The Filipino Express v28 Issue 44

Transcription

Young Asian
Americans
mobilize new
Page 2
voters u
VOL. 28 w
NO. 44 w
Oct. 31-Nov. 6, 2014 w
NATIONAL EDITION w
NEW JERSEY w
NEW YORK w
201-434-1114 w
$1.00
Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia Jr. (left) and NLRB General Counsel
Richard Griffin (right) shake hands after signing the MoU between the NLRB and
the DFA. Photo by the National Labor Relations Board
PH, US sign agreement
on workers' education
By Matikas Santos
MANILA -- The Philippines and
the US have signed an agreement
that would ensure Filipino workers
there are informed and educated
about their rights under US labor
laws.
The Department of Foreign
Artists's rendering of the Iloilo Convention Center. Inset Senate President Franklin Drilon. Photo from
Iloilo Business Park and Inquirer file photo
Drilon sued
for plunder
Affairs (DFA) and the US National
Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
signed a Memorandum of Agreement
that would “provide Filipino
workers, their employers, and
Filipino business owners with
information, guidance, and access to
education regarding their rights and
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Over 'overpriced' convention center
By Nestor Corrales, Tetch
Torres-Tupas
MANILA -- Graft and plunder
charges were filed against Senate
President Franklin Drilon,
Tourism Secretary Ramon
Jimenez, Public Works Secretary
Rogelio Singson and other
Department of Public Works and
Highways officials before the
Ombudsman Wednesday, Oct. 29,
in connection with the allegedly
overpriced construction of the
Iloilo Convention Center.
Manuel Mejorada, a former
provincial administrator of Iloilo,
'OUR PLACE IN BATANGAS' Joanna Marie Bianca, youngest daughter of Vice
President Binay, may have provided “evidence” that her family owns the
sprawling agricultural estate in Rosario, Batangas province. Instagram photos
behind the allegedly overpriced
convention center.
“Siya po ang namuno nito.
Siya ang nag conceive nito at siya
po ang lumakad para sa project,”
he said in an interview over
Radyo Inquirer 990AM. (He led
this project. He conceived this,
and he arranged this project.)
He said he has documents to
prove that the supposed public
bidding was rigged.
“Mayroon akong matibay na
dokumento kung paano nilitson
o nilutong Macau ang bidding ng
Iloilo Convention ni Drilon,” he
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House approves P2.6
Trillion national budget
in a press conference claimed
the 2015 budget is the
President's campaign kitty as it
comes on the heels of the 2016
presidential elections.
Majority leader Neptali
Gonzales II moved for the
with a picture of three boys frolicking
plenary to approve the bill on
in a pool amid a grove of trees, read:
third
reading, but Act Teachers
“… our place in Batangas.”
Rep. Antonio Tinio objected to
In two other posts, Joanna
the motion, saying under the
uploaded a picture of her riding a
House
rules a budget bill must
Segway, and a photo of a uniquebe
certified
as urgent if it
looking bicycle, owned apparently by
contains
funds
for calamities.
brother Makati Mayor Jejomar
B u t Presidin g O ffic er
“Junjun” Binay Jr., both in front of the
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farm's clubhouse. In yet another, she
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Cayetano cites Instagram posts as
proof of Binays' farm ownership
MANILA -- Vice President
Jejomar Binay's youngest daughter
Joanna Marie Bianca may have
unwittingly provided proof that their
family owned the high-end P1.2billion farm in Batangas province.
In her Instagram (IG) account
jmblicious, Joanna posted messages
and pictures of the farm's amenities,
claiming the property as “our place.”
One of her posts, which came
filed the charges including
malversation of public funds,
violation of procurement law,
anti-graft and corrupt practices
act and dishonesty and grave
misconduct against Drilon and
other officials.
The charges stemmed from
the allegedly overpriced Iloilo
Convention Center, a purported
P700-million pet project of
Drilon being carried out by
Hilmarc's Construction Corp., the
contractor of the allegedly
overpriced Makati parking
building.
Mejorada said Drilon was
MANILA -- Despite the
minority's efforts to block its
passage, the House of
R e p r e s e n t a t i v e s
overwhelmingly approved on
third and final reading the
P2.606 trillion national budget
for 2015.
But not without the
minority bloc putting up a fight.
The group claimed that the
President's certification of the
budget bill as urgent does not
mean it has to be passed,
especially with its errata
portions.
A t
l e a s t
1 9 8
representatives moved to
approved the budget, while 18
voted no and none abstained.
Meanwhile, there were no
abstentions.
Among those who voted no
are members of the Makabayan
bloc, Abakada Rep. Jonathan
Dela Cruz, Buhay Rep. Lito
Atienza, and United Nationalist
Alliance interim president,
Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco.
The minority had
traditionally opposed the
budget in the plenary. The bloc
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 2
THE FILIPINO EXPRESS
Juan Flavier's
body to lie in state
at UP Diliman
At Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, the Inter-Asian Council has registered over
100 new voters
Pilipino American Unity for Progress, or
UniPro, has been conducting voter
education workshops and registering
voters in New York City and surrounding
n e i g h b o r h o o d s i n N ew J e rs ey.
Contributed photos
Young Asian Americans
mobilize new voters
WASHINGTON, DC -- Seven
university student groups and
community-based organizations,
including Filipino American
initiatives, are on youth-led voter
mobilization campaigns
supported by APIAVote Young
Voter Initiative.
Grantees are based in New
York, Massachusetts, Maryland,
Florida, Georgia, Texas and
Washington state, trying to engage
youth in communities and on
college campuses that have critical
numbers of young AAPI voters.
Last month, the University of
Central Florida Pi Delta Psi
Fraternity, Inc. Chapter hosted
Culture Shock, a talent show that
drew an audience of 200 students
who had the opportunity to
register. Across the country, AAPI
student leaders from Bellevue
College partnered with
Washington BUS to register 420
voters.
Immigration reform and
education are some of the issues
that Cambodian American youth
are addressing with the Angkor
Resource Center in Riverdale,
Georgia. In Boston, the Asian
American Resource Workshop is
conducting voter engagement
activities with the Vietnamese
American community in the
Dorchester neighborhood.
At Johns Hopkins University in
Maryland, the Inter-Asian Council
has collaborated with Asian ethnic
student groups and has had the
support of the Black Student Union
to register over 100 new voters.
Up north, Pilipino American
Unity for Progress, or UniPro, has
been conducting voter education
workshops and registering voters
in New York City and surrounding
neighborhoods in New Jersey.
Through social media,
community events and outreach,
APIAVote partners have registered
over 600 new voters and are
currently engaged in phone
banking, canvassing and getting
voters to pledge to turn up at the
polls. Inquirer.net
MANILA -- The remains of
former senator and health
secretary Juan M. Flavier will lie
in state at the Church of the Risen
Lord in UP Diliman for the public
starting on the morning of
October 31, Friday until the
afternoon of November 3,
Monday, a family member said
Thursday, Oct. 30.
Roby Alampay, Flavier's sonin-law, said on his Facebook
account that the family will
appreciate if the public will
channel contributions to a still
undisclosed charity instead of
sending flowers.
“Sen. Juan Flavier will be
brought to the Church of the
Risen Lord in UP Diliman.
Members of the public may pay
their final respects from Friday
morning till Monday afternoon.
The Flavier family is discouraging
the sending of flowers, in lieu of
contributions to a charity to be
announced later. Lubos pong
nagpapasalamat ang buong
pamilyang Flavier sa lahat ng
pakikiramay at dasal,” Alampay
said.
Flavier succumbed to
multiple organ failure and
sepsise to pneumonia Thursday
afternoon. He was 79.
Juan Flavier. Inquirer file photo
Flavier served as the health
secretary from 1992 to 1995 and
a senator for two terms from
1995 to 2007.
Miriam: Flavier was my 'best
friend'
Meanwhile, Senator Miriam
Santiago, Flavier's colleague in
the Senate, took to social media to
express her grief over the death of
her “best friend”.
“Sen. Juan Flavier was my
best friend in the Senate. The
world is sadder because he is
gone. Rest well, my friend,”
Santiago tweeted.
Santiago served with Flavier
during the 10th Congress from
1995 to 2001. Inquirer.net
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 3
Merkel gifts China's leader
Xi with map of ancient Asia
By TJ Burgonio
MANILA -- German
Chancellor Angela Merkel had
gifted Chinese President Xi
Jinping with an old map of
ancient Asia that did not carry
China's nine-dash line, foreign
affairs officials said on Friday,
Oct. 24.
Xi, in one of his visits to
Germany early this year or late
last year, received a 17th
century map of Asia as a present
from Merkel, said Henry
Bensurto Jr., consul general in
San Francisco.
“What is very telling in that
17th century map is that there is
no nine-dash line, and that
Hainan does not belong also to
China,” Bensurto, one of the
leading experts on the West
Philippine Sea, told the Senate
finance subcommittee.
Under its nine-dash-line
policy, China claims 90 percent
of the 3.5-million-squarekilometer South China Sea. The
Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia,
Brunei and Taiwan claim parts
of it.
C h i n a' s s o u t h e r n m o s t
province, Hainan, passed in
EU lauds PH's K-12,
academic calendar shift
By Matikas Santos
could only join a program abroad 6
or 9 months later because the
MANILA -- The K-12 education timings don't work,” Vasallo said.
system and the academic calendar
“By aligning the study year with
shift are two steps that would allow other parts of the world it helps a
Filipinos seeking to get into lot. From the perspective of access
affordable higher education to education abroad, [the calendar
institutions in Europe, a European shift is] a move in the right
Union official said Oct. 29.
direction,” he said.
“The K-12 system makes the
The European Higher Education
Filipino education system more Fair this year will be the biggest
understandable to outsiders and w i t h 4 3 h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n
definitely it would make it easier for institutions from all over Europe
Filipino student to access higher p a r t i c i p a t i n g a n d o f f e r i n g
education institutions abroad,” scholarship, academic programs,
Julian Vassallo, political counsellor etc. to Filipino students, professors,
of the EU Delegation in the and academics.
Philippines, told INQUIRER.net
Vassallo said that the number of
“It is to be encouraged and to be participating higher education
German Chancellor Angela Merkel. AP Photo
lauded [because it] brings the institutions from Europe has
P h i l i p p i n e s c l o s e r t o t h e gradually increased, from just 24 in
November 2013 a new fisheries
set up a private dinner with the
international standard,” he said at 2012 and to 34 in 2013, which
law requiring foreign vessels to
president of the five-member
the sidelines of an event promoting means they are finally taking notice
seek permission from regional
tribunal when it was constituted
EU's third European Higher of the Philippine market.
authorities before conducting
to look into the Philippine case
Education Fair that will be held on
“There is quite an ignorance of
fishing or surveying activities in
in 2013.
November 15.
the Philippine market. Many parts
its waters.
The president later issued
R e g a r d i n g t h e a c a d e m i c of Europe don't think of the
The Philippines has filed a
an open letter that the parties
c a l e n d a r s h i f t t h a t s o m e Philippines as a natural place to go
memorandum questioning
could not unilaterally approach
u n i v e r s i t i e s h a v e a l r e a d y to. Many don't even know that
China's nine-dash-line policy
the tribunal, and “everything
implemented, Vassallo said it would Filipinos speak English well which
with an arbitration tribunal in
will be treated aboveboard,” he
help those students looking for [is a key factor] that opens up a lot of
The Hague under the United
said. “This is a good indication of
academic programs abroad.
doors,” Vassallo said.
Nations on Law of the Sea.
the level of high integrity of the
“It avoids wasted time
He also hopes that the higher
Bensurto also told the
judges, especially the president
[because] students sometimes find education fair will make Filipinos
committee that the Chinese
of the tribunal,” he said.
themselves in a situation where b e c o m e m o re awa re o f t h e
ambassador in London tried to
they would graduate and then they
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Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 4
EU lauds Ph’s ...
From page 3
Josefina Tallado and her husband Camarines Norte Gov. Edgardo A. Tallado. TV GRAB FROM ABS CBN
PROGRAMS “UMAGANG KAY GANDA” AND “TV PATROL”
Camarines Norte governor
in sex scandal apologizes
Tallado also appeals against spread of controversial photos
MANILA -- Camarines
Norte Governor Edgardo
Tallado on Monday, Oct. 27,
apologized to his constituents
a n d a s ke d h i s p o l i t i c a l
opponents to stop spreading
photos of him and his alleged
mistress, saying the
controversy has nothing to do
with his work as a government
official.
“ To my p o l i t i c a l
opponents, please stop
spreading those photos you
have posted on Facebook. That
is very lewd. That has nothing
to do with my job,” Tallado said
in Filipino.
The video shared by DZMM
on YouTube showed Tallado
giving a speech in front of his
constituents.
Authorities and the public
were earlier alarmed at the
news that Tallado's wife and a
female friend have gone
missing. The wife, Josefina
“ J o s i e ” B a n i n g - Ta l l a d o
surfaced days after and
revealed that she ran away
upon learning that her
husband was having an affair.
She said there was a threat to
her life.
Although the governor did
not answer the accusation of
his wife, he addressed the
issue of his infidelity.
“If I did something wrong, I
am only human. I am only
human. I also have
weaknesses. I hope everyone
understands this,” he said.
Ta l l a d o s a i d h e w i l l
welcome criticisms from
political foes about his work as
governor.
“A s s a i l m e i f i t h a s
something to do with my job. I
am now able to face you
because this is not an issue of
stealing public funds,” he said.
Inquirer.net
MANILA -- A 29-year-old
club worker on Tuesday, Oct.
28, filed a complaint for rape
before the National Bureau of
Investigation against Southern
Police District-Special
O p e ra t i o n s h e a d
Superintendent Erwin Emelo.
In her complaint, the
victim said the police officer
allegedly locked her inside his
office and sexually abused her.
The victim who worked as
a model at the Miss Universe
Club in Pasay City said that at
around 2 a.m. of Oct. 23, the
SPD raided the club where she
is working for lack of the
required documents to
operate.
The club operator pleaded
saying they are already in the
Merkel gifts ...
From page 3
Bensurto volunteered the
information when Sen. Loren Legarda
asked about the implication of
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's recent
visit to Germany on the Philippine
case. A tribunal member comes from
Germany.
Legarda chaired the finance
subcommittee that deliberated on the
2015 budget of the Department of
Foreign Affairs.
After the hearing, Bensurto
confirmed submitting voluminous
documents, including several maps, to
bolster the Philippine case.
“We have maps and everything. If
you have one thousand maps, you only
need what is sufficient to bring in your
point,” he said when asked if the map
given by Merkel to Xi was among the
evidence. “One thing for sure, in our
memorial, we said it (China's claim)
was not really historical.”
Foreign Secretary Albert del
Rosario said the tribunal was expected
to issue its resolution in early 2016
before President Aquino steps down.
Del Rosario said China has been
given until Dec. 15 to respond to the
Philippine submission. If it fails to
respond to this, the tribunal would set
oral questions for the Philippines in
March 2015.
“By July, this would conclude. We
hope to have an award by 2016,” he told
the committee. Inquirer.net
Health Administration (OSHA) of the
Department of Labor.
The US is home to the largest
From page 1
overseas population of Filipinos at
responsibilities under the National almost 3.5 million, according to the
Labor Relations Act,” the Philippine December 2012 figures of the
Embassy in Washington, D.C. said in a Commission on Filipinos Overseas.
The large majority of Filipinos in
statement Friday, Oct. 24.
Philippine Ambassador to the US the US have a permanent status while
Jose Cuisia, Jr., who signed for the DFA, there are an estimated 126,000
described the agreement as a “step temporary and 271,000 irregular or
process to secure the
forward in the fulfillment of our undocumented Filipinos.
documents.
Under the US National Labor
mandate to protect worker rights.”
Still, the employees that
“As we partner with you in helping Relations Act, workers are guaranteed
included 65 women were
foster greater awareness among “the right to join together, with or
brought to the police office in
Filipino workers of their rights to without a union, to improve their
Fort Bonifacio Taguig City.
freedom of association and collective wages and working conditions, or to
The victim said she was at
bargaining, we hope to do our part in refrain from such activities,” the
the station's canteen when
embassy said.
promoting the essence of dignity at
Emelo approached her and
“Employers and employees alike
work which they deserve, while at the
bought her some bread.
same time empowering them with are protected from unfair labor
She said he asked her if she
decision-making capabilities available practices,” it said.
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Page 5
The NLRB, the Philippine Embassy
to them in a free and open society,”
in Washington, D.C., along with NLRB
Cuisia said.
This agreement is the third the Regional Offices and Philippine
Philippines has entered into with US Consulates in New York, Chicago, Los
labor agencies. The Embassy had Angeles, San Francisco and Honolulu,
previously signed agreements with will cooperate to provide outreach,
the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) education, and training, and to develop
and the Occupational Safety and best practices. Inquirer.net
Club worker files rape
rap vs SPD officer
By Tetch Torres-Tupas
affordability of most European
universities in comparison to those in
the United States or Great Britain.
“In Europe, they have very
reasonable tuition prices. Many
Europeans can go to university for free
because it is heavily subsidized by the
state,” Vasallo said.
“In most of Europe, there is an
approach to education that is not
elitist. A university degree is not for the
rich, they are for anybody who has the
brains to get them. Filipinos should
look into the numbers and they will be
surprised at how affordable European
universities are,” he said.
The fair will be held in the
Intercontinental Hotel in Makati and
will be open to the public for free from
10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Among the well-known European
universities joining the fair are the
University of Arts London and the
London College of Contemporary Arts
in the UK, University of Antwerp in
Belgium, Zealand Institute of Business
and Technology in Denmark, Central
European University in Hungary,
Holland International Study Center in
The Netherlands, and the SorbonneAssas International Law School.
More information about the fair
c a n b e f o u n d a t w w w. E H E F Philippines.org. Inquirer.net
PH, US sign ...
Drilon sued ...
From page 1
said. (I have strong evidence as to how
Drilon rigged the bidding for the Iloilo
Convention Center.)
He claimed that Drilon set aside
P200 million from his Priority
Development Assistance Fund (Pdaf),
P200 million from the Department of
Tourism and P100 million from
Malacañang's Disbursement
Acceleration Program (DAP), parts of
which were declared unconstitutional
by the Supreme Court.
An additional of P200 million, he
said, was also funded by DAP.
Mejorada said the cost of the
construction ballooned from P192
million to P488 million.
The project was supposed to be
concluded by March 2015.
Aside from Drilon, Jimenez and
Singson, Tourism Infrastructure and
Enterprise Zone Authority board
director Mark Lapid, Public Work
Undersecretaries Jaime Pacanan and
Romeo Momo, DPWH Regional
Director Edilberto Tayao, DPWH Iloilo
Engr. Marilyn Celiz, W.V Coscolluela
and Associates and Hillmarcs
Construction Corp. also face charges.
Mejorada said his move to file
charges against Drilon was not
politically motivated. Inquirer.net
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 5
'Cemetiquette': Do's, don't's on Nov. 1 and 2
Nathaniel R. Melican
MANILA -- People trooping to
cemeteries this weekend to mark All
Saints' Day and All Souls' Day should
study their “Cemetiquette” so they
would not litter the graveyards with
their garbage.
This was the message from
members of the environmental
advocate EcoWaste Coalition, who
trooped to North Cemetery in
Manila on Tuesday, Oct. 28, to inform
the public of the “10
commandments” of Cemetiquette,
or cemetery etiquette.
Observing the etiquette
hopefully would lead to waste-free
cemeteries at the end of the
holidays.
“Cemetiquette aims to promote
environmental responsibility and
commonsensical good manners in
the cemeteries while drawing
attention to bad practices that show
disrespect for the dead [and] for the
living,” said Christina Vergara, the
group's Zero Waste Program Officer.
To drive their message home to
cemetery goers, members of the
group wore pig masks while dancing
the zumba by the front gates of
Manila's North Cemetery.
Vergara said the masks would
remind people not to leave their
trash behind.
Mascot named 'Zombasura'
The group has a mascot, called
“Zombasura,” their personification
of the trash that has to be cleaned up
after the holidays on Nov. 1 and 2.
“As part of our yearly campaign
for waste- and pollution-free
celebrations, we took on the Zumba
craze to remind our fellow cemetery
g o e r s t o ke e p i n m i n d t h e
'Cemetiquette' and do away with
'Zombasura' habits as a way of
showing deep and genuine respect
for our departed kindred and
friends,” Vergara said.
“We ask the public to please
don't turn the cemetery into a
pigsty.”
After the zumba session,
members spread out in the
cemetery posting placards
containing the Cemetiquette rules.
The 10 rules are:
1. Choose lead-free candles that
do not yield black fumes or soot.
Limit the number of candles to
reduce heat and pollution. Be
cautious so as not to let candle fire
touch plastic receptacles or holders.
2. Offer fresh flowers, not
plastic ones, or consider bringing
potted plants and flowers instead.
Avoid wrapping floral or plant
offerings in plastic, which will
sooner or later end up as trash.
3. Bring your own water jug to
avoid purchasing bottled water.
Discarded plastic bottles add to the
country's garbage problem. Plastic
bottles, which are petrochemical
products, also require lots of oil and
chemicals to manufacture.
4. Go for waste-free meals. Say
yes to reusable containers and
utensils, such as lunch boxes and
thermos, cloth napkins and
Club worker ...
From page 4
would like to go to his room to talk,
but she said no. He then asked if she
would like to rest in his office and said
she could bring a friend too, she
agreed.
When she, her friend and Emelo
were inside the room, she said
someone locked the room from the
outside.
Then, she said the police official
began touching her and asked her if
she could be his girlfriend. But she
deflected his advances and said that
she was already married and he left
her. But he made the offer several
times.
The victim said the police officer
even said he would not include her in
the inquest if she would agree to be
his girlfriend. But when she still did
not agree to his demands, he
threatened to point a gun at her.
At around 2 p.m. of Oct. 23, she
clean as a courtesy to the next user.
Do not defecate or urinate in public
places.
10. Refrain from smoking in the
cemetery. Show consideration for
the children, the elderly, pregnant
women and others around who have
respiratory and heart ailments.
THOU SHALT NOT BE A PIG. Zero waste advocates wearing pig face masks with
garbage on their bodies issue 10 commandments to guide their conduct in the
cemetery and show respect for their beloved dead. Miss Philippines Earth
beauties do the “Zombasura dance” with members of EcoWaste Coalition.
JOAN BONDOC
silverwares. Say no to throw-away
bags, wraps, foils, styrofoam
packaging, paper napkins, and forks
and spoons.
Also, refrain from patronizing
junk food and go for simple yet
nutritious home-prepared meals.
5. For food and beverage, buy
and bring only what you can
consume to avoid spoilage. Bring
“bayong” or other reusable bags to
carry your stuff and purchases, and
refuse plastic bags and wrappers
from vendors.
6. Reduce your waste size by not
creating trash in the first place, such
as by purchasing products with the
said he raped her while her friend was
told to face the other way so as not to
see the alleged assault.
By the time she and her friend
were released around 3 p.m., the SPD
already filed the case against her
colleagues.
When she returned home, she
received a text message from Emelo
asking if she was OK. So that he would
not know of her plans to file a
complaint against him, she said she
was OK.
“He has destroyed my life. I have
spent sleepless nights, worrying
about my family. I could not even do
my usual routine I could not even eat.
I am afraid because he is a police
official but for as long as I know that
what I am doing is right I will not back
down,” the victim said.
At first, she went to the Criminal
Investigation and Detection Group
(CIDG) at around 1 a.m. of Oct. 25 but
she later felt that she would not get a
fair treatment and decided to proceed
to the NBI. Inquirer.net
least amount of packaging and
avoiding single-use disposable
plastic containers.
