The Faye Story II --- Flyingroc.org comment page

The Faye Story II
posted by flyingroc on 11/03/04

updateMore on Faye here

First of all welcome to all new visitors to my website. I was wondering why I am getting a lot more traffic than usual, when I found out that this web page is at or near the top when people search for "Intercontinental Science Quiz Net" in the various search engines. Welcome!

I just want to make some updates to my previous post on the topic of Faye, the student who allegedly won this international quiz. Many have already commented that they have first hand knowledge of the truthfulness of this story. Since this is the internet, that is a little bit hard to verify.

But one of those commentators have given us a link to what appears to be the Bread of Life ministries website, which features the Faye story. The same anonymous commenter gave us an email to contact: bread@skyinet.net. So I sent an email to this address, but got this back: "Sorry, the user's maildir has overdrawn his diskspace quota, please try again later."

The commenter also gave a physical address, as well as a phone number. Since I am here in the US, I'm hesitant to call the number because of the expense. Maybe somebody can send me an email (flyingroc@gmail.com) and give me a cell number so I can send text messages instead?

This story seems to have been picked up by Federico Pascual of the Philippine Star. In this column he echoes some of my skepticism. He seems to have written another article: "Faye being used in political attack on gov't?" The title is on his web page, but the link is to a 404 not found page. Update Allan says the article is available now.

Finally, somebody commented that Jessica Soho is supposed to have interviewed "Faye" already. Her show airs Wednesdays 11-12pm. I hope somebody can tell me if they air a segment about Faye on the show.

I'm still skeptical.

re: The Faye Story II
comment by gustav on 11/03/04 11:07:52 AM

Jesus - the posts by those who are sold on the Faye story is unbelieveable. I can't even fathom the stupidity of these people.

Question - if Faye and her Mom wants to give credit to God alone, how come we can't even find the goddam Intercontinental Science Quiz Net on our Yahoo and Google searches? Are we saying even the Philippine Government don't even have a clue of this contest? Did Fay and her mom register on their own without endorsement from Faye's school nor the RP Ministry of Education?

Do u Know we have the guts to label ourselves awful people, awful nation and what not? It is because of these NITWITS that believe the FAYE story without even using 1% of their common sense.

my 2 cents and I am irate!!!

re: The Faye Story II
comment by gustav on 11/03/04 11:08:19 AM

re: The Faye Story II
comment by allan on 11/03/04 12:51:30 PM

The Faye story is now also being questioned at home. It seems that this blog site has the first skeptical article post about it. =)

btw, the article by Federico Pascual of the Philippine Star (entitled "Faye being used in political attack on gov't?") is now available.

http://www.manilamail.com/archive/nov2004/04nov04.htm

Well -- there are still lots of pinoys who believe Agapito Flores invented the flourescent lamp. No thanks to incredible accounts published decades ago. I'm inclined to believe that the Faye story is the same -- that is: it is just an incredible story.

How I wish I am wrong about the story.

re: The Faye Story II
comment by anon on 11/03/04 01:02:58 PM

The following was posted on the Plaridel Papers egroup:

The email piece that Dick Pascual quotes in the Nov. 2 issue of the
Philippine Star (posted 11/03/04 on Plaridel by Resty Odon reproduced
below) is not the same piece that Patricia Chanco Evangelista wrote
in her column, "Crazed," in the Oct. 22 issue of the Philippine Star
(posted 10/29/04 on Plaridel, also by Resty Odon).

The title of the email piece, according to Dick, is "Misplaced
priorities can mislead a nation." Patricia's Oct. 22 column is titled
"Filipino idol."

Let me just cite a few passages.

1.
EMAIL PIECE:
"...without money for transportation, they
decided to walk two kilometers to the competition
venue in their native Filipino costumes."

PATRICIA:
"...with no money for transportation, they
walked the two kilometers to the tournament site."

2.
EMAIL PIECE:
"Upon arrival at the site, Faye and her mom were
surprised when they discovered that the delegates
from the other countries were well supported by a
band, a cheering squad, and a flag, while Faye
only had her mother and the anxiety of lost
passports and plane tickets. Worse,
representatives of each country were required to
decorate their booths. With only the three-piece
costume they had on, Faye and her mom were even
more surprised when the organizing committee
awarded their booth as ŚThe Most Creative‚ booth."

