The Filipino Express v28 Issue 03

Transcription

VOL. 28 w
NO. 03 w
NATIONAL EDITION w
NEW JERSEY w
NEW YORK w
JANUARY 17 - 23, 2014 w
(201) 434-1114 w
$1.00
By Kristine Angeli Sabillo
MANILA -- The Palace on January 15
congratulated Filipino caregiver Rose
Fostanes for winning X Factor Israel and
bringing pride to the country.
“The Filipino has an innate
advantage when it comes to the
arts…The victory in Israel shows that this
galing ng Pilipino can be expressed
anywhere, everywhere when they're
given the opportunity,” Presidential
spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a
press briefing in Malacañang.
“We know the situation she was in.
And we are very very proud that she has
given the Philippines pride in the
showcase of her talent,” Lacierda said of
the 47-year old overseas Filipino worker.
“That is a victory also of the Filipino
people,” he added. Inquirer.net
TOAST OF ISRAEL. Rose Fostanes, a Filipino caregiver from Taguig, wins the first season of Israel's “X-Factor,” with her rendition of Frank Sinatra's “My Way.” X-Factor
Israel Facebook
US solons urge tough stance vs China claims
Filipino groups in NY-NJ push for TPS for PH
Emily and Jojo Nanez with daughters
Due to mother’s ill health
WASHINGTON -- The United
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States must not tolerate China's
use of military coercion in
pursuit of its territorial claims in
the seas of East Asia, lawmakers
said at a hearing on Tuesday, in
which experts warned that
B e i j i n g ' s a s s e r t ive n e s s i s
unnerving its neighbors and
challenges American security
interests.
S e p a r a t e l y, P h i l i p p i n e
Ambassador to Washington Jose
Cuisia Jr. complained about
China's “aggression” and urged
Vietnam, another claimant state
in the South China Sea, to follow
the Philippines in mounting an
international legal challenge to
Beijing's
expansive claims.
The United States must not tolerate China's use of military coercion in pursuit
China's recent declaration of
of its territorial claims in the seas of East Asia, lawmakers said at a hearing on
an air defense zone over
Tuesday, in which experts warned that Beijing's assertiveness is unnerving its
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neighbors and challenges American security interests AFP PHOTO
Filipino family
faces deportation Imelda Marcos aide gets
By Bert Eljera
LAS VEGAS -- A young Filipino
family in Gonzales, Texas, is in
danger of being deported back to
the Philippines because of an
unfortunate event: The wife got
sick. Jojo Nanez and his wife,
Emilyn, both originally from Davao
City, are in the United States on the
latter's working visa, which is
expiring in July.
Because Emilyn has suffered a
stroke and can't work anymore, the
family, along with their two young
daughters, will be deported from
their Texas home.
According to the Gonzales
Inquirer, which reported their story
on Jan. 3, the Nanez family is
jail term over Monet sale
working with a New York-based
immigration lawyer, but unless
Emilyn is able to work again,
deportation is a distinct possibility.
“If they find out you're working,
NEW YORK -- A former aide
they deport you back home,” Jojo
to ex-Philippines first lady
Nanez told the newspaper. “Both
Imelda Marcos was sentenced
our visas expire in July. It would be
Monday to two to six years in
much easier on us if the hospital
prison after being convicted of
would continue to extend her H1V
scheming to sell a $32 million
(working visa), but it can't happen
Claude Monet painting overlaid
because she can't work.”
with political intrigue: It's part of
Since her stroke in June last
a roster of valuables the
year, Emilyn has been on disability
Philippine government has
leave. It's not certain that the
sought to reclaim from the
Gonzales Healthcare System, where
former first couple.
she worked as a lab technician, will
Prosecutors have said the exrenew her visa inasmuch as she
Vilma Bautista (center) is shown in the photograb from www.nytimes.com as she
assistant, Vilma Bautista,
emerges from the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan accompanied by greedily peddled ill-gotten
can't work.
her lawyers prior to her sentencing Monday, Jan. 13.
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January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 2
THE FILIPINO EXPRESS
UK, US police bust PH cybersex ring
LONDON -- British police are
working with Australian and US
counterparts in breaking up a
Philippine pedophile ring that has
been streaming live scenes of child
abuse over the Internet, the
National Crime Agency (NCA)
revealed on Thursday.
The NCA, which has been
investigating the ring since it
discovered obscene videos on a
British pedophile's computer two
ye a r s a g o , c a l l e d a b u s e i n
developing countries “a significant
and emerging threat.”
“This investigation has
identified some extremely
dangerous child sexual offenders
who believed paying for children to
be abused to order was something
they could get away with,” said the
agency's Andy Baker.
“Being thousands of miles away
makes no difference to their guilt,”
he said. “Protecting the victims of
abuse is our priority and that
means attacking every link in the
chain, from dismantling the
organized groups who are
motivated by profit through to
targeting their customers.”
The inquiry - called Operation
Endeavor - has covered 12
countries and led to the arrest of 17
Britons, five of whom have been
convicted. Fifteen children aged
between 6 and 15 have been
rescued in a raid in Angeles City in
Up to 100k Filipino kids exploited
Parents and relatives of the rescued children allegedly victims of Cyber Pornography cover their faces from press
photographers and TV cameramen as they rush to the Women and Children Friendly Room in the NBI office for
questioning after they were invited during the rescue operation with the US Homeland Security, NBI, Provincial Women
Commission and PNP at the Municipality of Cordova. CDN FILE PHOTO
the Philippines and several parents
were arrested.
Three other investigations into
live streaming of child abuse have
netted 733 suspects globally.
The investigation was sparked
when Northamptonshire Police
seized the computer of registered
sex offender Timothy Ford, who
was later jailed for 8 1/2 years after
being found guilty of paying to view
live sex abuse. The NCA added:
“The use of webcams to stream live
abuse, particularly from the
developing world, is a significant
and emerging threat according to
the NCA's CEOP (Child Exploitation
and Online Protection) command.
Child exploitation
“ E x t r e m e p o v e r t y, t h e
increasing availability of highspeed Internet and the existence of
a vast and comparatively wealthy
overseas customer base has led to
organized crime groups exploiting
children for financial gain,” the
agency warned.
In a special report, the BBC said
that the Philippine government
estimated that between 60,000 and
100,000 Filipino children had
experienced sexual exploitation,
many of them in cybersex. It said
that while some children were
forced by their own family, others
were made to work in cybersex
dens by pimps.
Fr. Shay Cullen, who runs the
Preda Foundation, a charity that
rescues victims of sexual
exploitation in Olongapo City, told
the BBC that more and more
parents were pushing their
children to get involved to make big
money. “There's a huge growing
demand and there's a growing
supply,” Cullen said.
The BBC team, accompanied by
armed police escort, traveled to
Barangay (village) Ibabao, an
i m p ove r i s h e d s l u m a re a i n
Mandaue that it said was the
“epicenter” of the trade.
A police officer, Denis Comunay,
led the group to a “cybersex den”a
small house that was almost empty
except for a dirty mattress on the
floor and electric sockets hanging
from the ceiling.
“Fathers and mothers would
bring their children here to show,
and would get paid by the owner of
the house,” Comunay said.
He explained the property
owner forced her own children to
“perform” for foreigners using a
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January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 3
US solons
urge ...
From page 1
disputed islands controlled by
Japan in the East China Sea, and
its new rules to regulate fishing
in a huge tranche of the South
China Sea, including the West
Philippine Sea and the East Sea,
have deepened concerns that
its rise as a regional power
could spark a confrontation.
O n We d n e s d a y, G e n .
Emmanuel Bautista said
Filipino fishermen should not
yield to Chinese “threats and
intimidation” and instead go on
plying their trade in the West
Philippine Sea.
But the Philippines wants to
acquire two more warships
from the United States to boost
its maritime protection amid
those threats from China,
Bautista said.
Washington's response
House lawmakers
overseeing US policy toward
Asia and America's use of sea
power held a joint hearing to
c o n s i d e r Wa s h i n g to n' s
response, amid worries that the
United States may be drawn
into a crisis or conflict over a
territorial dispute involving
China because the United States
has bilateral defense treaties
with Japan and the Philippines.
Republican Rep. Steve
Chabot called China
“dangerously aggressive” and
said it was attempting to take
disputed territories by gradual
force with the “misguided hope
that Japan, Southeast Asian
nations and the US will just
grudgingly accept it.”
Democratic Rep. Ami Bera
called for a strong, bipartisan
message from the US Congress
that China's “threatening and
provocative moves to assert
their maritime territorial
claims are unacceptable.”
Republican Rep. Randy
Forbes said the United States
must be “100 percent
intolerant of China's territorial
claims and its continued resort
to forms of military coercion to
alter the status quo in the
region.”
Lawmakers typically take a
more uncompromising stance
on foreign policy than the
administration. But their
opinions reflect widespread
concern in Washington about
Beijing's intentions as it
challenges decades of
American military
preeminence in Asia, and its
adherence to international law.
US boosting PH maritime defense
vs 'provocative' China - envoy
By Vincent Cabreza
FORT DEL PILAR, Baguio City -The United States is helping
improve the Philippines' maritime
defense capability now that the
American government has
described as “dangerous” a new
Chinese fishing law in disputed
Asian waters, US Ambassador
Philip Goldberg said here on
Saturday.
Brushing aside another query
about the resumption of American
military bases in the Philippines to
US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg. AFP FILE PHOTO
address a “provocative” China,
Goldberg said what has been put
on the table is “a framework
work together as we confront 21st
“The announcement by the
agreement on enhanced rotational
century problems,” Goldberg told
Chinese is a provocative action, one
presence which would involve a
reporters after he was honored by
that is again… a unilateral decision
greater cooperation between our
the Philippine Military Academy
as opposed to a consensual one
two militaries.”
here.
that is [reached by] discussion
This framework, which was
“Don't dwell on the past but
with other goverments in the
proposed to the Philippines in
think about what the future holds,”
region and in the Pacific area,”
August last year, would increase
he said. “That's what we are trying
Goldberg said. “We don't consider
American naval presence in
to do regionally.”
this a welcome step. It is not
contested sea lanes to keep these
China had declared that all
consistent with those principles
waters free for commerce and
fishing vessels venturing into areas
we have articulated of free
navigation, according to the
it considered part of Chinese
n av i ga t i o n i n t h e a i r, f re e
Philippines' defense department.
territory must secure its
navigation in the seas.”
Air defense zone
“Our two militaries have deep,
permission. The West Philippine
Goldberg did not discuss the
China unilaterally declared
long-standing, historical
Sea, the name Manila uses for that
status of the framework talks,
its air defense zone over parts
relationships and what we are
part of the South China Sea it
except to stress that these involved
of the East China Sea last
talking about doing is not about the
considered part of the Philippines'
“more trainings, more
November, requiring foreign
20th century and the bases, but
exclusive economic zone, is among
prepositioning” for the Filipino
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about the 21st century and the
the areas China now wants to
and American soldiers.
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kind of cooperation we can have to
control.
January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 4
US solons urge ...
From page 3
MASS GRAVE IN BATANGAS. Workers dig a site in Sitio Loob Lumbang Calzada in Calaca, Batangas province,
where victims of a gun-for-hire syndicate are believed buried. The syndicate is said to do hit jobs for land
buyers and politicians. Richard A. Reyes
Gun-for-hire gang
busted in Batangas
By Nancy C. Carvajal
MANILA -- The National
Bureau of Investigation on
Wednesday raided eight houses
in Batangas believed to be the
safehouses of a gun-for-hire
gang doing hits for land buyers
and politicians. Seven people
were arrested, including a
policeman.
The suspected gang leader,
a woman, eluded capture. Guns
and ammunition were seized.
The NBI agents had secured
search warrants after a selfconfessed gang member, a
former Nasugbu councilor and
defeated mayoral candidate,
executed a sworn statement
detailing what he knew of the
gang's activities and
pinpointing an area in Calaca
where murder victims were
buried.
The informant claimed his
own sister was the head of the
group of hired killers, which
charged P50,000 to P150,000
per hit.
“We talk to our clients face
to face in restaurants where
they tell us who they want us to
take out,” according to the 29year old informant.
Virgilio Mendez, deputy
director for regional services,
told the Inquirer that the
witness had approached the
Commission on Human Rights
last year. He was referred to
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima,
who asked the NBI to look into
his claims.
“We validated some of his
statements so we applied for a
search warrant,” Mendez said.
A source in the NBI said the
informant had claimed “that
among their targets were
witnesses of murder cases.”
They also allegedly killed small
landowners who refused to sell
their land to some buyers.
The informant told the
Inquirer he decided to seek the
help of the authorities because
he feared for his life and that of
his family.
He alleged that his sister,
identified as Guillerma Limpoc
of Barangay (village) Papaya,
Nasugbu, Batangas, “is the head,
contractor and financier of the
gun-for-hire group in
Batangas.”
“She is the seventh in our
family of 12. I am the youngest.
My other siblings also knew of
her activities but were afraid of
her because she had people
working for her that would do
her biddings,” the witness told
Inquirer in an interview on
Wednesday.
“She has no business or
regular employment but she
gets money as the contractor
and financier of the group,” the
witness alleged.
The price, he claimed, was
between P50,000 and
P150,000full payment upon
completion.
“I have participated in three
executions and received a share
of the payment,” he confessed.
The informant described
his sister as “a ruthless person
and a gambling habitué. “That's
why she always needs money.”
He explained their modus
operandi as three-man team:
“We do not tail our target,
another member is in charge of
that; after we receive a text from
the spotter of the target's
presence we go and execute,
then leave.” Inquirer.net
www.realestateattorneynj.com
aircraft to submit flight plans to
Chinese authorities and accept
instructions from the Chinese
military.
The United States responded by
flying B-52 bombers through the
zone, to show it didn't recognize it.
The US state department last
week also criticized the new Chinese
regulations on fishing in the South
China Sea as “provocative and
potentially dangerous.”
China maintains that it has
peaceful intentions and it wants the
United States to stay out of territorial
disputes in which it has no claim.
The United States, however, says
it has an interest in freedom of
navigation and commerce through
the Asia-Pacific region.
Despite America's huge national
debt, the Obama administration
wants to boost the US military
presence in the region and recently
announced tens of millions of dollars
in new security assistance to
Vietnam and the Philippines.
'Unacceptable'
Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at
the think tank Center for Strategic
and International Studies, said the
US response to China's coercion
would be a key measure of the
effectiveness of the Obama
administration's policy shift toward
Asia and how countries there assess
its staying power in the region, she
said.
Cuisia told reporters in
Washington late Monday that Manila
wanted good relations with Beijing,
but called it “unacceptable” that
China is preventing Philippine
fishermen from operating inside
parts of its own exclusive economic
zone, or EEZ. That is the 370kilometer offshore area where a
nation has sovereign rights for
exploring and exploiting resources.
Cuisia said to avoid a potential
confrontation, the Philippines has
told fishermen to avoid seas covered
by China's new fishing regulations,
pending clarification from Beijing on
what they entail.
But the waters covered by the
new Chinese rules include parts of
the Spratly archipelago and the
Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal)
i n t h e We s t P h i l i p p i n e S e a ,
traditional fishing grounds for
Filipinos.
Ignoring new rules
Last week, Mayor Eugenio Bitoonon of Kalayaan Island in the
Philippine part of the Spratlys said he
would not discourage fishermen on
the island from going out to those
waters, and on Wednesday, Bautista
urged fishermen not to allow
themselves to be intimidated and
instead “go on with their lives.”
Bautista, however, declined to
answer when asked if the military
would come to the aid of the
fishermen should they be harassed
by Chinese coast guards, saying the
question was hypothetical.
Asked how the government
would handle the fishermen's
insecurity about the new Chinese
fishing rules, Bautista replied: “Let's
put it this way: Should we give in to
terror, to threats and intimidation?
Should we? We should not. . . . We
should stand up for our rights.”
The Philippine stand is to ignore
China's new fishing rules, and
Bautista said the military would
need more frigates to boost the
country's maritime protection.
More frigates needed
Speaking in a television
interview, Bautista said the military
needed around six frigates to guard
the Philippines' maritime domain.
The Philippines has already
acquired two refurbished American
frigates in the past two years, and
they now lead patrols in the West
Philippine Sea.
Bautista said the Gregorio del
Pilar, as well as the Ramon Alcaraz,
which arrived last year, had been
deployed to protect the country's
waters.
“There are Chinese fishing
vessels in the West Philippine Sea as
we speak,” he said, but declined to
say where they were in the disputed
waters. Bautista said the acquisition
of two more frigates were
undergoing government bidding
procedures. The vessels could be
acquired “in a couple of years,” he
said.
The Philippines has antagonized
China by bringing a case challenging
China's claim to virtually all of the
South China Sea to a United Nations
arbitration tribunal.
Cuisia called it a “legitimate and
friendly” way to resolve a dispute,
and when asked, supported the idea
of Vietnam taking the same
approach.
China refuses to participate in
the arbitration.
Huge resources
While most lawmakers at
Tuesday's House hearing were
strongly supportive of the US
military presence in the Asia-Pacific
region, Democratic Rep. Brad
Sherman was skeptical.
Sherman complained that the
United States was plowing huge
resources into confronting China
and helping defend the territorial
claims of nations like Japan that allot
a far smaller proportion of their own
budgets to defense Inqurer.net
January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 5
NBI busts drug ring in 3 condos
By Erika Sauler
National Bureau of
Investigation agents arrested six
people believed to have links with
Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel in
raids on three luxury properties in
Taguig and Makati cities early
Wednesday, bolstering suspicions
that the Latin drug trade had
reached the Philippines through
foreign and local connections.
The agents also seized “shabu”
( m e t h a m p h e t a m i n e
hydrochloride), cocaine and
ecstasy pills worth P100 million in
the raids on The Luxe Residences
and One Serendra in Bonifacio
Global City, Taguig, and on
Gramercy Residence in Makati City.
Canadian Barry Espadilla and
Filipino Tristan Olazo were
arrested in the raid on The Luxe
Residences, while Canadian Tara
Leanne Hadden-White was
arrested in the raid on One
Serendra.
Canadian James Riach, Filipino
Gibson Arca and Iranian-Canadian
Ali Shirazi were arrested in the raid
on Gramercy Residence.
The suspects' arrest in luxury
residential properties with their
own security showed an advance in
drug traders' tactics to conceal
their operations, the authorities
said.
Augusto Eric Isidoro, executive
director of the NBI Reaction, Arrest
and Interdiction Division, said the
raiding teams had difficulty
entering the properties, as they had
to ask for permission to enter from
the building administrators
despite carrying search and arrest
warrants.
Isidoro said the suspects had
evaded detection by renting
apartments in the three posh
properties. Such places are not
easily penetrable to authorities, he
said.
Sinaloa links
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima
said NBI Director Medardo de
Lemos informed her about the raid
after 3 a.m.
She said investigators were
looking into the suspects' links
with the Sinaloa drug cartel,
Mexico's biggest and deadliest
drug network.
The NBI, she said, could not
immediately determine whether
the suspects were linked to Sinaloa,
but an informant claimed that the
seized drugs came from Mexico.
Drugs from the Sinaloa cartel
were seized by police in a raid on a
game fowl ranch in Batangas
province on Christmas Day.
According to initial findings, De
Lima said, the suspects had been
operating in the Philippines for
about seven months.
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Arrested Canadian nationals James Clayton Riach, right, and Ali Memar Mortazavi Shirazi
wait for their inquest proceeding at the Department of Justice in Manila, Philippines,
Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014. Anti-Organized and Transnational Crime Division of the National
Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said four Canadians, including Riach and Shirazi, were
arrested Wednesday for allegedly trafficking illegal drugs from Mexico.
An informant tipped off the NBI
about the suspects' operations,
leading to a two-month
surveillance and the raids early on
Wednesday.
Selling drugs
Isidoro said the suspects sold
drugs to prominent users in
exclusive clubs and casinos like
Club Haze in Bonifacio Global City
and Republiq Club in Resorts
World in Pasay City.
They also threw exclusive
cocktail parties at Gramercy, where
nitrous oxide or laughing gas was
also seized, Isidoro said.
He said the suspects imported
the substances from Mexico and
Colombia, smuggling them into the
c o u n t r y, r e c o o k i n g a n d
repackaging them.
A kilo of cocaine could be
increased to 3 or 4 kg after adding a
substance called phenamine,
Isidoro said.
The suspects learned to do it
through the Internet, he said.
He said the suspects had
a dm i t te d t h a t so m e o f t h e
substances were unadulterated
ecstasy, which they made into
capsules with artificial flavors,
such as strawberry and mango.
Convicted gangsters
Espadilla and Riach belong to
the Independent Soldier gang in
Canada where they face murder,
weapons and drug charges, Isidoro
said.
“They have been convicted of
various crimes in Canada,” De Lima
said. “I think this information was
obtained by the NBI from the
Interpol.”
De Lima said she was alarmed
that the Canadians, who had been
convicted of crimes in their
country, managed to enter the
Philippines and operate a drug ring
in Manila.
She said the government would
concentrate on the case and try to
neutralize the Sinaloa syndicate's
operations here.
The Bureau of Immigration
may have to tighten the screening
of arriving foreigners, with the
justice department working with
the Philippine Drug Enforcement
Agency and other offices to bust the
syndicate's foreign and local
tentacles here, she said.
Tightening security
Following the raids in Taguig,
Mayor Lani Cayetano urged
building managers in Bonifacio
Global City to be more strict with
tenants and security.
