The Filipino Express Issue 17 (May 3

Transcription

Cezar Mancao
escapes NBI
custody;
manhunt on
The Philippines is on a roll
Pamela
Anderson
asks PNoy for
a date
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VOL. 27 w
NO. 17 w
NATIONAL EDITION w
NEW JERSEY w
NEW YORK w
MAY 3 - MAY 9, 2013 w
(201) 434-1114 w
$1.00
Filipinos Join May Day Immigration Rally
By JOSEPH G. LARIOSA
(© 2013 Fil Am Extra Exchange)
Executive Director Jerry B. Clarito (extreme right, standing) and AFIRE volunteer Myrla Baldonado (also standing) stand in front of volunteers and AFIRE) Alliance of
Filipinos for Immigrants Rights and Empowerment) staff after the May Day Rally Wednesday at the Federal Plaza at 230 South Dearborn, Chicago, Illinois. Looking on
at extreme left is Skokie, Illinois Commissioner Jelly Carandang. (FAXX/jGLi Photo by Joseph G. Lariosa)
CHICAGO (FAXX/jGLi) Pat Sampan, a native of Southern
Leyte in the Philippines, is still
waiting for the visa of her child
so her child can come to the
United States.
As a result, even if she is
already 83 years old, she
decided to volunteer to carry the
banner of the Alliance of
Filipinos for Immigrants Rights
and Empowerment (AFIRE)
during the May Day Immigration
rally last Wednesday even if
there prediction of a rainy
weather.
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Page 7
Immigrant rights and local advocates laud passage of Lavarro's ordinance
A phalanx of policemen blocks workers carrying posters of “Communist Manifesto”
authors Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, former Soviet leaders Vladimir Lenin and Joseph
Stalin, and former Chinese supreme leader Mao Zedong at a rally at the US Embassy in
Manila. Labor groups marched on Wednesday to demand wage increase after President
Aquino announced a package of noncash benefits on Labor Day. NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
Jersey City, NJ - The
Jersey City Council unanimously
approved an ordinance,
sponsored by Councilman-atLarge Rolando R. Lavarro, Jr., to
create the state's first Immigrant
Affairs Commission (the
“Commission”). Supporters
staged a rally in front of City Hall,
where the “Gang of Eight's”
comprehensive immigration
reform bill was also at the fore.
With last week's vote, Jersey City
is expected to become the first
municipality in New Jersey to
form such a Commission.
Lavarro stated,
Councilman-At-Large Rolando Lavarro stands with SEIU, Anakbayan and other immigrant
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Labor Day protest marches ASEAN's procrastination in the South China Sea
heated but end peacefully
By Yeremia Lalisang
MANILA - Except for
their overheated rhetoric and
the burning of the effigies of
President Aquino and US
President Barack Obama, which
matched the sweltering heat, the
country's workers kept
We d n e s d a y ' s L a b o r D a y
observance peaceful.
So orderly were the
marches and rallies in Metro
Manila that the protesters had
cleared the streets by 6 p.m.
Police reported no
untoward incidents in the
capital and other parts of the
country.
With President Aquino
resting in his hometown in
Tarlac province, it fell on Labor
Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz to
plead with the workers to give
the government more time to
deal with their problems. She
said that Aquino planned to
meet the labor leaders regularly;
the next one will be on May 30.
The Catholic Church, in
turn, reminded government and
business of the primacy of the
human person over capital and
profit.
In his homily during a
Labor Day Mass held at Quiapo
A South China Sea
discussion was expected to be
the highlight of the 22nd ASEAN
Summit in Bandar Seri Begawan
last week, considering the
increased assertiveness of both
China and claimant states from
Southeast Asia, but the
discussion did not materialize.
The summit did not
conclude with a strong
statement on the issue,
discouraging any future efforts
to settle the dispute peacefully.
Scholars agree that
ASEAN China relations have
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May 3 - 9, 2013
Page 2
THE FILIPINO EXPRESS
May 3 - 9, 2013
Page 3
Cezar Mancao escapes
NBI custody; manhunt on
MANILA - Former Supt.
Cezar Mancao, one of the accused
in the Dacer-Corbito double
murder case, escaped while in
custody of the National Bureau of
Investigation (NBI), Justice
Secretary Leila de Lima confirmed
on Thursday.
NBI deputy director
Reynaldo Esmeralda said the
escape, caught on closed-circuit
television, could have been
prompted by Mancao's transfer to a
city jail.
