Enabling sleaze

By Daisy Catherine L. Mandap

In life there will always be willing victims and enablers.

This was the reason why we had that disgusting spectacle of 10 nearly naked Filipina domestic workers parading in a Wanchai bar before some predatory male patrons, on the ridiculous excuse that they were having a beauty contest.

Were if not for the participants’ willingness to flaunt their bodies hidden only by the tiniest of thongs and silicone strips to cover their breasts, the whole event would not have happened.

And if there was no enabler like Roselyn who organized the sleaze fest and allowed a photographer in, there would have been no photos to be ogled at, passed around and held up for contempt by many.

But Roselyn may have been a victim herself.




In her world, putting together a show that allowed the women to flaunt all that they had, and perform stunts that appealed to men’s basest instinct, was par for the course.

This could be gleaned in her decision to send out posters advertising the racy “beauty contest” giving out her full name and telephone number, and then later attacking people who shared the pictures from what she called a private event.

Roselyn was egged on and not taken to task because the participants themselves appeared more than willing to outdo each other in baring their bodies and become the object of fantasy of the ogling men.



These men, and women, who reveled in having taken part in that lame excuse of a beauty contest, should be held to account. The men, specially, who persist in telling them that there is nothing wrong with baring flesh to win a dubious contest, but are really just peeping Toms out for a quick fix, are profoundly guilty.

But we have a larger community that is equally to blame, the one that at best looked the other way when women in skimpy attires paraded before them, using competition or entertainment, or charity, as the excuse.

We have collectively become an enabler for an activity that has degenerated into one that exploited women, held them up for contempt and ridicule, and worse, made them feel proud of debasing themselves.

Organizers of beauty contests call this confidence; in truth, it is a false sense of self worth.

Women should not have to expose their bodies or do salacious stunts to feel beautiful and fulfilled.



But the baring of flesh is not just the reason why we stopped giving publicity to beauty contests for nearly the past two decades.

For one, it isn’t hard to regard them as a charade, from the  meaningless parade of beauty queen wannabes in all sorts of attire, oftentimes garish, ill-fitting or at times, pathetic-looking; the vain attempt to make them respond wittily during the Q&A, and many other frustrating signs.



More importantly, they come out as mere money-making activities held at the expense of the contestants. Doing them supposedly for charity does not excuse the exploitation.

Early on, we did an incisive article on what went on behind the stage at these events, and found many women getting mired in debt in their desperation to become the next Sunday Beauty Queen.

The reverse is also true in some cases, when it is the organizer who ends up losing money because he or she was not astute enough to know how to squeeze enough money out of the contestants.

The money at stake is not something to sneeze at: $1,500 just to sign up and sell tickets to friends, a similar amount to hire a makeup artist and hairstylist to ensure they look their best on the big day, double this to hire a personal videographer, at least $500 to hire a drop-dead gown, and so on.

For the organizers, it could also involve setting up a stage on Chater Road, which costs upwards of $25,000. Naturally, this amount would be passed on to the contestants as private sponsorships are difficult to come by for this type of event.

All in, the expenses for each contestant amount to more than what a domestic worker makes in a month. If the worker is addicted to joining these contests, it would not be far-fetched to say she could gamble away several months of pay for the dubious privilege of being queen for the day.

Then there is the baring of flesh, which seems to have gotten out of hand over the years because organizers are always looking for ways to make their event stand out.

I remember in particular the one that made us decide to stay away from such flesh shows for good. Having been convinced to attend because of a promise that it would be a beau-con “with a difference” as there would be no swimsuit contest, I was dismayed to see it being replaced with a “best in jungle attire’ which creative contestants used to display more flesh than they would have if they just wore a bikini.

But the icing on the cake was when a loose tube top worn by a contestant came down not just once-but twice – during a production number, exposing her breasts in front of some 100 people in the audience, including the then labor attaché.

There were other sorry spectacles, including one where the contestants paraded in bikinis in the dead of winter in Chater Garden; and one where the women had to wear transparent negligees with no bras underneath in the “best in night wear” segment of a contest in Bayanihan Centre.

I am sure there are more, especially since we have determinedly stayed away from events that feature contests of this nature, and have thus luckily avoided witnessing the further degradation of our women migrants.

But the Wanchai event showed us the use of beauty contests to exploit Filipinas, particularly migrant workers, has not only continued but has worsened to the extent that the contestants in this flesh parade actually felt wronged when lewd photos they proudly shared on Facebook were copied and passed around.