Cayetano said property owners
and managers should review their
procedures and tighten their
monitoring for illegal activities
within their premises. Inquirer.net
January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 6
Fil-Am ex-chef stabs
wife to death in Vegas
By Bert Eljera
LAS VEGAS -- A FilipinoAmerican former chef is in police
custody after stabbing and killing
his wife, a certified nurse
assistant, in their Las Vegas
apartment after she told him she
wanted a divorce.
Richard Magdayo Dahan said
he killed his wife on Jan. 10 using
two knives and a meat cleaver
before showering, driving to a
police station and turning himself
in, according to a Metro Police
report.
An unrepentant Dahan, 40,
said he would do it all over again
given the chance.
Dahan and his wife, Daisy, 28,
met in the Philippines and lived
together for seven months before
getting married in October 2011.
According to the police
report, trouble started when the
couple moved to the United States
where Dahan had two children
with an ex-girlfriend.
A recent recipient of a kidney
transplant, Dahan had also lost his
job as a chef at a Strip resort.
Daisy Dahan had become
jealous of Richard's continued
relationship with the mother of
his children and would be angry
whenever he gave money to the
children.
As the relationship
deteriorated, Daisy started asking
Richard Magdayo Dahan
for a divorce. But Dahan said
divorce was unacceptable.
According to the three-page
police report, the situation came
to a head on Friday after lunch.
The Las Vegas Sun reported
that Dahan told police he went
into the couple's kitchen where
his wife was sitting and stabbed
her in the base of her neck with a
serrated knife.
His wife, while trying to grab
the knife, yelled, “No, no, no, oh
Lord, no.”
B e c a u s e t h e k n i fe wa s
entangled in Daisy's hair, Dahan
told police he took a small meat
cleaver and struck his wife several
time on the top of her head. Then,
grabbing a fillet knife, he stabbed
Daisy in the abdomen and cut her
from the corner of her mouth
because she continued to make
noises.
Dahan told police he walked
into his bedroom and began
Filipino family
faces ... From page 1
Jojo, a professor back in the
Philippines, is in the United States as a
dependent and restricted from
working. Their two daughters, Almira
Isabelle, who is almost four, and
Arwen Faye, who will celebrate her
first birthday in March, were both
born in the US.
These circumstances may allow
them to prevent deportation, but Jojo
said the immigration lawyer informed
him that there is no assurance they
will not be sent back home.
Jojo, 38, and Emily, 34, arrived in
Texas from Davao five years ago. With
her work visa, Emily had worked as a
lab technician since 2008.
Things were reportedly going
well for the couple until Emilyn
suffered a stroke after the birth of
their second child in March 2013.
She had a second stroke in June of
that same year, rendering her unable
to work because she became partially
paralyzed.
Jojo said he remembered his wife
coming home from work one night
saying her blood pressure was high,
and he thought she would just sleep
through it and be alright.
But around 10 a.m. the following
day, Emily began screaming in pain
and asked him to get her some
Tylenol. “So I went to the kitchen to
get it,” he says, “and when I got back
she was slurring her speech. I called
911 and EMS got here minutes later.
“I haven't been able to work since
the stroke,” Emilyn said. “Now I am on
short-term disability.”
Jojo said that in a way, he was
pacing, trying to determine what
to do next. He got into the shower
fully clothed, washed the clothes,
removed them and finished his
shower.
After dressing and without
looking at his wife's body, Dahan
got into his Toyota Tacoma pickup
truck and made the 6.5-mile drive
from the couple's Camden Vintage
Apartments home at 6500 Vegas
Drive to Metro's Northwest Area
Command building at 9850 W.
Cheyenne Ave.
Shortly before 3 p.m., Dahan
walked into the building and
announced to a Metro support
technician, “I stabbed my wife to
death.”
The killing shocked the
Filipino-American community
here, particularly friends of Daisy
Dahan.
She was not working on her
divorce papers but her
immigration status, said a friend,
who did not want to disclose her
name.
“Amidst her suffering she
didn't even tell us,” another
anonymous friend said. “That's
why I am, we are just shocked. We
are devastated by the whole thing.
You know, for me, we could've
done something more.”
Magdayo Dahan will face the
Clark County District on
Wednesday for murder with
deadly weapons. Inquirer.net
happy that his wife got sick in the
United States. “Had it happened in our
country, she might not have survived
because hospitals there demand
down payment before treatment,” he
says. “But here, you get treated and
receive the bills later,” Jojo told the
Gonzales Inquirer.
Since Emilyn has to get blood
work done on a weekly basis, it would
be virtually impossible for her to get it
done in her country because she
wouldn't be able to front the bill for it.
“In Philippine hospitals, most
patients are put in a wheelchair or in a
bed beside the registration and just
wait to die,” Jojo said. “It's sad, but
that's the way it is. She didn't do
anything wrong. It just happens that
she got sick.”
So far, no Filipino-American
organization has come to the aid of the
couple, even though the television
program “Balitang America” has
reported their story.
Under an online petition asking
the US Department of Homeland
Security to designate the Philippines
with a Temporary Protected Status
(TPS) the Nanez would qualify and be
protected from deportation.
The petition posted in the We the
People website of the White House
s e e ks to p u t a l l d e p o r t a t i o n
proceedings against Filipinos on hold
in the wake of Supertyphoon
“Yolanda” (international name:
Haiyan) so these Filipinos can help in
the rebuilding efforts.
The movement has gained
support of some members of the US.
Congress and President Aquino has
formally asked the Obama
administration to approve the
petition. Inquirer.net
STOLEN, SOLD. Claude Monet's “L' Eglise de Vetheuil,” shown here in a photo
supplied by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office in New York, was sold for $32
million by former Imelda Marcos' social secretary, Vilma Bautista. The buyer said
he bought the stolen artwork “in good faith” and has agreed to a $10-million
settlement with the counsel of martial law victims. Photo taken from PCGG
website, pccg.gov.ph
Imelda Marcos aide gets ... From page 1
treasure. Defense lawyers said she was caught up in a clash between a
government and its ousted leader.
Bautista plans to appeal and has “substantial issues” to raise, defense
attorneys Susan and Fran Hoffinger said after the sentencing. Bautista also
was ordered to pay about $3.5 million in state taxes. She was convicted in
November of charges including conspiracy and tax fraud.
The case “finally solves the mystery of what happened to four
masterpieces of Impressionist art,” Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R.
Vance Jr. said then.
The 1899 Monet, from the French painter's famed “Water Lilies” series,
and other art ended up in Bautista's hands after vanishing when a 1986
“people power” revolt sent longtime President Ferdinand Marcos into exile in
Hawaii. He died three years later.
January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 7
American hostage-taker yields after Sunday sermon
MANILA, Jan. 12 -- A sermon on a
Sunday afternoon from a police
official convinced a 57-year-old
American to free his hostage at an
apartelle in Quezon City and
vo l u n t a r i ly g ive h i m s e l f u p ,
effectively ending a three-hour
standoff.
Quezon City Police District
(QCPD) Kamuning station chief Supt.
Limuel Obon told the Inquirer that he
was able to convince the lovelorn
Robert Stasaitis, a retired US Navy
man from Oregon, to let go of Alma
Cordero, Paradise Apartelle
receptionist, by telling him that he
was better off than most people.
“I told him that he should not
think of himself as hopeless. I
reminded him about the victims of
Supertyphoon 'Yolanda.' He is still
healthy after all,” Obon said, adding
that he was also able to convince the
American that it was silly of him to
resort to extreme measures because
of love.
Stasaitis initially threatened to
kill himself if his ex-girlfriend
continued to refuse to speak with
him. He later on decided to take
hostage the cashier of the apartelle at
the corner of Tomas Morato and
Timog Avenues in Barangay (village)
South Triangle, saying he would
release her only if his girlfriend
showed up.
Obon told the Inquirer that
before the incident, which started
around 2 p.m. Sunday, the American
had been intent on slitting his wrists
using a box cutter. “That is why he
hada [suicide] note. He had been
around 5 p.m.
Retired US Navy surrender after taking hostage of a cashier of Paradise Apartelle in Timog
Avenue, Quezon City. Arnold Almacen
thinking of killing himself since
Saturday night but [he] chickened
out,” he said, adding that Stasaitis had
been staying at the apartelle for five
days.
But Stasaitis, who was drunk, saw
the apartelle employee, grabbed her
and threatened to cut her throat with
the box cutter.
Operatives of the Kamuning
police station, the QCPD Special
Weapons and Tactics unit and
operatives of the Special Reaction
Unit were immediately dispatched to
the site with Obon as the negotiator.
Obon told the Inquirer that when
he spoke with the American, the
suspect had lamented that his
girlfriend broke up with him last
month after duping him of his money.
“I told him being dumped by his
girlfriend was not the end of the
world and that he has so many other
things to live for,” the police official
recalled, adding that his “sermon”
proved effective as Stasaitis let go of
the box cutter and surrendered
UK, US police ...
From page 2
webcam. He said other people in the
neighborhood who heard there was
money to be made brought their
children there, too.
The BBC said that a recent survey
indicated that 80 houses in the area
were involved in the trade, in spite of
raids conducted by police. Sex
exploitation has become a “cottage
industry” in the area, according to the
BBC.
Poverty blamed
In September last year, a Filipino
couple in their 30s were arrested in
Ibabao for forcing their three young
children to engage in sex acts and
charging clients up to $100 each to
watch using webcams.
Noemi Truye-Abarientos of the
Children's Legal Bureau, which
provides legal aid to abuse victims,
blamed poverty and a breakdown in
public morality for the rise in the
trade.
She said that local businessmen
rented out laptops and USB Internet
connections so it was easy for families
to get in the business.
“Parents use Internet chat rooms
to find 'clients' and receive payment
t h ro u g h i n t e r n a t i o n a l m o n e y
transfers. They justify what they do by
His ex-girlfriend's brother, who
asked for anonymity, told the
Inquirer that Stasaitis had been in
and out of the country for two years
and that he had previously stayed in a
condominium in Sta. Mesa, Manila.
“My sister left him on Dec. 14
because he has been drinking a lot.
She advised him to change his ways if
he wanted her to go back to him. She
never cheated him of his money,” he
said.
The American was taken into
custody by the QCPD Kamuning
police pending his turnover to the
QCPD Criminal Investigation and
Detection Unit.
Obon said that Stasaitis may be
charged with alarm and scandal and
frustrated homicide, and the
apartelle could sue him for damages
b e c a u s e i t s o p e ra t i o n s we re
disrupted due to the incident.
The QCPD Kamuning station, he
added, had coordinated with the US
Embassy over Stasaitis' arrest.
Inquirer.net
claiming that foreign pedophiles do
not actually touch the children,” the
BBC said.
The network said that an arrested
British man disclosed he paid 13
pounds (P959) to watch a “show.”
'Even parents involved'
Senior Supt. Gilbert Sosa, head of
the Philippine National Police
anticybercrime unit, said efforts had
been intensified to end child sexual
abuse.
“This has become a major problem
in the Philippines, where in some
cases even the parents are involved,”
he said. Sosa declined to give details
that could compromise ongoing
operations.
The Australian Federal Police said
it had executed six search warrants
under the international operation that
had led to the arrest of three
Australians.
“Two of the men were arrested in
Western Australia and one Sydney
man was arrested by the Royal Thai
Police in Bangkok,” it said.
“Hundreds of thousands of images
and videos depicting online child
sexual exploitation, including children
as young as 5 years old, were found
during the searches.”
The Australian offenders allegedly
financed and ordered child abuse
“shows” from the Philippines.
Inquirer.net
201-434-1114
Only $30 for 25 words (deadline is Wednesday noon)
Retired US Navy man Robert Stasaitis is led away by authorities following his surrender
after he took an apartelle worker hostage over matters of the heart. Arnold Almacen
January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 8
Tea Party for 'Women
Connecting Women’
By Grace G. Baldisseri
The 'tea party' we are
talking here is just an ordinary
party for women throughout
New York City. This was
organized by a group of women
under the Migrant Center of
the Church of St. Francis of
Assisi on 31st St., New York, NY.
The Women Connecting
Women is a group of concerned
women who have the time to
listen to other women with
issues of unemployment,
discrimination because of race,
ethnic origin, marital status, or
sexual preference.
Fr. Julian Jagudilla, OFM,
Migrant Center Director, hopes
that this women's group will
attract a great number of
women to come join us on the
next meeting at 5:30pm on
January 29 at St. Clare Room of
St. Francis of Assisi.
St. Francis of Assisi Church
is a parish in the Archdiocese of
New York and an urban
ministry center staffed by the
Franciscan Friars of Holy Name
Province.
We are proud to have a
church with a mission that
" m i n i s t e r s t o e ve r yo n e ,
especially those who are poor,
alienated or suppressed,"
As a woman belonging to a
minority group in New York
City, I am amazed that there is
now a meeting place for us to
connect, enjoy sharing stories
with other women in the heart
of Manhattan.
PH to join fancy
food show in
San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO -- The
Philippines will participate in the
upcoming 2014 Winter Fancy Food
Show on Jan. 19-21, with a pavilion
at the South Hall of the Moscone
Center, San Francisco.
Gearing up for the Philippines'
representation are the Trade and
Investment Center-Silicon Valley,
Center for International Trade
Expositions and Missions (CITEM),
and the Philippine International
Trading Corporation (PITC) of the
Department of Trade and Industry
The Philippines also
participated in Anuga, Germany, last
October with the country's organic
and specialty food and beverage
products. It will showcase top-ofthe-line products like banana chips,
fruit preserves, herbal teas, juices
and concentrates, mixes and sauces,
muscovado products, organic
coconut products, single-origin
chocolates, snack items and spices.
The 16-booth Philippine
Pavilion will house Philippine food
manufacturers and exporters of
specialty food identified under the
Department's Design for Exports
(DEFood )Program.
Participating companies are
Celebes Coconut Corporation, GSL
Premium Food Export Corporation,
Herbanext Laboratories, Islamic
Da'wah Council of the Philippines,
JNRM Corporation, Malagos AgriVenture Corporation, Mama Sita's,
Pacific Isles International Trading,
US boosting PH
maritime ...
From page 3
“The kind of things we do to
help the Philippines as it moves
toward a credible minimal
defense, as it builds up its
ability to do maritime security
[and] maritime domain
awareness,” he said.
Goldberg was given a
parade by the PMA cadets. He
spent the weekend in the
summer capital to host the
annual New Year cocktails at
the US ambassador's residence
in Camp John Hay.
Earlier in a radio interview,
Goldberg said multinational
peace forged on consensus was
Inc., Prime Fruits International, Inc.,
Raw Brown Sugar Milling Company
and other companies featuring
n a t u ra l , o rga n i c & h e r i t a g e
products.
Through the Winter Fancy Food
Show, the Philippines will tap into
North America's massive food and
beverage market. The region's
ethnic food market is estimated to
grow at 5 percent annually. The halal
and kosher food markets are also
strong. North America's halal food
market is worth US$12 billion, while
the kosher food market is estimated
at US$200 billion.
Organized by the Department
Trade and Industry (DTI) through
its Trade Representative Office
(PTIC-SV), its marketing arm
(CITEM and business arm (PITC),
the country's participation in the
2014 Winter Fancy Food Show is
part of DTI's efforts to intensify the
promotion of Philippine products in
overseas trade shows.
The Philippine booths 30283043 will be in the South Hall,
Moscone Center. The pavilion will
feature live cooking demonstrations
by a San Francisco-based Filipino
executive chef and non-stop
samplings during the three-day
event.
The delegation will then
proceed to Los Angeles on Jan. 22 for
more business matching activities.
Inquirer.net
the solution to 21st century
problems.
“I think the Philippines has
taken a wise decision to handle
these matters peacefully,
legally, through the legal
channels under the United
Nations Convention on the Law
of the Sea and alternatives that
the convention offers,” he said.
He said the Philippines also
excelled when it tried to “put
together a code of conduct as to
how countries should operate
in the region and to do that
together.”
But when countries make
decisions on their own, the
resulting action may lead to
dangerous situations, he said,
adding that is “something
[that] should be avoided.”
Inquirer.net
January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 9
City and Hudson Chamber of Commerce to Host Welcoming Events for Super Bowl Teams
Jersey City to Rename Christopher Columbus
Drive “Super Bowl Drive” for the Week
JERSEY CITY, Jan. 15 -- Mayor
Steven M. Fulop announced today
that a resolution to rename
Christopher Columbus Drive
“Super Bowl Drive” for the week
leading up toSuper Bowl XLVII will
be presented to the City Council at
their meeting tonight.
The NFL will have two
representatives attend tonight's
meeting at 6 p.m. at City Hall,
Council Chambers, 280 Grove
Street, when the Council will vote
on the resolution.
The renaming is part of the
City's efforts to welcome the two
NFL Super Bowl teams the AFC and
the NFC champions who will both
be staying in Jersey City hotels.
Banners will be displayed along
Christopher Columbus Drive, the
route the players will take from
Newark-Liberty Airport to their
hotels in Jersey City,
Additionally, the City, in
collaboration with the Hudson
County Chamber of Commerce, will
host two welcoming events, which
will be open to the public, at each of
the hotels the Hyatt and the Westin
upon the teams' arrivals. The dates
and times of the events will be
announced once the teams and
their arrival has been determined.
The events will feature
activities for children, a band,
giveaways, and hot chocolate, as
the teams make their way to their
hotels.
“We have been working closely
with the NFL both regarding the
preparations for the teams' arrivals
and logistics for the week of and
game day,” said Mayor Fulop.
“Having the teams in Jersey City is
an honor and we are ready for the
world to take notice of Jersey City
during the nation's largest annual
sporting event.
We are the most dynamic city in
the State of New Jersey, with a
remarkable skyline, diverse
neighborhoods, world-class hotels,
historic and cultural sites, and
much more.
We h o p e t h a t e v e r y o n e
attending the Super Bowl
experiences everything Jersey City
has to offer.” - Jennifer Morrill, Press
Secretary to Mayor Steven M. Fulop
Coming 2.2.2014
Filipino groups in NY-NJ push for TPS for PH
By Noel T. Pangilinan
With the seeming lack of action
by the U.S. government on the
Philippines' request for Temporary
Protected Status, several Filipino
American organizations in the New
York-New Jersey area have banded
together last week to press for the
immediate granting of the status.
“As one Filipino community, let
our voices, let our coming together,
once again remind the Department
of Homeland Security of the
pending request for TPS,” Fr. Julian
Jagudilla, OFM, Director of the
Migrant Center at the Church of St.
Francis of Assisi (CSFA), said.
“The TPS can and will be a big
help in easing the suffering of
Filipinos in the U.S. who have
families and friends directly
affected by Typhoon Haiyan. We
are asking the Obama
administration and the DHS to be
sensitive to the plight of the
Filipinos here in the U.S. as well as of
Among those represented at the meeting last week were the Migrant Center at CSFA, the
Filipino Diocesan Apostolate of the Diocese of Brooklyn, AnakBayan New Jersey,
AnakBayan New York, Bayan USA, Damayan Migrant Workers Association, Filipino
American Legal Defense and Education Fund (FALDEF), Gabriela New York,
ImmigraNation.com, National Alliance for Filipino American Concerns (NAFCon), New
York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG), Scalabrinian Center, Task Force Haiyan and
Philippine Forum. Photo by Noel T. Pangilinan
those in the Philippines," Fr.
Jagudilla, who convened the
meeting, said.
The new coalition, TPS for the
Philippines Now, has scheduled a
forum and an interfaith vigil to rally
the community to campaign for the
speedy approval of the TPS.
The forum, which aims to
gather widespread support for the
granting of the status, will be held
on February 1, Saturday, from 1 to 4
p.m. at the San Damiano Hall of the
Church of St. Francis of Assisi in
midtown Manhattan.
On February 13, an inter-faith
prayer vigil in support of the TPS
campaign will be held from 6 to
7:30 p.m. in front of the DHS office
at 26 Federal Plaza in downtown
Manhattan.
Under Section 244 of the U.S.
Immigration and Nationality Act, a
Temporary Protected Status or TPS
can be granted to foreign nationals
in the U.S. when conditions in their
home countries temporarily
prevent them from returning safely,
or in certain circumstances, where
the country is unable to handle the
return of its nationals adequately.
The secretary of homeland
security can grant TPS in cases of
ongoing armed conflict,
e n v i r o n m e n t a l d i s a s t e r, a n
vgslaw@gmail.com
epidemic or other extraordinary
and temporary conditions
prevailing in a foreign national's
country.
Due to the devastation brought
about by Typhoon Haiyan, the
Philippine government requested
for a TPS designation. Philippine
Ambassador to the U.S. Jose L.
Cuisia, Jr. handed the request to the
DHS through a note verbale to the
Department of State on Dec. 13.
Nothing has been heard from
the DHS since then.
Advocates for the granting of
the TPS believe that it can help
alleviate harsh condition that
Filipino in the Philippines and in
the U.S. are going through in the
aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan.
“The country is in dire need of
financial assistance,” Fr. Patrick
Longalong, coordinator of the
Filipino Diocesan Apostolate in the
Diocese of Brooklyn, said. “The
increased remittances by Filipinos
u
Page 14
Editorial & opinion
January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 10
Power dilemma
The power rate hike case that the Supreme Court will hear
next week involves a classic dilemma: Should a polity prioritize
its needs as a market or as a community? In an ideal world, a
young and growing country like the Philippines should not have
to choose; in the real world, however, the choice can be both
unavoidable and stark.
For the Manila Electric Co. and other industry players, an
adverse ruling would mean an uncertain economic climate,
diminished profitability and the high possibility of rotating
power outages in the summer. Already, Meralco had warned the
high court that even a temporary restraining order “damages all
power industry participants, the public, and ultimately, the
national economy as a whole.” The stakes cannot be greater.
