Ah, the things that matter.
I skimmed through four Philippine dailies yesterday and was amused to see the varying front pages each newspaper had.
While the Philippine Daily Inquirer headlined the reversal of the United States’ position on a global warming pact at the end of a United Nations climate conference in Indonesia, the Philippine Star reported that convicted child rapist and former congressman Romeo Jalosjos was to be released from prison yesterday. The Manila Times, on the other hand, published a feature on poverty in the Philippines.
And what was the headline of the Manila Bulletin?
That the “Simbang Gabi,” a Filipino tradition of attending 9-day masses at dawn, has kicked off.
Yes, I know, the Manila Bulletin has always maintained an optimistic, pro-government, sometimes oblivious-to-the-world perspective on news reporting. But they never fail to amuse me every time they choose a headline that seems trivial to most, especially when when there seems to be no scarcity of more pressing issues or events to report on.
Well, to each his own. Some things just matter more to other people, right?
The front pages of other newspapers yesterday:
Philippine Daily Inquirer – “US backs down in Bali” (Dec. 16, 2007)
The Philippine Star – “Jaloslos freed today” (Dec. 16, 2007)
The Manila Times – “Black, bitter Christmas for 6M poor Pinoy kids” (Dec. 16, 2007)
