A mad dash to the fi nish A mad dash to the finish

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Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
www.philippinecourier.com
Obama vs. Romney:
Vol. 9 No. 3
Must undergo heart surgery to live...
A mad dash to the finish Crisha needs help
...12-year-old Bicolana has congenital heart disease
Barack Obama
and
Mitt Romney
Credit: Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty; Justin Sullivan/Getty
Story on page 11
Ombudsman Clears
GMA
Rep. Arroyo still facing other plunder case.
Please see page 9
LET’S HELP THIS ANGEL: Even a dollar is a big
help to Crisha.
Story on page 31
Hallelujah to the New
Pinoy Cardinal!
Pope Benedict XVI has added Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle and five other prelates to the ranks of Cardinals who will elect his
successor.
Story on page 31
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EDITORIAL
Of political DNAs
Here is yet another flawed provision in the 1987 Constitution: the
proviso on the political dynasty issue, which states that a law would
be needed to implement this.
Bridges too far
The bridges of corruption appear to
have extended to the straight path of
Noynoy and it seems that some of his officials are exerting efforts to head off a big
controversy.
The P111-billion Presidential Bridges
Program apparently did not stop in the previous administration after the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda)
just last September approved a P10-billion
project now involving the repair of bridges.
perhaps be said that he and his administration are also into the same scam.
Singson in his letter to Noynoy called
the three foreign suppliers involved in the
bridges project, Cleveland Bridges UK Ltd.
(UK) which is the former Balfour Beatty,
Waagner-Biro Stahlbau AG (Austria) and
Centurion SA (Spain); as being delinquent,
meaning that these companies have not
delivered what they have as a contract with
the government.
The scam reportedly started in the
administration of Fidel Ramos, virtually
skipped the shortened administration of
Joseph Estrada and had its glory days during the nine-year Arroyo administration.
And the project approval was apparently for the project escalation costs or
overruns that was the result of the delayed
implementation of the project.
The Neda questioned the escalations in
the cost of the project that started in 2002
from P2.4 billion to P10 billion since it was
apparently contracted during the past administration but approved the project anyway.
If that was the case, these companies
are being reimbursed for their own shortcomings with the government, which would
be the dirtiest of scams since public money
is being thrown to compensate inefficient
contractors, paying them for the increased
costs in the project, the delay for which
they are the cause.
The Neda position was a throwback to
Gloria’s discredited Neda director Romulo
Neri who told the former President that he
was offered a bribe and was told back he
can reject the bribe but should approve the
National Broadband Network project anyway. That was his claim.
Balfour Beatty’s project which claimed
huge overruns in its bridges projects has
thus far evaded the Senate investigation
on the past bridges scam apparently since
the initiator of the investigation, Sen. Sergio Osmeña, is very close to the Lopezes.
There was a big mystery in the Neda
particularly since one of the involved companies was Balfour Beatty, a former partner of the Lopezes who in turn are strong
business patrons of President Aquino.
Balfour Beatty based in London has
been a partner of the Lopezes since 1997
in First Philippine Holdings Corp. The relationship has supposedly ended but this
seems do not be the case since the infrastructure company of the Lopezes continues to be named First Balfour.
Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson reportedly proposed to President Aquino to defer the loan agreement and the implementation of the project. This was after
the Neda, the board of which is headed by
Noynoy, approved the bridges project last
Sept. 4.
Yet it was Noynoy himself who claimed
that the presidential bridges program was
a big scam committed under the previous
regime, but him having approved it, it can
6
Neda supposedly found out that shortly
after the firm, formerly named Balfour Beatty, got the new bridges project; it immediately declared a cost overrun of 10 percent, which rightly the agency termed as
highly irregular.
Balfour or now Cleveland Bridge UK
Ltd. secured a contract under the UK
government-Assisted Bridge Construction/
Replacement Project in 2002 to build 256
bridges with lengths ranging from 30 to 60
meters.
With an original project cost of P2.4
billion, the Philippine government is now
paying P10 billion in added fees to Balfour.
Yet, Neda still approved the project.
That is like the government allowing itself to be screwed twice around and still
giving the thumbs up.
And that is what is called Noynoy’s
straight path? Phooey! (Daily Tribune)
It is almost impossible for Congress — both the Senate and the
House of Representatives — to
enact a law that would strip them
and their sons or daughters of their
right to sit in an elective office.
That is unnatural because in families where there are politicians, one
can be almost certain that there will
always be a succession on the career of their fathers, or mothers.
It is no different from a family of
doctors, or lawyers. Their offspring
generally take up that profession,
being exposed to it early on.
Even if Congress, by some miracle, decides to come up with a law
against political dynasties, would
this pass the constitutionality test?
Chances are, it won’t, because
there is nothing in the Constitution that bans a son or relative of
an incumbent elected official from
running.
All it says is that the person must
be a natural born Filipino citizen,
of a certain required age, with the
proper residency established requirements satisfied, and can read
and write.
How then can one who has satisfied the requirements in seeking
an elective post be constitutionality banned from seeking that post
because his father is an elected official?
But there is still another problem,
if the next Congress does decide to
craft a measure banning political
dynasties: How is political dynasty
to be defined for it to be banned?
Is it an incumbent politician’s
wife, son, daughter, brother, nephew, running for elective office, or is
elected, be categorized as being a
political dynasty?
Or is it a son, daughter, brother of
a politician who has either died or
retired from politics, now running
for elective office be considered
part of the political dynasty that is
to be banned?
If so, then there are too many of
them, not just in the past, but in the
present, and in all probability, in the
future.
In the past up to the present time,
we had the political dynasties of the
Osmeñas, the Roxases, the Magsaysays, the Rectos, the Tañadas,
the Macapagals, the Marcoses, the
Aquinos and even the Ramoses.
In 1998, Filipinos voted in, as
their President Joseph Estrada, who
did not have that political dynasty’s
DNA, but there is that political lineage today, with his wife, Loi, having been elected to the Senate, and
three years after, his son, Jinggoy,
was elected to the same office. Today, Jinggoy is an incumbent, and
another son of Erap, JV, is also running for a Senate seat.
Would this now be what is called
an Estrada political dynasty? And
should his sons be banned from running for elective office even when
they are the electorate’s choice?
And aren’t the Aquinos even
more of
a political dynasty?
Noynoy’s father, Ninoy, was a town
mayor and a senator. His mother,
Cory, became the president of the
Philippines, his uncle, aunts and
now, even a nephew, Bam Aquino,
all have the same DNA. Is it likely
for Noynoy’s controlled Congress
to ban the Aquinos and ban his sister, Kris Aquino, from running for
the Tarlac gubernatorial post?
There are a lot more of them in
the House and in the Senate who
can trace their political roots to
their parents and grandparents. Are
they to be banned, too?
But an even more important issue is whether the banning of these
politicians’ sons and other relatives
bring about an improved membership of Congress. Probably not.
What is likely to happen is that they
will be next generation of political
dynasties and probably, will fare
worse in legislative matters.
The argument is that the existence of these politicians with a
long line of political DNA prevent
others from having that chance to
aspire for that elective office.
But there again comes the reality
of the people electing those whom
they choose to vote to take that
elective seat.
And that is what democracy decrees.
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
Philippine Courier
THE TALL ORDER
Reprinted from
Malaya with the
author’s consent
By Mon Datol
Let GMA go, Mr. President
Malacañang blabbermouths continued
to maintain that former President Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo is feigning illness just to
get out of the country. This adamant insinuation is terribly unbelievable and ran contrary
to the findings of the medical experts from the
Makati Medical Center, St. Luke’s Hospital
and even the government-run Veterans
Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) who were
unanimous in declaring GMA is suffering
from spinal and heart conditions. GMA was
even in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the
VMMC last week.
Even Sandiganbayan granted GMA’s appeal
for a hospital arrest which the attack dogs in
Malacanang smeared at as just another feign
act of the former chief of state just to escape
the warrant for her arrest, which incidentally,
the Sandiganbayan issued. Talaga namang..
Kakaloko mga taga-Palasyo.
*****
Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is sick. And
she needs hospitalization to possibly prevent
serious spinal and heart condition. If GMA
really needs treatment abroad, let her go. Let
her find the cure to her health problems anywhere in the globe she wants to go.
Why President Noynoy Aquino prevents
GMA leave the country for medical reason
is beyond my reach. So as not to escape
prosecution for crimes of plunder? Electoral
sabotage? Human rights abuses? Pagnanakaw
ng pera ng bayan? Pagtanggap ng payola sa
jueteng? Etc... etc...
Kung ako si PNoy? Papayagan kong magpagamot si GMA anywhere in the world
she wants to seek medical treatment for her
illness. Ipi-freeze lang lahat ang money and
properties of the former president here in
the country and let her children and husband
spend for her medical expenses abroad including her plane tickets.
Dami rin namang pera ni Mike Arroyo at
mga anak nila ni GMA.
*****
Si Ninoy, na Tatay ni Noynoy, ay pinayagang umalis ng Pinas ni Marcos para magpagamot sa Boston. Umuwi rin si Ninoy
matapos magpagaling at ng hindi matagalang
magtira sa Amerika. Napatay nga lang sa
airport si Ninoy ng kung sinong Herodes
na Mastermind ng nasabing Crime of the
Century.
Babalik at babalik din sa Pinas si GMA
kapag pinayagang magbiyahe abroad ni PNoy.
Kung si Ninoy ay nagbalik. At si Marcos ay
bumalik din, patay na nga lang. Si GMA ay
paniguradong uuwi rin sa Pinas, kahit anong
mangyari...
Patay man o’buhay.
*****
Wala na nga bang jueteng sa Pinas, particular na sa Central Luzon, na siyang sinilangan
ng jueteng? Buhay na buhay pa ang sugal na
ito, mga kabayan, hindi lang sa Pampanga,
Central Luzon kung hindi hanggang Bicol pa
yata.
Tumaya pa nga ako sa isang kubrador ng
jueteng sa Tarlac at sa Nueva Ecija when I was
in the Philippines last March 2012. Two times
a day ang bolahan, kaya’t ...
Dalawang beses akong nabola ng kubrador ng jueteng.. hehehehe...
*****
‘Nanay’ Lilia Pineda is the seating
Pampanga Governor now, the wife of the
alleged ‘jueteng lord’ in the Philippines dating
back in the early 60s when I was still in my
‘puruntongs’ shorts. Even my Nanay was betting 5 centavos to her alagang kubrador when
she was still alive and she sometimes won,
but, always lost her bet. Never na mamatay
ang jueteng sa Pinas, lalao na Central Luzon
dahil sa jueteng ka lang makakataya ng 50
centavos at tatama ng hanggang
Ph2, 000, kung matutuwa sayo ang lord,
ang ....
Jueteng lord.
*****
Natanggal na presidente ng bansa si Erap
Estrada dahil ke Ilocos Sur Governor Chavit
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
Singson, na nagsabing dinadalhan niya ng
jueteng payola si Erap sa Malacanang ng
Php200-Million. Si Erap lang ang natanggal
sa pwesto. Si Chavit? Hindi nasabit. Nag-sorry
lang. Pinatawad ni GMA na pumalit ke Erap.
Natahimik ang jueteng. Pero, hindi nawala ang
usapang jueteng payola na Php200-Million na
dinadala sa Malacanang, sa administration
nina Mike at Gloria Arroyo... at sa...
Palasyo ni PNoy now ..
*****
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper
is scheduled to make an official visit to the
Philippines on Nov. 9. Ambassador Leslie
Gatan said PNoy would talk to PM Harper
about the Philippines eagerness to work with
Canada on defense and agriculture, among
other areas of interest, particularly...
The influx of Pinoy caregivers to Canada.
*****
The President has issued Administrative
Order No. 31 authorizing the increase of
fees charged by government offices. To be
increased are license fees, clearance fees,
passport fees, airport fees, LTO licenses and
all other charges by government offices.
What’s this ratsa-ratsadang AO ni PNoy?
Government services are supposed to be free.
That’s why the Filipinos are paying taxes to
raise funds to support government services.
Bakit ako magbabayad sa serbisyo ng isang
government doctor or a government nurse in a
health center just to consult?
Para ring sinabi na magbabayad ang mga
magulang ng mga bata sa isang elementary
public school teacher. Or shall we pay 500
pesos to a public clerk just to issue a birth
certificate?
Fees are already high. It is unfair to raise
them further and will impose a heavy burden
on the poor. High fees are in effect considered
taxes. It should be imposed by Congress.
Hindi ng isang AO lang ni PNoy
*****
The Comelec has unanimously approved the
inclusion of two more party-list congressmen
to the ever-growing membership of the House
of Representatives by adding Alay Buhay’s
Wesley Gatchalian, son of plastic king William
Gatchailan and brother to Valenzulea City
Rep. Rex Gatchalian and 3-term Vaslenzuela
Mayor Shwerwin Gatchalian. And the other
new addition is Zenaida Maranan of 1-United
Trasport Koaliyon (1-UTAK).
‘Nakngdragon itong COMELEC under
the baton of Sixto Brillantes, ha, kabayan?
Nagtatanggal ng mga illegitimate (daw) na
party-lists like the AKO-BICOL and 33 more
na walang nire-represent umanong marginalized sector para mabawasan ang bilang ng
mga Kongresmen, pero, heto at nagdagdag ng
dalawang party-list members gayung ang Alay
Buhay ni Wesley Gatchalian ay di man lang
nakakuha umano ng sapat na boto (criteria ng
Comelec) para magkaruon ng isang upuan sa
Kongreso.
Magkano... err...paano kaya nangyari ito?
Matino ang pagkakilala ko sa members ng
Comelec, lalo na ke chairman Sixto Brillantes,
na kapatid ng aking kaibigang DFA Usec
Jose ‘Chito’ Brillantes, at alam kong never na
tatanggap ng suhol si Chairman Sixto. Pero,
paano nangyari nga na mabigyan ng isang
upuan sa Kongreso ang Alay Buhay gayung
hindi nga nakakuha ng sapat na boto ang
party-list ng mga Gatchalian? Order kaya ng
Palasyo.
Kinawawa talaga ng Comelec ang
Federation of Seniors Party-list, na dapat
mayruong tatlong representatives dahil sumegunda itong partido ng mga elders sa nakaraang 2010 polls sa Ako Bicol. Mahigit isang
milyong boto rin ang nakuha ng Seniors
Federation pero, imbes na tatlo, ginawang 2 at
ibinigay nga ke Rep. Mikey Arroyo ang isang
seat gayung hindi rin daw na-meet ng partylist ni Mikey ang kaukulang boto para sa isang
seat sa Kongreso.
Sayang ang Comelec. Akala ko natuwid.
Natuwad pa rin.
‘‘KMU’s partylist is Anakpawis, Anakbayan’s
and LFS’ partylist is Kabataan, Gabriela’s is
Gabriela partylist, while Bayan’s is Bayan
Muna partylist.’
Akbayan vs. Communists
A FORMAL complaint lodged
before the Commission on Elections
seeks the disqualification of six, highly
successful and high-profile party-list
groups.
Should Bayan Muna, Gabriela,
Anakpawis, Alliance of Concerned
Teachers (ACT), Kabataan and Katribu
be allowed to stand for election as party-list groups seeking seats in the House
of Representatives in the 2013 elections, even as they are the “creations”
of the CPP-NDF-NPA, which seek the
armed overthrow of the our system of
government?
After all, how can such groups participate in a democratic process (such
as the election) while openly seeking to
destroy that very democracy that makes
our elections possible? This should
make sense even to a fourth-grader.
Note the petitioner groups – New
Guardians for Freedom and Democracy
(NGI), the People’s Advocacy for Collaboration and Empowerment (Peace,
Inc.) and the First Philippine Pro-Democracy Foundation, Inc. – in their
petition to Comelec: “We are positive
these are creations of the CCP, as part
of their political struggle to infiltrate,
manipulate and exploit our country’s
free and democratic institutions to support their violent and inhuman national
democratic revolution.”
CPP founding chair Jose Ma. Sison
openly admitted in a 1987 speech in
Brussels, Belgium that Bagong Alyansang Makabayan or BAYAN, Kilusang
Mayo Uno (KMU), Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), Gabriela, League of Filipino Students (LFS),
ACT and KADENA, among others, are
components of the CPP-NDF NPA.
The petition argues that these Communist front organizations “serve the
purpose and intentions of the CPP in
fomenting both the armed and political
struggles” and that “despite their entry
and participation in the congressional
mill, they have not shed off their street
protests and marches with signage calling for the destruction of our free and
democratic government and booting out
of office the duly elected officials of the
country.”
They point out that KMU’s partylist
is Anakpawis, Anakbayan’s and LFS’
partylist is Kabataan, Gabriela’s is Gabriela, while Bayan’s is Bayan Muna.
If these Communist front party-lists are
not stricken off by the Comelec or the
2013 election, can we expect the complaining groups to wage a campaign
asking democracy-loving Filipinos not
to vote for the above?
“The balance is delicately tilted in
favor of these partylist groups masquerading as pro-people, pro-environment
and pro-poor. This must not go unchecked, otherwise we could be held
responsible, one way or another, in paving the way for the collapse of government and causing untold sufferings on
our people,” says NGI national president Margarito “Tito Porras”, Dr. John
Ortiz Teope of the First Philippine ProDemocracy and Agnes Reano Lopez of
Peace, Inc.
By the way, Anakbayan hogged
headlines recently by storming the
press conference of Akbayan, a left-ofcenter partylist group against which the
CPP-NDF-NPA leadership issued the
equivalent of a fatwa or death sentence.
Now, these anti-Democracy militants in
Anakbayan want to have their cake and
eat it too by disqualifying Akbayan.
All of their arguments against Akbayan don’t wash. The marginalized
sector Akbayan represents the poor
who are not emancipated nor can ever
be saved from being marginalized overnight. (Mark 14:7 “The poor you will
always have with you, and you can help
them any time you want. But you will
not always have me.”)
