VIVA Films' Uploading of "The Flor Contemplacion Story" on Youtube May Have an Anti-Constitutional Reform Motive

Some time ago, I wrote a review of The Flor Contemplacion Story. The movie was uploaded on February 13, 2024, last month. The movie was most likely uploaded on VIVA Films' YouTube Channel as a reaction against charter change, better yet known as constitutional reform. Migrante International was involved with the movie, where Ms. Nora Aunor won an award for best actress. For all the good acting the film has, the real content is just plain garbage.

I rewatched the film in HD. However, putting the film in HD can't change the fact it's not worth the watch. That's unless you want to debunk it. The film is probably used to defend the late Flor's "innocence" even after the results of the superb Singaporean justice system. It was also in the 1990s when Hubert Webb was wrongfully accused of the Vizconde Massacre when he was really in America at that time. 15 years of Hubert's life wasted. More than 15 years is also wasted trying to defend Flor's innocence.

This is my assumption as to why the film was uploaded around February 2024. It's because people who advocate for constitutional reform keep mentioning Singapore. It's hard not to mention Singapore for this reason. Singapore started out with third-world status and achieved first-world status. Several nations were impressed. Even Communist countries like China and Vietnam were impressed. Vietnam is a country rich in natural resources, also followed. It's hard not to mention Singapore because has become a model country despite its size. Who can deny Singapore's economic miracle had worked better than what the late Fidel V. Ramos or the late Benigno Simeon C. Aquino Jr. did?

The film tried to demonize Singapore in more than one way. Scenes of the proven false statements by Virgina Parumog were portrayed as fact. After all, the twin sons, Jon Jon and Joel (both are still in jail) starred as themselves with Efren Contemplacion's involvement. The film doesn't only try to portray Flor as a wrongfully accused woman. It also tried to show Singapore as a tyrannical place. The film also had scenes where Migrante International and Gabriela are glorified. Nora still gets involved with remembering Flor. After all, Nora took the lead, didn't she?

"No, the Philippines should never learn from Singapore. Remember our beloved fellow Filipino, Flor Contemplacion! Don't forget what Singapore did to her." is what Migrante may want to say. The film's jail scenes would make more sense if they were in a movie about the three drug carriers that got executed in China in 2011. However, Singapore is still democratic to a certain extent. The film can evoke anger and pity when one doesn't know the real situation. Former president Atty. Rodrigo R. Duterte also rode the trend in the 1990s, before he became the 16th president. FVR almost cut ties with Singapore until the autopsy reports proved Flor's guilt.

I wouldn't be surprised if representatives of Migrante International would screen The Flor Contemplacion Story in the Senate of the Philippines. CoRRECT Movement founder Orion Perez Dumdum has been speaking in the legislative. One of the representatives of Migrante, maybe either former chairperson Gary Martinez or its current chairperson Joanna Concepcion, will show the film as an illogical attack against Singapore and constitutional reform.

Imagine if its current chairperson, Joanna, would show the film to the Senate. Representatives of Migrante International will say, "Before you want the Philippines to learn from Singapore. Watch this film!" I would call that loose evidence because movies are open to artistic liberties. In the case of The Flor Contemplacion Story--the artistic liberties are taken too far as to try to make a guilty woman, look innocent. Migrante may commit the guilt-by-association fallacy that the Philippines shouldn't follow Singapore, because of Flor Contemplacion. They may throw in Ad Hominems next if ever their data are disproven. What do you expect when the Philippines is plagued by bad reading comprehension and logical fallacies?

I believe the timing isn't a bit off because March 17 is Flor's death anniversary. Instead, the film was uploaded earlier presumably because Singapore is often mentioned, during the hearings. It's most likely trying to evoke feelings of pity and anger from the audience, to oppose Singapore, and to learn from Singapore. However, none of their protests in memory of Flor has ever solved unemployment (read here). They didn't prove that FDIs can't create jobs (read here) and that the solution is national industrialization. When questioned, I believe they'll just throw in more Ad Hominems since they can't prove their point.

