Apparently not a spoof! The image of the cover of the November 2014 edition of Esquire Philippines is actually posted on the Esquire Philippines Facebook Page.
Interesting considering The Manila Times columnist Bobi Tiglao’s latest exposé on the role Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas played in botching the Philippine government’s appallingly inutile response to the disaster wrought by Super Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in late 2013…
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Roxas and [Defense Secretary Voltaire] Voltaire’s big boo-boo – which actually nearly cost their lives – was that they were totally out of touch with Pagasa and weren’t updated on the movement of the typhoon. In that meeting (video grab above), Roxas said: “We still have 10 o’clock tomorrow morning to evacuate these people.”
We will also recall the way Roxas (who was made point man in disaster management a the time by his boss Philippine President Benigno Simeon ‘BS’ Aquino III) stammered his way through an interview with CNN‘s Andrew Stevens at Ground Zero in Tacloban back then…
Stevens appeared frustrated over not getting an accurate assessment of the relief and rescue efforts from Roxas considering they were both in the disaster zone. It was as if they were both seeing the same thing – chaos, survivors begging for food and water and dead bodies lying around – except that the DILG secretary still insisted that the situation was under control.
The right thing Roxas could have done was politely decline Esquire Philippines’ rather misguided offer to feature him on their cover. But then the 2016 presidential elections are fast approaching. What else do scorpions do but sting. And what else do media companies do but laugh all the way to the bank.
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
“Hello from Tacloban” (see the magazine’s front cover)? Aquino and Roxas aren’t even going there for the Yolanda anniversary, just Guian and another town! I’m amazed at the level of hypocrisy that this government is showing!!!
How can we be sure if the photo was taken in Tacloban?
Anyway, is this the best picture of Mar “the cover boy” Roxas Esquire magazine can place on their covers?
~he looks like he just woke up from an all night drinking spree./LOLZ
nod if you agree–I think this the warehouse where they stored the looted foreign aid and replaced with local stuff
…and the administration put VP Binay in close quarter situation….to be responsible in the rehabilitation of the typhon Haiyaan victims ,… It is actually , what I see , in preparation to scape blame from people as the visit from Pope and election 2016 is getting closer … obviously !…
Akalain mo, and’yan ako! haha.. Ayos uh, pogi ko d’yan kahit wala talaga ako d’yan! Ai.. ‘Tang ina mo esquire! ginawa n’yo pa talagang cover ang hinayopak na ‘yan..
marroxas–Picture look like a copy and paste–pwe mga peste sa mahihirap..Sa mga oligarch..Aproved
Look at that face. Is this the Halloween edition?
Nope. it’s the promotion photo for “Dumb and Dumber To”
If manual voting ,Mar has no chance to win but if the PCOS machine ,that is another story.
This is a pure insult and stupidity to what the real Esquire International magazine is really all about.
On the contrary, I thinks that its just brilliant on their part. Milking the government for what its worth. Its readers, limited to the elite, would easily see through the cover.
Dick brings up a good point. That combined with Benign0’s premise that Mar does not have the good sense or the political capital to turn down any cover more discriminating readers will probably have the WTF reaction instead of the ” that’s the guy I want leading the country” reaction.
A more discriminating reader’s first choice of material probably wouldn’t be a publication that is preoccupied with whether or not Scarlett Johansson is hotter as a naked alien in Scotland or as an international super-spy dressed in a skin tight bodysuit.
d_forsaken,
Have you actually picked up an issue of Esquire magazine? Any edition?
It might be argued that when it started in the 1930s, Esquire magazine was a forum for debate between Republican (conservative) and Liberal Democratic (social liberalism). Today’s Esquire emphasizes men’s fashion, leisure interests and fiction writing. It’s the print equivalent of ABS-CBN. Perfect for a KSP-obsessed culture.
Johnny Saint,
I was able to read several issues of Esquire International magazine before, but that was many years ago, I think it was mid-90s. I’m now more on the online version of Esquire International (www.esquire.com).