PATRICIA:
"They were shocked by the sight that faced them. Each competitor had
his own cheering squad, a band and a flag. Young Faye had no one
other than her mother." (ABSOLUTELY NO MENTION OF BOOTHS.)

3.
EMAIL PIECE:
"We dream of becoming like Jasmine Trias. We want
our children to be like her. We would rather
spend on things that would make us look good
instead of things that would make us grow in
character. We prefer stardom glitter over
service-oriented endeavors.

"Unlike Jasmine Trias, Faye did not receive a
hero‚s welcome when she came back, but, young as
she is, she keeps calling on Filipinos to love
the Philippines because every Filipino is a
valuable gift of God."

PATRICIA:
"I do not deny Jasmine Trias'
moment in the sun. Her talent is as real as anyone else's and we
Filipinos love the glitz and glamour of spotlights and cameras. Yet
her success has drawn a stark contrast to those who have succeeded
yet were not recognized."

So who wrote the email piece, "Misplaced priorities can mislead a
nation," that Dick Pascual quoted in his Nov. 2 column? Could this be
the Bread of Life Ministries paid ad that Patricia Evangelista
mentions in her column?

Since some Plaridel members (Krip, Boo, among others) personally know
Patricia Evangelista, maybe they can ask her about a few particulars.
In her Oct. 22 column, she wrote, "The other day, I was reading the
paper and found the story of an 11-year-old girl named Faye. It was a
paid ad by Bread of Life Ministries." What paper was she reading?
(Probably the competition.) What date was "the other day"? On what
page did the paid ad appear? Was this a full-page ad or what?

(Since I have the impression that Patricia is just a college freshman
or is it sophomore, and since she was writing a column rather than a
news story, I will forgive her for neglecting what I demand of my
journalism students: specificity! Or as Strunk and White put it:
"Prefer the specific to the general, the definite to the vague, the
concrete to the abstract.")

As I have already noted in an earlier posting, the "11-year-old girl
named Faye" has been identified by veteran broadcast journalist
Jessica Soho--on her GMA-7 program, "Jessica Soho Reports"--as Faye
Nicole San Juan, a student at St. James Academy on Tandang Sora,
Quezon City.

>Why did Philippine Star allow the publication of that story without
>checking the facts first? I feel guilty for having forwarded a
>potential hoax to three egroups.
>
>"Mila D. Aguilar" <miladaguilar@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>Is Faye‚s story true, or just a fairy tale?
>POSTSCRIPT By Federico D. Pascual, Jr.
>The Philippine Star 11/02/2004
>
>WHO IS FAYE?: Do you believe in fairies? If you
>do, you might believe the story of Faye, an
>11-year-old girl who has been winning big
>contests, the last one being the Intercontinental
>Science Quiz Net in Australia where she topped a
>field of 57 students from all over the world.
>

re: The Faye Story II
comment by f on 11/03/04 01:03:32 PM

you mean agapito flores did not invent the flourescent lamp?!!! but flores-flourescent...hehehe.

re: The Faye Story II
comment by heddy on 11/03/04 05:13:19 PM

I saw Faye interviewed on the tv. She is a real person but the story is still far fetched and remains to be verified.

re: The Faye Story II
comment by pao on 11/03/04 06:55:41 PM

... a nice read, a nice story, food for thought ba! Ganyan naman talaga ang mga kwento 'di ba... mapa-print, mapa-teevee o mapasa-pelikula, the "writer" infuses what he wants to impart with exaggerations (hopefully with a good lesson in the end), right? duon na-eenganyo ang mambabasa o manonood na ulit-ulitin ito... at ipasa sa iba.

re: The Faye Story II
comment by Killua on 11/03/04 11:50:11 PM

Still you do not believe? Why not just go to Bread of Life Ministries and ask the personnels there? Mas hindi kapani-paniwala na magsisinungalaing ang isang onse años na bata sa harap ng libong tao (during sunday and wednesday service it happened)

re: The Faye Story II
comment by anon on 11/04/04 04:18:00 AM

I think the concern here is if the stories are indeed true or fabricated? I would like to give the people concerned the benefit of the doubt. Since they mentioned that this people talked at Bread of Life church services i think the more it has to be scrutinized if every bit of it is true or even at the very least exaggerated to make it more sensational. Someone once said that "Lying is an abomination to the Lord and a very present help in times of trouble." Maybe they just didnt think it will get people all excited. But then again it may be true who knows.

re: The Faye Story II
comment by bingbing on 11/04/04 09:35:47 AM

Asking the bread of life personnel WILL NOT help since they are actually spreading the story.