7. Don't litter, dump or burn
trash in the cemetery. Do not throw
cigarette butts, candy wrappers,
discarded packaging, fruit peels and
the like on the ground.
Remember to leave the resting
place of your loved ones litter-free.
8. Put your discards into
recycling bins if available. Better
still, bring your own discard bags
and take these home for sorting,
reusing, recycling or composting.
9. Relieve yourself only in the
toilet. Keep the urinal or toilet bowl
Miss Earth beauties
Miss Earth Philippines 2014
Jamie Herrell and other Miss Earth
Philippines winners joined
Tuesday's assembly at North
Cemetery.
Herrell said trash had no place in
the cemeteries.
“Garbage and anything that can
make our surroundings ugly should
have no place in the undas
celebration. We join the EcoWaste
Coalition in imploring the public to
keep cemeteries clean and safe as
we remember our departed dear
ones,” she said.
Ecowaste Coalition's campaign
was supported by the city
government, Manila North
Cemetery administration, and Tzu
Chi Foundation, which have made it
their mission to clean up trash from
cemeteries.
After the All Saints' and All
Souls' Day celebrations last year, the
Metropolitan Manila Development
Authority said it collected over 100
truckloads of garbage in 23
cemeteries around Metro Manila.
Most of the garbage was collected
from the Manila's North Cemetery.
Inquirer.net
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 6
Mercado shows proof Mrs. Binay
owns Batangas property
By Maila Ager
MANILA -- The wife of Vice
President Jejomar Binay had
allegedly signed a document
identifying herself as the
owner of the controversial
property in Batangas, former
Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto
Mercado told a Senate hearing
on Thursday, Oct. 30.
Testifying at the Senate
blue ribbon subcommittee on
Thursday, Mercado said
Binay's wife and former
Makati Mayor Elenita Binay
signed a letter dated
September 10, 1997 allegedly
pertaining to the
“architectural design services
“ and “scheduled of fees” for
the construction of a rest
house in Rosario town, in
Batangas province.
“A n g t o t a l p o n y a n ,
nagkakahalaga ng
P 3 5 0 , 0 0 0 … . Ya n p o a y
pinirmahan.. Nakalagay po
dyan ay conforme o sinasangayunan yung nasabing
proposal. Ang nakapirma po
dyan, owner Dra. Elenita
Binay,” Mercado said, referring
to the letter.
“Yan po ang nagpapatunay
n a s ya a n g k u m u h a n g
arkitekto at sya ang nagsasabi
na sya ang may ari…” he said.
Former Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado. Inquirer file photo
Mercado also showed
another letter-proposal from
the former engineer of the city
government, Renato
Mandrique, for the purchase of
two units of grinder discs to be
used at the Agri-Fortuna farm.
He said Mandrique made
another request for new water
tanks for a piggery in Rosario,
Batangas.
The Vice President's camp
had earlier admitted that he
had a piggery farm in the
controversial property in the
province but said he divested
his interest of the farm in 2010.
While he said he was not
sure that the city government
was the one that paid for all the
expenses, Mercado noted that
the price quotations were all
addressed to the city hall.
“Hindi po ako siguradong
sigurado na Makati ang
nagbayad pero the fact na
naka-address po yan sa
Makati…Ang sinasabi ko po
dyan yun pong quotation ay
naka address sa engineer ng
Makati,” he said.
The Vice President had
repeatedly denied owning the
B a t a n g a s p r o p e r t y.
Inquirer.net
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Cayetano cites ...
From page 1
posted a picture of her father, the Vice
President, wearing a bull cap and a
jacket, holding a microphone, with the
message: “its karaoke time!”
The pictures were apparently taken
in December 2012.
Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano on
Thursday, Oct. 30, presented the Binay
daughter's Instagram posts to dispute
claims by the Binay family that it leased
only 9 hectares of the 350-hectare farm
in Rosario town.
“Did you file a case against
jmblicious?” Cayetano asked lawyer
Martin Subido at the resumption of the
Senate blue ribbon subcommittee
inquiry into Makati City's allegedly
overpriced P2.28-billion parking
building.
Subido, lawyer for the Vice
President and businessman Antonio
Tiu, responded: “Your honor, it's not
contrary to the rights of Sunchamp.”
Cayetano pressed on and asked
what “our place in Batangas” meant.
Subido said: “This could mean
anything.” Cayetano asked: “In what
world?” The lawyer replied: “In any
sensible man's world.”
Cayetano then asked: “Doesn't that
mean they own it?” Subido responded:
“Your honor, I don't see the question,
'Where are you?”
The senator then clicked on the slide
showing the young Binay's response to a
friend asking about the backdrop of her
pictures: “our place in batangas,” and
said: “That answers your question.”
Subido maintained that the Binays
were not claiming a right “adverse” to
Sunchamp Real Estate Development
Corp.
Not proof of ownership
Pictures do not prove ownership,
according to the Binay camp.
“Nag-videoke ka lang, may-ari ka na
(Does enjoying a videoke mean that you
own the property)?” Binay's spokesman
Cavite Gov. Jonvic Remulla said
immediately after the photos were
shown at the hearing.
Remulla said the Vice President and
his family had been “open about using
facilities and visiting Rosario.”
This was because Binay's wife, Dr.
Elenita Binay, has a flower farm inside
the property, according to the Cavite
governor.
“But these photos, like previous
photos shown by Senator Cayetano, are
not proof of ownership,” Remulla said.
Former Makati Vice Mayor Nestor
Mercado has accused Binay of owning
the sprawling estate with luxurious
amenities, such as a mansion, a maze
garden, orchard and horse ranch.
Tiu, owner of Sunchamp, has come
forward as the owner of 150-hectares of
the estate.
Subido claimed that the farm was
only 145 ha, not 350 ha, and 9 ha of this
was leased by Binay starting 1994.
Binay's JCB Farms occupied three
hectares.
Binay said he sold JCB Farms for P10
million to Agrifortuna, which is owned
by Laureano Gregorio. The Binay couple
had been incorporators of Agrifortuna
for a paid-up capital of P50,000 but sold
their shares to Gregorio in 1995,
according to the Binay camp.
Sunchamp acquired Gregorio's
rights to the property, and this has been
disclosed to the Philippine Stock
Exchange.
Tiu, also chair of agro-commercial
enterprise AgriNurture Inc. and holding
firm for renewable energy businesses
Greenergy Holdings, earlier said
Sunchamp was leasing land from
several parties, including Agrifortuna
Inc., but the contract with Agrifortuna
was for less than 10 ha.
Most powerful pictures
C aye t a n o s h o we d a l e n g t hy
PowerPoint presentation complete with
TV reports showing different holders of
titles to the farm close to the Binays,
magazine write-ups referring to it as the
Binay Farm, and pictures of the Binays
inside the farm.
“The most powerful pictures come
from the Binay family themselves,” he
said.
The pictures included that of Binay,
clad in fatigues and combat boots,
apparently touring friends in the estate.
“Tomorrow is Halloween,” Cayetano
said, drawing chuckles. “When the Vice
President was there, it wasn't
Halloween. Perhaps, you don't go to a
resort or a home of a friend in a costume.
If you're going around in fatigues, that
means you're at home; you own the
place.”
Tiu said he respected Cayetano's
opinion.
“I never wore fatigues except during
the ROTC (Reserved Officers Training
Course),” Tiu said. He said he'd wear
Captain America or Iron Man costumes
to a party, but not on an ordinary day.
“It's not my kind of thing, too.”
Cayetano then remarked: “He's
welcome to answer. If it wasn't his place,
why would he wear fatigues when we're
not in a war?”
Tiu confirmed that Binay's wife, Dr.
Elenita Binay, was free to roam the farm
beyond the 9 hectares as long as she
cleared this with Sunchamp.
He admitted seeing the Vice
President visit the farm once. But when
it came to the Binay children, he said he
had yet to see Sunchamp's records of
visitors.
“So far I have not met them at the
farm,” the businessman said of the Binay
children.
Tiu said Dr. Elenita had access to the
farm because the Binays leased 9
hectares of it.
“As a courtesy to the wife of the Vice
President, I didn't stop her from going
around,” he said.
Tailor sews stories together
When Cayetano asked if they were
doing these as “acts of ownership,” Tiu
replied that there was no problem with
the Binays touring the farm as long as
they cleared this first with Sunchamp.
“They went there more often than I
did,” he said.
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV butted in,
and said: “Again, we've caught him
lying… I told you it's hard to be a tailor
and sew stories together.”
He said Tiu had claimed the Binays
were limited to visiting the orchard. Tiu
denied saying this. Inquirer.net
TO ADVERTISE, PLEASE CALL
201-434-1114
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 7
Climate change plans to get P136B
to ensure spending transparency
By Ben O. de Vera
This handout photo taken on January 19, 2013 and released on January 20, 2013 by the
Philippine Western Command (WESCOM) shows an aerial shot of US Navy minesweeper,
the USS Guardian, as it remains trapped on the Tubbataha reef after it ran aground on the
western Philippine island of Palawan. AFP FILE PHOTO
PH soon to get P87M
from US for damage
to Tubbataha Reefs
By Nestor Corrales
MANILA -- The P87 million
payment of the United States for the
damage caused by its Navy ship to the
Tubbataha Reefs off Palawan is now on
its “documentation stage,” a Palace
official said.
Presidential Communications
Operations Office head Herminio
Coloma Jr. said Saturday that the
government is now finalizing the
documents needed for the appropriate
compensation.
“According to the statement of the
Department of Foreign Affairs, it is now
on the documentation stage,” Coloma
said on state-run radio.
He said the P87-million damage
compensation for the Tubbataha was
the amount sought by the Philippines.
“Let us wait for the documentation
and finalization,” he said.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del
Rosario on Friday said the US has
agreed to pay the compensation and
that the documentation was being
prepared.
US Ambassador Philip Goldberg,
h o we ve r, s a i d o n Fr i d ay t h a t
Washington and Manila were yet to
conclude their talks on the issue of
compensation.
“We've got an offer and we're very
near a conclusion to it,” Goldberg said.
In January 2013, the minesweeper
ship USS Guardian ran aground on the
south atoll of the Tubbataha Reefs, a
delicate ecosystem treasured for its
rich marine biodiversity.
The grounding damaged 2,345
square meters of coral on the reefs,
considered a World Heritage Site by
the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Inquirer.net
The government has
allotted a total of P136.3
billion in the proposed 2015
national budget for climate
change response programs
on top of a World Bankassisted initiative aimed at
promoting transparency
when spending this fund.
In a statement released
by the World Bank last
Friday, the multilateral
lender noted that 53 national
government agencies had
“ t a g g e d ” m o re t h a n 5
percent of the total 2015
budget for climate change
initiatives.
Of the P136.3 billion, 98
percent would be spent on
disaster risk reduction, flood
control, reforestation as well
as climate change research
and development in the
areas of agriculture, energy,
environment, infrastructure
and science and technology.
The tagging initiative,
which used guidelines
issued by the Climate Change
Commission (CCC) and the
Department of Budget and
Management (DBM), was
introduced in the 2015
budget process through an
Australian government cofunded technical assistance
from the World Bank.
“The tagging exercise
m a ke s c l i m a t e c h a n g e
spending so much more
transparent and
accountable. More
important, however, is what
the process means for our
climate change management
program in the long term.
Tagging lets us access timely
information that will be
useful when agencies plan,
implement and monitor
their climate change
management programs.
Altogether, we're taking a
very strategic approach to
government spending so
that our climate change
initiatives are properly
s u p p o r t e d ,” B u d g e t
Secretary Florencio B. Abad
was quoted by the World
Bank as saying.
According to World Bank
country director Motoo
Konishi, “climate change is a
very important development
issue that the world should
confront squarely in order to
eliminate extreme poverty.”
“Climate change impacts
could reduce cultivable land,
diminish agricultural
productivity and decrease
fisheries catch, which would
disproportionately hurt
poor communities in highrisk urban and rural areas
dependent on subsistence
livelihoods. We are happy
that the Philippines is
demonstrating leadership
on this matter through its
strong commitment to a
c o m p re h e n s ive re fo r m
program,” Konishi said.
The progress report
titled “Mobilizing the Budget
for Climate Change
Response in the Philippines”
released by the World Bank,
CCC and DBM last week
showed that the country has
been making inroads in
integrating the climate
change agenda into
government budgeting and
planning in a bid to
strengthen resiliency
against the bad effects of
climate change. Inquirer.net
Purchase Your
Home for Less
By Grace G. Baldisseri
House approves
P2.6 Trillion ...
From page 1
Deputy Speaker Carlos Padilla said as
in the previous congresses, a budget
bill need only be certified as urgent by
the President even without calamity
funds.
“All we ask is time to review the
submission by the Department of
Budget and Management (DBM). Is
that unfair?!” Atienza said.
“Hindi natin alam anong bill inaapprove natin. I don't know, Mr.
Speaker,” Bayan Muna Rep. Neri
Colmenares also said.
Gonzales said the minority should
not block the passage of the bill as it is
their constitutional mandate to
approve the budget on time.
“Enacting the budget is not only the
duty of Congress, it's the duty of
Congress as pronounced by the
Constitution,” Gonzales said.
Bayan Muna had claimed that at
least P430 billion of the P2.606 trillion
budget is part of the DBM errata.
Appropriations panel chair Davao City
Rep. Isidro Ungab called Bayan Muna's
claims as “misleading” and said that
the DBM wants to correct only P4.7
billion of the budget.
Before the budget approval,
Gonzales figured in a debate with
Colmenares over what the militant
solon claimed as questionable P423
billion budget for the Allocation for
Local Government Units (ALGU).
Colmenares asked if the ALGU
budget is part of the errata. But
Gonzales said the ALGU cannot be
considered an errata because it is
lumped with the Internal Revenue
Allotment (IRA), which is an automatic
appropriation.
“I t h i n k t h e re i s a
misunderstanding on what is being
referred as errata. There are no errata
in so far as the IRA is concerned,”
Gonzales said of the local government
unit's automatic appropriation on
their share of the income tax.
After third reading, the bill will be
transmitted to the Senate where it will
undergo its own deliberation. The bill
will then be approved by the bicameral
conference committee composed of
both Houses of Congress, which will
consolidate its two versions of the
budget . The bill will then be
transmitted to the President for final
approval. The proposed 2015 budget is
15.1 percent higher than the approved
2014 budget worth P2.265 trillion.
The Makabayan bloc had vowed to
question the 2015 budget before the
Supreme Court. Inquirer.net
New York – It was an hour-and-a-half
travel from Journal Square to Long Island
where I visited MELVIN CASTILLO, Senior
Loan Officer for United Northern Mortgage
Brokers, Ltd., a fast growing Bank based in
Long Island, NY.
Melvin is the man who could help you
obtain financing to purchase or refinance
homes and investment properties. He could
also help if you want to purchase your home
for as low as 3.5% down payment.
His unique style of personalize service
makes a difference among his clients as he
takes the time to evaluate the whole
situation and recommends what is most
suitable for them. He makes it his duty to
keep them informed throughout the process
as he knows that it is one of the biggest
investments they will undertake.
Melvin treats his clients with kindness
and respect. He made sure the transaction is
as smooth as possible and wants to have a
long term relationship with each client. The
clients are of diverse cultures and 9 out of 10
comes back and they even recommend
United Northern Mortgage Brokers to their
friends and relatives for their home
financing needs.
His personal goals include quality time
with wife and kids; and striving for
excellence in his job as he sees himself
growing with this company. Only five
months at United Northern Mortgage
Melvin Castillo
Bankers, Ltd. he sees himself growing with
this company for the rest of his life.
With dedication, commitment and
support of management, the company is
moving forward to a better future. Next year,
he forecast that there will be another branch
that will be opened in New York area.
Since 1979, United Northern Mortgage
Bankers, Ltd is a trusted lender and if you
want to know more about how to purchase
your dream home for less, call 516-5205700 ext. 165.
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 8
New York City to stop
holding undocumented
arrestees for ICE
NEW YORK CITY New York City's
Department of Correction and the
Police Department will no longer
honor immigration holds issued by the
federal government unless they are
accompanied by a judge's warrant,
according to the ordinance passed by
the City Council on October 22.
Voting 41 to 6 on two bills that ends
cooperation with the federal
government when it asks Corrections
or the NYPD to hold undocumented
persons for 48 hours instead of
releasing them so that the persons can
be handed over to the Immigration and
Customs Enforcement Agency.
Under the new ordinance, which is
supported by Mayor Bill de Blasio, the
city will honor immigration waivers if
the federal government requests them
with a judge's warrant and even then,
only if the subject of the warrant was
convicted within the last five years of a
violent or serious crime, or is a possible
match on the terrorism watch list,
according to Observer.com
Supporters of the legislation,
including City Council Speaker Melissa
Mark-Viverito, lauded it as a way to end
warrantless detention of immigrants
that they argued are unconstitutional,
and as a way to keep city families
together and reform broken
immigration policies.
“If obstructionists in Congress
insist on delaying any federal action on
fair and just immigration reform, it falls
to municipal governments to pick up
the slack,” Mark-Viverito said.
Councilman Daniel Dromm argued
that the legislation would make the city
safer in spurring immigrants to report
crime.
“By ending the collusion of local
law enforcement and jails with federal
immigration authorities, New York City
will be a safe place where our
immigrants no longer fear deportation
by interacting with police. This is good
news for all New Yorkers,” Mr. Dromm
said.
But Councilman Paul Vallone said
the bill's removal of ICE offices from
Rikers Island “sends a dangerous
message,” and argued nobody had
presented any evidence the legislation
would make the city safer, according to
Observer.com. Vallone was joined by
two fellow Democrats and three
Republicans in voting no. Inquirer.net
Ebola Virus Disease
Safety Information
Key Points:
Ebola is a severe, often fatal disease caused by a virus in humans and
non-humans.
A large outbreak is now occurring in West African countries: Liberia,
Guinea and Sierra Leone. 8,033 total cases resulting in 3,865 (48% case
fatality rate) as of October 8, 2014.
The Health Department has developed guidance for people who
recently traveled to one of the three Ebola-affected countries.
If you have not traveled recently to these areas understand that the
risk of exposure is minimal.
The risk and likelihood of contracting Ebola is very low unless a
person has direct unprotected contact with:
Blood or other body fluids (stool, urine, saliva, vomit, semen) of an
infected person.
Infected human and/or non-human remains.
Items contaminated with an Ebola patient's infectious fluids such as
soiled clothing or bed linens.
You CANNOT contract Ebola through the air or just by being near
someone who has been infected.
If you visited countries affected by the outbreak, and develop a
FEVER within 21 days, seek medical care immediately.
Alert the doctor's office or emergency room about your symptoms
BEFORE going.
Tell your doctor if you had DIRECT CONTACT with a person who
might have had Ebola.
Symptoms:
Fever, headache, muscle pain, body aches, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue,
stomach pain, unexpected bleeding. Hospital staff will not ask you about
your immigration status. You will be seen regardless of ability to pay.
Filipina is heading
to Rose Parade
Gilda Gopal received a new kidney thanks to a donor
OCT. 29, 2014 -- Gilda
Gopal of Daly City, whose
prayers for a new kidney were
answered through an organ
donor, has been selected to
ride on the Donate Life “Never
Ending Story” float New Year's
Day in the 2015 Tournament of
Roses Parade.
California Transplant
Donor Network, (CTDN) a
nonprofit focused on saving
the lives of those in need of
organ and tissue transplants in
Northern California and
Northern Nevada, choose the
47-year-old woman to join 29
others on Donate Life “Never
Ending Story” float.
The float represents more
than 100 inspirational stories
from across the country about
lives changed forever through
organ and tissue donation. The
float is making its 11 t h
appearance in the
internationally recognized
kickoff to the New Year.
Told her own kidneys were
failing, Gilda was required to
be hooked up to a dialysis
machine several times a week
to remove toxins from her
body. Four years passed. Then
the phone call came. Because
of a donor's gift, there was a
new kidney for Gilda. After her
2006 transplant, Gilda has
returned to health. She and her
husband, Raaj, can travel. They
also volunteer as Donate Life
Ambassadors for CTDN.
“Life is so good now,” she
says. “I am so thankful to my
donor for giving me a second
chance at life. I volunteer for
the cause and tell people how
Gilda Gopal will represent one of
the many inspiring stories made
possible by organ and tissue
donation.
homes, donor family
foundations and affiliated
organizations.
“Many people watching the
Donate Life float pass by in
person or on television during
the Rose Parade on New Year's
Day are also waiting organs,”
said CTDN Chief Executive
Officer Cindy Siljestrom. “They
wait for their chance to receive
a transplant through the
generous act of donation.”
The theme for the 126th
Rose Parade is "Inspiring
Stories.” It will take place
Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015, at 8 a.m.
(PST) in Pasadena, CA. About
10,000 Northern Californians
are waiting for a transplant.
Talk to your family and register
at www.ctdn.org
registering as an organ and
tissue donor may one day truly
save someone's life. When
people ask me how I can say
that, I tell them to look at me, I
am the proof that it does.”
In addition to the riders,
the float will contain the floral
portraits of 72 people from
across the country who
became organ and tissue
donors. Others whose lives
were saved or improved
through a donation from a
living donor will walk
alongside the float. Each year,
the Donate Life float campaign
is supported by more than 140
official sponsors from coast to
coast, including organ and
tissue recovery organizations,
tissue and eye banks,
hospitals, transplant centers,
state donor registries, funeral
About the California
Transplant Donor Network
The California Transplant
Donor Network saves and
improves lives by facilitating
organ and tissue donation for
transplantation. The California
Transplant Donor Network
helps 170 hospitals in 40
Northern and Central
California and Northern
Nevada counties offer the
option of organ and tissue
donation to families whose
loved ones have died,
coordinates deceased organ
recovery and placement, and
provides public education
with the hope that every
resident will become a donor.
The California Transplant
Donor Network is federally
designated as the region's
organ recovery organization.
Ex-teacher in California arrested
for having sex with minors in PH
SAN FRANCISCO,
California -- A former
schoolteacher Robert Ruben
Ornelas, 63, was held in
federal custody October 24 for
traveling to the Philippines to
have sex with an underage girl
and making a video of the
encounter.
Ornelas, already facing
previous child molestation
charges in Santa Ana,
California, was named in a
criminal complaint filed in
United States District Court,
according to a press release
f ro m t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s
Attorney's Office.
Ornelas allegedly traveled
to the Philippines in March
2012 and engaged in sexual
conduct with a girl who was
approximately 14, reported
KTLA5 News.
As a sexual tourist Ornelas
also took video of his
Suspect Robert Ruben Ornelas'
booking photo. FBI photo
encounter with the girl and
brought the images with him
when he returned the US,
according to the affidavit in the
case, which also includes
evidence linking him to the
sexual molestation of other
victims.
Information and images
found on Orenelas' computer
and digital media uncovered
communications between
Ornelas and several underage
girls in the Philippines dating
back to 2007, reported KTLA5.
Investigators also found
numerous sexually explicit
photos and videos of other
underage girls, according to
the release.
Charges were still pending
against Ornelas in Orange
County following his arrest in
June 2013 on two counts of
lewd conduct with a child for
allegedly molesting a relative
from 1990 to 1995.
He was being held without
bail on the federal charges and
was ordered to appear at an
arraignment on November 10.
The federal charges carry a
cumulative maximum
sentence of 80 years in federal
prison. Inquirer.net
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 9
16 out of 20 bills signed into law
CA Assembly first-termer
Rob Bonta is on roll
Harvey I. Barkin
Rear Adm. Bette Bolivar. US Navy photo
Fil- Am woman is
commander of US
Navy in the Marianas
DALY CITY, California -- A Filipina
American is one of the high-ranking
women in the US Navy, becoming
commander of the Joint Region
Marianas during a change of
command ceremony at the Guam
High School gymnasium aboard US
Naval Hospital Guam last August 15.
