Bill seeks to double OFW benefits

Transcription

MALIGAYANG PASKO
AT MANIGONG
BAGONG TAON
SA LAHAT
OUR DAYS OF GLORY
AS ATHLETES BAG
4 GOLD MEDALS IN
DOHA ASIAN GAMES
CHRISTMAS SPECIAL 24-25
PALAKASAN 44
filipino globe
hong kong / manila edition
Issue 2, Volume 1
www.filglobe.com
December 2006
Bill seeks to double OFW benefits
Proponent says the measure gives overseas Filipino workers the national recognition they deserve
Dante Vino in Manila
A bill seeking to double the benefits
of overseas Filipino workers will be
filed tomorrow in Congress, giving
the “nation’s new heroes the recognition they deserve”.
The proposed measure, authored by
Iloilo congressman Ferjenel Biron,
also provides for OFW housing, free
transport to and from the airport from
designated points and a government
mortuary and funeral service.
“The state must recognise the role
that OFWs play in nation-building
and the contribution they bring in the
development of the economy,” Biron
EXCLUSIVE
Support this bill by writing
your congressmen through
our website.
Visit www.filglobe.com and
click on ‘Count Me In’.
EDITORIAL – Page 20
said in his introduction to the draft
legislation, a copy of which was made
available to Filipino Globe.
He called for a policy to “develop,
encourage and promote a robust, dy-
CHANGE FOR THE BETTER
• Monetary benefits to be
doubled but not premiums
• Dedicated OFW housing on rent-to-own basis
• Free airport transfers in
aircon vans and buses
• Free admission to cinemas
namic deployment program for OFWs
as a matter of priority by adopting
measures and programs that would
develop their talents and skills and
maximize their earning potential”.
If passed, it will be one of the most
comprehensive packages intended
to benefit the country’s nine million
overseas contract workers, who send
home US$12 billion a year in remittances.
“It [the bill] will be lapped up by
both houses,” a congressional staffer
said.
“Every one of our politicians will
want to be associated with this kind of
initiative. It will be political suicide to
oppose it.”
The highlight of the bill is a doubling of monetary benefits for OFWs
Continued on Page 2
OFWS ... national recognition.
Returnees
ramp up
holiday
spending
Christmas in the Philippines
is not only a season to be
jolly, it’s also the peak of the
spending season.
As cashed-up OFWs whip
out their wallets and start
lavishing things on their
families, they not only try to
make up for lost time, they
also pump billions into the
economy.
Last year, returnees spent
P37 billion over the Christmas
holidays, according to figures
from Visa International. They
are on course to top that
amount this year even as the
peso continues to strengthen
against the US dollar.
US-based Filipino nurses,
including those that have
gained permanent resident
status there, are among the
heaviest spenders here using
credit cards, according to labor
leader and former senator
Ernesto Herrera.
Full report – Page 10
filipino globe christmas issue f1 1
Amid the bright lights, the Christmas season rolls in with the usual sights and sounds on Roxas Boulevard. It’s also the peak of the spending season.
12/16/2006 5:54:36 PM
2
filipino globe
news
December 2006
ANGBANSA
Filipinos working
in a factory in
Taiwan. Under
the bill, OFWs
will receive
twice as much
compensation
disability and
death. Their
premiums will
remain at their
present levels.
Manila
The Department of Public
Government employees
have given the thumbs
up to a decision by PagIBIG to further cut interest
rates on housing loans.
They hailed the rate cut as
a “revolutionary move that
will benefit government
workers in the lower salary
grades.” Esperanza Ocampo,
president of the government
employees union, said that
with the new interest rates,
even those who have never
considered themselves
capable of buying a house
before will have the chance
to become homeowners.
Pag-IBIG reduced its interest
rate to 6 per cent per annum
for loans up to P300,000
and 7 per cent for loans
up to P500,000. Previous
interest rates for these loan
packages were 9 per cent
and 10 per cent, respectively.
The monthly amortization
amounts to only P1,798.65
for loans worth P300,000
and P3,326.51 for loans
worth P500,000. “This kind
of opportunity has not been
available to us,” she said.
Bill seeks to double benefits for overseas workers
From Page 1
and their beneficiaries, including disability compensation, sickness and
death benefits and monthly pensions
without increasing their monthly premiums.
It calls for a housing development
exclusively for OFWs on a rent-toown basis at a rate not exceeding
their present rental.
Free transport to and from the airport from designated points will be
offered on air-conditioned government buses and vans and a state-run
mortuary will be established to offer
funeral and crematory services.
Public hospitals will have to allocate at least 15 per cent of their bed
capacity to OFWs and their depen-
dents and exempt them from all fees
and charges, including medicine, surgery, laboratory tests, and doctors’
fees.
There will be a special allocation
Applicants warned
against Syria jobs
Filipinos who want to work overseas
are warned to avoid being deceived
by illegal recruiters who promise jobs
in Syria, where the country has yet to
have an embassy.
Susan Ople, president of the Blas
Ople Policy Center, said about 5,000
undocumented workers, many of
whom are employed as domestic
helpers, have found their way to Syria
through the back door.
“We have received information that
unscrupulous agents or brokers in
Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates,
pass on some of the workers to counterparts in Syria surreptitiously, that
is, without proper documentation and
without notifying our diplomatic officials,” she said.
“These workers end up in Syria
where they are easily exploited by
their employers because of their be-
filipino globe christmas issue f2-3 2-3
ing illegal and thus, vulnerable status,” she said.
The Ople Center said the warning
was not directed at the Syrian government and the Syrian people.
“We issue this advice because the
joint legal and policy framework to
help distressed migrant workers there
is not yet in place.”
The center is in touch with three
migrant workers in Syria who are appealing for government assistance to
enable them to return home as soon
as possible.
The three workers have complained
of exploitative work conditions and
various health problems.
Ople said she has given the workers’ names and contact numbers to the
Department of Foreign Affairs and
Department of Labor and Employment for appropriate action.
by state colleges and universities,
including the University of the Philippines, for children of OFWs from
nursery to college level.
Other privileges include fare exemptions in the LRT, MRT and PNR,
free admission to all movie houses,
free admission for OFWs and their
dependents to all Philippine Tourism
Authority-operated tourism facilities,
free legal assistance from the Department of Justice, livelihood training
and the start-up loans for their business ventures.
Biron (left) said the nine million
Filipinos working abroad, who already constitute 10 per cent of the
population, is an economic force that
must be harnessed more efficiently
and given incentives commensurate
The Ople Policy Center
says the warning is
not directed at Syria
or its people.
to their contribution to the national
economy. In the first nine months of
this year, OFWs sent home US$9 billion.
They are on course to top the US$12
billion target for the full year.
Biron said that based on the current exchange rate, OFWs contribute
roughly P500 billion to the economy.
“Thank God for OFWs,” Biron
said.
He called them a “safety valve that
lets off steam” when the economy
comes under pressure.
“Imagine if we take away P500 billion of the national economy each
year amid our exploding population.
The economy would collapse and the
nation would plunge into a revolt.”
Quezon City
THE Quezon City Prosecutor’s
Office has recommended no
bail for a police doctor who
went on a shooting rampage
that killed a police captain and
injured five others recently in
Camp Crame, Quezon City.
The office also required Chief
Insp Renato Poscablo, now
confined under heavy guard
news
filipino globe
December 2006
3
Consulate sharpens focus on legal issues
Forum aims to expand scope of PAOS and bring attention to Hong Kong’s laws and regulations
Jose Marcelo
Regular seminars on Hong Kong laws
and regulations will be conducted by
the consulate to help overseas Filipino
workers get a fuller understanding of
their legal rights and obligations.
“This is to expand the scope of
PAOS [post-arrival orientation seminars], and we will focus more on
Hong Kong legal issues,” Vice Consul Noel Novicio said.
Officials estimate that 10 per cent
of the 120,000 OFWs in Hong Kong
seek assistance from the consulate on
legal matters, mostly involving loan
problems and issues in the workplace.
The case of Preslyn-saga Catacutan, who was jailed for six months
for stealing photos from her celebrity
employer, “underlines the need for a
better understanding of Hong Kong
laws,” Novicio said.
“I believe Ms Catacutan was wellrepresented during the trial,” he said.
But the same cannot be said of other
Filipino workers, only because they
have no idea about what to do when
placed in a legal bind.
Catacutan turned to the consulate
for help during her ordeal and was
given legal advice and counselling,
officials said.
On the consulate’s recommendation,
she was also able to tap the services of
a Filipino barrister and a duty lawyer
from the Hong Kong government, for
a comparatively minimal fee, the officials added.
Most Filipino workers in the territory, officials admit, have very little
knowledge of Hong Kong’s laws and
have only the slightest idea on what to
do and who to turn to in case they run
foul of the law.
“Most of these problems start because most of our workers here aren’t
very familiar with the laws of Hong
Kong,” said Novicio, who heads the
assistance to nationals section of the
Philippine consulate.
The consulate conducts post-arrival
orientation seminars, giving workers
a briefing on details of their contracts
as well as on Hong Kong’s immigration laws and police procedures.
Recruitment agencies are mandated
to bring arriving workers to these
seminars, but officials admit less than
half avail of the program.
The pre-departure orientation seminars conducted in Manila have been of
little help, covering little ground and
treated mostly as just another contract
requirement by departing workers.
“Until there is a serious effort from
all concerned to give these seminars
the importance that they deserve,
they [seminars] will be of little use to
anyone,” a Hong Kong-based Filipino
lawyer said.
Jacky Cheung
leaves the
court after
testifying in the
early stages of
the trial.
Health Comes First Ad
(film. please float)
and being treated for gunshot
wounds at the National Police
General Hospital, to post a
bond of P200,000 each for two
cases of frustrated murder and
P120,000 each for two cases
of attempted murder. Poscablo
is on a 24-hour watch after his
guards and attending doctors
described him as suicidal.
Dumaguete
The state-of-the-art Lamberto
Matias Gym, Dumaguete
City’s premier sports center,
will be the main venue for
the national finals of the 61st
National Students Basketball
Championship, also known as
the National Inter-Secondary
and National Inter-Collegiate
Championship, which will
be held from February 27
to March 5. Aside from the
Lamberto Matias Gym, which
is located at the heart of the
city, seven other venues will
used by the estimated 600
high school and collegiate
players. The other venues
include Silliman University and
Foundation University.
Filipina’s ‘big fan defense’ fails
to sway skeptical magistrate
Because she was such a big fan,
Preslyn-saga Catacutan took photos
from celebrity employer Jacky
Cheung as souvenirs and thought
nothing of them. But that failed to
convince a magistrate, who jailed her
for six months for theft.
Magistrate Winston Leung said
he did not believe Catacutan was
“wholeheartedly a fan of Cheung”
and ruled that the Filipina took the
items with their “commercial value”
in mind.
“I believe that she took the items
at random … Either there was a
market already open to her or she
would look for a market later,”
Leung said. He denied Catacutan’s
application for bail pending an
appeal.
Catacutan was sacked on August
27 by Cheung, who claimed he
was tipped off by another maid that
Catacutan had taken the photos, two
of which show the actor-singer with
actress wife May Lo Mei-mei.
The third was a passport-size
photo of Cheung.
Catacutan had claimed she took the
photos with consent from Cheung
and kept an unopened business letter
to Cheung by mistake as she sorted
out the mail.
JOSE MARCELO
12/16/2006 5:54:38 PM
4 December 2006
filipino globe
December 2006
5
12/16/2006 5:54:40 PM
6
filipino globe
ANGBANSA
Manila
Eleven Filipino seafarers who
were rescued by the Philippine Embassy in Rome have
arrived home safely after being stranded in Duress Port,
Albania. The crewmen, left to
live in a rotting vessel, were
stranded in Albania for five
months without salaries, food
and basic items and supplies.
Their ship, the m/v Seapark
was due for major repairs
when they arrived in Albania
in July.However, the expected
repairs did not materialise
after the owner apparently
suffered financial difficulties.
Philippine ambassador envoy
to Italy Philippe Lhuillier, sent
to Nationals officer Antonio
Villar and Overseas Workers
Welfare Association officer
Marco Antonio Liwag to Albania to secure their release
and take custody.
Manila
Agents of the National Bureau
of Investigation (NBI) have
arrested two illegal recruiters
in an entrapment operation
in Paco, Manila. NBI Director
Nestor Mantaring identified
the suspects as Nenita Ramos
and Allen Cruz, both residents
of Pampanga. Mantaring said
the suspects asked from the
victims identified as Marilou
Magad, Susana Cunanan
and Rosario Manuel, all residents of Pulilan, Bulacan, for
P65,900 from them for their
employment as sewers and
beauticians in Saudi Arabia.
The three were again asked
for more money for the conduct of another medical examination after their previous
test failed. This prompted the
victims to ask for help from the
NBI.
Zamboanga
Construction of the 100megavolt ampere power
sub-station and upgrading
of one of the two 69-kilo-volt
transmission lines to 138-KV
double circuit transmission
line, aimed to supply sufficient
electricity to this city in the
next five years, will start next
month. National Transmission
Corporation North Western
Mindanao project manager
Gualberto Geonzon said the
projects worth P1 billion are
scheduled to be completed
by the end of next year and
to be operational by early
2008. Geonzon said the
projects, which were awarded
last September to Asea
Brown Boveri, will be funded
through a loan from Japanese
financial institution, Miyazawa
Fund. He said the fund will
monitor the project and be
responsible for its control.
news
December 2006
filipino globe
December 2006
7
The rich get their hands dirty
Their work for the poor shows charity knows no bounds, writes Jose Marcelo
O
ne bang of the hammer
on this extraordinary
night and the foundations
of a pre-school facility
in Mindanao’s slums have been
laid. Another bang was enough to
put food on the table of dozens of
impoverished Filipino families for
months.
Before the night was over, no less
than HK$4 million had been raised in
a banquet and charity auction at the
JW Mariott Hotel Hong Kong – the
fund going a long way in alleviating
the sufferings and uplifting the plight
of the country’s poor.
Consider it bayanihan with a little
twist, practised by a group of Hong
Kong-based philanthropists who
have shown that generosity bridges
boundaries – and charity knows no
cultural divide.
The men and women behind the
International Care Ministries (ICM)
have been doing it without fanfare
for 14 years now, raising funds and
channeling them into one of the most
extensive and efficiently run charity
programs in the Philippines.
“What is so heartwarming about
this is that most of these people
are not Pinoy and yet they care so
much about the Filipino poor,” said
prominent Filipino migrant workers
advocate Daphne Kuok.
From the time a Hong Kongbased Singaporean interior designer,
Sharon Tan, went on a trip to Negros
Occidental in the early 1990s in
her desire to help the family of her
Filipina domestic helper, aid for
Mindanao’s poor has not stopped
coming.
The group’s founder and president
has since left her job and moved to
Dumaguete, but the seeds she has
sown have grown into a wide range
of aid that includes everything from
pre-schools to feeding programs
to medical missions to livelihood
projects.
“Sharon was pretty moved by
what she saw,” said Morgan Stanley
managing director Dave Sutherland,
who chairs the ICM board.
“We initially opened a bible school,
but then we found there were a lot of
hungry people there so we gave them
rice. Then we found there were sick
people so we helped treat them.
“The next thing you know, we were
feeding 10,000 families and helping
thousands of sick people.”
The feeding program, which
provides four kilos of rice every
week to a recipient family, has
covered over 100 communities in
Negros Occidental. That number is
set to double next year as it expands
to Negros Oriental, General Santos,
Zamboanga, Bohol and Cagayan.
Then there are the six pre-schools
the ICM maintains, which are
expected to multiply fivefold after
last month’s banquet, where the
honor of sponsoring one pre-school
for a year was auctioned off. The
hammer banged 30 times during the
proceedings.
“We figured HK$32,000 is enough
to run a pre-school for one year,”
said Sutherland. The facilities
are being run by one teacher and
an assistant for 30 students aged
between eight and 12. “Therre were a
lot of takers.”
Then, too, are the regular medical
The TB recovery center turns out patients that are ‘good as new’.
The feeding program (below) distributes food to poor families.
“
These people, for
them, are no longer
just names. There are
now faces attached to
these names
DAVE SUTHERLAND
Morgan Stanley managing director
missions where a team of three to
four paramedics treat between 5070 people at a time. The sick they
arrange for treatment in partnership
with local doctors and “for those
very sick we try to provide [funds]
for their treatment,” Sutherland said.
The missions have since led ICM
to put up a tuberculosis center,
which was more like a treatment
and recovery house built in the
middle of a 15-hectare farm in
Bago City where most of the rice the
organization gives out is grown and
harvested.
Around 25 people at a time
are sheltered and cared for in the
facility for a period of six months.
“Tuberculosis is a terrible disease,
but treatable. And once they
[patients] have recovered, they’re as
good as new and you can see a lot
more hope in their eyes,” Sutherland
said.
Just as extensive are the ICM’s
livelihood projects, which include a
home-based handicraft program and
a computer repair school in General
Santos that offers two-month courses
and recently saw its first batch of 45
graduates. A farming school has also
risen in another ICM farmland, in
Don Salvador Benedicto town.
“Last year, we sold over 16,000
hand-made Christmas cards, made
by the people in our livelihood
programs, in Hong Kong – and
every card sold is enough to provide
one meal for a family back in the
Philippines,” Sutherland said.
The bulk of ICM’s funds comes
from its yearly charity banquet and
auction and the rest from the pockets
of friends and supporters that help
fund ongoing programs and projects
currently on the drawing board,
among them a micro-financing
scheme for slum dwellers.
Local pastors are tapped for the
Philippine operation, along with
around 150 foundation workers,
but ICM members and volunteers,
most of them bankers based in Hong
Kong, do not hesitate to get their
hands dirty.
“This is not like other philanthropy
where they just give money and
leave it at that,” said Kuok, an ICM
volunteer. “These people really go
there with their families, live with
the people, risk getting sick and
really put in the work.
“They monitor the program and go
there frequently during the course
of the year. And they take people
there so they can see the situation
for themselves and see what is being
done. Like when I went there with
my children, it was really an eyeopener.
“In fact, an American couple
is living there now to oversee
the livelihood programs,” Kuok
added. “And Sharon, in the time
she has been living in Dumaguete,
limang beses na yata s’yang nagkatuberculosis.”
For Sutherland, his biggest joy
comes from seeing how frequent
trips to the Philippines have
immersed his three teenage children
in charity work and led them to
develop a sense of kinship with
people in Mindanao’s slums.
“These people, for them, are no
longer just names,” Sutherland said,
“but there are now faces attached to
these names.”
12/16/2006 5:54:52 PM
8
filipino globe
news
December 2006
news
filipino globe
December 2006
9
Alumni give UP faculty a helping hand
Hong Kong chapter starts fund raiser
for grant towards research into OFWs
Brad Campos
MULA SA PNB, PARA SA LAHAT NG GLOBAL FILIPINOS, MERRY CHRISTMAS
With a little
luck, Pinoys
could make it
big in Macau
Many will do whatever it takes to get their
share of the promise, writes Jose Marcelo
veryday, dozens of Filipinos
roll the dice in Macau, not inside the halls of its grandiose
casinos but in the airport and ports
leading to this gambling capital of
Asia.
On the table are not chips, but their
future and that of their families.
Lured by a thriving economy and
the job opportunities it has spawned,
Filipinos take advantage of cheap
flights mostly from the former Clark
Air Base in Pampanga and take their
chances in the former Portuguese
colony.
“Ang daming Pilipinong dumadagsa sa Macau araw-araw,” said Ariel,
a security guard in one of Macau’s
casinos. “Marami sa kanila ay legal,
marami ring mga turista, pero marami
rin sa mga ito mga nagbabakasakali
lang na makakita ng trabaho rito.”
The latest statistics at the Philippine consulate in Hong Kong show
there were 8,260 documented Filipino
workers in Macau at the end of June.
But consulate officials estimate there
are well over 10,000 Filipinos there
on any given day. The bulk of the difference represents Filipinos who go
to Macau in search of work. Some hit
the jackpot, but some suffer the proverbial lutong Macau. And there the
problems start.
Filipinos without working papers
are growing in alarming numbers in
the territory, according to consulate
officials who have seen for themselves
the hole these men can dig themselves
into once driven to desperation.
Some of them are victimised even
before boarding the plane to Macau,
falling prey to unscrupulous Filipino
immigration officials at Clark who reportedly force them to cough up from
US$100 to US$200.
If they don’t, sources said, their
passports are stamped `Not Allowed
to Work’ or simply offloaded the
plane. “Because of their status, these
E
It’s a modest effort by any measure,
but when the UP Alumni Association
Hong Kong completes it in two years,
it would be enough to fund a faculty
research into overseas Filipino workers.
The association is trying to raise
HK$117,000 by 2008 to cover the
grant, part of a campaign by the state
university to tap alumni overseas to
raise the quality of teaching at the
cash-strapped institution.
“We believe that the faculty is a
major reason for the good quality of
education that the UP is known for,”
association president Gilbert Legaspi
(photo) said.
“We have benefited from that
education and experience. It will be
wonderful to give back something to
an institution that helped shape our
future and made a difference in our
lives,” he said.
The global campaign is being spearheaded by UP president Emerlinda
Roman, who has been on the road to
drum up support for the program.
The new initiative of the Hong Kong
alumni comes after they launched a
scholarship program last year.
Its first scholar, Wisdom Escalante,
the son of a Hong Kong domestic
helper, is in the first year of a political
science course in UP Diliman.
Legaspi is confident of making the
fund raising target, with the money
to be delivered in
three equal installments.
“We
started
raising
money
this month and we
hope to raise the
first HK$39,000
by March next
year,” he said.
Although the association has two years to come up
with the full amount, Legaspi is hoping to complete the fund raising by
June, the end of the term of the current board.
“Taking into account the membership fees and donations received so
far, we have covered 77 per cent of
the first installment,” he said.
“That’s about 26 per cent of the total.”
Legaspi said that despite state subsidies, UP faculty salaries are only
about a third of those offered in private schools.
“This is becoming a real concern
because a lot of our good teachers are
moving to private schools for better
pay,” he said.
A mother’s sacrifice, a grateful son’s inspiration
Wisdom Escalante (above) has a
lot to be thankful for. His ambition
to become a lawyer is no longer
a dream. It’s something that
drives him to the future.
“Sana tuloy-tuloy na ito,”
Escalante, 17, told Filipino Globe.
“I know I have to work hard for it.”
Escalante, the first scholar
of the UP Alumni Association
Hong Kong, is in the first year
of a political science course in
UP Diliman, where he is aiming
to get into law school four years
from now.
It’s a childhood dream that until
recently he could only wish for.
He has seen enough sacrifice
from his mother, a domestic
helper in Hong Kong, to cause
her more suffering by pursuing
an expensive course.
“I’m quite inspired by my
mother,” Wisdom said. “Siya
lang kasi ang makakagawa nang
ganito para sa akin.”
Wisdom gets by with very little.
He is thankful enough that he has
finished high school on the toils
of his mother, Rainalda, 43, a
former high school teacher from
Bicol.
Wisdom has heard little from
his father, except when he came
to visit a week before his birthday
last year. “Pagkatapos nun,
nawala na siya,” he said. “Ang
sabi niya sa akin, aalis siya.”
Escalante receives an
allowance for his school
expenses under the scholarship
grant, which covers his tuition for
a four-year course.
“I’ll do my best to deserve this
chance of a lifetime.”
workers have no protection and no
security which is unfortunate,” Vice
Consul Noel Novicio said.
Macau immigration laws allow them
an initial 30-day stay without a valid
working visa, and a maximum of two
months, assuming they exit the territory twice in between.But the stakes
go higher on their fourth reentry when
they are given an “Ultimo visa” of between two and four days, after which
they would not be allowed to enter
again until after another 55 days.
Some cut their losses and go home.
Some go into hiding. Some get busted
and end up in jail while the ingenious
of them simply “lose” their passport,
in the hope of getting a “fresh” start
“
Marami sa kanila ay
legal, pero marami rin
ang nagbabakasakali
lang na makakita ng
trabaho rito
ARIEL
Macau security guard
with a passport minus the ultimatum.
“You’d be amazed at the number of
people who lose their passports in
Macau,” said one consulate official.
