Just when you thought it couldn’t get any stranger, the Philippines seems to step-up to the plate and create yet another story worth sharing.
The Philippines is known throughout the world as the “Texting Capital of the World.” For years the country was in second place behind Brazil, but somehow they managed to pump those numbers up and “poof” there it is – happily #1.
Makati City has now gained another prestigious title, or wait, maybe not – recently Makati City was crowned the “Selfie Capital of the World” sharing the award with Pasig City. Time Magazine calculated that over 400,000 selfies on Instagram gave Makati the winning hand. But wait, it doesn’t turn out so good.
It now appears the local government of Makati City believes the title bestowed upon them is not so great after all. They believe that the title is a negative for them and they are reportedly putting a stop to the photographic bandits of the city.
You heard me right folks, Makati City is setting up a new policy to ban selfies so they can lower the count and essentially lose the title of “Selfie Capital of the World.”
Makati City counsel believes taking selfies is something that shapes us into trigger-happy morons – they said in fact this “It’s not normal. It’s like a virus. There’s more to life than bombarding the entire Internet with lackluster images of yourself showing a duckface or flaunting your abs,” said a government official.
So to curb the addiction of selfies in Makati the new police will ban selfies in most areas, but will allow ‘designated areas’ for those who cannot stop the addiction. Sorry to say but for the ladies, and some men, the bathrooms, CR’s and restrooms are strictly off-limits.
And here’s the kicker – anyone caught taking selfies in prohibited areas will be immediately fined – penalties will be given out as follows:
- PhP 5,000 for first offence
- PhP 10,000 for second offence
- PhP 15,000, confiscating of smartphone, and deleting all social media accounts where selfies can be posted for third offence and further
Anyone violating the police of selfie restrictions will be required to undergo a session of Selfie Addiction Seminars under the EDSA-Ayala Overpass that will be given daily from 1 p.m to 4 p.m.
The story goes that the police will be patrolling for the photographic addiction starting April 1st, 2015 – as of this posting we have not heard of its implementation, however if you are an addict you might want to pack your bags and run to the nearest city border. Which actually brings us to the next level of stupidity – we also hear that several others parts of Manila are also thinking about banning selfies – go figure!
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