Rear Adm. Bette Bolivar relieved
Rear Adm. Tilghman Payne as
commander, Joint Region Marianas.
She will also serve as US Defense
Representative in Guam,
Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, Federated States of
Micronesia and Republic of Palau, as
well as commander of US Naval
Forces in the Marianas, reported
America's Navy. Bolivar had served as
commander of Navy Region
Northwest.
“The morale and energy of this
region are awesome and strong,”
Bolivar said. “I know I have some big
shoes to fill but you can rest assured
that you will leave team Marianas in
good hands.”
Bolivar was born in Honolulu and
received a bachelor of science degree
in oceanography at the United States
Naval Academy. She also holds a
master of science in management
OAKLAND, California -- The
first Filipino-American elected
to the California State
Legislature, Rob Bonta (DOakland), ended his first term
with an impressive record of 16
out of 20 principally authored
bills signed by Governor Jerry
Brown.
It's a remarkable
achievement for a first-timer
and the lone Fil-Am
representative in the State.
Bonta, 42, is “excited” and seeks
re-election in two weeks. Given
his performance, he doesn't
seem worried about his lone
opponent David Erlich, 43, an
electrician and a Republican
from San Leandro.
FilAm Star last week caught
up with the dynamic state
official as he was preparing for
an appointment. He talked about
his more significant bills, his
accomplishments, as well as his
challenges since he was elected
as Assembly member to District
18 in November 2012.
California lawmaker Rob Bonta is
on a hot streak
(AB10). Currently, minimum
wage is $9 an hour and by
January 1, 2016, it will be $10 an
hour.
Bonta also co-sponsored
Assembly member Lorena
Gonzalez's (D-San Diego)
Healthy Workplace, Healthy
Families Act of 2014 (AB1522).
It provides a minimum three
paid sick days to about 6.5
employees with no paid sick
leave and will take effect on July
1, 2015.
and retaining high quality Challenges
teachers.
Perhaps, the biggest
It was also for the public challenge to Bonta is gun control
schools that Bonta authored The and making Oakland safe. This is
Safe Schools and Safe Learning where his earlier AB180 and
Act of 2013 (AB514). It provides AB187 figured.
resources to support youth who
“In the Fall after I was
have been victims of school- e l e c t e d , t h e S a n dy H o o k
b a s e d d i s c r i m i n a t i o n , Elementary School shooting
harassment or bullying o c c u r r e d i n N e w t o w n ,
(including their families), gang Connecticut (when a 20-year old
from Troy State University.
violence, psychological traumas shot 20 children and six adults,
Bolivar reported to her first tour
caused by violence at home, in using a gun from his mother's
as the fleet and message center
school and in the community.
collection). It ignited a national
officer/CMS custodian of the US Naval
But for Bonta, the more debate and focus on gun
Communications Station, San Miguel,
important Bill that was signed at violence. It was not only
Philippines. She then served on the
last year's sessions was AB123. important nationally. It was also
Secretary of the Navy's (James H.
Proud of accomplishments
It made the state curriculum something that hit so close to
Webb, Jr.) staff as a writer/researcher
“I'm very proud this past include the contributions of Fil- home.”
for the Navy secretary's White House
session to author the Bill that Ams to the California farm labor
“At that time, Oakland had
Liaison Office.
a d d r e s s e d t h e h i g h e s t movement.
the highest number of murders
In 1988, Bolivar became a special
underfunded liability in the
Bonta said that the Bill was due to gun violence in the last six
operations officer with the Explosive
State (AB1469). That's the significant to him “as someone years. It wasn't plateauing, it
Ordnance Disposal/Diving and
CalSTRS (The California State whose parents were farmers and wasn't going down. I wanted to
Salvage Community. She served in
Teachers' Retirement Systems) organizers with the United Farm make a difference, so I had a
various leadership positions aboard
u n d e r f u n d e d l i a b i l i t y o f Workers of America when the number of bills. Some of them
USS Reclaimer, USS Grasp, USS
$7.4billion, the pension plan of great Filipino leaders like Philip got to the Governor's desk.”
Grapple, and USS Recovery.
our hard-working teachers was Vera Cruz and Pete Velasco were
One of them was AB180.
She became the commanding
one of the biggest financial there. And as a History major Bonta said, “It was a bill to allow
officer of USS Salvor among her
challenges.”
who studied gaps and silences in the city of Oakland to make its
several leading assignments. Her
Bonta said he worked US history and gave voice to own (gun) owner licensing and
other operational tours include:
together with teachers, school those gaps and silences.”
registration laws. As of right
commanding officer of Mobile Diving
districts and the state “on a
Bonta said AB123 “got only now, only the State can have gun
and Salvage Unit and officer in charge
shared responsibility approach one 'no' vote from both houses. It laws.” AB187 “was a tax on
of Counter Radio-Controlled
where everybody put more was a really good example of ammunition that would have
Improvised Explosive Device (IED)
money without changing the what the Fil-Am community can created a pot of money to help
Electronic Warfare (CREW) Program
benefit so that we fully funded accomplish when they come cities and states that are most
while deployed to Afghanistan in
the program over the course of t o g e t h e r a n d c r e a t e a impacted by gun violence and it
support of Operation Enduring
30 years.”
movement.”
would also help provide mental
Freedom's Counter-I ED Task Force,
Fiscally, it was an important
B o n t a c o - s p o n s o r e d treatment for children.”
Task Force Paladin. She was also
step for a public educational Assembly member Luis Alejo's
“The tax on ammo bill died in
inducted into the Women Divers Hall
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Page 14
system to continue attracting (D-Salinas) minimum wage bill
of Fame. Inquirer.net
vgslaw@gmail.com
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 10
Graft-congested port
It has been said that in the Philippines, every single law,
regulation, directive or ordinance presents an opportunity for
someone somewhere to make money, directly or indirectly,
legally or otherwise. This observation has made itself painfully
felt in real world, specifically in the Port of Manila, the main
transshipment point of goods to and from this country.
No thanks to a “perfect storm” of ill-conceived local
government policies, the absence of the national government's
strong hand, and a creaking transportation infrastructure,
Filipinos are now expected to feel the impact of clogged
economic arteries through more expensive goods and services
during the holiday season.
This is aggravated by the issue of corruption in and around
the port system, which has made it more difficult and more
expensive for companies to move imports out of the docks and
container yards and into the factories and markets where they
are needed.
The gravity of the situation cannot be stressed enough. A
cursory examination of the Port of Manila will show steel
containers stacked five high (where they used to be only double
stacked) due to the slow process of moving them out to their
consignees. Due to the longer time it takes to unload their cargo
(some have been refusing to take on Philippine-bound cargo
altogether), shipping lines have raised their charges, thus
effectively doubling the cost of transporting goods to the
Philippines through the Port of Manila. Trucking fees have also
spiked, caused by illicit “facilitators” at the Philippine Ports
Authority (PPA) and the Bureau of Customs, who are able to
exact higher “tong” from increasingly desperate truckers and
importers.
The port congestion that began with the Manila city
government's ill-conceived truck ban has now been
institutionalized by entrepreneurial gatekeepers (no doubt,
with powerful backers) who speak to the business community
with one intimidating voice: “If you want your cargo released
early, pay up.”
Malacañang must shake off its lethargy, communicate
clearly to the heads of the two agencies where shippers say
corruption is endemic - PPA and Customs - and jolt them, all the
way down to their foot soldiers on the ground and their agents,
out of their business-as-usual mindsets, that corruption will
not be tolerated.
Ultimately, however, one must recognize that policing the
ranks of government agencies to stop “pay-as-you-go tong
systems” is not the most efficient and effective way of fighting
corruption. Combating this disease at the “retail level” is akin to
the legend of that little Dutch boy who tried to stem the flood by
plugging holes in the dyke with his fingers. One's fingers are
limited, and the holes that breed corruption are legion.
No, the kind of corruption that causes and profits
handsomely from port congestion must be addressed at the
wholesale level. In the end, one must recognize that corrupt
elements share a common trait with many legitimate
businessmen: They look for market imbalances and
asymmetries that present money-making opportunities.
And because the quest for illegal profits is fueled by
innovative greed that has always proven smarter than
Green Card for
Teachers
Employment of teachers is
expected to grow in the near
future. This positive outlook
includes teachers at all learning
levels - pre-school, kindergarten,
elementary and high school - but
the opportunities are greater in
certain fields, such as math, science
and special education, and in some
geographic areas.
In the United States, there is a
history of recruitment of foreign
te a c h e r s , p a r t i c u l a rly f ro m
countries such as the Philippines,
India and Russia, in order to meet
the demand from the increased
student enrolment and the need to
replace aging teachers.
Foreign teachers who have a
job offer from a U.S. employer,
usually a school district, individual
school or state education agency,
and who wish to work in the United
States on a permanent basis must
obtain an employment-based
green card under the EB-2
preference category or the EB-3.
The November 2014 cut-off date
for EB-3 (worldwide) is June 1,
2012 while EB-2 is current for all
countries except China and India.
The process of obtaining a
green card involves three broad
steps, which begins with the labor
c e r t i f i c a t i o n f ro m t h e U. S .
Department of Labor. The next two
steps involve the filing of the
immigrant worker petition by the
employer and the teacher's
adjustment of status (if the teacher
is in the U.S.) or immigrant visa
application (if abroad).
Before the U.S. employer can
file an immigrant petition for the
teacher, it must submit an
application for labor certification
using ETA Form 9089. The DOL's
program is called Program
Electronic Review Management
(PERM).
The procedure begins with the
employer obtaining a prevailing
wage determination prior to filing
the PERM case. The prevailing
wage is determined according to
the job offered, the geographic
region, the skill level or “job zone”
assigned to the position, which in
turn depends on the required
education, experience and level of
supervision for the position
offered. The employer must offer at
least 100% of the prevailing wage
rate.
Next, the employer must
conduct a recruitment by placing a
job order with the State Workforce
Agency in the area of intended
employment for at least 30 days.
The required recruitment steps
include two Sunday newspaper
ads and three additional
recruitment methods and notices
u
Page 12
at the workplace.
u
Page 12
Spruced-up graves
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
“We give back to You who first
gave them to us: our faithful dead,
whose beauty and truth are even
now in our hearts.” That line from
Rufus Ellis resonated as the wife
and I, like thousands of other
families, spruced up the graves of
our kin for All Saints' Day and All
Souls' Day rites this coming
weekend.
We check the empty niche
above. That will be our resting
place, sooner rather than later, our
creaking knees caution. We also jot
down a reminder: Etch a line on our
headstone from the ancient Nicene
C re e d : “ We b e l i e ve i n t h e
communion of saints.”
Death has been compared to a
train in one of the spirituals sung
by African-American churches in
the south, reports the Jesuit weekly
America. This train makes only
one-way trips. Earlier, it called for
my father, my mother, my two
younger brothers. Now, it's
whistling at the station - for me.
Know that is not the end. It only
signals the approach of the
Resurrection.
“All Souls' Day is - what's the
word now?” the wife said at a
dinner some years back.
“Bifurcated?” we replied. Yes,
she replies, adding: “In Sweden and
California, our grandchildren will
trick-or-treat in Halloween wear.”
Before our traveling days came to
an end, we would pad along behind
them in their Palo Alto
neighborhood. “Here, kids bring
flowers for family graves.”
“It is a good and wholesome
thought to pray for the dead,”
declares the Book of Maccabees.
And 2,500 years before Easter's
empty tomb, an ailing Job wrote:
“Oh, that my words were engraved
in rock forever. I know that my
Redeemer lives. And in the end, He
will stand forth upon the earth.
And after my skin shall have been
destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see
God.”
By the year 998 AD, the
Benedictine abbot Odilo of Cluny
picked Nov. 2 for remembrance.
The living can help the departed,
the doctrine went, by asceticism's
trio of prayer, sacrifice and alms. It
is the communion of saints in daily
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Page 14
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 11
Ex Jesuit Governor, “a man for others” who helps undocumented immigrants
“While Washington waffles
on immigration, California's
moving ahead. I'm not
waiting.” - Gov. Jerry Brown
Since becoming California's
governor for the third time, Brown
has signed into law six Bills which
provide significant benefits to
undocumented immigrants.
In October 2011, the
California Dream Act affording
financial aid for undocumented
immigrant students brought to
the U.S. before the age of sixteen
became law. This was followed in
October 2013 by two more laws:
Assembly Bill 60 which allows
undocumented immigrants to
have drivers' licenses and by the
California Trust Act which forbids
s t a t e l aw e n f o rc e r s ` f ro m
detaining them for immigration
hold when they are arrested for
minor and non-violent crimes.
A n d j u s t r e c e n t l y, o n
September 27, 2014, Brown again
signed into law three more new
Bills benefiting undocumented
immigrants: One known as the
State Dream Loan Program
provides more aid to
undocumented college students
consisting of $9.2 million for loans
to be administered by state
universities. Another is the
unprecedented Senate Bill 1159
which allows undocumented
immigrants to apply for state
licenses in the different
professions as lawyers, doctors,
accountants, nurses, architects,
engineers, etc. This is especially
beneficial to Filipino
professionals who otherwise
could not utilize their education
and training. The third law
allocates $3 million to nonprofit
Opinion
By Ted Laguatan
organizations that provide legal
representation to undocumented
minors.
These six laws significantly
benefit not only undocumented
immigrants but everyone else. The
development of as many men and
women as possible to their full
potentials allows for more human
achievement in the sciences, arts
and humanities benefiting all on
this planet.
W h i l e t h e s e l aw s we re
sponsored by well meaning
legislators such as Sen. Bill Lara, D,
who sponsored the loan program
legislation for undocumented
immigrant students, without the
full support of Brown it would
have been very difficult if not
impossible to get these passed. In
so many ways, these laws provide
a kinder and better world not only
for undocumented immigrant
beneficiaries but for all of us.
Many are those driven by
hysteria, irrational fear, racism,
misinformation or hate who
constantly unjustifiably demonize
undocumented immigrants and
hurl all kinds of false accusations.
They fail to see that by helping to
improve the lives of those who are
less fortunate, their own lives are
enriched. Conversely, by making
others miserable, their own lives
are also made more miserable.
Love begets love, hate begets hate.
Why is this so difficult to see?
It is an unquestionable fact
that many great men and women
whose talents and skills in various
fields have contributed so much to
a better life for all came from the
ranks of undocumented
immigrants.
And even those who may not
be as exceptional contribute much
to keep food on our table with
their agricultural sweat, build
houses, work in hotels and
restaurants, babysit for children,
care for the elderly, clean homes
and offices, work for
manufacturing companies and
provide so many other valuable
services to our society. Studies
have shown that in general,
undocumented immigrants give
more to the system than they take.
Even the funds from Social
Security deductions taken from
them for which they will not
u
Page 12
Opinion Has Binay gone desperado?
By Perry Diaz
Whatever Vice President
Jejomar “Jojo” Binay's expectations
were, his meeting with President
Benigno “P-Noy” Aquino III didn't
seem to have satisfied them.
According to a news report, Binay
waited for two and half hours for PNoy to see him and the meeting
lasted only 30 minutes. In essence,
Binay was shown the door.
Although Malacañang was
quiet about what transpired at the
meeting, the media was rife with
speculation. But Inquirer reporter
Ramon Tulfo's claim that a “little
birdie” told him details of the
meeting indicates that things
weren't going well between P-Noy
and Binay.
Supposedly, Binay made two
requests. He asked P-Noy to stop
the Senate Blue Ribbon
subcommittee from investigating
the overpricing of the Makati City
Hall Building 2. P-Noy's response
was blunt: “Jojo, I cannot stop the
investigation because the Senate is
independent. Besides, I have so
many problems - the possible
spread of the deadly Ebola virus
brought by returning overseas
workers, the Subic murder case,
the evacuation of residents near
the Mayon Volcano. Pati ba naman
'yan, poproblemahin ko pa (Do I
have to solve your problem)?”
Binay should have stopped right
there and left.
But Binay pressed on. He then
asked P-Noy to go easy on GMA
(former President Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo). P-Noy wasn't
pleased with Binay taking up the
cudgels for GMA. If Binay's meeting
with P-Noy was intended to
appease him, he achieved the
opposite. Tulfo's “little birdie” told
him that after Binay left, P-Noy told
his staff: “If there are more cases to
be filed against GMA, let's file
them.”
Scapegoat
Binay should have known
better that if there were one
person that P-Noy would blame for
all the bad things happening in his
administration, it was Gloria.
G l o r i a i s P - N oy ' s u l t i m a t e
scapegoat, so why kill the goat? For
as long as P-Noy is in power, Gloria
doesn't have a spit of a chance to be
released from detention. And PNoy would do everything to keep
Gloria alive.
Binay should also know that PNoy doesn't have power over the
Senate, which is fiercely protective
of its autonomy from the Executive
Branch. If Binay didn't know that,
Binay's popularity dips
then he shouldn't be running for
president. Or could it be that his
attempt to ask favors from P-Noy
was because he could be heading
for a political freefall?
Indeed, he has nobody to
blame but himself for building a
personal financial empire during
the two decades that he and
members of his family wife, son,
and two daughters were in power
in Makati, arguably the richest city
in the country that is home to
financial institutions and large
corporations. And with all the
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Page 14
done Senate DAP hearing, Senate
Franklin Drilon could put his foot
down and end the Binay
investigation - that he hasn't done
so makes me suspect that ol' Frank
is still waiting for a signal from
above, like the one he got when the
entire Noynoy Cabinet trooped to
the Senate to defend the novel
Aquino-Abad save-and-splurge
program.
The next time I hear someone
say that this government is so
against corruption that it will
allow three senators to go to jail, I
hope I can resist the urge to
projectile-vomit like an Ebola
victim.
If it can allow three other
senators to go after Binay with
even less evidence than they have
about the misuse of pork and DAP
funds (where the paper trail is so
clear it's being so desperately kept
from us), it's not going to redeem
the current Senate in the people's
eyes.
***
The wanton destruction of the
Senate's reputation because of the
single-minded desire of the
Pimentel, Cayetano and Trillanes
Gang was the concern of two legal
analysts, Professor Antonio
Contreras of De La Salle University
and Dean Amado Valdez of the
University of the East. Far from
conducting an investigation in
order to arrive at the truth, the
three, according to Contreras and
Valdez, started with a foregone
conclusion of Binay's guilt and
proceeded from there to ferret out
evidence to prove their precooked verdict.
“[Where] there should have
been openness,” law professor
Contreras said, “conclusions have
[already] been made.” The
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Page 12
Burying the Senate
It's surprises no one that
government ranks last in a list of
most trusted institutions in a
survey conducted recently. The
way government has been acting,
you'd think that it was installed to
work against the people, instead
of for them.
Take the Senate. Please, as the
comedian Rodney Dangerfield
would add right away.
Yesterday's news from that
self-described august chamber
has the long-missing chairman of
the yellow (I mean blue, of course)
ribbon committee, Senator
Teofisto “TG” Guingona finally
asserting his panel's primacy over
the three-man subcommittee that
h a s h i j a c ke d i t s m a n d a t e .
Guingona formally wrote Vice
President Jejomar Binay asking
the latter to appear before his
committee in connection with the
original charges of alleged
corruption involving the secondhighest official of the land for the
construction of the Makati City
Hall Building 2.
Now, Guingona's action could
be interpreted several ways, none
of which is probably going to
bump up the Senate's image in the
eyes of a public weary of the three
early-bird senators who have
made it their job to take down
Binay nearly 20 months before the
presidential elections in 2016. It
could well be that more senators
want to join Aquilino Pimentel III,
Alan Peter Cayetano and Antonio
Trillanes in taking turns at
roasting Binay; or it could mean
that the other senators want the
three to get back to the original
Building 2 resolution that they
filed to attack the Veep - an angle
that they have, sadly, effectively
pursued to an evidentiary dead
end.
I doubt if the Senate as a whole
is truly interested in joining the
get-Binay movement, since they,
of all people, must realize that
there are so many other tasks that
they must perform. After all, if the
Senate were really into
investigating corruption, it would
have gone full-tilt into probing the
misuse of the Aquino
administration's Disbursement
Acceleration Program, an
investigation that would really
restore some confidence in the
ability of the chamber to go after
evil-doers, even among its ranks.
But I also doubt if the chamber,
especially its leadership, wants to
finally end the Binay probe
anytime soon. I've always believed
that, like he did in the one-and-
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 12
Ex Jesuit
Governor ...
From page 11
benefit because of their
unlawful status amount to
hundreds of millions of
dollars.
The best leaders are those
who sincerely love the people
and not those who glorify and
enrich themselves in their
positions of power. Governor
Jerry Brown's love for the
people goes further. It stems
from his love of God. He does
not see undocumented
immigrants as separate from
other human beings
underst a nding t ha t God
commands him to love all.
His father, the very popular
and well respected Governor
Pat Brown and his mother
Bernice Layne, the daughter of
a San Francisco police captain,
both staunch Catholics, raised
Jerry and his four sisters as
practicing Catholics and sent
them to Catholic schools. Jerry
went to St. Ignatius High
School in San Francisco, a
much respected Jesuit
institution.
He went through the usual
basic Jesuit spiritual formation
of students which includes
religion classes, regular
masses, communion, silent
retreats, and discussions on
Ignatian principles of what a
person ought to do with his
life. Being humble and “a man
for others” for the greater
glory of God is a core Jesuit
belief and principle.
After High School, he went
to Santa Clara University,
another Jesuit School and
spent a year there. In search
for the deeper meaning of life,
he entered the Sacred Heart
Novitiate seminary to become
a Jesuit priest. As a scholastic,
he took the initial vows of
p ove r t y, o b e d i e n c e a n d
chastity. The most intellectual
of all the orders, Jesuits are
mandated to take heavy
philosophy and theology
courses.
Three years later and after
much soul searching, Brown
decided that being a priest was
not his vocation. He would love
and serve God as a public
servant. After getting his
Bachelor of Arts degree from
the University of California in
Berkely, he went to Yale Law
School then entered politics.
After being the top vote
getter in the Los Angeles
Community College Board of
Trustees in the omminity.1969
elections, the charismatic
young man ran for the position
of Secretary of State in 1971
and won. He went after some
of the biggest corporations for
e l e c to ra l l aw v i o l a t i o n s
something politicians are not
inclined to do as they would
lose corporate financial
support. Then at 36, in 1975,
he was elected governor of
California, one of the youngest
ever. He got a lot of support
from the Filipino-American
c o m m u n i t y. T h e l a t e
community leader Alex
Contreras observed. “And all this
Esclamado, organized
badgering, bullying will backfire on
“Browns for Brown” which
them, and on the institution of the
was joined by thousands who
Senate, in general.”
campaigned for Brown. He was
As in the unceremonious shutting
From page 11
elected governor for two terms
down of the Senate's DAP probe, the
up to 1983. He did what he
senators must fail to realize that the
“unfortunate” proceedings, law dean
sincerely thought was good for
people aren't overjoyed with their
Valdez added, have become the
the people. He became known
antics. “My advice [is], if you want to
opposite of a legal trial, because “[a]
as a staunch environmentalist,
bring down Binay, change your
court will most certainly delve deep
fought for the rights of
approach [because] the people are
into this, and not take at face value any
minorities, was against the
getting angry,” Contreras added.
testimony, which is what the Senate
death penalty and did an
O f c o u r s e , i f t h e s e n a to r s
subcommittee is doing.”
excellent job with the economy
themselves don't care one whit what
And so, while it is Binay who is
as a fiscal conservative.
the people think (or what the truth
ostensibly on trial in the Senate, it is
Successful as governor and
really is, for that matter) they can go on
also the Senate which is being
having gained national
their merry way. But if President
simultaneously being convicted for
popularity, he was constantly
Noynoy Aquino himself can listen to
allowing this travesty of justice to
touted as a strong Democratic
the people and eschew a second term happen. While those who never liked
Party candidate for President.
and no one ever accused Aquino of
Binay may be elated by the constant
The lack of corporate funding
being sensitive to the people's will bludgeoning he is receiving, the
hurt his chances for
maybe it's time the Senate stopped
chamber is also getting beat up to
nomination.
operating in the vacuum of its
within an inch of its life.