Historically speaking, Esquire was first issued in October 1933, “to become the common denominator of masculine interests—to be all things to all men.”
It was founded and edited by David A. Smart, Henry L. Jackson and Arnold Gingrich. Jackson’s Republican political viewpoints contrasted with the liberal Democratic views of Smart, which allowed for the magazine to publish debates between the two.
I can bluntly say that Esquire International (not the local version) is a men’s magazine that stimulates the intellectual objective mind.
Before then, I was with the media, publishing and advertising for more than 12 years, and I’ve seen a lot, from the genuinely real to hypocrisy.
Indeed, I will always go for the International version which is more straight-forward, stimulating to the mind, objective, and at the same time, hitting the nail on the head.
As for the local version, it ain’t my two cents worth. It’s a stupid reality that this country are fond of busting everyone’s balls. Horse sense will never be part of their so-called protoculture.
Definitely will hit the nail on the head if you’re looking for advice on how to coordinate your new dinner jacket with matching trousers. Or if your primary interests revolve around such stimulating topics as the latest over-hyped Hollywood spectacle, Scarlett Johansson’s new baby or a half naked Rihanna sharing Barbados-style recipes. Veeery thought-provoking topics indeed.
this is hypocrisy! politics is worse and your magazine is supporting such a big Liar! i don’t know how much you’re paid! i dont even see any sense, how this would influence the youth! this country is miserable because this politicians that runs the government!
This diabolical insult tests our level of discernment. This shameless, abhorrent un-civility is intolerable. Looking at Mar Roxas photographed in such a context is repulsive,. to say the very least. They shot themselves in the foot with such human garbage on the cover. I predict a huge backlash against the magazine. I just checked their webpage if I can find a contact email address to let them know what ass-heads they are, but could not find any. If you click “contact us” you get to a blank page.
Speaking of BLANK PAGES.
a BLANK PAGE would have made a better cover than a photo of that incompetent fool.
How much did this buffoon pay you to get him on this particular cover, Esquire Philippines?
@ Dinky, this guy is not a ‘buffoon’, he is a smart guy. Getting to be in the position he is in is a high-paying job….and he is laughing all the way to the bank.
You really think he gives a shit about anyone but himself? HA !
Esquire magazine? The one that apparently ran a feature on BS Aquino, with him giving advice on “How to Be A Man?” Hah. The current issue also features an interview by Butch Abad, Noynoy’s bitch, so that makes them suspicious.
That magazine is worth nothing anyway, just some rag that effeminate, limpdicked “elites” read to entertain their delusions of being urbane and sophisticated.
I am often confused with the words “Esquire” and “Equine” and usually make the mistake of switching them and their their definitions around. Such magazine is no exception, whenever I pass by the book stands and take a quick glance at it, my first thought would be “Anong kabayo naman ang nasa cover ngayong buwan…”
I’m not too surprised. They had PNOY on their cover before. Stopped considering them as a credible magazine already.
This cover is such a fake item.. Ughhh!! If i ever i see this mar roxas in person ill just spit on his face! Big big liar, i have relatives in tacloban during that big disaster, hearing their true stories made me believe that everything shown in the news are all sugar coated stuff…to the point of untruthful crap. And now, they’re trying to divert everything to Binay!! Why?? Walang mapagpasahan ng sisi? Sa maling tao pa..
…This is the phase in an election when strategies are being fine-tuned, logistics are being readied, the “war chest” is being accounted. The war chest has to be a mountain of money, or the candidate will fail to be one of the Top2 by the time the campaign is nearing the finish line (recall Gibo and Gordon complaining they didn’t have enough money so that they could only focus on one or two regions, and not nationwide, towards the end) Get the hint from Esquire, whose niche market is the A, B, and maybe some C. C, D and E, which account for the most number of voters, don’t read “mags for elite”; so why Esquire? It is also the phase when a lot of back room maneuverings are going on. Influence peddlers (most of whom will also be laughing all the way to the bank after this phase) are very, very busy. They are trying to figure out which “interest” of this or that candidate matches with the “interest” of this or that political donor, big business, or background kingmaker. And this is how the war chest is built. You have to realize that estimates on how much a successful presidential campaign for 2016 will cost is now ranging in the neighborhood of Php five to seven billion. So, this is no race for ordinary mortals like us, and even if a candidate, who had the “benefit?”of an incumbent office that “allowed?” tongpats, the cost of campaign is staggering that said candidate will have no recourse but to seek political donors to cover for any shortfall in his war chest.