The incident happened at
1:14 a.m. on Thursday, May 2, while
two security guards were on duty,
Esmeralda said. He said Mancao
just got out of his room and went
directly outside NBI gates towards
a waiting vehicle.
He said Mancao left a
note inside his cell, which reads:
“Don't remove my things without
an inventory. I'm a victim of
injustice here. Thank you, Cezar
Mancao.”
NBI director Nonnatus
Caesar Rojas was disappointed by
the news, saying heads will roll.
Esmeralda said they still
have in their custody the two
guards on duty this morning. “We
are already preparing appropriate
charges.”
He said manhunt
operations are now ongoing. He
said he himself has been texting
Mancao to surrender peacefully.
Mancao was transferred
to the custody of the NBI in January
Former Supt. Cezar Mancao
last year by virtue of a ruling from
the Manila Regional Trial Court
(RTC) Branch 32.
The local court had
denied a motion for Mancao's
discharge as an accused in the
double murder case in order for
him to turn state witness. The
court, thereafter, ordered his
transfer to a regular jail.
Esmeralda said they
were supposed to transfer him
yesterday, but it was a holiday.
The prosecution panel
earlier stressed that Mancao's
testimony is still vital to their case,
despite the dismissal of the case
against one of the main accused,
Sen. Panfilo Lacson. The
p ro s e c u t i o n s a i d M a n c a o' s
"incredible" testimony is still
needed since Mancao will
corroborate fellow police officer
Glen Dumlao's testimony against
another accused, Michael Ray
Aquino.
De Lima takes full responsibility for
Mancao escape, says he's out of NCR
MANILA -- Justice
Secretary Leila de Lima on
Thursday said she was taking
"full responsibility" for the
escape of former Senior
Superintendent Cezar Mancao
II, who is facing murder
charges for the sensational
November 2000 twin killings
of publicist Salvador Dacer and
his driver Emmanuel Corbito.
" K a m i
a n g
mananagot kung hindi namin
siya (Cezar Mancao) maibalik.
I ' m a c t u a l ly t a k i n g f u l l
responsibility," said De Lima,
who was able to confirm from
Mancao himself that the
former police officer was
already out of Metro Manila.
"Ang sabi [niya] nasa
labas na siya ng NCR. Paulitulit ko (sinabi) 'bumalik ka
na,'" she said.
De Lima said
Mancao's escape was
"unacceptable," adding that
authorities have already
launched an "intensified
manhunt. Gumagalaw na sila.
On going yung thorough
investigation." At least two jail
guards are being investigated
in connection with Mancao's
escape.
City jail transfer
Earlier, De Lima said
Justice Sec. Leila de Lima
that during her conversation
with Mancao, the murder
suspect said he escaped
because he did not want to be
transferred to the Manila City
Jail.
"Mamamatay po ako
dun. Ipapapatay po ako dun,"
De Lima quoted Mancao as
telling her.
De Lima said she told
Mancao to surrender and that
the DOJ would try to convince
the judge handling his murder
case to defer his transfer to the
city jail.
Mancao's transfer
would have been implemented
Thursday. He escaped past 1
a.m., authorities said.
"Mag-surrender na
siya. Bumalik na siya. Subukan
pa rin namin na kumbinsihin
ang korte na huwag muna
ipalipat sa City Jail," De Lima
said.
De Lima said:
"Susuportahan namin siya as
p r o s e c u t i o n" i f M a n c a o
decides to file a motion to be
transferred to a jail facility
other than the Manila City Jail.
In his escape, Mancao
even left a note inside his
detention cell at the National
B u re a u o f I nve s t i ga t i o n
headquarters in Manila.
"Please don't get my
things w/o inventory. I am only
a victim of injustice. Please
understand my situation... Tnx
-- C.M.," Mancao wrote.
The prosecution in
the double murder case earlier
tried but failed to have Mancao
discharged and be turned into
a state witness. This led to his
removal from the Witness
Protection Program (WPP)
and eventual detention.
"Accused siya ngayon,
hindi state witness. Kailangan
harapin niya yung kaso na
yan," De Lima said.
"Kung inosente siya o
sa tingin niya meron dapat
ibang managot,patunayan niya
sa korte. That should be part of
his defense," she added.
May 3 - 9, 2013
Page 4
Palace rejects China call to withdraw
from disputed area in West PHL Sea
M A N I L A
- Malacañang on Saturday
rejected a call by China to
withdraw Philippine nationals
and facilities from disputed
areas in the West Philippine
Sea (South China Sea).
