WOW MALU...
I promised myself that I would not talk about Malu Fernandez and her horrid article here and here. I am trying to change my ways and not kick a hog while it's down and out. But being the hypocrite that I am. Here I go.
Frankly, it seemed like there was no point in talking about Malu. After all, knowing this woman almost all my life (our fathers both work in the same hospital), what happened really didn't come as a surprise to me nor to many who knew her. Really, think about it. If I was an overfed, overcompensated, unwanted baby who was never as pretty or popular as her older sisters and parents, than maybe I too would end up bitter enough to demand an advance on my inheritance and spew out poisonous banter to no end. But I consider this current situation to be completely understandable in her case though. She really couldn't help herself.
After all, we must realize that Malu was not bred in a vacuum. She is a result of an entire lifetime of people around her condoning her bad behavior. (In fairness to her family though, I only heard vile things come from Malu and nobody else. None of her sisters, nephews, uncles, and aunts etc... have said anything close to the point of view that Malu seems to so have proudly shared with us all - or at the least, none of them have said anything directly to me so far). And just like any spoiled child, Malu can't be fully blamed for the value system that she acquired. She is a victim of a social/sosyal disease and the friends who indulged her. After all, when she said her friends found her article hilarious, I believe her. Now I'm not saying that she is representative of most members of the Philippine elite but let me tell you right now that she is definitely not alone in the matapobre (kill the poor) department.
In fact, what happened to Malu could happen to quite a few other members of the upper classes. Just last week, I heard that some of her other friends were commenting how she kinda "took the bullet" for everyone, so to speak. And this I consider as a sign of how detached the Philippine rich (and their wannabes) are from the realities of our country. I mean really, the Philippine elites are a completely blessed bunch who do not know or care just how blessed they are. Just look at the PIPC scandal. Some Singaporean guy named Michael Liew runs off with U$250million from the pockets of the Pinoy perfumed class and both our country and it's economy are still standing. Php250 million! That's almost the entire Gross National Product of the Solomon Islands or the cost of a brand new international airport and yet nary a dent was put on our currency nor our stock markets. This only proves that that the Philippine elites have the financial capacity to pull the country out of poverty but yet it's their apathy and lack of priorities that prevent them from using this money to achieve social progress.
And if anything, Malu is clear and tangible proof of that.
So there you go, Philippine elites. Get your act together. Prove to us that you aren't also a bunch of Malus.
Thank you analyn for the picture.
On similar matters - kinda. Check out Sidney Snoeck's photo essay on our country's rich and poor and the news that Couples for Christ divorced Gawad Kalinga. Good for GK, I'm definitely sure they are going to be better off and gain more international/local support if they remove religion from the picture and embrace a more secular tone to their mission of alleviating poverty.
Labels: gawad kalinga, malu fernandez, PIPC
posted by carlosceldran @ 1:55 PM
38 Comments:
Carlos,
I agree with you completely regarding apathy. Malu clearly displayed her apathy for anyone but herself & her circle when she wrote in her July 30 Manila Standard column:
"Although it may sound elitist to you the fact is this country is built on the foundation of haves, have-nots and wannabes. One group will never get the culture of the other. Although I could mention that it is easier to understand someone who has a lower socioeconomic background that would entail a whole other page and frankly I don’t want to be someone to bridge the gap between socioeconomic classes. I leave that to the politicians in my family who believe they can actually help."
www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=goodLife1_july30_2007
Raf
One word for Malu total-waste-of-space Fernandez: 'cursi'
Hmmm. I don't think "cursi" is sufficient for Malu.
A tacky embroidered doily is cursi.
Tassels on an ugly lamp is cursi.
Malu needs a word deeper than that. Perhaps it should be in German.
The Germans always have great words for things like zeitgeist and shadenfreude..
Don't know German... but how about the English word "bitch"?
Is HEIFER German ?
And don't all these neverwillbe's ( wannabe is too kind a word )tote some masstige ( mass prestige) bag brand like LV,etc.?
And if she was such a jetsetter, waddup no G5 of her own?
For a while there, the picture looked familiar, LOL. It's time we add each other on Flickr. As for your opinions, it should be very reliable since you knew her first-hand and we don't. True that there are so many matapobre's in this world but they shouldn't rub the wounds on this country's working middle class in the form of a society column
Was waiting for you to say something. Coudn't help it, could 'ya? *wink*
i was waiting too. I thought, Carlos is not the type to keep quiet on this one.
