Arbol de Fuego: Cherie Gil Leads Cast of Filipino Adaptation of Anton Chekhov's Cherry Orchard

Wazzup Pilipinas!

"It's serendipitous!" says Cherie Gil proudly as she lands a role in a play entitled 'Arbol de Fuego' that would honorably cap the 47th season of the iconic theater company we all know as the Philippine Educational Theater Association  or PETA. 

Arbol de Fuego is a Filipino adaptation of Anton Chekhov's Cherry Orchard. This is a re-imagining of the classic play having a somber yet with underlying sarcasm and humor that's now conveniently situated in a Philippine setting during the late 70s when Marcos made Roberto Benedicto his sugar czar- the beginning of the downfall of the Negros Occidental sugar industry and the gilded lifestyles of the Negrense sugar barons.

Last January 8, members of the media, including yours truly, the friendly neighborhood Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas, were invited to witness a dramatic reading of some portions of the play at the PETA Theater Center so we could meet the cast, director and writer, plus get glimpses of what to expect.

All of the cast have expressed that they have not even fully understood the characters they were portraying as they have only recently began rehearsing their lines and sink deeper into their roles. Nevertheless the preview was already promising that got us more excited to watch out for the media preview day.

MMDA Enforcers Wearing Adult Diapers: Practical or Dehumanizing?

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Whoever thought of the idea of forcing MMDA enforcers to wear adult diapers should try it himself at once, stay in the post under the sun and be ready to get strange looks from citizens all grinning with the thought.

They should have not divulge this stupid idea to the public since the MMDA Officers would surely feel a bit shameful standing at their post. Where's the dignity in this? Why can't there be a change of guard? There's so many policemen doing nothing at the police stations so why can't they be assigned to do shifting instead?

The wearers will likely need to buy trousers or pants a size bigger. A condom catheter with a urine bag strapped to the leg would be a better option. They will still have to leave their post to change the diaper anyway. But I do agree it will lessen their absence from their post. But who in his right mind would want to endure something to emotionally stressful especially if it will be done by the individual for the very first time. Hahaha, I would be laughing if they underwent training for getting used to peeing in the adult diaper!

I bet the MMDA found implementing several portable toilets all over very expensive so they decided to humiliate their people instead. MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino defends that the adult diapers are "1. used by the Beijing police during d 2008 beijing olympics , 2. used by all NASA ausronauts during all space shuttle launches and reentry into earth atmosphere and 3.used by Buckingham Palace guards." But hey, you don't hear them announcing these facts all over the news.  

Feast of the Black Nazarene: A Devotion Passed on to Generations

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Viva, Nuestro Senor Nazareno!

Today, January 9, 2015 is the Feast of the Black Nazarene. I'm always amaze how Filipinos would do anything for their belief. Happy Feast Day, Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno. Thank you for all the blessings, the miracles and the faith that abounds for all the believers.

There's 3,500 police officers assigned to secure the Nazareno procession or traslacion. I'm just not sure if it already includes the MMDA enforcers who were reported to be wearing adult diapers to keep them on guard at their post and avoid having them leave to look for a restroom or toilet. "Paano na kung natatae?" Lol!

How about you, do you think its a practical thing to do or would only put their personnel into disgrace and shame? Is it a violation of their human rights? Imagine having to do their duty while aware that they're "wet" in their pants. So when you're talking to an enforcer, wondering why it seems "kinikilig siya", now you know.

How come there was a long delay before the procession even started. The organizers from the church only realized to make use of the police to make the crowd move away from the path of the procession after a few hours of waiting. The church leaders couldn't make the people move out of the way so their men could connect the rope to pull the "karosa" or carriage holding the Nazareno. The people wouldn't cooperate since everyone wants to keep their location advantage. Kahit sinabihan na ng pari "Yung mga uusog ay pagpapalain, pero yung ayaw ay kakabagin" ay wala pa ring nangyari. Honestly, the behavior of some people at the Nazareno doesn’t bode well for the Papal visit.

The Nazareno image is one of two statues sculpted from pure ivory and were burnt aboard a ship during the Manila galleon expedition from Mexico leaving the other destroyed. The descriptive name of the sculpture is then taken it being "Black" resulting from the incident that happened. "Ang estatwa ng Nazareno ay larawan ng pagpapakumbaba, pagsunod, at pag-ibig."