Alec Baldwin’s joke about getting a Filipino mail-order bride provoked a sharp response in the Philippines, with one senator saying Monday that the “30 Rock” star faces violence if he ever visits.

Baldwin, 51, who is divorced with a teenage daughter, said in a May 12 interview on “The Late Show” with David Letterman that he would love to have more children.

The Emmy-winning actor quipped that he was “thinking about getting a Filipino mail-order bride at this point … or a Russian one.”

Baldwin has been involved in a bitter dispute with his ex-wife, Oscar-winning actress Kim Basinger, over custody of their 13-year-old daughter, Ireland.

Philippine Sen. Ramon Revilla said Monday that Baldwin’s comment was “insensitive and uncalled for” and an insult to millions of Filipinos.

He called the actor “arrogant” and said he is apparently unaware that the Philippines has a law against mail-order brides.

“Let him try to come here in the Philippines and he’ll see mayhem,” Revilla said, using a local idiom that implies the speaker will personally administer a beating

The senator is a former action-movie star who occasionally still appears on Philippine TV.

Source

For a typical Filipina lady, family comes first and this is something you have to instill in your system to better understand her and her culture. This factor could contribute to the success or failure of your relationship or marriage.

The family is considered as the basic unit of society in the Philippines and for a Filipina, faithfulness to her family take first priority. You may not believe that there are cases when a choice has to be made, the Filipina lady will choose her parents or family over you. (they have a saying you can get another husband but there’s only one set of parents for her).

When the children are still small, the parents do all they can to meet hardships and sacrifice to give them a better future. Thus, when the children are all grown up and are working, they are committed to their parents and they have one desire, and that is to work and make the life of their parents easier. The children are hesitant to leave home even when they are married and have kids of their own.

Frequently they would build an extension wing to the original house and the grandmother is once again taking care of kids – this time her grand children. They eat meals together, or in cases where families cook separately, they still knock on each other’s door and share their meals. Mealtimes, especially dinner is very rarely a formal setting. In fact, it s a pleasant get-together for the whole family as they swap stories about the day’s events.

In a typical Filipino family, the women are brought up with the tradition that when they marry, their husbands will take care of them and they will stay as housewives and take care of the family and the children. Times are changing though as more women found independence and satisfaction in working and earning their own money.

Filipino families have high regard for integrity, dignity, honor. They show high respect for the their parents and the elderly. Children do not call their parents by their first names like western countries because for them, this shows lack of respect. Fathers are commonly called Daddy, Papa, Tatang, and Tatay while mothers are called Mommy, Mama, Nanang and Nanay.

Probably nine out of 10 Filipinos would not think of sending their aged parents or even grandparents to any institution to be cared for by strangers. You must know that you have more fingers in your hands than there are homes for the aged in the Philippines.

The moment you say the heavily loaded words “I do” in front of the judge or the priest, you must understand that you are not marrying only the “perfect Filipina bride” for you but you are taking a whole package for life. Do not be surprised that right after your wedding you have earned yourself 2,000 new relatives whom you do not know. Strange children will kiss your hand and call you uncle, while adults may shake your hand or pat your arm and welcome you into the family.

One final piece of advice: Do not ever promise marriage to a lady if you are not serious. Filipina ladies do not play around and if you abandon her after taking liberties with her, the family loyalty takes over. Consider yourself lucky if you can go home and your mother can still recognize you, not after brothers, parents, uncles, cousins, neighbors (and those 2,000 new relatives you were about to acquire) runs to your girlfriend’s “rescue”. Blood is thicker than water, after all.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_Finch

By Marnette Federis

MANILA (Reuters) – In the Philippines, “malling” has become a verb, the act of going to a shopping mall and whiling away the hours.

The Southeast Asian country has three of the world’s 10 largest shopping centers, two of them in the capital, Manila. Scores of others, ranging from modern glass and steel structures to older, fading buildings, dot cities across the archipelago.

Although over 40 percent of the country’s 90 million people live on $2 or less per day, malls here are crowded at all times, and especially packed at weekends.

Around 80 percent of the Philippines’ population go to shopping centers and around 36 million people visit shopping plazas once or twice a month, according to Nielsen Media Research.

“People just come to the mall to stay cool, said Chris Balberona, a driver for a bank, who was at Manila’s Megamall watching ice-skaters on an artificial rink.

“Life is hard right now so we don’t really come here to shop.”

The air-conditioned malls are a boon in this steamy tropical nation. But shopping plazas in the Philippines have also become a place to pay bills, meet or watch people, eat or see a film.
more…

