MJ says thank you for all your kind help

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filipino globe
hong kong / manila edition
Volume 1 Issue 9
www.filglobe.com
July 2007
MJ says
thank you
for all your
kind help
Grateful family overwhelmed by the
outpouring of support during ordeal
Jose Marcelo in Hong Kong
Sally Sultan scanned the long, long
list of people her family wants to
thank now that her son, liver transplant patient MJ, is on the road to
recovery, and found just one word to
sum it all up.
“Milagro po ang nangyari kay MJ,”
she said, choking back tears.
From Dr Vanessa de Villa, who facilitated the family’s arrival in Hong
Kong and was part of the team that
performed the liver transplant on MJ,
to anonymous donors who pitched in
with whatever they could, the torrent
of support was enough to overwhelm
the Sultans.
Donations, big and small, as well
as moral support and prayers have
poured in over the past three months,
helping tide MJ over through three
operations and hand the three-yearold a new lease on life.
“Ang dami po naming gustong pasalamatan,” said Sally.
“Mula po sa mga taong mataimtim
na nagdasal para kay MJ. Doon rin
po sa mga tumulong, malaki man o
maliit, at marami po sa kanila hindi
man nagpakilala, gusto ko po kayong
pasalamatan.”
Diagnosed with biliary atresia just
six months after he was born, requiring a delicate and expensive procedure not yet performed in the Philippines, MJ underwent liver transplant
at Queen Mary Hospital on May 15
and has since shown steady progress.
The full hospital bill has yet to be
settled and a large sum is still needed
for MJ’s post-surgery care, but more
importantly all signs indicate the
toughest part is over for the third Fili-
BY THE NUMBERS
$1m
Amount needed for the lifesaving transplant
on liver patients and to cover recovery costs
pino patient from an indigent family
to receive the lifesaving procedure in
Hong Kong with the help of De Villa.
“We still have to perform some
follow-up tests on MJ in the coming
days, but we’re optimistic,” said De
Villa, a clinical assistant professor at
Queen Mary’s Department of Surgery.
De Villa was at the top of the Sultans’ list, along with Sally’s sister Rowena Barcelo who donated a part of
her liver to MJ.
“Actually makakita lang po iyan ng
dugo ninenerbiyos na, parang gusto
nang himatayin. Pero nagsakripisyo
po s’ya para kay MJ,” said Sally of
Barcelo. “Hindi pa po s’ya pinapalad
na magkaanak, pero ginawa po n’ya
ang responsibilidad ng isang ina.”
The bulk of the $1 million required
for the surgery was raised with the
help of charity institutions like the
PCSO, Pal Foundation, American
Foundation and the Bantay Bata 163.
The Filipino community in Hong
Kong has once again helped fill the
shortfall.
Among those who helped in a big
way were members of the Islamic
Union of Hong Kong and the Trustees’ Fund of Hong Kong, Sister Madina Molina, the Catholic Center and
the Kabacan Overseas Workers.
The date on the print is significant because it was when MJ Sultan was pronounced out of danger and well on his way to
recovery. The smile is that of a child feeling well and playful. Gone is the pained expression of the recent past (inset).
Big or small, everything counts
Donations in amounts ranging
from $50 to $100 have poured into
a bank account set up by Hong
Kong-based Filipino philanthropists
for MJ Sultan.
“If you can see by the amounts
given, these obviously came from
domestic helpers who gave from
the bottom of their hearts,” said
migrant advocate Daphne CenizaKuok, among those who helped
raise funds for MJ’s transplant
in the territory. “We do not know
who they are, but I just want
them to know that their donations
have been received and greatly
appreciated.”
Dr Vanessa De Villa
acknowledged that the huge
amount required for liver
transplants in Hong Kong has been
a major obstacle in their desire
to offer a lifeline to many more
indigent patients back home.
But even as a plan to put up a
foundation for Filipino liver patients
has stalled, De Villa said she would
always be more than willing to do
what she can.
“There are a lot more patients
in need of liver transplantation
back home,” she said. “If there are
patients who have the resources
and want to come here, we will
always be there to help.”
Jose Marcelo
2
news
filipino globe
July 2007
Official urges checks amid
rise in ‘dud’ property deals
Warning follows justice department crackdown on unscrupulous developers
Jose Marcelo in Hong Kong
Thinking of buying your dream
house? Attracted by a flyer handed
to you in a Central sidewalk offering
knockdown prices and zero interest
for a charming, soon-to-rise townhouse in the middle of paradise?
Think a hundred times before buying.
The Department of Justice has started a campaign to go after unscrupulous developers preying on Filipino
migrant workers by pre-selling properties in the Philippines they have no
plan of finishing.
Prominent developers in the Philippines have in recent years shifted
their marketing campaigns overseas,
targeting migrant workers who usually have the final say on how money
sent back home would be spent.
But along with the reputable developers, officials warn, came fraudulent
agents who lure OFWs into buying
condominium units or townhouses
that remain unfinished long after the
full payment has been made.
“Our main concern in this matter is
that innocent Filipino workers, many
of whom work abroad in the hope of
buying a decent living area, end up
losing their shirts to unscrupulous
subdivision and condominium developers,” said Justice Secretary Raul
Gonzales.
“These developers entice buyers by
doing initial work on real estate projects, put up props to convey a sense
of urgency, then (after pre-selling the
properties) suddenly stop the construction without giving any reason,
and nobody is around to answer your
queries.”
Worse, Gonzales said, the task of
collecting refunds from bogus agents
often end up as an exercise in futility.
The Hong Kong market has long
been a rich source of potential clients
The Philippine labor attache has
urged Filipinos to exercise prudence
with regards to orientation seminars
being held in Hong Kong by companies that collect fees while offering
job opportunities in Canada.
Reports reaching the consulate said
more and more Canadian groups,
working with local recruitment agencies, are staging functions billed as
orientation seminars in plush Hong
Kong hotels.
These groups, according to labor
attache Romy Salud, collect a $180
attendance fee and at the end of the
gathering accept a $2,600 reservation
fee from applicants in exchange for a
chance at job openings in Canada.
“Ang sa akin lang, there’s nothing
like investigating first before parting with your hard-earned money,”
said Salud. “Legitimate [company]
ba ‘yan? May lisensiya ba iyan?
Mayroon ba talagang trabaho na
Agusan
Seven people were seriously
injured in a road accident along
the national highway in Sta.
Ana, Nasipit, Agusan del Norte,
police said.
Sketchy reports reaching
the Northeastern Mindanao
Police Regional Office 13 at
Camp Rafael C Rodriguez
said that the accident occurred
when a tricycle passenger was
accidentally bumped by an
Isuzu pickup.
As of press time, traffic
police are still investigating the
cause of the accident and the
two vehicles’ route when the
incident took place.
A flash report received by
chief supt Antonio D Nanas,
regional police director, said
the seven injured passengers,
including the tricycle driver,
were brought to Nasipit
District Hospital and Butuan’s
Provincial Hospital.
Davao
Property buyers are advised to deal only
with reputable developers and to do
background checks before
making a decision.
BY THE NUMBERS
0%
Interest rate sometimes offered by brokers
to entice buyers into doing a deal
for Philippine developers, but not all
agents marketing real estate properties in the territory are legitimate, officials warn.
Last year, the consulate received
complaints from two migrant workers over transactions with developers
that went awry, officials said.
“Our advice to our kababayans is to
do the necessary checks before entering into such transactions,” said vice
“
Our advice to our
kababayans is to
do the necessary
checks before entering into such
transaction
VAL ROQUE
Vice consul
consul Val Roque.
Roque, who before assuming his
Hong Kong post was part of the Department of Foreign Affairs team that
promoted the sale of Philippine prop-
erties to US-based Filipinos under
the “Bayan Ko, Bahay Ko” program,
said the safest route is to deal with
reputable real estate companies.
“It’s better to stick with legit companies and not deal with this so-called
fly-by-night developers,” he said.
“You’re really taking a risk when
you deal with these developers.”
Roque said migrant workers planning to buy properties back home can
do the necessary background checks
through two entities – the Housing
and Land Use Regulatory Board,
which is the government regulator on
real estate matters, and the Chamber
of Real Estate Builders Associations,
an organization of Philippine developers. “Both the HLURB and the Creba
have lists of reputable developers in
the Philippines,” he said.
Salud seeks Canada help over job ‘schemes’
Jose Marcelo in Hong Kong
ANGBANSA
naghihintay sa Canada para sa mga
applicants? These are things we need
to establish.”
Salud said he and Consul General
Al Vicente are in the process of drafting a letter to the Canadian embassy
inquiring about these schemes as
well as the legitimacy of the groups
involved.
Until the Canadian embassy issues
an endorsement, Salud advises potential applicants to be cautious.
“A Filipina who attended one of the
orientation seminars went to the consulate, asking us what she should do.
Tinanong ko kung ano ang assurance
[na makakaalis sila]. Just in case,
what will happen to you?
“Tinanong ko kung may memorandum of agreement? Or perhaps an
undertaking or an authority. Hindi naman nila alam. So I advised them, in
case of doubt, don’t pay.”
Salud said reports reaching his office revealed that participants were
enticed with jobs in Canadian facto-
Labbat Romy Salud: If in doubt,
don’t pay.
ries. “Mayroon naman daw mga local
agencies na binibigyan talaga ng job
quota at legal na nakakapagpadala
ng tao sa Canada,” Salud said. “Pero
ang sabi ko nga, mas maganda na ang
mag-ingat kaysa magsisi sa huli.”
Salud has also been at the forefront of a campaign to put curbs on
exorbitant fees being collected by
Hong Kong-based agencies sending
caregivers to Canada and the United
Kingdom.
There have also been several cases where applicants are duped into
coughing up large sums of money by
crooked agents claiming to work for
these agencies.
Salud could not hide his disappointment with the response of Hong
Kong’s Labor Department which said
the dealings of these agencies do not
fall under its jurisdiction.
“We were told that it’s not under
their jurisdiction, except for their
regulation that no more than 10 per
ent of the applicant’s salary should be
collected as placement fee,” he said.
The Hong Kong stand has left a
gray area with regards to the policing of these agencies. The Philippine
government only has control on agencies sending Filipino migrant workers
to Hong Kong, but not on HK-based
agencies sending OFWs from the
SAR to third countries.
Eight female minors rescued
early this week by authorities
while working at various
nightspots here have been
reunited with their respective
families.
The City Social Welfare and
Development Office turned
over the minors, whose ages
range from 15-17 years, to
their parents after undergoing
psychosocial intervention and
counselling as facilitated by the
agency.
Acting on a tip, the City
Health Office, backed by
members of the local Criminal
Investigation and Detection
Group, simultaneously raided
the nightspots on July.
They rescued the minors, who
were working as servers-cumentertainers, according to the
police.
The minors are stowaways
from Digos City, Davao del Sur
and Davao City.
Iloilo
Agriculture Secretary Arthur
Yap launched a five-year
program spearheaded by the
Southeast Asian Fisheries
Development Center and
Bureau of Fisheries and
Agriculture Research to
address shortage of abalone
in the world market.
There is an estimated
shortage of about 4,000-6,000
metric tons of abalone in the
world market.
Yap said the P15 million
investment of DA-BFAR in
the national abalone breeding
and culture program, “is well
worth it”.
In the first year alone, the
six abalone hatcheries and
six grow-out farms to be
built under this initiative are
projected to produce more
than 100,000 kilos, worth
more than P36 million.
filipino globe
July 2007
3
4
news
filipino globe
July 2007
Racial slur draws fighting words
Mother and daughter take cudgels for all domestic helpers over English skills
Jose Marcelo in Hong Kong
“
W
hen Theresa Cunanan went
to her daughter’s school
one day and confronted
a teacher who had made remarks
discriminatory to Filipino domestic
helpers, all she ever wanted was to
do the right thing.
Unwittingly, she had picked up the
cudgels for thousands of domestic
helpers – and South Asians in general
– in Hong Kong.
“I’m very conscious of my identity
here in Hong Kong,” said Cunanan, a
full-blooded Filipina born and raised
in the territory. “I’ve always strongly
felt that you mustn’t judge people by
the color of their skin.”
Thanks to the interest their small
story has generated, mother and
daughter have helped raise awareness
of the discrimination South Asians,
especially domestic helpers, continue
to face in a society striving to be a
global city like Hong Kong.
If they had made a difference,
Cunanan said, the credit should go to
her daughter Celeste Joelle, who, at
nine years old, was mature enough to
know something had to be done after
her Hong Kong teacher, addressing
her whole Grade 4 class, said:
“Be careful who you speak English
with, especially those of you with
Filipino domestic helpers. Their
accents are not good, and you may
pick up bad or wrong accents.”
Celeste, who is half-Chinese,
casually brought up the topic over
dinner days later, and told her
mother: “Mom, we can’t let her get
away with it.”
“She wasn’t very happy, and
you can see she was disturbed by
it,” said Cunanan, a lecturer at the
Hong Kong Baptist University in
Kowloon with a bachelor’s degree
in comparative literature from Hong
Kong University and a master’s
degree in literary studies.
“So I owed it to my daughter,
really, for doing what I did.”
The 40-year-old mother of two
soon paid the teacher a visit and let
her know that what she had told the
class was politically incorrect. Better
yet she wrote a stirring letter to the
South China Morning Post that,
subtly but compellingly, reminded
readers of the discrimination that still
exists in a modern society like Hong
Kong.
“I approached the teacher in a
very nice way one day after class,”
Cunanan said. “At first she denied
it. She said, ‘That’s not what I said.’
Then she said, ‘I only meant some
You have to fight
it, and not be
complacent ...
Growing up in
Hong Kong, you
have to demand a
certain respect
THERESA CUNANAN
Mother, employer and academic
Celeste Joelle
and her brother
are being
helped with
their school
work by their
Filipino yaya.
Their mother,
Theresa
Cunanan, won’t
have it any
other way.
Filipinos’ … I mean, that’s the same
thing. It doesn’t make any difference.
“I didn’t make her apologise for
what she said, but I made sure I let
her know how we felt about the
whole thing.”
Cunanan’s letter to the Post drew
sympathetic reactions from educators
and other migrant workers in the
territory and soon found its way
into blogs and other newspapers in
Manila.
One such reaction came from Dr
Mary Tabarsi Tsang, a professor
at Community College of City
University who said a research she
made years ago about the influence
of domestic helpers on Hong Kong
Chinese homes revealed, among
other things, that:
One, majority of Hong Kong
parents admitted that Filipina
domestic helpers had taught their
child some English and assisted
with their homework, and, two, that
the parents felt uncomfortable with
this due to the worry about the child
picking up errors or speaking ‘like
the maid.’
Tsang concluded: “I believe that a
domestic helper assuming what are
typically considered parental duties,
such as assisting with school work
and language learning, can cause
unacknowledged feelings of guilt and
anger on the part of busy parents.
“If we add into the brew cultural
stereotypes … and even the parents’
insecurity about their own Englishlanguage abilities, we are left with a
thick and dangerous potion.
“The results are negative
stereotypes, ethnic slurs and a
hostility so debilitating that it
cripples Hong Kong’s growth and
development.”
Whatever the underlying reasons
for the discriminatory attitude some
locals continue to harbor toward
their maids, Cunanan insists it has no
place in modern society, more so in
Hong Kong.
“You have to fight it, and not be
complacent,” she said.
It was easy for her to empathise.
Born and raised by Filipino parents
who took up residence in Hong Kong
in 1964, Cunanan said she – as successful and as deeply rooted as she
is in the territory – continues to deal
with the same issue.
“I deal with it every day. Growing
up in Hong Kong, you have to demand a certain respect. So when that
incident with my daughter’s teacher
happened, I just put myself in my
daughter’s shoes,” she said.
Cunanan said she feels fortunate
to have her Filipina helper, Thelma
Belleza, a former math teacher back
home, helping out her children with
their school work and would not have
it any other way.
“I have a lot of respect for domestic
helpers,” Cunanan said. “They came
here for the same reasons my parents
came here for, which was to give their
families a better life, so I can empathise with them.”
Pinay in ‘mysterious’ death to be repatriated
Jose Marcelo in Hong Kong
The consulate has started the process
of repatriating the body of a Filipina
whose death last month remains
shrouded in mystery.
The body of Aurora Capucao,
47, from Naguilian, La Union, was
already in a decomposing state when
it was found by the Hong Kong
police inside her flat in Mong Kok on
June 18.
Except for travel documents
found inside her
apartment that
enabled police
to establish her
identity, not much
else has been
known about the
Filipina or the
circumstances
surrounding her death.
Police found “nothing suspicious”
about Capucao’s death to pursue a
murder investigation, vice consul Val
Roque (left) said, although they are
still waiting for the final coroner’s
report set to come out in two months.
Police said Capucao was a resident
of the territory.
A Filipina, who said she was
no more than an acquaintance of
Capucao, told consulate officials the
deceased was a single mother with a
21-year-old son back home. But the
information is still being verified,
said Roque.
It also took weeks of appeal
made by consulate officials through
Filipino radio programs in the
territory before contact was finally
established with Capucao’s family in
La Union. “We’ve finally gotten in
touch with a cousin in La Union who
said she was told about Capucao’s
death by a friend in Hong Kong who
heard about it in the radio,” said
Roque.
Roque said the consulate has
authorised the release of funds for
the repatriation of Capucao’s body.
ANGBANSA
Negros
President Arroyo met with a
potential ethanol investor in
Negros Occidental.
Presidential assistant for
Western Visayas Rafael
Coscolluela said the investor,
whose identity he did not
disclose, is the fourth interested
party in establishing an ethanol
plant in Negros Occidental.
He said an ethanol plant is
being put up in San Carlos City.
Coscolluela added that the
construction of another ethanol
plant in Negros Occidental
would boost Arroyo’s programs
to use renewable source of
energy.
The additional investment
would in turn place this part
of the country in the “Ethanol
Highway” of the national
government.
This is part of a plan to
accelerate economic
development in the countryside.
Cebu
Cebu governor Gwendolyn
Garcia has urged businessmen
to “make the countryside a
viable investment alternative
to the overburdened and
congested city.”
Garcia made the statement
in her speech on the official
launching of the small and
medium enterprise industrial
park at the New Cebu Township
One special economic zone
area in barangay Cantao-ang,
Naga, a southern Cebu town
which is on its final stages of
conversion into a city.
The first of its kind in the
country, the park is envisioned
to become a center for worldclass SMEs showcasing the
country’s export products.
With the presence of the
industrial park initiated by
Planters Development Bank,
Garcia said economic growth
is moving “from the city to the
countryside that feeds it.”
Pampanga
The clamor for the return of
the Department of Foreign
Affairs Consular office 3
from Clark to San Fernando
continues to mount.
Members of the Rotary Club
of San Fernando asked city
mayor Oscar Rodriguez to
intervene in the request of
various groups for the DFA
to reconsider relocating its
consular office here.
The DFA, like the National
Bureau of Investigation
regional office in Central
Luzon, has been transferred to
the Clark Freeport Zone due
to less ideal location of San
Fernando City.
Rodriguez said he is willing
to be the conduit of requests
for the DFA’s transfer back
to the city where most
government regional offices
are located.
filipino globe
July 2007
5
6
news
filipino globe
July 2007
Lucena girl, 14, gets right royal stamp of approval
Sometime last year, a high school
student from Lucena City wrote
Queen Elizabeth II (Elizabeth
Alexandra Mary Windsor) of the
United Kingdom and told her of her
stamp collection that portrays Her
Royal Highness.
A few weeks later, to her surprise,
Queen Elizabeth II answered her
letter.
“The Queen even sent me photos
of herself inside the Windsor
Palace,” said Alyasah Xeniah Alcala,
14, a second year high school student
at the Sacred Heart College in
Lucena City.
After completing her Queen
Elizabeth II stamp collection, she
sent it to Royal 2006 Royale, a
national stamp collection exhibit
in Canada, where it won the Youth
Grand Award.
Last month, the same collection
won a Vermeil Medal in the
Rochester National Philtelic
Exhibition held at the Monreal
Community College in New York.
Last week, Alcala’s stamp
collection titled “Her Majesty, Queen
Elizabeth II” was proclaimed the
2007 AAPE Youth Champion of
Champions in the National Topical
Stamp Exhibition at the Sheraton
Grand Hotel in Irving, Texas.
The exhibit was sponsored by the
American Association of Philatelix
Exhibitors.
The winners of the AAPE
Youth Grand Awards from various
stamp shows in the United States
and Canada competed in the
youth Champion of Champions
competition.
The young Alcala is a member of
the Quezon Philatelic Club.
Lebanon-bound OFWs
intercepted in Mactan
Group trying to defy ban on travel to the war-torn country
Today’s toxic environment
coupled with the high-fat, highsugar diets that are so common
among most people combine to
make it very difficult to achieve
optimal health, slow aging and
prevent chronic illness.
In many ways, conventional
medicine has failed to fully
address the problems we face in
today’s world.
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Several Filipinos bound for Lebanon
have been stopped at the Mactan Cebu
International Airport amid indications
of human trafficking to the war-torn
country, an overseas employment official said.
Evilia Durato, Philippine Overseas
Employment Administration in Central Visayas regional director, said
there had been two separate incidents
wherein groups of Filipinos bound for
Lebanon were stopped at the MCIA.
In May, a group of 14 Filipinos
claiming to have found employment
in Lebanon were barred from boarding their planes after airport officials
learned of their destination.
On July 2, a group of eight Filipinos were also prevented from boarding their Qatar Air Lines flight when
airline officials learned that the group
were to be employed as domestic
helpers in Lebanon.
The Philippine government earlier
issued a travel ban to Lebanon due to
the ongoing conflict there.
Durato said the government should
investigate the increasing traffic to
Lebanon despite the travel ban, especially since the Philippine embassy
in Beirut and Lebanese labor attache
Annie Israel had raised reports about
the alleged smuggling of Filipinos
into the country.
Some of these Filipinos, embassy
officials said, exited the country
through the MCIA.
Durato said she did not know how
these groups acquired plane tickets to
Lebanon.
“Insofar as those two cases are concerned, perhaps there are really irresponsible persons involved in this
kind of trade,” Durato said.
“We should look into this because
this involves a lot of workers, and
we should also see how these people
manage to sneak out despite the presence of authorities at the airport.”
Geronimo Rosas, Bureau of Immigration regional director, said he has
created a team to investigate the allegation raised by the Lebanese labor
attache.
Rosas said he ordered his investigations to retrieve the flight manifests
of all flights leaving the MCIA since
January.
Rosas earlier denied that immigration officials at the airport were involved in human trafficking.
news
filipino globe
July 2007
ANGBANSA
Iloilo
The Metro Iloilo Water District
has finally completed a
P3 million potable water project
that will benefit hundreds of
relocated residents in barangay
Sooc, Arevalo district.
The utility signed an
agreement with the Iloilo
City government on the
implementation of the
counterpart project.
The city government has
shelled out P2 million for
the project while the MIWD
shouldered the remaining
amount.
Iloilo City mayor Jerry Treñas
said nearby residents of
barangay Sooc can also avail
of the project provided they
apply for water connection.
Treñas assured the city will
again push the puting up of
pipe water connections at the
Gawad Kalinga site, also in
barangay Sooc.
Malolos
Despite the arrival of the rainy
season, an impending water
crisis looms as water levels
continue to drop to critical point
at the Angat Dam reservoir,
officials said.
Rodolfo German, manager of
the Angat River Hydro Electric
Power Plant of the National
Power Corp that manages the
Angat Dam said: “We need at
least one typhoon to hit the
Angat Dam in order for water
levels to climb again.”
German said water levels
at the giant reservoir dropped
to 179.51 meters last week.
This means the critical level of
180 meters has already been
breached.
He added that they will still
need a miracle despite the
forecast of Pagasa that three
typhoons will hit the country this
month and another three next
month, bringing rainfall enough
to create water reserves.
Oras
Lebanon remains a no-go zone for Filipinos because of the conflict.
BY THE NUMBERS
14
Filipinos barred from leaving in May after
officials discovered their destination
Anyone suspected of being engaged
in the activity would immediately be
charged in court.
Angel Espiritu, Department of Foreign Affairs regional director, said his
office had yet to receive any official
reports from the Philippine embassy
in Beirut about human trafficking.
“But we’ve heard the news. I can’t
really comment on that because I
don’t really know what’s happening,”
Espiritu said.
“We issue passports here and when
they arrive in the airport, immigration
officials take over.”
Reynaldo Jacalan, an officer of the
Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, said Filipinos who wanted to
work in a country where travel was
banned such as Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan could simply fly to neighboring country and enter Lebanon
from there.
Jacalan said the OWWA would have
no record of the employment details
of these workers.
The municipality of Oras,
Eastern Samar recently
received new classrooms,
courtesy of Philip Morris
Manufacturing Corp and
the Philippine Army 546
Engineering Construction
Brigade.
Geraldine Banadora, a
teacher at the Oras National
High School in Barangay San
Roque (also known as Calauit)
said the new building cost
some P490,000.
The building, along with
some 50 plastic chairs
and some furniture, was
turned over to local school
authorities. Philip Morris was
represented by Amy Eisma,
community relations officer.
Oras mayor Neil Alvarez,
said the students will make
sure that the classrooms
will last longer so that more
Orasnons could use the new
facility.
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filipino globe
July 2007
Army widens search for Bossi
Rescue operations for kidnapped Italian priest extended to two Mindanao provinces
The military’s Western Mindanao
Command has extended its search
and rescue efforts for abducted Italian
priest Fr Giancarlo Bossi (right) in
two provinces in Western Mindanao.
Wesmincom chief Lt Gen Eugenio
Cedo said Basilan will now be included in the focus of the search and
rescue operations.
But Cedo said this will not mean
that they will stop the operations in
Zamboanga Sibugay province.
Fr Bossi 57, of
the Pontificio Istituto Missioni Estere and the parish
priest of Payao
town in Zamboanga Sibugay, was
seized on June 10
while on his way to celebrate a mass
in Barangay Bulawan in the said municipality.
