Society columnist quits over OFW bashing
(Watch Video) Complaints sent via the Internet and through othery types of media led a Manila-based society columnist to resign from her job following her negative comments about overseas Filipino workers in the Middle East, ABS-CBN Middle East News Bureau reported Thursday.
ABS-CBN Bureau chief Dindo Amparo reported that Filipinos in the Middle East proved they can make a difference by uniting for a cause against columnist Malu Fernandez.
In her column titled “From Boracay to Greece,” which saw print on “People Asia” magazine, Fernandez detailed her unusual and spur of the moment Holy Week vacation in Greece.
Fernandez said that following a friend’s advice, she flew on economy class to Greece. The plane made a stopover in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. It was her written observations during the flight and while in the city that got Fernandez in trouble.
“I forget that the hub was in Dubai and the majority of OFWs were stationed there. The duty-free shop was overrun with Filipino workers selling cell phones and perfume. I wanted to slash my wrist at the thought of being trapped in a plane with all of them,” she wrote.
Fernandez said this was aggravated when one of her fellow passengers spoke to her and said, “Hey there? Where are you from? Are you a domestic helper as well?”
The columnist went further by insinuating that due to the large number of OFWs in the plane wearing cheap perfumes, the expensive brand she had on immediately evaporated into thin air.
“I had resigned myself to being trapped like a sardine with all these OFWs smelling of AXE and Charlie cologne while my Jo Malone evaporated into thin air,” Fernandez said.
Based on prices from the Jo Malone Web site, a 100 ml bottle of cologne ranges from 30-59 British pounds (around 2,800-5,500 Philippine pesos).
Who’s the diva?
Fernandez’s statements spread like wildfire on the Internet and earned the ire of communities of Filipino workers abroad, especially in the Middle East.
The migrant workers immediately issued statements and sent e-mails to blogs expressing their anger against Fernandez.
To make matters worse, Fernandez wrote in her succeeding column in the “Manila Standard Today” that she was only being true to herself.
“Many people often find my direct attitude to be rude or obnoxious. I really don’t mean to be anything but true to myself,” she said.
“Now, I seriously ask you, am I being a diva or are people around me just lacking in common sense? Perhaps it’s a little of both!” she added.
Her statements further enraged the Filipino workers. She later apologized.
“I am humbled by the vehement and heated response provoked by my article. To say that this article was not meant to malign, hurt or express prejudice against the OFWs now sounds hollow after reading through all the blogs from Filipinos all over the world,” Fernandez said in her latest statement on the online version of Manila Standard Today.
She added: “I am deeply apologetic for my insensitivity and the offensive manner in which this article was written, I hear you all and I am properly rebuked.
It was truly not my intention to malign hurt or express prejudice against OFWs.”
Fernandez admitted being insensitive and offensive, as she apologized to the OFWs for whatever she had written.
Sought for an interview by ABS-CBN, Fernandez declined.
She, however, sent a letter, saying, “I take full responsibility for my actions and my friends and family have nothing to do with this. To date I have submitted my resignation letters to both the Manila Standard and People Asia, on that note may this matter be laid to rest.”
Not yet finished
Meanwhile, abs-cbnNEWS.com received dozens of feedback e-mails against Fernandez after news broke out about her anti-OFW statements.
“We are already having a hard time here working under the hot climate, then we get a strong below the belt blow by our own kabayan who has totally no idea on being an OFW,” Francis Sangalang wrote from Dubai.
Another OFW, who declined to be named, said: “I seldom come across articles that bring my blood pressure up to a record high. This article by Malu Fernandez has led me to set a new personal record. To say that this is ‘nakakakunsumi’ (troubling) is an understatement of the highest degree.”
Contract worker Florencio Laron wrote from Saudi Arabia and said, “All I have to say is that may breeding siya (masama nga lang) (only, it’s bad) and she [doesn’t] deserve to be a Filipino.”
