Metroscene Mag - For the young, empowered & creative

Defend Press Freedom Today, June 15, 2020, Rappler CEO Maria Ressa and former researcher Reynaldo Santos Jr. found guilty of cyber libel and sentenced to minimum of six months to six years in jail under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte. In a press conference following the verdict, Ressa said, “it’s not unexpected and at the same time, we will keep fighting. It's a blow to us. It's also not an unexpected considering we are going to stand up against any kind of the attack against the press freedom.” She also followed up, “I appeal to you, the journalists in this room, the Filipinos who are listening to protect your rights. We are meant to be a cautionary tale. We are meant to make you afraid. I appeal again, don't be afraid.” In supporting the #DefendPressFreedom people show their thoughts, opinions, and verdict in social media to the case of Ressa and about the oppression of Press Freedom under the Duterte Administration. People are not su...

The Gays Are Winning! In celebration of Pride month, Nickelodeon has officially shared that Bikini Bottom's most famous resident, SpongeBob SquarePants is a member of the LGBTQ community. Earlier today, Nickelodeon tweeted this statement in celebration of Pride — which also features pictures of Korra from The Legend of Korra, actor Michael D. Cohen from Henry Danger: Celebrating #Pride with the LGBTQ+ community and their allies this month and every month 🌈 ⁣ (🎨: by @ramzymasri ) pic.twitter.com/pENmTaQB0h — Nickelodeon (@Nickelodeon) June 13, 2020 Interestingly enough, SpongeBob's creator, Stephen Hillenburg, had also given his opinion on the issue in 2005, stating that SpongeBob, alongside his best friend Patrick Star, are asexual. “It doesn’t have anything to do with what we’re trying to do,” Hillenburg told Reuters at the time. “We never intended them to be gay. I consider them to be almost asexual. We’re just trying to be funny and this has g...

T he act of remembering is an act of defiance. Remembering all The  war on drugs unleashed a culture of violence that shall forever scar the democracy of our country. Thousands of innocent people were killed and forgetting them would be an unspoken agreement with the inhumane bloodshed.  Let us take a moment to the victims of the bogus war on drugs,  whose names and stories should not be forgotten. They have suffered and died unmercifully under the current regime. W e will not forget.   Remembering The Victims Of  Drug War Bladen Skyler Abatayo ( 4 years old) On a raid last July 2018 led to the killing of four-year-old Bladen Skyler Abatayo.  The four-year-old boy was killed by a stray bullet from an anti-drug operation in Barangay Ermita, Cebu City. Althea Fhem Barbon ( 4 years old) Althea died of a bullet that hit her spine, she was on a motorcycle with her father when police shot him in th...

Sen. Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa got his plot twist a day after his celebratory statement online On Tuesday, May 26, before the online Senate session ends, the Senators are already bidding their goodbyes when dela Rosa was heard telling his colleagues enthusiastically, "Ang sarap ng buhay. Sarap ng buhay. Ganito na lang tayo palagi ha," WATCH: “Ang sarap ng buhay. Sarap ng buhay. Ganito na lang tayo palagi ha,” Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa was heard telling his colleagues in jest at the end of the Senate regular session on Tuesday, May 26. | @MRamosINQ pic.twitter.com/ck3fdGbFoQ — Inquirer (@inquirerdotnet) May 26, 2020 Many people on social media slammed his insensitive statement knowing that the country is in a difficult time for two months already. What makes this so enraging is that Bato had the audacity to tease us with something we already know-- na ang sarap ng buhay ng mga hintay-sweldo pero nganga sa trabaho. His stressing the shamefu...