But for some others, the Macau gamble cost them their lives.
In October, the consulate had to
repatriate three bodies from Macau,
not an easy process with no company or OWWA benefits to draw from.
The consulate in Hong Kong holds
monthly consular missions in Macau
led by Novicio, but it has been barely
enough to fully address the mounting
problems.
Several officials feel it is time a
consulate was set up in the territory.
But budgetary considerations back
home dim hopes of that happening
in the near future. “We are hoping to
better address these problems.’
Macau’s booming
economy, coupled with
a surging casino business isstrong attraction
for Filipino workers
keen to grab a piece
of the action. Many go
there legally, some find
jobs after spending time
there as tourist but a
few others resort to unconventional means to
keep the hope alive.
12/16/2006 5:55:00 PM
THE REGIONS
10
filipino globe
news
December 2006
Manila
Globe Telecom has
collaborated with Japanese
international long distance
operator Chubun to provide
affordable rates for IDD calls
from Japan to the Philippines.
The partnership is expected
to benefit overseas Filipino
workers in Japan estimated
at over 280,000. The result
of the collaboration is the
Globe Kababayan IDD
phone card powered by
Chubun, which offers special
termination rates for IDD
calls to Globe and Touch
Mobile subscribers.The Globe
Kababayan IDD phone card
was successfully launched
during the first Philippine
Festival Celebration, a project
of the Filipino community in
Japan in cooperation with the
Philippine Embassy in Tokyo
Beting Dolor in Manila
Hong Kong Jumbo Tours
in November.
Bulacan
When they leave the country this year, balikbayans will have spent tens of billions in the local economy.
Balikbayans ramp up
spending this season
At least 60 people, mostly
children, ended up in Bulacan
hospitals due to dizziness
and vomiting after inhaling a
noxious, unknown chemical
allegedly dumped in an
irrigation canal in Marilao,
Bulacan. Several infants
and toddlers were rushed
to a nearby hospital, where
their mothers told doctors
They’re on track to top last year’s bill of P37.5 billion
Dante Vino in Manila
Wilfredo Baltazar is a craftsman
working in Bahrain. He arrived on
December 5, in time for their usual
family reunion and is looking forward
to spending Christmas with his family which he missed the two previous
years.
He just bought a computer set for
his kids and an audio-video entertainment system. Wilfredo is just one
of the many OFWs making it home
this month for the yuletide festivities.
Most OFWs spend large amounts to
compensate for their long absence.
On top of their remittances, overseas
Filipino workers (OFWs) contribute
considerably to the national economy
through increased direct spending
when they come home. “OFWs in fact
directly spend a lot of money, easily
equal to a month to two months pay,
when they come home once or twice
every year. This is because they try
to make up for their long absence,”
former senator and Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) secretary-general Ernesto Herrera said.
Unlike remittances, Herrera said the
amount of money actually disbursed
by OFWs when they come home is
largely “hidden” and blends with the
rest of domestic consumption spending.
Among the biggest “direct consumption spenders” when they come
home are Filipino nurses, engineers,
sailors and airline staff, owing to their
considerable disposable income, not
to mention their ready access to relatively cheaper consumer credit.
US-based Filipino nurses, including those that have gained permanent
resident status there, are among the
heaviest spenders here using credit
cards, Herrera said.
Last week, Visa reported that its
international cardholders, including
Filipinos with US-issued cards, spent
P37.5 billion in the Philippines last
year, and they are on track to surpass
it.
Among all foreign visitors, Visa
said US-based cardholders accounted
for P16.4 billion or 44 per cent of all
transactions last year.
OFWs remitted through banks a
record $9.11 billion (P456 billion) in
the nine months to September.
IDT Asia launches long-distance call package
IDT Asia, the regional operation of
IDT Telecom, has entered the international calling service market in Hong
Kong with the launch of an IDD service.
IDT1529 personal and home IDD
service offers a clear and straightforward pricing structure.
“Our market research reveals that
many consumers in Hong Kong are
confused about the barrage of gimmicks and promotions that accompanies purchase decisions when
subscribing to international calling
services,” said IDT Asia managing
director Chip Barton (photo).
“Often, their experiences on pricing do not match their expectations,”
December 2006 11
ANGBANSA
Manila
sweetens
pot for
returnees
This one’s strictly for OFWs, and not
all balikbayans.
The Overseas Workers Welfare
Administration has sweetened the
pot for overseas Filipino workers to
come home during the Christmas
holidays.
Every OFW who arrives between
December 18 and 31 are automatic
winners in the Pick-A-Gift Promo.
Most of the gifts are simple tokens
such as pens, caps and umbrellas.
But every day, one lucky OFW
will get something a little more
impressive – a television set.
A TV is just one major daily
prize of the “Pamaskong Salubong”
program, now an annual event.
Vacationing OFWs will have the
chance to win special prizes such as
jeepneys and tricycles aside from the
color TV sets.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
is scheduled to launch the promo by
handing out the first token gift on the
Monday.
In order to differentiate OFWs
from other balikbayans, returning
workers will have to wear a small
sticker and a bigger sticker on their
bags coming from the Philippine
Overseas Labor Office, or Polo.
The Polo stickers will be given
them when they get their Overseas
Employment Certificates.
Polo Labor Representative Joan
Lourdes Lavilla said the small
stickers are for the shirts while the
large stickers are for luggage.
Each vacationing OFW will be
given a stub which he or she will
then fill up and drop at a designated
gift box or bowl situated in a
strategic place at the airport.
The gifts can be claimed at the
OWWA assistance counters. The
promo will be held at NAIA and
in the country’s other international
airports in Cebu, Davao, Zamboanga
and Clark, Pampanga.
Other projects lined up for this
holiday season include the OFW
Family Day celebration in all 17
regions in the country; the Model
OFW Family of the Year Award and
the “OWWAish Ko Lang;”
filipino globe
he said. “Some
customers are not
even aware that
their rates have
increased after the
initial promotional
period ends.”
He said IDT Asia
is addressing this
confusion head-on
with its IDT1529 service, which offers customers clear pricing at a great
value that does not expire at the end
of a promotional period.
“Those attributes, along with worldclass service, ensure that our customers get worry-free international calling.”
Subscribing to the IDT1529 service
is a simple web-based process, with
online registration and referral bonuses.
Customers can register up to 10
landline or cellular numbers for each
IDT1529 account, making the service
available from all home, mobile, office and family phones.
With its advanced online account
management features, the service allows to easily register or de-register
phone numbers from their account,
view invoices, and verify call records,
all sorted according to the phone from
which the calls were made.
Customers can sign up for IDT1529
by visiting http://www.idt1529.net.
Market research shows that consumers are also looking for ways to
minimise the high calling charges
they incur when they go overseas.
To address this issue, IDT is offering a global calling card with each
IDT1529 account, providing subscribers with access to reasonable international calling rates.
Access numbers are available for
all major travel destinations, meaning
that expensive mobile phone roaming
charges or exorbitant hotel telephone
bills can be a thing of the past.
IDT Telecom is a subsidiary of IDT
Corp, an international telecommunications and technology company listed on thn New York Stock Exchange.
Voucher contract worker
tickets to Canada/USA
Cheapest airline tickets
to Canada
the children had difficulty
breathing, while some were
vomiting. Another 3,000 people
fled their homes in Mary Grace
Subdivision in Barangay Sta
Rosa I in Marilao after the
toxic chemicals flowed to the
Marilao River and affected their
environment. Other affected
barangays were Lambakin,
Patubig, Tabing Ilog, Ibayo and
Nagbalon, all in Marilao town.
Canada PR plus AC
joint fare city (Toronto
Calgary, Edmonton,
Ottawa, Winnipeg
and Montreal)
Canada one-way ticket
on PR at $2,850 up
Manila
THE Presidential Commission
on Good Government has
paid $20 million or about P1
billion to its legal advisers,
including three foreign lawyers
who have been helping the
agency recover
the ill-gotten
wealth of the
late Ferdinand
Marcos and
some of his
cronies.
PCGG director
for legal
affairs Jay Miguel said the
amount represents lawyers’
fees. PCGG lawyers get the
equivalent of 1 per cent of the
recovered wealth. “At present,
there are just three foreign
lawyers who are in our active
list. The spent amount goes to
foreign lawyers who assisted
the PCGG since its creation in
1986.
Call us now ...
2366 2818
Cebu Pacific promo
Christmas holiday booking available now
Licence No: 352022
Email: hkjumbo@pacific.net.hk
Bring this ad and get a free gift
Or visit us ...
Rm 504, 5/F
Metropole Building
57 Peking Road
Tsimshatsui
MTR station Exit C1, opposite
Fortress, above Spaghetti House
Monday-Friday: 9am to 6pm
Saturday: 9am to 3pm
Sunday: 11am to 4pm
© filipino globe ad design
12/16/2006 5:55:01 PM
12
filipino globe
news
December 2006
First graduate of ‘home manager’ course lands job with Malaysian royal family
For Mary Joy Buñol, an Ilongga
who took up the Philippine
government on its “Supermaid”
program, the venture has
certainly paid off.
After attending the 116-hour
home manager course offered
by the Technical Education and
Skills Development Authority
(Tesda) and getting the
“Supermaid” certification, she
now works for a royal family in
Malaysia .
Buñol is one of 27 participants
in the “Supermaid” program,
which seeks to transform
domestic helpers into certified
home managers.
Cecile Gutierrez, executive
director of Tesda Women’s
Center, the sole implementor
of the training program, all
but three of the 27 trainees
have graduated, or to be
more precise, received Tesda
certification as a “supermaid”.
The prospects of Buñol’s
batch mates, who attended
the program in September, are
likewise rosy.
According to Gutierrez,
several of Buñol’s batch mates,
who were from New Lucena
Polytechnic College in Iloilo,
have been able to land jobs in
Singapore.
All 27 in the first batch of
supermaids were recommended
to the Philippine Overseas
Employment Administration for
their immediate employment
abroad, she said. They were
composed mostly of Lebanon
returnees who took advantage
of the PGMA-Training for Work
Scholarship Project.
A second batch of trainees
was accepted last month,
alsoconsisting of Lebanon
returnees.
Of the 10 trainees in the
second batch, Gutierrez said
eight passed the assessment.
Those who did have received
their certification as home
managers.
There are about 30 Tesda
technology institutions,
both private and public, that
are capable of offering the
“Supermaid” program.
Tesda plans to coordinate with
POEA and Philippine embassies
in countries with high number
of DHs about conducting the
“supermaid” training overseas,
specifically in Saudi Arabia,
Cyprus , Singapore and Hong
Spain lets
helpers in as
caregivers
A career alternative is emerging:
become a caregiver as an entry point
to the world’s healthcare industry.
The Philippines is working on
developing Canada and Spain as
new markets for Filipino domestic
helpers to come in as healthcare
professionals.
Under the Manila’s new
cooperation program with Spain
called “Proyekto Piloto”, the Spanish
government has issued 120 visas to
Filipino healthcare workers such as
caregivers and nurses.
To qualify under the program,
a Filipino helper must have the
appropriate certification and
education requirements to land
jobs with large companies, primary
hospitals and homes for the aged
in Spain. The easiest way is to land
caregiving jobs by first acquiring
a certification from Tesda after
completing a training course.
Sixty Filipino workers have been
deployed under Proyekto Piloto.
“This is how we value our workers,
especially women. Slowly, we are
going into that direction,” Labor
Secretary Arturo Brion said.
LARA CLIMACO
RP wants
US$500 for
helpers in
Malaysia
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo welcomes returnees from Lebanon. They are among of the first
participants in the government’s ‘Supermaid’ program. The program officially took effect on December 15.
From December 15, new hires will receive US$400 minimum monthly salary
Despite strong opposition from labor
recruiters and a chilly reception from
some Middle Eastern countries, the
Philippines has pushed through with a
minimum wage increase for domestic
helpers deployed overseas.
Starting on December 15, newly
deployed Filipino domestic helpers
must have a minimum wage of $400
per month, Labor Secretary Arturo
Brion said.
Those seeking redeployment from
February 1, 2007, may return to their
foreign employers provided they receive the new minimum wage.
All of them – new hires and returning helper alike – must have secured certification from the Technical
Education and Skills Development
December 2006
Authority of their competency in
household service work, completed
the country-specific and culture orientation conducted by the Overseas
Workers Welfare Administration, and
be at least 25 years old.
There are some exceptions, based
on a Philippine Overseas Employment Administration circular, which
determines circumstances under
which the “old rules” may apply to
accommodate requests from labor recruiters frazzled by the government’s
stricter requirements.
For new hires, the POEA will waive
the age, new minimum wage and
the Tesda certification requirements,
if the helper’s work permit and visa
were processed before December 15,
2006.
For vacationing workers returning
to their foreign employment under
a new contract, and whose re-entry
visas were issued before February
1, 2007, the old rules may apply but
only with respect to the age and minimum-wage rate requirements.
But for returning OFWs on a new
contract whose re-entry visas are issued after February 1, 2007, the new
rules will apply.
“I see no effects on the deployment
and the remittances because we’re
working on opening new markets,”
Brion said, responding to labor recruiters’ concerns that foreign employers would simply hire helpers
from other countries because it is now
more costly to hire Filipino helpers.
The new rules also prohibit the
practice of deducting placement fees
from the helper’s salary.
Experienced helpers will be exempt from the mandatory 300-hour
household service worker training if
a Tesda assessment shows they have
sufficient skill and competence.
Cecile B Gutierrez, executive director of Tesda Women’s Center, said
Tesda and POEA will coordinate with
Philippine embassies of countries
with a large number of domestic
helpers about conducting a skills upgrade training program.
Aside from Hong Kong , Saudi Arabia, Cyprus and Singapore have been
identified as target markets for the
“Supermaid” program, which seeks
to elevate domestic helpers to the status of home managers through a 116hour training course.
Hong Kong pays Filipino domestic
helpers more than US$400 a month.
Filipino domestic helpers in Malaysia
may soon become the highest paid
among their compatriots in the world
under a new minimum wage requirement that doubles their salaries to
US$500.
They will outstrip those in Hong
Kong, which set the benchmark for
domestic helper pay with a minimum
monthly wage equivalent to US$435.
Malaysian employers currently
pay their Filipino helpers 715 ringgit
(US$250). The new minimum wage
set by the Philippine government is
twice that amount and three times that
being paid to their Indonesian counterparts.
The new requirement also sets 25 as
the minimum age for Filipino maids
to work in the country.
Malaysian employment agencies
have complained that the new wages
were too steep and would seriously
affect Malaysian households.
“The 100 per cent increase is too
high and unrealistic,” one agency
said.
There are about 20,000 Filipino
maids in Malaysia with about 30 employment agencies involved recruiting
them, the Star newspaper reported.
Josephus Jimenez, the Philippine
Embassy labor attaché to Malaysia
said Filipino household workers now
had to attend and complete an orientation course on work policies and their
responsibilities, the Star said.
“Any increase should be based on
the performance of the maid. They
(Philippine labor office) just cannot
arbitrarily fix a rate and expect every
employer to follow it,” Mona Lee, a
maid agency owner was quoted as
saying by the paper.
Lee said most agencies and employers were rejecting the increase
and said that the unnecessary increase
would encourage maids from the Philippines to enter the country illegally.
There are some 350,000 foreign
maids in Malaysia, 95 percent of
whom are Indonesians.
While Indonesians are less expensive, Filipino maids are often valued
for their ability to speak fluent English.
13
Makati judge says ‘no’ to rapist transfer
Court denies US request for custody of Daniel Smith after jailing Marine for 2005 rape of Subic woman
Raul Acedre in Manila
The Department of Foreign Affairs
has pleaded no contest to a decision
by the Makati Regional Trial Court
denying the United States custody of
convicted rapist Daniel Smith (right).
This came after Judge Benjamin
Pozon ruled that Justice Secretary
Raul Gonzales and chief state prosecutor Jovencito Zuno have overstepped their authority in signing an
agreement with US ambassador Kristie Kenney over Smith’s custody.
“Only the President and the Foreign
Affairs Secretary have the authority
to enter into such deals with the US
government,” Pozon said.
Pozon jailed Smith for 40 years
for the 2005 rape of a young Subic
woman, known only as Nicole. Smith
was remanded to the Makati City jail
pending an appeal.
Foreign affairs spokesman Eduardo
Malaya said the department respects
the court’s decision over Smith’s
custody and will coordinate with the
Department of Justice to explore legal remedies in order for the country
to abide by its treaty with the United
States.
He also urged Filipinos to be calm
on the custody battle and study what
the two governments have agreed
upon in the Visiting Forces Agreement.
He added that the DFA strictly follows its treaty obligations with a for-
eign country.
The US embassy in Manila
said the decision denying
their request
for the transfer
of custody of
Smith, reflects
a
misunderstanding of the nature of the Philippine obligations under the terms of
the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA)
during judicial proceedings.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the US embassy reiterated that
the VFA is an international bilateral
agreement that is binding on both the
US and the Philippines.
Article V, Paragraph 6 of this agreement specifies that “the custody of any
United States personnel over whom
the Philippines is to exercise jurisdiction shall immediately reside with
United States military authorities, if
they so request, from the commission
of the offense until completion of all
judicial proceedings.”
“Lance Corporal Smith is a member
of the U.S. military who was on a military mission in the Philippines. He is
not a private citizen, and therefore the
handling of his case is subject to the
terms of the VFA.
“Continued US-Philippines military cooperation relies upon adherence to the VFA, which provides a
clear framework for the legal status
of visiting US service members,” the
embassy statement said.
“The US government, however,
welcomes the statements by representatives of both the Department of
Foreign Affairs and the Department
of Justice to the Court clarifying that
the US should retain custody of the
convicted rapist until the end of judicial proceedings.
“An appeal is being filed in the
appropriate court seeking to return
Lance Corporal Smith to U.S. military,” the embassy noted.
However, lawyers of Smith on
Thursday asked the Court of Appeals
to reverse a Philippine tribunal’s decision to detain their client at the Makati
City jail.
Rebuilding
starts as
damage
tops P1b
Ed Medel in Kuala Lumpur
Supermaid policy takes off
Lara Climaco in Manila
Kong. Tesda foresees no
hitches in expanding the scope
of supermaid training because
the modules are all basics.
After the training, domestic
helpers overseas can expect
to have proven capabilities to
plan and organise work, use
mathematical concepts and
techniques, respond effectively
to difficult and challenging
behavior, and respond to
emergency, aside from the
usual chores of providing care
and support to families and
pets.
LARA CLIMACO
news
filipino globe
President Arroyo sends off the first truck in a
200-vehicle mercy convoy to Albay. With her are
Vice-President Noli de Castro and relief officials.
Hope amid Albay despair and destruction
President Arroyo gave emergency relief efforts in Albay a brave, hopeful
face and the victims a shoulder to cry
on.
Visiting the area for the first time,
Arroyo brought a package of relief
measures, including loans for the rebuilding of towns and villages devastated by a mudslide caused by typhoon Reming, and help to ease the
victims’ suffering.
“The visit gave us hope and she
heard and felt our suffering,” said one
victim, who lost several relatives in
one of eight villages that disappeared
under a mound of volcanic debris.
Earlier, Arroyo released P1 billion
for emergency relief and ordered the
GSIS and SSS to extend direct assistance to the victims.
This includes deferred payment on
loans and fresh funds to help in rebuilding people’s livelihood as the
unofficial death toll in the tragedy
topped 1,400.
Meanwhile, congress is considering
a P12 billion aid proposal for victims
of the three typhoons that struck the
country in the past two months.
Arroyo directed the Social Security
System (SSS) and the Government
Service Insurance System (GSIS) to
extend assistance to the victims of
typhoon “Reming” which battered
the Bicol Region and several other
Southern Luzon provinces. Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesperson
Ignacio R. Bunye said the President
issued the directive during a National Disaster Coordinating Council
(NDCC) meeting which she chaired
at Camp Simeon Ola.
The assistance these two government agencies may extend to the
victims is in the form of “deferred
payments” on their existing housing
loans, Bunye said.
He said that by allowing the victims
of “Reming” deferred payments on
their housing loans, they may instead
use the money to rebuild their homes
destroyed by the typhoon.
“There are other mitigating mea-
sures that were proposed and approved (at the NDCC meeting) and
some of these mitigating measures
have to do with the loans of victims
with government institutions like the
SSS and GSIS,” Bunye said.
“What was approved by the two
agencies is deferred installment. This
is not a moratorium but a deferred
installment for six months in order
for them to be able to rebuild their
homes. Instead of paying the installment, they can use that to rebuild their
homes,” he added.
The President urged improved preparedness to mitigate damage during natural disasters such as the one
wrought by Reming.
Reconstruction is under way in Albay in the wake of the devastation
wrought by typhoon Reming.
Even as victims continued to pick
up the pieces of their shattered lives,
relief and agencies were set to announce the end of rescue operations.
Help has started pouring into the disaster area from the national government and world relief agencies.
But provincial officials say a mammoth task lies ahead in the reconstruction of villages and towns destroyed
by the super typhoon.
Damage to Albay’s agriculture and
government infrastructure alone has
been placed at P1.13 billion, the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council
report said.
The figure is expected to rise as
more reports come in.
Partial reports showed a total of
P1.2 billion in damage, not including
damage to property.
Provincial disaster management officer Cedric Daep said more than one
million people have been displaced in
more than 500 barangays in Bicol.
More than 100,000 homes were destroyed.
Residents temporarily housed in
holding areas have returned home
while others chose to stay with relatives.
Some of them have put up tents and
makeshift houses but these people
are in need of relief assistance even
though they are out of evacuation
centers. More than 28,000 remain in
evacuation centers.
“The distribution of relief goods
was not for evacuation centers only
but aides are to be given by-population basis,” Daep said.
Damage to fisheries has been placed
at more than P14 million and for the
rest of the aquaculture industry, the
bill is more than P3 million. He said
damage includes fish products, fishers’ equipment and cages.
12/16/2006 5:55:03 PM
14
filipino globe
news
December 2006
US hospitals lift Filipino hopes
Pinoy health workers seen in demand as 200,000 beds come on stream in six years
Rick Sumallo in New Jersey
A hospital construction boom in the
US is expected to drive demand for
more Filipino health workers with
more than 200,000 beds expected to
come on stream in six years.
Most of the new hospitals are being
built in six states – California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Texas and Virginia, labor leader and former senator
Ernesto Herrera said.
“California and Florida are popular
retirement havens for American baby
boomers. “ he said.
“Apart from this, the two states are
also being swamped with Hispanic
migrants,” Herrera said.
“We must stress that the data on new
US hospitals do not include new medical office buildings, mainly put up by
health maintenance organizations and
nursing homes for the aged, that invariably require more registered and
vocational nurses, physical therapists
and other caregivers,” he added.
Some 78 million American baby
boomers -those born between 1946 to
1964 – now comprise 26 percent of
the 300-million US population.
The oldest baby boomers are turning 60 this year, Herrera said adding
that they are starting to strain the US
health care system.
In 1990, Americans visited healthcare providers at a rate of 2,900 ap-
pointments per 100,000 population.
This increased to 4,256 visitations in
2005. From January to September this
year alone, a total of 10,290 Filipino
nurses sought jobs in America, according to the US National Council of
State Boards of Nursing.
More than 100,000 Filipino nurses
have left the country since 1994, with
57 per cent of them going to Saudi
Arabia, 14 per cent to the US and 12
per cent to the United Kingdom.
filipino globe
December 2006
15
ANGBANSA
Manila
It’s a small step, but it will
go some way in easing
the application process
for Filipinos wishing to file
documents with the US
government.
The US embassy in Manila
now accepts documents
authenticated by the
Department of Foreign Affairs.
The authentication of seals
and signatures of Philippine
notaries public used to be
done directly from end-to-end
by the embassy’s consular
section.
But beginning last week,
the service was no longer
available. Instead, in order
to ease administrative work,
the embassy will handle
paperwork only in the final
stages of the process when
the documents already have a
DFA seal.
Eastern Samar
Sixteen public schools in
Eastern Samar have a special
reason to celebrate. The
Department of Trade and
Industry recently distributed
160 desktop personal
computers under its personal
computers for public schools
project.
The computers are worth
about P375,000.