When our core values as Filipinos have been torn to shreds because of events like this it is time to act.

Stop supporting these lame excuses for a beauty contest. If need be, report those who commit flagrant violation of Hong Kong’s laws on indecent exposure to keep our self-worth and national dignity intact.

By doing so we protect not only our community but also our migrant workers who came here to provide a better life for their families back home, and not become fodder for Hong Kong’s sex trade..

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Filcom groups, POLO pull out support from beauty contests

By Daisy CL Mandap

There has been a renewed campaign to discourage Filipino community organizations in Hong Kong from holding beauty contests, in the wake of the scandal over leaked photographs from a racy pageant held in a Wanchai bar on Nov. 18.

The photos showed 10 contestants in the “Miss Hot Babes 2018” competition wearing flimsy red negligees, and with hardly anything covering their bodies underneath. Other pictures showed them doing provocative poses in their skimpy outfits, while a group of men, many of them Caucasians, ogled.

Leo Selomenio

Labor Attache Jalilo dela Torre

Labor Attache Jalilo dela Torre was the first to take action, tracking down the show’s organizer, and getting her to see him at his office on Nov. 25. She issued a public apology on Facebook the next day.

Global Alliance chair Leo Selomenio initially issued a scathing commentary on the racy show, then called his group to a meeting to discuss their next step. On Nov. 28, Labatt dela Torre announced on Facebook that Selomenio’s group, made up of two big federations and several affiliate organizations, had agreed to stop organizing beauty contests.

Dela Torre said he was “grateful and quite happy” over the decision, and said that Selomenio’s massive organizing skills will be better put to use for events showcasing the skills and talents of Filipinas, like singing contests.

He ended his post with a warning against others thinking of organizing similar events and those ‘helping’, dirty old men who are there merely to ogle and to satisfy their sexual desires, to think twice before bringing the community into disrepute.”




Selomenio’s stance surprised many in the community, as it was her group’s propensity for holding beauty contests that landed her a plum role in the highly acclaimed Philippine indie movie, “Sunday Beauty Queen,” which put a spotlight on this OFW ritual.

But in an interview with The SUN, Selomenio said she was bothered that organizers of the Wanchai event had gone to the extent of parading the contestants half-naked, and in full view of many ogling foreign men.



What disturbed him even more, he said, was seeing the secretary of one of his affiliate organizations, Survivors Association, emceeing the show. He said he immediately sought an explanation from this member in a group chat, but was ignored. That made him decide, with concurrence from his officers, to expel the affiliate group.

Selomenio’s outrage was clear in his Facebook post, where he said it was the contestants’ choice “na babuyin ang inyong mga sarili.” (to allow themselves to be besmirched)

He added, “It’s not an art of photography anymore, its pornography. Kung kayo very proud na ipakita sa mundo ang mga katawan ninyo then good for you. But for thousands of OFWs here in Hong Kong, we strongly oppose those indecent exposure of your body and soul.” (If your proud to display your body to the whole world, then good for you...:)




In the interview, Selomenio admitted getting bothered by his fellow OFWs getting mired in debt because of beauty contests. While his group did not impose a “quota” – or a minimum amount of entrance tickets – for the contestants to sell, he said most other groups do this as a matter of course.

He said the going rate now for quotas is $1,500 per candidate, who must also set aside another $1,500 for a hair and makeup stylist, a further $2,500 for a personal videographer, and a few thousands more for the gown and the other outfits they are required to wear during the pageant.




He rued that what started out as just a fun way of raising easy funds for many groups has now degenerated into a money-making venture for organizers, often at the expense of women desperate to gain recognition.

His decision was largely supported by members of his alliance, but he also had detractors who accused him of high-handedness and hypocrisy.

Selomenio just shrugs off this criticism, saying he does not have the power to wage an all-out campaign against all beauty contests.

“Hindi ko naman sinasabi na stop na ang lahat ng mga beauty contest dahil wala naman akong karapatan na sabihin iyon. Kaya nga ako nagtataka kung bakit galit na galit sila sa akin, kasi nasa sa kanila na iyon kung gusto nilang ituloy. Basta yung aming grupo, stop na talaga.”

But what Labatt dela Torre called as Selomenio’s brave and heroic stance appears to be fast gaining adherents. At least one other big OFW organization, Mindanao Federation,  has pledged support for banning beauty fests, while a group of Christian pastors is said to be in the process of issuing a public statement calling out those who organize such contests.