For power consumers, an unfavorable decision would mean
massive increases in electricity bills: If not for the TRO issued by
the high court two days before Christmas, Meralco consumers'
electricity bill for January 2014, for instance, would have
reflected a whopping generation charge of P10.23 per kilowatthour. The stakes cannot be more personal.
If we assume, for the moment, that all the parties to the case
have the people's best interests in mind, the Supreme Court will
have to decide based on its own appreciation of those same
interests. If that happens, we hope it will focus on what we think
is the fundamental issue: Is a utility's legal right to pass on
additional costs to the public in truth constitutional? If as
President Aquino himself hinted the other day Meralco had
made a bad business decision by buying from the Wholesale
Electricity Spot Market at “really high” rates when the
shutdown of the Malampaya supply was a “foreseeable event,”
should its customer base pay for the mistake through passed-on
added costs? To phrase it another way: Is the privilege to serve a
basic need of the public's also an eternal guarantee, not only to
make a profit, but also to keep profit margins regardless of
condition or circumstance?
The amended petition from the Makabayan group of partylist lawmakers now includes this argument: “Automatic pass-on
is patently anti-consumer because it contradicts the
distribution utility's obligation to secure the lowest priced
supply. Why would a distribution utility even worry about high
rates in the [WESM] when it knows that these rates could easily
be passed on to consumers?” Exactly.
“There is no limit or cap on the automatic recovery or passon policy. The sky is the limit.”
This argument is potent not only because it raises the
question of limits that is fundamental to any self-regulating,
self-adjusting democracy: At what point does the profit motive
become reckless greed? It is powerful also because it applies to
the case even if the feckless Energy Regulatory Commission or
Meralco itself had followed the law to the letter.
But did they?
We note that the high court had widened the scope of the
case to include more respondents. Six of Meralco's power
suppliers were impleaded; the high court also ordered the
inclusion of the WESM operator, Philippine Electricity Market
Corp. We welcome these developments, because they mean that
the high court takes the charge of collusion seriously indeed.
Including SEM-Calaca Power Corp., Masinloc Power Partners
Corp., Therma Luzon Inc., San Miguel Energy Corp., South
Automatic Citizenship
After Birth
When may a child born outside
of the U.S. of alien parents acquire
automatic citizenship? The Child
Citizenship Act, embodied in
Section 320 of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (INA) provides that
a child automatically becomes a
U.S. citizen if all of the following
conditions are met: the child has at
least one parent, including an
adoptive parent who is a U.S.
citizen by birth or naturalization,
the child is under 18, is residing in
the U.S. pursuant to a lawful
admission of permanent residence
and is in the legal and physical
custody of the U.S. citizen parent.
In order to acquire automatic
citizenship under Section 320, the
child must have been born on or
after February 27, 2001, or was
under 18 as of that date. For
children who were already 18
years old on February 27, 2001, but
who were under 18 in 1952, former
INA 321(a) applies.
The Board of Immigration
Appeals (BIA) recently decided a
case involving Konan Waldo
Douglas who was placed in
removal proceedings and was
found removable by an
immigration judge. He was denied
his claim to derivative citizenship
because his mother's
naturalization took place before
the legal separation of his parents.
Douglas was born in Jamaica on
January 29, 1976 to his married
parents, both citizens of Jamaica.
He entered the United States as a
lawful permanent resident on
December 14, 1981. His mother's
naturalization was on April 13,
1988 and his parent's divorce on
July 25, 1990 took place while he
was a lawful permanent resident
and before he reached 18.
Former section 321(a) of the
Act, the governing law in this case,
provided that citizenship is
automatically acquired by a child
born outside the United States of
alien parents in the following
instances: (1) the naturalization of
both parents; or (2) the
naturalization of the surviving
parent if one of the parents is
deceased; or (3) the naturalization
of the parent having legal custody
of the child when there has been a
legal separation of the parents or
the naturalization of the mother if
the child was born out of wedlock
and the paternity of the child has
not been established by
legitimation.
The following conditions,
however, must be met in all these
u
Page 12
Tomorrow arrived
yesterday
u
Page 12
Publisher/Editor-in-Chief: Lito A. Gajilan, Jr.
Columnists: Reuben S. Seguritan, Esq.,
Juan L. Mercado, Joseph G. Lariosa
Correspondent: Grace G. Baldisseri
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do
not reflect the opinion of the paper nor that of the publisher.
Email: filexpress@aol.com
Phone: 201-434-1114 Fax 201-434-0880
2711 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Jersey City, NJ 07306
“Cartographic” - what?
“Cartographic aggression” is
shorthand for redrawing maps to
gobble up territory, writes
Australian Sinologist Geremie
Barmé. And last week's regionwide protests over Beijing's
clamping of new fishing access
rules on disputed portions of the
South China Sea is the latest
edition.
T h e d i re c t ive t o s e c u re
permission from Hainan province
swept chunks off the Philippines'
327-kilometer exclusive economic
zone (EEZ), and those of other
countries.
Can the legislature of a
Philippine province, say Batanes or
Z a m b a l e s , a l o n g t h e We s t
Philippine Seapass an ordinance
requiring that all foreign fishing
boats wishing to enter its portion
of Philippine waters first acquire a
permit from the “relevant and
responsible department” of the
Philippine government? Inquirer
asked in an editorial titled
“Provocative,” adding that this is
part of “China's increasingly naked
attempts at unilateral control” over
contested areas.
“All states can fish in the high
seas,” Malacañang said Sunday.
“When it comes to the EEZ, that is
under our jurisdiction.” Vietnam
and Taiwan slammed the Beijing
directive as “illegal and
groundless.” “Dangerous,” the
United States snapped.
Nonsense, a Chinese foreign
ministry spokesman retorted. The
2014 rules were “technical
revisions” of existing laws.
The conflict opens a “window
of opportunity,” said the Angara
Center for Law and Economics. We
should explore crafting joint
fishery agreements with China. A
tenth of fish catch worldwide
comes from this region.
Coastal countries, with
overlapping claims, will benefit
through joint regulation of fishing
management. All would be losers
in an armed conflict, former
senator Edgardo Angara said.
u
Page 14
January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 11
“Trapos” poor judgment calls abound
"For a man's house is his castle,
et domus sua cuique est
tutissimum refugium [and each
man's home is his safest
refuge].” - Lawyer and Politician
Sir Edward Coke in The Institutes
of the Laws of England, 1628
CHICAGO ( FAXXNA/jGLi ) –
The recent incident of Makati
Mayor Erwin “Jun Jun” Binay using
his naked power to trespass on the
exclusive Dasmarinas village of
Makati and the pronouncement of
Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte
to kill a suspected rice smuggler
are really symptoms of a society
ignoring people's civil rights that
traditional Filipino politicians
(trapos) employ just to attract
public attention.
When Mayor Binay and his
entourage forced their way into the
village, it was no different than the
Making
life worth
living
Ellen Tordesillas
Alarm bells rang again with the
announcement last week by China
that Hainan, its southernmost
province, was implementing a
Fishery Law that requires foreign
fishing boats to get its approval
when venturing into the South
China Sea starting Jan. 1, 2014.
Hainan, with an area of 32,900
square kilometers, is China's
smallest province. Yet the Fishery
Law, which China claims to have
been adopted in 1993 and
amended in 2008, puts under
Hainan's authority two million
square kilometers of the vast
South China Sea (estimate size is
3.5 million square kilometers),
parts of it are also being claimed by
king of England intruding into the
private home of a commoner in 17th
Century England.
This Makati incident reminded
me of the lack of foresight of Senate
President Franklin Drilon in the
aftermath of the 9/11 New York
Tower attack that put in place
strict security precautions on
visitors coming to America.
The story goes that when an
airport security officer asked
Senator Drilon to take out his
shoes during the screening at the
U.S. airport, instead of removing
his shoes, Mr. Drilon protested
because the security officer, who
h a p p e n e d to b e a F i li p i n o
American, did not recognize him
and, therefore, did not give him the
courtesy of waiving the
requirement to remove his shoes.
This is the problem with some
of our Filipino politicians. If they
want courtesy extended to them,
they should find a way to avoid
JGL
Eye
By JOSEPH G. LARIOSA
(© 2014 Fil Am Extra Exchange)
public embarrassment.
Mayor Binay could have called
the management of the village to a
meeting and tell the management
that in the future if his entourage is
snarled in a traffic jam because he
could no longer use wang-wang
(sirens), his entourage should be
allowed to make a beeline in one of
the streets leading inside the
village. But the management
should agree with one condition:
the Mayor's party should call
ahead!
Vice President Gore did not
seek special treatment?
Likewise, as one of the
American diplomatic officials
suggested, if Mr. Drilon or any
Philippine government officials
would like to have a special
treatment at the U.S. port of entry,
they should coordinate with their
Philippine Department of Foreign
Affairs officials, who will make the
necessary arrangement with the
U.S. Embassy in Manila and relay
the arrangement to the Philippine
Consulate nearest the airport.
A re p re s e n t a t ive o f t h e
Consulate would alert the nearest
airport U.S. officials and meet the
visiting Filipino official in the VIP
lounge and escort him outside the
airport without removing his
shoes.
Even former U.S. Vice
President Al Gore removed his
shoes when asked by a U.S. airport
security officer to do so. Why
would Senate President Drilon be
an exception?
Mr. Drilon should have even
commended the surprised Filipino
American security officer for doing
his job. And even if the Filipino
security officer would recognize
him, the officer would still have to
get the clearance of his supervisor,
who might still deny him the
courtesy.
In the same way, Mayor Binay
should have sent letters of
commendation to the three village
security officers for a job well
done, instead of “inviting them,” a
euphemism used under Martial
Law when Marcos would summon
and intimidate critics, short of
arresting them.
But the Mayor's sister, Sen.
Nancy Binay, 39, who was part of
the entourage at the time, missed
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Page 14
China's smallest province plays big role in
South China Sea claim
the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei,
Malaysia and Taiwan.
The Philippines' Department
of Foreign Affairs said “This new
law reinforces China's expansive
claim under the 9-dash line (map)”
which it has questioned before the
United Nations Arbitral Tribunal.
“It is a gross violation of
i n t e r n a t i o n a l l a w. T h i s
development escalates tensions,
unnecessarily complicates the
situation in the South China Sea,
and threatens the peace and
stability of the region,” the DFA
said.
Vietnam said the Fisheries law
is “illegal and invalid” and
seriously violates its sovereignty.
It demanded that China abolish the
measure.
Taiwan, which claims all that
China is claiming, called on
countries “bordering the islands
“to refrain from adopting
unilateral measures that might
upset the peace and stability of the
region and the South China Sea.”
The United States termed China's
latest move related to the South
China Sea issue “a provocative and
potentially dangerous act.”
The implementation of the
Fisheries Law comes after the
completion of China's first aircraft
carrier, Liaoning, of its training
mission which began November
last year off the coast of Hainan.
It also signals the growing
confidence of China of its maritime
capability. A White Paper on ““The
Diversified Employment of China's
Liaoning, China's first aircraft carrier, back from a test mission in Hainan
Armed Forces” available in
Xinhua news agency website
speaks of “China's development of
an aircraft carrier has a profound
impact on building a strong PLAN
and safeguarding maritime
security.”
The paper gives a glimpse of
the strength of China's Navy which
is responsible for “maintaining
China's sovereignty over its
territorial seas along with its
maritime rights and interests.”
u
Page 12
Philippines who did everything
they could to help in the aftermath
o f Yo l a n d a m u s t n o w b e
wondering if Aquino and his
government have abdicated their
duties of coming to the aid of a
citizenry that it swore to protect.
They are right to ask if Aquino has
not actually privatized disaster
response, relief and rehabilitation,
just like he has practically given up
on shielding the people from
escalating power costs and every
other ill that has festered and
metastasized during his
administration.
There will be more Bohols,
Taclobans and Butuans in the days
to come. And the response of this
government will likely be the
same: nothing.
***
Last week, a Cebu-based
lechon entrepreneur skewered the
Bureau of Internal Revenue for
coming out with a full-page
newspaper ad in a bid to “shame”
him and others in his trade into
paying proper taxes. The response
of Joel Binamira of Zubuchon
caused a sensation in the social
media, when he exposed BIR for
not using correct sales and
production data in its effort to
collect taxes.
A major point of Binamira's
treatise, which struck a chord in
businessmen in every industry, it
seems, is BIR's lethargy in going
after big-time tax evaders, in stark
contrast to its industry in going
after tax-paying, law-abiding
businesses like Zubuchon. The
strange case of one upstart
tobacco company widely
u
Page 12
The new normal
You'd think that, post-Yolanda,
the Aquino administration and its
agencies would jump at the next
chance to prove that they have
learned something in the field of
managing natural calamities. And
yet, five days after heavy rains
started pounding and flooding
Butuan City and other areas in
Northern Mindanao, there is not
even a mention of what
government is doing to ease the
suffering of hundreds of
thousands of people there.
Regarding the unseasonal
rains, the only state agency we
hear from is the weather bureau,
whose sole announcement ,
repeated in an endless loop, is that
a mere low-pressure area is
causing all the trouble, not some
Yolanda-like storm. It's as if
Pagasa, by downgrading the
meteorological standing of the
rains, is telling President Noynoy
Aquino and his officials not to
bother about the widespread
flooding, the landslides and, yes,
the dozens of people reported
killed or missing so far.
If this were a normal
government truly concerned
about mitigating the damage of
nature's depredations on this
calamity-prone land, it would put
on a show of force in Butuan,
Agusan and those newly-stricken
places. And any sane President
would marshal all his resources to
mitigate the loss of life and
damage, if only to prove that he is
not insensitive or sleeping on the
job, as his critics have said in the
a f t e r m a t h o f Yo l a n d a , t h e
earthquake in Bohol and other
tragedies that happened under his
watch.
But abnormal is the new
normal under this dispensation,
apparently. And because Aquino
has decreed that the proper
response to criticism is to ignore it,
we get only deafening silence and
absolutely no action.
Aquino cannot continue to
govern by denial and indifference,
whether he is confronted by
scandalously high electricity and
fuel costs or by inclement weather.
He cannot pretend that things are
going swimmingly under his
callous and uncaring watch, as he
is serenaded by suspiciously high
survey ratings and surrounded by
yes-men in his palace.
The people outside of
government in and out of the
January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 12
Imelda Marcos aide
gets ... From page 6
During his two decades in power, his wife
became known for excess, symbolized by her
gargantuan shoe collection.
The Philippines claims the Marcoses acquired
billions of dollars' worth of property with the
nation's money. The country has spent years seizing
companies, bank accounts and other assets believed
to be part of that trove.
The Marcoses denied their wealth was ill-gotten,
and Imelda Marcos has emerged relatively
unscathed from hundreds of legal cases against her
and her late husband. She is now a congresswoman
in the Philippines. Bautista was a foreign service
officer assigned to the Philippine Mission to the
United Nations and later served as Imelda Marcos'
New York-based personal secretary.
China’s ...
From page 10
The White Paper says,“ The PLAN
is composed of the submarine,
surface vessel, naval aviation, marine
corps and coastal defense arms.
Currently, the PLAN has a total
strength of 235,000 officers and men,
and commands three fleets, namely,
the Beihai Fleet, the Donghai Fleet
and the Nanhai Fleet. Each fleet has
fleet aviation headquarters, support
bases, flotillas and maritime garrison
commands, as well as aviation
divisions and marine brigades.”
The province of Hainan as
implementing authority of the
Fisheries Law brings the challenge
closer to the Philippines because in
June 2012, China established Sansha
City on Yongxing Island in Hainan
which covered islands in the
Paracels, Macclesfield Bank and
Spratlys.
Vietnam says the Paracels is
theirs while the Philippine territory
includes Macclesfield Bank, one of
the largest underwater atolls in the
world covering an area of 6,500
square kilometers, and some parts of
Spratly Islands.
Macclesfield Bank is part of
Zhongsha Qundao , a group of five
rocks that also includes the
By 2009, Bautista was mired in debt, and
prosecutors said she resorted to trying to sell four
paintings the Marcoses had acquired during the
presidency. Besides the water lily painting, they
included another Monet and works by Alfred Sisley
and Albert Marquet.
Bautista ultimately sold the water lily painting “Le Bassin aux Nymphease,” also known as
“Japanese Footbridge Over the Water-Lily Pond at
Giverny” - for $32 million to a Swiss buyer. Some
proceeds went to Bautista's debts, relatives and
associates, and $15 million stayed in her bank
accounts, prosecutors said.
They said Imelda Marcos, who didn't testify at
Bautista's trial, knew nothing of the sale.
Bautista's lawyers said she believed that Imelda
Marcos rightfully owned the paintings and that
Bautista had authority to sell them for her. Bautista
never had a chance to give Marcos the money, the
defense said.
The artworks' ownership is being determined
in civil courts. Inquirer.net
Scarborough Shoal, Truro Shoal,
Saint Esprit Shoal, and Dreyer Shoal.
Scarborough Shoal (also known
as Bajo de Masinloc and Panatag
Shoal in the Philippines and called
Huangyan Island by the Chinese) is
contentious issue between the
Philippines and China. Three Chinese
ships remain in the area, only 124
nautical miles from Zambales and
550 nautical miles from Hainan
Island, after a standoff in April 2012
which followed the arrest of Chinese
fishermen in the area by a Philippine
Navy warship.
A paper titled “Geopolitics of
Scarborough Shoal” written by
Francois-Xavier Bonnet of the
Bangkok-based Research Institute
on Contemporary Southeast Asia
(IRASEC) points out the important
connection of Macclesfield Bank with
Scarborough Shoal and the
controversial U-shaped 9-dash line
map of China which is the basis of
their claim of almost 90 present of
the whole South China Sea.
Bonnet explained, “The
Zhongsha Qundao is composed of
Macclesfield Bank, Truro Shoal, Saint
Esprit Shoal, Dreyer Shoal and
Scarborough Shoal. All these banks
and shoals, except for Scarborough
Shoal, are under several meters of
water even during low tide. Chinese
policymakers know too well that
without Huangyan island, the chance
of their ownership over Changsha
Qundao recognized is nil.”
Bonnet said, “The stakes are
high. If China loses
Huangyan/Scarborough, it will lose
Zhongsha Qundao, which could be
d iv i d e d by t h e E E Z s o f t h e
neighboring countries or placed
under the regime of the high seas. By
consequence, China's entire claim to
the South China Sea supported by the
U-shape line would be moot and
academic.”
In the wake of China's
announcement of Hainan's
implementation of its Fisheries Law,
the mayor of Kalayaan town in
Spratlys, Eugenio Bitoon, urged
Filipino fishermen to ignore it and
continue with their usual livelihood.
Bitoon's reading is that China is
just flexing its muscles “in Hainan,
Paracels and Macclesfield, which
(they claim) are within their EEZ
(Exclusive Economic Zone).
Bitoon said it would not be easy
for Chinese to arrest non-Chinese
fishermen in the disputed area. “If
China wants to secure that area, they
will need to contain first the
Vietnamese in Pugad Island where
there is a sheltered port 720
kilometers away from Hainan.”
This is not the time to be
complacent.
The new ...
From page 10
suspected of tax evasion is a
good example.
Mighty Tobacco Corp., a
Bulacan-based outfit owned by
the Wongchuking family, has
virtually admitted to not paying
up to P4 billion in taxes last year,
but has not even gotten a slap on
the wrist from BIR. Mighty,
which claims an impressive
jump in market share for its
cigarettes (from 3 percent to 20
percent) in the past year alone,
said it paid P4.2 billion in taxes
last year.
But industry figures say that
a 20 percent share of the 100billion stick annual cigarette
market should easily result in
the payment of P12 billion taxes,
based on the most conservative
estimates. Furthermore, Mighty
has not replied to charges which
have warranted calls for probes
by Congress and the
Department of Finance that it
has somehow been able to
procure unheard-of prices for
its imported raw materials,
which have allowed it to sell its
products at rates that are about
equal to the taxes slapped on
Automatic
citizenship ...
From page 9
three instances, one, such
naturalization takes place while
such child is under the age of
eighteen years; and, two, such
child is residing in the United
States pursuant to a lawful
a d m i s s i o n fo r p e r m a n e n t
residence at the time the
parent(s) naturalized or
thereafter begins to reside
permanently in the United
States.
The BIA disagreed with the
immigration judge and held that
Douglas acquired citizenship
because he satisfied all the
them.
For instance, Mighty retails
cigarettes at P14.70 per pack
even if the combined excise tax
and VAT for the product is
already P13.58, according to
BIR. Mighty also imports
tobacco at a suspicious uniform
price of $0.68 per kilo from
countries like Brazil, South
Africa, China and Indonesia,
when the cheapest imported
tobacco bought by all Philippine
manufacturers was procured at
$3.39 per kilo, according to the
Bureau of Customs.
The only way Mighty would
be able to pull off these feats is
through smuggling raw
materials and then underdeclaring its sales figures. In
both instances, it is able to avoid
paying the proper taxes to
government, while its
competitors follow the laws and
are, for their pains, taxed nearly
to insolvency.
Now, anyone can argue that
lechon and cigarettes are bad for
you. But it's apparently tougher
on the makers of these products
if they pay the right taxes while
others simply ignore the threats
and “shame” tactics of BIR's Kim
Henares.
conditions under former section
321(a) before he reached 18.
The BIA in deciding the case
went against precedent
decisions by the Court of
Appeals. Instead it relied on its
earlier decision in a previous
case that a child who has
satisfied the statutory conditions
of former section 321(a) of the
Act before the age of 18 years has
a c q u i re d U. S . c i t i z e n s h i p ,
regardless of whether the
naturalized parent acquired
legal custody of the child before
or after naturalization.
