Malu’s back?
Remember the much-ballyhooed (and supposed) apology of Malu Fernandez and her resignation from Manila Standard Today and People Asia:
Statement from Malu Fernandez on the OFW Controversy
“I am deeply apologetic for my insensitivity and the offensive manner in which this article was written, I hear you all and I am properly rebuked. It was truly not my intention to malign hurt or express prejudice against OFWs….
“I take full responsibility for my actions and my friends and family have nothing to do with this. To date I have submitted my resignation letters to both the Manila Standard and People Asia, on that note may this matter be laid to rest.”
Read more here.
But what’s this? Taken from August 27 issue of the Manila Standard Today, page C1. It shows Fernandez’s photo at the bottom of the page with the note: “Divalicious will resume next Monday.”
Thanks to Smoke for the tip.
What The??? I guess they didn’t accept her resignation. This is an outrage! Why the hey is she allowed to return??? Did they (Manila Standard) think this is cute? They think they can still milk this for all it’s worth. This will bite them in the shins. The downfall of Manila Standard I tell you.
Perhaps she resigned from People Asia but not from MST?
Eh di abangan natin ang susunod na kabanata. 😉
Remember that saying, “You are what you eat”?… For Manila Standard, it should be “We are what we Publish”!
I guess the political clout of one person counts for more than the mere indignation of millions of OFWs.
All out war against Manila Standard, we can urge our families, relatives and friends to boycott Manila Standard.
I think we should all start flooding e-mails to Manila Standard NOW. Their e-mail addresses are:
General Information
mst@manilastandardtoday.com
Business Section
business@manilastandardtoday.com
Sports Section
sports@manilastandardtoday.com
Good Life Section
glshowbiz@manilastandardtoday.com
HR Department:
hrddept@manilastandardtoday.com
Advertising Department:
adv@manilastandardtoday.com
Circulation Department
circ@manilastandardtoday.com
KPPI
kppi@manilastandardtoday.com
nobody reads the Standard naman eh. mababa ang circulation. so no need to boycott.
maybe that’s why they want her back?
Now she’s a CELEBRITY. OFW made her really really ‘BIG’.
It’s time to call in the lynch mob
A simple response from the newspaper would’ve mollified the people. But they choose to remain silent, apart from columnists B. Austero and C. Veneracion.
Maybe they think this will all blow over soon and everyone will forget about it. Kasi nga naman ang Pinoy daw madaling makalimot.
But this media unfolds in real-time, available for all and sundry to read 24/7 non-stop…in theory, until kingdom come. Or until US servers are nuked. That is the difference between old media – newspapers and TV spots. The messages they give are fleeting, once delivered they are gone. But our blogs, forums and mailing lists? They deliver the message and the message is there to stay ’til we decide to close shop. Ah well. Sagutin ang hamon ng Manila Standard Today.
Bringing your attention to Manila Times columnist Geronimo Sy’s take in the matter (which to me reflects another strand of bigotry) :
HERE I STAND
By Geronimo L. Sy
Malu Fernandez: Hate ugly Filipinos
Don’t we ever run out of scandals? Lately it has been the fierce and fabulous author Malu Fernandez of People Asia magazine. Allegedly she already resigned from her writing job due to the numerous complaints against her article of June 2007 titled, “From Boracay to Greece!” It is a travel piece recounting her summer spent in the beautiful island of Boracay fighting off insects and protecting her immaculate pedicure from the white sands and then jetting off to Greece to see the goddesses but having to go through ugly Filipinos en route.
What exactly did she write? She said that to save on ticket going to Greece, she bravely took the economy class via Emirates with a stopover in Dubai, only to remember that the latter was the hub for OFWs. She “wanted to slash her wrist at the thought of being trapped in a plane with all of them.” She was tormented in her sleep with “endless yelling of “HOY! Kumusta ka na? At taga saan ka? Domestic helper ka rin ba? I thought I had died and God had sent me to my own private hell.” On the return trip [of course she had to fly back somehow], she “resigned [her]self to being trapped like a sardine in a sardine can with all these OFWs smelling of AXE and Charlie cologne while my Jo Malone evaporated into thin air.”
