Full evacuation for OFWs in Libya

Toronto, Ontario
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
‘No more EDSA-type revolt’ - PNoy
visit us: www.philippinecourier.com
Vol. 7 No. 7
Full evacuation for OFWs in Libya
Biggest batch of OFW-repatriates from Libya arrive in Manila Saturday… US,
EU freeze Khadafy assets
RARE OPPORTUNITY: Photo shows one of the 25 symbolic doves lands
on the head of a surprised President Benigno S. Aquino III after they were
released during the unveiling of the life-sized bronze statue of Archbishop
Jaime Cardinal Sin as part of the 25th anniversary of EDSA People Power I
February 25, 2011 in P. Burgos St. corner Bonifacio Drive, Manila. Together
with President Aquino is Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales. –
(Photo by Jonas Sulit – ABANTE.com)
MANILA, Philippines (February 28, 2011) - President
Aquino has vowed that under his administration, there
would never be a need for another EDSA type of revolution
to make government address the needs of the people.
FINALLY HOME: Another batch of OFWs from Libya arrives at NAIA
with different scary tales of escape from the South African nation now
under siege from its people
Story on page 9
continued on page 11
Rep. Singson resigns
Another world title for
Donaire, Jr.
Please turn
to page 17
'Angel ng Tahanan 2011'
( Miss LSC Caregiver)
Please
turn to page 4
Story on page 5
Story on page 25
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Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
Philippine Courier
After HK conviction for drugs in HK …
Rep. Singson resigns
MANILA (March 2, 2011) - Ilocos
Sur Rep. Ronald Singson has formally
resigned as a member of the House of
Representatives, less than a week after
he was sentenced to 18 months in prison in Hong Kong for drug possession.
Singson, in a letter to House Speaker
Feliciano Belmonte Jr. dated Feb. 28,
said he reached the "painful decision"
to quit his post in keeping with the
"time-honored tradition" of Congress
that ensures that its members come
“with clean hands, clean minds and
clean hearts."
"I am resigning as a member of the
House of Representatives in humble
recognition of the nobility in character and purpose of the majority of my
colleagues who kept their peace and
prayed while waiting for the conclusion of my case in Hong Kong," he said
in his resignation letter.
sentence.
"I am resigning not because I am succumbing to the pressure of the noisy
few among my honorable colleagues.
My resignation is a fulfillment of my
promise to
my father,"
he said.
He likewise
thanked his
fellow congressmen
for
their
"continued
friendship
and moral
support."
He said he
chose to quit his post "for the sake of
the Filipino people."
The letter was faxed to Belmonte's office, which officially received it at 3:40
p.m. Tuesday, by Rep. Singson's lawyer, John Reading.
"I am tendering my resignation as a
congressman for the sake of my countrymen, the Filipino people, especially
my constituents in the first district of
Ilocos Sur, who look up to the members of Congress with respect," he said.
In the same letter, Rep. Singson, son
of Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson, also took a swipe at some of his
"noisy" colleagues who made moves to
oust him from the chamber even before
the Hong Kong court handed down the
Speaker Belmonte will have to read
Rep. Singson’s resignation letter before
the plenary and inform House members of the convicted lawmaker's decision to quit his post before his name is
formally dropped from the rolls.
Gani Gregorio
Assistant
Sales Manager
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
Rep. Singson was sentenced last week
to 18 months in prison by the Hong
Kong Wan Chai District Court for trafficking cocaine and Valium in the Chinese territory. He was arrested in July
last year at
Chek Lap
Kok Airport after
authorities seized
6.67 grams
of cocaine
from him.
"Pwede si Owen (Eric Singson Jr.),
pero pag-uusapan pa," he told reporters on Tuesday.
In his defense, he
said
he
went on a
cocaine-and-gambling binge after attending an Usher concert in Manila
that he helped organize on July 9. He
said he was frustrated by an argument
with his girlfriend, actress Lovi Poe.
"We have to meet all the provincial and
municipal leaders and let them decide,"
he said.
He said he then decided to join a friend
who was going to attend a poker tournament in Macau, but he was arrested
while transiting through Hong Kong.
Governor Singson, meanwhile, said a
relative, Ilocos Sur Rep. Eric Singson
Jr., may act as "caretaker" of his son’s
legislative district while waiting for a
duly elected replacement.
Kit Santos
Tony Paragas
Sales and Leasing
Consultant
Used Car
Manager
Singson Jr., representative of the second district of Ilocos Sur, is the son
of the governor’s cousin, former Rep.
Eric Singson.
Gov. Singson also said he will consult
other local officials from the province
to decide who they will field in the special elections that will be held to elect
his son’s replacement.
Belmonte on Monday said he will instruct the House committee on electoral reforms and suffrage to pass a
resolution asking the Commission on
Elections (Comelec) to conduct special
polls in the convicted lawmaker’s district once his position is declared vacant.
Comelec
Commissioner
Rene
Sarmiento earlier said that a temporary
“caretaker" can represent Rep. Singson’s legislative district before a special election is held to determine his
replacement. — KBK/HS, GMA News
5
Philippine Courier
Publisher/Editor-in- Chief Ramon "Mon" Datol
Managing Editor
Bob Valdes
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Ores Ting and Jojo Taduran.
EDITORIAL
F R O N T L I N E
PNoy
gets a
divine
message
President Benigno ‘Noynoy’Aquino III , in his speech marking Edsa I, again invited Filipinos to join him in his journey through the straight path, something which he
has been asking for since the campaign for the presidency. Such mindless invitation
makes it look like either nobody has yet taken up his challenge or he is into rambling
words that do not mean anything to him.
Also he asked for unity while at the same time engaging in head bashing of former
Presidents Marcos and Arroyo. The point is, why call for unity when he does not mean
it?
Noynoy had stuck to the reformist image that won him the elections, that is a literal
meaning of stuck. He has failed to move beyond being the candidate and step into
the shoes of the president that Filipinos thought would lead them to the road to good
governance and prosperity.
What he says seem to be rehashes, if not clean copies of what he delivered to convince Filipinos to vote for him during the campaign for the 2010 elections.
These speeches were what inspired voters to go for him in the elections — which is
what his propagandists say — and thus he still believes such to be a winning formula
whenever he wants to impress a crowd.
Most Filipinos are, however, getting frustrated over his repeated reference of past
evils and his unending promise to be different and provide the nation what it has been
deprived of for so long.
Eight months into office and Noynoy is still handing out promises. Regarding the
straight path, yet this road is becoming more fictional than the yellow brick road of
the Land of Oz. Nobody has seen it or figured out where it is going, perhaps including
Noynoy.
Noynoy would never run out of ammunition for his entire six years in delving on
the excesses of Marcos and Gloria, who have the two longest terms as presidents, and
picking even on the smallest details of the supposed excesses of the two.
Noynoy even railed against Marcos’ removal of Voltes V, a Japanese anime in the
1980s that could have been his favorite program at that time, or still is, perhaps. The
animated series was pulled off due to what was considered its violent content at that
time.
The question that remains among many, however, is: Would he find the quality to
leap beyond blaming the past and do something creditable in his administration?
While endlessly enumerating the ills of the past, nothing substantial as a way of
change is being offered by Noynoy’s administration.
The padrino system remains stronger than ever, with his close associates being
insulated from public criticisms. A glaring example of this is Mar Roxas, whose itch to
get into the government, Noynoy accommodates every time.
The financial situation of the government has not improved and had even worsened
from the time of Gloria, who supposedly suctioned off most of the money in government to her pocket.
Last year, half of which was under Noynoy’s watch, the budget deficit hit a record
P310 billion after a P298 billion budget deficit, which was second worst, during the last
full year of Gloria in 2009.
Budget Secretary Butch Abad has been proclaiming that the shortfall at the end of
the year was below target and manageable since it was better than in 2009 in terms of
its percentage to the gross domestic product (GDP). The fiscal gap still needed mostly
foreign borrowings to plug it and the country had something like $2.5 billion yearly
in new foreign debts to pay off maturing loans and at the same time bridge the fiscal
shortfall. The Aquino government also borrows heavily from the domestic market to
cover the budget deficit.
Employing justice remains selective as in the classic case of the hostage taking
crisis in which Noynoy changed the recommendations of the body that investigated
the globally-broadcast carnage to favor his allies and later on still abetted a snub of a
reinvestigation of the incident in Hong Kong by saying that the issue of sovereignty
is involved in the acceptance of the invitations of Hong Kong authorities to its own
inquest.
The peace dove going straight for Noynoy’s head at the Edsa I event could be a
divine message with the dove representing God’s hand movement.
It may have been God’s way of saying, “cut the crap Noynoy.” (Tribune)
6
NINEZ CACHO-OLIVARES
Impossible changes
Former Chief Justice Reynato
Puno, speaking before a UP crowd,
pushed a shift to the parliamentary
form of government which he said
would lead to the restoration of
the voice of the sovereign Filipino
people, adding that the people are
“fed up with elitism — of the royal
or the blue blood.”
He was quoted as saying that “we
fought against a different kind of
elitism. It may not be elitism coming from the royal blood but elitism
nonetheless. The rule of the few
over the majority of the people.
People power changed that kind of
elitism.”
That’s his opinion, but I certainly
beg to differ — and on the point of
shifting to a parliamentary form in
restoring the voice of the people,
which Puno says will do away
with the type of Philippine elitism
where the rule of the few is superior to the majority of the people.
The past decades have proved
that our Congress, which consists
of the so-called representatives of
the people, and the voice of the
people, hardly represent the people
and neither are they the voice of
the people.
Over the decades, it has been
proven again, and again, that Congress — whether the House or Senate — was the voice of the Malacañang tenant as Congress bows to
the will of Malacañang, never of
the people who have elected them.
Has Congress ever used its power
of overriding the presidential veto?
Has it rejected a national budget as
presented by the Palace tenant?
And will a parliamentary government change all this? Hardly,
since those who will be elected to
parliament would be the very same
politicians and their kin who are
today’s members of Congress. And
they — at least the majority — belong to the elite. All one needs to
prove this statement are their statements of assets and liabilities.
How then can parliamentary
system packed with the same congressmen — or their wives and
children after them — become the
true voice of the people?
It may be denied, but the House
of Representatives has always
been peppered with members who
chuck their parties and align themselves with the Malacañang tenant,
who also belongs to the elite class,
and favors the elite businessmen’s
interests rather than the Filipino
people’s interests.
One argument raised in pushing
the parliamentary form of government says that this system does
away with coups and revolts of
the people power type, because a
no confidence vote brings down a
Cabinet government.
Not in this country and with the
Congress — or would be parliament — that we have. No matter
the many scandals and scams that
rock the government, that government does not fall mainly because
the majority of the members of
Congress are precisely there to ignore the voice of the people and to
protect that government, which is
why impeachments never work as
far as presidents go.
As for people power of the Edsa
revolt type, this is so overrated.
Edsa I would never have succeeded if the military did not go over
to the people’s side. Edsa II was
not a people power revolt. It was
a coup mounted by the Vice President, who had plotted this with the
bishops, the military chiefs, the
elite businessmen and the opposition politicians who could not get
the then sitting President convicted
by a Senate court.
And yes, even the Supreme Court
justices were in on the coup plot
inventing a doctrine of “constructive resignation” on the basis of an
unauthenticated diary written by a
third person with this diary coming
after the fact, and done to justify
their unconstitutional and illegal
act of swearing in the Vice President, Gloria Arroyo.
That was not the sovereign voice
of the people. It was the voice of an
elite mob who embraced the rule of
force, not the rule of law.
As for federalism, the country is
hardly prepared for this, apart from
being much too expensive for the
Filipino people to afford. Maybe in
the future, but certainly not now,
and not in the near future either.
Parliament is just another name
for Congress. But as long as it is
the same political families that
dominate; as long as there are turncoats in Congress and as long as
its majority continue to kowtow to
the Malacañang tenant, no change
is forthcoming, presidential or parliamentary form of government
change.
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
Philippine Courier
THE TALL ORDER
Reprinted from
Malaya with the
author’s consent
‘Postponing the elections may just be the
worst medicine for what ails our politics, as
it applies to our Muslim brothers.’
By Mon Datol
Willing victims
Libya’s continuing unrest definitely
affects worldwide economy as prices of
oil skyrocketed and the Philippines is one
Asian country deeply affected by this.
Alam naman natin na kapag tumaas ang
gasolina sa Pinas, lahat tataas – meat, veggies, rice, corn, sugar, salt, LPG, pamasahe, pandesal at kung anik-anik pa. Tipid
bigla mga Pinoy, kahit pa sabihing they
are receiving monthly dollars from their
siblings working abroad night and day just
to send hard-earned money to their loved
ones in the Philippines.
Even here in Canada, we are tightening our belts due to non-stop increase of
gasoline. It was $1.23.1/liter yesterday
ng magkarga ako. Bumaba nga ng konti
from $1.24 last week after Saudi Arabia
doubled its oil production after Libya
temporarily stopped its production of oil
due to people power.
Talagang black gold ang oil.
****
And now, some ‘enterprising concert
producers’ are bringing Pinoy singers
from Manila come March 26 with tickets
prices costing as high as $150 and as low
as $50 for a 2-hour-show that features
not-so-popular Yeng Constantino and a
Jovit Baldovino whose claim to fame is
just winning a talent-search conducted for
a year by ABS-CBN?
Wala pa nga yatang concert sa Manila
na dinumog ang show ng dalawang ito, ah.
Dito pa kaya sa Toronto? Nagsama naman
ng comedian named Ate Gay who impersonates the superstar herself Nora Aunor.
Eh, galing na nga rito ang original na Ate
Guy at nalugi pa ang producer, tapos,
isang impersonator ang ipapadala rito sa
Toronto? Para magpatawa at the expense
of one of the greatest Filipino artists of all
time? Ayaw ng mga loyal Noranians na
nakatira rito niyan.
I don’t know kung gagastos ang mga
Pinoy rito sa Toronto ng $150 or even $50
just to watch this show produce by people
connected to ABS-CBN. Sila-sila na rin
ang nag-produce ng kanilang mga talents?
Ano ba yan? Sayang ang perang pambili ng mahal na tickets. Malaking pera
na iyon kung ipapadala sa mga pamilya
nila sa Pilipinas, ah. Nasa inyo iyan, mga
kabayan kung gagastos kayo ng $150 for
a VIP ticket or $50-admission ticket …
Sa isang ‘bigtime concert’, kuno.
****
Kasabay ng nasabing concert sa March
26 and 3rd Bayanihan Gala ng Canadian
Aid Relief Project (CARP) na gaganapin
sa Fairmont Royal Hotel sa downtown
Toronto. $150/ticket din ang nasabing
fund-raising na ito ng CARP na pinamumunuan ni Dr. Francisco Portugal, pero,
mapupunta naman ang pera/donation nyo
sa medical/dental/optical missions na
taon-taon ay ginagawa nina Dr. Portugal
sa mahihirap na barangay sa Pilipinas.
Excellent dinner, plus some entertainment provided by local Pinoy talents and
night-long dancing after the show awaits
the expected 600 guests and patrons.
Dito ko na lang gagastusin ang $150 ko,
makakatulong pa ako sa mga kababayan
nating mahihirap sa Pinas, keysa sa show
nina Yeng at Jovit na ang kikita ay mga
producers na konektado rin sa ABS CBN.
‘Nakngdalagang baka, madam Charo
Santos ang mga subordinates mo, ….
Sila-sila ang kumikita.
****
Mas magaling kumanta si Martha Joy
keysa kay Yeng Constantino, pero, hindi
natin sinusuportahan si Martha Joy at
ang pinapanuod natin ay ang mga tagaManilang singers na dinadala rito ng mga
‘enterprising’ producers. Nagbabayad
tayo ng hanggang $150 for a VIP ticket for
almost all shows that feature artists com-
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
ing from the Philippines, but, we questioned why Toronto divas Jen Camacho
and Josie de Leon are charging $45 per
ticket in their local shows here in Toronto.
May kasamang dinner pa ang shows nina
Jen at Josie, huh!
(By the way, Jen Camacho has her
‘Jenifer Forever3’ concert on April 8,
2011. Pls. see her poster on page 4 of this
paper.)
Darating na naman si Piolo Pascual dito
sa March 20. Solo concert daw. $150 din
ang VIP ticket. Ginagawang gatasan ng
mga di-na-sikat na artist/singers ang mga
Pinoy dito sa Canada, ah! Mas magaling pa sina John Alix, Rolly Gatchalian,
Darius Ciria, Todd Domingo at iba pang
Filipino singers keysa kay Piolo Pascual as
far as singing is concerned, pero, dinadaan
sa pagiging artista ang mga shows dito,
eh. At saka karamihang nanunuod kina
Piolo ay mga …
Willing victims!
****
On March 12, 2011, TPC/EDCILLE
Productions presents the monthly ‘Angel
ng Tahanan’ Miss LSC Caregiver 2011 to
be held at ‘Prestige By Night’ disco house
4544 Dufferin St. just South of Finch
St., North York, Ontario. $23/ticket that
entitles the guest a fine dinner, a 2-hour
beauty pageant and excellent entertainment that features teen superstar Mia
Lising Napao, Andie Barredo and Andrea
Asuncion.
The panel of judges composed of former Miss Gay Universe Erena Garcia, former Miss Philippines runner-up Christina
Paras, journalist Tenny Soriano, among
others, will select three winners from
the seven candidates (Miss January, Miss
February and Miss March 2011). Grand
finals of the 12 monthly winners will be
held on Decembr 3, 2011 at the Korean
Community Center along Leslie Road
near Eglinton, Toronto, with the top winner pocketing the round trip plane ticket to
the Philippines. Let’s go and support our
caregivers, aptly called …
Mga Angel ng Tahanan.
****
If former AFP Chief of Staff (ret.)
General Angelo Reyes was allowed to
be buried to the Libingan ng mga Bayani
despite committing suicide, why not
give such honor, too, to former President
Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. for being a WWII
decorated soldier and also a Philippine
Army officer (Lt.), like Reyes?
Tama na bangayan. Pinauwi na ng mga
Pinoy ang Marcos family sa Pilipinas and
even elected them to public office up to the
Senate, kaya’t kumpletuhin na ang pagpapatawad sa mga Marcos and allow the
former president be laid at the Libingan
ng mga Bayani. Anong malay natin, ang
susunod na pangulo ng Pilpinas, to follow
the ‘on-going’ tradition ay ….
Si Sen. Bongbong Marcos!
****
SHORT ORDER: Our deepest sympathy to friend Jess Carlos, whose father Mr.
Cornelio Carlos, died at the age of 89 last
February 13, 2011, from The Philippine
Courier and its staff, Ores Ting and family; AFCA; Folklorico; Kapampangan
Association of Canada; FARH; Filcrea’s
Ruby Talavera & colleagues, among other
friends.
The ARMM elections
THERE have been eight postponements
since the first set of ARMM officials was
elected on Feb. 17, 1990. Only in 2008
have the ARMM elections been conducted
on the date specified by law.
Pending before Congress at the moment
is a bill of Lanao del Sur Rep. Pangalian
Balindong to postpone the August 2011
ARMM elections so it will be synchronized
with the 2013 national elections.
The Aquino administration would also
like a postponement of the elections in the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
scheduled in August because it believes the
government should first bring about major
reforms to address the problems of poverty
and armed rebellion in the region.
I don’t think the postponement of elections is the answer. In fact, postponing the
elections may just be the worst medicine
for what ails our politics, as it applies to our
Muslim brothers. What is going on in the
Middle East where the young are asserting
themselves by taking down their governments has not happened there, not yet. But
when on thinks about it, would not another
postponement work against the idea that we
are serious about having an Autonomous
Muslim Mindanao?
Amina Rasul writes: "Of the arguments
put forward by those in favor of holding the
elections, the most compelling was on the
legality of postponement. Whereas the old
law (RA 6734) governing the ARMM elections specifically allowed for date of elections to be changed, Republic Act 9054,
does not allow for the same flexibility. RA
9054, as an organic act, was ratified by the
residents of ARMM through plebiscite.
Can an act of Congress amend the Autonomy Act, which had been ratified through
plebiscite? Even if Congress amends 9054,
shouldn’t that amendment be subject to
plebiscite before it takes effect?"
Doesn’t taking the usual postponement
route to the ARMM elections seem as if we
are treating our Muslims as if they were not
full-fledged citizens of our democracy? We
would have the President appoint the leaders who should (under our laws) be elected
by the people?
It is argued that synchronized elections
in 2013 would be good for the economy
as postponement of the ARMM elections
would allow the government to save money. But the Commission on Elections has
already categorically stated that it has the
needed budget of P1.8 billion to undertake the ARMM polls. There is no need for
another budget appropriation. In fact the
wiser path is to proceed with the ARMM
elections because postponement could aggravate the volatile security situation in
ARMM which could lead to adverse repercussions for the country’s economy.
It may well be true that, as the government claims, the ARMM is a failed experiment because it has not fulfilled the aspirations of our Muslim brothers for peace
and justice. The ARMM is imperfect due
to abuses and mismanagement by its own
leaders. If we want to put things in order in
the ARMM, then we should proceed with
the elections to install a new leadership
freely elected by the people. With "daang
matuwid" as the underlying philosophy, a
new political leadership in ARMM can improve its present state of governance.
Related to this, the government wants to
appoint officers in charge with clean slates
to oversee reforms in ARMM. But who will
select those who will serve as interim officials of ARMM? And what should be their
qualifications? Isn’t the best way of choosing who these will be an election?
The establishment of a caretaker government and the appointment of OICs will
only serve weaken the self-rule that is at the
core of ARMM. The national government
should, instead, stop meddling in the affairs
of ARMM.
Elections are essential to strengthen
the autonomy of ARMM and allow it to
exercise self-determination. The government should instead focus on ensuring that
ARMM elections are fair, clean and peaceful.