(Editor's Note: REUBEN S. SEGURITAN
has been practicing law for over 30
years. For more information, you may
log on to his website at
www.seguritan.com or call (212) 6955281.)
Power dilemma
From page 9
Premiere Power Corp. and Therma Mobile
Inc. in the case cured a defect in the original
petition, which alleged that the suppliers
had colluded with the ERC but did not
implead them. And including PEMC as a
party to the case means the issue of price
manipulation, of whether WESM prices
were artificially high, can be addressed
squarely by the high court.
The preliminary conference that the
Supreme Court conducted among the
petitioners and respondents last Monday
allowed the parties a close look at some of
the legal issues the justices wanted debated
at the oral arguments on Jan. 21. There is the
roiling question of collusion and price
manipulation; there is the constitutionality
of the automatic rate adjustments in the
Electric Power Industry Reform Act, as
amended; there is also the issue of ERC
approval.
It is a debate that electricity consumers
across the country, not just Meralco's 5.3
million customers, will be following very
closely. Inquirer.net
January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 13
What If China Did Invade Pag-asa Island?
By Carl Thayer
The Diplomat
In the midst of the furor over
Hainan province's new fishing
regulations covering nearly sixty
percent of the South China Sea, an
unnamed Chinese writer penned
an article in the Chinese-language
publication Qianzhan (Prospects)
arguing that China would recover
Zhongye Island by force during
2014 as part of a long-term naval
expansion plan.
The article likely would have
attracted little attention outside
China until a summary was
translated into English by Chan Kai
Yee (who is now often mistakenly
listed as the original piece's
author). The summary was
published by the China Daily Mail
on January 13 under the headline,
“China and the Philippines: The
reason why a battle for Zhongye
(Pag-asa) Island seems
unavoidable.”
It is common for retired
Chinese military officers and
civilian ultranationalists to write
about the South China Sea and
threaten the Philippines and
Vietnam with military action for
“stealing” Chinese territory. The
Qianzhan article cites unnamed
“experts” that the People's
Liberation Army Navy has drawn
up a detailed combat plan to seize
Zhongye Island this year because of
its strategic significance.
Zhongye is better known as
Thitu Island or Pag-asa in Tagalog.
It is the second largest island in the
Spratlys, estimated to cover an area
of 37.2 hectares (or 0.14 square
miles/0.36 square kilometers). Itu
Aba is the largest of the islands in
the archipelago and covers an area
of 46 hectares in size. It is occupied
by Taiwan.
Pag-asa Island lies exposed in
the upper northwest quadrant of
the Spratlys at the outer boundary
of islands and features forming the
archipelago. To its west lies the
open South China Sea.
Pag-asa Island is designated a
town belonging to the Philippine
municipality of Kalayaan. It boasts
a civilian population of nearly two
hundred. Pag-asa contains a
number of structures including a
municipal building, a community
hall, health center, nursery school,
water plant, communications
tower and an airstrip.
The airstrip, known as
Rancudo Airfield, is 1,400 meters
in length and services both civilian
and military aircraft, including the
Philippine Air Force's C-130 cargo
plane. In March 2011, the Chief of
Staff of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP) Eduardo Oban
announced plans to upgrade the
airfield and repair army barracks.
About fifty AFP soldiers are
stationed on Pag-asa.
As the article noted, control
over Zhongye Island would enable
China to exert control over a vast
expanse of the South China Sea if it
constructed naval and air bases
there. The author argued, “the
world's largest aircraft carrier, the
[USS] Ford, costs $12.8 billion to
build but only has a deck area of
0.026 square km. An air base
established on Zhongye Island will
be a dozen times larger and cost
much less, but it is unsinkable and
has a very long service life.”
How plausible is the Qianzhan's
scenario?
China could easily achieve
strategic surprise and seize Pagasa Island. China could disguise an
invasion force as a flotilla engaged
in routine naval exercises in the
South China Sea. In March-April
last year, for example, China
assembled a small flotilla to
conduct combat training exercises
in the South China Sea.
The flotilla comprised the
modern amphibious assault ship
Jinggangshan, two guided missile
frigates and a guided missile
destroyer. When the flotilla
reached the waters surrounding
Mischief Reef, Chinese state
television showed pictures of
People's Liberation Army marines
in hovercraft storming the beach of
a Chinese-occupied islet supported
by armed helicopters.
A similar flotilla could set sail
ostensibly to undertake normal
combat training exercises. It could
achieve strategic surprise by
veering off suddenly and invading
Pag-asa. The Philippines would
An invasion of Pag-asa Island by
Chinese forces would certainly be a
tragic mistake for China
have little or no warning time to
prepare to its defense. The island
would probably be taken in a few
hours or less.
This scenario assumes that U.S.
intelligence and its associated
national technical means failed to
detect signs of China's
preparations in advance, thus
providing no warning time to take
action to deter China. China's
seizure of Pag-asa could be
expected to follow some signs of
deteriorating relations between
China and the Philippines or a
worsening security situation in the
region. These developments might
signal a change in China's intent.
This would normally trigger a
closer look at Chinese naval and air
activities by U.S. intelligence.
China's seizure of Pag-asa
Island would be an act of war.
Currently, the Armed Forces of the
Philippines would be unable to
mount any meaningful response.
Chinese destroyers and frigates
would provide air defense if the
Philippines scrambled jet fighters
from the nearest air base on
Palawan Island, over 480 km
distant. The Philippine Navy would
be woefully outgunned.
u
Page 14
January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 14
Filipino groups
in NY-NJ ...
From page 9
potentially eligible for TPS can
help soften the harsh economic
impact of the recent typhoon.”
Cris Hilo, co-coordinator of
Taskforce Haiyan-Northeast, cited
a precedent, the TPS granted to
Haiti after a devastating
earthquake hit the country in
2010. "The granting of TPS for
Haitians is an example of how TPS
is in fact an important form of
relief,” she said. “TPS for Filipinos
in the US will help to stabilize the
situation of Filipinos who have
been displaced, who need to
provide for, and reunite with their
loved ones affected by the
typhoon."
TPS would also allow Filipinos
who normally cannot leave the
United States to apply for travel
authorization and fly to the
Philippines to be with family, help
locate missing kin and help
rebuild livelihood and
communities.
Fr. Longalong said that during
What if China ...
From page 13
The Philippines would
immediately seek consultations
with the United States under
their Mutual Defense Treaty to
work out a response.
The political fallout from
seizing Pag-asa would be a huge
set back for Chinese diplomacy.
ASEAN would likely adopt an
uncompromising political
position and demand the
immediate withdrawal of
Chinese forces. ASEAN would
receive political backing from
the international community.
Chinese aggression could even
be raised at the United Nation,;
but China would veto any
discussion by the Security
Council.
“Trapos” ...
From page 10
an opportunity to exercise “moral
ascendancy,” by telling her 35year-old younger brother to
respect the privacy of the village.
I'm sure she would have earned
plaudits, not scorn.
And even the call of Mayor's
father, Vice President Jejomar
Binay, telling the village security
officers to give his son “courtesy”
after the incident became public
was not very sobering either.
I am sure this issue will not go
away when Vice President Binay
would make a run in 2016 for the
office of President Aquino, whose
first order of business was to rid
the country of “wang-wang.” Vice
President Binay really owes the
three security officers an apology
for not recognizing their good
deeds as they stood their ground.
The more a U.S. President is
re-elected, the more he is
humble
I remember a quote from
President Obama after he was reelected although not an exact one:
“The more a President of the U.S.
is re-elected, the more he
one of the Simbang Gabi Masses
he celebrated in Woodside,
Queens, he met a Filipino who had
just gotten word that a few of his
relatives had drowned during the
typhoon while a few more were
missing.
“He didn't know what to do
because he couldn't leave the
country because of his
immigration status. He had not
seen his family in over ten years,”
he said.
Filipinos in other cities have
also started their own drives to
persuade the DHS to grant the TPS
designation. Linda Oalican, overall
coordinator of Damayan Migrant
Workers Association, said several
organizations, led by the National
Domestic Workers Alliance,
Pilipino Workers Center of Los
A n g e l e s a n d D a m aya n a re
scheduled to meet with DHS
officials in Washington, D.C. on
January 23.
But whether the DHS will
accede to the TPS request remains
to be seen. “It's hard to say,” lawyer
Cristina Godinez, chairperson of
The Stand Up for Immigrants of
the Migrant Center at CSFA, said.
“On one hand, you have Haiti
China's actions in seizing
Pag-asa Island would set off a
race by claimant states to beef
up the defense of their islands.
This would likely include
increased combat air patrols,
anti-shipping exercises, and the
deployment of conventional
submarines. Several of the
larger islands could be expected
to house anti-ship cruise
missiles.
I t i s re g re t t a b l e t h a t
Qianzhan's conflict scenario,
like so much commentary
churned out by retired Chinese
military officers and
ultranationalists, does not go
beyond the bravado of
acclaiming a swift Chinese
victory to consider the costs of
such action to China's
international standing, damage
to its economy, and the risks of
becomes humble.”
If Mr. Binay is just a Vice
President and he cannot be
humble to security guards and
ordinary voters, whom President
Aquino calls “my boss,” how much
more if he becomes President?
In the case of Davao City
Mayor Duterte, if he has become
jaded and disillusioned with the
brazenness of some of his
constituents, who would resort to
stealing rice at the expense of the
poor farmers, causing him to
publicly declare, “I will kill you,”
referring to the smuggler, has a
forgotten it that as a lawyer and
elected public official, he swore to
uphold the law when he was
installed as mayor?
One of these laws that he had
to uphold was the opportunity to
provide a criminal suspect with a
lawyer of his choice as part of his
civil and human rights, not a
bullet!
I f h e re a l ly wa n t s t h e
smuggler's blood, he should first
advocate for reinstatement of the
death penalty that has long been
abolished.
And if he really wants to catch
the smuggler and other criminals
in his jurisdiction, he should hire
good, human-rights sensitive
that was given TPS ten days after
2010 earthquake. On the other
hand, you have Guatemala and
Pakistan, both hit by natural
disasters also in 2010, but are still
awaiting their TPS until now,”
Godinez said.
Aside from the Migrant Center
at CSFA and the Filipino Diocesan
Apostolate of the Diocese of
Brooklyn, among those
represented at the meeting last
week were AnakBayan New
Jersey, AnakBayan New York,
Bayan USA, Damayan Migrant
Workers Association, Filipino
American Legal Defense and
Ed u c a t i o n Fu n d ( FA L D E F ) ,
Gabriela
N e w Yo r k ,
ImmigraNation.com, National
Alliance for Filipino American
Concerns (NAFCon), New York
Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG),
Scalabrinian Center, Task Force
Haiyan and Philippine Forum.
(Noel T. Pangilinan is the editor of
ImmigraNation.com, an online
publication advocating for
immigrant rights in the U.S. He is
also a member of the Coordinating
C o m m i t t e e o f T P S Fo r t h e
Philippines Now.)
escalating military conflict.
Many other Chinese writers
and analysts argue in support of
China's peaceful rise and
support President Xi Jinping's
initiative for a China-ASEAN
Treaty of Good Neighborliness,
Friendship and Cooperation.
These writers and analysts
should criticize the hawkish
views by retired military
commentators and
ultranationalist writers for
being counterproductive to
China's longer-term interests.
The Philippines is to be
congratulated for not rising to
the bait. Official spokesmen
declined to comment on an
article they claimed was
unofficial and unverified.
Chinese media have already
denied the veracity of the
report.
detectives from good criminology
s c h o o l s , wh o a re g o o d a t
gathering forensic evidence to
nail down the criminals. He can
e ve n s e n d s o m e o f t h e s e
detectives overseas to learn new
investigative techniques that
would forestall false arrest. Or he
can invite good investigators from
overseas to teach his
investigators ways to solve even
very cold crime cases.
And of course, Mr. Duterte has
to provide state-of-the-art
equipment to the police, which
can easily detect discrepancies in
fingerprints, DNA's, photos,
biometrics, etc. that can isolate
false evidence from the real
McCoy.
I k n o w M ayo r D u t e r t e
appears to be an advocate of
“negative utilitarianism,” which is
a reduction of suffering (for the
disadvantaged) to be more
valuable than increased pleasure
(for the affluent or luxurious) or
the “end-justify-the-means”
variety. But the last I heard, the
Philippines is still very much
adherent of the deontological
ethics that judges the morality of
an action based on the action's
adherence to a rule or rules.
(lariosa_jos@sbcglobal.net)
Tomorrow ...
From page 10
Coastal passages from
Singapore, through Malaysia, to
Japan, Russia and North America
ferry over $1.2 trillion in goods
annually. The region's seabeds
contain 5.4 billion barrels of oil and
55.1 trillion cubic meters of natural
gas, US estimates say. That's about 80
percent of Saudi Arabia's reserves.
Nothing firm about the reported oil
fields in Aloguinsan, Cebu, the
Department of Energy says.
A steep rise in shale oil reserves
will make the United States a net
exporter, instead of the world's
leading importer. The United States
may overtake Russia, as the world's
biggest gas producer by 2015. It
would become “all but selfsufficient” in energy needs by 2035.
Reliance on oil from Middle East
exporters is ending, the
International Energy Agency
reports. This will change the global
balance of power.
China is the world's biggest
energy consumer. It imports 60
percent of its crude. Bulk of the 10.5
million to 11 million barrels of oil
that China burns daily comes from
the Middle East. Tankers sail through
the Strait of Malacca “choke point”
between Malaysia and Indonesia, en
route to China.
China has the world's largest
wind power base. It invests in and
imports via pipelines from Central
Asia, Russia and the new pipeline
route from the Indian Ocean through
Burma (Myanmar).
China National Offshore Oil Corp.
has invited foreign oil companies to
offer bids to explore potential blocks
off the coast of Vietnam. And Beijing
has increasingly used nonmilitary
boats to make its points. Last month,
it declared it would expand the fleet
of fishing vessels it will be sending to
disputed regions.
Overlapping territorial claims to
sovereignty and maritime
boundaries are normally resolved
through (a) a combination of
customary international law, (b)
adjudication before the
International Court of Justice or
International Tribunal for Law of the
Sea, (c) arbitration under Annex VII
of the United Nations Convention on
the Law of the Sea (Unclos). The
Philippines has chosen the
arbitration option.
China has ratified Unclos, writes
Mohan Malik, a professor in Asian
security at Asia-Pacific Center for
Security Studies, in Honolulu. The
treaty, by and large, rejects
“historically based” claims precisely the type which Beijing
periodically asserts.
The Unclos agreement rejects
justification by historical right.
“China has, historically speaking,
about as much right to claim the
South China Sea as Mexico has the
right to claim the Gulf of Mexico for
its exclusive use, or Iran the Persian
Gulf, or India the Indian Ocean.”
Significantly, “in its territorial
disputes with India, Burma, and
Vietnam, Beijing took the position
that its land boundaries were never
defined, demarcated and delimited.
But now, when it comes to islands,
shoals and reefs in the South China
Sea, Beijing claims otherwise.”
“Power grows out of the barrel of
a gun,” Mao Zedong wrote. China's
claim is backed by its growing armed
forces and navy.
Freedom of navigation and
control over South China Sea
shipping lanes will be among the
major global political issues of the
21st century, the New York Times
points out in “A game of shark and
minnow.” Thus, the US “pivot” to this
region includes altering the roughly
50-50 balance of naval forces
between the Pacific and the Atlantic.
That would become 60-40 by 2020.
“Europe is a landscape; East Asia,
a seascape,” Robert Kaplan wrote in
Foreign Policy. “Therein lies a crucial
difference between the 20th and
21st centuries…. The spaces
between major population centers
are overwhelmingly maritime. The
physical contours of East Asia augur
a naval century.”
China's land borders are more
secure than at any time since the
18th-century Qing dynasty. China is
psychologically bent to erase two
centuries of foreign transgressions
on its territory forcing every country
around it to react, Kaplan noted.
East Asia, or more precisely the
Western Pacific, which is quickly
becoming the world's new center of
n a v a l a c t i v i t y, p r e s a g e s a
fundamentally different dynamic.
Kaplan adds: “South China Sea is the
future of conflict.”
For Southeast Asian countries,
tomorrow arrived yesterday.
(E-mail: juan_mercado77@yahoo.com)
January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 15
Dr. Edgar and Mary Jane Lerias - PAFCOM 2014 Grand Marshals
Dr. Edgar and Mary Jane Lerias
PAFCOM 2014 Grand Marshals
Jersey City, NJ -- With great
pleasure, the Philippine-American
Friendship Committee, Inc.
( PA F C O M ) a n n o u n c e s t h e
selection of Dr. Edgar and Mrs.
Mary Jane Lerias as its Grand
Marshals for 2014.
Dr. Edgar Lerias is a longstanding community leader and
practicing physician. He was born
in Davao City, Philippines and
received a Medical Doctor Degree
from Southwestern University
College of Medicine in the
Philippines in 1980.
He migrated to the United
States in 1981, and worked as a
house physician in Union Hospital
in Bronx, NY. He received a
pediatric internship at Long Island
Jewish Medical Center, and then
completed his residency at Nassau
County Medical Center. Dr. Lerias
c o m p l e te d a fe l l o ws h i p i n
Ambulatory Pediatrics at
Winthrop University Hospital. He
is a diplomate of the American
Board of Pediatrics.
Currently, Dr. Lerias has two
Pediatric offices in Farmingdale
and Deer Park, NY. He is also a
Pediatric Attending and
Consultant at St. Francis Hospital
Heart Center.
He is married to Mary Jane
Lerias, another community leader,
and currently First Vice President
o f S te rl i n g N a t i o n a l B a n k ,
managing the multi-million dollar
Global Trade Finance Department.
She was the past President of
Auxiliary to the Philippine Medical
Association in America and
Northern Mindanao Association.
The couple is blessed with
three beautiful children: Brandon,
who completed his biology degree
at Boston University, Nicholas a
pediatric resident at Good
Samaritan Hospital, and Tara, who
completed her communications
bachelor's degree at Colorado
University at Boulder last year.
Dr. Lerias and his wife have a
long history of community service
a n d c h a r i t y wo r k . H e h a s
coordinated medical missions in
Cebu City in 2013, and Vigan Ilocos
Sur earlier this year. He also
coordinated medical missions in
remote areas in Mindanao,
partnering with local
governments. He pioneered a
program for indigent patients
from the Philippines to come to the
United States for congenital heart
defect repairs through the Gift of
Life Program of the Rotary Club of
New York.
Some of the beneficiaries of Dr.
and Mrs. Lerias' charity work were
4 burnt victims from different
islands in the Philippines, who
were brought to the United States
and treated for reconstructive
surgeries at Hilton Head, South
Carolina - a joint effort with Hilton
Head Rotary.
The couple also financially
support scholars in the
Philippines and send medicines
and equipments to various local
hospitals in the Philippines
Dr. Lerias is a member of the
American Pediatric Society;
member of the Board of Directors
for the Home Reach Foundation;
past President of the Philippine
Medical Association in America;
past President of the Philippine
Physicians of New York, past
P re s i d e n t o f t h e N o r t h e r n
Mindanao Association of Eastern
Seaboard; and past President of
the Fil-Am Golfer's Association.
PAFCOM Grand Marshals. From left: Lito A. Gajilan Jr. 1991 and the
founder of PAFCOM, Gerry Austria 2008, Cora Reyes 2013, Mary Jane
and Dr. Edgar Lerias 2014, Atty. Victor Sison 2012
ABOUT PAFCOM
Established in 1990, the Philippine-American Friendship
Committee, Inc. Is a tax-exempt, non-profit organization comprised of
Filipino-American community leaders from the tri-state area (New
York, New Jersey and Connecticut).
The aims of the founders of PAFCOM are: (1) to enhance a better
understanding of the Filipino culture and activities and be of service
to the community and the general public in order to gain for
themselves that recognition due them as an ethnic group in the United
States of America and (2) to enhance the integration of Filipinos into
mainstream America by engaging in socio-cultural, charitable and
educational undertakings.
PAFCOM's dedication to serve the community continues to attract
a diverse crowd of spectators and participants to its festivities each
year. The annual parade and festival, held in the month of June, is an
opportunity to share and showcase Philippine culture to mainstream
America, through decorated floats, folk dances, arts and exhibits,
assortment of native dishes, indigenous and modern music, and
performances of Filipino American talents. A crowd of up to 30,000
people gather and celebrate the annual Philippine-American
Friendship Day celebration.
January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 16
January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 17
EXPRESSWEEK
January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 18
LADIES FOR RIZAL HOLD
“MI ULTIMO ADIOS”
DECLAMATION FINALS
Jersey City, NJ -- On a very foggy
Saturday morning, young contestants
and their families came together at Jersey
City's Council Chamber to compete at the
Ladies for Rizal New Jersey Chapter's
Declamation Contest. Finalists were
tasked to deliver their best recitation of
My Last Farewell (Mi Ultimo Adios), a
poem written by Philippine national hero
Dr. José Rizal on the eve of his execution
on December 30, 1896 and one of the last
notes he wrote before his death.
At the end of very heart-felt and
spirited performances, Jonathan Mijares
of Ocean Township Intermediate School
was declared as the First Prize winner,
who received $300 and a trophy and
certificate. Second prize went to
Federico Burke of Jersey City's Saint
Peter's Prep, who received $200, plus
trophy and certificate. Third Prize went
to Angelo Laurel of St. Clare School in
Clifton, NJ, who received $100, plus a
trophy and certificate.