What we need are other CONVINCING supporting evidence from OTHER sources (not from people spreading the story as true -- it is just too self serving). For a start, how about a FACTUAL information from the organizers of the international competition the girl supposed to have joined? That is if the international competition indeed exists.

I understand that this can be very hard on the 11-year old girl -- but an exaggeration of fact is still exaggeration.

People should not believe on unfounded claims.

I have known people who repeatedly tell fabricated claims to others that they soon believed it to be actually true.

re: The Faye Story II
comment by anon on 11/04/04 09:52:32 AM

The Bread of Life Ministries' version is much nearer to the email version rather than Patricia's.

http://www.crossroad77.com/cyber/content-cy.htm

From this, Patrcia's version seems to be derived from the email version, rather than the other way, which would have made it look that the email was exaggerating.

> The following was posted on the Plaridel Papers egroup:

> The email piece that Dick Pascual quotes in the Nov. 2 issue of the
> Philippine Star (posted 11/03/04 on Plaridel by Resty Odon reproduced
> below) is not the same piece that Patricia Chanco Evangelista wrote
> in her column, "Crazed," in the Oct. 22 issue of the Philippine Star
> (posted 10/29/04 on Plaridel, also by Resty Odon).

> The title of the email piece, according to Dick, is "Misplaced
> priorities can mislead a nation." Patricia's Oct. 22 column is titled
> "Filipino idol."

> Let me just cite a few passages.

re: The Faye Story II
comment by Keyser Soze on 11/04/04 04:56:40 PM

I can't believe these comments!!!

"The reason for the late revelation - that none should receive the glory except God alone." -Michael

Mindless religious rethoric. If the glory is for God alone then why start an email campaign and take out a newspaper ad? Smells like recruitment propaganda to me.

"I personally know "Faye" and her mom and i can attest the credibility of their claim." - beng miñon

I don't know you from Mickey Mouse and I am supposed to take your word?

"Guys, guess we're focusing on the veracity of the article when its not the issue." -Dell

Sir, you are a moron.

"I heard the story first hand and i believed it, why is it hard for us to believe that a filipino can win in the competition and despite all odds still proud to be a filipino?" - anon

I know Michael Jordan is a great basketball player but if a group of people claimed he showed up in their neighborhood and shot a few hoops with them... should I readily believe them?

"the "writer" infuses what he wants to impart with exaggerations"- Pao

Exaggerations are an overstating of facts which this case doesn't even have.

re: The Faye Story II
comment by faye on 11/04/04 05:41:07 PM

i am faye :)

re: The Faye Story II
comment by mother on 11/04/04 06:59:55 PM

and I'am the mother of Faye ;)

re: The Faye Story II
comment by neighbor on 11/04/04 07:45:04 PM

am the neighbor of Faye :)

re: The Faye Story II
comment by Uragon on 11/04/04 08:23:42 PM

I am posting this comment from the "Faye Story I". -Uragon

I watched Jessica Soho's interview with Faye last night. But despite the interview, I was still skeptical about this whole thing, although I wish that I would be proven wrong. The medal and certificate are cheap, I don't think that a competition of an international caliber would award a paper certificate. A shallow reasoning, aint it? But that's the truth. Sometimes we have to evaluate seemingly insignificant things to be totally aware of the situation.

The interview also said that her thesis bested other entries. Her thesis was on sterility (pagkabaog) of fruit flies induced by sunlight. This type of research is just an exercise in basic genetics in many universities around the world. By the way, it's UV that causes sterility. I suppose that the species she used was Drosophila melanogaster. Most probably, this type of work will not win in a competition in a first-world country where life sciences is second priority after physical sciences - robotics, energy, etc. I suppose also that the immediate application of the thesis is pest control of fruit flies(to increase food or fruit production). Well, this argument won't work in Australia. They have much food.

I'm not trying to pull down Faye, I really wish that I'd be proven wrong (by facts, evidences, perhaps interview with the Australian Embassy or a confirmation by the Australian equivalent of our Department of Science and Technology).

