scary, and super dramatic; wherein P/Insp. Rolando Mendoza hostage Hongkong Nationals who just visit our country and some Filipinos who accompanied them (the foreigners). He first released one-by-one all aged and young tourist in exchange of his request. Why did he hostage this poor Hongkong Nationals? Because of one simple reason, he just wanted to be back in service. He’s so desperate that he didn’t think what shit might happen in this hostage-taking. I’m not blaming him or anyone. All people involved in this tragic incident tried their very best to solve this crisis and save the lives of the victims. But, unfortunately, the worst ending happen. The victims died. We all know that nobody wants it. Maybe it is destined to happen though we didn’t expect it. What we need to do now is to look forward and move on with our lives. I know it’s hard but this is the only thing that we can do. Let’s just accept that this tragic incident may, hoping not, change the lives and interaction of the 3 countries. Maybe not forever, but FOR NOW….
The next issue is the “major major” winning of Ms. Maria Venus Raj in the Ms. Universe Pageant. She did her very best. Accepted that she’s not as beautiful as like the other contestants, but she projected herself with grace and full of confidence. Though she didn’t get the crown, we should be grateful because she did it to the top 5. She brought hope and pleasure to our country. What an amazing and overwhelming experience. Maybe the reason why she did it is because of the “problems” that she had encountered. The Dethronement and the reinstatement of the crown is the big issue that came to her life. Though she didn’t answer very well, at least she gave pride to our country. Her “major major” winning covers up all the tension that we feel right now.
All I can say is, whatever happens, let’ just face the problems and controversies with bravery, confidence, and grace. Let’s stand up again and move forward to fix our lives.
PEACE. LOVE. HAPPINESS.
“Major major” controversy in two different ways.
ReplyDeleteThis August 2010 two controversial issues really happened to our country in negative and positive way. First is the very controversial issue on the hostage drama happened in Quirino Grandstand that I can say caused problems for our county, especially on the employment of domestic helpers coming from our country. Department of Labor and Employment stated that the employment rate of Filipino domestic helpers is not that affected by the hostage-taking incident, that we still have high demand for domestic helpers abroad, but as I've heard from the news lately one Filipina domestic helper was terminated by her employer in Hong Kong because of anger caused by the hostage-taking happened to the Hong Kong tourists. Firing that Filipina domestic helper is just a proof that employment of DH's is really affected. But they should not blame everyone for the fault of just one person. They should not blame the whole Philippines because of that incident. They should set aside those innocent people with the wrong deed of Mr. Mendoza.
But of course we can't blame them for their reaction because they also want to sympathize with what happened to their co- Hong Kong people and maybe they already have a “phobia” wit what happened, but they should also put in mind that even though, we don't want the things that have been done, that they should not find fault with everyone of us because even if we are from the same country we don't know what is running in the mind of our co- Filipinos. We are person with different minds and personalities.
They should not put avenge to our domestic helpers because all they want is to work for the sake of their own families.
Second is the winning of our dear Venus Raj as the fourth placer in the Ms. Universe beauty pageant that at least covered the negative one.
Think Positive
ReplyDeleteAfter a long decade of Miss Universe Pageant now we made it again to the top five but it’s happier and glorious if we got the title because as they said and as rumors in the internet Maria Venus Raj will be the next Miss Universe for this year 2010. As I watched the pageant in the television Venus did it well in the opening until to the long gown category comes and I though she will win but when the question and answer portion came I’m dismayed to her answer although her answer is ok yet it’s hanging or “BITIN” in tagalong. I guess that question is real meant for her and the judges are just waiting to answer the question correctly or I can say the judges want her to answer her dethronement of the crown as a representative for the miss universe pageant but she did not answer that one. I feel sorry for her yet I admire her personality of being a positive thinker after of what happened to the pageant and also to her answer she still thinks of the brighter side of it. I agree to what she said that we/ she can never go back to the past or that time when she is being asked just to change her answer to the question. In short past is past, don’t go back to the past, past is just a lesson, just look back but never bring it back. Think of the brighter or the positive side of it and take it as one of your most unforgettable experience and go on with your life because after that many opportunities is waiting. Yes, we admit that it’s very nerve- wracking in her case but when Anne Curtis asked by the same question I can say that Anne answer it brilliantly that the answer of Venus. It’s really a “major major” disappointment but as Venus said we must take it and accept it because it’s happened already. Be thankful of what she has or being a 4th placer that not to have any place in the miss universe and I know and we know she did her best but then again her best wasn’t good enough.
