Malu Fernandez has issued a statement regarding the ongoing controversy in the September issue of People Asia.
 | It's about time that that statement was issued. We will all be waiting for that. |
 | She had no choice but to resign and she made a mistake and she learned her lesson the hard way..we all should be very careful to every words we say at all time specially when dealing with people. Discrimination hurts and it promote more hatred..let's just hope and pray that from this that she will learn a lot from others....now that she resigned..let's give her some space to reflects and let her think of a way to win back the heart of the people specially OFW's to it's purest sincerity....and if she did then she deserve another chance since all of Us made mistake too..and we're only Human..Peace and God Bless.. |
 | not only should malu apologize but also the editor of people magazine for letting such derogatory article be published. |
 | I really don't get it. Are the editors of People Asia Magazine just as ignorant, insensitive and downright stupid as Ms. Malu Fernandez for allowing such an article to be published in the first place? I say, good riddance to Malu but the publishers of the magazine should also consider firing their editorial staff for not doing their jobs. Lapse of judgement? I dont think so. Maybe Malu and they share the same sentiments. Birds of a feather. |
 | cosvg wrote on Aug 24, '07 Grabeng pambabastos ang GINAWA ng Editors, publisher ng People Asia na yan. Dapat kayo rin mag apologize!!!!!!! |
 | Common you guys... she committed a CRIME? Please. Although I find her comments elitist, insensitive, and indicative of her lack of TRUE breeding, we may be overreacting to this whole issue. She obviously likes attention. She got it. We got pissed. Let's all move on. |
 |  Common you guys... she committed a CRIME? Please. Although I find her comments elitist, insensitive, and indicative of her lack of TRUE breeding, we may be overreacting to this whole issue. She obviously likes attention. She got it. We got pissed. Let's all move on.  So true, LET'S PUT IT TO REST!, the person backed down already and apologized for the people she angered...there are more important things to focus on about this country that this tactless columnist, god, if these people could use the same overly assertive pursuit towards certain governement issues and socio economic developments then maybe we wouldn't have a Malu Fernandez's and Ofw's in the first place...
you guys who still comment with under the belt remarks, you're doing the same thing you crucify her for! everyone is a Malu Fernandez inside, admit it or not. and for those who want to boycott People Asia and Manila Standard, how are you going to boycott these publications when you don't even buy them in the first place, if not for the forwarded mails of a scanned tearsheet you guys wouldn't even know about it. |
 | damage has been done..kulang pa un..kung nagresign sya....o ngaun cno ang tanga ang ofw na syang nagsasave s philippine economy at ngsasakripisyo para s magandang kinabukasan o ang katulad mo na la magawa kungdi magtravel at mangutya ng kapwa matatanggap pa namn kung ibang lahi ang gumawa nun pro isang kalahi...wow...isa lng masasabi ko dadalhin mo s kunsensya mo yan daig mo pa si hudas sya talikuran nya dinuraan ang ang dyos ikaw taas noo pa no....kapal ng mukha mo..matakot ka s karma....wag ka dadaan dito s singapore dahil makta kita s flight ko lagot ka skin kukurutin kita ng pinong pino...dapat syo iexile... |
 | yoh03 wrote on Aug 26, '07 i do think that what malu fernandez have done "making a public apology" the editor and publisher of this magazine should also be doing. they owe all ofw an apology for letting this article be published in the first place. and for malu, why don't you try working abroad, lets just see what you feel. |
 | ganun talaga buhay pag medyo dinededma na eh gugama na ng kaartehan...
kita nyo lahat ng OFW dito sa riyadh halos siya na pinaguusapan, kaya siguro kayong mga taga peoples asia e kinundina ang pagsusulat ng ganito ng alaga nyo. ramdan nyo naman siguro kung gaano kadalas ang pagbisita ng mga ofw sa site nyo... pansin nyo?
at imbitado nga pala ang buong peoples asia magazine sa taunang fiesta sa Laloma dyan sa QC i entry nyo si malu at siradong panalo na kayo...