Deputy presidential
spokesperson Abigail Valte
said while the Philippines
awaits the ruling of an
international tribunal on the
matter, it will exercise its
sovereignty over the area.
“Yan ay atin and we
will continue to exercise
sovereignty over our
t e r r i t o r y,” s h e s a i d o n
government-run dzRB radio.
On Thursday, the
Department of Foreign Affairs
(DFA) said the International
Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
(ITLOS) appointed three more
members of the five-member
United Nations Convention on
the Law of the Sea Arbitral
Tribunal on the claim filed by
the Philippines against China
on the West Philippine Sea.
T h e s e i n c l u d e : Rü d i g e r
Wo l f r u m ( G e r m a ny ) ;
Stanislaw Pawlak (Poland);
Jean-Pierre Cot (France);
Chris Pinto (Sri Lanka); and
Alfred Soons (The
Netherlands).
China rejection
However, Chinese
Foreign Ministry
spokesperson Hua Chunying
said China already rejected the
arbitration proceedings,
adding that China's position
on the issue “will not change.”
Hua also accused the
Philippines of violating the
United Nations charter by
“illegally” occupying some
islands and reefs of Nansha
(Spratly) Islands, including
Mahuan Dao, Feixin Dao,
Zhongye Dao, Nanyao Dao,
Beizi Dao, Xiyue Dao,
Shuanghuang Shazhou and
Siling Jiao.
“Firmly and
consistently opposed to the
illegal occupation by the
Philippines, China hereby
solemnly reiterates its
demand that the Philippines
withdraw all its nationals and
facilities from China's islands
and reefs,” Hao said.
Hao also claimed that
the Philippines was trying to
“deny China's territorial
sovereignty and clothes its
illegal occupation of China's
islands and reefs with a cloak
of 'legality.'”
Hao also branded the
Philippines' bid to seek a socalled “durable solution” as
“absolutely unacceptable to
China.”
Hao also maintained
China will pursue bilateral
negotiations and
consultations with the
Philippines to resolve relevant
disputes.
Frustrated with the
slow pace of regional
diplomacy, the Philippines in
January angered China by
asking a UN tribunal to order a
halt to Beijing's activities that
it said violated Philippine
sovereignty over the islands,
surrounded by potentially
energy-rich waters, a Reuters
report said on Friday.
The Philippines calls
parts of South China Sea as
West Philippine Sea.
Claims by an
increasingly powerful China
over most of the South China
Sea have set it directly against
US allies Vietnam and the
Philippines. Brunei, Taiwan
and Malaysia also claim parts
of the waters and China has a
separate dispute with Japan in
the East China Sea.
'The Chinese Dream'
and China's territorial
assertiveness worry
rest of Asia
By MARK MacKINNON
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
It was portrayed as an
innocent trip by tourists
looking to soak up the rays on a
sandy island in the South China
Sea. One hundred Chinese left
port on Sunday for what was
advertised as a three-night
cruise including time on the
untouched white beaches of
the “Xisha Islands.”
But to Vietnam, the
arrival of the first Chinese sunseekers on an atoll Hanoi
claims as its own (and calls the
Hoang Sa Islands) qualifies as
an invasion. Vietnam's Foreign
Ministry filed a loud complaint,
issuing a statement declaring
its own “sovereignty, sovereign
rights and jurisdiction” over
the islands. It wasn't clear
whether the tourists had yet
reached the disputed islands as
of Monday.
The provocative
pleasure cruise which was
encouraged by the Chinese
government and cheered by
state media is just one way
China has tested its neighbours
in recent days. Japan, India, the
Philippines and Malaysia have
also complained recently of
C h i n e s e i n c u r s i o n s i n to
territory they say is outside
Beijing's legal control.
Beijing's new
assertiveness is rattling much
of Asia and raising questions
about what China's new leader,
President Xi Jinping, means
when he speaks of his ambition
to fulfill what he has called “the
Chinese Dream.” Mr. Xi has only
described the Chinese Dream
in vague terms he's defined it
as the “great rejuvenation of
the Chinese nation” but others
have linked it to the new
leadership's explicit
commitments to build up the
country's military in order to
strengthen its positions in
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Defense Dept to buy 2
new frigates for Navy
MANILA -- The
Department of National Defense
will purchase two brand new
frigates for the Navy through
public bidding, instead of the
second-hand ones it had originally
planned to acquire, a department
official said Monday.
