In less than a month, lifestyle columnist Malu Fernandez became a household name that would be synonymous for a bitch among Filipino bloggers when her article entitled “From Boracay To Greece” published in a Manila Stardard and People Asia Magazine earned the ire of Filipinos for showing bigotry and discrimination against Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW).
From Boracay To Greece Article
Emails poured in. Blog entries and comments started to flow like streams. Malu has no other option but to respond asserting that we need the likes of her, “bitches like her”, as she put it, to shaken our world. We have enough people like her in our government that we are already suffocating. The article is done in bad taste. If Malu thinks that she’s witty, apparently readers thought otherwise. If it’s been done by a foreigner, the people might have been a little forgiving but with those acerbic comments coming from a fellow Filipino, it’s unjustifiable.
As to date, The Bitch (Malu Fernandez, and oh she wouldn’t be offended by that since she gave that name to herself) is no longer a part of Manila Standard and People Asia Magazine.
Here’s her statement:
I am humbled by the vehement and heated response provoked by my article entitled “From Boracay to Greece!” which came out in the June 2007 issue of People Asia. 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. 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.
As the recent recipient and target of death threats, hate blogs, and deeply personal insults, I now truly understand the insidiousness of discrimination and prejudice disguised as humor. Our society is bound together by human chains of kindness and decency. I have failed to observe this and I am now reaping the consequences of my actions. It is my fervent hope that the lessons that I’ve learned are not lost on all those who through anonymous blogs, engaged in bigotry, discrimination, and hatred (against overweight individuals, for example).
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.
Either she voluntary resigned or was forced to resign (termination is not such a graceful exit), is not my issue anymore. Whether she’s sincere or not, and deeply regretted the actions she’d made , she’s the only one who knows.
“Our society is bound together by human chains of kindness and decency. I have failed to observe this and I am now reaping the consequences of my actions.” -Malu Fernandez
