The Top Ten Big Bad Blunders of 2012
We all know that the year is about
to end, the days are winding down, and there’s a vibrant new year ahead
to be thankful for. In retrospect the year 2012 presented us with some
of the most serendipitous discoveries in recent memory. This includes
meeting new friends or acquaintances that inspired, influenced,
motivated, and made our lives more interesting. However, it also had its
share of presenting us with horrendous and weird personalities that can
be considered as misfits of society.
If you have watched the movie “El Presidente” from the 2012 Metro
Manila Film Festival, there was this scene where the actor playing
Antonio Luna uttered the word “ulol” (idiot). Though that would have
been unlikely because the word “ulol” may have not yet existed during
that time (“baliw” or insane could have been a more appropriate word),
still the times have not changed at all . I hate to say it but there’s
quite a lot of “ulols” even at our present time. Seriously, there comes
a time in our lives when we’ve done something we wish we haven’t – a
sudden burst of anger that could have been triggered by past horrible
experiences, an unexpected reaction caused by negative influences all
around us, acts of passion brought about by the longing to be loved and
be understood, etc. But one thing is sure, we’re supposed to attack the
acts committed by the individuals and not the actual person behind these
so called blunders. Many of them have been victims of cyber bullying
because of these misguided moments. Join me now as I present to you the
Top Ten Big Bad Blunders of 2012 highlighting personalities only a mother would love.
“Kapag may anghang, Electric Fan lang ang katapat niyan”
Number 10. Sharon Cuneta
– Sharonians may hate me for this but the Megastar was said to have
been repeatedly engaged in quarrels with netizen bashers, over social
networking site Twitter, defending her daughter against a series of
tweets meant to lambast her and her family. The bashers were said to be
die-hard fans of Piolo Pascual who were equally enraged with her
daughter KC Concepcion’s break-up revelation with the said actor. The
live interview with KC at The Buzz somehow put Piolo in a bad light
giving many the impression that he was gay.
Though I admire Sharon for trying to defend her daughter, she should
have realized she was quarreling with fans, which form part of why
showbiz is a profitable business venture. If there were no die-hard
fans, celebrities will be a thing of the past. She should have been more
broadminded. My advice to Sharon, “Cool ka lang! Kapag may anghang,
mag electric fan ka na lang.”
Dionisia Pacquiao was seen on a TV Patrol newscast blaming pastors for Manny’s defeat
Number 9. Dionisia Pacquiao
– Manny Pacquiao’s mother was seen blaming pastors for his son’s defeat
in his latest boxing match against Mexican boxer Juan Manuel Marquez.
After Manny Pacquiao’s unexpected knockout, her mother’s blaming
statement is not what Manny needs. If you have a child who stumbled and
fell badly, what would you do? Would you yell and blame him for the
fall? She keeps blaming his son for changing religion, for spending
late nights in prayer meetings, and some other things associated with
it. Maybe she just could not face the reality that his son, with whom
she shared lots of victorious moments,was unable to deliver this time
around. Obviously, the old woman got so drunk with victories so that
when defeat came, she was unable to handle herself properly. “Mommy,
mayaman na si Manny with plenty of money and a wife so pretty, at kahit
natalo pa siya – di pa rin siya lugi!”
John Paul Encinas sharing his side of the story during a TV interview
Number 8. John Paul Encinas
– The laundry-shop owner who was caught on a security camera allegedly
assaulting a small eatery’s female cashier. Encinas became furious after
the woman badmouthed him in front of other customers. The surveillance
video showed Encinas grabbing the woman, pouring water on her, and even
forcing her to eat the paper bills! Regardless of how rude the cashier
was, going wacko is not a proper behavior especially towards women.
Women should be treated with utmost respect and understanding because
they have their big share of moody days – especially during their
monthly periods. “Kuya, kalma ka lang! Babae po yan! Di patas ang
laban!”
The bus driver was being provoked to get down from the bus to face the traffic enforcer
Number 7. Melchor Caballes -
This traffic enforcer from the Calamba City Traffic Management Office
was caught on amateur video showing how he went berserk after bus driver
Rolando Fadrigalan refused to surrender his driver’s license and be
slapped with a fine for traffic obstruction. The video, which has gone
viral on social networking sites, shows how Melchor took off his clothes
and threw down his motorcycle on the street probably to block the bus.
Aren’t traffic enforcers suppose to have undergone Neuro-Psych Exams
before being accepted in public service? Garbage in, garbage out – It’s a
government gone bad if these kind of people are kept or even just
suspended at the least. “Manong huwag kang magwala sa kalsada – doon
kayo sa isang kuwarto ni mamang drayber at magbunong-braso na lang
kayo!”
“Amalayer” was depicted in many memes going viral over the Internet
Number 6. Paula Jamie Salvosa
– That’s the name of the “Amalayer” woman on the video that showed her
berating a lady security guard named Sharon Mae Casinas at the LRT
station in Santolan as she tried to get on the train but was stopped
because she failed to put her bag on the conveyor of the X-ray machine
for security check. It did not take long before the video, taken by
Gregory Llamoso, went viral and earned Salvosa the nickname “Amalayer”.
However, if Salvosa’s statement to the media is true, that the lady
guard grabbed her so hard enough to leave a bruise, then all the hate of
the netizens is being directed at the wrong person. I would have
reacted a similar way if some stranger rudely grabbed me and then
pretends to be the victim. But just the same, she reminds me of the song
“Bitch” which goes something like this: “amalayer, amachild,
amamother, amasinner, amasaint, I do not feel ashame. I’m your hell,
I’m your dream, I’m nothing in between, you know you wouldn’t want it
any other way!”