The search and rescue efforts in
Zamboanga Sibugay will be handled
by the army’s first infantry division
under Maj Gen Nehemias Pajarito
and the first marine brigade under
Col.Ramiro Alivio in Basilan.
Cedo said they will deploy the marine battalion landing team-1 from
Sulu to Basilan to help in the search
and rescue operations.
He said they will concentrate the
search and rescue operations in the
provinces of Basilan and Zamboanga
Sibugay as there is persistent information about Fr Bossi and his abductors’
presence in the two provinces.
Alivio said they have received information about the arrival of a group
of gunmen in Basilan bringing along
with them the abducted Italian priest.
The search and rescue efforts continue in a bid to locate the whereabouts of Fr Bossi since no group has
claimed responsibility for the abduction until now.
ANGBANSA
Dumaguete
Following the successful
staging of the second biennial
Terra Cotta Art Festival and
Competition, foreign and
national artists led by famed
sculptor Napoleon Abueva are
pushing for wider promotions to
make Dumaguete City the “clay
capital” of the country.
The festival is the only one
of its kind in the Philippines,
said Sid Hildawa, department
manager on visual, literary,
and media arts of the Cultural
Center of the Philippines.
“It is unique in the world and
is something to be proud of,”
said Hildawa. He said terra
cotta art from Dumaguete was
exhibited last year at the CCP.
Hildawa said that while the
festival is still in its infancy,
there is potential for it to
become an event that would
draw the attention of foreign
artists.
Legazpi
The Commission on Human
Rights (CHR) regional office in
Bicol is conducting a forum on
the draft international convention
for the protection of all persons
from enforced disappearance.
CHR Bicol regional director
Pelagio Señar said the forum
would include discussions on
the rationale of the convention,
its provisions and implications
LINIS KAMPEON
Quezon City mayor Feliciano “SB” Belmonte Jr (center) leads city officials in awarding the winners of the just-concluded ‘Name the Bawas Basura
Mascots’ at the City Hall grounds. The contest was launched in February by the city Environmental Protection and Waste Management Department
headed by Frederika C. Rentoy (4th from left), in an effort to integrate the youth in environmentally sustainable projects that promote proper solid
waste management. The three student winners Alyssandra S Moje (6th from left) of Esteban Abada Elementary School for her entry ‘Dodong
Masinop’; Mhon Jeus Millon (4th from right) for ‘Cristina Compostina’ and Paul John Argatin (not in photo) for ‘Tin-tin Kutingting, both of Project
6 Elementary School. Also in photo from left are councilors Bayani Hipol and Jorge Banal Jr, vice mayor Herbert Bautista and councilors Edcel
Lagman Jr (3rd from right) and Bernadette Herrera-Dy (extreme right).
NHA seeks
extra P5.9b for
rail ‘clearing’
The National Housing Authority
needs about P5.9 billion more to finish resettling in southern Luzon this
year 36,454 households of informal
settlers remaining along Metro Manila’s railroad tracks.
NHA plans and programs division manager Isabel Arceo said this
amount will boost the P940 million
the government allocated from its
P2.5 billion subsidy fund.
The agency estimated the clearing activity for the Southrail project
needs some P6.9 billion.
The funding will be for transportation and housing accommodation cost
as well as start-up light and water expenses of beneficiaries.
Arceo said the NHA is seeking additional subsidy from the government
to save on interest payments for its
debt.
Borongan becomes newest city
Less than 10 years ago, Eastern Samar was listed among the “poorest of
the poor” provinces of the country.
As its provincial capital, Borongan
bore the stigma more than most of the
towns in the province.
So when this town off the Pacific
coast was elevated to a city last week,
residents turned out in numbers to
celebrate.
“This is a historic moment. This is
the moment we’ve been waiting for.
The people voted for progress,” Borongan mayor Fidel Anacta Jr said.
The Commission on Elections said
10,176 residents voted “yes” in a
plebiscite to ratify the bill transforming the municipality into a city.
On the other hand, 3,426 residents
voted “no.”
Comelec election officer Raymund
Gunda said 40 per cent of the voting
population of 30,870 cast their ballots.
Gunda said the plebiscite was orderly and peaceful however.
Comelec lawyer Genevieve Velicaria, who oversaw the referendum,
said Borongan spent P2.7 million for
the exercise.
Velicaria said the “no” percentage
was much higher in Borongan than in
the other newly created cities.
Those who want Borongan to remain a municipality have expressed
concerns about its readiness to meet
the basic conditions of cityhood.
Lawyer Esminie Tomeño-Azul said
the signs of readiness – such as good
roads, airport or access to airport,
stable power supply and good governance, were not yet visible in Borongan.
But Junie Quilitano, the Department of Interior and Local Government’s provincial director, said cityhood would be a catalyst for growth
and development as Borongan will be
entitled to a bigger share in the Internal Revenue allotment that could be
spent to improve basic services and
infrastructure and invest in livelihood
programs.
With the ratification of Borongan’s
cityhood, its IRA will increase from
the present P70 million to P240 million or more annually.
Days after the May polls, cityhood
advocates put up streamers and campaigned intensively in the 61 villages
of Borongan.
on the Philippines. The draft
convention imposes on the
state the obligation to prevent
disappearances and punish
those responsible, among
others.
The CHR, a national human
rights institution mandated to
promote and protect human
rights in the Philippines, is at
the forefront of a campaign to
promote the draft convention.
The convention aims
to eradicate the growing
phenomenon of involuntary
disappearance.
Quezon
The Quezon provincial board
has approved a supplemental
budget amounting to P146.43
million.
Among the expenses
approved by the board
covered office supplies of
the offices in the executive
department of the Quezon
provincial government.
The office of the provincial
governor gets P2.5 million;
office of the provincial
administrator P4.5 million;
governor’s mansion P1.5
million; and Quezon
Convention Center P1 million.
For capital outlays, the
provincial board approved P30
million for the Quezon Medical
Center office building, P18
million for hospital equipment
and P22 million for technical
and scientific equipment.
Three months ago, the
province sought a P150 million
loan from the Land Bank.
news
filipino globe
Warning on
indiscriminate
fogging in
dengue alert
July 2007
A pest control
worker cleans
an open drain in
Singapore, where
the Philippine strain
of the dengue virus
originated.
Officials urge concerted effort to stop
disease from becoming an epidemic
Edgar Serrano in Manila
A nationwide fogging operation
will be conducted after 401 cases
of dengue were reported last week
breaching the 378 cases in a week
that was set by health officials as
the level at which to declare an
epidemic.
The number of cases is expected to
rise further to a peak in mid-August
or September due to changes in the
virus strain.
The virus came all the way from
Singapore which has declared a
dengue epidemic. Thailand has
already had more than 11,000
reported cases so far this year, with
14 deaths
In Malysia, 48 people have died
among more than 20,000 dengue
cases.
Dr Eric Tayag, officer-in-charge of
the National Epidemiology Center,
warned that if the national and local
government units fail to make a
concerted effort to prevent its spread,
a dengue epidemic may be declared
in the country.
Patients stricken with the
mosquito-borne disease have reached
the 7,000 mark between January to
June, surpassing the number of cases
reported last year.
Dengue hemorrhagic fever is an
acute infectious disease manifested
initially with fever. It is transmitted
by aedes aegypti, a day-biting
mosquito which lays eggs in clear
and stagnant water found in flower
vases, cans, rain barrels, old rubber
tires, etc. The adult mosquitoes rest
in dark places of the house.
The signs and symptoms of dengue
are sudden onset of high fever ,which
may last 2 to 7 days, joint and muscle
pain and pain behind the eyes,
weakness, skin rashes or red tiny
spots on the skin called petechiae,
nose bleeding when fever starts to
subside, abdominal pain, vomiting
of coffee-colored matter and darkcolored stools.
The public has been advised to take
the following precautions to help
stop the spread of the disease:
9
• Cover water drums and water
pails at all times to prevent
mosquitoes from breeding
• Replace water in flower vases
once a week
• Clean all water containers once
a week
• Scrub the sides well to remove
eggs of mosquitoes sticking to the
sides of water containers
• Clean gutters of leaves and
debris so that rain water will not
collect serving as breeding places
of mosquitoes; old tires used as roof
support should be punctured or cut to
avoid accumulation of water
• Collect and dispose all unusable
tin cans, jars, bottles and other items
that can collect and hold water.
Dr Tayag also advised the
public not to allow indiscriminate
fogging which only drives dengue
carrying mosquitoes to the adjacent
barangays.
The insecticide used in fogging
machines only kills full-grown
mosquitoes but not the millions of
eggs left by them to hatch.
Fogging should only be done
with the approval and assistance by
the Department of Health and only
in areas where there is already an
outbreak of the disease.
He said the public should follow
the Four S in the prevention and
control of dengue:
• Search and Destroy the breeding
places used by dengue mosquitoes
• Self Protection Measures like
wearing long sleeves shirts and
long pants and the use of mosquito
repellant during the day
• Seek Early consultation if you are
suffering from a fever for more than
two days accompanied by skin rashes
• Say No to Indiscriminate
Fogging.
10
news
filipino globe
July 2007
‘Hot’ jobs up for grabs: survey
Large firms in Metro Manila experiencing shortage of workers across all sectors
Large enterprises in Metro Manila
are experiencing a shortage of skills,
ranging from high-end positions to
blue-collar jobs.
Citing a survey by the Bureau of
Labor and Employment Statistics Labor Secretary Arturo D Brion said the
situation has persisted over the past
three years.
Brion said the survey identified the
hot jobs in the talent shortage list in
Metro Manila.
Hot jobs are those that are highly in
demand and hard-to-fill due to lack or
shortage in qualified applicants.
Brion advised students and young
workers to acquire the necessary skills
to fill the hot jobs immediately.
The survey covered 448 large enterprises in Metro Manila. The samples were drawn from a list of the
country’s top 5,000 enterprises.
The survey indicated that nearly
one in three enterprises experienced
talent or skill shortage. About 136, or
30.3 per cent, of the 448 respondents
experienced shortage of qualified applicants in certain occupations in the
past three years.
Majority of them were engaged in
wholesale and retail trade (31.1 per
cent) and manufacturing (28.2 per
cent). The rest were spread out thinly
across sectors.
Shortage was acute for accountant,
computer programmer, engineer, fi-
nancial analyst, HRD manager, IT
technician, lawyer, manager, nurse,
and sales/marketing representative.
Some hot jobs are:
• Mining and quarrying – geologist,
and mining engineer
• Manufacturing – assembler, autocad designer, engineer, machinist,
welder, safety officer
• Electricity, gas, and water – electrical engineer, lineman, plant operator
• Construction – engineer, fitter,
plumber, skilled laborer, TIG pipe/
place welder, tinsmith
• Wholesale, retail – administrative
assistant, artist, baking technician,
pharmacist, sales clothing technician,
product planning and pricing officer,
technical support specialist
• Hotels, restaurants – HR manager,
operation board position, restaurant
manager
• Transport, storage, communications – account manager, mechanics,
IT specialist
• Financial intermediation – actuarian, auditor, bookkeeper, programmer, underwriter
• Real estate, renting, business services – architect, engineer, environmental scientist, trainer
• Education – clinical instructor.
• Health, social work – medical
technician, nurse, technician, respiratory therapist.
Banks urged
to go easy on
layoffs amid
mergers
The Trade Union Congress of the
Philippines has cautioned against
massive labor retrenchments in
the banking industry as a result of
heightened merger and acquisition
activity.
“We are appealing to the banks
concerned to go slow in laying off
workers. As much as possible, extra
care must be exercised to ease, if not
totally avoid temporary or permanent
loss of employment and income
on the part of affected bank staff,”
TUCP spokesperson Alex Aguilar
said.
Aguilar made the appeal shortly
after yet another lender, China
Banking Corp, said that it is
acquiring 87.51 per cent of Manila
Banking Corp for P1.8 billion.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
said it was expecting up to five more
bank combinations in the years ahead
as the industry landscape shifted
toward further consolidation.
BSP governor Amando Tetangco
Jr said that for reasons of size,
competition and strategic footing,
regulators were expecting four to
five more bank mergers over the next
three to five years. “We definitely
expect further consolidation in the
system,” Tetangco said.
Aguilar stressed the need for the
surviving entities in the mergers
“to unconditionally honor all
existing labor contracts or collective
bargaining agreements with existing
unions.”
Aguilar urged the Bankers
Association of the Philippines to
link up with the Business Processing
Association of the Philippines,
Contact Center Association of the
Philippines and other industry groups
so that displaced bank employees
may find new jobs.
“The BAP should help find ways
to transition affected bank personnel
either to other lenders that are hiring,
or to other industries,” he said.
“BPO providers are hiring not just
call center agents and transcribers,
but also administrative support
staff for human resources as well as
finance and accounting,” he said.
ANGBANSA
Zamboanga
The 14 fallen Philippine
Marines Corps members were
given full military honors after
their remains were brought to
this city from nearby Basilan
province.
Philippine Marine
Commandant major general
Nelson Allaga pinned medals
on nine wounded marine troops
at Camp Navarro General
Hospital.
Allaga also gave P100,000
financial assistance and
grocery items to the families of
the slain and wounded marine
troops.
The marines belong to the
First Marine Brigade under Col
Ramiro Alivio that engaged in
a gun battle for several hours
after they were ambushed by
Abu Sayyaf bandits.
The attackers were allegedly
backed by Moro Islamic
Liberation Front rebels.
Bacolod
Bacolod City mayor Evelio
Leonardia is in conflict with
members of the Metro Bacolod
Chamber of Commerce and
Industry over the disposal of
Bacolod airport.
Mayor Leonardia stood firm
on his decision to retain the old
airport despite the opening of a
new facility in Silay City, about
20 kilometers from Bacolod.
Leonardia created a
committee to study the proposal.
The Metro Bacolod Chamber
of Commerce and Industry is
looking forward to the Silay
airport operations to begin.
Transportation and
Communication Assistant
Secretary Ricardo Tan said
the national government is
determined to dispose of the
old Bacolod airport. Proceeds
from the sale will be used to
defray the loan that was used for
the construction of the modern
facility in Silay City.
Palawan
Makati’s burgeoning call centers should be able to absorb bank staff made redundant by mergers, says TUCP.
You can now find financing by SMS
President Arroyo pushed the green
button on the latest government
project that now makes the
location and contact numbers of
government financing agencies just
a text away.
“Micro Asenso!” text facility
will make it easier for small and
medium-sized businessmen to find
micro-financing centers right in
their areas.
The service is envisioned by
the government to enhance and
sustain public awareness on
micro finance. It is an offshoot of
the government’s launch of the
“Go Negosyo” entrepreneurship
program last year.
A national competitiveness
summit in Malacañang last year
helped lay the ground work for the
new service.
The summit hoped to provide
effective financing access by
developing a financial system that
is “accessible, facilitative, and costeffective for MSMEs … through
active partnership and continuous
commitment between government
and the private sector.”
Eligible borrowers are nongovernment organizations,
cooperatives and financial
institutions “duly organised,
with either a track record of
lending operations or with proven
capabilities in implementing microfinance programs for the poor.”
A total of 45,000 bags of
National Food Authority rice
will arrive in Palawan from
Batangas to ensure buffer
stock for the lean months from
July to September this year.
This was disclosed by NFA
assistant provincial manager
Roberto Bunag.
Out of 45,000 bags, Bunag
said 25,000 bags are intended
for Puerto Princesa City,
while the towns of Narra and
Brooke’s Point will get 10,000
sacks each.
He said the NFA shipment
will further stabilise the price
of commercial rice during the
lean months.
Bunag said another 45,000
sacks are also set to arrive in
the province from Batangas in
the mid-August.
He assured that NFA
Palawan has sufficient stock
of rice and has continued to
buy palay at P10 per kilogram.
filipino globe
July 2007
11
12
news
filipino globe
July 2007
PAL boosts services to the Gulf
Airline executive sees more code-share agreements with Mideast partners
Philippine Airlines, the national flagcarrier, has a plan to strengthen its
presence in the Gulf region by expanding its code-share agreements
with Middle East carrier-partners.
Jose E L Perez de Tagle, PAL assistant vice-president, government
affairs, said that the airline management was “constantly reviewing viable market options” and will decide
accordingly.
PAL suspended flights to major destinations in the Middle East in 1998
following a major economic slump
resulting from the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
The airline entered a full-scale 10year rehabilitation plan in June 1999
and signed a code-share agreement
with Emirates Airline in September of
the same year, paving the way for seat
allocation on Emirates’ Dubai-Manila
route.
However, in March last year, it altogether pulled the plug on its Middle
East operations by suspending flights
to and from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,
where most of the more than two mil-
lion overseas Filipino workers in the
region live.
PAL cited the rising cost of aviation
fuel prices and gross overcapacity,
or an influx of carriers, mostly from
the Middle East and Far East offering
flights to Southeast Asia at reduced
air fares, as reasons for the Middle
East operation pull-out.
De Tagle said the code-share agreement of PAL with Emirates, in effect
for the past eight years, has been successful.
“The code-share agreement has al-
ways been flexible. Seat allocation
may increase or decrease depending
on market demand. But so far it has
been doing well and we’re considering expanding the agreement,” de
Tagle said.
He said PAL may fly to the Middle
East again in the near future as its rehabilitation plan nears completion.
“We’ve ordered a new fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft for our regional and
domestic flights and Boeing 777-300
ER planes for our long-haul flights,”
he said.
Short cut
to Bicol
nearing
completion
Repair works on the shortest
route between Manila and Bicol is
expected to be completed before the
peak of the travel season this year.
Major holidays, such as the
Penafrancia festival, All Souls Day
and Christmas, spark a surge in travel
across Southern Luzon to the Visayas
and Mindanao.
Completion of the Andaya
Highway repair work will meet
any rise in travel demand, the
Department of Highways said.
In a report to Highways Secretary
Hermogenes Ebdane Jr, regional
director Orlando Roces said that the
rehabilitation work is almost 70 per
cent complete.
“We have been able to accomplish
much of the scheduled works
because of strict project monitoring
and prevailing good weather
condition” Roces said.
A total of P510 million has been
released by the national government
for the rehabilitation of 20 road
sections on the highway.
“We know the importance of this
road, especially among the truck
owners who are affected by the rerouting scheme, that’s why we are
fast tracking the implementation of
the project” Roces added.
Roces said that the project is
expected to be completed before
the start of Peñafrancia Festival in
September this year in Naga City.
The project includes the
rehabilitation and reblocking of
25.98 kilometers of road with slope
protection and drainage works in
some road sections.
The Rolando Andaya Highway was
formerly part of the Manila South
Road (Quirino highway), a diversion
road that passes through the province
of Camarines Norte.
This route lessens by about three
hours the traveling time compared
with the Daet-Camarines Norte route.
The project is part of a nationwide
program to upgrade infrastructure,
such as roads, ports and bridges to
stimulate the economy.
Airports are also being built or
upgraded under this program at a
cost of billions.
Baguio
ANGBANSA
The Department of Agriculture
assured residents that the
dreaded avian flu virus has
not reached the country due
to the exhaustive efforts of the
government in protecting the
country’s agriculture industry as
well as the people’s health.
Cordillera regional information
officer Robert Domoguen
said among the measures
taken is the strict operation of
checkpoints and quarantine
facilities especially in the entry
points of landlocked regions.
He said that the Cordillera
Administrative Region, a great
contributor to the economy, has
been taking steps to protect its
agricultural industries.
He said other Asian countries
such as Vietnam and Cambodia
have confirmed that the
dreaded virus not only affects
poultry but also of humans,
making it a major health
concern.
Dagupan
The Philippines has shown
remarkable success in its fight
against tuberculosis during the
past few years although the
country is still one of 22 nations
of the world with high incidence
of TB.
This was disclosed by Roberto
Ilagan, regional manager of the
Linking Initiative and Networking
to Control Tuberculosis,
commissioned by the Philippine
Business for Social Progress to
assist the Department of Health
and local government units in
monitoring TB incidence in the
country.
TB Link is involved in a fiveyear project in the control of
tuberculosis.
The project started in October
last year and will be completed
in 2011.
It is being funded by the
United States Agency for
International Development.
Albay
The port modernisation program is expected to attract increased cargo traffic to and from the Subic Freeport.
New Subic port enters regional fray
Subic joins the fray as a major player
in the region’s container port industry
with the completion of a US$215 million modernisation program.
The project, under the auspices of
the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, has already made Subic a
major container port in the country.
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority
chairman Feliciano Salonga said the
port project is part of a plan to make
Subic Bay and Clark Freeport zones
growth corridors for new investments.
These are in turn expected to spur
economic growth in these areas by
promoting them as regional logistics
hubs.
He said that the alliance between
Subic Bay and Clark will also receive
a boost from a planned US$425 million toll road between the two ports.
The Subic port’s modernisation
began in 2004. It included the installation of four gantry cranes, two of
which were installed in May last year
and the other two this yeyar.
Subic Bay administrator Armand
Arreza said the completion of the
first phase of the port modernization
project will accelerate the completion
of other projects being implemented
under the Subic Bay Freeport, such as
the US$1.6 billion Hanjin shipbuilding facility.
“This boosts our confidence that
the Subic Bay Freeport will soon be
a key player in the containerised and
non-containerized cargo handling
business in the entire Asia-Pacific region,” he said. “This will attract more
shipping companies worldwide to use
the Subic port, while helping decongest the traffic in the Port of Manila.
Operation of the port is expected to
be awarded to the globally competitive Subic Bay International Terminal
Corp.
In a country regularly visited
by typhoons, the plight of Tiwi,
a rich geothermal town in
Albay, one of the areas hardest
hit by Typhoon Reming last
year, seemed typical: vital
infrastructure and facilities were
destroyed, and school buildings
were among the most severely
damaged.
So the town is building
schools that can withstand
typhoons.
They have been specially
designed to withstand up to 300
kilometer per hour winds load
(Typhoon Reming packed 265
kph).
These school buildings will
serve as showcase for public
infrastructure in the Bicol
region.
Of the town’s 23 public
elementary schools, the school
buildings in barangays Misibis,
Cale and Libjo suffered the
most damage in the wake of
Reming.
filipino globe
July 2007
13
14
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filipino globe
July 2007
12 dead as Quezon ferry sinks
Rescue teams step up search as 100 passengers remain missing from tragedy
Rescue teams are scouring the waters
off Quezon province for more than
100 missing people after a passenger
ferry capsized in bad weather, leaving
12 dead.
The disaster occured near the town
of San Francisco, military and relief
officials said.
Southern Luzon military command
spokesman Lt Col Rhoderick Parayno
said eight bodies were recovered near
the site of the accident, in the village
of Pagsangahan.
Parayno said six of the dead are
female. He identified two of the female fatalities as Welcen Perlas and
BY THE NUMBERS
129
Passengers rescued so far from among the
256 on board MV Water Princess
Lourdes Rizablanca, both of Lucena
City.
Parayno said the four other fatalities
were swept away and recovered at the
nearby town of San Andres, also in
Quezon province.
He said the ill-fated ship, MV Blue
Water Princess, capsized about 500
meters from the shore of Pagsangahan
village, an hour after it left the port of
Dalahican in Lucena City.
The ship, carrying 256 passengers,
was on its way to Masbate.
Parayno said 129 passengers have
been rescued. He said various government agencies, led by the military
and the Philippine Coast Guard, and
volunteers are working double time to
account for the missing passengers.
He said Solcom leaders have ordered the dispatch of two search and
rescue helicopters to help in the search
but were hampered by bad weather
and returned to port. A Philippine
Navy ship left Batangas port to help
in the search and rescue operation.
It was expected to arrive after a few
hours, Navy spokesman commander
Giovanni Carlo Bacordo said.
A call to the Office of Civil Defense
in the Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Quezon region revealed that only four
dead have so far been accounted for
and 18 remained missing.
The agency listed 50 survivors so
far. Regional director Vicente Tomasar said the number of fatalities may
increase as the search continues.
ANGBANSA
Metro Manila
The Department of Health
is closely monitoring several
areas in the country where
there are reported clustering
and more than the usual
number of dengue fever cases,
particularly those with deaths.
This, as Health Secretary
Francisco Duque III brought to
the schools and the community
the department’s anti-dengue
campaign to further increase
public awareness about the
prevention of the fatal viral
disease.
Duque said the areas
reporting an increase in dengue
cases include Sipalay in Negros
Occidental with reported 90
cases and Talisay, Batangas
with 54 cases and three deaths,
Mandaue City; Minglanila in
Cebu and Hinobaan, Negros
Occidental.
These areas have increased
risk of a bigger outbreak,
Duque said.
Cebu
A five-minute fire at the Ayala
Center Cebu destroyed P5.5
million worth of stocks of two
tenants, Olympic Village and
Audionet, located on the second
level.
Investigator Felix Romero said
the fire started at 3.42 am at
the sports gear outlet Olympic
Village and spread to the store
beside it, , a cellular phone
distributor.
ENVOYS DIVE
Department of Tourism Assistant Secretary Cynthia Carrion and dive instructor Alfie Diola brief participants in the Diplomats’ Dive held at the
Bahura Resorts and Spa and Apo Island Diving Site in Dumaguete. The dive was sponsored by the DOT and Philippines Commission on Sports
Scuba Diving. Some of the participants shown in photo are Ambassadors Gerard Chennel of France, Adnan Basaga of Turkey, Ryuichiro Yamasaki
of Japan, Cosetta Cassin Fedele, wife of the Italian ambassador and Kayo Mar Noble, country resident of the United Nations Development Program.
13 party-list
poll winners
proclaimed,
some deferred
Thirteen party-list groups were partially proclaimed winners for sectoral
representatives in the May
elections.
The Constitution provides that 20
percent of congressional seats shall be
for sectoral representatives. For the
14th Congress, 55 seats are allotted.
Partially proclaimed were Buhay,
Bayan Muna, Cibac, Gabriela, Apec,
A Teacher, Akbayan, Alagad, Butil,
Coop-Nattco, Anak-Pawis, Arc and
Abono.