Sure, some former officials of Akbayan have been asked to join the executive department and some government instrumentalities, but they were
called to render public service precisely
because their advocacies are in line with
President Aquino’s own. What’s wrong
with that? Nothing, in the same way that
there’s nothing wrong with the present
Akbayan leaders continuing to seek a
seat in Congress. Unlike the Communist Anakbayan and others, Akbyan believes in Philippine Democracy.
The poor and other marginalized
sectors need all the help they can get
– from Congress, the executive and
even the judiciary – if their plight and
problems are to be addressed properly
through long-term and not just BandAid solutions. If Akbayan is represented
in both the legislative and executive departments, so what? Bottom line is what
Akbayan has accomplished for the marginalized sectors it represents.
Akbayan is a pioneer partylist
group. It is one of the few original partylist organizations since 1998, which
has consistently defended the interests
of the marginalized and underrepresented. It is a multi-sectoral partylist group
composed of workers, farmers, women,
youth, professionals, LGBT and informal settlers and is firmly committed to
our Democracy!
Akbayan enjoys popular support
from the public. Since 1998, its leaders
have been consistently elected in Congress. They have championed numerous
social issues like the extension of the
agrarian reform program (CARPER),
and the passage of important pieces of
legislation like the National Land Use
Bill, the Right to Labor Organization
Law and the Cheaper Medicines Act.
Akbayan is one of the few political parties that pushed for the passage
of the partylist law. While the extreme
left like Bayan Muna was still clinging
to its ‘boycott election’ policy, Akbayan
was already busy pushing for the implementation of the partylist system to
encourage the people’s meaningful participation in our electoral exercise and
bring the voice of the marginalized to
the halls of Congress.
Akbayan is in government to bring
back the people’s trust in democratic institutions of power. The party is proud
of its leaders who have been appointed
to important government posts. It is
proof that Akbayan does not only represent the marginalized but is also capable of governance. These achievements
point to its success in representing the
marginalized in the different levels of
the government. These are also the results of the people’s relentless struggle
for reforms, a struggle where Kahayan’s
place is secure.
I do not endorse any party-list group
but I would never survive a Communist
takeover.
***
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
Reprinted from
Malaya with the
author’s consent
‘It is disturbing that instead of learning from
the 2010 election, some of those involved are
sliding back which could erase whatever gains
that the country has gained in holding credible
elections.’
Scary decisions by the National Printing Office
STRANGE things are going on
at the National Printing Office
which has been given the job to
bid out P780 million contracts to
supply and print 55 million ballots
for the May 2013 elections.
This will be the second automated elections.
The 2010 election was not perfect but for a first-time experience,
it was a huge success. In less than
24 hours, the nation knew the results of the presidential and vicepresidential race with almost 70
percent of the votes counted. A
Social Weather Stations survey
showed overwhelming satisfaction (three out of four Filipinos)
over the results of the first automated nationwide elections in the
country.
It is disturbing that instead of
learning from good practices of
the 2010 election and leveling up
the preparations for the 2013 elections, some of those involved in
the 2013 elections preparations
are sliding back which could erase
whatever gains that the country
has gained in holding credible
elections.
In the 2010 elections, the Commission on Elections used precinct
count optical scan machines supplied by Smartmatic. The same
82,000 PCOS machines will be
used in the 2013 elections. The
Supreme Court has upheld the validity of the P1.8 billion contract
Comelec has entered with Smartmatic.
In the 2010 elections, Smartmatic and the National Printing Office
printed and supplied the ballots
used in the PCOS machines.
This year, Comelec deviated
from what they did in 2010 of deciding who would print and supply
the ballots, and instead gave that
job to the NPO.
This is where the problem is.
NPO has awarded the P780 million contract to Holy Family Inc.,
which is partnering with Canon
Marketing Philippines.
Holy Family/Canon got the contract despite submitting a false
claim on the bidding requirements
and the failure of their sample ballots in the test.
NPO disqualified two other bidders: a joint venture of Advance
Computer Forms Inc., ASA Colors
and ePDS Inc, a subsidiary of the
Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., and Smartmatic-Total
Information Management.
Advance Computers and Smartmatic are contesting their disqualification saying that the way
NPO conducted the bidding was
blatantly skewed in favor of Holy
Family.
Smartmatic said one of the
grounds for the disqualification,
which is existence of the corporation since 2006, was not a requirement in the checklist provided the
8
bidders.
Another ground for disqualification which applied to both Smartmatic and Advance Computers
Forms was failing to meet the
single biggest contract requirement. Government procurement
rules require all bidders to have
done a contract worth as much as
50 percent of the project they are
bidding for.
But Smartmatic did the 2010
printing of ballots which was covered by a contract worth about P1
billion?
NPO said the 2010 ballot job of
Smartmatic is not a “similar contract” to the one being bidded out.
Smartmatic is asking for a reconsideration of NPO’s decision.
But how about Holy Family, the
bid winner?
Holy Family said that it had
a P120 million project with the
Maritime Industry Authority for
the printing of Seafarer’s Identification and Record Book and a P60
million contract with NPO for the
barangay elections.
But MARINA Officer –incharge, in response to a query by
Smartmatic, said in a Sept. 14,
2012 letter that “based on the
records of the Office, the Marina had never transacted with a
certain Holy Family Printing to
print the SIRB considering that
the MARINA only procures from
Recognized Government Printers (RGPs) such as NPO, to print
our SIRB. Furthermore, our annual budget in procuring SIRBs
ranges from P30 to P35 Million
per year, hence, there were no
contracts awarded to any RGPs to
print MARINA SIRBs amounting
to P120 million in one year or at
one time purchase order.”
Did Holy Family lie or make
false representation? Why does
NPO not seem to be bothered?
When it came to testing Holy
Family’s sample ballots, instead
of bringing 1,000 sample ballots
as required on testing day (Sept.
12), it brought only eight. But it
was okay with NPO.
Out of the eight ballots, six
didn’t fit the machine.
Filipinas Ordoño, Smartmatic
representative, said, “On the basis
that the 2 ballots passed 6 out of
15 times it was scanned, the SBAC
chairman concluded that the sample testing has passed. When we
clarified that she is using the basis
of 6 passing out of 10 expected to
pass she said, ‘Yes, 60% is above
50%, so it’s passed.’”
Ordoño said there’s nothing in
the bid documents that mentions
these 50% criteria for passing. She
asked, “Consider this sampling to
be Filipino people voting during
Election Day. Is the NPO saying
that if 40% of the voters will NOT
be able to cast their vote that is
okay?”
By Dr. Leto Tigley
Why not Rizal as next Filipino Saint?
The boxing pride of Cebu, AJ bazooka
Banal, last Saturday (Oct. 20) lost in the 9th
round via TKO in a humiliating fashion to a
hard punching Thai boxer. Michael Aldeguer
who had been very vocal of his contender
for a world champion was suddenly distraught and said that everything for him will
be put on hold. That was Banal’s second
miscalculation. He was good in the first few
rounds but the resistant Thailander did not
give him a space until such time the referee
halt the fight. Although the majority of our
Filipino boxers won but it was a good lesson also, that the world is catching up, and
we should never underestimate it. Congrats
to Rey ‘boomboom’ Bautista for winning
the WBO Featherweight Belt. And the second Greatest Filipino Boxer, Nonito Donaire
congratulated all victors last Saturday’s fight.
With no changes by December 15, he will
also be fighting in Mexico against Jorge Arce,
one of the fans favourite Mexican boxers. The
bout would be sold out in the TV tube, maybe
pay per view.
Cebu is in a festive mood for this month due
to the canonization of Beato Pedro Calungsod
to sainthood. Although there are disputable
data about him, we should put into our mind
that it is the Catholic hierarchy’s prerogative
whom to choose as their saints. Since He
came from Cebu as presumed, I am very
proud of him. But it would be too bad for
choosing a PBA player as a model picture for
him. It degrades my feeling about the good
intention of the church.
Canada also has a new Saint, and she came
from the first Nation aboriginal ethnic group.
Her name is Kateri Tekakwitha, a Lumni tribes
in the border of Washington and Canada.
The Americans also claimed as their own,
but there is nothing disputable, because in the
16th Century, the borders between these two
countries were not so clearly delineated. So,
Kateri, is more known as a Native American
Saint.
I hope one of this days, another Filipino
Saint will be elected in the Vatican’s roster.
Maybe one from the K of C not KC or else
they will misinterpret it that it’s Kentucky
chicken. What about the Knights of Rizal
making a resolution requesting the Good
Pope to canonize Jose Rizal as a saint. After
all, the Rizalians in the mountain of Surigao
has so many testimonies that the image of
Rizal healed their love one from various grave
and serious diseases. The Ecleos of Dinagat
Island became a conclave since then because
their grandfather has a spiritual power like the
Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. I believe
the excellent Archbishop of Surigao should
study his life and then, maybe, elevate him as
a blessed in the Catholic hierarchy. Ruben,
who is at large and known to be killer of his
wife has his own miracles too. The PNP and
the NBI can not see him even if he is in front
of them. And now they double the pay for his
hunts, and nobody cares. Is it not a miracle?
Too much about spiritual matters and let’s
jumped at the US Politics. America race for
the Presidency is in neck-to-neck battle and
most of the survey showed a statistical tie.
But the CNN broadcasters forecasted that it
is Obama again after November 6. A Filipino
friend from New Jersey emailed me, that
Obama is the stronger favourite for the female
voters because for the last four years everything in the USA retrogresses so fast. Not economically but hunger and less jobs and most
of all the support for unassisted contraceptive
financial allotments. He said no wonder that
American women likely inclined to have
daily whole day copulations because Obama
supported the law. One also does not like Mitt
Romney because as Pastor in his Mormon
Church, he is practicing Monogamy. And very
caring to his family. He said it is supposed to
be the Christian Church that will be practicing it. But when I checked with my other
friend, it turns out that he has two wives in the
Philippines and one here in North America.
The guy is the one practicing polygamy. But
he rationalizes it by saying, that he is not an
American, he is a Filipino. So, he is exempted.
Maybe this guy is a lawyer, eh?
So we have peace now in the Philippines.
The MILF and the Government have signed
the preliminary deal, and the Moro populated
provinces will rename Bangsamoro. MILF
militias chanted “ Ali Akbar! Ali Akbar! “to
pronounce their triumph, and the disentanglement of chaos in the South. But for the AFP
gunrunners this is not healthy for them. They
could no longer sell their ammunition and
guns to the MILF. So, the only market now
available is the criminals, warlords and politician’s goons. What about the communist initiated NPA? If the NPA will have a deal with
the Government, our men in uniform will be
miserably destitute. No more market for their
allotted guns and ammunitions to a big body
which is very much in need. Nur Misuari
forecasted another trouble in the south. He
instigated notions that majority of the MILF
is very much against the deal. And most of
the MILF fighters move to their camp to
continue the fighting. Maybe, in War, Misuari
will benefit from it. Is he not a gunrunner? By
purchasing guns for their fighters, it’s already
good business, and that would be a good
career in investment. So chaos, trouble, or war
is his business probably.
I am inserting this medical News for the
good of those who are very vulnerable to sedentary activities:
October 15, 2012 (Leicester United
Kingdom) — The more time people spend sitting, the greater their risk of diabetes, cardiovascular events, and death, a new meta-analysis has shown [1]. This is the first research
to systematically quantify the strength of
association between sedentary behavior--beyond just TV viewing--and health outcomes
and shows a particularly consistent relationship for diabetes, say Dr Emma G Wilmot
(University of Leicester, UK) and colleagues
in their paper in the November 2012 issue of
Diabetologia.
I don’t need to emphasize it because everything is very clear.
By the way, Congratulations to Fountainhead
Tennis tournament winners. So you have now
your trophies, after the Awarding Party last
Saturday. Next time reduce your belly, and
minimize your sipping of beer and liquors so
that on the next awarding you look like Coco
Martin of Walang Hanggan.
Yes, the teleseries is the favourite pastime
of our kababayans abroad. It is a romantic
story of how love is defined and also how it is
executed. Love is the basis why Jesus was sent
into this world. John 3: 16, “ For God so love
the world and he gives his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believe in him, will not perish
but have everlasting life”.
Love heals everything from illness to problem. And anger, hatred, and envy will facilitate your journey to the grave. For heaven
sake, let’s be friend forever.
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
Philippine Courier
Ombudsman Clears GMA
MANILA, Philippines (October 24,
2012) - The Office of the Ombudsman
(OMB) has dismissed the plunder charge
filed against former President and now
Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and several others in connection with
the alleged misuse of Overseas Workers
Welfare Administration (OWWA) funds
amounting to more than P540 million, it
was learned Wednesday.
In an 11-page resolution issued on
September 25, 2012, OMB Chair Conchita
Carpio Morales said there was no sufficient
evidence to elevate the case to the Sandiganbayan against Mrs. Arroyo and three
others.
Former Solicitor General Frank
Chavez filed the complaint before the Department of Justice (DOJ) in April 2011
claiming that the money was used in the
2004 presidential election when Mrs. Arroyo sought a fresh mandate as president.
The dropping of the case was
based mainly on the findings of the Commission on Audit (COA) that the disbursement of the OWWA funds was legal.
The COA also stated that OWWA
funds were properly disbursed and fully
liquidated like the fund transfers to the labor attaches in Kuwait, Lebanon, Bahrain
which were fully utilized for the purposes
they were intended.
Also named in the complaint were
former Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto
Romulo, former Health Secretary and current Chairman of the Civil Service Commission Francisco Duque III and former
OWWA Administrator Virgilio Angelo.
The respondents said then that the
transfer of the OWWA funds had nothing
to do with the 2004 presidential election
but based on the requirements of the National Health Insurance Program law (RA
7875).
Duque said the law directs the integration of OWWA funds with Medicare
under the Social Security System (SSS)
and the Government Insurance System
(GSIS).
The other respondents in the case who
were also cleared were former members of
the OWWA Board of Trustees, namely former Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas,
Manuel Imson, Rosalinda Baldoz, Mina
Figueroa, Caroline Rogge, Victorino Balais, Grogorio Oca, and Virginia Pasalo.
The case stemmed from the complaints for plunder, graft and corruption,
malversation of public funds, qualified
theft and violations of the Omnibus Election Code and the Code of Conduct and
Ethical Standards for Public Officials filed
by former Solicitor General Francisco
Chavez.
The same charges were filed by Migrante, a militant organization of overseas
Filipino workers (OFWs).
In their complaint before the DOJ,
Mrs. Arroyo’s accusers claimed that she
and the other respondents have allegedly
“systematically” orchestrated the diversion and misuse of more than P540 million
OWWA funds for “questionable” acquisitions. They insisted that the money did
not benefit OFWs but were instead used
for electioneering operations in the 2004
presidential elections.
They also accused the respondents
of illegally diverting US$293,500 and another P5 million in OWWA funds for the
purchase of vehicles and stockpiling of
Philippine posts aboard.
The DOJ in its recommendation to the Office of the Ombudsman dismissed the plunder and graft charges against Mrs. Arroyo
and her co-respondents but recommended
that they be charged with technical malversation.
The Ombudsman junked the
DOJ findings, saying that there was just
no evidence to support it.
Anti-graft investigators said the
transfer of the more than P530 million
OWWA fund to PHIC was perfectly legal as it was in accordance with Republic Act 7875 (PhilHealth Law) and its
Implementing Rules and Regulations
and as confirmed by Department of
Justice Opinion No. 25 signed by then
Secretary Teofisto Guingona Jr.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Arroyo’s
camp has until today to secure a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the
Supreme Court or else her arraignment
on a plunder case will push through on
Monday at the Sandiganbayan.
Atty. Renato Bocar, Sandiganbayan executive clerk of court and OMB Chair Conchita Carpio Morales
designated spokesman, said if the High
Tribunal issued a TRO today, the arwealth of P50 million or more.
raignment of Mrs. Arroyo will be postMrs. Arroyo and at least nine other
poned indefinitely.
former government officials are facing
The Supreme Court has a very brief plunder charges before the Sandiganbayan
period to act on the petition as tomorrow over allegations they misused P366 million
(Friday) has been declared a holiday by worth of PCSO funds.
Malacañang.
Mrs. Arroyo is set to be arraigned
“The Supreme Court’s TRO is on Monday (October 29), the same day
the preliminary remedy in the plunder case that the Sandiganbayan First Division will
against Mrs. Arroyo and without it the ar- hear the petition for bail of her three coraignment will push through,” Bocar ex- accused namely former PCSO board memplained.
bers Manuel Morato, Sergio Valencia and
This came as the Arroyo camp for- Benigno Aguas.
mally asked the Supreme Court yesterday
Mrs. Arroyo, along with least nine
to stop the plunder trial against her and dis- other former government officials, is facmiss the same charges filed against her by ing a plunder case over the alleged frauduthe Ombudsman.
lent transfer of P366 million confidential
Under the plunder law, a public intelligence funds of the PCSO from 2008
official may be charged with plunder if he to 2010 (With reports from Rolly T. Caranor she is accused of amassing ill-gotten dang and Charissa M. Luci)
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
9
Philippine Courier
Stars of the Month
Samson writes 30
Veteran journalist Clarito L.
Samson died last Wednesday, October 17, 2012, a victim of a fatal heart
attack. He was 52.
By Ores
B
O Ti
Ting
Samson, who studied at
Lyceum, started as a sportswriter for
the Philippines News Agency and
gradually rose through the ranks, becoming the first sports editor of Malaya. He also edited the sports page
of the defunct Today newspaper. In
between, he also wrote for the Manila Bulletin and Tempo.
Josephine Bejar Ng
She is more of a listener than a talker. Very demure, soft spoken with a captivating smile makes you want to know more about her. Known for her kindness and
generosity amongst friends and in the community, Josephine or “Iping” certainly
has all the qualities of a STAR.
Always dressed impeccably with stunning jewelries worn elegantly, she grew
up with a very strict and disciplined father. The youngest of three girls in the family, she graduated from Silliman University High School and enrolled in Business
Administration but decided to quit college and marry the man she was in love with.