-nok ng riyadh
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 | joselion wrote on Aug 27, '07, edited on Aug 27, '07 To: MALU Fernandez.
I am a proud son of an OFW who at one time worked as a nanny here in Canada,she worked her ass off and sacrifice a lot to support us and sponsor us out of the Philippines,she went back to school,finished her studies at the UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO as a chemest,and she is the other chemest responsible to make the "Axe " perfume that you've downgraded. Moneywise my mother makes a lot more dollars than you are making and you will be making in pesos,and yet she never and I never heard her maligning her fellow OFW instead she help them and give them funds to go back to school in hopes that they will follow her footsteps,my mother is one of the elite chemest in the pharmaceutical Industries,and yes she still likes to travel in economy class and mingle with the poor stinky AND CHEAP OFW that you just maligned,because she is not a pretentious woman,and she still calls herself a poor OFW,Take note Malu Fernandez my mom drives a ferrari and owns a million dollar mansion,she picks up and drive around her fellow OFW to some Places,and some of her fellow OFWs lives in her million dollar mansion,my question to you is how much money and how smart do you think you are to classify yourself above those cheap and stinky OFWs?.and other than maligning those heroes of the philippine economy,what positive things that you did to help your countrymen and women other than loathing at them for there misfortunes?,and dont forget,keep yourself in shape you look like a pig,yes you are a diva to some oinky swines you probably smell like them too.bye oinky diva |
 | I don't think "it" (Malu Fernandez) should be let off the hook that easily. We all know "it" wasn't sincere and that deep in "its" heart "it" still thinks little of those of us who actually have to do real work to earn their money. Well excuse us for not being ELITE enough to pig (pardon the pun) off on our family's wealth. It wasn't just the article that irked me, it was her and everything that she stood for-- that there is a socioeconomic divide in the country and that the rich almost always gets away with anything simply because they have money or because the rest of the us tend to forgive and forget easily even though they haven't reached their comeuppance yet. The fake apology still doesn't do it. |
 | and one thing more, you call that an apology!!! You must be kidding!
You're talking about humor? if you think it was meant to be funny...sadly no one's laughing... |
 | I just want to share this blogpost by Jorge Cosgayon in his blogsite. To read the whole thing visit site's link, http://farfromneutral.com/exodus/issues/we-have-feelings-too-you-know/#comment-11998Miss Fernandez, There is a line between being hilariously offensive, and being just offensive, and it’s not a thin one. We know it for what it is, and we know it’s best to keep such thoughts to ourselves or shared only with others of similar disposition. It’s called tact. Other terms, like “good judgment”, “sensitivity”, or “not-having-shit-for-brains” may also be used. It’s a fairly common practice to people not named “DOJ Secretary Raul Gonzales”. Well, you crossed that line. And judging from your initial article as well as your “apology”, you are aware of that fact. You knew it when you were writing your article, and you definitely know it now. Because some things are better left unsaid. Think it all you like. Snicker about the other 95% amongst your friends all you want. We care even less about what you do than you think. But you shouldn’t have gone and said it. Because that’s just plain offensive. Excuse us for not being born with a silver spoon. Excuse us for not being able to afford your “culture”. You see, we actually need to work for a living. What luxuries we have, blood, sweat and tears were spent to acquire. Ours is a culture that was forged in our reality, our situation. We do not aspire to live the lives that are beyond our means, nor wallow in cultures not our own. We like what we like, and we are what we are. But do not presume for even a second that you are better than us. Do not think for a moment that you know us. And don’t you dare put on airs. You wear your social status, deserved or otherwise, like a crown, thinking it makes you better, smarter, more entitled. It does not. You confuse — proudly — socioeconomic brackets with intellectual capacity, and many have disabused you of that notion. Here’s some more. Our lives are also rich and colorful, and we experience