The national board of canvassers
said the proclamation is without prejudice to runners-up who may have obtained at least 2 per cent of votes cast
for sectoral representatives but have
pending disqualification disputes.
E-Batas is among the winners
whose proclamation was deferred
over disqualification issues.
Comelec tries internet voting again
– this time to prove critics wrong
After pulling the plug on the idea at
the height of preparations for the last
election, Comelec is turning internet
voting on again.
It’s scheduled for pilot testing from
July 20 to August 8 in Singapore.
Comelec is describing it as a
“major step forward” towards the
full modernization of Philippine
elections.
Comelec chose Singapore because
the highly wired city-state hosts over
15,000 registered Filipino overseas
absentee voters, said Comelec
commissioner Florentino Tuason Jr,
who heads OAV.
Through the remote electronic
system, voters can cast their ballots
from their homes, workplaces, cyber
cafes and voting stations to be set
up inside the Philippine embassy in
Singapore, Tuason said.
The testing aims to evaluate the
advantages, usability, security and
reliability of internet voting, which
Comelec looks forward to adopting
beginning with the 2010 presidential
election.
All absentee voters registered in
Singapore, even if they are elsewhere
during the testing period, have been
asked to participate in the test, which
opens at 8 am on July 20 and ends at
3 pm on August 8.
“This is a rare opportunity for
Filipinos in Singapore to make
history by being the first to tread the
path of modernised elections,” he
said.
Internet voting in Singapore was
first set up just before the May 14
elections but was cancelled due to
objections as to its reliability.
There were fears of the system
being hacked, tainting the election
process.
The dismal turnout in only the
second time that absentee voting was
held, has alarmed OAV proponents
and led to calls for its scrapping by
certain politicians.
Tuason defended the scheme and
said it could be made to work and
become successful by introducing
high technology into the process.
He said the future of OAV now lies
in internet voting.
Tuason believes the internet offers
a brighter future for the OAV since
online voting can lure more overseas
Filipinos to the election process with
its decided edge in terms of accessibility over the current systems in
place – precinct balloting and voting
by mail.
No one was reported injured,
but a policeman who responded
to the fire, Romero Birao Sr,
suffered an injured hand.
Romero said that when they
arrived at the establishment,
it was dark and firefighters
were not able to go inside
immediately.
Ismael Codilla, Cebu City fire
marshal, said they were still
investigating the cause of the
fire.
The mall opened for business
a few hours later.
Pangasinan
A woman illegal labor recruiter
who allegedly swindled 18
people for non-existent jobs
abroad was arrested by the
police.
Arrested by the police led
by Supt Rhode Espero, chief
of police, on the complaint
of concerned citizens, was
Julieta Victoria, 39, of Project 3,
Quezon City.
She was caught in the act of
recruiting prospective overseas
workers in barangay Zone IV.
Police said the suspect
collected P7,500 from each of
the 21 applicants, who she was
recruiting to work abroad.
However, she had no
licence nor permit to recruit
from the Philippine Overseas
Employment Office, police said.
Among her alleged victims
were Khoury Ang, Roberto
Sebastian, Bryan Bungar, Mary
Jane Bungar, Joanna Marie
Metro, Antonio Ferrer Jr and
Darwin Mata.
news
filipino globe
Education gets
P29b boost to
lift quality
of graduates
Government also launches internet
initiative for public schools nationwide
The government is raising the budget
for education to P29 billion to ensure
that students in public schools become competitive in the workforce
after graduation.
The Technical Education Skills Development Authority (Tesda) will receive an additional P3 million on top
of a P1 billion budget for its training
and scholarship program.
President Arroyo said the government will give top priority to education from pre-school, elementary,
high school, vocational-technical,
college, master’s degree and doctorate degree, stressing that engineering
is vital in development of the nation
in the 21st century,
The government is also promoting
ladderized education to enable graduates to find work when they get their
diplomas.
Various government agencies have
allocated more than P4 billion for
education loans.
These include the Government Service Insurance System and the Land
Bank of the Philippines.
The government has implemented
the National Career Examinations
since January this year to serve as career guidance for students.
Meanwhile, the Department of Education is aiming to reach wider scope
of public school students through its
recently launched Cyber Education
Project.
“Cyber Ed is the best response to
the challenges of basic education,”
Education Secretary Lapus (above)
said.
“It is the quickest and most costeffective way of delivering the same
quality education to all learners
throughout the country.”
Cyber Ed is a satellite-based distance education program which provides real-time interactivity to public
schools.
The project will link all DepEd administrative units in the country, including the central office, 17 regional
offices, 187 division offices and
37,792 public schools.
It will also provide 12 video channels, wireless wide-area networking,
local area networking and wireless
internet to even the
remotest area of the
country.
“Cyber Ed is a solution package that will
provide educational
content and administrative communication requirements,”
Lapus said.
“At the same time, it provides
unprecedented connectivity for all
DepEd administrative units.”
Through Cyber Ed, the government
sees an improvement in the quality
and efficiency of management information systems.
Data and reports will be received at
a faster rate, monitoring can be done
even without leaving the office, and
issues can be addressed almost immediately.
The department also anticipates
the enhancement of school-based
management and internal controls in
the department. The interconnectivity will open new doors not just for
teaching and training but also for the
general management of schools.
Palace backs regional push
Malacañang has thrown its
support behind a plan to make the
Philippines a hub for education in
the region.
The initiative the Commission on
Higher Education aims to position
the Philippines as an alternative
destination for students in the
region.
Press Secretary and presidential
spokesman Ignacio Bunye said if the
education tourism strategy catches
on, “we have CHED chair Lito Puno
to thank.”
Puno said the program would
initially target students from China,
Russia and Korea. This would
complement the government’s
tourist promotion efforts, he added.
Manila is an “attractive
alternative” destination for Korean
students because of three main
factors – the short distance between
Seoul and Manila, the affordability
of Philippine education, and the
Filipinos’ fluency in English.
Already, an estimated 100,000
South Korean students are enrolled
in various private and state-run
colleges and universities in the
country.
The government and China’s
Ministry of Education recently
signed an agreement allowing
Chinese students who could not
be accommodated in China’s
universities to study in the
Philippines.
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July 2007
15
16
news
filipino globe
July 2007
TNTs can only dream on again
As the hopes of
many Filipinos in
the US fade, their
compatriots press
on with the fight
Filipino groups have
vowed to join mass
protests to force
the US to revive the
immigration bill.
Laura G Perez in Sacramento
T
he Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill recently defeated in the US Senate was
doomed from the start.
There was no way the American
public would make things easy for
12 million illegal immigrants seen as
stealing their jobs.
What does this mean for Filipinos
staying illegally in the US?
The National Alliance for Filipino
Concerns (Nafcon), the national network of Filipino organizations in the
United States, said the Senate proposal would drive the approximately
one million undocumented Filipino
immigrants underground because it
would be nearly impossible for them
to obtain greencards.
The greencard is the key to living
the American dream. To illegals, it
is greencard or nothing. And so they
get nothing. As the illegals are driven
back to the shadows (the Filipinos to
care homes, the Latinos to agricultural
plantations) American politicians prepare a new game that will court voters
in next year’s election.
Under the proposed measure, those
who have been in the US since January 1, 2007 can obtain a Z visa that
is good for four years and renewable
indefinitely. Filipino overstayers or
TNTs (Tago Nang Tago) will have
to pass a background check, pay the
steep fine and wait for the eight-year
backlog to clear up.
Then they leave the US to apply for
the greencard. Nobody knows when
it will get approved, perhaps after 10
years. In the meantime, they are kept
outside the United States .
It is interesting to note that illegal
immigrants seem to demand a law that
will not only legalize their stay but
ensure they get the coveted American
citizenship. A leader of a Filipino organization said that immigrants come
here because the US economic policy
has made poor countries poorer.
And after all, the Philippines was
once a US colony, right? A Mexican
columnist, on the other hand, said that
America desperately needs cheap labor which Latinos can well provide.
And wasn’t California a part of Mexico before?
It is not so much the lack of job opportunities in their home country that
drive them to America as the mindblowing dollar to a peso exchange
rate. They ask: why would a dollar
Davao
The problem concerning rude,
abusive and reckless taxi
drivers came up anew as mayor
Rodrigo Duterte responded to
public complaints, prompting
him to come up with another
list of people who gives him
constant headache.
Saying he has received
complaints about taxi drivers
who have allegedly duped,
and harassed passengers or
even caused death, the feisty
mayor identified them as
Rolando “Ungo” Reponte, Loloy
Orquillas/Lutgardo Orquillas,
Sol Cuaresma, Tomas Tagbar,
Rex Tagbar alias Balanghoy
and alias Ryan.
Duterte said the taxi drivers
have forced their passengers to
disembark when they refused to
settle for a fixed rate instead of
a metered travel, or who have
victimized their passengers with
rigged taxi meters.
Cebu
buy so much more than a peso when
workers in both countries devote the
same time and energy to the required
task?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the May 2007 unemployment
rate at 4.5 percent, with over 7 million unemployed workers in 2006.
Already, the locals are fuming over
newcomers who run into all kinds of
road accidents with their phony driver’s license.
Americans resent the illegals in
public hospital’s emergency rooms
because the supposedly rightful heirs
of the nation’s resources themselves
are not getting enough healthcare and
welfare benefits.
Senators could only introduce
amendments to the bill that would
appear humane, if not fair. President
Bush, hounded by the spectre of Iraq,
endorsed the legislation thinking it
could win him a place in history, but
even his fellow Republicans dashed
his hopes.
Conservatives from his own party
believed the government must secure
the borders before giving aliens legal
status.
As dust settles, there seems to be
no resolution in sight, and we are left
only with losers.
Mexican undocumented workers,
the most likely to benefit from the
bill, were largely unmoved by the
bill’s demise. To them, paying a steep
fine of five thousand as well as back
taxes was unacceptable.
Being required to go home after
four years was viewed suspiciously.
They believed that it was the US government’s way of having it both ways
BY THE NUMBERS
1,000,000
Estimated number of Filipino illegals in the
US, also known as Tago ng Tago (TNT)
How the Naturalization
Act of 1790 has evolved
1882 The Chinese Exclusion
Act prohibited the immigration
certain laborers
1907 The US immigration Act
of 1907 reorganised the states
bordering Mexico to stem the
flow of immigrants
1917-1924 A series of laws
established the quota
system and imposed passport
requirements to further
limit the number of new
immigrants
in the long run – getting rid of them
and bleeding them dry of their hard
earned money from agricultural plantations and construction work.
Critics said that far from being an
amnesty bill, it was an attempt to create a “permanent indentured servant
class with no real hope for upward
mobility.”
A few months ago, thousands of minority groups rallied against a provision in the bill that would make it a
crime for illegal immigrants to stay in
the US.
The Filipino community was no
less skeptical. Many advocacy groups
and labor unions called the bill anti-
family because it would cut preference categories for adult children
and siblings of US citizens and limit
petitions for parents of US citizens.
Brothers and sisters of American citizens have languished in line for more
than 20 years.
However, the National Federation
on Filipino American Associations
(NaFFAA) said the bill would have
benefited the children of Filipino war
veterans. Members said they would
probably join demonstrations to revive the immigration bill.
In the meantime, the Homeland
Security promises more raids and deportations while cities vow to restrict
housing, jobs, education and mobility
(through a driver’s license) by requiring the magic number that can open
all doors – the Social Security number.
Businesses that cater to the growing Mexican population think the US
is not living up to its tradition of equal
opportunities for all. Software giants
like Oracle Corporation have threatened to move more high-tech jobs out
of the US if they could not get more
migrant labor.
The local residents had the last
laugh. They see the construction of
the 2,000-mile security fence along
the US-Mexico border as the “Great
Wall of Mexico” which they think will
not stem the flow of around 400,000
illegals a year despite ground-based
radar and camera towers.
In a strange twist of events, some
1.5-mile fence was recently found to
have been built on Mexican soil. Embarrassed border officials said that it
would take US$3 million to fix it.
Here’s another look at the fabled American Dream
The American dream is essentially
the freedom of each individual to
rise as far as his abilities take him.
It’s a beacon, and also a mirage,
because of its state-imposed
hurdles.
The goal is to become a US
citizen in one way or another.
In1996 the United States
conferred honorary citizenship
on Mother Theresa (right, whose
real name was Agnes Gonxha
ANGBANSA
Bojaxhiu) for
providing comfort
to the world’s
neediest.
These include
people in the
US, where the
Missionaries of Charity runs soup
kitchens, emergency shelters
for abused women and unwed
mothers, shelters for men,
after-school and summer camp
programs for children, homes for
the dying and hospitals.
If you’re curious, there were five
other foreigners of exceptional
merit who were declared honorary
US citizens: Winston Churchill
(British Prime Minister,1963), Raoul
Wallenberg (Swedish diplomat and
Holocaust hero, 1981), William
Penn (governor of the American
colony of Pennsylvania, 1984)
and his wife Hannah Callowhill
Penn, and Marquis de la Fayette
(French supporter of the American
Revolution, 2002).
The US has granted asylum to
thousands of political refugees
aside from opening its arms
to overachievers in science,
technology, sports, and the arts.
It has the prerogative to limit the
number of immigrants and set the
standards for those it will allow to
stay.
The Department of Agriculture
has pledged to help boost the
productivity of the country’s half
a million seaweed farmers.
Undersecretary Jesus
Emmanuel Paras said some
of the national government’s
fisheries programs next year will
include the investment of P700
million for post harvest facilities
and the establishment of five to
seven more mari-culture parks
in the country.
”And the seaweeds will help
enhance the whole mari-culture
parks,” he added.
In a press conference
during the National Seaweed
Summit in Cebu City, Malcolm
Sarmiento Jr, director of the
Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic
Resources, said post-harvest
facilities like semi-processing,
cold storage and drying plants
would increase the seaweed
farmers’ productivity.
Zamboanga
The Bureau of Fire Protection
has organized a Special
Rescue Unit, the first of its kind
in Mindanao, that has capability
to rescue people in high rise
building in time of conflagration.
City Fire Marshal major Jaime
Ramirez said that 40 personnel
who are undergoing training
would comprise the special
rescue unit.
Ramirez said the 20-day
basic rescue technique course
is being conducted at the
Philippine Public Safety College
in Barangay Pasonanca.
Ramirez said the training
started on July 4 and will end
on July 24.
The trainees, including
firewomen, have showed their
capability to rescue people from
a five-storey building.
He said there is a need for the
unit because of the presence
of several high-rise building in
this city.
filipino globe
July 2007
17
18
news
filipino globe
July 2007
NCLEX pass enough to gain entry into Michigan workforce
The US state of Michigan has
eased entry rules for nurses, giving
potential Filipino applicants a boost.
A new law, signed by Michigan
governor Jennifer Ganholm, would
no longer require Filipino and other
foreign nursing graduates who
wish to work in the state to take the
Commission on Graduates of Foreign
Nursing Schools (CGFNS) once
they passed the National Council
Licensing Exam (NCLEX).
This development was relayed to
the Department of Foreign Affairs
office in Manila by Consul General
Blesila Cabrera of the Philippine
consulate general in Chicago.
“The new law on nursing in the
state of Michigan is welcome news
to thousands of Filipino nursing
graduates in the Philippines who
wish to apply for work as registered
professional nurses in the United
States,” she said.
“It has made it easier for foreign
graduates of nursing, including the
Filipino nurses, to apply and take the
licensure exams for nursing in the
state of Michigan without taking the
usually required CGFNS qualifying
examination.”
She said the new law was the
result of the efforts of the Philippine
Nurses Association of Michigan.
“The success of the PNAM in
having the bill signed into law
indicates the growing empowerment
of Filipino-Americans in the
American Midwest, especially on
Doing well in UK, but then ...
A story of anxiety and family separation highlights exodus of Filipino nurses
M
ichael Duque is a nurse in
the accident and emergency
department at a London
hospital. Six years ago, he left his
home in the Philippines to seek his
fortune abroad.
As a nurse in Britain he earns about
£24,000 (US$47,000) a year; doing a
similar job in one of the top hospitals
in Manila, the Philippines capital,
he would be earning just £1,800
(US$3,500).
But there’s a substantial cost
involved as well, for Philippine
society and for the individuals
involved.
The personal cost lies in longdistance family separation,
something familiar to generations of
Filipinos.
Every month Michael (below)
sends up to £600 home to his family:
wife Glenda (below), daughter Ella,
aged 7, and son CG, aged 4. They
live well on it, in a house in Manila’s
suburbs.
Glenda, who trained as a nurse
herself, is now a full-time mother.
And Michael, like many exiled
Filipinos, is paying not only to
support his family but to educate the
next generation of overseas workers:
Ella goes to a local private school.
But Michael has worked abroad
ever since his daughter was born,
originally in the Gulf and for the past
four years in Britain
He keeps in touch by phone and
e-mail and via the videophone on the
computer and he gets home perhaps
once a year to see the children.
But he misses his kids growing up
and he misses being a father to them,
he said. His absence puts a strain on
his relationship with his wife as well:
“It makes her crazy and stressed; she
gets jealous,” he said. The children
miss their father too. “Sometimes
they say: ‘I want my Dad,” Glenda
said. “Especially her, because she is
the favourite of her father.”
An increasing number
of Filipino health
workers are employed
in UK hospitals amid a
shortage of personnel.
The Duques’ story is a familiar
one. Everywhere you go in Manila
you meet people with relatives
abroad – hardly surprising when 10
per cent of the population count as
OFWs.
But this haemorrhage of talent is
bleeding the Philippines dry of badly
needed skills.
Dr Delen dela Paz, a community
health physician attached to one of
Manila’s top hospitals, claims that
11 government hospitals and about
1,000 private clinics have closed
in the past few years thanks to the
shortage of nurses and doctors.
It’s a challenge for the Philippine
government, which gives every
appearance of encouraging overseas
workers. Special courses are laid
on for those hoping to work abroad
and they enjoy fast-track status at
airports.
Labor Secretary Arturo Brion
denies there is a shortage of nurses
–although he concedes that many of
the more experienced have left.
It’s a problem the government is
trying to address. How?
Through incentives, he says, before
adding that it would be premature to
discuss the details.
The country, once among SouthEast Asia’s richest, missed out on the
economic boom enjoyed by regional
neighbours like South Korea,
Malaysia and Taiwan, not to mention
China. While they have attracted
inward investment on the strength
partly of their low labour costs, the
Philippines has failed to develop
enough attractive, well-paid jobs at
home and has ended up exporting its
cheap labour to other countries.
Enterprising Filipinos will continue
to seek work abroad – even lowstatus work in domestic service or as
carers – for as long as that remains
the case.
issues affecting the interests of the
Filipino-American community,” she
said.
House Bill 4207 was signed into
law last month.
PNAM president Ellen Dioso,
witnessed the signing, along with
task force chairperson Remedios
Solarte, and Representative Y. Hoon
Hopgood.
Rep Hopgood introduced the Bill
in the Michigan State House of
Representatives (left).
Britain renews
warning after
RP arrest of
scam artists
Britain has warned the public
against cunning individuals who
promise approval of their British visa
application for a fee.
This follows the arrest of eight
suspects in separate operations over
the past two weeks.
“We have not authorised, or ever
will authorise, anyone to collect fees
from applicants outside of the regular
process,” British Charge d’ Affaires
Colin Crorkin said in a statement.
He said guidelines on
visa application process and
corresponding fees are readily
available at their website.
Oya Arriola, spokesperson for the
British embassy in the Philippines,
said the first entrapment operation
took place last June 22, when three
poeple posing as embassy employees
were arrested after a would-be victim
approached the embassy and checked
for the requirements.
She said the tipster approached the
embassy and asked if 200 pounds
(about P20,000) was indeed needed
for the visa; the subsequent sting
operation resulted in the arrest of the
three.
Arriola said the second operation
occurred on June 27, where the
British embassy and the NBI
Interpol Division arrested five people
applying for British visas using false
information or forged documents.
In both cases, she said the NBI
will follow due legal process in the
disposition of the cases.
“We hope that this exercise
demonstrates to those who would
attempt to use forged documents
to obtain UK visas that the United
Kingdom has zero tolerance for
fraud,” she said.
“We want to stress our commitment
to preventing entry into the UK of
those who would do so on fraudulent
grounds.”
Ex-Guam workers receive P2.4m back wages
Twenty-five overseas Filipino workers who had worked in Guam received more than P2.4 million in back
wages after the US labor office established that the OFWs’ employer failed
to pay them full wages for overtime
work.
Labor Secretary Arturo D Brion
(right) said Saipan-based Labor
Attache Lourdes Lavilla received
25 checks totaling US$ 53,123.87
(P2.4 million) from senior investiga-
tor Richard Hamilton of the
United States Department of
Labor’s Wage and Hour Division office in Saipan.
Brion said the amount represented the back wages of 25
OFWs who were employed by
Bascon Corp and Orion Construction
Corp in Guam.
He said the American labor personnel in Guam conducted investigations
and found that Bascon and Orion
failed to fully pay the OFWs
for their overtime work.
Brion expressed appreciation for the US investigations
that resulted in the payments,
saying it is a very encouraging indication of the kind
of support a host country gives to
OFWs.
Hawaii-based US assistant district
director Terrence J Trotter has requested the assistance of the Philip-
pine Overseas Labor Office in the US
and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration for the distribution of the back wages.
Brion said the US labor office in
Hawaii has been working with the
POEA on similar undertakings and
also would like to course the distribution of the OFWs’ back wages through
the agency.
The checks are scheduled to reach
the POEA by third week of July.
London ... no place for visa scam.
filipino globe
July 2007
19
20
news
filipino globe
July 2007
Saudi boosts hiring of nurses
editorial, community & features
filipino globe
Saudi employers are warming to the
new policy on household service
workers, snapping up the salary cap
of US$400 and driving demand for
Filipino workers in the kingdom.
This as Labor Attache Rustico dela
Fuente of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Riyadh expressed confidence Filipinos will always be preferred in the highly competitive labor
export market because of their skills
and attitude.
He said there is a continuing demand for nurses from both government and private hospitals and that
BY THE NUMBERS
5,000
Nursing vacancies to be filled in Saudi
government and public hospitals
collective job orders go straight to
the POEA. He was speaking in reaction to a Manila newspaper report
that at least 5,000 jobs await Filipino
nurses.
The POEA and the Saudi Ministry
of Health have launched a nationwide
search for nurses who will fill about
5,000 vacancies in the Kingdom.
Also, Dela Fuente denied there was
a move from Philippine recruiters to
recommend a ban on hiring of Filipinos for jobs in the Middle East.
He said they have not seen any indication, notice, or complaints from
stakeholders about such a move.
“It was just an unverified news item.
There was no decision to adopt such a
recommendation,” he said.
“Many employers come directly to
POLO for processing of documents.
From a setback in the earlier months
the demand is now increasing though
not as high compared to the past years
when the supermaid policy was not
yet in place,” Dela Fuente told Filipino Globe in a phone interview from
Riyadh.
“The supermaid policy is gaining
momentum. There is initial resistance, but employers open up once
they realise the merits of the policy,”
he said.
The measure, implemented early
this year, is meant not only for the
sake of Filipinos deployed overseas
but for employers as well, according to Dela Fuente. “With the supermaid policy employers will enjoy the
services of highly qualified Filipino
Household Service Workers.”
OFWs flood
into Bharain,
Qatar amid
jobs boom
Despite the wage issue that has put
their government and Gulf countries
recruiters on a war path, more and
more Filipinos are taking jobs in
Bahrain and Qatar in various sectors
that continue to absorb expatriate
workforce.
Philippine Ambassador Eduardo
Pablo Maglaya said hundreds of
Filipino medical workers would
be arriving in Bahrain in the next
six months to fill vacancies in the
expanding medical services sector.
Recruits are also expected to fill in
expected vacancies in the expanding
hotels, tourism and retail sectors.
Maglaya would not specify the
number but said: “There could be
hundreds of medical workers coming
in within the next six months.”
Bahrain and the Philippines
recently signed a memorandum
of understanding in the health and
medical field.
The programme involves sharing
of expertise through training.
Manila will add manpower to
areas in the local health sector that
could not be filled in by the local
manpower.
An estimated 4,000 Filipinos are
working in the medical sector. The
increasing demand for Filipino
professionals has been felt in the
other GCC countries.
In Qatar, Filipino workers
are being tapped to work in the
hospitality, oil and gas sectors. About
2,500 Filipinos have taken up jobs in
Doha in the past three months.
An explosion in demand in Bahrain’s service sector is attracting thousands of OFWs into the Gulf country.
Three Filipinos die as car overturns on Jeddah highway
Three Filipino workers were killed in
a vehicular accident along King Road
in Jeddah early yesterday, an official
said.
Welfare Officer Abdurajik Samain
of the Philippine consulate general
identified the fatalities as Robert
Bautista, Angel Nixon Sy, and Amiel
Bantasan, all employed by the Saudi
Airconditioning and Manufacturing
Company.
Samain said the bodies were
brought to the King Abdulaziz Hospital morgue.
A fourth victim identified as Dondon Alcantara was under treatment at
Baksh Hospital in Al Mina district,
said Samain.
He said two others were discharged
after being treated for minor injuries.
A community member who talked
with one of the survivors said the victims were on board an Isuzu Camper
Shell on their way to Jeddah proper
from a night out in Obhur beach when
the accident happened between 6 and
7 am.
He said there were eight people in
the car. The driver, who was unhurt,
was reportedly taken by the police for
questioning.
“I was told that the vehicle overturned and rolled just before a roundabout on King Road after hitting a
road shoulder,” said the source, who
asked not to be named.
He said three of the car’s passengers
were thrown out of the car.
“These were the three who died,” he
added.
On May 24 last year, a Filipino civil
engineer, who had just returned to the
kingdom from an emergency leave,
was also killed in a road accident in
Jeddah.
Diosdado Bautista Santiago was
driving the car when the accident occurred.