Cheers!

-Uragon

re: The Faye Story II
comment by Yeah on 11/04/04 08:25:16 PM

Oh, you're Faye? And you, the mother of Faye? I know four other people named Faye. And if I post as Faye and claim that I'm Faye?

Come on!

re: The Faye Story II
comment by yoshi on 11/04/04 09:44:21 PM

FYI - somebody named "Brian Jan Carlos" on these forum (see link below) said he knows Faye personally.

http://forums.msdn.ph/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=25973

re: The Faye Story II
comment by faye's uncle on 11/04/04 10:37:20 PM

really. i have a niece named faye.

the philippines' investigative journalism is in a sorry state. call the australian and indonesian embassies already! if those were international competitions, those countries probably had their embassies involved. check their passports for australian immigration stamps!

re: The Faye Story II
comment by faye's pet dog on 11/05/04 03:39:23 AM

Yeah, right. And I have a master named Faye. Arf! Arf!

re: The Faye Story II
comment by Armida from London on 11/05/04 04:30:52 AM

It's a loooong, very touchy but BOGUS story i should say :-)

re: The Faye Story II
comment by Friedrich N. on 11/05/04 05:33:45 AM

Like everything else, this article will "FAYdE" (pun intended) away and then what?

Did it do something to create a new thought or deed that can be of help to the reality of the state of affairs in our own personal life or country?

'la lang.

re: The Faye Story II
comment by anon on 11/05/04 09:04:15 AM

"So who wrote the email piece, "Misplaced priorities can mislead a
nation," that Dick Pascual quoted in his Nov. 2 column? Could this be
the Bread of Life Ministries paid ad that Patricia Evangelista
mentions in her column?

Since some Plaridel members (Krip, Boo, among others) personally know
Patricia Evangelista, maybe they can ask her about a few particulars.
In her Oct. 22 column, she wrote, "The other day, I was reading the
paper and found the story of an 11-year-old girl named Faye. It was a
paid ad by Bread of Life Ministries." What paper was she reading?
(Probably the competition.) What date was "the other day"? On what
page did the paid ad appear? Was this a full-page ad or what?" - posted by anon on 11/03/04 01:02:58 PM

I got a clip of that paid ad by the Bread of Life Ministries from the Philippine Inquirer, October 18, 2004. Look it up yourselves.

re: The Faye Story II
comment by gustav on 11/05/04 10:20:36 AM

Some of you are missing the real issue here.

The real issue is - why fabricate goddam LIES to prove a point?

Isn't it glaringly obvious that if such a contest ever took place, wouldn't we have published results - from the Australian media and from Pinoy tabloids? Let's put our eyes and ears where they belong - in our head - for a moment and say this : If she won the damn contest, what would be a reason to conceal her identity? THe enzymes in my brain couldn't think of a darn reason why!

There you go ! I believe all of us were made differently but if we exercise a teeny-weeny bit of our COMMON SENSE and LOGIC we should be able to discern FACT from FICTION, the OBVIOUS from the IMPOSSIBLE.

For those of you who believe the FAYE story, you have been reading too many komiks my friends. YOu better stop listening to kabaklaan talk shows, showbiz tsismis because they make you think illogically - remember ERAP , the bucking fastard who become president? Alas - no wonder why.
Such dullness and ineptness had taken over the entire nation.

My 10 cents and I am furious!!

re: The Faye Story II
comment by projectcedric on 11/06/04 03:11:35 AM

everyone is against each other.

the Appocalypse is near!!!

Repent.

re: The Faye Story II
comment by anon on 11/09/04 07:27:21 PM

faye, rev. bong, bread of life, get out of the dark and shed some light FOR THE GLORY OF GOD!!!!

re: The Faye Story II
comment by Hanz Solo on 11/09/04 08:23:33 PM

Gustav, are you willing to start a some kindda "revolution of the truth" here in the Philippines? Let's start it and see if we can go the distance! We need people like you to be the catalyst for change in this country. Palaban! Now, as a start, can you tell me what shall be done?