Another breaking history
ReplyDeletePhilippines is one of the most well known country when it comes to tourist attraction and having a beautiful yet very historic tourist spot and that’s why many foreign tourist loves to visit our country. But after what happened in one of the most historical places here in our country which is the Manila: Rizal Park, Quirino Grandstand, well another history will be written in the same place from now on because of the hostage drama happened that last for 12 hours. Can you imagine that kind of breaking history? For god sake! That history will be the most embarrassing and unforgettable one. Philippines is being known as one of the most corrupt country and I/we don’t want another negative brand name for our county as one of the most dangerous or home/ capital of hostage taking. Now China announced that our country is dangerous place and advised to their citizen not to come in our country because of what happened. Some of the foreign are being scared now to come and visit our country because I guess the trauma or the impact of the hostage drama happened and because of that our tourism and some events is being affected like the Ramon Magsaysay Awarding. This event is well known because Ramon Magsaysay give awards to those simple people yet very inspiring and help others and the society, some Chinese is given an awards but the two of them didn’t come to the said event to received their award. We can’t blame if their scared to come here because of what happened in the hostage drama because as we all know or I can say the whole wide world know that the Hong Kong foreign is being hostage by dismissed Captain Rolando Mendoza. But as I heard in the news the said tow Chinese has a valid reason why they did not come to the awarding and one of them said that he is sick that’s why he can’t come. The officer who’s being interviewed by the reporter said that it’s okay because very time there’s an awarding, not all the participants were able to come. She also clarify that the past hostage taking drama is not the real reason why the two participants came here in our country. The next time if there will be a hostage taking happened again I hope that our police were prepared to do their job correctly and no one will be killed and also the president will give attention to this kind of situation and not just ignore this because as a leader of this country is the one whose responsible for it and his command is more powerful, the name or the glory of this country is in his own hands. Now we’re facing a big controversy because of the way our president act and handle the situation. As I seen in the news, I can say that the Manila Police District (MPD) make a “major major” mistake and I guess they’re the one whose responsible for the 8 Hong Kong tourist being killed and not by Mendoza because if they handle the situation correctly no one will be killed. But we can’t say what the real stories behind the hostage drama happened, the truth will just be only revealed after the investigation process. But I will stick on my wild guess that the MPD Killed the 8 Hong Kong tourist because their shooting even though they can’t see if their shooting Mendoza or the hostages and also because of the way they acted and handle the hostage drama.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
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ReplyDeleteBreathless incident,
ReplyDelete,
breathtaking pageant
A horrible and a major, major week disturbed me. Days passed and people are still talking about it. This event and incident will mark in our history. I could say, we should be proud of our PNP and S.W.A.T team showed great courage but they were not properly trained or equipped for the task. And what Venus Raj made in her prestigious pageant.
An 11 hour hostage taking drama made me watch the television. I could say, this incident will only last for three hours if they take the opportunity to disarm or shoot Rolando Mendoza. The negotiators were so close to him, and he had his weapon hanging down by his side. He could have been disabled without having to kill him. I’ve seen that the sometimes Rolando Mendoza was standing alone and could have been hit by a sharpshooter. First and foremost they are dealing with an unpredictable individual and in the course of negotiations an opportunity arises to end the situation decisively. But in the end, the situation was not handled correctly. The policemen showed the gayness and stupidity to handle this sort of crisis. They also showed that Philippines policemen are lack of determination, equipments and insufficient training.
To be part of a prestigious beauty contest is not an easy task. The moment that the Philippine candidate answers the question does not mean to degrade his country, of its people, its leader, but she's trying to convince the judges and put his country nearly on top of the contest. Nobody is perfect, what happen to our candidate was letting her nervous rule over her idea... but it was not in intentionally done. She was trying to show her very best. I’m proud of her.
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A disgusting and lousy week, but pretty good enough
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My name is Cruz
Breathless incident,
ReplyDeletebreathtaking pageant
A horrible and a major, major week disturbed me. Days passed and people are still talking about it. This event and incident will mark in our history. I could say, we should be proud of our PNP and S.W.A.T team showed great courage but they were not properly trained or equipped for the task. And what Venus Raj made in her prestigious pageant.
An 11 hour hostage taking drama made me watch the television. I could say, this incident will only last for three hours if they take the opportunity to disarm or shoot Rolando Mendoza. The negotiators were so close to him, and he had his weapon hanging down by his side. He could have been disabled without having to kill him. I’ve seen that the sometimes Rolando Mendoza was standing alone and could have been hit by a sharpshooter. First and foremost they are dealing with an unpredictable individual and in the course of negotiations an opportunity arises to end the situation decisively. But in the end, the situation was not handled correctly. The policemen showed the gayness and stupidity to handle this sort of crisis. They also showed that Philippines policemen are lack of determination, equipments and insufficient training.
To be part of a prestigious beauty contest is not an easy task. The moment that the Philippine candidate answers the question does not mean to degrade his country, of its people, its leader, but she's trying to convince the judges and put his country nearly on top of the contest. Nobody is perfect, what happen to our candidate was letting her nervous rule over her idea... but it was not in intentionally done. She was trying to show her very best. I’m proud of her.
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A disgusting and lousy week, but pretty good enough
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My name is Cruz
Arggh.. why HTML cannot be accepted.