July 2007
21
It’s sad to imagine that
workers should be paid
according to nationality
Employers warm to US$400 salary as demand for OFWs in kingdom grows
Chito Manuel in Jeddah
focus
L
DFA confirms
Pinoy killed
in latest Iraq
mortar attack
A Filipino worker was confirmed
killed along with three foreigners
in an air strike on the Greenzone
compound in Baghdad, the
Department of Foreign Affairs said.
DFA Spokesman Claro Cristobal
identified the victim as Cirilo
Borgonia, 33, from Cebu City as one
of three fatalities of the mortar attack
in Baghdad’s Greenzone on the
evening of July 10.
“The remains is now in Kuwait and
is scheduled for repatriation on July
16,” Cristobal said in a text message.
He said that Philippine Ambassador
to Kuwait Ricardo Endaya warned
that the deployment ban to Iraq is
still in force and strongly suggests
enhancing the campaign against
crossing over to the boundaries of the
war-torn country.
“Secretary [Alberto] Romulo
(left) had instructed Philippine
ambassadors to
countries neighboring
Iraq to intensify
cooperation with their
host governments
to enforce the ban,”
Cristobal said.
Reports indicated that a huge
mortar and rocket were released in
Greenzone compound killing three
people.
The Greenzone compound houses
the base of the Iraqi government as
well as the British and the American
embassies.
Since the war broke out in 2003,
the Philippine government has
banned the entry of Filipino workers
to Iraq.
However, the DFA has discovered
that a number of Filipinos apparently
came from Kuwait, have been
working inside American and Iraqi
camps.
Iraq has two entry points – the Iraqi
immigration authorities are guarding
one while the American forces are
controlling the other one.
However, Filipino workers usually
based in neighboring countries
around Iraq are tempted to risk
their lives in exchange for high
compensation reaching US$10,000
a month.
The DFA renewed its appeal
to Filipino workers to follow the
legitimate process so the government
could easily trace their whereabouts
in the war-torn countries, not only
in Iraq.
“Let us go to normal process so
that we can protect you,” said DFA
Undersecretary for Migrant Workers
Esteban Conejos.
The economy should be able to create enough jobs so that migration would become a matter of choice, not necessity.
You could be home again – soon
S
urfing through the television
channels one evening, I came
across Edith Burgos. There
she was, accusing the military for
the disappearance of her son Jonas
and pleading for his safe return. Her
usually handsome face was wracked
with a mother’s pain.
Edith is the widow of Jose Burgos
Jr, the internationally awarded press
freedom fighter who dared the might
of the Marcos dictatorship at the risk
of life and limb. His unwavering
commitment and singular devotion to
the cause was manifested in a brief
response to a query on Pahayagang
Malaya’s sacred cows: “Nobody,
except Papa. You may even hit me if
you wish.”
A publisher’s publisher to the core.
Those words defined the template
that would guide the men and women
who worked for the publication
during those hazardous years.
I believe most of the staff
intuitively knew that they were
undergoing a transcendental
experience in the annals of the
journalism profession.
Somehow, they felt that Malaya
would someday provide an authentic
and vital resource and a reliable
handmaiden for the future recorders
of Philippine history circa the
Marcos era.
Unless, of course, the disciplines
in the writing of history are distorted
PRESSBOX
comment
FT
Ocampo
by its ultra nationalistic practitioners
under the spell of their delusions,
in which case, they might as well
worship at the altar of the Roman
poet and his condescending rhetoric:
What is history, but the glorification
of Rome.
But I could be digressing.
I think Joe, wherever he is now,
would have wanted Edith to be
strong during this personal crisis
that now overshadows the promised
serenity of her sunset years.
But I am fully convinced she got
the message. Somewhere in the
wellsprings of her inner faith, she
found the grace to forgive.
T
he age of migration is upon us,
according to a New York Times
report.
And it does not discriminate
between rich and poor countries.
Last year, 3,200 British nurses flew
to Australia to work in that continent,
while over 165,000 Malaysians
cross the Johore bridge monthly
for jobs in Singapore. There are but
two instances in migration history
that had begun to ring alarm bells in
some parts of the globe.
Overall, the Times report placed
at 200 million the number of
migrant workers worldwide. Their
remittances power the economic
upsurge in their respective countries
against the social costs involved in
sundered families.
Incidentally, President Arroyo
voiced a yearning for Overseas
Filipino Workers to come home
during the World Economic Forum
for East Asia held in Singapore last
month. “We long for a time when
working abroad will be an option
rather than a necessity,” she said.
Although most OFWs work as
domestic helpers in the city-state,
a good number are also employed
in the service-sector establishments
and a handful are executives in
multinational corporations and
banks. Last year, Filipinos working
in more than 100 countries remitted a
total of US$12.8 billion, according to
the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
But with the continuing internal
economic growth, Mrs Arroyo is
confident the time is not far off
when a majority of Filipinos could
find gainful occupations in the
home country. We like to hope her
confidence is well-placed.
ately, Hong Kong newspapers
have featured reports on the
growing gap between the
territory’s haves and have-nots.
This fact is being cited these days,
particularly regarding China, which
has taken the late Deng Xiao-ping’s
dictum, “to be rich is glorious”, to
heart as it charges ahead in its pursuit
of wealth and power.
In prosperous Hong Kong, which
styles itself as “Asia’s World City”,
it seems quite acceptable for about a
quarter of the population to live it up
in great luxury, while about half of
the citizens, known as the “sandwich
class”, lives fairly well, compared
with other middle-class folks around
Asia.
And it’s generally seen as a normal
fact of life that the lower percentile,
composed of the “worker ants”, who
do the dirty menial jobs, remains at
the bottom of the pile, struggling
to survive amidst the burgeoning
wealth.
In this latter group are the garbage
collectors, street sweepers, road
workers, public toilet cleaners and,
of course, the domestic helpers
– a large majority of whom have
traditionally been Filipino women.
The fact that pockets of poverty
exist in Hong Kong brings to mind
the biblical saying that “the poor will
always be with us”.
There may be some irony in the
fact that Filipinos, the first to flood
into the territory to toil as domestics,
have produced a proliferation of
some Christian religions, and also
a few cults purporting to provide
solace to the territory’s underclass.
Most are connected to genuine
churches, but some are outright
commercial ventures preying on
credulous probinsyanos.
It brings to mind writer Julian
Barnes’ statement that “(Many)
humans have an existence in which
the consolations of religion come to
make up for the desolations of life”
– which certainly rings true in an
affluent enclave which displays little
charity towards its menial class.
Deng had prefaced his maxim
about the glory of wealth with
the statement that “poverty is not
socialism”.
Indeed, capitalist Hong Kong has
never considered practising socialism
in any form.
This is surely the result of the
colonial legacy of the British, who
themselves derive from a classridden society and who planted the
seeds of capitalism into the fertile
soil of Chinese feudalism.
Those seeds didn’t flourish at first
in the hard ground of communism,
but they have lately been sprouting in
large swathes on the mainland, where
high-flying tycoons are revelling in
capitalist ventures, and find the need
for servants (or slaves – the term is
interchangeable).
When I sent a letter to the South
China Morning Post pointing to the
injustice foisted on Hong Kong’s
foreign domestic workers whose
PINOYDIMSUM
observations
Isabel T
Escoda
wages were slashed during the
financial crisis in 2003 and not fully
restored now that the territory’s
economy is booming, a local resident
penned a blatantly racist rebuttal.
Declaring that civil servants like
himself have received only small
pay rises from the government, he
claimed that domestic helpers get a
good deal, coming as they do from
impoverished circumstances.
Because these migrant workers
from poor countries earn low wages
at home, he said the current low
salary for them is justified because
it allows them to build houses after
only a few years’ toil abroad.
His reasoning was that their wages
should be based, not on the type of
labor done, but on the cost of living
in their countries of origin.
“
The fact that
pockets of
poverty exist
in Hong Kong
brings to mind
the biblical
saying that ‘the
poor will always
be with us’
That sort of skewed thinking in
this day and age (paying people
based on their nationality, not their
labor) is totally offensive, as is
the widespread discrimination and
racism too often practised against
migrant workers.
In the New Territories town where
I live, well-off locals often have
servants, some of whom are worked
like horses.
Pedicabs to cart people around are
pedalled by these Southeast Asian
girls as in old coolie days in the
colony.
It’s an outrageously feudal practice,
blithely tolerated by the community.
Will too many Filipinos,
Indonesians, Sri Lankans, Nepalis,
etc remain in Asia’s underclass?
Will their countries of origin
mainly be known for what’s called a
“service economy?”
Sadly, in this the 21st century, the
wealth gap looks like a permanent
feature.
22
forum
filipino globe
TINGINNAMIN
July 2007
Bigo sa Brunei: pait ng
kuwento ng taxi driver
A
All we need is a kind word or two
Insensitive remarks directed at
certain people are either just
that – insensitive – or downright
discriminatory.
But in a society that prides itself
on rule of law and claims to be more
enlightened than most, Hong Kong
has some way to go before it can
effectively tackle discrimination.
That the government is trying to
address the issue is a good start, but
in the end, it is people that determine
whether a society is fair, just and
sensitive to others.
Scratch the surface and you’re
likely to find people embarrassed
by their own kind because of their
prejudices.
These are the people on whom
hopes for harmony rest because
they have taken the first step in
confronting the ogre – by being
ashamed of themselves.
Yet, many others will ignore the
moral burden of a biased society and
leave it to others to bear.
These are the people on whom the
seeds of disharmony will grow.
Whether we are one or the other
is not only a matter of choice. It is
a matter of morals. We have been
raised to respect our parents and
elders, to be kind to animals, to
protect nature.
Surely, we can spare a kind word to
the next person, or at least say or do
nothing out of prejudice.
There is always enough goodwill
to go around, and it takes very little
to spread it.
You know what we are talking
about.
SULATLETTERS
Malaking tulong ang paglalabas
ninyo ng pahinang LingkodBayan.
Sa wakas, madaling mahanap
na ang kasagutan sa ilang
simpleng bagay na di sana’y
kailangan pang tumawag o
magsadya sa Konsulado para
makuha.
Napansin ko po na nakasaad
doon ang mga bayarin sa
Konsulado at ang hulog sa SSS.
Meron po ba kayong balak na
maglabas naman ng “table” ukol
sa Pag-IBIG?
Ronel Trino
Discovery Bay
I was in NAIA on my way back
to Hong Kong when a group of
Filipinos were escorted out of the
immigration area for questioning.
Later, I learned that there had
been a crackdown on would-be
OFWs posing as tourists.
I assumed some of those I saw
in NAIA were bound for Hong
Kong. Reports said most were
bound for Dubai and Singapore.
I wonder if the Bureau of
Immigration is doing this for real.
Not too long ago, their own
agents were implicated in a
scam involving the smuggling of
illegal workers.
Name and address supplied
Tila hindi tayo makapaghintay
na mahusgahan nang maayos si
dating pangulong Estrada.
Maging ang Malakanyang
ay nakilahok na rin sa mga
haka-haka tungkol sa magiging
sentensya sa kanya.
May mga naglabas pa ng mga
anunsyo sa diyaryo na tila baga
kinukondisyon ang tao sa “guilty
verdict”.
Ito ang masasabi ko:
Ipaubaya natin sa hustisya ang
kahihinatnan ng paglilitis at
pagsentensya kay Erap.
Salome Buena
Makati
Kahit hindi tayo sang-ayon sa
kakapirasong dagdag sa ating
suweldo, wala tayong magagawa
kundi maghintay na magbigay
uli ng umento ang gobyerno ng
Hong Kong.
Hindi natin makukuha ‘yan sa
pag-iingay at kung anu-anong
protesta.
Lovely Bergonia
City One
ksidenteng kuwento ang
nasagap nang sumakay
ng taxi mula Megamall
patungong Senator Gil Puyat
Avenue (dating Buendia),
bandang alas-otso ng gabi.
Katatapos magkarga ng beer sa
Dencio’s kasama ang dating kaopisina sa TLRC.
Napansin kong bata pa ang
drayber. Naitanong ko tuloy:
“Di ka ba mag-aabroad?”
Nasa unahang upuan ako’t katabi
ko lang siya. Bahagyang nangiti at
walang sigla, “Nag-abroad na po
ako sa Brunei, pero nabulilyaso,”
sagot niya.
Doon nagsimula ang kuwento
ng drayber. May sakay siya noong
isang matandang babae na nagamuki sa kanya na mag-abroad
sa Brunei. Inayos ang kanyang
mga papeles, nagbayad siya at
walo silang naaprubahan ang mga
papeles.
Apat na babae at apat na lalaki
na pawang drayber din. Mas may
pinag-aralan ang mga babae sa
kanilang mga lalaki.
Sa madaling sabi, nakarating
sila ng Brunei at kasama pa mismo
ang matandang babae. Pinatira sila
sa isang hotel at masaya naman
silang lahat. Maayos naman ang
kanilang tinitirhan pansamantala.
Pero nahiwatigan nila na hindi yata
nagkasundo ang matandang babae
at ang kausap sa Brunei. Umalis
sila sa hotel. Isinakay sa barko
patungong Sabah, Malaysia at
doon ay iniwan na sila.
May mga kababayang
Pilipino na nagpatira sa kanila
at tumulong upang makauwi sa
Pilipinas. Biyaheng Zamboanga
ang nasakyang malaking bangka
ng apat na lalaki. Nagpaiwan
ang apat na babae sa Sabah.
Makikipagsapalaran daw sila dahil
nagbenta ng kalabaw at nagsanla
ng lupa ang mga magulang.
Nahihiya silang umuwi na walang
dalang perang pambayad ng utang
ng magulang.
Pagdating ng Zamboanga ay
tumawag kaagad si Eliseo (di
tunay na pangalan), ang drayber
na nakilala ko. Nagpadala naman
ang pamilya ng perang pamasahe
pauwi. Gayundin ang isa niyang
kasamahan. Dalawang kasamahang
lalaki ang naiwan sa Zamboanga
ITAASMO
kabayan
Teo
Antonio
dahil di pa dumarating ang
pamasahe pauwi.
Maraming naniniwala na ang
ating bansa ay isang kahig, isang
tuka. Kahit tumatlong kahig ay
isang tuka lamang ang makakamit.
Sa ibang bansa, doble ang
suweldong kikitain kahit drayber
ng taxi, kaya nakakatukso ang
magtrabaho sa abroad.
Pero may suwerte at malas sa
paghahanap ng trabaho sa ibang
bansa. Hindi lahat ay nakakatagpo
ng gintong gusi sa dulo ng
bahaghari. Pero tuloy pa rin ang
maraming Pilipino na mangarap
nang mangarap at magbakasakali
upang umasenso ang buhay. Si
Eliseo, ay nagbalik, sa gusto man
niya o hindi, sa ating bansa. Mula
sa mapait na karanasan patungo
sa Brunei ay bumuong muli ng
bagong pangarap.
Napaso man sa unang
pagtatangkang magtrabaho sa
abroad, ang lupang tinubuan pa rin
ang huling sandigan ng pag-asa
laban sa pag-asa. Naisip lang niya
ang apat na babaeng kababayan na
naiwan sa Sabah. May mga pinagaralan naman, ay naglakas-loob
ding lumaban at makipagsapalaran
upang hindi umuwi na luhaan.
Dalawang mukha ito ng
pakikipagsapalaran. May
nagpaiwan upang makidigma sa
ibang bansa. May bumalik upang
sa sariling bayan ipagpatuloy ang
laban sa buhay. Isang aksidente
ang kuwentong ito na hindi
nalathala sa iba’t ibang pahayagan
sa bansa. Isang pangyayaring
laging nagyayari at di nabubunyag.
Kay Eliseo, ang taxi driver sa
Brunei at sa maraming katulad
niya na di sumusuko at patuloy na
nakikipagsapalan sa maalong dagat
ng buhay, itaas mo kabayan.
Ang pagkabigo sa paghahanap
ng trabaho sa ibang bansa ay di pa
katapusan ng mundo.
lingkod-bayan
filipino globe
CONSULAR FEES AND CHARGES
ASK OUR CONSULATE
Passport services
Q: The consulate piloted a
scheme last year in which
certain applications could be
sent by mail and the applicants
would be notified of the result
of these applications also by
mail.
Is this service still available?
If so, are there any plans to
expand it?
It would be a great help if all
applications could be handled
in this way. Also, it would
ease congestion at the service
counters and cut the long
queues.
A: The scheme that was
implemented middle of last year
in which applications for renewal
of employment contracts could
be sent by mail after paying the
processing fee at any HSBC
branch has been revised since
August 2006.
The new scheme, called
Express Processing, requires
applicants to proceed directly
to the Cashier’s Counter at the
Philippine Consulate to submit all
contract-related documents and
pay the HK$297.50 fee.
Under this scheme, applicants
are informed of any problems
with their applications within 24
hours of filing.
Contracts that are in order are
released three working days after
the filing date.
Another scheme that aims to
minimise queues and waiting
time is called File Easy.
Under File Easy, applicants
can submit their contracts to a
placement agency, which files
the applications on their behalf
with the POLO. Please visit www.
philcongen-hk.com/labor/main.
htm for more details.
New/renewal 32 pages
$425 New/renewal 64 pages
Replacement of lost passport 32 pages
Replacement of lost passport 64 pages
Issuance of travel document
Amendment of passport entries
Visa services
Single entry (3 months) $212.50
Multiple Entry (3 months) $425
Special investors resident visa
Special resident retiree’s visa
Executive EDITOR: Rex Aguado PUBLISHING CONSULTANT Philip Evardone ADVISERs Therese Necio-Ortega, Prof Dr Maurice Teo BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Ricky Sumallo
CORRespondents Eddie Alinea (Manila), Celeste Terrenal (Manila), Terrie Fucanan (Manila), Chito Manuel (Jeddah). Rick Sumallo (New Jersey), Loi Liwanag (Los Angeles)
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Bernie Domantay, AccessPoint (Philippines) Josephine Miranda (Philippines), TJ Badon-Doble (Philippines), Bob Waterfield (Hong Kong)
EDITORIAL BOARD Rex Aguado, Philip Evardone, Prof Dr Maurice Teo CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Beting Laygo Dolor, Teo Antonio, Chito Manuel, Danny Vibas, Dante Vino
Filipino Globe is published once a month by Apex Services (HK) Ltd, Suite 1905, Lippo Centre Tower 2, Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong, telephone (852) 2918 8248, email info@filglobe.com. No part of this publication
may be reproduced without the written permission of the publishers. Printed by Premier Printing Group, Yuen Long, New Terrories, Hong Kong
$510
$765
$1,190
$255
$170
Multiple Entry (6 months) $680
Multiple entry (1 year)
$1,020
$3,400
$3,400
Notarial services
Affidavit of support/consent
Acknowledgment of instruments (deeds, powers of attorney)
Authentication of documents
Jurat (sworn statements, letters)
Original Seen
Seen and noted
Contracts (authentication and verification)
Issuance of certified true copy of document
Taking of deposition
Report/registration of marriage/birth/death
Any other certification
$212.50
$212.50
$212.50
$212.50
$212.50
$212.50
$297.50
$212.50
$212.50
$212.50
$212.50
SSS CONTRIBUTION SCHEDULE
All OFW members
Salary
bracket
Q: Is an endorsement from
the Consulate required for
applying for a permit to stage a
public event?
In events in which the
Consulate is directly involved,
would it be right to say the
Consulate itself files the
application?
How about for community
groups?
A: An endorsement from the
Consulate is not necessary.
Organizations, associations and
community groups can apply for
a permit directly with the
Leisure and Cultural Services
Department. For official functions
carried out with the community’s
support, it is the Consulate itself
that applies for a permit with the
LCSD.
Permits for events organized by
the Consulate in partnership with
Hong Kong government agencies
are usually secured by
these agencies.
Send your questions to Filipino Globe,
Suite 1905, Lippo Centre Tower 2,
Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong or
send an e-mail to info@filglobe.com
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Education placement test
The Consulate General wishes to announce that the
acceptance of applications for the Philippine Educational Placement Test is still ongoing. On matters
concerning Filipino organizations and associations
in Hong Kong, all are requested to register or update their records with the Cultural Section for inclusion in the list of accredited organizations.
Finally, organizations and associations that participated in the Independence Day Celebration at
Chater Garden last 03 June are invited to contact
the Cultural Section regarding the possibility of creating permanent committees or core groups that will
assist in carrying out cultural projects for the Filipino
community.
For any inquiries on the foregoing, please contact
Cultural Officer Eric Derupe or Ms Marie Docas at
2823-8513 or 2823-8536.
Pag-IBIG slashes rates
Kung hanggang airport ka lamang, hindi ka nag-iisa. Marami ang
bigo sa pag-aabroad. Marami rin ang umaasa at nagtatagumpay.
23
July 2007
The Pag-IBIG Fund is pleased to announce the reduction in the loan rate it charges for housing loans
ranging from P300,000 to P750,000.
The rate for such loans is now seven percent (7
per cent), a significant reduction from the previous
loan rate of 10.5 per cent. According to Vice President Noli De Castro, who is also the chairman of the
Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees, the latest round
in the interest rate reduction is “aimed at the middleincome bracket earning an estimated P16,000 to
P20,000 per month, and which constitutes 23 per
cent of the labor work force, according to the National Statistics Office. This is the next logical step
to take.”
Filipinos in Hong Kong who wish to avail of PagIBIG housing loans and other services can contact
Mr Michael Azucena or Mr Raymond Francis Ramos
at 2823-8501 for more information.
New venues, times for OEC
The Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Hong Kong
wishes to inform all OFWs of its new schedule and
venues where Overseas Employment Certificates
can be secured. Please refer to the table below:
DAY
TIME
Sundays
9am-4pm Mon-Thu
9am-4pm Fri-Sat
10am-3pm PLACE
Bayanihan Centre
Tel: 2817-8928
Philippine Consulate
Tel: 6080-8323
Filipino Workers
Resource Centre
Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon
Tel: 2546-1441
Requirements for OEC application:
1) Passport with valid work visa. If you renewed the
passport containing your work visa, bring it along
with your new passport.
2) Completely filled-out OFWInformation Sheet,
which can be obtained from the abovementioned
venues.
Note:
Overseas Employment Certificates are valid for 60
days from the date of issuance.
OFWs who have changed their employers and
consequently must return to the Philippines before
starting their new contracts must obtain their OEC at
any POEA office in the Philippines.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
Compensation
range
(pesos)
4,750 – 5,249.99 5,250 – 5,749.99 5,750 – 6,249.99
6,250 – 6,749.99 6,750 – 7,249.99 7,250 – 7,749.99
7,750 – 8,249.99
8,250 – 8,749.99
8,750 – 9,249.99
9,250 – 9,749.99
9,750 – 10,249.99
10,250 – 10,749.99
10,750 – 11,249.99
11,250 – 11,749.99
11,750 – 12,249.99
12,250 – 12,749.99
12,750 – 13,249.99
13,250 – 13,749.99
13,750 – 14,249.99
14,250 – 14,749.99
14,750 and over
Comparative schedule
Before Now
Before
Now
Monthly
salary
credit
(pesos)
5,000
5,500
6,000
6,500
7,000
7,500
8,000
8,500
9,000
9,500
10,000
10,500
11,000
11,500
12,000
12,500
13,000
13,500
14,000
14,500
15,000
Before
Now
470
520
705
780
940
1,040
517
572
752
832
987
1,092
564
624
799
884
1,034 1,144
611
676
846
936
1,081 1,196
658
728
893
988
1,128 1,248
New
monthly
contributions
(pesos)
520
572
624
676
728
780
832
884
936
988
1,040
1,092
1,144
1,196
1,248
1,300
1,352
1,404
1,456
1,508
1,560
Before
Now
1,175
1,222
1,269
1,316
1,363
1,410
1,300
1,352
1,404
1,456
1,508
1,560
Flexi Fund
Contributions must not be less than P200 a month
PHILIPPINE CONSULATE GENERAL
14/F UNITED CENTRE, 95 QUEENSWAY, ADMIRALTY
Hotlines: 9155-4023 (Consular), 6080 8323 (Labor), 6345 9324 (OWWA),
Trunkline: 2823 8501 Fax: 2866 9885
Working hours and statutory holidays
The Consulate is open from 9 am to 4 pm, Sundays to Thursdays,
except during the following holidays:
1 July Hong Kong SAR
Establishment Day
26 September Chinese
Mid-Autumn Festival
1 October China National Day
19 October Chung Yeung
Festival
1-2 November All Saints’
and All Souls’ Day
30 November Bonifacio Day
22 December Chinese Winter
Solstice Festival
24-25 December Christmas Day
30 December Rizal Day
Note:
Other holidays may be declared
by the Philippine government
24
balik-tanaw
filipino globe
July 2007
25
ALAM MO BA KUNG SAAN O SINO ANG MGA ITO?
MANALO NG ROUND-TRIP PLANE TICKETS, IPOD NANO O TICKETS TO DISNEYLAND SA TAMANG SAGOT. BASAHIN SA PAGE 41 ANG DETALYE
Internet cafe, Mall of
Asia, Edsa Shrine, condo,
MRT, Gloria Arroyo – ang
bagong anyo ng Maynila
ay ibang-iba kaysa noong
dekada-70.
Mahigit 37 taon nang
hindi natin nakikita ang
tanawing ito: mula sa bellbottom pants, hanggang
sa isang gasolinahan
sa Cubao at ang Delta
Theater.
Minsan, may halong
lungkot na binabalikan
natin ang nakaraan,
ngunit higit dito, maalab
ang ating panalig sa ating
patutunguhan.
Sagutin kung saan o sino
ang mga nasa larawan at
magkamit ng premyo mula
sa Filipino Globe.
Ang entry form ay nasa
page 41.
