Malu Fernandez Quits, Apologizes
August 24th, 2007 by Julian AlejandroOnline news sources abs-cbnNEWS.com and GMANews.tv reported that Malu Fernandez has resigned and apologized over her People Asia article that insulted the overseas filipino workers (OFWs).
Anti-Malu Fernandez sentiments filled the Philippine blogosphere the past few weeks as a reaction to her controversial column “From Boracay to Greece” where she wrote that she “wanted to slash [her] wrist at the thought of being trapped in a plane with all of them,” referring to the OFWs in Dubai.
The Filipino Press Club-Dubai, group of Filipino professional journalists from the print, broadcast and web-based media in the United Arab Emirates, has also issued a statement calling for an apology and disciplinary action against Fernandez.
“We strongly demand that the publishers of People Asia and Manila Standard Today to take full responsibility and do the right thing: give Ms Fernandez and her editors a disciplinary action and apologise to the people insulted by these articles,” the group said.
The official website of People Asia also reported that their September issue will carry Fernandez’s statement in lieu of her column.
Some bloggers earlier linked to Fernandez’s supposed statement, which was posted in Geocities.com. Below is the full text of what appears to be Fernandez’s statement:
Statement from Malu Fernandez on the OFW Controversy
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 Ive 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.
August 24th, 2007 at 8:34 am
Sa wakas. Nahiya rin.
August 24th, 2007 at 11:43 am
And so Malu Fernandez knows why there is a saying “you shall reap what you sow…” You sowed insults for the OFWs…now feel the fury of their hearts.
August 24th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
Thank God! Hindi ka nabibilang dito sa mundo epokrita. Tama ngasi RIZAL ang taong di marunong magmahal sa sariling bansa ay parang isang mabahong baboy na katulad mo… Sosyal!!! Ungas… Hindi bagay sayo…
August 24th, 2007 at 1:49 pm
[...] OFWs’ ire). For details on the actual letter of apology itself, see Ang Kape Ni LaTtEX. In Piercing Pens, there is more information, including People Asia saying it will publish the letter of apology in [...]
August 24th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
Tang ina ka. Ikaw kaya ang mag-isis ng sahig dito sa Abu Dhabi ng maranasan mo ang mga panlalait mo. Hindi ka lang baboy bulok ka pa. Pwe. At hinding-hindi ka namin titigilan hanggang sa hindi nabubura sa mundo ang nakasusulasok mong ka-plastikan. Epokrita.
August 24th, 2007 at 4:32 pm
We the Filipino Overseas workers and Migrants and immigrants are the life source of the Philippines today. Our Tears, Blood and Sweat are what keeps the Philippine economy from dying. The same Money the elitists like the likes of Malou Fernandez are using to buy their Jo Malone Colognes.
We are the unsung heroes whose pains and unfortunately our simple joys you would never understand with your narrow and selfish minds.
To Miss Fernandez, next time you buy a Jo Malone or an Adidas all terrain, stop and think how selfish you are. Why not feed the Street children you pass by and nearly ranned over on your way to Starbucks.
Do something kind for a change than living a hypocritic life you live! Then maybe God would not send you to your own personal hell!
August 25th, 2007 at 12:13 am
Hi malu – malusog na bunganga mo, napakapal ng make-up mo, napaka-lusog ng dibdib mo, gusto kitang bitayin ng patiwarik! You bitch! buti nga sa’yo! nabawasan cguro ang make-up mo. ang kapal ng padding ng pwet mo ‘no? bilang kabayran sa ginawa mong panglalait sa amin mga OFW – pupultin ka ngayon sa kangkungan PIG!
August 25th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
im your exact opposite, and to this date i am changing my name. kesehodang gumastos ako…baboy,!!!8 beses ka nagpalipo di ka pa rin pumapayat,doctor pa naman tatay mo! you dont belong to our school and dont ever say where you went to school coz you dont belong!!! you are so pathetic kaya di ka makasakay sa economy dahil di ka kasya sa upuan. napakayabang mo wala ka namang sinabe! social climer! kaya wala kang shota at asawa dahil kasing pangit mo ugali mo at dabiana ka!
August 26th, 2007 at 1:43 am
“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.”
O RLY?
hmmm, so i can wrong you in the most perverse manner i can imagine then say “oops, sorry, peace tayo ah” and it’ll be all ok? O.o
ayos ka girl. tigas men, tigas ng balat, ang kunat!
August 26th, 2007 at 9:42 pm
Daming Malu Fernandez species sa Philippine media. It’s a breeding ground for hypocrites and social climbers. Many of them, naku, their heads are bloated with a feeling of self importance. Marami din naman pulos tsismis lang at sosyalan ang trabaho. walang relevance sa pagpapaunlad ng ekonomiya ng bansa. mahiya sila sa mga OFW –kundi sa kanila, saan kaya pupulutin ang bansa pati na ang mga press people na kabalat ni Malu.