ReplyDeleteA Major week
ReplyDeleteIn just a week we have been talk of the World through good things and bad ones.
The world was shocked about the hostage drama and shocked about the knowledge of people in the Philippines in saving life and what makes that more exciting? The foreign hostages. We are all shocked about the plan of the SWAT, they planned of what are they going to do before they will attack but what happened? Did they forgot about everything that they planned? Or did they just think that it is still part of the training? That they are just playing?
That was really annoying, I suddenly feel ashamed for all the Filipinos around the world.
Next is the Major Ma. Venus Raj the most beautiful, the sexiest, the crowd favourite, but not perfect for she answered not enough in the last Ms. Universe that was held in the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas where Manny Pacquiao won most of his fight but not for this lady. Ma Venus Raj didn’t make it to be the next Ms. Universe but what she has reach is an achievement that we all Filipino must be proud of.
Filipinos are great that’s why we are talk of the town we cannot blame all of them for they are talking about the hostage drama there is only one Filipino involve we are now invading the whole world and we don’t need to blame our selves in that instances but we have to work more harder and prove to the people that Filipinos are great but don’t judge us in the way you use to know us.
image???
ReplyDeleteif philippines is really trying to impose an "image" to the world.. then definitely, we did a good job.
the hostage drama of an "insanely insane" man in quirino grandstand that caused a "major, major" disaster not only to the Hong Kong nationals but to the to the philippines as well. this issue caused so much problem to our country.. if only the policemen, negotiators and the president handled the situation well, then there would have been a peaceful ending. no mourning.
filipinos working and living in hongkong are the one whose suffering from all the things happened.
the lack of organization and discipline of the people incharge in the situation caused this dillema. they are not prepared enough. "puro yabang wala naman binatbat".. pertaining to the policemen.. that's what i always hear to the people as i pass by the streets.. "sayang" ithat's what i always say..if only they handled it well, there could have a positive outcome.
MAJOR MAJOR
an overly and majorly used word over the past week.. a "major major" honor to the philippines.. brought to us by Miss Universe 4th Runner up Venus Raj.
after a stressful day of hostage drama.. we deserve a good news right???
what an honor for us filipinos that after how many years, we were, AGAIN, able to make it to top five.
eventhough many felt sorry for venus for not winning the title, still, we are very proud of her.
she "major major" did a good job.. :))
I believe that there is really an image that Filipinos are trying to project though I’m a bit confused if it’s in a positive way or not. We are more famous as monkeys rather than achievers despite of all the positive deeds done by some.
ReplyDeleteVenus Raj made it to the top five in the prestigious pageant of Miss Universe. Also, she is the founder of the new term that is more famous now than her. This only shows that the wrong deed of a Filipino retains more and even longer than to what is done positively.
Hostage taking done by a baffled Filipino policeman put us in fame by taking the lives of eight Chinese people. Eight lives are far different from the numbers of people that got poisoned because of the led content products and melamine issue. We all know that the head of that negligence came from a Chinese nation. And now, they are so angry and looking to us as criminals—monkey criminals. I see this situation as very unfair. Yet we still have to understand their annoyance and even allowing them to devastate us as Filipinos.
Poor country because even though we have the guts and potentials to be famous in a good way, others still don’t want to appreciate us because we are in a third world. The thing is, other countries don’t look upon us because of the fact that we are still in a third world country. They don’t want to look upon us because aside of the Filipino achievers, we have nothing more now.
What happened Ms. Philippines? It is a total dismay in my own point of view.
ReplyDeleteLet us disregard the fact that Ms. Venus Raj has been the crowd's favorite and the country's bet in bringing home the bacon. Still, I can't see no reason for celebrating. 4th runner up is 4th runner up. They are after the title (Ms. Universe)itself and settling in a lower place is an obtrusive way of accepting defeat.
Too much of being so negative. To calm myself from knowing that a perfect blend of beauty and brains still did not make it to bring home the crown, I jot down the track of the country's past achievements in winning the Miss Universe title and I have seen that Ms. Venus Raj still create a history for garnering the title.
Major Major is already overrated.
"I am very confident with my family and the love that they are giving to me so thank you so much that I am here. Thank you so so much!" Okay. One hell of an answer to a one hell of a question. >:D
LORAIN GENEVIE P. CERDAN BBrC 3-4D
ReplyDeleteThe whole 11-hour hostage drama is yet another one of those things that made us Filipinos an infamous bunch. I can’t count how many times I’ve heard people say “Ang bobo talaga ng Pinoy” and “Walang ganyan sa ibang bansa” every time that incident turns up in the news. It made me even more depressed than ever hearing our fellow countrymen insult their motherland and its citizens as if they weren’t Filipinos too. I’ve even heard others say they are ashamed to be called a Pinoy. Well, everytime something this EMBARASSING occur, some of us are like chameleons when changing nationalities to hide. There’s no surprise in that . The sad part of situations like this is the fact that the mistake of one person is blamed on all of us. I know it’s unfair but there’s nothing we could do about that. With the media, the PNP and others are pointing fingers of who’s to blame; the lot of it covers all of us like an avalanche of shame. The problem is, we tend to stay under it. Despite that absolutely horrid week, I don’t think we should all dwell on the negativity of the situation. I disagree to those who dare say that the Philippines have no face to show to the world. I still believe that our country still has its image, we’re just not sure how to maintain it.