7
2
3
1
4
6
5
26 July 2007
filipino globe
community
filipino globe
July 2007
27
PICTUREGALLERY
In keeping with tradition,
Prime Gold Plus
observed the lucky
practice of offering a
roast pig at the opening
of its new branch in
Shatin. Shown during
the ceremony are PGP
Shatin branch staff Ma
Luisa Marcelino (branch
head), Babette Quizada
(assistant branch head),
Carrie Padua, RM Pineda,
Polo Vistan with Aristotle
Ong (Prime Gold Plus
business manager).
At right, Michael Vincent
of MetroPlus and
Therese Necio-Ortega of
Peninsula Hotels do the
honours of cutting the
ribbon to officially open
Prime Gold Plus
Shatin branch.
And so, the journey continues
Gabby Alvarado
finds that a friendship
forged on a short tram
ride can last longer
than a railway
Lita Catimon (left) and Lita
Hinalog have a combined
39 years working in Hong
Kong. They have had only
one employer.
T
he cheapest way to travel
on Hong Kong Island is by
tram. For HK$2 you can go
from Kennedy Town in the west
to Shau Kei Wan in the east. It is
approximately a 1 ½-hour ride
along busy roads and market places,
shopping malls, parks, gleaming high
rises and architectural landmarks.
Some stops are just five minutes
from the next. It takes less than that
to form lasting friendships.
I have two vivid memories of my
rides on this lumbering relic from the
city’s British colonial past.
On July 1, 2002, the tram I was
on was stopped dead in its tracks
near the Legco building by a sea of
men and women in black. I had just
gotten in from the station in front
of Worldwide House on my way to
Causeway Bay.
For someone who spends
interminable hours in a newsroom, I
somehow forgot it was the Handover
anniversary – Hong Kong’s return
to China. Hong Kong people
disenchanted with the policies of
Tung Chee-hwa and opposed to a
security measure he and his cabinet
were pushing were to march in
protest on the streets in the boiling
heat of summer.
There were a million of them, and
this bustling city for once stood still.
So there was our poor tram, caught in
the middle of this defiant but orderly
crowd, unable to move an inch for
hours on.
Another time, I had to alight in
Wan Chai, on my way to Central
on what should have been a lazy
Saturday. A reckless driver somehow
managed to crash his van into the
railway, just ahead of the tram I
was on. Keeping me company on
the short walk to the nearest MTR
station was a couple of cheerful
pear-shaped ladies who could pass
for my kindly aunts. We had talked
casually while on the tram, I initially
mistaking them for tourists instead
of domestic helpers, dressed as they
were in their holiday best.
One chance encounter led to
another.
And so started a friendship that to
this day lives on; it has even become
a chain, though not as long as that
tram track where we first met. They
would introduce me to their relatives,
friends and neighbors here. All
would become my friends, too.
By coincidence, those two kindly
ladies from Naic, Cavite, who I have
taken to calling Golden Girls, go by
the name Lita – one is short-haired,
the other wears hers extraordinarily
long. Each has worked for just one
employer – short-haired Lita for 17
years, the other for 22.
They love to whip up a sumptuous
feast for the entire barkada and have
a good time; they’re both funny and
chatty but, unlike most domestic
helpers, they hardly complain
about the perpetual struggles and
drudgeries of an OFW’s life.
They could not escape the one
irony that has seemed to afflict most
OFWs, though. They eke a living
abroad in hopes their kids do not end
up like them and leave for far-flung
areas for employment, only to see
their family members inevitably join
the growing diaspora in quest of a
better life.
Short-haired Lita’s son Rheson
works as an auto mechanic
supervisor in Abu Dhabi and has his
own family there. Her only daughter
Mileth has since followed to the
gulf region. Long-haired Lita, on
the other hand, has a son Joseph
who is just on his first voyage as a
“
By choice,
luck or pure
necessity,
migration has
become a family
affair
seafarer, while his eldest Percy found
greener pastures in the US until a
recent tragedy struck him down in
his prime.
Thanks to the wonders of
technology these two devoted
mothers are able to keep in touch
with their offspring, wherever and
whenever possible.
Lita Catimon, the one with short
hair, has helped two sisters-inlaw get jobs in Hong Kong while
another in-law, a former housemate
in Repulse Bay, has since returned
home after 22 years here. She has a
cousin named Lolit, a tireless 19-year
veteran of the trade, whose sister
until recently also used to work in
the SAR.
Lita Hinalog, she with the long
hair, also managed to recruit her
younger sister Susan to work for the
Choy household in Fo Shan and has
cousins in Mid-Levels and Taikoo
Shing on top of a sister-in-law in Sai
Kung and several inaanaks scattered
in the territory.
Oh, and did I say their husbands
used to work abroad, too? Toto
Catimon is a former navyman who
once was stationed in Diego Garcia,
a US territory. Later, he found
employment as a construction
worker in Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi
Arabia. Nesty Hinalog, on the other
hand, worked in a Korean plastic
factory for seven years in the `90s.
Ah, the life of an OFW. By choice,
luck or pure necessity, migration has
become a family affair. Working odd
jobs abroad has replaced earning a
college degree or a PhD as a personal
ambition for most. It is a national
obsession even – or desperation. For
better or worse.
And so their journey, just like
mine, continues.
PAHK sets
fourth legal
workshop for
September
You have left your ID card in the flat
and have suddenly realised you don’t
have it as you emerge from the MTR
station.
And as you fumble for your wallet
hoping to find any identification
papers, a policeman appears and
asks you the question you have been
afraid to hear.
“May I see your ID, miss?”
If you don’t know what to say, or
what to do, you’re not alone.
Hundreds face similar tight
situations with the law every
day through sheer negligence or
forgetfulness.
And yet, while negligence maybe a
crime, forgetfulness is not.
With that premise, the Philippine
Association of Hong Kong is
extending its free legal workshop
into a fourth edition.
It will be held on September 23,
from 11 am to 6 pm, at Grappa’s
Cellar on the
basement of Jardine
House in Central.
The workshop
will feature
legal experts,
who will cover
topics ranging from police powers,
sentencing options of the courts and
financial settlements for divorces to
separations and media law on print,
online and broadcast.
PAHK chairman Mike Ranola
(above) is inviting community
organizations, and business and civic
leaders to participate.
“This is an excellent opportunity
to be a part of a worthwhile project,”
he said.
Ranola said the first three
workshops drew a strong and
positive feedback from the
community.
The workshops are being
spearheaded by PAHK legal adviser
Ody Lai, with the support of Hong
Kong solicitors and barristers.
“Actual attendance was more than
the number of registered participants
with standing room only for some
attendees,” Ranola said. He said
participants cited the workshops for
being informative, educational and
interesting in terms of presentation.
28
community
filipino globe
Ring back tone service
gets videoke treatment
Josephine
Tubera won a
Nokia 2626 for
scoring 97 per
cent, the highest
on record, in my
connecting tone
Videoke Singing
Contest. Her
winning piece
was Sana’y Wala
Ng Wakas. With
Josephine in the
photo are Miss
My Connecting
Tone Mylene
Dacpano and
GEK DJs Stan
and Mel.
Barkadahan sa SmarTone is
promoting its my connecting tone
or ring back tone service via a
videoke singing contest.
Handsets, recharge vouchers and
other special prizes are at stake
every third and fourth Sunday
of the month, from April to
December 2007, at the Barkadahan
Clubhouse.
My connecting tone Videoke
Singing Contest is open to
all Barkadahan sa SmarTone
members with my connecting
tone subscription and at least $50
recharge.
Contestants have a wide selection
of Pinoy and international hit
songs, all of course, can be
downloaded as their my connecting
tone.
Because of the Pinoys’ love for
music and fun, my connecting
tone Videoke Singing Contest has
become a popular event among the
Barkadahan sa SmarTone members.
Barkadahan sa SmarTone is
a SIM brand under SmarToneVodafone, preferred by OFWs in
Hong Kong because of its excellent
rates, network quality, service and
offers.
Battad serves up a tennis lesson or two
The perks of the job can
be exciting, such as a
chance encounter with
Maria Sharapova, writes
Gabby Alvarado
who had helped him hone his game
when he was 10 years old.
“Tatay ko na ang mga iyan. Sila
lang ang nakakasermon sa akin,”
Bong says.
Battad is part of the growing
number of retired Filipino athletes
who have been exporting their
expertise and skill – out of a genuine
love for the game and the generous
pay that goes with the job.
“Magandang trabaho. Pero malakas
ang competition. Merong at least 40
Australian coaches dito. Mabibigat
iyan. Kasama pa si Mark Kratzmann
(ATP veteran and 1984 Australian,
Wimbledon and US Open Juniors
champion),” he says.
“Maganda dito sa Hong Kong
kasi open. Established ang tennis
coaching. Almost 1,000 ang
registered coaches. Di tulad sa atin,
di man maalagaan ang coaches.”
Bong’s group is fortunate to have
a tie-up with the Hong Kong Tennis
Association, whose promising
players are still sent to Racket Head
for training.
One of their wards is Justin To,
Asia’s No 3 in the under-14 age
group who recently was chosen as
one of only four players in the region
to join a European tour.
One particular Hong Kong girl who
is a product of Philippine coaching,
Bong proudly says, is 18-year-old
Venise Chan Wing-yau. She is now
campaigning on the women’s tour
after being ranked world No 18 in
the juniors last year.
Bong was born to a tennis-
filipino globe
home, health & beauty, money, travel, stars & sports
July 2007
“
Magandang
trabaho. Pero
malakas ang
competition
BONG BATTAD
On the local coaching scene
playing family, led by the patriarch
Fortunato, who used to head the
Pampanga Agricultural College in
the foothills of Mount Arayat. His
brothers Boyet and Zosimo were
champions in their own right.
For a time in the ‘80s, he was the
local No 1, as the vaunted Felix
Barrientos and Roland So took their
game to US colleges. He came on
the heels of Rod Rafael and Roland
Suarez, followed by Barrientos,
So and the equally talented Manny
Tolentino.
The Castillejo sisters Dyan and
Jackie were also his teammates
on the national team. Battad won
a singles silver medal in the 1987
Southeast Asian Games, losing to
Indonesian Titus Wibowo in the
final. Two years later, he was part
of the SEA Games team that took
silver in Kuala Lumpur, although
their heroics were overshadowed by
controversy when then Philippine
Tennis Association president Buddy
Andrada ordered them home over a
dispute with organizers.
In his prime, in 1986, the softspoken Battad was ranked No 774 by
the ATP.
Now 43, and sporting a paunch,
Bong devotes his time sharing his
knowledge of the game with Hong
Kong’s youth.
But he never forgets the people
back home. He often invites Manilabased coaches to the SAR to observe
new training techniques and provides
additional training to Filipino junior
campaigners in need of tournament
experience here.
Bong believes the future is bright
for Philippine tennis, especially
with the availability of US-trained
Cecil Mamiit and Eric Taino and
the presence of a vigorous juniors
program supported by the Asian
Tennis Federation.
“May time na bumaba ang level
ng Philippine tennis pero ngayon
lumalakas na uli,” he says.
As for that once-in-a-lifetime
“date” with Sharapova?
“Hindi siya suplada, low profile
lang. Pero makikita mo na magaling
talaga noon pa man.”
29
Accident-free bedrooms, but how about fire-proof kitchens?
Q
We often hear about
accident-proof rooms and
burglar-proof homes. But can
you fire-proof a kitchen?
Jackie Sarmenta
Macau
A
Yes, you can, to a certain
degree. Remember that it
is in the kitchen where people
deliberately make a fire.
Let me rephrase that. While you
cannot completely rule out fire
in the kitchen, you can prevent
it from happening. And if it does
happen, there are ways to deal
with it safely and quickly.
But first, let’s look at prevention.
Along with installing smoke
detectors in your home, you
DIYBOB
do it yourself
ROBERT
LUNARIA
should have a fire extinguisher
in the kitchen. Walk your family
through a fire drill so everyone
knows what to do and where to go
in case of fire.
Make sure children know where
the family will reunite if they have
to leave the house in case of fire.
Assign a special closet for
combustible materials and
dangerous tools that you don’t
want your children to touch. Put a
good lock on the door and a heat
detector inside to alert you to any
fire danger.
Don’t overload electrical circuits
with too many appliances. If your
fuses are blowing or your circuit
breakers are popping, hire an
electrician to look at your system.
Don’t run extension cords under
rugs or carpets. The cords wear
easily and may short out, causing
a fire.
Nails or staples used to attach
electrical cords to the walls or
baseboards can damage the
cords and cause fire or shock
hazards. Tape cords to walls or
floors instead of using nails or
staples.
Replace frayed electrical cords
before they burn or cause a fire.
Certain simple tips go a long
way in dealing with kitchen fires.
First, never use water on
electric, oil, or grease fires. Turn
off the heat immediately, and use
a lid or a large piece of metal
bakeware to smother the flames.
If you can’t shut off the gas
before fighting a gas fire, get out
of the house immediately.
If you can’t remove the fuel
from a wood, paper, or fabric
fire, cut off its air by smothering
the fire with a coat or heavy
woolen blanket. You might also
cool the fire with water or a fire
extinguisher.
Even if a fire is confined to a
frying pan or wastebasket, never
spend more than 30 seconds
fighting the fire. Small fires can
grow with frightening speed.
Send your questions or comments to
diybob@filglobe.com
Go on, splash
out on your
bathroom
and enjoy it
Maria Sharapova was 15 years old
and already showing signs of a world
beater when Bong Battad met her
in Hong Kong. Below, Battad (left)
is shown with Eric Taino as he gets
ready to start the coaching day.
F
ancy a date with the glamorous
Maria Sharapova? Bong Battad
was lucky to get one – if hitting
out tennis balls for two sweaty hours
with the blonde Russian is your idea
of a romantic liaison.
Sharapova was 15 years old, a
volley away from stardom and Grand
Slam glory, and in Hong Kong
for the annual Watsons women’s
exhibition tournament at Victoria
Park, when Battad got his chance to
meet the statuesque beauty up close
and personal.
Like most males, Bong was
dazzled by Sharapova – but for a
different reason.
“Noon pa lang, ibang-iba na ang
palo. Power game talaga,” says the
former top-ranked Filipino pro and
veteran of several Davis Cup battles.
But Battad is not here for the
Sharapovas, Dementievas, Henins or
Williamses.
Now a full-time instructor, he runs
a tennis academy at the Hong Kong
Tennis Centre in Wong Nai Chung
Gap Road. Together with trusted
lieutenants Mau Buhia and Bernardo
Valleramos, both oldtimers in the
game, their goal is to groom Hong
Kong youngsters into world-class
players.
They have been at it since 1991,
when Bong retired from active
competition at age 26 and linked
up in the territory with Austrian
Gebhart Grists, once the coach of
the Philippine team. He spent two
months training Taiwanese Wang
Shi-ting, at the time the world’s
second-ranked junior player, and fell
in love with the job.
Together with a group of Filipinos,
and with the urging of Hong Kong
businessman and tennis fanatic Cris
Ng, Bong formed the Pro Classic
training academy in 1993.
By 1996, though, the dusky
Cotabato-born, Pampanga-raised
racket-wielding trainer was on his
own as director of Racket Head Ltd
Tennis Development Program. He
has his own team of instructors and,
of course, Buhia and Valleramos,
life
July 2007
Tom Arguelles looks at a proven formula for
making kitchens that are both practical and
elegant without overshooting the budget
B
athrooms are a lot like
kitchens, both areas are
necessities in every home,
but can vary greatly in how they
function. Basic models can be
utilitarian, combining the basic
functions with the most economical
means.
All bathrooms are a combination
of planning and products. On the
planning side, you may not have
room for a large bath but perhaps you
can find the few extra feet you need
to be more comfortable. In the same
way, your budget may preclude some
of the nicer amenities, but standard
equipment when well chosen can
turn your bath from ordinary to
extraordinary.
Whether you build your bath
within the existing dimensions of the
plan, steal some adjacent space from
other rooms or and outside wall,
or start from scratch by converting
another room, the bathroom’s overall
shape and size will likely fall into
one of three categories:
• A standard-size bath is a
rectangle starting at approximately
5 x 7 or 5 x 9 feet and ranging to
perhaps 7 x 9 or 8 x 10 feet. In this
rectangle, there’s room for a sink
with vanity, toilet, tub, and perhaps a
small separate shower. This could be
a home’s main bath or a guest bath.
“
The arrangement
of elements ...
determines how
big or small the
room feels
LORDI SALVADOR
Interior designer
• A powder room or half bath is
generally 15-32 square feet, and
including just the basic essentials, a
sink and toilet.
• A master bath is large and roomy,
often 100 square feet or more and
normally adjacent to or opening into
the master bedroom.
The extra space allows for luxury
such as furniture pieces, storage, and
windows or skylights. The shape
may vary.
“The arrangement of elements
within the bathroom will, in the end,
determine how big or small the room
feels,” says interior designer Lordi
Salvador.
A modest-size bath neatly
configured can feel spacious, while
a large bath poorly planned can feel
cramped. Following are guidelines
for placing the essential bath fixtures.
Try to allow at least 16 inches
of clearance from the center of the
fixture to a wall or adjacent fixture
on either side.
Leave an area of clear floor space
in front of the fixture, at least 30x48
inches. Up to 12 inches can extend
under an adjacent lavatory when
knee space is provided.
Private toilet compartments should
measure at least 36x66 inches.
Allow at least 15 inches of side
clearance from the center of the sink
to a wall or other obstruction.
Knee space should be provided at
a lavatory.
A mirror over the lavatory should
be a maximum of 40 inches above
the floor.
Leave at least a 30x48-inch area
of clear floor space either parallel or
perpendicular to the lavatory.
Starting with
a simple plan
(above), you
can build a
bathroom
to your
specifications,
from wooden
(left) to elegant
tile finishes. At
the same time,
you can stay
within your
budget.
30
health matters
filipino globe
July 2007
lakbayan
filipino globe
February
July 2007
31
Watch your lower back
if you feel discomfort
O
Infants have better chances of survival when breastfed exclusively in the first five months, says a UN study.
Breastfeeding decline
in RP alarms Unicef
Regional trend responsible for death of 160,000 infants
in Asia-Pacific each year, says study by health experts
A
bout 160,000 infants die
each year in the Asia-Pacific
region due to a decline in
breastfeeding, according to a Unicef
expert.
There are “roughly 160,000
children dying annually in Eastern
and Southeastern Asia whose
deaths are attributed to something
as preventable and as imminently
correctable as sub-optimal
breastfeeding,” said UN children’s
agency (Unicef) regional adviser
Stephen Atwood.
The World Health Organization
warned that babies less than five
months old who were not exclusively
breastfed were at much higher risk of
diarrhea and pneumonia, which often
prove deadly in developing countries.
The joint WHO and Unicef
conference to promote breastfeeding
said just 35 per cent of babies in the
region were exclusively breastfed in
the first four months of their lives.
This was “an alarming threat
to child survival,” and called on
countries in the region to invest more
in promoting breastfeeding and to
warn people of “the dangers of breast
milk substitutes.”
WHO regional director Shigeru
Omi warned that “breastfeeding
“
Just 35 per
cent of babies
in the region
are exclusively
breastfed
UNICEF-WHO STUDY
On regional health trends
rates declined in most developing
countries in East Asia and the Pacific
where just over one-third of mothers
exclusively breastfeed their babies
for up to six months.”
He cited the Philippines as an
example, where the rate of exclusive
breastfeeding in the first five months
fell from 20 per cent in 1998 to 16
per cent in 2003.
The rate of exclusive breastfeeding
of babies six months old varied
widely in the region with Thailand
at 5.4 per cent and North Korea at
65.1 per cent, the WHO said in a
statement.
The WHO said an increase in
breastfeeding in Cambodia had
contributed to a sharp fall in child
mortality.
In 2000, just 11 per cent of
Cambodian mothers breastfed their
babies for the first six months. By
2005, 60 per cent were breastfeeding
which the WHO said contributed to a
steep fall in child mortality rates over
the same period.
Omi called for legislation to ban
“the inappropriate promotion of
breast milk substitutes,” especially
those which say these products can
increase the health and intelligence
of children.
He noted only the Philippines and
Palau had laws explicitly barring the
promotion of infant formula as breast
milk substitutes for babies below the
age of one.
Milk firms file lawsuit over extended formula ban
A debate over breast-feeding
versus bottle feeding has reached
the the Philippine Supreme Court,
with health officials arguing that
aggressive advertising by foreign
companies has some women
believing formula is better than their
own milk.
The health department last year
proposed regulations to strengthen
its national milk code, which already
bans formula companies from
advertising products made for babies
less than a year old. New rules would
extend that ban to formula made for
children up to two years old.
The Pharmaceutical and Healthcare
Association of the Philippines has
sued the Health Department, arguing
only Congress has the power to
change the regulations.
The Supreme Court ordered a
temporary halt to the stiffer rules
while the case is pending.
ne of the most common
conditions encountered by
a physician is lower-back
pain. It afflicts primarily adults but
may occasionally be encountered
in adolescents and children. The
lifetime incidence of lower-back pain
is 50-70 per cent.
It can happen to anyone and I am
sure you may have experienced this
in one way or another.
Patricia Docena, writing in from
Hong Kong, wonders whether her
condition requires some form of
intervention.
We asked a colleague, Dr Antonio
de Castro, to comment.
Dr De Castro is a diplomate,
Philippine Orthopedic Association,
and an orthopedic surgeon at the
Mandaluyong City Medical Center,
Victor R Potenciano Medical Center
and Veterans Memorial Medical
Center.
He writes:
Pain in the lower back can come
from any of the anatomic structures
in this area – bones, joints and
ligaments, nerves and muscles. No
genetic predispositions are known.
Risk factors include jobs that require
heavy and repetitive lifting, use of
jackhammers and machine tools, and
operation of motor vehicles.
Smokers are at greater risk for low
back pain. Individuals above their
normal body weight are more likely
to report back pain than their lighter
counterparts.
There are many possible causes
of back pain, broadly classified into
traumatic and atraumatic conditions.
Under traumatic conditions the
following are the possible etiologies:
fractures, fracture-dislocations,
slipped disc and ligament tears.
Atraumatic causes may include
degenerative disc disease,
inflammatory arthritis, osteoporosis,
tumors, or spine misalignments.
Sufferers of this ailment may
feel discomfort in the lower back,
stiffness or numbness. This may be
confined only to the lower back but
may radiate down to one’s buttocks
further down to the foot. The pain
can be tolerable, but for others, it can
be very debilitating, affecting their
daily chores, or worse, undermine
their ability to function at work.
A number of physical examinations
may be done to test motor and
sensory functions, reflexes and
range of motion. There is no specific
laboratory test for low back pain.
If one suspects infection,
a complete blood count and
erythrocyte sedimentation rate is
performed. Urine analysis may be
needed to rule out urinary tract
infection. X-rays are not always
necessary in patients who have their
HEALTHTALK
what the doctor says
Dr Jun
Amigo
first episode of back pain, especially
if it is caused by minor trauma (such
as lifting).
If the back pain persists for
more than six weeks, radiographs
should be done. Other ancillary
procedures may also be done such
as the computed tomography or CT
scan, which is useful in detecting
bone abnormalities and magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) to detect
the soft tissue defects and nerve
compressions.
How do we treat this condition?
Most patients with low back pain
can be treated conservatively
(non-operative) with rest, antiinflammatory medications, and
physical therapy. Prolonged bed rest
is usually not beneficial.
The good news is 90 per cent
of the time, conservative relief is
successful and only 10 per cent
usually end up under the knife
(surgery).
The different operative procedures
for back pain are based on the
“
Smokers are at
greater risk for
low back pain, as
well as individuals
above their normal
body weight
nature of the individual’s problem.
Decompression procedures, removal
of arthritic joints, fusion with or
without spinal instrumentation are
just some of the more common
procedures done, but this entails a lot
of expense.
Prevention is still a key in
avoiding low back pain. Several
reminders that may go a long way.
Avoid carrying heavy loads. If you
are trying to pick up something on
the floor, bend your knees ,not your
back. Carry loads near your body.
Do back and abdominal exercises
and aerobic conditioning. If you are
driving, place a lumbar support. If
you do a lot of sitting, stand up and
stretch once in a while.
health@filglobe.com
If you have questions about health, send them to us and we
will try our best to answer them with expert opinion. With
Dr Jun Amigo, chief surgical resident at the Mandaluyong
City Medical Center, as moderator, this forum will feature
specialists on the chosen topic. Please note that this is not
intended as a medical consultation and readers are strongly
advised to see their doctor for proper advice. To contact
us, please visit our website www.filglobe.com and click on
“health@filglobe.com” to send your queries.
You enter the island through a concrete jetty (above) and hop on a tram bus (below) for a quick tour. The massive guns fell silent more than 50 years ago, but images of the war remain
fresh in the memory, such as the Malinta Tunnel and a Spanish lighthouse (below, right), which survived the bombings. A high-speed catamaran (bottom) will take you to Corregidor.
Peace was won on this little island
More than a tourist
attraction, Corregidor is
a revered piece of our
national history, writes
Gilda Medina Bernal
T
he voices of about 15 Filipino
high school students went up
several decibels while they
scampered for their seats on the front
row of the Sun Cruise catamaran. A
few minutes later, several Japanese
men in their 60s quietly settled
comfortably in one corner.
Three American men shortly
followed. Wearing jersey shirts and
hunting huts, they were bragging
about their travels in Asia.
A female voice on the PA system
announcing the tour’s guidelines was
engulfed by the frenetic mood inside
the ship, along with shrieks from
kids running around.
It was a warm Sunday morning, a
perfect day for a cruise, and a history
tour. At exactly 8:15, the ship started
to sail slowly towards its destination
– Corregidor Island. It was a onehour journey and the tourists were all
probably thinking of the same thing
– what’s on this island?
“It’s a rock and a fun place,” says
a travel program shown on television
during the trip. But according to
historians, this solitary piece of rock
shaped like a tadpole is more than
just that.
The island lies between Cavite
and Bataan, with a land area of
only nine square kilometers. It is
known by many as the place where
General Douglas MacArthur was
stationed during World War II. It
was a key military defense station
of the Allied Forces. But not too
many knew it also became the seat
of the Philippine Commonwealth
government under President Manuel
Quezon. This was also where
General Jonathan Wainwright
surrendered the entire Philippines to
the Japanese invaders in May 1942.