Although, she lived a privileged childhood, she developed a penchant for baking unique and delicious cakes and desserts. While raising a family, she decided to
open a small eatery in the heart of Dumaguete City. But her late husband Jessie Ng,
a professional Engineer, decided instead to delve on instinct: to formulate a marinating sauce to get that perfect taste of a barbecued chicken on a skewer. It took quite a
while to get that perfection but they persevered. Like they say – “try and try again”.
And they did!
In 1980, they opened the first Jo’s Chicken Inato restaurant - the rest is history.
Now, there are over 30 franchised restaurants in the Visayas and Mindanao regions.
And yet, in spite of all these accomplishments, she continues to pursue other
interesting and unique projects. When I asked her why not just enjoy and take life
easy…she said, “I feel the need to have my brain working, otherwise, baka ako magalzheimer na”. How true indeed!
She stands out not from her towering height of almost 5feet and 11 inches--- the
tallest student in class while still in High School, but for her contribution to help
those in need! She achieved the pinnacle of success for believing and pursuing that
one bright star that will guide her forever. Her two sons are now putting forward
their time, energy, and commitments to the success of the family business. I say,
more power to you!!
“It is never easy to keep reaching for dreams. Strength and courage can sometimes be lonely friends. But those who do reach the stars, walk in stardust.” unknown.
(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!
Samson, 52
special consultant of the Philippine
Olympic Committee.
At the time of his death,
he was writing a sports column for
Malaya-Business Insight.
His remains were cremated yesterday at Loyola Guadalupe where
viewing will be held up to Saturday
(Oct. 20).
October 17, 2012
An open letter to the Honourable Senator Tobias Enverga Jr.
Dear Sir:
May I respectfully offer my sincerest congratulations many times over for your
recent appointment to the Canadian Senate. Your appointment is an astronomical event for all…to be the first Filipino to be granted a position that comes
with so much prestige, importance and responsibility. This event will for sure
be part of our Philippine and Canadian history and will forever be embedded in
our memories and for the generations to come.
I have always been proud to be a Filipino…but now I am even prouder that
one of us, a most deserving person, has been chosen to serve in the most esteemed Senate of one of the greatest countries of the world. You have definitely worked hard, devoted precious time and selflessly got involved with the
Filipino community. I am certain you have sacrificed some of your personal
priorities for the sake of others.
Definitely, my fellow countrymen in Ontario, in Canada, in the Philippines and
all over the world are fortunate to have you represent us in the highest parliament of the great Canada. I implore all Filipinos to move forward… to leave
behind all their differences in the past…for a better future for us all and our
children. I ask them to allow you to help us …to give us some directions… for
a better world to live in. I ask of them to ease your job, not hinder it, such that
you may attain the highest goal that you so desire for us. I know you have great
ambitions for us all and the best of intentions deep in your kind heart.
You have attained what most of us can only dream of and envy. But I feel nothing but true admiration for what you have accomplished… through dedication,
hard work, persistence and belief that you can make a difference despite the
adversities that you face. May our own Filipino people give you the chance to
prove yourself in a much bigger world.
I salute your success and I pray that the future brings you even more, so that
there may be hope of an even better tomorrow. And may God help you in all
your earnest endeavors. May all the Filipinos and other nationalities realize and
appreciate the special person you are in the Senate.
I may be a Filipino with a humble beginning from a small, unknown and poor
fishing village in the Philippines, but I celebrate and rejoice at this rare golden
opportunity to make it known that you have me and millions of others extremely proud.
Again MABUHAY!!!
Yours sincerely and God bless,
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
He later joined the government as a presidential assistant
during the term of President Fidel V.
Ramos. After his government stint,
he tried his hand at sports promoting
and successfully promoted several
fights of former world champion
Luisito Espinosa. His last stint in
government service was as a special consultant for the Land Transportation Office. He later served as
(Signed)
Clemente Cabillan
Sales Representative
Re/Max Realty Specialists Inc.
905-272-3434
President & CEO
PHILUSCAN International Realty Inc.
416-414-8237
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
Philippine Courier
Obama vs. Romney:
A mad dash to the finish
LAS VEGAS (AFP) — And they’re
off! Barack Obama and Mitt Romney
galloped out of the post-debate gate
to woo swing state voters in the final
week of a race that seems destined for
a photo finish.
Both will criss-cross America
as they seek an edge in the presidential
contest, but one state in particular —
the Midwestern prize of Ohio — will
get the lion’s share of visits.
Senior Romney advisor Kevin
Madden said: “People are really getting to that point where they are making their mind up in key states.”
Barely nine hours after the
third and final debate wrapped up last
week with both sides declaring victory,
Romney was on a plane to Nevada,
from where he was to head on to the
Rocky Mountain state of Colorado.
Both these states were won by
Obama in his 2008 White House victory, but polls suggest they could swing
to the Republican this year, paving
stones on a road to a possible victory
that must almost certainly pass through
Ohio.
After his western jaunt, Romney will spend at least Wednesday and
Thursday week in Ohio, part of America’s industrial heartland, still leaning
Democrat in most state polls but somewhere the Republican can sense a new
momentum.
“He’ll be going to Ohio and
Virginia, he’ll be back in Florida,” said
Ed Gillespie, another top Romney advisor. “We’re obviously going to those
states that are most critical to our path
to electoral college success.”
If history is a guide, Romney’s
yellow brick road to the 270 electoral
votes needed for victory on Nov. 6 must
go through Ohio — no Republican has
ever won the White House without also
winning the Buckeye State.
Until this month Obama appeared to have a lock on Ohio and
most of the other swing states, posting
a double digit lead in some polls and
dominating key demographics — in
particular women.
But, after Romney bested a lackluster Obama in their first debate on
Oct. 3, the race began to narrow. First
in nationwide polls then, crucially, in
the 10 battlegrounds that will decide
the result on Nov. 6.
He still faces an uphill struggle
in Ohio, however. An average of recent
state polls calculated by Web site RealClearPolitics.com gives Obama a 1.9
percent lead, while the fivethirtyeight.
com polling blog for the New York
Times estimates the President’s advantage at 2.9 percent.
No polling firm has ever given
Romney the advantage in Ohio. The
President is determined not to cede this
lead, which could probe his last line of
defense against a Romney victory if all
else fails. So he was in Ohio again on
Tuesday, seeking to build on a better
debate Monday.
“Yes, we have been through
some tough times, but you have never
seen me quit,” Obama told crowds in
Florida, before heading to Ohio, maintaining the air of confidence he exuded
in his final head-to-head clash with
Romney.
For weeks the Republicans
have tried to convey a similar confi-
dence that their game plan in Ohio will
bring victory, hoping an impression of
momentum not yet completely borne
out by local polling will prove selfsustaining.
Romney political director
Rich Beeson recently mapped out the
grassroots game plan which has seen
volunteers knock on 1.4 million doors
and make 3.7 million phone calls in the
state since May.
But one of Obama’s trusted allies in the Senate, number two Democrat Dick Durbin, insisted the president
would hold on to Ohio.
“We’re not playing ‘not to lose.’
We’re playing to win,” he told AFP,
predicting the race would come down
to eight states.
Ohio may be leaning for Obama
Townhouse for Rent
PAG did it again!
The Philippine Artists Group did it again. Two out of
the 3 prizes were won by PAG members in the recently
concluded Ontario Plein Air Society (OPAS) contest in
Unionville. Shown from left with their winning pieces are
PAG's Antonio 'Jun' Afable - 3rd Prize and Teodorico
'Teody' Asuncion - 1st Prize, with Chinese artist Ted Yao 2nd Prize. Last July, Afable also won 1st Prize in the first
OPAS contest joined by the Filipino artists group.
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
— although the numbers have tightened — but Romney is favorite in Florida and Virginia is a dead heat.
If Romney can hold Florida and
move the needle in his favor in one of
the other two, he has a realistic shot at
winning. If he loses both Florida and
Ohio, the math just isn’t there for a
Romney victory.
But with no Republican ever
winning the presidency without also
winning Ohio, Romney will sink massive human and financial capital into
the state.
Studies show the two campaigns
have already spent some $100 million
on television ads in battleground states
in the closing weeks of the race, and
both of them have racked up substantial time on the ground in Ohio.
-
3-Bedrooms + 2 Full-bathrooms
1 Parking space
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Interested parties, please call:
647-405-0420 or 416-272-3785
11
Philippine Courier
Pope: ‘May Calungsod’s courage inspire Filipinos’
VATICAN CITY, October
22, 2012(AP) —The Philippines got its second saint Sunday with Pope Benedict XVI
canonizing the 17th-century
teen missionary Pedro Calungsod along with six other martyrs of the Catholic Church in a
solemn ceremony at St. Peter’s
Square in Rome.
A sizeable crowd of flag-waving Filipinos, expatriates in Italy, who turned out in droves for
the ceremony, and a delegation
of 5,000 from home, cheered as
the Pope declared Calungsod a
saint and worthy of veneration
by the entire Catholic Church.
“May the example
and courageous witness of Pedro Calungsod inspire the dear
people of the Philippines to
announce the kingdom bravely and to win souls for God,”
Pope Benedict XVI said in his
homily.
About 80,000 pilgrims
from different parts of the
world filled St. Peter’s Square
for the canonization rites,
which started with the head of
the Vatican’s saint-making office reading aloud each of the
names of the seven new saints
in Latin, drawing cheers from
the crowd.
The Philippines waited
12 years to get a second Filipino saint. The country’s first
saint is Lorenzo Ruiz, who was
canonized in 1987.
Vice President Jejomar Binay, representing President Benigno Aquino, who left
for state visits to Australia and
New Zealand Sunday, led the
Philippine government delegation.
Binay said the canonization
of Calungsod was important
to the Philippines, Asia’s largest Roman Catholic-majority
country.
Pope Benedict XVI
also canonized six other Catholic martyrs of various nationalities.
Jacques Berthieu, a 19th-century French Jesuit who was
killed by rebels in Madagascar,
where he worked as a missionary.
Giovanni Battista
Piamarta, an Italian who founded a religious order in 1900 and
established a Catholic printing
and publishing house in his native Brescia.
Carmen Salles y Barangueras, a Spanish nun who
founded a religious order to
educate children in 1892.
Anna Schaeffer, a
19th-century German lay-
woman who became a model
for the sick and suffering after
she fell into a boiler and badly
burned her legs, the wounds
never healing and causing her
constant pain.
Kateri Tekakwitha,
a 17th-century Mohican who
was ostracized and persecuted
for converting to the Catholic
faith and now the first Native
American saint.
Mother Marianne Cope,
a 19th-century Franciscan nun
who cared for leprosy patients
in Hawaii.
+
In the
Philippines,
thousands of
Catholics followed the canonization rites,
which began
at 9:30 a.m.
(about 4 p.m.
in
Manila)
and celebrated
C a l u n g s o d ’s
sainthood with
Masses, processions, stage
plays, religious
shows and the
launching of
postal stamps
bearing
his
image and a
PerryScope
map of his journey as a young
Catholic missionary to Guam,
where he was killed while
spreading the Catholic faith
340 years ago.
Celebrations across
the Philippines were centered
in Metro Manila, Cebu City
and in the municipality of Ginatilan in southwestern Cebu,
which claims to be Calungsod’s hometown.
Large television screens were
installed in church compounds
to allow the faithful to watch
the canonization rites in the
Vatican.
Details of Calungsod’s
life are scarce, but according
to available Church records,
when he and the mission superior, the Rev. Diego Luis de San
Vitores, tried to baptize a baby
in Tumhon village in Guam on
April 2, 1672, the child’s father
angrily refused and, with the
help of other natives, hacked
them both to death and threw
their bodies into the ocean.
Romney’s ‘Romnesia’
By Perry Diaz
The day after the second presidential
debate last October 16, President Barack
Obama told a cheering crowd of supporters that his rival, Mitt Romney, was suffering from a very rare condition. No, it’s
not the avian “Big Bird” syndrome nor the
Simian immunodeficiency virus. Nobody
knows where it originated. And, to date,
only one other person is afflicted with this
condition, Romney’s vice presidential
running mate, Paul Ryan. But because it
has not been manifested before in other
human beings, it is understandable that
Obama called this condition, “Romnesia.”
As reported in the news, Obama told
a cheering crowd of around 10,000 supporters in Fairfax, Virginia: “Now that
we’re 18 days out from the election, ‘Mr.
Severely Conservative’ wants you to think
he was severely kidding about everything
he said over the last year.” “He’s forgetting what his own positions are, and he’s
betting that you will, too. I mean, he’s
changing up so much and backtracking
and sidestepping. We’ve got to -- we’ve
got to -- we’ve got to name this condition
that he’s going through. I think -- I think
it’s called ‘Romnesia.’ ” The crowd roared
in approval!
The third debate between Obama and
Romney last October 22 was no different from the second debate – Romney
continued to manifest Romnesia. He basically retreated from his positions on
foreign policy and parroted Obama’s positions on just about every aspect of foreign policy. It makes one wonder: Was it
a case of “Romnesia” or an endorsement
of Obama’s foreign policy?
Clinch and hug
Romney knew that debating Obama in
an area where he has zero exposure and no
12
experience would be politically suicidal.
So, like in a boxing bout, he clinched and
hugged Obama each time Obama attacked
him.
However, Obama made it a point to remind Romney of his past positions on foreign policy issues such as the Afghanistan
withdrawal timetable, Syria, Egypt, and
other flashpoints in the Middle East and
Central Asia. Romney responded by just
staring back idiotically at Obama.
But it is interesting to note that Romney did not bring up the Benghazi “act
of terrorism” again, which caused him
monumental embarrassment during their
second debate when he wrongly claimed
that it took Obama two weeks to admit
that the Benghazi attack was an “act of
terrorism.” In fact, Obama declared that it
was indeed an “act of terrorism” during a
press briefing at the Rose Garden the day
after the incident.
Horses and bayonets
But nothing is more awkwardly embarrassing during their third debate than
when Romney put on a show that Obama
was weakening the country’s military capability. He zeroed in on the U.S. Navy
saying that it is smaller today than it was
in 1917 when there were 313 ships and
today there are only 285. Obama responded, “Well, Governor, we also have fewer
horses and bayonets… because the nature
of our military has changed. We have
these things called aircraft carriers where
planes land on them. We have these ships
that go underwater, nuclear submarines.”
Touché.
If there is anything that Romney
achieved, it’s that he did not lose by
knockout; the pollsters gave Obama a
“unanimous decision” victory. It was
probably a relief to Team Romney that
their man was able to avoid a political
knockout. Yes, they’d rather see their man
foolishly embarrassed than floored.
Indeed, the third debate proved without a shadow of a doubt that Obama’s
foreign policy has maintained the United
States’ leadership in world affairs. And
because of Romney’s tacit endorsement
of Obama’s foreign policy, the final two
weeks of the presidential campaign would
be confined to domestic issues, most importantly the state of the economy. But
where does Romney stand?
Lies and hoaxes
With no clear definition of what he
stood for and no specifics on how he is going to improve the economy, Romney has
to resort to playing games to mislead the
voters. Indeed, by feigning “Romnesia”
and flooding the airwaves and networks
with untruthful infomercials and attack
ads against Obama, he just might be able
to hoodwink the voters into buying the
snake oil he’s peddling.
And there is the underground campaign
that’s hitting the Internet and bombarding
millions of emails with lies and hoaxes
about Obama. This reminds me of Adolf Hitler’s Propaganda Minister, Joseph
Goebbels, whose mantra was: “If you tell
a lie big enough and keep repeating it,
people eventually come to believe it.”
Recently, I received an email with a
link to an anti-Obama video. I checked
with Snopes.com to verify the credibility
of information on the video. It turned out
to be a hoax. I responded to the sender,
“It’s very sad that a lot of people fall for
these hoaxes and lies. Gullibility is worse
than stupidity.” The sender replied, “Who
are the ‘gullible that are worse than stupid’ that you mentioned?” I answered,
“A stupid person has a low mental intelligence. A gullible person is an intelligent
individual but he or she is easily taken for
a fool.” The sender did not respond.
Then there was one person who called
me an “ultra liberal Democrat.” I couldn’t
help but respond. I told him that I’m a
long-time fiscal conservative and social
moderate Republican who still believes
in the Grand Old Party of Abraham Lincoln. I told him that I supported the presidential bids of Ronald Reagan, George
H.W. Bush, Bob Dole, and George W.
Bush. I told him that I supported Obama
in 2008 because of the disastrous policies
of George W. Bush, which led to the financial meltdown that year. I told him
that I’m supporting Obama again this year
because Romney’s policies would be detrimental to the country’s economy. I told
him that Romney’s tax plan to give $8 trillion over 10 years in tax breaks to the rich
would put the tax burden on the back of
the middle class and working poor, which
I find to unconscionable. It is no longer
about conservatism; it’s about greed.
With 14 days to Election Day, the campaign is down to the wire in seven battleground states – Colorado, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, New Hampshire, Virginia, and
Florida. Romney and Ryan would continue to manifest their affliction with “Romnesia” to hide their right-wing agenda and
Obama and Biden would continue to expose their real positions.
At the end of the day, the American
voters would decide intelligently. They
would vote their conscience and elect the
president whom they believe would serve
all Americans. (PerryDiaz@gmail.com)
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
Philippine Courier
Business
Edited by: Miguel Caducio
US to overtake Saudi as world’s top oil producer
NEW YORK, October 25, 2012 (AP)
— U.S. oil output is surging so fast that
the United States could soon overtake
Saudi Arabia as the world’s biggest
producer.
Driven by high prices and new
drilling methods, U.S. production of
crude and other liquid hydrocarbons is
on track to rise 7 percent this year to an
average of 10.9 million barrels per day.
This will be the fourth straight year of
crude increases and the biggest singleyear gain since 1951.
The boom has surprised even
the experts. “Five years ago, if I or anyone had predicted today’s production
growth, people would have thought we
were crazy,” says Jim Burkhard, head
of oil markets research at IHS CERA,
an energy consulting firm.