That whole week spells both victory and defeat for all of us. And what’s worst, the victory was hardly even noticed. Although, criticized by many for answering “major, major”, Venus Raj still was a ray of sunshine after what happened at Quirino Grandstand and I believe it’s wrong not to appreciate her effort for winning 4th place at the Ms. Universe Pageant 2010. I mean, just think of all the previous representatives of our country who didn’t even made it to the top fifteen, Ms. Raj did what the others had failed to do for a very long time. Sure, she did not bring home the crown, but she brought us something better. She brought us a realization, something many of us pretend not to see. It is not that the crown that matters, it is the courage of representing your country through all that crises and doubts. And with that, I am proud of what she had achieved and we all should be.
Sure, we are in quite a pickle, sure folks around the world have found yet another reason to degrade our race but I don’t think that was the worst part of it all. The worst part of this dilemma is the way we Filipinos treat the dilemma. Einstein once said that, “We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” Our continues criticisms about the things that have already happened only make us dig our own graves deeper. Why can’t we just focus on making it better? Why can’t we just let go of our pessimism towards ourselves? Right actions for the future are the best apologies for wrong ones in the past. We still have a face to show. And I believe it’s still a beautiful one. We can’t just let one incident change the way we feel about ourselves, about us being in a third world country, about us being a Filipino. With the whole world looking down on us we should make an effort to emerge from that state and change for the betterment of our country. Let’s try to be FAMOUS for something good this time. We should all KEEP MOVING FORWARD.
What more i can say? as we all know our police and our government failed to do their task.. in first place why president aquino did'nt shown up in the middle of tragedy? where is he? as a leader of a country he should give his best to solved any issue and not hiding to his white big house. next if i am one of the general or what ever rank who leads in the case i think i simply give what mendoza wants so that the hostage drama ends happy ending and not in bloody ending. and because of the tragedy i realize that even the great and intelegent person commit mistake's
ReplyDeleteThe hostage taking incident at the Quirino Grandstand last week, showed how unprepared our police force and our leaders were to save the tourists killed from the hostage taking incident. There are so many ways of solving this problem that they haven’t thought of. Moreover, it was too late before they finally sorted out the ways that they could effectively handle the incident. It is so sad to think, that because of one person, the image of our country was destroyed in the eyes of international community. Who would now trust the ability of our police from protecting our country? I couldn’t blame people if they would define SWAT as “Sana Wag Akong Tamaan” . Most would also agree that SWAT could also stand for “Seriously, Wala Akong Training”. Though we could laugh about how creative these people are in giving funny names to our police force, it still pains us deep down inside, because we are all Filipinos.
ReplyDeleteThe worst thing about this is that the effect of this incident resonated to different countries around the globe and instantly made the image of our country look bad especially in the eyes of the Chinese and Hong Kong citizens. Domestic workers in Hong Kong were the ones who directly felt the effect of the hostage taking incident. Some of them got fired right away, for the very reason that they are Filipinos. This is an irony to the image that we Filipinos have been protecting for so long a time, our hospitability. After this incident, would foreigners still find Filipinos as being friendly and hospitable? What will happen to our tourism industry? These are some questions that may come in mind after the tragic incident regarding our nation’s image.
Meanwhile, right after the incident we heard the our representative to the Miss Universe Beauty pageant, Miss Venus Raj, getting into the top fifteen, up until she reached the final five. A lot of us felt so relieved and glad to witness her doing so great. That was the moment, that made us think, finally, our nation’s image will recover from the beating it has suffered from the recent tragic incident. We really hoped that she’d win the crown, didn’t we? But though her “major major “response to the question given to her didn’t make her become Miss Universe, her answer made her more popular than the winner of the pageant. It’s not what we were really hoping for but I believe no one should be blaming her or even make her a subject of ridicule. She was already a nervous-wreck even before the question was given to her. Still, she did the best that she can do to relieve our burdened hearts.
However, the wounds inflicted to the hearts of many Hong Kong citizens, especially the families of those victims of the tragedy, would not heal so quickly. It would definitely take a long time and it’s a kind of a burden that our country should bear. But, still we can see rays of light that would finally give us peace of mind after this incident. A world famous Hollywood Actor and a Hong Kong citizen, Jackie Chan, gave a message for everyone to hear in his twitter account. He said, “HK is a nation built by a lot of different people...don’t worry! We do not hate!”, and added,” “This kind of things always happens around the world. It happens to HK’s people. The whole HK is talking about it. It’s really sad.”. He’s the man! He understood the situation with open mindedness and without prejudice. Well, I just hope that everyone would think like he does.