An anonymous e-mail sender, meanwhile, said, “Her side comments were uncalled for. She should have kept them to herself. This is bigotry at its purest. What’s worst is she did it to her fellow Filipinos. The bad part is her pathetic attempt to justify what she wrote.”
Information from the Web site of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration said a total of 462,545 OFWs or 58 percent of the total number of Filipinos employed abroad were in the Middle East as of last year.
Last year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said OFWs sent a total of US$12.6 billion in remittances to their families in the Philippines.
- abs-cbnNEWS.com
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August 24th, 2007 07:33
It is good that Ms. Fernandez finally took responsibility for her actions, albeit too late. Now, i can only pray that her countrymen could forgive her for exhibiting such remorse in being one of us.
However, this recklessness of hers should not have seen print in the first place. Have there been any statements from the publications she had coursed her sentiments through? I believe in command responsibility. Editors are there, well, to edit.
August 24th, 2007 12:23
maybe be too much fats (obeisity that is) could cause dellusion. that has been proven by social climber Malu fernandez. she deserves the charcoal.
but we forgive we because we are more humane and we understand human handicaps like, kulang sa pansin.
August 24th, 2007 14:54
Even with her apology which in my opinion lack sincerity, I don’t think she will be forgiven anytime soon or forgotten for that matter. In addition, she declined an interview by ABS-CBN. Why? She doesn’t have the guts to apologize in person because people can really see how sincere a person is with their apology when it’s done in person. Writing an apology is as easy as writing a “Dear John” letter! She had the BALLS to insult her fellow Filipinos but doesn’t have the backbone to stand up in public and apologize! Figures!
Death threats…I do not want to be in your shoes right now but then again you inflicted this to yourself.
Wow! $12.6 billion that the OFWs sent back to the Philippines…I am in awe! I truly respect and admire all of you!
August 24th, 2007 15:15
good job
August 24th, 2007 18:35
this will sound really evil, but I’m not happy that she resigned–i wanted her terminated. there is dignity in resignation, something she doesn’t deserve.
August 24th, 2007 18:37
and death threats? puhlease. killing her would be a waste of time. id rather watch my fingernails grow rather than to fire a gun at her.
August 24th, 2007 22:46
People like her should have not be a Filipino and that she should change her nationality immediately. If you wanted to say something against OFW’s you should look what you have done for your country first before making any comments!!!Philippines without OFW’s will collapse and she should know that…
August 25th, 2007 00:20
pathetic pig…
dont worry..
we’ll all pray for u..
coz I can’t imagine a PIG like you being roasted in the fires of hell!!!
August 25th, 2007 00:31
hahahahaha
roasted PIG in the fires of hell!!
I wonder if demons eat lechon!!!
hahahahaha
August 25th, 2007 07:06
Mabuti hindi ako nakasakay niya baka IHULOG KO SIYA sa eroplano.
I am Rolando Balolong worked in Oman Middle East as a Civil Engineer from 1985-2002. I am now working in USA from 2002 up to now, i still consider / align myselF as OFW.
Baka ang ulam ng babaeng mapagalipusta ay puro tuyo at bawang kaya inggit lang sa atin na mga OFW.
August 25th, 2007 17:22
tingnan mo nga ang itsura nya – she needs some serious makeover – her face and her weight…ofws are the assets of the philippines and nothing else….theres dignity in them..and in what they do…dignity of labor – kahit janitor ka lang basta ur doing ur best – theres nothing wrong with that….as for this wannabee pa sosyal…im us based and im proud of this pinoys , quit drinking stabucks dahil hindi bagay sa iyo …..ur a sorry looser….i hope u get boot out of ur job…
August 26th, 2007 00:44
Oh pfft. Maybe none of her friends were laughing when they saw the smirks on everyone else’s faces.
Besides, what made her think the OFWs wanted a condescending powdery creature like herself with them on the plane in the first place?
Also and more importantly, why is it that I don’t “feel” the $12 billion dollars “we” get annually? Where do they go? HM!
