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AFP
3 days ago
- Politics
- AFP
Philippine politicians share AI-generated interviews supporting VP Duterte
The video -- published on June 14, 2025 on TikTok -- appears to show three students criticising the vice president's impeachment during street interviews. They can be heard saying in Tagalog that the attempt to remove her from office is "politically motivated" and "singling out the vice president". It has been viewed over 590,000 times and has spread elsewhere on the platform. Senator Ronald Dela Rosa -- who served as the Philippines' police chief under former president Rodrigo Duterte -- and Davao City's incoming vice mayor and Sara Duterte's brother, Sebastian Duterte, also shared the clip, saying it shows she has the youth's support. Image Screenshots of the AI-generated video shared by Dela Rosa and Sebastian Duterte, taken on June 16 The House of Representatives passed a resolution on June 11 certifying that the impeachment trial against the vice president complied with the constitution, after days of wrangling in the Senate that had raised fears the trial process was headed for derailment (archived link). The House impeached her in early February on charges of graft, corruption and an alleged assassination plot against one-time ally and former running mate President Ferdinand Marcos. The Philippines' 24 senators will serve as jurors and decide whether she should be removed from office. But the interviews show signs they were made with AI. A closer inspection of the footage shows a "Veo" watermark on the lower right-hand side of the frame -- a video generator platform from Google DeepMind (archived link). The app's website says its latest version allows users to "add sound effects, ambient noise, and even dialogue" to generate audio natively. Image Screenshot of the AI-generated video with the "Veo" watermark highlighted A reverse image search shows the clip was originally published on a Facebook page called Ay Grabe (archived link). A review of the Facebook page shows similar AI-generated video clips bearing the same watermark. The page, which posted content showing support for the Marcos-Duterte tandem in the 2022 presidential vote, describes itself currently as one that "features ideas, opinions, news, stories and events through the use of AI" (archived link). Image Screenshot of the AY GRABE Facebook page and similar AI-generated clips it has published. The video also bears errors commonly seen in AI-generated images. Text on the clothing, vehicles and signage on storefronts shows random letters and characters that do not form an actual word. The hair and teeth of the interviewees look overly smooth. In one shot, vehicles can be seen moving in opposite directions alternately. Image Screenshot of visual details in the AI-generated image highlighted in red by AFP AFP has previously debunked misinformation about Duterte's impeachment here and here.
Indian Express
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
‘One man's trash': Viral video shows discarded fast food cooked and eaten in Philippines
A video shot in the Philippines has gone viral as it gives an unsettling glimpse into food insecurity. Posted by @arabzclipz on Instagram, the clip, which has already drawn 1.8 million views, shows two content creators documenting how pagpag is made: discarded fast food, collected from trash bins, cleaned, and recooked into a meal. In the video, one of the men explains, 'Pagpag is fast food that is thrown in the trash and is picked out and cooked together in oil.' As the camera pans over a sizzling pan of fried chicken scraps, they talk to a young boy about his preferences and try to identify which chain the food originally came from. At one point, one of the creators hesitates: 'I'm not sure if I want to eat the food or not because even though the chicken pieces look good, all I can see are bones.' A post shared by Arab Clips (@arabzclipz) The footage has prompted a flood of emotional reactions online, ranging from shock to guilt to empathy. 'Lord if I was ever ungrateful, please forgive me,' one user wrote. Another said, 'The moral of the story is to be grateful for what you have.' Others shared memories of similar hardship. 'Been there, done that… Living in a junkyard on cardboard box,' one comment read. 'This makes me grateful I can eat what I want. Sometimes I forget how blessed I am,' said another. Pagpag – Tagalog for 'to shake off dirt' – is a survival meal in many impoverished communities in Metro Manila, especially in places like Tondo. The dish may include expired meat, fish or vegetables, sourced from garbage dumps or supermarket waste, and then recooked, usually by deep frying. Though not new, the visuals of the video has made the practice uncomfortably real for global audiences. As the focus on global hunger is rising, the video gives a jarring contrast, and a reminder that for some, even thrown-away food is worth salvaging. According to the 2024 Global Hunger Index, the Philippines ranks 67th out of 127 countries, with a 'moderate' level of hunger. India ranks 105th, categorised as 'serious'.
Elle
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Elle
Filipino Nurses and Health Care Workers Are Everywhere. Now, They're Finally on Screen Too.
