Man. I've never been so ashamed of another Filipino my entire life. I'm sure by now you all know who she is, and what has happened. If you don't, here are some links to get you up to speed: http://ivanhenares.multiply.com/journal/item/13 http://uw.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryID=89652 http://selvo.wordpress.com/2007/08/08/mahaderang-matapobre-sa-ofws/#comment-1042 http://www.bryanboy.com/bryanboy_le_superstar_fab/2007/08/malu-fernandez-.html#more But best of all, I think, is the comment made by a woman on Mr. Byranboy's webpage, which I've posted here: Posted by: Camino. H | August 24, 2007 at 12:33 PM Fat or thin, round or square, black or white, it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that this came from a brain of a Filipina, though, since she doesn't seem like she wants to be one, I say she move out of my country and live in Greece, the US, or wherever else where she can spread her poison in peace. I also believe that the editors in chief of both publications should issue an apology to the OFW communities. I know that I come too from a very privileged background and that I possibly have no right to put my two centavos into this discussion. I respect that. But I please let me say, that though I don't know what the OFWs themselves go through, I've heard enough of their stories that made me laugh and cry in equal measure, each time I would interact with them when I got on planes and waited in boarding areas from the stopovers from school abroad. I would shout and cheer with them when the plane would land because they, WE were finally, FINALLY home. I am proud to be Pinoy, that we carry around ten million balikbayan boxes to bring home pasalubongs to those we love, for the durian, Last Supper murals in dining rooms, tapa, bistek, ampalaya, balut, OFWs, natural and architectural treasures we have, our religious beliefs, our equally hardworking and 'bahala na' spirit, love for "lab songs", telenovelas, kareoke, chismis, our political upheavals, and rich history, our accomodating nature and our (sometimes bungi) smiles. I love being part of something so big, varied and diverse, in what is seemingly such as small stretch of land, that we as a people can encompass being beautiful and graceful, with being dirty and rough at the same time, and we always do it with a smile. I LOVE IT ALL. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one that loves this country as much as I do and that this issue has been given some light. Sa mga OFWs: SALAMAT PO SA INYONG LAHAT, sa mga kuwento niyo, sa mga ginagawa niyo po para sa amin ang mga kababayan niyong walang boses o mukha. Taos puso ko pong pagsasalamat sa ginagawa niyo para sa amin, ang pagkakayod sa trabaho, at alam po namin ang sakripisyo na ginagawa niyo sa pagiwan ng niyong pamilya at mga anak at magulang. Kaya't MABUHAY PO KAYONG LAHAT, at pagbigyan niyo nalang po ang baluktot kong tagalog. Pangako ko po na matututo na po akong magsalita't manulat ng mahusay. Sa ngayon, magingat po kayo diyan at hihintayin po namin (at ng mga pamilya niyo) ang inyong paguwi. :)  | That response was a winner.
clap clap clap. |
 | clap clap clap (standing ovation) |
 | my god who does she think she is.
she's going down! haha! |
 | What a reply! I happen to personally know and hold dear a couple of OFWs and really, what they have to go through to make things better for the people they love back home! It's unbelievable and shameful how someone could publicly say these things about them! |
 | I was actually in tears when I wrote that tagalog bit. I am speechless with pride when it comes to them, and the hardships that they go through. They are not sacred people by all means but because they are the regular Juan Dela Cruzes who break their back to go to some unknown place with the hope of giving their families a better life, and some hope, this was uncalled for. If Ms. Malu Fernandez is fat, thin, balding, yellow, black, Muslim, it does not matter. What matters is that she is or WAS a Filipino. THAT is what leaves a bad taste in my mouth. No one I know speaks like that, and with no ounce of yabang will I say this audacious statement, but I KNOW some people that CAN be name dropped. And even THOSE people who CAN be name dropped don't ever speak like that! Sure, everyone is even just the tiniest bit materialistic, but that's us aspiring to luxuries that EXIST and that we're working towards. This woman, hay, ewan ko kung anong iniisip niya! NAKAKAHIYA! |
Comment deleted at the request of the author.  | That bad
I am Chinese but I have nothing but love for all Filipinos. Including OFW's |
 | I think the question everyone really wants to know is..........."is she hot"? hahahaha |
 | i called her miss piggy in my blog hehe...i like your blog, its really a tribute to OFW's...i finished college coz my mom was an OFW for 8 years...and Malu doesn't understand that...well i hope she does now...