But these events should not let us all down, we Filipinos have faced so many problems already and should not stop in building a good image for our nation. We are known for our optimism. It is impossible to turn back the time, but it is possible for us to move on and try to learn from mistakes done in the past together with the hope that popularity-wise we would be on top again, not in a negative, but in a major, major positive way.
TRIUMPH AND DEFEAT
ReplyDeleteWe are just starting a new itinerary , it is an interim feat, scarcely a start of battle won with the new leadership. As we sail further on, we will encounter snags and squalls, but we have to be equipped enough to face the challenges. We will not be daunted to face the obstacle on life. There’s always two faces of life the luminosity and obscurity, optimistic and pessimistic, blissful and sorrow and finally a triumph and defeat.
August 23,2010 Monday at Quirino Grandstand , City of Manila. Obscure scenario shocks the nation, hostage fiasco bring up numerous clamor and controversies who are the responsible on the incident, worst foreign nationals are the victims who only wanted to visit the beauty and elegance on the Philippines but a chaotic scenario ends their journey. It is a perfect suspenseful eleven hour program that caters a tear-jerking, nerve rocking and jump-up the heart of the viewers who grippingly watch and witness the hostage debacle in their television set which ends with a chaotic and dramatic ending. Just like what Filipino movies portrayed how the policemen is, a downbeat and dreadful image. The police department was not able to end the hostage crisis happily ever after. It is a shameful event yet we should not blame any institution for what transpired, we are not policemen and trained negotiators. So let’s leave that matter to them we just say that these institution have clear and properly oriented guidelines in times of crisis like this, theoretically but they did not reached the standard in executing it empirically. It is not a blame, but a constructive critique to the very institution to continuously improve and learn from what happened and finally hope that this carnage is the last statistic.
Comprehensive investigation should be imposed, it is after all worth scrutinizing because the issues raised are real life moral dilemmas not only in national conflict but a conflict on international community. We should join hand and hand to solve this dilemma. Mistake is just a mistake what important is how we make it right and how we are “major major “ confident to keep our chin up, keep a smile on our faces and how we will improve things and we will emerge from our trial better nation.
Just like what Ma. Venus Raj carries herself in Ms. Universe pageant last August 24, 2010 after the nightfall of hostage drama. Beauty and glamour dominated our television set and after a long decade now we made it again to the top five.
TRIUMPH AND DEFEAT
ReplyDeleteWe are just starting a new itinerary , it is an interim feat, scarcely a start of battle won with the new leadership. As we sail further on, we will encounter snags and squalls, but we have to be equipped enough to face the challenges. We will not be daunted to face the obstacle on life. There’s always two faces of life the luminosity and obscurity, optimistic and pessimistic, blissful and sorrow and finally a triumph and defeat.
August 23,2010 Monday at Quirino Grandstand , City of Manila. Obscure scenario shocks the nation, hostage fiasco bring up numerous clamor and controversies who are the responsible on the incident, worst foreign nationals are the victims who only wanted to visit the beauty and elegance on the Philippines but a chaotic scenario ends their journey. It is a perfect suspenseful eleven hour program that caters a tear-jerking, nerve rocking and jump-up the heart of the viewers who grippingly watch and witness the hostage debacle in their television set which ends with a chaotic and dramatic ending. Just like what Filipino movies portrayed how the policemen is, a downbeat and dreadful image. The police department was not able to end the hostage crisis happily ever after. It is a shameful event yet we should not blame any institution for what transpired, we are not policemen and trained negotiators. So let’s leave that matter to them we just say that these institution have clear and properly oriented guidelines in times of crisis like this, theoretically but they did not reached the standard in executing it empirically. It is not a blame, but a constructive critique to the very institution to continuously improve and learn from what happened and finally hope that this carnage is the last statistic.
Continuation... TRIUMPH AND DEFEAT
ReplyDeleteComprehensive investigation should be imposed, it is after all worth scrutinizing because the issues raised are real life moral dilemmas not only in national conflict but a conflict on international community. We should join hand and hand to solve this dilemma. Mistake is just a mistake what important is how we make it right and how we are “major major “ confident to keep our chin up, keep a smile on our faces and how we will improve things and we will emerge from our trial better nation.
Just like what Ma. Venus Raj carries herself in Ms. Universe pageant last August 24, 2010 after the nightfall of hostage drama. Beauty and glamour dominated our television set and after a long decade now we made it again to the top five.
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ReplyDeleteEverything happens for a reason.
ReplyDeleteThis maybe a cliché saying but we can’t deny that this is TRUE”. I believe that things that just happened just a couple of weeks ago are part of our Master’s plan for us Filipinos and of course for our wonderful country Philippines to grow deeper in faith.