the same breadth of emotions as you. Those of us that have the time or the inclination read books heavier than your boobs and thicker than your skin. We enjoy the sublime flavors of isaw, goto and the squid kebabs in Quiapo as much as you would your caviar, saffron-laced paella or whatever it is people like you eat. We appreciate not having to wait too long in line for the MRT with as much enthusiasm as you appreciate not waiting too long for your baggage to be checked in on one of your jet-setting flights. We greet friends and relatives just as warmly as you greet the elites you suck up to. Just because you are higher than us your the social ladder doesn’t mean you’re better. It means you’re lucky. We do not deserve to be dismissed, least of all publicly. We are proud, and rightfully so. We do not deserve to be humiliated unjustly simply because of what we are. We are thinking breathing creatures not unlike you. We must be respected, and protected, never rejected, as all must be. We are somebody. Your moment of Zen: I Am Somebody I Am Somebody I May Be Poor But I Am Somebody I May Be Young But I Am Somebody I May Be On Welfare But I Am Somebody I May Be Fool But I Am Somebody I May Be Small But I Am Somebody I May Make A Mistake But I Am Somebody My Clothes Are Different My Face Is Different My Hair Is Different But I Am Somebody I Am Black Brown White I Speak A Different Language But I Must Be Respected Protected Never Rejected I Am God’s Child Rev. James Brown |
 | Anak din po ako ng isang dating OFW sa Saudi Arabia. That has been more than twenty years ago. But I cannot imagine myself being this kind of person I am now without the sacrifice my father did for us. Now married with a teenage kid, we, my siblings and pamangkins have never failed to thank the Lord for the sacrifices my Father did to give us a fulfilling life...my FATHER DOES NOT DESERVE YOUR 'HUMOROUS OUTBURST' Ms Fernandez and I don't agree that anyone has the right to say how she feels especially if those declarations are insulting. We may not be born as wealthy or as privileged as you think you are but We ARE DEFINITELY MORE BLESSED THAT WE LIVE ON THE LOVE OF OTHER PEOPLE GRACIOUSLY GIVEN BY GOD. To the editors of the mag, I really don't know what to say to you...probably this is what journalists call freedom of speech...I wish you could say this justification in front of your MAKER. |
 | I was furious when I read her column. It doesnt need an elite wit to understand what was written on her column. It was plain discrimination and a very insensitive person to come up with such an article. You can be hilarious and funny without being arrogant and offensive. And it made me more furious when I read her apology. I didnt find it sincere but more damaging to the socioeconomic class she was referring to. I know we have freedom of the press but we need to be responsible enough not to cause hurt to a lot of people especially the OFWs who are working hard and sacrifices a lot of things to give better life to their families and who contributed a lot to our country's economy. |
 | I’m just glad that I’m not guilty of buying your magazine. Certainly, the editors didn’t do their job. Whatever that poor girl is going through right now, she deserves it. Even she was standing on top of Blahniks, or hugged by her Dolce’s – I don’t think her Bvlgari’s can save her! Seeing her pic for the first time, I was kicked in the teeth – you know what I mean. Look at yourself in the mirror girl!
From someone who worked as a writer for glossies and gave it up for working abroad..
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 | Sad.
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An educated person - one she is obviously not - has the sense not to say that tactless, insensitive, impolite, discriminating, and totally classless statments are "acerbic wit". Name/brand dropping - however common/ordinary - does not consistitute having class or coming from an elite social class. People from good family backgrounds are extremely polite and refined. There is only vulgarity and baseness in this person's being; hence the utterances.
YOU CAN'T MAKE A SILK PURSE OUT OF A SOW'S EAR!
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So hate people lyk dis..
Fake social Climbing Bitch! hehehe
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You're right grace, people like her should suffer the fires of hell...
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What if tomorrow morning she’l wake up realizing she’s the poorest pig on earth!!!!!!!
Worst than the rat! & she’l be trapped wit it forever……..