|
 | pyros755 wrote on Aug 24, '07, edited on Aug 24, '07 for the longest time, the philippine economy has been kept afloat by these modern heroes, the ofws. to read an article such as this wounds me deeply. this only proves 3 things, the writer of this article is totally clueless about the world she lives in, she totally has no sense of class, decency, and nationalism, and she is an ingrate with no sense of utang na loob. I pity her.... i pity her not because she is getting so much bad crap right now, god knows she deserves it, i pity her because by writing those words she destroyed herself, she mocked her own race, she belittled her own. kahit mayaman ka, kahit sosyal ka pinoy ka pa rin. how can you shit on yourself? where is your class now? |
Comment deleted at the request of the author.  | marcodiaz wrote on Aug 24, '07, edited on Aug 24, '07 You know what's funny? Every Pinoy living outside the Philippines- expat, OFW, or migrant still give each other that patented eye contact, raised eyebrow-sabay-nod move that every Pinoy recognizes when they see each other on the street. That's something that no other nation does, greet each other even from a distance. How do we all know we are all Pinoy? We just do instinctively.
Malu Fernandez thinks she is some big fish in a small pond with her writing. She is BIG agreed, but that's one fish that you throw back in the water... insufferable, delusional, and intolerable. I've lived abroad for years and have nothing but pride and praise for my being Filipino. I'm an OFW of sorts and I'd feel angry at the airline if they made me sit next to her putrid personality for 6 hours that even cologne can't mask... economy or business class. I thought airlines banned substances on board that people would find offensive to people from 100 feet away? She did offend me and I sit 8,000 miles away!
She does not represent any class in the Philippines, save that of those with no class at all. "Class" has nothing to do with WHAT things you carry, it's an innate way of carrying Yourself. I'm sure that segment of society she claims to represent will be the first one to fucking toss her out in shame. The personality she conveyed through her writing I could best describe as the darkest, gooiest, and most repulsive stinking slime at the bottom of each of our pozzo-negros. I've written for People magazine as well, in fact several times. Her writing wouldn't have passed muster even for Tik-tik or Remate. Pity that People printed such filth and theirs was probably a mistake of oversight and tight deadlines, they just let it slide. I'm sure that if anyone read it, they'd be just as offended by Malu's article. |
 | galing mo aims. if you run in the future ill vote for you:) hey i know ths girl. shes the batch mate of my bros. i never knew she was a stupid fuckin swine! kapal nya man. someone should make her lechon and record her scream. haha. better yet someone shoot her in luneta park. what stupid fat bitch! |
| she s dead meat when she eats in restaurants where there are ofw's workin i nthe kitchen. theyd probably piss on her food. haha |
| She got canned.
Journalist hounded out of paper for 'insulting' maids
Agence France-Presse
Last updated 07:15pm (Mla time) 08/24/2007
MANILA, Philippines -- A lifestyle writer has been hounded out of her job by death threats and hate mail after she wrote a travel piece many readers found insulting to millions of Filipinos who work abroad.
Malu Fernandez told Agence France-Presse she quit her job as a columnist at the Manila Standard Today newspaper and People Asia magazine after her article "From Boracay to Greece!" provoked international outrage.
The travel piece, which appeared in the June edition of the magazine and later in modified form in the newspaper, recounts her mock horror at finding herself in economy class surrounded by Filipino maids reeking of cheap cologne.
"I wanted to slash my wrist at the thought of being trapped in a plane with all of them," she wrote.
The column drew fire from across the universe of online diaries who denounced her for alleged bigotry.
Eight million Filipinos, including maids, seamen, construction workers and professionals, work abroad and sent a record seven billion dollars back to the Philippines in the six months of 2007.
Fernandez at first tried to deflect criticism of her article, saying in a subsequent newspaper column that it was meant to be tongue-in-cheek humor.
"If any of these people actually read anything thicker than a magazine they would find it very funny," she wrote.
"Although it may sound elitist to you the fact is this country is built on the foundation of haves, have-nots and wannabees. One group will never get the culture of the other."
However, Fernandez said she has since become the "target of death threats, hate blogs, and deeply personal insults" and felt the need to apologize and quit. The Manila Standard Today confirmed that Fernandez no longer wrote for the paper.
"To say that this article was not meant to malign, hurt or express prejudice against the (overseas Filipino workers) 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," she said in her personal website.