“We congratulate and are proud of all
the contestants,” said Lady Eloisa Porto,
President of the Ladies for Rizal, New
Jersey Chapter. “Our youth are our future
and we hope that they can reflect and
take something relevant out of Dr. Rizal's
life and writings to apply to their own
lives today.”
Lady Veronica Lavarro, wife of and
representing Jersey City Council
President Rolando Lavarro, also offered
brief remarks. “We applaud our
contestants for their hard work, for their
pursuit of excellence, and willingness to
stand in front of all of us. We should
continue to support their talents,
creativity, ingenuity, and passion. They
are our future.”
Judges for the competition were Sir
Francis D. Sison, KGOR, the Deputy
Regional Commander, Order of the
Knights of Rizal (KOR) USA; Sir Atty.
Victor Sison, KCR, Deputy Chapter
Commander, KOR-NJ; and Mrs. Adelina
Bernardo, a retired Teacher of Public
School of New York and Vice President of
the Association of Cultural & Educational
Services (ACES).
The winners with LFR officers. From left: Lady Belen Castillo, Lady Rose Aquino,
Angelo Laurel (3rd place), Federico Burke (2nd place), Jonathan Mijares (1st
place), Lady Eloisa Porto, Lady Rose Javier and Lady Dr. Vicky Rey
The judges. From left: Mrs. Adelina Bernardo, Sir Francis D. Sison, KGOR and Sir
Atty. Victor G. Sison, KCR
Sponsors of the event include Mrs.
PAT BERBERABE, SIR LITO GAJILAN, JR.,
KGOR (RTA Travel/Filipino Express),
LADY DR. DOLLY RIVERA (PIDCI 2013
Grand Marshal), MR. GLENN CASTILLO
(Income for Life & Safe Wealth Planning),
SIR OSCAR FERNANDO, KCR (Oscar
Printing Banners & Trophies, LLC), MR. &
MRS. SERGS & LYDIA ARO, and MR. &
M RS . J O S E F I TO & W I L H E L M I NA
MAGYAWE.
The winners with the parents, judges, officers and members of the Ladies for
Rizal NJ Chapter and Knights of Rizal NJ Chapter
The officers and members of the Santo
Niño Prayer Group of St. Aedans Parish
Church, Jersey City would like to thank all
those who participated in the celebration
of the feast of Santo Niño.
Knights of Rizal Bergenfield, NJ Chapter Induction
God bless you for the inspiring words of wisdom during our induction last January 4, 2014. God
was in control, everything that happened in the past that almost destroyed our friendship had
been resolved and forgiven each other after sharing our sentiments and recalling what
happened. We all decided that we must not look back, instead, we all agreed to continue
working for our Bergenfield Chapter. Past Chapter Commanders Sir Bob Rivas, Sir Romy
Abenoja, Sir Buddy Deauna including our guests, Sir Gani Puertollano (KOR Union, NJ
Chapter Commander) and Sir Lito A. Gajilan Jr., KGOR (Area Commander Eastern USA-1)
with 5 trustees and my Deputy Chapter Commander Sir Rene Palma.
- Sir Gaudy Soriano, KCR
Commander, KOR Bergenfield, NJ Chapter
The officers and members of the Santo Niño Prayer Group with
Msgr. Jerry Rebanal (4th from left) and Rev. Fr. Vincent Sullivan,
SJ (5th from left)
Officers: Pres.- Angel Rue, Sr., Vice Pres.- Sally Carungay & Zeny
De Guzman, Sec. - Delia Faustino, Auditor - Norma Lazaro, PRO Fe Ramirez
MAGAZINE
January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 19
Paco Cemetery, the Killing Fields: From
anonymous burial to national monument
By Carlos A. Arnaldo, KGOR
Deputy Supreme Exchequer, Knights of Rizal
When Rizal died from the bullets of
martyrdom fired by the Guardia Civil on
December 30, 1896, his body was hastily
removed from the plains facing Manila Bay and
literally dumped in an open hole in what was
then and still today, Paco Cemetery. It was an
unmarked grave. He had no hero's welcome no
accolade. The body remained there, clothes,
shoes and all until his younger sister, Narcisa,
found out that his remains were hastily buried
there after he was executed.
a.m. Again, an attempt to quell veneration or
resuscitation of anti-Hispanic sentiments.
Doble cara!
Meanwhile on a global level, Spain and the
United States of America had concluded their
war by signing the Treaty of Paris on
December 10, 1898. By this controversial
covenant, Spain ceded the Philippines to the
US for a compensation of $20 million. But US
naval ships under Commodore Dewey had
already defeated the Spanish armada in Manila
Bay on May 1, 1898. The Philippine islands
were already under US military rule, later to be
followed by formal implementation of the
Treaty of Paris. In August 1898, Rizal's sister
Narcisa asked permission of the new
authorities to exhume the remains of Rizal.
Permission was granted. When the body was
exhumed, it was discovered that Rizal's body
had not even been placed in a coffin. The shoes
were identified, but whatever had been inside
them had already disintegrated. The remains
were washed and prepared for proper reinterment at the Paco Cemetery. The sepulchre
was now well-tended.
We are not always aware of it, but many parks and memorials were actually
killing fields, graves of persons executed of because of their political or religious
views. Luneta is one, Paco Cemetery is another.
Asuncion continues her story:
She had gone to all the cemeteries of Manila
looking for the remains of Rizal in vain. On the
way back, through the open gate of the Paco
Cemetery, she saw some soldiers of the
guardia civil. This gave her a hint. She entered
the cemetery and after much searching found a
freshly dug grave covered with earth. She gave
the gravedigger some money and placed a
plaque with the initials of her brother in
reverse, R.P.J. -- Rizal, Protacio Jose.[1]
Originally built in the late 18th century as a
burial place for favored families of Intramuros,
Paco Cemetery was completed in 1822 and
also used for the burial of cholera victims.
Aside from the national hero, Jose Rizal, the
three martyr priests, Jose Mariano Gomez, Jose
Apolonio Burgos and Jacinto Zamora were also
buried therean ironic coincidence of history!
Rizal's second social novel, El Filibusterismo
was dedicated to the martyrdom of these three
Filipino priests. The earlier martyrs were also
the driving force behind Jose's own sense of
nationalism and his brother's, Paciano's strong
support. Here in Paco Cemetery, they were
together.
The Spanish administration purposely hid the
body of Rizal to prevent any veneration of the
martyr as a hero, thus pre-empting his renown
as the national hero. He was executed as a
traitor, and a traitor's burial he would have.
Had he been pardoned by the Spanish colonial
government, his two social novels and his
whole life would have had no meaning, he
would be neither reformist nor revolutionary.
At best he might be recognized as a tinkerer of
maverick philosophical theories. But, on the
contrary and ironically so, his execution by the
guardia civil reinforced his role as reformist
and revolutionary, and as midwife of the birth
of nationhood in his fellow Filipinos.
But at his death, there were no honors for
Rizal, no recognition of his martyrdom as a
hero, no funeral ceremonies. On the 11th day
after his death, the family was informed that
early the next day a Mass was to be said for the
eternal repose of his soul. A strange invitation,
since his judgment as a mason would have
been equivalent to excommunication and
denial of a Christian burial. Rizal's family,
nonetheless, arrived at 6:00 a.m., but after
waiting for two hours, they were informed that
the Mass had already been celebrated at 5:00
"The remains were taken to my Lola Sisa's
house, where Higino Francisco and Romualdo
Teodoro de Jesus themselves reverently
washed the bones. They were later placed in
an ivory urn carved by De Jesus. This urn was
venerated in frequent public ceremonies
during the 1900s, when Rizal began to be
honored as the National Hero of the
Philippines.”
"In 1912, the foundations were laid for a
monument at the Luneta that would also serve
as the final tomb for the hero's mortal remains.
On December 29, 1912, the urn containing the
remains was borne in solemn procession from
the family's house to the Ayuntamiento, that
fine Marble Hall that had been a symbol of
Spanish sovereignty in the Philippines.
[Teodora Alonso was laid in state in the same
location the previous year.] In the salon of the
Ayuntamiento, the urn was enshrined on a
magnificent catafalque surrounded by
innumerable floral wreaths, offerings of the
nation. Throughout that night, the Knights of
Rizal and other patriotic groups as well as the
public kept vigil round the catafalque."
"Next morning, December 30, 1912 -- sixteenth
anniversary of the martyrdom -- the urn was
borne to the Luneta on an artillery caisson
drawn by six horses. Thousands joined the
procession and thousands more lined the
streets. At the Luneta, the obsequies were led
by acting Governor-General Newton W. Gilbert
and the two ranking statesmen of the
Philippine Assembly, Sergio Osmefia and
Mariano Ponce, the latter one of Rizal's dearest
friends. Then the urn was deposited in the
center of the base over which would rise the
monument. . . .
“The monument they accomplished has
become a national landmark, the most visible
tribute of the nation to its greatest son.”[4]
[1] Asuncion Lopez Bantug, granddaughter of
Narcisa, the sister of Rizal, provides the most
complete and historically accurate details
concerning Rizal's exhumation in her classic
biography, Lolo Jose: An Intimate Portrait of Rizal,
second edition (Manila: Intramuros
Administration, 2008).
[2]Official Gazette, Act No. 243.
[3] Rommel R. Aquino “Bantayog: Facets of the
Rizal National Monument,” NCCA website,
January 04, 2011.
[4] Bantug, 165-169.
On September 28, 1901, the Philippine
Commission, an advisory and legislative
body under the authority of the US
President, enacted Act 243 'granting the
right to use public land upon the Luneta in
the city of Manila upon which to erect a
statue of Jose Rizal, from a fund to be raised
by public subscriptions, and prescribing as a
condition the method by which such
subscription shall be collected and
disbursed.'[2]
Under the same act, an international
competition was launched from 1905 to
1907 to design an appropriate monument to
honor Rizal. Many well-known sculptors
from around the world participated and
sent their entries, which included a scale
model and a sketch of the monument and a
site development plan. Among the 40
models exhibited at the Ayuntamiento's
Marble Hall (formerly known as the Casa
Consistorial), six were chosen by the
committee headed by then Governor James
Smith. These are: Motto Stella, Al Martir de
Bagumbayan, Noli Me Tangere Para Rizal,
1906, Victoria, F.F. and Maria Clara. The
prize-winning entry was entry 21, Al Martir
de Bagumbayan by Italian sculptor Carlo
Nicoli while entry 9, Motto Stella by Swiss
sculptor Richard Kissling was given the
second prize. Cash prizes of P5,000 and
P2,000 were awarded respectively. Nicoli's
entry was one of the first designs entered in
t h e c o m p e t i t i o n . T h e d e s i g n wa s
rectangular in shape with elegant details.
Lions and ornate lamp posts decorate its
corners. In the center rises a marble base
adorned with allegorical figures
representing Victory, Justice, Music and the
Fine Arts. A magnificent pedestal capped by
a statue of Rizal with an angel of Fame
hovering above his figure, dominates the
structure. The design of the Motto Stella,
according to Kissling, took into account the
numerous natural calamities that visit the
country. His design represents piles of rocks
as the base of an obelisk, at the foot of which
is the larger than life statue of Dr. Rizal
holding a book. The body of the monument
is made of ordinary, unburnished granite,
while its figures are in bronze. Some
interpret this model as a kind of beacon, a
shining light to sailors at sea, hence the
name Motto Stellae, as Luneta at that time
was poised on the shores of Manila Bay.
However, because of the inability of Nicoli to
post the 20,000 peso bond as a guarantee for
the completion of the design, Kissling's
bronze and unpolished granite sculpture
was the monument constructed.[3]
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 20
Aquino inaugurates
new power plant
By Genalyn Kabiling
Batangas City – The
government is looking to tap more
efficient energy resources to boost
the country's energy supply,
President Benigno S. Aquino III
said here yesterday as he led a time
capsule-laying ceremony for a
power plant fired by natural gas.
During the ceremony, the
President assured that there will
be no rotating power brownouts in
Luzon because of the stable power
supply.
The first phase of the San
Gabriel plant costing P650 million
with 414-megawatt (MW) capacity
is expected to be finished by the
t h i rd q u a r te r o f t h i s ye a r.
Construction of the second phase
will be completed by March, 2016,
w h i l e p h a s e t h re e w i l l b e
completed by 2018, together with
the construction of the Liquified
N a t u ra l G a s re c e iv i n g a n d
regasification facility. By 2019, San
Gabriel will deliver a full capacity
of 1,242 MW.
In his speech at the San Gabriel
power plant capsule-laying
ceremony in Barangay Sta. Rita,
President Aquino said the plant “is
expected not merely to meet the
demand but to surpass it.”
The President said the
government will seek a “safe
surplus of generating capacity”
after the recent calamity in the
Visayas forced it to review its
energy development plan.
Bollard: APEC addressing
changing growth patterns
Issued by the APEC Secretariat
NEW POWER PLANT IN BATANGAS. President Aquino (third from right) leads
the ceremonial laying of the time capsule of the San Gabriel Power Plant
Project in Barangay Sta. Rita, Batangas City, on Jan. 14, 2014. Assisting the
President are Oscar Lopez, Chairman Emeritus, Lopez Group of Companies;
Federico Lopez, Chairman and CEO, First Gen. Corp.; Batangas Governor
Vilma Santos; and Secretary of Energy Jericho Petilla. (Malacañang Photo
Bureau)
“The goal is not simply to meet
demand, but to surpass it. We
intend to have a safe surplus of
generating capacity. The effect of
t y p h o o n Yo l a n d a o n o u r
generation capacity in Visayas
should serve as a lesson,” the
President said in his speech.
The President said the typhoon
damaged major geothermal power
plants in Leyte, causing a “ripple
effect” that hampered recovery
efforts. With the worsening effects
of climate change, he said, “greater
measures” should be taken to
adapt, particularly in reinforcing
the country's power supply.
“The situation also calls on us
to reassess the sources of our
power and their effects on the
environment. In the coming years,
we will make a concerted effort to
use more efficient forms of energy
generation, and natural gas will
play a starring role in this,” he said.
Aquino said natural gas plants
emit only half as much carbon
u
Page 22
Power problem poses
risks to 2014 growth
AFP FILE PHOTO
By Michelle V. Remo
Economic Planning Secretary
Arsenio Balisacan has
acknowledged that the power
situation has become a key concern
for the government saying this
could pose risks to the attainment
of the country's growth targets.
Balisacan said the
government's 2014 economic
growth target of 6.5 to 7.5 percent
did not take into account the
potential effects of problems
related to the country's power
supply.
“Obviously, the power problem
will have an implication on inflation
and growth of the economy [if left
unresolved],” Balisacan told the
Inquirer.
He said concerned officials
were gathering proposals on how to
address a potential power crisis,
adding that President Aquino
himself raised the importance of
the matter during a recent meeting
with his economic team. “We
cannot say at this point what
actions would be taken, but we are
studying the issue very closely,”
Balisacan added. There is a
proposal in the legislature to give
President Aquino an emergency
power to address the problem in an
immediate manner.
Balisacan said, however, that
the specific proposal so far has not
been discussed by the
administration's economic
managers. The Palace also has not
consulted the economic team about
the merits of an emergency power.
An emergency power will allow
the President to implement an
easier and shorter process of
inviting potential investors to do
business in the country's power
sector.
Threats of a power crisis have
been raised given the significantly
rising demand for electricity that
accompanies a robustly expanding
economy. Last year, the economy
grew faster than anticipated,
resulting in an unexpected spike in
demand for electricity.
The Philippines became one of
the fastest-growing economies in
Asia, expanding by 6.8 percent in
Hong Kong, China, 13 Jan
2014 -- “We are now seeing a shift
toward domestic demand-driven
growth and an increase in
services trade as opposed to
predominantly trade-driven
growth that focused on
manufactured and processed
goods that occurred in region over
the last three decades,” explained
Dr Alan Bollard when he delivered
a keynote speech in Hong Kong,
China on Monday.
Dr Bollard, the APEC
Secretariat's Executive Director,
made this assessment when
delivering remarks on the
changing patterns of trade and
investment influencing growth in
the Asia-Pacific and the way trade
moves across economies through
new initiatives at the border and
across the border at the Asian
Financial Forum where he
addressed members of the global
financial and business
community.
T h e se c h a n g i n g g row t h
patterns, coupled with the
increasingly complex way goods
and services move across borders,
from e-commerce to value-added
supply chains, are impacting the
economic environment and the
way APEC addresses cross-border
trade.
“Most production used to be
“made-here/sold-there” and was
vertically integrated within large
firms,” said Dr Bollard. “Rules of
origin and value-added were
simple concepts.”
“But today, we are seeing an
increase in intermediate goods,
intra-industry trade and supply
c h a i n s , w h i c h u s e b o rd e r
transactions more aggressively
u
Page 22
2010 and by an average of 7.4
percent in the first three quarters of
2013. Unless bottlenecks in power
supply are addressed, economists
said the country could face costly
power shortages.
Balisacan said that addressing
the power situation was necessary
given the dire need to sustain a
robust economic growth.
Under the updated Philippine
Development Plan (PDP) through
2016, which is expected to be
released this month, the
government will bank on the
manufacturing sector, along with a
few others, to help realize the
poverty-reduction agenda.
Economists said the
Philippines' economic growth was
not inclusive in that this was driven
mainly by rising incomes of the
middle class and the rich. They said
the robust economic growth was
meaningless for the poor as the
poverty rates remained high at 25.2
percent in 2012.
Economists said the Philippines
needed to sustain a robust growth
of its manufacturing sector and the
overall economy over the long term
in order to help economic growth
translate to a significant reduction
in poverty. Inquirer.net
UK firms se en
flocking to PH;
trade missions set
By Amy R. Remo
More British firms are
expected to flock to the country
this year to tap new
opportunities and firm up
investments in the Philippines,
which has been identified by
the UK Trade and Investment
(UKTI) in Manila as one of the
world's “high growth markets.”
In an interview with the
Inquirer, UKTI director Iain
Mansfield explained that
companies that participated in
previous trade and investment
missions were either already in
the Philippines or are firming
up partnership agreements
with local firms.
Meanwhile, 10 to 12 trade
and investment missions from
the United Kingdom are
expected to come to the
country this year, up from the
six missions in 2013.
“The Philippines is a high
growth market. It posted the
highest growth in the Asean
(Association of Southeast
Asian Nations) last year. With
growth slowing down in other
countries and picking up in the
Philippines, some of the British
firms based in Singapore, for
example, are thinking that it's
time to start doing business in
the Philippines as well,”
Mansfield explained.
C o m p a n i e s t h a t h ave
firmed up investments and
agreements with local firms
include Citra, which
manufactures advanced
sensing equipment for use in
the oil and gas and
hydroelectric sectors.
Another British firm
interested in the Philippines is
JCB, which manufactures heavy
equipment for construction
and demolition.
“There are other
companies - those in the
energy sector and the medical
fieldthat are currently in the
final stages of concluding
agreements or finding local
partners. We think in the next
month or two, we'll have a few
more successes coming out of
t h o s e t r a d e m i s s i o n s ,”
Mansfield said. Inquirer.net
January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 21
Trademark Filipino hospitality
boosts tourism - Le Luong Minh
By Bernie Magkilat
ASEAN Secretary General Le
Luong Minh said the trademark
Filipino hospitality will propel the
Philippines' tourism recovery
efforts as he rallied ASEAN
member countries to make their
presence count by visiting the
country.
“The trademark Filipino
hospitality can never be erased by
any calamity,” said Minh, who
visited damaged areas in the
Philippines last year to witness
the distribution of ASEAN aid.
“The vast majority of the
country has been spared from the
destruction,” said the Secretary
General. “I would therefore like to
urge you to visit the Philippines,
enjoy yourselves, and show your
support for the brave people who
are rebuilding their lives. The
beauty and charm of the
Philippines is something you
should not miss. Now is the time
to visit the Philippines and make
your presence count.”
In a statement, Minh cited the
Philippines for being always a
gem in the tourism sector in
ASEAN.
After consultation with
Philippine authorities, ASEAN
says that the best way to help the
Philippines is to continue with
ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh
leisure, business, and meetings
travel to the Philippines as
normal.
Minh noted that while the
country was still reeling from the
impact of Haiyan, the Philippines'
Department of Tourism (DOT)
and its Tourism Promotion Board
(TPB) have launched a series of
tours called Bangon Tours where
5% of net income from the trips
will be allocated to NGOs
supporting Haiyan relief and
rebuilding efforts. The Bangon
Tours slogan is, “Your Vacation
Means a Lot.”
“It is an invitation to travel
within the Philippines during the
holiday period, visit our fun
destinations and participate in
re b u i l d i n g e f fo r t s ,” a T P B
statement said.
The vast majority of tourism
destinations have been unaffected
by Haiyan, reported DOT
Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez Jr.
He told the Manila Bulletin
that “the affected areas did not
happen to be touristic areas,
except Coron.” He reported that
destinations such as Puerto
Princess (Palawan), Bohol and
Manila were not meaningfully
impacted.
“Nothing really happened to
Manila so we are going to recover
very rapidly, even from Yolanda
from a touristic standpoint. When
you count Bohol, the prime
tourism offerings have not been
affected,” said Jimenez.
Jimenez added: “We thank
ASEAN Secretary-General Le
Luong Minh for rallying member
countries and the world to visit
and to regain confidence in our
country as a safe and enjoyable
destination.”
As of 10 January 2014, ASEAN
and the Philippine authorities
report that all airports and
airlines are operating normally.
As are the popular tourism
resorts.
Both ASEAN and the
Philippine tourism authorities
recommend that tourists and
business travellers check the
latest official travel advisories and
travel agents' advice before
travelling.
