Hashtag Becoming Filipino is the Face of Racini Bags

It was quite a shock when I was out shopping and I turned my head only to see this:

If you don't know, that is Kyle Jennermann a Canadian blogger who wants to hashtag Become Filipino. He goes around documenting his adventures and what not. I do not follow him or his blog. However I did write about him last year when he lamented that his parents could not come to visit him in the very dangerous province in which he lives, Mindanao, because their travel insurance would not cover them since the Canadian government had issued a travel warning for that province.

You see Kyle is very naive. He has had such a great time with good people that he forgets right on the fringes of the jungle where he lives are NPA commies and various ISIS affiliated Muslim terrorists who wouldn't think twice about kidnapping both him and his parents and hold them for ransom or behead them if the money doesn't show up. He thinks the negativity surrounding the word "Mindanao" is all stereotyping. As if "Mindanao" is just a word and not a real place where real things happen like terrorism. Funny that only two weeks after he penned his lament the Marawi siege began and martial law was imposed upon Mindanao. 

Some stereotype that is right?

You can read all about that here:

https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2017/05/canadian-blogger-dismisses-terrorism-in.html

As I said it was a definite shock to see this man's gaping maw on a huge advertisement for backpacks.

That is the face Kyle will make if Abu Sayyaf ever gets ahold of him.

The moment I saw this guy's face I could not stop laughing. He has truly become Filipino by trying to sell you something you do not need. He might as well be selling these bags from his house like people do with soaps and perfumes and clothes just to make a few extra pesos. Or maybe you do need it because you are an OFW who finally hit the big time and are busting out of this joint. Either way seeing his face in this mock surprise pose is hilarious.

Curious about his partnership with this company, Racini, I searched all over the internet. It seems his collaboration with Racini bags started in April or March 2017.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSdSWp6F3mV/

So much stuff has been happening! But did you notice that something else in the recent photos and videos?! I have finally changed up my backpack! ... :) ... I now have legit adventure travel bags! I have struck up an awesome relationship with #Racini, a company that grew out of Cagayan De Oro, Mindanao! They wanted to help "Spark Happiness" (I like that thought...) with me, and I love how whenever I look at my backpack I will be reminded of home :) 

The Racini Bags Facebook page is filled with photos of Kyle in the most silly poses you can imagine, like this:

https://www.facebook.com/racinibags/

Why is he climbing this tree? What kind of adventure is this?  He also has his face plastered larger than life on a delivery truck.

In case you are wondering Kyle does have a working visa so his partnership with Racini is above board in that respect.

Jennermann currently has a three-year work visa, which means he’ll be here until 2019.   

“But honestly, I take it one day at a time,” he said. “This is my home, I don’t plan on leaving. I do whatever I can, to stay here as long as I can.”  

In his travel videos and in various interviews, Jennermann has always expressed his interest in becoming a Filipino. The Canadian, however, maintained that he has no plans of applying for citizenship here, saying he is happy with the opportunity to promote the Philippines to his fellow foreigners.  

“You know what, if someone handed me a passport and asked me if I would like to stay here, of course that would be amazing. But I’m proud to be Canadian, and I’m also really, really proud to call the Philippines my home,” he said.  

“Canada is where I’m from, the Philippines is my home,” he added. “So would I like to stay here? Yes, as long as I possibly can. But I’m not worried about getting citizenship, that’s not for me to ever ask for. It’s not appropriate.” 

http://news.abs-cbn.com/life/12/06/16/why-best-pinoy-at-heart-awardee-wont-apply-for-ph-citizenship

"Promote the Philippines to his fellow foreigners?" I really do wonder who this guy is and who is backing him. Who is paying him? Who is he working for and what is he really doing? Has he secretly partnered with the DOT? No, they wouldn't be so smart as that. Here he is travelling with a BBC travel show host to the ARMM.

http://www.mindanews.com/press-release/2018/07/from-becomingfilipino-to-becomingmoro-kulas-visits-armm-villages-expo/

‘BecomingFilipino’ travel blogger Kyle Jennermann, better known on You Tube as ‘Kulas’, visited the mock cultural villages at the seat of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) here on Friday, July 6. 

With him were his fellow travel bloggers, Michael ‘Mike’ Corey – ‘Fearless and Far’ on You Tube – and Mark ‘Kumar’ Yañez. ARMM Executive Secretary Atty. Laisa Masuhud Alamia welcomed and toured Kulas and his friends around the villages. 