She stressed it was never her intention to "malign, hurt or express prejudice" against the group. |
Comment deleted at the request of the author. | Man if that IS the case, I think it's time for an evaluation of the standards of practice these publications hold don't you? |
Comment deleted at the request of the author.  | ok, so aren't the papers gonna apologize as well for thinking it was "OK" to publish? i think it's just as "stupid" as writing it mismo. PATI SILA! QUIT NA SILANG LAHAT! hahaha. |
 | hey aims! great article:> as you know i work in tatler.im my case, all my stories pass through 3 people for editing and go through hong kong for final approval. so we are quite responsible for all the stories we run. this is also the reason why we have editors. so they could edit our work.i just find it insulting reading too many blogs blaming other journalists. i hope it doesn't turn out to be a hate campaign against publishing houses. tatum (of people asia) is my FRIEND and even if our magazines directly compete against each other, i have a lot of respect for her. |
| and by the way, who is malu fernandez?! ha ha ha i don't see her at press events or launches. ang FEELING nya:> |
 | gdabe din ang pagka illusyonada ni Malou Fernandez, she had it coming |
 | the first time she apologized this is what she said..."Am i acting like a diva or are peope around me naive"! She was NOT APOLOGETIC at all. It was ONLY when it escalated to a "national scandal" on TV and it was only when she received death threats that she "SINCERELY APOLOGIZED". Reminds me of a serial killer who is ONLY sorry that he was caught. Otherwise, he'd go on with his killing spree. Malu fernandez...sorry nalang eh YABANG MO E. All the money in the world will not make you look like a human being. LECHONIN KA NA DAPAT |
| ahahaha. dapat lagyan na ng mansanas sa bunganga paro pwede ng lechonin. d pwede kuchinillo coz shes too big.dalin na sa LAPIDS yan! |
 | tjdario wrote on Aug 26, '07, edited on Aug 26, '07 Hi Aimee. It was a great post. Very touching. It brought me close to tears. Bravo!
I met you last December and introduced myself as working in People Asia.
I just want to make this clear. Although some people may still associate me with People Asia, I have not worked there since March 1, 2007. Before that, we featured great Filipinos like Illac Diaz (I saw his brother's post) and another young woman from Yabang Pinoy who was very proud of Filipinos. (Remember? ;)) I, too, am a proud Filipino, and I have a sister who works abroad. Bravo to all these OFWs!
A Filipino woman told me of her experience on a rainy day in Hong Kong. She made a bet with her British colleagues that she could walk hundreds of meters without getting wet under the rain. They took different paths, and she did not indeed get wet. She did it by calling out "Kabayan, pasukob," and several Filipinos in the streets would share their umbrellas along several segments of her walk. Her British colleagues were not as lucky.
There is so much I wish to share but just to avoid any problems, and because some good people and some of my friends still work there, I am reserving any more comments until an opportune time comes, if any. |
 | Wow! She only apologized when she received death threats? Swine! |
 | Everything you said here was true about Malu Fernandez. As an additional, let me tell you that it is true also that what you are is what you eat. Malu fernandez is a fucking big and fat mistake. The moment that she laid eyes in the Philippines as a Filipino, i bet she never deserved to be called a Filipino. A fucking big mistake will always be a fucking big mistake and Malu Fernandez is one! ONE FAT MISTAKE!!! |
Comment deleted at the request of the thread owner. |  Hi Aimee. It was a great post. Very touching. It brought me close to tears. Bravo!
I met you last December and introduced myself as working in People Asia.
I just want to make this clear. Although some people may still associate me with People Asia, I have not worked there since March 1, 2007. Before that, we featured great Filipinos like Illac Diaz (I saw his brother's post) and another young woman from Yabang Pinoy who was very proud of Filipinos. (Remember? ;)) I, too, am a proud Filipino, and I have a sister who works abroad. Bravo to all these OFWs!
A Filipino woman told me of her experience on a rainy day in Hong Kong. She made a bet with her British colleagues that she could walk hundreds of meters without getting wet under the rain. They took different paths, and she did not indeed get wet. She did it by calling out "Kabayan, pasukob," and several Filipinos in the streets would share their umbrellas along several segments of her walk. Her British colleagues were not as lucky.
There is so much I wish to share but just to avoid any problems, and because some good people and some of my friends still work there, I am reserving any more comments until an opportune time comes, if any.  Hey totally. I don't mean to bring down the entire publication or anything, but I AM saying that there needs to be a serious inquiry over the publication of this particular article. As I've said, I do have friends and acquaintances in People Asia and they do what they do. This article was just way out of line and every Filipino has every right to be pissed about it. hehehe!