As Governor, he chose to
members' narrow self-interest and
“The bigger issue is that the
ignore the perks of the office.
listened to its own funeral march
process of investigation, of inquiry, is
H e d i d n o t l ive i n t h e
playing.
being compromised by the demeanor
Governor's mansion but
of the senators in the subcommittee,”
rented a simple apartment.
Unlike previous Governors, he
opted not to ride a chauffeured
seeking classification under the
limousine, but instead walked
employment-based third preference
to his office and drove an
(EB-3) category are required to go
From page 10
ordinary Plymouth sedan.
through this process, teachers who can
Incumbent Pope Francis, also a
qualify under the second preference
U.S. worker applicants who meet
Jesuit, has likewise chosen to
(EB-2) category can ask for a waiver of
the minimum requirements for the
live not in the papal palace but
the labor certification requirement if
position must be interviewed. The
in a simple apartment. He also
they can show that it is in the national
employer must document its reasons
avoids the perks and privileges
interest of the United States.
for rejecting minimally qualified U.S.
of his office. Governor Jerry
Once the ETA Form 9089 is
workers and have lawful, job-related
Brown was ahead of him in
certified, within 180 days the employer
reasons for their rejection. If the
refusing to live like a king.
must file the Form I-140 immigrant
employer is unable to recruit U.S.
After his second term as
petition for the teacher. After approval
workers after testing the labor market,
Governor in 1983, Brown did
of the I-140, when the priority date
it can proceed to file the labor
not hold any public office for a
usually the date the PERM case was
certification application.
long time but continued with
filed is reached and a visa number
The DOL will either certify, deny or
u
Page 14
becomes available, the teacher can file
audit the application. If the employer is
the adjustment of status application or
chosen for an audit, it must respond to
the immigrant visa application with
the audit letter and submit the
the U.S. consulate overseas.
required documentation. Even after
responding to the audit letter, however,
the employer may be directed to
(Editor's Note: REUBEN S. SEGURITAN has
conduct a DOL-supervised
been practicing law for over 30 years. For
recruitment.
more information, you may log on to his
As one can imagine, the labor
website at www.seguritan.com or call (212)
695-5281.)
certification process is cumbersome
and quite costly. Although teachers
Burying the
Senate
Green Card ...
Graft-congested port
From page 10
government regulation, the solution to corruption is the same solution
used in open market systems: Starve out the corrupt elements.
How? Designating the ports of Subic and Batangas as alternative ports
to Manila is a step in the right direction. Having shippers and shipping lines
land their cargo in alternative ports will decongest Metro Manila and, thus,
reduce the earning opportunities for corrupt elements who, at present, can
exact a high price from shippers due to a lack of viable alternatives.
At present, the Subic and Batangas ports remain severely underutilized
because the bulk of the cargo that enters the Philippines has their ultimate
destinations in the factories and markets in and around Metro Manila.
Thus, landing goods in Subic and Batangas only to have them trucked back
to the capital region is a costly endeavor, unless government can step in to
help bring about a more efficient transportation system. Whether this be
done through more efficient trucking schemes, the building of new
highways or the construction of a north-south railway system is up for the
stakeholders to decide. But the Aquino administration has to get the ball
rolling asap - as in yesterday.
Saving the Philippine economy from the ills of port congestion requires
both immediate and long-term solutions. We agree that the government
cannot do this alone. The private sector has an important role to play. But
the Aquino administration can - and must - do more. Inquirer.net
201-434-1114
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 13
Fil-Ams plan global Filipino school, credit union
Jun Nucum
OAKLAND, California --An
ambitious plan is afoot to connect
Filipinos around the globe with one
another, through an online and
bricks-and-mortar school and a
global credit union through a
movement called One Filipino.
This was bared October 13 at the
nd
2 Annual Filipino American History
Month Town Hall meeting lhosted by
California 18th District Assembly
Representative Rob Bonta.
A brainchild of Gawad Kalinga
USA Chief Executive Officer and
Chairman of the Board Tony Olaes,
the One Filipino grand plan has the
vision of connectivity not just among
all Filipino Americans, but also of
Filipinos across the globe.
It would involve, among others,
the establishment of a school (both
regular and online) and a credit
union that would have for its
members Filipinos around the globe.
Filipinoschool.com
Filipinoschool.com will be online
starting early next year. The actual
school scheduled to start next
quarter will be spearheaded by a
group responsible for about 72
Filipino classes being taught in junior
high, high school and college levels in
San Diego, California.
It will teach history and language
as the foundation and courses on
business, political empowerment,
financial literacy and food as well.
“Since it is going to be an online
portal, people not only get to learn in
the United States but in the entire
diaspora and even in the Philippines
as well,” explained Olaes.
“So it going to be huge so huge it
can be a game changer for who we are
globally once we get the foundation
of who we are,” Olaes said. “Thus, we
are bridging that gap between the FilAm and the Filipino. We are getting
the best of the Filipino to meet up
with the best of the Fil-Ams here and
we are saying look we are all one
Filipino.”
“Being born and raised here in
the US, you only know what you
know. And when you go back to the
Philippines you think you are
separate from them. But when I went
to visit the Philippines, I was inspired
by how friendly, how nice and
generous everyone from the squatter
community was. Seeing how they
lived but still happy to live that way
and how warm they treated me made
me ask, 'What makes them different
from me?' What I came up with
through my inquiry is that we are all
connected,” Olaes explained.
Welcome portal
For Bonta, the vision created by
Olaes of the school, the credit union,
and the web portal was most
welcome.
“He is an amazing visionary and
strategist,” Bonta said of Olaes. “He
recognized that great work is being
done by Filipino American leaders in
different initiatives that are making
progress but are not connected
together. And we have a larger vision
of connectivity among all Filipino
Americans and Filipinos across the
globe as well. That was what one
Filipino movement was all about. And
we have a lot of Filipinos now
supporting it and helping it move
forward and it is very exciting,” Bonta
exclaimed.
Bonta also expressed elation that
the Olaes plan is very apt to this
y e a r ' s To w n H a l l t h e m e o f
“Awakening the Sleeping Giant,”
referring to the Filipino American
community that has yet to reach its
full potential.
“We are the largest AsianAmerican group in the state of
California, of about 1.5 million
Filipinos which is about 4 percent of
the state's population. We are also the
second largest Asian Pacific Islander
population in the entire nation with
about 4 million Filipino Americans
aside having the largest population of
Asian Americans that are obtaining
lawful permanent residency in
California. With this, we have more
than enough voices to accomplish
great things in the state, in the
country that are important to the
Filipino American community,”
stated Bonta.
Bonta acknowledged that
Filipinos must do away with the
many barriers and walls that cause
too much divisiveness that keep
Filipinos Americans from speaking
with one voice on issues.
Impressed
For his part, Consul-General
Henry Bensurto revealed that it was
the first time he saw and listened to
the Olaes plan.
“I was very impressed because
for the first time I saw an abstract
280 Luis Munoz Marin Boulevard
Jersey City, NJ 07302
Town Hall speakers from left to right: historian Mel Orpilla, Governor's
Appointment Secretary Mona Pasquil, Assembly Member Rob Bonta, Con. Gen.
Henry Bensurto, Gawad Kalinga USA CEO Tony Olaes. Photo by Jun Nucum
being translated to something
operational,” Bensurto said. “I think it
deserves the support of Filipinos not
only in the United States but outside
as well. And it think this is one great
hope for the Filipino nation to come
and get together and be one strong
voice in terms of global politics.”
Asked what the consulate can do
for the success of the plan, Bensurto
stated that it could support its
implementation and the promotion
of the plan's concepts in a much
broader way.
“We need to have more of this
town hall just as we need more Rob
Bontas who has been doing a lot of
good to the Filipino American
community,” Bensurto asserted.
Eye-opening
Other panelists were
Appointment Secretary of California
Governor Jerry Brown Mona Pasquil,
who had a similar eye-opening
realization of her Filipino roots as
Olaes after her trips back to the
Philippines, and President of the
Filipino American National Historical
Society Mel Orpilla, who enumerated
the early struggles of Filipinos in
America and the challenges they
faced.
Pasquil, the first ever Filipino
American to serve as California
appointments secretary, was given a
Presidential Citation by President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for her
achievements, which included being
acting California Lieutenant
Governor. She urged Filipino
Americans to reach for the top and
assert themselves in pursuit of the
American dream.
“If ever you need a push to reach
your goal and maximize your
potential, get in touch with me and I
will be ready to help,” urged Pasquil.
Inquirer.net
201-333-8060
BY APPOINTMENT ONLY
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 14
CA Assembly ...
From page 9
committee because the Governor took
the stand that there would be no new
tax unless the people of California
voted for it. He decided to go a
different direction with AB180.”
Undaunted, Bonta said, “We
continue to fight this year with
tremendous help from our budget
chair, we got $2million in funding for
state crime reduction to find different
programs that have proven records
for reducing crime in Oakland.”
Even then, Bonta's AB1629
extends peer counseling services and
reimbursements to victims of crime,
including gun violence, alongside
sexual harassment.
Opportunity to serve
Bonta said he “loves being of
service to people.” When he was a City
Council member in Oakland, he
affected the lives of about 75,000
people. “The community where I live,
raised my kids and sent them to
school.”
“Now the scale is massively
different. There are 87 assembly
members and 40 senators. A total of
120 people from the whole state
forms the legislature. California has
the eight largest economy in the
world. So, we're essentially a country.
If California were a country, we would
be Congress. We would make
Has Binay ...
From page 11
revenues earned by the city, the
mayorship is by all means the best
plum job in the country with little
or no interference from other
political entities including the
country's Executive and
Legislative branches of
government. And for as along as
you keep your nose clean, nobody
is going to bother you. But the
moment you're involved in some
kind of anomaly or scandal, then
everybody would gang up on you.
And that's precisely what
happened to Jojo Binay.
Public opinion
With all the allegations of
corruption against Binay that
spans more than a quarter of a
century since the time of the late
President Cory Aquino who
appointed him as the officer-incharge (OIC) of Makati City, Binay
had left no stone unturned in
covering his tracks. He allegedly
used dummies for the properties
he acquired while in office. With no
solid evidence of corruption, Binay
is presumed innocent by law. But
B i n ay i s fa c i n g c h a rg e s o f
corruption not in a court of law but
in the court of public opinion.
When the Senate opened an
investigation into the allegations of
corruption against Binay and his
family, he refused to appear before
subcommittee, saying that it was a
“kangaroo court.” He said that he'd
rather go directly to the people to
explain his side. But the latest
survey of Social Weather Station
(SWS) shows that 79% of the
respondents want him to face the
To advertise
please call
decisions that affect 38 million
lives.”
To Bonta, that opportunity is “a
tremendous honor” and one that
should not be taken lightly. Looking
back, two years ago, he would have
counseled former runningmates
Jennifer Ong and Chris Mateo,
“Every time you run, run to win.
Don't run to put your name on the
ballot so that maybe next time
(voters) will remember you. There
is no next time. You have to run to
win this time.”
“What you need to do to win is
to raise money, knock on doors,
send out mail, make phone calls,
and gather everyone in the
community to be volunteers who
will support you in a full-pledged
campaign. Get the message out
after you think about it and
communicate it to the voters.”
“It's not rocket science but it's a
lot of hard work. Many candidates
don't do the hard work. And I think
it's important as we now develop a
positive brand of elected Fil-Am
officials. Because once Fil-Am
officials who do it right are in office,
they help every Fil-Am candidate.”
“Jennifer Ong ran a very
competitive race. She did all those
things. A few votes in the other way
and she'd be in the Assembly. She
doesn't need any tip from me. If she
wants to serve, she doesn't have to
be afraid to run again.” Inquirer.net
Senate and address the allegations,
which begs the question: Why is
Binay scared of appearing before
subcommittee?
While there may be several
reasons why Binay is not
appearing before the Blue Ribbon
subcommittee hearing, one reason
might be that by not appearing
before the panel he is not going to
say something that would haunt
him in the 2016 presidential
campaign. By not saying anything
now, he could tell the people then
that he's a victim of political
persecution. He'd just have to keep
repeating his innocence. And since
he didn't appear before a Senate
hearing, his opponents wouldn't
have any ammunition to disprove
his arguments. As Joseph Goebbels,
Hitler's Propaganda Minister, once
said: “If you tell a lie big enough and
keep repeating it, people will
eventually come to believe it.” Yes,
if Binay keeps on denying the
corruption charges, the people will
eventually believe him… and vote
for him. But that's based on the
supposition that his opponents
don't have anything to tie him to
corruption. And what if they have
an “April surprise” that would
rattle skeletons in the closet two
weeks before the May 9, 2016
election?
If Binay indeed has secrets
about allegations of “unexplained
wealth,” then he knows that the
probability of his rivals knowing
about them is pretty high. He ought
to know that in politics, secrets are
revealed at a time when it will hurt
the most, which makes one
wonder: Has Binay gone
desperado?
(PerryDiaz@gmail.com)
201-434-1114
Ex Jesuit
Governor ...
From page 12
his search for a meaningful life. He
went to Japan to study Zen
Buddhism and also spent some
time with Mother Teresa in
Calcutta, India, ministering to sick
and dying poor people.
In 1999, he decided to
continue his service to God and
humanity as a politician and did an
unthinkable thing. He ran as
Mayor for the City of Oakland. Why
Oakland?
Oakland is
predominantly a black community
plagued with widespread poverty
and a reputation as one of the most
violent cities in the U.S. Can a white
candidate win as Mayor? The black
community sensed that Brown, a
former governor, was out there to
really do good and not out of blind
ambition. They elected him for two
terms, from 1999 to 2007.
Brown did much to revitalize
Oakland with his connections and
experience. He was able to bring in
over a billion dollars in
investments, rehabilitated
blighted districts, tried his best to
provide better educational
opportunities for young people
and reduced the crime rate by
13%. Brown left the city a better
place to live in.
With his good record as a true
public servant, Brown ran for
Attorney General in 2007 and won
with one of the widest margins
ever in state races. As Attorney
general, among other things, he
went against the predatory
lending practices of financial
institutions winning class
settlements for the victims.
In 2011, now 72 years old, he
ran for a third time for Governor
against monied Meg Whitman,
former EBay President. Endorsed
by practically all the major
California newspapers, Brown
Spruced-up ...
From page 10
life. The practice spread to other
countries.
That truth stands beyond those
cemeteries turned into two-day
cities zapped by karaokes, traffic
jams; or beyond the squatters
living in crammed cemeteries.
“Death tweaks my ears and says:
'Live. I am coming',” the late US
Supreme Court justice Oliver
Wendell Holmes wrote.
In the Philippines, “Todos los
Santos” or “All Saints” is marked on
Nov. 1, a Saturday this year. Locals
sometimes dub it “Undas.” The day
after is “Araw ng mga Patay” or All
Souls' Day. People flock to Mass and
most visit the graves of family
members.
In Portugal, Spain and Mexico,
offerings or “ofrendas” are made on
this day. In Austria, Belgium,
F r a n c e , H u n g a r y, I t a l y,
Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal,
Spain and American cities such as
New Orleans, people take flowers
to the graves of dead relatives.
That tradition resembles those
in Poland, the Czech Republic,
S w e d e n , F i n l a n d , S l o ve n i a ,
Slovakia, Lithuania, Croatia,
Austria, Romania, Moldova,
Hungary and in the Catholic parts
of Germany.
In the calendar of the Anglican
Church and in many Lutheran
churches, such as the Church of
Sweden, the rites consist of a
won by an overwhelmingly wide
14% margin. The oldest elected
Governor in California history.
Jerry Brown is a rare
politician. He behaves more like a
philosopher than a politician. To
him, unlike most politicians,
politics which has to do with the
acquisition of power, is just a
means to a higher end and not an
end by itself. Before he is a
politician, he is before everything
else, a man committed to God and
fellowmen. He simply does
courageously what he sincerely
believes to be the right and good
thing to do after much thought and
then is indifferent to the results,
victorious or not a way of life and
thinking acquired by those who
spend much time in solitude and
general commemoration of the
dead. In the Swedish calendar, the
observance takes place on the
Saturday between Oct. 31 and Nov.
6.
In many Lutheran churches, it
is moved to the first Sunday of
November. It is also celebrated by
other Protestants of the English
tradition, such as the United
Church of Canada, the Methodist
churches, and the Wesleyan
Church.
In some United Methodist
churches and congregations, a
candle is lit by the acolyte as each
person's name is called out by the
clergy. Prayers and responsive
readings may accompany the
event. Often the names of those
who have died in the past year are
affixed to a memorial plaque.
Death doesn't take away the
sting of losing a loved one, notes
Oblate priest Fr. Ron Rolheiser.
“Nothing takes that away because
nothing is meant to. Death is meant
to indelibly scar our hearts because
love is meant to wound us in that
way. As the pastor-hero Dietrich
Bonhoeffer puts it: 'Nothing can
make up for the absence of
someone we love. It is nonsense to
say that God fills the gap. God
doesn't fill it. But on the contrary,
God keeps it empty and so helps us
keep alive our former communion
with each other, even at the cost of
pain. The dearer and richer our
memories, the more difficult the
separation. But gratitude changes
the pangs of memory into a tranquil
prayer. The good work that he has
done will bear much fruit in the
lives of others and the generations
to come long after he is gone. If we
had more politicians like him, we
would have a much better world.
Governor Jerry Brown, truly a man
for others.
Note: Atty. Ted Laguatan is one of only
29 lawyers officially certified
continously for 24 years now as an
expert in immigration law by the
California State Bar. As a journalist, he
recently won the 2014 award in the
Plaridel Awards for Excellence in Filipino
American Journalism in the Best
Commentary and Editorial category
given by the Philippine American Press
Club. Email laguatanlaw@gmail.com Tel
650 991-1154.
joy. The beauties of the past are
borne, not as a thorn in the flesh,
but as a precious gift in
themselves.”
“Lift us up, that we may see
further, as one by one, You gather
scattered families, from the
distractions, strife and weariness
of time, to the peace of eternity,” the
ancient prayer goes. “Death is only
a horizon, and a horizon is the limit
of our sight. We thank you for the
labor and joys of these mortal
years. We thank you for the deep
sense of mystery that lies beyond
our mortal dust.”
Liturgy spotlights this reality:
“For unto your faithful, O Lord, life
is changed, not taken away,” says
the Eucharist's preface. The theme
resonates wherever religious or
laymen read the Liturgy of the
Hours.
Few now hear the ancient
Gregorian chant: “Dies Irae” (Day of
Wrath). “Tuba mirum spargen
sonum / Per sepulchra regionum /
Coget omnes ante thronum.” My
Latin 101 translates that to:
“Trumpets blare through
sepulchers, calling all to appear
before the judgment throne.”
Whether in the dim catacombs
off Rome's Appian Way, or in our
garishly lighted cemeteries, All
Souls' Day 2014 speaks to us again
in Nobel Laureate Rabindranath
Tagore's line: “Death is not the
extinguishing of life. It is putting
out the lamp because dawn has
come.”
(E-mail: juanlmercado@gmail.com)
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 15
Filipinos will never forget Jewish assistance after Haiyan
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The
Philippines will never forget the
kind gesture of the Jewish
Community for the helping hand
extended to the Filipino people in
the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan
last year, according to Ambassador
Jose L. Cuisia, Jr.
“The Filipino people will
always remember that during their
time of need, the Jewish people
came to their succor the same way
we did when we opened our door
to them to save them from Nazi
persecution more than seven
decades ago,” Ambassador Cuisia
said in his remarks during the
recent special screening of the
documentary Rescue in the
Philippines: Refuge from the
Holocaust at the Philippine
Embassy.
In his remarks, Ambassador
Cuisia extended his gratitude to
leaders of the Jewish Community
for immediately rushing to the
assistance of the Philippines after
Typhoon Haiyan struck the Central
Visayas last year, killing more than
6,000 people and displacing
millions.
Ambassador Cuisia cited the
important role of the Joint Jewish
Distribution Committee (JDC), the
Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and
other humanitarian organizations
that provided food, shelter, clean
water and sanitation to typhoon
victims.
In addition to raising more than
$1.3 million, Ambassador Cuisia
said the JDC also assisted in search
and rescue efforts and helped in the
re c o n s t r u c t i o n o f d a m a g e d
buildings and in the restoration of
water supply in affected areas. It
also provided medical care to more
than 2,800 typhoon victims,
including 900 children.
“Rescue was being screened at
the United Nations on the night
Typhoon Haiyan hit the Central
V i s a ya s a n d i t s p r o d u c e r s
immediately set up a relief fund
that raised $130,000 in five days,”
Ambassador Cuisia added.
Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr.
“I believe this is the Jewish
Community's way of reciprocating
our gesture of taking in 1,305
Jewish refugees during the
Holocaust and for being the only
Asian member-state of the United
Nations that voted in favor of the
creation of the State of Israel in
1947,” the Filipino envoy said.
“I am glad we were able to
screen this film about a littleknown story of the collaboration of
Filipinos and Americans to offer
Jews escaping the Nazi pogrom in
Europe a safe haven when many
other countries were turning them
away,” said Ambassador Cuisia.
Rescue tells the story of how
President Manuel Luis Quezon and
five Jewish-American
businessmen-brothers, the
Frieders of Cincinnati, along with
US High Commissioner Paul
M c N u t t , C o l . D w i gh t D av i d
Eisenhower and the Joint Jewish
Distribution Committee, worked
together to save a total of 1,305
Jewish refugees.
The film has been screened at
the US Capitol, the United Nations,
the Library of Congress, the
Philadelphia Museum of American
Jewish History, the American
Jewish Archives and other venues
in New York, California, Ohio,
Montana, Texas, Maryland and
Florida. On August 7, Rescue had its
Manila premiere with no less than
President Benigno Aquino III
hosting the event at Malacañang
Palace.
Rescue has also received
positive reviews from the New York
Times, the Los Angeles Times, and
the Village Voice.
Present during the Embassy
screening were Director Cynthia
Scott; Executive Director Russ
Hodge; Producers Peggy Ellis and
Barbara Sasser; surviving Jewish
refugees, including Ralph Preiss,
and direct descendants of other
refugees who fled to the
Philippines.
Also present was Ruth
Ephraim, widow of Frank Ephraim,
author of "Escape to Manila," which
served as the basis for the
documentary. - Elmer G. Cato,
Minister & Consul for Public
Diplomacy, Embassy of the Republic
of the Philippines, Washington, D.C.
800,000 'Yolanda' survivors suffer
from mental health problems
By Tina G. Santos
MANILA -- At least 800,000
survivors of Super Typhoon
“Yolanda” (Haiyan) may have
suffered from different levels of
m e n t a l h e a l t h p ro b l e m s ,
according to the World Health
Organization (WHO).
“As many as 800,000 people
among the displaced
population could suffer from
common or serious mental
health disorders,” said Dr. Julie
Hall, WHO country
representative in the
Philippines, in a news
c o n fe re n c e fo r t h e f i r s t
anniversary of Yolanda, the
world's strongest typhoon in
recent history.