The Energy Department forecasts that U.S. production of crude
and other liquid hydrocarbons, which
includes biofuels, will average 11.4
million barrels per day next year. That
would be a record for the U.S. and just
below Saudi Arabia’s output of 11.6
million barrels. Citibank forecasts U.S.
production could reach 13 million to
15 million barrels per day by 2020,
helping to make North America “the
new Middle East.”
The last year the U.S. was
the world’s largest producer was 2002,
after the Saudis drastically cut production because of low oil prices in the aftermath of 9/11. Since then, the Saudis
and the Russians have been the world
leaders.
The United States will still need
to import lots of oil in the years ahead.
Americans use 18.7 million barrels per
day. But thanks to the growth in domestic production and the improving
fuel efficiency of the nation’s cars and
trucks, imports could fall by half by the
end of the decade.
The increase in production hasn’t
translated to cheaper gasoline at the
pump, and prices are expected to stay
high relatively high for the next few
years because of growing demand for
oil in developing nations and political instability in the Middle East and
North Africa. Still, producing more oil
domestically, and importing less, gives
the economy a significant boost.
The companies profiting range
from independent drillers to large international oil companies such as Royal Dutch Shell, which increasingly see
the U.S. as one of the most promising
U.S. oil output is surging so fast that the United States could soon overtake
Saudi Arabia as the world’s biggest producer. This year drillers are on track to
post the biggest single year gain since 1951. (AP Photo)
places to drill. Exxon Mobil agreed last
month to spend $1.6 billion to increase
its U.S. oil holdings.
Increased drilling is driving economic growth in states such as
North Dakota, Oklahoma, Wyoming,
Montana and Texas, all of which have
unemployment rates far below the national average of 7.8 percent. North
Dakota is at 3 percent; Oklahoma, 5.2.
‘MRT3 fares P10 higher next year’ - Abaya
TransCanada restarts Keystone pipeline
MANILA, Philippines (October 23, 2012) - New- this year and next year, it could no longer retain the
ly-appointed Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio current subsidy for the MRT3.
With a P10 increase, the maximum MRT3 fare
Abaya on Monday said that the government will push
through with its plan to increase the fare of the Metro will jump to P25 from the previous P15 fare from Taft
to North-EDSA and vise versa.
Rail Transit 3 (MRT3).
Abaya explained that
Abaya said in his
the P25 maximum fare is still
press conference since his
cheaper compared to the P45
confirmation as Transporbus fare for the same route.
tation secretary that MRT3
He said the government
riders should expect a P10
has been subsidizing fares at the
fare increase next year.
MRT and the Light Rail Transit
Former Transporfor 10 years now and the amount
tation secretary Mar Roxas,
of subsidy has already reached
who now heads the DepartP75 billion.
ment of the Interior and LoRoxas had also repeatcal Government, had said
edly said that the fund that will
that the MRT3 fare increase
be freed up from the MRT3 fare
may take effect January
next year.
The government will increase fares of the Metro increase will be used by the govAbaya said that with Rail Transit by P10 starting January 2013. (File ernment for its projects in the
provinces.
the government's budget for Photo)
KANSAS CITY, October 23, 2012 (AP) —
TransCanada has restarted the Keystone oil pipeline that carries about 590,000 barrels of crude oil
each day from Canada to facilities in the Midwest.
Oil began flowing again yesterday afternoon. Company spokesman Shawn Howard says
the system will be operated at a slightly reduced
pressure for about 24 hours. Contractual delivery
levels will resume in November.
TransCanada had shut down the pipeline
Wednesday after tests showed possible safety issues.
The company had planned to restart
the pipeline Saturday. Howard blamed logistical
issues for the delay, saying bad weather complicated efforts to move equipment on site and made
inspections take longer.
The potential problems were detected in a
section of the line between Missouri and Illinois.
Howard says there were no leaks and the pipeline
system's integrity is sound.
LAND 4 SALE
-
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
1.5 Has. Orchard Farm
Pagbilao, Quezon Province
$1.95 per sq. meter
Price negotiable
Clean Title, No Tenants
Interested, pls. call:
Precy @ 416-655-9052
13
Philippine Courier
IT BUZZ
AROUND
By Miguel Caducio
Microsoft announced last week in
San Francisco California that it was
launching a new music service that
offers free streaming for computers
and tablets with the Windows operating system to be launched this month.
The Xbox Music service will allow
users to stream custom-created playlists for free, along with music subscriptions and downloads, which will
be managed in the Internet cloud to
enable access on tablets, PCs, phones
and television.
Microsoft said the new service will
be “on par with iTunes,” the leading music service from Apple, with a
global catalog of more than 30 million songs.
But the service also will have some
of the features of music services like
Spotify and the Internet radio operator Pandora, along with the music
store offerings of Apple and Amazon.
It will begin rolling out around the
world this week on Xbox 360 and
later this month on Windows PCs and
tablets and on mobile phones, with
some free services and others that are
paid.
Subscriptions will cost $9.99 in the
United States and 9.99 euros in Europe, according to Microsoft.
Microsoft launches new music service
“The launch of Xbox Music is a
milestone in simplifying digital music on every type of device and on
a global scale,” said Don Mattrick,
president of interactive entertainment at Microsoft.
“We’re breaking down the walls
that fracture your music experiences
today to ensure that music is better
and integrated across the screens
that you care about most – your tablet, PC, phone and TV.”
The move comes more than a year
after Microsoft pulled the plug on its
Zune digital media player, its wouldbe rival to Apple’s iPod.
Microsoft began producing the
Zune in 2006 but it never really
threatened the global dominance of
the iPod from rival Apple. However,
some analysts said the new service
might fare better.
“Because of Microsoft’s size and
what appears to be a new-found ingenuity, perhaps born of a need to
reinvent the company or watch it
drop to the second tier of tech firms,
it has made a series of huge gambles. Xbox Music is one of those,”
said Douglas McIntyre at 24/7 Wall
Street.
“And Xbox Music may be a winner, just because the Microsoft dis-
This image provided by Microsoft Corp. shows a screen image of their new service called,
Xbox Music. Buyers of tablets that run Microsoft’s newest operating system, Windows
8, are in for a pleasant musical surprise: they’ll be able to handpick from a selection of
millions of songs and stream them for free as long as they put up with an audio ad every
15 minutes. AP PHOTO/MICROSOFT CORP.
tribution network is so very big.”
McIntyre noted that Microsoft can
leverage its “tens of millions” of
customers with Xbox consoles for
the service as well as the massive
customer base of PC owners. “This
is an extraordinary platform for any
service, particularly if the service is
free,” he said.
The move comes as Microsoft
launches its Windows 8 operating
system on October 26 along with its
new tablet computer, dubbed Surface. Microsoft is also making an
aggressive push into mobile phones
with its Windows Phone 8 system,
which will be available on smartphones made by Nokia, HTC and
others.
4500 Sheppard Avenue East Units 25 & 26 Scarborough, ON M1S 3R6
(416) 335-8555
14
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
Philippine Courier
BCBP 1st Breakfast Forum in Canada
The Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals (BCBP), a community of like-minded Christian
business people and professionals whose vision is to bring Christ to the marketplace and winning the marketplace for Christ had just launched their first Breakfast Meeting in Canadian soil at the Hilton Garden Inn in
Mississauga, Ontario on October 27, 2012. The organization was founded in Manila, Philippines in 1980 and
now has more than 120 Breakfast Meetings in the Philippines, California, New York. October 27 is the first ever
breakfast meeting of the group in Canada.
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
15
Philippine Courier
Entertainment
Edited by: Ross D. Tierra
Charice gets rave reviews for Hollywood film role
MANILA (October 16, 2012) - With
the recent US release of her Hollywood
film “Here Comes the Boom,” Filipina
singer Charice has added yet another
milestone to her career as an international artist.
Charice got positive feedback
for her role as Malia de la Cruz—a music prodigy in the sports-comedy flick
that opened on October 12.
Directed by Frank Coraci and
anchored by lead stars Kevin James
and Salma Hayek, the film is about
James’ character Scott Voss, a 42-yearold biology teacher forced to moonlight as a mixed martial arts fighter to
raise money for his school’s ailing music program.
In a review published on his website (www.themovieboy.com), Online
Film Critics Society member Dustin
Putman commended Charice’s acting:
“She brings such honesty and emotion
to the screen that one can’t help but
care about her… Charice is a star in the
making with a smile that could light up
a New York City blackout.”
David Germain of The Associated Press said Charice “adds adorability as a bright and earnest student.”
“Here Comes” writer and producer James, who is Charice’s teacher in
the film, raved about the petite Pinay’s
performance of Neil Diamond’s “Holly
Holy.” He told Colorado FM station
Jammin’ 101.5 during the red carpet
premiere in Denver: “My girl Charice
rocks it. She’s unbelievable, you’ll
see.”
In an interview aired on the
CBS talk show, “The Couch,” on October 10, Charice said her “Here Comes”
stint was her “first-ever big role.”
The “X Factor Philippines” judge
related how nervous she was during the
auditions. “They suddenly gave me the
lyrics to Neil Diamond’s ‘Holly Holy,’
and I was like, ‘What’s this song? This
is the end of me!’” Luckily, Charice
had composed herself by the time she
met the film director. “I did it; they
were teary-eyed.”
Asked how it felt, working
with big stars like James and Hayek,
CHARICE and Salma Hayek in “Here Comes the Boom” Photo from ZEIBIZ.COM
Charice said: “I didn’t expect them to
be that nice… and so sweet.”
The 20-year-old earlier guested
on big US TV programs “The Oprah
Winfrey Show” and “Ellen.” She appeared in three episodes of the second
season of the hit TV musical “Glee”
and landed a cameo singing role in the
2009 film “Alvin and the Chipmunks:
The Squeakquel.” (By Allan Policarpio/Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Kris shares opinion on Lucy Liu’s ‘Filipino’ Remark
MANILA, Philippines (October 23, 2012) – Queen of All Media Kris Aquino has expressed disappointment over American actress Lucy Liu for the latter’s alleged “racist” comment made during
a guest appearance on “The Late Night Show With David Letterman” almost two weeks ago.
Aquino said in her daily morning talk show “Kris TV,” Tuesday, “Nagulat ako do’n kasi
pinapanood ko siya (Liu) eh. Ine-enjoy ko siya bilang artista, so parang medyo masakit ‘di ba? Parang ang mean naman niya. Kasi, ‘di ba, parang, ba’t naman siya naglu-look down sa mga Pinoy?”
It may be recalled that Liu, when asked by host Letterman if she prefers running in a machine or outdoors, said, “I run on a machine. It’s just easier for me, I think. Also if I get really dark,
I’ll start to look a little Filipino. It wouldn’t match. You know what I mean? I start getting darker…
you know what I mean?”
What seemed like an offhand remark have sent Filipino netizens buzzing, with some branding
the actress of Chinese descent as “racist” and others simply dismissing the incident as a non-issue.
In any case, Liu had since apologized for her blunder not long after, telling entertainment
columnist Ruben Nepales in an interview for a local paper that she had not intended to insult Filipinos --nor any ethnicity, for that matter.
Aquino recognized the American actress’ apology, but nevertheless cautioned people to
be mindful of what they say in front of the camera. “Mag-iingat talaga sa mga lalabas sa bibig, ‘di
ba? Kasi once nasabi mo, napanood ng marami, eh lagot ka kung meron kang masamang nasabi.”
(JULIEN MERCED C. MATABUENA-mb.ph.com)
Kris Aquino thinks Lucy Liu had ‘looked down’ on Filipinos
(File photo)
CHERYL V. MARTINEZ
Independent Consultant
ID# 115623585
CP#4168330133
cherylmartinez314@yahoo.ca
ww.arbonne.ca
16
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
Philippine Courier
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
17
Philippine Courier
Zeal for Fashion
‘Áng Pagbabalik ni Lolita Carbon
ng ASIN in Totonto’ a big hit!
By Candace David
Back in the days when people would turn on to the radio or televisions for a morning
talk show, drama or news to start their day my father, however, will surely listen to
Filipino ditties to fill in the air. Four decades passed and yet my recollection of the
70’s - the era of Martial Law is tantamount with the memories I had with my late father (who at that time was into an entertainment business in our place in Pampanga)
and his friends jamming together and enjoying the original hit songs of ASIN. Miss
Lolita Carbon was my father’s favorite Pinoy contemporary singer. He lived and
died an avid ASIN fan that is why I was moved in doing this piece – as a tribute
to the great man that he was and to the Filipino Queen of Folk Music, Ms. Lolita
Carbon who made a remarkable contribution in the Philippines’ music industry. And
thanks, of course, to the affable Editor-in-Chief Mon Datol for giving me a chance The writer (small girl) is with her late Father (sitting in shorts) and some relato put pen to paper this homage on his very popular tabloid in the GTA now. By tives in this file photo.
the way, The Philippine Courier and EDCILLE Productions of Mon Datol, Cecille Araneta, Eduard Que and Miguel Caducio produced the highly successful ‘Ang
Pagbabalik ni Lolita Carbon ng ASIN in Toronto’ concert and Bar Tours at the GTA.
Kudos to you guys!
Well, they say music has the power to form a vast deal of emotions and
sentiments even just in a few notes. It also arouse complicated ardent response in an
individual, this holds true on every single gig done by the legendary Lolita “Nene”
Carbon of ASIN with her acoustic band members Jazz Almonacid and Ammi Maranan on her ongoing bar tours every Fridays and Saturdays that started last October
12, 2012. The audience were totally entertained and taken to all their memories of
travelling back in time while listening to their hit songs that had been a reflection of
our culture. Avid fans, like me and my pinta associates seem not to get enough from
their concert last September 29, 2012 at TICC as each of Lolita Carbon’s bar tour
was jam-packed with pleased spectators.
In retrospect
Asin (sometimes spelled ASIN, in all capital letters) is a Pinoy rock and
folk rock band from the Philippines. They were formed during the 1970s and originally known as Salt of the Earth from the song of Joan Baez, but later adopted a local
name into "Asin", which means salt in the Filipino language.
The group has only four members namely Mike “Nonoy” Pillora Jr., Cesar
“Saro” Banares, Jr., Lolita “Nene” Carbon and Pendong Aban, Jr. while others are
all session musicians. This was the first group to incorporate Filipino indigenous
instruments into pop/rock music.
Their first album entitled “Masdan Mo Ang Kapaligiran” (Look at your Environment) marked the birth of an alternative form of music which was different and distinct from the mainstream. Their songs conveyed a message that instilled awareness
into the vast majority of Filipinos and became a rallying call for emancipation. They
also studied Filipino tribal music and did what they could to be true to the origins
of the music. Instead of plagiarizing the indigenous music they set about educating
people about respecting the origins of the music and representing it with agreement
from the tribal sources.
ASIN was also important in the local politics and although they did not set
out to be a political band, they reflected the political message needed for the times.
This should be seen against the backdrop of martial law during the time of President
Ferdinand Marcos. Occasionally their recordings were confiscated as subversive,
yet, on the other hand they were invited to play at the Presidential Palace.
Classic hits
Some of their popular songs include the environmental song “Masdan Mo
Ang Kapaligiran” (Observe the Environment), “Ang Bayan Kong Sinilangan” (The
Land Where I Was Born), “Pagbabalik” (Return), Itanong mo sa mga bata” (Ask the
Children), “Himig ng Pag-ibig” (Melody of Love) and “Balita” (News), this is the
song where the Tagalog lyrics of Black Eyed Peas “The Apl Song” is based.
Awards
• Best Folksong of the Year for “Orasyon” – AWIT Awards 1984
• Best Album of the Year for “Himig ng Lahi” – AWIT Awards 1984
• Album of the Year for “Himig ng Lahi – Jingle Magazine Awards 1984
• Best Vocal Arrangement for Group in “Lupa” – Cecil Awards 1986
• Department of Environment and Natural Resources Likas Yaman Award for “Masdan and Kapaligiran” 1991
• For Lolita Carbon – Best Rock Recording for “Paraisong Liku-liko”, AWIT Awards
1990
• For Pendong Aban, Jr. – Best World Music Album for “Ang Grupong Pendong –
Dito Sa Lupa”
• Album – Katha Music Awards 1995
• Best Folksong for “Pagbabalik” – Aliw Awards 1979
• Nominated as Best Rock Recording for “Usok” in the 1st Cecil Awards
• Best Musical Arrangement for “Dalawang Dekada ng Asin (Overture)”, AWIT
Awards 2002
• Environmental-Champions,2004-DENR/WORLD BANK Publication- Environmental Monitor 2004, given June 20, 2004
Witnessing the live performance of Ms.Lolita “Nene” Carbon and her acoustic band
is definitely an honor and a privilege. Most of their songs had been a part of our lives;
others even grew up withthem as the sound of ASIN may not be heard from your
own house but had lingered from someone else’s big boom box during those times.
The tremendous nostalgic experience that each song brings still prevails and goes
right straight to one’s heart. Their music is timeless as it gears towards Juan Dela
Cruz’ dreams, ambitions, yearnings, miseries and social awareness that mirror our
own cultureand heritage. (Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asin_%28band%29)
18
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
Philippine Courier
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
19
Philippine Courier
20
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
Philippine Courier
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21
Philippine Courier
Welcome to Canada, ‘Inang’ Isabel Bachini vda de Moscare!
HerdotinggranddaughtersMariaDatolͲBello(left)andRoselineDatolͲTierra(right),together
withgreatgranddaughterNicoleDatolBello(2ndfromright)welcome‘InangSabel’atthe
PearsonAirportOctober2whoarrivedasimmigrantwithherúnicahija’FrancesMoscareͲ
Datol(2ndleft).2ndfotoatrightshowsInangSabelwithcousinTessieLagtapon(2ndright)and
husbandGiting(right)andrelativecoupleJessieandLeoAgustin(standing)attheDatol
residence.(PhotosbyTPC’sMondee)
22
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
Philippine Courier
“Be Careful with my Heart” beats GMA’s new morning Teleseryes
ABS-CBN’s well-loved Primetanghali kilig-serye, “Be Careful With My Heart”
won in national TV ratings over GMA’s two newly launched morning teleseryes,
maintaining its daytime leadership in the country.