SmarTone ad (Film)
DTI provincial caretaker
Eleanor Alido said the project
is DTI’s response to the
challenges posed by the fast
emerging knowledge economy.
“The program aims to
enhance the information
technology skills of young
Filipinos,” she said.
“The classroom is the perfect
venue for such a project,” Alido
added.
Hospitals in the US are hard pressed to keep pace with an exploding elderly population, making it necessary to import health workers in large numbers.
Want to be a citizen? You have to take this test
Joy Ang-Roberts in Washington
Forget American trivia. The US
government will introduce a
citizenship test that focuses more
on American values and principles,
the meaning of democracy and the
importance of the Bill of Rights.
If that sounds a lot, it is – and
if you want to be an American
citizen, you have to do some serious
thinking.
But even then, US immigration
officials say it’s for the better.
“The intention is to make the
citizenship test more meaningful,
not more difficult,” Shawn Saucier,
a spokesman for the US Citizenship
and Immigration Services said.
“The current test does not gauge
a person’s adherence to the US
Constitution or an immigrant’s
understanding of our civic values and
what it means to be a US citizen,”
Saucier said.
Saucier said 140 questions will be
tested on some 5,000 volunteers who
can retake the regular test if they fail.
The questions will eventually be
narrowed down to 100 before the
new test is fully implemented in
2008.
Among the new questions, Saucier
said, are: Why does the US have
three branches of government;
name two rights that are only for
US citizens; name two cabinetlevel positions; name one important
idea found in the Declaration of
Independence.
There’s more to the new US citizenship test than American trivia.
Tarlac
Tension between the
management of Blooming
Apparel Corp and some 200
striking workers has been
eased after governor Jose V.
Yap intervened.
Yap initiated conciliation
talks between
the two
groups.
“We must
resolve this
crisis as a
Christmas gift to the workers
who must be paid their dues
without compromising the
other laborers still working for
the company,” Yap said.
Under the memorandum of
agreement, signed by both
parties. the separation pay of
each worker will be 15 days
per year of service payable in
six installments for a period of
six months starting on January
2007.
12/16/2006 5:55:07 PM
16
filipino globe
news
December 2006
Pinoys’ next big frontier looms
Western Canadian province could be our next Saudi, thanks to its rich deposits of oil sands
T
hink back a hundred years
when Saudi Arabia was a
barren desert being thronged
by western prospectors looking for
oil.
Then fast forward to the time the
Americans began pumping the black
gold from the the earth, creating a
boom that would eventually lead
to another kind of exodus: that of
overseas workers looking for a piece
of the action.
That image of the desert kingdom
has given way to images of a sparkling
western metropolis and that exodus
has created the phenomenon of the
overseas Filipino worker.
It could be history repeating itself
half a world away in the Western
Canadian province of Alberta, thanks
to its rich deposits of oil sands,
described by Time Magazine as the
country’s greatest energy treasure.
And it could be the next big frontier
for OFWs.
Alberta has enough reserves to
meet world demand for petroleum
for the next century. The oil boom
has created a shortage of workers in
Alberta, fuelling increases in salaries
as companies compete for available
labor.
Oil sands are deposits of bitumen,
a viscous oil that will not flow unless
heated or diluted.
Unlike conventional crude oil,
which flows naturally and is easily
pumped from the ground, Alberta’s oil
requires some additional upgrading
before it can be refined, diluted with
lighter hydrocarbons before it can
flow and transported by pipelines.
It is a labor-intensive process.
“Malapot ang oil sand at hindi basta
basta mapapadaloy sa tubo,” says a
Filipino engineer who has worked in
an oil sand operation.
Peter Sutherland, Canada’s ambassador to the Philippines who recently
spoke before Filipino-Canadians in
Toronto, said Western Canada has a
high demand for workers for its oil
sands industry.
There are only two biggest oil
sands deposits in the world – Alberta,
Canada and Venezuela.
Just how busy workers are in the
oil sands is borne by the fact that in
one year alone, a total of 20,000 oil
exploration holes were drilled in
Alberta.
Sutherland said Filipinos have
Somewhere in this breathtaking
landscape is Canada’s greatest buried
energy resource, oil sands, which are
being seen as the next big thing for
imported labor.
North Cotabato
The North Cotabato
government will buy 12 police
motorbikes equipped with
special gadgets and weapons
to counter terrorism and
illegal drugs operations in the
area.
North Cotabato governor
Manny Piñol has allotted P2.5
million for the project. He
is set to submit the project
proposal for budget allocation
to the province’s legislative
council on Tuesday.
Piñol said the motorbikes
and the special gadgets
would be used by a group
called Crisis Response Group
tasked to man the highway
against illegal drugs and other
criminal activities in North
Cotabato in 24 hours.
The CRG patrols are
patterned on motorcycleriding Task Force Davao.
Surigao
The body of a town mayor
reported missing after a ferry
sank of Hinintuan Island was
found after a search by rescue
teams.
Chief Supt Antonio
Nanas, regional director
of Northeastern Mindanao
police said two other missing
passengers were found, raising
the death toll to 17 in the
“
Malapot ang oil
sands at hindi ito
basta mapapadaloy
sa tubo
A FILIPINO ENGINEER
On oil sands processing
a better chance of landing jobs in
places in Canada such as Alberta
because they speak fluent English
and have a high level of education.
He said a recent training program to
recruit some 250 Filipinos in Alberta
as temporary workers was launched
in Manila.
These people are to be issued work
permits and deployed to many hotels
now sprouting in that Canadian
province. More workers are also
needed to fill the vacuum left by
local Canadians who left their jobs
in search of high-paying jobs in the
oil sands industry. In one town of
Alberta, restaurants and other service
companies were forced to shut down
for lack of manpower.
Sutherland said that there is now a
policy proposal to allow temporary
workers to apply for permanent
residence while they are in Canada.
He said such application will also be
processed faster. And because these
temporary workers have already spent
some time in Canada, Sutherland
said they will be given priority over
those who are applying from outside
Canada because of their familiarity
with the culture and practices of the
country. Already, there is an exodus to
Western Canada, notably Alberta.
Multicultural groups from Toronto’s
Tamils, Indians, Filipinos, Europeans
and other groupings have started the
trek to the oil sands where some say
the pay averages $18 per hour for
ordinary workers.
Future job opportunities are going
to grow threefold, say business
forecasters. Oil production is expected
to rise to 4.5 million barrels per day
by the year 2015 from the current
2.5 million and this means it would
propel Canada to the No 4 position
among the world’s oil producers
next to Saudi Arabia, Russia and the
United States.
Belgium set to grant worker status to OFWs
Ronald Balce in Brussels
Belgium is easily accessible
because of the porous border
in the European Union.
ANGBANSA
Undocumented Filipinos in Belgium
may soon be granted regular worker
status by the government under a
new initiative that gained momentum
after a recent visit by President
Arroyo.
The government of Prime Minister
Guy Verhofstadt is considering the
move on a case-to-case basis.
The proposal is being studied by
the Belgian Senate and House of
Representatives.
Belgian Foreign ministry officials
had assured Arroyo that steps were
being taken to process undocumented
Filipino workers in the country after
noting their “innate industry, reliability and honesty”.
Belgium is home to more than
5,000 OFWs, but only about 3,000
are officially registered with the Belgian National Institute of Statistics.
The remainder are undocumented
and working without proper working
permits. Most of the OFWs in the
country are in the service industry.
Belgium, a relatively new OFW
destination, is easily accessible
because of the porous border in the
European Union. Majority of OFWs
in Europe are in Britain and Italy,
with a rising number in Ireland.
President Arroyo said Prime
Minister Verhofstadt had expressed
sympathy for the undocumented
Filipino workers and had assured her
that his government is taking serious
steps to help.
sinking of the M/V Leonida.
He identified the recovered
dead body as that of mayor
as Arlenchita Navarro, wife
of former congressman
Constantino Navarro Jr.
Her body was found inside
the cabin of the ill-fated ferry,
which sank in stormy waters.
“The body of the mayor was
positively identified by the
relatives,” Nanas said.
Davao
The government plans to
build a highway to link the
six municipalities of Davao
Oriental to develop these
Pacific towns into a major
tourists attraction, the
Department of Tourism said.
The proposed SurigaoDavao Pacific Rim highway,
is part of the priority
infrastructure projects of
President Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo to harness the east
coast’s natural and manmade wonders for tourism
development, according
to DOT assistant regional
director Roger Layson.
“The east coast has one of
the most beautiful beaches
and mangrove areas in the
region,” Layson said.
“I am confident that when the
highway opens, everyone will
come, including the tourists,”
he added.
news
filipino globe
December 2006
17
Filipinos celebrate after Saudis lift ban on gatherings
Chito Manuel in Jeddah
After an absence of two years due to
security reasons, OFW Month got its
day in the sun in Jeddah, and for two
weekends, Filipinos celebrated it the
best way they could: simple yet festive.
From sports to medical and dental
mission to cultural presentation, community groups or accredited community partners (ACPs) contributed their
warm bodies, skill and talent to the
proceedings.
“It was very successful. Hopefully,
this would be an annual event in tribute to our OFWs,” said Consul General Pendosina Lomondot.
Activities for the OFW Month, cel-
ebrated annually in December, were
suspended in 2004 and 2005 for security reasons.
This year, the Saudi authorities
felt safe enough to give permission
to public gatherings of this kind and
magnitude.
The ACPs needed little prodding.
There were more than 20 community groups from Jeddah, the western
province and Abha, led by Kasapi and
OFWCC, who joined the celebration
under the supervision of Welof Jake
Samain.
To prepare for the sports contests,
the consulate grounds were spruced
up with a fresh coat of paint provided
by Emy de Guzman’s Sky Freight
Forwarders and other volunteers.
In the first weekend of the celebration, a ribbon-cutting ceremony presided over by Lomondot was held to
officially kick off the program.
The Bicol Saro nin Riyadh of Francis Salud and the Waraynon conducted a joint medical and dental mission
on the consulate grounds.
Guhit Pinoy art exhibit was also organised by Bicol Saro. Badminton,
bowling and several board games
kept the sporting set busy.
During the cultural night, various
Filipino organizations performed,
among them the Serenata Choir under the baton of noted piano teacher
and conductress Sylvia de los Santos,
and a choir of Filipino nurses from
Makkah.
Crowds gather for a cultural performance on the grounds of the consulate.
Tokyo nurse pact reaffirmed
President Arroyo and Prime Minister Abe renew commitment to economic agreement
Months of anxiety have given way to
anticipation and a sense of relief after
Tokyo and Manila reaffirmed their
commitment to a wide range of issues, including the entry of Filipino
caregivers into Japan.
President Arroyo and Japanese
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe cemented
the Japan-Philippines economic partnerhip agreement during the Japanese
leader’s visit to Manila.
The pact was signed by Arroyo and
former Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi in September.
Earlier, Malacanang sought to allay
fears after a major Japanese nurses
union said they will oppose the importation of Filipino caregivers.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said
that as a result of Abe’s visit, Manila
and Tokyo were able to iron out “certain issues”.
Bunye said that the Philippines and
Japan will keep communication lines
open.
“We feel that the exchange of information, knowledge and experiences
among nurses from Japan and the
Philippines would be worthwhile and
mutually rewarding,” he assured.
Bunye said all Filipino nurses and
caregivers are aware that before they
are accepted to work as nurses and
caregivers in Japan, they will undergo
extensive training and need to pass licensure test.
Under the agreement, Filipino nurses and caregivers can work in Japan
as long as they undergo training and
pass the licensure examination.
The Japanese nursing group questioned the deployment of Filipino
nurses in Japan for fear that Japanese
nurses will be neglected once they are
accepted.
The group also expressed willingness to support the entry of Filipino
nurses if the Japanese government assured them of fair treatment, in terms
of salaries, and improved working
conditions.
Japanese nurses are demanding an
increase in their salaries before the
government begin importing Filipino
nurses in significant numbers.
The Japanese Nursing Association
wants Tokyo to double their salaries
and improve their working conditions.
Under the agreement, Filipino
nurses can work in Japan after un-
8,000 jobs
for Pinoy
seafarers
in Japan
Joey Molina in Tokyo and
Lara Climaco in Manila
The group says Tokyo has
enough nurses to care for its
growing elderly population.
dergoing training and passing the the
licensure examination, which is conducted in Japanese.
Nursing association board member Kyoko Nagaike said Japan has
enough nurses to care for the growing
elderly population, the Manila Times
reported.
Nagaike said the association would
only support the entry of Filipino
nurses if the Japanese government
could ensure that they would be given the same treatment and salaries
as Japanese counterparts. Japanese
nurses get a basic starting salary of
193,924 yen or about P85,000.
“If we allow Filipino nurses to
come in and they would be given
lower salaries and lower benefits than
the Japanese nurses are receiving, it
could spell worse times for us because
as it is now, the working conditions of
Japanese nurses need much improvement and if cheap labor would come
in, these working conditions, we’re
afraid, would remain,” she said.
TESDA STOPS DAVAO FOUNDATION
A Davao foundation
which has been
soliciting P300 from
applicants to Japan
has been told to
stop its recruitment
activities.
The Technical
Education Skills
and Development Authority said
Global Skilled Professionals of
the Philippines Foundation has no
right to collect money purportedly
as registration fee and payment for
other matters.
Tesda provincial director Rosana
Urdaneta confirmed that the
foundation is duly accredited.
The recruitment was held at the
gymnasium of the Assumption
College of Davao.
Global president
Ruth Bañego Dilao
said the foundation
was not recruiting
workers but training
them as part of
the government’s
partnership with Japan
International Technical
Cooperation.
This came after one applicant
complained on a radio program
that they were charged P300 per
applicant when they were only
applying for certain jobs in Japan
and there was no assurance if
they would be hired. He said they
were asked to pay P100 after
registration and another P200
afterwards for which they were
issued receipts with no TIN.
Japan needs at least 8,000 Filipino
seafarers to man 600 new ships by
2010, Labor Secretary Arturo Brion
said.
Production of the new vessels,
mainly in the merchant marine and
carrier classes, is in full swing.
Brion said the world maritime industry itself, already dominated by
Filipinos, is suffering from a manpower shortage and the Philippines
is ready to capture opportunities the
situation has created.
“We are continually on the lookout
for opportunities and at the same time
ready with creative responses,” Brion
told shipping industry conference in
Tokyo.
He said the Philippines has introduced measures to fill a potentially
critical shortage of marine officers in
the world.
These include a bridging course
curriculum for mechanical and electrical engineers so that they can become marine engineers.
The Maritime Academy of Asia
and the Pacific has jump-started the
program, which is available on scholarship from funds provided by the
Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.
The scheme has caught on. A similar program is being piloted by another maritime school in the Visayas, in
partnership with a Japanese shipping
company.
Since September, the Professional
Regulation Commission has held
walk-in examinations for marine
deck officers, offering a choice of a
computer-based examination as an
alternative to the regular licensing examination.
A similar system has also been in
place for marine engine graduates
since November.
The Department of Labor is studying proposals for maritime schools to
require qualifying entrance examinations, reduce the number of maritime
colleges based on the educational
standards they maintain and identify
specific industry training and skills
requirements.
12/16/2006 5:55:18 PM
filipino globe
18 December 2006
focus
editorial & features
filipino globe
December 2006
19
Our future tai pans will
come from OFW ranks
Pasasalamat sa isang guro sa Amerika
Dr Steve Warren is board
certified in family medicine
as well as hospice and
Dr
Steve Warren
is board
palliative
medicine
certified in family medicine
as well as hospice and
palliative medicine
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Likas sa ating Pilipino ang pusong
matulungin lalo’t kadugo. Maraming
nagtratrabaho sa ibang bansa na
unang tinutulungan ang iniwang
pamilya na lumalaban sa kahirapan.
Higit sa lahat, kahit hindi kaanu-ano
ay tinutulungan din ng mga Pilipino
lalo’t matindi ang pangangailangan.
Nasaksihan ng marami sa programa
sa telebisyon na dinala sa Las Vegas
ang tinulungan ng mga kababayang
Pilipino ang kapwa Pilipinong OFW.
Marahil isang kapalaran ko ang
magkaroon ng tapat at matalik na
kaibigan. Si Mike Bigornia na kapwa
ko makata, kapwa kami nangarap
ng maraming bagay sa mundo at di
kami nagtigil hanggang matupad ang
ilan sa aming mga pangarap.
Marami akong tula na nais kong
ipaaklat noon, tinulungan ako ni
Mike. Nag-isip kaming pareho kung
anong koleksyon ng mga tula ang
una kong ilalathala. Nagkasundo
kaming ang malalakas kong tula
na may talinghaga ng ugat ng
panulaang bayan, gaya ng kasabihan,
bugtong at kantahing-bayan ang
aking ilalathala.
Nakapamili ako ng 50 tula at
nadagdagan pa ito ng ilang mga
tula. Iniba rin namin ang istilo
ng pagpapakilala o introduksiyon
na dapat ay sikat at kinikilalang
makata. Panahon iyon ng aming
paghihimagsik sa kairalan.
Nabuo namin ang una kong aklat
ng tula na “Biro-Biro Kung Sanlan”
ang pamagat. Ang batang makatang
si Romulo Sandoval ang nagbigay
ng panimulang pagpapakilala. At
si Mike mismo ang gumawa ng
ITAASMO
kabayan
TEO
ANTONIO
introduksiyon sa aking koleksiyon
ng mga tula.
Isa iyon sa aming kapangahasan.
Pero ang problema na lang ay kung
sino ang pablisher. Pinag-isipan
naming ang mga taong lalapitan at
nasa isip ko si Senador Gerry Roxas
dahil anak siya ng dating Unang
Ginang Trinidad de Leon Roxas,
taga-Bulakan at nagputong ng
korona ng pagka-hari ng balagtasan
sa aking amang makata, si Emilio
Mar. Antonio.
Pero, yumao si Senador Roxas
at nabigla kaming pareho ni Mike
sa nangyari. Kaya’t ang kanyang
misis na si Tek ang gumawa ng
paraan. Iminungkahi niyang lapitan
ang kanyang tiya na isang guro sa
Amerika upang makakuha ng pondo
sa pagpapalimbag ng aking aklat ng
mga tula.
Dahil paborito siyang pamangkin
ni Anita Eugenio, matagal na ring
guro sa Amerika, ay hindi ito nagkait
ng tulong. Kaya’t mula sa padalang
dolyar ng guro sa Amerika ay
nalimbag ang una kong aklat ng mga
tula. Hindi naman nabale-wala ang
tulong ng guro at sa katunayan, ang
aking unang aklat ng tula ay nagwagi
ng “National Book Awards” sa
unang paggagawad ng Manila Critic
Circle noong 1982 ng mahuhusay na
mga aklat sa bansa.
Pero hindi ko makakalimutan sa
aking buhay ang tulong na padala ng
gurong Anita Eugenio at magkabyak
na Mike at Tek. Kung hindi sa
kanilang tapat na pagtulong ay di
mailuluwal ang una kong aklat ng
mga tula. Kaya’t kung ito ma’y
natuyot na dahon ng pag-alaala sa
gurong Anita, pagdamutan sana ang
aking walang hanggang pasasalamat
nasaan man siya ngayon:
Pasasalamat
(Kay Anita Eugenio)
Paano kita mapasasalamatan
dahil naroroon sa lupang dayuhan.
Kahit di man tayo nagkadaop-palad
naroon sa puso ang pasasalamat.
Di malilimutan ang lantay na handog
sa batang makatang sumibol,lumusog.
Gurong di naghintay,anumang kapalit
sa ibinahaging bukal ng pag-ibig.
Pagdamutan sana ang pitlag ng tula
na alay sa dangal ng iyong nagawa.
Bihira sa mundo ang may gintong
mithi na tulad ng iyong lantay na
lunggati.
“They have the drive and the
hunger.”
The speaker was one of 50 most
powerful and influential women in
international business named by
Fortune Magazine in a recent issue.
Tessie Sy-Coson, SM heiress and
chairman of the merged Banco de
Oro and Equitable PCI Bank and of
SM Investment Corp, was referring
to overseas Filipino workers from
whose eclectic ranks she predicts
the next generation of taipans will
emerge.
“The taipans of the coming
generation will come from the ranks
of today’s OFWs,” she confidently
asserts, as quoted in a morning daily.
Her optimism is well-founded.
Even as she spoke, UBS, an
investment bank, revealed from a
study the “exciting prospects” in
the Philippine retirement homes and
residential market due to continually
escalating demand from OFWs.
To satisfy this demand, giant local
developers are refocusing their sales
promotions techniques on OFWs and
other potential foreign buyers.
With yearly remittances potentially
worth up to $12 billion a year to the
home country, OFWs have had real
estate businessmen excited about
the industry’s surging strength that
has all but made the 1997-98 Asian
financial crisis a thing of the past.
The present economic boom is not
limited to the Philippines, however.
In our part of the globe, specifically
Southeast Asia, the rapidly
expanding economies of China,
Vietnam, and South Korea, to name
a few, are gearing up dramatically
to be on par with Japan in the near
future. China, especially, is on a roll.
Before the year is out, it would
have built 6.8 million cars,
surpassing Japan’s output, according
to Newsweek magazine.
The planet’s largest nation,
both in land mass (after Russia’s
dismemberment) and population,
China has all the potential, including
vast natural resources, to exploit
to the hilt the burgeoning market
economy it has embraced since the
late 1970s.
PRESSBOX
comment
FT
Ocampo
And if only because of proximity,
the possibility looms clear and
bright in the economic horizon that
it would soon replace the mighty
US, presently our foremost trading
partner, in our affections.
Incidentally, SM’s patriarch Henry
Sy emigrated from China.
Sy-Coson recalls with obvious
pride that the family was poor
when it started to earn a living in
the adopted country and through
honest toil and iron determination
was ultimately able to carve out
a veritable empire in the retail
business.
From her humble origins, she could
easily empathize with the gritty
crop of OFWs, estimated at more
than nine million worldwide, who
are braving the travails in foreign
lands and enduring the loneliness of
separation from families and friends
to better their lot.
I particularly relish the
humanitarian philosophy that
animates Sy-Coson’s lifestyle and
enriches her faith: She will work
hard all her life and earn more to
give more to the poor.
Somehow, it reminds me of the
Chinese sage who proffered an
insight steeped in Oriental wisdom
and mysticism, that the truly poor
man is not he who has nothing but he
who desires much.
ft.ocampo@filglobe.com
FT Ocampo wrote editorials and columns
for Pahayagang Malaya in the waning
years of the Marcos dictatorship and on
the democracy that replaced it, and later
contributed a weekly commentary to the
Daily Inquirer. Now semi-retired, he tends
a small backyard garden where he reads
and listens to light classics and oldies.
Hong Kong is
the fifth-largest
source of OFW
remittances after
the United States,
Saudi Arabia,
Japan and Italy.
It is home to
more than
120,000 Filipinos.
Sana’y makarating ito sa
minamahal kong gurong Anita na
nasa Amerika at malaman niya ang
aking habambuhay na utang na loob
sa kanyang nagawa sa aking musmos
na pagtatangka noon upang maging
ganap na makata.
teo.antonio@filglobe.com
12/16/2006 5:55:20 PM
20
forum
filipino globe
TINGINNAMIN
Let’s join forces to support OFW bill
We are one with the rest of our
expatriate brothers and sisters in
supporting a bill proposing increased
benefits for overseas Filipino
workers.
At last, those platitudes about our
so-called new national heroes have
gone beyond lip service and now
have real value attached to them.
Few in Congress and the Senate
will miss the opportunity to be
associated with such a politically
correct move and the bill should go
through without much difficulty.
However, we have to watch out for
the spoilers, who will try to water
it down or divest it of its proposed
funding for other uses.
Which is why, it is important that
this bill is given all the attention it
deserves, especially by us, the very
ones for whom this measure was
conceived in the first place.
To help galvanise support for
the bill and encourage vigilance
throughout the process, we are
launching, with this issue, a
campaign to do just that. This is
done in conjunction with our internet
edition (www.filglobe.com).
Write your congressman and
senator to register your support
for the bill through our interactive
facility on our website and get
updates on its passage through both
houses of Congress.
Coming on the heels of the
controversial “supermaid” program,
which went into effect on December
15, the bill by Iloilo congressman
Ferjenel Biron, will give us a decided
edge in the world market.