Alcid was reported to have filed a case against Rama
Number 5. Annabelle Rama -
The controversial talent manager got involved in yet another fight,
this time while at a wake of late comedian Dolphy. Rama reportedly got
mad at an entertainment reporter named Chito Alcid. Rama scolded and
yelled at the reporter, and even tried to hit him with a stick. Tension
between the two was said to have started way back when Alcid began
writing negative stories about Rama. Surprisingly, after all her
“palengkera” attitude and disrespect for the dead, Rama officially filed
a bid for a Congressional seat this coming 2013 elections – “The nerve!
With the exception of her family and relatives, only a moron living on
another planet would vote for her. “
Robert Blair Carabuena was even called Barney because he was wearing a shirt similar to Barney’s skin color
Number 4. Robert Blair Carabuena
– Robert Blair Carabuena is among the characters that got a whipping
from netizens because of his untoward behavior against MMDA Traffic
Enforcer Saturnino Fabros. Carabuena was caught on video allegedly
mauling the traffic enforcer. The show of arrogance, as some of “his
friends” claimed, happened only because Fabros slammed the Volvo of
Carabuena. Regardless if there is any truth to the cause of such
volatile behavior, it is quite obvious who came out the better man in
the end. Carabuena’s action resulted into suspension from work (I’m
not sure if he was ever allowed to return to work for Philip Morris), a
permanent revocation of his driver’s license, and an eternal record in
history as a big bad bully. “Tapang mo kuya! Sa gitna ka pa ng kalsada
pumorma ng suntukan. Ayan tuloy ikaw ang binalikan – ng tadhana!”
Raymart Santiago, Claudine Barretto and a guy wearing a pink shirt ganging up on news reporter Mon Tulfo
Number 3. Claudine Barretto
– MonTulfo filed a complaint at the Pasay City Court against Raymart
Santiago, his wife Claudine Barretto, and a companion of the couple for
ganging up on him at the NAIA Terminal 3. Allegedly, Mon took pictures
of the couple and friends when they were berating an airline staff and
got ganged up when he refused to give in his phone with camera.
Barretto was seen joining the brawl instead of stopping Santiago and a
friend in beating up Tulfo. The couple were later threatened on-air by
the Tulfo brothers following their controversial brawl with Mon Tulfo,
so they in turn filed another complaint against the Tulfo brothers. A
few days later, TV5 got hold of a copy of a video supposedly showing
that it was the group of Raymart Santiago and Claudine Barretto who
first hurt the columnist and TV5 host. “Ayan na si Marina – Kalahating
malansa, kalahating madrama – kabuuan ay bungangerang boksingera!”
The Impeachment Trial of Renato Corona provided us with much entertainment especially from Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago
Number 2. Miriam Defensor Santiago
– Fortunately, I don’t have a thing for senile, sarcastic, and
menopausal women. Some people find themselves enamored by the presence
of Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago who has the balls to go up against
anybody including powerful figures of society. I hate to admit it but
she’s a war freak with an impeccable intellectual superiority. The
remarkable combination of her grumpiness and intellect sets her apart
from other politicians. Miriam always valiantly shows her fierceness
towards almost anybody through her degrading, yet somehow funny verbal
onslaughts. Miriam mocks, bullies and shames people in public which is
not a decent attitude of a public official. Some would say her intellect
had gone way overboard putting her near insanity, and that she’s better
off in the loony bin before she starts hurting other people. “Lola,
kunin ka na sana ni Lord – ang bait-bait mo kasi eh!”
How I wish Senator Tito Sotto could just be humble enough to give an apology instead of aggravating the issues against him
Number 1. Vicente Sotto III
- There’s no denying that Tito Sotto should be on the top of the list.
He has repeatedly shown many unimaginable acts totally unfitting a
public servant holding a high position in government. He keeps on
denying his shameless acts and constantly puts the blame on the
netizens, with special mention to bloggers, for exposing him and
eventually bullying him online. In reality, he’s probably just too
ashamed to accept his mistakes. He never expected that people would keep
on finding his devious acts of plagiarism or copying other people’s
work without permission and using it to serve his own distorted point of
views. “Tito Sen, lab you very much sa Eat Bulaga. May pag-asa pa basta
bawiin mo lang mga pinagsasabi mo ng mabawasan kasalanan mo!”
To borrow from some words of a friend,
“Life can be likened to movies, some are full lengths, some are shorts,
some will have happy endings, some will have sad ones, some will become
classics, some will be like badly made B-movies, but regardless of what
kind of movie it is, there is a story that needs to be told and I hope
this one is just unfolding (so we could still make sequels from it).”
For the list of Top Ten Big Bad Blunders of 2012, I hope they learned a lot out of their tragic and humiliating experience to change for the better.
Many of us
wish we could also be the director of our lives so that we can use our
cinematic license loosely to shout cut, retake the shot, or revise the
script of our lives when we find our story less of what a blockbuster
should be. For me, our lifetime is something sacred, it shouldn’t be
rewritten regardless if people perceive our lives as a flop. Just
continue to live doing the things we believe will help us top the
charts. Let’s all be a catalyst for change in the consciousness of
Filipinos by producing high quality film segments of our lives and not
the low budget flicks aimed just to draw the “masa” or mass audience.
One day when we’re already old, it would be fun if we can look back at
our accomplishments via a “playback”, with a bucket of popcorn in one
hand, our favorite drink in the other, and our loved ones at our sides
enjoying a very fulfilling movie with less regrets. Let’s all grow old
together living a life that we can call a big hit!
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