It is claimed that elections in ARMM
are determined by traditional warlords and
politicians who use guns, goons, and gold
to cling to power. But this is also true in
other parts of the country? President Aquino won in ARMM even without the help of
traditional politicians there.
No matter how imperfect the ARMM
is, government is duty-bound to protect it.
We can make the institution work, without
compromising the people’s right to suffrage.
The more reason then to have an ARMM
elections where the people’s choices -- not
the warlords’ picks -- are voted into office.
Ours is a republican state founded on
democratic ideals. And the regularity of
elections is a key feature of a democracy.
We should strengthen rather than undermine self-rule in ARMM. The ARMM
elections should proceed as scheduled in
August to underline the fact that ours –
even in our Muslim areas -- is a working
democracy.
***
DZXQ (1350 kHz Metro Manila) is an
AM station owned and operated by Mabuhay Broadcasting System, Inc. The station’s
studio is on Julia Vargas Ave., Ortigas Center, Pasig City, with its transmitter located
at Brgy. Muzon, Malabon, Metro Manila.
I have been a blocktimer on DZXQ for
the last two years. Last week, we were informed that our last broadcast would be today because the station has been sold, Who
bought it? No answer. What are the plans of
the new owner? Close it down for the nest
six months. What?
Among the affected broadcasters are
Roger Arienda, Ruben Ilagan, Popo Villanueva Narissa Gonzalez, Jhino Parrucho,
, Roland Lumagbas, Dr. Erick San Juan,
Reggie Vizmanos, Roy Seneres and several
others. I have a one-year contract with the
station; others have paid for their time up to
the next six months and more. What happens to them? As blocktimers, we have advertising contracts that specify our broadcast times and stations.
I find it strange that someone would
buy a radio station whose immediate plans
are only to close it down for six months. Is
there something more going on that is not
being told us? The new owner has installed
a security guard to make sure – no doubt
– that after today, no one will be allowed
entry into the broadcast studio.
I have been on radio or sometime now;
stations I worked in have put in new equipment without losing even one second of
broadcast time. What is going on? Is there
an attempt to muzzle media? Did one of
us offend someone rich and powerful who
then bought the station so that he could shut
it down?
At any rate, the affected persons, about
20 or so, are consulting lawyers to find out
what can be done to right something that
smells like an attempt to muzzle one or several of us.
Tomorrow, I will be broadcasting, probably on DWSS, 1494 khz AM 10:30 to 11
in the morning. As I write this, we are still
talking; thus, nothing is yet sure as I write
this column.
***
Readers who missed a column can access www.duckyparedes.com/blogs. This is
updated daily. Your reactions are welcome
at duckyparedes@yahoo.com
7
Philippine Courier
My Cup of Tea
By Dr. Leto Tigley
‘Binay said there were no concessions or promises. We really hope so that the interest of more
than 90 million Filipinos is not put in jeopardy to
save the lives of three drug traffickers.’
Reprinted from
Malaya with the
author’s consent
What was the quid for
the drug mules’ quo?
SPRATLYS in exchange for
freedom of drug mules?
I’m trying hard to understand
why reason seems to have left the
Aquino government in the case of
the Filipinos who are in China’s
death row for drug trafficking.
Aquino sent Vice President Jejomar Binay to Beijing last week
to appeal to the leadership to spare
the lives of Ramon Credo, 42, Sally Villanueva, 32, and Elizabeth
Batain, 38, who were scheduled
to be executed by lethal injection
starting today.
The three were sentenced to
death for smuggling 4 to 6.8 kilograms of heroin in 2008. They
were originally five but diplomatic sources said further investigations showed that the two had
minor roles in the drug syndicate
than the three.
Hours after meeting with Vice
Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun,
top foreign policy maker Dai
Bingguo and the president of the
Supreme People’s Court, Wang
Shengjun, we got a flash report
through text: VP Binay saves
OFWs from death row in China.
The text message said "Within
hours after arrival in China, VP
Jojo Binay reached an accord
with Chinese government not to
execute convicted OFWs and to
conduct review of their cases. Binay argued that these Filipinos are
themselves victims of drug syndicates. Mabuhay si Binay! Mabuhay ang ating mga OFW!"
Ethan Sun, spokesman of the
Chinese Embassy, declined to say
if the postponement of the executions might lead to a commutation
of the death sentences. The communique on Binay’s meeting with
Chinese officials did not indicate
when the sentence would be carried out, only that the execution
was postponed "within the scope
of Chinese law."
We are sure that for the relatives
of the three OFW, every minute
that they are alive is a blessing.
It’s reported that China said the
suspension of the execution was
a consideration of a "friend’s request." Binay said there were no a
concessions or promises made in
exchange for the reprieve.
We really hope so that the interest of more than 90 million Filipinos is not put in jeopardy to save
the lives of three drug traffickers.
The case of the Filipinos in the
death row has always been in the
list of items in bilateral discussions with China the past years but
not marked priority until Aquino
had to find a reason to justify his
8
decision to follow the recommendation of the Foreign Secretary
Alberto Romulo to boycott the
Nobel Peace prize awarding ceremonies to a Chinese activist.
The DFA, in a recommendation
to Malacañang, said the Nobel
prizes have been politicized by the
United States in recent years and
they have used it as a tool against
China.
Malacañang saw it as an opportunity to ingratiate themselves
to China whom they have been
courting for "forgiveness" for
their bumbling of the August 23
tragedy where eight Hong Kong
tourists were killed in a bus hostage incident.
How then do they justify it to
the public? The bright boys of
Malacañang saw the case of the
Filipino drug mules in the list of
issues with China and that’s what
Aquino told media.
But what if China does not grant
the request? Anxious to please
the President, DFA sources said
Ambassador Francisco Benedicto
indicated in a meeting with Chinese officials that the Philippines
is willing to drop the Spratlys in
exchange for the freedom of the
Filipino drug mules.
A source said it was disaster.
Benedicto has been recalled.
Malacañang is on the look out for
a new ambassador to China.
***
At the DFA, foreign service officers are asking, "What’s this oxymoron of out and yet in? Change
and yet same? Acting foreign secretary of foreign affairs vice a de
jure secretary of foreign affairs on
indefinite leave of absence?"
They are referring to Alberto
Romulo who went on indefinite
leave last Friday and designated
Undersecretary for Policy Erlinda
Basilio.
Sources at DFA said that Romulo last Friday instructed Basilio not to attend the Asean meeting
in Jakarta and instead sent another
undersecretary, Tony Rodriguez.
If there’s anybody in DFA considered as ‘expert’ on Asean, it’s
Basilio. She is the acting foreign
secretary. Why should she not go?
Why is Romulo who is outgoing still calling the shots on who
should attend?
And, why hasn’t President
Aquino not appointed a new foreign secretary?
***
Blog:www.ellentordesillas.com
E-mail:ellentordesillas@gmail.
com
Why Gen. Reyes ended his life …
Money is the root of all evil. Notorious as it
is, it can move mountain or even destroy allegiance. What happened to the Armed Forces
of the Philippines during GMA’s watch is
now the talk of the nation. Surprisingly, when
a garbage bin of worms was uncovered at
the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee probe on
the Plea Bargain Deal of former Gen. Carlos
Garcia, which is now pending in the Sandigang
Bayan, retired Lt. Col George Rabusa surfaced
and narrated a series of misconducts during the
time of COS Gen. Angelo Reyes, Roy Cimatu,
and Diomedio Villanueva. All of them received
an enormous Million Pesos of Pabaons on their
retirements. Because money is evil, the vulnerability of temptations was not an ordinary
ritual. Angelo tried to parry the charges by
filing a graft case against the senators, but the
exercise is just a show of futility. In the mind
of the intelligent public, everything bared by
their subordinate on their stint sounds very
believable. Maybe, for some credible theory
or speculation, this is the ultimate cause why
Retired General Reyes ended his life in a very
questionable manner. But the Senate which
regained its good stature, pledge to continue
their probe on Corruption in Military and the
Government. This is also what happens to
Retired COA Heidi Mendoza in the lower
house probe of the same case. The crying
Mendoza proved to the Filipino Public her
credibility. The church and Manila Mayor Lim
responded by organizing a crusade to raise
funds for her to show to future witnesses in any
corruption that this Government meant what
had been said; to find and protect the right path
for our country. This is not an easy task for
PNoy because those who have the virus to do
it are still there in a dormant state. Like a sickness etiology, it can relapse when time gives
them an opportunity. We hope so that this thing
would be a prelude to a better Philippines.
I received an email from a friend in
California, USA; a Filipina who runs a Health
Care Business and is on the run because she is
wanted by the Office of Inspector General. Her
Name is Susan Bendigo. As alleged, her business supposedly composed of Licensed Health
Care Professional and what was found out that
he sent workers to clients who are not qualified
or some of their Nurses sent were unlicensed.
As far as the alleged record is concerned, the
US government lost to her a total amount of 17
Million US dollar. She is presumed to be hiding in the Philippines now.
Another Filipino bullshit named Brian
Bolante, a son of Filipino Doctor also organized a Kaplan test review and those who
enrolled later found out it was fake and he got
a total of 50,000 US dollar. Although these
are just few, as cited, I hope it would not be a
tip of the iceberg. Please, please, if you have
a corrupt virus running into your vein, before
you destroy our Filipino moral fiber, do a suicide. Don’t do it after the damage. It is in our
blood that when it comes to money we will
not surrender and lie vehemently up to the last
breathe. I knew, likewise, that there is lots of
Filipino Immigrations Consultancy here that
damages our Filipino name by raking dollars
from our Filipino brothers through false promises. How I wish the vigilantes annihilate them,
because they are obnoxious and contaminates
the purity of the innocent majority here. I
always disagree that we as a race will be hurling vindictive to our fellow brothers who are in
business, but, sometimes, they made us reach
our boiling points. That’s the reason too, why
people will just erupt unknowingly because
they spent thousand dollars, sold their property,
only to find out they were gypped by these vultures. Maybe, Gen. Angelo Reyes, in his suicide could be a good example for those people.
And the only sin of him could be that he has no
right to take away his own life. Hara-kiri is not
part of our culture. The Muslim in Mindanao
will run amok, if they have problems unbearable. Reyes could have regained his reputation
by running amok inside the Senate Probe and
should have implicated all who had partaken in
the corruption festival in the Military. He sure
would be a good candidate as my hero. Sen.
Antonio Trillanes IV who acted like a prosecutor lambasted Gen. Reyes and it is now the
reason that PMAyers are now bullying him as
disrespectful. To all Mistahs, be reminded that
inside the Senate, Trillanes is not a PMAyer
only but a senator elected by the people to ferret the truth about corruptions that deprived the
Filipino people from being protected by a morally strong Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Naturally, they will be affected because most
of them who are in the higher echelons in the
military are Mistahs and upperclassmen of
him. But Trillanes is indebted to the people not
to mistahs. That is the great divide.
Just an interlude, let’s talk about Medicine,
and one simple topic that caught my attention
is chocolate. I am a rabid eater of chocolate, and even if my entire tooth cracks, my
taste of that stuff, would not deter. But if it
is pure from cacao, science can attest that
its antioxidant factor, is unique and it helps
enhance the quality of our cardiovascular system. It improves sexual vitality and my ancient
friends in Finchurst’ Tim Horton, many times
cross their fingers of assurance, that it will
strengthen penile erectness. I regretted to stop
eating more, because I am not yet a candidate
for support. But for them, it is a miracle and
worthy to continue the gluttony of its pleasure.
Go on, friends.
Now that Bai Mon Datol is here from
month-long medical mission coverage in the
Philippines, he could lend us his sweet science
analysis of the incoming super fight of Manny
Pacquiao and Shane Mosley. Remember, Bai
Mon was the boxing sport annalist during the
time of Mayor Lopez of Manila who headed the
Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines
(ABAP) from 1987 to 1998 that produced two
Olympic bronze medals (1988 Seoul and 1992
Barcelona Summer Games) and silver medal
(1996 Atlanta Games thru Onyok Velasco).
And until now his boxing insight is still a good
indicator for betting. Remember too, that they
were the Kambal Kamao radio broadcasters
with Jess Carlos few years ago and they brook
the neck of those Filipinos who are “sinungalings” of the society. I know that many who
are bad in our society, can not be a friend of
Mon.. For me, I still believed Pacquiao will
come out, but it needs some degree of caution.
One is to train hard, and do not underestimate
Mosley. Follow the same pathway of glory, as
in the past.
Happy Post Valentine’s to all. This is the
day, where in the park, bins are full of condoms. And the source of children orphans
of a father nine months from now. I am sure
my best friend; a priest would not be a part
of it. After all, he is against RH bill in the
Philippines. PNoy, our president, doesn’t like
women probably. So, he elected to be bachelor
forever. May God bless him and us?
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
Philippine Courier
Full evacuation for OFWs in Libya
Biggest batch of OFW-repatriates from Libya arrive in Manila Saturday… US, EU freeze Khadafy assets
MANILA, February 27, 2011)
(PNA) – Ninety-eight Libya-based repatriated overseas Filipino workers
(OFWs) with their dependents, mostly
highly-skilled workers and engineers
of the Paris-based Vinci Construction
Grands Project, landed in Manila in
batches on Saturday, the largest groups
yet since President Benigno Aquino III
ordered the full evacuation of all OFWs
in Libya Friday and voluntary repatriation was announced on Wednesday
by the Department of Foreign Affairs
(DFA).
A total of 1,491 overseas Filipinos
(OFWs) have already been safely moved
in control of the oil-rich North African
nation.
Labor and Employment Secretary
Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz said the
1,491 OFWs were evacuated mostly
under their employers’ contingency and
safety plans.
“Of the 1,491 OFWs, 1,228 are being
booked for flights in the transit countries
– Tunisia, 14; Turkey, 60; Egypt, 1,154;
and Madrid, 2.
Baldoz said the 14 OFWs in Tunisia
are part of a group of 50 workers, 36
of whom would go home on March 2
via Doha, onboard Qatar Airways. The
OFWs worked for Hanil Engineering &
out of Libya, most of them from Benghazi, the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said.
As this developed, the Obama administration – dramatically sharpening
its stance against Moammar Khadafy’s
brutal crackdown on antigovernment
protesters – is freezing billions of assets
in the United States held by the Libyan
government, Khadafy, and four of his
children and abandoning the US Embassy in Tripoli.
Construction, a Korean company.
“As of today, there are 204 OFWs
who are in transit or about to board their
flights for the Philippines. They are expected to arrive today and tomorrow,”
Baldoz said.
The arriving OFWs are part of the
1,600-strong workers of SNC Lavalin
in Benghazi, who have been escorted by
Libyan nationals out of Libya to the border of Egypt, from where they were repatriated to the Philippines. The company’s
remaining 446 workers in Benghazi will
be evacuated to Alexandria, Egypt within the next 24 hours.
Another 105 OFWs are in a desert in
Amal ready for evacuation. The Filipinos, who work at oilfields in Amal, have
yet to receive information and assistance
from the Philippine embassy.
One of the repatriates, Charlie Puyot,
a carpenter assigned inside Libya international airport’s Air Traffic Controller
Area, described what he saw as “helllike,” with anti-Khaddafy protesters running amuck in the airport premises, some
of them armed with high-powered guns.
Puyot and his compatriots were flown
out of Libya by their company-owned
plane to Paris, and from there took the
connecting flights to Manila. He credited
their employer for their lives, saying that
plucking them out of Libya in the nick of
time saved them from the wrath of protesters -- eyes aflame with hatred -- who
have entered the airport.
Likewise, European Union (EU) nations agreed on Friday to slap an arms
embargo, assets freezes, and travel bans
on Libya, while terrified residents braced
for bloody battles in Tripoli after a night
of gunfire.
The shift in tactics after a week of
caution came immediately after the US
ensured that Americans were safely on
their way out of the bloodsoaked North
African country by air and by sea.
“By any measure, Moammar Khadafy’s government has violated international norms and common decency and
must be held accountable,” President
Barack Obama said in a statement Friday
night announcing the sanctions, which
he said were designed to target Khadafy’s government and protect the assets
of Libya’s people from being looted by
the regime. They struck directly at Khadafy’s family, which is believed to have
amassed great wealth during his 42 years
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
The groups were met at the
Ninoy Aquino International
Airport by a composite government team of Undersecretary Jose Brilliantes of the
Department of Foreign Affairs
(DFA), Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz and Carmelita Dimzon of the Overseas
Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
According to Dimzon, the
first group of 20 arrived at
9:45 a.m. via Gulf Air 154.
About two hours later, the
second batch of 16 workers
arrived aboard Cathay Pacific
CX-901, followed by 30 OFWs aboard
SQ-910. The fourth and last batch of 38
was due to arrive at 4 p.m.
The first group to plane in consisted
of Puyot of Batac, Ilocos Norte; Amante
Reyes Jr. of Callao, Cagayan; Nicolas Catahan of Malolos City, Bulacan;
Luis Parpo of Camarines Sur; Edward
Lemaire of Quezon City; Adonis Apalla of Rizal; Francisco Naval of Leyte;
Roberto Doctor, Maximino Bison, both
of Nueva Ecija; Conrado Villaflores of
Taytay, Rizal; Edwin Bautista of Manila;
Nathaniel Ortiz of Zamboanga Sibugay;
Leandro De Vera, Anselmo Sabado Jr.,
both of Nueva Ecija; Juan Curacha Jr.
of Quezon; Leonardo Sarmiento Jr. of
Cavite; Joseph Sarmiento of Pampanga;
Amado Patricio of Caloocan City; Ramahdi Tapalla of Batangas; Manuel Cruz
of Quezon and couple Jessie and Dina
Cruz.
OWWA said more Filipinos are still
stranded in various parts of Libya, including some 200 female nurses of an
unidentified medical facility.
The repatriation
team assists returning OFWs through
customs and immigration procedures.
Repatriates who expect their relatives
from the provinces
to fetch them are accommodated temporarily at the OWWA
Halfway Home in
Pasay City.
Baldoz
announced that today,
February 27, another batch of 15
OFWs
employed
by Akakus Craddok
USA in Tripoli will
arrive on board a
Qatar Airlines flight
from Madrid. One
of them, Eduardo
Granadozin, is flying in separately on
Sunday evening.
The 15 OFWs from Spain are Jimmy Fastino, Walter Paco, Roberto Abadecio, Leandro De Castro, Jose Cacal,
F. Punzalan, Castor Abaritos, Carlito
Macatangay, Bernard Calnea, Aurelio
Patacsil, August Bailey Caringal, Arturo
del Rosario, Arnold Salvador, Alan Agriam, and Taguin Abbe.
Baldoz said the 16 OFWs arrived in
Spain together with Spanish engineers
who evacuated from Libya on board a
chartered flight. The Spanish engineers
of Spain-based Repsol Petroleum took in
the Filipinos for humanitarian considerations.
“For this, we thank the company and
the Government of Spain for allowing
them to transit in Madrid,” said Baldoz.
Ambassador to Spain, Carlos Salinas, assisted with consular matters. (PNA) scs/
GJB/OTO/rsm
President Aquino III said that OFWs
in Libya who have no means for repatriation are being prioritized by the government. He said that 13,000 out of the
26,000 Filipinos in Libya may be repatriated “if necessary.” “We have been
in touch with them and their recruiting
agencies here and those who will not be
taken by their employers, those are ones
we’re preparing for. Towards that end,
we’re negotiating with PAL [Philippine
Airlines] and Qatar Airways to lease
their planes to bring back to the country
our citizens who’d want to come back
here,” Aquino said.
In response, PAL said it is ready to
mount emergency flights to evacuate
Filipinos. PAL president and COO Jaime
Bautista said the flag carrier is just waiting for final DFA instructions regarding
the exact pick-up point where PAL will
fetch Filipino evacuees.
Last Thursday, 12 other OFWs were
able to cross the Egyptian border from
Libya. The OFWs were engineers and
managers from the Korean construction
firm Won Company who were evacuated
by their employer via land from Tobruk
in Libya to Asalum in Egypt. They include Engel Basa, Ruel Ascaño, Reynan
Maranan, Joel Almeda, Joseph Dapitan,
Joe Salas, Alex Villalobos, Michael John
Noble, Elmer Legaspi, Frankie Saludaga, Jarie dela Cruz and Mark Sabay.
In a press conference held at the DFA
headquarters in Pasay City yesterday afternoon, acting Foreign Affairs Secretary
Alberto del Rosario disclosed that the
Philippine embassy has activated relocations centers in Tripoli and Benghazi
where OFWs may stay in “unless of
course they feel safe where they are.”
In addition, Del Rosario said President Aquino has allotted an initial
amount of some Php100 million for the
repatriation program.
9
Philippine Courier
Stars of the Month
By Ores Ting
Christine Manalastas
To receive the Dramatic Arts Award in school is something to
reckon with, not only for her talent in theatre and drama but her
extraordinary spirit to support and help those in need gave her
self-fulfillment and great pride in being a part of a worthy mission.
Her involvement with “We Are”, a group connected to a well
known organization called Free the Children, Christine and
friends helped raised money through fundraising events and
send all monies to the unfortunate children in other countries.
But what caught my eye when I met this talented girl was her
sweet, vocal voice. I will not be surprised if she will be part of
teenage pop music wave going around Toronto. Her parents,
Leodegario and Zenaida Manalastas are simply taking things
slow and easy but are keen on focusing on developing Christine’s musical talent and career.
They surely take pride having this very talented daughter and
one day, hopefully, will become a well-known entertainer not
only in drama but in music as well.
“I enjoy performing skits and dramas for audiences,” Christine
said, adding: “but singing to entertain people is my love.”
Graduating from St. Gabriel Lalement Catholic Elementary
School in 2010, she is now dedicating her time in obtaining her
High School Diploma with flying colors.
