Philippine Blog Awards Controversies
I find this so funny that I just have to share this with everyone.
Sasha: If you attend more blogger meet ups, you’ll definitely benefit from it. Trust me!
Poell: you can say that again. i really learned a lot from the blog parteeh thats why i was eager to butt in again at the awards night. and i did learn a lot : sex, sex, sex & politics. what the hell would u get kung katable natin si piere and shari! kidding aside i did learn a lot from our convo. from “A” of fashion to the “Z” of politics.Poell to Liz: DONT SIT WITH PIERE & SHARI! (you know im not joking lol)
Jeff: pareng poell, that was a blast. ang galing mo mag-moderate ng mini-debate nila jester and chris nyahahah
Poell: buti pa nga ung sa kanila, medio nakakarelate ako dun sa ibang topic. but between piere (jester) and shari… naku! sasabog ilong nyo sa LEFT, RIGHT, NPA, party list at kung anu ano pa lol :P but in away, they both have a point one way or another.
Perhaps it’s this exchange of comments that made me think about posting about something that’s somehow related to it, but then again, maybe not. Nevertheless, Poell, black propaganda! 
In all fairness to the great Pierre a.k.a. The Jester-in-Exile — who, inspite of my saying that I’d share the bill, still insisted that he’d pay for everything — is one of the most flexible characters with strong personality I’ve ever met in my entire life. You can talk with him about anything and everything, and still get a dose of intelligent shits. Darn. If only I was as articulate as he is…. 
Politics is one of the many things I find interesting and worthy to talk about (the no-no list includes love, love life, celebrities, show business, anything too mainstream, blah blah blah). I’m not very good in expressing my political opinions so I find it a delight to hear and/or take part in exchange of views about some things. Obviously, there are people who don’t share this certain interest with me. A lot of of youth just can’t be bothered, and even attempt to do a “guiltless” Tim Yap to make a flawed and ridiculous point. And this interest of mine is what separates me from most people my age (I can’t talk politics with my friends, I swear). It’s what makes me somewhat different. And talking about it with someone like me, in front a, let’s say, Tim Yap, can be taken by some people as insulting.
Lately, I’ve been caught up following some “controversies” surrounding The 2007 Philippine Blog Awards. Call me a pessimist, but in any given situation — especially in events as big as PBA — something wrong is bound to happen, one way or another, even if you think that you’ve thought of everything already. The finalist selection process has been questioned, and even the finalists themselves have been questioned. Of course we can’t discount the fact that the roster of judges was the deciding factor in the result of the PBA finalists and winners. Hmm, I wonder if their credibility has also been questioned, hehe. Oops. Me bad, me bad.
First off, the disrespectful way of how JJ was treated by some volunteers before the program. He was there to proxy for Nostalgia Manila. L.A. and I were the ones who were appointed to be the usherettes (hehe) in the auditorium entrance. So yes, I was obviously one of these volunteers.
After arriving at the venue I noticed that all the people out there were already having great time conversing with each other. I realized that if I tried to intrude by breaking off a conversation with my pointless small talk it would rather be rude. So I just headed off to the the auditorium, took some pictures of the event and the stage to send them later to NM’s creator. After observing that most of the people weren’t even inside I tried to go out again at the lobby to mingle with some people. I passed again at the auditorium doors and I realized that the great Misteryosa herself was one of the volunteers at the door. Anyways after some pointless and self bickering, I convinced myself that I was simply not that interesting and looked rather stupid to pick up a small talk with other people. I just bolted towards the auditorium doors where I stopped and took the chance to shake hands with the great Misteryosa. I also took the liberty of being civil and introduced myself to the group she was with. I told them my name and proudly announced that I was a proxy for the Nostalgia Manila blog. I was stupefied however, by the lack of tact of one of the volunteers after informing them that I, was merely, a proxy. That person said:
“BAWAL ANG PROXY DITO.” And the group laughed in a humiliating chorus, much like an avante-garde choir trying to pull off the Hallelujah Chorus. Imagine that. FUCK.
I really have no recollection of this happening even if I was there. At first I thought he was overreacting. We never mistreated proxies because in the first place, we couldn’t care less what the difference was between proxies, finalists and guests, except for the place where everyone could get comfortable in (heck, just imagine if the winner was at the balcony). It saddens me because I was one of the people who disrespected him. And to think that I was just exchanging messages with him before I left for Makati. I thought that what he heard was probably just a joke. Heck, if I were in his shoes, I’d probably just laugh it off and joke with the volunteers some more. I’m not one who takes offense very easily (and I would never even think of that catty remark as something offensive). But then, he nailed a valid point: never expect that what your group finds funny can be funny for other people too. And it’s a point well taken.