Among the mental health
problems found in Yolanda-hit
areas are hallucinations,
excessive anxieties, social
withdrawal, changes in eating
or sleeping habits, strong
feelings of anger, substance
abuse, excessive complaints of
physical ailments, frequent
o u t b u r s t s o f a n g e r,
hy p e ra c t iv i t y, p e r s i s t e n t
nightmares and frequent
temper tantrums.
Of the estimated 800,000
survivors, at least one in 10, or
8 0 , 0 0 0 , h ave b e e n s e e n
advancing into depression and
would need treatment and
more medical support, she
added.
And as the country
p r e p a r e s f o r t h e
commemoration of All Souls
Day, there is a possibility that
the survivors may again
experience depression and
other mental health problems
as they remember their dead,
according to the WHO official.
“A l o t o f g r i e f a n d
depression may come back with
the commemoration of the day
Father Joselito Ortega CRSP
The street leading to the municipal hall of Daanbantayan in the nothern
Cebu after the super typhoon Yolanda. CDN file photo/Tonee Despojo
the dead. More people will
probably be in need of mental
health support,” said Hall.
The reappearance of
reaction to the storm is
common, according to Hall.
“ Re c u r r i n g e m o t i o n a l
reactions … reminders such as
rain can trigger upsetting
memories of the critical
incident,” said the WHO.
“These 'triggers' may be
accompanied by fears that the
stressful event will be
repeated,” the WHO said.
There are only about 70
trained health professionals
and almost 300 community
workers attending to mental
health problems in areas
d e v a s t a t e d b y Yo l a n d a ,
according to Hall.
WHO reported that after its
immediate response to the
typhoon, it began its work to
promote the integration of
mental health skills into the
primary health care system.
“WHO is training a large
(group) of health professionals
in identification, treatment and
support of people with mental
health problems to improve
their mental health status,” it
said.
It added that it has been
working with the Department
of Health to provide basic
training for psychosocial care
for community workers on how
to diagnose and manage
common and serious mental
health disorders.
Also, the WHO said it has
been working with the
Philippine Department of
Health to increase the capacity
of hospitals and other
healthcare facilities in terms of
treating mental health patients.
With the country
commemorating the one year
anniversary of the disaster on
N o v. 8 , H a l l s a i d t h e
international organization
would continue to support
communities that have been
devastated to help people there
recover.
“We are grateful to all the
donors who have funded our
work,” Hall said, adding that the
WHO received $17 million in
donations.
“Together we aim to bring
back a better, more resilient
health system for the future.
Together we are putting health
at the heart of healing,” Hall
said. Inquirer.net
The Barnabite Heart to
Heart Ministry ceaselessly
aids 'Yolanda' victims
By Sue Braff
At five in the morning on Nov. 8 your house is in one piece and your family
including grandchildren are resting comfortably. Then at 5:45 am, “the wind
is so strong and the house is already rumbling and shaking. (at 5:50) our roof
is blown away.” That is the last words Father Joselito Ortega CRSP, a priest in
Silangan San Mateo Rizal, Philippines received from his parents, sister in-law
and nephews in Palo Leyte about 600 miles away for 15 days. On November 8,
2013, the strongest typhoon ever to strike the islands, Typhoon Yolanda
plowed a shore.
Father Joselito said that being 600 miles away all he could do to
immediately help people was pray. “The news ace a grotesque picture of the
situation,” he commented. He went on to say that for several days there was no
communication and transportation was non- existent as road and airports
were destroyed. He stated that he immediately began to work with his 8,000
parishioners and his order, The Clerics Regular of St Paul known as the
Barnabites, North American Province in Bethlehem, PA to put together a relief
operation.
The priest was in Bethlehem Friday, Oct. 17, not only to say thank you to
his order that sent $5,000 to him for relief but also to meet with the Barnabite
Heart to Heart Ministry which was formed shortly before the typhoon by
Father Robert Kosek, CRSP, Ph.D. Heart to Heart has shipped over 10 tons of
clothing plus several financial donations to Father Joselito and others in the
Philippines. They are currently making plans to begin fund raising in order to
obtain a mobile clinic for the children in the Philippines.
According to Father Joselito twenty days after the typhoon going to the
area where the storm struck which was now a “no man's area.” Just to get to
u
Page 22
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 16
By Cathy Cañares-Yamsuan
Evelinda Otong Hamja is a
40-something weaver from the
Yakan tribe who, when she was
just 9 years old, learned to
create beautiful headscarves
called seputangan from her
grandmother.
Back then, it was important
for Grandma that Evelinda
learned the intricate skill of
mingling warp (the vertical
thread of the loom) and weft
(the horizontal thread that goes
over the warp).
It was only much later when
Evelinda realized that the
introduction, placement or
spacing of specific colors in the
fabric led to certain shapes or
images.
“There were leaf designs,
mata kabew (carabao eyes),
guava leaves, inalaman
(diamond shape) and the
sumping (flower),” she said in
Filipino.
Evelinda stretched out her
right leg to show some of the
designs she learned woven into
her trousers.
But while the designs her
g ra n d m o t h e r t a u g h t h e r
existed in nature, Evelinda
pointed out that the tribe had
no known reference for the
inalaman.
In fact, it took a while before
she learned that it was called a
diamond.
“We wove the diamond
design into our fabric but the
elders did not have a name for
it,” she said.
The pattern was actually
more difficult to execute in
cloth because “there is no
existing pattern. There is no
diamond shape in the
mountains of Basilan. It only
exists in our memory. Basta
tinuro lang sa akin, hindi ko
nakita ang diamond in nature,
not even when the tribe moved
to the (Zamboanga peninsula)
because of the armed conflict,”
Evelinda said.
Evelinda's masterpieces as
well as those created by other
tribes all over the country, are
now on display at the “Art and
the Order of Nature in
Indigenous Philippine Textiles”
at the fourth floor galleries of
the Ayala Museum in Makati
City.
Studied in London
The 111 textiles donated to
the museum by Mercedes Zobel
were studied and analyzed by
students of the London-based
Prince's School of Traditional
Arts (PSTA), one of the core
ANALYSTS note that a kandit sash created by the Tausug from the Sulu
archipelago exhibits the same graceful geometric forms found in the
fabric of other tribes overseas.
ANTIQUE head cloth called seputangan created by the Yakan tribe.
More recent batches have suffered in quality because of a dire lack of
good materials.
charities of Prince Charles; it
was founded in 2004.
PSTA outreach program
director Patricia Araneta said
the students in London used
“traditional geometry and
biomorphic design principles”
in analyzing the textiles.
The students noted that
designs found in indigenous
Philippine textiles “reflect the
universal order of nature.”
Now, the rest of this story
should be told in the simplest
way possible. Otherwise, it
would lose its mind-blowing
quality.
The thing is, Evelinda and all
other weavers from tribes that
include the Kalinga, Gaddang,
Itneg and Kankanay of Luzon
down to the Maranao, Subanun,
Tausug, Bagobo, B'laan and
T'boli in Mindanao were using
the same geometric shapes and
d e s i g n s o v e r a n d o v e r,
obviously without being aware
of each other's business.
Araneta said previous
studies have already
established that the square,
triangle and circle shapes have
long existed in textile designs
and appear to be universal
symbols of the earth, humanity
and the heavens, respectively.
Araneta said there are also
observations that the designs
would be repeated as a
rhythmic pattern in a fabric, or
hidden in other designs and
only recognized upon close
inspection, or superimposed on
other patterns to create new
ones.
She mentioned a Tausug
headscarf whose tapestry
“looks like a mandala,” a pattern
that has significant spiritual
meaning in some Eastern
philosophies.
The lukis kayapo or lotus
flower in a Tausug kandit or
sash would have the same
graceful, flowing pattern found
in a Maranao woman's malong.
Circular patterns found in
the upper garments of the
Luzon highlanders would be
repeated as hexagons or circles
arranged like flower petals that
emanate from the same radius
in the designs of the
southerners.
Across the seas, the hexagon
is reinvented as a pattern for a
snowflake, honeycomb or lily
flower.
Psychic connection
Araneta talked of an
“inspirational/spiritual” realm,
a seemingly psychic
connection, in explaining how
YAKAN weaver Evalinda Otong Hamja was taught by her grandmother
when she was 9 to create a headscarf called seputangan with intricate
geometric designs.
tribes all over the world created
the same patterns in their
fabric way before man
discovered ocean navigation
and practiced global trade.
Weavers of one group would
observe nature and see circles,
triangles and squares and
document these in their fabric
that, at one point, was most
likely considered currency and
an indication of wealth and
status.
To paraphrase a text found
in the exhibit: textiles tell
stories of people's aspirations.
Woven cloth carries the
cultural life of a community and
could even serve very personal
purposes similar to talismans
and amulets like ward off evil,
attract good fortune or assure
an abundant harvest.
Textile designs are also
visual representations of an
indigenous group's ideals of
beauty and order, as well as
belief systems.
Araneta said that since the
textiles also mirror a people's
intimate relationship with the
natural environment, it is
imperative to preserve the
habitat if the tradition of cloth
making is also to be preserved.
Otherwise, these people
would not have patterns,
aspirations and stories to
document in their fabric.
In a press conference prior
to an exhibit preview given to
u
Page 17
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 17
MERCEDES Zobel
Ancient
Philippine
Textiles ...
From page 16
journalists, Zobel said she was
“floored” when she first saw the
textiles as a collection gathered and
later offered to her by friend Ricky
Baylosis, an antique dealer.
Zobel eventually purchased the
Baylosis collection and donated it to
Ayala Museum.
K e n n e t h E s g u e r r a , Ay a l a
Museum senior curator and head of
conservation, said the collection
should be studied and appreciated
“in relation to universal design.”
Asif Ahmad, ambassador of the
British Embassy to Manila, agreed
that fabrics tell stories, to the point
that they could influence global
affairs.
The British embassy
participated in the opening night
festivities on Thursday in
celebration of Philippine-British
Friendship Week.
“Fashion connects people,”
Ahmad noted.
“And the time has come for the
Philippines to (use textiles) to
transition from replication to
creation. To sell to the world and
influence (the rest of) us,” the envoy
added. Inquirer.net
COMPLEMENTARY designs of a
B'laan woman's shirt and a T'boli
woman's tubular skirt
WOVEN cloth carries the cultural life of a community.
PHOTOS BY KIMBERLY DELA CRUZ
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 18
Dangal ng Lahi awardee A. Gabriel Esteban, Ph. D., (center) President of Seton Hall University, New
Jersey, presented by AFTA President Raul Cajigas (L) and Consul General Mario De Leon Jr. (R).
Photo by A.F.T.A.
Dangal ng Lahi awardee Conrado “Bobby” Gempesaw, Ph. D.,(center) President of St. John's
University, New York, presented by AFTA President Raul Cajigas (L) and Consul General Mario De
Leon Jr. (R). Photo by A.F.T.A.
Fil-Am teachers celebrate Silver Jubilee and Balikturo
By Carol Tanjutco
Twenty-five years and
counting, Filipino-American
teachers continued their mission to
strive, maintain, and persevere in
achieving the highest level of
competency in the teaching
profession. From the humble
beginnings of the very first
teachers who arrived in New York,
the organization has evolved into a
501(c)3 non-profit corporation,
Association of Fil-Am Teachers of
America, Inc. (A.F.T.A.). Teachers
and administrators from New York
and New Jersey are invited to
attend professional development
workshops twice a year in order to
meet the CORE curriculum that is
currently implemented by the
Department of Education in the tristate.
Since the project started in
1993, A.F.T.A. had served more than
3,000 teachers and continue to
expand each year. Between their
full time jobs and part-time study
to achieve higher degrees in
education, active members devote
The Association of Fil-Am Teachers of America, Inc celebrated their Silver
Jubilee marked by recognition awards, traditional folk dances and Rigodon De
Honor on October 12, 2013 at Astoria World Manor Hotel, NY. Photo by Luz
Dara Valconcha.
Distinguished Service awards were given to Balikturo teachers (L-R): Luz Dara
Valconcha, Nellie Gabatino, Lilia Juele, Juanito Hingpis, Rena Pedaria, Pacita
Ros, with A.F.T.A. President Raul Cajigas. Two other awardees were not in
photo: Jonathan Demol and Eleuterio Timbol. Photo by A.F.T.A.
their summer breaks serving in a
Philippine cultural and language
immersion program dubbed as
“ Pa a ra l a n s a Ko n s u l a d o”, a
partnership with the Philippine
Consulate General of New York.
Also, during this time, books and
teachers' efforts in its website,
described as, “The Balikturo
Project, which started in 1994 as a
professional development
program is now on its 20th year of
bringing volunteer Filipino teacher
based in the United States to go to
m a te r i a l s a re ga t h e re d fo r
donation to the depressed areas of
the Philippines.
Balikturo (Return To Teach)
The Commission on Filipino
Overseas recognized A.F.T.A.
the Philippines to share and
exchange with their Philippine
counterpart valuable information,
knowledge, experience, and latest
developments in different areas of
teaching.” This year, 8 teachers
u
Page 19
President A. Gabriel Esteban and Father
Christopher Ciccarino Receive Papal Honor
Inducted as Knights in the Historic Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. Seton
Hall University President A.
Gabriel Esteban and Father
Christopher Ciccarino, S.T.D,
associate dean of the University's
Immaculate Conception Seminary
School of Theology, were inducted
as knights in the Equestrian Order
of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem
at an investiture Mass at Saint
Patrick's Cathedral in New York in
late September. Being knighted in
the Order of the Holy Sepulchre is
one of the highest papal awards
for clergy and laity in the Catholic
Church.
The chivalric order dates back
to the First Crusade in 1099, and
its mission is to support the
Christian presence in the Holy
Land through fundraising and
advocacy. Pope Francis approved
the nominations of President
Esteban and Father Ciccarino,
which were submitted by the Most
Rev. John J. Myers, archbishop of
Newark.
“I am truly humbled to receive
this honor and thank His Grace,
Archbishop John J. Myers for
considering me worthy as a
c a n d i d a te ,” s a i d P re s i d e n t
Esteban.
Knights of the Holy Sepulchre
are chosen for their deep
Christian faith, their involvement
in the Church at the parish and
diocesan levels, their ecumenical
spirit and their interest in the Holy
Land.
“When the bishop makes this
recommendation to the Holy
Father, he is saying this person is
of high moral character,” said
James Goodness, archdiocese
spokesman. “It is very easy to see
that both Dr. Esteban and Father
Ciccarino, as administrators and
teachers in a Catholic educational
setting, have been very active in
promoting the Church and its
teachings. Because of that, they
have been chosen for this
personal and prestigious honor in
the Church.”
At the investiture Mass, the
n e w k n i g h t s r e c e ive d t h e
emblems and insignias of the
order, including a white cape
bearing the Cross of Jerusalem, a
collar cross, and a lapel pin. In
addition, they are expected to
follow the three virtues of the
order
a willingness to
subordinate their personal good
to the needs of others, support of
A. Gabriel Esteban
Father Christopher Ciccarino, S.T.D,
the poor, and the pursuit of justice
and peace for all people.
The order supports the
building of schools, shrines and
seminaries in the Holy Land as
well as projects such as housing,
scholarships, business start-up
loans, and other types of social
work. The charity of the order is
provided to all those in need,
regardless of their religious
beliefs.
Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of
B ro o k ly n o f f i c i a te d a t t h e
investiture Mass, which was
followed by a banquet at the
Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan.
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 19
Shop global, help local
The Annual International
Bazaar offers an opportunity to
shop for unique and authentic
products from various places
the world over in a one-stop
venue.
This is one of the biggest
and most diverse holiday
bazaars organized by the
International Bazaar
Foundation Inc. (IBF), Ladies of
the Department of Foreign
Affairs, Spouses of Heads of
Mission (Shom) and members
of the diplomatic and consular
corps.
Some 35 embassies and six
consulates will showcase the
best of their local goods.
Over 100 booths will also
sell Philippine products.
Proceeds of the one-day
event will be donated to the IBF,
which will then use them for
various projects such as
scholarship grants to deserving
students from indigent families,
financial support for the elderly,
abused and abandoned
children, as well as victims of
calamities.
A p a r t f ro m t h e
International Bazaar's array of
goods, guests will also get a
chance to win a Hyundai Eon
car from Hyundai Asia
Resources, Inc. (Hari)
Foundation, Inc. through its
G re tc h e n V. d e l Ro s a r i o,
International Bazaar Foundation,
Inc. chair
president and CEO Ma. Fe
Perez-Agudo and IBF Inc.
There will also be airline
tickets, kitchen appliances,
hotel weekend packages and
other prizes when you buy a
raffle ticket at P200.
Shoppers and their families
can also get a chance to have a
“taste of the world” at the food
court that will sell authentic
dishes from various countries.
IBF is headed by chair
Gretchen V. del Rosario, wife of
Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert
F. del Rosario, with Sylvia
Farolan, president; Bambina
Buenaventura, vice president;
Fil-Am teachers ...
From page 18
went to different parts of the country
to share new technology in training
a n d d eve l o p m e n t o f te a c h i n g
methodology.
Lilia Juele taught Designing
Instructions for Online Teaching and
Learning at Seton Hall School, Las
PInas City, and Strategic Planning for
Offering Online Courses and Degrees
at Centro Escolar University in Manila.
Nellie Gabatino brought Literacy
Through Music And Movements at
Bright Star Learning Center and
Roosevelt College, both located at
Marikina City.
Jonathan Demol taught Reflecting
on Pedagogical Assessments'
Pedagogical implications in separate
sessions at Cebu City Division and
Carcar City Division. Juanito Hingpis
introduced Universal Design for
Learning (UDL): A Precursor of an
Empowered Classroom at Unson
Elementary School, Pagsanjan Laguna,
Holy Cross College of Carigara and Dr.
Celedonio A. Salvador Elementary
School in Paco, Manila.
Rena Pedaria and Luz Dara
Valconcha taught Mathematical
Modeling: A Bridge to the Real World
at Central Mindanao University,
Bukidnon and Mindanao State
University, Marawi City, Lanao del Sur.
Eleuterio F. Timbol, Ph.D. presented A
Platform to Success: Strengthening
Classroom Instruction that Works for
K-12 Learners Saint Michael's College
of Laguna, Binan, Laguna and Don
H o n o r i o Te c h n o l o g i c a l S t a t e
University, Bacolor, Pampanga. This
was attended by 450 participants.
Traveling to a remote region of the
country, Pacita Ros taught Developing
Writing and Making Math Fun at
Cabitan, Mandaon, Masbate. Looking
back to her sixteen hours of bus ride
Rose Villamor, secretary; Alice
Guerrero, treasurer; Olivia
Romulo, Margarita
Ta m b u n t i n g , M a r i o n
Coscolluela, consul Fortune
Ledesma (members of the
board of trustees); Nora
Salazar, executive director;
B l e s s i e C a b r e ra , s p e c i a l
projects unit coordinator;
Department of Foreign Affairs.
Shom officers are Omolara
Evelyn Farounbi (Nigeria),
president; Isabelle Garachon
(France), vice president;
Margaret Ledoux (EU),
secretary; Marie Won Wha Soon
(Korea), treasurer; Dinh Thi
Thu Huong (Vietnam),
membership officer; Gracita
Sieber (Switzerland) and Mano
Hirubalan (Singapore),
advisers.
Set on Nov. 16 at the
Philippine International
Convention Center (PICC)
Forums I-III, the bazaar is open
from 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
Entrance tickets are
available at P100 and raffle
tickets at P200 at Tesoro's
outlets on Arnaiz Avenue,
Makati City, and Mabini Street,
Ermita, Manila; and at the 6/F,
Special Projects Unit, 2330
Department of Foreign Affairs
Building, Roxas Blvd. Pasay
City; tel. 8331320. Inquirer.net
SPOUSES of the Heads of Mission members. Standing: Lizia Lu (Israel), San San Htun (Myanmar),
Masitah Binti Alang Ahmad (Malaysia), Ziki Ralte (India), Irene Reeder (Canada), Won Wha Soon
(Korea), Maria Jose Gomez Carrasco (Spain), Toshiko Shibata (Japan), Sonya Lumintang (Indonesia).
Seated: Agnes Roscigno (Italy), Ambassador Malayvieng Sakonhninhom of Laos, Omolara Evelyn
Farounbi (Nigeria), Isabelle Garachon (France), Gracita Tolentino-Sieber (Switzerland)
UNIQUE products from different embassies and consulates
and transfer, plus four hours of boat
ride, while she and her husband were
lugging their bags and seminar
materials, Mrs. Ros recounted, “I think
I am needed by the teachers in the
barrios. And despite the challenges
and difficult circumstance posed by
the travel to such a remote place in
Mandaon (or Aroroy), Masbate, twice I
chose to go there. Will I do it again?
The answer is, yes!”
Photos during the Balikturo were
posted by Fr. Benigno Beltran on the
official Lingkod sa Kapwa Pilipino
F a c e b o o k
p a g e
a t
www.facebook.com/linkapil
Dangal ng Lahi Awardees
Two outstanding educators were
recognized by A.F.T.A. represented by
its President Raul Cajigas and
presented by the Philippine Consul
General of New York Mario de Leon Jr.
during the silver jubilee celebration on
October 12, 2014 at Astoria World
Manor Hotel. “Dangal ng Lahi” award is
the highest award bestowed by A.F.T.A.
honoring those who have reached
outstanding achievement in the
teaching profession, who serve as real
pride to the Fil-Am and Filipino
teachers in the United States and the
Philippines, as well as to the Filipino
people as a whole.
President of St. John's University,
New York, Conrado Gempesaw, Ph.D.,
and President of Seton Hall University,
New Jersey, A. Gabriel Esteban, Ph.D.,
are the top educators in the Northeast
universities who merit the
recognition. Truly a pride to all
Filipinos, both achievements prove
how far our teachers can excel in the
field of education. These are the
reasons A.F.T.A. is continuing its
Balikturo Project for the years to come,
bringing home tools and knowledge
for the advancement of teaching in the
country.
Teach your child the language
of the Philippines!
From Esturya, makers of
the first English-to-Tagalog
digital storybook The Cowboy
Inting and the Carabao Butud,
now comes a Cebuano
version! Now we can read and
learn one of the widely used
dialects in the Visayan region
of the Philippines!
Set in the sugarcane-filled
landscape of Negros Island,
the story introduces us to
Butud, a young carabao who
gets the saddest news of his
life one day when his best
friend, a boy named Inting,
says they can't play together
anymore: Inting is finally
going to school!
The app takes the Diglot
Weave approach - a technique
in vocabulary learning where
words from another language
are gradually inserted into the
English narrative.
The app features
delightful illustrations by
Dwight Gaston, a touch of
Filipino music, audio
narration, and even a
vocabulary list that you can
review anytime.
Esturya is a collaborative
project between two local
companies, Akubo Software
and 7th Films Production
House.
“It's our special projects
unit,” Robin Abello, head of the
series and founder of Akubo,
said, “where we also do R&D
and learn techniques that we
use for our other products.”
Based on the idea to help
Filipino immigrants teach
their children about our
At left is Robin Abello, founder of
Akubo
culture, Esturya aims to bring
facets of the Philippines from
east to west, one fun-filled app
at a time.
Besides Cebuano and
Tagalog, Inting and Butud also
comes in Ilonggo - now all
available on the App Store.
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 20
Electronics industry
asks Aquino to invite
more foreign investors
By Kristine Angeli Sabillo
Western Region Top 5 Asian American Business Award Recipients with the Honorable Willie L. Brown, Jr.,
event Sponsors from Coca-Cola Company, PG&E, Wells Fargo, Wells & Bennett and USPAACC West
Chapter Leadership. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Top five Asian American
businesses in the West named
SAN FRANCISCO -- The top
5 Asian American businesses in
the West, with overall revenues
of over $100 million, were
chosen by US Pan Asian
American Chamber of
Commerce Education
F o u n d a t i o n ( U S PA A C C )
Western Region Chapter
during a full-house
Procurement Connections &
Awards Reception at the Wells
Fargo Penthouse on October
16.