Based on latest data from Kantar Media on Monday (October 22), the Jodi
Sta. Maria-Richard Yap starrer scored a national TV rating of 23.1% versus the pilot episodes of "One True Love: A Second Chance" which only got 8% and “Cielo
de Angelina” that only rated at 10.2%.
Like her leading lady, Richard (now popularly known as ‘Sir Chief) believes
that there is no problem with having competition. “I think competition is always
healthy. That’s okay because we'll strive to do our best always,” he said. “But
honestly, we're not really competing with anyone. We just want to make our TV
viewers happy.”
Catch "Be Careful With My Heart," everyday, 10:45am, before "It's Showtime" on ABS-CBN's Prime-Tanghali. Also, don't miss "Be Careful With My Heart
Sabado Rewind" every Saturday, 10am, before "It's Showtime."
For more updates, log on to www.abs-cbn.com, follow @becarefulheart
on Twitter; and 'like' the show's official Facebook fanpage at www.facebook.com/
becarefulwithmyheartofficial.
‘Sir Chief’ Richard Yap and Jodi ‘Maya’ Sta. Maria
Zsa Zsa disproves romance with Hayden
MANILA, Philippines (October 25, 2012) - Zsa Zsa Padilla is rediscovering Hayden Kho, the controversial doctor
turned businessman who is now her boss, having signed up
as endorser of his new beauty venture.
According to the recently widowed singer-actress,
Kho is fun to be with. "Masarap siyang kausap because he
reads a lot and I love books also. We always had the most
interesting conversations together,” Padilla shared during a
recent press conference.
Kho, on the other hand, described Padilla in earlier
interviews as "a woman of substance" and among those that
he truly "admires."
Not a few wags are now speculating that the mutual
admiration might allow for a romantic relationship to blossom between the two.
But Padilla was quick to refute such insinuations.
"Open book naman 'yung mga nangyari sa akin, 'di ba? So,
parang ang bilis naman [nilang] i-relate 'yun doon.”
The 48-year old is referring to the recent death of his
partner, the comedian Dolphy, which was followed by her
being diagnosed with cancer of the kidneys, which turned
out to be benign.
Padilla maintains that she is not one to get into
relationships with exes of her friends.
Kho is the ex-boyfriend of Padilla's close pal, Vicki Belo.
"Para sa akin hindi talaga, kasi personally, dahil sobrang
close talaga ako kay Doktora Vicki, parang it leaves a bad
taste in the mouth," she emphasized.
But she added, “I don’t know. I think lang personally
[ang pangit] pero… ang hirap magsalita nang tapos, 'di ba?"
Padilla said she is very much aware of the hullabaloo
that hounded Kho in the past, including the sex scandal videos, but just like anyone she believes that he also deserves
a "second chance."
"Siyempre alam natin na na-taint 'yung kanyang
image because of the controversies that he went through
but of course, everybody is deserving of a second chance
in life, 'di ba? Dahil lahat naman ng mga tao, nagkakamali
sa buhay. Kasi kilala ko siya bago 'yun nangyari. Siguro
[ngayon] nagkaroon [ako] ng panibagong faith sa kanya,
'yun.”
Meanwhile, Padilla says she aims to visit the
tomb of her "beloved" Dolphy ahead of the throng come
All Saint's Day as she is set to travel to Hong Kong with
actress-TV host Kris Aquino a day prior, this, upon the latter's invitation.
"Medyo mahirap [mag-decide pumunta sa Hong
Kong] kasi nga favorite place 'yun ni Dolphy pero 'nung
sinabi sa akin ni Kris na [Hong Kong] Disneyland sabi ko,
sige." (By NR RAMOS-mb.com.ph)
Zsa Zsa says she still talks to Dolphy
everyday (FILE PHOTO)
From FRNAO with LOVE
Mr. Pidoy Pacis (head of Gawad Kalinga Canada-middle) receiving the donation from FRNAO Nurses, in order to build more houses for the poor in the Philippines, during the 6th Annual Gala was held at Holiday Inn – Woodbine held September 22, 2012. (Photo Courtesy of PPCO’s Arnel Ramos)
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
23
Philippine Courier
The Tall Family celebrates Thanksgiving in a different style
With their family now complete after the arrival of ‘Inang Sabel’, Ramon & Frances called on relatives and close family friends to a hearty observance of
Thanksgiving Day in their simple abode in Richmond Hill and invited the legendary folk singer Lolita Carbon of ASIN and her Acoustic Band members Jazz
Almonacid and Ammi Maranan, couple Eduard Que and Cecille Araneta to an early dinner of Filipino foods and delicacies. Here are some photos of the affair
thru the lenses of TPC’s Mondee & LennyT.
Lenny’s Day
This paper’s Sports Ed and Web Administrator, Laurence Tierra, celebrated his birthday in a very simple way October 20 with his wife Yeng, daughters Iyam
and Yumi, Papa, Mama and Inang Sabel at their residence in Richmond Hill. Here are some fotos of the simple gathering.
24
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
Philippine Courier
Sports
Edited by: Laurence Tierra
It’s GTK vs Cojuangco
For the POC presidency...
MANILA, Philippines (October 28,
2012) – Highly controversial track and
field association president Go Teng
Kok beat the deadline yesterday and
filed his certificate of candidacy for
president of the Philippine Olympic
Committee.
Go’s unexpected action prevented incumbent POC president Jose
‘Peping’ Cojuangco from getting reelected for the third 4-year-term via acclamation after Cojuangco’s perceived
opponent Manny V. Pangilinan decided in the last minute not to run.
The PATAFA president becomes
the standard bearer of the opposition
that includes Manny T. Lopez, handball association’s secretary-general,
who is seeking a re-election for VP,
weightlifting’s Monico Puentebella, a
re-electionist for the POC Chairmanship, cycling’s Bambol Tolentino, Romeo Ribano of squash and golf’s Godofredo Galindez.
Running under Cojuangco’s team are Joey Romasanta, POC
spokesperson, triathlon Tom Carrasco,
SPECTATOR
By Al Mendoza
WE just lost a fifth world boxing
crown. And what a way to lose.
AJ Banal was slightly ahead in my
scorecard when it happened: He took
a painful loss to Sor Singyu of Thailand on October 21 at the Mall of Asia
Arena, the state-of-the art coliseum in
Pasay City by the bay which hosted its
first world boxing championship. The
Arena is SM’s latest architectural wonder.
Jeff Tamayo of soft tennis, Julian Camacho of
wushu and Prospero Pichay of chess.
This will be the
second time Go will be
seeking the POC presidency. He was soundly
trashed by Celso Dayrit
when he ran in 2000.
But Go has
been declared personanon-grata by the POC
general assembly and is
considered by many in
the sports community
as a perennial whiner
and a troublemaker.
Because of his
status as persona-nongrata, the POC election
committee will still
have to decide whether to approve his
candidacy.
On the other hand, Cojuangco
has built a network of alliances from
his two terms as POC president and his
after nine rounds, only to succumb to
fatigue and lost by a 10th-round TKO.
All the judges’ scorecards saw Banal
leading before that fateful 10th.
other low blow.
I was there in Cebu during the fight.
My scorecard also had Banal miles
ahead of Concepcion, who got battered
black and blue but would simply not
fall down.
But I give credit to Sor. He came not
only ready to fight; he also came ready
to go into a bar-room brawl, if not bang
it up inside a telephone booth.
The Thai exhibited the uncanny ability to weather body shots and hits to the
face, counterpunching extremely well.
His crouching style of fighting seemed
to befuddle Banal no end.
In short, Sor, 23 years old like Banal,
was made of rock this evening that he
survived some of the meanest punches
thrown at him.
Thus, when Weeks stopped the fight
in 1:45 of the 9th after Banal beat the
count of 10, I feel the American referee
did the right thing.
It was thoroughly painful for Banal
because the setback halted Banal’s
11-fight winning streak since 2009.
And look, Banal became Sor’s 17th
Filipino victim, stretching the Thai’s
winning streak overall to 20 for an impressive 43-1, win-loss record, with 28
knockouts.
In that bout against the Panamanian,
Banal thought the fight was only for
nine rounds, giving it all from Round 1
onwards. Sadly, by the 10th, his power
and strength were gone.
And, yes, it became extra-painful
because the debacle denied Banal the
chance to become the fifth Filipino to
capture a world title and join reigning
champions Ahas Niete, Brian Viloria,
Johnriel Casimiro and, yes, Nonito
Donaire Jr.
Against Sor, Banal didn’t seem dogtired after eight rounds and looked like
there was enough gas left in his tank,
so to speak.
In 2008, Banal was comfortably
ahead of Panama’s Rafael Concepcion
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
clout has become even stronger with
his close relationship with Philippine
Sports Commission chairman Richie
Garcia whose patronage as source of
financial support is sought by national
sports associations.
Jose ‘Peping’ Cojuangco
The election is scheduled
on Nov. 30 at the Alabang Golf Club.
(With report from Nick Giongco/
mb.com.ph)
For Banal, it’s not the end of the road
Concepcion’s toughness gave him
the world flyweight crown, which was
just an arm’s length away from Banal’s
reach when disaster struck the pug
from Bohol.
I feel for Banal because his only loss
before this also came when he appeared
headed to victory four years back.
Go Teng Kok
He consistently threw bombs of his
own that, at times, he rocked the Thai.
He took hard blows, too, but he looked
more impressive after fierce exchanges.
Several times, in his eagerness to finish Sor for good, Banal was warned for
low blows. In the sixth, referee Tony
Weeks penalized Banal a point for an-
Perhaps, that derailed Banal’s approach of the fight?
Before getting decked a second time
in the round, Banal took a flurry of
blows that all the more bloodied his
face—the blood oozing from his badly
cut right eye as a result of an accidental
head butt in the third round.
Banal protested Weeks’ decision
while the referee was embracing him
to protect him from further harm. He
cried unabashedly as Weeks led him to
his corner like a loving father coming
to his son’s rescue.
If the loss would haunt him and cause
him sleepless nights, let him be. But I
know that in time, he’ll recover. Fast.
Banal is a young man and, with a
28-2-1, win-loss-draw card, with 20
knockouts, it is not the end of the road
for this Bukidnon-born boxer monikered “bazooka.”
He just needs more time to polish
his style as, at age 23, he can continue
dreaming dreams that have continually
eluded him all this time.
To not give up is to have the heart
of a champion. Ask Rey “The Force”
Fortaleza, our fiercest Olympian in the
Montreal Games in 1976.
“Never, ever give up,” was the winning battle cry of Rey when he represented the country in many boxing
events overseas.
*******
PRAYERS, PRAYERS. May I reiterate my plea for you out there to continue praying for my cancer-stricken
brother, Kuya Pepito (Joe to his buddies), who lives in Mississauga. Your
prayers will surely mean a lot as there
is no deed more powerful than a prayer.
Thank you very much for your continued support.
25
Philippine Courier
Donaire vs. Arce ...
If the price is right
MANILA, Philippines (October 23,
2012) - Unless he gets what he wants
or what he deserves, Jorge Arce will
not climb the ring against reigning
WBO super-bantamweight king Nonito Donaire Jr.
“I’m not asking for the pearls
of the virgin. I’m demanding just what
I think the price is worth,” said Arce,
a former champion in four different
weight classes.
The 33-year-old Mexican,
who’s been into bloody fights perhaps
like no one else in boxing, will fight the
red-hot Filipino champion only if the
price is right.
Arce told www.boxingscene.
com a few days ago that he’s ready to
fight anyone, including Donaire.
“I am ready, as everyone
knows I am ready to fight and end of
the year with drums beating. I would
be happy to take that fight but I hope I
get the price,” he said.
Arce was previously mentioned as Donaire’s opponent for last
week. But it failed to push through
because he didn’t like or didn’t accept
what was offered him.
Instead,
Donaire
fought
Toshiaki Nishioka in Carson City, and
scored a ninth-round technical knockout.
There are many fights to choose
from for Donaire, a certified superstar,
and they include Abner Mares, Guillermo Rigondeaux or Anselmo Moreno.
But as of now, he’s looking at Arce.
It will be great to put up the
Donaire-Arce fight and even greater
The Game
of My Life
Jorge Arce
for fight fans to see it. It’ll be a sure hit
and if staged in Mexico where Arce has
a tremendous following.
Donaire, who earned around
$800,000 for the Nishioka fight, told
Pinoy scribes over the weekend that he
likes Arce because the Mexican’s style
is tailor-made for me.
The feeling is mutual. “I’m not
impressed (with Donaire). He’s not the
Nonito Donaire, Jr.
monster they believe he is. What happens is that (his opponents) have too
much respect they pull punches, start
to survive and allow him to come in,”
Arce said.
“I think Donaire has faced
fighters who are afraid. I’m not going
to have any respect,” the Mexican matador who has won world titles in the
light-fly, super-fly, bantam and super-
bantam told www.boxingscene.com
<http://www.boxingscene.com> .
Bob Arum of Top Rank wants
Dec. 15 for the Donaire-Arce fight in
Mexico City or just a week after Manny Pacquiao faces Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas.
The announcement may come
anytime this week.
A debt to David Stern
By Bill Velasco
NBA Commissioner David Stern
has announced that he will be stepping down from running league operations on Feb. 1, 2014 or 30 years to
the day after taking the job. He leaves
the world’s most popular basketball
league in great shape, and also at a
crossroads.
To his credit, Stern was able to
rein in even the team owners and get
most of them to think league first. He
handled expansions into middle-sized
markets well, and ran what has been
considered along with NASCAR as
the best business model for professional sports. Comparatively, the
NBA has had far fewer controversies
than other professional sports leagues
in the US.
Stern also had a lot going for him.
He learned the ropes as part of the
league’s legal team. Beyond that, he
was among the second-generation
New York lawyers of European descent who took on the toughest cases
and mastered hostile takeovers decades before they became the business
26
norm. Once considered the dirtiest
job in the legal profession, the hostile
takeover became the forte of European immigrant (often Jewish) lawyers.
So he was well-suited to his job.
In the late 1970’s and early 1980’s,
the NBA had major image problems,
rumors of drug use, and was not a
TV ratings bonanza. But Stern wisely
built upon the talents and rivalry of
players like Larry Bird and Magic
Johnson, and saw the marketing potential of superstars like Michael Jordan. The emergence of cable television and new media became his tool
for transforming the league from a
tape-delayed afterthought to a billiondollar product.
The exploration into China, beginning with tentative visits by the Mike
Fratello-era Atlanta Hawks and culminating with the first NBA China
Games in Shanghai and Beijing in
2004 were another Stern brainchild.
The first NBA China Games took two
years to plan and involved over
300 people traveling on two char-
tered jets. It has since become a regular league fare.
Of course, there have also been major challenges. Some players aren’t
able to handle success and get into
trouble. But very few of those misadventures get into the spotlight of
mainstream media, and that is no accident. The league has a powerful legal
team built to protect its own.
Also, an abundance of foreign talent
has found its way into the NBA, with
close to a hundred non-Americans
suiting up for league play last season.
The game has evolved, but the quality
has not suffered. Stern has a crusade
against trends and habits that dilute
the beauty of the game. His latest pet
peeve: flopping.
The NBA has many things going
for it, including a strong name that
always goes above even the biggest
sponsor’s. To its credit, the players’
participation in amateur play in the
Olympics helped the league’s credibility, even when their performances
were less than perfect. Other countries
no longer fear the NBA All-Stars, but
that’s also because they have NBA
All-Stars of their own. The league has
grown so much that it now literally
competes with itself in that regard.
Stern has also put his foot down
in those thorny collective bargaining
agreements. He designed the original
one that propelled the NBA to prosperity. But when the players got too
demanding, he told them to accept
the offer on the table, or the next one
would be even smaller. That’s one
reason why last season finally got off
the ground.
The NBA has many challenges,
more globalization among them.
They are also looking at putting advertising on jerseys for the first time
in 2013-2014. New products are being rolled out each season. The possibility of having more teams based
overseas is under study. But one thing
is for certain, the league would never
have reached this level if not for David Stern.
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
Philippine Courier
By Dong Secuya
Philboxing.com
MANILA, Philippines - No
doubt AJ 'Bazooka' Banal is
one of the most talented fighters to ever grace the Philippine boxing scene. He cruised
to victory against most of his
opponents. Yet when he fought
against championship caliber
rivals, he failed. Twice he attempted and twice he failed.
In his fight against Rafael
Concepcion of Panama for
the WBA Interim Flyweight
Title on July 26, 2008, Banal
was expected to take a world
title in his first attempt. And
in the first half of that fight,
with Concepcion already nursing a broken nose from the 4th
round onwards, it appeared
that Banal was on the way of
capturing his first world title.
But the 2nd half of the fight
told a different story. When
the Panamanian slugger be-
IT'S ALL ABOUT HEART
against WBO #2 contender
Pungluang Sor Singyu of
Thailand at the newly minted
Mall of Asia Arena in Manila,
Banal, who was fighting Pungluang for the vacant WBO
bantamweight title, also dominated the first half of the fight.
Yet when Pungluang began to
turn the tide around and hurt
Banal with his crisp overhand
counters, Banal faded and finally went down in the 9th
round, who appeared badly
hurt from a Punluang right
straight.
In the Concepcion fight, Banal's demise was blamed on
several factors, including
lack of stamina, too young
and inexperienced, hometown
pressure, etc. However, after
Saturday's fight against Pungluang, it is clear right now
that when Banal gets hurt,
when he is brought into deeper
this is the main difference between a great fighter and an
ordinary one.