Meanwhile, Benj declares that the invocation led by Father Stephen Cuyos is politically incorrect.
Was the prayer well-written? Yes, it was humorous and it’s actually refreshing to see that people are not injecting wit into their private conversations with the entity that they believe as their creator.
Was it done in good taste? Hell no. All the parts in red are the segments that I feel were done in horrid taste. It’s absolutely disgusting.
Praying could have been a simple message of thanks, a few words to ask for guidance and blessings or even than a general spiel wishing for everyone’s wellness. Assuming that all blogs are directed towards a common goal is idiotic. To presumptuously claim that all blogs exist to forward the christian faith is bigoted.
I was busy helping Liz and Ate Apples in the registration area when the program started. And because we couldn’t miss it for the world, we decided to leave the giveaways outside for everyone to take, and ditched our post to watch the program. The Philippine national anthem and invocation were already finished by that time, so we just watched the show innocently, glad that we were finally getting the much-needed break (well, I consider walking around in heels a very hard work, you know).
It was just in the post-event party that I came to know about the content of the prayer. I laughed hard because I thought it was wickedly cool to include RSS feeds and copyright infringement in the invocation of an event like the blog awards. An excerpt can be read below.
Make our hearts meek and humble
that we may treat our readers as friends, not as unique hits,
that we may strive to change ourselves for the better more often than we pimp our site templates,
that we may find more time to ease the pain of someone in our own home than to reply to comments left by strangers,
that we may interact with our next door neighbors as often as we chat with our blogrolled friends,
that we may be more concerned about helping the less privileged than about the number of subscribers to our RSS feeds.Deliver us, Father, from spams and viruses, from pride and selfishness, and from the temptation to replicate images without permission and copy ideas without crediting the original authors.
If you would read the whole text, the prayer presumes that everyone in the auditorium is a Christian by faith. Even if I were there inside during the invocation, I would probably just tune out — as I usually do. But Benj has a right to express his disgust for what he sees as blatant disregard for people who didn’t share the same religion (note the “Christian” in the prayer).
The Philippine blogosphere might be composed of just a minority of middle to upper class people in the country, but we need not forget the fact that there still exists diversity among us. And this is what makes the blogosphere rich and such an interesting place to share our thoughts and opinions, and also learn from other people. It just so happens that we have one definite thing in common, and that is we blog.
Jomar, as one of the hardworking members of the organizing committee of the awards night, wrote an entry entitled “Things You Don’t Know About the Philippine Blog Awards 2007“, and one of them seems like a response to Benj’s post.
Benj and other non-religious folks must remember that they are in the Philippines and prayers before events are standard.
To which I vehemently disagree with. Conflict of different interests and beliefs. Praying, a standard? Since when? And to quote myself, “if it really is, it shouldn’t be”. Funnily enough, it reminds me of my pro stand regarding the legalization of divorce in the country. Just because the Philippines is a country predominated by Christians, it means that the Philippines is a Christian country. Please do check your biases in place.
Case-in-point: Differences. It all comes down to the fact that we all have differences. And people who know this should also recognize the possibility of clashing ideas and perceptions brought about by a simple yet noteworthy incident. Misunderstanding. Miscommunication. And incidents like the ones mentioned above teach us that in order to avoid similar incidents in the future, we must keep in mind one important lesson.
Live and let live. And learn.
Uhm, that’s three. I think.
Related blog entries not linked yet:
- Apathy Towards Zealotry Is Not An Option by Benj. There’s a comment left by Gail which is worth reading.
- It’s “We”, not “They” and Blogging is a privilege, not a right by Abe Olandres
- On prayers and invocations by Connie Veneracion
- A Note to Unsent (The Guy Who Got Dicked At The Pinoy Blog Awards) and When The Bough Breaks
- Philippine Blog Awards: Musings by Michael
might edit later….