At a tender age, Christine knew what she wanted as a child.
She started listening and singing her favorite songs and performing musical numbers of her singing idols. With support
from her family and friends, she was invited to appear and perform at various community events, parties, and concerts held in
Toronto and GTA.
She is a true talent indeed, I am proud to say one of the best
vocals in the community today. She deserved to be worthy of
all praises and accolades. Move over Lady Gaga, Christine is
ready to take over!!!!!
MP Julian Fantino (right) with PM Stephen Harper
Federal Government supports Canada's Seniors
VAUGHAN, ONTARIO--( February 25, 2011) - The Honorable Julian Fantino, Minister of State (Seniors), today emphasized the importance of collaboration
in supporting Canada's seniors, in an address to participants at a local breakfast
roundtable, hosted by UniversalCare Canada Inc.
"Our government is working with other levels of government and with stakeholders across Canada to help seniors remain active and engaged in their families,
workplaces and communities," said Minister Fantino.
The Minister highlighted several federal programs and initiatives that help older Canadians maintain a good quality of life, support positive and active aging
and enhance their financial security. He also took questions from roundtable participants who represented various long-term care facilities and retirement homes
in the Vaughan/York region.
"We are elated to have Minister Fantino join us today," said Joseph Gulizia,
President and CEO of UniversalCare Canada Inc. and moderator for the event.
"This is a perfect opportunity for the Minister to speak to us about what the Government of Canada is doing to promote positive and active aging, and supporting
the well-being of seniors."
For more information on the Government of Canada's programs and services
for seniors, please visit www.seniors.gc.ca http://www.seniors.gc.ca/
GOTCHA!
(For Star of the Month inquiries, pls. call Ores Ting@ 416-546-9391)
Servicio Filipino
p Internationale
Call us now at
(416) 266-3838 or
(416) 264-7676
Fax (416) 265-3939
And look for
Marissa Corpus (UP Graduate)
65 Elfreda Blvd.,
Toronto ON M1L 4L5
Email: mbcimmigration@yahoo.ca
> Want to sponsor / help a relative?
> Visitor needing an employer?
> Need a new employer?
> Any immigration problems?
> Caregiver sponsorship available
NARIRITO PARA
TUMULONG SA INYO!
10 YEARS HELPING OUR
KABABAYANS
Manila: Please call Rubie Tupas at Tel: (632) 830-0573
Fax: (632) 830-0547. Suite 821 Cityland Herrera Towers,
#98 Herrera Corner Valero Sts., Salcedo Village, Makati City
Email: mbbcons@nsclub.net
Member: Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants (CSIC)
"Full Member" M041454
10
LADY ELVIS READS COURIER: Toronto's lone 'Lady Elvis Prersley'
impersonator Ms. Zena Zagala is caught here by the roving TPC's
fotog reading this paper during the recent Fil-Can sports association's event.
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
Philippine Courier
‘No more EDSAtype revolt’ - PNoy
from page 1
Auto Tech Services
Joe Napao
Tune-ups, Fuel Injection, Computerized Controls,
Air Conditioning, General Repairs to Foreign & Domestic Cars
Tel: (416) 916-6912
“Let us be guided by the
ray of light that we have once
again fired up with our reforms. There is no more need
to face tanks, there is no need
to block bullets and cannons
with their bodies just to be listened to by the government,”
Aquino said in Filipino during
the live musical variety show
in commemoration of the 25th
anniversary of the first EDSA
People Power revolution on
Friday night.
The President vowed to
keep the spirit of EDSA alive
through good governance and
judicious use of funds.
In 2001, former President
Joseph Estrada was ousted in
a second EDSA People Power
revolution on charges of corruption. A so-called EDSA 3
occurred when supporters of
Estrada tried to remove from
power his successor, former
President Gloria MacapagalArroyo, now Pampanga representative.
Aquino had been saying that
the country was already in
need of another kind of people
power after it had regained
freedom, including that of the
media and the arts.
He said his victory in the last
elections was also a form of
people power because his battle cry was against stealing in
government amid allegations
of corruption in the Arroyo
administration. While Arroyo
won as congresswoman, many
of her allies lost in the May
2010 polls.
He earlier said that being
president would be his last
position in government, as
he did not intend to seek any
other position in 2016, thus he
would give it his best shot to
implement reforms.
The President said the youth
would benefit from the sacrifices and principles that the
players of EDSA stood for.
Aquino said his administration
would be there to guide their
future that should be much
better than the present.
“I hope you understand the
importance of the EDSA revolution and what we are fighting
for right now to alleviate poverty and stamp out corruption
in the country,” Aquino said.
While the celebration for the
25th anniversary of the 1986
People Power revolution was
going on along EDSA, a number of key players in the event
were also commemorating the
occasion in their own way on
social networking sites Twitter
and Facebook.
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
continued his defense of his
family, particularly his father
and namesake, who was the
subject of the revolution with
his notes on Facebook and
Twitter.
While Marcos’ entries were
mostly his own take on the
events that took place 25 years
ago, a number of the participants from the other side,
namely Sen. Gregorio Honasan and musicians Jim Paredes
and Leah Navarro engaged in
a debate on Twitter with a significant number of Filipinos
witnessing the exchanges.
The discussion over Twitter,
organized by Newsbreak, was
held the other day and was all
about the 25th anniversary of
the revolution.
Honasan lashed out at Paredes regarding the latter’s comments on the “agenda” of various EDSA players.
In the case of Sen. Marcos,
the days leading up to the
25th anniversary of the People
Power revolution revived a lot
of strong emotions and bad
feelings that he and his family have been harboring since
they were taken out of the
country 25 years ago.
Apart from his calls for the
current administration to allow his father to be buried at
the Libingan ng Bayani, Marcos also defended the administration of his father, including
the declaration of martial law.
In his Twitter account,
Marcos gave snippets of his
thoughts on the 25th anniversary of the revolution, but the
lengthier, more comprehensive details were posted on his
Facebook page.
Marcos argued that the Philippines, during the term of his
father, “managed quite well
despite international pressures
beyond its control,” including
the oil crises of the 1970s.
“But beyond these figures,
a simple chat with the ‘man in
the street’ will confirm whether
we have moved forward since
‘86 - a quarter of a century ago
- or not,” Marcos said.
“But again, let history be
the judge of that but in the
meantime, let’s get unstuck
in the blame game, put aside
hypocritical ‘holier than thou’
stances, roll up our sleeves,
and work to move this country
forward for all to benefit, with
urgency in helping the very
poor among us,” he added. –
(With reports from Marvin
Sy, Eva Visperas)
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• Suspension
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• Front end
• Gas struts
• Charging system test
• A/C test
• And much more!
Tires (call us for more info and pricing)
• Tire installation on standard & custom wheels
• Wheel balancing
• Tire rotation
• Flat tire repair
• Tire inspection
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• And much more!
OUR BEST SERVICE OPTION
Change oil & filter up to 5 liters Kendal 10W30 or 5W30 or 5W20, lubricate chassis,
includes waste oil & filter disposal, check all lights, belts & coolant quality strength,
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suspension, inspect exhaust system, battery and charging system
ONLY $49.95 + taxes
DON'T PAY FOR 3 MONTHS (O.A.C.)
GTA FEATINEANS SLATE ANNIVERSARY SPRING AFFAIR
By Jennifer S.J. MacLean
In celebration of its Foundation Anniversary, the
officers, directors and members of The Featineans Association of Toronto (TFAT), will hold a
dinner dance fundraiser on April 9th, 2011( Saturday). The spring rite is to be held at the Garnet Williams Community Centre in the City of
Vaughan with enthusiastic dancing aficionados
and rookies alike in attendance.
TFAT, a 22- year old FEATI University alumni
based socio - professional organization in Ontario with 55 currently active alumni members, will
sponsor the annual event in pursuant to its desire
of generating funds for its 11- year old scholarship project as well as various community based
projects and targeted beneficiaries.
Among TFAT's outreach initiatives include: financial donations to some GTA religious groups
& homeland calamity victims; and participation
to PCUAA's annual summerfest; and co-operation & collegial support to Bicol Canada Community Association and other FilCan community
organizations.
The yearly spring affair is to be coordinated by
TFAT president Oliver Rey with assistance from
several officers, directors and members, namely
: Rolly & Beth Balangue, Cesar Banda, Ron &
Florence Carpio, Ben Dioleta, Dr. Fe Q. Flora,
Tom Flores, Moises & Virgie Ga, Greg & Fanny Gravador, Norma & Romy Guanzon, Jorge
Isidro, Arthur Lasam, Oscar & Lana Lei, Rudy
Olay, Rudy & Zeny Ortiz, Bert Pabustan, Res
Paje, Max Recaido, Nenita Recaido, Darlene
Rey, Jocelyn San Juan, Eric & Evelyn Serapio,
Luz & John Sider, Florie Silang, Violy Vilan and
new
members Virginia Bagarra,Raul Danque & Renato Soria.
Moreover, TFAT founders Julio Buiza, Annie T.
Buiza,Tony A. San Juan and Tirso P. Balitian as
usual, will extend appropriate advice and support. Nanay Catering Service and Florence DJ
Sounds will provide the party food and ballroom music, respectively. To be jointly hosted
by PRO Tony San Juan and Director Oscar Lei,
the evening program will highlight : inspirational address by Oliver Rey, non- stop ballroom &
line-dancing; Tom Flores's ala-King Elvis renditions; Rudy Olay's invocation; some special
dance numbers and door prizes & raffle draws
by TFAT's auxiliary ladies.
Among those expected to grace the affair are
some presidents , officers & members of Philippine Colleges and Universities Athletic Association (PCUAA) and other Filipino Canadian
community leaders.( JSM/tsj)
11
Philippine Courier
Global News
Tunisian prime minister
announces resignation
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) -- Tunisia's embattled prime minister said Sunday that
he will resign, bowing to a key demand of
protesters after at least five people died in
a groundswell of new unrest in this North
African country.
Mohamed Ghannouchi, 69, has been
a major irritant to Tunisians behind the socalled "Jasmine Revolution" that toppled
autocratic President Zine El Abidine Ben
Ali last month and sparked a wave of upheaval in the Arab world.
"This (resignation) is not a flight from
my responsibilities, but to open the way for
another prime minister who - I hope - will
have more margin for action than I have
had, to give hope to the Tunisian people,"
Ghannouchi said. He didn't say when the
resignation would take effect.
Even though Ben Ali fled to Saudi
Arabia on Jan. 14, Ghannouchi - who
served for 11 years as his prime minister had promised to stay on to guide the country until elections expected no later than
mid-July.
Ghannouchi's announcement came
against the backdrop of renewed street protests like those that brought Ben Ali down.
Libya rebels gear for
fight in city near capital
ZAWIYA, Libya (AP) -- Hundreds of
armed anti-government forces backed by
rebel troops who control the city closest to
the capital Tripoli prepared Sunday to repel an expected offensive by forces loyal
to Moammar Gadhafi surrounding Zawiya.
Two prominent U.S. Senators said
Washington should recognize and arm a
provisional government in rebel-held areas of eastern Libya and impose a no-fly
zone over the area - enforced by U.S. warplanes - to stop attacks by the regime. U.S.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
echoed President Barack Obama's demand
for Gadhafi to relinquish power.
"We want him to leave," she told reporters traveling with her Sunday to a U.N.
meeting on Libya planned for Monday.
"We want him to end his regime and call
off the mercenaries and forces loyal to him.
How he manages that is up to him."
Gadhafi's son, Seif al-Islam, claimed
again that the country was calm and denied
the regime used force or airstrikes against
its own people. But human rights groups
and European officials have put the death
toll since unrest began in Libya nearly two
weeks ago at hundreds, or perhaps thousands, though it has been virtually impossible to verify the numbers.
There were no reports of violence or
clashes on Sunday.
US tweaks China over
web-erasing diplomat's
name
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. is
tweaking China for its online blocking of
the American ambassador's name.
Searches for Ambassador Jon Huntsman's name in Chinese on a popular microblogging site called Sina Weibo were
met with a message Friday that said results
were unavailable due to unspecified "laws,
regulations and policies."
Huntsman, a Republican, is leaving his
post and is seen as a potential White House
contender in 2012.
State Department spokesman P.J.
Crowley said in a Twitter posting Saturday that "it is remarkable" that even before
Huntsman leaves Beijing, "China has made
him disappear from the Internet."
China apparently widened its Internet
policing after online calls for protests like
those that have swept the Middle East.
Arab League boss
Moussa to run f
or Egypt president
CAIRO (AP) -- Arab League chief Amr
Moussa says he will run in this year's presidential elections in Egypt.
Moussa's comments Sunday came a
day after a constitutional reform panel appointed by Egypt's military rulers recommended far-reaching reforms that relaxed
eligibility rules for who qualifies to run for
president.
Union bargaining just
first year in office, P50.4 billion
was budgeted for PS and only
P24.2 billion was requested for
134,449 positions. That’s a discrepancy of P26.2 billion.
From 2002 to 2010, the total
discrepancy is P179.4 billion!
It’s
apparent that a portion of that
By Perry Diaz
huge amount was “converted”
into the “slush funds” to which
Rabusa based his ‘exposé’ in
the Senate. But the amount that
Ever since two brave mili- contingency fund that is used at Rabusa exposed appears to be just
tary officers and a courageous the discretion of the AFP Chief ‘the tip of the iceberg.’ Where did
government auditor came out to of Staff.
the rest of the money go?
In his ‘exposé’, Rabusa acexpose corruption in the military and the Commission on cused the late Gen. Angelito
‘Follow the money…’
Audit (COA), two earth-shaking Reyes of receiving P150 million
events occurred that could break including a P50-million “pabaIndeed, Arroyo has a lot of exthrough the massive “walls” on” (send-off money) when he plaining to do. First, why were
that were built to protect corrupt retired as AFP Chief of Staff in her administration’s national budofficials during the nine-year 2001. Rabusa said that he and gets from 2002 top 2010 bloated
presidency of Gloria Macapagal his boss, then AFP Comptroller by more than 50%? Secondly,
Lt. Gen. Jacinto Ligot, personal- where did the unused portion of
Arroyo.
On February 14, 2011, Bayan ly delivered the money to Reyes. the PS appropriations go? Since
Muna party-list Rep. Neri Col- Rabusa acted as the “bagman” the money couldn’t just vanish
menares revealed that the Armed for Ligot and his successor Maj. into thin air, there must be a stinkForces of the Philippines (AFP) Gen. Carlos Garcia. They were ing trail where it ended up? If
might have “converted” P179.4 known as the “Comptroller Ma- Congress were interested to know
billion into “slush funds” dur- fia.” Rabusa said that Garcia and where the money went, all they
ing the Arroyo administration, he “converted” almost P1 billion have to do is follow the money and
from 2002 to 2010. He said between 2000 and 2001. But it would only lead to one place –
that Congress appropriated a compared to what Colmenares where the national budget was put
total of P343.4 billion for “per- revealed, that was just a drop in together… in Malacañang.
sonal services” (PS) -- the bud- the bucket.
As a result of Colmenares’
Colmenares linked Arroyo – revelations, Rep. Rodolfo Biget term for salaries – while the
total compensation requested by who is now a congresswoman azon filed House Resolution 967
the Department of National De- representing Pampanga’s second to determine if the PS appropriafense (DND) and the AFP only district – to these “conversions,” tions were indeed converted into
which if proven to be true could the controversial “slush funds.”
amounted to P164 billion.
be the basis for the filing of plun- However, an unnamed member of
der charges against Arroyo and the House Appropriations Com‘Hocus-pocus?’
the military officers involved in mittee said, “Apart from salaries
During the testimony of for- conjuring this humongous finan- (of soldiers), there are 40 other
mer AFP budget officer Lt. Col. cial hocus-pocus.
compensation or allowances comThis alleged scam could only mon to all that if you add would
George Rabusa (ret.), it was revealed that PS appropriations be done by padding – or bloating cover the so-called discrepancies
were “the favorite allocations – the national budget’s PS appro- they are saying.” And then he
converted into slush funds” priations for the AFP. According added, “Is conversion possible?
shared by senior officers includ- to Colmenares, Congress appro- Of course, but what I’m saying
ing the Chief of Staff. The “slush priated P41.3 billion for PS in is that this information (P179 bilfunds” were known officially as 2010 but the AFP only requested lion) is inaccurate and misleadProvision for Command-Direct- P19.4 billion for 137,453 posi- ing. This is such a huge amount.”
ed Activities (PCDA). By the tions. That’s a discrepancy of Well, Mr. Unnamed Congressway it sounds, it would be like a P21.9 billion. In 2002, Arroyo’s man, if that would be the case,
PerryScope
Corruption Galore!
12
a dream for many gov
workers
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- Whenever
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has asked
lawmakers to weaken benefits for state employees, his proposals have met little resistance from workers.
Mass. company making
diesel with sun, water, CO2
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) -- A Massachusetts biotechnology company says it
can produce the fuel that runs Jaguars and
jet engines using the same ingredients that
make grass grow.
Shape of new Irish govt
yet to emerge
DUBLIN (AP) -- Ireland's opposition
parties have made big gains in a general
election focussed on the country's economic woes, but the shape of the next government is hanging in the balance as counting
continues for a second day on Sunday.
Google tweaks search to
punish 'low-quality' sites
NEW YORK (AP) -- Google has
tweaked the formulas steering its Internet
search engine to take the rubbish out of its
results. The overhaul is designed to lower
the rankings of what Google deems "lowquality" sites....
then there would be more reasons
to proceed with Rep. Biazon’s
resolution and get to the bottom
of this issue.
‘Supreme Court takes a detour…’
While the furor on the “slush
funds” was going on, the Supreme
Court made a ruling to allow the
House of Representatives’ Justice Committee to proceed with
the impeachment proceedings
against Ombudsman Merceditas
Gutierrez. By a vote of 7-5-2
with one abstention, the Supreme
Court dismissed Gutierrez’s petition against the House committee,
which effectively lifted the “status
quo ante order” it issued exactly
five months ago, on September
14, 2010.
The high court’s ruling came
as a big surprise since most of its
past rulings concerning cases or
individuals associated with Arroyo were ruled in their favor.
Gutierrez is known to be very
close to Gloria and her husband,
Mike Arroyo, and has been widely
criticized for building a protective
wall around them; thus, insulating
them from charges of graft and
corruption like the controversial
NBN-ZTE scandal.
When the Supreme Court issued the “status quo ante order,”
the vote was 8-3-4. Those who
voted to issue the order were:
Chief Justice Corona and Justices Velasco, Del Castillo, Perez,
Abad, Bersamin, Villarama, and
Peralta.
The three dissenters
were: Justices Carpio, CarpioMorales, and Sereno. And those
who were on official business
were: Leonardo-De Castro, Brion,
Mendoza, and Nachura.
On the recent 7-5-2 vote lifting the “status quo ante order,”
the seven who voted for dismissal
were: Justices Carpio, CarpioMorales, Sereno, Abad, Mendoza,
Nachura, and Villarama. The five
dissenters were: Chief Justice
Corona and Justices Brion, Bersamin, Leonardo-De Castro, and
Peralta. JusticesDel Castillo and
Perez partially concurred with the
majority; and Justice Velasco inhibited himself from the proceedings because his son, Marinduque
Rep. Lord Allan Velasco, belongs
to the House justice committee.
It’s interesting to note that only
three out of the eight who originally voted for the “status quo
ante order” voted in favor of Gutierrez’s petition, to wit: Corona,
Bersamin, and Peralta. Del Castillo and Perez partially concurred
with the majority; Abad and Peralta voted to dismiss her petition;
and Velasco abstained.
With only five justices favoring
Gutierrez in her petition to stop
the House impeachment proceedings, there is a notable change
in the direction of the Supreme
Court. However, the vote is not
yet final and executory. Gutierrez
is entitled – and is expected -- to
file for a reconsideration of the
high court’s ruling dismissing her
petition. Who knows how the justices would vote on it. And like
a river, the most dangerous part is
when the river’s current makes a
rapid turn. It could be deadly.
‘At a crossroads…’
Meanwhile, some members of
the House are ecstatic and confident. “All is assured,” they said.
Indeed, with only one-third vote
required in a plenary session,
Gutierrez – if the Supreme Court
reaffirms its decision as final and
executory – is on her way to the
Senate for conviction or acquittal
of, among other charges, “betrayal of public trust.”
Finally, the country is about to
reach a crossroads – a point of no
return to better times or a return
to an era fraught with corruption.
- (PerryDiaz@gmail.com )
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
Philippine Courier
Business
RP has $6.3 B for external debt servicing
MANILA, Philippines
(February 24, 2011) – The
country has an external or foreign exchange requirements
for debt servicing this year of
$6.27 billion, of which $2.3
billion will be paid through
domestic market borrowings,
data from the central bank
show.
The Bangko Sentral ng
Pilipinas (BSP) in a report
said of the $6.3 billion, $2.54
billion is the interest cost and
$3.73 billion is the principal
payments.
Bulk of debt servicing or
$4.88 billion is owed to nonresident creditors while $1.38
billion are obligations to resident holders of ROPs or sovereign bonds.
BSP said in the same report that since the estimated
$4 billion foreign borrowings
for 2011 would not be enough
to fully cover the FX requirements for debt servicing, the
National Government is expected to borrow the balance
in the amount of $2.3 billion
from the domestic market.
The Philippines debt service ratio (DSR) has remained
well below the 20 percent
to 25 percent international
benchmark, indicating that the
country has sufficient foreign
exchange earnings to service
loans maturing during the current period. The DSR, or the
percentage of total principal
and interest payments to total
exports of goods and receipts
from services and income, is
estimated to be higher this
year compared to previous
years due to the decline in
foreign exchange receipts
brought about by the global
economic slowdown.