August 26th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
yang ganyang patawa mo, sa mga amiga mo lang nakakatawa…hindi na dapat pang sinusulat!the fact na naisulat mo pa iyan,isa kang DIYABLO! PHYSICALLY,MENTALLY BABOY KA PALA TALAGA…TRULY,FOR U MS.MALU,WAT WE SEE IS WAT WE GET!!!
August 27th, 2007 at 2:14 am
malu fernandez is not a human being….she belongs to the world of animals
nakakasuka ang pangalan mo….sana kunin ka na ni Lord!!
Ganyan ka b pinalaki ng nanay mo??…napakasama…
feeling mayaman..d naman mayaman..mayaman sa TABA!!
Nasa economy class ka lang pala reklamo ka ng reklamo…kung ako ang piloto isasabit kita sa pakpak eh para matunaw ang taba mo..
We Filipinos here in the UAE are proud to be pinoy….samantalang ikaw proud ka sa jo malone mo!!! hahahaha ….
alam mo hindi ka tatanggapin sa impiyerno….si satanas natatakot sa yo…gumawa ka na lang ng sarili mong kaharian……%$#@#@$%^*&^%$
August 28th, 2007 at 8:21 pm
There really isn’t any need to insult Ms. Fernandez further; I think she’s quite miserable on her own. I’ve encountered her enough to know that she’s pretentious and obnoxious. I also know that although her family may have some affluence, I certainly would never include her among the truly high-end of Philippine society she aspires to associate herself with. Sure she may orbit the circle, but she lacks the financial gravitas to truly live the lifestyle at that level. But even that aside, her complete lack of finer sensibilities or circumspect in her utterances indicate a mistaken concept of how the higher strata generally operate. The upper-crust manner, in my humble opinion, is one where there is the absence of a need to prove it to anyone. The traditionally rich guard the private details of their lives, perhaps just sharing it with a few intimates. Bragging about the inconsequential accoutrements of “the fabulous life” as Ms. Fernandez does in article after article, smacks more of an arriviste rather than a person already “to the manor born.” The classic signs are all there – name-dropping, an obsession with expensive accessories (and the need to highlight the brand), the feeling of entitlement, the clear disdain and lack of empathy for those she feels are not of her strata. It must be very difficult for her to constantly try to keep up with a crowd she just can’t keep up with financially. If she could she would have easily bought a first-class ticket and we would have all been spared of her tirade.
Feeling alienated from a crowd she so desperately wants to be a part of must make her very frustrated. Many bloggers also made fun of her portliness. I would imagine that the insults concerning her weight we’re not the first time she had heard such comments. She was physically large when I met her, and she still is to this day. There must also be a great deal of frustration in not being able to lose the weight. Part of being “Fierce and Fabulous” is the glam-factor. Obesity isn’t generally considered glamorous. There is so much out of her control that I can only imagine her seething anger as she sat in economy with her fellow Filipinos from Dubai. Powerless to do anything to extricate her from that circumstance, she lashed out by berating them, by trying to convince people that although she sat in economy with them, she is not one of them. She is high class and they are not. That kind of venom, that kind of irrational anger is so deep-seated that it can only come from a life she felt she had no control of – much like her weight and her social status.
August 30th, 2007 at 11:14 am
she agologized finally. God Bless ……
August 30th, 2007 at 12:47 pm
hello po mga minamahal kong kababayan…
nawa po naman ay magpakahinahon tayo…walang kasalanan si Ms Fernandez..
di natin siya dapat husgahan sa mga nasabi nya sa kanyang artikulo…she’s just trying to make her reader rose from their seat and had blended something like sense of humar to her article…
KAYO MAN ANG MAGING BABOY NA kagaya nya maiisip ba ninyo kung tama o mali ang pinaggagawa nya..Ma KAKARMA din ang walanghiyang yan…
April 11th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
kawawa naman mga OFW.. They work so hard, soemtimes under unimaginable working conditions just to feed their families, then some FAT OVER-INDULGED PIG throws a rant about how they apparently smell?? or how cheap they are?? WTF?!?! Shame on you Malu Fernandez! I hope you become bankrupt and be forced to work at some remote area in Saudi! You fat retard!
March 1st, 2009 at 3:22 am
Malu Fernadez
ngayon na ang oras para matikman mo ang bagsik at kamandag ng mga manggagawang pinoy. hindi ka namin titigilan hangang hindi namin nararamdaman ang pag babago ng mga kagaya mo. dadating na ang para sa iyo at matitikman mo ang bagay na ayaw mong matiman, lumingon ka palagi sa lahat ng sulok ng daraanan mo dahil sa lahat ng sulok na ito ay may naghihintay sa iyo upang ipagtangol ang mga sinaktan mong pilipino.ORAS MO NA!
May 6th, 2010 at 11:22 am
You’ve got a nice blog here…