We don't have to go very far
1998, Sasakul was schooling
Pacquiao the whole fight but
Pacquiao dug deep and eventually knocked out Sasakul in
the 8th round. Pacquiao was
for a trilogy that ranked as one
of the great trilogies in boxing.
Just two Saturday's ago, Bran-
Banal (L) comforted by Donaire after Banal was TKO'd by Pungluang.
Banal's entrance during his fight with Pungluang last Saturday.
gan to hurt him, Banal faded
and finally succumbed to the
onslaught and went to kiss the
canvas in the 10th round.
During last Saturday's fight
and uncharted waters by his
opponent, he just could not
withstand the pressure.
It all boils down to heart or
lack of it. And in many cases,
to find the perfect example.
When the then unknown
Manny Pacquiao fought Thailand's Chachai Sasakul for the
WBC flyweight title at the opponent's territory on Dec. 12,
bleeding badly due to the cut
he sustained from a head butt
against Erik Morales during their first fight. Outboxed
and his vision impaired, Pacquiao fought on until the final
bell where it seemed only his
big fighting heart carried him
through. Although he lost the
fight, Pacquiao earned two
more fights against Morales
don Rios was outscored by
Mike Alvardo towards the
middle rounds in a barnburner
of a fight and Rios appeared
headed to his first defeat. But
it was Rios' warrior heart that
carried him through that finally overpowered Alvarado in
the 7th round.
WBO Promoter of the Year 2012
67TH BIRTHDAY - Isaias Borja Beltran, Jr. (2nd from right) is shown in
photo together with his wife Agnes (right), Pepe and Anel Berja, during the
celebration of his (Beltran) 67th birthday on September 30, 2012 held at the
McLean Community Centre, 95 Magill Drive, Ajax, Ontario, Canada. (St.
Jamestown News Service, Manny Papa)
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
HOLLYWOOD, FL -- ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer (2nd from
left) receives the 'WBO International Promoter of the Year' award Thursday
from WBO officials headed by its president Francisco 'Paco' Valcarcel (C) and
Vice-President for Asia-Pacific region Leon Panoncillo (2nd from right) during
the 25th WBO Silver Jubilee Conventionheld at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel &
Casino. (Photo by Dong SecuyaPhilBoxing.com)
27
Philippine Courier
Community Potpourri
Brampton Chapter is Host…
The 13th Commanders' Ball at KCCC, Mississauga a huge success
Sir Dr. Romy Sinajon, KCR, of Brampton Chapter, hosted the 13th Rizal Commanders' Ball held at the Kalayaan Cultural Community Center (KCCC) , Mississauga,
Ontario, Canada on October 20, 2012. This event was graced by Lady Hon. Junever Mahilum-West, Consul General of the Philippines - Toronto. She inducted the
incoming Commanders, Deputy Commanders and the Canada Region Officers for the Rizalian Year 2012-2014.
Photo at left are: Lady Bing Marasigan, Madeleine Ong, Lady
Leah Magsino, Lady Irene Guzman, Lady Junever Mahilum-West,
Lady Julie Javier, Lady Clarita Nazario, Sir George R. Poblete, Lady
Odette Virey and Lady Dolly Poblete.
Photo below: Consul General Lady Junever Mahilum-West inducting the Region Commanders and Council officers.
Photo atop left shows Con GenHon. Junever Mahilum-West with the Rizal Region Officers who supported the 13th Commanders' Ball. They are: L>R Sir Ed Prillo, KGOR, Host
Commander Sir Dr. Romy Sinajon, KCR, Sir George R. Poblete, KGOR and Sir Jaime T. Marasigan, KGOR.
The 13th Rizal Commanders' Ball was celebrated to honor the active members in the Order of the Knights of Rizal in Canada who contributed to the success of the
Rizal projects during the past year. Canada Region also recognized the Ladies and friends, who supported and gave honor to the Order.
Major honorees are:
Sir Hon. Tobias "Jun" Enverga, Jr., KCR First Filipino - Canadian Senator in
Canada, a former Commander of Dimasalang Chapter and former Deputy
Commander of Central Canada Area. Rizal Canada is proud of his appointment. (photo at right shows his wife Lady Rosemer Enverga who received his
awards from Canada Region and Supreme Commander).
Sir Dr. Romy Sinajon,KCR, with Lady Virgie Sinajon, (photo at left) received
an Award of Excellence plaque from Lady Con Gen Junever Mahilum-West,
Region Commander Sir George R. Poblete, KGOR, and Region Deputy
Commander Sir Jaime Marasigan, KGOR
Sir Jojo Taduran, KCR and Sir Mario Alpuerto, KCR received the Rizal Distininguished Service Medal and a certificate, for their excellent work that contributed to
the success of the Order of Rizal in Canada. Sir Jojo Taduran (photo at left with wife Lady Fe Taduran) and Sir Mario Alpuerto (photo at right with Sir Dr. Romy
Sinajon KCR, , Lady Hon. Junever and Sir George R. Poblete, KGOR.
From Montreal: Sir Rey & Esphie Balansi, Sir Dario & Claire Boco and Sir James & Rose de la Paz.
Knights and Ladies with Hon. Junever Mahilum-West
Brampton Chapter
Windsor Chapter
Toronto, Dimasalang, Markham, Scarborough, Mississauga, Chapter Knights & Ladies with Hon. Junever Mahilum-West
The 13th Commanders' Ball, hosted by Brampton Chapter was a success. Our thanks to their Steering Committee of Sir Dr. Romy Sinajon, KCR, Sir Tolentino
Arellano, KOR, Sir Delfin Palileo, KCR, Sir Joel Baile, KOR, Sir Don Quimno, KOR, Sir Dr. Pierre Sinajon, KR, Sir Carlo Arellano, KR, Sir Custer
Boone, KR, Sir Ramon Maravillas, KR and
their ladies who efficiently managed this
celebration.
We thank also the Toronto Chapter Knights
and Ladies for their full support to the
Region, to the Winnipeg Ladies , Windsor Knights and Ladies, and the Montreal
Knights and Ladies who came long way to
participate in this event. The full support of
Canada Region Council, the Kababaihang Rizalista, Aspirations of Rizal, the Ladies of the Knights of
Rizal and participation of the Mississauga , Dimasalang, Markham and Scarborough Chapter all contributed to the success to this celebration.
Special Thanks to the Souvenir Program advertisers and the friends of the Knights and Ladies who celebrated with this Canada Region 13th Commanders Ball.
28
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
Philippine Courier
‘Scary,’ Funny & Memorable Halloween Party for Richmond Hillers
Consul General Junever Mahilum-West presided over the oath of Dual Citizenship for eight Filipino-Canadians and explained the benefits of regaining the Filipino
citizenship during the annual Halloween Party of the Filipino Association of Richmond Hill (FARH) held at the Masonic Hall-Richmond Hill located at the corner of
Pugsley and Crosby Sts., Richmond Hill. FARH President Miguel Caducio also welcomed guests that included Richmond Hill MPP Dr. Reza Moridi, who likewise
congratulated the organization for its continuing program of uniting the Filipino community thru this kind of gathering. Rev. Dante Coloma said the invocation, Nicole Datol Bello and Shaira provided the entertainment side of the affair, the most successful Halloween Party so far FARH hosted with no less than 150 attendees.
(Photos courtesy of TPC’s Mondee & Cynthia Caducio)
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
29
Philippine Courier
Joke Time
Ni Edgar Bello
Virgin pa
Babae: Dahan-dahan lang, ang bilis mo
naman.
Lalaki: Bakit ang hirap napakasikip ng
ano mo. Wow! virgin ka pa ata ah!
Babae: E, di mo kasi hinubad iyong
stocking ko.
*****
Blood type
Vampire 1: Namumutla ka lalo a, may
sakit ka ba?
Vampire 2: Oo, iyong nasipsip ko may
severe anemia pala kaya nahawaan tuloy
ako.
Vampire 1: E, papano iyan?
Vampire 2: Punta ako sa hospital, magpapaabono ako ng dugo.
Vampire 1: Ano ba iyong type ng dugo
mo, A, B , O?
Vampire 2: Di ako sure, basta nasa A up
to Z iyon.
*****
Magpapakasal
Bobby: Pakasal na tayo?
Girlie: Sige
Bobby: San mo gusto? Sa pari ‘o sa
mayor?
Girlie: Syempre sayo! Tangang to.. nirereto pa ako sa iba.
*****
Atras ka na lang
Pasahero: Mang driver bayad ko po 20
pesos
Driver: Aba, kulang to dahil pang 10
kilometro lang ang binayad mo, 20 kilometros na itong
bababaan mo.
Pasahero: Ganon po ba? Sorry po! Kung
pwede po paki-atrasan mo na lang po ako
ng 10 kilometro para tama lng ang bayad
ko.
Driver: Ngek!
*****
69 vs 6.9
Titser: Ano ang pinagkaiba ng 69 sa 6.9?
Juan: Ma'am pareho lang po sila ng position kaya lang mas kadiri ang 6.9 kasi
may period!
*****
BJ
Anak: Dad! Naka experience na ako ng
blowjob! Yahoo!!!
Dad: Wow! Anak! Binata ka na!!! Ano
ang feeling?
Anak: Ang sakit po sa panga!!!'
*****
GROUP STUDY
Dad: Hoy! baket ka na naman ginabing
umuwi? Isang linggo ka ng umuuwi ng
alas-dose ng
hatinggabi. Hindi na tama yang
ginagawa mo!
Anak: Dad naman! Nag-group study lang
po kami. Exam na po namin bukas eh.
Dad: Group Study ka dyan! KINDER
ka pa lang! Batukan kita jan, eh!
*****
Exam
Daddy: Anak kapag bumagsak ka sa
exam mo wag na wag mo na akong tatawaging
daddy,tatay,papa basta
kahit kailan!!
Anak: Opo, Daddy
(Pagkatapos ng exam)
Anak: (nag-iisip) Naku! Anu kaya sasabihin ko kay daddy
Daddy: Anak kamusta ang exam mo?
Anak: Ok, lang naman PAREKO.
*****
Taxi
Pasahero: Para ho!!!!!!
Driver:
Bababa ka?!!!!
Pasahero: Ay hindi, tataas!!! ,May second floor ba?!!!
*****
89 to 90
Makalipas ang ilang araw pagkatapos ng
final exam
Teacher: Eto na ang inyung mga pagsusulit..
Teacher: 1 only got 89 over 90
Teacher: Only Pedro got 89
Pedro:
Wooo!!! (nagsisigaw) hindi
pala kayu nag-aaral eh!! mga weak kayu!
Teacher: The rest got 90..!
30
*****
spell it!
Apo: Look at those boats lolo!
Lolo: Amazing di'ba iho. They are called
yachts..
Apo: Yachts?! How do you spell it lolo?
Lolo: You're right iho, those are boats.
Michael’s 21st candles
The only child of Miguel & Cynthia Caducio has turned out to be a very refined young
man as years passed by and as Michael celebrated his 21st birthday October 21, the
doting parents made the most of it for their beloved son and hosted a party and invited
their kin, close family friends and colleagues, including their special guests – ASIN’s
Lolita CARBON AND HER Acoustic band members Jazz Almonacid and Ammi Maranan – to Michael and her other guests’ surprise and delight. Here are some photos of
the party courtesy of the Caducios.
*****
Cigar
SALESGIRL: Sir, you can't smoke here.
CUSTOMER: But I bought these cigars
from your store.
SALESGIRL: We also sell condoms, but
it doesn't mean you can fuck here!
*****
Eroplano
Stewardess: (Trying to get food tray) Are
you done sir?
Juan:
No I'm Juan.......
Stewardess: I mean to say, are you finish?
Juan:
No I'm Filipino
Stewardess: I mean to say, are you
through?
Juan:
What do you see to me I'm
false?
bwahahahahahahahahaha.....
*****
Walang Preno
Eksena sa auto supply
Mr : Boy naubusan ng break fluid kotse ko, bigyan mo nga ako ng dalawang
piraso,
Boy : Eh bosing isang piraso lang ok
na yan sa kotse mo, bakit dalawa pa kukunin mo?
Mr : OO alam ko yan, yong isa para
sa kotse ko, yong ikalawa, ipapainom ko
dito sa Mrs ko,
kanina pa walang preno ang bigbig
nyan sa ka sesermon sakin, baka sakaling
huminto na.
*****
Marangal Ang Mag Sasaka
BF: Kakaasar talaga! Sarap sapakin
nung nakasalubong natin kanina.
GF: Bakit? Ano bang nangyari?
BF: Sabihan ba namn ako na muka
akong magsasaka pag kasama kita!
GF: Ok alng un! At least marangal ang
magsasaka, bakit nya naman nasabi un?
BF: Kasi raw mukhang kalabaw daw
ang kasama ko!
GF: Ganun!!! Asan ung hayop na yun!
papatayin ko lang!
*****
Testigo
Isang tumistigo sa nangyaring krimen.....
PULIS: Nakita mo ba ang pangyayari?
TESTIGO: Opo sir nakita ko pong lahat
PULIS: Anong baril ang ginamit sa pagpatay?
TESTIGO: Sir di ko po alam ang tawag
pero sir ano pong tawag sa baril nyo?
PULIS: Ah! ito ba 45 ang tawag d2.
TESTIGO: Sir medyo mahaba po baril
nyo, baka 46 or 47 po yun...
*****
SAYAD
Isang pasyente ang dumating sa klinika
ni Doctor Paking.
TORKO: "Doctor, natatandaan n'yo pa
ba ako?"
DOCTOR: "Parang nakita na kita."
TORKO: "Ako ho iyong pasyente ninyo
last year."
DOCTOR: "Ikaw nga! Ano ba ang
maipaglilingkod ko?"
TORKO: "Itatanong ko ho sana sa inyo
kung puwede na akong maligo!"
*****
PSYCHOTHERAPIST BOOK
JUAN @ the library:
Juan: I want to borrow the book entitled,
"Psycho the rapist"
The librarian searched for almost 2 hrs.
And then came back, slaps Juan and
says.,
Librarian: "IDIOT! The book's title is
"Psychotherapist
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
Philippine Courier
Metro
Edited by:
Maria Isabelle D. Bello
Must undergo heart surgery to live...
Crisha needs help
...12-year-old Bicolana has congenital heart disease
TORONTO - The Canadian Aid and
Relief Project Philippines (CARP) is
appealing to everyone to help provide
financial aid to the Bermillo family of
Camarines Sur which is on a mission to
obtain life-saving medical procedures
for one of their children, Crisha Kaye
Bermillo.
Diagnosed with congenital heart
disease when she was 6 years old, Crisha
Kaye was declared to be in dire need of
immediate heart surgery by the hospital
in Naga City, Camarines Sur. The cost
of the surgery, however, is much beyond
the collective means of her parents, relatives, and friends. Not even the local social work office has the budget to help.
Nolito and Jona Bermillo, Crisha’s father and mother, survive on Nolito’s meager salary of 7 dollars per day
to feed their family of six which include
Crisha’s 3 siblings, all under the age of
16. Nolito Bermillo works as a construction labourer in faraway Naga City.
Whatever remains of the $7.00 per day
after meals and transportation could
hardly cover the basic necessities, let
alone save for a major heart operation.
Hope came to the Bermillo family when the medical mission sponsored
by the Canadian Aid and Relief Project
headed by its founding President Dr.
Francisco Portugal, came to Milaor, an
area several kilometers from the village
of Borongborongan where the Bermillos live in a shack, in January 16, 2010.
Maria Ondis, of Milaor’s Social Welfare
and Development, stated in her social
case study, “the benevolence of those
concerned” could spell Crisha’s survival.
The family, even without this medical
condition, is already in economic crisis,
according to Ms. Ondis.
CARP, thru Dr. Portugal, applied
to the Herbie Fund at the Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto to acquire much needed
assistance for Crisha. The application,
however, was denied due to eligibility
requirements which precluded children
whose home countries had the facilities
to provide the requested operation. Dr.
Jean Villareal of the Philippine Heart
Center in Manila stated that the operation
would cost ₱500,000, or approximately
$13,000. Adding the cost of the family’s
transportation, extended lodging, and
meals will increase
the estimated expenses. Necessary
follow up visits to
physicians and to
the medical center
magnify the potential costs further.
CARP is
appealing to every
Filipino in Canada
donate even a little
Dr. Francisco Portugal
amount to raise
CARP Founding President
funds for Crisha’s
nadian volunteers with the assistance of
lifesaving surgery
scheduled for January 2013. Donations local doctors and nurses.
CARP is headed by community
can be sent to the CARP office at 33
Howard Street, Toronto, Ontario M4X leaders including: Dr. Francisco Portugal
1J6 or deposited through TD Canada as President, Edgar Adan as Executive
Trust at Account Number 1168-0519- Director, Minerva Garcia as Treasurer,
and Board of Directors: Dr. Rudy Gal5217507.
CARP is a non-profit organization lardo, Dr. Jorge Jose, Belle Tumbokon,
focused on providing medical, dental, Rose Cruz, Verth Bugtong, Millet Rabaand optical assistance to poverty stricken nillo, Ores Ting, Ray Sunga, Glen Cudia,
people and relief aid to calamity victims Juancho and Irene de los Santos, Bert
in the Philippines. These missions are Daan, Quentin Palisoc, Efren Atienza,
conducted by a group of Canadian doc- Peter Tenorio, and other community
tors, other health practitioners, and Ca- members.
Philippines has a new cardinal
MANILA October 25, 2012 (AP) Pope Benedict XVI has added Manila
Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle and five
other prelates to the ranks of cardinals
who will elect his successor.
Benedict made the surprise announcement during his weekly general
audience in the Vatican Wednesday and
said the new cardinals would be elevated
at a consistory on Nov. 24.
The nominations help even out
the geographic distribution of cardinals,
which had tilted heavily toward Italy, according to the Associated Press.
Aside from Tagle, the other new
cardinals are Msgr. James Harvey, the
American prefect of the Pope’s household; Archbishop of Abuja, Nigeria,
John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan; Archbishop of Bogota, Colombia, Ruben Salazar
Gomez; Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites in Lebanon Bechara Boutros Rai;
and the Major Archbishop of the Trivandrum of the Siro-Malankaresi in India
Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal.