DND undersecretary for
finance, munitions, installations
and materiel Fernando Manalo
said the department changed its
mind about buying two secondhand Maestrale class frigates with
anti-air and anti-sub capability
after evaluating them. “We
realized that it will be expensive in
the long run if we are going to buy
second-hand,” he said, adding that
used vehicles may soon require
additional expenses, especially
with the replacement of “vital
components.”
The project cost will have
to be increased to P18 billion from
the original amount earmarked for
the purchase, P11.7 billion.
“If we have the budget,
we're buying new ones…[Y]ou are
going to use [the new frigates] for
20 to 30 years, thinking of the
sustainment only, the usual fuel,”
he said.
Countries that have
expressed interest in supplying
the frigates include South Korea,
Singapore and Spain.
DND is currently
awaiting a new “decision package”
from the Navy which will include
the specifications of the new
frigates to be acquired.
“The ball is in the hands
of the Navy. We are waiting for the
submission of what we call the
decision package which will be,
upon review by the Department of
National Defense, the basis of the
secretary in issuing acquisition
memorandum,” said Manalo.
He added that the
invitation to bid may be issued in
the second quarter of the year.
May 3 - 9, 2013
Page 5
‘The Chinese
Dream’ and
China’s
territorial
assertiveness
worry rest of
Asia
From page 4
in territorial disputes with
neighbours.
“The new Chinese
leadership has created a
grand dream for the
country. The Chinese dream
includes a dream of
safeguarding China's
maritime security and
building China into a strong
m a r i t i m e p o w e r,” J u
Hailong, a research fellow at
the Institute of Southeast
Asian Studies at Jinan
University, wrote Sunday in
the Global Times, a Chinese
newspaper known for its
nationalist viewpoint.
Writing about the
tourists to the Xisha Islands
which were captured by
China in a 1974 war and are
known in the West as the
Paracel Islands Mr. Ju
dismissed Vietnam's claims.
“Those who want
to manipulate China's
moves to make troubles are
not admirers of
international law and
regional security.”
To the east, Japan
and China remain locked in
a tense, months-long
showdown over the
ownership of five disputed
islands in the East China
Sea.
“These policies are
not coming out of a wellreflected, 'How do we gain
friends in the region?' It's
more China taking steps to
assert what it claims as its
territory,” said Stephanie
Kleine-Ahlbrandt, a
specialist in Chinese foreign
policy at the International
Crisis Group, speaking of
the maritime disputes.
Many see a pattern
that goes well beyond a
$1,150-per-passenger
cruise. To the south, India
says a company of Chinese
soldiers, backed by
helicopters, pushed 19
kilometres beyond the de
facto India-China border on
April 15.
Eight Chinese
surveillance ships entered
Japanese-controlled waters
last week in an effort to
dissuade a flotilla of
Japanese activists from
landing on the islands
known as Senkaku in Japan
and Diaoyu in China. The
activists were eventually
persuaded by the Japan
Coast Guard to turn back.
“The Chinese have
actually been pretty
transparent about what
they're looking to do. Now
they're just doing it. … They
want to send a signal across
the board.”
They have since set
up camp in the Depsang
Valley, on the Indian side of
the Line of Actual Control
that was established
following a 1962 war
between the two countries.
Japanese media
reported on the weekend
that the Chinese ships were
backed that day by more
than 40 sorties by military
planes, many of them Su-27
and Su-30 fighter jets.
Ms. KleineAhlbrandt said Mr. Xi
appeared to be “completely
involved and on-board”
with the more assertive
policy toward its
neighbours.
Despite video
shown on Indian television
of what appears to be a
Chinese military
encampment just 100
metres from Indian military
positions in the Depsang
Valley, Beijing says its
troops have not crossed the
LAC.
“ I t ' s
a n
unprecedented threat,” an
unnamed Japanese official
was quoted telling the
Sankei Shimbun newspaper.
Three Chinese ships
entered Japanesecontrolled waters again on
M o n d a y, t h e 1 0 t h
consecutive day of such
incursions.
A white paper on
national defence released
by Beijing on April 16 made
an explicit connection
between military power
and China's new ideology,
saying the military's role
was to “safeguard the
realization of the 'Chinese
Dream.'”
A report by the
official Xinhua news agency
on the white paper said:
“The defensive nature of
China's national defence
strategy has not changed,
but China will not trade its
sovereignty and interests
for peace.”
The most jarring
demonstration of China's
new assertiveness came in
late March, when a People's
Liberation Army navy task
force of four ships, including
an amphibious landing
craft, arrived at the James
Shoal, an outcrop also
claimed by Malaysia that
lies only 80 kilometres from
the Malaysian coast. The
show of force was shocking
because the James Shoal is
fully 1,800 kilometres from
the Chinese mainland.