While being fascinated with the beauty of Mindanao, Kulas always wants to visit ARMM areas for a special reason. His visit here is his way of showcasing the way of life of ARMM people and to help break the stereotype about the Moro people and the ARMM per se. 

He thinks the cultural villages’ expo is a great avenue for others, especially foreigners, to understand the unique cultures within the ARMM. The experience gained in visiting the ARMM mock cultural villages, he said, was a smooth leap from becoming Filipino to becoming Moro. 

Corey, a BBC travel show host, said, “There are other interesting countries out there but the Philippines is special because Filipinos are so nice, friendly, and very outgoing.”

What a revelatory article this is. First of all we learn that there is a difference between Filipinos and Moros even though Moros live in the country called the Philippines. These people simply do not want to be Filipinos. If you have been reading my martial law updates you know that the text of the BOL had to have words inserted to the effect that the people of Bangsomoro are Filipinos much to the chagrin of the Moros.

Second we learn that Kyle is steadily determined to break the stereotype regarding the ARMM, that it is violent. He thinks he is doing this by visiting a Potemkin village! As if visiting a mock cultural village is going to give the truth about the day to day goings on in the ARMM soon to be BARMM. If he wants to learn about the real culture of the ARMM then he should move to Lanao del Sur or Catabato City for a month or two or more. Maybe even visit Sulu. I would love to see him meet with MNLF leader Nur Misuari. They could do a walking interview wherein Misuari could show him how peaceful Mindanao really is while they visit his favourite secret jungle waterfall.

Third we learn that he is travelling around with a BBC travel show host. How is Kyle benefiting from that relationship? Did Kyle and his friends have any sort of security detail. Would the BBC let one of it's hosts travel to such a dangerous place without one?

Aside from his adventuring Kyle also does charity work. In fact his second visit to the Philippines was to help out with efforts in Tacloban after typhoon Yolanda in 2013.

He was working in Hong Kong in November 2013 when Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) struck, devastating Tacloban City and other parts of the Visayas. 

“I was with Filipinos at that time in Hong Kong and seeing the way it affected them, I just wanted to do something,” he says. 

He decided to quit his job and flew to Cagayan de Oro where he ended up packing relief at a Red Cross station. Soon after, he ended up in Tacloban about two weeks after the typhoon on a relief mission and also to look up a Hong Kong colleague who was from there.

Together with his Filipino friends from the outdoor community, Jennermann put up OneTacloban to help out in the relief efforts with no “red tape, no politics, no bulls—.” 

With his camera, Jennermann started documenting the damage. Afterwards, he would sit outside the United Nations tents—the only places then with Internet signal—and upload his videos on YouTube so friends and family could see how desperately help was needed.
OneTacloban was able to raise some P500,000 in donations, which helped in reopening a school for children, setting up clinics and procuring relief.

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/107401/canadian-wants-to-be-filipino-just-call-him-kulas

Sounds pretty good right? Better than the government's efforts. He also did more charity work last year after the fighting in Marawi broke out.

https://www.pressreader.com/philippines/inquirer-libre-davao/20170616/281479276402766

The Canadian travel blogger whose posts went viral for his fluent “Bisaya” started his own “psychosocial intervention” to help Maranao people traumatized by the antiterrorist assault on Marawi City, spending hours with them at a temporary shelter in Saguiaran, Lanao del Sur province. 

Inspired by their resilience, Jennermann initiated a campaign to solicit toy and cash donations for the evacuees. 

“I ended up realizing that toys were something that didn’t really exist in the many relief centers, so I had a toy drive in Iligan City,” he told the Inquirer by phone. “Locals brought me probably close to 2,000 various toys, and it was awesome.” 

"Then I raised a little bit of money and asked a bag company (Racini) I endorsed if I could buy some bags at cost, but instead they let me use their truck and they donated supplies and bags," he said.

Nothing says charity like delivering your donated goods in a truck plastered with your face!

Does Kyle see the irony here in what he is doing?  First he says all the negativity about Mindanao is a stereotype. Then a month later he ends up giving charity to people who were affected by this stereotype which basically nullifies his ridiculous statement about Mindanao not being so dangerous and everyone being super duper nice and all the talk about terrorism being just a stereotype.

With his head in the sand and unable to come face to face with the reality of the Philippines, specifically the dangers of Mindanao, it seems Kyle is well on his way to hashtag Becoming Filipino.