When I was scrolling on TikTok last fall, I came across Mean Girls . The scene, clipped from an episode of the new NBC sitcom St. Denis Medical , went viral, making Filipinos in the comments laugh and feel seen. People of other backgrounds who work in health care nodded along, noting the accuracy. And I, a Filipina with a few family members working in medicine, even let out a chuckle. It was as if for the first time, a widely understood reality finally made its way into mainstream television: Filipinos dominate the health care industry. Filipinos make up the biggest group of immigrant workers in the American health care system, according to a 2019 census, per the ER ran for 15 seasons without focusing on a Filipino nurse (this oversight became the butt of a joke at the Grey's Anatomy reportedly featured a Filipino nurse for the first time significantly in 2021—its 17th season on air—when Aina Dumlao 'Being Filipino American and just having so many nurses in my family, and being pressured to be a nurse myself growing up, it's always been so odd to me that there hasn't been a ton of Filipino nurses on TV in the past on these medical shows,' says St. Denis Medical writer Emman Sadorra, who is Filipino and pitched the 'mafia' concept along with a fellow Asian American writer. '[Working on] a new medical show that I'm so lucky and proud to be a part of, I knew that that was something I wanted to try and bring to the table or shed some light on.' NBC Yssamei Panganiban as Sharice and Nico Santos as Rene, members of the 'Filipino mafia' in St. Denis Medical. Although the Filipino mafia was only the subject of one episode (so far) on St. Denis , other Filipinos in scrubs have recently appeared onscreen this year as medical TV dramas underwent a renaissance. HBO Max's The Pitt , arguably the buzziest new show of the year, features three Filipina characters working in an emergency room: two are nurses, who often chit-chat in Tagalog, the national language of the Philippines, and one is a doctor. And when Netflix debuted its own soapy medical romance Pulse this spring, the cast included a Filipino actor playing a surgery intern. 'It feels like the powers that be in the entertainment industry are at last starting to get it —finally noticing us, seeing us, and inviting us to tell our stories.' There have been other flashes of representation in recent years, like a brief scene of nurses speaking Tagalog in the locker room in New Amsterdam in 2023 , or a minor character, Nurse Villanueva, appearing on The Good Doctor from 2017 to 2024. This new wave of shows marks a long-awaited breakthrough in representation—and more accurately depicts the reality of working in a hospital. It feels like the powers that be in the entertainment industry are at last starting to get it —finally noticing us, seeing us, and inviting us to tell our stories. With immigrant communities under attack right now in the U.S., this kind of visibility and celebration, for any minority group, is more important than ever. 'It is crazy that it's taken this long for there to be such concrete representation, but it's so special to be a part of it and show it in so many different forms,' says Isa Briones, who stars in The Pitt as a prickly and ambitious med student named Dr. Trinity Santos. 'There's nurses, there's doctors, there's also a spectrum of what [being] Filipino is. There's so many different nuances within it.' Warrick Page Isa Briones as Dr. Trinity Santos on The Pitt. Many of these actors know the impact of Filipinos in health care firsthand. Briones says 'so many family members, extended family members and friends of friends are Filipinos who are medical professionals.' Pulse 's Chelsea Muirhead says her Filipino mother, a phlebotomist, encouraged her to be a doctor or nurse when she was going to school. 'Now I get to turn to my mom and be like, 'I did it,' the Filipino-Scottish actor jokes of her role in her Netflix series. 'I'm kind of a doctor and I'm living that dream, finally.'' The Pitt 's Amielynn Abellera, who is also Filipino and whose mom was an ICU nurse, even studied pre-med in college ('That was a pattern that I was going to follow,' she recalls) before pursuing her passion for acting. 'The medical world of The Pitt feels so familiar,' she says. The Pitt makes sure audiences know that Filipinos are in the ER staff right away. Kristin Villanueva, the actress who plays a chatty nurse named Princess Dela Cruz, points out her character's early introduction in the series, alongside Abellera's Perlah Alawi, a fellow Filipina. 'I've read some comments of people just having a huge sigh of relief and excitement when you see me and Amielynn in that second minute of episode 1 and already speaking Tagalog,' Villanueva says. 'It was also jarring for me that all of a sudden, BAM! Dr. Robby—Noah Wyle—is going in and already being flanked by two Filipino nurses.' Courtesy HBO Max Kristin Villanueva, Noah Wyle, and Amielynn Abellera in The Pitt . Notably, The Pitt develops these characters fully, rather than making them one-dimensional stereotypes. Throughout the first season, Briones's character is shown butting heads with a white male counterpart (her performance is so convincing that her character has become Briones, for example, asked if her character 'could have a last name that represented my background.' The team obliged and dubbed her Santos (Filipino surnames are often of Spanish origin due to centuries of colonization). Villanueva, who was born in the Philippines and speaks fluent Tagalog, weighed in on some of the translated dialogue and ad-libs. 