Reacting to the photo of him buying liquor at Rustan’s the day after Ondoy, Rep. Mikey Arroyo lashed out against his critics and said that Facebook and other similar mediums should be regulated. In his response, Arroyo said that it was impossible for him to buy the liquor at the height of the storm because the roads were impassable. He goes on to explain that he was in Malacanang helping out in the relief operations for his constituents in Pampanga.
Let me just share some of my thoughts on this issue:
- The original caption of the picture said that he was spotted the day after Ondoy, not during the storm. Obviously no one would be out of their homes at the height of the typhoon.
- Facebook and other forms of social media regulated? Come on Mikey. Where are we? Iran? This is the Philippines for crying out loud! Think about doing this only when Martial Law is declared.
- His insinuation that bloggers and Facebook users are not helping in the relief operations is just plain stupid. The reason why volunteerism among the youth is so high is precisely because of the popularity of the internet and social networks.
- He says that stories like this are “masahol pa sa kwentong barbero.” Excuse me sir but there is not story that stinks more than your claim that your SALN is legit. Have you forgotten already about how Winnie Monsod ripped you apart on national television?
Here’s the article posted at the Daily Tribune:
Mikey lashes out at Facebook bloggers
09/30/2009Presidential son and Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo yesterday lashed out at bloggers of a popular Web site who posted his picture describing him as a callous public official busy shopping for alcoholic drinks even at the height of Typhoon “Ondoy’s” wrath last Saturday.
In a text message, the young Arroyo, though not denying it was him on the picture posted at Facebook, said it was rather impossible for him to stop by at Rustan’s Supermarket on Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City last Saturday to pick up some wines as the bloggers suggest as the street was rendered impassable by the floods. “My picture posted at Facebook with a caption saying I was busy shopping for wine at the height of Typhoon Ondoy is another malicious attack at my personality. It is so depressing,” Arroyo said. “How could that be possible that I was at Rustan’s on Katipunan Avenue at the height of Typhoon Ondoy when Katipunan Avenue was impassable at that time?”
The presidential son claimed at the height of the typhoon, he was at Malacañang Saturday with all members of his families helping mobilize rescue and relief operations for areas affected by the storm.
“On record, I was in Malacañang at that time with all my family trying to mobilize rescue and relief operations for people of Metro Manila and for my constituents in my district in Pampanga,” Arroyo said.
“It’s so unfortunate that while we were so busy then trying to help ease the sufferings of our kababayan, some people had the guts and the temerity to peddle malicious innuendos at the expense of others,” he added.
The Pampanag solon suggested instead of resorting to grandstanding gimmickry at his expense, the bloggers should also busy themselves helping their countrymen who are still reeling from the effects of the worst natural calamity the country had experienced in decades.
“Kahit ang anak ko namimigay ng relief goods. Sana sila din may nagawa para makatulong sa ating mga kababayan na naging biktima ng kalamidad. Diyos na ang bahala sa kanila,” Arroyo said. “Basta ako, I still have so many things to do to help our poor countrymen who were severely affected by Typhoon Ondoy. This is not the time to deal with people who are peddling half-truths and half-lies para lang sumikat.”
While acknowledging that blogging, the latest craze to hit the Internet, is an exercise of freedom of expression, Arroyo said he believes it should still be regulated as it has become more susceptible to abuses by unscrupulous people.
“Nonetheless, I hope that Facebook and other like mediums be regulated so they can never be subjected to abuse by some scrupulous people. Facebook is easily susceptible to abuses as people can easily hide their identities,” he stressed. “Masahol pa sila sa kwentong barbero.” Charlie V. Manalo
The reason why the picture got so popular and it went around the interwebs is precisely because the people are so concerned with the relief operations that they got insulted when they saw what was in the photo. If I may quote an article published on ABS-CBN Interactive:
It was difficult not to get involved. Two days before, on Saturday, those of us online received word of stranded friends in Ateneo after Katipunan Avenue succumbed to a deluge, rendering the road impassable.
Ondoy then was starting to flood the metro, at a rate that would soon be marked as one of the fastest in Philippine history.