Tagle becomes the Philippines’
seventh cardinal, following Cardinals
Gaudencio Rosales, Jose Sanchez, Ricardo Vidal, Jaime Sin, Julio Rosales and
Rufino Santos.
Tagle, 55, is currently in Rome for
the synod of bishops on the new evangelization.
While his fellow Filipino bishops did not
vote for Tagle as one of their representatives to the synod, the Pope named him
a member of the gathering and even appointed him vice president of the commission that will craft its final message.
Tagle and Lingayen-Dagupan
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
respect for every
Archbishop Socrates
human
person,”
Villegas have caught
adding that Jesus
the attention of inhad defended the
ternational
Vatican
dignity of all peowatchers for their pleas
ple, “in particular
at the synod for a new
those
neglected
evangelization for the
and despised by the
Church to be humble
world.”
if it were to win new
“The Church
converts.
must discover the
Writing on
power of silence.
the National Catholic
Confronted with
Reporter website, rethe sorrows, doubts
nowned senior CNN
and uncertainties
Vatican analyst John
of people, she canAllen Jr. said the internot pretend to give
ventions of Tagle and
easy solutions. In
Villegas on Oct. 8 were
Jesus, silence beat that time among the
comes the way of
“most compact as well
attentive
listenas the most distinctive”
ing, compassion
among those made by
Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle
and prayer. It is
Church leaders attendthe way to truth,”
ing the synod.
Tagle urged the Church to “learn Tagle said.
“The seemingly indifferent
humility from Jesus” and “discover the
and aimless societies of our time are earpower of silence.”
Villegas called on the Catholic nestly looking for God. The Church’s huhierarchy to “shun arrogance, hypoc- mility, respectfulness and silence might
risy and bigotry” and “punish the errant reveal more clearly the face of God in Jeamong us instead of covering up our own sus. The world takes delight in a simple
witness to Jesus—meek and humble of
mistakes.”
“The Church must learn humility heart,” he added.
Allen quoted Irish theologian
from Jesus. God’s power and might appears in the self-emptying of the Son, in Eamonn Conway, who is among the
the love that is crucified but truly saves expert advisers at the synod, as saying
because it is emptied of self for the sake that Tagle’s intervention “had a certain
of others,” Tagle said in his intervention. resonance” in the synod hall, “meaning
The 55-year-old prelate said people were favorably taken by it.”
Allen, who last year tagged the
the Church was called “to follow Jesus’
Manila archbishop as a possible papal
contender, said Tagle was “widely considered a rising star among Asian bishops.”
The Catholic Church, led by
Cardinal Sin, was instrumental in the
overthrow of the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and the presidency
of actor-turned politician Joseph Estrada
in 2001.
But since then, the Vatican has
been trying to tone down the Church’s
political activism in the Philippines since
that might have a negative impact on
Catholic missionary efforts in neighboring countries.
The synod, which ends on Oct 28,
brings together 262 select Church leaders, most of them bishops, from across
the globe. Of this number, 182 were
elected by episcopal conferences and by
the Union of Superior Generals of religious congregations.
Forty other prelates were personally named by Pope Benedict.
However, Tagle has since said
that he does not subscribe to the belief
that the Second Vatican Council was a
“rupture” in Catholic tradition, a view
attributed to the School of Bologna. This
view has been roundly criticized by conservative Catholics, including Benedict.
“(Tagle)… at the previous two
synods, when he was bishop of Imus,
had been elected by his confreres, while
now it was the Pope who had to fish him
out again,” Magister wrote in his blog
www.chiesa.espressonline.it (with report
from Philip C. Tubeza/Philippine Daily
Inquirer)
31
Philippine Courier
Tarlac Society of Ontario – Gala Night!!
By Ores Ting
The commitment and dedication of the officers and supporters to give the best proved to be the key in making an evening to
remember!!
Guests and friends dined and danced at Tarlac Society of Ontario’s gala night held October 12, 2012 at Don Valley Hotel in
Toronto.
Feasting on delicious stuff chicken and a platter of fruits and
sweets dessert, Momentum Sounds, the DJ, enticed the guests
with reverberating music to groove, swing, and kick their heels to
everyone’s delight!
Welcoming the guests, TSO president Ores Ting, expressed
her joy to see and meet Tarlaquenos, community leaders, old
friends and supporters; assured them it will be an evening of fun,
dancing, prizes and enjoyment.
But what touched everyone’s heart was what they heard,
“gagapang ako, mati-tiis ko ang sakit para sa gabing ito dahil
ako a Tarlaqueno”, Jess Meneses, past TSO president and adviser,
delivering his inspiration message in spite of his illness and aching back.
He continued, “The challenges are there, and when faced
with nowhere to turn…we begin to be strong, determined, and
never give up. … a fair share of blessings with my wonderful
wife, families, and most importantly friends like you, made me a
more enlightened soul for which I appreciate each and every moment of the day”. How inspiring, indeed!!
Dr. Francisco Portugal, CARP founding president, spoke on
the importance of Medical mission organized by various community organizations here in Toronto. He said, “Our kababayans
living in remote areas have no access to hospitals or medications.
Last year, our volunteer doctors, nurses, and dentists joined our
medical mission to Mt. Dueg, Tarlac, to help the AETAS and
needy families requiring medical and dental treatments. A long
tiring trip but worth it! Medical Mission for 2013 will be in
Batangas and Nueva Ecija.
Entertainment for the evening was Jess Carlos’ pantomime:
acting out as Ores explained how easy learning “Tagalog” with
just the word “Ba”. Wow! A star is born.!
The fun and highlight of the evening were the give-away
multi-colored pepper potted plants donated by Mia Rivera. When
eaten have a Viagra-effect kuno (yes.. for those who believe earth
is flat) ……Eddie Lee, Atin Ito publisher and Ruben Cusipag,
Balita publisher both got one. Beaming with glee and joy were
their wives: Marita and Tess!!!
Outgoing president, Conrad Agustin, expressed on his closing remarks, that through continuous support and dedication, Tarlaquenos will always remain strong and united. He is honored to
serve as president of TSO and will continue to give his time and
energy to the organization.
TSO Officers for 2012-2014: Ores M. Ting, President, Antonio Espinosa, Vice President, Tess Meneses, Secretary, Adela
Agustin, P.R.O., Leoncia Guiao and Ligaya Espinosa, Support
Assistant, Jess Meneses and Conrad Agustin, Advisers.
For membership and information, call: 416-546-9391
L-R: Vhert Bugtong, Ores M. Ting, TSO President; Marita Lee.
Seated: Tess and Ruben Cusipag, Balita publisher.
Special message given by Dr.
F. Portugal
Seated: L-R: Norma Salonga, Vi Deidre Man- Supporters of Tarlac are: Naty and Nestor Gandoza, Sheithorne, Tess Salonga. Standing: Laila Dagher, la and Chito Deluna and guests joined the fun and dancLigaya Espinosa, Antonio Espinosa, TSO Vice ing at the gala night.
Prersident.
Tarlac Society of Ontario Gala Night with friends and supporters: seated (L-R) Eddie Lee, Atin Ito Publisher, Jess Meneses, TSO Advisor. Standing: (L-R) Tess Meneses, Secretary, Ores Ting, TSO Pres.
Totoy and Erly Valera, Marita Lee
The three handsome, debonair, gentlemen: L-R: Jess Carlos, Leanne and dad Antonio Espinosa TSO vice; and Le- Ageing gracefully are former Folklorico Filipino dancers: L -R: Eleanor Reyes, Fred DiAntos, Olive Galang and Ores Ting, TSO PresiConrad Agustin, TSO past president, and Quentin Palisoc
oncia Guiao
dent Pangasinan.
32
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
Philippine Courier
Sen. Jun Enverga is guest of honor ...
Maharlika Awards 2012 in Vancouver
BURNABY, B.C. - Senator Tobias Enverga, Jr. praised the important roles of the Filipino-Canadians in the furtherance of good relationship between the Philippines and Canada
where thousands of skilled Filipino workers and professionals continue to come, live and work in this country during the ‘Maharlika Awards 2012’ held October 20, 2012 at the Delta
Burnaby Hotel & Conference Centre this City.
Enverga, the first Filipino appointed to the Canadian Senate, also thanked the Filipino community in backing him up achieve this government position and vowed to do his
best to live up to the high expectation of everyone who supported him in his governmental career.
The Senator, together with Maharlika Awards 2012 organizing committee chair Rey Fortaleza, then awarded outstanding Filipinos, Groups and Associations with their respective Trophies made of Glass, after Fortaleza and some of the affair’s officials said their respective speeches. Here are some photos of the event courtesy of Angelo Signos and Reyfort
Media Group.
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
33
Philippine Courier
The Good Drive
By Ron delos Reyes
Malaya
Batangas Racing Circuit
at Barangay Maligaya in
Rosario, Batangas is a permanent racing circuit track
completed in 1996. It has
been a venue of various car
and motorcycle competitions and test drive events
of car manufacturers. The
BRC, as referred to by race
enthusiasts, is a 3.5-km
long, 15-meter wide track
that has hosted the Formula
Toyota, National Touring
Car Races, Asian Formula
3, Race of Champions,
the Tuason Racing School
races. and the Ducati Cup,
among others.
There is no speed limit at
BRC and the driver decides
which speed is safe for
him and the car he drives.
That’s why it is also popular with amateur race drivers who wish to test their
driving skills and test their
machines to the limits especially on weekends.
Tuason Racing School, established in 1999, is the first
and the longest professional
racing school in the country. Now on its 13th year,
TRS has become one of the
premier racing schools in
Asia, with students coming from different parts of
the world. Headed by race
driver and professional instructor JP Tuason, TRS
aims to provide a complete
ladder in motorsports and
drive training. TRS also
prioritizes the provision of
First-ever fun run on a car race track
proper safety equipment,
intensive training regarding safety protocols and responsible race driving and
the efficient use of a car’s
features. It also runs the
Driver Development Academy which focuses on educating Filipino motorists in
partnership with different
motoring agencies in the
country and abroad.
Auto Review, meantime,
is a weekly motoring show
that first went on the air
in May 1994. It covers almost anything about cars,
motorsports and travel adventures. Some of its most
memorable coverages include the test drive of the
Popemobile (1995) before
it was turned over to the
Archbishop’s Palace, the
17-day Australian Safari
(1997) and the climb at Ayer’s Rock in Alice Springs,
the Tokyo, Detroit, Melbourne and Bangkok motorshows, Rainforest Challenge in Malaysia and the
Formula 1 Grand Prix in
Sepang, Melbourne and
Shanghai and hundreds of
local car test drive adventures including those of
Isuzu, Mitsubishi, Toyota,
Ford, Honda, Kia and Nissan. It is a recipient of at
least 12 motoring journalism awards.
In 2004, the show organized
the first Auto Review Run
for Road Safety in support
of the World Health Organi-
zation’s ‘Road Safety is No
Accident’ campaign held at
the CCP Complex in Pasay
City. This was followed by
similar runs in 2007 and
2010 at Bonifacio Global
City and 2009 at McKinley
Hill in Taguig and in Davao
City. Auto Review also organized the run to launch
the United Nations Decade
of Action for Road Safety
May of last year and the
second year of the run this
year.
With a common advocacy
of promoting road safety
and courtesy, TRS, BRC
and Auto Review are working together to stage the
first ever run on the race
track This Sunday (Oct 28)
at BRC starting at 6 in the
morning.
Well, we used to do walkthroughs when we had our
media competitions before
the start of each race so we
could familiarize ourselves
with the course which usually was only a portion of
the race track. But this will
be the first time that a race
track will be used for a running event. With a number
of fun runs and foot races
held every, this new concept is considered unique
and instantly gives a new
character from the common
road and outdoor running.
If a driver is said to release
all his burst of speed within
the strict and safe confines
of a race race track, the
same can be said of a runner
or even a pedestrian who
can run or walk without the
limits of traffic, intersections and other obstacles.
The event hopes to attract
running enthusiasts and
road safety advocates from
Batangas and other South
Luzon provinces. Registration is going on at the Rosario, Batangas municipal
Hall care of Teddy Lacerna
of the Mayor’s Office and
at No. 5 Agusan St., Sta.
Mesa Heights Quezon City.
On-site registration will be
accepted before the 6 a.m.
start for the 3-km and 6-km
categories. BRC is about
2.5 hrs drive from Manila
and is 30 minutes from
Lipa City. From the main
highway in Rosario, there
is a 3-km access road to the
BRC. For inquires, please
call 7420283, 7407074 or
09178231298.
The event will be followed
by a road safety quiz and
brief seminar, awarding of
trophies and raffle of prizes. Thanks to Toyota, Mitsubishi, Bridgestone, AGC
Philippines and Isuzu for
the support.
Meanwhile, TRS’ Philippine Festival of Motorsports immediately follows
after the last runner has finished the foot race.
***
That was a very challenging test drive we had with
Isuzu last week in the Bicol Region using the 2013
Isuzu Alterra Urban Cruiser
X highlighted by the drive
on the rough slopes of Mt.
Mayon and the trek on the
hardened and dangerous
lava area of the volcano.
More on this in our column
next week.
***
It seems like the action and
adventure-filled October
will be challenged in the
coming month as Toyota
stages a test drive of all
its new models launched
this year in Baguio and
La Union with two rounds
of golf at Camp John Hay
and at Thunderbird Resort
on November 6- 8. BMW
will also have its own golf
tournament at Sta. Elena in
November.
***
Honda Cars Philippines has
also broken its silence after
the last Philippine International Motorshow with a
test drive of all its new vehicles from Manila to Tuguegarao and Laoag in the
North.
The schedules are really
tight but test drives spiced
up with adventures and
games are always welcome.
Double cheers for Couple Bro. Louie and Tess on their birthday!
October birthday celebrants, Tess and Bro. Louie, jointly celebrated their birthdays on October 14, 2012 with their circle of friends.
34
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
Philippine Courier
On The Red
Carpet
By Miss Rubi Talavera
Yes, that’s right, we are re-naming
our monthly column and calling it “On
the Red Carpet”….
We want to roll out the red carpet
for you, anytime, anywhere, anyplace!
And starting this month, we will do
just that.
You see, to us, you are very special,
and you are the reason we are here.
You, our readers! Our friends. Keep
sending us your pictures and telling us
about your events.
Tess Torres Fernandez’s Birthday Party
This month, we start rolling out the
Red Carpet for our good friend, casino
classmate, line dancing partner and karaoke singing barkada, Tess Fernandez.
She celebrated her 65th birthday at
her posh party room at her condominium in Scarborough some two weeks
ago.
Seventy five people showed up, (the
maximum allowed at her condo) and
included the newly appointed Senator
and his wife.
Re-named, Re-designed,
Re-defined!
Jun and Rosemer Enverga took time
out of their busy schedule to drop in on
their long standing friend, Tess.
And so many well wishers jumped
in to give congratulatory hugs to the
new Senator.
Thank you, Tess, for inviting us. It
was great to meet your sweet daughters, Christine and
Elaine.
Happy birthday, again! And may
you have many many more wonderful
moments in the years to come.
Save these dates!
Please mark down these important
dates on your Social Red Carpet Calendars:
•
October 26th M a r k h a m
Federation of Filipino Canadians Anniversary Dinner -Dance, for tickets,
contact MFFC President, Yoly Ladines
at ygladines@yahoo.com.
•
October 27th Filipino Association of Richmond Hill Halloween
Party. Come dressed in a costume --or
not, but awards for the best adult and
best kids costumes. Venue is at the Masonic Hall, Richmond Hill -- for tickets, contact FARH President, Miguel
Caducio at miguel1901@gmail.com.
•
November 14th The Filipino
Canadian Real Estate Association (Filcrea) Annual General Meeting and
Meet and Greet. A golden opportunity
to network with realtors, real estate
lawyers, home inspectors, contractors,
insurance agents, and other professionals related to the real estate industry.
Venue is Marcelina’s (formerly Aristokrat), contact Filcrea Acting Secretary, Alene Barcia at alene.barcia@
td.com
•
November 23rd The Philippine Press Club of Ontario (PPCO)
is holding a special event to observe
the 3rd Anniversary of the Ampatuan
Massacre and the Observance of the
International Day to End Impunity; for
details, contact PPCO Secretary, Tan
Canchela at ppcontario@gmail.com
•
December 8th Filcrea Christmas Party to be held at the Scarborough Bluffers. An Elegant Evening
of Dinner and Dance. For tickets and
more information, contact Alene Barcia at alene.barcia@td.com.
•
December 14th The Philippine Press Club of Ontario (PPCO)
Christmas Party. Venue is the Prestige
Banquet Hall, at Dufferin and Finch.
For tickets, contact agpaoa_e@yahoo.
ca or ppcontario@gmail.com.
•
December 15th The University of the Philippines Upsilon Sigma
Phi and Sigma Delta Phi Christmas
Party – Brods and Sis may contact
Rudy (Boy) Ilag at rilag67@yahoo.ca.
And then, there’s Christmas, of
course! But that’ll wait till our next issue!
The Belle of the Ball, the Birthday Celebrant herself, Tess Fernandez, is flanked by her lovely Our Bff's Vic and Jean Today, during their Switzerland rendezvous, shown here with friends, John
and Letty Fleck from Scarborough, and Marlene, Elena, Gloria and Flor from Naples, Florida.
daughters, Elaine and Christine.