'There's one scene where I call Dr. Langdon an asshole. In Tagalog we have—I don't know—20 words for asshole. It's like varying degrees of intensity,' Villanueva explains. 'So, then I would go back to the writer and ask, 'Is Princess joking? Is she teasing? Does she really mean it? Is she irritated?' Then we have leeway in interpreting that to arrive at the same vibe or gist or objective of that character.' Related Story Even the inclusion of gossip (or tsismis ) is, inexplicably, an accurate homage to Filipino culture. But the Tagalog dialogue isn't only used to talk about someone else behind their back (or in front of their faces). 'To me, when I speak in Tagalog, it's not always necessarily so other people can't understand us,' Villanueva says, in Princess's defense. 'It's easier to express in your mother tongue and your native language.' 'It doesn't matter if there's a Filipino on screen for like half a second, we will proudly claim and watch the program just to see that one glimpse of our people. So I was really just like, 'We just have to get this right.'' Nico Santos (you know him from Superstore and Crazy Rich Asians ), who plays nurse Rene on St. Denis , the leader of the Filipino mafia, was also able to use his personal experience to inform the show. Some parts of the script would be translated by a service, but the phrasing was too formal or unnatural. 'The translation was super-lalim talaga [really super-deep],' Santos remembers. 'We just don't use those words.' So he sought to make the dialogue 'more conversational' and accurate because there was a lot at stake. 'You know how our people are,' he says. 'It doesn't matter if there's a Filipino on screen for like half a second, we will proudly claim and watch the program just to see that one glimpse of our people. So I was really just like, 'We just have to get this right.'' NBC 'We just have to get this right,' Nico Santos said of Filipino representation on St. Denis. That also meant paying attention to the details. In one scene where Rene gives a colleague a bag of canned goods and groceries, St. Denis writer Emman Sadorra recalls 'specifically telling the props people it should be corned beef. That's such a Filipino thing.' (It's not visible in the final cut, but it's the thought that counts.) When you're part of a community that's rarely in the spotlight, the pressure is high. Santos understands that struggle. 'I have sort of a love-hate relationship with the position that I'm in because at the very core of it, this is just what I want to do for a living. …. But when you start working at a certain level, there is that layer of, you are the face of the community . I feel that not only with being Filipino, but being queer as well,' he says. He later jokes, 'If I fuck up, please don't hold it against me. I am just a person, and I will make mistakes. And someday I hope that it gets to a point where we can play all types of characters, and those characters not be seen like, 'Oh my God, all Filipinos are like that.'' NBC Santos says, 'When you start working at a certain level, there is that layer of, you are the face of the community .' Briones was glad to be on the set of The Pitt with two other Filipina actors who came from different backgrounds as a way of showing this long-overlooked community is not monolithic. Briones, the daughter of trailblazing TV and Broadway star Jon Jon Briones, is mixed race, Filipino and Caucasian; Villanueva, a seasoned theater actor, was born in the Philippines and immigrated when she was a teenager. Abellera, who hails from California, plays a Muslim Filipina nurse who wears a hijab. (Though the Philippines is a predominantly Catholic country, about These shows have been healing not only for viewers, but also for the Filipino actors who star in them. Muirhead, who is queer, says it 'felt so serendipitous' to play her character, Sophie, who was written as queer in the script. Portraying a Filipina exploring her sexuality helped her answer her own questions in real life. 'I'm learning a lot about myself, to be honest,' Muirhead says. 'I'm finding much more confidence in myself by digging through, potentially, what might a character like Sophie feel?' Courtesy of Netflix Daniela Nieves as Camila Perez and Chelsea Muirhead as Sophie Chan in Pulse . Briones also had an emotional realization while filming a scene in episode 11 of The Pitt when Princess and Perlah are in the midst of gossiping about Trinity in Tagalog, and Trinity chimes in, stunning the pair with her understanding of the language. In her disbelief, Princess says Trinity is ' so mestiza! '—meaning she's so white-passing she couldn't believe she was Filipina. Villanueva asked Briones for permission to use that line when the director of the episode, Quyen Tran, encouraged her to improvise. 'Kristen was kind of like, 'Is it okay if I say that?' to me,' Briones says, noting that the term could be read as an insult to people who are mixed. 