And just this Saturday, I was saying to the wifey, "It'd be interesting to see what Carlos has to say on the Malu issue..." :)
Thank you, Carlos, for the most clear-headed take on this really ugly issue. Took some time, but it's really worth the wait.
i know you mean well but i don't agree with you when you said:
"Good for GK, I'm definitely sure they are going to be better off and gain more international/local support if they remove religion from the picture and embrace a more secular tone to their mission of alleviating poverty."
this statement is contradictory. GK arose from CFC's religious fervor. it's not logical to 'prune' something by picking its fruit and removing its root.
I know it's baaad to be part of the mob wanting to lynch malu...(yea, yea, that makes us no different daw from her, blah-blah.) But for all the flak and all the threat she's getting: SCHADENFREUDE.
Great news on GK! I hope it means that soon, unlike before, they'll allow contraception in the communities!
Oh so she really is uncouth? I thought she was just doing bad satire....
Proof that you can we pedigreed but still ill-bred....
Yes. That's right Schadenfreude. Oops. I forgot the "C".
Anyhow, Baldagyi, I like your pretty metaphor, but florid words aside, GK would be much more effective if it spent more time teaching people about sanitation, hygiene, the three R's and work ethics instead of dwelling on the evangelization of a captive audience.
Accepting more help from other religions would also be a wise thing to do. And as for birth control. That argument is too obvious. Less kids. Less poverty.
PERIOD.
Ok. Now all you scandalized die hard Catholics. Bring it on. I know this last statement will get your gears grinding for sure.
Ahaha. Social climber.
Hi Carlos,
This is not at all related to the topic. But ran to another blog called Metroplex. you might find another ally in promoting awareness for Manila. here is the link:
www.metroplexed.blogspot.com
She's slob and doesn't know what she's talking about.
rmada
This is probably the most sensible blog post I've ever read about the Malu issue.
As for the GK separating from the CFC... that's sad news. =( I've always loved being a part of both, and knowing that just by being a CFC member and helping out in what little way I can, I contribute toward the goals of GK as well.
hala, she's back
Carlos,
I got here through Senor Enrique. I love what you're doing for the city of Manila. Amen to your views on the Pinoy elitist, wannabes and matapobres!
Maiba tayo. I found this fabulous video of the letterpress and it's a really beautiful mini-feature. (I've embedded it in a blog entry.)
Do we have working presses like those in Manila still? It would be fabulous to include them in the walking tours.
Hey.
Why did you take out the part of the essay about Malu not attending her father's funeral?
I took it out because she asked me.
And also to respect her father's memory. I'm easy.
But still, I hope that through everything that has happened to her lately, she finally realized that words can hurt. And to be more responsible with them. She now can see the power of the written word.
I think she has learned her lesson.
Let's see where she goes from here.
Carlos,
Did she ask nicely or did she threaten to throw you into a room full of OFWs and/or douse you with Axe and Charlie?
In fairness, she asked quite nicely. Nothing confrontational at all. And she didn't ask to have anything else aside from that part removed either.
She is human after all. And I did go below the belt. She said that she was very much distraught and that is why she didn't go. Ok. I'll buy that. I'm now feeling bad about it. Gosh. It's so easy to make me feel guilty.
"There are three things which Lee Kuan Yew believes have hampered Philippine progress. First, the traditional power elite who have a detached attitude towards the sufferings of the masses, similar to the mestizo hacienderos of other former Spanish colonies in Latin America......"
This Singaporean statesman laments that many political and other troubles have hampered Philippine economic progress. He writes: "This was a pity because they had so many able people, educated in the Philippines and the US. Their workers were English-speaking, at least in Manila. There was no reason why the Philippines should not have been one of the more successful ASEAN countries. In the 1950s and 1960s, it was the most developed, because America had been generous in rehabilitating the country after the war... Some Filipinos write and speak with passion. If they could get their elite to share their sentiments, what could they not have achieved?"
--quoted from an article
Its so sad but Lee Kuan Yew got it right.
One good thing that arose from this debacle is the spotlight placed on the role of the country's elite in the social malaise and extreme poverty plaguing the country for quite some time now. Although not a few of them has been good citizens of the country (investing in businesses and establishing foundations to help the less fortinate among us), many of them have been far less responsible. Not only do they not pay the right taxes, they stash a lot of their earnings abroad, instead of reinvesting part of their income back into the economy. They treat their workers as if they were their properties. They do not want to invest in their workers' skills development and a lot of them do not even have the decency to pay proper wages to their workers. In addition, they promote this ridiculous contempt for the "masa" and all that it represents even if they know that they can't live as luxuriouly as they do without the masa. And if the economy becomes unstable for one reason or another, they are the first ones to fly off to some foreign country.