China claims nearly
all of the 3.5 million squarekilometre South China Sea,
one of the world's busiest
shipping lanes. And while
Japan and India have large
enough militaries (and, in
Japan's case, a mutual
defence treaty with the
United States) to at least
give Beijing pause, the
countries of Southeast Asia
can do little but complain.
May 3 - 9, 2013
Page 6
White House Honors Two Filipino “Champions of Change”
invisibility to recognition for
domestic workers and an
affirmation of the leadership of
CHICAGO (FAXX/jGLi) -Asian American women in the U.S.
Myrla Baldonado of Chicago, Illinois
and abroad,” said Ms. Baldonado,
wants to raise the standard of salary
also an AFIRE volunteer. AFIRE
of caregivers, including the grant of
Executive Director Jerry B. Clarito
overtime pay for live-in caregivers
took pride of her award as “one of
a n d va c a t i o n l e ave s , w h i l e
the champions from Chicago one of
Catherine Eusebio of Fremont,
our own.”
California wants to “promote
A household worker
change that starts with
organizer with the Latino Union of
empowering the most impacted
Chicago, Ms. Maldonado is
(young) people to lead.”
dedicated to improving the working
Mesdames Baldonado
and living conditions of the
and Eusebio are two Filipino out of
estimated 2.5 million domestic
the fifteen Asian American and
workers in the United States. A
Pacific Islander (AAPI) women,
former caregiver herself, she cowho will be honored as “Champions
founded the multiracial Chicago
of Change” at the White House on
Coalition of Household Workers to
Monday, May 6th.
gain dignity and respect for
The ceremony is part of
caregivers, housecleaners, and
the White House's observance of
nannies. She speaks nationally for
AAPI Heritage Month, which
the Caring Across Generations
recognizes Asian American, Native
campaign that seeks to transform
Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander
care in the U.S. and she is a worker
women, who are doing
leader of the National Domestic
extraordinary things to create a
Workers Alliance.
more equal safe, and prosperous
Ms. Eusebio is a Social
future for their communities and
Justice Fellow at Asian
the country.
American/Pacific Islanders in
“As we celebrate Asian
Philanthropy, where she manages
American and Pacific Islander
API Dream Summer, a component of
Heritage Month this May, we pay
a national internship program that
tribute to the many AAPI women
engages partners in community
from Bernice Pauahi Bishop to
and philanthropy to support the
Congresswoman Patsy Mink to
leadership development of
Sunita Pandya Williams who have
immigrant youth. Catherine also
shaped the story of America,” added
serves on the Board of Directors of
Tina Tchen, Chief of Staff to the First
United We Dream, the largest
Lady and Executive Director of the
network of immigrant youth-led
White House Council on Women
organizations. In her words, she
MILESTONE IN THE LONG
and Girls. “she strives to promote change that
JOURNEY
starts with empowering the most
“This award is a
CHAMPIONS OF CHANGE
impacted people to lead.”
milestone in the long journey from
The Champions of
By JOSEPH G. LARIOSA
(© 2013 Fil Am Extra Exchange)
CHAMPION OF CHANGE: Myrla Baldonado is shown standing in front of her Freedom
Notebook, a journal of her work as a caregiver, at an exhibit at the Jane Addams Hull House,
University of Illinois at Chicago. (FAXX/jGLi Photo courtesy of Myrla Baldonado)
Immigrant
rights and local
advocates ...
From page 1
“Comprehensive immigration
reform is coming, but it will only be
the first step. Jersey City must be
ready for immigration reform so
that our immigrants can actually
qualify for citizenship. We need to
start looking at social services such
as English training, citizenship
courses, and quality legal help so
that our immigrant friends and
families can seize the opportunity
when it arrives. The Immigrant
Affairs Commission will be key and
in the forefront in addressing these
issues.”
The Commission would
advise Jersey City government on
i s s u e s a n d n e e d s a f fe c t i n g
immigrants, including: social
services, civil and human rights,
education, and business
development; monitor current and
proposed laws affecting
immigrants to maximize positive
impacts while minimizing any
n e g a t ive i m p a c t s ; p ro m o t e
recognition and preservation of
the contributions of immigrants to
the economic and cultural vitality
of Jersey City; and promote the
availability of local educational,
economic, legal, and social
resources for immigrants.