With these lines, Malu offended our sensibilities, went against political correctness and doomed herself to public condemnation.
Our sensibilities say that to travel for leisure is a privilege and a luxury. Millions of our countrymen brave foreign shores in search of the proverbial three meals a day. Hence to vacation in Bora or, rather and, Greece in one break is something we whisper a prayer for and count our blessings. How can Malu be so ungrateful, we ask not out of envy?
Malu writes for the sosi crowd. For outsiders, sosi means sosyal—a Filipinized word of “social” referring to high society and the rich and/or famous. It is obvious from her article that Malu is part of this class (otherwise she will not be a credible source so essential in sosi magazines). Well, she scrimped on her plane ticket to shop for more accessories and her nose spotted the difference of AXE and Charlie, scents of the masa (masses) and her exquisite Jo Malone. That is how socialites are.
She flaunted political correctness when she dared to be true to herself and called OFWs for who they are: A noisy lot intruding into personal space sacred to others in small places like economy seats. At least she is honest with her thoughts. She could have injected the value of empathy — understanding that it is beyond the OFWs themselves and largely attributable to socio-economic factors like education and professional attainment. She may perhaps have been trying to be cute about it or simply reflected the elite mentality.
She is publicly condemned for pointing out, albeit unintentionally, the stark truth that we are a society of pretenders—of OFWs buying branded goods and perfumes instead of saving up and matronas spending three hours at hair spas and then going to their favorite charity balls, of migrants fighting for survival and public servants swimming in pork barrel, of urban professionals concerned with the next gimmick or new car or exotic vacation and our national budget in perpetual deficit because of low tax base and tax evasion, of mall goers hugging dogs and cats and young children on the streets begging for alms. Damn, we sure deserve what we see and don’t see. Don’t we just hate Malu and hate ourselves the ugly Filipinos. How could we look away?
Malu, you are not alone, come back and write. Let us hate the ugliness of the OFWs in us, enough to do something about it.
(Published in The Manila Times, 30 August 2007)
interesting… we hate it so much when foreigners discriminate us Filipinos. how come it’s okay to let it go just like that when fellow Filipinos do it to us? is it because the offending party in this case allegedly belongs to a higher class in society and the low class she offended are those she seemed to consider insignificant? what if the situation is reversed — someone in the lower class offends someone in the high society? would the ‘high’ (who has the resources and power at their disposal to punish the ‘low’) just let it go that fast as well? i wonder… i doubt…
yes.. so grin and bear it
Even writers wants to be in the spotlight? What and who’s next?! Is it because the country is flooded with controversies, etc. its hard to make it to the top without stepping on someone’s head or is it another thing? The vulnerable Filipinos easily takes the bait laid by these attention whores and adds more fuel to the fire. In the end “An instant celebrity!!” At first it was insulting, then it mellowed down, since Malu resigned everybody thought it was finished but Manila Standard has not yet reached its high, so they launched her back hoping to get your attention (in which they did) and yesterday another guy writing a letter trying to catch a few drops publicity that might turn out to be a storm in a week or so. I could not agree enough with you guys hating the way Malu single handedly tied everyone on a knot but have you ever thought that the more we give in to this crap more people carrying more crap will come? Like the Geronimo guy running after the Malu story, dude wake up!You are doing more damage. Are you even a Filipino? Your name sound more like an American Indian born in China…
Boys and girls what do you think?
OMG…..palakasan ba ito????
and another Manila Times Columnist supports this type of bigotry? He did not only justify the article, he also supports the writer….they must all belong to the “sosi” crowd. Well, start clicking your keyboards and pass on the news…
well..let’s just boycott that tabloid manila substandard and spread our mission… without readers.. kahit mga ‘sosi’ people ata don’t read that BS paper..the end is near for them.. and the nerve of that geronimo sy…let us just ignored that ignorant bastard..gusto lang nyang ding mapagusapan sya at makisakay sa “fame” ni tabachingching..kkhiya!