I still believe that Philippines still have an image to protect; an image that makes our country unique from other countries. The case of Quirino Grandstand Tragedy wherein there are nine lives were lost including the hostage taker were one of the most unforgettable event in our history and perhaps the whole world. I was somehow disappointed by this but I still remained to be open minded in this issue. I know there are lots of people to be blame but let’s not over and over again point a finger to them because things will not be resolved if we just continue on finding people who to blame with. But im still puzzled with “what’s the difference between HANDCUFFING an innocent person and ARRESTING him?” hmmmmm…?
On the other hand, I’m so proud of Ms. Universe 2010 4th runner up Ma. Venus Raj. She just showed to the world that indeed we still have an image to protect with. I don’t want to cite over and over again the term that she popularized now but this lady redeemed the image that was somehow lost the day before the coronation night. Though she don’t bagged the crown we still have the reason to celebrate because of the efforts and perseverance she showed just to get into that competiton to represent our country. Let’s take a u-turn drive on this issue, I know some of our fellow men were disappointed that she did not make it but let’s remember that being a Ms universe is not a forever title. After a year another lady will be crowned as new Ms. Universe and the cycle goes. Let’s recognized that she really did her best to win the title it’s just that there are circumstances we can’t control and we can’t blame her if the answer she gave was not the answer that we are expecting to hear from her. No matter what we do, she is still got the crown maybe not the prestigious crown we’re expecting but still she got a crown. And let’s be merry together with her.
If I got the power to kill “narrow mindedness” of the people around the world, I would do it right away to save our country from the shame that we are experiencing now. But that just resides in my dreams but in reality, Im just a plain citizen and the only thing that I can and voluntarily do right now is to pray harder for our country for more blessings and guidance from our Creator. Let’s stay positive and be proud that we are born Filipinos. At the end of the day, worrying so much doesn’t change anything but in reality it worsens. So just smile and be happy no matter what happen. I’m glad and grateful that we Filipinos are truly exceptional among other nations.
GOD BLESS THE PHILIPPINES. :)
“TWO SIDES OF THE COIN”
ReplyDeleteAN OVERVIEW OF THE RECENT CURRENT EVENTS IN THE PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO LAST AUGUST 22-28, 2010 (PART ONE)
Last week has been a tremendous, controversial week which shook the Philippines at its maximum magnitude. Another mark has been placed in the full context history of the country, leaving a new, engraved image which will truly never be forgotten by us, Filipinos. It seems like we’re experiencing topsy-turvy phenomenon which became the central talk of the whole nation. Not to mention that these events caused a striking change of the image of our country to the world today.
Let us toss the coin and see the sides of it---one by one.
A SHADOW IN THE BUS
A suspense, trepid eleven-hour hostage drama took place last August 23, 2010 at the Quirino Grandstand, Manila, leaving the Philippines a freakin’, big time hostage taker in the eyes of the international community! It was stated in the news that the hostage taker was a former high-ranked officer---a dismissed MPD (Manila Police District) senior inspector named Rolando Mendoza. This man was instantly dismissed from duty without due process of law, thus leaving him defenseless. He hasn’t had the chance to defend his side, therefore, he’s requesting for a fair hearing.
I haven’t had the chance to watch the entire news, because I was at school that time. It was truly a blink of an eye when this news came. Despite of this, I can imagine and feel the pressure and terror of the Filipino audience around the archipelago while watching the whole event---their hearts beating rapidly with tension, waiting for the next events to happen during that time.
This hostage taking has been quite difficult for the country’s police force to handle and be resolved right away. Not to mention on what has been the outcome of this event. Eight Hong Kong tourists inside the tourist bus have been engulfed by a dark shadow that sentenced them to death. It was a merciless, undeserving death. Fortunately, nine others were injured and alive. The worst part of this incident is that, the hostage taker was a Filipino policeman---a man who was supposed to be a purveyor of law and justice. But, because of the injustice which he, himself, experienced…he has committed an unjustifiable act.
The hostage taking in our country left us a scar on our image. We had made a “major major” projection in the eyes of other countries around the globe. This was degrading in our part---having been seen and perceived by foreigners as f******* hostage takers and killers. The measures done by the police have been quite unsuccessful; however, let’s also see that they also did the best that they could to implement such peaceful negotiations and avoid bloodshed. Everyone feels fear. But COURAGE sprouts from FEAR---if one can overcome that fear.
We must learn to face the shadows that we’re having right now and remember that we must not let these shadows stop us from continuing building our image, despite of all the ridicules and discriminations that we’re experiencing. We still have something to show and to prove. WE STILL HAVE AN IDENTITY TO BEAR OUT TO THE WORLD.
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ReplyDelete“TWO SIDES OF THE COIN”
ReplyDeleteAN OVERVIEW OF THE RECENT CURRENT EVENTS IN THE PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO LAST AUGUST 22-28, 2010 (PART TWO)
A “MAJOR MAJOR” SPOTLIGHT AT LAS VEGAS
A “major major” conquest!