Before this, MacArthur was pulled
out of Corregidor and travelled to
Australia where he vowed to return
to the Philippines.
Corregidor was ravaged by the
Japanese, earning its place on the
map as one of the most bombed
fortresses in the world in proportion
to its size. “Corregidor Island was at
the center of the war,” says Richard
Andrada, a tour guide.
“When the Japanese were starting
to fortify the island, they did not
realise that the Allied Forces were
also getting ready to recapture
Corregidor, bringing back its glory as
a bastion of defense”.
MacArthur returned to the
Philippines following the recapture
of Corregidor in March 1945.
The war has long been over.
MacArthur and Quezon are long
gone but their statues stand on the
island, and memories of the war
remain.
After more than 50 years,
“
After more than 50
years, Corregidor
the defense shield
is now an island of
tranquility
Corregidor the defense shield is
now an island of tranquility. It is
populated by only 200 people, who
work as guides and employees of
tour groups.
“It is very peaceful on the island.
Thousands of lives were taken here
– Filipinos, Americans and Japanese
– and we remember them everytime
we pass by the ruins, by the roads,
and by the foxholes that have became
witness to the war,” Andrada adds as
our tram bus passed by a pit where
more than 200 bodies of Japanese
were found after the war.
The Japanese, believing that to
surrender was an act of disgrace,
performed a ritual suicide by striking
their stomach with a sword or
bayonet. Some would use grenades
or jump from a cliff.
Suddenly the frenzied mood of the
tourists turned somber. The feeling
of being surrounded by the souls of
the soldiers killed in battle was eerie.
We moved on to the next landmark
and reached the massive guns of
Corregidor.
“We’ve been asking people to
take one of the barrels as a souvenir
but there are no takers,” Andrada
jokes of the mortar guns in front of
us. Several batteries, consisting of
mortar guns and ammunition, were
set up during the war. The barrel
length of one rifle was about 10 feet
and at least 14 men were needed to
maneuver the entire gun.
Just looking at the weaponry was
enough for tourists to stand still,
perhaps wondering how these guns
became instrumental in bringing
down the enemy.
The tourists were as silent as
the guns, which will not see the
destruction of another war ever
again.
As we ended our tour of the
island, it was apparent that there
was more to Philippine history than
what we learned in textbooks. For
the Japanese and the Americans,
Corregidor was as much a part of
their history as ours.
War was fought and peace was
won on Corregidor Island and
because of that, it has remained a
formidable piece of rock.
32
lakbayan
filipino globe
July 2007
Davao puts
its best foot
forward for
Kadayawan
During August, Davaoeños celebrate their
cultural heritage. Tess Mauricio visits her
native city ahead of the ‘festival of festivals’
R
ainy season in the Philippines,
which lasts from June to
November, doesn’t always
come with waters and flood. In
Davao, this season of rain also means
a season of smiles and merriment. It
is a time of celebration and a sign of
unity for Davaoeños.
A weeklong celebration in Davao,
known as “Kadayawan sa Dabaw,” is
held every third week of August and
has been touted as the “festival of
Festivals”.
Every year, the city comes alive
when it holds this annual festivity.
It is highlighted by a fresh flower
and fruit float parade. The streets
are decked with native fruits and
vegetables as the people hold street
dances for four days.
An array of ethnic tribes parade in
their tribal costumes and jewelry. The
tribes also showcase their musical
abilities through purely indigenous
musical performances to emphasise
the need to preserve Mindanao’s
cultural wealth
The Kadayawan is a celebration of
harvest. According to myth, ethnic
tribes assembled around Mount Apo
at harvest time to give thanks to their
gods especially to Bathala for the
bountiful harvest.
Kadayawan came from the word
madayaw, which stands for anything
that is “valuable, good or profitable”.
In the ethnic tribe of Mandaya,
this means “a celebration of life, a
thanksgiving for the gifts of nature,
the wealth of culture, the bounties of
harvest and the serenity of living”.
In 1986, this thanksgiving
celebration was established to unite
the Davaoeños. It was formerly
called Apo Duwaling from the three
famous icons of Davao – Mount.
Apo, the highest peak in the country;
durian, an exotic fruit and walingwaling, a rare specie of orchids.
It was renamed “Kadayawan sa
Dabaw” in 1988 by mayor Rodrigo
Duterte to commemorate the unique
wealth of the City of Flowers, fruits
and ethnic culture.
This has evolved into a festival that
honors Davao’s heritage, its past,
present and the future.
Coinciding with the festival is
the harvest time of Davao’s exotic
fruits and the blooming of one of
the rarest species of orchids – the
waling-waling or vanda sanderana.
Called the “City of Bloom”, Davao
has vast plantations of exotic orchids
and ornamentals including, walingwaling.
Davao is also known as the “fruit
basket of the Philippines” and a
large producer of the exotic fruit
durian (aka fruit of the gods). Davao
likewise produces different exotic
fruits like the hairy red rambutan,
mangosteen, green mandarin,
sweet pomelo, lanzones, pineapple,
avocado, jack fruit, young coconut
and banana.
Davao is also home to the
Philippine Eagle, one of the largest
eagles in the world. This majestic
creature, at times called the monkeyeating eagle, is being bred in the
Philippine Eagle Research and
Nature Center in Calinan to prevent
its extinction.
For the past 10 years, Davao has
achieved many international citations
and awards.
The city was among the world’s
largest in land area, occupying
more than 2,444 square kilometers.
Just recently, the Asian Institute of
Management and the Department
of Trade and Industry cited Davao
City as the “Most Competitive Metro
Davao turns out in its festive best for Kadayawan, held during August. Below, the majestic Philippine Eagle.
“
It is highlighted by a
fresh flower and fruit
float parade. The
streets are decked
with native fruits and
vegetables as the
people hold street
dances for four days
City”, the highest ranking in terms
of indicators like cost of living,
quality of life, infrastructure, quality
of human resources, linkages and
accessibility, dynamism of local
economy, and responsiveness of the
local government units.
Davao, the country’s cultural
melting pot, offers a number of urban
amenities, such as shopping malls
and an active nightlife that readily
complements its accessible beaches
and abundant supply of fresh seafood
and fruits.
Mount Apo, the country’s highest peak, takes tourism in Davao to new heights, as it has for many years. At right, the Pearl Farm has become one of Davao’s biggest attractions.
filipino globe
July 2007
33
34
money matters
filipino globe
July 2007
Take note: marketing lies at the
heart of every business venture
F
or the longest time that I have
been a business coach for small
and medium-sized companies,
I have seen failures that were caused
by a poor, if not non-existent,
marketing program.
Many entrepreneurs believe that
they have a good product or service,
and a shop sign will mostly do the
trick in generating customers. Others
believe that by just putting them on
the shelf in a leading supermarket
chain, the business will thus be
successful over time. What they
do not realise is that their target
customer is a very complex sort of
person with a lot of choices on what
to buy in the marketplace.
A good entrepreneur should first
identify who is the customer and
their needs where your product
will be important to them. A simple
backyard survey will provide the
information that will be crucial in
planning the business strategy.
There is a need to find out how
much the target customer is willing
to pay and where they usually shop
for goods like yours and how often
they purchase such goods.
You also need to know who
your competitors are and how you
compare against them. Learning that,
OFWWISE
be your own boss
Herbie
Sancianco
you then prepare the advertising
materials that will generate
awareness for your product.
The advertisements need not
immediately use the mainstream
media of television, print or radio
to communicate to your target
customer. You can start with
brochures and leaflets that you can
freely give away in many public
forums.
Given the advances in information
technology and through the
worldwide web, you can create your
own website that will broadcast what
you are selling. Many entrepreneurs
make millions just by selling through
the internet. If you are not that
computer-literate, it is time that
you took some lessons, or asked a
conversant friend or relative for help.
I know of many young people who
use the internet to maintain a second
source of income. They operate from
their homes after they leave their
regular day jobs.
The right marketing moves include
making sure that the product is
highly visible where the target
customer is shopping.
You must have a good display
that will attract the shopper. If it
is a food product, a free sampling
program should be implemented for
a good period of time. Hire a product
demonstrator or promo girl for this
purpose. If you have the time to
spare, then why not be that product
promoter instead so that you can also
talk to your customers.
Recently, I read that the world
famous fashion designer Liz
Claiborne who just passed away
attributed her multimillion-dollar
business success by just listening to
the customers who came to her first
shop. Their feedback enabled her to
design the right products and stamp
her mark on them.
Herbie Sancianco is a professor in
the graduate school for continuing
education, De La Salle College of
St Benilde, Manila
July 2007
35
New Zealand food group eyes RP exports
The government is linking
Filipino suppliers to a health food
company in New Zealand.
Agriculture Secretary Arthur
Yap said the New Zealand Health
Association Ltd has expressed
interest in importing food products
from the Philippines.
Yap said New Zealand
businessmen want to import
fresh mangoes, banana chips
and dessicated coconut from the
Philippines.
Also drawing their interest are
sardines, dried anchovies, squid,
Customers should demand pawn receipt that shows the interest rate and its duration. Pawnshops have been warned that auctions without the proper notices are no joke.
BSP warns on erring pawnshops
Central bank issues guidelines and advisory amid rising complaints from the public
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The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has
warned the public about erring pawnshops after receiving numerous complaints.
BSP deputy governor Nestor Espenilla said the warning did not necessarily mean a rise in complaints
against all pawnshops.
“We are in receipt of complaints
about the sad experiences of people in
some pawnshops, he said.
“As a result of that, we thought it
best to issue a warning to the public
to be more vigilant because the public
also has a responsibility to take care
of its own interest,” he said.
Among the complaints that the central bank received concern interest
rates and auction of pawned items.
Espenilla said the central bank
does not regulate the interest rate for
pawned items, but it should be indi-
“
It’s best to know if
the interest rate is
yearly, monthly or
daily. Pawnshops
may also collect a
service charge
NESTOR ESPENILLA
BSP deputy governor
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filipino globe
the OFW newspaper
cated in the pawn receipt.
On the auction of pawned articles,
the BSP official said such auctions
should only be done 90 days after the
maturity of the loan.
Registration papers of pawnshops
found to have violated rules will be
cancelled, he said.
The central bank advised the public to deal only with pawnshops that
have current business/mayor’s permits issued by the city or municipality
where it is located and are registered
with the BSP.
“A pawnshop that has no business/
mayor’s permit and that is not registered with the BSP is operating illegally,” he said.
He added that clients should transact business only inside the premises
of the pawnshop and that they should
be aware of the interest rate and other
charges, if any.
“It’s best to know if the interest rate
is yearly, monthly or daily. In addition
to the interest, pawnshops may collect
a service charge equivalent to 1 percent of the principal but should not
exceed P5,” he said
“However, other charges such as
insurance and storage fees in the safekeeping of pawned items should not
be collected from the pawners,” Espenilla said.
He also advised the public to do the
following:
• Demand a pawn ticket which contains the terms and conditions of the
loan.
• Bear in mind the date of maturity
of the obligation. A pawner has 90
days from the maturity of the loan to
redeem the pawned item. The pawner
should be notified before a pawned
item will be sold in a public auction
within the 90-day period, after which
the public auction of the pawned item
can take place.
• If the pawnshop fails to return
the pawned item when redeemed for
certain reasons, e.g., it was lost due
to robbery or hold-up, the pawnshop
should have a police report on the incident that includes an inventory of
all lost pawned items.
• If the pawn is lost, destroyed or
becomes defective due to a fortuitous event and through no fault of
the pawnshop, the pawnshop may
not be held accountable for the loss.
However, if the loss, destruction or
damage to the pawn was through the
negligence or fault of the pawnshop,
the pawner can file a claim against the
pawnshop or file a case in court if he/
she so desires.
Inquiries may be made to the BSP supervision and examination department
on (632) 523 1706, 524 6929, 523-2582,
and 524-7011.
ready-to-mix sauces, pili nuts and
coco and fruit juices.
“We will link [them] with
Filipino suppliers who can meet
the market and production
requirements of the health food
company,” he said.
The company employs 1,700
workers, including those in the
production of cereals, bread
spreads, soy milk products, and
a variety of chilled and canned
vegetable products.
It also operates health food
shops and vegetarian cafes.
The company has a global
reputation as a maker of quality
health and plant-based foods and
is the leading provider of health
and nutrition information in the
food industry.
Among its most popular food
brands is Weet-Bix, the topselling breakfast cereal in New
Zealand for almost 40 years.
The company is a not-forprofit organization and uses
its earnings to support the
community and its products for
humanitarian aid.
36
celebrity
filipino globe
July 2007
filipino globe
filipino globe
celebrity
Mukhang apektado si Ricky
Davao (kanan) sa napabalitang
pagkakaaresto ng nakatatandang.
kapatid niyang character actor na si
Bing Davao sa umano’y isang shabu
session sa isang apartment sa Taguig,
Sina Ricky at Bing ay parehong
anak.ng beteranong aktor na si
Charlie Davao.
Parang umiiwas si Ricky na
humarap sa showbiz press nitong
mga nagdaang araw. Kamakailan,
dapat ay nasa isang intimate press
conference si Ricky para sa tatlong
directors ng trilogy film na Paraiso
na may kinalaman sa organisasyong
Gawad Kalinga.
Hindi nakapunta si Ricky.
Nagpasabi na lang siya sa publicist
ng pelikula na masama ang
pakiramdam niya at hindi siya
makakapag-drive. Wala namang
reputasyon si Ricky na sakitin.
Pero totoo namang sa ngayon,
tuwing maririnig ng tao ang
pangalang Ricky Davao, agad
ding pumapasok sa isipan nila ang
pagkaaresto ng kapatid niya.
Mukhang mas nakakaapekto kay
Ricky ang balita tungkol kay Bing
kesa sa mas matagal nang bulungbulungang hiwalay na sila nang
tuluyan ng misis niyang si Jackie
Lou Blanco bagama’t nagsasama pa
rin sila sa ilalim ng isang bubong
para sa kapakanan ng mga anak nila.
Si Ricky ang direktor ng
pangatlong episode ng Paraiso na
nagtatampok kay Cesar Montano.
Ang episode ay kuwento ng isang
Pinoy na New Yorker na ang misis
na Amerikana ay kabilang sa mga
nasawi sa pagbomba sa World Trade
Center na binansagan ng mga Kano
na 9/11 tragedy. Ilang buwan bago
naganap ang trahedyang yon ay
nakarating pa sa Pilipinas ang magasawa. Sa pagbisita nilang ‘yun ay
naantig ang damdamin ng misis na
Kana sa nasaksihan niyang kahirapan
sa bansa, lalo na sa mga batang
namamalimos.
Ipinangako niya sa mister niya
na isang araw ay babalik siya sa
Pilipinas at makikisangkot sa buhay
ng mga naghihikahos.
Hindi na siya nakabalik. Ang
mister niyang Pinoy ang tumupad sa
pangarap niya sa pamamagitan ng
pakikisangkot sa Gawad Kalinga.
‘Yun nga palang Amerikanang
misis ni Cesar ay ginampanan ni
Lexie Schultze na pinsang buo nina
Bernard at Mico Palanca. Anak
siya ng isa sa mga naggagandahang
Revilla sisters, tulad din ng ina nina
Bernard at Mico na as of now ay siya
pa ring boyfriend ni Bea Alonzo.
First movie directorial job ni Ricky
ang episode na yon ng Paraiso.
Dahil sa maraming beses na rin
Pops Fernandez and Martin Nievera have moved on but remain the best of friends.
Guess who’s
on Pops’ cell
phone? It’s not
Martin for sure
While some ABS-CBN talents don’t
have regular shows, she has three
Danny Vibas in Manila
Kris Aquino is back and practically
lording it over all the stars and talents
of the media and entertainment
empire of the Lopez family simply
known as ABS-CBN.
Kris has two daily shows as of
press time. She has gone back to the
Monday-to-Friday night gameshow
Kapamilya: Deal or No Deal? whose
first season ended shortly before she
went on a maternity leave to give
birth to her son by Purefood star
cager James Yap. The show is now
on its second season.
Boy Abunda’s morning show,
Homeboy, has gone into reformat
and it is now known as Kris and
Boy. Yes, as in Kris Aquino and Boy
Abunda.
It’s reminiscent of Kris’ former
morning show with Korina Sanchez
then known as Today With Kris
and Korina, which was eventualy
replaced with Homeboy. (When the
Kris and Korina show was cancelled,
Kris got Game KNB and Korina
was given the weekly Sunday night
magazine show Rated K.)
Kris has practically bragged that
she would have a third show yet. No,
it is neither Pilipinas: Game KNB
nor The Buzz. The former, she has
actually given up to Edu Manzano
who pinch-hit for her while she was
on a leave.
The latter, she gave up in favor of
Ruffa Gutierrez who began to proxy
for her shortly before the actressbeauty queen announced to the world
that she was separating from her
husband of four years, the wealthy
Turkish Muslim businessman Yilmas
Bektas.
Kris’ forthcoming show is of the
lifestyle genre which will be aired on
Saturdays startìng next month.
Why does she have to have three
shows when many other stars and
talents managed by the network
through its Star Magic talent center
hardly have regular shows?
Well, a Kapamilya Network insider
says Kris’ contract stipulates three
shows for her. And the contract also
seems to stipulate that whether she
does one or two shows, she will have
to be paid a total talent fee equivalent
to three shows.
But didn’t she once say that she
did not want to work on weekends,
which is why she did not want to go
back to The Buzz which airs live on
Sundays?
Well, the smart Kris has also seen
to it that she works only on weekdays
and only up to 8 pm. That means her
forthcoming Saturday lifestyle show
will be taped on a weekday.
She recently confided to the press
that she has learned to go to bed
early and rise early the next day.
Kris may not say it but she mìght
be earning several hundred thousand
a month, maybe so much more than
any executive of the network. Maybe
more than what Charo Santos-Concio
earns as channel head.
On top of her regular income as
ABS-CBN talent, she earns a lot,
too, from her endorsements, which
Make no mistake about it. US
pop superstar Christina Aguilera
(right) may have the most number
of fans in the Philippines.
Christina’s concert at the Fort
Bonifacio Global City in Taguig
last week was cited in an Internet
report as having the biggest
number of concert attendees in
the artist’s worldwide “Back to
Basics” tour, which kicked off
in Sheffield, United Kingdom in
November last year.
An article posted in Wikipedia.
said that over 30,000 attended
siyang nakapagdirek sa TV, matagal
na niyang pangarap na magawa rin
‘yun sa pelikula.
Maayos naman ang pagkakadirek
niya sa episode na ‘yun at wala
naman siyang dapat ikahiya,
kaya’t nakakapagtakang hindi siya
dumalo sa napaka-special na press
conference na ‘yun kung saan limang
reporters lang naman ang kinumbida.
Samantala nung Hulyo 4
nagsimulang ipalabas sa Pilipinas
ang Paraiso na naipalabas na sa
Estados Unidos at sa iba pang
bansa bilang fundraising project ng
volunteer organization na Gawad
Kalinga.
Tampok si Maricel Soriano sa
unang episode at sina Carmi Martin
at Michael V naman sa pangalawa.
Sina Jun Lana at Joel Ruiz,
respectively, ang nagdirek ng una at
pangalawang episodes.
Kris soars as
network’s
biggest star
– here’s why
Kris Aquino gave up a couple of hit shows, including Pilipinas Game KNB?, when she gave birth. But now, she has
more than enough on her plate and she cuts deals on her own terms. Her weekends, for instance, are sacred.
“
She snarls,
she cries, she
denounces and
washes dirty linen
in public when
she has to
seem to have outnumbered those of
megastar Sharon Cuneta and ever
youthful actor Aga Muhlach.
The daughter of former President
Cory Aquino and youngest sister of
newly elected opposition Senator
Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III has
also announced that she has already
received three movie offers – none
of which she can accept until her
Baby James is one year old. And, oh,
yes, even her baby, she says, already
has offers to appear in commercials
– “for a fee of one million pesos”.
When a showbiz scribe arched
a brow at her revelation of onemillion-peso talent fee for Baby
James, Kris sweetly snapped: “O,
bakit? He’s even worth more than
that.”
Kris herself once announced that
her hospital bill when she gave birth
to Baby James totalled close to a
million – “most of which was paid
by James, in fairness to him”.
But the bill included not only
her giving birth to the baby boy by
caesarian section but also two other
operations for Kris herself, including
one to remove embolisms in her
lungs.
It’s Kris’ willingness to open much
of her life to the public that prompts
ABS-CBN executives to make her
practically the network’s flag-carrier
and biggest star. And it is a life that
is easily susceptible to controversies,
which, with her seemingly inborn
spunk, she is able to overcome
sooner or later.
She snarls, she cries, she
denounces and washes dirty linen
in public when she has to. Her
Colegio de San Agustin and Ateneo
de Manila University education has
made her very articulate.
Her being the youngest daughter
of the martyred Ninoy Aquino and
housewife-turned-Phlippine president
has endowed her with more than
enough self-confidence to face the
camera anytime of the day and come
hell or high water.
27
37
Aguilera’s Manila gig the best attended worldwide
Ricky Davao, dinibdib ang pagkakaaresto ng kapatid sa shabu
Danny Vibas in Manila
July 2007
Estranged couple looking forward to
reunion after missing each other in US
Danny Vibas in Manila
Pops Fernandez keeps a picture of
Santino, the infant son of her exhusband Martin Nievera by his livein girlfriend Katrina Ojeda, in her
mobile phone.
The photo was sent to her by
Martin himself. “Many people may
not believe that I actually keep
Santino’s photo in my cell phone,”
said Pops a few days after she came
back from Las Vegas, where she had
several concerts with Kuh Ledesma.
Pops never had the chance though
to meet Martin and Santino, with
partner Katrina Ojeda.
“Kuh and I had a hectic schedule
and during our free time, all we did
was sleep and sleep,” Pops said.
However, their teenage son Ram
found time to visit his father in Las
Vegas for a short vacation, and to
have bonding time with his baby
stepbrother.
Despite his personal and business
problems, Martin made sure to
fulfill his fatherly duties by spending
quality time with his kids.
Martin came to the Philippines
all by himself about third week of
last month and told the press: “Ram
was so happy to have finally met his
baby brother. Ram enjoyed his new
role as a kuya. I took them both to
Disneyland. It was beyond magical.
“Santino loved Mickey Mouse but
only second to his kuya Ram.”
Meanwhile, Pops hopes to meet
Santino soon after Martin announced
that he will come home again this
August to attend to some personal
matters, which he refused say.
“It’s all up to Martin. If ever, it
will be the first time I and Robin will
see Santino,” said Pops about the
possibility of spending some time
with Martin and his new family.
Martin has had some financial
setbacks in Las Vegas when the
Filipino producer of a series of
solo concerts he was scheduled
to do mysteriously disappeared,
thus forcing Martin to shoulder the
concerts’ financial obligations.
Thankfully, other people turned up
later to invest in the shows.
Meanwhile, Pops is still very much
an item with Jomari Yllana who is
busier now as a businessman than
as an actor. He is younger than her
by at least five years. Jomari is the
ex-husband of actress-turned-Quezon
City councilor Aiko Melendez and
also ex-boyfriend of sexy actress Ara
Mina.
the Taguig
concert, her
eighth AsiaPacific stop
since her first
concert in the
region in Osaka,
Japan on June
18. The crowd at The Palace in
Auburn Hills, Michigan, on April 9
was at second place, with 24,500
concert-goers.
In third place was Christina’s
audience at the St Pete Times
Forum in Tampa, Florida, on
May 4, which registered 21,500
attendees.
Coming in fourth place was
the Grammy Award winner’s
performance at the Bell Centre in
Montreal, Canada on March 28
which drew 21,273 attendees.
Rounding out the top five was
the concert at the RBC Center
in Raleigh, North Carolina, with
20,522 attendees.
The international pop sensation
waxed hot with her electrifying
dance moves and powerful
renditions of her hit songs.
38
celebrity
filipino globe
Cheating allegations
hound Big Brother
Danny Vibas in Manila
The recently concluded Pinoy Big
Brother, Season 2 has to be the
most controversial edition in the
history of ABS-CBN’s hit reality
show so far.
Aside from catching the
attention of the Movie and
Television Review and
Classification Board, it was only
in Season 2 that the management
was forced to issue a statement
disproving allegations that the
text votes were rigged in order to
favor one contestant.
E-mails and text messages
swamped ABS-CBN when
housemates Wendy Valdez, Maria
Beatriz “Bea” Saw (below)
and Gianina Maria “Gee-Ann”
Abrahan were caught bickering
after a face-to-face nomination
before the contest’s finale,
dubbed the Big Night.
Will all the hoopla yield a big
star for the network and its sister
movie company Star
Cinema? Can Wendy, 24,
turn out the bigger and
more interesting star than
Bea even if the latter is
the reality show’s Big
Winner and Wendy a
mere second runner-up?
If being easily
controversial also means
having a greater potential
for stardom, then Wendy may
be said to be a better bet for
stardom than Bea. At the Araneta
Coliseum where the ABS-CBN
2 reality show had its grand
finale, Wendy was booed by the
audience about 10 times. A spoof
of her character in a skit that
night was also booed.
Worse, even her poor mother
was similarly hooted at when she
went on stage to meet Wendy
after she was called out as the
“Big Placer”.
Moreover, there were also
people in the audience who
carried fan-size pictures of
Wendy – but had at its back in
bold letters “LAYAS!”
When Wendy and boyfriend
Bruce Quebral – they became
sweethearts while still inside Big
Brother’s house in front of ABSCBN studios in South Triangle,
QC – sang on the ABS-CBN 2
Sunday noontime show ASAP,
both were jeered by the studio
audience.
Wendy began to become
controversial even while she
was still inside Big Brother’s
house. Viewers began to dislike
her as soon as she castigated
housemates Bea and Gee-Anne
because both of them openly
voted her for eviction.