Immediately before the
vote, immigrants' rights groups
rallied in support of the
Commission, including members
of the ACLU-NJ, American Friends
Service Committee, Anakbayan NJ,
Gothic Knight Grassroots, National
Federation of Filipino American
Associations (NAFFAA), People's
Organization for Progress, South
Asian Americans Leading Together
(SAALT), St. Peter University Social
Justice Program, and the Service
Employees International Union
(SEIU 32BJ). With its passage, the
Commission is set to become the
first of its kind in the State.
"Anakbayan welcomes
the City Council's unanimous
approval of the Immigrant Affairs
Commission,” said Bea Sabino,
Chairperson, Anakbayan New
Jersey. “The community's victories
on Tuition Equity for DREAMers
a n d t h e I m m i g ra n t A f f a i r s
Commission prove that a strong
and united peoples' movement is
essential to influence public policy
towards genuine immigration
reform."
“As we all know, the
immigrant community here very
often does not have all the
resources to address the issues
that they are faced with or the
different needs that they have,”
said Navneet Bhalla, New Jersey
Policy and Outreach
Coordinator/Consultant for
SAALT. “So it's fundamental that
we have a separate entity, a local
immigrant affairs commission
that focuses specifically on
addressing the needs of all our
diverse communities and
recognizes the positive
contributions that immigrant
communities make in Jersey City.”
The immigrant
community makes up 38.4% of
Jersey City's population,
amounting to almost 20% of New
Jersey's total immigrant
population. Despite these
numbers, however, Jersey City
government has not had a
dedicated entity to ensure that the
needs and concerns of the
immigrant community are
addressed until now. Lavarro
seeks to have the Commission fill
this gap, serving as a formal voice
between Jersey City's immigrant
community and city, state and
Federal government.
Since joining the Jersey
City Council in 2011, Lavarro has
championed immigrants' rights.
Last year, Lavarro sponsored and
s u c c e s s f u l ly p a s s e d a l a w
establishing a living wage in Jersey
City. Last February, Lavarro
spearheaded a resolution to
support in-state tuition and
financial aid for undocumented
students, also known as
DREAMers, wishing to attend New
Jersey's public colleges and
universities. The resolution broke
new ground on the issue in New
Jersey, with other cities now
looking to follow. Passaic City
Council recently enacted its own
resolution modeled after the
Jersey City resolution authored
and passed by Lavarro.
“Jersey City has
accomplished another first for
immigrants' rights. With the
Immigrant Affairs Commission,
we are ensuring that our great city
of Jersey City fully embraces
immigrants and that their voices
are amplified for all in City Hall,
Trenton, and our nation's capitol
to hear,” said Lavarro.
Change program was created as an
opportunity for the White house to
feature groups of Americans
i n d iv i d u a l s , b u s i n e s s e s a n d
organizations who are doing
extraordinary things to empower
and inspire members of their
communities.
Baldonado, 59, a Chicagobased caregiver, organizer, and key
figure behind the recent wave of
domestic worker interest initiatives
in Illinois is a native of Manila,
Philippines. She began work as a
caregiver for the elderly and
disabled when she migrated to the
U.S. in 2007. The unyielding abuse,
poor wages, and 24-hour shifts
deeply upset her and moved her to
action.
Since 2011, Ms.
Baldonado has been organizing
domestic workers to know their
rights and is a spearhead behind the
Illinois Domestic Worker Bill of
Rights (SB1708) that is currently in
the Illinois Senate. She co-curated
the pioneering museum exhibit
“Unfinished Business: Home
Economics in the 21st Century” at
the Jane Addams Hull House
Museum. She played a key role in
conducting research for the
groundbreaking national study
“Home Economics: The Invisible
and Unregulated World of Domestic
Work”. She also is a national leader
in Caring Across Generations and
the National Domestic Workers'
Alliance.
May 3 - 9, 2013
Page 7
Labor Day
protest
marches ...
From page 1
Church and attended by the
leaders of various labor groups,
Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio
C a rd i n a l Ta gl e ex p re s s e d
concern about “international
trends” in the labor industry
where workers are “classified”
and their “classifications” are
used as bases for their rights.
Equal treatment
He said businesses
should not discriminate against
but instead treat all workers
Filipinos join
May Day
Immigration
rally ...
From page 1
“Hindi naman ako
napapagod kasi gusto ko lang na
makarating na rito ang aking
anak,” (I am not really tired
walking for as long as this will
help my child come over here.),
according to Ms. Sampan, now a
long-time resident of Chicago,
Illinois, who walked three miles
from Union Park at the
intersection of South Ashland
corner of Lake Street in the west
side of Chicago to the Federal
Plaza at 230 South Dearborn in
the heart of Chicago.