Friends stranded in Ateneo, and even we who were safe at home, lost their cellphone signals, and resorted to posting status messages on our Plurk, Twitter, and Facebook accounts.
In my case, my Facebook was flooded with messages and status updates of friends requesting that we contact their families to see if they were safe, and vice versa.
While I feared for my friends who were stranded, and those who had family members missing, I was equally thankful for those kind souls who offered help on the Web.
Before I knew it, Facebook became a live, updated stream not of quiz results or game updates, but rather of Ateneans — and non-Ateneans, too — helping each other contact family members, sending calls for rescue, or soliciting donations for the relief operations that were immediately established in our student leadership center.
This is the same building where our stranded schoolmates slept for the night.
If you compiled all the updates on Facebook, you would not even need to read the news websites. Everything was there: everyone was posting snippets of information; everyone was telling each other where a person could be found; everyone was recommending what would be the best way to help, or otherwise searching for a way.
A friend who’s now a reporter for TV posted in his Facebook that it was a great time to be a journalist at this time of crisis, when there are a lot of people that can’t immediately be reached by the government and would thus need media intervention.
If by any chance his office or Mikey himself gets to read this post, let me extend an invitation to have coffee with him. In fact, I can even organize a blogger event for him for free. I’d love to meet the guy in person and hear what he has to say face-to-face about all of the issues thrown his way. I’ll also take advantage of that opportunity to brief him about social media and the internet.
UPDATE: Here’s an excerpt of an article that was recently posted on Inquirer.Net:
“My picture was posted on Facebook with a caption saying I was shopping for wine at the height of [Storm] ‘Ondoy.’ [This] is another malicious attack on my person. It is so depressing,” Arroyo wrote in an e-mail response to the Facebook post which has appeared in several blogs.
The original post had the following caption: “Was buying food for keeps… then we saw Mikey Arroyo in Rustan’s liquor section asking the salesman for a brand of hard alcoholic drink. Effin’ crazy! Just a few kilometers away from Katipunan, people are needing help for search and rescue, and there he was buying bottles of alcohol. See for yourself and tell me what you think.”
The picture showed a man’s profile with his back to the viewer looking at rows of alcohol inside what appears to be a liquor store.
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go for it Carlo. if he chances upon this, i do hope that he agrees to sit down & have coffee with you. lets see what he does have to say.
“regulation” of blogging, social networking sites & the like. i think he has to THINK that rescue efforts are using these media to actually make citizens aware of what is being done, & what are NOT being done or what are actually lacking, for that matter.
*& the plural of Medium is “Media”, so maybe he should check on that too*
not to defend the (dis)honorable representative but there is a sense in which we should be wary of what spreads through blogs/fb/tweets. i don’t believe it should be regulated and i fully support the free flow of information but in order to keep up with it, we should smart about what we read. as much as it was helpful in spreading the volunteerism, it was also unhelpful in causing panic about the opening of the non-existent ‘marikina dam’. mr. arroyo took the wrong aggressive defensive stance for sure but i see no evidence to the contrary why the post about mikey shouldn’t be taken with a grain of salt?
while i agree with you wholeheartedly that social networking has benefited us all immensely and completely advocate its use to its fullest potential, it just worried be that your post seemed to gloss over the possible dangers that come with it when not used properly.
I think free speech is an important aspect of our democracy. Whenever we exercise our right to free speech, in whatever venue or medium we choose, we need to be sure that we do so responsibly.
Mr. Arroyo is a typical bureaucrat who seems to want to control many things in society. Unfortunate for him, the internet cannot be controlled or, in his words and intentions, be regulated. Businesses and governments have tried and are trying to but have all failed. That’s the beauty of the internet and why it survived for decades, even if it was invented by the US military. The internet is about “conversations,” not pretty pictures or dazzling applications. It’s as simple as people communicating with each other. Regulate communication and “free speech” and you’re in for one rollercoaster ride of your life.