Later, while doing household
chores, she behaved very rudely
towards both girls and practically
provoked them into a fight.
Happily, the two girls showed
their fine breeding by ignoring
Wendy’s rudeness.
Viewers also reacted negatively
to her uncontrolled show
of affection (flirtation?) for
housemate Bruce.
As far as we can remember, she
was the first ever housemate to
be treated rudely by the audience.
(And a lot of people insist to this
day that she deserved it.)
“Wendy, labas. Wendy, layas,”
the crowd chanted as soon
as she was flashed on
screen while still inside
Big Brother’s house.
When she wasn’t evicted
during the first of the last
three evictions (it was
Nel Rapiz of Iloilo who
was booted out instead),
word went around that the
voting was rigged and that Big
Brother himself favored her.
Someone who claims to be a
former PBB staffer even sent out
an e-mail to some press people
and tattled that the voting was
rigged in favor of Wendy.
PBB director Laurenti Dyogi,
who has long been suspected to
be Big Brother himself, had to
call a press conference to deny
that the voting can be rigged.
He was joined by Paolo Pineda,
director of ABS-CBN Interactive
which is in charge of receiving
and tabulating the text votes.
Wendy was among the four
housemates who were earlier
evicted but mysteriously asked
by Big Brother to smuggle
themselves into his house. The
others were Jasmine, Kian,
and Zeke who were eventually
evicted one at a time due to the
low votes they received after they
were re-nominated for eviction
by their housemates.
The house that Big Brother built has seen its share of scandals,
including allegations of vote rigging in the last episode.
July 2007
Nagpaunlak sa isang fan si Ruffa Gutierrez kasama ang anak sa
eroplano. Naging sanhi ng kontrobersyal na banggaan nina Ruffa at
ang inang si Annabelle Rama ang paghiwalay ni Ruffa kay Yilmaz
Bektas. Kinasal sila (ibaba) may apat na taon na ang nakararaan.
Annabelle, balik-pelikula
sa Regal kasama ni Ruffa
Pampa-renovate daw ng bahay ang two-picture contract
Danny Vibas in Manila
Hindi lang si Ruffa Gutierrez ang
pinapirma ni Mother Lily ng kontrata
para gumawa ng pelikula sa Regal
Entertainment kundi pati na ang
binansagang gererang ina nito na si
Annabelle Rama.
Isang sexy starlet si Annabelle
bago siya napangasawa ng matinee
idol na si Eddie Gutierrez halos 35
taon na ang nakararaan. (Nag-33 na
ang panganay nilang si Ruffa noong
June 24.)
“Noong una talaga, ayoko
ng movie,” sabi ni Annabelle.
“Hanggang commercial lang ako,
kasama ng kambal [Richard and
Raymond Gutierrez, na nakasama ng
kanilang ina sa Advil commercial].
“Actually, ayaw nina Richard
and Raymond na mag-movie ako,”
pagtatapat pa ng pamosang ina.
Pumirma raw siya para makaipon
ng pampa-renovate ng eight-bedroom
house sa sosyal na Dasmariñas
Village sa Makati na binili ni Richard
kamakailan para sa pamilya.
Two-picture deal ang pinirmahan
ni Annabelle, tatlo naman kay Ruffa.
Magkasama sila sa unang pelikula,
na ang titulo ay My Monster Mom na
isang comedy sa panulat at direksyon
ni Joey Reyes.
“Isa lang actually ang pinirmahan
ko, kasi sa isa, extra lang ako,” sabi
ni Annabelle.
Sa Desperadas voice-over lang
daw kasi si Annabelle. Ito ang
matagal nang naantalang comeback
movie sanang lahat nina Ruffa,
Gretchen Barretto, Dawn Zulueta, at
Pops Fernandez. Ang paggawa nila
ng Desperadas ay mauuna pa sana
sa paggawa ni Gretchen last year ng
Matakot Ka Sa Karma at ni Pops ng
Zsazsa Zaturnnah Ze Moveeh last
year din.
May nagtanong kay Ruffa na with
the controversy sa kanila, hindi ba
dapat drama muna ang ginawa nilang
“
Hindi na
matandaan ni
Annabelle kung
ano at kailan ang
huling pelikula
niyang ginawa
mag-ina. Okay lang ito kay Ruffa,
pero hindi kay Annabelle.
“Ruffa, comedy lang ako,” paalala
niya sa anak niya in her stern
motherly voice.
Hindi rin daw siguro kailangang
ikabit ang kontrobersiyang
kinasangkutan ng mag-ina para
kumita ang pelikula. At ang
kontrobersyang yon ay ang
pakikipaghiwalay ni Ruffa sa mister
niyang milyonaryong Turkong
Muslim na si Yilmaz Bektas.
“Ang pelikula kikita kung maganda
ang kuwento at bida,” giit ni
Annabelle.
Hindi na matandaan ni Annabelle
kung ano at kailan ang huling
pelikula niyang ginawa.
“Matagal na ‘yun, wala akong
boses doon, pipi ang papel ko,” sagot
ni Annabelle na nakatawa kaya’t
walang nakakaalam kung totoo ba ito
o nagpapatawa lang.
“Basta mula ngayon hanggang
ipalabas ang pelikula, araw-araw
akong magsisimba para kumita ito,”
pangako niya.
Adam and Eve ang titulo ng
film debut ni Annabelle kung saan
katambal niya raw ang dating aktor
na si Roldan Rodrigo. Kagagaling
niya lang daw sa Cebu nung
panahong yon at Bisaya lang ang
alam niya kaya hindi siya binigyan
ng dayalog sa pelikula.
Dahil role ni Eba ang ginampanan
niya, natural na wala siyang saplot.
Ang mahabang buhok niya lang daw
ang tumatakip sa kanyang boobs
at mga dahon-dahon lang ang suot
niyang pang-ibaba.
celebrity
filipino globe
July 2007
39
Sarah transformation peaks at concert
Sarah Geronimo (right) continues to
reinvent herself. Her recent television
appearances are evidence of this
transformation.
The giggly girl is now a charming
young lady who keeps her legs
together in a mannequin-like walk,
and crashes the stage in quick
footwork, body jiggles, shoulder
pops like a pro street dancer.
But most of all, she has become the
young woman many other Filipinas
her age want to be like. No wonder
Film industry
seeks cut in
cinema tax to
10 per cent
Raul Acedre in Manila
The film industry has asked the
government for help in reviving
public interest in local movies.
Representatives to a recent industry
meeting proposed a cut in cinema
taxes from 30 per cent to 10 per
cent nationwide to boost theater
attendance.
They also asked for wider
government initiatives to protect
intellectual property rights,
particularly those of artists in the film
industry.
At the same time, they proposed
more sweeping powers for the
Optical Media Board to make it
more responsive to the needs of its
constituents.
The movie summit was called by
Secretary Cerge M Remonde of
the Presidential
Management Staff.
It was attended
by Presidential
Consultant on
Entertainment
Vicente del Rosario,
Film Development
Council of the Philippines chairman
Rolando Atienza, and National
Commission for Culture and the Arts
executive director and Presidential
Assistant on Culture Cecille GuidoteAlvarez.
Remonde asked the film
stakeholders to formalise their
request with a resolution to be
presented to President Arroyo
(above).
He assured OMB chairman Edu
Manzano, who reported a shortage of
funds and logistics in carrying out its
mandate, that the Philippine National
Police and the DOJ will give full
support to OMB to help curb film
piracy in the country.
He also directed the PMS to help,
through the budget process, secure
more funds for OMB.
The committee thanked President
Arroyo for her commitment to the
film industry.
Meanwhile, Mowelfund executive
director Boots Anson Roa thanked
the PMS for supporting the
foundation.
“We have been able to rise above
the many challenges to deliver the
benefits to our members and we
hope that whatever gains may come
the way of the producers, leaders
and stalwarts of the industry would
trickle down to the members,” Roa
said.
bloggers on the Web have voted her
the “third most beautiful Filipina”
last year.
“She’s also a role model for our
youth,” a blogger posted. “She has
the traits that must make her parents
proud.”
Sarah will be in full flight on July
14, when she rocks the Araneta
Coliseum in the concert, Sarah
Geronimo in Motion.
“My fans will be seeing a different
me. I’ll be dancing. And my
costumes will
be—how would I
describe it—daring
and sexy?” Sarah
says.
Sarah has proven
herself to be the
total performer
many times over.
Aside from her TV shows, she’s a
successful commercial endorser.
Last December she was voted the
Most Popular Household Favorite
on Philippine Television by the Anak
TV Seal. Singing engagements not
only here but also abroad have made
her an international celebrity.
And here’s a special treat to fans
of Sarah who will be trooping to the
Big Dome: they get a chance to win a
Magic Sing videoke kit. Three Magic
Sing kits will be raffled off during
the concert.
There’s also that golden
opportunity to be a part of Sarah’s
next music video. Join the In Motion
TV online dance zone. Dance to the
groove and upload your video or
visit sarahgeronimoinmotion.com for
more details.
Special friends of Sarah’s will be
joining her in the concert. Among
them are Gary Valenciano, Jericho
Rosales, Sam Milby, Mark Bautista,
John Prats, Louie Ocampo and Ai-Ai
delas Alas.
Sarah follows up her Big Dome gig
with a birthday concert at the Clark
Expo in Pampanga on July 21.
40
celebrity
filipino globe
July 2007
Ano nga ba
ang score
kina Dennis
at Carlene?
Alam n’yo bang Filipino-Chinese
ang napakaguwapo at mahusay na
aktor na si Dennis Trillo?
Ho ang tunay na apelyido ng actor.
At di ba sabi ng beauty queen na si
Carlene Aguilar, na itinatago ang
pagbubuntis niya sa US, hindi raw si
Dennis ang ama ng nasa sinapupunan
niya kundi isang Chinese-Filipino
businessman?
Sa Pilipinas ay napabalita nang
buntis si Carlene, dahil isang araw
ay may nakakita sa kanya sa isang
mall na nagsusukat ng maternity
dresses sa isa sa mga shop doon.
Pero itinanggi niyang nagdadalantao
siya. Aniya ay nakatuwaan lang
niya na magsukat ng mga kasuotang
pambuntis. Ilang linggo pagkatapos
ng insidenteng yon ay naiulat nang
nasa US si Carlene at buntis na nga.
Natulikap siya roon ng GMA 7
news reporter na si Lhar Santiago
na sinundan doon and noon ay
nagbabakasyon na si Ruffa Gutierrez.
Inamin ni Carlene kay Lhar offcamera na buntis nga siya. Pero
ayaw naman niyang banggitin nang
tahasan ang pangalan ng nakabuntis
sa kanya, kaya marami pa rin
ang nagsususpetsang si Dennis
nga ang ama ng isisìlang niya at
pandidisimula lang ang pagsasabi
niyang isang Chinese businessman
ang may kagagawan noon.
Itinanggi na ni Dennis na siya
ang nakabuntis kay Carlene na dati
niyang girlfriend.
July 2007
Handog ng Filipino Globe
Sagutin at manalo
Inamin ng dalaga na buntis siya pero ayaw
nilang aminin na ang aktor ang ama
Danny Vibas in Manila
balik-tanaw
filipino globe
Sa US nakatira ngayon si Carlene kaya noong nagpunta roon si Dennis,
kamakailan, lalong lumakas ang ugong tungkol sa kanyang pagbubuntis.
May mga nagsasabing never
namang nag-break sina Carlene at
Dennis, pero nakaugalian na lang
ni Dennis na ilihim ang lovelife
niya kaya ayaw niyang aminin ang
relasyon niya kay Carlene.
Sa kalaunan, walang ipinakilala si
Dennis sa madla na girlfriend niya.
Pero minsan nga ay may tsumika
sa press people na may relasyon ang
aktor sa dating Binibining Pilipinas
kaya parang napilitan siyang aminin
na nagkaroon siya ng relasyon kay
Carlene. Pero noon pa raw ‘yon,
noong pareho pa silang unknown.
Sa ngayon, may press people nga
palang nagsasabing isusumpa nila si
Dennìs kung bigla niyang aminin na
siya talaga ang ama ng isisilang ni
Carlene. Ituturing daw nila si Dennis
na kasing bading ng manager niyang
si Popoy Caratativo sa sandaling
aminin ng aktor na siya nga ang
nakabuntìs sa beauty queen.
Kamakailan, pumunta si Dennis
sa US para mag-perform sa ilang
syudad doon.
Sa Los Angeles, California
naka-base si Carlene, at may mga
nagsususpetsang posibleng nagkita
sila nang lihim ni Dennis.
Pero pagbalik ni Dennis sa
Pilipinas, ang ikinuwento lang
niya ay ang panonood niya ng play
na Les Miserables sa Broadway,
New York at pagkamangha niya
kay Lea Salonga bilang isa sa
mga pangunahing gumaganap sa
produksyon.
Touched na touched din umano
siya na noong pumila siya backstage
para magpa-autograph kay Lea,
nakilala siya nito, pati na rin ng
maraming Pinoy na kasabay niyang
pumipila.
Two round-trip tickets (HKG-MNL-HKG or MNL-HKG-MNL)
Three iPod Nano
Five tickets to Hong Kong Disneyland
Clip this entry form and send to Filipino Globe, Suite 1905 Lippo Centre Tower 2, Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong
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41
42
celebrity
filipino globe
July 2007
Hollywood elite raise a toast to enduring film legend
“He’s probably the perfect example
of why we should move the senior
citizen age from 65 to 85,” Dustin
Hoffman mused as he glanced at
one of the few people on the planet
even more famous than he is: Clint
Eastwood (right).
Hoffman was one of a group
of Hollywood A-listers that paid
tribute to the iconic
77-year-old actor
and Academy
Award-winning
director at a
ceremony which
honored Eastwood
as both a huge Hollywood star and
uncompromising artist.
Singer Tony Bennett, the subject
of the forthcoming Eastwoodproduced documentary Tony
Bennett: The Music Never
Ends, said it was more than just
Eastwood’s magnetic physicality
that made him a star.
“Each film that he does is getting
better and better – he’s amazing,”
Bennett said of Eastwood, who is
four years his junior
Kevin Bacon recalled being a
degree of separation from Eastwood
when Eastwood directed him in
Mystic River.
“There, he demonstrated that he
still understood the perspective of
working class actors,” Bacon said.
Stars salute People’s Princess
Diana remembered in jampacked London concert 10 years after her tragic death
I
t was the least they could do for
their mother.
As rock stars paid tribute to her
memory at a jampacked Wembley
Stadium in London, Prince William
put it all in perspective. “There’s
been a rumbling of people bringing
up the bad, and over time people
seem to forget – or have forgotten
– all the amazing things she did
and what an amazing person she
was,” William said in an interview
recorded earlier and broadcast during
the show.
William and his younger brother
Harry organised the concert and
got rock royalty – from Elton John
to Duran Duran and Andrew Lloyd
Webber – aboard.
Diana died in a Paris car crash with
her Egyptian boyfriend Dodi alFayed 10 years ago, but the concert
was a memorial to her life. She
would have been 46 this year.
William and Harry greeted singer
Nelly Furtado and 1980s charttoppers Duran Duran, two of the acts
taking the stage to remember Diana
almost 10 years after her death in a
Paris car crash.
The princess died August 31, 1997,
along with her boyfriend Dodi Fayed
and their driver when their Mercedes
crashed inside the Pont d’Alma
tunnel, while media photographers
pursued them.
The concert featured music from
some of Diana’s favorite acts,
including Tom Jones, but also
showcased younger performers
including Kanye West, P. Diddy, Joss
Stone and Lily Allen.
The two princes addressed the
65,000-strong crowd from the stage
during the show.
Security for the event was
increased after the discovery of two
unexploded car bombs in central
London and an attack on Glasgow
airport that involved a Jeep Cherokee
slamming into the main terminal and
bursting into flames.
Police said they believed the
attack was linked to the car bombs,
and Britain raised its terror alert to
“critical” – the highest possible level.
At least 450 officers were on duty
to secure the concert.
The star-studded show also
featured performances by the English
National Ballet and songs by Andrew
Lloyd Webber in honor of Diana’s
love of dance and theater.
A family of fans from Portsmouth
in southern England said they had
come to sample the wide variety of
acts all playing under the same roof
— but that the memory of Diana’s
death was also in their minds.
“I was devastated,” Karen Moore,
50, a restaurateur, said of Diana’s
“
PRINCE WILLIAM
Paying tribute to his mother
death. Her husband, David, 52, and
the couples’ daughters, Lucy, 23, and
Katie, 21, said they were there for
the music, but also wanted to express
their sympathy for the princes.
“William and Harry are the same
age as us,” Lucy said.
Diana is remembered for her
glamour, for her extensive charity
work – and for her tempestuous
marriage to Prince Charles, heir to
the British throne.
The pair married in 1981 in a
ceremony watched on televisions
by millions around the world. They
divorced as spectacularly in 1996
after admissions of adultery on both
sides.
William said the concert was a
chance for people to “remember all
the good things about her because
she’s not here to defend herself when
she gets criticised.”
“After 10 years, there’s been a
rumbling of people bringing up the
bad, and over time people seem to
forget – or have forgotten – all the
amazing things she did and what an
amazing person she was,” William
said.
Tickets for the concert cost US$90
with proceeds going to causes Diana
supported, including land mine and
AIDS charities.
Harry, 22, said the brothers had
asked Elton John to play “Candle
in the Wind,” the song he played
at Diana’s funeral in Westminster
Abbey. Originally about Marilyn
Monroe, its lyrics were reworked
in tribute to Diana, and it became a
worldwide No 1 hit in 1997.
43
Irony for O.J. book
The rights to O.J. Simpson’s
controversial book If I Did It
have been snapped up by the
family of Ron Goldman, whose
murder the star was infamously
cleared of.
The former football star
was due to release the book
– in which he hypothetically
places himself at the scene of
the murders of his wife Nicole
Brown and her friend Goldman
in 1994 – last year, but it was
withdrawn by its publisher 10
days before its launch.
A court-appointed bankruptcy
trustee sold the media rights,
movie rights and copyright to
the family after a settlement was
reached on last week.
Newly released former jailbird
Paris Hilton is celebrating after
receiving two nominations for
the 2007 Teen Choice Awards,
including Best Female Reality/
Variety Star for TV show The
Simple Life.
The awards ceremony will be
held next month.
Among the others are Jessica
Alba, who is up for awards
including Best Movie Actress:
Action Adventure for the role
in Fantastic Four: Rise of the
Silver Surfer and Female Hottie,
and Justin Timberlake, whose
nominations include Best Male
Artist.
Others are Jessica Biel, Shia
LaBeouf, Katherine Heigl, Steve
Carell and Orlando Bloom.
People seem
to forget – or
have forgotten
– all the amazing
things she did
and what an
amazing person
she was
July 2007
TAKEFIVE
Paris eyes teen plum
American rapper Pharrell Willams work up the crowd. Below, Elton John performs one of his hit songs in the
show’s finale. Ten years ago, at Diana’s funeral, he sang ‘Candle in the Wind’ which promptly became a hit.
palakasan
filipino globe
Lindsay turns 21
It may not have been the bright
lights of Las Vegas, but Lindsay
Lohan (below) celebrated her
21st birthday in Malibu during a
brief leave from rehab.
Mom Dina, sister Ali, brother
Dakota, and on-again, off-again
beau Calum Best
joined Lindsay
and her guests for
a day of sun and
fun. While many
of the partygoers
soaked up the
sun, a bikini-clad
Lindsay stayed
indoors for most of the day.
Lindsay checked into a
treatment facility in Malibu on
May 28 following an arrest
on suspicion of drunk driving
after she drove her Mercedes
convertible into a tree.
Aguilera pregnant
Christina Aguilera’s estranged
father has confirmed the pop
star is pregnant with her first
child.
The “Fighter” singer has yet
to talk publicly about reports
that she’s with child and her
representatives are refusing
to deny the news, but proud
grandfather-to-be Fausto
Aguilera is all smiles.
He tells Life & Style magazine,
“I’m so excited. I want Christina
to achieve all her goals. I wish
her all the happiness in the
world.”
Insiders say the pregnancy
is not a big surprise for the
26-year-old singer and husband
Jordan Bratman. One source
says, “She’s thrilled. She’s
feeling wonderful.”
Bagong salta
pero sabak
na sa laro ng
Ginera Kings
Kung saan koponan na
namayagpag si Ronald
Tubid, at sa Ginebra, dala
niya ang kanyang
mala-Samboy Lim
na kakayahan sa laro.
RONALD TUBID
On melding with the Kings
Pinatunayan ni Ronald Tubid na kaya
niyang gampanan ang bagong role
Celeste Maring in Manila
U
nti-unti, pinatutunayan ni
Ronald Tubid (kanan) na
kaya niyang gamayin ang
kakaibang sistema ng Ginebra Kings
kahit pa marami na siyang koponang
pinanggalingan.
Mahirap turuan ang isang player na
nanggaling na sa iba’t ibang sistema,
pero para kay Tubid isa itong hamon
na unti-unti na niyang nalalagpasan.
“Mahirap talaga noong una, iba
kasi ang role ko rito at iba rin ang
system ng team. Pero unti-unti
naman natutunan ko na, nagiging
effective naman ako, nakakatulong,”
sabi ni Tubid.
Maging si coach Jong Uichico ay
humanga rin sa determinasyon ni
Tubid na matutunan ang sistema ng
Ginebra Kings.
“Okey si Ronald. We’ve been
trying to make him understand
what his role is in the team and he’s
slowly but surely getting there,”
sabi ni Uichico. Ang mga natutunan
ni Tubid ay sapat na upang maging
epektibo siya sa Ginebra Kings.
At bakit hindi, ginagawa ng 6-2
off guard ang lahat ng iniuutos ni
coach Uichico – at higit pa.
“Marami akong natutunan kay
coach Jong, matiyaga niya akong
tinuturuan, kaya naman determinado
akong matuto,” wika ni Tubid na
tinanghal noon sa PBL na 2002 MVP
(finals).
Pero para kay Uichico, ang
importante ay ang pagpapakita
ni Tubid ng kaagresibuhan at
determinasyon sa kanyang depensa.
“If he has a good offensive night,
bonus na yon. What we’re really
trying to do is make him realize
what his role is first, which is to be a
defender. Konti-konti, nakukuha na
niya iyon,” pahayag ni Uichico.
“
Marami akong
natutunan kay
coach Jong,
matiyaga niya
akong tinuturuan
“Mahusay siyang player, nakita
naman iyan kahit noon pa man,”
wika pa nito
Noong nasa amateur league pa
lamang si Tubid, ang kanyang laro
ay maihahalintulad sa pamosong si
Samboy Lim na bigay-todo kung
maglaro. Sa paglalaro ni Tubid noon
sa Philippine Basketball League,
walang humpay ang paghanga sa
kanya ng fans sa kanyang mahuhusay
na shots at kagila-gilalas na aerial
stunts tulad ni Lim na tinagurian sa
PBA na Skywalker. Pero may mga
bagay pa ring kinakailangang pagaralan at ayusin sa kanyang laro si
Tubid na unang napunta sa Shell at
Air21 bago naging bahagi ng pre-
New Year trade na naglagay sa kanya
sa crowd favorite na Ginebra.
“Kung minsan kasi, sobrang
dribble siya. He should realize na
kapag walang sitwasyon, he must
give up the ball,” paliwanag ni
Uichico.
“Those are the small things we’re
trying to correct,” dagdag niya.
“Once he completely understands
that, he’ll be the perfect fit for us.”
May magagandang senyales na
nang nakikita si Uichico.
“Tubid is known to be
hardworking and intense, an
interesting prospect which scouts are
raving about.
“He plays in a warrior-like
determination and usually does highflying acts -- virtues that endeared
him to the fans,” wika ni Uichico
Si Tubid ay may average na 13.6
points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists
kada laro. At sa pagkawala nga ng
mga key players ng Gins tulad nina
Rudy Hatfield (on leave), Johnny
Abarrientos (groin injury), Eric
Menk (calf injury) at Rafi Reavis
(shoulder injury), nabibigyan si
Tubid ng mas malaking oras sa court.
Sa harap ng krisis, buhay ang pangarap ni Toni Leviste
Celeste Maring in Manila
Sa gitna ng itinuturing niyang saglit
na bangungot sa kanyang buhay sa
ngayon, nanatiling nangangarap
para sa Olympic gold si Toni Leviste
(kaliwa).
“I never stopped dreaming, hoping for an Olympic gold even now
that my family is experiencing a crisis,” wika ni Leviste.
“What drives me is my love and
passion for this sport,” sabi ni Leviste. “Nothing can stop passion.
It’s unlimited. The day the burning
desire to ride for the country and to
continue in the sport dies, is the day
I don’t get up to ride.”
Inamin ni Leviste na isang therapy sa kanya ang kanyang pagsakay
sa kabayo upang makalimutan
ang problema na kinahaharap ng
kanilang pamilya sa ngayon. Ang
kanyang ama na si Tony Boy Leviste
ay akusado sa pagpatay sa isa niyang
kaibigan.
“My only fear is not trying,” dagdag ni Leviste. “Because that’s when
you really fail. That’s why my prayer
is for God to give me the strength to
rise to the challenge every day. The
day I don’t want to try is the day I
stop riding.”
Musmos pa lamang ay nakaukit
na kay Leviste ang pagmamahal sa
sport. Katunayan sa edad na walong
taong gulang, sa halip na maglaro ng
manika ay mas nais nito na sumakay sa kabayo.
Mas pinili niya ang magsanay sa
halip na dumalo sa mga parties at
hindi siya nakaakyat ng entablado
upang tanggapin ang kanyang diploma sa Ateneo de Manila dahil kasalukuyan siyang nasa Manila Polo
Club Annual Horse Show upang
idepensa ang kanyang titulo bilang
Rider of the Year. “Every time you
get up and try, even if you have a setback, I don’t consider that a failure,”
dagdag nito. “Obstacles are there for
a reason. God wants to teach you a
lesson, for you to find your path, for
you to see something.”