Philippines had made its way to the slot!
Ma. Venus Raj, the representative candidate of the Philippines to the Ms. Universe 2010 pageant, had made her way as the fourth runner-up in the said competition last August 24. It was a remarkable triumph for the Philippines. This proves that Filipino women have their place in international beauty pageants such as Ms. Universe 2010, and the like.
I can’t ignore the fact that she had given pride and achievement for our country, though she placed fourth runner-up in the competition. However, I was a bit disappointed with what she answered to the question given to her during the question-and-answer portion of the pageant. I do laugh…seriously…I laughed. But, I guess she did her best. She exerted effort to answer the question. This is not sarcasm on her part (TAKE NOTE, I AM SERIOUS…XD).
Well, Venus Raj has been done a splendid job to represent the Philippines in the pageant, despite of her dethronement in the recent Binibining Pilipinas, because of false information about her place of birth…whatever the errors are. She stood tall and she was able to gain her confidence back then. She deserves to be a part of Ms. Universe…and the accomplishment that she had can’t be replaced, though I still recall on what she answered back then…which spring out the new word “major major” in the whole nation today. That is one heck of a new trend!
SHALL WE HAVE THE SPOTLIGHT, PLEASE? A ROUND OF APPLAUSE, FOLKS!
PUT THE COIN BACK!
We already had seen the two sides of the coin---showing how these sides express the dark and bright side of last week’s events here in the country.
Let us remember that everything happens for a reason, though we may never understand its reason of existence. We must learn that everything has oppositions---there is light and dark, left and right, love and hatred, safety and danger, justice and prejudice, and other forms of oppositions.
The Philippines has gone a long way to stay strong and stand on her feet to withstand any obstacles happening right now. We, Filipinos, must start the change to make this country a better place. We must not let ourselves be pessimistic about the problems arising here. If we do think of these things as something which are quite degrading for our fellowmen, then we babble and criticize on how Filipinos act and respond during these scenarios, it’s best to keep our mouths shut and takes a look at ourselves. “You must remove the beam from your own eyes before you remove the mote from other people.”
ONLY WE CAN MAKE THE CHANGE WE WANT TO ACHIEVE.
The 34th week of this year was a week of Disgrace and Royalty to our country.
ReplyDeleteWhy disgrace? a former Philippines National Police officer hijacked a tourist bus and after a failed negotiation with our police and government officials, that mind disturbed man shot the passengers. That event stained our reputations. In fact the the Global Times called the Philippines "one of the most chaotic countries in Southeast Asia." and we, Filipinos were tagged as kidnappers, stone-hearted monkeys and so on which I cannot take. But despite of all this accusations, Im still proud of being a Filipino.
Royalty...
Once again, the Beauty and Wit? of Filipinas was recognized by millions of people all over the world. Because, Maria Venus Raj won as a 4th placer in recently concluded Miss Universe 2010. My heads are up to her. But her answer to the question of the judge "What is one big mistake that you've made in your life, and what did you do to make it right?" is kinda for me a "major major" wrong words that lost her the crown. If I were her, I would answer that my biggest mistake in life was to think of giving up my crown when the organizer of Miss Philippines beauty pageant tried to dethroned me. If she claimed that she not that perfect of having a mistakes in life, she would've win the crown. Well, I think she's not destined to have that crown. But at least, she redress the balance of the issues that the Philippines is facing now.
Again, no matter what happen, Im still proud being a Filipino.
"I am a Filipino,in my blood runs the immortal seed of heroes.Seed that flowered down the centuries in deeds of courage and defiance."
ReplyDeleteWhat we have now, are fruits from our heroes strengths. our country had been into many controversies, trials and we are known to surpass all of those bravely. We are now in the hot eyes of the foreign. With what had happened, we all know that again, we will judge and everyone will find someone to blame on.
Yes its our Government, who should protect us. Our policemen to fixed troubles regarding our countries security. But what happened, foreigners are killed and they are so angry with us. We are Filipinos and i believed that even in any special way, we have good image ,projecting to international community. In the hostage drama that happened last August 23, 2010-Monday, it implies to our leaders a lot of security problems of our country. It implies the unpreparedness of our country in situations like hostage dramas.And to what is happening right now, it implies us, citizens, the attitude of crab mentality. We are a country, we are in the same blood, this is our country, and what ever happens here,we are responsible of it. Its not only our governments problem, its all ours too. Let us stop blaming each other, indeed, lets help each other bringing back and giving glory to our country.
The next day after the hostage drama is 2010 Miss Universe, with our very own Ma. Venus Raj.After winning the 4th Runner-up title.She became the Major-major talked of the town.I would like to thanked Ma. Venus Raj for the glory that she gave for our country. But this major-major had been over-ratted. We all know the stones Ma. Venus Raj walked trough to be in that pageant. She came to surpass all of those which I think helped him be stronger.So lets just be proud of her.Lets stop judging her for that answer cause she carries the crown of our country.