This is significant in the face of
growing competition from other
nationalities, particularly those who
speak English.
These measures are not perfect by
any means, but these are our best
chance at this time to stay ahead.
And now, we will also reap the
benefits of that advantage in a more
meaningful way.
When we have done our share
of our duty, we will have helped
the passage of perhaps the most
important measure ever proposed to
benefit us all.
SULATLETTERS
Three cheers for our athletes
in the Asian Games. It’s a
validation of our commitment
to training and once again
proves that with the support
of all concerned, particularly
those who provide the funding,
our athletes can rise to any
challenge.
It’s a bumper harvest for our
country this month and last
with Manny Pacquiao winning
in Las Vegas and Ronnie
Alcano showing up his toprated rivals in billiards.
But before we start gloating
about these achievements,
we should remember that
excellence in sports is a
continuing challenge.
Harvey Aragon-Bas
Manila
abogadong kasangga nito
sa imbestigasyon? Ano ang
naging kapalit na pakinabang
nun sa atin?
Lorabel Torno
Melbourne, Australia
Tama lang na malagas sa piso
ang budget ng Presidential
Commision Against Corruption.
Sa mahigit 20 taon nitong
paghahanap ng Marcos
billions, wala pa itong
naipakulong.
Sabihin nating may ilang
milyung dolyar nang narecover ito, kulang pa rin sa
dapat magawa nito sa loob ng
mahabang panahon.
Hindi nga ba kasasabi
lang PCGG na bilyun ang
binayaran nito sa mga
I watched with horror on
television the devastation that
Reming caused in Bicol.
It was indeed a national
tragedy and one that people
everywhere cannot help but
be moved. Our pain is shared
by all human beings. It is
the same feeling that strikes
us when we hear of killer
tornadoes in Texas or deadly
storms in Florida.
Reynalde Asuncion
Miami, Florida
December 2006
December 2006
There are many ways to land
a job in the US, both legal and
illegal. The way I found work
there can be considered extralegal. That is, I didn’t exactly
break the law to find employment
there, but I’m pretty sure the US
Labor Department would prefer
that not too many people follow
the route I took.
I had gone to California for
a long overdue vacation a few
months after the 9/11 terror
attacks. It was my fourth trip to
the US, incidentally. Roughly a
decade before that, I was able to
get that highly prized US visa
by virtue of a fellowship I had
won from the East-West Center.
(Note: The executive editor of
this newspaper, Rex Aguado, was
also part of that group of nine
Pinoy journalists who spent about
a month in Honolulu, Hawaii
to learn more investigative
journalism tactics and techniques.)
A couple of years after that
first trip, I went to Boston after
Bose Corp sent an invitation to
one Filipino journalist from the
country’s only business paper.
By plain luck, it was my turn to
travel as invites are rotated on the
BusinessWorld desk where I was
working then.
By the time of my third trip in
mid-2000 to attend a wedding of
a close relative in LA, getting a
tourist visa had become easy. The
embassy gave me a 10-year visa.
All I did was show the invitation
to the wedding. It was real,
folks. My tip to those who are
desperate to go to the US – don’t
even think of using any fake or
forged documents. Immigration
authorities can spot them a mile
away. And since the carrier has
broken a US law, there will be
prison time before being deported
back to the country of origin.
Anyway, my fourth and last
trip really was a family vacation.
Two of my kids had just finished
college, while a daughter and
a son had also completed high
school. I had a pretty decent job
as managing editor of Manila
Standard, so there was no reason
for me not to come back. That
was my intention. Fate decided
otherwise.
As can be expected of a grand,
once-in-a-lifetime vacation,
I over-ate. Especially in Las
Vegas, which we visited twice.
Although I had known by then
that I was a diabetic, I didn’t care.
I ate everything I felt like eating
because food is so cheap in Vegas.
The stroke that I was inviting
came about a week before we
were supposed to fly back home.
I was bedridden for a couple of
weeks, but since all of us had
been given six-month stays on this
trip, my only worry was where
to find the money to take care of
21
IMAGESGALLERY
After all that, there’s
still nothing like home
VIEWPOINT
the observer
Beting
Laygo
Dolor
ourselves in the meanwhile.
This is when I took the gamble
of applying for a job. Any job
would do, since we were getting
desperate for funds. I found out
that tourists can legally stay and
work in the US if they could find
a sponsor for an H-1 or working
visa. And there are a number of
companies whose job is to find
work for such folk. It all depends
on one’s qualifications, of course.
Unfortunately for me, the
majority of job openings were
mostly in the healthcare sector. I
couldn’t see myself taking care
of elderly people, even if the pay
was pretty good (anywhere from
US$8 to US$12 an hour). Other
industries desperate for applicants
included teaching, the service
sector and law enforcement.
Farming, too. I obviously had no
experience in any of these.
Just for the heck of it, I sent my
resume to a handful of FilipinoAmerican newspapers. The two
biggest called me, but one was
willing to hire me only if my
papers were already in order. That
was a classic Catch 22 situation.
Luckily, the bigger and older
paper was then reorganising the
desk. The old editors were leaving
and a new editorial team was
being formed. I didn’t personally
know the editor in chief, but
when we talked on the phone, we
found that we had many friends in
common.
Unlike the other paper, this one
was perfectly willing to sponsor
my H-1.So, long before my
six-month stay was to expire, a
lawyer had already prepared the
paperwork on my behalf. I got
the H-1, Department of Motor
Vehicles license and that one
document everyone needs, the
Social Security card.
For two years, I worked as
managing editor of that paper.
But I went back to Manila after
that spell because my family had
decided that while the US is a
great place to visit and live for a
time, there really is no place like
home.
Been there, done that? I can say
that now, right? Right.
beting.dolor@filglobe.com
Beting Laygo Dolor was a sub-editor
on Gulf News in Dubai in 1990-92 and
managing editor of Philippine News in
San Francisco, California in 2000-2002.
In between, he was section editor of
BusinessWorld and managing editor of
Manila Standard. He is presently
editor-in-chief of Inquirer’s Bandera.
Executive EDITOR: Rex Aguado PUBLISHING CONSULTANT Philip Evardone MARKETING ADVISER Therese Necio-Ortega BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Ricky Sumallo
CORRespondents Eddie Alinea (Manila), Celeste Terrenal (Manila), Terrie Fucanan (Manila), Chito Manuel (Riyadh). Gina Putong (San Diego), Percy Della (Los Angeles)
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Josephine Miranda (Philippines), TJ Badon-Doble (Philippines), Venice Austria-Paita (Hong Kong)
EDITORIAL BOARD Rex Aguado, Philip Evardone, Prof Dr Maurice Teo CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Beting Laygo Dolor, Teo Antonio, Chito Manuel, Danny Vibas, Dante Vino
Filipino Globe is published once a month by Apex Services (HK) Ltd, Suite 1905, Lippo Centre Tower 2, Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong, telephone (852) 2918 8248, email info@filglobe.com. No part of this publication
may be reproduced without the written permission of the publishers. Printed by Premier Printing Group, Yuen Long, New Terrories, Hong Kong
community
filipino globe
UP Alumni Association Hong Kong is one year old and growing. From a few founding
members, the group has drawn enough members to make it one of the biggest active
chapters overseas. That’s one reason to smile – and celebrate, as they did at this
Christmas and anniversary party.
Photo: Wilbert Jarata
aong 2005. Christmas party
ng South China Morning
Post sa Hong Kong Jockey
Club sa Happy Valley.
Medyo corny ang salu-salo dahil
may pagka-pormal ang dating ng
lahat. Napakalaking pahayagan
ng SCMP kaya marami sa mga
kawani at opisyal nito ay hindi
magkakakilala. Pero siyempre pa,
kailangan mayroong program. Kaya
naman may mga talumpati ng mga
bosing, pa-raffle ng mga premyo, at
siyempre pa, pagsayaw at pagkanta
ng mga kawani.
Akyat sa entablado ang isang
Pinoy. Siya si Ruben Sinacsi.
Marami ang nagtaas ng kilay dahil
sa SCMP, siya ay kilala bilang isang
proofreader. Ang trabaho niya dito ay
tagabasa ng mga pahina ng dyaryo
at tagahanap ng maling ispeling,
maling litrato at kung anu-ano pang
kapalpakan dahil sa pagmamadali o
kawalang-ingat ng mga patnugot at
reporter.
Tugtog ang minus one, “What A
Wonderful World”. Kanta si Mang
Ruben. Plakadong-plakado. Kala
mo nabuhay uli si Louis Armstrong.
Tapos sinabayan pa niya ng
pagtugtog ng saxophone. Sumabog
ang masigabong palakpakan sa
malawak na bulwagan. Ang galing.
Hangang-hanga ang lahat. Biglang
nagkabuhay ang dating walangkagana-ganang pagtitipon.
Simula noon, nakilala sa opisina
si Mang Ruben hindi lang bilang
proofreader kundi isa ring mahusay
na musikero.
Tatlumpu’t walong taon nang
musikero si tata boying (yan ang
tawag sa kanya ng mga kababayan
dito sa hong kong). Kaya naman
sanay na sanay na siyang humarap at
magbigay ng aliw sa madla.
Masasabing nasa dugo na ni tata
boying ang musika. Ang kanyang
ama ay may-ari ng isang marching
band kaya lumaki siya sa bahay na
puno ng sari-saring instrumento;
mula sa kaliit-liitang glockenspiel
hanggang sa dambuhalang tuba.
Nagsimula siyang magtrabaho
sa combo noong 1968. Final
exams niya sa Jose Rizal College
sa Mandaluyong, na kung saan
siya ay kumukuha ng commerce,
nang hatakin siya ng isang kamaganak para mag-audition sa isang
promotion na naghahanap ng
banda na madedestino sa Vietnam.
Napilayan kasi ng paa ang bahista
Game na nagpa-unlak ang mga taga-Konsulado sa Christmas party ng Federation of
Eastern Visayas Associations. Masigabong pagdiriwang at masaganang kainan ang
inihanda ng grupo. Ang Feva ay isa sa pinakamalaki at pinaaktibo na asosasyon ng
mga overseas Filipino workers sa Hong Kong.
T
Sa newsroom ng
SCMP, kilabot si
Ruben Sinacsi sa
paghuli ng mga
maling spelling,
maling litrato at iba
pang kapalpakan
ng mga editors
at reporters. Sa
labas ng trabaho,
aktibo siya sa mga
pakulo ng grupong
musikero, tulad ng
nakaraang Concert
at the Park (ibaba),
isang proyekto ng
mga musikero at ng
Konsulado sa
Hong Kong.
Dyaryo nga ang hawak,
musika pa ang nasa isip
‘Yan si Tata Boying sa kanyang bagong papel, ayon kay Ding Armada
“
yung damdamin ko
ang nagdidikta kung
saan pupunta ang
tugtog
RUBEN SINACSI
On his enduring love of music
ng grupo kaya hindi pwedeng
magtrabaho sa war zone, at siya ang
pamalit. Kaya hayun, 20 anyos pa
lang at hindi pa nakakapagtapos ng
pag-aaral ay naging OFW na si Tata
Boying.
Pagkatapos ay sa Japan naman siya
nadestino. Keyboards naman ang
hawak niya doon. At pagkatapos ay
napunta siya sa sax, flute, clarinet at
iba’t iba pang wind instruments.
Hanggang ngayon ay sax at flute
ang kanyang tinutugtog. “Dito
ko kasi mas napapahayag ang
damdamin ko,” aniya. “Lalo na
pagdating sa improvisation, yung
damdamin ko ang nagdidikta kung
saan pupunta ang tugtog.”
Ilan sa kanyang mga iniidolong
musikero ay ang mga dakilang jazz
artists na sina John Coltrane at Ernie
watts. Isama mo na rin si Kenny G.
Dumating siya sa Hong Kong
noong 1980. Una siyang tumugtog sa
Excelsior Hotel, at pagkatapos ay sa
New World Centre. Sa awa ng Diyos
at sariling pagsisikap, 26 taon na
siTtata Boying dito.
Dito na rin naninirahan ang
kanyang pamilya; asawa, tatlong
anak – dalawang babae at bunsong
lalake – na wala namang sumunod
sa kanyang yapak bilang musikero
– mga manugang at mga apo.
Napunta siya sa pagdidyaryo sa
tulong ng kanyang anak, na dating
empleyado ng SCMP.
Masasabing malayo ang musika sa
pagdidyaryo.
Pero sabi ni Tata Boying, may
background din naman siya sa
pagsusulat dahil nag-seminar siya
sa script writing sa Peta at marami
na siyang napuntahang bansa at
nakaranas ng iba’t ibang kultura.
Kung day off siya sa SCMP,
tumutugtog siya sa Bulldog’s Bar &
Grill sa Tsim Sha Tsui East.
Anupa’t masaya naman si Tata
Boying sa kanyang buhay dito sa
Hong Kong. Kung tutuusin, ano pa
ba ang hahanapin niya?
”Fifty-eight na ako,” sabi niya na
may pananabik ang tinig.
“Dalawang taon na lang, senior
citizen na ako, may discount na ako
sa MTR.”
12/16/2006 5:55:26 PM
filipino globe
22 November 2006
22
community
filipino globe
December 2006
Behind the weathered
face, the voice of hope
S
taring at her is like coming
face to face with poverty.
Years of disillusionment line a
face that must have been sweet and
charming in another time. Her sad,
weary eyes have seen unimaginable
hardship.
“Sobrang hirap na ng buhay ng
maralita sa atin,” Nanay Mameng
said as soon as she settled into a
chair in an office of a Filipino rights
group.
“Karamihan walang trabaho,
kung meron man, hindi naman
permanente. Maraming bata
ang hindi nag-aaral dahil hindi
na kaya ng magulang, kaya ang
nangyayari, kahit mga limang taong
gulang makikita mong nagtitinda
ng basahan sa kalye, o di kaya
namamalimos…”
The old lady’s lament is nothing
we have not heard before in a
country where the poor have been
fighting for their share of a decent
life.
More than the message, it is the
messenger that tugs at the heart.
Carmen Deunida is a
laundrywoman from the depths
of poverty in Leveriza’s slums in
Manila. She has not seen her life
change any better after 78 years,
nine children, 18 grandchildren,
11 great grandchildren and four
presidents after Marcos.
The frail lady does not pretend to
know much, but what she knows is
this: Two People Power revolutions,
of which she was an active
participant, countless laws passed
by Congress and programs launched
by the government have done little
to uplift the plight of the country’s
poor.
“Ang hirap na nga ng buhay mo,
idedemolish pa ang mga bahay
mo. Kamukha nung mga itinaboy
sa rilis, dinala sa may Cabuyao,
Laguna pero sa may tabi rin ng
basurahan na parang Payatas
napunta. Tapos wala namang
kuryente, walang tubig at wala
namang pangkabuhayan kaya ang
nangyayari, bumabalik din sila sa
pinanggalingan nila.”
She continues to toil everyday,
charging P100 for doing a
Nanay Mameng speaks out for the poor with the passion of her cause.
neighbor’s laundry. She has come
to live with empty promises of a
better life. But behind the weathered
facade is the face of hope, and this
is where Nanay believes she can
make a difference.
She has learned to fight back,
armed with the strength of her
conviction that when the poor is
seen enough and heard enough,
people will stand up and take notice.
This is the reason she has become
the conscience of the urban poor.
As Nanay Mameng has given them
a face, she has also given them a
voice.
Nanay Mameng has become a
fixture at rallies and gatherings
around the country.
One top businessman, attending a
forum with a long line of business
leaders and government officials for
speakers, once gushed that the one
speech that touched him most was
Nanay Mameng’s.
Her feistiness surfaced when she
recounted how she confronted an
intelligence officer who, she said,
kept tailing her after she delivered a
speech in Iloilo.
And she speaks of the causes
she is fighting for with as much
Nanay Virginia (right), Aling Gertrudes (left)
and Aling Luisa step up to take pride
of place as Michael Vincent announces
the winners of Dakilang Ina.
Jose Marcelo profiles
three ordinary lives of
extraordinary courage
and achievement
A
ling Gertrudes sat down one
night and started writing
her life story – the trials and
tribulations of a domestic helper in a
faraway land. Her pen, dripping with
emotion, just would not stop.
Nanay Virginia was spending her
day off in Central one Sunday when
friends, much younger women who
she had long considered as family in
her home away from home, banded
together and filled up a sheet of
paper packed with stories of Nanay’s
pride and joy – her children.
The story of Aling Luisa’s life was
written by her second son, and no
one could have understood it better.
Joel was seven and cried the loudest
at the airport when her mother left
for Hong Kong 22 years ago; now
he, too, has left behind a young son
back home to work in China.
On Sunday, December 3, the three
women were chosen from hundreds
of candidates as the first three
honorees of Prime Gold’s Dakilang
Ina awards.
All around, hundreds of fellow
domestic helpers, like them
overworked and often underappreciated, shared their joy.
“Ang sarap pala ng
napapangaralan, parang pakiramdam
mo natupad lahat ang pangarap mo,”
said Virginia Mendoza, a 51-yearold domestic helper from Sta Maria,
Bulacan, who was named the maiden
Dakilang Ina winner.
Beside her was a beaming
Gertrudes Comendador, the first
runner-up, and third-placer Luisa
Alejo, who was joined on stage by
her equally proud employer, the only
Mothers great,
mothers all,
just like you
one she has had for the past 12 years.
Their stories started no differently
from over 100,000 others in this
former British colony: they left
behind their families and worked
long hours taking care of somebody
else’s children, just so their own
children’s dreams can come true.
Emotion, words and tears flowed
freely when Aling Gertrudes, 56,
started writing about her Hong
Kong journey, which started back in
1983 when she was forced to leave
a teaching job in Cabuyao, Laguna
after her husband underwent surgery
in 1981.
Having been here in Hong Kong
with the same employer since the
days when a bus ride cost 50 cents
and a domestic’s minimum salary
was $1,350, it took her two long
nights and five hand-written pages to
get everything off her chest.
“Matagal hindi nakapag-trabaho
ang husband ko noon pero ang sabi
ko, kailangan mapag-aral ko ang
mga bata,” said Aling Gertrudes.
“But it was really hard. Every time
umuuwi ako from my day off noon,
pinapangarap ko sana naglalakad ako
papunta sa airport at hindi sa bahay
ng amo ko.”
Now her eldest Hilda, 34, is a
management graduate from PWU
and with a family of her own. Irma,
33, is a med-tech graduate from
PWU also working in Hong Kong,
with her sights set on a job in Canada
where sister Maritess, a banking and
finance graduate, is now a caregiver.
Only son Paolo, 24, has an
economics degree from Letran.
Aside from that, her husband
unbridled passion. “Kamukha ng
mga OFW, ang laki ng perang
ipinapasok sa ating bansa ng mga
‘yan. Pero bakit hindi naman
nararamdanan ng mga tao? Bakit
ang hirap pa rin ng buhay ng mga
tao?
She is no longer your ordinary
urban poor.
As head of the Kalipunan ng
mga Mahihirap na Mamamayan,
or Kadamay, Nanay Mameng has
been to almost every corner of the
archipelago as well as places like
Canada, Italy, Singapore, Beijing,
Thailand and Brazil.
Google her and you will see that
something about Nanay Mameng,
and the fight she represents, has
been written in around 650 sites.
But even as she spent a couple of
days in Hong Kong to speak before
the annual congress of Unifil-Hong
Kong, her thoughts were on one of
her children who, she said, is being
harassed by his former employers,
and two grandchildren left to her
care while their parents toil to make
ends meet.
“Iyong anak ko na iyon, s’ya lang
ang katulong ko sa buhay … Pinagiinitan s’ya doon sa dati n’yan g
pinag-trabahuan, hinahanapan ng
butas, pinag-bibintangan ng kung
ano. Hindi ko nga alam kung ano na
ang nangyari dahil nandito ako…”
JOSE MARCELO
Renato has managed to join her here,
working for the past 13 years as a
domestic and driver.
Nanay Victoria, a domestic serving
the same family in Pok Pu Lam for
the past 10 years, takes care of three
children and also looks after friends
who she considers her own. “Mga
anak-anakan ko, sila na ‘yong mga
pamilya ko rito,” she said.
But all her sacrifices are for the
future of her three children back
home who she had to tide over on
her own after her husband, then an
overseas worker in Japan, abandoned
them for another woman.
“Graduate na si Sally, ang
panganay ko noon, pero ayaw
ko naman s’yang bigyan ng
responsibilidad na magpa-aral
sa dalawang kapatid n’ya. Kaya
tumungo ako dito. Sabi ko, titiisin
ko lahat ng hirap mapaaral ko lang
‘yung iba kong anak. Sa awa ng
Diyos, nairaos ko naman,” she said.
Luisa Alejo, a 56-year-old native
of Aurora, Isabela, went to Hong
Kong in 1982 only because she saw
how much money her sister earned
as a domestic here. Twenty-two years
later, she can relish the fruits of her
labor.
Her family has managed to put up
an eatery and a sari-sari store in their
Fairview home. Her husband also
maintains a fleet of tricycles. Their
eldest son Noel, 33, is a banking
and finance graduate from Adamson
while her youngest, Janice, 25, has
just completed a nursing course at
UST.
But perhaps no one appreciates
Aling Luisa’s sacrifices more than
her 29-year-old son Noel, a fine
arts graduate from UP who, after
completing a separate course at
the Philippine School of Interior
Design, sailed off to China, leaving
behind his wife and infant son. “Siya
‘yung iyak ng iyak sa airport noong
tumulak ako papuntang Hong Kong.”
kuktura at sining
filipino globe
December 2006
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Shop 156, 1 Floor,
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We could relive the miracle of Christmas
Sometimes all we need is a sense
of renewal, writes FT Ocampo
N
o rite of passage in the whole
history of Christendom and
Christianity could be richer
in meaning and symbolism than the
Nativity. John Donne contends that if
nature is the common law, then a
miracle is God’s prerogative, yet the
miracle that is Christmas has
seldom been a model of surprise for
us; year in and year out, we celebrate
it with progressing insensitivity and,
in these uncertain times, we have
even become so jaded and blase as
to ask: Why Christmas?
Why, most of us are asking,
celebrate a birth that has miserably
fallen far short of its promised
fulfilment? Jesus came into this
world to shore up our own
vulnerability, aware of the vagaries
of the human condition, its
weaknesses and frailties, its suffering
and torment. Perhaps this is more
reason to mark the occasion this
difficult year, to remind us, after the
wounds inflicted by the cruel winds
of change, that Christmas is a tale of
love and not of hate, of hope
and not of hopelessness, of humility
and not of arrogant power. It is a
gentle story that derives strength
from weakness and speaks of oldfashioned truths that are forever new.
If we have not been so blinded,
we would not have missed the
tenderness of Christmas. The Babe
was born in a makeshift manger at a
stable; around Him were shepherds
and lambs, Joseph stood by as the
Virgin Mother gazed at the Child in
pure adoration. How wonderfully
simple, how wonderfully eternal.
If we have chosen love, we could
not have hated those we thought
responsible for our shadowed
and perilous days, we could have
tempered our restless rage for our
love is gentle, unlike the surging
tide of hate and desire. If we have
chosen humility, we could not
have succumbed to the ingestion of
naked power that has provoked our
arrogance with our subordinates,
our friends, and our fellowmen.
We could have considered the
inviolability of individual dignity and
given the benefit of the doubt to the
nobility of purpose that presumably
motivates most of us.
If we have chosen truth, it would
have been easy for the filthy-rich
society matron to pray without
fingering the diamond beads of her
rosary. The child who became Man
was crucified as a non-conformist.
He railed at the hypocrites and their
pretended modes of proper outward
behavior which did not reflect inner
virtue. And we see everyday the cult
of materialism that has bred and
tylized the most profane hypocrisy,
of the super rich who robbed the
country blind and would assuage
heir guilt by making a production of
their veneration of the saints. They
parade before us in obscene holiness
and holy obscenity.
And yet, despite all this, Christmas
is still a precious season of grace.
Even as we partake of our festive
board during the Media Noche, let
us give a thought to the needs of
fellows, which will not be satisfied.