As of September, the
country's outstanding external debt amounted to $59.8
billion, up 9.2 percent yearon-year because of new borrowings which surpassed loan
repayments, BSP stats show.
The total foreign debt was
equivalent to 33.1 percent of
Inventor's
Forum
By Martin Paragoso
ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY
TO HELP BY CONCERNED
FILIPINOS ABROAD
Illegal drugs and drug-related problems in the Philippines
are now considered critical and
very alarming for the first time
in the history despite commendable efforts by all government
agencies concerned.
Fellow community service oriented Filipinos of North America; You have the opportunity and
the means to HELP IMPROVE
OUR COUNTRY’S DRUG ENFORCEMENT STRATEGY…
After eight (8) years of the
Philippine government’s meager
budget, last year’s national data
from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, an agency tasked to
enforce the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 showed
that seventy percent (70%) of all
convicted Filipinos and other
nationalities in the country are
imprisoned due to illegal drug activities and drug-related crimes.
CURRENT ANTI-DRUG
CAMPAIGN SITUATION IN
THE COUNTRY
The current situation is critical and here are some reasons
why 1.
Not enough Drug Enforcement personnel due to budget
constraint According to an official of
PDEA, the drug enforcement
agency needs 14,000 personnel to
effectively enforce RA 9165 otherwise known as the Comprehensive
Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. Unfortunately, less than 2,000 PDEA
personnel are enforcing the said
ACT even after 8 years of its existence as of today. At the rate the
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
government is going, they can be
fully complemented with 14,000
personnel only after 48 years.
2.
People’s apathy - No
consistent and compelling mediabased information dissemination
highlighting “that the danger of
illegal drugs and pushers are
now knocking our doors. That,
our own children can be the next
victims, just like the 70% of our
neighbors”. There is “indifference syndrome” in the country
because ordinary citizens do not
even report their “next- door’s”
pot session”.
They are afraid of possible
harm from retaliation by drug
lords and cohorts because there
are not enough policemen within
their areas. No pro-active counter
move by law enforcers that can assure law abiding citizens they are
safe if they report pot sessions in
the neighborhood.
3.
The Philippine Supreme
Court’s RULES OF COURT need
changes and/or improvement in
particular, the “extension of prescriptive period from the current
36 hours to at least one week” detention in jail of all drug offenders
and drug related suspected criminals. This is to ensure that drug
enforcers are given ample time in
their preparation and submission
of complicated, “must-be” accurate and complete reports. Physical and other “hard to secure evidences” must pass a confirmatory
laboratory testing before presentation to the court of laws. Most
of the time, chemical evidences
(drugs) for testing must wait its
turn at the PNP crime laboratory,
a time consuming process. Hence,
enforcement officers are repri-
GDP.
The DSR was estimated at
8.9 percent for the 12-month
period ending in September
from 9.2 percent last quarter
and 10.7 percent in September
2009.
The Philippines’ external
debt was mainly US-dollar
denominated at 48.5 percent
of total currency composition. The rest were in Japanese yen or 29.1 percent and
multi-currency loans from the
World Bank and ADB of 10.6
percent. About 11.8 percent
were denominated in 18 other
currencies.
BSP said the external debt
portfolio remained predominantly medium to long-term
in nature with the medium
term account accounting for
90.4 percent of total. The
weighted average maturity for
all medium term accounts was
22.4 years. Public sector borrowings had longer tenors of
24 years compared to the 12.9
years for the private sector.
Edited by: Fidel Josol
Overseas Filipinos sent
record $18.8-Billion in 2010
MANILA, Philippines — Remittances grew faster than expected in 2010 to post an all-time
high as the recovery of the global
economy from the recent turmoil
led to growth in job opportunities
abroad for Filipinos.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported last week that remittances from Filipinos based overseas reached $18.76 billion last
year, the highest ever recorded by
the country, an 8.2-percent growth
from the $17.07 billion registered
in 2009 and exceeded the government’s forecast of 8 percent.
In December alone, remittances
amounted to $1.69 billion, rising
8.1 percent from $1.57 billion in
the same month of the previous
year.
“The stable flow of remittances
continued to provide strong support to domestic demand, with the
remittance level for the year accounting for close to 10 percent of
the country’s gross domestic product [GDP],” BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said in a statement.
GDP grew 7.3 percent in 2010,
the fastest pace in about three de-
cades.
Remittances largely came from
Filipinos based in the United
States, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, Japan, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Italy, Germany
and Norway.
The increasing number of job
markets, as well as the expanding network of remittance centers serving Filipino workers,
should be credited for boosting
the amount of money sent by Filipinos to their families and other
recipients in the Philippines.
The BSP said that as of end2010, there were 4,581 remittance
centers, banks and other offices
all over the world serving the remittance needs of Filipinos. This
was up from 3,730 registered as of
end-2009.
Citing documents from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), the central
bank further reported that 46,238
job orders for Filipino workers by
foreign employers were processed
and approved last year. There are
an estimated 10 million Filipino
workers abroad.
CALLING ALL LIVING HEROES ABROAD, THIS IS YOUR
OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A CHANGE IN YOUR NATIVE LAND….
manded by Prosecutors every time
these documents are delayed…that
usually results in their being terminated as law enforcers, increasing the unemployed in the country.
Worst than the unemployment, the
suspects (mostly foreigners) are
released on bail and nowhere to
be found later. You can check the
records of some prosecutor’s office, and you will agree with this
column.
How can drug enforcers present quality report and evidences
given this short period of time?
First, let us compare the Philippine Supreme court rules with the
Malaysian “Rules of Court”
Malaysian law enforcers are given fourteen (14) days period to submit evidences in court and yet they
have illegal drug problems too. If
this disparity is not enough reason
to change the prescriptive period of
36 hours to at least 7 days period,
we will never be able to cut down
the illegal drug trade in the next 100
years.
FACTS
a.
The pronouncement of
then Justice Department Secretary
Gonzales was quite accurate and
an eye–opener as well. Sometime
ago, he reported to the investigating body of the Philippine Congress
during a congressional hearing involving a buy-bust operation led by
PDEA Major Ferdinand Marcelino
popularly known in the media as
“ALABANG Boys”operation , that
out of 750 cases or so filed by the
authorities for an automatic review
by the special court at the justice
department (because it was turned
down by the lower court), almost
half of the cases encountered legal
technicalities and the suspects were
allegedly released.
b.
Based on the PDEA’s personnel records, many of its’ good
officers and agents have been sus-
pended or terminated due to late
submission of evidences in courts.
c.
The current prescriptive
period (36 hours) is allegedly a
source of corruption. Apprehending officers go through physical
and mental stress due to time constraint, and there is great possibility
that they maybe tempted to accept
bribes, instead of building winning
cases.
4.
Not enough support
from all media companies such as
free air time for anti-drug campaign ads.
5.
Most importantly, there
is not enough investors coming in
to provide the capital for the unemployed sector due to the perceived breakdown of peace and
order.
Muggers are common along
Manila and Makati’s tourist
belts. And going back to square
1, seventy (70% ) percent of these
muggers are drug addicts or victims of drug addicted parents if
we believe the reported statistical
data by the authorities.
III RECOMMENDATIONS –
All Filipinos with common characteristics (bloodlines) shared by
our ancestors like LAPU-LAPU,
RIZAL,
BONIFACIO, DAGOHOY, PALARIS and many others,
must bind together to effectively
require the Supreme Court or CONGRESS;
1.
To cause a review and
thereafter approval of the extension
of the prescriptive period (MORE
TIME OF STAY IN JAIL) of arrested drug offenders and drug related
criminals from the current 36 hours
to at least one week” detention in
jail.
2.
Take a good look at the
Malaysian ACT 340 & Regulation 1989, Part IV, Sec. 15, Item
5 to wit; “A Magistrate may make
an order for the detention in police
custody of the person produced before him (drug cases) for a period
not exceeding 14 days if he is satisfied that such detention is necessary
for the purpose of investigation in
relation to the matter in respect of
which he has been arrested.”
(Reference:
DANGEROUS
DRUG LAWS OF MALAYSIA,
AS AT 2005, par. 5, page 25)
WE MUST NOT WAIT FOR
ANOTHER
GOVERNMENT
STATISCAL DATA SHOWING
AN INCREASE OF THIS HORRIBLE MENACE.
WE MUST NOT WAIT AND
WATCH OUR CHILDREN SUFFERING DRUG ADDICTION
OR KILLED, MOLESTED BY
DRUG ADDICTS.
NOW IS THE TIME TO PUT
A STOP TO ALLEGED “NARCO-POLITICS” BEFORE WE
BECOME VICTIMS LIKE THE
MEXICANS and the COLUMBIANS.
CALLING
CONCERNED
FILIPINOS ABROAD!!!
Notes:
This writer is also serving the
Philippine Drug Enforcement
Agency “pro bono” (doing professional and special legal work donated for the public good) since
2003 as one of the (6) Directors in
charge of Rewards for OPERATION PRIVATE EYE mandated
under Republic Act 9165 otherwise known as the PHILIPPINE
COMPREHENSIVE
DRUG
ACT OF 2002.
13
Philippine Courier
New Year’s Resolution
IT BUZZ
AROUND
(part 2 of 2)
By Miguel Caducio
… (Continuation from January
2011 Issue about New Year’s resolution to clean your computer.)
Step 2: Outside the case
Run a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol around all of the openings on the outside of your case. Give
them one swipe with the damp end of
the swab and one swipe with the dry
end. Do these as often as you clean
the inside of your computer.
Step 3: Keyboard
Turn the keyboard upside down and
gently shake it. Most of the crumbs
and dust will fall out. Take a can of
compressed air and blow into and
around the keys. Next, take a cotton
swab and dip it in rubbing alcohol. It
should be damp, but not dripping wet.
Run the cotton swab around the outside of each key. Rub the tops of the
keys. Don't be stingy with the swabs.
Discard them when they start to get
dirty, and switch to a fresh one. If you
have a laptop, follow the same procedure but take extra care with your
machine—treat it as gently as you
would a carton of fresh eggs. If your
laptop has a touchpad, use the damp
swap to wipe it clean, as well. Do this
keyboard cleanup monthly.
14
can sit inside a laptop for days.
It's tempting to use a vacuum
cleaner to suck the debris out of the
keyboard and other parts of the computer, but technicians warn that it can
create a static electrical charge that
can actually damage the computer's
sensitive electronics.
For all spills, be aware that anything other than plain water may
cause severe damage, and never attempt to dry a keyboard or laptop in a
microwave or conventional oven.
Step 4: Mouse
Worried about spills?
If a spill happens, immediately
turn off your computer, disconnect
the keyboard, and flip it over. While
the keyboard is upside down, blot the
keys with a paper towel, blow compressed air between the keys, and
leave it to air dry overnight. Check
to ensure that all traces of moisture
have evaporated before using the
keyboard again. Laptop spills need
more attention because liquid can
easily penetrate the keyboard and
damage internal parts. For laptop
spills, immediately turn off the computer and remove any external power
source and other items plugged into
it. Turn the laptop over, remove the
battery, and then bring it to your nearest repair center to check for internal
damage. Simply blowing compressed
air into the keyboard and letting your
computer air dry upside down overnight aren't enough, because liquids
Disconnect the mouse from your
computer. Rub the top and bottom
of your mouse with a paper towel
dipped in rubbing alcohol. Scrape
hard-to-remove grime with your fingernail. If you have an optical mouse,
ensure that no lint or other debris obscures the light-emitting lens on the
underside of the mouse.
If you use a mechanical mouse,
open the underside of the mouse and
remove the ball. (In most cases, you
simply need to rotate the plastic ring
encircling the ball one-quarter turn
counterclockwise.) Wash the ball
with water, and let it air dry. To clean
inside a mechanical mouse, dip a cotton swab in rubbing alcohol and rub
all of the interior components, paying particular attention to the little
rollers, where gunk tends to collect.
Finally, blow compressed air into the
opening and ensure that the interior
is dry. Replace the ball and the cover.
Clean your mouse monthly.
Step 5: Monitor
For liquid-crystal display (LCD)
laptop and flat-panel monitor screens,
slightly moisten a soft, lint-free cloth
with plain water. Microfiber cloths
are excellent for this purpose. Avoid
using paper towels, which can scratch
monitor surfaces. Don't spray liquid
directly onto the screen—spray the
cloth instead. Wipe the screen gently
to remove dust and fingerprints. You
can also buy monitor cleaning products at computer-supply stores.
For glass CRT (television-style)
monitors, use an ordinary household
glass cleaning solution. Unless your
manufacturer recommends differently, don't use alcohol or ammoniabased cleaners on your monitor, as
these can damage anti-glare coatings.
And never try to open the housing of
a CRT monitor. Capacitors within can
hold a dangerous electrical charge—
even after the monitor has been unplugged.
Clean the monitor weekly. Finally,
make sure that everything is dry before you plug your computer back in.
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
Philippine Courier
UPAA TORONTO faithful gathered for their regular monthly KAPIHAN on February 19, 2011 at Tropicana Restaurant, Quality Inn in Mississauga to honor its outgoing Council and to publicize the forthcoming annual general
meeting and elections to be held on March 18, 2011 at downtown YMCA, 20 Grosvenor St. in Toronto. For more
info please contact the UPAAT officers or Rene Reynoso at 416-884-7367 or rrreynoso@gmail.com .
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
15
Philippine Courier
Entertainment
Edited by: Melodie Claudio
Pinoy hottie Paolo Roldan making his mark in modeling world
NEW YORK—When Paolo Roldan
took his clothes off for a photo shoot for
Paris Vogue last year, fashion blogs went
into overdrive.
Google his name now and one of the first
images to appear is the infamous photo that
features the full-frontal nude image of the
six-foot-two model posing with arms outstretched, welcoming all the world to take
a look.
“It’s the first and only time I posed
nude,” says Roldan, who was born in the
Philippines twenty-some years ago and
moved with his family to Mississauga at
age 10. “I was nervous, and the only thing
going through my head was, ‘I hope I don’t
come across looking nervous in the pictures.’”
There is no time for Roldan be nervous
now. His career is in overdrive.
He’s in New York for fashion week now.
In menswear shows last month in Milan
and Paris, he walked the runways for such
powerhouse designers as Armani and Hermès.
Roldan’s rise to fame came as a result
of his work for red-hot label Givenchy, for
which Roldan is clearly a favourite. In one
year, he walked four runway shows for the
venerable fashion house and was featured
in its fall/winter 2010 ad campaign.
He’s come along at a good time. With
the luxury market roaring in Pacific Rim
countries, Asian male models have platinum-edged cachet. But Roldan — who is
attending go-sees and castings in New York
this week — doesn’t see himself in cutthroat competition with his fellow models.
“The more my brothers get work, it’s a
positive sign for me,” Roldan says. “It’s
been getting diverse in the past year.”
Growing up in Mississauga, Roldan
dreamed of playing professional basketball, but a knee injury put an end to his
hopes.
Uber-agent Elmer Olsen discovered
Roldan when he was working at clothing
store TNT in Toronto. Soon he was appearing on fashion runways and doing photo
shoots for the Bay, all the while continuing
to work as a buyer at Nomad, the menswear
boutique. On a buying trip to New York, he
was spotted by an agent from Boss Models
who signed him on the spot. A week later,
he flew back for a Sean John photo shoot.
But Roldan has set his sights higher than
being flavour du jour in the fickle world of
modelling. “I want to design. People don’t
know how much I love being in the position I’m in,” says Roldan, who says he pays
close attention to the construction of the
clothes he wears on shoots. “Sometimes
I’m trying things on and it’s something I’ve
already sketched. I tell myself, ‘I should be
hitting this. I’m on point!’ ”
His plan is to return to the Philippines
and work there with a great-uncle, a designer who trained in the ateliers of Paris.
He says that a number of people have
suggested he try acting — “I’m already
being pigeonholed; I’m told I would make
a great bad guy” — but he is determined
only to pursue that craft to fund his design
aspirations.
“The name recognition is key to branding,” he says.
That, and image, of course.
After all, it’s an infamous photo that got Toronto model Paolo Roldan in advertisement for Givenchy, is modeling
him to where he is. – (Report from Derick
in New York for fashion week.- (photo by Gil Inoue – TheSTAR.net)
Chetty - Fashion Reporter)
Jenifer Camacho LIVE! In: ‘JENIFER Forever3’
TORONTO - The long-awaited concert of the year is coming to this city.
If she did marvelous performances in
Jenifer Forever 1 and 2, part three will
be a very spectacular one. This time
she is going to stage with more explosive and more extravagant performance to conclude the concert series.
Jenifer Forever 3 will be held at Capitol Event Theatre, 2492 Yonge Street
in Toronto, Ontario on April 8, 2011
starting at 8:00p.m.
The voluptuous Jenifer, the acknowledged Toronto Concert Queen,
16
will entertain the people from all walks
of life with her supreme performance
of modern, pop and R&B genre. After
one year of tedious preparation, the
musical genius Noel Garcia of Com 11
Studio is ready to unveil the much anticipated second CD entitled “Jenifer
Reveals”. Songs included in the album
are Centuries, Burn it Down, Modern
Day Romance, Poison, Lost, and Dedication.
of the show. This is the third time for
Mr. Yap to work with Jenifer Forever
Concert series. To add more harmony
and strong impact to the show Terry
Elegino Barker, Nora Cuenco and
Mariz Francisco will be the back-up
vocals of Ms. Camacho.
Dancing group Bucc N Flvr will
give waves to the show with Visual FX
providing the sounds and technical effects of the show.
Multi-talented Kim Hazen Belen is
the stage & creative director with Daniel “Argyle’ Yap as the musical director
Other performers showcasing their
talents include Chris Fernandez AkA
C-StyLeZ ,a well-known, rising vo-
cal percussionist or you could say a
beatboxer, balladeer John Alix, Charlyn Marundan,a Filipino singing idol
champion in 2007, Ms. Ashley Suva,
known for her Kundiman songs, and
Ms. Zena Zagala a.k.a ‘Lady Elvis Presley’ of Toronto.
With her singing prowess, her active role in the community and her entire experience from her modest beginnings and success as a "DIVA" in her
own right - inspires a lot of people and
Jenifer, to page 18
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
Philippine Courier
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
17
Philippine Courier
GMA Network launches GMA NEWS TV
MANILA - The biggest news
on Philippine TV has just arrived - industry leader GMA
Network launches GMA News
TV on Channel 11.
From the men and women of
GMA News and Public Affairs
- the only broadcast news organization in the Philippines that
has won the Peabody Award
(the most prestigious honor
in electronic media) - GMA
News TV is in response to
the insistent public clamor for
relevant and credible news reportage that only GMA News
and Public Affairs can deliver.
"We are responding to viewers'
requests for timely news updates in Filipino and for public
affairs shows at earlier timeslots with this groundbreaking
news channel," says News TV
Head Nessa Valdellon.
Bannered by the respected
names in broadcast journalism - Jessica Soho, Mike Enriquez, Mel Tiangco, Arnold
Clavio, Vicky Morales, and
Howie Severino - GMA News
TV delivers serbisyong totoo
with newscasts and public affairs programs, all in Filipino,
from morning to night.
Jenifer
Also parts of the
formidable lineup
of names joining GMA News
TV are Kara David, Prof. Winnie Monsod, and
Philippine Center
for
Investigative Journalism
(PCIJ) Executive
Director Malou
Mangahas.
In
addition, Sheila
Coronel of Columbia University, Newsbreak's
Marites
Vitug,
and Ed Lingao
of PCIJ will be
joining the channel as advisers for
the investigative
documentaries.
"For the first time,
the
country's
most
awarded
documentarists
will be anchoring
newscasts. News TV's primetime newscast State of the Nation will be hosted by Peabody
winner Jessica Soho. News
TV's morning newscast will
be led by GMA News Online
Editor in Chief Howie Severino and another Peabody win-
ner Kara David. Their shows
will be in-depth, something to
really look forward to," adds
Valdellon.
At a time of the 24/7 news
cycle and new media, GMA
News TV steps up to the challenge of delivering worthwhile
GMA News TV airs in the
Philippines this February. It
will soon be available for Filipino viewers worldwide, joining GMA Pinoy TV and GMA
Life TV as the third international channel of GMA Network.
'The Amazing Spider-Man' – Coming soon
from page 16
even influenced
some upcoming
talents to pursue
their singing careers. Shimmering every minute,
Jenifer has won
a lot of accolades
and became one of
the most sought,
visible,
prominent performers
in the community. She is an
awardee of the
2010 Most Beautiful Filipinos in
Canada, Maharlika awardee of
Music Festival in
2006, crowned as
Ms. Lakambini
2004 by the Kalayaan Centre in
Mississauga and
triumphed at the
Tuklas
Female
Vocalist of the
year in 1996.
Jenifer is so
grateful to the following sponsors
…Agnes Miranda
of Miranda International , Carel Ng of Déjà Vu , Dr Sharon Danesh and Dr
Paul Bharaj of La Vida Clinics, Dr Solon Guzman of Dundas Tower Dental
Centre, Sherwin Ico of Petals & twigs and Danny Scenna of Veritas Capital
Corp.
18
content - credible and relevant
news and information. Deploying its resources to help
people become more socially
aware, to provide viewers
with the knowledge that may
perhaps effect change in their
lives, families, and communities.
CULVER CITY, Calif., February 14, 2011 – Columbia Pictures announced today that the title of the next
Spider-Man film will be “The Amazing Spider-Man.”
The studio simultaneously released
a photo of Andrew Garfield as SpiderMan, the first shot of Garfield in the
famous full mask and suit.
The film, which is now in production and is being shot entirely in 3D,
will be released on July 3, 2012. The
film stars Andrew Garfield, Emma
Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary,
Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, Martin
Sheen, and Sally Field.
