Binay: Love your brown skin

MANILA, Philippines - Be proud of your brown complexion and love it, Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay said yesterday.

Binay, running mate of former President Joseph Estrada, made the call to Filipinos amid a recent recall of China-made whitening products that contain toxic substances.

He said Filipinos must appreciate their God-given brown complexion.

“We are brown and we should be proud. I call them Kasins, short for Kasin-itim,” Binay said.

Before leaving for Singapore to attend the three-day Asia Pacific Boy Scouts meeting of which he is the chairman, Binay said beauty-product firms are distorting the concept of beauty by pushing the use of whitening and other cosmetic products.

“Cosmetic firms have been selling their products by subliminally promoting distaste for our natural brown complexion. Unfortunately, those who cannot afford the cost of high-end products contented themselves with inferior substitutes, which contain toxic substances,” Binay said.

He said while Caucasians crowd the country’s beaches to get a good tan, some Filipinos have succumbed to the lure of whitening products and want to have lighter skin.

“It is not color that divides us but poverty and hunger. The idea of being peddled is that we are not beautiful just because we are not fair-skinned. That is not true,” Binay said.

He said lightening one’s complexion is a personal choice, and he respects the rights of Filipinos to freedom of choice.  – Jose Rodel Clapano