Benj and other non-religious folks must remember that they are in the Philippines and prayers before events are standard.
if you vehemently disagree, i’m fucking disgusted. well, ganyan ang takbo ng utak ng masa. lol. and i’m not part of the masa.
huh? d ko gets yun prayer. pero hello? what’s wrong with that? I mean pag catholic or muslim din naman yun opening prayer ng event na inattendan ko, i dont react violently. eh di wag syang sumunod sa prayer if he doesnt want to. is that a big deal? sorry if i misunderstand your post, then please enlighten me.
Hi shari! i just skimmed over this post, but i can say its a must read
YEAH IT IS!
oh people, dont get me wrong with my exchanges of thought with other people
sarcastically speaking, its the other way around… baka kasi seryosohin nyo and wala ngang lumapit kyna piere and shari hehe… damn them if they do 
, we wouldnt last talking from 10am until 6am straight!
imma be back in a while, i just have to meet someone at the powerplant early now… catch you later!
Just because the Philippines is a country predominated by Christians, it means that the Philippines is a Christian country. Please do check your biases in place.
Please do check your biases too Shari. Avoid being double-standard. You call people against divorce bias, and what do you call yourself? arent you’re being biased to your own ideals? Not all people share the same ideals as yours, so i believe it’s not really correct to call people with different ideals than yours biased.
Now I see what everyone is blogging about.
ang haba na naman ng entry mo. i got lost in the 3rd paragraph ata.
re-visit ko na lang mamaya uli.
Ems, that’s why it’s better to keep things general. Having presumptuous claims in a prayer increases the likelihood of conflict tenfold.
wow! pati sa prayer… hehe…
kakainggit nga eh wala kame dun.. tsk…
Hmm… blogger meet ups. Unless you and others keep a notebook with you if the meeting is IRL, then you might be lucky to get more exposure.
Online, I think there are just a lot of people wanting to be heard. That is what the blogging community is all about, not just on one nationality.
Philippines are not majorly Catholic??? I thought that was it and divorce in Catholicism has to be done by the Pope granting it and that is expensive. At least that is was I learned from my stepmother who grew up Catholic before she decided she fitted better as a Southern Baptist.
I noticed when a comment is posted on Gail’s blog that she gets all defensive. Why does she get defensive? Pay particular to this.
Woot! Sabi na nga ba di ako babahain ng comments dito eh! Makakasagot na ako sa comments ng hindi mahihilo
Keysi: The hell you’re not.
Ate Ems: Benj is right. Better keep things general. It’s a blogger meet-up. I wouldn’t react violently as well, pero let’s face it, there is that possibility na talagang you’re going to offend someone by assuming na lahat ng nandun ay Christians at dapat maging “kasangkapan” ang blogs to “lead [bloggers] closer to him”. Kahit some Christians na nakarinig nung prayer mismo agree with Benj. The point is that it’s not politically correct, gaya nga ng sabi ni Benj.
And excuse me lang po, I never said that all the anti-divorce people are biased. Even the lawyers I know who are Christians know enough about the law to save their religious bantering when it’s the law we’re talking about. Ang point ko lang kaya sinabi kong icheck nila ang biases nila eh don’t bring in religion to the law, like what most people’s arguments are para lang sabihing wag i-legalize ang divorce sa Pilipinas. If that is being biased in my own ideals (dahil yun ang nasa batas), eh I’m proud of it. I believe that the church and the state should be separated, and face it, yung mga taong may kapangyarihan sa gobyerno, hindi yan ino-honor. If wanting to take into consideration the other religions in lawmaking is biased, then I guess I am. At least I’m not imposing my religious beliefs on other people.
I read the original 2nd comment. And it highly disappoints me that you even think that. Sa totoo lang, nainis ako. Right, right. Blame the bloggers. Sure. Whatever. It’s an insult to my senses, thankyouverymuch.
Poell: Weeeh, black prop ka pa rin! Haha!
AJ: Onga noh? Must remember: two clicks and the readers lose interest.
Nile: Philippines is a “majorly Catholic” country, but that doesn’t mean it is a Christian country. There goes the difference.