The film is directed by Marc Webb
from a screenplay by James Vanderbilt and Alvin Sargent and Steve
Kloves based on the Marvel Comic
Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.
Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad, and Matt Tolmach are producing the Marvel Entertainment production for Columbia
Pictures. The executive producers are
Stan Lee, Kevin Feige, and Michael
Grillo.
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
Philippine Courier
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
19
Philippine Courier
20
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
Philippine Courier
HAIRBANK
(KOREAN HAIR SALON)
2nd Anniversary Special
• Color - short $45 - long $65
• Japanese straight perm - short $99
- long $120
• Magic straight perm - short $80
- long $90
* Price may change without notice *
SHOP 647 430 7020
CELL 416 908 3960
email: babo_kiki624@hotmail.com
6026 Yonge St., North York, ON
Leo’s Skilled Caregivers
"Leo has a reputation for careful matching of families with caregivers"
IMMEDIATE OPENINGS FOR LIVE-IN
CAREGIVERS
• DRIVE YOU & FACILITATE
INTERVIEWS
• RAPID PROCESSING OF WORK
PERMIT
SEARCHING FOR A CANADIAN
EMPLOYER FOR YOUR FRIEND OR
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• ENSURE FULL ELIGIBILITY OF THE
SPONSOR
• PROCESSING OF LMO & WORK
PERMITS
Full year Placement Guarantee for
Caregiver & Family.
Call for free consultation (647) 338-7003
Mr. & Mrs. CAWAYAN
Tim and Digna Cawayan
Kinney
DIGNA
KINNEY
Phone (647) 338-7003
Fax (647) 349-1690
95 Ascolda Blvd
Scarborough, ON M1J 2N9
cawayan728@yahoo.ca
www.leoskilledcaregivers.ca
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
21
Philippine Courier
Tara na sa may Pinaka-Masarap na Lutong-Bahay restaurant sa Toronto!
4130 Bathurst St., corner Yorkdowns St., Toronto, ON.
'We are open Tuesday to Sunday 11:00 am to 8:00 p.m.’
Kahit anong handaan ng pamilya, kaibigan 'o opisina, dito na tayo, kabayan!!!
Other services offered:
• Dine In • Take Out • Party Trays
Party Place for:
• Bridal Showers • Stag Party
• Birthdays
• Children's Party • Baby Showers • Other Celebrations
Special Catering Service for Wedding Party!!!
For Bookings, please call... Ms. Ronda Castro
Mga Lutong Bahay:
Inihaw na isda
Iba pang lutong bahay:
Adobong pata
• Papaitang Kambing
• Dinuguan
• Pinakbet at iba pang gulay
Ronda Castro - Owner
Tel No. 416-630-6050
Cell No. 416-892-1383
FREE!!! Pop or Bottled Water
for any Combo Order!
Menudo
• Kalderetang Kambing
• Nilagang baka
• Pancit, at marami pang iba...
Tara na! Lusob Na! Sa Fiestahan Kainang Filipino, panigurado, mabubusog ka!
22
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
Philippine Courier
Most Prestigious Philippine-Canada Pageant is Now Accepting Candidates
Philippine Canadian Charitable Foundation (PCCF), on its inaugural pageant this year launching has attracted a good number of candidates who will soon
become the first ‘Little Miss Philippines Canada,’ Miss Philippines Canada’ and ‘Mrs. Philippines Canada.’ The overall chair of the pageant committee, Rosemer Enverga, promised that the pageant will be the biggest and the most prestigious. The biggest because for the first time a pageant will be held at the confines
of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on June 25th in conjunction with the celebration of the much awaited event ' Pinoy Fiesta and Trade Show sa Toronto'.
It is not too late to register yet, experience of a lifetime awaits you! Please contact Rosemer @ 416 -284- 9299, Bing @ 905-472- 3194, Sheila@ 416-209-2338,
Ben @647-726-3878, Sena @416 -284-3938, Mitz@ 647- 808-4823. To be part of the TV taping for national broadcast, register before March 20, 2011. Free
Trip to the Phils., cash and scholarships are some of the prizes awaiting the winners. Part of the Proceeds of the event will go towards the building of houses
for poor families in the Philippines. Limited candidates will be accepted. Join, NOW!
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
23
Philippine Courier
Proceeds benefit CARP Projects for 2011/2012
24
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
Philippine Courier
Sports
Edited by: Ross D. Tierra
‘Bring 'em on’- Donaire VIPs to grace PSA Awards Night
LAS VEGAS (February 28, 2011) Newly crowned WBC and WBO bantamweight king Nonito Donaire just can’t wait
to lay his hands on another foe. He wants
to return to the ring the soonest possible
time and unite all the bantamweight belts
and climb another division afterwards.
Days after sending a strong signal to
the world with a frightening second-round
knockout of Mexican mauler Fernando
Montiel, the Filipino-American said he
wants to return to the ring at the soonest
possible time.
Anselmo Moreno of Panama, the reigning WBA bantamweight champion, has
been mentioned as a possibility for a fight
to be held in San Francisco sometime in
May.
Top Rank chief Bob Arum, who also
promotes Donaire, said he is looking at
either May or June as Donaire’s muchawaited return.
Donaire had earlier made his intentions known that he wants to become the
undisputed champion in the 118-lb class,
thus making Moreno a hot candidate to be
signed as Donaire’s next rival.
Arum said from now onwards, Donaire
will headline his own card.
Moreno has a 30-1-1 win-loss-draw record with 10 knockouts.
Donaire, who just bought a home for him
and wife Rachel, received $350,000 for his
stirring 2nd round KO win over Montiel
and wants to climb the ring as often as he
could to reach the seven- figure ceiling for
every fight his hero Manny Pacquiao has
achieved after pocketing his 7th and 8th
SPECTATOR
wonders of the beak busting business.
“I want to unify the bantamweight division and then move to the next class,”
Donaire, Jr. commented right after snatching the WBO and WBC bantamweight
belts from Montiel. The Filipino ‘Flash’
even mentioned the featherweight crown
of Juan Manuel if he could not get a unification title fight with anyone holding the
other belts.
Arum, however, said he would find a
very suitable foe for Donaire sometime in
June, if he could not arrange a May fight
for the Filipino fighter.
MANILA, Philippines (February 25,
2011) - Senators Chiz Escudero and Pia
Cayetano, along with Smart and PLDT
chairman Manny V. Pangilinan, are just
among the long list of friends of local
sports expected to add glitter and glamour
to the Philippine Sportswriters Association
(PSA)-Coca-Cola Annual Awards Night at
the Manila Hotel on March 5.
Joining the three VIPs in the formal rites
presented by the country’s oldest media
organization, are top Filipino sports officials and personalities led by Philippine
Olympic Committee (POC) president Jose
“Peping” Cojuangco, the Philippine Sports
Commission (PSC) headed by chairman
Richie Garcia, and International Olympic
Committee (IOC) representative to the
Philippines Frank Elizalde.
Escudero and Pangilinan both served as
speaker and special guest of honor during
the annual PSA program in 2010 and 2009,
respectively.
For Garcia, the guest appearance marks
the first time the PSC chairman will be
appearing in the formal rites after he was
formally appointed last July as head of the
government sports agency.
The two-hour rites are also sponsored
by Samsung, San Miguel Corp., Harbour
Centre, Accel, Philippine Sports Commission, ICTSI, and Pagcor.
Boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao is
this year’s special guest of honor, making him the first active Filipino athlete to
be accorded with esteem reverence by the
oldest media organization in the land composed of editors and sportswriters from the
national broadsheets and tabloids.
All of them will be there to honor and
toast the top achievers of the year just
past bannered by billiards icon Francisco “Django” Bustamante and the Asian
Games gold medalists – boxer Rey Saludar, bowler Biboy Rivera and rising cue
artist Dennis Orcullo.
The four have been named Athletes of
the Year awardees.
The Philippine men’s football team (Azkals) meanwhile, will be handed out with
the PSA Presidential Achievement Award,
and its manager, Dan Palami, the Executive of the Year award.
Receiving major awards in their respective fields are 14 outstanding individuals
led by the brother tandem of Jean-Pierre
and Brian Sabido along with Anthony
Matias, who bagged the gold medal in the
fifth WTF World Poomsae Championships
in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The year’s National Sports Association
award is going to be hand out to the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines
(ABAP), while coaching legend Virgilio
“Baby” Dalupan and celebrated international boxing referee Carlos Padilla Jr. are
to be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Taking their place in the PSA Hall of
Fame for 2010 are billiards icon Efren
“Bata” Reyes and the late FIDE president
Florencio Campomanes.
4 on Donaire, the newly-minted Filipino boxing hero
By Al Mendoza
(The following are four columns of
mine about Nonito “The Filipino Flash”
Donaire. They all appeared in the Sun
Star chain of publications with daily editions in Cebu, Davao, Cagayan de Oro,
Bacolod and Baguio between January and
February.)
First ALL WRITE column:
My advice to Nonito:
Go to the Good Book
WHEN do you forgive someone who has
wronged you? Immediately.
I have asked this here before but let me
ask it again: How many times will you forgive someone who has wronged you?
The Good Book says not once, not seven
times, not 77 times, but 777 times.
Now this: Will your love for your parents
ever end? Or, is your love for your parents
endless?
The Good Book says the son will marry
and he will become one with his wife.
The Good Book says the son that gets
married will leave his parents. But leaving
and loving are two different things. Both
are valid acts. But you can leave and can
still love.
The Good Book is crystal clear here:
Love is the foundation of everything.
How can you say you love God when
you stop loving your own parents?
Very un-Christian.
I told my son the day he got married:
“Sonny, you now have a family. (He and
his wife had a son before they got married.)
But it only means that your family is a mere
addition to your original family. Love your
new family as you love your original family.”
That simple, right?
In the case, however, of Nonito Donaire
Jr., boxing’s “Filipino Flash,” it seems a
different thing altogether. His new love has
seemingly altered his love for the original
family. Meaning, his love now is basically
confined to his wife and he has stopped loving his parents.
Not fine by me.
Not fine by the reckoning of many others. I mean, he left his parents, fine. But
to also stop loving them is below the belt.
And what’s this I hear that Nonito has also
accused his father of stealing money from
him.
Was it $240?
Whether it was a mere $2 or a whopping
$2 million, it doesn’t matter. I just can’t
believe that Dad can steal money from his
own son. Either that Dad is a jerk or a complete fool.
But I will insist Nonito’s Dad is either
of the two.
For all intents and purposes, didn’t Nonito Sr. help Nonito Jr. become world boxing champion? Coach/trainer? And now,
aside from being dumped like an old rag
(pray tell me, it isn’t true Nonito?), the elder Donaire gets accused as a thief? By his
own son?
Hello?
A parent owes nothing to his child. It’s
the child that owes everything that he has/
owns to his parent/s.
The Good Book lies not.
********
Second ALL WRITE column
Donaire says talk
of Dad’s firing not his …
THE following is an e-mail from “Team
Donaire,” an obvious reaction to my col-
umn of 01/15/11.
“Dear writer,
“A couple of points:
“1. Nonito never said he stopped
loving his parents. Actually, Nonito's interview with Trix Dixon says he is sad and
misses his father. Why you made the assumption that there was a 'replacement' of
families is beyond comprehension.
“2. Whether or not there is truth
about the stolen money of Senior Donaire,
which will be addressed after the fight, Nonito Donaire Jr. has never said that to the
media. Imelda Donaire did.
“3. As to the firing, Nonito has
never made a statement about it. The only
talk is from Nonito Donaire Sr. Nov. 2008
and Feb. 2010. If you would like links to
all these articles, please let us know.
“But we would like you to be informed
so your article won’t seem... unfactual (sic)
when read by those who know otherwise.
“Sincerely, Team Donaire.”
Well, what can I say? First off, I’m sorry
if I “seem…unfactual.” Not intentional.
But before proceeding, is Team Donaire
and Nonito Donaire Jr. one and the same?
I assume they are or I could be talking to a
ghost?
Anyway, you said, “A couple of
points…” But you pointed out three points:
STOP, STEAL and FIRE. Forgivable flaw,
though. What’s one point between e-mail
pals?
You said you have not STOPPED loving
your parents. Great! Attaboy! God bless
you.
You said the STEALING was made public by “Imelda Donaire.” Isn’t she your
mother? You don’t call her Mom?
You said the talk about the FIRING of
Nonito Donaire Sr. as your trainer all came
from “Nonito Donaire Sr.” You also don’t
call your father Dad?
But, really, I am flattered that you read
ALL WRITE. You even took time out to respond despite your hectic schedule. On that
note, you put one over Manny Pacquiao.
Here’s hoping you’ll e-mail me again
and address, as you promised, all matters
“after the fight.”
And, please, if it’s not too much to ask,
don’t address me as “writer”?
I admit I try – I’ve been trying – to be a
writer, but that’s not my name. And that’s
being factual.
Lastly, it is my fervent prayer, as always,
that you win again.
I am a big fan, you know.
********
Third ALL WRITE column:
Donaire has tools to knock out Montiel
THE first time I saw him fight, I knew at
once Nonito Donaire would go places.
He is quick. He is slippery. He’s got fistic power. And to think that Donaire is relatively young in the beak-busting business.
When Manny Pacquiao was young and
he was almost Donaire’s age, The Pacman
wasn’t quick and wasn’t slippery as an
eel. In those days, the only one thing good
about Pacquiao was his one-punch wonder.
That was the only thing good he carried in
his arsenal of shots.
Boy, he could knock out anyone that
stood in front of him with one single punch.
Even a cow won’t have a chance.
The first time I saw Pacquiao do that,
live, was in General Santos City. The year
was 1998 if I’m not mistaken.
to page 26
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
25
Philippine Courier
Dennis Orcollo grabs World 8-Ball crown
MANILA (February 28,
2011) - FILIPINO Dennis Orcollo, playing tremendously
good, added another international title in his collection
after winning the 2011 World
8-Ball Championship at the
Fujairah Exhibition Center in
United Arab Emirates.
Orcollo, a Surigao native,
banked on his early lead and
didn’t look back to whip Neils
Feijen of The Netherlands, 103, in the final round to win his
first ever World Pool Association (WPA) crown.He already
got several titles in his career
in billiards including World
Pool League, World Pool Masters, Derby City Classic, US
Bar Table, Billiards Congress
of America, but he never experienced to win this kind of
title.
“At last, I already won a
WPA title. This is my dream,”
said Orcollo, who defeated
David Alcaide of Spain, 9-3,
in the semifinals. The Filipino
champion took home a whopping $40,000 top prize.
Orcollo took a 5-0 commanding lead before a scratch
in the side pocket in Game 6
allowing Feijen to win the first
rack, 5-1. Another two consecutive racks as Feijen trimmed
the gap at 5-3 count.
But it was the last rack
of Feijen as Orcollo won five
straight racks for the victory.
Feijen got a runner-up prize of
$25,000. Alcaide dominated
Appleton, 9-2, a playoff for
third place to receive third
prize of $14,000.
Spectator, from page 25
He was fighting a Thai in the under card
of the Luisito Espinosa-Carlos Rios world
title fight.
(Espinosa won but, alas, he has yet to
collect his purse, qualifying that fight as
the saddest, darkest, chapter in Philippine
boxing.)
In that first round in GenSan, when the
sun was still up some two hours from sundown, it was over in a flash. Suddenly, the
Thai crumpled like a piece of paper.
Just one punch! A left that dug deep into
the ribs! I said to myself, “I’ll remember
this kid: Powerpacked Pacquiao.” I did see
him again.
In succession, he’d knock out anyone
faster than Maria Sharapova could change
wardrobes.
In those days, Pacquiao was merely in
the ring to bang up his foes.
He was never quick. Not slippery. Neither danced nor ducked. He was all maul.
Well, things have changed.
Under Freddie Roach, Pacquiao morphed
into a complete fighter: Boxer and slugger,
The Game
of My Life
By Bill Velasco
2010 was the most successful year for
the Philippine Rugby Football Union
(PRFU). Not only has the Philippines ascended to the highest level of Asian rugby
competition, it has also been able to send a
women’s 7s team and a women’s 15s team
to international competitions, where they
have acquitted themselves very well.
From the 5th to 16th centuries, many
local ball games were played in different
parts of Europe. These games in the middle
ages were called folk football, mob football or Shrovetide football. They were similar to fiesta or town festival games played
here, wherein one community would invite
its neighbors to friendly matches. In those
days, however, there was no specific number of players or even a limit to the members of a team. Squads would simply fight
to move an inflated pig’s bladder by any
means necessary to pre-set markers at each
end of town. In years to come, authorities –
mostly based in bigger cities – would later
attempt to prohibit such dangerous games.
The popular (albeit unproven) story
about rugby union’s original centers on
William Webb Ellis, who in 1823, “with
fine disregard for the rules of football as
played in his time at Rugby school, first
26
Orcollo shows off his winning stance in ruling his first-ever World 8-ball tourney
Appleton satisfied fourth
prize of $10,000.
With his latest feat, Orcollo joined the ranks of WPA
Champions such as Efren
not the one-armed swordsman anymore.
When I first saw Donaire fight, he was
not yet called, “TheFilipino Flash.” Whoever gave him that moniker, cheers, although I’m not in total approval of it.
It would have been more apt if he were
called Nonito “The Decker” Donaire.
In the first place, there’s but one “Flash”
in world pugilism: Gabriel “Flash” Elorde.
In the second place, Donaire almost always
decks his opponents. In fact, he’ll deck Fernando Montiel tomorrow and become the
new WBC-WBO bantamweight king. What
round?
It might happen in a flash.
*****
Fourth ALL WRITE column:
Now I know why Donaire is
‘The Flash’
I WAS wrong.
I underestimated Nonito Donaire’s abilities and capabilities, as well.
In a radio interview, I said he would
knock out Fernando Montiel between the
5th and 8th rounds. Wrong.
Donaire did it in the second round. (A
previous column of mine was correct: It
“Bata” Reyes, Alex “The
Lion” Pagulayan, Ronato
“Volcano” Alcano, Ru-bilen
“Bing-kay”Amit, who have
won world titles in 9-ball,
[the knockout] might happen in a flash.)
“I went for the body at the start,” Donaire
said. It didn’t work out? Montiel a tough
nut to crack? But the fight was only a round
old. Donaire impatient?
Not really.
The body attack was a ploy. It was a
ruse as beautiful as a rose. In one round,
Donaire’s strategy had paid off. In one
round, Donaire wanted Montiel to believe
he’d be continually attacked in the body.
What a strategy.
It put to shame Mao Zedong’s Long
March. General Patton’s war tactics became ROTC stuff.
In suddenly going head-hunting in the
second round, Donaire turned from expert
to genius.
Strategists in the Iraq War should learn a
thing or two from Donaire.
Donaire had barely inflicted bodily
harm on Montiel in the first round. Or so
it seemed.
But look at this: In the first round,
Donaire had successfully injected into
Montiel’s mind that Donaire was all set to
concentrate on body punches. That opened
doors to Donaire, somewhat forcing Montiel to lower down his guard and making his
8-ball and 10-ball, respectively. (BY JOSEF T. RAMOS –
Correspondent-Manila Times)
head an open target.
Thus, the second round was not even two
minutes old when wham came the killer
blow! Montiel’s totally exposed jaw got
hit dead center! In an instant, Montiel was
down, grimacing in pain, eyes glazed.
Now I know why Donaire was called
“The Filipino Flash.”
A radar-like punch had been unleashed
in a flash, courtesy of a left hook. Montiel
fell flat on his back, his face a picture of defeat. Montiel struggled to rise, but he could
barely move.
When he finally rose, Montiel appeared
lost. Never has he been humiliated in his
boxing career.
The referee, seeing the futility of further
resistance from Montiel, stopped the fight
when Donaire was all set to deliver the finishing blows.
As king of 118-pounders in the WBC/
WBO, Donaire, in picking up his 25th
straight win in 27 fights since losing his
second professional bout, appears invincible at this stage.
I am proud of him, as all Filipinos should.
And, yes, may he also win his fights off
the ring – with a flourish, too, but not necessarily in a flash.
Rugby widens its reach
took the ball in his arms and ran with it,
thus originating the distinctive feature of
the Rugby game”. This story, largely anecdotal, gained a life of its own throughout
the United Kingdom to the point that the
international committee named the Rugby
World Cup the “William Webb Ellis Trophy”. All this, of course, took place before
football (or soccer as it is more commonly known to those of us outside Europe)
branched off into its different permutations.
Here in the Philippines, soccer
was king in early Spanish times, as it was
imported by our colonizers. Gradually, it
infiltrated colleges and universities, until
its peak in the 1950’s. Slowly, it waned
in popularity until basketball, buoyed by
television, became the country’s passion in
the 1980’s. Rugby union was largely unknown, played by pockets of expats in different parts of Metro Manila. For the most
part, it has been kept alive by independent
groups like the Nomads and a few international schools. An international tournament is played in Angeles every year to
benefit the street children of Bahay Bata,
supported by the Rotary Club of Clark
Centennial.
About two decades ago, rugby was becoming the sport of choice by Filipinos
who had grown up in Commonwealth
states. It was taught in their schools, and
they benefited from being bigger than average. The initial Philippine teams were
made mostly of foreigners, until, over the
last few years, Fil-foreigners started expressing their nationalistic bent and suited
up for the country. In the last few seasons,
pure-blooded Filipinos have learned the
game well enough to represent the country.
In the last five years, the Philippines has
climbed a notch every year until in 2010,
we made it to Level One in Asia.
“Rugby is a sport where Filipinos have
done well, and can be among the world’s
best,” explains Matt Cullen, national coach
and program head of the PRFU. “The last
few years alone have shown how much
progress we can make if we set our minds
to it and get the support.”With the Southeast Asian games this year, the PRFU is
looking at a very busy year, along with the
other international and invitational events
already slated starting this month.