PHL politics is very dirty, and the election by itself is big business. Know of certain candidates who knew they were gonna lose, but run anyway because of political contributions. They were of course very stingy with the expenses and ended up with a net profit. Know of a front running candidate in a close race who could not withdraw, despite popular clamor so that opposition could consolidate their forces…. well, he couldn’t. If he withdrew, he had to return the money of big donors. Staying in the race netted him over 300 million pesos, without need to return them… it was not his fault he lost, or was it?
Heard from the grapevine about that candidate who was no political mammal and who wanted to break this system and thus, spent his own money… well, he ended up in debt to his close friends to the tune of a half a billion pesos. Know also of a candidate, who is of the high society and was quite good in influence peddling.. well, she decided one day that she might be more effective as a senator, and based on surveys, she was going to be one. In the middle of the campaign, however, contributions poured in way, way, way beyond earlier pledges ..way beyond her expectations. She decided ..well, it might not be good to be a senator. …nah, she didn’t withdraw from the race, that would mean returning the monies. She pretended everything was normal and still kept campaigning. But through back door maneuverings, she made sure she was going to lose. She lost, didn’t she? Why have the headache of a politician who might be asked by a donor for a favor that is impossible or difficult to grant….
That in brief is PHL politics… no joke, I am serious.
Failed to mention above that when she made sure that she lost, she was already holding cash on hand (well if we have to be literal about it cash stashed under the bed) to the amount of several, several hundreds of millions (shhh..600m)
Despicable! Really Esquire?! No class at all. What possessed you to go this low? Is someone from your Editorial Staff in his good graces? This really gives Esquire International a really bad name.
RELAX PEOPLE
Useless hitting on Esquire. THERE IS MORE TO IT THAN MEETS THE EYE.
2016 may be a different one from previous elections in the sense that more and more people may finally be getting tired of TraPos. Good to see that people hate Binay, Mar Rocas, Cayetano, Escudero, etc. Yes, there should be a campaign against all these TRAPOS. But where are the anti PDAF orgs? Now is the time to get organize so that pressure could be applied on these TraPos to withdraw. Hopefully, the vacuum created by such will create an environment from which new faces could emerge.
i think this is interesting… yes mar roxas is in the cover, but Lourd de Veyra and Bob Ong, critics of the government. i’m interested to read their stories( if it is about Tacloban.). Have anyone here bought the issue?
Didn’t anyone notice that his name is nowhere to be found on the cover? If they were honouring/promoting him, they would’ve named him. But no. Here we have an unnamed buffoon smiling blankly at the public.
I think this is a GREAT COVER. It’s EXACTLY what the government was during the disaster. it’s what Taclobanons deal with to this day. The stupidly smiling but utterly useless monkeys in the seat of power.
Bravo Esquire! Bravo, It was a bold move. Good luck Mr. Romulo. Godspeed.
Good observation re the absence of Roxas’s name. I am also starting to see the wry message behind this cover and perhaps the editors of Esquire Ph did consciously use this as a device to convey the irony of it all.
Yeah, notice who the writers are. Lourd de Veyra, Bob Ong, and Bob Chanco.
I bet they rip into the stupidity that surrounded the disaster with their characteristic irony and sarcasm.
buli ka nim eroy! angay ka tapalan hito na kahoy na m ginlilingkuran!
Well… that pose… them headlines… Lourd and Bob Ong having their say…
— well, color me interested. That’s a hapless cover if I’ve ever seen one.
