maricar

heard over the radio - that maricar is doing fine and is riding the waves of her new found popularity. the sex scandal video made maricar a household name. and she's basking in it. well..according to the dj.

if its true, then good for her. she's showing everyone that its not the end of the world for her. but not to say that katrina should do the same. well...in time, she'll be over it and has got something to show for it. katrina felt violated. and i'd say she did the right thing to fight back.

maricar on the other hand, i congratulate. and salute for going on as if nothing happened. and if what happened left her with no scar, i'd say good for her. maybe she knew about the video and don't mind. maybe she don't but still don't mind.

katrina i salute for continuing the fight, not only for herself but for other women. i'm just hoping that her fight won't be for naught. let it pave the way for a stronger law/policy that protects women from abuse of this kind.

katrina vs chacha

i received a text message calling people to act on the attempt by the congress to change the consti. and the message goes like this:

nung naVideo sina hayden at katrina, lahat tayo interesado! pero ngayong ginagahasa ang demokrasya sa Kongreso, dedma lang ba tayo?...hanggang showbiz na lang ba talaga ang Pilipino? Lets join anti-chacha rally sa ayala this thurs. afternoon!

instead of inciting me to rebel, this text message came as insulting. first, it was not just showbiz chismis. the katrina case is not just something superficial as that. and it should be a cause of concern. it is not just an isolated incident. in fact, before this, there were sex videos of women and girls drugged and raped. and did this incite anyone of us to act? nope. it took someone as katrina - a showbiz personality, to create a stir. to call our attention to this despicable act. its an act of violence against women. as ncrfw's statement goes: its a commodification/objectification of women. women are seen as objects to satisfy a need. not people with feelings that could be hurt. certainly not human with rights that could be violated.

the katrina-hayden case did more than just rouse interest. it brought to the forefront the emotional and psychological violence being committed against women. it was also an eye opener. that our existing laws are not enough to protect the women especially in this vulnerable situation. we all know that what happened was wrong. but we lack the legal basis to punish the wrongdoers.

it came as insulting because the sender did not think that the receiver has her own mind to know where to stand. as if the only stand is against cha-cha. (and just to get that out of the way, I AM AGAINST CHACHA). hanggang showbiz na lang ba ang pinoy? says who? hello? edsa 1 and 2? remember?

is the rape of one person less important than charter change? isn't the charter there to protect the individual? the individual that constitutes the constituents? the individual whose voice is as important as anyone elses? isn't that the essence of democracy? that every voice should be heard?

i could only surmise that the one who composed this message is someone who thinks that women's issues are non-issue. and that person could only be one with the people who thinks women are objects and are second-class citizens. who cares about their rights? right?

and to quote a friend "kelan ba naging importante ang babae?" this was her reaction when students of PUP rallied against the government on the ZTE issue when there was a girl gang-raped right inside their campus. we didn't hear anything from the PUP activists. maybe because they thought to wait for the outcome of the investigation. so how come they were able to form their position while the ZTE case was still being heard? ang bilis nilang magdesisyon sa mga political issues. ay...pero hindi importante ang isang babae na ni-rape sa loob mismo ng campus. importante rin syempre...pero hindi kasing importante ng national political issues. charity begins at home. so does change.

eh ano ba ang halaga ng global or national issues kundi naman natutugunan ang mga issues ng maliliit na individual? nakatingin lagi sa langit, hindi makita ang mga nasa ilalim ng tungki ng mga ilong nila.

ano ang silbi ng pananahimik?

what good is keeping mum about something that everyone knows about? or almost everyone. like the sex videos of katrina halili and maricar reyes. and another brazilian girl.

during the senate hearing, kho was asked if katrina and maricar knows anything about the sex videos, that they are being filmed. to which kho responded - he don't want to involve maricar in this issue since she opted to keep silent.

so what good is silence? what good is keeping mum about something that everybody is already talking about? what damage control can be done by not saying anything? nothing. she would only contribute to slowing down the process. everyone who watched katrina and kho's videos also watched maricar's and kho's sex videos. what does she have to lose? nothing. what will she gain? a lot. for one, she will pave the way to other women's protection against the khos and erics of the world. that these deeds should not go unpunished. that they should have second thoughts about doing these things because they will pay the price. and life shouldn't be too easy on people like them. besides, it will really help her a lot, pscyhologically and emotionally, to know that she fought back and not cowered in silence.

its an uphill struggle for katrina. and i'm cheering her on. hoping she would continue the fight. and let this be a lesson to all ye men.