As the saying goes, to those much is given, much is required. What differentiates our country from our more advanced neighbors in the region is the sense of national responsibility among the latter's elites. There's no denying that they're there for the money as well but they invest in their country and in their people. They will not engage in cover acts that will jeopardize the interest of the majority. All the political bickerings that have destabilized the country can be attributed to a considerable extent to fights for a bigger slice of the economic and political pie between ruling elite families in the country. And when their countries face a crisis (just like the Asian crisis of the late 90s), our neighbors' elites don't flee to some Western country.
People have always cited corruption as the number one cause of our problems. Without denying the severity of the problem, I also agree with the comment made by a Korean student that it's influence has been overemphasized. Corruption also exists in our Asian neighbors (specially China and India) but their economies are booming. It's the people's lack of love for and pride in the country and what it could potentially be is what's pulling us down. Since the socioeconomic elites play an important role in the country's economic, political, and intelelctual lives, the task of taking the initial steps of transforming this country lies in their hands. They should lead by example by showing greater sense of responsibility and concern for the wider community. They cannot expect discipline from the masa if they themselves pay their way out of every troubles they fall into. They should evoke a sense of pride in the Filipino culture because without it, we cannot remove ourseleves out of this rut. That's why I admire the likes of David Celdran who go out of their comfort zones, mingle with the unwashed masa, and show everybody what our country could aspire to be.
Jose Rizal has been right all along in El Filibustersimo. The elites of this country have a lot to do with the sad state our country has been in for too long now.
David? Do you mean Carlos?
Carlos is my idol! Yours is the most sober comment on the OFW issue and not to mention, a wise comment on GK, with which I totally agree, and I am an staunch hardcore Catholic. I too am in Malu's circle.
The OFW's sacrifices of life and limb are not shared by those in the upper crust like this society writer, who have unwittingly benefited from the OFW's economic contributions. Ironically, it is the comfortable life, which we owe to the people like our househelp, that makes us pitifully disconnected and detached. Those who can use the flaws of these unfortunate people for sheer entertainment shows insensitivity.
I hope that this incident would be a lesson for the rest of us Filipinos to look at our people and ourselves from the eyes of those not as fortunate as us.
SCHADENFREUDE indeed !!!
I wonder what Malu's PURPOSE in life is.
Malu and to the rest of our HERO OFW's, take this from the AVENUE Q: IT IS ONLY FOR NOW.
Plaudits to Carlos for his retort that words can hurt. Carlos, you are my idol.
Tschuss.
"Just look at the PIPC scandal. Some Singaporean guy named Michael Liew runs off with U$250million from the pockets of the Pinoy perfumed class and both our country and it's economy are still standing. Php250 million! That's almost the entire Gross National Product of the Solomon Islands or the cost of a brand new international airport and yet nary a dent was put on our currency nor our stock markets. This only proves that that the Philippine elites have the financial capacity to pull the country out of poverty but yet it's their apathy and lack of priorities that prevent them from using this money to achieve social progress."
You know why our economy wasn't crippled? Michael Liew ain't no Singaporean. :-) That 250M is right back in the Philippine banking system as we speak...
Really? You think the money is still here? In whose bank account?
My theory is that the money was never here to begin with. The money that the investors used was always abroad in some foreign bank account. Only the transaction was local. I really think that most of their investements were salted dollars that were never declared. That's why the people involved are so apprehensive in letting their identities be known lest they be charged with not paying the taxes on it or such..
Nicely written piece. A great explanation on what plagues our society. If only the rich had more sense of nationalism....
The rich don't have a sense of nationalism because they know they're resented by their co-nationals - so what's the point of being pro-masa? You're just pretending, just like the poor or middle-class are pretending in their dealings with you.
going back to the GK issue, my father is one of the people in charge for GK in Ilocos. He says the separation was actually suggested by CFC and the church, and that the separation was amiable.
they suggested that it's better for GK to separate from CFC and be its own foundation since it has been self-sufficient for how many years now.
My father (NOT a member of CFC) says CFC has other projects in the pipeline, and they're happy with GK's success.
GK turn secular? Not gonna happen. Not while die-hard Catholic Fundamentalists like Tony Meloto are in charge. A guy can't look that much like a Malay Newt Gingrich and NOT be a Fundie. He strikes me as the type that would sooner EAT a condom than pass them around GK villages.
Malu Fernandez is back at the Manila Standard,
Yes she is back. Palabas lang pala ang pagreresign nya. Nagtataka ako sa Manila Standard, ang daming magagaling na writer dito at bakit kailangan pa ibalik ang epal na yan.
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=goodLife2_oct8_2007
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