Investments in Bataan
Freeport grow four-fold
to P2.1 Billion
Foreign direct investments
into the Freeport Area of Bataan
(FAB) has grown four folds to
P2.1 billion in 2013 from only
P390.6 million in 2012, making
it the new freeport of choice
among expanding foreign
companies and the fastest
growing economic zone in the
country.
Based on its report, the
Authority of the Freeport Area of
B a t a a n ( A FA B ) h a s o n l y
attracted a measly P86 million in
FDIs in 2011. More investments
are expected this year, AFAB said
in its report.
With a robust 437.6 percent
increase in FDI inflow, the
Freeport now provides
employment to 16,724 people
once the 46 locators have gone
into full commercial operations.
Last year, the Freeport tallied
14,315 jobs and 12,010 in 2011.
In terms of nationalities, there
are 51 foreign investors led by
Japanese, Chinese and Koreans.
Locators at the freeport,
which is closely situated with
the Subic Bay Freeport, are
engaged in manufacturing
o p e ra t i o n s , B P O, e n e r g y,
tourism and agri-industry.
There are now a total of 70
existing locators within its
sprawling 1,700 hectare
industrial area mostly engaged
in manufacturing operations.
FA B o f f e r s a l o t o f
advantages to investors. It is
only less than an hour away from
Manila and host to numerous
logistics advantages, including
international airports, seaport,
and entertainment
establishments, the barging
operations will surely
promote/generate businesses
in both side of the Manila Bay.
It offers fiscal incentives
such as income tax holiday or
100% exemption from
corporate income tax and five
percent tax on gross income and
exemption from all national and
local taxes upon expiry of the
income tax holiday.
Investors are also tax and
duty free importation of raw
materials, capital equipment,
machineries and spare parts,
exemption from wharfage dues
and export tax, impost or fees,
exemption from payment of any
and all local government
imposts, fees, licenses or taxes.
AFAB is a government
owned and controlled
corporation that was created by
virtue of Republic Act 9728 or
the “FAB Act of 2009.” The
Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB) is
located in Mariveles, Bataan and
it is strategically located
between the Manila Bay and the
South China Sea. The FAB used
to be the former Bataan Export
Processing Zone, the first
economic zone in the
Philippines.
Its vision is to be the
Freeport of choice in the country
by 2020, becoming a center of
trade, innovation and
sustainable development in
Asia. The FAB shall be a beacon
for other emerging economic
centers in the use of nextgeneration technologies and
practices that will define the
new model for the Global
Freeport. Manila Bulletin
AFP file photo
Standard Chartered: OFW
remittances to increase
by 8.5 percent in 2014
By Doris C. Dumlao
MANILA -- Overseas
remittance flows to the
Philippines will likely expand at a
faster pace of 8 to 8.5 percent in
2014 on improved global growth
prospects and post-supertyphoon
“ Yo l a n d a” ( H a iya n )
reconstruction, according to the
British bank Standard Chartered.
In a research note dated
January 13 written by analysts Jeff
Ng and Robert Minikin, remittance
flows in 2014 were said to grow by
2 to 2.5 percentage points over the
6 percent average growth in the
first 10 months of 2013. This in
turn has been seen to support a 6.7
percent gross domestic product
(GDP) growth for the Philippines
this year.
Stanchart expects the
country's GDP to return to the 7percent growth pace by 2015
before easing to 6 percent in 2016.
Remittance flows have been
projected to boost domestic
spending and the country's
current account but Stanchart
sees a muted impact on foreign
exchange. The research note said
benign global financial market
conditions should lay the basis for
a modest Philippine peso rebound
later this year, with the peso seen
ending 2014 at 43 against the US
dollar.
The bank expects the peso to
climb to 42 against the US dollar
next year and further to 38.75:$1
by 2016. Stanchart said the faster
growth in remittances would be
supported by a faster global
expansion of 3.5 percent this in
2014 from 2.7 percent in 2013.
The British bank said the
Philippines would thus likely
benefit from increased remittance
inflows from two of its major
sources the US and Europe.
Coco oil exports up 32%
By Ronnel W. Domingo
Coconut oil (CNO) exports
last year surpassed the target as
expected, jumping by 32 percent
to 1.12 million metric tons in
copra terms, according to the
United Coconut Associations of
the Philippines.
Preliminary data from UCAP
show that outbound shipments
of CNO increased from 852,234
MT in 2012 despite Typhoon
“Pablo” which ravaged coconut
farms in parts of Mindanao in
December of that year.
UCAP executive director
Yvonne Agustin told reporters
that first-semester exports
drove the surge in volume.
Another factor is the delay in the
implementation of an increase
in the mandated blend of coco
methyl esther (CME) and diesel.
Currently, the requirement
is for a CME-diesel blend of at
least 2 percent. The National
Biofuels Board is still
considering a proposal to raise
the mandated blend to a
minimum of 5 percent CME
content, also called B5.
'Yolanda' impact on
output to be felt over
next 4 years
Agustin earlier said that
with the use of B5 coming much
later than UCAP expected, CNO
stocks would be made available
for the overseas market instead
of being used domestically for
blending with diesel.
The industry's target was
initially set at 900,000 MT,
which was eventually raised to
1.1 million MT following a
strong showing in the first half.
According to the Bureau of
Agricultural Statistics, coconut
oil remained the sector's top
dollar earner with $538.3
million in the six months to June
last year. However, in terms of
value, coconut oil showed the
weakest growth for the period at
just 0.3 percent.
From January to November,
the rise in coconut oil shipments
hit 37 percent, reaching 1.03 MT.
Inquirer.net
January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 22
Palace vows to further improve
PH eyes duty-free access into the US of investment
climate in PH
products from Yolanda-affected areas
By Nestor Corrales
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The
Philippines would like to seek dutyfree access into the United States of
certain products produced from
areas hit by Typhoon Haiyan last
year as part of the government's
efforts to spur the recovery and
rehabilitation of the affected
communities.
Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr.
announced the plan in his remarks
at a conference at the Center for
Strategic and International Studies
(CSIS) on the role of the United
States government and military, the
private sector and non-government
organizations in responding to the
devastation.
“Similar to what the United
States did following the Haiti
earthquake, the Philippines is
looking at possible trade preference
for products from Haiyan-affected
areas,” Ambassador Cuisia said.
He said the Philippines is
looking at arrangements that will
allow duty-free access for a limited
period of time for a limited number
of products coming from the
affected areas, mostly in the Central
Visayas.
In his presentation,
Ambassador Cuisia again expressed
his appreciation to the US
Government and the American
people for the generous assistance
extended to the Philippines in the
aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan.
The typhoon, one of strongest in
recorded history, killed as 6,183
people dead, affected 2.6 million
families and displaced 930,000
others. Another 28,626 people were
injured and 1,785 people remain
missing. It also left more than $12.9
million in damages.
According to the ambassador,
the total US assistance package from
the US government alone is
estimated at around $85 million and
covered food aid, shelter materials,
clean water, and hygiene education
and supplies for affected families as
well as protection for vulnerable
populations.
This amount includes the $25
million in additional aid announced
by Secretary of State John Kerry
during his visit to Tacloban in
December. The US Chamber of
Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. at the CSIS conference on the US response to
Typhoon Yolanda in Washington, D.C. (Philippine Embassy Photo by Majalya
Fernando)
Commerce Typhoon Haiyan
Corporate Aid Tracker has also
reported over $51.8 million of
business pledges to support
recovery efforts as of December 5.
“There is much work to be done,
and in the spirit of the alliance and
partnership we have shared, we
continue to count on your
invaluable assistance,” Ambassador
Cuisia said, adding that at least $8.2
billion is needed for the
Reconstruction Assistance on
Yolanda Plan that the Philippine
government unveiled last month.
He said the Philippines will
continue to need assistance in the
long-term recovery and
rehabilitation of 171 municipalities
in four regions of the country that
have been identified as priority
areas for assistance.
According to the ambassador,
the priority needs that have been
identified include shelter, food,
debris removal, water systems and
access to sanitation facilities. Other
priorities include livelihood, public
health services, education and
national protection capacity.
“At this point, it is apparent that
recovery and rehabilitation will not
be easy, and there are very real and
substantive challenges ahead,”
Ambassador Cuisia said.
“In this light, we continue to call
on our friends in the international
community to support this effort,”
Ambassador Cuisia said, adding that
the Philippines would need the
assistance of experts on technical
grants; standards; climate change
resiliency; and disaster risk
reduction.
The forum entitled "US
Response to Typhoon Haiyan in the
Philippines" was hosted by CSIS and
Abbott, and moderated by Murray
Hiebert, Deputy Director and Senior
Fellow and Ernest Bower, Senior
Adviser at the Sumitro Chair for
Southeast Asian Studies of CSIS.
Panelists from the US
government were, Principal Deputy
Assistant Secretary Scot Marciel of
the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific
Affairs, Department of State; Deputy
Assistant Administrator for Asia
Gregory Beck, US Agency for
International Development; and
Brig. Gen. Joaquin F. Malavet,
Principal Director of Asia and
Pacific, Office of the Deputy
Undersecretary of Defense at the
Department of Defense.
Panelists from the private sector
were Marc DeCourcey, Executive
Director of the Business Civil
Leadership Center of the US
Chamber of Commerce; Thomas
Tighe, Chief Executive Officer of
Direct Relief; Kate Irvin, Group
Director for Diplomatic Relations of
the Coca-Cola Company; Chris
Pa l u s k y, S e n i o r D i re c t o r o f
Humanitarian and Emergency
Affairs of World Vision; Suki
McClatchey from Abbott; and
Evangeline Ganuelas, Executive
Director of Feed the Hungry, Inc.-Elmer G. Cato, First Secretary &
Consul, Embassy of the Republic of
the Philippines
MANILA -- Malacañang on Jan.
11 said it will continue to work to
improve the country's business
environment and attract more
foreign investment as the Bangko
Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported
i n c re a s e d Fo re i g n D i re c t
Investments (FDI) in 2013.
Deputy Presidential
spokesperson Abigail Valte said the
country's export industry has also
increased. “It's on a continued
upward trajectory, and we'd want
to see those numbers continue, or
at least, to grow even bigger. In all
the score cards that we've seen, the
view of the international
community as far as our
competitiveness is that it is going
up,” Valte said on radio.
Aquino ... From page 20
compared to coal-powered power
plants. “This means cleaner energy.
It means that despite our status as a
less-industrialized nation, we are
doing our part to not exacerbate the
risks posed by climate change,” he
added.
Rising Demand
By 2016, Aquino said, Luzon
grid's energy demand will rise to
around 11,000 megawatts from the
present demand of 10,294
megawatts.
But, he said, in the next three
years, various companies are
expected to build new plants in
Luzon that will generate a total of
2,412 megawatts.
The President welcomed the
construction of the 414-megawatt
San Gabriel natural gas-fired power
plant, saying the facility would also
help meet the increasing energy
requirements in Luzon.
The $600-million power plant,
which will utilize Malampaya gas, is
expected to go on commercial
operation in 2016.
The plant, to be built by First
Gen Corporation in partnership with
Siemens AG, is the first of three
plants of San Gabriel power complex
in Sta. Rita, Batangas City. The entire
project of three plants will have a
capacity of 1,350 MW.
T h e P re s i d e n t ex p re s s e d
gratitude to First Gen Corporation
for its investment in clean energy,
Bollard: APEC ...
From page 20
and help SMEs to globalise,” he
continued. “As a result, rules of
origin and value added are much
more complex.”
For example, the Apple iPhone
supply chain is a complicated web
that extends throughout the AsiaPacific region. With research,
development and design in the
United States to chip manufacturing
in Malaysia, fingerprint sensors
fabricated in Chinese Taipei and
inductor coils made in Japan, the
Apple iPhone eventually ends up in
China for final assembly.
In response to this web of crossborder movement and subsequent
increased intra-APEC trade, APEC's
Supply Chain Connectivity initiative
streamlines border regulations so
supplier components can
seamlessly move across regional
boundaries.
“Today, efficient borders are
recognised as a source of
“The President has always
emphasized the need for a levelplaying field when it comes to
foreign or local investments.
The BSP on Friday said it
registered net FDI of $3.361 billion
for the first 10 months of 2013, up
35.3 percent compared to the same
period in 2012 which is $2.485
billion. Foreign investors continue
to have confidence in the
sustainability of the Philippine's
business environment, the BSP said
in a statement.
The BSP added that the notable
rise in foreign investments reflects
favorable investors sentiment
n o t i n g t h a t m a c ro e c o n o m i c
stability is believed to be firmly
rooted in the country's basic
fundamentals. Inquirer.net
saying its investments have reached
P28.48 billion. “This is on top of the
amount they have already invested
in other plants in the country,” he
said.
Aquino praised Energy
Secretary Jericho Petilla and other
energy officials for the restoration of
power in Yolanda-hit communities
at the soonest possible time. He said
many Filipinos would still be
suffering the power shortage had it
not been for their “remarkable
work.”
Adequate Energy Supply
Aquino acknowledged that
natural gas demand is growing.
From 2013 to 2030, the share of
natural gas in the country's total
energy supply will go from 8 percent
to 14 percent. “This is a major step in
fulfilling our obligation as a country
towards our goal, as one human
race, to limit climate risk,” he said.
With many businesses
considering the Philippines as an
investment destination, Aquino said
that if they set up shop here, they are
assured an adequate energy supply
for their factories and facilities.
Federico R. Lopez, chairman and
chief executive officer of First Gas
Power Corp. (FirstGen), said the San
Gabriel power plant is “a major
milestone in the country's progress
because in the next 10 years,
without this new and high-tech
plant, the country will suffer
m a s s ive b ro w n o u t s .” M a n i l a
Bulletin
competitive advantage,” explained
Dr Bollard. “APEC members are
working toward reducing the red
tape and heavy policing that slows
down goods getting across borders.”
“Increasingly border regulation
in APEC member economies is being
streamlined through single window,
harmonised, contracted
operations.” However, as borders
become more open, criminal and
undesirable movements can take
advantage. As a result, APEC is
working on new technologies and
international arrangements to help
deter this.
“A s A P E C i n n ova te s n e w
initiatives to accelerate economic
integration in the Asia-Pacific, we
are moving toward frontiers of the
future and the Free Trade Area of
the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), as
envisioned by APEC Economic
Leaders,” concluded Dr Bollard.
“ We w i l l a lway s h ave
international borders, but we can
ensure they are configured to
promote trade and regional
prosperity.”
ENTERTAINMENT
January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 23
Metro Manila Film
Fest grosses nearly
P1 Billion
By Niña P. Calleja
MANILA -- After a two-week run in
theaters nationwide, last year's Metro
Manila Film Festival (MMFF) broke all
records as its eight official entries
brought in nearly P1 billion in overall
gross revenues, the Metropolitan
Manila Development Authority
(MMDA) announced Sunday.
In a statement, the MMDA, which
runs the MMFF, said the Top 4 grossers
among the entries were “My Little
Bossings,” “Girl, Boy, Bakla, Tomboy,”
“Pagpag” and “Kimmy Dora.” The
other films that were shown were
“ K a l e i d o s c o p e Wo rl d ,” “ Pe d ro
Calungsod: Batang Martir,” “Boy
Golden” and “10,000 Hours.”
“With almost a billion pesos in
overall box office, we are
overwhelmed and so proud that the
MMFF has managed to break records,
proving that the Filipino movie
industry is not only surviving but
thriving despite stiff competition from
foreign movies” MMDA Chairman
Francis Tolentino said.
Jennylyn Mercado, Mark Herras, and Yasmien Kurdi, Mark Anthony Fernandez, Kristoffer Martin and Kim Rodriguez
“My Little Bossings” child stars Ryzza
Mae Dizon, left, and Bimby Yap
In the agency's weekly
radioprogram, Tolentino announced
that as of Jan. 7, gross ticket sales had
reached P987 million. He said he was
hopeful that revenues would hit the
P1-billion mark since the screenings
of the four highest-grossing films had
been extended.
Tolentino said that some of the
M M F F p ro c e e d s wo u l d g o t o
beneficiaries from the movie industry
such as the Movie Workers Welfare
Fund Film Academy of the Philippines,
Motion Picture Anti-Film Piracy
Council, Film Development Council of
the Philippines and Optical Media
Board, among others. Inquirer.net
Alessandra de Rossi
to focus on doing
‘quality films'
Award-winning actress Alessandra de Rossi
MANILA -- It used to be that
Alessandra de Rossi would take on
any role thrown in her lap. Not
anymore.
The award-winning actress says
she has matured enough as an artist
to realize the need to do quality
roles, as with quality pictures.
“Dati kasi, parang tanggap ka
lang nang tanggap. Basta't may
work, happy ako,” she said. “Ngayon,
talagang iniisip ko, 'Nakaka-inspire
ba ito? Nakaka-educate ba ito? May
information ba silang makukuhang
maganda dito? Meron ba silang
necessary emotions na kailangang
makuha from this project?'
This is the reason she says she
would be turning down horrorthemed projects.
“Kasi, parang feeling ko, hindi
ninyo (audiences) naman kailangan
'yung fear, e. For me, it's a… para sa
akin, fear is an emotion that you
don't need at all in your life. So
what's the point?”
Already, de Rossi is thinking of
writing and directing her own films.
“Actually, marami akong stories
in mind na gusto kong isulat,” she
said, admitting however that she
might not be ready.
“Sobrang perfectionist ko, baka
sumakit lang ang ulo ko…Basta
siguro one day… Tingnan natin.”
GMA celebrates 3
big fests this month
G M A N e t wo rk h a s a n
intriguing line up of drama
series this quarter, and what
better way to introduce these
than by bringing its lead stars
closer their supporters.
Gracing three of the
country's major festivals in
January - Kalibo's Ati-Atihan,
Cebu's Sinulog, and Ilo-ilo's
Dinagyang - are the brightest
Kapuso artists from “The
Borrowed Wife,” “Paraiso Ko'y
I k aw,” “ R h o d o ra X ,” a n d
“Carmela.”
GMA, being the strategic
media partner of the
Municipality of Kalibo and
Kalibo's Sto. Niño Ati-Atihan
Foundation, Inc. (KASAFI),
mounts a week-long
celebration of the Mother of All
Philippine Festivals, dubbed
“At i - At i h a n Fe s t iva l : T h e
Kapuso Ati-Atihan Festival
Celebration, Fiesta Natin 'to!”.
Last Jan. 10, it was
“Carmela” lead actor Alden
Richards together with Max
Collins and hosts Mikael Daez
and Bettina Carlos who took
part in the Mutya Ng Lakan
Grand Night at the ABL Sports
Complex.
On Jan. 14, Kapuso
Primetime King Dingdong
Dantes took the stage of
Kalibo's Pastrana Park for a
Kapuso Night. A decade-after
reunion it was for three of
“Starstruck's” finest
starsJennylyn Mercado, Mark
Herras, and Yasmien Kurdi, as
they joined the said affair
together with “Rhodora X” costar Mark Anthony Fernandez.
T h e f o l l o w i n g d a y,
participating in the Pagdayaw
kay Señor Sto. Niño “Sinaot sa
Calle” Float Parade around the
streets of Kalibo at 2 p.m. are
Kapuso homegrown talents
Thea Tolentino and Jeric
Gonzales, together with Isabelle
D a z a , A n d re a To r re s , J C
Tiuseco,and Pancho Magno. A
sizzling Kapuso Hala Bira Dance
Showdown follows at
Magsaysay Park starting at 7
p.m. with Julian Trono.
On Jan. 19, the Network airs
a live coverage of the pilgrims'
mass at the Kalibo Cathedral
titled “Señor Santo Niño de
Kalibo Pilgrims'” Mass
n a t i o nw i d e , v i a a l l G M A
Regional TV Stations beginning
at 6 a.m.
u
Page 24
Grace Poe urges show biz
to support film tourism bill
By Marinel R. Cruz
Senator Grace PoeLlamanzares is urging show biz
denizens to lobby in Congress
for the passage of a bill that she
filed to promote the country
through film tourism.
“There are a lot of senators
supporting us, but we also need
to convince members of the
Lower House of the bill's
importance and relevance,” the
senator said of the bill that
seeks to make the Philippines a
prime destination for
international productions. “We
hope to showcase all the
beautiful places in the country,
not just the depressing ones.”
To make this happen,
Llamanzares said, she would
push for promotional funding
THE SENATOR wants to
showcase the country's natural
treasures. Arnold Almacen
for government-run agencies,
like the Film Development
Council of the Philippines
(FDCP) “so they can better
promote our products.”
Int'l markets
Llamanzares cited an
example. “They can give away
promotional brochures, but for
this plan to be effective, they
have to join as many
international film markets as
they can.” She suggested the
promotion of local content
through film booths abroad.
In foreign film markets that
she got to attend previously as
c h a i r o f t h e M ov i e a n d
Te l e v i s i o n R e v i e w a n d
Classification Board (MTRCB),
she reported, “There were
separate booths for the major
broadcast networks - ABSCBN, GMA 7 and Tv5.
What we should have is a
single booth for the Philippines
so that even our independent
u
Page 24
January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 24
Bea Rose's father belies accusations,
asks daughter to apologize
By NR Ramos
Miss International 2013 Bea
Rose Santiago is now in
controversy with her father
coming out to belie her allegations
that he abandoned their family.
Paul Valencia Santiago, a
councilor of Mandaon, Masbate,
said via Facebook that her
allegations about the matter
made on “Buzz Ng Bayan” last Jan.
5, are false and malicious.
“To set the records straight, I
never abandoned my children,” he
posted, describing her daughter's
allegations as “cheap gimmick.”