Let us meditate on the exploited and
starving children who will not own
a toy, whose fulfilment of Christmas
is as simple and basic as the demand
of the stomach. This not too much
to ask of the world and yet it is often
denied them; they to whom Jesus
promised the Kingdom cannot find
their little share of happiness and
expectation on earth.
If anytime demands it, now
more than ever do we realise the
imperative of putting Christ back to
Christmas, if only to remind us, in
the midst of our unfulfilled wants
and yearnings and the relentless
dissolution of human values, that our
life is yet filled with meaning.
Otherwise, we shall fail to
comprehend and grasp the miracle
2000 years ago, when the ChristChild, 33 years away from that
agonised cry in Calvary, came into
the world to confirm – and ultimately
redeem – our unreformed and
imperfect humanity.
God gave man light which we
call the soul so that he might aspire
to gentleness despite his flaws. This
light in his interior world bestowed
upon man the gift of choice; he may
yet discover his humanity – if he
tried.
12/16/2006 5:55:26 PM
24
news feature
December 2006
filipino globe
25
Making the most of Christmas away from home
We asked our readers for their thoughts
From Kuwait and Dubai to Australia,
about spending Christmas in a foreign
Britain and Ireland, they responded to our
land. While all yearned for home, most
online survey through our website www.
were doing their best to make the most out filglobe.com.
of the festive season.
In Hong Kong, calling home on
Christmas eve and Christmas Day
would be the order of the day. And then
there’s always Central. “Para ka na rin
nasa Pilipinas,” says Gemma Ventura, a
domestic helper from Pangasinan.
Sisters Mary Joyce (left) and
Mary Flor Balmes (below) will be
spending the holidays half a world
apart. Mary Joyce is a nurse in
Cork, Ireland while Mary Flor is an
accountant in Sydney, Australia.
“It’s our first Christmas in a foreign
land,” says Mary Joyce. Most
likely, both will be on the phone on
Christmas eve, calling home. “Sana
marinig ko ang caroling kahit man
lang sa telepono,” says Mary Flor.
“Our mother is in the Philippines
and we also have a younger sister
looking after her,” says Mary Joyce.
“Our elder brother and his wife have
small children for whom Christmas
is not complete without us.”
Hopefully, Mary Joyce and Mary
Flor will be home for Christmas next
year, God willing. “We are excited
already,” says Mary Flor.
Norelyn Baker (above) writes: “I have just received my first copy of Filipino
Globe from a friend in Hong Kong, where I used to live. Maybe some of your
readers will remember me. I live in Torquay, England, in the county of Devon,
where my family will celebrate Christmas with friends and relatives. Family is
As in past years, Cynthia Tan, a branch supervisor at Prime Credit, will spend
quality time with family and friends. “Let’s give ourselves a break,” she says.
also foremost on the minds of Sonny Capule, a telecommunications engineer
at Verizon Hong Kong, and his young family (below left). Thoughts of his
wife of two years and their baby are making Almer Ubat (below right), an IT
professional in Dubai, yearn for home.
Nhel Alacon, a store
manager at Starbucks
in Al-Shamiya, Kuwait
(right) is likely to be
at a Christmas Day
party organised by his
Filipino mates. “But
that will be after work,
of course,” he says.
Letty Casumpang
(below right), a
process worker in
Brisbane, Australia,
writes: “I have been
living in Australia for
18 years now. The
closeness within my
family is within me all
the time and I always
feel the loneliness of
being away from them.
Christmas is
very important and
memorable to me
because during this
time, when I was
in the Philippines,
my family would
gather together in
fellowship and prayer.
The fun of opening
the gifts, sharing
Christmas dinner
and the catching up
of news with each
family member was
the highlight of the
Christmas celebration.
For me, being the
only one in the family
who lives in another
country, it is hard
not to remember this
Christmas tradition
which is a very family
centered celebration.
I always cherish
those times. Merry
Christmas.”
Mang George (glasses) is planning a “fun Christmas” with his Super Ace
colleagues. “Yung dating nakasanayan na natin sa tuwing Pasko,” he says.
12/16/2006 5:55:34 PM
26 December 2006
filipino globe
home, health & beauty, stars & sports
filipino globe
life
December 2006
27
I chicken out when I cook a chicken dish for the kids
It’s always a challenge
but I have to cope with
it all the time. Is there a bad
way and a good way to handle
chicken? What do I do to make
sure I choose the right chicken
in the first place?
Q
VIR SAN JUAN
Jordan
You want to make sure
that you have the right kind
of chicken for the dish you’re
trying to create. Broiler-fryers,
roasters, capons, and stewing
hens all have their places at the
dinner table.
You have to be able to discern
A
DIYBOB
do it yourself
ROBERT
LUNARIA
the differences when you’re
in the grocery store. Another
important aspect to remember
when choosing chicken is the
color and smell.
To avoid spoiled chicken, be
sure to choose chicken that is
creamy white to deep yellow in
appearance. Learn lots of tips
on choosing a chicken in this
section.
Chicken can keep in the
coldest part of the refrigerator
for up to two days.
If the time between bringing
it home from the grocery store
and placing it into the skillet is
more than that, make sure to
store chicken in the freezer in
an airtight package.
When you’re handling chicken,
it’s important that you remain
vigilant against salmonella
bacteria.
In addition to cooking chicken
completely, you want to make
sure you’re taking precautions
when working with chicken.
Bear in mind that you have
handle and store chicken in a
safe manner. Learning about the
types of chicken available in the
supermarket can make you a
better chicken cook.
Chickens are first classified by
age and weight.
Young chickens are tender
and cook quickly; older chickens
need slow cooking to make
them tender. For best results,
it’s important to know which type
of chicken to buy.
Send your questions or comments to
diybob@filglobe.com
Ready for
that festive
party? Read
this first
Before you take the plunge, it’s worth
your while to consider some simple
but useful tips from those who’ve done it
A
successful party lives on in
everyone’s memory long
after the last glass of punch
has been sipped and the last bite
of dessert eaten. But the fuss and
frustration of planning can be a big
party pooper.
All the details – What kind of
party should I have? Whom should I
invite? How should I decorate? What
do I serve? – can make even the most
experienced host or hostess a little
stressed.
If you add to this equation the
many demands and complications
of the holiday season, you have the
recipe for a real headache.
Though the rewards of a successful
Christmas party will carry on all
year, some people might feel that the
planning and execution is just too
much of a burden.
The tried-and-true secrets for
entertaining will ensure that your
party is one to remember.
Naturally, when you are hosting a
large party or celebration, you want
to create an exciting environment for
your guests to relax in.
Some simple decorations
can turn your house into a
seasonal wonderland for holiday
“
It’s easy to think
of the perfect
Christmas party, but
it’s a whole other
matter making it
happen
Lori Hahn
Party organizer
revelers. In this section, we will
show you hot to decorate for a
Christmas party, including how
to choose a color scheme and
how to create a festive Christmas
centerpiece.
“It’s easy to think of the perfect
Christmas party, but it’s a whole
other matter making it happen,” says
party organizer Lori Hahn.
“As with any large project, the
only way to ensure success is careful
planning.”
The right decorations can
make your Christmas an event to
remember. The best way to re-create
these memories, and to create new
memories for our families and
friends, is to surround ourselves
with things that remind us of the
season. Decorating is one of the
easiest ways to accomplish this.
Whether you are planning a small
get together or a large party, decking
your home in seasonal splendor will
satiate the senses and fill all your
guests with holiday spirit.
A small Christmas tree topped with
a silver star is an elegant touch for an
intimate family affair.
On the other hand, going all out
with a bedecked arrangement is
bound to impress your discerning
dinner guests.
Keep in mind that the best
centerpieces blossom above or
spread out below the sight line,
enabling guests to make eye contact
during conversation.
12/16/2006 5:55:41 PM
28
your health
filipino globe
health@filglobe.com
If you have questions about health, send them to us and we
will try our best to answer them with expert opinion. With
Dr Jun Amigo, chief surgical resident at the Mandaluyong
Medical Center, as moderator, this forum will feature
specialists on the chosen topic. Please note that this is not
intended as a medical consultation and readers are strongly
advised to see their doctor for proper advice. To contact
us, please visit our website www.filglobe.com and click on
“health@filglobe.com” to send your queries.
December 2006
filipino globe
November 2006
29
While beauty
is in the
eyes of the
beholder, it is
up to you to
maintain or
enhance.
Truth and myth about
excessive bleeding
One of the most common conditions
among women of reproductive age is
uterine bleeding.
Understandably, women find
it dreadful, others shrug it off as
an aberration in their menstrual
cycle, but the fact remains that this
symptom is often misunderstood.
We chose this topic for our maiden
appearance because it is something
that preoccupies the minds of our
female readers.
One of them, Gracia Rodrigo,
40, from San Nicolas, Pangasinan,
wonders whether her condition,
which persists from the start of her
child-bearing years, is here to stay.
We asked a colleague, Dr Ernesto
Lactaoen, a specialist in obstetrics
and gynecology, to shed light on the
matter.
Dr Lactaoen is with the OB-Gyne
Department at the Mandaluyong
Medical Center.
Dr Lactaoen writes:
Uterine bleeding is a condition
that alarms many women and
one reason that they seek medical
consultation.
It is common to women at the
extremes of the reproductive period,
meaning, shortly after the onset of
their first menstruation and near
menopause.
A woman may bleed abnormally
in terms of frequency, duration and
quantity.
In the absence of any
demonstrable organic cause, this
symptom is what is called in medical
parlance as dysfunctional uterine
bleeding, or DUB.
In the Philippines, it afflicts 10 to
15 of adolescents and up to 69 per
cent of women over 35.
The symptom may present itself in
different ways.
It can be prolonged, excessive or
may decrease in amount and they
HEALTHTALK
what the doctor says
Dr Jun
Amigo
can become irregular. It may occur
between menstrual periods.
The most common cause is
excessive stimulation of the female
hormone estrogen, which in turn
stimulates the lining of the uterus,
causing continued vaginal bleeding.
This condition cannot be controlled
by self-medication, and many
women, especially adolescents, end
up with severe anemia due to blood
loss. In this instance, it is highly
recommended that they consult a
gynecologist.
The basic laboratory tests needed
are a pregnancy test, a CBC , and
ultrasound.
There are two primary goals of
treating DUB. One is to control the
bleeding and correct the anemia, and
the other is to prevent any recurrence
and address the patient’s fertility
needs.
For young women sufferers who
want to have children, medical
treatment is recommended.
There are several estrogen and
progesterone preparations available
in the market, and they are very
affordable.
For older women who are at risk
of developing uterine cancer, and
who profusely bleed, resulting in
severe anemia and for whom medical
treatment has failed, we suggest
surgical intervention.
This can either be dilatation and
curettage or removal of the uterus
(hysterectomy).
There are many
estrogen and
progesterone
preparations
in the market
and they are
quite affordable.
Still, it is highly
recommended
that sufferers see
a gynecologist
for proper advice.
Uterine bleeding
cannot be
controlled by
self-medication.
Going natural
is the way to
fight ravages of
Mother Nature
Even cosmetic manufacturers are going
back to basics, writes Terrie Fucanan
I
f the past two or three years
saw the skin-whitening boom
in the beauty and cosmetics
industry, this year ushered in a new
phenomenon – the emergence of
anti-aging products.
These products, in the form of face
creams, sunscreen lotions and eye
gels, are marketed by beauty brands
to women, and even men, as part
of a now heavily endorsed three-step
skin regimen, which is to cleanse,
tone and moisturise the face day and
night. During daytime, sunscreen
is added as the fourth step, while
applying an eye gel is advised at
night.
Today, we see less and less of the
products that treat sun-damaged
wrinkles as they happen. The trend
now among beauty brands is to
promote prevention “fight the early
signs of aging”, as one brand puts in
its advertising campaign, and with
women advised to start a skincare
regimen as early as 18 years old.
Aside from prevention,
manufacturers of anti-aging products
are also growing fiercely competitive
by introducing novel ingredients
to their skincare line. The famous
high-end brand La Mer, used by
Hollywood celebrities and royalties
in Europe, is blended with seaweed
that supposedly makes the skin look
young and supple.
The 15-year-old skincare brand
Origins, with the help of botanist and
integrated medicine doctor Andrew
Weil, developed the Plantidote
mega-mushroom face cream and face
serum that uses, yes, mushrooms in
the wild to soothe stressed-out skin
and improve its defenses against
irritants and aging.
The Japanese brand Awake, on the
other hand, claims that our skin’s
aging pattern is similar to that of
a tree, which indicate rings as it
advances in years. Our growth rings
are said to be visible through sagged
surfaces, wrinkles, discoloration and
visible lines in the face.
To counter aging and external
stress, the researchers of Awake
created a skincare line that makes
use of soybean and several herbal
extracts. Instead of the traditional
three or four-step day and night
regimen, just imagine putting on
six products on your skin: cleanse
via a facial wash, apply the cleanser
with a cotton followed by a lotion
concentrate, then a facial fluid, cream
and eye cream.
The most recent multinational
company to have joined the antiaging bandwagon is Unilever.
Through its skincare brand Pond’s,
it has launched the Age Miracle line
that promises to “delay skin aging”
through a patented “non-irritating
CLA anti-aging technology.”
The product, which comes in a
cream and toner, plus an extended
line that consists of a day and night
cream, and the ginseng-infused facial
mask, claims to visibly reduce fine
lines and wrinkles in seven days.
Dr Vinson Pineda of Dermclinic
on the other hand suggests a gentle
facial massage “is an important part
of a beauty regimen that can keep
wrinkles at bay.”
In the October-December of
Dermatology News, Dermclinic’s
official newsletter, Pineda asserts:
“Facial massage is also known to
tighten certain skin tissues that tend
to go flabby and give the face a worn
out look.”
Three steps to a healthy skin
Use sunscreen everyday. One
of the main causes of premature
aging is constant sun exposure.
Choose a sunscreen with a sun
protection factor (SPF) of at least
15, and make sure it can protect
you from the harmful rays.
Use alpha hydroxy acid (glycolic
acid). Alpha hydroxy acids are
natural components of fruit and
milk sugars that can rejuvenate
and exfoliate the skin of dead
skin cells.
Consider tretinoin. Tretinoin
is a vitamin A-derived product
that has a similar effect as alpha
hydyroxy acid. It may have side
effects on pregnant women.
Maligayang Pasko at
Manigong Bagong Taon
To advertise, please call our account
executives for bookings.
Venice Paita (9312 0169) in Hong Kong
Ricky Sumallo (0917 539 0486) in Manila
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TJ Badon-Doble (0928 502 0379) in Manila
filipino globe
the OFW newspaper
12/16/2006 5:55:43 PM
30
travel
filipino globe
December 2006
filipino globe
December
2006
31
More than a
classy resort,
this one feels
just like home
It may have been built in the best Mediterranean
traditions, but Amarela Resort is a showcase of
pure Filipino craftsmanship, writes Toni Mariano
couple of months ago, we
visited a place where the
beauty of our past and our
present come together.
Amarela Resort is relatively
new. Opened in May 2006, it sits
serenely on Panglao Island in Bohol.
The name Amarela is Portuguese
for yellow, explains Lucas “Doy”
Nunag, who with his wife, Ludichi
Yasay-Nunag and their family, own
and run Amarela .
Amarela is a premium boutique
resort. Built on top of a gentle
slope with easy access to the shore,
it commands a stunning view of
the Bohol Sea and its neighboring
islands.
It was built in the style
of Boholano-Mediterranean
architecture. The roof is made
entirely of clay tiles shipped from
Alicante, Spain, but the construction
is a showcase of Filipino artistry and
craftsmanship.
It highlights massive turn-of-thecentury wooden doors, old hardwood
floors, handcrafted lattice, antique
furniture and artifacts as well as
outstanding local sculpture, basketry
and paintings.
With modern conveniences such as
air-conditioning, satellite television,
wireless internet access and a pool
near the path down to the beach,
Amarela strikes a harmonious
balance between the old and the new.
It can be said that it is just a new
resort in Panglao, but that would
almost be like saying Spoliarium
is just a painting and the El
Filibusterismo, just another book.
Were it not for the passion with
which they were apparently created,
they could be just that. But they are
not.
A
There is nothing run-of-the-mill
about them and the form they take is
but a disguise for the meaning.
For a poet, these would be fitting
metaphors for the clutter of cultures
that make up the Philippines and its
people.
A clutter of construction materials
which, in any other way, may have
been assembled, could have turned
out grotesque but, happily, does not.
In fact, anywhere you look, there is
an innate beauty to be found.
So it is with Amarela.
Library, gallery, museum , and
home. These are the many faces
of Amarela. And a walk along its
corridors is a history lesson of sorts,
a peek into our past.
The antiques one will see at
Amarela are not merely for display.
Many are still very much in use.
Cabinets, drawers, desks, chairs,
lantays, tables, lamparillas, and
massive wooden doors – nothing is
left to rot there.
And whatever was found in a state
of dilapidation were restored or
refashioned to their former glory by
craftsmen and artisans of Antequera,
Bohol.
In shelves or tables are collections
of books on Philippine culture and
history. On the walls hang paintings
by Filipino artists.
“It’s meant to be a home,
something to be lived in,” says
Nunag. But somewhere along the
way, “ Make something nice and
share it with the world” became the
philosophy behind Amarela.
It is still a home – a home that
shares the beauty of our past and our
present to the rest of the world.
In Amarela our heritage may have
found a home and it is to be lived in.
“
The name Amarela
is Portuguese
for yellow ... It’s
meant to be a
home, something
to be lived in
LUCAS NUNAG
Amarela Resort proprietor
A boutique resort (left),
Amarela opens out to the
Bohol Sea (top right) and
outlying islands. A stroll
through its corridors and
paths (right) is a walk
through history.
12/16/2006 5:55:51 PM
32
your money
filipino globe
December 2006
your money
filipino globe
tao,” ani Mike Ranola, manager ng
Philippine Products Store, isa sa
pinakaunang Pinoy sari-sari store sa
Hong Kong. “Kailangan maiba ka
dahil sa dami na ng Pilipino products
stores dito sa Hong Kong,” dagdag
niya.
Tinaguriang “niche” player ang
ganitong negosyo dahil nakatutok
lamang ito sa mamimiling Pilipino at
hindi sa pangkalahatang merkado.
Ang pagkamulat na ito ng isang
uri ng consumer ang nagbunsod sa
Andok at Baliwag na pasukin ang
negosyong litson manok “Nakita
nila na hindi mo kailangan ibenta
ang buong restawran para kumita,”
dagdag ni Donayre.
What you do with your spare
time is your own business ...
OFWWISE
It feels like only yesterday when
I was tearfully saying goodbye
to my family at NAIA to be an
overseas Filipino worker at a
snack foods company in Saudi
Arabia in late 1993. Earlier, I was
working for Pepsico International
as a sales manager for its beverage
dispenser business and had the
unique opportunity to travel to many
countries. It was a wonderful and
exciting experience.
I was paid well by my Saudi
employers despite the aggravations
that I had to endure as a professional
trying very hard to convince
my bosses about the importance
of marketing in developing the
business.
Meanwhile, like other expatriate
Pinoys, I immersed myself in the
Saudi culture. I made many Saudi
friends and was lucky to have a
Pinoy landlord in the villa I stayed.
He was a senior kidney specialist
in the largest hospital in Jeddah so
that when I got sick, I had a free
consultation among several fringe
benefits.
I was able to save from my salary
since I was sending home, like
others, a portion of it for my family’s
basic needs and for any emergencies.
My wife, a flight attendant with
Philippine Airlines, was able to save
her salary because of the money I’d
sent home.
Since there was some downtime
during weekends in the Middle East,
S
be your own boss
Herbie
Sansiaco
I decided to become a “Bombay”
by buying carpets, gold accessories,
perfumes and clothing materials
so that I can sell them in Manila
for a profit. It was so much fun
and I became an expert of sorts for
these items where a good profit
can be made. It was the start of my
entrepreneurial career.
Time flew very fast during the
14 months I worked in the desert
kingdom. I was having fun. You just
had to know how to make the best of
the assignment. I even had more fun
than I did when I was assigned by
Pepsico to Vietnam, where the job
was to train bilingual Vietnamese
personnel in sales,
I invested some of my pay in
beautiful Vietnamese lacquerware
and handcrafted ceramic vases,
which is sold in the Philippines for a
handsome profit.
I made sure that in each of these
two countries I worked in, I made
good use of my spare time, knowing
these opportunities won’t last
forever.
Hence, I made sure I had more
than enough to fall back on in case
I did not get employed again back
home. I was right. When I got back
to Manila, my headhunter agency
could not get me a job. Potential
employers found me an expensive
overhead. So I decided to take
several friends up on their offer to
start a marketing service company.
That was in 1995.
It feels like only yesterday when I
embarked on a private enterprise not
knowing what lay ahead. I have to
say my years as an OFW have served
me in good stead.
Isang klase ng ‘niche business ang Ikot sa UP dahil sa piling-pili ang merkado nito. Ngunit nakikinabang ito nang husto sa tinatawag na ‘captive market’.
Super Ace Cargo Ltd.
Sa bawat Box na ipapadala ninyo mula October 1 to December 15
Manalo ng Isa sa 10
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Sama na sa inyong mga Kaibigan: Ate Cynthia, Jay, JC, Jef, Cosme, George, Francis, Resty, & Ed2 Dahil
Sa S uper Ace, S uper Bilis, S uper ang S ervice
shop sa Hollywood Road. At may
katapat na limitasyon ito, wika niya,
dahil ang pupunta lang sa iyo ay
‘yung nakapag-isip na kung ano ang
kailangan niyang bilhin sa iyo. “You
immediately exclude the windowshopper and those people who will
come back if they see something they
like,” dagdag niya.
Hindi naman ito problema kay
Toby Marion, isang distributor ng
French at Australian wine sa Hong
Kong. Piling-pili ang kanyang
kustomer at ngayon ay nagpasya
siyang pasukin ang OFW market. “I
like the idea of an intimate, select
market that you can almost give your
personal attention to,” sabi niya.
T
PALigayahin ang inyong PALmilya
SUPER Jumbo
Hindi lahat ay kumbinsido
sa pagiging epektibo ng niche
marketing. “The market likes a
bit of everything,” sabi ni David
Lobell, may-ari ng isang potpourri
33
SO WHAT TIME DO
YOU THINK IT IS?
Anong negosyo ang para sa iyo?
May Pag-asa Kayong
December 2006
Pwede kang maiba sa lahat sa pamamagitan
ng pagtutok sa partikular na produkto,
serbisyo o merkado. Ulat ni Samuel Fider
M
ahirap di mapansin si Aling
Cordia. Siya na yata ang
pinakaunang nasa labas
ng bahay sa umaga, naglalabas ng
mesitang lalagyan ng hot pandesal
o di kaya gigiwang-giwang sa bigat
ng dalang pinamili para sa kanyang
tindahan.
Malamang na hindi rin abutin
ng pagsikat ng araw sa bahay ang
kanyang asawang si Mang Henry.
Maaga itong umaalis para ipasada
ang kanilang jeep sa rutang “Ikot”
(paikot-ikot sa loob ng malahiganteng kampus).
Malakas ang kanilang tindahan,
na di malayong mangyari dahil
‘yun lang ang medyo sangkap
sa pang-araw-araw na gamit
sa aming munting sulok ng UP
Diliman na tinaguriang Employees
Village. Matumal man sa umpisa,
umaarangkada ang pasada ni Mang
Henry pagkabukas ng klase.
Diyan sila katulad ng ibang
naghahanap-buhay nang ganito. At
dito rin sila naiiba. Ilan, halimbawa,
ang sari-sari store na may tindang
test tube at rubber hose para sa
Bunsen burner?
“Para hindi lalayo pa ang may
kailangan,” ang sagot ni Aling
Cordia sa akin nung minsan inusisa
ko siya kung bakit nag-abala pa
siyang magbenta ng mga ito.
At si Mang Henry? “ Mas gusto
niyang paikot-ikot lang siya dito sa
UP dahil kontrolado niya ang oras at
natututukan mismo niya ang pasada,”
wika niya.