Photo source: ABS-CBN In collaboration with ABS CBN’s iWant TV and the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the leading exponent of Philippine theater, Tanghalang Pilipino will be streaming six theater productions online starting on May 30 to June 30, 2020. The month-long event will showcase the productions of three native stories from the Philippines and three adaptations of William Shakespeare’s works in Filipino. Lam-Ang Photo source: ABS-CBN 'Lam-ang' is an ethno-epic musical inspired from the original story of Biag ni Lam-ang, an Ilocano folk epic of Luzon by Isabelo delos Reyes and translated in Filipino by Angel Acacio and Ariel Tabag. The production starred JC Santos as Lam-ang and Anna Luna as Kannoyan, Lam-ang’s beloved. Mabining Mandirigma Photo source: ABS-CBN 'Mabining Mandirigma' is about the legal and diplomatic heroism of Apolinario Mabini. The play is written by Dr. Nicanor Tiongson, and earned 12 out of 13 awards at...

From one online exhibit to another, the local art community is definitely doing its share of helping the frontliners and vulnerable communities amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Filipino Portrait Artists Guild (FilPAG), in partnership with the UP Alumni Association, recently launched “HANDOG LINGKOD,” an online fund-raising event curated by award-winning artist Grandier Bella to support our medical frontliners affected by the virus. Also Read:  FEU Visual Comm's MULAT exhibit is a haven of arts and awareness “The online exhibit is FilPAG’s way of expressing gratitude to the sacrifices of our frontliners by giving back, in the only way we know – by creating the best work we can do about our collective experiences with them during this crisis.” FilPAG secretary Grandier Bella expressed in an interview with Metroscene Mag. As of writing, there are twenty-four artworks on display by local artists. The artworks depicts frontliners in various sector...

K-pop girl group TWICE heard you want more? The nine-member girl group, consisting of Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu , is preparing for a comeback later this month with their ninth mini-album. JYP Entertainment has finally released Twice’s teaser image for their ninth mini-album 'More and More' and the girls are rocking their new concept. The “Feel Special” era may be over, but for sure this new album will send us to overdrive! If you remember, we first heard about the comeback when a documentary series entitled ‘Seize the Light’ premiered on Youtube last April 29, 2020 where the leader, Jihyo, announced the album's concept and release date. Twice's 9th mini album will be released on June 1st of 2020 with 7 tracks featuring MORE & MORE, OXYGEN, FIREWORK, MAKE ME GO, SHADOW, DON'T CALL ME AGAIN, and SWEET SUMMER DAY. We can't wait to hear these songs and make us go wild again! Text by: N...

What better way of showcasing art and tackling the nation's struggles in a pandemic than creating an exhibit online? A new Facebook page paves its way to a fresher and more dynamic way of telling a story and discussing the pressing issues of today. MULAT 2.0, is a visual arts page that was turned into life to present the projects and talents of Far Eastern University's (FEU) visual communication students. It is the second installment of a physical exhibit with the same name. Also Read:  This online exhibit is serving as a voice for the marginalized Filipinos In an interview, Herwin Cabasal, MULAT adviser, told the MetrosceneMag: "The theme of MULAT 2.0 - Visual Communication Exhibit for this season is 'Visual Expressions of Quarantine.' The objective of this edition is to express and present visuals that deal with the Enhanced Community Quarantine mandated to us by the government. Since we believe that this pandemic is already part of the Phili...

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Can Darna sing? The Filipino musical with gender-bending superhero is going off the stage to your screens as it streams online on May 30. ZsaZsa Zaturnnah Ze Muzikal will be streaming free on the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ (CCP) YouTube page as part of their #CCPOnline initiative. Ze Muzikal, is based on Carlo Vergara’s graphic novel Ang Kagila-gilalas na Pakikipagsapalaran ni Zsazsa Zaturnnah, and was first staged in 2006 to 2011 in various locations like CCP and PETA theater by Tanghalang Pilipino. It was supposed to be a part of the theater company's musical lineup for its 35th theater season but the schedule was changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For those who might be wondering, May 30 is the target date for the streaming of the Zaturnnah musical. Since it's just a target date, best to wait for the official bonggang announcement of CCP. :) I'm as excited as you are. — Carlo Vergara (@vergaracarlo) May 12, 2020 The Filipino superhero...