1. When getting on a jeepney that is already crowded with people, make it a habit to say “excuse me” as you go down the aisle to find a seat.
2. When paying, especially if you’re seated at the tail end of the vehicle, POLITELY ASK the other passengers to pass your fare on to the driver. Do not just say “bayad po” and expect the other passengers to get your fare and pass it on to the driver. Or worse, do not just extend your arm with your fare in your hand without saying a word and expect someone to react to that!
3. Always make it a point to thank the person/passenger to whom you passed your fare to.
4. If you hear somebody asking for a favor to pass his/her fare on to the driver, please always try to make an effort to do so. Don’t just sit there and act as if you’re not hearing or seeing anything. Remember, you’ve asked for the same favor before and will surely be asking for the same again and again for as long as you ride jeepneys.
5. If you get on a jeepney that’s empty, pay the driver as soon as you are seated. Don’t wait for someone else to get on and wait for the moment that he/she pays his/her fare and ask him/her to hand your fare to the driver along with his/hers.
6. Always make an effort to sit properly in a manner that will allow passengers (who get on after you) to find their seats easily. Don’t wait for someone to ask you to move before doing so. If you got on a jeepney that is already crowded, try to sort of “squeeze” yourself against the person sitting next to you.
7. If you feel that the person next to you is “pinning” you, try to flow with it and move yourself in the same direction and “squeeze” yourself against the other person sitting next to you.
8. Sit straight (perpendicular to the backrest) and try to keep your arms and legs directly in front of you. Guys, try to put your knees as close together as possible, it makes no sense at all to sit with your legs spread widely apart unless you have hernia. Also, if you need to hold on to the ceiling handle bar, please hold on to the bar with your arm(s) directly in front of you. Don’t extend your arm to the side and cover the face(s) of the person(s) you’re sitting next to. And girls (and some guys as well), as I have already mentioned, sit perpendicularly to the backrest, sitting at a 45 degree angle may be more comfortable, but you’re occupying more than one person’s worth of seating space.
9. If someone is getting off (or on) and you are holding on to the handle bar, put your hand down for a while, at least until after he/she goes past you. Doing this will give him/her something to hold on to to aide his/her balance as he/she goes down the aisle.
10. Those of you who have long hair, always (ALWAYS) bunch up your hair and swing it over your shoulder (to your chest). If it’s not that long… well… the bottom line is DON’T allow your hair to fly onto the face of the person sitting next to you!
11. AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, put your bag (or whatever it is you are carrying) on your lap. Not on the floor/aisle or on the seat (unless you are going to pay for the seating space occupied by your bag). Try to make an effort in keeping the aisle free of any obstruction.
12. AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, try to position whatever it is you are carrying in such a way that it is not obstructing the passage way or invading the space of other passengers.
13. DO NOT SMOKE!
14. If you need to get off, say so! DO NOT knock on the ceiling. DO NOT make that squeaking sound with your lips. DO NOT whistle. DO NOT make THAT hissing sound. It doesn’t take much more effort to say “para po” or “diyan lang po sa tabi” than to do any of those things.
15. If someone gets off at a location that is relatively close to where you are getting off (like a few feet/meters away), please get off already!!! For Pete’s sake, use your legs and walk once in a while!
16. If it’s raining and you’re carrying a wet umbrella, fold your umbrella as soon as you get on the vehicle and try to avoid letting it touch anyone’s legs.
17. Try not to sleep while you’re on the jeepney because it’s very likely that you’ll be using one of the persons you’re sitting next to as your pillow.
18. If you’re eating/drinking something inside the jeepney, please take the containers/wrappers with you when you get off. DO NOT leave them in the vehicle unless the jeepney you’re on has a waste basket. Never ever hurl them out the window. Same goes with gums.
19. If you are the only one seated on the front seat, please move yourself towards the driver if someone else is going to sit in front with you and allow him/her to take the outer seating space. If you want to keep the outer seat, get off first and allow the other person to get in before climbing back to your seat. Do not try to contort your body in a show of effort in letting the other person pass because the “extra” space you’ll be creating will not be big enough to allow for a trouble-free passage for any person (of any size).
20. If you are seated at the outer side of the front passenger seat and the person beside you is getting off, get out of the vehicle and allow him/her to get off easily. I repeat, do not just contort your body (and try to squeeze yourself deeper into your seat) because the “extra” space you’ll be creating will not be big enough to allow for a trouble-free passage for any person (of any size).
21. Guys, let’s be gentlemen… and ladies, don’t be prima donnas. Let’s all be courteous to one another and we’ll all be happy.

I am what I am

White, brown, black or yellow… it doesn’t matter
The color of my skin won’t unfold the true me.
You will never find out how good or bad I can be
Unless you’ll see through me

I am what I am

Asian, American, African or European… it doesn’t matter
My race or nationality serves no purpose
If the reason for my existence is to make a difference
And not to be different

I am what I am

Muslim, Catholic, Buddhist, or Mormons… it doesn’t matter
My faith is not your faith… My beliefs are not your beliefs…
Peace is what we all seek…
For that… Respect is what I need… and what I give you…

I am what I am

Tall, medium, large, or small… it doesn’t matter
For I will never let my structure hold me back
Don’t look down on me coz I will break the glass ceiling,
Reach for my goal and rise up from the crowd…

I am what I am

Grey, blue, brown or dark… it doesn’t matter
The color of your eyes makes you no better than I am
My ability to look back, see the present, and envision the future
Is what will make me better than you are…

Iris D. Collier

Officials of a Filipino government research institute said Saturday 4 million Filipino children are malnourished and the number is expected to grow as inflation forces households to cut down on food, the Philippine Daily Inquirer said on its website.

The officials of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute were quoted by the newspaper report as saying that most of malnourished children live in the southern Mindanao region, the central region of southern Tagalog and Eastern Visayas, where up to one-third of children under the age of 10 are either underweight or short for their age.

In the capital region of Metro Manila, four out of every 100 children are also underweight due to mal-nutrition, said the report.

Moreover, the increasing food prices would only worsen the malnutrition in the country, as the households begin cutting down their food budgets, said the report.

Many households are reducing purchase and consumption of fruits and meat, while vegetables and fish remain on the table because they are relatively cheaper, according to the report.

Filipino children are not eating enough vegetable and their diet consists mostly of foods high in salt and sugar and low in nutrition or low protein, energy, and vitamin intake, said the report.

Meanwhile, about 1.6 million Filipino kids are over-nourished, said the research institute, which is charged by the Department of Science and Technology to provides relevant technologies and scientific information on food and nutrition.

The inflation rate in June hit a 14-year-old high of 11.4 percent in the Philippines, mainly due to high oil and food prices and a weakening peso, the local currency, in exchange rate against the U.S. dollar.