In a job posting for a service crew in a food stall I saw in the Internet, a potential employer required that applicants be preferably female; have a good visual impact and a pleasing personality; weight must be proportional to height; and have a clear complexion, eyesight, and a good set of teeth, and for the male version – tall, dark, and handsome.
Segue to the ex-flame of my good friend Leon Guerrero aka Senator LL, not Lapu-lapu definitely. When the beauty queen-turned-actress (who was introduced to him way back during the house blessing of the “probinsyano” in a golf course in Porac, Pampanga) was asked in the question and answer portion of the 1979 Miss International pageant, “What part of your body would you change?”
Her answer was frank and simple. “I won’t change my legs because I’m contented with my long-legged!”
No narcissism here but her quotes were funny because the grammar was way off, hilarious, classic, walang katulad!
When her brother, Mayor Joey was in trouble, her famous quote “Don’t judge my brother; he’s not a book.”
And more: “My brother is not a girl; he’s a gentleman”;
“I won’t stoop down to my level”;
“‘Yung STD, baka sa maruming toilet lang niya nakuha ‘yan”;
“Kapatid ko pa rin siya. We are one and the same; Hindi ba kayo naawa sa kapatid ko? Sa mga kwento ‘nya? ‘Di ba kayo na-persuave ng mga kwento niya? Hindi si Joey ang tipong mambubugbog ng babae…talaga lang malapit siya sa mga gulo. Pro-accident kasi siya eh.”
And because of love, “Sumasakit ang migraine ko; You can fool me once, you can fool me twice, you can fool me thrice. But you can never fool me four!”
During her acceptance speech at a Metro Film Fest awards night where her bio flick, directed by her late father Temyong Marquez, won an award, she said “Eto na po ang pinakamaligayang pasko at manigong taon sa inyong lahat.”
At a talk show after her breakup with Derek Dee, she was asked if she had some words for Derek’s mother (whom she partly blamed for the separation). “Oo nga,” said Melanie, “pero i-English-in ko para maintindihan niya.” She looked into the camera and, with the peremptoriness of royalty, said, “And to you, Mrs. Dee, I have two words for you. Ang labo mo!”
And when things were getting sour with her ex, my friend: “Hello! Huwag kang tumahol sa sarili mong bakuran noh! (In response to being misunderstood) You know, huwag kang tumahol like dogs!”
Back to the ad, the Supreme Court in Yrasuegui vs. Philippine Airlines Inc., (G.R. 168081) ruled “Employment in particular jobs may not be limited to persons of a particular sex, religion, or national origin unless the employer can show that sex, religion, or national origin is an actual qualification for performing the job.
The qualification is called a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ).
In the United States, there are a few federal and many state job discrimination laws that contain an exception allowing an employer to engage in an otherwise unlawful form of prohibited discrimination when the action is based on a BFOQ necessary to the normal operation of a business or enterprise.”
Second, in British Columbia Public Service Employee Commission vs. The British Columbia Government and Service Employees Union, the Canadia SC adopted a “Meiorin Test” in determining whether an employment policy is justified.
Under this test, the employer must show that it adopted the standard for a purpose rationally connected to the performance of the job; the employer must establish that the standard is reasonably necessary to the accomplishment of that work-related purpose; and the employer must establish that the standard is reasonably necessary in order to accomplish the legitimate work-related purpose.
Similarly, in Star Paper Corporation vs. Simbol, the SC held that in order to justify a BFOQ, the employer must prove that the employment qualification is reasonably related to the essential operation of the job involved; and that there is factual basis for believing that all or substantially all persons meeting the qualification would be unable to properly perform the duties of the job.
“In short, the test of reasonableness of the company policy is used because it is parallel to BFOQ. BFOQ is valid provided it reflects an inherent quality reasonably necessary for satisfactory job performance.”
As highlighted in the jurisprudence, employment may be limited to certain standards, such as sex, religion, or nationality, provided that the employer is able to show that such are actual qualifications for performing the job. This bona fide occupational qualification may be viewed as discriminatory, but the law allows the employers to set such qualifications only if they are able to prove that they are reasonably necessary for satisfactory job performance.
So don’t judge me because I am not a book.
Sigh.
May 2, 2024