She was one of the
dozens of Filipinos, who joined
thousands of marchers, who
clamored for the passage of
reform.
Jerry B. Clarito,
Executive Director of AFIRE,
said, this rally “is really a
wonderful time for immigrants
to come out and push for the
passage of comprehensive
immigration reform, respecting
family and the workers rights.”
AFIRE Board President Angela
"Ging" Mascarenas led the other
officers and volunteers at the
rally.
Several volunteers and
equally regardless of their
classification.
“Whatever is the
classification of workers, they
are human beings. Their rights
are not diminished when they
have a different classification,”
Tagle said.
But classifying workers
violates workers' rights, he said.
Employers should not
classify workers and instead
should treat them all equally, he
said.
Tagle called on labor
leaders and their organizations
to be sincere for the good of all
workers. He also proposed the
elevation of the protection of
workers' tenure to international
agencies.
Baldoz said Aquino
members of the Filipino
community gathered at noon at
the headquarters of AFIRE at
7315 N. Western Avenue in far
north of Chicago and took lunch
of “goto” (Filipino Congee)
courtesy of Adeline's Food of
suburban Skokie, Illinois before
proceeding to Union Park.
In encouraging the
community to join, AFIRE sent
out word during the past two
weeks, using a pun in word: “This
is AFIRE's message to Fil Ams
This is the time to “GOTO” the
st
May 1 Rally.”
The march rally started
at about 2:30 p.m. and ended up
at the Federal Plaza at 230 South
Dearborn in Chicago's
downtown at about 4 p.m.
Among the speakers at
the rally were Sen. Richard
Durbin (D-IL) and Rep. Luis
Gutierrez and officers of the
ICIRR led by Executive Director
Filipino American Lawrence
Benito and Alie Kaaba, board
President , United African
Organizations.
CIR COMMITTEE HEARING
NEXT WEEK
In brief remarks,
Senator Durbin said the
proposed Comprehensive
Immigration Reform that he and
other members of the Gang Of
Eight crafted is up for hearing at
the Senate Judiciary Committee
“a week from tomorrow,” saying
he will see to it that the proposals
that he is going to present will
safeguard “family reunification,
found the workers' demands
“very reasonable.”
Contrary to some news
report, the labor leaders were
not disappointed with the
results of their meeting with the
President, Baldoz told reporters
at a job fair in SM Mall of Asia.
Among the proposals
being considered by the
government is a suggestion for
m o re t a x exe m p t i o n s fo r
minimum wage earners.
Higher SSS premiums
Aquino, however, called
for higher contributions to the
Social Security System (SSS) for
workers, drawing a sharp
response from labor
representatives who called the
idea “adding insult to injury.”
Bayan Muna Rep. Neri
Colmenares criticized Aquino
for rejecting the workers'
demands for wage increases,
security of tenure and tax
exemptions, which showed, he
said, that the President had “no
heart for the working class.”
In proposing higher SSS
premiums, Aquino noted that
the contribution rate had been
increased only twice since 1980,
while pensions had been raised
20 times.
Aquino wanted the
current contribution rate to be
increased to 11 percent from
10.4 percent, which would
translate to P60 a month for
workers earning P10,000.
The President said the
increase in contributions would
HEARING OF CIR STARTS NEXT WEEK: Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) tells a mammoth
May Day rally on Wednesday at Federal Plaza at 230 South Dearborn, Chicago,
Illinois that hearing of the comprehensive immigration reform bill starts a “week
after tomorrow” saying he will see to it that the proposals that he is going to present
will safeguard “family reunification, fair treatment of all U.S. citizens. We cannot
miss this opportunity. We should stand together, work together, pray together, sing
together and gather together for America's future.” (FAXX/jGLi Photo by Joseph G. Lariosa)
fair treatment of all U.S. citizens.
We cannot miss this opportunity.
We should stand together, work
together, pray together, sing
together and gather together for
America's future.”
He said under proposed
bill, individuals who have
received final orders of
deportations are still eligible to
become legal and U.S. citizens.
Senator Durbin added, even
immigrants, who left the country
illegally, can still be legal and
become U.S. citizens.
“For the first time, the
Comprehensive Immigration
Reform will provide a waiver
that will allow individuals, who
were deported, to still become
U.S. Citizens,” Mr. Durbin
explained, saying this will enable
to “reunite families torn apart.
We want fathers, mothers and
children to come home to
America.”