Get Stuck with EDSA, End Up Like Nokia

Yes, we should never forget what history teaches us. A classmate of mine, back in high school, wrote a simple and blunt essay called "History: A Teacher". I doubt he still has a soft copy, given it was already more than 20 years ago. I'd like to quote Duterte critic Andrew James Masigan wrote this in Philippine Star --something that should remain relevant: I would never undervalue the 1987 Constitution. It dismantled the legal framework of a repressive regime and established the democratic institutions we enjoy today. For this, I am grateful. The 1987 Constitution was crafted with the best of intentions. It sought to put the Filipino first in all aspects of governance and to level the playing field amongst sectors and peoples. But it is far from perfect. It failed to consider the importance of foreign capital and technologies and the stiff competition we would have to face to obtain them. In short, its economic provisions were short-sighted . So despite the Constitut...

#SahodItaasPresyoIbaba Economics' Bad Accounting

I would like to apologize in advance to my readers. The picture I'm presenting is in Tagalog, and not all my readers speak Tagalog. I would translate the picture's text into English for convenience. It says: "Ano ang bumubuo sa mga presyo?" means "What comprises the price?" "Gastos ng materyales" means materials expense "Gastos sa kasangkapan" means depreciation expense ""Gastos sa pasahod" means salary expense "Kapitalista" means capitalist Renta is well, rent "Kayang pababain ang presyo" means "Prices can be lowered". It says that capitalists (industrialists, landlords, bankers) and elitist governments are part in the gross profit. Get rid of excise taxes (either permanently or temporarily) for the prices of goods and services. In the times of crisis, in the burden of sacrifices, we need to be watchful for capacity. Whatever savings for times of difficulty by the workers and countrymen, the...

Past Chinese School Education in the Philippines was Based on "Sǐ Jì Yìng Bèi"

Chinoys of my age (and older) may remember these textbooks. I called them as the "symbol of trauma". It was memorizing something without understanding it . One would just memorize (without understanding it) because it was typical. Not being able to memorize what was assigned? Get a bad grade? One can expect physical punishment like hitting the hand with a ruler or chili in the mouth. Chinese language teachers are stereotypically strict . The language textbooks (above) are what were used during the 1990s to the early 2000s. As I wrote it, the Sinjiang textbooks aren't effective in teaching Mandarin , in a world where Mandarin has over a billion speakers! There's a Chinese proverb that says, "死記硬背 sǐ jì yìng bèi" or "Memorize to the point of death". That's exactly what those textbooks are. Memorize to the point of death! Okay, it may sound exaggerated. However, that's how Chinese language teachers in the Philippines were made to teach the ...

Migrante International's Really Bad Economic Literacy

March 17 (which is tomorrow) seems to be an unofficial holiday for some people, right? I'm sickened that the late Flor Contemplacion has been treated like she's some national heroine (and thankfully, tomorrow isn't a holiday) even after Singapore had proven her guilt. A movie was made by Joel Lamangan called The Flor Contemplacion Story . The call for Migrante (Migrant) International has been to remember Flor even after several years. What's not too surprising was to learn that Flor's sons were all arrested for drug-related charges. Even her eldest son died while in prison. You have Migrante International wanting to end the labor export policy. However, a post by Migrante really shows how this group fails basic economics. I will not post the whole press statement but one part that made my eyes roll. >> Further opening the country’s economy to foreign ownership and control will worsen the exploitation of our people and the environment without creating a susta...

"Filipino First Policy" Has NO PLACE in the Rising Asian 21st Century

I guess nobody saw the Asian 21st Century coming, right? China was once a poor nation but look at it now. Vietnam was once a poor nation but look at it now. Singapore was once a poor nation but look at it now. The late great Lee Kuan Yew wrote his book From Third World to First . I'm afraid some people have been using it to go against the presidency of Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. while ignoring what else Lee Kuan Yew had to say. Lee Kuan Yew described the Filipino press to be rambunctious on pages 304-305 which I agree. I'm afraid that the Filipino press may have had a hand in getting rid of any economic or political reforms that could help the Philippines. Yet, one policy has been holding back the Philippines for decades and yes, it's the Filipino First Policy . Reviewing the Filipino First Policy and why it has no place in the rising Asian 21st century I remembered how the values education subject taught Carlos P. Garcia's stupid Filipino First Policy as a Filipino value...

Has Passing Down Hatred for Singapore (Because of Flor Contemplacion) Economically Helped the Philippines?