Give us your $1 worth of thought...

re: The Faye Story II
comment by shrink on 11/11/04 01:57:03 AM

Is Faye and her mother another case of paranoid schizophrenia?

re: The Faye Story II
comment by gustav on 11/11/04 03:28:35 PM

My main disappointment is with the masterminds of the Faye story who claim themselves to be "Christians", so overzealous in propagating their faith yet so adamant when being asked for an explanation. I call these people the "false prophets" the bible clearly warns us about. I am equally dissapointed with those people in the media who, to my dismay, took the story to the press without the due diligence of verifying its authenticity. And I am aghast with the Filipino people, most of them intellectuals at that who were instantly sold on the fairy tale. I was forwarded the Misplaced Priorities email and my first reaction was - wait a minute - there must be something fishy here. There's so many loose ends - has anyone verified this?

I don't know but we seem to be a nation that had been brainwashed by showbiz so bad that we can't discern fact from fiction anymore. Judging from the posts in this forum and the reaction of the blog operators who carried the Faye debate in their own forums, people desperately wanted the Faye story to be true! Have we lost our ability to use common sense? Haven’t we noticed the exaggerations and contradictions? How about proving the story first before celebrating? I am also equally amazed by the actions of investigative reporters who appear to be dilly-dallying when they can nail the story down if they really wanted to. How long does it take to verify with the Australian embassy if Faye and her mother were issued visas , the contest venue in Australia, etc.. We aren’t trying to track down a bank account in a Swiss bank are we? How come it takes so long? Are they equally capitalizing on the sensation, prolonging the issue for more exposure hence better tv ratings?

Everybody wants the Faye story to be true so they can chastise the powers that be, the government, the politicians who supposedly ignored the request of an outstanding citizen in the person of Faye. Lo and behold, Faye persisted and prevailed without anyone’s help. Our deep angst and resentment with our government , the long drawn struggle between the haves and have-nots, the elite and the ordinary folk is what is at stake in the Faye story. We desperately want Faye to win because her victory is our victory as well.

Some of us already declared victory for the fictional Faye and written off the real Faye. If we are a country with people that continue to allow oursleves to deceive oursleves, what does the future hold for us?

re: The Faye Story II
comment by anon on 11/11/04 06:10:15 PM

hindi talga kapani-paniwala. puro tsika lang talaga ang lahat!

re: The Faye Story II
comment by Father on 11/15/04 10:30:38 AM

I am the father of Faye, bakit hindi ako kasali dito?

re: The Faye Story II
comment by zzz on 11/15/04 08:45:35 PM

walang kaiinis lang yung mother nya no.

re: The Faye Story II
comment by xxx21 on 11/15/04 08:50:58 PM

sayang naman yung mga turo ni bc about the parient,

Like armstrong, michael phelps.

re: The Faye Story II
comment by Jake on 11/16/04 07:22:17 AM

Filipinos right now are very very stupid, there are a lot of people who actually believe this shit?
I'm actually ashamed to be a filipino
If ever I'm asked if I am a filipino, I'd say no in a heartbeat and not really feel guilty about it

re: The Faye Story II
comment by truePinoy on 11/16/04 08:59:53 AM

Not all Filipinos believed the story. In fact, a lot stood up and questioned the veracity of the story -- which led to the debunking of the story itself.

I'm proud to be a Filipino.

Not even americans are not insulated from believing non-sense stuff like the moon landing being fabricated.

Hey, if you're ashamed to be a Filipino, no country would want someone like you as a citizen anyway.

re: The Faye Story II
comment by anon on 11/16/04 11:59:50 PM

Here's the public apology of the writer:

http://www.crossroad77.com/cyber/content-cy-a2.htm#

re: The Faye Story II
comment by anon on 11/17/04 12:03:21 AM

Here's the public apology of the writer:

http://www.crossroad77.com/cyber/content-cy-a2.htm#

re: The Faye Story II
comment by anon on 11/17/04 01:38:36 AM

nyahhahahahahahahaha!!!!

re: The Faye Story II
comment by PARA KAY JAKE on 11/17/04 02:57:26 AM

HOY JAKE!

Asan ka nung nagkakaroon kami ng enlightening discussion dito? Oo, may mga naniwala pero marami pa din mga matatalino na nagtanong at naghanap ng facts.

Late ka na pumasok sa discussion. At sintunado rin ang mga patama mo sa mga Pinoy. Kaya ayun, bumalik sayo...