Though he admitted being
estranged for sometime with his
children, it was only allegedly due
to his ex-wife, Ophelia Monterde,
whom he accused of
“brainwashing” his children into
believing that he left them.
He also belied that he had
asked forgiveness from his firstborn when she came home to
pursue a career as beauty queen,
even as he insisted that he has
good relations with her if only
until he denied her P300,000
purportedly to spend for “facial
enhancements” as part of her
career efforts.
“I told her I could not produce
such a big amount as I was then
running for councilor and I
needed to have funds to support
my campaign… (but) from then
on, she turned cold,” he related.
Bea Rose Santiago (Photo from
bbpilipinas.com)
Santiago expressed
disappointment over her
daughter whom he said has
“metamorphosed into a
Frankenstein.”
“I regret to say that in falsely
depicting about her family history
through live TV coverage, Bea
remains insatiable… she is no
better than Salome who rendered
an obscene dance before Herod in
exchange for the head of John the
Baptist.”
Santiago made clear that he
“never wanted to wash our
family's dirty linens in public.”
“But you, Bea, pushed me to
the wall,” he said.
“I am a public official in our
town and it affects my credibility…
Also I am concerned about how
the web of lies you spread on the
media will affect my family
members.
“It pains them to hear Bea
concocting a tale in which I am
being put in bad light to suit her
thirst for fame and perhaps to sell
a story to 'Maalaala Mo Kaya.'
In the end, he warned of
availing “judicial remedies” if his
daughter doesn't desist in
spreading “irresponsible and
scurrilous statements.”
“Before resorting thereto, I
want Bea to retract her malicious
statements and make a public
apology…
“I do not wish to be
acknowledged, I just want myself
and family to be left alone… we do
not wish to be used in her
publicity stunts.”
He then challenged: “If you
Bea want to deny the veracity of
all the points I raised in my
statements despite the replete
evidence I have in my possession,
I challenge you to do so UNDER
OATH. If not, you owe me, the
public, as well as the Binibining
Pilipinas Charities, Inc. a sincere
apology…”
The beauty queen is yet to
issue a statement on the matter as
of this writing. Manila Bulletin
6 Filipinos in Berlin Talents
By INDIE BRAVO!
This year, six Filipinos will take
part in the Berlin Talents: directorscreenwriter Antoinette Jadaone,
producer/art director Armi Rae
C a c a n i n d i n , e d i to r B e n j a m i n
Tolentino, director Universe Baldoza,
director-screenwriter Shireen Seno
and director Sheron Dayoc.
Formerly known as the Berlin
Talent Campus, Berlin Talents is “a
six-day creative summit for up-andcoming filmmakers. The program
consists of lectures, workshops,
discussions and excursions.”
Its online community has
become a “networking platform for
filmmakers and creative thinkers.”
Inquirer.net
7 PH films in Rotterdam
Aside from Lav Diaz's short
“Prologo sa ang Dakilang
Desaparecido” and the full-length
features Adolfo Alix Jr.'s “Alamat ni
China Doll” and Jet Leyco's “Bukas na
Lang Sapagkat Gabi Na,” four other
Filipino movies will be screened in
the International Film Festival
Rotterdam: Raymond Red's “Kamera
Obskura,” Khavn de la Cruz's “Edsa
XXX: Nothing Ever Changes in the
Republic of Ever-Change,” Raya
M a r t i n' s “ H ow to D i s a p p e a r
Completely” and Diaz's “Norte,
Hangganan ng Kasaysayan.”
Leyco told the Inquirer that
Shireen Seno's coming project,
LAV DIAZ
Inquirer photo
“ N e r v o u s Tr a n s l a t i o n ,” i s
included in the CineMart, too.
The Rotterdam fest will be held in
the Netherlands from Jan. 22 to Feb. 2.
Inquirer.net
From page 23
the Senate) in the coming months.”
Llamanzares topped the 2013
Senatorial race.
filmmakers can sell their products.”
Llamanzares is also one of the
authors of the Freedom of
Information (FOI) bill, which will
allow the public access to
government records. “The media will
have to play a very important role in
informing the people about what
government officials are doing,” she
said.
The past year was “very busy and
stressful” for her, said the daughter of
the late action king Fernando Poe Jr.
and drama actress Susan Roces. “I
accomplished a lot, but there is still a
lot to do. I have a big role to play (in
Family life
A mother of three, Llamanzares
said balancing work and family life in
2013 was tough. “I'd really like to take
things a little easier this year, to
appreciate what's going on around
me,” she told the Inquirer.
The new lawmaker was among
the special guests at the recent 39th
Metro Manila Film Festival awards
rites held at the Meralco Theater in
Pasig City. She and son Brian
presented the FPJ Memorial Award for
Film Excellence to the Joyce Bernal
action-drama “10,000 Hours.”
Inquirer.net
GMA celebrates ...
“Sunday All Stars.” Also participating
in the float parade are Jennylyn, Mark,
Yasmien, and Mark Anthony.
GMA RTV's News and Public
Affairs, at the same time, delivers its
live coverage “Buena Mano Sinulog”
airing from 7 a.m. to 12 noon and “Pit
Senyor!” right after “Sunday All Stars”
on the same day.
Over in Iloilo takes place the
Dinagyang Festival. Adding vibrance
to the annual fete is Dingdong, once
again joined by Jennylyn, Mark,
Yasmien, and Mark Anthony staging a
mall show at Robinson's Iloilo on Jan.
24 at 6 p.m. Set to to conquer the
streets of Iloilo on Jan. 25 at 2 p.m. are
stars from “The Borrowed Wife.”
“Miss Saigon”-bound Rachelle Ann Go
and “Adarna” lead star Geoff
Eigenmann follow with another
Kapuso Mall Show on Jan. 26, 6 p.m.at
SM City Iloilo. On the same day, GMA
offers a Kapuso Live Coverage of the
annual Ati Tribe Competition hosted
by Geoff and Isabelle.
Highlights of the Network's
participation in the Ati-Atihan,
Sinulog, and Dinagyang Festivals will
be seen in Let's Fiesta TV Special
which airs on Jan. 26, Feb. 2, and Feb.
9 respectively, via the Network's
regional stations in Bicol, Cebu,
Davao, Iloilo, Dagupan, Ilocos,
GenSan, Bacolod, and CDO. Manila
Bulletin
Grace Poe ...
From page 23
Happening in Cebu meanwhile, is
the Sinulog Festival. Kicking off the
series of events are the back-to-back
Kapuso Mall Shows on Jan. 17,
featuring the well-loved pair of
Kristoffer Martin and Kim Rodriguez
from “Paraiso Ko'y Ikaw” and “The
Borrowed Wife's” Pauleen Luna, TJ
Trinidad, Rafael Rosell, and Camille
Prats happening at the open parking
of the Gaisano Grand Fiesta Mall
Tabunok at 2 p.m. and at The
Terraces, Ayala Center at 5 p.m. Live
portions of the latter air over local
newscast “Balitang Bisdak.”
On Jan. 18, GMA's Primetime
Queen Marian Rivera fulfills her
promise to the Cebuanos and comes
back to celebrate with them once
more in another back-to-back Kapuso
Mall Show together with Alden. Also
with the pair are Jennylyn, Mark,
Yasmien, and Mark Anthony who
dominate SM City Cebu's Event
Centre first at p.m., with live
segments airing on “Startalk.” At 4
p.m., the “Carmela” stars move to
Gaisano Island Mall Mactan for
another round of amusing show.
Marian rises the next day to board
the Kapuso float with Alden and tour
the major streets of Cebu City from 9
a.m., with live updates broadcast over
January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 25
This Dyesebel is
childlike, edgy
By Allan Policarpio
From left: Allan Abdullah, RJ Pineda, Christine Mercado, David de
Koenigswarter of The Brat Pack. Andrew Tadalan
Young quartet The Brat Pack is PH
bet in biggest global blues conclave
Rousing prelude
to Memphis
By Dennis V. Gargantiel
The blues had a child; it was
called rock 'n' roll.
Thus intoned Pinoy rock 'n' roll
royalty Ramon “RJ” Jacinto by way of
kicking off “Rock 'n' Roll Meets the
Blues with RJ and The Brat Pack,” a
send-off concert for the youthful
quartet held on Jan. 10 at RJ Bistro in
Dusit Thani Hotel. It was a
reference, of course, to how rock 'n'
roll and most other forms of modern
popular music evolved from the
blues.
The Brat Pack, winner of the
second Philippine Blues
Competition held late last year, is
bound for Memphis, Tennessee to
represent the country in the band
competition of the 30th
International Blues Challenge (IBC)
on Jan. 21 to 25. It is the biggest
global blues music conclave for
talents aspiring to break into the
world stage. The annual world meet
has launched the careers of the likes
of Susan Tedeschi, among other
notables.
ANNE Curtis at the press con
people who kept faith in me and
didn't forget [good things that
I've done] despite that one
Overwhelmed
unfortunate mistake,” Anne said.
Anne, who had just arrived
“And to those who didn't, God
Dedicated supporters
from a vacation in Canada, said
bless you. Everyone has
“This is an opportunity for the
she learned about the offer only a
something to say; you can't
kids (Brat Pack) to hone their onday before the press con. “It's
please everybody.”
stage performance in preparation
overwhelming that, after a tough
Anne is no stranger to
for Memphis,” observed Philippine
2013, I came back to find that Thankful
playing a TV mermaid, having
Blues Society (PBS) president
something good was going to
The bar incident stirred up a played the mythical aquatic
Eddieboy “The Captain” Santos, who
happen,” said Anne, her voice whirlwind of comments on social creature in the 2008 fantasy
was on hand, with PBS directors
trailing off before turning weepy.
networking sitessome biting and series “Dyosa.” Even so, Anne
Allan Magturo and Tom Colvin, to
R e p o r t s o f t h a t b a r critical; others, comforting and was positive that “Dyesebel”
lend support.
altercation alleged that Anne, encouraging. Anne said she was created by famed graphic
PBS, a nonprofit organization
having had one drink too many, grateful to have been entrusted novelist Mars Ravelo - would be
dedicated to fostering local
slapped fellow ABS-CBN artist with the role of “Dyesebel” an entirely different experience
appreciation of the genre, is
John Lloyd Cruz and called him despite everything said about for her.
sponsoring Brat Pack's trip, as it did
an “addict.” While the popular her.
“'Dyesebel' is a classic and is
Bleu Rascals' trailblazing
28-year-old actress
“I'd like to thank everyone part of Philippine pop culture.
u
Page 26
acknowledged that the incident who believed I could do this,
u
Page 27
This Japanese singer takes
OPM to heart
By Pau Aguilera
Japanese recording artist Aisaku
Yokogawa sure knows his Original
Pilipino Music (OPM).
“I know more OPM than Japanese
songs now. I have more Filipino
friends than Japanese friends on
Facebook. And I guess I am a Filipino
by heart even though my pair of eyes
makes me look like I'm asleep,”
Yokogawa, who recently released his
debut album “Ikaw Pa Rin” which
features OPM covers, related in a
report on ABS-CBN News.com.
The Japanese jazz singer, who
moved in the country some years
back, shared his OPM roots.
“I live in a Church so I had the
chance to learn good music first from
Gary V's songs. His music covers a lot
of genres from pop, dance, soul, jazz
to ballads. The first live concert I ever
watched in my life was his as well,”
Yokogawa narrated, even citing Mr.
Pure Energy as his most favorite
singer.
He admitted that “modern OPM is
something I really love,” and gave
credit “to OPM artists who bring the
genre to a new level of classy music,
like my current favorites Noel
It didn't take too much or too
long for Anne Curtis to get all
choked up at the recent media
gathering that presented her as
the star of ABS-CBN's coming TV
adaptation of “Dyesebel.”
The event was Anne's first
major press appearance since
late last year, when reports of her
infamous drunken night-out at a
bar surfaced. From the get-go,
the usually effervescent actress,
so used to being in the spotlight,
seemed a trifle too edgy.
One moment she was
cracking jokes in that child-like
s q u e a k ; a n d i n t h e n ex t ,
struggling to articulate her
thoughts as she fought back
tears. Whenever emotions
threatened to get the better of
her, Anne, almost instinctively,
let out a high-pitched squeal.
Aisaku Yokogawa (Photo from Facebook)
Cabangon, Sitti, Gloc-9, Jay-R, Ogie
Alcasid and a whole lot more!”
Making the country his second
home, Yokogawa finds “the Filipinos
more fun to be with, and the country
itself as well. I love the Filipino humor,
the culture…” Most importantly, he
lauded the “close family ties” of the
Filipinos. “I love my parents and I am
glad that I know how to show my love
to them like a Filipino son can do.”
His album's carrier single and
title track (originally by Ted Ito) won
Best OPM Cover at the 2013 Gawad
Musika Awards and Consumers
Quality Awards. Manila Bulletin
was a humbling and learning
experience for her, she said she
would rather put the memories
of that scandal behind her and
focus on the new TV project.
“I want to leave all the
negativity of 2013; this year is
going to be great,” she said.
Nora Aunor shares screen with
Coco, Jasmine
IN THE sizzle reel for “Dementia”
By Bayani San Diego Jr.
Award-winning actress Nora Aunor
welcomes 2014 with not just one, but two new
indie movies. Aunor leads the star-studded cast
of Adolfo Alix Jr.'s “Padre de Familia,” which also
top-bills Joel Torre, Rosanna Roces, Anita Linda,
Joem Bascon, Baron Geisler, Julia Montes and
Coco Martin.
The family drama, coproduced by Martin,
will wrap up work soonwith most scenes shot in
Manila, but Alix also ventured to Malaysia for
some shots. Alix had planned for a long time to
direct Aunor. After several stalled attempts, he
finally got to collaborate with the country's
Superstar in “Padre de Familia.”
Aunor will also share the screen with young
star Jasmine Curtis-Smith in “Dementia,” the
directorial debut of former TV5 executive Perci
Intalan.
Intalan told the Inquirer that “Dementia”
had its “sizzle reel” shoot last week. “That's a
test shoot. We did a trailer-like series of shots.
It's a production technique that helps everyone,
including the actors, get into their roles. It also
allows us to test the cameras and the look of the
characters.”
Intalan said that he and his production team
prepared a storyboard to guide them for the
official shoot in Batanes in March. “I can't wait
to shoot in the actual location… which is
breathtaking. We want this film to be
worthwhile … After all, it's Ate Guy's first major
horror film in decades,” said Intalan.
“Dementia” is produced by Intalan's
partner, filmmaker Jun Robles Lana, under
Octobertrain Films for Studio 5.
A third indie film is in the works for Aunora
drama on human trafficking directed by Joel
Lamangan. Inquirer.net
January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 26
Pops on getting back with
Martin: Nag-iba na ako
MANILA -- Pops Fernandez
only responded with a hearty
laugh when asked if it is possible
that she and her former husband,
Martin Nievera, would get back
together.
Fernandez was hesitant to
directly address if reconciliation
is possible, saying things have
already changed since they
parted ways in 2000.
“When I do think about it,
because siyempre marami pa rin
kaming followers, you would
always hear, 'Sana magkabalikan
pa rin kayo ni Martin.' I ask him,
'You think if we ever get back
together again,' kasi iba na ako eh.
Hindi na ako like before,” she said.
Fernandez said even Nievera
himself would be surprised to
know the person that she is now.
“Hindi na ako like before.
Before kasi I had little opinion but
I was afraid to say it, I wasn't as
confident as I am now. I think
baka ma-shock na si Martin na it's
going to be a totally different girl.
I think he sees it, sobrang
different Pops na,” she said.
Fernandez, however, said she
is glad to have maintained a good
relationship with Nievera for the
sake of their two sons.
“I do appreciate the fact that
Martin and I are friends. First of
all, we have Robin and Ram. I'm
Claudine Barretto
Pops Fernandez with former husband, Martin Nievera
sure they were very affected
when we got separated. It's very
hard to explain to your kids kung
ano ang nangyari. There was a
time I realized na they actually
blame themselves pala for the
whole separation. I said, no, it
wasn't your fault. It took years for
them to open up to me,” she said.
Despite being friends,
Fernandez noted that she and
Nievera only get in touch when it
concerns their children.
“After how many years, you
realize na okay naman pala. We
are really friends from the very
beginning. It's not like we are
super close friends and we are
Raymart Santiago
Claudine willing to
forgive Raymart
MANILA -- Actress Claudine
To p a c i o r e v e a l e d t h a t
Barretto is willing to patch things Barretto matriarch Inday took
up with estranged husband offense to Gretchen's testimonies,
Raymart Santiago for the new online and in court, and is
year, her camp revealed.
considering filing a libel case
According to the actress' legal against her estranged daughter.
counsel, Atty. Ferdinand Topacio,
"Shes feels offended by what
Barretto is not closing doors on a she feels are untruths being
possible reconciliation.
peddled by Miss Gretchen," he
"She's a very forgiving person, said.
pero in time. We are never closing
Gretchen has called her
a door for a settlement. Sabi nga m o t h e r " e v i l " o n l i n e a n d
sa bibliya, lahat ay may panahon," t h r e a t e n e d t o r e v e a l a
he said.
"molestation" incident involving
Last August, Claudine filed an her father, Miguel, as well as a case
Believer of true love
Anti-Violence against Women and of jewelry theft. Inday labeled the
Meanwhile, Fernandez said
Their Children (VAWC) case accusations as "smear campaign"
u
Page 27
against her estranged husband, and "character assassination."
Raymart Santiago, detailing
"We will be taking legal steps,
"physical, sexual, psychological including her parents. There
and economic abuse."
comes a time when enough is
Santiago, in his counter- enough," Topacio said.
affidavit, accused his wife of
The lawyer said that his camp
domestic violence, stemming will further discuss matters
from a history of drug abuse and during the family's next getmental illness.
together.
Since then, other members of
"She's talking to us lawyers
the Barretto family have joined a b o u t i t . B u k a s s i g u r o
the word war, namely Gretchen magkakaroon ng opportunity in a
who testified in court against her social context na pag-usapan
sister despite alleged threats from 'yung mga possible legal steps
their father.
against Ms. Gretchen," he added.
always in touch with each other.
Some people have that wrong
notion. As a matter of fact, we
only get in touch when it's about
the kids,” she said. The former
couple first met in 1982, when
Fernandez had just joined
showbiz. They married four years
later. Amid allegations of
infidelity, Fernandez reportedly
filed for the annulment of her
marriage to Nievera in 1999. This
was granted by the court only a
year later.
This Dyesebel
is ... From page 25
It's something I've never done
before,” she pointed out. “I've
always wanted to do this since I
was a kidthis is another dream
come true for me. This is one
amazing thing that I'll always
keepand, hopefullyshare with my
[future] children.”
According to Dreamscape, the
ABS-CBN business unit that will
produce “Dyesebel,” Anne was
selected after topping a series of
surveys.
At one point, Anne drew
laughter from the crowd after
doing an impression of Ariel's
singing voice (from the Disney
cartoon “The Little Mermaid”).
“Will I be recording the theme
song?” blurted out Anne, who will
be joined by matinee idols Sam
Milby (as Liro) and Gerald
Anderson (Fredo) in the show.
Other notable stars who
played Dyesebel were Edna Luna,
Vilma Santos, Alice Dixson,
Charlene Gonzalez and, most
recently, Marian Rivera. “I've
watched Vilma, Alice, Charlene
and Marian's versions. They are
all sexy and put their own flavor to
the character,” Anne noted. “It's an
honor to be mentioned in the
same breath as these women.”
No enhancements
Anne said that she'd do
everything in her capacity to give
a good portrayalwell, except
undergo plastic surgery.
“I don't think I can do that… It
will be noticeable because of all
my photos out there,” Anne
replied when asked if she was
willing to have certain parts of her
body enhanced to be “the sexiest
Dyesebel ever.”
Anne had to field a few
queries, too, that made her
uneasy: “Will there be slapping
scenes?” “Will you still do juice
cleanse?” “Do you still drink
alcohol?” Despite the occasional
bouts of awkwardness, Anne
often managed to flash that
famous trademark smile.
I n q u i r e r. n e t ( E m a i l
apolicarpio@inquirer.com.ph)
January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 27
Jolina enjoys time with friends during the baby shower (Photos from her Instagram account)
Jolina's star-studded baby showers
By Marjorie S. Duran
"Be Careful With My Heart" star Jodi Sta. Maria
Bong: Welcome si Jodi
sa pamilya namin
MANILA -- Sen. Ramon
"Bong" Revilla, Jr. denied
rumors that his son, Cavite Vice
Gover nor Jolo Revilla, is
ex p e c t i n g a b a by w i t h
girlfriend and "Be Careful With
My Heart" star Jodi Sta. Maria.
"Hindi naman [buntis si
Jodi]," he said. Revilla went on
to express his support for his
son's relationship with Sta.
Maria. "What's important is that
they're happy. Welcome si Jodi
sa family namin," the former
action star said.
The younger Revilla earlier
denied that Sta. Maria is
pregnant. The actress' leading
man in "Be Careful With My
Pops on getting
back ... From page 26
she remains a believer of true love
up to this day.
“I'm a sucker for true love, falling
in love. I believe in chick flicks. I
believe in those romantic types of
films. I think that's part of the
excitement of living. I still have that
hope that I walk and I bump into
someone and baka siya na 'yun,” she
said.
While revealing that she has no
idea on what her ideal type of guy is,
Fernandez said she has nothing
against being in a relationship with
someone of the same age, younger
or older.
“For me, whether they are older
than me, same age as me or a little bit
younger than me, if you're going to
get hurt, you are going to get hurt. I
Heart," actor Richard Yap,
similarly addressed the rumor,
saying fans may be confusing
the pregnancy of Sta. Maria's
character in the series with real
life.