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IRITA ANI OI!!! BABOY!!! PANGIT!!! FEELER!!! Skanky ho!
Who is this Malou Fernandez?
Irritating and insulting article from People Asia : read and circulate this till it reaches the author
Bad taste, bad form and obviously unintelligent. The gall of this
social-climbing woman to even write something like this and the fact
that People Asia would publish it appalls me.
When I saw her photo - it made it even worse. How dare she insult the
OFW's. You can't buy class honey, and neither will you ever have
the breeding that you apparently aspire for.
Let's circulate this until it reaches the author and the
editor-in-chief of People Asia magazine. Nakakahiya kayo! We are
going to boycott you and blog this piece to death.
ang feeling, nakakainis. i'm prouder of the OFWs, who cares what they
smell like - any day over her! what a superficial biyatch
hindi ko kinaya ang article na to... at mas lalong di ko kinaya nang nakita ko ang photo ng nagsulat. i've never been un-proud of a filipino, any countryman. this woman has got to be thr first.
Response By Marlu Fernandez
Understandably, The Manila Standard Today, received a few emails of complaint, so Malu Fernandez decided to respond.
As I type this, I’d like you to know that it’s not about whining, complaining and bitching but just stating the facts. Just recently, I wrote a funny article in my magazine column and my friends thought it was hilarious. It was humorous and quite tongue-in-cheek, or at least I thought so, until the magazine got a few e-mails from people who didn’t get the meaning of my acerbic wit. The bottom line was just that I had offended the reader’s socioeconomic background. If any of these people actually read anything thicker then a magazine they would find it very funny. Most people don’t get the fact that they need bitches like me to shake up their world, otherwise their lives would be boring and mediocre. I obviously write for the a certain target audience and if what I write offends you, just stop reading.
Although it may sound elitist to you the fact is this country is built on the foundation of haves, have-nots and wannabes. One group will never get the culture of the other. Although I could mention that it is easier to understand someone who has a lower socioeconomic background that would entail a whole other page and frankly I don’t want to be someone to bridge the gap between socioeconomic classes. I leave that to the politicians in my family who believe they can actually help. 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!
Response To The Response
First of all, there is nothing funny about bigotry, and tongue-in-cheek does not have to entail irresponsible and insensitive statements such as the statements made in her article.
Second, she mentions a few emails, but only mentions the offense of one reader’s socioeconomic background. Notice that reader’s is singular (is this an editing mistake, are there actual editors who edit this crap?). Or maybe, Malu meant that all the emails were complaints of readers having their socioeconomic background offended. But either way, the fact that Malu tries to deflect the actual complaint and goes on another rant in which she again lambastes lower social classes, making another strong statement that indeed she is an elite herself, is further proof of her worth as displayed by her perceived higher class status. In her illogical rant, she implicitly says that the poor have lost their reason to understand her discriminatory comments.
Let me make it clear, the offense is not based on a socioeconomic issue, the offense is based on her statements of bigotry, discrimination, and intolerance against her own countrymen. Politicians, I mean noteworthy and honorable politicians, certainly do believe that they can make a difference. Just because she feels that she can’t make a difference, doesn’t mean it’s a lost cause. The fact that people are actually trying is much more noble, than playing aristocrat and hinting that The Philippines is a lost cause. Yes, I do believe, we can make a difference. And this means, calling out horrible individuals like Malu Fernandez.
I wonder if these acerbic statements will be too harsh for Malu’s diva reality? |
 | “Responses to an OFW-Basher”
By Jerick T Aguilar
After shamelessly writing about her summer trip to Boracay and Greece in the June 2007 issue of People Asia magazine, this columnist was found guilty of character assassination of our overseas Filipino domestic helpers regardless of the fact that they have never wronged her, except – in her opinion – for being on the same economy flight that everyone is entitled to. As a writer and traveler myself, please find below my notes on some of the things she wrote. I may also be guilty of character assassination but at least mine is not baseless and I think of this more as defending our fellow “kababayans” working abroad.