However, photo-rendering, be it in Facebook, Lifestyle Asia or Tempo, is what Mr. Arroyo may intend to mean. Libel and all other legal instruments to defend one’s right and reputation are at everyone’s disposal like himself.
Isn’t it obvious that the guy meant “moderation” than regulation? He’s obviously not Internet savvy so he doesn’t know the proper terms. His full statement should be taken in context. Just like any Internet forum needs moderators, he’d want Facebook to have something like that.
Although I think it’s impossible to moderate the Internet, I think moderation is left to intelligent and responsible bloggers. Don’t be stupidly biased!
You guys are always quick to point out anything that will smear his character. But you didn’t even give him the benefit of a doubt. The picture could have been taken on a different time. When I read posts about this issue, they were written as if it’s 99% true already. People want it to be true, and makes it true so they can throw another mud at the Arroyos’s face.
But as usual, anything bad thrown at the Arroyos is something to feast upon. I’m not an Arroyo supporter but this political mud slinging sickens me. People would believe anything bad about the Arroyos right now…
Just like in this blog post. The author is trying to imply that Mikey wants a China-like or Iran like regulation imposed on Facebook, when his statement is actually calling for Moderation.
my sentiments exactly.
Wow, mikey throws in a lot of empty big words. his opportunism and bias is unfathomable. facebook has been key in organizing and relaying information to help out not only in Manila, but allowed for greater international effort as well.
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I suspect that he doesn’t even know what he’s talking about.
I don’t think he knows the implications of “regulating” Facebook. brainless. just brainless.
Clearly, Mikey Arroyo doesn’t really know what he’s talking about…
Ok, not siding with anyone on the matter but who in the world had the time to post this ridiculous “thing” is just as bad as the one in the picture if this was all done last Saturday. There are so many mean comments on the net right now that in a way, regulating what’s being put on the net appeals to me. Bad-mouthing people and sharing it on the net is a bit much. Hopefully, people will be more helpful rather than being so critical of others especially now.
*applauds*
Good lord. Kulang na lang ipaban niya ang internet. Haha.
Ok, not siding with anyone on the matter but who in the world had the time to post this ridiculous “thing” is just as bad as the one in the picture if this was all done last Saturday. There are so many mean comments on the net right now that in a way, regulating/moderating (whatever is correct), what’s being put on the net appeals to me. Bad-mouthing people and sharing it on the net is a bit much. Hopefully, people will be more helpful rather than being so critical of others especially now.
apparently local politicians are out of the loop. unlike us government officials.
apparently the philippine governement still does not know how to play with the new internet medium, and still dont know how to “regulate” it in its own terms.
they still think its a gun but its rather a double edged sword.
Is it even possible to take Mikey Arroyo seriously anymore? After that debacle during the Winnie Monsod interview, it’s pretty hard to believe that he can conduct himself with any sort of dignity or class. And now, with this call to regulate social media, he just shows the full extent of his ignorance and pettiness.
If something negative about the Arroyos was posted on theOnion. People would probably believe it.
Sickening!
if it we’rent for facebook and other online networking sites, i wouldn’t be volunteering to help the victims.. the internet has become a very big role to the rescuing of thousands of filipino lives.
as usual, IGNORANTE nanaman si baby boy arroyo…
this is really sick! Buy facebook, friendster and twitter that might solve some of your problems. Remember, don’t list it on your financial statement. Winnie might find out!
@neo there would be no amount of good words or doings that the arroyos could do to salvage their dignity.. especially after everything that they have done… (SALN and confirmed splurging of the P800M emergency funds of PGMA, etc.) i think they don’t deserve to be defended, they definitely don’t deserve to be given the benefit of the doubt… it just puzzles me that there is still someone who thinks the other way around and is actually defending them or at least appeals to people not give the arroyos a hard time.. you know, what’s really “sickening”? the ARROYOS.
Mr. Congresssman Arroyo: I think you have to come up with a very nice defense on how you managed to amass so much wealth while you were in public office; I will see to it; that you get the electric chair. This Burt Bacharach song is for you: “A home is not a home; especially if the funds are not your all along;—-A chair is not a chair if not the electric chair–to hold you tight; and squeeze you might–death penalty ka Dong.”