'Even though those types of words have hurt me [in the past], it felt so powerful to represent it and show it. It didn't feel painful to do that scene. I would've watched this and would've teared up and been like, 'Oh my God, I've had that exact interaction before.'' Sadorra sums it up well: 'The things that make me different used to be things that I was afraid of writing about, but now I fully embrace it and it's only yielded great results.' Warrick Page Abellera studied pre-med before pivoting to acting. But even as more Filipinos appear on screen, I can't help but wonder if casting them as doctors and nurses will become just another pigeonhole—like the delivery man, the IT guy, and the exotic sex symbol tropes that Asians have long been typecast as. Knowing this, Villanueva made sure to be selective about which roles she takes on. 'If it's a Filipino nurse and there's more to 'yes, doctor,' you get to see more of the personality, or have more of a backstory, then of course, I absolutely would audition for that,' she says. When she was auditioning for The Pitt and saw the character's name was Princess—an 'if you know you know' nod to the over-the-top names Filipinos give their kids—she knew the writers were 'going deep in their research.' 'The hope for the future is just more . Not only in front of the screen but also behind it.' '[Working in] medicine is also a little bit of a [stereotypical career] in the community,' Muirhead says. 'It's like a dream, kind of our golden mountain to chase, especially for older generations. But what a beautiful beacon [it is].' Santos agrees: 'It's the easiest entry into our culture, and then you let them know: We're not all nurses.' Abellera says we're in the midst of a cultural shift 'where Filipino and Filipino American stories are really making their way into not only art, but different spaces like cuisine, sports, music, design, and literature in a way that I never experienced growing up.' And as a parent of a 4-year-old, she's excited to be able to show her child Filipinos on TV, from Josh, the new host of Blue's Clues , to herself. ANNA KOORIS // Netflix Filipino actors hope for more opportunities onscreen, behind the camera, and beyond.. Indeed it is an exciting time, as Hollywood has embraced more stories from people of color in recent years. But it's also a fraught one, as DEI initiatives are increasingly under threat. The hope for the future is just more . Not only in front of the screen but also behind it. While The Pitt , St. Denis Medical , and Pulse spotlight Filipino actors and storylines, all three shows are led by white male showrunners or co-showrunners. ( Pulse has a female co-showrunner.) There's always more room for improvement, whether it's in the writers' room, the director's chair, or the C-suite. 'To the executives: People want these real stories. The Pitt is an example of that,' Briones says. 'So seek out new writers, new directors, seek out the people who are going to tell their unique stories about their cultural background, and also stories that don't have to be about their Asian-ness, their Filipino-ness, or whatever—it's just ingrained.' The success of The Pitt and St. Denis demonstrate that there's an appetite for more Filipinos onscreen. 'I think what networks were afraid of was, if you get too specific, the show is not going to translate to a wider audience,' Sadorra says. 'But it's almost like the opposite of that has been true—the more specific you get, the more universal it becomes.' He adds later, 'The response of that [nurse mafia] clip that went viral, and people really loving that episode in particular, has shown us that this is really resonating with people, and it would be smart of us to keep exploring stories in that area. So I hope we get to do that for a second season.' My fingers, for one, are crossed to see more Rene and the Filipino mafia on screen in the future. I can't wait to gossip about it. Related Story
GMA Network
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- GMA Network
Julie Anne San Jose talks about singing in Enchan for 'Sang'gre' theme song
Julie Anne San Jose is the voice of the official theme song for "Sang'gre," which came with the challenge of singing in Enchan, the fictional language used in "Encantadia." In Lhar Santiago's report on "24 Oras," Thursday, Julie Anne was asked by Mikee Quintos if she understood the lyrics of the song. "I kinda assumed kung ano 'yung mga meaning. Kasi, ewan ko, nag-depend lang din ako siguro sa dun sa mga stances na Tagalog, so parang the gist of it," she said. "Sang'gre" is the spinoff of the hit Kapuso series "Encantadia." It is top-billed by Bianca Umali, Kelvin Miranda, Faith Da Silva, and Angel Guardian as the new keepers of the gems of fire, water, air, and earth. The series will also feature a new set of characters including Rhian Ramos as Mitena, the late Ricky Davao as Governor Emil, Ysabel Ortega as Armea, and Sienna Stevens as the younger counterpart of Rhian. "Sang'gre" will premiere on GMA Prime on June 16. —Carby Rose Basina/MGP, GMA Integrated News
San Francisco Chronicle
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
P-pop sensation Bini to bring Pinay pride to San Francisco