“The Philippines Rugby Football Union
are gearing up for another exciting year of
developing the sport of Rugby Union here
in the Philippines and attending several
Asian Championships in 2011,” Cullen
elaborates. “This will culminate with the
SEA Games in Indonesia in November.
The last time the Philippines played Rugby
7s at SEA Games events, we won the silver medal in Thailand in 2007 and the gold
medal in the Philippines in 2005.”
The National Women’s 7s team has
also been invited to compete in the worldrenowned Hong Kong 7s international
tournament this running March 24 and 25.
But the campaigns begin in earnest as the
Philippine national developmental team
takes on Sabah Regional in Kota Kinabalu.
After the Hong Kong 7s, the Philippine national men’s team challenges Hong
Kong at the Rizal Memorial Stadium on
April 14 and 16. Then, the most important
tournament follows, as the men join the
Asian 5 Nations (A5N) Division 1 Championship in Seoul, South Korea. Korea,
Malaysia and Singapore make up the tough
field.
What makes rugby exciting is that
there’s a lot of action, it’s a physical game,
and strategy is just as important as physical preparation. In one’ year’s time, we’ve
been able to form a competitive women’s
team, though the men are undeniably reaping the rewards of having years of experience behind them. For this year, our women’s teams will gain experience against
their rivals in this part of the world.
Invitational tournament will also be
of great help, since many club teams from
other Southeast Asian countries usually
count national players among their members. Perhaps, the only thing we may need
on the women’s sides is a little more size,
since taller players often end up playing
volleyball or basketball.With the help of a
few more sponsors, rugby union will have
a strong, stable future.
We already have the material; the
players just need a little more nurturing
and experience.
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
Philippine Courier
MVP launches sports foundation
MANILA, Philippines (February 13, 2011) - Business tycoon Manny Pangilinan, in
another meaningful demonstration of his passion for sports announced on Friday the launch
of the MVP Sports Foundation
Inc., a philanthropic organization that seeks to uplift sports in
the Philippines.
Anchored on the theme
“Goal! Pilipinas” Pangalinan
who turned over a giant replica of a P80 million check to
the president of the Philippine
Football Federation Mariano
“Nonong” Araneta representing a ten-year commitment was
joined by Air 21 owner, businessman-sportsman Bert Lina
who pledged an additional P21
million also over ten years saying he wanted to help and share
the vision of MVP.
Pangilinan told the Inquirer
that they had identified eight
sports – basketball, boxing,
cycling, taekwondo, badminton , tennis, running and football and they had set “specific,
reasonably ambitious, realistic
and achievable goals for each
sport.”
He said that “in many, many
respects sports is a metaphor
for life – the kind of values that
drive an athlete to excel are precisely the same values that drive
ordinary folk to excel in their
respective careers and in their
lives. I think it’s a wonderful
laboratory for building character, spirit, ambition and goals.”
Pangilinan stressed that sports
needs the support of media because to the extent that its well
broadcasted, well advertised
then the advertisers will flock
and when you gain more eyeballs watching football or badminton then it will generate the
kind of following and support
that a particular sport needs.”
Noting that over 18,000
turned out to see the Azkals
play Mongolia at the Panaad
stadium and 15,000 crammed
the Araneta Coliseum to watch
the PBA Finals between Pangalinan’s Talk N’ Text champion team and San Miguel Beer,
Pangilinan said it reflected the
Filipinos desire for something
“wholesome and entertaining
to watch and generates a lot of
pride, whether its pride f or the
team or pride f or the country.”
Pangilinan said “the kind of
fervor that the football fans
showed was in many respects
unique in the world. Football
fans are different from basket-
ball fans. They really get into
the game more intensely than
other types of fans.”
He also indicated that with the
growing public interest and involvement in sports they are going to put demands on our sports
leaders to perform better. Pangilinan said “they should perform
better because this country deserves more than what we’ve
done so far and I think we in
business should do our part in
helping the process along.”
Pangilinan praised the support of Lina. He said “that’s
great. We are very grateful to
Bert Lina for doing his part. It’s
a great contribution to complement what we’ve done so far.
We hope other companies will
also join us. They are welcome.
Its not just our exclusive province.”
He realized that the Azkals
were used as the flashpoint for
pushing sports development and
made it clear that it was a way
of starting something big and
that it would provide an impetus for “ several movements to
support sports like badminton,
taekwondo running and others.”
Realizing the importance of
television, Pangilinan revealed
Punch Out
By Laurence Tierra
Newly crowned WBC and WBO bantamweight king Nonito Donaire, Jr. just
can’t wait to lay his hands on another foe.
He wants to return to the ring the soonest possible time and unite all the bantamweight belts and climb another division
afterwards.
Days after sending a strong signal to
the boxing world with a terrifying secondround knockout of Mexican mauler Fernando Montiel, Donaire said he wants to
return to the ring at the soonest possible
time. And Top Rank chief Bob Arum, who
also promotes Donaire, said he is looking at Anselmo Moreno of Panama, the
reigning WBA bantamweight champion
for Donaire’s May 2011 next assignment.
Moreno has a 30-1-1 win-loss-draw record with 10 knockouts. A tougher customer for Donaire? Or another stepping
stone to reach stardom the way idol Pacman trekked?
Moreno is ‘an easy prey’ for Donaire,
Jr., but, reaching the pinnacle of success
Pacquiao attained without humility and
great love for family, especially to parents, no way Donaire could even lay claim
to boxing superstardom. Karma inaabot
ng anak na umaaway sa magulang, higit
lalo sa ama na siyang gumabay sa kaniya
para maging isang ganap na magaling na
boxer. Kaya nga, this early, throw to the
bin all ‘anger’ in your heart towards you
Dad, Nonito, and be a ‘model’ son and
a prizefighter like your idol Manny Pacquiao. Now na!
########
I talked to Mang Nonito Donaire, Sr.
twice when he backstopped the corner
of Marvin Sonsona here in Toronto and
I found the man so hurt over his junior’s
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
attitude towards him. He did not tell me
everything that caused his separation
from his son’s corner. He told this paper’s editor-in-chief everything, when my
father-in-law, a veteran sportswriter since
1986 when he was still in Manila, interviewed him. But, it was probably an offthe-record interview because said interview never reached printing in this paper.
Ahh, ibang klaseng journalist kasi talaga
ang editor-in-chief namin dito, eh. When
it’s off-the-record, off-the-record talaga.
Pipi’t-bingi si Papa.
What hurts Mang Nonito was the fact
that his junior removed him from his team
without formally talking to him about it.
The junior just hired another trainer. Period. “Masakit iyon,” Mang Nonito told me.
And he did not elaborate further. Not even
answering when I asked him if money was
involved in his separation from his son.
Tightlipped. No ghastly word for the sibling. A real father figure any son could ask
for. But, we really don’t know the cause of
the senior and junior’s separation. Anong
gulo ba ang nangyari sa mag-ama na up
to now, the junior could not embrace his
Dad again? Whatever, a father is a father
at kahit baliktarin man ni Nonito Jr. ang
mundo, ama pa rin niya si Mang Nonito,
and that matters most! Kung si Manny
Pacquiao ay pinatawad, binigyan ng kabuhayan at minahal ang amang nangibangbahay at ‘pinulutan’ ang mahal niyang
alagang aso. Why can’t Nonito, Jr. do the
same to his Dad? The Pacman is your idol,
right, Nonito, Jr.? Go to Mang Nonito,
now, Junior! Now na!
########
In an interview after the fight, The
Champ Donaire, Jr. admitted that he’ll
Manny V. Pangilinan
whelmed" but admitted “the
pressure is now on us to deliver
and to really show the sponsors that we will give glory to
our country.” He assured sponsors that the PFF will “provide
financial reports to the sponEven as he welcomed the sors so that they will see where
support of Pangilinan and Lina, the money was spent and spent
PFF president Araneta said he well. – (Philboxing.com)
was "flabbergasted and overthat his UHF Channel 41 will be
launched on February 21 adding
“we do hope we could cover the
eight sports that we want to support in its entirety and give it the
full media backing it deserves.”
Donaire, Jr. should act
like his idol Pacquiao…
‘only be receiving $350,000’ for the Montiel clash as he is not yet entitled to additional perks, like the PPV (if there’s any).
“Malayo pa ako kay Idol (Pacquiao),” he
added. And only half of that prize money
goes to Nonito’s pocket as tax cut in, payments for trainer, manager and his team
members also have to be paid. And that’s
why Nonito, Jr. wants to fight even every
month just to earn the RESPECT and the
payment that GOES with a champion of
no mean caliber like Pacquiao.
Nonito could achieve what Pacquiao
has attained. No doubt about it. He could
be champion in the higher weight divisions and be paid seven-figure prize money. But in due time. And he could only be
champion probably in five weight classes
(up to lightweight or 135 lbs). Hanggang
duon lang ang tingin kong maaakyat ni
Donaire, Jr. Higher than that? Let’s see.
But achieving five world championships
in different divisions is already a dream
comes true as only the best and brightest
could accomplish such feat. That’s why
Manny Pacquiao is a phenomenal human being since he is the only boxer in
history to win eight championship crowns
in 8 different weight categories. Nonito is
bound to become the next Filipino multidivision boxing king like Pacquiao and he
must start acting as a gentle champion like
his idol. Now na!
########
The beauteous Ana 'The Hurricane' Julaton, a constant Toronto visitor, improved
her record to 8wins-2loss-1draw, after
successfully defending her WBO female
super bantamweight title by unanimous
decision in a lopsided ten-round bout
against Franchesca ‘The Chosen One’
Alcanter (18W-10L-1D) of Kansas City
Friday night at the Craneway Pavilion in
Richmond, California.
The 30-year-old Filipina-American,
who fights out of from Daly City, California, found her range early and scored easily from the opening round. She utilized a
busy left jab and well timed right straights
and left hooks to dominate the fight. She
also used lateral movement to avoid Alcanter’s counters. Coach Freddie Roach,
who supervised Ana’s training and the last
six fights, was reportedly nowhere during
the fight for reason only Roach could answer. A very reliable source close to Julaton’s Team told this writer that it was
Ana’s manager Angelo who tended her
boxer’s corner.
The three judges’ scorecards read 9992, 97-93 and 96-94, all for Julaton. A
very dominating win for our woman boxing champion, whom I interviewed thrice
here in Toronto last year when she won
the WBO super-bantamweight belt.
Well, in an interview after the fight,
Julaton together with her promoter Allan
Tremblay of Orion Sports, said that for
her next bout she could be defending her
title in the Philippines, or here in Casino
Rama, again.
Julaton’s win kept the winning streak
this month for Filipino boxers in the United States. Mabuhay ang ating mga bayaning boksingero!
27
Philippine Courier
Community Potpourri
ANOTHER BLISSFUL YEAR: Ms. Joadel
Concepcion (blowing candles) celebrates
another year February 10, 2011 in her and
hubby Noel and son Jonel's modest home.
Mom Adela Bailey and an Aunt are some of
the couple's guests.
OLD FRIENDS MEET: Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Jose
Brillantes (middle) and DFA Asst. Secretary Andy Mosquera (left)
play host to old Canadian buddy Mon Datol, this paper publisher/
editor-in-chief, when the three met recently at the DFA office of Brillantes, the former Philippine Ambassador to Ottawa. (Photo by Courier International Correspondent Jark Anthony Datol)
DABOY TURNS ONE: BubblyTristen Rodriguez Davies celebrated his 1st birthday on New Years Day. Celebrating with the wonder boy is big sister Kayden, Mom Angela & Dad Joey; Grandma
Portia Rodriguez (2nd photo) and Titos and Titas (3rd photo)
THE ENGINEER'S 57th: Engr. Jose
'Bebong' Abellon of Ilocos Norte and
Maple, Vaughan, Ontario, celebrated
his 57th winter February 18, 2011 with
a simple gathering of kin and friends.
Here, the celebrant is tendering his
favorite ditty and dedictaed it to his
wife Lita, who prepared all the Filipino
delectabe foods.
ADORABLE CELEBRANT: Sister Erena Garcia of
Nyren Salon, located at Bathurst Plaza corner Bathurst
and Finch Sts., celebrates another milestone March 5,
2011 with a simple birthday 'salo-salo' in their cozy beauty place.
CINDY’S DEBUT: Couple Jimmy and
Marie Villasanta, together with son Jav,
left no stone unturned to make their angel Cindy Villasanta’s 18th Birthday Party
last Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011 held at the
Paradise Banquet Hall and Convention
Centre an enormous success.
Blessie Ann 7th bday
SHE’S 7 NOW: Blessie Ann Ancheta,
only daughter of couple Edgar and Tess
Ancheta, celebrated her 7th birthday February 1, 2011with a lavish children party
attended by the family kin, close friends
and Blessie’ classmates. The celebrant’s
brothers Kenneth and Edgar, Jr. help their
sister welcome the guests. (Photos by
TPC’s Miguel Caducio)
28
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
Philippine Courier
SENIORS TIME: Seniors Citizen Partylist 3rd Representative Francisco Datol, Jr (left) played host to the City, Municipal and Barangay Seniors
Partylist officials led by (ret) Col. Francisco (far right) recently to discuss plans and programs of their organization for year 2011-2012.
Cop in Touch
By Const. Philip Mendoza
Clearance Check from Toronto Police Service
“Now On-line”
A police clearance check is an important process that may affect future employment,
volunteer work or acceptance to educational institutions. It is a popular topic that regularly comes up not only from newcomers but also community members that have, in
the past, neglected to acquire. Most employers and government agencies require police
clearance checks to complete the application process for jobs or volunteer work while
most schools require Vulnerable Sector Screening or Police Reference Check Program.
Individuals also need it if they are applying for permanent residency in Canada.
Clearance Letter & Criminal Record Check
The Toronto Police Service is pleased to introduce a new “online” Clearance Letter application. It can be found by navigating to www.torontopolice.on.ca and is located on
the left side of the main page. If you choose this option, you may pick up your Clearance Letter from one of our designated locations.
A Clearance Letter is a formal document issued by the Toronto Police Service indicating that the person of the inquiry has no criminal convictions in the National Repository of Criminal Records maintained by the RCMP. Two pieces of government issued
identifications are required, one of which must contain a photo and signature.
•
Samples of photo identifications which provide photo, name and date of birth:
Drivers Licence, Canadian Citizenship Card, Passports, Permanent Resident Card,
Government Employment Card, Age of Majority Card, International Student Card,
Firearm Acquisition Certificate
•
Samples of non-photo identification which provide name and date of birth:
Birth Certificate, Immigration Papers, Baptismal Certificate, Hospital Card, Hunting
Licence,
Outdoors card, Canadian Blood Donor Card
•
Ontario Health Cards and Social Insurance Number Card (SIN) will not be
accepted for identification purposes
Note: Requests may also be made in person at the Toronto Police Service Headquarters,
40 College Street, Main Lobby, Monday to Friday 7:15 am - 5 pm (excluding holiday).
For special circumstances such as students teaching at another country or Canadian citizens living outside Canada, an authorized person may be allowed to submit the request
on their behalf. Please contact the main line: 416-808-8244 for further instructions.
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
If you have a criminal record, you are not eligible for a Clearance Letter.
Fingerprints will be required for positive identification before criminal records are released. You must attend an RCMP accredited fingerprinting agency listed in your local
telephone book or on-line under fingerprinting services.
If you have criminal charges before the courts, you may still be eligible for a Clearance
Letter; however, your letter will state “before the courts”.
The cost Clearance Letters or Criminal Record Check is $28.25 (taxes included).
Fee is NON-REFUNDABLE
Vulnerable Sector Screening
•
Police Reference Check Program (PRCP form)
This is a program used to assist agencies, schools, churches, nursing homes, etc. to determine the suitability of successful candidates for full or part-time employment and/or
volunteer duties. This may be used to check board members, personal support workers
or volunteers having direct contact with children or vulnerable persons.
Applicants must fill out the Consent to Disclosure form authorizing the Toronto Police
Service to perform a reference check. This information will include criminal records
and/or apprehensions under the Mental Health Act. You will receive a letter from Toronto Police Service indicating a summary of your record.
Your potential employer or government agency will not receive a letter from Toronto
Police Service.
•
It is your responsibility to decide whether to discuss or advise the agency/
employer the results of your Police Reference check.
Important:
•
Due to volume of requests, applications may take ten (10) weeks
to three (3) months to process.
The cost is $50.85 for employment and $16.95 for volunteers.
Note: Agencies, schools, churches, nursing homes, etc. must register or be registered with Toronto Police Service to participate in this program.
“Please ensure to allow plenty of time for the process so that it doesn’t affect your
employment or school applications” said Consolacion Arciaga, a twenty (20) year
member of Toronto Police Service currently working at Records Management Unit.
“Over the past year, the number of applications has multiplied exponentially”. “Applicants must be prepared to provide proper documents so we can expedite your clearance
check and avoid any delays of service” noted Arciaga.
For further inquiries about Clearance Letters and Criminal Records Check,
please call 416-808-7991.
Should you have any questions, please contact me at (416) 808-7071 or email me at
philip.mendoza@torontopolice.on.ca
29
Philippine Courier
Philippine Bar topnotcher
now a Lawyer in Ontario
Joke Time
Ni Edgar Bello
Math wiz daw
Ina:
Anak matalino ka raw sa math lalo na sa
addition, sabi ng titser mo?
Anak: Opo.
Ina: Sige nga, kunwari binigyan kita ng 5 apples
at 3 grapes. Anong sagot mo?
Anak: Thank you!!!
***
Math Class
Titser: Pedro, kung may 5 anak ako sa unang
asawa ko, 7 naman sa pangalawa at 3 sa ikatlo,
meron akong?...
Pedro: Ma’am, kalandean poh.. isa kayong
karengkeng, mahilig, immoral ….
Titser: Umupo ka, tarantado ka! Hindi ka makakapasa sa akin!!!!
***
Buntis ako!
Pamilya sa harap ng hapag kainan habang kumakain ng almusal…
Anak: Ma, Pa, buntis…… buntis po ako …di po
ako makakagraduate…
Nanay at Tatay, napahintong sumubo,.. di makakibo ..
Anak: Ma, mahirap po bang mgbuntis?
Mama: Oo anak, pero mas mahirap maging isang
ina sa isang ambisyosang bakla!!!
***
Lasa ng lasinggero
Hindi lahat ng lasingero ay gusting tikman ang
lasa ng alak.
Yong iba dyan…. Gustong tikman lasa ng kainuman.. hehehehe.
***
Wats love?
‘Yong bang lagi mong naalala mahal mo. Laging
mong nami-miss.
Kaya’t kapag everytime you miss your love one,
just put your right hand in front of
Your heart, close your eyes, feel the beat…ready…
BAYANG MAGILIW, HANDA AWIT!!!!
***
Triplets
Anak: Tatay, bili mo kami tig-iisang baril!
Tatay: Aba, lalakeng-lalake mga anak ko ah!
(Pagkabili ng 3 baril)
Tatay: OK, get ready GIRLS, Charlie’s calling!!!
***
Paluwagan
Betchay: Mare, kulang pa kami ng isang miyembro.Baka gusto mong sumali sa paluwagan.
Dory: Hindi pa ako pwede, mare.
Betchay: Bakit mare?
Dory: Virgin pa kasi ako.
***
Magsyota sa Motel
BF: Alam mo love, ikaw ang first girl na dinala
ko dito.
GF: Sinungaling. Sabi nuong mga bell boys lagi
ka raw dito!
BF: Oo, pero ikaw lang talaga ang girl!
***
Kalahati ng 1000
Ambo: Itay, pag meron na ba akong pera mayaman napo ba ako?
Tatay: Kung ang pera mo ay libo mayaman ka
na kapag hundred hindi pa. Bakit mo nga ba naitanong?
Ambo: Ibebenta ko po itong baboy ko.
Tatay: Ipagbili mo yan ng isang libo. (Agad pumunta si Ambo sa palengke para magbenta) Namimili: Magkano ang baboy mo?
Ambo: Isang libo po.
Namimili: Pwede bang 900 na lang?
Ambo: Hindi po. Kasi sabi ng tatay ko pag hundreds di pa po ako yayaman. Dapat daw po libo.
Namimili: Ah Ganon! O sige kalahating libo.
Ambo: Kalahating libo? Okey. Payag ako!
***
Sino nauna?
Nagtalo ang mga Hudyo at Instik kung sino ang
nauna sa mundo.
Hudyo: Kami, dahil kami ang nagpaku kay Hesus
sa krus!
Instik: Aber, saan hardware kayo bili pako?
***
30
10 QUOTABLE QUOTES:
- Better late than pregnant.
- Pag may tyaga, gud luck!
- Aanhin pa ang damo, kabayo ba ako?
- Pag binato ka ng bato, kawawa ka naman.-Kung may isinuksok, may mabubuntis!
- It’s better to give, much better to receive.
- Cleanliness is next to godliness. Oiliness is next
to blemishes.
- Ang taong naglalakad na matulin, pawisin.
- Pagkahaba-haba ng prusisyon, mauubusan din ng
kandila.
- Honesty…is such a lonely word.
***
Pacquiao jokes….
NOODLE!!!!!NOODLE!!!!!"
Si Mommy D Pacquiao sa ‘DEAL OR
NO DEAL’
-0Isang araw, pumunta si Manny Pacquiao sa isang
mamahaling restaurant…
Waiter: Ano po order nyo, sir?
Manny: Letter … Letter..
Waiter: Ano po yon, sir?
Manny: No ba, sabi ko, letter. (Later daw, waiter,
ano ka ba?)
***
GF kong teacher …
Laseng 1: Hik, balita ko parekoy, nakipag-break
ka sa syota mong teacher, hik …
Laseng 2: Oo parekoy.