“But I was too ashamed to ditch my friends and forego the huge amount I already paid for my share of the villa.” – Outright pretentious! People rent and share villas in Boracay to save on expensive hotel charges per night so writing that she paid a “huge amount” is plainly preposterous!
“Meanwhile, when all of this was going on, I was on the cell phone …” – Proper English writing uses the conjunction “while” when it is followed by the progressive (this case in the past) and interrupted by the simple tense – so “while all of this was going on, I was …” – I thought a columnist for a magazine (and newspaper) would have a knowledge of English much better than a domestic helper’s!
“Ron is my travel buddy … so between his schedule and mine, the logistics are a nightmare.” – “Logistics” is a non-countable noun and, hence, is always followed by a singular verb – so “… logistics is a nightmare.” Ditto!
“Emirates had won best economy class and some award.” – “Award”, on the other hand, is a countable noun (i.e. it has singular and plural forms) and the modifier “some” means more than one – so “… some awards.” – My, oh my! Our housemaid even knows better English than her!
“I forgot that the hub was in Dubai and the majority of OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) were stationed there.” – Duh?!? Majority of OFWs are in Saudi Arabia, unless she doesn’t know what the word “majority” means. And another duh! To be “stationed” means to stay in one place – it’s obvious that our OFWs don’t just stay there, she was with them while traveling back to the Philippines.
“Meanwhile, I wanted to slash my wrist at the thought of being trapped in a plane with all of them.” – Okay, a plane is a form of public transportation so the preposition “on” instead of “in” is used (e.g. on a bus, on a train, etc.) so “… trapped on a plane …” Yeah, she should’ve slashed her wrist in order to prevent writing more grammatical mistakes! (I hope her readers do not know that she is Filipino! Nakakahiya kung ganoon! – Sorry but the English translation does not suffice!)
“… I would never risk losing if my luggage ended up in the middle of the Sahara desert.” – Her plane took off from Dubai then landed in Athens where the flight plan is northeast of the Sahara desert, unless there was a stopover in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Now is she really a traveler or was it just her first time to travel?…
“… the seats were so small I had bruises …” – Okay, didn’t she mention that Emirates had won best economy class? So I wonder if the seats were so small or she was simply so big?
“Domestic helper ka rin ba?” – She wrote this question as if she overheard it while dozing off. I bet she was actually asked this question. I mean, I would whether or not I were a domestic helper given her fashion sense in the pictures (not at all to demean the clothing style of our domestic helpers but one cannot really differentiate hers from theirs).
“… the weather report on CNN … was wrong because it was still winter.” – Hold on, summer in the Philippines from April to June is already spring in Europe. And even if the European winter in March extended till April, Greece is in the Mediterranean so it would’ve already been warm by then. So was it really a cold winter while she was there or she just wanted to impress her readers by mentioning the word “throw” as a noun and not as the usual verb (and by wearing it to look less fat in the picture)?
“I adamantly wanted to go to Santorini … but due to time constraints, we were unable to go.” – Talk about being pretentious again! She intentionally forgot to mention “money” as another constraint! Didn’t she just write that she had to fly economy?
“I guess God was watching out for us.” – And now she thinks God was after writing that God had sent her to her own private hell being on a plane with “those domestics”. One of the rules of journalism is to be consistent (aside from having perfect English, of course!) so I guess she is the exception.
“This time I had already resigned myself to being trapped like a sardine in a sardine can …” – Another cardinal rule of journalism is to avoid redundancy so a “fish” in a sardine can sounds much better. I don’t think she’s a traveler, I don’t think she’s a journalist either… What is she then? An abomination?