The Top 5 are among the
Western region's fastestgrowing enterprises owned by
Asian Americans, with
companies reaching an
average growth rate of up to 49
percent in the last three years:
Infostretch Corporation, an
information technology
company based in Santa Clara;
Nth Connect Telecom, Inc., a
telecommunications company
based in San Jose; Triune
Informatics, Inc., an
information technology
consulting and staffing
company based in Fremont;
Uesugi & Associates, an
architectural firm based in San
Francisco; and Zero Waste
S o l u t i o n s , I n c . , a wa s te
management and recycling
company based in Concord.
The revenues and growth
rates were verified and ranked
by the accounting firm
WuHoover & Associates. Wells
Fargo, PG&E, Wells & Bennett
and The Coca-Cola Company
sponsored the event.
“USPAACC is proud to
recognize and showcase the
continued growth of Asian
American-owned businesses
across industries, amid the
current economic landscape,”
said Clyde Wong, USPAACC
Western Region Chapter
President.
“Our Top 5 winners have
shown remarkable
accomplishments as
contributors to the economic
vitality of our business
community and as an integral
part of the Asian American
success story,” Wong added.
To qualify, companies must
u
Page 22
Nielsen - Asian American buying
power driving consumer trends
S A N F R A N C I S C O - - “A s i a n
Americans are a powerful force,
influencing the development of trends
relating to everything from food to
music to technology,” said Nielsen Vice
President for Community Alliances &
Consumer Engagement Betty Lo,
announcing a report by the leading
i n fo r m a t i o n a n d m e a s u re m e n t
The industry currently
company.
accounts for $2.4 trillion in
“Fueled by their desire to explore
terms of economic activity
and try new things Asian Americans
and provides support for 58
will continue to drive future trends
million jobs.
based on their significant buying power
“It is an exciting prospect
and growth,” Lo stated.
to think that in the next 20
Asian Americans “over-index” on
years more than twice as
nearly every major category of goods,
many passengers as today
including electronics, travel, event Betty Lo, Nielsen VP, Community Alliances
will have the chance to fly. Air
tickets, clothing, groceries, medicine, & Consumer Engagement. CONTRIBUTED
connectivity on this scale will
and toys, according to Nielsen's PHOTO
help transform economic
Significant,
Sophisticated, and Savvy:
opportunities for millions of
The Asian American Consumer report.
and advertisers better understand
people,” Tony Tyler, IATA's
Leading the segment of online consumers just like you in order to
Director General and CEO,
shoppers are Asian Americans with 77 provide the products and services you
said in the statement.
percent having made an Internet want and need,” Lo explained.
The IATA report also
purchase in the past year, compared to
“So, if you are ever asked to
highlighted expectations that
61 percent of the U.S. general participate in a Nielsen survey please
China would overtake the
population. Cultural values and say yes,” she added. “Learn more” about
United States as world's
heritage can have a strong effect on what it means to be a Conscious
largest passenger market by
Asian American purchase decisions.
Consumer by visiting
2030.
“Nielsen provides insights on what Nielsen.com/Asians or join in the
u
Page 22
consumers are watching and buying to conversation on Facebook by searching
help product manufacturers, retailers Nielsen Community.” Inquirer.net
Asia Pacific seen to drive
global growth in travel
By Miguel R. Camus
Cheaper ticket prices and
a booming global population
will drive growth in the air
passenger sector through
2034, with Asia Pacific seen to
account for almost half of
worldwide traffic through
that period, the International
Air Transport Association, or
IATA, said in a report.
IATA, in its first 20-year
passenger growth forecast,
said Asia Pacific as a whole
will see an extra 1.8 billion
p a s s e n g e r s a n n u a l l y,
increasing its market size to
about 2.9 billion passengers.
That would account for 42
percent of global passenger
traffic, with its 4.9-percent
annual growth rate the
highest alongside the Middle
East, IATA said. It noted that
some areas would grow faster
than others, like Indonesia,
which will be among the top
10 biggest air passenger
markets in 2020, and is
estimated to be the 6th
biggest by 2029.
Overall, global air
passenger number are
forecast to hit 7.3 billion by
2034, or a 4.1 percent annual
growth rate, from the current
3.3 billion passengers
expected to travel by air this
year.
IATA said by the end of the
20-year period, the aviation
sector would be valued at
about $6 trillion of gross
domestic product, supporting
around 105 million jobs.
MA NI LA - - The elec t ron ic s
industry on Tuesday, Oct. 28, asked
President Benigno Aquino III for
assistance in securing investments
during his trips abroad.
“We have been working hand-inhand with the DTI's (Department of
Trade and Industry's) Board of
Investments and PEZA (Philippine
Economic Zone Authority) to explore
the growth sectors in the electronics
industry so we can create value
propositions which your office could
use for business trips abroad to invite
investors,” said Danilo Lachica,
president of the Semiconductor and
Electronics Industries in the
Philippines.
Lachica told Aquino, who was the
keynote speaker at their general
membership meeting, that the
industry hopes he could talk to heads
of multinational companies and
“convince them to set up or expand
their business operations in the
Philippines.”
In his speech, Aquino credited the
industry for contributing 42.2 percent
or $24 billion of the country's total
exports and employing 331,000
workers, in addition to 2.3 million
indirect employees.
During the open forum, Aquino
said that in his recent trip to the United
States he was able to speak to a
consumer appliance manufacturer.
“He stated during our meeting that
he saw a report on the Philippines,
perhaps a CNN program, and because
of this he was encouraged to seek us
out and to start exploring the potential
of moving his operations from that
particular country to the Philippines.
He was that gung-ho,” the President
said.
“In fact, he was not just looking for
contractors for his products but
actually even promising to provide
engineering scholarships to provide
the necessary talent for the continued
R&D that he needs,” he added.
A q u i n o ex p l a i n e d t h a t t h e
Philippines' electronics sector has
been “ignored for the longest period of
time” but that it has already “gotten
back into the limelight.”
“We do intend to maximize our
exposure by really proving to all
investors that it is really worth their
while and a very sounded decision to
invest not just in the country but more
importantly in the people,” he said.
Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo
added that the government was
working to increase a better business
environment in the country.
“Actually in the last four years,
we've seen really a huge increase in our
Foreign Direct Investments, (FDI)
starting out with about a billion in
2010; it went up to 2 billion in 2011;
and about 3 billion in 2012; and 3.8
billion, 2013. And as of the latest figure
writing up to August, it's already 4
billion dollars FDI this year,” he said.
Inquirer.net
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 21
Execs from Harvard bring adobo to US market
Anelle Tayao-Juego
Adobo was the first dish they
cooked together as a young couple
studying at Harvard Business
School. It was the food they shared
with classmates to showcase one of
the best aspects of Pinoy culture.
Now, husband and wife - and
business partners - Jerome Uy and
Meredith Ngo are bringing back to
the United States not just their
home-cooked adobo, but the
complete lineup of their fast-casual
restaurant, Adobo Connection. The
restaurant is set to open in Union
City, California, by the end of
October.
It's a dream come true for the
couple, who have always wanted to
make Filipino food part of regular
dining in the United States.
Eureka moment
We feel that “the market there is
really great for adobo,” says Ngo,
who is flying to California for Adobo
Connection's opening.
While the traditional pork and
chicken adobo will be listed on the
US menu, Ngo says they will also be
offering adobo pulled pork tacos
and nachos to make the food more
accessible to foreigners. Brown rice
and eggplant salad will also be
offered alongside other entrees like
kare-kare, sisig, and more creative
adobo meals like Cheesy Adobo,
Beef Flakes Adobo, Fried Chicken
Adobo.
Adobo Connection has over 50
FAMILY Combo Meal of gising gising, lumpia, kare kare, pork belly adobo and
pulled pork adobo
ADOBO Connection managing
directors (clockwise from top left)
Jerome Uy and wife Meredith Ngo,
Carla Sia, Kellda Centeno
stores here in the Philippines. It was
first established by Ngo and Uy in
2010.
The idea, says Ngo, came from
her husband from out of the blue.
“Jerome just gave me a call one
day and said, 'Hey, why don't we
open an Adobo Connection?' The
minute he said it, I could totally
envision it - adobo connecting the
taste and feel of the modern Filipino
home across generations and
regions all over the world. After two
months, I opened the first store,”
Ngo recalls. The idea for Adobo
Connection was a eureka moment
for the couple. When Uy suggested
it, Ngo was immediately reminded
of their time in Harvard together,
where they would frequently cook
t h e h o u s e h o l d f avo r i t e f o r
themselves and for friends.
“We always cooked adobo, since
it is the quintessential Filipino dish
- and sweet spaghetti,” says Ngo.
Fuzion
Both Ngo and Uy took their twoyear MBA at Harvard Business
School. Ngo graduated in 2002, Uy
in 2003. After she graduated, Ngo
worked for Citibank in New York for
a year. Uy made it a point to visit her
regularly.
The two got hitched in the
Philippines shortly after Uy's
graduation. They moved back to
Singapore where they used to work
before studying in Harvard.
Ngo and Uy eventually left
Singapore because they felt their
busy work schedule barely left
them time to spend together. Uy
found a job in Japan, where they
moved, but since Ngo had no work
waiting for her there, she became a
housewife. It was then that she first
dabbled in the food business,
setting up Fuzion Smoothie Cafe in
Manila.
“At that time, I would have been
ready to become a mom, but
[Jerome] wasn't ready yet to have
kids. Since I didn't have anything to
occupy myself with, I got bored
after three months,” she says.
“That's when I decided to put up
Fuzion in the Philippines.”
N g o f r e q u e n t ly s h u t t l e d
between Japan and Manila to
manage Fuzion. Uy, who was
working as a banking consultant in
Japan, eventually quit his job to go
home with Ngo and manage the
business full-time with her. Uy's
involvement in Fuzion didn't last
long, however because they just
couldn't get along, says Ngo.
“ We b o t h h a v e s t r o n g
personalities that just clashed. So
he went back to consulting,” she
explains.
Cut by half
Fuzion soon transitioned from
business to hobby for Ngo after she
and Uy were blessed with two boys.
When the frozen yogurt craze
entered the country, Fuzion's sales
were cut by half. The smoothie cafe
has only one store left in TriNoma in
Quezon City.
Learning from their experience
with Fuzion, the couple decided
that their next business venture
had to be sustainable and
expandable - in short, pang-masa or
for the broad market. Adobo
Connection fit the bill perfectly.
With P3 million in capital, Ngo
u
Page 22
Solving energy crisis, port congestion
PAL expands reach to
include more US cities yet to be crossed off Aquino to-do list
By Kristine Angeli Sabillo
Miguel R. Camus
Flag carrier Philippine
Airlines (PAL) plans to expand
operations to other areas of the
United States, where there is a
huge Filipino immigrant
population.
The carrier is set to fly daily
to Honolulu starting December
t h i s ye a r, M a r i a S o c o r r o
Gonzaga, PAL vice president for
external affairs, said last week
d u r i n g a b u s i n e s s fo r u m
organized by the Center for
Philippine Futuristics Studies &
Management Inc.
PAL currently mounts four
flights a week to Honolulu and
daily flights are set to begin on
Dec. 11, information on the
company's website showed.
The move comes ahead of
flights to New York, where the
carrier will be returning to after
economic and feasibility
constraints prompted PAL to
scrap flights in 1997, just after
one year of operations.
PAL long wanted to increase
flights to the US, but had been
prevented from doing so since
2008. That changed when the US
Federal Aviation Administration
earlier this year restored the
Philippines' Category 1 status,
re f l e c t i n g s a fe t y re fo r m s
undertaken in recent years.
The upgrade also allowed
PAL to replace its older Boeing
747 planes with newer and more
efficient Boeing 777 aircraft,
helping bring down costs.
PAL' s newly appointed
president Jaime Bautista said in
a previous interview that the
carrier would focus more of its
long-haul resources on the US
market against Europe, where he
said it was difficult to become
profitable.
PAL previously announced
that it would restart flights to
New York, via Vancouver,
Canada, in March 15 next year.
T h e fo u r - t i m e s - a - we e k
service - Manila-Vancouver-New
York -will operate at Terminal 1
of New York's JFK International
Airport.
Starting March 15, the
current daily service between
Manila and Vancouver will spike
to 11 flights weekly with three
departure times from Manila mid-afternoon, early evening
and late evening, PAL said.
It added that Manila-Toronto
will add a fourth weekly
frequency, increasing capacity
on this long-haul route in time
for the peak summer travel
period out of Manila.
Inquirer.net
MANILA -- President Benigno
Aquino III on Friday, Oct. 24,
assured the business sector that
the government is addressing
concerns on energy and port
congestion although both are still
a work in progress.
“This is not the first time we
have heard about these matters,
and I can assure you that
practically all aspects of your
resolutions are already being
addressed by government,” he
said during the Philippine
Chamber of Commerce and
Industry's (PCCI) 40th Philippine
Business Conference (PBC) held
at the Manila Hotel.
However, he said of the port
congestion problem, “Some might
say that we can cross that off the
to-do list, but in reality, the
situation is far more complex.”
After receiving a copy of the
PBC's resolution listing down the
sector's recommendations to
boost the country's
competitiveness, Aquino said the
government has already started
working on some of issues.
“In communicating to us your
concerns and advocacies, you are
helping to pinpoint areas that can
be improved, so that we can
sooner achieve our goal of
inclusive growth,” he said.
Energy investments
Aquino, however, admitted
that an integrated and
s u s t a i n a b l e e n e rg y p o we r
development roadmap is still a
“work in progress.”
He said the current power
situation where energy supply is
produced “just in time” should be
changed.
“The work will be infinitely
faster and more efficient with the
cooperation of the business
sector. There are around three
major entities in power today
who are putting their money
where their mouth is and in their
trust in the Filipino people, and
are investing in the sector, even
w i t h o u t l o n g t e r m p o we r
purchase agreements or power
supply contracts,” the President
said. “We hope that more
investors will follow suit and will
seek ways and means to
encourage more in following
their track.”
Port congestion
On the other hand, Aquino
gave a rundown of the measures
implemented to address the port
congestion in Manila, which had
spilled over and resulted in heavy
traffic in the metropolis.
“The issue of port congestion
has been a paramount concern
since the truck ban; we know just
how much it has affected, and can
affect, the conduct of business in
the country,” he admitted.
Aquino assured that local
officials and Cabinet Secretary
Rene Almendras are “working
hard to address the issue.”
He said the government has
already offered the Subic and
Batangas ports as extensions of
the port of Manila. To encourage
more people to use these ports,
the government has already
lowered fees and costs.
“The Philippine National
Police has likewise ramped up
their operations against
hijackers, to ensure the safe
passage of cargo. On the ground,
the police have intensified their
presence along our roads and
highways, especially in areas
identified to be prone to hijacking
and carnapping, and this has not
been done just recently, but even
as far back as about two years
ago,” he added.
Aquino said there have
already been improvements such
as the 94 percent utilization of the
Port of Batangas, a substantial
increase from only 20 to 25
percent in the past.
The President, however,
admitted that finding answers for
the port congestion issue still
cannot be crossed off his to-do
list.
“Diverting traffic to Subic and
Batangas is only a short-term
solution; high utilization rates for
both may mean that we run the
u
Page 22
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 22
Obama's 'myRA' Accounts This Fall
May Alter Your Retirement Plans
Financial Expert Shares 3 Factors to Consider When Planning for an IRA
Important changes are
coming this fall for what's
become one of the biggest
concerns of the era: affording
retirement.
Those who are saving for
retirement and meticulously
troubleshooting tax obstacles
may want to restructure their
plans. While members of
Congress continue to battle over
the budget, the Obama
administration is preparing to
r o l l o u t “ m y R A” s a v i n g s
accounts - IRA accounts - for
those who do not currently have
access to one.
When the “myRA” account
reaches a certain amount,
fledgling savers can roll it into a
regular IRA account; different
states will have their own
guidelines. However, some of the
benefits of existing savings
options could be in peril, says
financial advisor Jake Lowrey,
president of Lowrey Financial
Group.
Those include some of the
tax advantages of retirement
accounts currently enjoyed by
higher-income workers. Some
Roth IRA owners may also lose
their exemption from required
minimum distributions, or
RMDs, while IRAs totaling less
than six figures could see RMDs
disappear.
“There will be many people
who'll be unhappy about the
changes and that's
understandable, but some may
help our country avoid an
avalanche of retirees facing
poverty,” Lowrey says.
In just 15 years 2030 - the
last of the baby boomers will
have reached 65. That means
one of every five Americans will
be of retirement age, according
to the Pew Research Center's
population projections.
“Most people simply don't
know how to plan for
retirement, and that's made
even more challenging with the
changing government policies,”
says Lowrey.
He offers guidance on
choosing between a traditional
IRA and a Roth IRA as a
retirement savings vehicle.
Traditional IRAs and
Deductibility: For either
traditional or Roth IRAs, it's all a
matter of how one prefers to be
taxed. Generally speaking, the
m o n e y yo u d e p o s i t i n a
traditional IRA isn't taxed that
year, and whatever earnings you
have on your contributions
won't be taxed until you
withdraw that money as a
retiree. So, if you earn $40,000
in one year and put $3,000 of it
in an IRA, your taxable income
drops to $37,000. The deposit
will grow tax-free through the
years. If you withdraw any
before age 59½, you'll face a
penalty. After that, you can
withdraw and the money will be
taxed as earned income.
Roth IRAs, Exemptions
and No RMDs: Roth IRA
contributions are never
deductible. You pay taxes on the
money when you earn it, just like
any other income. The benefit of
a Roth is that when the owners
decide to withdraw from it after
age 59½, they will not be faced
with any taxes. In other words,
the Roth offers tax-exempt
Top five ...
Willie Brown Jr., former
Mayor of San Francisco and
Speaker of the California State
Assembly; and Carmen Chu, San
Fra n c i s c o C i t y A s s e s s o r Recorder were among special
guests.
The business portion of the
program
Procurement
Connections featured Harlan
Kelly, General Manager of San
Francisco Public Utilities
Commission, Stan Lee, Assistant
D i r e c t o r, R e g i o n a l S m a l l
Business Programs, U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, South Pacific
From page 20
be owned (at least 51 percent)
and managed by one or more
Asian Americans (US citizens or
permanent residents) and with
at least $500,000 in annual
revenue in the immediate past
three fiscal years of operation.
T h r o u g h d i r e c t
applications/nominations,
selection was determined by
percentage revenue growth over
the past three years.
The Barnabite ...
From page 15
Palo Leyte's Parish of the Transfiguration
required a sturdy truck and volunteers. When
they arrived they found complete destruction. “In
the place where my parents were the damage was
incomprehensible. Just imagine a giant stepping
over the roofs of the house and toppling them
without mercy,” he commented.
“I have no idea how to describe the situation
that is more superlative than worst because
everybody was in their worst situation basing on
the condition they were living in twenty days after
Yolanda, bodies decaying, stench. No power,
erratic climate, lack of food, security etc. to come to
them in solidarity and hear their stories was the
best…., assuring them that they were not being
abandoned,” Father Joselito told the 30 supporters
of the Barnabite Heart to Heart Ministry and the
Barnabite Fathers.
The Heart to Heart Ministry sent funds for
ra t h e r t h a n t a x - d e fe r re d
savings. Also, traditional IRA
rules include required minimum
distributions (RMDs). With a
traditional IRA, you must begin
to take RMDs by April 1 of the
year following the year you
reach age 70.5, but that isn't the
case with a Roth IRA.
The Best of Both Worlds?
Naturally, IRA owners want to
chart a path in which they're
penalized with taxes the least. It
may be possible to cushion one's
retirement savings against
future tax increases by
converting some of an IRA to a
Roth and earn tax-free gains
going forward.
“Converting to a Roth will
make sense for many people,
a n d i f yo u ' re e l i g i b l e to
contribute to both types of IRAs,
you may divide contributions
between a Roth and traditional
IRA,” Lowrey says. “But the total
contributions to both must not
surpass the limit for that tax
year.”
About Jake Lowrey
Jake Lowrey is a financial
consultant and president of
L o w e r y F i n a n c i a l G ro u p ,
(www.lowreyfinancial.com), an
ethical and professional firm
that guides clients to retirement
success, including planning for
long-term care needs. As a
relationship-driven
organization, Lowrey and his
team educate clients about the
newest , most progressive
retirement and long-term care
planning strategies to assure a
brighter financial future.
Region and a panel discussion
among Supplier Diversity/Small
Business program folks from
AT&T, Comcast, CPUC, Google,
SFMTA and The Federal Reserve
Bank of San Francisco.
Apple, Morgan Stanley,
Kaiser Permanente, PG&E, Wells
Fargo, BART, DGS, San Francisco
Office of Small Business, San
Fra n c i s c o C o u n t y
Transportation Authority, and
MBDA were among other
corporations and government
agencies attending. Inquirer.net
school supplies in May for Father Joselito to obtain
school supplies for 268 grade two pupils and then
there was a need for scholarship money for fourth
year or seniors in high school students who lost
their parents so that they could continue in
Catholic.
The Barnabite Heart to Heart group met that
need.
There are still 1.9 million people who are
homeless in the Philippines and when asked how
we could help, Father Joselito said, “We all have the
capacity to help we must only use our
imaginations and initiative to make our intention
of helping a reality. It is great to know that in this
part of the world, a small group is doing great
things to continue helping those in need. I am very
thankful that through the Barnabite Heart to Heart
Ministry the call of Jesus to love the poor is being
realized without any noise at all.”
For additional information about the
Barnabite Fathers or the Barnabite Heart to Heart
Ministry go to http://www.barnabites.com/
heart-to-heart-ministry.
Solving energy
crisis ... From page 21
risk of transferring the problem we
encountered in the Port of Manila to
those very ports,” he said, adding that
weekend operations may be more
effective.
“Data from the Philippine Ports
Authority, however, show that there are
very few individuals and organizations
taking advantage of (the Bureau of
Customs and port operators' weekend
operations). Only an average of 1,100
containers are moved on Sundays,
which represent less than a third of the
average number of containers moved on
other days of the week,” he said.
The issue of port congestion is
among the major issues the business
sector is concerned with.
Aquino said government can come
up with a solution through active
participation of the private sector.
Competitive Philippines
Nevertheless, the President said the
past four years have shown the results
of the government's “commitment to
turn the tide” of the Philippine economy.
Execs from
Harvard ... From page 21
and Uy opened their first branch at
the De La Rosa carpark building in
Makati. Two food-court spaces soon
followed. But their big break came in
2011 when they opened a 94-squaremeter spot at SM Sta. Mesa.
Again, to avoid past business
mistakes, the couple decided to hire a
third partner: Kellda Centeno, a
business management (honors
program) graduate of Ateneo de Manila
University who used to be a brand
manager at Unilever.
“If not for Kellda, I don't know what
would have happened to us,” says Ngo.
“She's our business partner and
marriage counselor - every time we
don't agree on something, we go to
Kellda and she decides.”
Ngo oversees the company's
business development (operations,
franchising), Uy handles commissary
and human resources, while Centeno
sees to marketing and finance.
Franchising
From three company-owned stores,
Adobo Connection grew to 55 branches,
at last count, with outlets in Metro
Manila, Calabarzon, Pampanga and
Bulacan. Eight are company-owned
stores while 15 are company-managed
Asia Pacific ...