Suggestionbox: I think Gail has explained in the comment why she’s being defensive: she feels that the criticisms aimed towards the blog awards are personal attacks in disguise. Take it from there. I could have said and done the same thing just to protect the people who made the event possible. She feels for them, and is sticking with them. And honestly, I cannot fault her for that because hey, I was also a volunteer. Kahit ako rin naman nasasaktan sa sinasabi ng iba. Pano pa kaya yung organizers diba? But that makes me admire Gail — and the other organizers and volunteers and all the other people who made the event possible — more. Let me put it this way: they can accept criticisms gracefully, but they can only take enough.
my take on the prayer: benj had his say (and had a valid point), but he perhaps could have used a less vicious tone. abe and gail already recognized their error (for lack of a better term), and given that one cannot perform a rewind-erase-overwrite on past events, we need not browbeat them. instead, we go offer our assistance for the next event.
on the philippines being a “christian nation”: so muslims, animists, spiritualists, other non-christians, agnostics, and atheists are second-class citizens, or worse, are not considered citizens at all? anyone who promotes the “christian nation” fallacy is spitting on our charter, specifically art 2, sec 6 and in art 3, sec 5.
on poell: i kinda get the notion that he wants me to be absent on blogging events
on two clicks: nahawa ka na hahaha
Oh really? That is so embarrassing, and like you, I would’ve thrown myself to the deepest crater on earth because of such humiliation. Poor proxy.
About the controversies, I would also like to impart one. The ‘Blogger’s Choice’ nominees? Hell, I question some of the blogs that were included. Like, ‘is this a blog or some shitter just shit on the shitbox using his shitmouth to shit out.’ Boo. Parang nagmadali lang silang pumili (and I think minadali nilang piliin ako). hahaha. There ARE better blogs than me or than these no-shit-gooders. Lol. Wala lang.
YES. I AGREE WITH BENJ’S POINT! THE PRAYER WAS A BIG MISTAKE. It should not have generalized. Uber discriminating. The priest could’ve done better. The organizers could’ve done better.
He should have been informed that the Philippines is a melting pot of various identities and affiliations. Pero, what happened?
—
Oo nga pala. Nong karapatan kong mag-comment eh ni hindi nga ako nakasipot. Boo.
It’s the first naman eh, so it’s excusable. The organizers might have read this already.
prayer. it is just a prayer. what matters is your faith. I think it was an honest mistake by fr. stephen. ahihi. by the way, enjoyed reading your post. ahaha
The prayer may or may not have been overstepping certain bounds, but I disagree with Benj — I don’t find it malicious or bigoted. At worst, it was poorly worded. Pero tama na yan, nakaka tense ang away, napagalitan pa ako ng idol ko dahil pinatulan ko
I would have laughed if I have already warmed up with your group. Trust me I do love jokes. But the joke was awkwardly delivered. Bawal ang proxy dito simply means , “You don’t belong here.” Ikaw ba naman ang sabihan nun di ba? Would that be anywhere near the definition of funny?
And atheista’s take on the prayer is expected. Sabi nga nila Bikoy a moment of silence would have sufficed.
I was also thinking of writing about the rude group in the awards who was continuously launching profanities at the hosts (emcees). They were not the best hosts ever. But the fact that they hosted the event for free was enough for me to give them an A+. Pro Bono publico folks. If you’re the unwilling spectator in that event then shut the f*ck up or just get out.
I seriously think that they should have bouncers next year.
Wow, what’s up with the chaos? See, that’s why I only care about the Oscars!
The Jester-in-Exile: On the prayer, yes, that’s what I mentioned to both Jomar and Benj too. Hehe, asa pa si Poell na hindi ka niya makikita sa blogging events *hint hint iBlog3*
Neil: Shut up! You weren’t there. Bitter ka lang. LOL! And the Blogger’s Choice nominees are…nominated.
Haha bitteeeeerrrr! 
Deejay: Teynkyu!
Jorge: Sinong idol naman yan?
JJ: Sino yung rude group na yan?
And are you volunteering yourself to be a bouncer next year? Hehe! 
Kai: And I don’t even care about the Oscars. LOL!
The Jester-in-Exile: What clearly set me off during the second post was Jomar’s post. Everyone of us here would agree it’s stupid and clearly discriminatory, right? I didn’t like the way Gail seemingly took his side by obscuring the real issue and focusing on the matter I aired my sentiments. Manner is not the biggest consideration here.
The fact that someone has the audacity to say that the minority should just grin and bear it just because they have to accede to the whims of the majority is clearly bigoted and reeks of being a bully. Yes, it was phrased minus the derogatory terms, but in essence, what was it, really?
JJ: Didn’t the prayer have the same effect - “this event is not for you, non-christian”.
