A Business Graduate's Reviewing History Blog

Photo credited to Michael Collins and Marty Syjuco I remember getting the shock of my life when somebody told me, "You still remember Larrañaga? He was innocent!" in Cebuano. I replied with a "Huh?" It seemed too good to be true. After I heard it, I checked out Give Up Tomorrow (read my review here ) sometime before the badly made movie Jacqueline Comes Home came out in 2018. I decided to check the movie a few years later out of boredom but it was more boring than the rainy evenings (read my review here ). I even had a friend (will not mention his name to protect his privacy) who was with Francisco Juan "Paco" G. Larrañaga on that night. The photo above couldn't be manipulated at all. If one is in doubt, why not have the photos checked for authenticity rather than just jump to the conclusion?  The Chiong Sisters went missing on July 16, 1997. Paco was later rounded up as one of the suspects in a crime that happened on July 16, 1997. Where was Paco at ...

PhilStar It's difficult to talk with people who are still comfortable with what they already know, right? However, the term Dilawan need not be drowned in negativity, but it can be drowned in negativity if the brand gets marred in a popularity-based political system. The Philippines currently uses the presidential system. If we were in a parliamentary system right now--chances are Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos Jr. wouldn't be prime minister due to the difficulty involved as explained in  " How to Become Singapore's Prime Minister, Explained in 7 Steps ". That means all candidates would need to do the following: Study and specialize Wait for the call Tea sessions and panels Take a test Perform well as an MP Win the trust of your peers Prepare for office The Dilawans can call themselves the genuine opposition, march in their proud yellow t-shirts, and more. However, under a presidential system, there's no real opposition, and the platform of any party...

Here's a clip of the late Carlos P. Celdran and Teddy Boy Locsin Jr. from Michael Collins' YouTube channel. Until now, I still wonder if the director of that awful film Animal (2004) namely Federico "Toto" Natividad Jr. was also there during the Cinemalaya premiere. The film Animal (2004) was once entitled Butakal: Sugapa sa Laman in 1999, meaning Male Pig: Drunkard in Body . This clip talks about just how the whole media frenzy caused a double miscarriage of justice.   Celdran, a known reformist and vocal anti-Duterte critic, voiced out the unethical making of a Maalaala Mo Kaya episode. Did I miss something back in the 1990s? All I remember was broadcasting an episode in The Calvento Files.  Until now, the ABS-CBN YouTube channel hasn't uploaded it. How both Marty Syjuco and Collins got some clips of the film isn't specifically said. I believe Marty and Michael went to the late Tony Calvento, asked for his permission, and were given permission. I believe tha...

As it's July and it's been raining hard , it's hard for me not to think of the Chiong Sisters case. It's because the two sisters disappeared during a rainy evening . Sure, it's already been more than 20 years. However, an injustice for one is an injustice for all. In this case, it's not just injustice for the #Chiong7, the families of the #Chiong7--but also for the Chiong family. There's really no real justice when the wrong people are convicted.  As I watched Jacqueline Comes Home --I can't help but comment where God supposedly spoke to Thelma Jimenea-Chiong, where Mrs. Chiong went to a group of seances (which may have never happened and Mrs. Chiong stormed out of the theater, crying, during the rape scenes), and a scene where Marijoy's ghost was at the ravine at Tan-awan, Carcar. Now, it's time to look at another angle of the witnesses that came forward to incriminate Paco. Were there ghosts or money? This would be an interesting question to as...

 Above is a hilariously stupid video called "Dumb Ways to Vote". I remember back in the 2010s when I said, "How can the Philippines become better if Filipinos don't vote wisely?" I would spell out things like, "When will Filipinos learn to vote for doctors, lawyers, and economists instead of actors and athletes who know nothing about politics?" What's even stranger is that the same people addicted to personality politics (and I even assume that both Atty. Maria Leonor Gerona-Robredo and President Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos Jr. won because of personality politics ) throw Ad Hominem attacks towards Senator Robinhood Padilla, who's still pushing for charter change . Some would call him names like Boy Chili or remind people of his already ex-convict status . I didn't vote for Padilla because I've had enough of voting for athletes and actors. However, I prefer to backfire, "Do you ever wonder why Robin Padilla won first pl...

I remember reading a lot and I mean a lot of bad reviews on Jacqueline Comes Home . After many years of deciding not to watch it, I decided to watch it out of sheer boredom . I watched Give Up Tomorrow (read my review here ) before this lackluster film,   and even read the Supreme Court of the Philippines decision. For people who are curious about this incorrigible law student I ran into a few years ago--I'm not going to name her out loud. I wouldn't be surprised if this law student (I believe she's a lawyer now and I'll refer to her only as Atty. Naunsa Ba Ni (who also got married and I'll call her husband Atty. Imbento Ug Istorya meaning To Invent Stories), to avoid direct confrontation since I feel she's not worth arguing with) would use the film Jacqueline Comes Home as "proof" of the "infallibility" of the Supreme Court decision, even when Given Up Tomorrow presented a lot of proof that something was horribly wrong with the Philippine ju...

I've observed that Filipino humor can get way too far. I used to fight a lot with two housemaids who had their tactless sense of humor. What do you expect from a nation that adores ill humor on television? Reading the tactless humor made on Facebook on Ju Wenjun (and I doubt this woman can even speak Tagalog) and comparing her to Bamban's suspended mayor Alice Leal Guo (who I believe might be a fugitive on the run from the CCP), gets really tactless comments.  Do I need to state the fact that a person can't be in two places at the same time ? Wenjun is in Norway and it's doubtful she's ever been to the Philippines. Looking at the face of Alice vs. Wenjun--one can tell the difference. It's like a closer look at the face of the alleged "Marijoy Jimenea Chiong" photos--one can tell that's the sister-in-law . Also, a closer look at Debbie Jane Chiong-Sia would show she's not her presumably deceased older sister Jacqueline Jimenea Chiong.  Watching...

I went to China in 2007. It pains me that going to China now might not be the best thing to do. When I think of Tiananmen--I think of the brutal massacre that happened on June 4, 1989. I guess not all peaceful protests work. It's effortless to talk about the EDSA Revolution of 1986 and how it encouraged others to do something similar. We have the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany. Before that, Mohandas Karamchand "Mahatma" Gandhi did peaceful protests to get the British colonization out of India, without firing a bullet. Benigno Simeon "Ninoy" A. Aquino Jr. admired Gandhi's peaceful efforts. Did the Chinese students think that the same thing could work against a Communist totalitarian regime ? BBC News The protests happened after the death of the beloved Chinese President Hu Yaobang. Hu was considered a great reformer of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Students mourned for Hu as a national hero. Details from BBC show these details why the protests happe...