Christopher Lao: The Guy Who Wasn't Informed

[mackiechoy]

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Not Informed

Yet another rainy day left parts of Metro Manila flooded. But that didn’t stop Christopher Lao, whose outspokenness and headstrong drive into knee-deep floods has turned him into a minor online celebrity.

A GMA 7 news report aired yesterday showed Mr. Lao’s Nissan Exalta stalling midway, after he attempted to navigate a severely-flooded portion of Mother Ignacia street in Quezon City.

Watch The Video

Bystanders then pushed the car past the flood, with water leaking out of the Nissan’s door seams. That’s when GMA reporter Jun Veneracion approached Christopher. Below is a transcript of the informal interview:

Lao: I think this a problem with the traffic enforcers as well, for example the MMDA, because they should have already blocked the road.

Veneracion: Hindi mo ba alam na ganun ka siyang malalim?

Lao: Wala! Kasi tingnan mo oh, who will tell me, who will tell me? Really? Did you guys even tell me?

Veneracion: Ah well, nandito kami [sa kabila ng baha]…

Lao: Oh yun, sino ba yung mga nandoon?

Veneracion: …na-surprise nga kami… [unintelligible]

Lao: Eh sino yung mga nandoon sa side na yun? Did, did anyone tell—Wala! Nobody even stopped! Nobody informed! It’s like, people were waiting for someone to just do that.

Veneracion: Pero hindi mo ba na-realize na malalim?

Lao: Why do you info—why do i—Bakit ako? Diba? (laughs ironically) Dapat i-inform, i-inform, I should have been informed, yun lang yun.

Why did Lao react that way? This could be a case of snowballing: Veneracion asked Lao what happened, Lao felt defensive and blamed other people to save face, reporter asks for clarification, drive became even more defensive, and stuck to his guns.

Maybe Christopher Lao felt embarassed about driving his sedan into what was clearly a deep flood, and didn’t want to concede anything to the GMA team. And Maybe Veneracion kept bugging Lao until the interviewee snapped. But did he really have to go on a blame-everyone-else quest, and provide GMA’s editors with enough material to make himself look bad?

Thanks to Lao’s combative nature, at least four different Facebook groups have been created to honor yet another victim of Metro Manila poor track record with heavy rains. The most popular has over six thousand likes as of this writing (Update: just two hours later, the count is now over 22,000!).

Lao’s newfound online infamy has also pushed people online to uncover details about his personal life. Christopher Lao is reportedly a Summa cum Laude graduate of BA Philosophy from UP, with an average of 1.169. Reports also indicate he is now studying law at the State University.

Most of those who’ve jumped on the Facebook hate bandwagon have of course mocked Lao’s eagerness to blame other people for his poor judgment. Yet a significant number have also made fun of Lao’s slanted eyes, glasses, and prominent nipples. Stay classy Philippines!

Update 2: GMA News reports that a former UP law dean has defended Lao:

“You may be amused by the mistakes or misfortunes of others. But, this does not entitle you to degrade their entire character or make conclusions about their whole person,” said former UP College of Law Dean Marvic Leonen in a Facebook post defending Christopher Lao, the driver whose car went floating on a flooded street after he forced his vehicle through it.

“Christopher Lao does not deserve the treatment he is getting from others in Facebook and Twitter. And yes, he is from UP College of Law and we are still proud of him,” Leonen added.

Update 3: GMA has taken down the original video:

Intended to show the public the hazards of driving through flooded streets, the video has been taken down from this web site by GMA News after viewers were sharing it accompanied by insults aimed at Lao. But a growing number of social media users, Mr. Leonen among the more prominent of them, have also expressed sympathy for Lao and defended him publicly.

Update 4: Christopher Lao has reportedly released an official statement.

[mackiechoy]

Funny Christopher



When in Manila, a lot of funny things happen on the road. Take this guy named Christopher Lao for instance. He’s put a lighter spin on the news yesterday by attempting to cross a heavily-flooded street along Quezon City. And when reporters tried to get his side, he said “…I was not informed…”. Okay, I suggest the guy visit an optometrist to have his eyes checked and get a new pair of glasses perhaps? LOL Just kidding!


Some of the Christopher Lao memes I found over the web:

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In just a day, Christopher Lao has become a trending topic in Twitter and the Tweeples have mixed reactions regarding the guy. Some say that he lacks common sense considering that he’s a suma cum laude graduate in BA Philosophy at University of the Philippines and now a student of UP College of Law. On the other hand, some empathize with him for being a victim of both traditional and new media.

How do you feel about it? Does he deserve the cyber-bullying he gets nowadays? Or should just people shut their mouths, move on and accept that everyone is capable of making a boo-boo at least once in their lives? Think about it guys.


P.S. These memes of Chris Lao keep coming up! So here’s some bonus Funny Christopher Lao Pic Memes for you guys!







If you want to see the full Christopher Lao Floating in the Flood Waters of Manila video, then check it out here - Christopher Lao Floating Car: Smart guy vs flood waters of Manila | When In Manila

[bosin]

hahahaha! It goes to show na pra cyang wlang pinag-aralan arrogante!

[yiennahs]

RIP Common Sense...

[JoBatiKanawong1987]

crazy maggot guy genius turned dumba**. sily.

[zhrike]

you know guys... i should have been informed... hehehe...

[monrose29]

How do you feel about it? Does he deserve the cyber-bullying he gets nowadays? Or should just people shut their mouths, move on and accept that everyone is capable of making a boo-boo at least once in their lives? Think about it guys.



wala tay improvement if ingon aneh ta...lets move on...sakto na nga na ulawan ang tawo...

[CocoCrunch]

di ba nana may thread about ani? late reaction lagi kaayo ni.lols

[balipseyev]

late bloomer si TS?

[KE-25]

Yup its been a while since this happened , seems the jokes are still floating around. My 2cents is government should have placed some sort of sign for safety reasons no matter if it was a clear hazard. First and foremost is the safety of motorist , one shouldn't assume that becaus this specific flooded area was bad that no one would drive into it. Well someone did and inspight everyone knowing it was deep , this chris guy did not. It's not about saving face but about , were proper steps from state done to prevent this.