The eight young ladies of Philippine pop group Bini are crowded together in a room, smiles beaming on a morning video call from Manila. With millions of fans called 'Blooms' and racking up more than a billion streams, the 'Nation's Girl Group' is excited to be on the precipice of a global breakout. One city the group has circled on its first multi-continent 'Biniverse' concert tour is San Francisco. Singers, rappers and dancers Jhoanna, Stacey, Mikha, Maloi, Aiah, Gwen, Colet and Sheena perked up when informed of the Bay Area's sizable Filipino population (Daly City, Vallejo, San Jose) snatching up tickets to its June 17 concert at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium — less than 2 miles from SOMA Pilipinas, San Francisco's Filipino Cultural Heritage District. 'We can't wait to see our Filipino Blooms and to perform for the very first time in San Francisco,' said Sheena. 'Maybe we'll go out and shop and eat good food.' (Serramonte Center, you've been warned.) Bini is tops in P-pop, the Philippine equivalent of what K-pop is to South Korea or J-pop to Japan. Its music possesses much of the same razzle-dazzle qualities like catchy hooks, sharp choreography and immaculate visual style, but sung and rapped with a Tagalog tongue. The group is already superstars in its home country, even having its own Jollibee tie-in. To push its popularity beyond the Philippine archipelago, the group's latest 'Biniverse' EP is the first to feature all English-language songs. 'At first, I think they had mixed emotions because (the EP) is full English,' said Maloi. 'It's a risky move for us, but we just want them to feel that change is not scary.' Bini, which is short for 'binibini' or 'young lady' in Tagalog, formed in Manila through an audition program in 2018. The eight members, whose average age is 21, endured rigorous training. In 2021, the group released a cutesy cover of composer Ryan Cayabyab's novelty song ' Da Coconut Nut.' Bini followed with the more mature-sounding full-length album 'Born to Win' that better highlighted their vocal talents and comfort with English lyrics. The early years had their bumps, Sheena admitted, as the group encountered indifference and other roadblocks exacerbated by the pandemic. 'No one liked our songs, no one recognized us,' Sheena said. 'But we kept pushing ourselves and helped each other.' Perseverance paid off in 2023 as a streak of hits ('Pantropiko,' 'Karera' and 'Salamin, Salamin') were buoyed by viral dance trends and established their chart dominance. In 2024, a silky dance track ' Cherry on Top ' cracked global streaming charts. Its current English-forward singles ' Zero Pressure ' and ' Blink Twice ' reveal an even more sophisticated sound that draws from millennium pop, classic synth pop and chill R&B. 'Bini is not afraid to explore different genres, and so far our Blooms are loving it,' said Jhoanna. 'Change is normal, and that will help us to become better performers and individuals.' Stacey added the support of fans, family and their team allowed them to push themselves personally and creatively. 'We are finally getting the recognition we deserve,' she said. 'We are also pushing to be more confident in our craft and to learn and grow more.' 'Aside from our craft and music, I believe we've improved and grown individually in terms of our skills, personality and character,' added Gwen. Bini are key ambassadors of Filipino representation and pride in the larger Asian pop music diaspora and beyond. Its latest single ' Shagidi ' updates a popular Filipino relay game to a bass-heavy tropical banger for the masses. 'For Bini to be at this spot at this place and time is really exciting,' said Rueda-Reyes. 'It's something that I hoped for but didn't really expect to happen. I'm just thrilled.' James Zarsadiaz, an associate professor of history and the director of the Yuchengco Philippine Studies Program director at University of San Francisco, sees Bini's rise as an indicator of the expansion and influence of Filipino people and culture worldwide. 'Filipinos are having an extra sense of confidence in the arts and willingness to expand beyond Asia,' Zarsadiaz said. 'There's been so much talent in the Philippines. And with the amount of Filipinos living around the world, this is an exciting time.' To ease into global markets, it helps that Bini members are multilingual. In the beginning, Aiah and Mikha rapped in Tagalog, which they picked up after their primary languages Bisaya (also known as Cebuano, a Filipino dialect) and English. To them, it's a fun challenge to spit bars in Tagalog's rhythmic meter. 'There are some times that it's like a tongue twister for me,' said Aiah. 'But I do have fun whenever I get the chance to rap in Tagalog because there are some words that are very fun to utter. So it's really nice when I get to rap it well.' Mikha believes her Tagalog has gotten much better because of it. 'I think I'm more comfortable rapping in English, but as long as I memorize the words in Tagalog, I'm comfortable,' she said. English may be the lingua franca of pop, but to Bini, good vibes are universal. As the Bini jeepney circles the globe, Colet stresses the group will always pack its Pinay pride. 'Anything that speaks to your heart and conveys that message well, the language doesn't matter,' said Colet. 'We won't ever forget our Filipino roots.'