From page 20
It noted that both the United States
and China would still lead other areas
by a wide margin.
As noted, growing populations,
improving living standards and price
availability would help drive global air
passenger travel.
“People can only fly as long as ticket
taxes don't price them out of their seats.
And air connectivity can only thrive
when nations open their skies and their
“The Philippines is ranked
investment grade and continues to
climb global competitiveness rankings.
Our economy remains strong, with
growth at 6.4 percent in the second
quarter of this year. Even more good
news, the first half of 2014 attracted net
foreign direct investments of $3.57
billion, almost 80 percent higher than
the FDI recorded in the same period in
2013. Manufacturing has rebounded,
with 8.8 percent growth in the first half
of 2014, and exports are up,” he said.
Aquino said his government is not
only implementing measures as a
reaction to pressing events.
“ M o r e i m p o r t a n t l y, w e a r e
strategizing for the future. In each and
every endeavor, however, the private
sector must likewise do its part,” he said.
He reminded the businessmen that
the government wants them to succeed
and create more job opportunities for
Filipinos.
“Your growth redounds to increased
livelihood opportunities for our people,
which in turn redound to an empowered
consumer base and a productive
citizenry able to take part in spurring
the growth of our economy and of our
region,” he said. Inquirer.net
franchises; the rest are wholly
franchised.
Handling their US venture is their
newest partner Carla Sia, a business
administration summa cum laude from
UP Diliman who used to work for
Procter & Gamble.
To prevent franchisees from
“cannibalizing each other,” Ngo and her
team decided to put up another food
establishment with an entirely different
concept: An American comfort food
joint called Chop Stop. Think pork and
chicken chops, meatball spaghetti, and
Buffalo wings served with a pitcher of
frozen margarita or ice-cold beer.
Chop Stop currently has four
branches: On Valero Street in Makati; at
the Fairview Terraces and Eastwood in
Quezon City; and at SM City BF in
Parañaque.
With two restaurants and big plans
to go global, Ngo and Uy have come a
long way from the corporate career path
they used to pursue.
“Corporate is very easy. You go to
work at a certain time, you come home
at a certain time, and when you get
home, you don't think about work
a n y m o r e ,” s a y s N g o . “ W i t h
entrepreneurship, it's 24/7. You dream
about it. You own your time, but it owns
you back. So, in some ways, life as an
entrepreneur is so much harder than
being in corporate but it's much more
meaningful.” Inquirer.net
markets. It's a virtuous circle,” IATA
said. IATA noted that air transport
prices have been declined by a huge
margin since the 1950s, although
further declines in the past decade
“have bottomed out” because of higher
oil prices.
“In the coming two decades, the
downward trend in the real cost of air
travels is expected to resume, at a rate of
around 1 to 1.5 perfect per year. Air
connectivity is expected to increase
with the addition of new longer-range
m i d - s i z e a i r c r a f t ,” I ATA s a i d .
Inquirer.net
To advertise please call
201-434-1114
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 23
NORA Aunor in Joel Lamangan's “Hustisya.” Inquirer file photo
Nora Aunor gets Best
Actress nod at 8th Asia
Pacific Screen Awards
By Aries Joseph Hegina
MANILA -- Veteran Nora Aunor
was nominated anew for the Best
Performance of an Actress award in
the 8th Asia Pacific Screen Awards
for her role as a human trafficker in
Joel Lamangan's political-drama film,
“Hustisya”.
Aunor's nomination was
announced Tuesday in a ceremony at
the Treasury Casino and Hotel in
Brisbane, Australia.
This is Aunor's second
nomination accorded to her by the
Asia Pacific Screen Academy after
she was nominated and won the Best
Actress award for her performance in
Brillante Mendoza's “Thy Womb” in
2012.
Aunor will be competing with
Ronnit Elkabetz from Israel, Lü
Zhong from China, Tang Wei from
China and Merila Zareie from Iran.
Aside from Aunor, Giancarlo
Abrahan was also nominated for the
Best Screenplay award for his film
“Dagitab” (Sparks).
“Hustisya” and “Dagitab” were
both screened during the 10th
Cinemalaya Independent Film
Festival last August.
The Asia Pacific Screen Awards is
touted the “Oscars of the Pacific”
where it recognizes cinematic
excellence in the “world's fastest
growing film region”.
The winners will be announced
in an Awards Night in Australia on
December 11. Inquirer.net
CNN Philippines: The
story, not the messenger
Vaughn Alviar
Viewers may soon see Anderson
Cooper on free TV beside the likes of
Pia Hontiveros. Channel 9TV is set to
take a new form in 2015, as CNN
Philippines.
After months of negotiations,
Nine Media president Reggie Galura
announced during a recent press
gathering at Solaire Resort and
Casino that 9TV is assuming the look
of the world news network.
Under the new partnership with
Turner Broadcasting System
International (TBS), Galura added,
local news will be “tweaked to the
standards of CNN International.”
Said Greg Beitchman, CNN
International SVP for content sales
and partnerships: “CNN Philippines
will be designed to bring audiences
the best quality news from around
the country.”
Jing Magsaysay, Nine Media
Corp. senior vice president for news
and current affairs, said the the
channel may begin operations in
January or within the first quarter of
2015.
“The news should be about the
story, not the messenger,” he said.
“We've been trying to achieve that in
the past three years on 9TV and
Solar News.” Solar News was
renamed 9TV earlier this year.
The partnership deal which,
Magsaysay said, is the fastest that
CNN International ever struck, will
amp up coverage through new
technology and higher standards for
newsworthiness. It will cover an
initial period of five years.
The Philippine branch may also
provide content for CNN
International and vice versa, he said.
CNN International, the Royal
Television Society's “News Channel
of the Year” for 2013 and 2014, will
maintain its pay TV presence.
The new channel will replace
9TV on the RPN network
nationwide. It will be available on
free TV on RPN-TV9 in Manila, Cebu
and Davao; RPN-TV5 in Zamboanga;
RPN-TV12 in
Baguio; and RPN-TV8 in
Bacolod. It will also be on cable TV
through Sky Cable Channel 14 in
Metro Manila; Sky Cable Channel 6
in Cebu, Davao, Bacolod, Iloilo and
Baguio; and Destiny Cable Channel
14, Cablelink Channel 1r and Cignal
Channel 10. Inquirer.net
HE PICKED nearly all of the songs in his new cover album, Martin Nievera says.
Big Mouth Martin Nievera
fulfills an old fantasy
By Allan Policarpio
Though he's been in show
biz for more than 30 years,
Martin Nievera insists he has
many more unfulfilled dreams.
One of these, he says, is playing
in a band, a frustration from
back when he was 16. It may be
too late to go down that road
now, but he gets to live the
fantasy once in a while.
In his coming album, “Big
Mouth, Big Band” (PolyEast
Records), the 52-year-old
balladeer gets to be the
frontman of musical director
Marvin Querido's band which,
Martin notes, includes cello and
horn players.
Twelve tracks
“I love the idea of having
someone onstage with whom
you can play up the sounds,
music,” Martin tells the Inquirer.
“So, I figured, why not try
something I had never done
before?”
He adds of “Big Mouth, Big
Band”: “This is the first time I
made an album with only one
arranger and one band for all
the tracks.” The album will be
released in November.
Having the words “big band”
in the title doesn't necessarily
mean that the music will have
that swinging, jazzy vibe, Martin
clarifies. Rather, the term
pertains to famous groups that
he grew up listening to, like the
Doobie Brothers, Kansas, Toto
and Chicago.” “It's about big
bands during my time, being
covered by me, the Big Mouth,”
he says.
Among the cuts in the 12track album are “Biggest Part of
Me” by Ambrosia, “Hooked on a
Feeling” by Blue Suede, “Sing a
Song” by Earth, Wind and Fire, “I
Can't Tell You Why” by The
Eagles and “Love of My Life” by
Queen. Almost each song,
Martin says, was his personal
choice.
To make the songs sound
raw and more organic, Martin
says that his team recorded the
u
Page 24
Discovery Channel revisits
Tacloban a year after 'Yolanda'
MANILA -- On Nov. 8, 2013,
the most powerful storm to hit
land that year ravaged the
Eastern Visayas, destroying
lives and property.
A year after, Discovery
Channel revisits one of the
hardest hit areas, Tacloban in
Leyte province, to find out how
much it has recovered from
S u p e r t y p h o o n “ Yo l a n d a”
(Haiyan).
Haiyan: After the
megastorm is a 60-minute
documentary that pays tribute
to the people and organizations
that rallied to rebuild the
storm-ravaged city and the
surrounding islands, and to
honor those who lost their lives
in the disaster.
Hosted by Filipino-British
television presenter and actor
Trey Farley, Haiyan: After the
megastorm will premiere here
and across Southeast Asia on
Saturday, 8 November at 8:00
p.m.
Before this, a screening of
the special was held at the
Robinsons Movie World and
was graced by Tacloban City
Mayor Alfred S. Romualdez,
Discovery Channel Executive Producer Emile Guertin, Mayor Alfred
Romualdez, and Caelestis Productions Executive Producer Sally
Bellosillo at the screening of Haiyian: After the megastorm at the
Robinsons Movie World
various government officials,
city stakeholders, industry
partners and other VIPs.
“This documentary makes
us remember the sorrow of
losing many of our loved ones
and the vast devastation that
typhoon Haiyan brought to our
shores. But it also shows the
heroism in our people's hearts,
the hard guts it took to help us
to get back on our feet again
with the help of the rest of the
Philippines and the
international community.
Haiyan spotlights the need for
cities like Tacloban to be more
prepared for the new normal,
as the strength of each city
comes from the mindsets of its
people, and that education and
u
Page 24
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 24
Annabelle Rama and Ruffa Gutierrez Inquirer file photos
Annabelle Rama attacks Ruffa on
Twitter for choosing 'poor' beau
MANILA -- Showbiz matriarch Annabelle
Rama threw shade on her daughter, actress
and television host Ruffa Gutierrez, over
Twitter Sunday evening (Oct. 26) for choosing
an alleged financially unstable boyfriend.
In a series of tweets posted on her official
Twitter account, Rama told Gutierrez that it is
never too late to break ties with her partner.
Gutierrez is said to be in a relationship
with French-Arab businessman Jordan
Mouyal. However, Gutierrez repeatedly denied
that Mouyal is her new boyfriend.
Rama used the initials “PG” twice on her
tweets which could mean “patay-gutom” when
spelled out. In Filipino slang, “patay-gutom”
denotes being poor. However, the famous
talent manager did not specify if she was
referring to Mouyal on her tweets.
Rama also said that unlike Gutierrez, she
chose husband Eddie Gutierrez as her partner
because he is “handsome, hardworking, and
knows how to make a living.”
The Twitter war between the celebrity
mother-and-daughter brewed after Gutierrez
walked-out of Rama's advanced 62nd birthday
party last Saturday, Oct. 25.
On her Twitter account, Gutierrez stated
that she walked out of the party because her
mother embarrassed her in front of people.
Inquirer.net
Gina Alajar on son Geoff:
He's a better person now
Roxanne Barcelo
How Roxanne Barcelo
found herself
MANILA -- Roxanne Barcelo has
rediscovered her passion for show
business and is boldly pursuing her
dreams again thanks to a bad breakup.
According to her, the demise of the
relationship made her realize a lot of
things.
“I found out that I didn't have any
plans in life. I didn't know what will
happen to me after my breakup. I did
some soul-searching, picked up myself
and went back to pursue my childhood
dream, which was showbiz,” shared
Roxanne.
She then decided to do away with her
sweet image, creating a more mature
and daring persona in Roxee B. going on
to release the song “Women Of The
World” or “WoW” featuring Q-York.
The music video for “WoW” was soon
picked up by FHM Philippines. Not long
after, she appeared in the pages of the
magazine.
u
Page 26
it is our honor and privilege to bring this
to our viewers,” said Theresa Ong, Senior
MANILA -- Actor Geoff Eigenmann
Vice President General Manager,
became a "better person" after getting
From page 23
Southeast Asia, Discovery Networks
through the challenging times in his personal
Asia-Pacific.
life and career.
The documentary was produced by
building
social
capital
is
absolutely
Seasoned actress Gina Alajar said in a
Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, in
crucial in order to incorporate resilience
recent interview that her 29-year-old son
partnership with the City Government of
into all aspects of life,” said Mayor
has started to open up again to her and their
Tacloban and Caelestis Productions.
Romualdez.
whole family.
“The people of Tacloban City and I
“Around this time last year, Haiyan
"Geoff, for a time, we did not understand
thank Discovery Channel for sharing our
and the aftermath of the storm captured
him. You cannot talk to him about anything,
story of resilience, hope and triumph
the attention of the world. Discovery
yung may sasabihin ka sa kanya and he
against all odds with the world,” Mayor
Channel wants to share the inspiring
would just shut you out. Kadalasan you have
Romualdez added.
story of how the city and its people rose
to find the mood to talk to him. May mga
Haiyan: After the megastorm will
above the ruins and destruction to
pagkakataon na ganoon," Alajar said.
encore on Sunday, November 9 at 10:00
rebuild their lives. Haiyan: After The
Geoff was been criticized by fans for his
a.m., 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.
Megastorm is a tribute to the tenacity
weight gain and his failed romance with
Inquirer.net
and optimism of the Filipino people, and
Kapuso actress Carla Abellana.
"We would talk about him kasi bakit siya
ganun, all of a sudden naging ganun. Minsan
akala mo ikaw yung may kasalanan ng lahat.
songs' keys were lowered and so there
The family (we talked on) what's the best
isn't much of his signature belting. In
thing we could do. The best thing is to wait
fact, the singer says, the collection has
From page 23
for him to talk, pag nasa mood naman siya
none
of those slow-burning ballads that
kakausapin niya kami, pag wala sa mood,
he is famous for.
album the way things used to be done hindi ka din namin kakausapin. Dumating sa
“The songs are 'Martinized,' which
with live vocals and instruments playing.
ganung punto," she said.
means
they're more fun and laid-back.
“We'd
like
to
make
the
listeners
feel
"Hindi parin maaalis yung paging nanay
There will be some nice instrumentals,
like they're listening to live
ko and tinitimpla ko, tinatantiya ko, kasi si
too… and I tried to keep in touch with my
performances and not overly processed
Geoff may moment siya na, 'don't treat me as
'mature
self,' if there's any such thing!”
music,”
he
says,
adding
that
he
did
have
a kid, Ma. I'm not grade 1.' Ngayon pag
Martin says, laughing. “I hate listening to
to rerecord some of the vocals in a much
sasabihan ko na siya, sasabihin na niya na,
myself, but this album I can actually
smaller studio later on. “Frank Sinatra
'okay Ma. I understand Ma," she added.
stand!”
used to just walk into a studio and sing
Alajar did not speculate that the changes
As for his next goal, Martin says, he
with a band or an orchestra. We sort of
in his son's character were due to his fourwould
love to do an album with the ABSemulated
that.”
year romance with Abellana.
CBN Philharmonic Orchestra. “I'd
The actress was certain that Geoff has
happily pay to make a record with them.”
Radio-friendly
u
Page 26 Actor Geoff Eigenmann
Inquirer.net
Martin describes the new record as
“relaxed and very radio-friendly.” The
Discovery Channel
revisits ...
Big mouth ...
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 25
Sarah Geronimo voted Best Southeast Asia Act at 2014 MTV EMA
MANILA -- MTV has
announced that Filipino singer
and actress Sarah Geronimo was
adjudged Best Southeast Asia Act
at the 2014 MTV EMA, one of the
biggest global music events of the
year that celebrates the hottest
artists from around the world.
“Congratulations to Sarah
Geronimo on becoming the 2014
MTV EMA Best Southeast Asia Act
winner,” said Paras Sharma, vice
president of MTV Brand and
Digital Media, Viacom
International Media Networks
Asia.
“From her nominations at the
MTV EMA last year to this year's
N i c ke l o d e o n K i d s ' C h o i c e
Awards, we knew she was a fast
rising Asian star. We will continue
to elevate Asian artists at
international platforms, grow the
awareness and appreciation of
Asian music and artists for fans
around the world to enjoy,” said
Sarah Geronimo
Sharma in a statement.
Fo l l o w i n g h e r v i c t o r y,
Geronimo now has the
opportunity to be voted into the
prestigious Worldwide Act award
category, the winner of which will
be revealed during the 2014 MTV
EMA in Glasgow.
For Geronimo to advance to
the final round of Worldwide Act
voting as one of 10 international
Worldwide Act nominees, fans
can cast their votes at
mtvema.com. Voting started at 6
p.m. Thursday, October 23, and
wo u l d c l o s e a t 5 : 5 9 p . m .
Singapore time on Wednesday,
October 29. The final list of 10
Worldwide Act nominees will be
revealed via mtvema.com on
October 30.
Global hip hop superstar
Nicki Minaj is set to host the 2014
MTV EMA that will be broadcast
live to MTV channels worldwide
from the SSE Hydro in Glasgow on
Sunday, November 9 at 9:00 p.m.
(Monday, November 10 at
4:00am Singapore time).
Calvin Harris, Charli XCX,
Kiesza, Royal Blood, Ariana
Grande, Ed Sheeran and Minaj
have been previously confirmed
to perform at the 2014 MTV EMA.
British rock legend Ozzy
Osbourne will be honoured with
the Global Icon Award and will be
in Glasgow to accept his award.
The MTV EMA one of the
biggest global music events of the
year recognizes artists from
around the world and across
genres, and brings together
music fans everywhere for a oneof-a-kind experience in the
weeks leading up to and at the
show.
Bruce Gillmer and Richard
Godfrey are executive producers
for the 2014 MTV EMA.
Inquirer.net
'The Trial' gets raves
Photo from Jun Lana's Facebook account
'Bwakaw' wins Best Script
plum at 14th Pyongyang
International Film Festival
MANILA -- Two years after it was
first shown at the 8th Cinemalaya
Independent Film Festival in 2012,
Jun Robles Luna's “Bwakaw ”
continues to reap awards
internationally.
In a post on his Facebook
account on Tuesday afternoon
(Manila time), “Bwakaw” director
Jun Robles Lana said the film won the
Best Script award in the 14th
Pyongyang International Film
Festival, which was held last
September 15-24, 2014 at
To advertise
please call
Pyongyang, North Korea.
“Two years after I made the film,
'Bwakaw' continues to travel and
reach people around the world. Today
I have just been informed by our sales
agent Fortissimo Films that 'Bwakaw'
won the 'Best Script Award' at the
2014 Pyongyang International Film
Festival held in North Korea last
month. North Korea! Imagine that!”
said Lana on his Facebook.
“Bwakaw” is a comedy-drama film
about a gay man in his 70s who finds
new joy in life while taking care of a
stray dog named Bwakaw. Inquirer.net
201-434-1114
LOS ANGELES -- Reviews
for “The Trial,” ABS -CBN Star
Cinema's latest offering, are in
and the verdict - guilty of
e m o t i o n a l ly g r i p p i n g i t s
audience.
“A festival-worthy piece
that may usher in a new age for
mainstream Philippine
cinema,” raved Julia Allende of
pep.ph.
“An emotionally involving
legal drama presented with
sufficient flair and built around
the crackerjack portrayal of
John Lloyd Cruz as a 27-yearold simpleton, Ronald Jimenez
Jr., accused of raping his tutor,
Bessie Buenaventura (Jessy
Mendiola),” praised Rito P. Asilo
of INQUIRER.net.
“At a time when romantic
and family comedies are
playing jump ball with the boxoffice crown, Star Cinema and
director Chito Roño make a
surprising gamble on a film
that's neither one nor the
other… it's a promising step
towards seeing more films in
t h e n a m e o f o r i g i n a l i t y,
regardless of genre,” said Zig
Marasigan in his review on
rappler.com.
With a stream of recordbreaking box office triumphs
with romantic and family
comedies and love triangles,
ABS-CBN Star Cinema braved
the road less traveled with this
compelling court drama that
tackles the sensitive topics of
rape, the mental illness, gay
parents, marital problems,
social media abuse and the
country's justice system.
It took the caliber of the
following to pull it off: awardwinning director Chito Roño,
the story and screenplay by
Ricky Lee, Kriz G. Gazmen and
Enrico Santos, and the sterling
cast led by John Lloyd Cruz,
Gretchen Barretto, Richard
Gomez, Enrique Gil, Jessy
Mendiola, Sylvia Sanchez,
Vivian Velez, Vincent De Jesus,
Benjamin Alves, among others.
“After its opening in the
Philippines, 'The Trial' is
making critics think, triggering
moviegoers to talk and discuss
the film, and creating buzz for
film awards,” said ABS-CBN
Global Head of Theatricals
John-D Lazatin.
“They say fall is the season
in North America to bring in the
good stuff, the movies of
serious value and content,”
Lazatin added. As part of TFC's
a n d S t a r C i n e m a' s 2 0 t h
anniversary, TFC@theMovies
couldn't have chosen a better
film offering to kick off its fall
movie season here with The
Trial. It is simply a must-see.”
Flaws and Secrets
The marriage of lawyer
Julian (Richard Gomez) and
developmental psychologist
Amanda (Gretchen Barretto) is
already crumbling. Aggravated
by the tragic death of their only
son, their relationship now is
beyond any chance of mending.
That chance came when
one day Julian and Amanda
encounter a curious case.
Ronald (John Lloyd Cruz), a
p e r s o n w i t h i n te l l e c t u a l
disability, is accused of raping
the niece of a renowned
university head, Bessy (Jessy
Mendiola). The already curious
case becomes more intriguing
when they learn that Ronald
was their son's best buddy.
Amanda is hired by Bessy's
camp to look into Ronald to
u
Page 26
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 26
Singing cop 'arrests'
with The Voice audition
By Julliane Love de Jesus
Arnel Pineda and Rene Walter of Sanre Entertainment at the launch of Asian Music Camp in Edsa ShangriLa hotel. Photo by Pocholo Concepcion
Arnel Pineda launches
Asia-wide band music tilt
By Pocholo Concepcion
MANILA -- Filipino rock
star Arnel Pineda, lead singer
of the United States-based
band Journey, wants to pay it
forward - in a grand manner
by launching “Asian Music
Camp,” a talent search for the
best bands that would be
chosen by online votes.
Professional and amateur
bands from Asian countries
without any record contracts
are invited to submit “raw”
demo music videos of one
cover and one original song,
both in English, to
asianmusiccamp.com.
At stake: cash, record
contract and management
deal worth $1 million.
Pineda is partnering with
an international talent and
management group, Sanre
E n te r t a i n m e n t , fo r t h e
project, which will culminate
in a reality TV show finals
night. Inquirer.net
MANILA -- Before, a hunky cop made
his mark in the pageant and modeling
industry. Now, a policewoman is
attempting to break into the local music
scene.
Police Officer 3 Jannet Cadayona was
able to convince Filipino-American
singer apl.de.ap as she rendered the Eva
Eugenio classic “Tukso” during her blind
audition on the reality show “The Voice
of the Philippines.”
Taking pride ‎in her profession,
Cadayona, 40, walked into the stage
wearing a police uniform, complete with
her pershing cap and dress shoes.
After flawlessly hitting Tukso's high
notes, she was asked by apl, “Pulis ka
ba?” Without even letting Cadayona
answer, the Black Eyed Peas member
continued his pick-up line, “Kasi nahuli
mo ang loob ko. Tapos, inaresto mo pa
ang puso ko!” (Are you a policewoman?
Because you have caught my fancy, and
then arrested my heart.)
Though Cadayona only got a one-
How Roxanne ...
From page 24
“I felt that the lyrics of the song
attracted the change I wanted for my
career. The song is about starting a new
life. It's about accepting who I am and
being proud of it,” explained Roxanne.