Kamakailan ay namatay ang
paboritong kabayo ni Leviste na
Maktub. Hindi rin siya makakasali
sa 2008 Beijing Olympics, pero nananatiling positibo ang kanyang pananaw.
Nagkampeon na si Leviste ng ilang
beses sa Southeast Asian Games,
Asian Games at World Cup Southeast Asian Jumping League noong
1999 at 2005.
“Representing the Philippines is
what makes me proud,” wika ni Leviste. “I feel I was born to do that. At
10, I was fifth in a field of six riders
in a competition in Clark Airbase. I
thought to myself: From this prize, I
am going to the Olympics one day.”
44
palakasan
filipino globe
July 2007
Joseph Yeo, pakitang-gilas kaagad pagkatuntong sa PBA
Pang-matinee idol ang kanyang
itsura at cool na cool ang kanyang
kilos.
Iyan ang madalas na marinig
sa mga tagahanga ni Joseph Yeo
(kanan) na isa sa pinakamahusay
sa depensa sa mga baguhang
manlalaro sa Philippine Basketball
Association.
Kaya nga’t hindi nakapagtataka
na noon pa mang naglalaro siya
sa University Athletic Association
of the Philippines ay tinagurian na
siyang “The Ninja.”
Unang lumikha ng ingay si Yeo
nang mapasama ito sa rambol
na kinasasangkutan din ni Enrico
Villanueva noong nakaraang taon.
Ayon sa ilan, nakita lamang kung
gaano ang intensidad ni Yeo sa
paglalaro.
Ang pag-entra ni Yeo sa liga ay
tunay na inabangan ng marami
lalo na nang magkomento si Asi
Taulava na babaguhin ni Yeo ang
liga sa sandaling tumuntong ito sa
PBA.
“May nagsabi lang na lumabas
nga daw sa dyaryo yun. S’yempre,
sarap ng feeling na pinupuri ka
ng isang sikat at magaling. Natalo
na nga kami, tapos may magcomment pa ng positive sa iyo
na ganun. Pero s’yempre, ayaw
ko naman makontento dun, dahil
alam ko madami pang kailangang
i-improve sa game ko,” wika nito.
“Hindi ka naman titigil sa
pagpapakita ng maganda di ba?
Kahit may nai-prove ka na. Two
years pa ako maglalaro di ba?
Yung two games na yun, bale wala
lang yun kapag next year hindi
ako magperform ng maganda.
“Kailangan maging
consistent and
syempre, magstrive para mas
gumaling pa
lalo,” sabi pa ni
Yeo na mula sa
prominenteng pamilya na FilipinoChinese.
Kasama sa mga
ipinagmamalaking bala ni Yeo
ay ang mahusay na mid-range
jumper at galaw na tila nagpapalito
sa dumedepensa sa kanya.
Kadalasan, kapag nababad siya sa
court, pinapayagan siya ni coach
Binky Favis na ipakita ang husay
sa ball handling.
Sa pagpasok ni Yeo noong
nakaraang taon sa professional
league makaraang ma-draft bilang
No 3 sa overall ng Coca Cola
Tigers, naresolba ang problema
ng koponan sa opensa. Ang Coca
Cola ay ang pinakamababa sa
scoring sa siyam na koponan sa
liga sa 82.8 per game
Sa kaagahan pa lamang ng
kanyang career, marami na
ang nagsasabi na maaaring
kunsiderahin sa Yeo bilang spark
plug ng koponan dahil sa kanyang
husay at kaagresibuhan.
Sa UAAP noon, madalas na
tinitilian ng mga kababaihan ang
kanyang galaw sa court, pero
pinahahanga din ni Yeo ang mga
technical fans ng UAAP – at
ngayon sa PBA – kahit pa may
ilang nagsasabi na tila nagbago
ang ugali ni Yeo sa labas at loob
ng court.
Sa kanyang rookie year ay
nagtala na si Yeo ng average
na 3.4 points, 1.5 rebounds, 1.5
assists, at 9.5 minutes per game.
Sa ngayon ay aminado si Yeo
na marami pa siyang dapat na
gamayin at pag-aralan. “Alam
ko naman na marami pa kong
dapat pag-aralan. Iba noong nasa
collegiate basketball, mas mahirap
itong sa PBA, talahang you really
have to mprove your worth and the
competition is so intense,” wika ni
Yeo na idolo sina Vergel Meneses
at Samboy Lim.
Maging si coach Favis ay
hinuhulaang magiging isa sa mga
basketball superstar si Yeo.
“Yeo was always a winner
wherever he went, and we expect
him to provide us with the same
energy he gave those teams,”
dagdag ni Favis.
Celeste Maring
Markado na
ang Harbour
Centre ng mga
katunggali
Inaasam ng mga kalaban na pigilin
ang rumaragasang koponan sa PBL
Celeste Maring in Manila
H
arbour Center. Ito ang target
talunin ng lahat ng koponan
sa Philippine Basketball
League.
At bakit hindi, dalawang
magkasunod na titulo ang kanilang
hawak bukod pa sa internasyunal
na kampeonato ng Southeast Asian
Basketball Association.
Dalawang taon na ang nakararaan
nang buuin ni Mike Romero, may-ari
ng Harbour Centre, ang koponan.
Kung sisipatin sa papel ay tila
napakalakas ng Harbour Centre, pero
ito ay hanggang sa salita lamang.
Gayunman, hindi ito naging
sagabal kay Romero na sa halip na
mag-alsa balutan sa amateur league
ay nagpatuloy sa pagpapalakas sa
koponan. “I used to think that if you
have a strong team, winning is easy.
But, now I know it’s not true, you
have to give the team a common goal
to win,” wika ni Romero.
Ngayon, makaraan ang dalawang
korona sa PBL kasama na ang PBL
Silver Cup, naghahabol na naman
sa ikatlong sunod na titulo ang
koponang tinagurian ding “Batang
Pier.”
Sa nakaraang Silver Cup,
winalis ng Batang Pier ang Hapee
Toothpaste sa finals. Sa idinaraos
ngayong Unity Cup, ang Harbour
Centre ang batayan kung gaano
kalakas at kahanda ang ibang
koponan.
“We’re on the right track in
the PBL Unity Cup. We expect to
surpass our performance in the last
conference,” sabi ni Romero. Ang
Batang Pier – ikaanim ang ranggo
noon – ang pinakamababang ranking
na koponan na nanalo ng korona sa
PBL.
At kayang-kayang gawin ito
ng Harbour Centre players sa
pangunguna nina Edwin Asoro, Ryan
Arana, Jason Castro at Chico Lanete.
Sa pangunguna ng apat na players
nasa unahan ng standings ang Batang
Pier sa Unity Cup kahit na wala ang
ipinagmamalaki noon na sina LA
Tenorio at Joseph Yeo.
“I did not think that we’d achieve
our goal this fast,” wika ni Romero
na humanga rin sa lakas ng kanyang
players na sina Jonathan Fernandez,
Al Vergara, Marvin Ortiguerra, Ron
Capati at Allan Gamboa.
“Meron kaming pitong players
na bago, kaya medyo back to basics
kami, pero look at us, maganda
ang ipinapakita ng mga bata.
Nagtutulungan kaya maganda rin ang
standings naming,” wika ni Romero.
Habang isinusulat ito ay humahabi
na naman ng kuwentong pangkampeonato ang Harbour Centre,
pero walang agam-agam o takot na
nadarama ang mga player nito.
Maging ang Most Valuable Player
ng nakaraang PBL Silver Cup na si
Jason Castro ay nasisiyahan din sa
kooperasyong ibinibigay ng kanyang
teammates.
“We feel confident, we know
we can rely on each other. My
teammates are all very good.
Everyone is stepping up, the
blending, the camaraderie, the focus
are there,” wika nito.
Aminado naman si Arana na lahat
ng koponan sa PBL ay hangad na
talunin sila. “All the teams want to
beat us especially now. I think the
“
Meron kaming
pitong players
na bago, kaya
medyo back to
basics kami,
pero look at us,
maganda ang
ipinapakita ng
mga bata
MIKE ROMERO
Team owner
team is very strong. We have a deep
bench, we can field in anyone,” wika
nito.
Bagama’t ayaw isipin ng Batang
Pier ang paghahabol sa ikatlong
sunod na titulo, walang dudang ito
rin ang direksyong patutunguhan ng
koponan. “We don’t want to think
about it right now, it’s still early. But
the team is very focused and after
two titles, we still want more,” wika
ni Romero.
Sunod-sunod ang
kampeonato ng
Harbour Centre,
mula sa Silver
Cup ng PBL
(itaas) hanggang
sa Seaba
championship.
Sa kabila ng
pagkawala ng
tatlong mabibigat
na players,
hindi natinag
ang koponan
sa hangaring
mapabuti pa ang
laro (kaliwa).
filipino globe
July 2007 45
46
filipino globe
Muhammad
Ali, in their
own
words,
Venus
risingis
the
greatest
from
the water
palakasan
July 2007
Beckham
shifts from
soccer to
... er, football
Reggie Amigo in Hong Kong
In my heart, he will always be the
greatest.
George Foreman
on Muhammad Ali
That line struck me like a punch. And
as I flipped the cover of the latest
book on the former world champion,
I found myself thumbing through
some of the greatest tributes to any
man, page after page.
“Lawdy, lawdy [Lord, O Lord],
he’s a great champion,” came off a
battered – and humbled – Joe Frazier
after Thrilla in Manila, an epic third
fight in their head-to-head contests
against which future boxers would
measure themselves.
And Larry Holmes, who would
be remembered more for who he
fought than what he did on the night
he predictably defended his world
title against an aging, tired Ali, saved
his best for a parting shot, telling his
fallen hero: “You’re the greatest. I
love you.”
In the outpouring of generosity
over Ali’s failing health, it’s hard
to find an unkind word. In fairness,
however, the man had earned the
accolades long before Parkinson’s
Disease began to ravage his body
into a shell of his former self.
Even so, that’s only part of the
great story that is Muhammad Ali,
and the world may never know the
half of it.
But thanks to people like
Alan Goldstein, a long-serving
sportswriter on the Baltimore Sun,
we get to relive the Ali legend. His
book is an honest portrait of the
man not from the reams of copy he
inspired but from the fighters who
were at the receiving end of his
greatness.
In their own words, each one of
them – from Sonny Liston to Floyd
Patterson, Leon Spinks and little
known Jean-Pierre Coopman (whom
Ali called “a gentleman” ) – helped
put together Muhammad Ali, the
Story of a Boxing Legend (Carlton
Books, 178 pages, $272).
Goldstein keeps it simple by
not getting in the way, except
to introduce a chapter in the
chronology, drawing on the many
years he spent covering Ali’s fights.
One such fight, which took Ali and
Foreman to darkest, deepest Africa,
almost leaps out of the pages.
And here I was, transfixed on the
images, knocked back to a summer
afternoon 34 years ago, lost in
a crowd of grown men shouting
themselves silly around a black and
white TV at the sight of Foreman
being cut from his legs, crashing
down and out.
I had to skip my UP zoology class
for that. I remember telling my
laboratory teammates the story the
next day only to find out they had
done what I did.
By the time Thrilla in Manila
rolled around, I had started a small
collection of things Ali, from stickers
to newspaper clippings and some of
the earlier books on him.
I was a visitor in my mother’s
Grade 3 class sleeping away boring
Foreman slugs Ali in Africa (top). Ali rocks Frazier in Manila (above).
afternoons under her desk when Ali
won his first professional fight. I
had not heard him proclaim himself
“The Greatest”, but now we know
how it became a currency. Now
we also know why he liked to call
his opponents names, and why TV
executives lapped up the one-liners
he used to sell his fights.
In a time when internet marketing
was not even a sound bite, Ali was
a brand. He pitched himself like
so much stuff off a store shelf and
earned handsomely. When asked why
he came out to take on Holmes, the
reigning world champion, his former
sparring partner and 12 years his
junior, Ali said: “I got it made for
life financially and every other way. I
don’t need to beat Larry Holmes.”
The following year, Ali fought
Trevor Berbick and lost a painful 10round decision, but even as he was
being put to shame, Ali was thinking
of a grand comeback. Six months
later, he put the question to manager
Angelo Dundee. “You can’t do it
anymore,” came the reply. “There
isn’t any water left in the well.”
So Ali closed his career in defeat,
but he hadn’t hit bottom. And so, the
story continues ...
Like the man that inspired it, the
book takes some doing to put down.
I’m reading it a third time, reliving
the moment in each word. If you
have not read about Ali or heard of
him, you’ll never know what I mean.
Center carries on legacy and life’s work
The Muhammad Ali Center
(right), a tribute to the man
and his values, is located in
Louisville, Kentucky’s “Museum
Row” in the West Main District
of downtown.
The six-story, 96,750 sq ft
museum opened on November
19, 2005 at a cost of US$80
million.
It also includes a 40,000 sq
ft two-level amphitheater and
plaza that is currently under
construction and will connect
to Museum Plaza. The plaza is
expected to be completed this
year.
The cultural center features
exhibitions regarding
Muhammad Ali’s core values
on respect, confidence,
conviction, dedication, giving
and spirituality.
An orientation theater helps
present Ali’s life from birth to the
present, and a mock-boxing ring
recreated after what was in his
Deer Lake Training Camp.
A two-level pavilion, housed
within a large elliptical room,
features his boxing memorabilia
and history.
A large projector displays “The
Greatest”, Muhammad Ali’s
signature fight, onto a full-sized
boxing ring.
Before David Beckham can convert
America into a soccer nation, he’ll
need to learn the lingo.
After saying his family came first,
he said the second most important
thing “is the foot... is the soccer.”
“I’ll get used to that at some point.
I’m sorry,” Beckham said.
The sports superstar and pop
culture “it” guy was officially
introduced at his home stadium amid
a cannon of confetti and a roar of
cheers.
Beckham quickly recognised his
move to the Los Angeles Galaxy will
take some adjusting. Even simple
things, as in what to call his sport
– it’s football in the rest of the world.
His brief slip drew some scattered
boos, which turned into laughs.
An estimated 5,000 soccer
enthusiasts – and new Beckham fans
– sat in the stands as “Becks” was
introduced and held up his new No
23 jersey.
“My family have now moved
to Los Angeles, something we’re
looking forward to, something
we’re very proud of, and in our life
everything’s perfect,” Beckham said
from a stage set up on the playing
field.
“So, on to my new challenge. This
is one of the biggest challenges I
have ever taken on in my career, to
move to a different country, the other
side of the world, something that I’m
looking forward to.”
Wearing a crisp gray suit and
sporting a buzz cut and a stubbly
chin, Beckham smiled as he walked
onto the field as the loudspeakers
blared the refrain, “Hello, America.”
His wife Victoria, aka Posh
Spice, wore a stylish fuchsia dress
with matching color alligator bag
and posed for photos, turning and
preening, before the presentation
began.
The crowd consisted mostly
of youngsters, with teenage girls
the most prominent group. Their
scattered screams gave the welcome
party a rock star vibe.
“He’s a celebrity and a great soccer
player,” 15-year-old Taylor Markham
said.
Her friend Alyssa Bricker, also a
15-year-old soccer player, said, “I
can’t wait to see him start playing.”
Asked if she thought Beckham was
handsome, Bricker said, “Oh, yeah.
He’s hot.”
And his wife?
“She’s pretty,” Bricker said. “And
very lucky.”
The Galaxy has switched team
colors to coincide with Beckham’s
arrival, going from the familiar green
to navy, white and gold.
David Beckham ... American ‘boy’.
dibersyon
July 2007
filipino globe
BUHAYPALAD
ARIES Mar 21-Apr 19
LIBRA
This month will bring
up a brand-new trend
concerning a change
in your living situation.
Just after the new moon, you
may decide to move, or you may
renovate, redecorate, reorganise
closets, and change furniture
placement, making you feel as
through you have moved.
If you are excited and
happy about getting
to work, it sounds like
you love your job. If
you dread going in at the end of
a glorious weekend, it’s probably
time for a new job. Even if you love
what you do, it’s a rare person who
isn’t excited about the prospect of a
new job.
TAURUS
SCORPIO
Apr 21-May 20
Oct 23-Nov 22
You will find a million
reasons to travel
this month, so you’ll
probably head out of
town more than once. As a Scorpio,
you tend to like being holed up in
your own space, but with so many
good reasons to leave, there’s little
chance that you’ll be able to hide
inside.
GEMINI May 21-Jun 20
SAGITTARIUS
You may have been
told about a generous
commission, court
settlement, licensing
fee, signing bonus, or other windfall,
but if not, that news may still arrive
in the first days of July. Often, a
full moon of this type will help you
pay off a large obligation or settle a
question about property.
There will be a strong
emphasis on finances
this month, in terms
of paying bills and in
seeing about getting a raise. Later
in the month, raising important
capital to fund an endeavor
important to you will become a huge
focus and will begin a major theme
that will likely last for months.
CANCER
CAPRICORN
Nov 23-Dec 22
Dec 21-Jan 19
You have every reason
to be optimistic about
your year to come.
Life will be brighter
than it has been in a long time, for
stubborn planetary placements
that have held you down are about
to move on. You’ve been through
many cosmic storms, particularly in
regard to money.
You should be feeling
fantastic. The month
will begin with a full
moon in Capricorn
that had reached its fullest point on
June 30, hours before July dawned.
You only get one full moon a year
in Capricorn, and this one is an
exceptionally generous and kind
one.
LEO Jul 21-Aug 21
AQUARIUS
You could be on
vacation, but if you’re
smart, you’ll stay back
and interview for a
new and better position. You may
find your new dream job in a new
environment, or, in your present
company. In fact, you may already
know the offer before you come to
the table.
Your work life will
become unusually
active, with phones
ringing and coworkers
darting here and there in a
frantic rush. It may be dead quiet
outside due to the fact that it’s the
height of summer in the northern
hemisphere, but inside it’s an active
beehive.
VIRGO Aug 22-Sep 22
PISCES
When you decide to
duck out of the office
to take a long trip,
that’s news. So what
if it should be for business? It looks
like the locale you’re headed to
will be special, filled with incredibly
sensuous sights, sounds, and
flavors. You’ll be excited about your
trip and that’s what counts.
Your time has finally
come. All year, you’ve
had dazzling aspects
for your career, and
you must be gratified by certain
victories. It is clear you’ve been
making all the right moves.
Nevertheless, you’ve been trying to
find away to have a more balanced,
enjoyable private life, too.
USEFUL NUMBERS
Philippine Consulate
2823 8500
2866 6975
Labour Hotline
9102 0840
Immigration
2824 6111
Police/Fire/Hospital
999
Labour Department
2717 1771
Labour Tribunal
2717 1771
Airport assistance
2861 3980
Int’l Social Services
2836 3598
Caritas Filipino Serv
2526 4249
2147 5988
Bethune House
2721 3119
Bayanihan Center
2817 8928
Asian Migrant Center
2312 0031
Mission for Fil Mig
2522 8264
Unifil Hong Kong
2522 8264
Race Relations Unit
2835 1579
Fil Mig Work Union
2915 9468
ANGSISTE
Sep 23-Oct 22
This will be a big
month, but to make it
work for you, you can’t
be too rambunctious.
Try not to be too much like a little
bull in a china shop. Mars in Taurus
will make you impatient and anxious
to see progress, but with all other
planets in retrograde, you won’t see
a lot of progress.
Jun 20-Jul 21
47
KATUWAANLANG
Fathers, mothers, sons and daughters
A father and his son happen upon
the condom aisle. The son asks
his father why there are so many
different boxes of condoms.
The father replies, “Well, you
see that 3 pack? That’s for when
you’re in high school. You have
2 for Friday night and 1 for
Saturday night.”
“Then what’s the 6 pack for?”
the son asks.
“That’s for when you’re in
college,” the father says. “You
have 2 for Friday night, 2 for
Saturday night, and 2 for Sunday
morning.”
“So, what’s the 12 pack for?”
the son goes on.
“That’s for when you’re
married, son. You have one for
January, one for February, one for
March...”
to find out about the young man.
“So what do you do?” the father
asks the young man.
“I am a scholar,” he replies.
“Admirable,” the father says, “but
what will you do to provide a nice
house for my daughter to live in, as
she’s accustomed to?”
“I will study,” the young man
replies, “and God will provide for
us.”
“And how will you buy her a
beautiful engagement ring, such as
she deserves?” asks the father.
“I will concentrate on my
studies,” comes the reply. “God will
provide for us.”
“And children?” asks the father.
“How will you support children?”
“Don’t worry, sir, God will
provide,” replies the fiancée.
Later, the mother asks, “How did
it go, Honey?”
The father answers, “He has no
job and no plans, but the good news
is he thinks I’m God.”
A young woman brings home her
fiancée to meet her parents. After
dinner, her mother tells her father
LARONGSUDOKU
Jan 20-Feb 18
Feb 19-Mar 20
Pinakamainit na laro ngayon, hamon sa kakayahang mag-isip at magbilang. Punuin ang mga square ng
numero mula 1 hanggang 9 na hindi umuuulit. May dalawa kayong tsansa para hamunin ang sarili. Suko?
Tingnan ang sagot sa aming internet edition (www.filglobe.com).
YOURDIARY
July 15
Leaders’ Kapihan, United
Filipinos in Hong Kong, 2-5
pm, St John’s Cathedral,
4 Garden Road, Central.
Dolo 9747 2986 or Eman
9758 5935.
July 15
Search for Miss Fitness
2007, 1-6 pm, Capiznon
Association of Hong Kong,
Grappa’s Cellar, Central.
Chona 9451 6494. Arman
9767 6280
Ongoing activities
Free cooking class. First
and second Sundays, 3-5
pm. Southorn Mansion,
1 Luard Road, Wanchai.
Riza 6159 7177 or 2732
7337.
July 29
Summer festival and fair,
Bethune House Migrant
Women Refuge, State
of the Nation Address
program, whole day.
Edwina 9488 9044.
Free Cantonese lessons.
First, second and fourth
Sundays, 2.30 - 4 pm,
Evangelical Community
Church Ministry Centre, 3/F
Hong Kong Pacific
Centre, 28 Hankow Road,
EXCHANGE RATES
Tsimshatsui. Fe 9145 1937
or 2732 7311.
Hong Kong dollar
British pound
91.20
Tacfil Tuklas Talino
registration.Gemma 9546
4686 or Len Len 9270
5271.
Saudi riyal
12.29
Canadian dollar
43.33
Euro
61.93
Australian dollar
38.94
Laguna Achievers Miss
Beauty Fat pageant
registration. 6335 2837.
Send your activities and
programs for publication
to info@filglobe.com
Japanese yen
5.90
38.15*
Singapore dollar
30.01
US dollar
46.11
*per 100 yen
Above rates are for reference purposes only.
Please check with your bank for actual rates.
shoot, show & tell
filipino globe
the big picture
July 2007
48
JAPAN TREASURE
Rising nearly 4,000 meters into the sky, Mount Fuji looms over Yamanashi prefecture just west of Tokyo. The mountain and the temple in the foreground are among the most recognisable landmarks
in Japan. The country has a large population of Filipino expatriates, mostly entertainers, whose numbers peaked at just under 100,000 before Tokyo tightened its immigration rules three years ago.
Think about it – a booming spa business on Taal
T
he Philippines is a great place
for building luxury spas.
The Philippines has many scenic
volcanoes. So what’s more logical
than to build a luxury spa on a scenic
volcano?
This could be the reasoning behind
a Filipino-Korean company’s project
to construct a resort right on the
crater edge of Taal volcano – which
happens to be on an island in the
middle of a large lake that itself
used to be an enormous volcano.
Did I forget to mention? Taal is
the country’s deadliest exploding
mountain.
You’d think only two kinds
of people would want to build
installations on volcanoes: (a)
demented super villains in secret
agent movies; (b) individuals who’ve
been ingesting too many forbidden
substances.
But this group seems to be serious.
In fact it had gotten permits and
was already busy building a road on
the island before it was ordered to
suspend its work.
LIGHTERSIDE
view from home
Alan C Robles
in Manila
alan.robles@filglobe.com
“
Volcano crater
edges should be
reserved for vital
installations. Like
Congress
Oh yes, the company had also
driven away some residents living on
the island.
Don’t ask me what the residents
were doing on Taal. Perhaps they
were hiding ballot boxes from the
Comelec. The reports didn’t’ say if
any super villains were evicted.
Before we rush to condemn a
project like this, we should stop. We
should think. We should – perhaps
– ingest a few forbidden substances.
We could then try to think of the
idea’s good points.
First, would be location. A spa
perched on the edge of a volcano has
an unbeatable view. Of course, guests
would probably have to be carefully
briefed about the floor plan:
Guest in bathrobe: Excuse
me, does this door lead to the
saunaaaaaaa…..
Attendant: Watch your step, sir
But think of the possibilities. What
could be more relaxing than looking
down a crater full of sulphurous,
smoking water, a vista guaranteed to
induce a peaceful frame of mind that
can calmly contemplate questions
such as: “I wonder if I’m going to die
now?”
Second, tourist agencies could
go to town marketing the concept.
Imagine the slogans: “The mudbath
of your dreams!” “Philippine spas
are booming!”
Third, the spa could offer unique
services: steam rooms, hot water
pools, lava-heated cooking. Guests
who can’t settle their bills would get
extended time in the steam rooms.
Families could go boating on
the lake. There might even be a
special boat race called “Paddle For
Your Life As Tremendous Flaming
Boulders Come Flying In Your
Direction.” A screaming contest
would be optional.
Actually it’s perfectly safe. Taal
hasn’t erupted since, oh I don’t know,
1977?
And the fact that it’s been on alert
level 1 for seven years now and
there’ve been earthquakes in the area
are just minor disturbances.
But government authorities now
say they will scuttle the project.
When I think about it, I agree.
Volcano crater edges shouldn’t be
given to trivial businesses like spas.
They should be reserved for vital
installations. Like Congress.
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