August 26th, 2007 04:40
this is a lesson of systemic classism…
ingrained in the colonial mind that those who perpetrate the lower jobs all around the world are uneducated, and worthless…
from our work in new york, through the kalingga manggagawa project, we have already seen that most immigrants are well educated…that they have good jobs in the philippines, but not well enough to support their families. I’ve met several who hold multiple degrees, and even a couple who hold doctorate…it’s amazing how many people do not understand what it means when filipinas (more than 70% coming from the pi are women) are educationally back-tracked (or their credentials are not recognize)…
there are numerous who have come as nurses and instead become domestic workers after overstaying their visas…unfortunately, the US does not provide domestic workers with a visa for domestic workers (they instead are mostly on visting visa) and thereby, sooner or later, faced with the decision to go home or illegally stay in the US to provide for their families, most choose to stay…
domestic workers are the quintessential force in keeping the US economy up. Many are working for blue-collar corporate families while they make their greedy money. We have seen our kababayans being forced to work at a disadvantage when they are held against their will due to the threat of being deported…we are currently working on cases where domestic workers were withheld pay, vacation time, abused, raped…its disgusting when you hear domestic workers being sent home in caskets or being stained by abusive, sexually exploitive amos…
ms. fernandez does not understand that the main reason why many are leaving the country is the lack of governmental responsibility towards its citizens…the lack of jobs, the exploitation from big compradors, the corruption (esp. elections and extra-judicial killings), and the bending of the nation held against their will for the enjoyment of foreign multinational corporations…
but the most sad part is that, though we have given our opinions about this subject…there are still numerous filipinos who share the racist, neo-colonized thinking shared by ms. fernandez…as much as we like to improve our lives, there are others who take it above and beyond to gloat about the discomfort and disadvantage of the normal manggagawas…
WuN
August 26th, 2007 13:30
Now that Ms. Fernandez Has resigned, I hope and I call to all the Newspapers, Magazine and Publishing houses in our country not to hire Ms. Fernandez. So she could apply for a job as an OFW, so she could find out for herself how it is to be working as an OFW.
August 26th, 2007 16:42
Gosh! ang yabang naman nya!!! masyadong pasosyal di naman bagay mukha syang DUGONG nohhhh!!!! walang urbanidad ang babaeng yan, MATAPOBRE
August 27th, 2007 21:05
all said and done, cant turn back time, its a shame for this fernandez to mock her own kababayans. i think its ok if she’s not pinoy. too late to be sorry, she’s a typical pinoy who has a crab mentality and keep on looking down to those filipinos who are striving to work abroad to have good income.
And to tell you fernandez, not all filipinos who work abroad are maids. but who cares if they are maids? and not all are using cheap perfumes coz here in UAE branded perfumes are very affordable even janitors and maids can afford to buy it. yabang mo! siguro yan lang Jo malone mo ang branded perfume mo. kaya nagmamalaki ka na.
nakakahiya ka! kadiri ka !
August 27th, 2007 23:34
never “ok”, filipino or not ^^^
August 29th, 2007 23:05
Both and my Husband are OFW’s and we are very Proud To be Filipinos….
I think you have enough condemnation from OFW’s and the whole nation…
If you wanted to commit suicide when you where in the plane… “bakit buhay ka pa”
If you are so called rich… Bakit hindi ka nagbusiness class..o your economy class seat is not enough for your big built
August 29th, 2007 23:09
Hey.. Ms Gloria(HIPPO of Madagascar este Malu..
You desserve more than quitting your job..
Being rich does not Give you the right to MOCH OFW’s like US..
I am an OFW …an Engineer By profession….
August 31st, 2007 23:14
[...] tad too late… after all sino pa babasa – e nalason na nung 2nd article. (for more info — http://thepinoy.net/?p=876#more-876)…; Before I move on to a new topic – isang tanong lang – would anyone raised any issue if [...]