Laseng 1: Baket naman, parekoy, hik.
Laseng 2: Biruin mong di ko lang nadalaw ng
isang beses, eh, hinihingan na kaagad ako ng
Excuse letter at kailangan daw pirmado ng Nanay
ko!
Laseng1: Ngekkkk….
***
Easter egg…
Teacher: Class what is ethics?
John:
Sir, ethics are those cousins of ducks!
What can you say sir?
Teacher: Very nice answer! That duck will lay an
egg and that egg will be your grade!!
***
Pang-PG Jokes
Teacher: Alin ang madalas gamitin.. period or
comma?
Estudyante: Kama, ma’am. Ang period, buwanan lang, ang kama, kahit may period puwedeng
gamitin!
***
Teacher: Anong gagawin kapag lumilindol?
Pupil: Ma’am buksan po ilaw.
Teacher: Bakit mo nasabi iyan?
Pupil: Kasi po, ma’am, sa amin, kapag lumilindol, binubuksan ko lang ilaw, nawawala na!
***
10 Paalala sa mga mag-dyowa…
1.
KAPAG MAGKASAMA, HUWAG GARAPAL SA KAS-SWEET-AN. SMACK LANG
SA CHEEK OK NA.
2.
KAPAG NAKAINOM NG RED HORSE,
WAG MAGPAKALASING, KASI, BAKA MAISIPAN NYONG MANGABAYO.
3.
IWASANG MAGING MAPUSOK AT
MAHALAY PARA SIGURADONG MAKAPAGTAPOS NG PAG-AARAL.
4.
KUNG NURSING ANG KURSO NINYO, WAG PRAKTISIN ANG PAGBABAKUNA
SA ISAT ISA.
5.
ANG SCHOOL I.D. AY HINDI GINAGAMIT PARA MAKA-DISCOUNT SA MOTEL.
6.
KUNG BAGONG TAON ‘O MAY
PAGDIRIWANG TANDAAN MAGPAPUTOK
LANG SA LABAS.
7.
KAPAG NAPUTUKAN, WAG MAG
PANIK. PWEDENG FALSE ALARM LANG
‘YAN.
8.
WAG KUMAIN NG TAHONG KAPAG
MAY REDTIDE.
9.
KAPAG MAINIT AT KAYONG DALAWA LANG, ALAM NYO NA.
10.
KAPAG MALAMIG, UMUULAN AT
KAYO LANG, ALAM NA RIN.
Jon happily shows off his certificate as proof of his degree of
Barrister-at-Law and admission to the Ontario bar.
Second time’s the charm.
That’s how it was for Abner
“Jon” Gener, who took his oath
as lawyer on January 28 at the
Ray Thompson Hall in downtown Toronto.
Jon was first admitted to the bar in the Philippines.
He placed fourth among 3,194
examinees in the 1995 bar examinations.
Jon and 117 others
were conferred the degree of
Barrister-at-Law at the Special
Convocation presided by the
Honourable Laurie H. Pawlitza,
the Treasurer and head of the
Law Society of Upper Canada.
The successful candidates were also sworn in and
admitted as solicitors for the
province of Ontario in a special
session of the Court of Appeal
for Ontario and the Superior
Court of Justice convened after
the Convocation.
Jon plans to specialize in residential real estate law.
He will be teaming up with his
mentor, Bayani “Abe” Abesamis, who has been practicing
law in Ontario for more than 16
years. As part of the licensing
process, Jon worked as studentat-law of the Abesamis law office in Mississauga. Together
they will form abelaw LLP, a
law partnership that will engage
in “high-impact law” to better serve clients in the areas of
real estate, immigration law and
criminal defence.
Jon obtained his law degree from the University of the
Philippines. He began his law
career in 1995 as an associate of
Castillo Laman Tan Pantaleon
& San Jose, a reputable full-service law firm based in Makati
City. Jon had a brief stint in
the Philippine Supreme Court,
serving as Chief Judicial Staff
Officer of the Public Information Office under Chief Justice
Hilario G. Davide.
Returning to the private
sector in 2001, he became legal
counsel of Filinvest Land, Inc.,
one of the leading real estate developers in the Philippines. In
2008, Jon came to Canada with
his wife, Julie, and their two
children, Angelo and Camille.
They live in Brampton.
In this photo taken right after the convocation, Jon is joined by
the Honourable Laurie H. Pawlitza, the Treasurer of the Law
Society of Upper Canada (right), Janet E. Minor, a Bencher of
the Law Society (left), and his children, Angelo and Camille.
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
Philippine Courier
Metro
Edited by:
Maria Isabelle D. Bello
PINOY FIESTA & TRADE SHOW SA TORONTO, JUNE 25, 2011
IS THE BIGGEST EVENT THIS SUMMER
TORONTO - The Philippine Canadian
Charitable Foundation (PCCF) and GMA
Pinoy TV have proudly announced that
the Greater Toronto Area will witness this
year the biggest trade show and entertainment event, which by far, has been organized by any organization/s for the benefit
of the Filipino Canadian community.
This announcement was made jointly by
Jimmy Marasigan, president of the Philippine Canadian Charitable Foundation
(PCCF) and Rosemer Enverga, GMA
Pinoy TV Development and Marketing
Consultant for Canada, who said that they
are very excited to work with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce-Toronto
(PCCT) to provide the entertainment
component for the “Pinoy Fiesta & Trade
Show sa Toronto.
Dubbed as the “Pinoy Fiesta & Trade
Show sa Toronto”, Marasigan and Enverga said the event has three-pronged
objectives, as follows: first, to provide
a wider exposure to PCCT business and
exhibitors, from where -- in the words
of PCCT President Oswald Tugadi and
Trade Show Chair Rafael Nebres, “visitors from the diverse communities in the
greater Toronto area would have a good
grasp of the products and services that the
Filipino Canadian business sector carries
and offers, and from which they could engage in cross sales and marketing,”
From the point of view of the PCCF,
Marasigan pointed out that the event will
be a great avenue for the foundation to
raise funds where everybody could share
their bounties in Canada with those of
“our poor brothers and sisters in the Philippines.” He said that funds generated
by the PCCF will be used for charitable
purposes, mainly through the building
of houses for the poor through ANCOP
Canada, the Kapuso Foundation and other
worthy charities. He said that this way, it
will not be too burdensome for anybody
to do one’s acts of charity – especially
considering the economic weather these
times.
THE ROVING EYES
By Maria D. Bello
I got this article from surfing the internet which I believe will definitely
help us in preventing pneumonia which
if not detected earlier could bring death
to anyone inflicted by the dreaded illness. Read this:
Our lungs get about as much credit
for sweeping out the germs and gunk we
breathe in as do Beyonce’s backup singers. So we’d like to sing their praises for
working overtime during peak pneumonia season. And we’d like to keep you
from crooning I’ve Got the Rockin’
Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu,
even if your Aerosmith impersonation is
great!
Reports said that more than half a
million cases of pneumonia will wind
up in U.S. doctor’s offices this year.
Some 50,000 people could die. The older or younger you are, the more dangerous it is. You can’t avoid the bugs that
cause this nasty lung infection. But you
can cut your risk and stop the spread.
Cover up coughs. With your elbow
— Dracula-style — or with a tissue.
That’s better than using your hands.
Those germs fly out of your lungs at
950 kilometres an hour when you cough
or sneeze, so they can cover a lot of territory in search of victims.
Stop shaking hands. Greet friends
with a big hello and say goodbye with
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
On the entertainment angle, Enverga said
that GMA Pinoy TV is very excited at this
first opportunity to work with the PCCF
and the PCCT to bring in person before
the eyes of fans their favorite “Kapuso”
stars. GMA Pinoy TV was primarily incorporated by GMA Network for the benefit of overseas Filipinos.
The GMA Pinoy TV Development and
Marketing Consultant for Canada, in the
meantime, keeps the fans to hold their
breath as who are coming from among
the GMA table of stars are coming. Will it
be Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes;
or, the newly- married Regine and Ogie?
Perhaps, Aljur Abrenica, with Rachel Ann
Go; or, is it possible to be all of them?
“Whoever they are,” Enverga promised,
“the Kapuso stars are guaranteed to keep
the audience in their seat by the entertainment program being arranged for them
and catered for everyone.”
The “Pinoy Fiesta & Trade Show sa Toronto” will be held from 8 am to 11 pm,
Saturday, June 25, 2011 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Hall C (very
short walk from Union Station), 255
Front Street W, in Toronto. For tickets,
call Rosemer 416-284-9299, Jimmy 905472-3194, Romy 416-985-2606.
Here’s how we can prevent
pneumonia – Docs
a cheerful wave (think Royal Family).
Swipe ’n’ wipe. Bacteria and viruses
can live for days on hard surfaces that
are shared by friends, family, neighbours and strangers — door knobs,
game controls, computer keyboards and
TV remotes. Airplane trays aren’t far
behind. Swipe with alcohol wipes.
Don’t smoke. Your lungs have
enough to cope with.
Get vaccinated. There is a pneumonia
shot for grown-ups and the Hib vaccine
series for infants and small children.
Both protect against several types of
pneumonia, meningitis and other serious infections. Getting a shot is a nobrainer.
FOODS THAT SPICE UP YOUR
LOVE LIFE
Remember when you and your partner could barely take your eyes (and
your hands) off each other? Maybe what
you need to bring back that rush is a
walk down the aisle. The grocery aisle,
that is. Here’s a food list that’ll spice up
your sex life.
But before the feast, try doing something else with your mouths: talking,
especially about what you like in bed.
Talking triggers oxytocin, a warm-andfuzzy chemical that makes people bond.
Next, don’t forget the erotic organ
that’s even more sensitive than your
mouth. No, eyes a little higher: We
mean your nose. In men, a sniff of lemons, doughnuts or licorice can increase
blood flow to the penis. For women,
licorice and cucumbers often do it. Why
isn’t clear, though the shapes may be as
arousing as the smell. (Do we have to
draw a picture here?)
Now for the love snacks. Stock up on:
Bananas. They’re rich in bromelain,
an enzyme that may boost male libido.
Celery. It’s high in androsterone, a
hormone released in male sweat that can
turn women on.
Oysters. They contain zinc, needed to
produce libido-enhancing testosterone.
Garlic. Any dish with garlic in it can
increase blood flow to sexual organs.
Just share the food.
Figs. They’re rich in amino acids that
heat up desire.
Chocolate. It has several ingredients
that trigger that loving feeling.
Nibble one or go for the lot. Satisfying sex can make you feel great and
make your RealAge years younger.
THE SLIMMING POWER OF
SOUP
Want a slimmer you? Developing a
soup habit will have you stepping out in
clothes you haven’t worn for ages.
The more often you eat soup, the more
likely you are to shrink your waist, lose
weight and lower your total body fat —
your body mass index (BMI). That’s according to new research confirming previous soup-slimming studies. The fact
is, soup makes you feel fuller on fewer
calories. And it means you’ll also cut
your risk of heart disease, diabetes and
other unpleasantness that come with big
bellies and excess weight.
You don’t have to know a thing about
cooking to make great soup. Here’s our
three-step soup-for-dummies secret:
1. Fill a pot with water and turn on
the heat.
2. Throw in lots of fresh, colourful
vegetables. Carrots, celery, red peppers,
onions, garlic and any other firm ones
first, then tomatoes, dark greens, zucchini, whatever. All are chock-full of
nutrients with almost zero calories and
fat. Enrich the flavor and up the protein
with beans (fiber plus flavor), chicken
or fish.
3. Be bold with spices. Cayenne and
hot peppers, rich in capsaicin, not only
rev up the flavour but even help you
burn fat a little faster.
For store-bought-soup days, choose
low-sodium varieties (under 260 milligrams a cup). (Ref: Mehmet Oz and
Mike Roizen are authors of YOU: On a
Diet. For more, visit www.realage.com
)
31
Philippine Courier
Thinking
Out Loud
The secret life of a drama queen
By Tessie Lagtapon
I am a drama queen still recovering from the double whammy I
received from the late and venerable
2010.
I love weddings, the kind
where everyone is included, where the
church smells of flowers and the little
ring bearers and flower girls stray from
the scripted event. I love the promise
and the hope of the principals for a future as uncertain as the Lotto 649.
I love the gathering of family and friends, the exchange of “Do
you remember the time when….”, the
melding of two families from backgrounds as diverse as pizza and ‘adobo’, the concerted efforts of everyone
to make the special day truly special.
I heard the whisperings of a
special day early last year.
Then I got the pre-invitation
over e-mail from Child No. 4 sometime
in October. I didn’t know I need to be
pre-invited. It was all so businesslike: time, date, price, policy, country.
Voila!! I am in for my first destination
wedding.
“What the…?!” was my initial
reaction.
“I’ll stay home.” My husband
intoned. “They can have my trip money as a gift.”
It was my cue to throw a temper tantrum, roll on the ground and
flail my arms, but I didn’t. I just kind
of whimpered and allowed my heart to
break quietly. I had looked forward to
this wedding; expected an announcement over a family dinner, like us old
people would have done.
I didn’t
know a simple e-mail could be so devastating.
I escalated the issue into a
few sleepless nights which went like
this: woke up with a start, thought
about it, churned my emotions to peak
point, turned on my lamp, read until I
couldn’t open my eyes anymore, then
slowly slid under my blanket so that I
didn’t wake the baby in me while simultaneously feeling for the switch…
This procedure was repeated many
times through the night. I woke up a
wreck.
“Oh, come off it Mom.” My
daughter, always the practical one,
admonished. “It is their wedding not
yours.”
Yes, indeed.
So I emailed back asking for
an explanation. My three-word son is
capable of five full paragraphs of logic,
just like the 0s and 1s of a computer
program. His arguments made absolute sense. Still I do not understand.
But, it is their wedding, their life and I
love his fiancée.
Costa Rica should be glorious
in May.
Glorious or not I am writing this on
the Bluest Monday of the year as
per
Canada AM news. The morning matched my mood but as the day
progressed the sun came out in all its
brilliance; proving once more what I
always suspected: the sun is constant,
never leaves its spot. Clouds simply
obscure its brilliance and last year,
they chose to descend and engulf me,
to squeeze me dry like an anaconda
with its prey.
I love my job.
Been at it for twenty five years. Will
be at it for the rest of my useful life
span. Fortunately, there is no expiry
date to being a realtor. Even better I
love the people I work with.
The spectre of changing companies
dogged me late last year. The anguish
of deciding with my business mind as
against my emotional needs dug deep
into my gut. This gut-wrenching epi-
sode would be “Desperate Housewife”
material with a murder or two thrown
in, but not a Tessie-sailing-the-tranquil-golden-pond reality. But change
had to happen.
Twenty five years of history is nothing to scoff at. My broker and manager
are the only ones I’ve known all those
years. They’ve been with me through
all the milestones of my life. They’re
family.
And yet, the mall environment I’m into
the past couple of years is seductive. It
is rejuvenating, my fountain of youth.
It is a successful venture. My waning
zeal for real estate was set on fire again
with the energy and fresh ideas of my
partner.
I felt like the woman with a husband
(constant and true in the background),
two boyfriends on the side and an affair round the corner. What a tangled
web!
The web unravelled in my office at
Shoppers World. When you see me
there, wave, say the magic word – drama queen – and you could win a trip
to…..drum roll please….Tim Horton’s.
2011…I am so very ready for you.
(416) 755-0909
32
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
Philippine Courier
‘Mia Lising Napao’ – a young superstar is born!
True to her moniker as the young superstar of Filipino-Canadian music here in Toronto, 12-year-old Mia Lising Napao dished out a sterling performance February 5,
2011 at the jam-packed Prestige By Nite Disco House located at 4544 Dufferin St.
just south of Finch West. And though snow storm mercilessly battered the GTA that
day, it did not prevent Mia’s followers from coming to the venue and show their support to their young star. Mia was excellently backstopped by friends singers Rachel
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
Perez, Andrea Asuncion, Andie Barredo, Jane Khun and Nicole Datol Bello in the
2-hour-non-stop show produced by TPC/EDCILLE Productions for the benefit of
kidney patient Ms. Perla Canasa, choreographed by Debbie Barredo and masterfully
directed by Ms. Cecille Araneta. Edward Que and Ria Napao handled the tickets at
the door. Here are some photos of the event thru the lenses of TPC’s MonD.
33
Philippine Courier
FACES
MY ONE AND ONLY LOVE!
By Miss Rubi Talavera
Rubi spends her time with her dogs, Sprite and Dex- This is Dexter, all bandaged up, after his emergency surgery at the Toronto Emergency Veterinary Rubi's guest from Indonesia, Maytha, says
Clinic in Scarborough.
hello to Dexter.
ter. Sprite passed away two years ago.
February is the love month! We all know
that, right?
Well, let me tell you about my one and only
love! He came to my life when he was six
weeks old.
A tiny bundle of joy!
He was all black with distinctive white fur on
his nose and sable and white legs. His distinguishing mark was the white at the tip of his
tail.
He was cute as a button and we named him
Dexter.
No, not after TV’s serial killer cop. We just
wanted a Dexter in our life. Dexter is a Bernese
mountain dog.
We took him to puppy training where he got
the highest honours for his talent.
He learned to sit, stay, come, bye, and cookie.
He knew the words “back soon” when I went
off to do my real estate work.
He was smart, and his favourite toy was a
baseball. We would throw it away and he would
jump up in the air and catch it.
He liked jumping up on the bed, lying on his
back with his four feet up in the air. He was a
show off. He knew he was gorgeous! And a
real babe!
At age five, he was diagnosed with progressive retinal atrophy. Meaning he was going
blind. His night vision was going, and eventually so would his day vision.
Two years later, he was completely blind.
The opthalmologist said it would not change
anything with a dog. The quality of life would
still be the same. And we continued to love him
and spoil him.
He loved riding in my car. I had a sports convertible then and he would be so proud sitting
in the front passenger seat, looking around and
feeling the summer breeze.
We went to many parks and visited Cherry
Beach in downtown Toronto. His favourite park
though was Richmond Green. It had six or seven baseball diamonds and there were acres and
acres of land, and he loved retrieving baseballs.
Just by smell!
We would go home with two or three balls
every single day. Looking back now, I wish I
had taken him to a park near a golf course…
and he would have collected umpteen golf balls.
We used a whistle to call him. He also loved
to run and run and run at Bruce’s Mill. We
would explore every nook and cranny at this
conservation area.
Once, there was another blind puppy there.
And his master used a whistle to call him too.
But Dexter knew his signal. And he always
came to me.
At home, we moved things around so he
wouldn’t bump into furniture.
If he was hungry, he would bite into his bowl
and bring his bowl whereever I was. It was
such a funny sight!
Dexter also was the official mascot of my
Toastmasters club. And whenever we had an
Executive Board meeting, he was there – up,
front, and centre.
Guests who came to the house were greeted
by him with a friendly bark. He smelled you
first, and then when you passed his smell test,
he moved on.
We had many Christmas parties and birthday
celebrations at home. One time, Ambassador
Brillantes came over to visit, with MP Bryon
34
Wilfert. And probably knowing how important
our guests were, Dexter sat quietly.welcoming each and every guest. He was such a great
greeter!
Twelve years later, Dexter has slowed down
quite a bit.
On December 3rd, I was scheduled to go on a
trip to the Philippines for a brief vacation. But
two days before, I injured my knee and could
not walk. I had to cancel my trip.
On December 9th, our good friend, Malu
Nejal, celebrated her office Christmas Party at
the Time Zone. I still could not walk without
a cane, so my buddy and fellow realtor, Benny
Jose, picked me up.
We had a ball. Realtors Vic Salazar, Larry
Bercasio, Ramon Cezar, Virgie Tigas, Sonny
Cuevas, and Benny Jose were kicking up a
storm. But alas, I sat it out!
Around 1:00 am, we decided to head home
and Benny dropped me off.
Dexter, as usual, was waiting for me by the
foyer. Petted him, and I went up to bed.
The next morning, December 10th, I noticed
Dexter was not moving. Spread out on the ceramic tiles, he was not wagging his tail. He was
breathing, but that was it.
Coaxing him with a toasted bagel, his favourite treat, he could not be bothered. I was really
concerned because it was so unlike my dog.
Carrying him – a 120 pound dog – was a real
challenge.
But thank goodness, I had help from my
friend. She and I brought Dexter over to his
regular vet, Dr. Sherkey.
We waited at the Bayview Hill Animal Hospital for a couple of hours while the vet took his
temperature, his heart beat, tested his blood, did
an ultra sound, an X-ray, and checked his gums.
His gums were pale!
Panic!
We were told to go immediately to the Toronto Emergency Clinic at Warden and Ellesmere. The Scarborough clinic was waiting for
us. And so was the doctor. When we got there,
Dexter was carried on a stretcher and immediately rushed to ICU.
Two hours later, the surgeon saw us and told
us Dexter had internal bleeding…that’s why his
gums were pale!
And he was dying!
I cried! Boy, did I cry! How can that be?
How can my dog be dying? He was so healthy
the day before. We were just walking in the
park. He was eating his favourite Mcburger,
Mcnuggets and his Tim Hortons plain toasted
bagel. How could he be dying?
No, no! Can’t be!
The surgeon, Dr. Nasser, said it was cancer….but there was something he could do.
A glimmer of hope? I said “anything!”
He explained that Dexter had a 25-75%
chance, should he operate on him to find out
what made him bleed internally.
He said, “When I open him up and I see his
cancer has spread, I will call you and then you
can decide if you want me to let him go. I won’t
wake him up anymore!”
That night, I cried myself to sleep.
I woke up to the ringing of my phone. It was
3:30 in the morning of Saturday.
It was Dr. Nasser.