Yes, I do remember we had a conversation by the stairwell! :) Add me up to your multiply! :) |
| To Ms. nagpintas: Dude, no offense or anything, and I commend you with your obvious power in research but I think we needn't involve her familym her father or otherwise, in this. She has released a statement (yes, far from adequate I agree), saying she was sorry, and was asking us, as the public, not to condemn or involve her family. Let's not do that. Please keep your comments regarding this subject, on this subject. Thank you for your opinion. It has been great getting your opinion on this topic. :) |
 | I finally read the actual article of Malu Fernandez. I did not want to form an opinion without actually reading the incriminating evidence. My initial reaction to the controversy was that it was probably another case of misquoting or maybe another urban legend (like the alleged tomy hilfiger one > http://www.snopes.com/racial/business/hilfiger.asp). But after reading the article I can conclude that she is a genuine snob and a really bad writer. If, as she claims, the article was written tongue in cheek humor, it was poorly done. It is fitting that she has been sacked (or asked to resign). She can't write humor, though she tries and she has no sensitivity, which I always thought was a pre requisite to being a good writer. She should go hide, but then again, I don't think there is any place where she can go without running into one of the OFWs she was so quick to malign. Justice has a funny way of working. |
| This is one of the best comments so far, I got it from Bryanboy's comment box ( http://www.bryanboy.com/bryanboy_le_superstar_fab/2007/08/obsession-du--1.html): 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. Posted by: Sigmund | August 28, 2007 at 01:10 PM |
Comment deleted at the request of the author. | aims, do you know malu is from assumption? the nuns im sure are very embarassed about it. im sure if assumptionistas knew, she wouldnt be part of our alumnae anymore.that's why im not telling. ha ha ha! |
 | This is one of the best comments so far, I got it from Bryanboy's comment box (http://www.bryanboy.com/bryanboy_le_superstar_fab/2007/08/obsession-du--1.html):
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.
Posted by: Sigmund | August 28, 2007 at 01:10 PM
this comment for the m. fckng win! |
 | great!!!!!
you are absolutely right!!!!
now MALU knows many OFW are far more intelligent and sensible than her.
watch youtube... we are very creative too!
what would the world be without OFW...
|
Comment deleted at the request of the thread owner. Comment deleted at the request of the thread owner. | |
To moderator of this site. I just want to share below email as requested by the author.
Thanks
Dear. Malu Fernandez
FIRST OF ALL, How nouveau riche can one get? Did you marry rich? Did you suddenly come in to money? Your blatant displays of your 'luxuries' and 'wealth' and your comfort with using the word 'elitist' to describe yourself alongside the fact that you had to reference to 'politicians in your family' show that even if you did come from money, you certainly have no class.
You also seem to need to name-drop in every article that you write.
It really gets to me that you should complain about the coach seats on your Emirates flight. Honey, they aint small... YOU'RE FAT. Spare yourself some doughnuts and maybe your travels will be more comfortable... coach, or not.
MOST IMPORTANTLY. That you would put down OFW's (Overseas Filipino Workers) is really DISGUSTING. It makes you sound more vile than what you described as the scent of their 'AXE and Charlie cologne' while your 'Jo Malone melted into thin air'. Honey, without that perfume, you want to know what you smell like? Like a fat Filipino woman. The smell is probably more putrid than the smell of those OFW's. Cause they sweat honest, hard-working sweat. The kind of sweat that keeps the Filipino economy going. They're fucking brave. They've seen more than you, felt more than you, and fought more than you. You're just a coddled fat Filipino woman, under all of that cologne, and that branded clothing that makes you feel more important than them.
It sounds to me like you get to fly Business Class when you travel for work, but when you had to pay for your own travels, coach was more affordable. You tried to hide this by grandiose references to you perfume and your designer wear, didn't you? Tsk tsk...
You made some mention of having 17kg's of make-up in your hand-carry. All the make-up and adornments in the world can't hide how ugly you are inside. You aint that good-looking either, hon. Go to the gym, eat some fruits. You wrote that you wanted to slit your wrists because you were stuck in coach with all the OFW's. I am MOVED every time I am on a flight with OFW's. I am reminded of their resilience. Of how hard they work, and how they keep the Philippines going. The economy relies on their bravery. You should have slit your wrists, hon. And you are going to hell if you don't change the way you think. Think of sitting in coach, imagining your personal hell as a personal foreshadowing.
I have lived in the Philippines, and I have also traveled the world. I've probably been to as many if not more places than you, seen more things than you, so maybe despite all of this money you seem to need to brandish and the places you have been to, you're just an ignorant. This coming from a 20 year old girl.
You're act isn't classy. You're not pretentious. You're just some stupid woman, living in a third world country, thinking that because you jetted off to Greece and you wear Jo Malone perfume, you are suddenly something.
Take this from someone with the same 'socio-economic background' as you, bitch. What a pitiful excuse.
I also happen to read things 'thicker than magazines', I go to University in London where I will finish with an Honors Bachelors Degree in May. I have a 1 year Marketing Economics degree from a business school in Oslo, and I graduated with an International Baccalaureate Diploma at age 17, if you were wondering. So no fucking excuses.
You could do so much more than you think, yet you choose to act like a proper twat. The kind of twat that people with some brains laugh at, the world over. Think of this as some more exposure.
I am ashamed of people like you.
OFW'S all over the world, working their tits off, deserve a public apology.
Ingrid Holm