Senator Jun Enverga dropped by Tess Fernandez's birthday bash recently. From left to
"Prost!" They kept shouting cheers during the Oktoberfest that we attended in Kitchener-Waterloo right, Candy Martin, Vic Todas, Jean Todas, Rubi Talavera, Senator Enverga, Elsa Hung
recently. From left to right: Bina Comendador, Willie Reodica, Rubi Talavera, Vic Todas, Cip Fay- and Lito Martin.
ola, Glo
Friends and family tender a bridal shower for Rachel Quintos for her wedding on January 13, 2013. Standing from left, Daisy Quintos (mother of the bride- to -be), Rachel
Quintos (bride to be), Eden Tacorda (mother of the groom-to -be), Jean Todas, Norma Seth Aniceto is the only thorn among the beautiful roses, Elsa Hung, Jean Todas, and Rubi TalaQuiroga (grandmother of Rachel) -sitting down, from left: Bambi Todas-Lozada, Geri- vera.
anne Lozada and Brenda Querubin.
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
35
Philippine Courier
TICKLE ME!
By Chuchi Punzalan
THIS IS US!
Senior citizens are constantly being criticized
for every conceivable deficiency of the modern
world, real or imaginary. We know we take responsibility for all we have done and do not blame
others.
HOWEVER, upon reflection, we would like to
point out that it was NOT the senior citizens who
took:
- The melody out of music,
- The pride out of appearance,
- The courtesy out of driving,
- The romance out of love,
- The commitment out of marriage,
- The responsibility out of parenthood,
- The togetherness out of the family,
- The learning out of education,
- The service out of patriotism,
- The Golden Rule from rulers,
- The nativity scene out of cities,
- The civility out of behavior,
- The refinement out of language,
- The dedication out of employment,
- The prudence out of spending,
- The ambition out of achievement or
- God out of government and school.
And we certainly are NOT the ones who eliminated patience and tolerance from personal relationships and interactions with others!!
And, we do understand the meaning of patriotism, and remember those who have fought and
died for our country.
Just look at the Seniors with tears in their eyes
and pride in their hearts as they stand at attention
with their hand over their hearts!
YES, I'M A SENIOR CITIZEN!
- I'm the life of the party..... Even if it lasts
until 8 p.m.
- I'm very good at opening childproof
caps..... With a hammer.
- I'm awake many hours before my body
allows me to get up.
- I'm smiling all the time because I can't
hear a thing you're saying.
- I'm sure everything I can't find is in a safe
secure place, somewhere.
- I'm wrinkled, saggy, lumpy, and that's
just my left leg.
- I'm beginning to realize that aging is not
for wimps.
Yes, I'm a SENIOR CITIZEN and I think I am
having the time of my life!
------------Love this Doctor!
Q: Doctor, I've heard that cardio vascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?
A: Heart only good for so many beats, and that
it... Don't waste on exercise. Everything wear out
eventually. Speeding up heart not make you
live longer; it like saying you extend life of car
by driving faster. Want to live longer? Take
nap.
Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?
A: Oh no. Wine made from fruit. Brandy distilled wine, that means they take water out of
fruity
bit so you get even more of goodness that
way. Beer also made of grain. Bottom up!
Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: Well, if you have body and you have fat,
your ratio one to one. If you have two body, your
ratio two to one.
Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Can't think of single one, sorry. My philosophy: No pain...good!
36
Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?
A: YOU NOT LISTENING! Food fried in vegetable oil. How getting more vegetable be bad?
Q : Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a
little soft around the middle?
A: Oh no! When you exercise muscle, it get
bigger. You should only be doing sit-up if you
want
bigger stomach.
Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: You crazy?!? HEL-LO-O!! Cocoa bean! Another vegetable! It best feel-good food around!
Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: If swimming good for figure, explain whale
to me.
Q: Is getting in shape important for my lifestyle?
A: Hey! 'Round' is shape!
Well... I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.
And remember:
Life should NOT be a journey to the
grave with the intention of arriving safely in an
attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to
skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO-HOO, what
a ride!!"
AND.....
For those of you who watch what you eat,
here's the final word on nutrition and health. It's a
relief to know the truth after all those conflicting
nutritional studies.
1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer
fewer heart attacks than Americans.
3. The Chinese drink very little red wine
and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and
suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans...
5. The Germans drink a lot of beer and
eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart
attacks than Americans.
CONCLUSION: Eat and drink what you like.
Speaking English is apparently what kills you.
-----------How the world works lately...
If a man cuts his finger off while slicing salami
at work,
He blames the restaurant.
If you smoke three packs a day for 40 years and
die of lung cancer,
Your family blames the tobacco company.
If your neighbour crashes into a tree while driving home drunk,
He blames the bartender.
If your grandchildren are brats without manners,
You blame television.
If your friend is shot by a deranged madman,
You blame the gun manufacturer.
And if a crazed person breaks into the cockpit
and tries to kill the pilot at 35,000 feet,
and the passengers kill him instead,
The mother of the crazed deceased
blames the airline.
I must have lived too long to understand the
world as it is anymore.
So, if I die while my OLD WRINKLED BUTT
is parked in front of this computer,
I want all of you to....
Blame Bill Gates.
Suntok sa Buwan
Ni John Agustin
Bumabaluktok na ang tuwid na daan ni PNoy
Mukhang nagkamali si Pangulong
Noynoy Aquinosa ginawa niyang
pagbibigay ng P70,000 para mapiyansahan si dating Isabela Governor
Grace Padaca, kahit na sabihin
pa niya na sarili niyang pera ito
at hindi galing sa kaban ng bayan.
Remember, kaa-appoint lang niya si
Padaca bilang isang Commissioner
ng COMELEC at di magandang
tingnan na si PNoy pa ang magpipyansa ke Padaca dahil pwedeng maging dahilan iyon para ‘gumanti ng
utang-na-loob’ang bagong Comelec
commissioner kapag nangailangan si
PNoy ng tulong.
Isipin ding hindi talaga nagpiyansa si Padaca ng ilabas ng
Sandigangbayan ang warrant of arrest
laban sa kaniya dahil sa kasong graft
na isinampa kontra sa kaniya nuong
2006 dahil sa pautang na Ph25million sa mga magsasaka ng walng
kaukulang bidding.
Inimbestigahan ng todo ang kaso
at ng matapos umano ang masugid
na imbestigasyon, nag-isyu na nga
warrant of arrest ang Sandiganbayan
at nagpatong ng P30,000 na piyansa
para sa graft case at P40,000 para
sa malversation. Total na piyansa na
kailangan: P70,000.
Giit nuon at hanggang ngayon
ni Padaca, poli¬tically-motivated
umano ang kaso dahil hindi naman
daw talaga kailangan ang bidding.
At bilang protesta nga, nagdesisyon
si Padaca na hindi magpiyansa. Sa
Oktubre 18 ang arraignment. Doon
magsasabi si Padaca kung siya ay
guilty o not guilty.
Pero, me tanong nga ng bayan,
bakit hindi inaresto si Padaca gayung
me warrant of arrest siya na inilabas nga ng Sandigangbayan at hindi
naman ito nagtatago? Dapat ay naserve ang warrant ke Padaca, hinuli
at ikinulong ito kapag di nagbayad ng piyansa, tulad ng ginagawa
ng Kapulisan sa mga mahihirap na
mamamayan at medyo mayaman
ng kaunti kapag me arrest warrant.
Katakatakataka talaga, di ba mga
kakabsat? Anak din ba si Padaca ng
jos sa Palasyo? Hindi naman daw, katropa lang daw sa KKK.
-0Hindi masama na manindigan si
Padaca sa akala niyang tama. Kung
gusto niyang magrebelde sa sistema at magpaaresto para malagay sa
media at e-expose ang kabulukan ng
sistema, okay ‘yon.
Kaya lang paano nga¬yon ‘yan
dahil in-appoint siyang Comelec
commissioner? Sana man lang
ay hinintay na muna ni PNoy na
maresolba ang kaso bago binigyan ng
pwesto si Padaca sa Comelec. Kung
talagang walang basehan at politically-motivated lang ang kaso, lalabas
naman tutoo dahil ‘di ba sabi nga
ni Presidente Aquino ay “Tuwid na
Daan na tayo.” ‘Di ba mga kakabsat?
Pero, iba kasi ang pamantayan
kapag kaibigang-karnal na ng Pangulo
ang mga nai-involved sa malalaking
isyu. Kaya okay lang na ma-appoint
sa mga sensitibong posisyon sa gobiyerno kahit na may mga kaso pa,
tulad ni Grace Padaca. At si PNoy
pa ang nagbigay ng pangpiyansa. At
sinamahan pa si Padaca sa pagbabayad ng piyansa ni DILG Secretary Mar
Roxas na lider ng Liberal Party. Iba
klase, ha, mga kakabsat?
Kahit na Presidente ang nag-aappoint ng commissioners, eh, dapat
na maging independent and Comelec
sa opisina ng Presidente or Excutive.
Pero sa ginawa ngang ito ni Aquino ay
parang naging moro-moro na at halohalo pa ang pagiging magkakaibigan
at katungkulan sa bayan. Garapala na
at parang hindi na kinikilala ng mga
ito ang salitang delikadeza.
Dati ay hinahangaan ko si Padaca,
pero, ng pinagmalaki pa niyang sanay
siyang gumagawa ng hindi ordinaryong bagay, handang magpahuli at
lumalaban, eh, nabawasan ng todo
ang paghanga ko sa kaniya dahil sa
kaniyang naging kayabangan. Isa pa,
ano ang kaugnayan o, koneksiyon ng
mga salitang iyon sa pagtanggap ng
pampiyansa mula ke PNoy, eh, di ba
dapat ay independent siya? Sa ginawa
niyang iyon, sinong hindi maniniwala ngayon na hindi siya ‘hawak sa
leeg’ni PNoy?
-0Sobra-sobra na yata ang ‘pagkagamahan’sa puwesto ng me malalaking pangalan sa larangan ng pulitika
sa Pinas, ah. Matapos maging senador, congressman, gobernador, mayor
hanggang sa barangay chairman ang
Lolo, Lola, Tatay, Nanay, Kuya at
Ate, eh, ang kanilang mga siblings
naman ang patatakbuhin bilang mga
kapalit sa iiwanang puwesto sa gobiyerno.
At wala raw namang masama
duon, dahil mayroon daw silang itinanim na ‘legacy’ sa kanilang lugar
at ang iba naman ay gustung-gusto na
maglingkod sa bayan. Hehehehehe ....
Sino kaya ang maniniwala sa kanila,
ha mga kakabsat? Napakalaking kalokohan. Talaga lang na wala na delicadeza ang mga taong ito at ipinakikita
lang ang pagkaganid sa kapangyarihan.
Mula sa Senado, na me magkapatid, mag-asawa, magkakapatid, magTiyo-Tiya, mag-pinsan sa Kongreso,
gayundin sa Kapitolyo at munisipyo
hanggang barangya hall, eh, magkakamag-anak na halos ang nagpapatakbo ng ating bansa.Yumaman ba
ang Pinas? Umangat ba ang antas
ng pamumuhay n gating mga kabayan? Aba, hinde, ah. Yong mahihirap,
lalong humirap at nabaon ng todo sa
lusak, at yong mayayaman, lalo pang
yumayaman. Ito ang tunay na mukha
ng ating bansa, sa pamumuno ng
iilang mayamang pamilya.
Ito ang tinatawag na political
dynasty na maikukumpara na sa mistulang pagtatayo ng organized-gang,
kaya nga may gang-war na sa hanay
ng mga pamilyang pulitiko. Dalawang
higanteng pamilya sa isang lugar,
tulad sa Cavite, na sobrang maglaban
ang pamilyang Revilla at Lacson.
Bakit kaya hindi na lang isipin ng
mga pamilyang ito ang kapakanan ng
bayan at tapusin na ‘yang pag-aasam
sa sobrang kapangyarihan.
Ang makakasagot nga lang pala sa
katanungang ito ay ang mga botante
na hanggang ngayon ay nalulubog
pa sa sobrang kahirapan. Dapat na
sigurong maghanap na ng mga matitinong lider sa kanilang lugar ang
mga botante, ‘yung may kakayahan
at may pagmamahal sa bayan,’hindi
yong naglalagay at bumibili ng mga
boto para ‘bawiing muli’ang perang
ito sa kaban ng bayan kapag nanalo.
Oras na mga kababayan na ilagay sa pwesto yong me pagmamahal
sa kapwa, me takot sa Diyos parehas lumaban at maasahan sa oras ng
kagipitan.
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
Philippine Courier
Lolita Carbon of ASIN melts Toronto!
The legendary folk singer Lolita Carbon and her Acoustic Band members Jazz Almonacid and Ammi Maranan showcase their final exceptional style of entertaining
Pinoy Original Pilipino Music (OPM) fans November 2 at the Yatco Restaurant in Brampton after captivating the music-loving Pinoys in the Greater Toronto Area
(GTA) since their initial concert September 27, 2012, with Gian Carlo Bobila and his Band With No Name, as the main attraction of the ‘Anghel ng Tahanan Canada
2012’ coronation night at the TICC where no less than 400 mainstream crowd gave the group a standing ovation...... Lolita, Jazz and Ammi, then gave dazzling performances at the full-house Prestige Disco House at the start of their 6-Bar Tour gigs October 3 and mesmerized the jam-packed Yatco Restaurant in Brampton, after
a UMAC Night Up-Close and Personal show. ... Prestige Disco was again full-to-the-rafters when Lolita Carbon and her acoustic group came back October 26 where
no less than 200 ASIN fanatics sang and danced with the triumvirate. Pinoy bands Crossover and Breeding Grounds manage by Ramon Estuaris and Grace Almeda
electrified the motely, cheering fans with their own brand of music; Manila Flavors Restaurant in Niagara Falls apologized to more than 50 people who failed to
watch Lolita Carbon and her acoustic band due to an SRO crowd; and due to insistent public clamor, Lolita Jazz and Ammi perform their farewell show at Yatco.....
To Ms. Lolita Carbon, the acknowledge icon of OPM in the Philippines and her acoustic band member Jazz Almonacid and Ammi Maranan, thank you very much
for bringing your excellent music her in Toronto! From us at The Philippine Courier-EDCILLE Productions – Cecille Araneta, Eduard Que, Miguel Caducio and
Mon Datol – Mabuhay Kayo at ang Musikang Pilipino! (Photos by TPC’s Mondee, Miguel Caducio, Ariel Ramos, Kandeys David, Larry Torres & Paul Esguerra)
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
37
Classified Ads
Philippine Courier
Jolly Dolly celebrates another year
Dolly Patricio celebrated her birthday with close friends in Toronto. They had lunch at Sampaguita Restaurant and continued their Thanksgiving Prayer at her
home with her Rosary group.
L>R are: Lorenza Torres,
Lady Dolly Poblete, Lito
Sanchez, Tessie Fernandez, Sir George R. Poblete,
Ding Fernandez, Cora
Beltizar, Pepita Verayo,
Celebrant Dolly Patricio,
Nenita Zapanta, Monsy
Zarris and Greg Beltizar.
L>R are: Lady Dolly Poblete, Pepita
Verayo, Monsy & Emil Zarris, Lorenza Torres, Sir George R. Poblete
celebrant Dolly Patricio, Ding Fernandez, Lito Sanchez, Tessie Fernandez, Nenita Zapanta, Greg & Cora
Beltizar
CROSSWORD PUZZLE
ACROSS
1 Plant fi ber
5 Tears
10 Clock time
13 Singing voice
14 Single
15 Mexican sandwich
16 Covered with ice
17 Forms fl ower calyx
18 Black
19 Gone to lunch
21 What sport would move
fastest by doing the
Australian
crawl
23 __ Lanka
26 Evergreen tree
28 Sleep disorder
29 Chocolaty drink (2 wds.)
32 Baked pasta dish
33 Prayer ending
34 According to food
experts, what Visayan
province is the source of
the country’s best talaba
36 Jewels
37 Junk
38
38 Extravagant party
42 Basic beliefs
43 Opera solo
44 Christ’s mother
46 Computer sharing
system
49 First name of the richest
Filipino living outside the
Philippines
51 River (Spanish)
52 Pose
53 Emaciated
57 Not (refi x)
59 Prod
60 Sporty car brand
62 Eight in tagalog
66 Sego lily’s bulb
67 Abate (2 wds.)
68 Radar target
69 Unrefi ned metal
70 Water retention
71 Bawled
DOWN
1 A measure ( Music)
2 Boxer Muhammad
3 Short-term
memory
4 Soy sauce
5 Rube
6 Compass
point
7 Dozes
8 Haul
9 GS
10 Apolinario
_____________,
11 Quick bread
12 Island nation
15 Allure
20 Alien’s
spaceship
22 Water pipe
23 Thick carpet
24 European City hosted
the First World Youth Day
25 Detail
27 Pacquiao’s coach
30 Nervous system
31 City in Ohio
32 Bomb
35 Cutting beam
37 Eye infection
38 Food and Agriculture
Organization (abbr.)
39 Goofs
40 Carved Polynesian
pendant
41 Compass point
42 Palayaw ni Joseph
Estrada
44 What you see on a
hot day
45 Filipino dish
47 Dried smoked fi sh
48 Date
49 Loop
50 Swimming mammal
54 Healthy
55 Chilled
56 Attractive
58 Northwest by west
61 Strong drink
63 Brew
64 Edge
65 choose
Solution to August 2012 issue
MARRYING TYPE
Q. Who’s the world’s most married individual?
A. Former Baptist minister Glynn Wolfe of Blythe, California, with
27 monogamous marriages. He first married in 1927 when he was
19 years old. Wolfe’s latest wife is a 21-year-old Filipina named
Daisy Delgado. His previous oldest wife was 38. Wolfe believes
his total number of children is 41. Philippine Mayors are no longer
permitted by law to solemnize marriages.
Classified Odd. Vera Czermak of Prague, Czechoslovakia, was
bitterly unhappy and depressed, for she had discovered that her husband was being unfaithful. She decided that the only answer was to
commit to commit suicide, and she hurled herself from the window
of their second-floor apartment. She landed on her husband, who
chose that moment to arrive at the main entrance to the building. He
was killed; she survived.
WORD WATCH
Uxorious (yuk so’rious): extremely devoted to or fond of one’s
wife.
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
Philippine Courier
Oct. 7 - Nov. 6, 2012
39