PEH.ph It was on March 17, 1995, when Flor Contemplacion was executed in Singapore. I've noticed that I've been addressing her as the late many times, even if the late is a statement that may be ony appropriate if the person has been recently deceased within 10 years. It's about to become 30 years since Flor was hanged in Singapore. However, generational hatred would've been passed down from 1995 up to 2025. Some people are still tagging #JusticeFor Flor. These traits may be passed down from the Batang 1990s to their children in this generation. It may also be passed down from parent to child, even if the child was born in the 2000s to 2010s. Somebody born in 2000s and beyond might even say, "Papa and mama told me about Flor Contemplacion! That's why I hate Singapore!" Talk about a child born in 2004 who's probably angry with Singapore, because his parents kept telling him about how Flor was supposedly "unjustly treated" over there. Some tim...

My First Taste of Sichuan at Yang Hero IT Park

I was doing some random historical study. One of the many things I recalled from Asian history class was the Chinese Communist Party in Sichuan. It's an interesting piece of historical detail that Mao Zedong (and other Chinese communists) were avid lovers of spicy food . Yang Hero had its first branch in Gaisano Tabunok. It opened a branch in IT Park last May 25, 2023 . The menus had Chinese translations. The establishment has made me realize the importance of learning Mandarin . True, I could order their food without speaking Mandarin. However, I still feel that the increasing number of Chinese businesses left and right would mean, "You may need to learn some Mandarin now to connect with more people in the world." For a bit of background, here's what I gathered from Sun Star Cebu: Evanmarie Mendoza, social media specialist at Yang Hero, said: “The Chinese barbecue is also a must-try for foodies as it differs from the regular ones that we typically have here in the P...

Tealive's Aren Caramel (Kaong Sugar Caramel) Series

I usually tend to associate sugar with cane sugar. In this case, Tealive (read my review here ) uses a sugar known as gula aren. I did some research and found out that Gula Aren is made from the sap of the sugar palm tree. The fruit is also known as kaong in the Filipino language. Granted, the Filipino language also derives from the Malaysian and Indonesian languages--it may be derived from the Indonesian word kolang kaling . The Philippines may also be producing its own gula aren or palm sugar. Sugar palm or kaong is pretty much grown as a staple in Filipino cooking too. Here's a video from an Indonesian woman. Watching this, it's safe to assume that kaong farmers in the Philippines follow more or less the same routine. Maybe, some people may call it latik though latik is made from coconut milk and not coconut sap. Though, some Filipinos may still call palm sugar as latik. The video above also shows an Indonesian binignit with some kaong. I was shocked to learn kaong is also u...

Getting Stingy at the Cost of Fire Safety?

March is fire prevention month, right? If there are people who are too extravagant then I'd like to talk again about stingy people (read the article here ). I've tried growing up with the stingy vs. extravagant extremes. Some people become stingy even with the necessities. It's one thing to deny a child a children's party since it's a want . It's another thing to deny a child stuff they need all in the name of saving money . Even worse, some people may be more than stingy enough to ignore fire safety. A stingy person just wants to save. It's almost like the story of the Miser and His Gold or The Rich Miser . I really find these stories entertaining at the same time, irritating. The first story has the miser who hid his gold under the ground. Some people today are too distrustful of banks and investments. The second story has a rich man who even dresses in rags, denies his son's shoes, had his wife cook some cake only for him, and was so greedy he had it ...

Started to Invest in the ATRAM Global Equity Opportunity Feeder Fund

It's time to begin a new road into investing. I went from a moderate risk taker to a moderately aggressive risk taker. Of course, I need to be careful with how much money I invest or I don't invest the money that I need. I believe that one could start by investing 15% to 20% of one's income. Basically, it's money that's not needed now. Fortune Recommends gives this ideal sweet spot: Many of the experts we spoke with suggested, as a general rule, to invest a set percentage of your after-tax income. Although that percentage can vary depending on your income, savings, and debts. “ Ideally, you’ll invest somewhere around 15%–25% of your post-tax income, ” says Mark Henry, founder and CEO at Alloy Wealth Management. “If you need to start smaller and work your way up to that goal, that’s fine. The important part is that you actually start.” Some budgeting strategies account for this, such as the 50/30/20 budgeting strategy, which breaks your monthly budget into three ca...

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