He found cancer in Dexter’s liver, and it had
not metastesized. His signs were stable and the
surgery was a success.
Thank God, I said. I could see him mid afternoon. Around 9:30 am, Dr. Nasser called again.
This time, he said he was concerned that they
did not have enough red blood cells for any
blood transfusion, should Dexter require it during his post operative care.
He suggested I take my dog to the University
of Guelph, where they had a board certified surgeon on call, and all the necessities for Dexter.
Guelph is a teaching hospital, I know, and is
the best in the country for veterinary medicine.
So I immediately rushed over to Scarborough to
pick up my dog.
Highway 401 was free of traffic. But there
was a snowstorm. We drove carefully and got
to Guelph taking 401 West, exiting at 299 with
ease. The emergency doctors were again waiting for us.
Dr. Boudreau of the Critical Care Unit saw
us. She was very kind, very patient and very
loving. I could see she was going to take good
care of my baby.
We left Dexter there, me balling my eyes out
yet again.
He looked tired, but appeared stable. Biopsy
was to be done on the liver specimen that was
previously taken from him at the Scarborough
clinic. We would know the results in a few
days.
Benign or malignant? We were to wait once
again for the results.
Every day after leaving him in Guelph, I
would brave the snowstorm and take the 2 hour
drive to the hospital.
For the past twelve years, my dog had been
my constant companion, my best friend and my
loyal pet. I was sad without him and I was definitely devastated.
I kept praying to make him well. It was only
a week before Christmas and all I wanted was to
bring my dog home.
Finally, my prayers were answered, and I got
the phone call one morning from Guelph, that I
could take Dexter home.
Rushing over to the hospital, we brought
Dexter home, his abdomen sutured from top to
bottom. That night, I slept in the family room,
on the couch, so that I could be with him, and
watch him.
After another few days, we went back to
Guelph, where we met with another doctor.
This time, an oncologist. My Dexter’s cancer
had spread to his blood vessels and he had hemangiosarcoma, the deadliest form of cancer in
dogs.
Dr. Parsons, the oncologist, explained the illness to us. She offered chemotherapy for Dexter.
Unlike treatment for humans, chemotherapy
is not curative, it is merely palliative, meaning
my dog will live a while longer but will still die.
I did not want my dog to die. I wanted him to
live a while longer.
We opted for the chemotherapy and on January 3, 2011, Dexter had his first treatment. We
were warned that should he develop adverse
reaction to the drugs, usually between three to
five days, we were to give anti nausea and anti
vomiting pills.
He was fine during the two hour trip home.
He was fine the next day.
On the second day, he refused to eat and to
drink. He was very lethargic and did not want
to move. I panicked.
Calling his oncologist, we were told to bring
him to his regular vet for blood tests.
Oh my gosh, that was a nighmare. My dog
yelped when he was given the needle five times.
Three for blood tests and two for pain medication injection. My heart sank once again.
Imagine, my otherwise strong and brave dog
crying in pain. We took him home and everything was in a downward spiral. He could not
walk, was whimpering all night long, and I was
a basket case.
I simply would not allow my dog to suffer
that much. Right there and then, I decided
enough was enough and I wanted to stop his
pain. I made a decision to let him go.
I said the next day, I would say goodbye to
him.
The next day, my eldest son and I got in the
car and drove off to Guelph. It was time to let
go. My younger son followed in his car. He
was joining us from his work.
On the way there, my son who was driving
my car complained of eye problems. It was the
height of the snowstorm for southern Ontario
and he could not see the road. He asked me to
take over driving.
But I couldn’t… because I was balling my
eyes out again. I was holding my dog on my
lap and I did not want to let go.
My other son said to get off the highway and
go to a Tim Horton’s so that we could re-group
and decide what to do.
I went to Tim Horton’s, used their washroom
and, as I normally do when I go to Timmy’s,
bought a toasted bagel for Dexter. Bagels are
Dexter’s favourite.
Miracle number 1: As soon as I got in the car,
my dog got up, looked around, smelled my coffee, and polished up the whole bagel.
My dog was up! He was alive! He was eating! He was back! Thank you, Lord.
We called Guelph, explained the situation
and we all decided to go back home. My Dexter
was not ready to go.
That night, we were at peace with the world.
My dog was all right. What more did we want?
Now is February 16th, and as of this writing,
exactly six weeks after my dog’s first chemotherapy.
Miracle number 2: He is alive and well. He
walks with me every morning; he eats his favourite McDonalds hamburger, chicken mcnuggets, and Swiss Chalet chicken.
He still looks forward to his toasted bagels
in the morning, sometimes with cheese, sometimes plain. And he climbs up on the couch and
puts his head on my lap.
I still take him to Richmond Green. He loves
that park and loves to show off his black walking boots.
When you see him, you’ll say there’s nothing wrong with him. He looks healthy and so
handsome.
Here are a few photos of my one and only
love.
Only time will tell when he decides to go. I
tell him every night how I love him so much…
how he has served me well. And every morning,
I say a prayer of thanks for one more day with
him… one more day.
Please love your pets as much as I love my
Dexter.
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
Philippine Courier
‘Together We Can Make It’
PCCT and PCCF in cooperation with GMA Pinoy TV joined together to bring to Toronto the best of ‘The
Pinoy Fiesta and Trade Show’ on June 25, 2011 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Seated from
left to right; PCCF Trade Show Chair Romy Rafael, PCCF President Jimmy Marasigan, GMA Director Rosemer Enverga, PCCT President Oswald Tugadi and PCCT Trade Show Chair Rafael Nebres.
Standing from left to right are the directors of PCCT, PCCF and GMA Pinoy TV associates in Toronto.
Zeny’s bday gig a blast
IT wiz and this paper’s associate editor
and business columnist Miguel Caducio
showered the love of his life Zeny with a
birthday party February 18 in their modest home in Richmond Hill where he and
son Michael prepared delectable Filipino
dishes. Miguel and Zeny’s kin and close
friends came to greet the celebrant, who
actually turned 41 Feb. 5 but decided to
do the bday gig on that date to accommodate more guests. Here are some photos
of the affair courtesy of Miguel.
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
35
Philippine Courier
Suntok sa Buwan
TICKLE ME!
Ni John Agustin
By Chuchi Punzalan
The Importance of Walking
Walking can add minutes to your life.
This enables you at 85 years old
to spend an additional 5 months in a
nursing home at $7000 to $10,000
per month.
My grandpa started walking
five miles a day when he was 60.
Now he's 97 years old
and we don't know where he is.
I like long walks,
especially when they are taken
by people who annoy me.
The only reason I would take up
walking is so that I could hear
heavy breathing again.
I have to walk early in the morning,
before my brain figures out what
I'm doing..
I joined a health club last year,
spent about 400 bucks.
Haven't lost a pound.
Apparently you have to go there.
Every time I hear the dirty word
'exercise', I wash my mouth out
with chocolate.
The advantage of exercising every day
is so when you die, they'll say,
"Well, she looks good, doesn't she?"
If you are going to try cross-country
skiing, start with a small country.
---------Senior Texting Codes
Since more of us Seniors are texting and
tweeting, there appears to be a need for a STC
(Senior Texting Code). This might be of assistance to you:
A T D:
At The Doctor's
BFF:
Best Friend Farted
B T W:
Bring The Wheelchair
B Y O T:
Bring Your Own Teeth
C B M:
Covered By Medicare
CYATSC: See You At The Senior Center
D W I:
Driving While Incontinent
F W B B:
Friend With Beta Blockers
F W I W:
Forgot Where I Was
F Y I:
Found Your Insulin
GGP B L: Gotta Go, Pacemaker
Battery Low
G H A:
Got Heartburn Again
H G B M: Had Good Bowel Movement
I M H A O: Is My Hearing Aid On
L M D O:
Laughing My Dentures Out
L O L:
Living On Lipitor
L W O:
Lawrence Welk's On
O M M R: On My Massage Recliner
O M S G:
Oh My! Sorry, Gas.
ROTFL- ACGU: Rolling On The Floor
Laughing, And Can't Get Up
S G G P:
Sorry, Gotta Go Poop
T T Y L:
Talk To You Louder
WAITT:
Who Am I Talking To?
WTFA:
Wet The Furniture Again
WTP:
Where's The Prunes?
W W N O: Walker Wheels Need Oil
---------DEMENTIA QUIZ:
FIRST QUESTION:
YOU ARE A PA RTICIPANT IN
A RACE. YOU OVERTAKE THE SECOND
PERSON.
WHAT POSITION ARE YOU IN?
ANSWER: IF YOU ANSWERED THAT
YOU ARE FIRST, THEN YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY WRONG! IF YOU OVERTAKE THE SECOND PERSON AND YOU
TAKE HIS PLACE, YOU ARE IN SECOND
PLACE!
OK, TRY TO DO BETTER NEXT TIME.
BUT DON'T TAKE AS MUCH TIME AS
YOU TOOK FOR THE FIRST QUESTION,
OK?
SECOND QUESTION:
IF YOU OVERTAKE THE LAST PERSON, THEN YOU ARE....?
36
ANSWER: IF YOU ANSWERED THAT
YOU ARE SECOND TO LAST, THEN YOU
ARE..... WRONG AGAIN. TELL ME SUNSHINE, HOW CAN YOU OVERTAKE THE
LAST PERSON??
YOU'RE NOT VERY GOOD AT THIS,
ARE YOU?
THIRD QUESTION:
VERY TRICKY ARITHMETIC! NOTE:
THIS MUST BE DONE IN YOUR HEAD
ONLY. DO NOT USE PAPER AND PENCIL
OR A CALCULATOR. TRY IT.
TAKE 1000 AND ADD 40 TO IT. NOW
ADD ANOTHER 1000 NOW ADD 30. ADD
ANOTHER 1000. NOW ADD 20 . NOW
ADD ANOTHER 1000. NOW ADD 10.
WHAT IS THE TOTAL?
DID YOU GET 5000? THE CORRECT
ANSWER IS ACTUALLY 4100... IF YOU
DON'T BELIEVE IT, CHECK IT WITH A
CALCULATOR! TODAY IS DEFINITELY
NOT YOUR DAY, IS IT? MAYBE YOU'LL
GET THE LAST QUESTION RIGHT....
MAYBE...
FOURTH QUESTION:
MARY'S FATHER HAS FIVE DAUGHTERS:
NANA, 2. NENE, 3. NINI, 4. NONO,
AND ???
WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE FIFTH
DAUGHTER?
DID YOU ANSWER NUNU? NO! OF
COURSE IT ISN'T.
HER NAME IS MARY! READ THE
QUESTION AGAIN!
OKAY, NOW THE BONUS ROUND,
I.E., A FINAL CHANCE TO REDEEM
YOURSELF
A MUTE PERSON GOES INTO A SHOP
AND WANTS TO BUY A TOOTHBRUSH.
BY IMITATING THE ACTION OF
BRUSHING HIS TEETH HE SUCCESSFULLY EXPRESSES HIMSELF TO THE
SHOPKEEPER AND THE PURCHASE IS
DONE.
NEXT, A BLIND MAN COMES INTO
THE SHOP WHO WANTS TO BUY A PAIR
OF SUNGLASSES; HOW DOES HE INDICATE WHAT HE WANTS?
IT'S REALLY VERY SIMPLE:
HE OPENS HIS MOUTH AND ASKS
FOR IT...
DOES YOUR EMPLOYER ACTUALLY
PAY YOU TO THINK??
IF SO DO NOT LET THEM SEE YOUR
ANSWERS FOR THIS TEST!
---------A lawyer and a senior citizen are sitting next
to each other on a long flight.
The lawyer is thinking that seniors are so
dumb that he could get one over on them easy.
So the lawyer asks if the senior would like to
play a fun game.
The senior is tired and just wants to take a
nap, so he politely declines and tries to catch a
few winks. The lawyer persists, saying that the
game is a lot of fun. I ask you a question, and
if you don't know the answer, you pay me only
$5. Then you ask me one, and if I don't know the
answer, I will pay you $100, he says.
This catches the senior's attention and to keep
the lawyer quiet, he agrees to play the game.
The lawyer asks the first question. 'What's the
distance from the Earth to the Moon?'
The senior doesn't say a word, but reaches
into his pocket, pulls out a five-dollar bill, and
hands it to the lawyer.
Now it's the senior's turn. He asks the lawyer,
'What goes up a hill with three legs, and comes
down with four?'
The lawyer uses his laptop and searches all
references he could find on the Net. He sends emails to all the smart friends he knows; all to
no avail. After an hour of searching, he finally
gives up.
He wakes the senior and hands him $100. The
senior pockets the $100 and goes right back to
sleep.
The lawyer is going nuts not knowing the answer. He wakes the senior up and asks, 'Well, so
what goes up a hill with three legs and comes
down with four?'
The senior reaches into his pocket, hands the
lawyer $5 and goes back to sleep.
Tagumpay ba talaga ang EDSA I?
Marami pa ring tao ang pumunta
sa EDSA nuong February 25 para
ipagbunyi umano ang ika-25 taong
anibersaryo ng EDSA I na nagpatalsik kay dating Pangulo Ferdinand
Marcos at nagluklok sa namayapa
ng si Cory Aquino bilang kapalit na
Presidente ng Pilipinas. People Power
ang itinawag sa blood-less revolution
na iyon. Tagamasid na estudyante
blues pa lamang ako nuon, pero, alam
ko na ang nangyayari sa kapaligiran at
sa buong bansa.
Nabuhay daw ang demokrasya ng
mapatalsik si Macoy. Naging icon of
democracy si Tita Cory, ani Erap sa
napanuod kong TV interview niya sa
pagdalo sa 25th EDSA I anniversary.
Mayor pa lamang daw siya ng San
Juan nuong 1986. Naging Senador,
VP at 13th President of the Republic,
pero, napatalsik din si Erap nuong
2001 ni dating VP at Prez GMA.
Tinawag naman ni Erap si GMA ng
‘icon of corruption.’ Banat naman ni
Rep. Mikey Arroyo, anak ni GMA, eh
hindi naman si GMA, na nanay niya,
ang nakakalaya dahil nabigyan ng
presidential pardon na patama naman
key Erap. Kani-kaniya banatan, hane,
kakabsat. Sa araw mismo ng EDSA
I- 25th anniversary na kung saan
pagkaka-isa ang tema ng ng selebrasyon. Kaya naman di ako naniniwala
na tagumpay nga ang EDSA I ‘revolution’ eh. Sila-sila ring mga lumang
angkan ang napuwesto, nakapuwesto
at pupuwesto pa sa ating gobiyerno. Kung hanggang kailan? Sila-sila
ring lang ang nakaka-alam! Di ba,
Kabayan?
Teka nga pala, bakit ang EDSA I
lang ang isine-selebreyt? Bakit ang
EDSA 2, kuno, na nagpatalsik ke
Erap ay di man lang pinagu-usapan
na at inilibing na yata sa lupa ng mga
amuyong ni GMA na nagpasimuno
ng black days in Philippine political history. Saan ka naman nakakita
na ang isang Chief Justice ng bansa
ay ‘gumawa’ ng isang ‘constructive
resignation’ word para sa isang ‘onleave’ na Pangulo ng Pilipinas? Talaga
nga namang: ‘Onli in da Pilipins’
-0Sobrang hirap sa buhay at kawalan
ng oportunidad na kumita ng malakilaki sa ating bansa para sa pamilya ang pangunahing dahilan kaya’t
napipilitan sigurong maging drug
mules or drug couriers ang marami
nating kababayan na OFWs. Libong
dolyares at libreng plane tickets paChina ‘o sa iba pang panig ng mundo
ang tatangapin nila maitawid lamang
ang kilo-kilong droga sa mga immigration centers ng China at iba pang
bansang aatasan sila ng mga sindikato. Pag nai-deliver nila ang droga,
kita sila. Pag nahuli, bitay sila. Para
lang namang cara ‘y cruz ang laban
ng mga OFWs na drug mules, eh, pag
cara, panalo sila, pag cruz, patay sila.
Katuwirang di nila alam na may
dala silang droga sa kanilang maleta?
Palusot lang yon mga kakabsat. In
the first place, padala sa kanila ang
briefcase or carry-over, at alam nilang
kailangang mai-deliver nila ang nasabing ‘padala’ sa mga member ng sindikato sa China or sa anumang bansa
na pupuntahan nila. May 4 na kilo, 6
hanggang 8 kilong shabu, di nila alam
ang bitbit nilang laman ng padalang
briefcase or carryover? Iyong isang
kilong mani nga ay alam mong mabigat na kapag biyahero ka, eh, ‘yon pang
4 hanggang 8 kilong ‘bagay’ sa maleta mo ang di mo alam? Nakngbutete,
Ka Ramon, katakatakang talaga ang
katulad nilang ‘tanga.’
Buti na lang, may ‘karisma’ yata
talaga itong si VP Jojo Binay, ha,
Ka Ramon? Biruin mong ni hindi
na naibigay ni Sir Jojo sa Chinese
President ang personal na liham ni
PNoy, eh, hindi na muna itinuloy
ang pagbitay thru lethal injection sa
3 Pinoy na nahatulan nga ng bitay
dahil sa drogang ipinasok sa China.
Mabuhay ka, Vice President Jojo
Binay! Sa ating nga OFWs, ingat lang
lagi sa biyahe, ha? Huwag na huwag
kayong tatanggap ng padala kapag
nasa airport na kayo, o, di kaya ay
buksan ninyo ang ipadadala sa inyo
kaharap ang magpapadala KUNG di
lang kayo makatanggi sa nagpapadala. Salamat po.
-0Dapat lang na tapusin ng Senado
at ng Kongreso ang kani-kanilang
imbestigasyon “in aid of legislation”
sa umanoy anomalya sa bilyones na
pondo ng AFP kahit na nailibing na
si dating AFP Chief of Staff Angelo
Reyes, at kahit na may magpakamatay pa ulit na involved sa nasabing
isyu.
Sa aking pananaw ay unfair mismo
sa namayapang dating kalihim at sa
pamilya nito kung tutuldukan agad
ang imbestigasyon dahil maiiwan sa
isipan ng mga Pinoy na ang dahilan
ng kanyang pagpapakamatay ay dahil
sa ‘pagka-ipit’ sa mga bintang sa
kanya.
Pero, mas lalong unfair naman
sa ating lahat at sa buong kasundaluhang naging tapat sa serbisyo at
mga opis¬yal na hindi nagpayaman
sa puwesto, kapag hindi naibunyag
kung may kasalanan man ang dating
heneral, ‘o wala.
At dapat pa bang im¬bestigahan
ang kanyang asawa at pamilya dahil
ayon sa umiiral na batas, hindi puwedeng ipasa sa kaanak ng namayapa
ang kanyang pagkakasalang nagawa
kung meron man? Pero, hindi na
ba puwedeng alamin kung paano ng
naka-biyahe ng may 48 beses sa ibatibang bansa ang asawa ni Gen. Reyes
sa loob ng 6 ‘o 8 taon, gayung di
naman milyonaryo ang pamilya nila?
Magkano na lang ba ang monthly
salary ng isang AFP General at isang
Chief of Staff para makapag-biyahe
ng parang isang Head of State or First
Lady kaya? Karamihan daw sa biyaheng ito sa abroad ay kasama niya
si Mrs. Erlinda-Yambao Ligot, maybahay ni retired Lieutenant General
Jacinto Ligot na dating comptroller
ng AFP at inaakusahan ding ‘umangkin ng mahigit P700-milyon’ mula
sa AFP slush fund. Isa naman itong
katakatakang pangyayari na nagaganap lang… Onli in da Pilipins.
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
Philippine Courier
CARP medical mission in Calasiao, Pangasinan
Not less than 1,500 townsfolk of Calasiao, Pangasinan trekked to the municipal ground
fronting the newly-constructed town hall January 24, 2011 to receive free medical, dental, optical services provided by the Canadian Aid Relief Project (CARP) headed by its
founding president Dr. Francisco Portugal, a noted Toronto family physician and community leader, and a ‘battalion of volunteer doctors, dentists, nurses and CARP supporters
from Canada’ that included Dr. Venancio Portugal, Dr. George Jose, Dr. Rudy Gallardo,
Dr. Belle Tumbokon, RN Erly Gallardo, Rey Sunga, Justin, Edgar Adan, Lady Rose Cruz,
Mary Hernandez, Mila Borsboom, Peter Tenorio, Asuncion Ramos, Sebio Aquintey and
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
Shirley Bagay. Local volunteers include Calasiao MHO Dr. Jesus Arturo de Vera, Drs.
Marie Anne Dy Contreras, Jose Luis Estrellas, Cristine Joy Nilo, Flores Alfredo and Sabina Sabiate; RN Allan Y. Martinez, RN Anna Lyn Martinez, Ma. Rhodora Jaropojop, Jun
Aguirre, James Labrador, Rhian Mallari, Erva Portugal, Cassandra Portugal, Ryan Brugada, Rhea Brugada,, Jun Puri, Anne Abdul, Rhoda Chia, July Sangco, Fely Alfaro and
a host of Calasiao volunteers headed by its youthful town Mayor Mark Roy Macanlalay,
who provided CARP group all the local needs it requested that made the mission a huge
success. (Text & Photos by MonD.)
37
Philippine Courier
38
Classified Ads
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
Philippine Courier
Toronto
Augusto (Bong) Capitin
Phone: 416-464-3081
647-340-0080
Feb. 7 - Mar. 6, 2011
Eric & Gina Estelo
Phone: 647-404-0633
647-964-6703
Fax: 647-344-0981
Hamilton
Cecile Araneta
Olive Renante
Phone: 905-521-9998
Fax: 905-522-9998
Mississauga, Ontario Agent
Phone: 416-238-6474
Mobile: 647-409-4445
Fax: 289-232-1909
Email: mca1925@msn.com
39