Saludo ako sa kanila dahil sa
tuwing may papalitan akong nabasag
na test tube sa biochem lab, sa kanila
lang ako pumupunta, imbes na sa
Cubao pa. At ilang beses din akong
naisakay ni Mang Henry sa jeep niya
pag tapos na ang pasada at gagarahe
na siya
‘Yan ay mahigit tatlumpung taon
nang nakalilipas. “Utak lang” ang
tawag sa diskarte ni Aling Cordia
noon, “niche marketing” ang tawag
nito ngayon.
Ito’y isang uri ng diskarte sa
negosyo na batay sa pagtutok
sa isang partikular na produkto,
serbisyo o merkado sa layong
madomina ito o maka-una sa iba.
Sala-salabat ang negosyong
may ganitong business model,
isang pagkilala na nagbago na ang
pangangailangan at panananaw ng
bayang mamimili.
“Isang halimbawa na diyan ang
franchising,” wika ni Rommel
Donayre, isang marketing executive
sa isang sikat na cosmetic company
sa Maynila. “Nakatuon ang produkto
at serbisyo nito sa isang partikular na
bahagi lamang ng merkado.”
Kantunayan, mula sa traysikel
na piling-pili lamang ang ruta,
hanggang sa pagmamanikurista kung
saan iilang matapat na kustomer
lamang ang pinagsisilbihan, ang
ganitong diskarte ay pang-araw nang
nangyayari.
Ngunit sa mga OFWs na
naghahanap ng mapapasukang
negosyo, kalimitan sila’y nauudlot
sa isang katanungan: Anong negosyo
ba ang maganda at angkop sa aking
kakayahan at puhunan?
“Dapat naiiba ang produkto mo.
Yung may unique selling point,
at naiiba rin ang approach mo sa
ime flies so fast. Pasko na naman. At sa
mga panahong ito, naaalala natin ang
ating mga mahal sa buhay. Ang mga
Paskong nagdaan.
Ang bilis ng panahon. Hindi natin naapansin
naka-6, 7, 10, 15 taon na pala tayo dito sa
Hong Kong. Ang iba sasabihin, “ang bilis ng
panahon”. Ang iba naman, “ang bagal ng
panahon”. Ngunit marami ang magsasabing
“hindi pa panahong umuwi. Hindi pa handa.
Wala pang ipon. Kulang pa”.
Time is precious. Tayo ay naghahabol ng
oras dahil hindi sa habang panahon ay ganito
ang takbo ng buhay mo. It’s about time you
made the most of your time.
WHAT TIME IS IT?
1. It is time to ask the right questions: Life
is about asking the right questions because it
is not what happens to you, it is what happens
in you that is important. ‘Nung minsan narinig
ko sa isang expat Pinay na nagreremit ng
malaking halaga. Sabi niya, malaki nga ‘yan
pero sira naman ang pamilya ko.
Nalungkot ako sa narinig ko. It’s as if going
abroad is always a choice between money
and family. Life is about asking the right
question. The question is not: Is it a choice
between money and family? Dapat makita
nating mga expat Pinoy na mahalaga rin ang
ating relasyon sa ating mga pamilya. The right
question to ask is: “How do you use money to
work for you, not the other way around?”
Money is not just a tool. Ask the right
question. It is not a choice between money
and family. Because we all know that our loved
ones are important and should come first.
We also know that money is a tool. So the
important question to ask is: “How can I make
money work for me and my family and not the
way around?”
2. It is time to do the right things: Life is
more than acquiring money. Life is about
making life better. It is about becoming a better
person. It is about preparing a better future for
the next generation.
‘Yung bang pag-iisip, halimbawa, ng isang
negosyo na bubuhay sa iyong pamilya at the
same time makakatulong sa iyong kababayan
and ultimately sa bansang Pilipinas. Isa pang
halimbawa: marami tayong naririnig tungkol
sa investment. Ito ang mas mahalaga, ito ang
mas mabilis, etc.
Ang sa akin. Master the basics. Unahin
Kye Diamante
muna ang habit of saving at pag-remit sa sarili.
At ang hindi pag-galaw nito hangga’t handa
ka nang i-invest. At i-invest sa isang bagay
na pinag-aralan mo. Hindi dahil sinabi ng iba.
Take time to do the right things.
Gamitin mo ang panahon tulad ng iyong
day off upang i-develop mo ang iyong skills.
Mag-aral ulit. Matuto ng bagong skill na iyong
mapapakinabangan. This is a better way of
spending your time than just engaging in idle
talk.
3. It is time to for us to take action:
Magsimula na sa lalong madaling panahon.
Gawin ang itinakdang mga hakbangin.
Put words into action. Example: magpatuloy
magremit sa sariling BPInoy account. It is
commitment to action that separates the doers
from the dreamers. You have to say “no” to the
things that do not help you and do the things
that will. Katulad ng nasabi kanina, ang pera
ay instrumento.
Gamitin ito at panatiliing malapit at buo ang
inyong pamilya.
Isang Pasko na naman ang dadaan. Isang
taon na naman ang dadaan. Huwag sayangin
ang panahon. We need to be determined.
Panahon na para ayusin at bigyang direksyon
ang ating buhay. Panahon na para magpasya
kung ano talaga ang gusto nating gawin sa
ating buhay.
What time is it? It is time to be determined.
Be determined to ask the right questions. Be
determined to do the right things. Be a person
who takes action.
Be determined. BPInoy.
Tuloy tuloy pa rin po ang Handog Pamasko
ng BPI.
Ito na ang pagkakataon mong maiuwi ang
iyong mga pangarap. Maiuwi sa bago mong
bahay at lupa na ipamimigay ng BPI ngayong
kapaskuhan sa lahat ng magreremit to a BPI
account. Kaya’t magpunta lang sa aming
BPInoy branches dito sa Hong Kong at magremit to a BPI and BPInoy account.
Ang “Be the new Pinoy, BPInoy!” series ay handog ng
BPI Remittance Centre. Ito ay mapapakinggan sa AM
1044 Metroplus at mababasa sa Filipino Globe, Hong
Kong News at Kayumanggi Magazine. BPI contact
number 2527 2289.
Advertorial
12/16/2006 5:55:55 PM
34 December 2006
filipino globe
celebrity
filipino globe
December 2006
Jay-R’s bittersweet Christmas offering
Terrie B Fucanan in Manila
Christmas this year will perhaps
be the loneliest for the Philippines’
prince of R&B music, Jay-R.
Ironically, he says, it will also
be the busiest and most significant
holiday season in his music career.
Why so? Because the 25-year-old
singer is back in Manila promoting a
Christmas album, the first under his
own recording label, JAYRS Music.
Titled “Christmas Away From
Home,” the 11-track album truly
describes how Jay-R will spend the
holidays this year – apart from the
warm company of his relatives and
friends who are all in California.
For the entire season, the selfconfessed neatness fanatic, who is
Gaudencio Aquino Sillona III in real
life, will be busy touring the malls
and holding guest appearances in TV
shows to promote his fifth album.
“Christmas Away From Home” is
especially dear to his heart for it was
a product of his blood, sweat and
tears – a one-month labor of love that
he dedicates to his dear late uncle,
Tito Reny Sillona.
“He was my inspiration for this
album,” Jay-R says of his singer-
musician uncle, “my First Holy
communion ninong”, who died of
cancer in August. “I wanted to pay
tribute to him and it so happened that
Christmas was fast approaching. So
I thought of making an album that
would inspire his family to remain
strong for one another.”
Four months since his uncle’s
passing, Jay-R is still deep in pain.
His voice would turn soft whenever
he speaks of Tito Reny. “His death
was the first in my core family, and
we were close. I practically grew up
with him.”
Tito Reny’s demise stirred a
renewed fire for music in Jay-R.
“My uncles (who are all musicians)
always wanted me to do something
different,” he says. And so he
finally summoned the courage to
start his own recording label in the
Philippines and launch it with a bang.
“Christmas Away From Home”
shows off not only Jay-R’s vocal
prowess, but also his talent as a
composer, music arranger and overall
album producer. “I was a one-man
team,” he says, adding that he
barely slept throughout the album’s
production.
It’s that time of year again for fans
Laden with special effects, this year’s entries are expected to scare up serious cash
Danny Vibas in Manila
For about two decades now,
Christmas in the.Philippines is not
complete without the Metro Manila
Film Festival (MMFF).
It has become a fixture not only
Metro Manila but also in other major
urban centers. Thus, movie-loving
families in the provinces don’t have
to travel all the way to Metro Manila
to watch their favorite stars on the
big screen. The malls in their areas,
with their multiplex screens have
made the film festival accessible to
them.
This year’s MMFF has nine entries
dominated by visual effects-heavy
fares. Such kind of films are not
cheap to produce since high-tech
always requires huge investments.
Three of the visual effectsdriven entries are produced by
the mother and daughter team
of Lily Monteverde and Roselle
Monteverde-Teo.
These are Shake, Rattle & Roll
8, Super Noypi, and Zsahzsah
Zaturnnah. (Their fourth entry is
meant to be dramatic: Mano Po 5.)
Canary Films entry Matakot Ka Sa
Karma is a horror-suspense trilogy
– and that genre these days relies
heavily on visual effects to deliver
the scare.
OctoArts Films Enteng Kabisote 3
may turn out to be the most visualeffects heavy among the entries since
it is primarily set in Neverland. It’s
the third year in a row that the team
of Vic Sotto (lead actor-producer),
Orly Ilacad (producer), and Tony
Reyes (director) has cooked up
a treat about the adventures and
misadventures of Enteng Kabisote,
a street smart guy who has the fine
luck of being married to a fairy.
The teams first two Enteng
Kabisote entries emerged topgrossers in the 2004 and 2005 film
fests, and if it was the visual effects
that did it for those two past entries,
that means the team has to top last
year’s visual dazzle to ensure their
being on top of the heap of fantasy
adventure and horror fantasy films
this year.
A seeming added attraction is the
cameo role of Pia Guanio, Vic’s
current girlfriend (right photo) and
co-host in the gloriously enduring
noontime show Eat Bulaga on GMA
7. Pia is also among the four hosts
of the networks Sunday showbiz talk
show S-Files. Joey de Leon also
has a cameo role, and he also had
one in last year’s edition of Enteng
Kabisote.
Regal Film’s Super Noypi is
obviously inspired by Hollywoods
Ex-Men movie series. Directed by
Quark Henares, a son of famous
beauty doctor Vicki Belo, Super
Noypi is about a bunch of youngsters
who, one fine day, discovers that
they have super powers. The young
superheroes are portrayed by
Jennylyn Mercado, Mark Herras,
Johh Prats, Polo Ravales, Sandara
Park, Katrina Halili, and new child
actor Andrew Muhlach, half-brother
of Aga Muhlach.
Yaya topbills Iza alzado and Sheryl
Cruz. Iza plays a beauteous yaya
who holds a secret that will terrify
Sheryl and her two kids one of whom
is played by child actor Nash Aguas.
In 13th Floor, 13 child actors in
its cast since its story is about a
children’s party held in what used
to be known as the 13th floor of a
building. Its adult cast includes Pinoy
Big Brother-celebrity edition winner
Keanna Reeves, comedian Beaver
eilly, young stars Roxanne Guinoo,
Joseph Bitangcol, and Janus del
Prado, real-life couple Isay Alvarez
and Robert Seña.
Matakot Ka Sa Karma is a horror
trilogy that serves as the movie
comeback vehicle of the irrepressible
Gretchen Barretto who gave up
showbiz more than a decade ago
when she became the live-in
sweetheart of Pinoy billionaire
Tonyboy Cojuangco and eventually
mothered one daughter for him.
The other episodes are topbilled
by Angelica Panganiban and Rica
Peralejo. The trilogy is directed by
Joey Javier Reyes from his own
script.
35
Planong
comeback
ni Gretchen
naunsyami
Mukhang hindi magtutuluy-tuloy
ang pagbabalik-showbiz ni Gretchen
Barretto.
May comeback movie siya sa
darating na Metro Manila Film
Festival – ang Matakot Ka Sa Karma,
kung saan kasama niya sina Rica
Peralejo at Angelica Panganiban.
Dapat ay masusundan yon ng
paggawa naman niya ng pelikula sa
Regal, ang Desperadas, kung saan
makakasama n’ya dapat sina Dawn
Zulueta at Ruffa Gutierrez.
Pero matapos ang mistulang
paghahasik niya ng lagim sa kilos
niya at pananalita, bigla siyang
nagpahayag na hindi na siya
pinapayagan ni Tonyboy na gumawa
ng pelikula – dahil naiintriga lang
daw siya.
Pero sa totoo lang nga, siya rin
naman ang nagsalita at gumawa ng
kung anu-ano na naging sanhi ng
pagiging kontrobersyal niya.
Halimbawa, sa una niyang press
conference, nung tinanong siya
kung tunay ang mga suot niyang
alahas, ang may pagkahambog at
walang delikadesa niyang sagot ay:
“Totoo ang lahat ng nasa katawan ko
maliban dito” – sabay turo sa dibdib
niya.
Sa sumunod na press-con naman
niya, ipinagtapat niya na nagkaroon
siya ng affair with Bong Revilla
nung panahong hindi pa ito senador
pero kasal na kay Lani Mercado.
Ikinuwento niya kung paanong
isang gabi ay tinangka niyang
sagasaan si Bong nung masundan
niya ito na nagpunta sa bahay ng isa
pang aktres na pinagsususpetsahan
niyang ka-affair din ng aktor nung
panahong iyon.
Nakaligtas lang daw sa kamatayan
si Bong dahil nakasampa agad ito sa
hood ng kotse niya at tuluy-tuloy na
rin sa bubong nito.
Sa interbyu na iyon ay binanggit
din niyang mas nauna pa niyang
nakahalikan si Raymart Santiago
kesa sa napangasawa ng aktor na
walang iba kundi ang bunso niyang
kapatid na si Claudine Barretto.
Dalawang taon na rin kasing
kaalitan ni Gretchen ang mga kapatid
niyang sina Claudine at Marjorie na
misis ng kumedyanteng si Dennis
Padilla, pati na ang mga magulang
nila.
Sa isang one-on-one interview
naman,tinarayan na naman niya si
Claudine.
Tinanong siya nung reporter kung
sino ang itinuturing niyang five
prettiest actresses sa bansa ngayon.
Hindi niya isinama si Claudine
and to double check, tanong uli ng
interviewer: ‘’What about your sister
Claudine?’’
Walang kagatul-gatol na sagot ni
Gretchen: ‘’You said pretty, di ba?’’
Ang sweet-sweet na ate ni
Gretchen, di po ba?
Pero nangyari po ang interview na
yon bago yung phone interview niya
with Cristy Fermin sa The Buzz ng
ABS-CBN 2 kung saan may paiyakiyak pa siya nung ipinaalaala sa
kanya ni Cristy kung gaano ka-close
silang magkakapatid noon.
DANNY VIBAS
12/16/2006 5:56:05 PM
36
celebrity
filipino globe
December 2006
So ... what’s
cooking with
Judy and Ryan
these days?
Khouny
slips into
the local
tongue
DANNY VIBAS in Manila
It’s all happening in the kitchen of the
young star’s restaurant business
Danny Vibas in Manila
just tells me to surprise him. And
he always makes a big show out
of being pleased by what I have
brought him.”
Juday owns a coffee shop – Kafe
Karibana – at Scout Madriñan in
Timog, Quezon City, which surely
benefits from her upgraded culinary
skills. Even charity has indirectly
gained from them.
Judy Ann Santos has got a lot on her
plate these days, quite literally.
She is busy running her restaurant
business and sharpening her culinary
skills.
Then there is the small matter of
the movies: She is finishing up Kasal,
Kasali Kasalo, ABS-CBN Films
entry in the forthcoming Metro
Manila Film Festival, with boyfriend
Ryan Agoncillo.
Judy is set to graduate from some
short courses this month from
In cooking, you
restaurateur Gene Gonzales culinary
arts school at Cafe Ysabel in San
can go experimental
Juan.
without disastrous
She’s looking forward to
graduation, understandly so for
effect. It’s like doing an
someone who hasn’t found time
to go to college. The last time she
experimental movie
joined a graduation ceremony was in
high school.
Juday studied international dish
JUDY ANN SANTOS
cooking and baking. She finds the
On the finer points of her new art
former more creative while the latter
more immediately rewarding.
“In cooking, you can actually
modify any recipe without any
disastrous effect. You can really go
A few months ago, she and some
experimental in cooking. It’s like
friends, including semi-retired
doing an experimental movie,” she
actress Beth Tamayo, held a cake
said.
auction at Kafe Karibana to raise
“But when it comes to baking,
funds for an orphanage. They did it
you have to follow the recipe
again on Nov. 24 at the same place.
with precision. If you modify
“The auction wass held late in the
measurements and procedures,
afternoon and we baked the cakes
the cake may not rise, it may even
early in the morning, like at four or
collapse.
five. The cakes were initially priced
“The cookies may turn as hard as
at P500 and could go as high as the
stone. But baking needs lesser time
bidding buyers could afford auction,
than cooking, so you can see and
informed Juday.Well, last November
taste almost immediately whatever
24, one of the cakes they bought sold
it is that you have set out to bake,”
for P13,000.”
she said.
It was a group of fans and friends
“Ryan basically likes Asian food.
of Juday who bought it, according to
The thing with him is he doesn’t
Ryan, and they ended up sharing it
tell me what to cook for him. He
with everyone present.
“
Judy and Ryan
find time to
oblige fans
in gatherings
like this.
Otherwise,
Judy is busy
with her
restaurant
business and
cooking class.
Both have to
make time
for that other
small matter:
the movies,
Meantime, direk Joey makes the most out of their time
“I made sure they were not for
real,” quipped actor-TV host Ryan
Agoncillo about the papers he
signed in the wedding scene he had
with Judy Ann Santos in Kasal,
Kasali Kasalo, ABS-CBN Films
entry in the forthcoming Metro
Manila Film Festival.
Real-life girlfriend Judy Ann was
sitting right beside him but she was
busy answering questions from
another reporter in that afternoon
press huddle for the festival.
She couldn’t react to Ryan’s joke.
The joke should not be taken to
mean Ryan doesn’t plan to marry
Judy Ann. Since they are often
grilled by the press and by showbiz
talk show hosts about their marriage
plans, Ryan has learned to come
up with variations on this answer:
“Thanks, guys, for always bothering
to ask us When is the big day?
When is the wedding? We take that
to mean youre excited for us.
“But our relationship is just about
a year old. Is it not too soon to be
talking about marriage?”
The sweethearts, though, admit
that they do occasionally talk about
marriage – and most of the time
jokingly. But then in a recent TV
interview, Ryan has allowed himself
to say maybe Juday is “more ready
than I am to settle down. She
already has everything”.
“She’s done that, been there. Me,
I feel l need at least one more year
to do some things that I want to
accomplish for myself.”
They enjoyed filming Kasal,
Kasali, Kasalo because it gave
them a good reason to be together
for long hours for many days in a
row. “We somehow felt bad when
shooting was over. We were having
so much fun we didn’t realise our
filming was over. It didn’t feel like
work at all, especially when
the scenes involved both of us. But,
then, direk Joey [Javier Reyes, their
director] is a kind and very
relaxed director, so our shoot was
fun practically all the time,” said
Ryan. Joey (photo) wrote the script.
DANNY VIBAS
celebrity
filipino globe
Either Filipino is a language
that’s easy to learn or Filipino
genes are stronger in Uma
Khouny’s (below) blood than
Israeli.
The ex- housemate in the
tentatively shelved ABS-CBN 2
reality show Pinoy Big Brother
has practically mastered the
Filipino language and mouths
it as if he were to the language
born. The Fil-Am brothers Troy
and KC Montero have been in the
Philippines for almost a decade
now but we have yet to hear them
speak a single complete sentence
in Filipino.
Here’s a sampling from a recent
press huddle with the incredibly
handsome Israeli-Pinoy: “Hindi
ako pokpok, no. Hindi ako
makikipag-sex kung kani-kanino
lang para sa pera, bagong kotse,
o ano mang pabor. Kung may
gustong mag-offer sa akin magoffer sila hanggang manigas sila.
“Hindi ako nagpa-pluck
ng kilay. Two years ago pa
pinakortehan ng modelling
agent ko yung kilay ko and I
swear hindi na ako papayag uli
na bawasan ang kilay ko dahil
ang sakit-sakit naman palang
magpaayos ng kilay.”
Uma even knows the hard-totranslate Tagalog word paglilihi,
which he said was the reason he
lost weight. He claims it was he
who, months ago, went through
paglilihi, not the half-sister he
lives with and who is about to
give birth as a single mom.
He said it was him who became
“ang sungit-sungit” during the
early stage of pregnancy of his
pure Filipino half-sister.
Uma turned 25 on November 4
and it was at the press conference
for talents managed by ABSCBN Star Magic who celebrated
their birthdays in November that
we were amazed by Uma’s ability
to speak in our native tongue.
Uma has two weekly Sunday
night shows in the network, the
travelog Trip na Trip and the
megastars talk show Sharon. He
is also finishing the Star Cinema
movie Agent XX4 in which he
portrays a vampire.
December 2006
37
Their wholesome,
tender image
apparently is not
enough. Jennylyn
Mercado and Mark
Herras have had
to come out to
emphatically deny
reports about
an explicit video
purportedly showing
them in he act
They couldn’t do it. Could they?
Young ex-sweethearts hit back over
alleged sex video. Danny Vibas reports
It has taken a while but now,
Jennylyn Mercado and Mark Herras
has got it off their chests and the
monkey off their backs.
The ogre was an ugly rumor
triggered by a blind item on ABSCBN’s The Buzz that said the former
sweethearts were the stars in a sex
video that was already doing the
rounds.
It was threathening to boil
into a potentially career-ending
scandal for both enough to force
Jennylyn’s manager to say that even
a categorical mention of the star’s
name in connection to the video
could cause her “severe damage”.
So when the two had a chance
to meet the press for the the movie
Super Noypi, they lost no time
setting the record straight.
“Wala akong naaalala na ginawa
namin ni Mark na may malisya,” said
Jennylyn.
Mark, on the other hand, was livid.
“Inaamin ko na playboy ako pero
hindi ako gago,” he said.
“Hindi ko ibi-video ang sino mang
kasama ko at ipagkakalat pa ang
video. Ang gago ay yung kung sino
mang nagkakalat na may ginawa
kaming sex video ni Jennylyn.”
About middle of this year, there
were similarly disturbing reports
about videos supposedly showing
stunningly handsome actor Piolo
Pascual (right) in a gay sex act with
an alleged male prostitute.
But no one seems to have seen the
alleged Jenny-Mark video and the
information has come mainly from
The Buzz reporters.
One reporter, Dinno Erece, an avid
video collector, said he had scoured
the sidewalk video stalls in Quiapo,
didn’t find a single video that had
Jennylyn in it.
But Dinno did find a video titled
Jenny-Mark although the girl in it
hardly looked like Jennylyn. There
was no Mark in the video since it
was implied that Mark was the one
holding the cam.
Becky Aguila, Jennylyns manager,
has threatened to sue The Buzz if it
“
Inaamin ko na
playboy ako pero hindi
ako gago. Ang gago
ay yung kung sino
mang nagkakalat
ng tsimis
MARK HERRAS
On alleged sex video with Jennylyn
airs the report again and explicitly
names the girl in the supposed video
as Jennylyn Mercado. She said that
a categorical mention of Jennylyn’s
name could cause her career as a
wholesome star severe damage.
Which may be true. In that press
conference, the reporters were
advised by Super Noypi supervising
producer Manny Valera not to ask
Jennylyn and Mark during the open
forum about their alleged sex video.
12/16/2006 5:56:06 PM
38
celebrity
filipino globe
December 2006
filipino globe
December 2006
39
Al Gore documentary makes history
In brief, the most controversial and talked-about Hollywood goings-on that have fans in a swoon
Al Gore’s environmental film “An
Inconvenient Truth” has become the
third-biggest-grossing documentary
of all time, controversial comedian
Borat (far right) has had his movie
banned in every Arab country except
Lebanon and David Letterman has
signed a US$30 million contract that
takes his late-night show to 2010.
Gore’s movie about the dangers
of global warming has been a huge
success in major markets, including
the Philippines.
These are just a few of a crop of
Hollywood goings-on that have fans
up to their ears in excitement.