[...] I’ll begin defending my side as Phil. Blog Award winner Shari is accusing me of being a black propaganda whoever.>:( IM NOT! But Ok, I may have a fault on the way I over-react or sarcastically [...]
grabe shari, now that were off with our own fiasco-like topic of black propaganda,
people here are really talking huh…
AFAIk, prayers before events are really a “standard” in this country. It’s not just because of Christianity anymore but because it has been part of our culture and traditions here in the Philippines.
People are different. That’s a given fact and that can be one reason to explain Benj’s side but… if Benj already knew that things like this happens, he should’ve understand too that this things happen.
For tolerance of each others belief:
Dedicated to Pinoy Bloggers
Shari
- Grabe natulog lang ako. Paggising ko parang gumuho na ang mundo sa dami na ng issue about the Phil Blog Awards. And I thought we were only talking about sex. Hehe. I wanted to write my own piece regarding what everyone has written but too much has already been said so I will let it be. Mine is a mixture of what everyone else has been saying. I already apologized to JJ, being a volunteer myself, even if I know that the words said to him were never meant to offend. Fact is, no one should feel offended or hurt, or left out or miserable in any event. I feel sad particularly because it was an event that I have been part of. What has happened to JJ - to which Abe and Gail apologized for already - has turned into a war of words on “religion”. Benj’s views on Fr. Cuyos prayer was taken and written alongside with the “proxy” situation. Thus the lines blurred, the emotions mixed and now its all one big issue. Benj, Jomar, the organizers, the volunteers, the finalists, the religious and non-religious have all had their say on each topic. But really, that is what the comments section are for - to air your views whether personal or otherwise.. air your sentiments, air your side. But never lose the idea that the 2007 Philippine Blog Awards is a first. It is a first of something that I personally feel is a good thing and should be continued regardless of the controversies. Being a first, being non-professionals when it comes to events-planning, being human should allow for room for a lot of mistakes. Mistakes happen in the most organized of events even. Mistakes happen and in this event it did. I just hope that all of us have taken something good out of all the chaos. Because if all we were left with is a bad taste in our mouths then all this rising in arms serves no purpose.
Temptress Sharex is still to me the best personal blogger of all!
[...] are my personal commandments in expressing views. A checklist for me to avoid controversies and continue to live young, beautiful and stress-free. In the absence of proof, I am probably [...]
[...] who have no idea what the post-Blog-Awards controversies are, I believe Shari’s comprehensive post will tell you more about it. I am stunned by the issues that popped up suddenly after the Blog [...]
[...] end my blog hopping on this issue… I had this to say in a comment at the famous blog of MISTERYOSA.COM: - Grabe natulog lang ako. Paggising ko parang gumuho na ang mundo sa dami na ng issue about the [...]
What perhaps disturbed me that some people suggested that the minority should just swallow the bitter pill and forget about it. The minority do have the right to voice out what they think about the matter. But then comes the comments telling that minority shouldn’t be thinking of it that way at all. That nothing went wrong at that time in the PBA. I do rue the fact that the heated discussion has been blown out of proportion. I have hoped that it should simmer down. But still there are some who’re a bit of the war-freak in nature and continue to treat other people’s uncommon comments with such derogatory and inflammatory remarks and then accuse the other of doing quite the same thing they’re doing. Really, it’s a question of intolerance.
I agree Tess. If someone agrees with the “it’s standard (for one, it’s not even factual) ergo grin and bear it”, there has to be some serious logical misgivings his thought processes.
Sorry, people who think that way are total idiots.
Shari, you shouldve recorded the debate and uploaded it as a podcast!!! hahaha
[...] us PBA07–aware pinoy bloggers, can’t we all just agree to [...]
The non-Philippines resident (who also didn’t attend the show)… can only say, “It’s like watching a daytime soap opera, except without the hot sex and shirtless bods. So yeah, the PBA controversies… not nearly as entertaining. I’ll stick to my soaps.”
*Slinks away. Not interested in adding fuel to a fire that she never witnessed.*
It’s all good, dudes. Growing pains. It was, after all, the 1st Philippine Blog Awards, n’est-ce pas? And great effort by a great community.
I can be a politician see? So diplomatic AND I can lie when necessary. I could be lying right now! :P
This CSS Naked thing is freaking me out. I want the pretty colours back.
Dammit Shari, I mustve been too busy looking at my precious stones back in the hospital when all this happened!
ergo, my precious gallstones. lol. they salvaged 2 pieces 1.4 cm each. i’ll give ye a pic :P