Roxas pandered for photo-opportunities as: “pedicab driver,traffic aide, onion bag carrier…” now as: construction material carrier.
What is next for this idiot? Drop his pants, and his brief. Show how less endowed, he is; and become a “Centerfold”, for “Play Girl Magazine?” …Corina Sanchez, will complain, because, she did not get what she wanted.
Up to now, she is not yet pregnant.
“Nahawa ata si Roxas, sa “kiriring sa ulo” ni Aquino”…
Roxas is doing everything , to pander for votes…Roxas is a Feudal Oligarch like Aquino. He failed miserably in the Management of Typhoon reliefs…
Is he intending build some thing from these materials, or is just there to sell them off?
The materials are his loots…Roxas looted the Supply Warehouse of the Yolanda Typhoon victims…
KAWATAN……………
This boob just doesnt stop fucking up. Married to that bitch of his, doesnt seem to have given him any good press.
The equation goes like this…
A.H. Roxas + Condescending B.I.T.C.H. Sanchez = Crap Shit Country
Do the math.
TACLOBAN
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/31/tacloban-a-year-after-typhoon-haiyan
Look at this guy…he is a POOP-BUTT ! He looks like a sissy-boy with his POOP-BUTT smile and limp wristed wave.
‘Yo Mar, go flap your wings somewhere else’.
With all the new articles being put up, i still hope to see certain things. I base my opinions on having been heavily involved in 3 presidential campagns ( and walked away each time EXTREMELY disgusted), having a political memory which stretches back to the Marcos era (whatever crap we are going through now still doesnt compare to those days), and being an award winning entrepreneur and a national pioneer in social entrepreneurship ( no, most of our countrymen i have tried to educate are NOT worth fighting for). Please, this is not yabang, but just a qualification. 1. The Government is and for over 40 years has been our ENEMY. 2. Businessmen in general, and specifically the very wealthy are politically and even morally ambivalent. Profit is the one and only motive, despite their attempt to appear otherwise. 3. No matter what we do, short of a bloody revolution where we exterminate all sitting politicians, we will always be dealing with a situation best described by “the Who”. Heres the new boss, the same as the old boss. – Wont Get Fooled Again til this is straightened out, we will continue in our endless shit cycle. (And yes, sime of us old farts actually talk like this) GET REAL PHILIPPINES, AND WAKE THE FUCK UP
Esquire Philippines releases a statement on its now infamous cover…
Full article here.
— and now, context. Too bad GRP can’t wait for Esquire’s side of the story, but you know, bashing is serious business.
Why did you put him on cover? He is aspiring to become President…so, it is an endorsement…it is easy to deny. Motives and agendas can be easily hidden…we don’t know what happened behind close doors…
Only naive people will believe such explanation…
A year later the bozo hasnt done shit. Fuck him all the same.
Fuck you gay president Abnoy Aquino, Marimar Roxas and Pingky Lacson. You are all shit. Retards and bastards
Binay, bitay!
john c. jacinto –Nak’s hirit ok ka .Ipangako ni nognog na bitay si Abnoy pag naupo siya,100 % boto niya sa akin… Ikaw di mo pabibitay si Abnoy na mastermind at hari ng mga magnanakaw, boss pa ng bahay baboy. Dahil si mar ang nakaupo, siyempre puro matamis ang madidinig mo, pag si Nognog ang pumalit..kabaligtaran naman ang mangyayare ke Boy palengke
Ewan lang kung manalo pa sa presidential election iyang Mar na iyan! At kung manalo man iyan ay malaking kaabnoyan na talaga sa sistema ng DAPnoy govt iyan.
actually this cover is very brilliant. it is deliberately done with the title to put on Mr. Sanchez, este Mr. Roxas to shame. Good taste on the publishers though, they purposely know what they are doing – insult. he he
I always thought that B.S Aquino means Bull Shit Aquino because that’s the most accurate meaning for “BS”