“… with all these OFWs smelling of AXE and Charlie cologne while my Jo Malone evaporated into thin air.” – Interesting how she made reference to Jo Malone in which a perfume wardrobe costs more than $1,000 yet she had to take the economy flight to Athens and back…
“But for a couple of weeks, I had the great escape …” – What was that again? A “couple of weeks” when she wrote beforehand of her “time constraints”? Greece is not China so a visit to Santorini from Athens can be squeezed even within a week of staying there. And before that, she wrote “Pick a country!” as if she can go anywhere she wants to. But she ended up saving on her plane ticket only to be “trapped” with OFWs and “smelling like air freshener”. She is the height of pretension indeed!
Three things to my “supposed” fellow writer and traveler – first off, if you have to write something in English, do not forget the simple rules of grammar so you do not cause intellectual harm to the people reading your article. Secondly, if you do not have money to pay for a business class fare, then don’t complain if you are surrounded by OFWs who can only afford an economy flight. As a final note, I suggest you thank these OFWs instead of demeaning them! If it weren’t for the billions of foreign currency remittances that our country regularly receives from them, the instability and depreciation of the peso-dollar exchange rate would’ve prohibited you from traveling to Greece in the first place (and buying that Jo Malone, assuming you already did)!
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 | You can put diamonds on a pig...but it's still a pig, isn't it. |
 | Love the “Responses to an OFW-Basher” By Jerick T Aguilar. I agree on everything that was written in response to this "social pauper" traveler. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion so this is mine. This lady's writing skill, not to mention her facts where really Duh!?!?! I mean, I totally agree with Mr. Aguilar's point of view, such different ideas in one statement? - come on. The funny things about this article are the following:
1. Her article - enough said
2. The constant name of brands, names of people, her habit of shopping, her newly painted toes, etc....
3. "sardine" in a sardine can - you all saw how big she was, yet she still opted for economy class. she's not a sardine, please fill in your thoughts on what could best describe her.
4. Her constant bickering and bitching' about the sand, people, and her things in case her vacation turns into sand
5. Did you see her face printed with the male employees of Discovery? - it was like her first time to see men
6. Her work was obviously obscene to be printed in the first place, yet People Asia published it - did they do their work called EDITING?
7. Her column cost not only her job, she made so many new "friends"
I hope that people like her are not hired in any magazine here and abroad, better yet, cast her away in an island where she could spend her lovely days cursing the stench and overload of trash where she and her column belong because clearly, this "lady" does not want to be anywhere with people less that her class.
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 | Oh? So this Malu pig is a Filipino? 'Cause she doesn't seem like one. Just like the late Ninoy Aquino said, "Filipinos are worth dying for."
but a Filipino like her?
eeeeeeng! >< DEFINITELY not worth dying for.
she really needs to apologize PUBLICLY, if she even understands what it means... |
 | IT HAS RECENTLY BEEN DISCOVERED THAT EATING SHARK FINS CAUSES BLOOD POISENING AND HIGH LEVELS OF MERCURY AND IS DETRIMENTAL TO HUMANS. PLEASE AT ALL COST REFRAIN FROM CONSUMING SHARK FINS. PASS THIS ON TO A FRIEND.
SINCERELY,
THE COALITION AT UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND |
 | bmb12 wrote on Feb 15, '10 Hindi po ako kumakampi at hindi ako kelan man kakampi sa katulad ni ms. malou. Ako po ay isang hamak lang ne empleyado dito sa Pinas, in short local po hindi Overseas. Madami na rin kasing "malu fernandez" na kapatid natin na OFWs. Masakit di ba na malait ng ibang tao lalo na kung kapwa pa nating Pinoy, pero di po bang mas masakit kung ang lalait satin ay kapwa pa nating mahirap. Sana maging aral satin lahat ang ginawa at sinulat ni ms. fernandez, sana ay manatili tayong mapagpakumbaba at huwag kakalimutan ang PINANGGALINGAN para di dumating ang panahon na kapag ang isang tao ay yumaman sila naman ang mang aapi sa mga katulad naming naiwan sa Pinas. |
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