Mr. Congresssman Arroyo: I think you have to come up with a very nice defense on how you managed to amass so much wealth while you were in public office; I will see to it; that you get the electric chair. This Burt Bacharach song is for you: “A home is not a home; especially if the funds are not yours all along;—-A chair is not a chair if not the electric chair–to hold you tight; and squeeze you might–death penalty ka Dong.”
@Neo.Sephiroth: first of all, how can you say that what Mikey Arroyo meant was “moderation”? He’s a full grown man and he should be accountable for the things he says–he said regulation. And that, in both theory and practice, is a ridiculous idea.
Secondly, that’s an unfair assumption–that if someone posted something negative about the Arroyos on theOnion will probably be believed. While it may be true that a lot of people are biased because of their knowledge thus far of the Arroyos, you have to look at both sides of the coin. There are also people who will eat up any positive story thrown out in a press release. The most important thing is that audiences/readers should take everything with a grain of salt and be critical of ANY news that comes their way.
With that said, @Paula, it IS very very important to be critical of others, especially at times like this. Why can’t a person help and be critical at the same time? If people stopped bad mouthing others on the net, where would you get an alternative perspective to stories that gloss over flaws and only praise? People, especially public figures like Mikey Arroyo, need to be called out on their insensitive/stupid actions and statements–but also praised for the good ones, if any.
You can’t really blame writers/bloggers/users for posting what they do on the net–it’s an open forum and each has his own opinion. It’s up to the readers to filter and find out for themselves if what’s being posted is true, then they can form their own opinions.
Nice post. Glad I found it.
Reaction:
Funny how these particular “beings” (no-longer-human) tend to bury themselves deeper in a lame attempt to cover their trail of stupidity with… well,
MORE stupidity.
Outright epic.
Ah, the Internet Anonymous… They never was forgiving
Good luck on controlling them… you would probably have a bigger change winning the lottery…
Whoever his advisor is needs to advise him that if someone is in public office to be careful about what they may be caught doing or not doing because a person’s perception is their reality. No matter how much he justified his action(s), someone’s perception is very hard to change once it’s formed.
tangina mo mike arroyo. ISANG MALAKING FUCK YOU! SINUNGALING!
The internet didn’t turn people against Mikey Arroyo. People are getting fed up with the shenanigans of public officials. Blatant questionable actions going unchecked, swept under the rug by another sensationalized bit a of news. Inability to stand up against them for fear of retribution from their hit men.
True or not true, this isn’t Mikey Arroyo’s first and only “fuck-up.” I think he’s reacting this way because he is still a virgin to trolling… if those photos do not depict what a lot of people now believe in.
I am one of the people scared shitless to stand stick it to them.
“Masahol pa sa kwentong barbero?” – Eh hindi ba ikaw Mikey ang pinakamasahol na barbero? Binarbero mo ang taong bayan live sa GMA7. You can’t even explain your wealth. Magsama na lang kayo ng Nanay mo na “senior stylist” din.
Naawa ako sa inyo.
Mikey, paki sabi sa mga lawyers mo mag aral ng basic accounting and basic declaration of properties. Wawa lawyers mo dude
pasensya na kung na-inom ako nung time na yun, mejo malamig kasi, tapus nabasa ba ung sapatos ko(mahal bili ko dun), tska gusto ko kasi makalimot, masama loob kong makita ang mga kababayan natin naghihirap at namamatay sana ginamit ko na lang kung nakurakot ng ermats at erpats ko sa pagsagip sa mga tao. peace.
peace to all. please don’t put mikey and family on the hot chair. be kind to animals. it’s okay for his kids to steal dahil yun ang nakikita nya sa mga magulang at sa kanyang lolo at lola. pati na sa nanay nya. corruption in the making ika nga.
mickey tinanong mo ba sa mga anak mo kung masarap ang kain nila na galing mula sa nakaw? kaya pati tatay mo parang baboy eh..sarap ng buhay nyo.