It didn't end there. Viva
Entertainment took notice of her sexier
image and immediately offered her a
contract.
Now, Roxanne is busy as ever. Apart
from being a movie jock for PBO channel,
she will also be co-hosting Viva TV's sexy
reality TV show “PantaXa Season 2″ with
Jaycee Parker and Gwen Garci. Roxanne
will then release “Morena” her debut
album under Viva. She will also be seen in
the horror flick “Tragic Theater.”
Gina Alajar ...
From page 24
Learned a lot from the experience and he
is trying to be the better version of
himself.
"He smiles a lot. I can talk to him and I
could say that he listens. Siguro na
realized na niya din ang mga
pagkakamali niya, yung mga dapat
niyang baguhin. Marami lang siguro
siyang realizations sa buhay niya and one
of those is to correct himself," he said.
Alajar said she is proud of her son
because he is changing for the better.
Geoff is more focused now with work and
keen to continue living a healthier
‘The Trial’ ... From page 25
prove his lucidity and intention hence,
implicating him in the crime. However, as
she tries to get to know him, the truth
about Ronald and his relationship with
Bessy and her deceased son all unfold
before her. Believing that Ronald could
have not committed the crime, she
withdraws from Bessy's camp and
decides to help him.
Working together, Julian and Amanda
exert every possible effort to acquit
Ronald of the crime. Little do they know
that his case would mean facing the truth
chair turn after her performance, singer
Sarah Geronimo said she found the
policewoman's performance
“impressive and heartfelt.”
Superintendent Elizabeth
Velasquez, spokesperson of the
Philippine National Police Highway
Patrol Group (PNP HPG), said the police
is in full support with Cadayona's “The
Voice” stint.
“We hope that she will also move on
and win in the battle rounds and serve as
an inspiration to other police personnel,”
she said in a text message sent to
INQUIRER.net on Wednesday.
Velasquez, who accompanied
Cadayona during the audition, got
emotional while her colleague was
performing before the judges.
Formerly assigned to HPG in
Tacloban City, Cadayona has been
detailed at the HPG headquarters in
Camp Crame since she auditioned for the
singing contest.
The HPG spokesperson said the
singing cop is a native of Samar province
and is a mother of two. Inquirer.net
“Viva gave me hope that I could try
and reach for my dreams again. I'm
looking forward to do more projects with
Viva.”
Just recently, Roxanne posed for VIVA
PSICOM Publishing's “Bare” magazine
along with Ashley Rivera, Chloe Dauden,
Danielle Castano, Sheng Belmonte,
Phoebe Walker, Jericka Martel, Jourdanne
Castillo, Kharla Ramos and Yam
Concepcion.
Roxanne said she is raring to do more
of the same. “I think it's about time that I
just do what I need to do. It's just work,”
she expressed.
Roxanne is aware that her sexier
image doesn't sit well with everyone but
she doesn't mind. “I entertain positive
comments. I don't listen to negative
comments. And if I commit a mistake, I
will just stand up again,” Roxanne said.
lifestyle. She added that Geoff surprised
her when she saw the photos of the 2014
Cosmo Bachelor Bash, where the actor
bared his lean body.
The actress/director is hopeful this is
a good start again for Geoff.
"I'm proud of him kasi maganda yung
pinakita niyang katawan. Kasi pag nasa
bahay 'yan, he would really wear loose
shirts and shorts kaya hindi mo talaga
makikita kung gaano talaga yung pinayat
niya. Nung nakit ko yung mga pictures
niya, wow, he's so lean. Proud ako kasi he
really prepared for it. I pray that the Lord
will give him peace of mind, happiness, to
strengthen him and for Geoff to depend on
God more."
about their broken family something
they have forever lied to themselves
about.
“Memorable,” said ABS-CBN North
America Managing Director Olivia De
Jesus. “'The Trial' is a film that reels you in
as a moviegoer and makes you ask what
would you have done if you were one of
the characters? In the end, it will make
you look into yourself, your own
relationships with your family and with
people seen as 'different' by society.”
For the screening dates and list of
theaters in US and Canada, visit www.tfcusa.com/atthemovies. Inquirer.net
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 27
Derek Ramsay, estranged Juday excited to play
wife finally settle dispute mom of 'tiyanak'
MANILA -- TV5 actor Derek
Ramsay and his legal wife, FilipinoIndian model Mary Christine Jolly,
have finally settled their dispute, a
Makati City judge announced on
Twitter.
Judge Eugene Paras of Makati
Regional Trial Court Branch 58 posted
a photo of himself flanked by the
estranged couple with the caption
“They finally settled [smiley]“.
On Saturday Paras confirmed the
news to an entertainment news site
but clarified that he did not preside
over the settlement. However, he said
Ramsay and Jolly had indeed officially
buried the hatchet “in one of the family
courts of Makati” around 2PM on
Friday, Oct. 24.
Paras noted that the details of the
compromise agreement are “private
and confidential”. Neither party has
issued a statement since Friday,
although both Ramsay and Jolly sought
media coverage of their previous court
appearances.
In July, Jolly sued Ramsay for
violation of Republic Act 9262
(Violence Against Women and Their
Children), declaring that they had
married in civil rites in Balagtas,
Bulacan on April 3, 2002. They
reportedly separated five months later
but the brief union bore a son, Austin
Gabriel Ramsay, now 11.
In his counter-affidavit filed the
following month, Ramsay admitted the
wedding but claimed that he had been
under the impression that the
marriage was “invalid”. He also
claimed that he had been able to
confirm his paternity of his son only
three years ago - “sometime in the
early part of August 2011″.
Derek Ramsay
In September, as Jolly was about to
file a scathing 21-page reply-affidavit
in which she accused her husband of
psychological violence, economic
abuse and physical violence, Ramsay
convinced her to join him in a closed
door meeting with Makati Prosecutor
Erwin Dimayacyac, without their
respective counsels.
After the meeting, both parties told
media that they had agreed to work out
a settlement for their son's sake.
However, the hostilities resumed
on October 8 when Jolly filed a case at
the Paranaque City Prosecutor's Office
accusing Ramsay and his former
girlfriend, Angelica Panganiban, of
concubinage.
Iya Villania
returns to
GMA-7
MANILA -- TV host Iya Villania, a talent of ABS-CBN, returns to GMA-7 after
10 years. She will join the TV network of her husband, TV host Drew Arellano.
The two married last January after a nine-year relationship.
Villania is a co-host of ASAP Mania, Gag U for Studio 23 and a VJ for MYX
Channel. She is also an actress, singer, dancer and model. She was previously
with GMA-7 before she moved to ABS-CBN in 2004.
She started her career as an actress in youth-oriented show “Click” aired in
GMA-7 in 2004. Bayani San Diego Jr., Inquirer Entertainment
MiG Ayesa applauds
X-Factor's Marlisa
MiG Ayesa
Theater actor and “Rock Star: INXS” finalist
MiG Ayesa on fellow Filipino-Australian singer
Marlisa Punzalan, who won the sixth season of
“X Factor Australia”:
“For her, this is the start of a great career…
It's great for the community of FilipinoAu s t ra l i a n t a l e n t s .” A l l a n Po l i c a r p i o .
Inquirer.net
Judy Ann Santos
MANILA -- It's confirmed: Judy Ann Santos
will play the role popularized by Janice de Belen
in “Tiyanak.”
“Tiyanak” was one movie, according to Judy
Ann, which, in her teens she watched and
dreamed to do.
Tiyanak has long been talked about by those
who have watched it. Produced by Regal Films
and directed by Peque Gallaga and Lore Reyes, it
tells the story of a childless wife who adopts a
child.
To her horror, the child turned out to be
demonic.
“Dito na nagsimula,” Judy Ann narrated, “ang
series of events na sobrang scary, especially for a
child my age then.
“Yet, ayaw mong iwanan ang panonood.
Kaya, nasabi ko sa sarili ko, given the chance to
do a similar movie, pagdating ng araw, I will grab
it,” she added.
Grab it, she did, when Peque and Lore
proposed to her the idea to do another “Tiyanak,
but of a totally different set up and approach.
“Paliwanang nila sa akin. Noong panahon
dawn na ginawa nila ng first 'Tiyanak,' 'di pa uso
ang digital. Kaya nga raw yung mga unbelievable
eksena na ipinakita nila sa pelikula ay kanilang
ginawa through hand puppets.
“Ngayon nga naman, with the existence of
digital technology, can you imagine kung anuanong klaseng magic onscreen ang puwede
mong gawin?
“My God, I'm excited,” she remarked happily.
Equally exciting for Judy Ann is having two
new and younger leading men, Sid Lucero and
Tom Rodriguez.
Sergio Mendes live
in Manila Nov. 15
MANILA -- The catchy and
delightful sound that instantly
stirs listeners to sing, sway and
swoon to its beat will sweep the
local concert scene when bossa
nova legend Sergio Mendes
returns to Manila with his band
for a live concert on November
15, Saturday, at the Smart
Araneta Coliseum.
The Big Dome show will
kick off the two-city tour
dubbed “Sergio Mendes & Brasil
2014 Live In Manila!” that will
end with another concert on
November 16 at the Waterfront
Hotel Cebu. To be featured in
the shows is Joe Pizzulo.
To be mounted by Ovation
Productions, the musical event
will spotlight the bossa nova
sensation from Brazil as he
showcases his wonderful and
easy-listening sound and style
that made him the most popular
musician in South America and
an international star in the past
50 years.
Mendes will take concertgoers through a breathtaking
array of hits, such as “Mas Que
Nada,” “Magalenha,” “One
Nation,” “Timeless,” “What Do
We Mean To Each Other,” “For
Me,” “Night And Day,” “The Look
Of Love,” “Fool On The Hill,”
“Scarborough Fair,” “Pretty
Bossa nova legend Sergio Mendes
World,” “Never Gonna Let You
Go,” “Funky Bahia,” “Chorado,”
and “What The World Needs
Now”.
His other hit songs are “The
Trouble With Hello Is Goodbye,”
“Don't You Worry 'Bout A
Thing,” “If I Ever Lose This
Heaven,” “Going Out Of My
Head,” “Put A Little Love Away,”
“Waiting For Love,” “Waters Of
March,” “Please Baby Don't,” “So
Many Stars,” “Night And Day,”
“Like A Lover,” “Love City,”
“Bridges,” and many more.
As a young boy in Niteroi,
Brazil, Mendes attended the
local conservatory of music
with the hopes of becoming a
classical pianist until he
switched at the age of 15 to
bossa nova when the popular
craze for the jazz-infected
derivative of samba swept Rio
de Janeiro in the mid-to-late50s.
Moving to the United States
in 1964, he achieved instant
success with his band Brasil'66
following the release on A&M
Records of its self-titled debut
album that featured a mix of
light jazz, a bossa nova beat and
contemporary soft pop
melodies.
The original line-up of
Brasil '66 comprised of Mendes
(piano), vocalists Lani Hall and
Bibi Vogel (later replaced by
Janis Hansen), Bob Matthews
(bass), Jose Soares (percussion)
and Joao Palma (drums), with
John Pisano as guest guitarist.
The debut LP rose to
Number 6 nationally with the
strong performance of the
single, “Mas Que Nada.” The
second album, “Equinox,”
produced a trio of hits, “Night
And Day,” “Constant Rain
(ChoveChuva),” and “For Me.”
The third album, “Look
Around,” climbed to Number 5
behind a Number 3 single of the
group's cover of The Beatles'
u
Page 29
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 28
Fil-Am guard Maverick Ahanmisi (13) hopes to be where Globalport rookie Stanley
Pringle is now. PBA Images/Nuki Sabio
Is Fil-Am Maverick
Ahanmisi the next
Stanley Pringle?
By Mark Giongco
MANILA -- Fil-American baller
Maverick Ahanmisi has heard about the
Philippines and how Filipinos are
religiously into the game he loves.
And that alone was enough for
Ahanmisi to leave the US after college
and take his basketball career with him
here.
“After college, I've been hearing
about the PBA, I've heard about it my
whole college career and I know
basketball is really big here and I just
took the opportunity to come out here,”
said Ahanmisi, whose mother, Marissa is
from Pangasinan.
Ahanmisi just had his debut in
Philippine soil Monday, Oct. 27, and he
immediately turned heads in leading
the Cafe France Bakers to a lopsided win
in the PBA D-League.
He made his presence felt right away
scoring 10 points in an 18-0 run in the
first quarter that keyed in their win.
The stocky 6-foot guard Ahanmisi,
who also had four rebounds and two
assists, logged 18 minutes in a starting
role.
“ I t wa s f u n . P l ay i n g i n t h e
Philippines is something new. It was a
fun experience and for a debut it was a
fun environment,” he said after finishing
with 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting from
the field, including a perfect 2-of-2 clip
from long distance.
Obviously, Ahanmisi would've
played more minutes and would've
shown more of what he can do had the
game didn't turn into an early rout something he wasn't able to get during
his collegiate career as a reserve for the
University of Minnesota Golden
Gophers.
Despite seeing limited action,
Ahanmisi said he has learned a lot
through his coach Richard Pitino, son of
legendary tactician Rick Pitino.
“He's helped me a lot and taught me
about defense and just basketball in
general,” said Ahanmisi. “He's a great
NBA mind so he has helped me a lot
especially at the point guard position
and what spots to go to.”
Playing in Manila gives Ahanmisi a
different feel. People will keep an eye on
him, the media will be on him from time
to time and teams will have his name on
their scouting reports.
Not to mention the style of play here
than what he's accustomed to differs as
well.
“The physicality. They let a lot more
things go and I like that style of play,” he
pointed out. “You get to play defense a
lot scrappier and I feel like that fits my
game really well.”
R i g h t n o w, t h e 2 3 - ye a r - o l d
Ahanmisi is focused on leading the
Bakers to more wins but ultimately, he
has his sights on playing in the PBA. A
path Globalport rookie Stanley Pringle,
whom Ahanmisi is very familiar with,
took.
“[He and I] came from the same
conference in the States so I've been
watching him. I like his playing style,”
said Ahanmisi. “He's somebody I look up
to. Just because we came from the same
background in the States so hopefully I
end up playing like him.”
The Fil-American Pringle was a
former Penn State slotman and was one
of the key cogs when his school won the
National Invitational Tournament (NIT)
in 2009.
Ahanmisi was part of the Gophers
team that won the NIT crown as well
and he hopes the similarities between
him and Pringle go farther.
“I think when I got to college as a
freshman he was gone already. He
graduated that year but I've seen him
and I know he won the NIT
championship just like I did last year,” he
said.
“I'm kind of molding myself in
becoming as well as he is in the PBA,” he
added.
Pringle has played in several other
countries since college but he has traced
his roots and found himself here as one
of the most exciting players to watch in
just his first year in the PBA.
Ahanmisi is looking to follow
Pringle's footsteps.
It will take a while and a lot of hard
work for Ahanmisi to see himself where
Pringle is now but “it's kind of the same
path.” Inquirer.net
201-434-1114
WBO Welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao, left, and WBO junior welterweight champion. Chris
Algieri AP PHOTO/VINCENT YU
Pacquiao focused on Algieri
and not basketball, says brother
MANILA -- If there's anyone
who knows Manny Pacquiao
well, it's his younger brother
Bobby Pacquiao.
A n d B o b by, a f o r m e r
featherweight and lightweight
contender before hanging up
his gloves, knows the Fighter of
the Decade is in laser-light focus
for his upcoming bout against
unbeaten Chris Algieri next
month.
“Nasa sarili na niya 'yon.
Magaling si Manny mag-adjust
(It's in him. Manny's good in
managing his time),” said the
33-year-old Bobby, whom
Manny has appointed as the
team manager of the MP Hotel
Warriors in the D-League, on
Monday, Oct. 27, at the Ynares
S p o r t s A re n a w h e re t h e
opening day of the 2015 Season
of the PBA's developmental
league unfolded.
“ K a p a g t a l a ga n g n a s a
training siya sa boxing yun lang
talaga nasa isip niya. Wala, hindi
siya iniisip na basketball nakafocus kami sa training niya,” he
added.
Manny's concentration has
been a cause for concern to
many with the current WBO
welterweight champion also a
Congressman in Saranggani, a
playing-coach for the Kia
Sorento in the PBA and also a
team owner in the D-League.
But as far as Bobby is
concerned, there's no need to
worry. “Naka-focus kami sa
training. Nasa kundisyon na siya
ngayon (We're focused on his
training. He's already in good
condition right now).”
The only concern Bobby has
to deal with for now is their
team in the D-League, which
suffered a beating in its debut.
Bobby said he oversees the
Warriors' training in General
Santos City and right now he is
tasked to run the team before
the former pound-for-pound
king returns home from his title
fight set on Nov. 23 in Macau.
“Nanibago. Siguro kasi
walang naka-tuneup dito. Next
game mag-adjust kami sa plays
namin (They weren't used to
the game yet. Maybe because
they weren't able to play a
tuneup game here. Next game
we'll make adjustments with
our plays).” Inquirer.net
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 29
Sergio
Mendes ...
From page 27
“Fool on the Hill” and an
a c c o m p a ny i n g h i t w i t h
“Scarborough Fair,” based on
the Simon & Garfunkel
version of the folk song.
“Crystal Illusions,” released in
1969, featured a version of
Otis Redding's “(Sittin' On)
The Dock of the Bay” and the
hit single, “Pretty World.”
Mendes attained
mainstream prominence
when he performed the
Oscar-nominated Burt
Bacharach and Hal David
song, “The Look of Love,” on
the Academy Awards telecast
in April 1968.Brasil '66's
version of the song quickly
shot into the Top 10, peaking
at No. 4 and surpassing Dusty
Springfield's version from the
sound track of the hit James
Bond movie, “Casino Royale.”
From 1968 onwards,
Mendes was concededly the
biggest star in the world of
music, riding on a wave of
immense international
popularity and performing on
a variety of venues, from
stadium arenas to the White
H o u s e , w h e r e h e g ave
concerts for both Presidents
Lyndon B. Johnson and
Richard M. Nixon.
After an absence of five
years, Mendes returned to the
music and entertainment
scene in 1982, celebrating the
event with his 1983 self-titled
comeback album his first Top
40 album in nearly a decade
and a half accompanied by
his biggest chart single ever,
“Never Gonna Let You Go,”
which hit Number 4 on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart.
In 1984, he recorded
“Confetti,” an album that
featured the hit songs,
“Olympia,” which was also
used as a theme song for the
Olympic Games held that year
in Los Angeles.
By the time Mendes
released his 1992 Grammywinning album, “Brasileiro,”
he was recognized as the
undisputed master of popinfected Brazilian jazz.
During the same period, he
performed with a new group,
Brasil '99 and more recently
Brasil2000 and has been
integrating the sounds of
Bahian hip-hop into his
music.
In 2006, Concord Records
released “Timeless,” his first
album of newly-recorded
materials in eight years, and
which featured a catalogue of
neo-soul and alternative hiphop guitarists, most
prominent of which was
will.i.am of The Black Eyed
Peas. The album was followed
by “Encanto” in 2008 and
“Born Tempo” in 2010.
Inquirer.net
Team USA fencers with parents and USA Fencing representative, Grant Jones
Fil-Am fencer brings home gold medal for Team
USA at Pan-American Youth Championships
ST. CRUZ, Aruba -- Thirteen yearold Lance Tan was selected to
represent the United States as a
member of Team USA in the PanAmerican Youth Championships
(Campeanado Esgrima PanAmericano Infantil y Veteranos) held
in St. Cruz, Aruba. USA Fencing
selected only 6 fencers per event, and
Tan was selected to represent the
country in both foil and epee. Team
USA competed against other national
teams from the Pan-American region,
including host nation, Costa Rica,
Venezuela, Guatemala, Panama,
Brazil, and Puerto Rico.
Tan, a four-time team member
and 8-time medalist at the four
previous Pan-American Youth Games,
competed in both epee and foil events.
Tan competed in the 13 and under
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 43 Sudoku
Lance with the gold medal and his mother, Atty. Darlene Tan
Solution to Issue 43 Crossword
youth division in both foil and epee
led an all-USA podium sweep in foil.
Tan said: "This experience was
incredible. I have competed in PanAms before and won medals, but this
was my first foil gold. I was a member
of the 2011 squad that swept the
podium. I was only 10 years-old back
then and I tied for bronze. Grant Jones,
our USA Fencing representative
(Head of Development and Sports
Performance) met with the entire
team before the direct elimination
rounds began. We were ranked the
top 4 after the pools, so we knew we
could sweep the podium. He told us
we had a chance to do something
really special that had not been done
in 3 years. We huddled up and ended
the meeting by shouting USA! USA!
USA! Everyone was so psyched to
compete, and we did it. It was a
bummer that I had to fence a teammate in the final for gold, but we are
good friends, and we understand that
is how sports goes."
Tan hails from Ponte Vedra Beach,
Florida with his younger brother
Liam and his parents, Dr. Jackson C.
Tan. MD, PhD, a medical doctor in
private practice, and his mother,
Attorney Darlene Tan, a practicing
attorney. Tan is coached by Maestro
Toro of Jacksonville Fencing Club and
Coach Tyrone Alleyne of A'La Fencing
Instruction in Palm Coast, FL. His
travel coach in Aruba was Coach John
Harrold of Hub City Fencing Academy
in Edison, NJ. Tan prepared for this
tournament by attending an intensive
two-week international training
camp in Szombathelyi, Hungary.
EXPRESS CROSSWORD
ACROSS
1. Doled out
6. A rigid circular band
10. Annul
14. A kind of macaw
15. Killer whale
16. Bucket
17. Deranged
19. Apiary
20. Not greater
21. Possesses
22. Chocolate cookie
23. Lustrous fabric
25. Tumbler
26. Derbies or berets
30. Loathsome
32. Receive from a
predecessor
35. Sweetened mixture of
milk and eggs
39. Required
40. Record player
41. Cardigan
43. Fables
1. Mangle
44. Wound
2. Sea eagle
46. Wild Tibetan oxen
3. Checks
47. Monastery
4. Historical periods
50. Cartons
5. Valleys
53. Low-fat
6. Babe
54. Directed
7. Helmetflower
55. Layers
8. Marine
60. Digestive juice
9. Cushions or mats
61. Powered by
10. Covering on a sofa
electricity
11. Nigerian monetary
63. Applications
unit
64. If not
12. Plunges
65. Grownup
13. Margarines
66. Catholic church
18. Genus of macaws
service
67. Be worthy of
68. Vermin
DOWN
24. Preschooler
25. Zest
26. Ancient units of
liquid measure
27. Again
28. You (archaic)
29. Solemnity
31. Dethrone
33. Attempt again
34. Bright thought
36. Diva's solo
37. Stink
38. Sleep in a
convenient place
42. German measles
43. A single-reed
woodwind
45. Humble
47. Phonograph disc
48. African antelope
49. Bundles
51. Eastern Standard
Time
52. An elongated
leather strip
54. Lascivious look
56. Was a passenger
57. Rectum
58. Lean
59. Does something
62. C
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 30
Rentals
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Applicants must speak English, have a valid Social
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maintenance. Your weekly schedule will be 5 1/2 days
per week, you must work weekends.
You will have your own living quarters in our home with
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In addition, you will receive a year end cash bonus of
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year and can be as much as $5,000 a year after you
have been with us for some time.
If interested, please respond to this posting by calling us
at home 203-438-0347 or cell at 203-770-7266.
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 31
Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Page 32
NOVEMBER 4th
VOTE DEMOCRAT
COLUMN 2
For Bergenfield Council
Arvin
AMATORIO
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Chris
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TULLY AND
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FOR
COUNCIL
KABAYAN NATIN IHALAL NATIN

The Filipino Express v28 Issue 44

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