Here’s more:
Reese
Witherspoon
is nursing her
broken heart
following
her recent
marriage split
by befriending
fellow celebrity
divorcee Renee
Zellweger. The two actresses were
spotted enjoying a meal together at
Los Angeles’ Cut restaurant.
Martin Scorsese’s hit film “The
Departed” went through 21 cuts in
Kuwait before film censors there
agreed to release the film.
Director
Catherine
Hardwicke saved
cash on her
religious epic
“The Nativity
Story” by using
a set from Ridley
Scott’s “Kingdom
of Heaven” as
King Herod’s palace in her film.
Oscar winner Sally Field has found
a way of cooking for her family
while she works on “Brothers &
Sisters”. She prepares real meals
when her character, Nora Walker, is
called into the kitchen for scenes and
then takes the food she makes home
with her in the evening.
Actress Robin Wright-Penn is
developing a documentary about
female surfers even though she rarely
hits the waves herself. She explains,
“(Husband) Sean (Penn) is the surfer
of the family.”
George Clooney is in negotiations
to direct fellow Oscar winner
Morgan Freeman in a new movie
called “The Belmont Boys”.
Rob Lowe is such a huge fan of
tense TV drama 24 he has the theme
as his ring tone. Ironically, his
brother Chad will appear in the new
season of the show next year.
Oprah
accused of
pandering
to whites
Loi Liwanag in Los Angeles
Has Oprah lost it? Her AfricanAmerican roots, that is.
If you ask rapper 50 Cent, the
answer is yes. He accused the US
talk show queen of deserting her
African, saying she panders to the
middle-aged white females.
Interestingly, Winfrey shot to
fame after starring in the 1985 civil
rights film The Color Purple, where
she played the role of an African
slave fighting for liberation.
But hip-hop star 50 Cent feels
her current status is at the cost of
her former beliefs and original fan
base.
He says, “[She] started out with
black women’s views but has been
catering to middle-aged white
American women for so long that
she’s become one herself.
“I think the idea of being publicly
noted that she’s a billionaire makes
(black women) interested in seeing
her views. But it’s even more
exciting to the demographic of
white American women she’s been
aiming at to see that she has the
exact same views that they have.”
It’s not the first time the rapper
has hit out at Winfrey--last
month the “Candy Shop” star
joined Ludacris and Ice Cube in
criticizing Winfrey’s perceived
negative attitude towards hip-hop’s
big names after she refused to have
him as a guest on her show.
Rapper 50 Cent says for all of Oprah’s passion towards African-American causes, she still has not overcome a tendency to pander to white females.
Wesley Snipes faces 16 years in prison for tax evasion
Wesley Snipes (photo) is in tax
trouble, US$12 million of it to be
exact. The black star of the Blade
series surrendered to police in
Orlando on tax evasion charges
shortly after flying in from Africa,
where he had been on location
filming a horror movie.
He is scheduled to appear in court,
charged with illegally claiming
almost US$12 million in tax refunds.
He was earlier indicted by a federal
grand jury in Tampa, Florida for tax
evasion.
The indictment also said he failed
to file income tax returns from 1999
through 2004
He could face 16 years in prison if
convicted.
Snipes will appear at a court in
Ocala, where he will be arraigned
and bond will be set, said Steve Cole,
spokesman for the US attorney’s
office in Tampa.
Snipes’ lawyers and prosecutors
negotiated the surrender and Snipes
flew in from abroad, probably from
work in Africa, Cole said.
Snipes was reportedly in Namibia
since August filming a horror movie
called Gallowwalker.
Snipes earlier said he would abide
by the law even as he complained
that he was being targeted unfairly
by federal prosecutors, at least partly
because he is black and famous. Tax
authorities denied the allegations.
Snipes has appeared in more than
three dozen movies including the
Blade series, Jungle Fever, White
Men Can’t Jump, Rising Sun and US
Marshals.
12/16/2006 5:56:16 PM
40 November 2006
filipino globe
celebrity
filipino globe
December 2006
They mumble but speak volumes
No longer glib talkers, Michael J Fox and Muhammad Ali are giving a compelling voice to a common cause
As Alex in one of the biggest hits
of the 1980s, Michael J Fox has
seen the future. “There’s something
in it that’s good and terrible,” his
character tells his girlfriend.
Alex may have been talking as
Michael J Fox and the future he
speaks of may have been now. Where
life imitates art has always been
in the realm of possibility, but Fox
himself could not have been more
prophetic as Alex in “Back to the
Future”.
“I have an enormous respect for
time,” he told an interviewer in
2003, five years after announcing
that he had Parkinson’s Disease, a
degenerative condition that affects a
victim’s motor skills.
He had been diagnosed with the
illness in 1991 but kept it under
wraps until he was convinced
everyone was ready to hear it.
Since then, he has become
a tireless campaigner for state
funding in Parkinson’s research
and a resource speaker for support
groups of families coping with the
challenges of a loved one afflicted
with the condition.
Fox is not alone in this fight.
Boxing great Muhammad Ali,
perhaps history’s most famous
sufferer of the disease, has lent his
fame and fortune to the campaign.
Fox and Ali have had a special
bond. “It’s an unspoken bond,” Fox
said. “He and I have this look that we
just give to each.”
But it is Fox who has been thrust
into the limelight having been in the
public eye longer than anyone among
his fellow sufferers.
When he quit the movies and
television in 2000, unable to meet
their physical demands, he became
a bigger public figure in the fight
against Parkinson’s.
To be an effective campaigner, he
has become even more acutely aware
of time. That’s what you do when
you deliver three speeches in one day
with a couple of meetings thrown in
between.
“I wait for the pills to kick in or to
be able to do something I want to do,
like read the newspaper. I wake up, I
can’t read the paper because I can’t
hold it. So how long, there’s like,
eight, 10, 12, 15 minutes waiting to
be able to read the paper,” he said.
“So, then what do I do with that
time? I’m thinking about other
things. I’m thinking about oh, this
other thing. And okay, now I can read
the paper. So, now I read the paper.
And then I finish reading the paper.
And I say, ‘And what was I thinking
about while I was waiting to read
the paper? I was thinking about this
other thing.’ And then I’ll do that.”
Where
it’s at ...
Internet Cafe
Printing, Scanning
Philippine Products
E-Load
E-Charge
Phone Cards
Lunch/Dinner Boxes
Videoke
Michael J Fox
appears in
one of his last
espisodes
on Spin City.
He has an
unspoken
bond with
fellow
sufferer
Muhammad
Ali (below),
here lighting
the Olympic
flame during
the Altanta
Games.
“
MICHEL J FOX
On his daily struggles with Parkinson’s
passage from off to on.”
At times, it gets to a point where
he can’t speak or inflect. “ I can’t
really use my face,” he said. “I’ll be
shaking. And that’s ‘off.’ And then
‘on’ is a version of this, which is
when the medication’s working.”
In 2001, Fox agreed to let a
“Dateline” TV crew follow him
around. Keeping up hasn’t been
easy. In addition to that best selling
book, he’s also voiced two animated
movies. But Fox is not in denial. He
is in a hurry because he knows the
facts.
Parkinson’s disease happens when
certain brain cells, ones that control
motor function, begin to die. The
cause is unknown, but the prognosis
is a slow sequence that begins with
shakiness and leads eventually to
paralysis.
In 2003, he made an appearance in
Congress to lobby for state funding
for Parkinson’s research. He had
a tough audience to convince, but
toughest opponent in the room was
himself.
With the medication wearing off,
he had trouble, of all things, reading
his lines. But what he did spoke
volumes.
I thought it was weird, Longoria says of Parker’s move
Maus@Point
Desperate Housewives star Eva
Longoria (photo) was shocked by
boyfriend Tony Parker’s marriage
proposal because he was supposed
to be in another state playing
basketball.
The 31-year-old actress was
returning home in the early hours
after filming all day and was
62-A Sai Wan Ho Street
Sai Wan Ho, Hong Kong
(infront of Ki Wan School)
Tel : 2567 9555
shocked to find
her French-born
boyfriend waiting
for her.
She tells People
magazine: “It was a
big surprise! He had been playing
in Utah, so I was just shocked to see
him in L.A.
TAKEFIVE
Gibson opts out
Filmmaker Mel Gibson has
rubbished reports he is
planning a return to acting
– and claims he’s in no hurry
to get back in front of the
camera.
The “Braveheart” star, who
has abandoned acting to
concentrate on his directorial
career, admits he would even
be happy if he wasn’t working
at all. He says: “I just haven’t
felt the pressing desire to hop
in front of the camera and tap
dance,” he said.
“It’s not that I don’t want
to do it, it’s just that it hasn’t
been on the menu for me for
a while.”
Fox faces lawsuit
I wait for the pills
to kick in ... I wake
up, I can’t read the
newspaper because I
can’t hold it
He has learned to conserve energy
“to be able to use it when I need to
use it.”
A typical day with Parkinson’s
disease is fraught with “harrowing
extremes,” he writes in his memoir
“Lucky Man”.
“Three or four times a day, I go
through the transitions between the
two poles, navigating the tricky
41
“I thought it was weird--sort of,
‘Why are you here? What’s going
on? Oh my God! It’s happening!’”
After informing both families
he was going to propose, Parker
decorated Longoria’s home with
rose petals and candles and got
down on one knee to pop the
question.
Longoria adds: “I cried my eyes
out. I was mostly touched by how
nervous he was. I was like, ‘You
know I’m going to say yes. Why are
you so nervous?’ But I guess every
man gets nervous at that point”
Parker adds: “I’m a traditional
guy. I knew it was right. We’ve been
talking for months about it.”
Two male students who
appear in “Borat: Cultural
Learnings of America” making
racist remarks are suing the
film’s makers.
In the fifth Borat-related
lawsuit against studio 20th
Century Fox, the unnamed
South Carolina students are
seeking damages for distress
caused by their appearance,
and want the scene to be
cut from the movie and its
subsequent DVD release.
The plaintiffs claim they were
plied with alcohol and tricked
into making the onscreen
comments, and were made
to sign release forms while
drunk.
Pam in sham deal
Pamela Anderson and Kid
Rock struggled to take their
“legal” wedding seriously
when they exchanged vows in
Beverly Hills in August – they
invited their kids to hide in
courthouse
bushes and
take pictures.
The couple,
who split last
month, wed
in St Tropez,
France, but
learned the
nuptials weren’t legal and had
to renew their vows in Los
Angeles.
Anderson says: “We didn’t
realise we had to do a whole
other ceremony.”
Partner beater
“La Bamba” star Lou Diamond
Phillips has pleaded no
contest to charges that he
beat his girlfriend up during an
altercation in August.
Police raced to the La
Bamba star’s Northridge,
California, home following
reports Phillips was attacking
his girlfriend Yvonne Boismer.
Following the actor’s arrest,
his spokesperson insisted
the whole matter was “a
misunderstanding,” but now
Phillips has accepted he
brutalised his live-in lover.
He has been sentenced to
a year of domestic violence
counseling and 200 hours of
community service. He was
also placed on probation.
filipino globe concepts
12/16/2006 5:56:20 PM
42
palakasan
filipino globe
December 2006
Trilohiya ng boksing ayon kay Pacman
Nasa plano ang lahat sa metodikal na panalo ng Pinoy champion sa kalabang Meksikano sa Las Vegas
Celeste Terrenal in Manila
Tatlong bagsak sa ikatlong round para
sa pangatlong panalo sa isa sa pinakaaasam na trilohiya sa boksing.
Tila sinukat ni Manny Pacquiao
(43-3-2-33 KO) ang Meksikanong
si Erik Morales papunta sa thirdround knockout victory sa super
featherweights sa ikatlong paghaharap
ng dalawang boksingero sa 20
buwan.
Pinatunayan ni Pacquiao na siya
ang best pound for pound fighter sa
daigdig ngayon nang dominahin si
Morales, 48-5, pagtunog pa lamang
ng bell hanggang sa matapos ang
laban, halos tatlong Segundo pa ang
natitira.
Kapuwa nagpakawala ng solido
at dumadagundong na mga suntok
ang dalawang boksingero pero mas
mabilis at mas matindi ang kamao ni
Pacquiao.
Matapos bumagsak na mula sa
kalagitnaan ng ikatlong round, tinapos
ni Pacquiao ang laban—at marahil
ay ang career na rin ni Morales sa mala-kidlat na left hook halos tatlong
Segundo ang nalalabi sa laban.
Napaupo na lamang si Morales at umiling-iling bilang pagsuko sa laban—at napatalon si Pacquiao bilang
selebrasyon sa matagumpay na paghihiganti sa boksingerong tanging
tumalo sa kanya simula noong 1999.
Walang pagsidlan ang tuwa ng libulibong Filipino fans na nanood sa
Thomas and Mack Center makaraang
itaas ng referee ang kamay ni Pacquiao
na hinati kay Morales ang dalawang
meeting sa nakaraang dalawang taon. Ang trilohiya ng dalawang boksingero ay ang pinakamatindi sa
boksing sa mga nakaraang taon.
Kinongkreto na ni Pacquiao ang
kanyang puwesto kasama ng mga
mahuhusay na boxing superstars sa
ngayon, “Nagpapasalamat ako una sa Diyos, sumunod sa mga sumuporta
sa akin. Ang panalong ito ay para sa lahat ng Pilipino,” wika ni Pacquaio
makaraan ang laban. Sinabi rin ni Pacquiao na hindi
niya akalaing maagang matatapos ang
kanilang laban pero kahit pa humaba
ito ay handa siyang makipagsabayan
kay Morales.
Sa post fight interview sinabi ni
Morales na si Pacquiao ay “very
strong, very fast. He did what he
always does and came right at me.”
Idinagdag pa ng natalong Mexicano
na “I am going to think real hard
about my future. I am going to take a
long time to decide and maybe I will
go home and forget about it.”
Ngayon pa lamang ay marami nang
plano ang kampo ni Pacquiao sa kung
sino ang isusunod na makakalaban.
December 2006
43
Biglang buhos
ang suwerte sa
bagong hari
ng bilyaran
Lito pa si Alcano kung ano ang gagawin
sa premyo. Ulat ni Celeste Terrenal
N
“
I am going to think
real hard about my
future. I am going to
take a long time to
decide and maybe
I will go home and
forget about it
ERIK MORALES
On his future plans after the loss
Papalapit si Manny Pacquiao
sa panalo matapos
pataubin si Erik Morales dito
sa third-round action (itaas).
Ang dalawa sa kaisa-isang
pagkakataon na tinalo ni
Morales ang Pinoy champion
(kaliwa) noong isang taon.
Knockout kaagad ang inabot ni Pacquiao sa magandang si Jinky
Babae ang unang tumalo kay
Manny Pacquiao.
“Knockout agad ako sa
kanya, kaya nag-isip agad ako
ng paraan para maligawan
siya,” kuwento ni Manny sa
kaunaunahang enkwentro niya
sa labas ng ring.
Nakilala ni Manny si
Jinky sa isang department
palakasan
filipino globe
store sa General Santos. Beauty consultant noon si
Jinky ng isang produktong
pampaputi mahigit sa anim na
taon na ang nakararaan. Love at
first sight kaagad ang tumama
kay Manny. Mahigit sa isang buwan na
niligawan ni Manny si Jinky. Pagkatapos ay naglive-in
muna ang dalawa nang mahigit
sa isang taon hanggang
sa nakaipon sila upang
makapagpakasal sa simbahan. “Mabait si Jinky. Inaayos
niya ang aming bahay, ang
mga bata, tumutulong siya sa
negosyo, marunong siya sa
buhay, mabait siya sa mgulang
ko at mga kapatid. Higit sa lahat
inaalagaan niya ako,” sabi ni
Manny. Maaaring ang nakikita nang
lahat ay ang bangis at bilis ni
Manny sa tuwing aakyat at
makikipaglaban sa ring, pero,
ang hindi alam ng marami ay
napakalambing at romantiko nito
lalo na sa kanyang asawang si
Jinky at ina na si Aling Dionisia.
Katunayan, hanggang
ngayon, sa tuwing may
pagkakataon ay hinaharana ni Manny si Jinky. “Magaling
akong tumugtog ng gitara, isa
sa pampaalis ng pagod ko iyan,
nagdadala ako ng gitara kapag
lumalabas ng bansa, at saka
kapag may tampo si Jinky.
Celeste Terrenal
ais ni Ronnie Alcano
na sundan ang yapak ng
kanyang idolo na si Efren
“Bata” Reyes.
Katunayan, maging ang hitsura ni
Bata, kasama na ang pagpapatubo
ng bigote at pagpapatanggal ng lahat
ng kanyang mga ngipin ay ginawa ni
Alcano.
Ngayon, isang bagay pa ang
ginaya niya kay Bata – ang maging
kampeon ng mundo sa larong bilyar.
Sinungkit ni Alcano, tinaguriang
“Ronnie Calamba” at “The Volcano”,
ang 2006 Men’s World 9-Ball
Championship nang pabagsakin si
Ralf Spyquet sa finals sa score na
17-11.
Siya ang ikalawang Pilipino
(hindi kasama ang 2004 winner na si
Alex Pagulayan dahil kinakatawan
niya noon ang Canada) na maging
world pool champion. Una na ritong
nanalo ang idolo ni Alcano na si Bata
noong 1999 na tinalo naman ng una
sa 2006 tournament.
Pamilyar na ang mga pool
aficionados kay Alcano. Ilang beses
na rin siyang nagpakitang-gilas
sa mga major tournaments tulad
ng 2005 San Miguel Beer Asian
9-Ball tour championship at ang
gintong medalya sa 2005 Southeast
Asian Games (men’s 15-ball singles
at men’s 15 doubles kasama si
Leonardo Andam).
Kontrolado ng 34-anyos na si
Alcano, tubong Calamba, Laguna,
ang finals ng torneo makaraan ang
8-2 pagsagitsit at sinelyuhan nito
ang panalo sa 1-9 kombinasyon
“Nagbago talaga ang buhay ko.
Dati ako ang nagpapa-autograph,
ngayon ako na ang pumipirma.
Hindi ko pa alam kung ano ang
gagawin ko sa napanalunan ko,
ngayon lang ako nakahawak ng
ganoong kalaking pera,” sabi ni
Alcano na naibulsa ang US$100,000
na premyo.
Mahirap ang pinagdaanan
ni Alcano bago ang panalo.
Kinailangan niyang sumailalim
sa knockout stages at isa siya sa
dalawnag manlalaro na na-qualify
para sa last 64 matapos na isa
sa tatlong matches lamang ang
napanalunan.
Katunayan, hindi man lamang
nililingon si Alcano sa torneo
makaraang mabigo sa una sa
dalawang niyang matches na
nanapalunan naman ni Marcel
Martyines, 9-2.
Pero nabingwit niya ang ikalawa
niyang asignature laban sa walang
talo noon na si Roberto Gomez, 10-1.
at isinunod ang tournament favourite
na si Reyes, 10-7.
“
Nagbago talaga ang
buhay ko. Dati ako
ang nagpapa-autograph, ngayon ako na
ang naga-autograph
RONNIE ALCANO
On his new-found celebrity
Sa tagumpay ni Alcano, kabikabila ang naging papuri sa kanya,
kasama na ang paggawad ni
Pangulong Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
ng Presidential Order of Lakandula
medallion at P1 million.
Labindalawang-taong gulang pa
lamang si Alcano nang magsimulang
humawak ng tako. Hinasa niya
ang kanyang kaalaman sa bilyar
sa pag-aaral ng tricks na ginagawa
ng mga Pilipino billiard player lalo
na ni Bata. Bagama’t aminado
na nalulungkot din siya sa hindi
pagtatapos ng pag-aaral dahil sa
bilyar, sinabi ni Alcano na marami
rin siyang dapat na ipagpasalamat sa
sport na nagbigay sa kanya ng yaman
at tagumpay.
Nagbunyi ang
bayang Pilipino
nang sikwatin ni
Ronnie Alcano ang
pang-mundong
kampeonato sa
bilyar (itaas). Bago
pa nito, taimtim ang
ang ating bayani
(kaliwa) sa unang
salida.
12/16/2006 5:56:21 PM
46
palakasan
filipino globe
December 2006
Our days of glory as athletes deliver
Nagbunyi ang bansa sa inaning tagumay ng mga atletang Pilipino mula sa Asian Games sa Qatar
Paghihiganti at katuparan ng
pangarap.
Hindi ito isang tema sa pelikula,
sa halip, ay ang kabuuang senaryo
ng kampanya ng delegasyon ng
Pilipinas sa 15th Asian Games sa
Doha, Qatar.
Tatlong gintong medalya – mula
kina billiard player Antonio Gabica,
wushu athlete Rene Catalan at boxers
Violito Payla at Joan Tipon – ang
iniuwi ng pambansang delegasyon
ng Pilipinas mula sa Doha Asian
Games.
Dagdag dito ang silver at bronze
na nag-akyat sa Pilipinas sa
puwesto sa katatapos lamang na
torneo.
“Let this feat, along with
those of Antonio Gabica, Violito
Payla and other medalists in the
15th Asian Games, be a strong
motivation for the next generation
of Filipino athletes to surpass these
accomplishments in the future,”
wika ni Pangulong Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo.
Ito na ang ikalima sa
pinakamahusay na performance ng
bansa sa biennial meet. Noong 1954
ay kumamada ang bansa ng 14 na
golds, 14 na silver at 17 brozes.
Hindi nabalewala ang hirap ng
mga atleta na mula sa screening,
hanggang sa pagsasanay at aktuwal
na laro ay pawang sakripisyo ang
ibinigay para sa karangalan ng bansa.
Pagkatapos ng laban sa Qatar,
pinuri ni Pangulong Arroyo ang may
187 na atleta kasama na sina Gabica,
Payla at Tipon.
Naging inspirasyon ng 27-anyos
na si Payla ang pangmamaliit sa
kanya ng nakalaban sa finals na si
Somjit Jongjohor ng Thailand na
mayabang na sinabing dudurugin
niyang parang saging ang Filipino
boxer. Tatlong beses na binigo ng
Thai boxer si Payla sa kanilang
naunang paghaharap.
“Ito ang pinakamasayang araw sa
aking career. Masayang masaya ako,
ipinakita ko sa kanya [Jongjohor] na
hindi niya ako puwedeng maliitin at
kaya kong lumaban,” sabi ni Payla
na nanaig sa 31-15 puntos para sa
Asiad gold.
Kahit pa one-sided ang panalo
ni bantamweight Joan Tipon sa
pinagmamalaki ng Korea na si Han
Soon-chul, maituturing pa ring
kapanabik-panabik na laban ito para
sa mga Pilipino dahil sa nalagpasan
ng delegasyon ang tatlong gintong
medalyang hinakot sa Busan, South
Korea noong 2002.
Pero kay Tipon at Payla, isang
pampagana ang kanilang panalo para
sa mas malaki pa nilang plano sa
larangan ng boksing.
“Ayokong mag-professional.
Target ko ang gold sa 2008
Olympics. Basta suportahan lamang
kami ng mga Pilipino kayangkaya natin ito,” wika ni Tipon na
balak na magsimula ng negosyo sa
matatannggap na P1.5 milyon.
Kay Gabica, susi sa magandang
kinabukasan ang gintong medalyang
nakamit dahil kakabit nito ang
P1.5 milyong insentibo bukod pa
sa dagdag na P800,00 mula kay
Pangulong Arroyo. Matagal nang
pangarap ni Gabica at ng kanyang
asawang si Marijean na nagpakasal
sa simbahan.
“Hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala
[sa panalo)]. Pero wala naming
palakasan
filipino globe
45
December 2006
Hindi na bago kay Boy Codinera ang papel na bayani sa baseball
Filomeno “Boy” Codinera,
kinikilalang alamat sa baseball
at softball, maraming beses na
naging national coach sa dalawang
disiplina kung saan siya nagtamo
rin siya ng karangalan hindi lamang
sa kanyang pangalan kundi sa
bansa.
Ngayon ay 67 taong gulang
na, ang bayani sa pang-apat
na pagtatapos ng Pilipinas sa
1968 World Men’s Softball
Championship na ginanap sa
Oklahoma, at bronze medal finish
sa 1966 World Amateur Baseball
Championship na idinaos sa
Honolulu, Hawaii, ay namumuhay
na ng tahimik matapos na mastroke noong 2002 habang nasa
piling ng kanyang kabiyak na si
Betty sa Los Angeles, California.