Even the Consulate is reportedly mulling a way to express disapproval, though in a more subtle way. Sources say that when officers or staff are invited to a Filcom event in future, organizers will be asked if a beauty contest is included in the program. If it is, they will decline the invitation.

REACTION OF CYNTHIA ABDON-TELLEZ ON THE WANCHAI SLEAZE FEST:
Mahaba pa ang tatahakin para makita ng mga kababaihan kung paano silang nasasamantala, at ito ang sinasamantala ng mga organizers ng ganitong patimpalak. Sampal ito sa prestihiyo at dignindad ng mga kababaihan. Naniniwala akong mas may kakayahan pang kayang patunayan ang mga kababaihang sumali rito na di hamak na higit pa sa kung paanong magpakita ng katawan upang mang-akit lamang. May mga utak silang pwede pang hubugin sa mas produktibong gawain. Skills na pwedeng higit pang sanayin. Pero higit sa lahat, ang katotohanan sa event na ito ay sadsad ang pagkatao ng kung sino man ang nagpatimpalak nito. I strongly condemn whoever sponsored this.

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Arroyo leads restoration of ‘pork barrel’ for legislators

Happy days are back for legislators following the decision of the House to include pork barrel allocations in the proposed P3.757-trillion budget of the national government for 2019.

House majority leader Rolando Andaya Jr. said the P51.792 billion lump sum item with no details in next year’s budget proposal would be divided among the senators and congressmen to fund their pet projects.



The pork barrel funds were removed from the budget when the Duterte administration assumed power following the controversies and the Supreme Court ruling that declared as unconstitutional the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) under the previous administration.



But then, Andaya, who was budget secretary under the presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, said that without funds for congressional districts in the budget, some districts got a low of P200 million to as much as P6 billion each.



Restoring the funding mechanism, he said, would equalize the allocation of resources among legislative districts across the country.




But Andaya said it would not be called pork barrel funds in respect to the Supreme Court ruling on the PDAF and DAP.

The funds would rather be called proposals for congressional districts which, by practice, would be the same as the pork barrel funding system.

Earlier, Senator Panfilo Lacson said Arroyo, who is now speaker of the House, has been leading the move to restore the pork barrel allocations, in an apparent move to consolidate the legislators and speed up the approval of the 2019 budget proposal before the end of year.

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Pinoy seafarer pleads guilty to trafficking 2kg of cocaine

The 1.98 kilos of cocaine molded as shoe soles

By Vir B. Lumicao

A Filipino seafarer has pleaded guilty to a charge of trafficking nearly 2 kilos of high-grade cocaine molded like shoe soles in June 2017.

Carlito Platon admitted his guilt before High Court Justice Esther Toh on Nov 27, a day before the start of a nine-day trial of his two Colombian co-defendants – Cristhian Enrique Posso and Jose William Uribe.

Consul Saret attended Platon's arraignment 

Consulate officials said Justice Toh deferred sentencing of 49-year-old Platon until after the verdict on Posso and Uribe is known. 

Consul Paulo Saret, head of the Consulate’s assistance to nationals section, and ATN officer Joel Oronan were at the High Court for the arraignment of the seafarer.

“Hopefully, (Platon’s guilty plea) would lead to a further reduction of his sentence,” Saret told The SUN.

Platon pleaded guilty to drug trafficking
at the High Court 

Oronan said ATN had already informed Platon’s family in Batangas about the development.

“Hindi na sila nagpunta pero continuous naman ang coordination nila sa amin through email and phone. Nagpapabalita na lang sila if may new update,” Oronan said.

The three suspects were initially charged with trafficking 1.33 kg of cocaine camouflaged as shoe soles following their arrest on Nathan Road in Yaumatei on June 2, 2017.

They were also initially accused of obstruction when intercepted by an arresting team comprising customs and police officers.

According to the prosecution, Platon disembarked from a cargo vessel that docked at Kwai Chung port that day. He had in his backpack two pairs of shoe soles that somebody had allegedly asked him to deliver to Posso and Uribe in Yaumatei.

But the officers accosted Platon and found the two shoe soles, which turned out to be molded cocaine, in his bag. They also recovered US$10,000 from him.

Posso and Uribe were arrested in a follow-up operation on the same day.

In a hearing in Kowloon City Court on Oct 26, prosecutors amended the trafficking charge and applied for a transfer of the case to the High Court after laboratory tests showed the cocaine seized from them weighed 1.98 kilograms.

The prosecution also dropped the three charges of obstructing a customs officer.

Platon had not applied for bail since his arrest, but his two co-defendants did, but were rejected.

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