It all happened already, we cannot put everything back. We can do right now is to learn from all those lessons. Lets all bring the best of what we have. This is the moment were unity is much needed. Let us all help each other be the best of what we can. Share to each other the blessings of our country. Lets help each other specially our government in fixing all this issues. Let us all be responsible. Be a true Citizen. Lets stop degrading our country. Follow even the simplest rule. PRAY for the good of our country-PHILIPPINES.
"Land dear and holy,
Cradle of noble heroes,
Ne'er shall invaders
Trample thy sacred shores."
GOK
I was in our school when I heard about the hostage taking drama in Quirino Grandstand and my initial reaction was, "Talaga? Naku! Turismo na nga lang yung pinaka malaki nating napagkukuhanan ng budget mawawala pa?" it was really an economic tragic for me.
ReplyDeleteIt only implies to the the government or leader that he is not ready for any unexpected crisis but in contrary he is always ready to speak and ready to defend himself with the help of her sisters. But two thumbs up for P-Noy for being low tempered and humble president.
The day after that hostage drama, it was the Miss Universe coronation night and I had a very strong feeling that Ma. Venus Raj will make it to the top and she did. Unfortunately I am guilty of blaming her on what she answered for the question given to her but now I would like to apologize (I hope she'll be reading this ) for that reckless deed. I understood her after I went to church, her answer was not really wrong at the first place because it was her own experience and I can't blame her if in her 22 years of living she didn't had a major major mistake and that was a major major mistake for some of the Filipino.
And yet, there is still an image that the Philippines is projecting. An image of group of crabs climbing in a stone, "crab mentality". But on the other side, happily climbing crabs.
Above all, I'm proud and will always be proud to be a Filipino. I know we can make it to the top again no matter how good or ugly the issue or event is. In the long run, it was still balanced.
We cannot say that the of one will be fault of us, like what happen in the Hostage drama last august 23, 2010. We cannot blame anyone because of this incidence, we cannot blame the media, we cannot blame the policemen we cannot blame anyone because this is a crime, happened in a click and not scripted. All are in worried with this, all are afraid of what to do, the policemen cannot think, the media just exposed the truth of what’s happening in the scenario. We cannot blame anyone. But in some instances, Filipinos are to blamed, all the Filipinos. With this, we faced the cursed of being band on their country, in China.
ReplyDeleteAfter this drama, we have our Ma. Venus raj, which represented the Philippines in the Miss world 2010, heart beats fast, all are excited to see her representing our country. We can say that she brought the bacon in our country, she won as the 4th placer of the competition, but with her “major, major” answer, all talks have created, in the chismisan, in facebook, in the internet, all laughed with her answer. With that she gave the country a tagged with her “major major”.
All happens for a reason, all happens because of our own acts, we should face the cause and effect on every moves that we take, all we act has its own effects.
Beyond doubt, “WE’RE ON TOP”
ReplyDeleteBut the bad thing is….it’s not good.
Though, Maria Venus Raj took the spotlight after winning the 4th runner up in the Miss Universe Pageant, it is undeniable that Philippines is in the core of controversies.
The hostage taking in Manila was like a blockbuster movie that hit the world emotionally. But it is not just a drama or acting, it is a true to life scenario. It happens actually.
Philippines is a home for everyone. Even foreigners find their life comfortable here and they enjoy a happy living. We are blessed with natural wonders that keep tourists from coming and visiting our country. We offer them the best of care, that is why we are known to be hospitable. We serve them with our delicious foods. We provide good quality education, the reason why there are a lot of foreign students in our best colleges and universities.
What else? There is a lot to say and a lot to be proud of.
Of course, it is not easy to move on after everything that was happened. We must not blame God. We cannot blame the government. We cannot blame the media. We cannot blame the foreign countries. We cannot blame the angry public. Nothing to blame anymore…it won’t help.
We have to stand up and fix the problems hand in hand. We have to be optimistic and think positive in every coming days for the future of our beloved homeland. After all, Philippines is still a good place to visit and to live in.
We are also blessed with a good and kind leader. The new president of the Philippines is facing a big problem in his first few months in position. The question is, how can he handle this kind of situation? I don’t know, but surely he can. Not alone but with us. It’s not too late, I guess its not. We’ll be able to overcome any trials because I believed that Filipinos are inborn survivor.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
This time. “hindi na natin pwedeng tawanan lang ang problema”, but we must not let what happened ruin our lives.
Smile Philippines!
Speaking of smile, the controversial smile that was captured in front of the hostage taking bus which ignites the angriness of many people, specially the foreigners. Well, that is the expected reaction. But if we’ll analyze the scenario, indeed, Filipinos are camera-friendly, maybe it is just the wrong time and a wrong place for picture taking. On the other side, a smile will help us recover from every disaster that came or will come our way.
Again, SMILE Philippines!
- Brendalyn Satam Chato ‘y Problema