Retirado na bilang coach ng
Adamson University sa baseball at
sa women’s softball may dalawang
taon na ang nakararaan matapos
na bigyan ang pamantasan ng
siyam na korona sa baseball sa
University athletic Association of
the Philippines (UAAP) at anim na
titulo sa women’s softball, kasama
ang Triple Crown mula noong 2004
hanggang 2006.
Bagamat naging tanyag na sa
pagiging manlalaro sa UAAP sa
ilalim ng bandila ng University of
Santo Tomas at sa iba’t-ibang ligang
komersyal na kinakatawan ang San
Miguel Corp, Ysmael Steel, Land
Registration Commission at PCINP, mas lumutang ang pangalan
FLASHBACK
nasaan na sila?
Eddie
Alinea
ni Codinera, Boy C o Blaha sa
mga kaibigan, noong 1972 World
Softball Championship na idinaos
dito mismo sa bansa.
Naglaro rin siya ng basketball
dala ang uniporme ng UST Glowing
Goldies noong mid-60s pruweba
ng kanyang versatility at physical
conditioning.
Ang pagiging bayani ay hindi
na bago kay Codinera, apat na
taon bago yung 1972 World
Championship, pinangunahan din
niya ang fourth place finish ng
Pilipinas sa Oklahoma sa nasabi
ring torneo.
Dalawang taon bago yun,
miyembro din siya ng Philippine
baseball team na pumangatlo sa
1966 World baseball championship
na ginanap sa Honolulu.
Doon din sa 1968 World
Championship sa Oklahaoma
naitala ni Codinera ang kanyang
pangalan sa Guinness Book of
World Records nang makagawa siya
ng limang doubles sa limang beses
niyang pagpalo. Kasama niya sa
pagawa ng rekord ang Amerikanong
si Jim Stuart at isa pang slugger
na Hapones. Lahat silang tatlo
ay ginawaran ng karangalang cobatting champions sa nasabing
torneo.
Si Codinera, ama ng tatlong
naging PBA players na sina
Harmon, Jerry at Pat, ay isang
kongkretong halimbawa ng
isang dating manlalaro na
hindi nagpapabaya ng kanyang
pangangatawan. Kahit na nagsuffer siya ng stroke noong 2004,
tuloy pa rin ang kanyang physical
conditioning. Sabi nga niya sa mga
kaibigang media men, kung hindi
sa malusog niyang pangangatawan,
malamang aniya na nawala na siya
sa mundo makaraan ang massive
stroke na tumama sa kanya.
Twists and turns of the PBA carousel
Much of the action has happened off the court. Tito Talao looks at what’s likely to happen on it
“
Sinikwat nina Jovito Payla, Antonio Gabica at Rene Catalan ang gintong medalya sa kani-kanilang laban para
itayo ang bandila ng bansa. Sa tulong ni Joan Tipon, nagkamit ng apat na gold medal ang Pilipinas sa Doha.
pressure sa akin noong naglalaban
kami ni Jeff. Magkaibigan kami. Isa
pa, kahit sino naman manalo, para
ito sa lahat ng mga Pilipino,” sabi ni
Gabica.
Ito ang unang pagkakataon na
ang isang Pilipino ay sumikwat ng
singles title sa sport. Nanalo sina
Francisco “Django” Bustamante
at Antonio Lining sa Busan Asian
Games 9-balls doubles na binura
naman ng mga organizers dito.
Nagsilbing armas naman ng 27anyos na si Catalan, taga-Ilocos, ang
kanyang bilis at diskarte laban sa
mas matangkad na Vietnamese na si
Phan Quoc Vinh.
“Medyo nahirapan din ako sa
kanya,” sabi ni Catalan, makaraan
ang laban. “Siya kasi yung
pinakamalakas sa mga nakalaban
ko.”
“Talagang pinaghandaan ko siya.
Ayokong mapahiya. Alam ko na
siya yung pinakamalakas sa aking
dibisyon kaya, siya kaagad ang
target ng preparasyon ko,” wika ni
Catalan na ipinagpag ang katuwiran
ni Phan na injury ang dahilan kaya
siya natalo.
Iniangat ng ginto at pilak ng
wushu ang medal tally ng Pilipinas
sa 4-6-9 (gold-silver-bronze para
sa ika-18 puwesto sa medal tally at
nalagpasan ang 4-59 output noong
1986 Seoul Games.
Ayokong magprofessional. Target
ko ang gold sa 2008
Olympics. Basta
suportahan lamang
kami ng mga Pilipino
kayang-kaya natin ito
JOAN TIPON
Sa plano niya sa Beijing Games
A colorful carousel of coaches and
team managers to rival a carnival
merry-go-round. A fading superpower aching to regain respect. An old
crowd darling longing to rekindle
its passion for winning. A defending
champion looking to prove a point. A
rebel without a cause.
These are the gripping subplots to a
compelling story line that is the PBATalk ‘N Text Philippine Cup, the first
of two conferences in the 2006-07
season of Asia’s pioneer professional
basketball league.
But first, the bullet points:
The 10 ball clubs, including the expansion Welcoat Dragons who bought
the franchise of the defunct Shell
Turbo Chargers, independently have
something to say.
Barangay Ginebra Kings – They’ve
been down so many times. They used
to have a mixture of marginal players,
aging stars and enforcers for a team.
These days the Kings are mighty and
proud.
San Miguel Beermen – The usual
suspects are at it again. It’s scary to
have the Beermen in the upper half of
the standings. If only Danny Seigle
can keep himself fit throughout the
tournament, the Beermen would be
the top favorite again.
Sta Lucia Realtors – It’s been a
while since the Realtors started out
this strong. Top overall pick Kelly
Williams is leading the team in scoring and rebounding.
Red Bull Barako – Coach Yeng
Guiao and the Barako are still searching for their first all-Filipino title. The
departure of top gunner Lordy Tugade
in the middle of the classification
phase could make the search harder.
Purefoods Chunkee Giants – The
defending champions are expected to
be right up there. After a sluggish start
that had them winning only once in
four games, the Giants worked their
way up and into contention for a third
straight outright semifinal appearance.
Talk ‘N Text Phone Pals – The signal
remains choppy for the Phone Pals, at
least in the classification phase of the
tournament. Asi Taulava and Jimmy
Alapag are still dishing out all-star
numbers. But the Phone Pals need
Renren Ritualo to burn the hoops
from afar the way he did when he’s
still playing for the Air21 Express.
Air21 Express – The highest scoring team in the league still finds it
hard to outscore its opponent. Inconsistency is bugging the team, chalking up back-to-back wins only once
so far.
Alaska Aces – The loss of Mike
Cortez to an ACL injury gives the
Aces an inferior hand. But coach Tim
Cone knows anything can happen after the flop.
Coca-Cola Tigers – The future
looks bright for the Tigers with promising rookies Joseph Yeo and Chris
Pacana at the helm. But the present is
a struggle.
Welcoat Dragons – A couple of upsets here and there gives some colors
to Welcoat’s season. There’s not really much to expect from a team with
a pro discard for a leading scorer.
One-sided trades, draft surprises
and marquee off-season acquisitions
are nothing out of the ordinary in an
unpredictable league like the PBA.
But pulling out a coach with multiple championships and bringing him
to another team with another champion mentor is something unprecedented.
Jong Uichico, winner of six titles
with San Miguel, was reunited with
former assistant and two-time champion coach himself, Siot Tanquingcen,
at the Ginebra camp. It was just the
first step of the carousel, with Binky
Favis going to Coke and Chot Reyes
activated to coach San Miguel from
the dormant national team.
Seigle’s health will most likely decide San Miguel’s fate in the all-Filipino tournament.
Ginebra’s massive build-up during
the break is paying dividends this early. Rudy Hatfield, easily the biggest
catch of the Kings in the off season,
makes the boldest prediction of them
all at halftime of their opening game.
Purefoods Chunkee, meanwhile,
is trying to prove that its successful
campaign last season is no fluke.
“We’re not the most talented team
in the league but nobody wins on paper,” said Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio.
Speaking of the Realtors, their season nearly got off on the wrong foot
when prodigal son Alex Cabagnot
tried to stow away the second time.
But the family feud has since been
settled and they’re off and running.
The subplot thickens as the teams go into action on and off the court, your usual mix of basketball fare.
Caguioa dambuhala sa talento at numero
Humirit na naman si Mark Caguioa.
Iniangat na naman ng 27-anyos
na si Caguioa (kanan) ang kanyang
laro sa naiibang antas na nagbigay ng
limang sunod na panalo sa Ginebra
sa Philippine Basketball Association
Philippine Cup.
Ang pagpulandit at determinasyon
na ito ni Caguioa, laking Estados
Unidos at isa sa nagpasikat ng
de-kulay na buhok at headband sa
basketball court, ang kadalasang
dahilan nang mataas na antas ng laro
Ginebra Kings na habang isinusulat
ito ay ninamnam ang ikalimang
sunod na panalo.
Maaaring minsan ay tila nagrerelaks lamang ang Gin Kings, ngunit
sa sandali nang pangangailangan ay
ibinabalik na muli
ni Caguioa ang
pokus ng kanyang
mga kasamahan sa
tunay na dahilan
kung bakit sila
nasa loob ng court.
Leading
scorer na siya ng
conference sa kanyang 25.8 ppg,
bago ang mga laro kahapon, mas lalo
pang bumibilib ang mga basketball
apisyonado sa kinamada nitong 24.4
points, 5.0 assists, ninth best na 34
per cent mula sa three-point area at
4.9 rebounds per game.
“Caguioa had monster numbers
anew. What can I say? It’s simply
a joy working with him, watching
him work his butt off in play and in
practice and carry the load for this
team,” sabi ni Ginebra coach Jong
Uichico. “Mark does what he does
best, which is to provide us with the
offense,” dagdag pa niya.
“More than the points, however, he
can also deliver from the defensive
end, making the hustle plays, getting
his teammates involved and supply
us with the verve when our energy is
waning,” dagdag pa nito.
“We have to stay on top of our
game. We want not only to go to
the finals, but to take home the
championship, as well,” sabi naman
ni Caguioa na tinanghal na 2001
Rookie of the Year.
CELESTE TERRENAL
12/16/2006 5:56:25 PM
46
palakasan
filipino globe
December 2006
After knee surgery, Bryant explodes back into form
There’s one overriding feeling when
you come off sick bay and score 52
points on your return to the floor.
Ask Kobe Bryant.
“I felt great. I felt explosive,” Bryant (left) said. “It’s just about trusting my knee and trusting my legs.
And after tonight, I know I’m at that
point right now where I feel like I
know it’s going to be there.”
Looking completely recovered from
off-season knee surgery, Kobe Bryant
scored a season-high 52 points in the
Los Angeles Lakers’ 132-102 rout of
the Utah Jazz on Thursday night.
He made all nine shots from the
floor and was 10-for-10 at the foul
line in his highest-scoring game since
an 81-point outburst against Toronto
on Jan. 22 last season.
Bryant, whose relationship with
coah Phil Jackson has been rocky at
times, said: “We have such a great relationship. And when I play, I play to
please him.
“So if he stands up [on his surgically repaired hip] and gives me a
high-five, then I know I’ve done my
job.”
Bryant, who topped the 50-point
scoring plateau for the 12th time in
his career, strung up 11 shots in succession row beginning just before
halftime and extending through the
third quarter.
He finally missed when he drove
and looped a shot that bounced off
the back of the rim with 7:44 left
in the game, shortly after he had returned to the floor with the Lakers up
by a commanding 20 points.
Jackson, also one of Bryant’s critics acknowldged Bryant looks as if
he’s almost fully back in form.
With a US$3 million contract,
Dwayne Wade is a steal for
the Miami Heat. He proved his
worth during the regular season
and in the finals, where shone
brightest beside Shaq O’Neill.
So who’s really worth all that much?
Forget the game stats, it’s the intangibles that really make these NBA stars command a lot of cash
Rodel Almazan in New York
As far as player salaries go, it’s as
good as it gets for the leading lights
of the NBA. But are they worth their
price tags?
“Nothing is, unless the one who
signs the check gets the best possible
return on his money” says NBA analyst Carl Norman.
There’s little doubt that Miami is
getting their money’s worth from
Shaquille O’Neill (right) and Dwayne
Wade, architects of their 2006 championships.
At US$3 million, Wade is a steal,
given his pivotal role in the Heat’s
success this year. But the US$20 million the team is paying O’Neill simply boggles.
“You have to look at these salaries
as an investment risk,” writes blogger
Andrew Thomas. “But you can’t help
being cynical when you begin to think
what it costs now to get someone to
work up a sweat.”
O’Neill’s contract is the NBA’s
benchmark, topped only by the enormous price it took Chicago to keep
Michael Jordan on its side during his
prime.
But the roof could start caving under the weight of player salaries that
are keeping the top stars of the team
well-fed and well turned-out.
Chris Webber has a US$19.1 million
contract with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Allan Houston retired on US$19 million from New York and Kevin Gannett has an U$18 million deal with the
Minnesota Timberwolves.
Allen Iverson (Philadelphia) and
Stephon Marbury (New York) could
not be bothered for less than US$16.5
million each.
For all those millions, the returns
“
You have to think of
it from all angles as
an investment risk,
no more, no less
ANDREW MORTON
On skyrocketing player salaries
are counted in the most subjective
and traditional of factors: how the
team performs in a particular season.
Forget the game stats: they do little to
judge the value of a player as much
as leadership skills, heart and passion
– even punctuality at practice – do.
“These intangibles are the real yardstick of a player’s value,” Norman
says.
“You can’t put a price on heart and
soul.” Still, there’s a limit to how far
teams can go in putting their money
where their mouth is. It’s called the
“salary cap”, a more or less organised
and systematic way of keeping skyrocketing player salaries grounded.
Since the cap was introduced in the
1984-1985 season, the league has had
a semblance of normality in the hiring
process, and that made them better
able to manage team budgets predictably and conduct player trades more
effectively.
The cap is traditionally announced
before the start of each season and
varies from time to time.
“The basic principle is the same:
team owners don’t want to pay more
than they should,” Bates Lobos, a Los
Angeles-based player agent said.
For the current season, the salary
cap agreed is US$53.135 million.
dibersyon
December 2006
filipino globe
BUHAYPALAD
ARIES Mar 21-Apr 19
LIBRA
You are set for an
amazing ride. Not
only does December
promise to be quite
special, but your entire year to
come does, too. Indeed, every
indication is that 2007 will be one of
your very best years in a very long
time.
This is a big month
for communication
with new friends, old
friends, and friends
you love but haven’t seen in ages.
There will be plenty of chatter,
notes, and texting going on between
you and the outside world, adding
up to quite an exciting month.
TAURUS
Apr 21-May 20
SCORPIO
If you assume nothing
of importance will
happen this late in
the month so close
to Christmas, you will change your
mind about that in a hurry, with
your key stars and earlier, your
ruler, Venus lining up to give you
a propitious time and improved
prospects for the month.
You will be a virtual
money magnet this
month, and the best
part about this trend is
that what you will see now will only
be a preview of a very lucrative year
to come, one of your best in this
decade. Jupiter will now remain in
this part of your chart for a full year,
until December 17, 2007.
GEMINI May 21-Jun 20
SAGITTARIUS
If you are already
married or in
an established
relationship, you will
almost certainly hear exciting news
from your spouse or partner, for in
the second half of December you
will have six heavenly bodies out of
a possible ten in your relationship
house, including Pluto and Jupiter.
You will be a virtual
money magnet this
month, and the best
part about this trend is
that what you will see now will only
be a preview of a lucrative 2007,
one of your best in this decade.
Last month Jupiter, the planet of
expansion, entered Sagittarius and
moved into your house.
CANCER
CAPRICORN
Jun 20-Jul 21
Oct 23-Nov 22
Nov 23-Dec 22
Dec 21-Jan 19
The month will start
out quite highly
romantic. It is likely
to bring on quite
an enchanting evening, one that
you long remember. You may be
surrounded by many smiling friends
one weekend. Perhaps you will
attend a wedding, charity event, or
other magical party.
LEO Jul 21-Aug 21
AQUARIUS
December holds such
amazing promise for
you. For so long, life
has been no-frills and
you have had little choice but to
follow the straight and narrow road.
Your sign is warm and fun loving, so
your recent life of austerity has had
to be hard for you to take. All this
should now change for the better.
Life in 2006 has
offered precious
few opportunities
to have fun, and a
certain close relationship may have
presented challenges to you lately.
There seems not to have been
any rest for the weary, and some
Aquarius even had to battle a health
problem.
VIRGO Aug 22-Sep 22
PISCES
Your home life will be
such a strong focus
and it might become
your driving obsession,
especially after December 20. If
you have been hoping to buy or
sell your home, fix up property, or
redecorate, give your dream plan a
determined push. Sometimes, that’s
all you really need.
This month will be
so powerful for your
career that you
may wonder if you
wandered into a parallel universe
and watched a celebrity play “you”
in a made-for-television movie.
The plot, of course, would revolve
around your meteoric rise to power.
But the best is yet to come.
Philippine Consulate
2823 8500
2866 6975
Labour Hotline
9102 0840
Immigration
2824 6111
Police/Fire/Hospital
999
Labour Department
2717 1771
Labour Tribunal
2717 1771
Airport assistance
2861 3980
Int’l Social Services
2836 3598
Caritas Filipino Serv
2526 4249
2147 5988
Bethune House
2721 3119
Bayanihan Center
2817 8928
Asian Migrant Center
2312 0031
Mission for Fil Mig
2522 8264
Unifil Hong Kong
2522 8264
Race Relations Unit
2835 1579
Fil Mig Work Union
2915 9468
ANGSISTE
Sep 23-Oct 22
Rarely have you been
as busy at work as you
will be in December.
There’s a possibility
you work in a field that gets very
hectic at holiday time, such as retail
sales, or the hotel, catering, or
restaurant business. Even if your
work is not seasonal, you still will
have to work long hours.
USEFUL NUMBERS
47
KATUWAANLANG
says: “I am the smartest person
on this plane. I have huge
responsibilities in the world.
Besides, being a smart person, I
could be president someday. The
future needs a person like me. I
look around and see that I should
be the first one among us to be
saved.”
He grabs a pack and jumps off
the plane.
The fourth passenger, a priest,
says to the fifth passenger, a young
Filipino schoolboy: “I am an old
man. I have lived life as a good
person, as a priest should. So I
shall leave the last parachute to
you, my son. You have the rest of
your life ahead of you.”
To this, the young boy replies:
“Don’t worry father, there’s a
parachute for each of us. The
lawyer just grabbed my schoolbag
and jumped with it.”
Too smart
to save
his life
A plane is about to crash. There
are five passengers on board but
only four parachutes.
The first passenger says: I am
Ronaldo, the best football player
in the world. The football world
needs me, and I cannot die on the
fans.”
He grabs a parachute and jumps
out of the plane.
The second passenger, a school
teacher, says: I am responsible for
educating the future generation.
The world needs me to ensure that
we have well-educated citizens.
I help shape the values of young
people. I cannot fail them. I have
to live.”
She grabs a parachute and jumps
off the plane.
The third passenger, a lawyer,
LARONGSUDOKU
Jan 20-Feb 18
Feb 19-Mar 20
Pinakamainit na laro ngayon, hamon sa kakayahang mag-isip at magbilang. Punuin ang mga square
ng numero mula 1 hanggang 9 na hindi umuuulit. May dalawa kayong tsansa para hamunin ang
sarili. Suko? Tingnan ang sagot sa aming internet edition (www.filglobe.com).
YOURDIARY
Philippine health care team
in Hong Kong. Eric 2823
8536 for details.
December 17
Care@Unit Foundation
volunteer acquaintance
party, Repulse Bay.
6054 5317 (Noemi) for
details.
December 17
Philippine Cultural
Academy Dance Ensemble.
Looking for male and
female dancers for
upcoming Hong Kong
Flower Show in March
2007. Grace 9341 2029.
December 17
Filipino graduates and
undergraduates in the
medical profession
membership drive for
December 17
Bayanihan Center courses
in dressmaking, food
processing, computer
literacy, ballroom dancing,
baking, hair and beauty and
tai chi. 2817 8928.
May 6
OFWIE is inviting creative,
EXCHANGE RATES
innovative OFW’s to join
our Search for Outstanding
Overseas Workers
Inventors & Entrepreneurs
2007. Participants must
have creations in cross
stitch projects, beads
novelties, soap carving
materials, paper folding,
artificial flowers making.
Hong Kong dollar
Send your activities and
programs for publication
to info@filglobe.com
*per 100 pesos
Above rates are for reference purposes only.
Please check with your bank for actual rates.
6.41
British pound
95.07
Saudi riyal
13.30
Canadian dollar
44.18
Euro
63.67
Australian dollar
38.41
Japanese yen
42.35*
Singapore dollar
31.99
US dollar
49.99
12/16/2006 5:56:31 PM
shoot, show & tell
filipino globe
the big picture
December 2006
48
Volcanoes
rule these
islands
with might
FRANKLYSPEAKING
Ron
Argulla
Honolulu
Love of PARIS
Photo enthusiast Ramon Tan-kok snapped the Eiffel Tower in just the
right frame to capture part of Paris under it and a broad sky above.
“It’s a magnificent sight,” he says after taking this shot on a
Nikon. “You can take a great shot but there’s nothing like it in the flesh.”
PHOTOESSAY
Show us your flash for photography by giving us the big picture of the Filipino expat’s life. Photos must be accompanied by
a caption of not more than 100 words, describing the event or circumstances behind them. Or tell us an interesting anecdote
or observation in not more than 500 words and share them with the world.
Each photo or essay entitles its owner HK$200 and becomes the property of Filipino Globe. Photos should have a minimum resolution of three
megapixels. We reserve the right to make changes in line with house style. Entries should be sent to info@filglobe.com
filipino globe christmas issue f48 48
Hawaii is a land of volcanoes. In
fact, the whole string of Hawaiian
islands were blasted out of the sea in
volcanic eruptions.
The seismic activity and expansion are still happening today. Big
Island, for instance, is in a state of
steady expansion, thanks to its active
volcanoes.
At Hawaii Volcanoes National
Park, you can visit the smoldering
calderas of two volcanoes, Kilauea
and Mauna Loa, and you can see
vents and lava tunnels that are spewing forth a fiery show of lava.
The amazing phenomenon featured
in this national park begins as a
deep rumble, more felt than heard.
Sometimes this reverberation is
coupled with an ominous, slow hiss
that sounds like a disturbed snake. A
series of temblors may follow: slow
rumbling quakes or great cracking
snaps in the ground.
These early warnings may last for
hours or days.
Suddenly, a fissure opens, and as it
lengthens rapidly, it emits a blast of
steam followed by a fiery fountain of
white-hot lava that shoots hundreds
of feet into the sky. More and more
spouts of lava burst from fresh
cracks, and at night they light up the
sky for miles around.
The frightening roar builds to an
overwhelming cascade of sound, and
the acrid smell of burning sulfur is
everywhere.
It is impossible to witness such
a spectacle and not realize that the
most colossal raw powers of nature
are on display.
Scientists who study volcanoes
know that there are few better places
to see this grandest of all sound-andlight shows than on the Big Island of
Hawaii at Hawaii Volcanoes National
Park. There are five volcanoes on
the island, two of which are encompassed by the park: Mauna Loa and
Kilauea. Both are among the world’s
most active volcanoes. More than
4,000 feet above sea level and still
growing, Kilauea rises from the
southeastern flank of the older and
much larger Mauna Loa.
These fiery mountains are not huge
steep-sided cones topped with snow,
like Fuji-san in Japan or Mount
Rainier in Washington. Instead, these
volcanoes in Hawaii rise more gently
from the sea to a great caldera on the
summit.
This kind of mountain is called
a “shield volcano” because the top
looks like an ancient warrior’s shield
lying face down. The enormity of
these volcanoes is impressive, but it’s
nothing compared to the fiery light
shows you’ll see at their summits.
12/16/2006 5:56:32 PM

Bill seeks to double OFW benefits

Transcription

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