THERE is a lot of talk—and a petition—on the Internet about “the naked truth” that clothing company Bench (named after owner Ben Chan) had revealed with its hugely popular fashion show, which had ruffled the feathers of a lot of people, especially women. According to the online petition, a female model wearing skimpy clothing, walking on all fours like a dog and on a leash held by actor Coco Martin, who had played her “master”, is dehumanizing.
What has caught the attention of the petition’s creators, however, is that the apology posted by Bench on its Facebook page was withdrawn in less than a day without explanation. That has generated a lot of discussion, with some saying that Bench should not be faulted for the wild-animals storyline that the show organizer adopted, and that it’s not Chan’s fault that a scantily clad model was put on a leash and acting like an animal while on the runway.
It’s a tough call: Should the petition’s creators and supporters boycott Bench products if the company refuses to formally promise that such trivialization of women would not happen again, especially since the fashion show violated provisions of the Magna Carta for Women? And then there’s the threat from San Francisco, California-based Change.org, which hosts the petition, that Bench, which manufactures its products in China, would be haled to court. When that happens, how long would the court case last? Read below and cry—or, rather, bellow some more.
PCGG’s wealth-recovery case
A REPORT from the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) shows how difficult it is to wait for the resolution of a case. Take the forfeiture case that the PCGG finally won involving the assets of former National Bureau of Investigation Director Jolly Bugarin, which include pieces of property in North Greenhills in San Juan City, Valle Verde in Pasig City and Capitol Hills in Quezon City; and the suit to
recover United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) shares issued in the names of Eduardo M. Cojuangco Jr. and his nominees.
PCGG Chairman Andres Bautista, former dean of the law school of Far Eastern University, said it took 27 years before Bugarin’s assets could be transferred to the government—the same number of years that it took for the government to recover the majority shares in UCPB, which used to be First United Bank, wherein the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) bought a 72.2-percent controlling stake. The PCA used the proceeds from the coco levy that was the focal point of a Supreme Court (SC) ruling that says only the government, not a private entity, could collect taxes.
The SC voided the transfer of the UCPB shares to Cojuangco and other nominees with finality in
October 2013, declaring that the shares “belong to the plaintiff Republic of the Philippines as their true and beneficial owner.”
Boracay’s Atis get water connection
BORACAY’S indigenous people, the Atis, are now the beneficiaries of a 24/7 water connection, thanks to the combined efforts of Boracay Water and the Manila Water Foundation. With this water connection, the Atis would no longer need to line up at a lone standpipe and fill their buckets with the water they need.
The water connection will benefit 188 individuals from 30 households. According to one beneficiary, Evangeline Tamboon, this connection would eliminate the challenge of availing themselves of water every day, as well as the need for Atis to pay exorbitant fees so they could get water from the lone standpipe. Now, they can be assured of potable water in their very own homes, thanks to the water firms’ Lingap Para sa Katutubo program.
This project was made possible by Boracay Water, a company formed through the partnership of Manila Water and the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority in 2009. It provides water and water services in Boracay, Malay town,
Aklan province, particularly in its three barangays: Manoc-manoc, Balabag and Yapak.
Monstrous traffic jams
PEOPLE vented their frustrations on social media over the thunderstorm-caused monstrous traffic jams on Wednesday and Thursday night. People had to queue for the buses that were available on Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, España Avenue and other major thoroughfares
because many of Metro Manila’s streets were flooded.
The traffic jams were so bad, it took some people two hours to travel 5 kilometers. For others, it took more than that. Maybe it’s time to really look at the traffic problem, for it wastes so much time, energy and money.
Image credits: Benjo Laygo