Sta. Maria has a son with
former partner Pampi Lacson.
The actress, in an earlier
interview, said they are making
steps to annul their marriage.
The 24-year-old Revilla also has
a son with former girlfriend
Grace Adriano.
While Sta. Maria and Revilla
have been seen attending
family gatherings as a couple,
they have separately denied
planning to get married soon.
think it's just a matter of finding
someone who can stand up for me,
accept me who I am. Siyempre I have
my own life already, I have two
grown up men with me,” she said.
Fernandez said she is still
hoping to walk down the aisle again
with her soul1mate waiting for her
at the altar.
“When I attend weddings, I
always tell myself, 'Oh my God, dear
Lord I still want to get married. I
want to wear a gown and all that
stuff.' But only when I'm in a
wedding,” she said.
“I'm a true believer of love. I
guess when the right time comes
and if there's somebody brave
enough, why not?” she added.
After Fernandez's separation
from Nievera, she got involved with
some celebrities including actor
Jomari Yllana and model Brad
Turvey.
201-434-1114
Jolina Magdangal's friends
from show business celebrated
the impending arrival of her child
by throwing a baby shower at the
house of Regine VelasquezAlcasid recently.
On Instagram, Jolina posted a
photo of the house decorated
with a banner that read
“Welcome Baby Boy” and some
colorful balloons. Caption read:
“Ganda ng decor! Salamat sa
effort!!! #babyshower.”
Of her friends behind the
event, she said: “Silang lahat ang
nag organize ng lahat ng
pangyayari. Me, my mister (Marc
Escueta) and our baby are so
blessed with good, generous and
loving friends.”
Among Jolina's guests were
Jaya, LJ Reyes, Kyla, Rochelle
Pangilinan, Angelika dela Cruz
and Max Collins. She thanked
them for a “napakasaya(ng)”
event.
Jolina seemingly had a
separate event for other friends.
A collage photo on Instagram
shows some of her visitors from
t h e m u s i c i n d u s t r y. “A n g
pinagsamang Christmas party at
Baby shower ng Rivermaya
family, Bamboo family, Gloc-9
family and Escueta family…
Maraming salamat sa pag
organize at natuloy din. Ang saya
saya!! #blessed #family
#happybuntis,” her post read.
The singer-actress is
expected to give birth in
February. Manila Bulletin
Vice Ganda as action star?
By NR Ramos
Vice Ganda might just turn
out to be this year's breakout
action star, with the comedian
hinting on his plan to do an
action-comedy caper.
The actor-TV host admits
that the idea has been inspired
by his “Girl, Boy, Bakla, Tomboy”
character Peter Jackstone, who
was depicted in the movie as a
race car driver.
“Gusto kong karerin 'yon,”
Vice Ganda told ABSCBNnews.com.
“Noon ko pa ni re-request
'yun, 'yung medyo may pagka'Fast and the Furious.' Dati
nagkarera na ang mga kabayo,
ngayon naman kotse. Para macater ko ang gusto ng mga babae,
lalaki, bakla at tomboy para
Rousing prelude
to Memphis
From page 25
participation in the 2012 IBC Youth
Showcase, as well as those of Kat
Magic Express and Electric Sala in
last year's band contest and youth
showcase, respectively. Joining Brat
Pack in Memphis is another young
but talented upstart blues act, the
Kingpin Trio.
“PBS is actually sending a
contingent of performers this year,”
ex p l a i n e d l aw ye r / ro c k j o c k
Magturo. Lampano Alley, with blues
vets Colvin and Binky Lampano, is
reforming just for the trip. Jay
Ortega and Jacinto will join as well.
“Thanks to the impact that the
Rascals, Kat Magic and Electric Sala
made in the US, we've been invited
to guest in two of the top clubs in the
worldBiscuits and Blues in San
Francisco and B.B. King's on Beale
Street, Memphisand other clubs.”
Hands-down winner
lahat ng market (covered),” he
added.
“Girl, Boy, Bakla, Tomboy”
has now breached the P400million mark, making it among
the biggest earners in the
recently concluded Metro
Manila Film Festival.
On the TV front, Vice Ganda
is continuing his partnership
with ABS-CBN, having signed a
new contract with the network
giant just recently.
The 37-year-old revealed
t h a t t h i s e a r ly, n e t w o r k
executives are already asking
him if he is open to doing
additional TV shows.
“Tinanong lang nila ako
kung aside from 'GGV'
('Gandang Gabi Vice') and 'It's
Showtime,' kung mayroon pa
akong ibang gustong gawin. Sabi
ko kontento na ako,” he said.
He teased, however, that he
might just tweak his approach to
one of his shows in the coming
months.
“Mayroon lang akong
gustong bagong atake sa 'GGV'
na gawin at open naman sila sa
ganoon,” he shared. Manila
Brat Pack was the hands-down
winner of the Philippine Blues
Competition in October, besting
four top-shelf finalists out of an
original 15 entries with a knockout
finals performance. Brandishing a
unique kind of blues for a local blues
community used to wailing guitar
solos, Brat Pack's piano-driven
music was a delightful and winning
surprise. Now, as then, the young
talents amazed the crowd with
innovative arrangements of oftheard blues anthems, studded with
dramatic pauses and tempo shifts
that kept listeners wondering what
was coming next.
Ke y b o a r d i s t R J P i n e d a' s
virtuosity was again evident in
intricate ad libs and barrelhouse
runs executed with infectious gusto.
Christine Mercado's vocal styling
captivated the audience as usual,
and bassist David de Koenigswarter
and drummer Allan Abdullah laid
down impeccable rhythms with
arrangements that allowed
everyone to shine. Onstage, Brat
Pack is the total package and, in
Colvin's words, has “set the
standard in Asia for what a blues
performance is.”
Jacinto was all praise for the
young musicians, and was only too
happy to help out by sharing what
he could of his decades of
experience in live music
entertainment. “I'm sure Brat Pack
will do well in Memphis, mainly
because they're different,” Jacinto
said, echoing the gut feel of most
everyone in the local blues
community. “Besides, as a people,
we're better musicians than
Westerners,” he added. “Anyone
here (in the Philippines) can sing…
and sing well. Filipinos have a
wonderful musicality that most
Westerners don't.”
Everyone in PBS is keeping
their fingers crossed for Brat Pack in
Memphis, of course. But for Colvin,
whatever happens, one thing for
sure is, “They'll make lots of friends
for Philippine music.” Meanwhile,
“Rock and Roll Meets the Blues”
turned out to be more successful
than expected so successful that, RJ
said, it could become a monthly gig
at his joint. Inquirer.net
Vice Ganda
SPORTS
Governor ER Ejercito's
star-studded plan for
Palarong Pambansa 2014
January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 28
Floyd to Manny: Dump
Bob Arum and we fight
By Nick Giongco
By Alex Brosas
Committed to making this year's
Palarong Pambansa a star-filled
event, Laguna Governor ER Ejercito
has invited a number of sports
celebrities to grace the muchawaited event.
“We already talked to Manny
Pacquiao, James Yap and the Teng
brothers (Jeric and Jeron) for the
opening ceremony,” Gov. Ejercito
declared during the Palarong
Pambansa memorandum of
agreement signing with the
Department of Education.
“They will run one lap across the
field before lighting up the torch. So
maraming bago dito sa Palarong
Pambansa. Pinagaganda namin ito
dahil hindi ito pinapansin kaya
pinasisikat natin para magaya ng
ibang governors, mayors and
c o n g r e s s m e n n e x t y e a r,” h e
explained.
It is the first time the province of
Laguna would host the premier
sports festival. Under Governor
Ejercito's leadership, the Laguna
Sports Complex is currently being
refurbished to have “state-of-the-art
facilities.”
“Since I became a governor in
2010 and being a former athlete of La
Salle Greenhills and UP Diliman ay
alam ko ang kategorya ng ating atleta
at iba't ibang larangan ng paligsahan.
Magmula ng ako'y maging governor
at hanggang sa ngayon, kami ni
Mayor Maita Ejercito ay naging host
ng sports tournamens and events
gaya ng NCAA, Philippine National
Games, Batang Pinoy, (at) unity
games ng Iglesia ni Cristo.
Governor ER Ejercito believes
Laguna is ready to host Palarong
Pambansa
“Kung itong mga palarong ito ay
na-host ko nang maayos ay hindi na
po bago itong Palarong Pambansa na
'di hamak na mas malaki pero sa
palagay ko ay kakayanin namin.”
He added, “With a budget of P70
million and 19 hectares na Laguna
Sports Complex ay handang-handa
na po tayo.”
The governor is proud of the
highly improved sports facilities.
“Pinaganda na namin ang track
oval. We added more bleachers for
the audience. We have a new archery
and firing range. Ang swimming pool
namin ay Olympic size. We have
tennis courts and pelota courts for
badminton and sepak takraw. We
have a new lighting system and we're
building the biggest monument of Dr.
Jose Rizal as a sportsman.” Manila
Bulletin
POC plans to promote
tourism, business during
OCA Assembly
By Nick Giongco
While the Philippines is not
among the major players that will
take center stage in hosting key
events in the region in the coming
years, the Olympic Council of Asia
(OCA) General Assembly this
weekend will be a golden
opportunity to showcase the
country's glowing image as a tourist
and investments destination.
Philippine Olympic Committee
(POC) president Jose “Peping”
Cojuangco Jr. said during the
Philippine Sportswriters
Association Forum yesterday that
VIPs from the 45-member OCA and
high-ranking officials from the
Association of National Olympic
Committees are going to experience
the country's famous brand of
hospitality.
“Oftentimes I hear delegates
from other countries asking what it
is like to invest in the Philippines,”
said Cojuangco, noting that
government officials will also be on
hand this Friday and Saturday to
meet with OCA officials, many of
them successful businessmen in
their respective countries.
Stressed Cojuangco: “Tourism
and business investment-wise, this is
a big opportunity for the
Philippines.”
“Let us not limit this event to just
sports. This is for the country. This is
a chance to display the resiliency of
the Filipino people that despite what
happened we are able to host,” he
said.
Joining Cojuangco were POC first
vice-president Joey Romasanta and
IOC director for NOC relations Vinod
Kumar.
The OCA, headed by Sheikh
Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah
of Kuwait, will have its 32nd General
Assembly at the Philippine
International Convention Center on
Saturday following its executive
committee meeting on Friday at the
Sofitel Philippine Plaza.
Cojuangco said it was the Sheikh
who pushed for Manila's hosting of
the event despite the postponement
last year owing to the devastation
wrought by super typhoon Haiyan.
On the agenda during the twoday conclave are the hosting of multisporting events beginning with the
Asian Games this year in Incheon,
Korea, as well as the Asian Indoor,
Asian Beach Games and Asian Youth
Olympics in the coming years.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. went
on a rampage again Jan. 7, telling
the whole world that he had
given Manny Pacquiao an
opportunity to fight him but the
Filipino star simply blew it and
that a megabuck matchup with
him won't ever happen as long as
he is promoted by Bob Arum.
S p e a k i n g to f i gh t hy p e ,
Mayweather lashed out at
Pacquiao and the Hall of Fame
promoter as the unbeaten US
fighter painted a picture of
himself as the one who shouldn't
be blamed for not giving the fight
fans that clash they want to see.
“I don't have a good
relationship with him (Arum),”
said Mayweather, who used to be
promoted by Top Rank.
Mayweather said that a fight
with Pacquiao can only become a
reality if Pacquiao gets rid of
Arum.
Pacquiao has a contract with
Arum that will last until the end
of this year and if he doesn't
renew his contract with him,
there could be a chance that they
could end up meeting in the ring
in 2015.
A few years back,
Mayweather said he got to speak
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
with Pacquiao on the phone and
he offered him $40 million but he
turned it down, stressing that he
deserves equal sharing of the
revenue since they're on the
same level.
But Mayweather said that
since Pacquiao has got a lot of
problems tax issues and a fading
popularity the 35-year-old
southpaw is short of being on
bended knees, pleading that he
gives him the chance to fight him.
Mayweather said “he
(Pacquiao) wants me so solve
them (problems) for him,” citing
Pacquiao's tax troubles in the US
and in the Philippines as reason
why he has suddenly become
interested in meeting him.
Mayweather is set to
Manny Pacquiao
announce his opponent for a May
3 fight at the MGM Grand in Las
Vegas and it is likely that he will
be rumbling with British
puncher Amir Khan although
Argentinian mauler Marcos
Maidana is also in the mix.
Pacquiao, like, Mayweather,
is also shopping for a foe for an
April 12 date likewise at the MGM
Grand and the frontrunners are
Tim Bradley of the US and Ruslan
Provodnikov of Russia.
Pressed for comment
y e s t e r d a y, A r u m p o l i t e l y
declined to say something on the
current issues, while Pacquiao's
mobile phone could not be
contacted and his adviser Mike
Koncz's didn't pick up the call.
Manila Bulletin
January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 29
The search is on… For
the Little Miss & Master
Philippines USA 2014
The search for Little Miss &
Master Philippines USA 2014 is
open to boys and girls age 6-12,
of Filipino ancestry. This will be
an exciting opportunity for all
the young candidates to have
the proper exposure in the
outside world in addition to
showing their diligence, talent
and overall personality.
This will also initiate our
little ones to be aware of
Filipino values and culture. The
candidates will be presented in
their best casual outfit on
Presentation of Candidates Saturday, March 22, 2014,
4pm at the Lovin' Life Learning
Center; Phone: 212-997-0125
x139; 4 West 43rd Street, New
York, NY. Each of them will
showcase their talents, either in
a solo or group number and will
subsequently be judged by a
panel of distinguished judges.
Their most awaited
moment will be held at
SpringFest on Sunday, April
27, 2014, 1pm at Astoria World
Manor, Queens, NY. The Little
Miss Philippines and Little
Master Philippines USA and
their court will eventually be
crowned together with their
sashes, trophies and the grand
prize of a round trip to Disney
World with accommodations.
Give your kids (or if you
know someone special) a
lifetime opportunity by
registering them right now!
Please call Joel Adriano (646)
269-6882; Alice Soriano (347)
750-9245; Marissa de Guzman
(646) 207-1481; Cristy Ras
(347) 241-4932 and Emie
Panganiban (917) 858-2940.
For more information, call
Nanding Mendez Fiesta in
America office: (212) 682-6610
email:sepmgzn@yahoo.com.
Visit www.philippinefiesta.com
EXPRESS SUDOKU
HOW TO PLAY: Place a number from 1 to 9 in each empty cell so that each
row, each column and each 3x3 block contains all the numbers from 1 to 9
Solution to Issue 02 Sudoku
Solution to Issue 02 Crossword
Industry Experts Rank EVA Air
Among World's 10 Safest Airlines
AirlineRatings.com uses strict criteria to make assessments
TAIPEI, Taiwan, 14 Jan., 2014 -Taiwan-based EVA Air has been ranked
as one of world's 10 safest airlines by
website AirlineRatings.com. Others
among the top 10, in alphabetical order,
are: Air New Zealand, All Nippon
Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways,
Emirates, Etihad Airways, Royal
Jordanian, Singapore Airlines, Qantas
a n d V i r g i n A t l a n t i c . E VA h a s
consistently been recognized by
organizations worldwide for its
spotless safety record. Information
about the website's recently released
2013 ratings and criteria are available
at www.AirlineRatings.com and
travelers can learn more about EVA's
quality services and commitment to
safety at www.evaair.com.
Though AirlineRatings.com is a
comparatively new website, its highlevel editors and content curators are
recognized around the globe for their
expertise and deep knowledge of the
industry. The website evaluated 448
airlines and rated them based on
analyses of information from aviation
governing bodies, governments,
leading industry associations and
crash data. To be considered among the
top 10, each airline was required to
have the maximum seven-star safety
rating and meet seven strict criteria.*
Then, AirlineRatings subjected its
shortlist to closer scrutiny.
“Our editors look more closely at
the airline's systems, management
oversight and leadership in safety in
the cockpit and maintenance,” said
AirlineRatings.com Editor-in-Chief
Geoffrey Thomas. “Our editors were
very impressed by EVA Air's attention
to fine detail and its impeccable safety
record. And, typically, the best safetyoriented airlines are also the best in
product.”
EVA has also earned seven stars
from AirlineRatings for its product.
Though that assessment was not
factored into these rankings, the
attention to detail that produces
quality service demonstrates that EVA
is likely to go the extra mile for safety as
well. For more than two decades, EVA
has never compromised maintenance,
repair or upkeep. It takes precautions
to ensure that every single flight is safe
from gate to gate. Achievements such
as this top-10 ranking are a credit to
both EVA and Taiwan's aviation
industry.
"It is a great honor to stand out in a
crowd of more than 400 carriers
worldwide and to be ranked as one of
the top-10 safest airlines,” said EVA
Chairman K. W. Chang. “We are
particularly proud of this recognition
because it is the result of a thorough
analysis by respected industry experts.
Flight safety is our most valuable asset.
Without it, we could not give our
passengers the service quality they
h ave c o m e to ex p e c t . We a re
encouraged in our efforts to be a worldclass airline.”
EVA has been recognized among
the world's 10 safest airlines by Aero
International Magazine's for the past
10 years, including 2013. And with
performance, it has demonstrated
zero-defects in IATA's Operational
Safety Audits (IOSA), performed every
two years since 2005.
EVA has also steadily renewed and
upgraded its fleet, replacing older
aircraft and introducing new, advanced
models, including Boeing 777-300ERs
and Airbus A321-200s.
By equipping its new planes with
the latest technologies, it is further
enhancing service quality and ensuring
flight safety.
The newest member of Star
Alliance, EVA uses its own welldeveloped route system to serve major
destinations worldwide, including
dozens of cities in Mainland China and
throughout Asia.
To or from Europe, Oceania, North
America and cities in every region of
Asia, EVA offers more easy, one-stop
onward connections to more major
business and leisure gateways than any
other airline.
Travelers can learn more about
AirlineRatings and its evaluations at
www.AirlineRatings.com and they can
book and buy tickets and select seats
fo r E VA f l i g h t s wo r l dw i d e by
contacting a travel agent, ticket broker,
tour operator or airline ticket office or
by clicking on www.evaair.com.
EXPRESS CROSSWORD
ACROSS
1. Ebbs
6. Largest continent
10. Recent events
14. Slack-jawed
15. Boring
16. Send forth
17. Reliable
19. Be dressed in
20. Ancient ascetic
21. Half of a pair
22. Flower stalk
23. Cognizant
25. Consecrate
26. Head of hair
30. Hesitant
32. Pillar
35. Saliva
39. Calm
40. Get
41. Belly
43. Smiled
contemptuously
44. Inveigle
46. Fishing poles
47. Gleam
50. Wash oneself
53. Lean
54. Dashed
55. Judge
60. Diva's solo
61. Capable of being
reached
63. Back
64. You (archaic)
65. Everglades bird
66. Countercurrent
67. A lustrous fabric
68. Displays
1. Walk in water
2. How old we are
3. Short sleeps
4. Type of sword
5. Ringworm cassia
6. American Dental
Association
7. Subvert
8. Sickness
9. Away from the wind
10. An open letter
11. Overact
12. Filaments
13. Originates in
DOWN
18. Morning moisture
24. Arctic bird
25. Hush money
26. Nonvascular plant
27. Assist in crime
28. Roman emperor
29. Primary
31. Atop
33. Absurd
34. Religious offshoot
36. Tropical tuber
37. Misled
38. Terminates
42. A portable brazier
43. Collection
45. Declare null and
void
47. Look at with
fixed eyes
48. Employed
49. Homeric epic
51. Possesses
52. S S S S
54. Rodents
56. Audible exhale
57. River of Spain
58. Killed
59. Collections
62. Startled cry
ACTION
CLASSIFIED
Rentals
Help Wanted
Jobs
January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 30
u
u
u
Personal u
Services
JOBS
AVAILABLE
Import/Admin
Assistant
GRANITE, MARBLE
fabrication workers,
polishing, installations.
Insurance, good pay.
FULL TIME only. Work
Permit a must.
Call 201-527-6199 Rich
Estd. Garment
Import Company in
Mid town
Manhattan seeks
an
experienced
female assistant
with excellent
computer and
communication
skills and able to
do multi task. Must
be organized.
CNC operators for busy
stone fabricator.
Experience helpful but
we'll train right person
with some CAD skills.
Work Permit a must.
Call 201-527-6199 Rich
CONSTRUCTION
Helpers and Foreman.
Experience helpful.
Good pay, FULL TIME.
Work Permit a must.
Ridgefield Park, NJ
07660.
Call 201-527-6199 Rich
Cleaning
Person
Wanted for
Motel in
Southampton,
New York
Full Time
Must speak
English
Fully furnished salon and spa
located in busy section of
Jersey City
555 Newark Avenue
Jersey City, NJ 07306
Contact person: Joy
Phone: 201-234-7152
Email: joylie555@gmail.com
PRICE: NEGOTIABLE
Good Salary
Email resume,
Attn. President:
Rgera@argeesportswear.com
Line Cook
with
experience
NOBU 57
Restaurant
Midtown
Start
March 15
Email resumes:
waden@nobure
staurants.com
Please send
resume/references to:
Dsegreti2002@aol.com
Fax resume:
212-757-4091.
TO ADVERTISE,
PLEASE CALL
201-434-1114
BUSINESS
FOR SALE
Please do not
send photos.
EOE
The Filipino Express is only
$40 a year for 52 issues
January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 31
January 17 - 23, 2014
Page 32

The Filipino Express v28 Issue 03

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