Senator Durbin said,
“Now we need you to stand here
together with LGBT (lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender)
community, when it comes to
equal opportunity in
immigration, it extends to
everyone, black, white, brown,
women, gay, straight, lgtb, all
with this opportunity. When this
is passed, you still need to work
hard and at the end of it and
become American citizens
voting, living without fear for the
same dreams like my mother, my
father and my grandparents.”
allow SSS members to enjoy
higher benefits.
But Colmenares said
increasing the SSS contribution
would put an additional burden
on workers, who already
endured a lot of other
deductions from their wages.
He said Bayan Muna's own study
showed that the SSS had enough
funds to give members higher
benefits without increasing the
monthly premiums.
Ac c o rd i n g to
Colmenares, the SSS has assets
worth P343.67 billion as of
March 2012, while its annual
investment income amounts to
P21 billion to P23 billion a year.
The SSS also has
collectibles worth P8.5 billion in
u
Page 14
Aside from Senator
Durbin, the other members of
the Gang of Eight are Senators
Robert Menendez [D-NJ], Chuck
Schumer [D-N.Y.], Michael
Bennet [D-Colo.], Marco Rubio
[R-FL], Jeff Flake [R-ARIZ.], John
McCain [R-ARIZ.] and Lindsey
Graham [R-S.C.].
Among those who also
spoke at the rally was Tuyet Le,
Executive Director of the Asian
American Institute. Ms. Le said it
was his brother, who sacrificed
so that her family from Vietnam
was able to come to the United
States. She quoted the letter of
th
Martin Luther King on its 50
anniversary on breaking the
laws that are unjust and obeying
others laws that are just.
Quoting St. Thomas
Aquinas, Mr. King said, “an unjust
law is a human law not rooted in
eternal and natural law. Any law
that uplifts the personality is a
just law. Any law that degrades
the human being is unjust law.”
Ms. Lee added, the
reform that is needed is one that
is “expansive and inclusive that
protects workers and the values.
We should thank the previous
generations, who did not close
the doors on us, like my uncle,
who gave us the courage to fight.”
The other speakers
include leaders of various crosssection of the community,
including religious and labor
r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s .
([email protected])
May 3 - 9, 2013
Page 8
Philippine rebels rake it in
from vote extortion: official
Leftist Philippine
rebels are raking in millions
of dollars extorting money
from candidates in next
month's elections and will
likely use this to buy guns, a
senior military official said on
Sunday.
Each candidate
illegally pays between 50,000
a n d f ive m i l l i o n p e s o s
($1,210-121,000) to buy
protection from the New
People's Army (NPA), said
Major-General Jose Mabanta,
commander of one of the
country's army divisions.
"My estimate is that
half of all political contenders
are paying, half in my area.
That is also true in other
areas," he told reporters.
New People’s Army (NPA) guerillas
warning that giving money to
the rebels is illegal.
her and two policemen
wounded.
The money raised
dwarfs the amounts regularly
extorted from mining, logging
and other businesses based in
the rural areas where the
4,000-member guerrilla force
operates, he added.
Violence linked to
the polls has claimed at least
46 lives in more than 40
incidents since campaigning
began in February, according
to a police tally.
Some 18,000 posts
are up for grabs in the May 13
elections, from the current
crop of town and city mayors,
provincial governors and
members of parliament.
"This is when really
the NPAs make a killing out of
their extortion," he added.
"With the amounts
involved, they (NPA) will be
buying arms and ammunition
and these may be fired and
used against them
(politicians)," Mabanta said,
The NPA ambushed
Ruth Guingona, the 78-yearold mayor of Gingoog city on
the southern island of
Mindanao on Saturday, killing
two of her aides and leaving
The NPA has been
waging a 44-year-old Maoist
armed campaign that has
claimed at least 30,000 lives,
according to a government
estimate.
Several rounds of
peace talks held since the late
1980s have gone nowhere.
(AFP News)
Pulse Asia: 11 Team PNoy, 5 UNA
bets likely senatorial poll winners
MANILA, Philippines
Eleven senatoriables from Team
PNoy and only five candidates
under the United Nationalist
Alliance (UNA) ticket are likely
to win in the May 13 elections,
the latest Pulse Asia survey said.
“If the May 2013
elections were conducted during
the survey period, 11 candidates
from Team PNoy and five from
the United Nationalist Alliance
(UNA) would be among the
probable winners. Most of these
are either former or incumbent
members of Congress,” Pulse
Asia said in a statement.
In the survey
conducted April 20-22 with
1,800 respondents, Team PNoy's
Risa Hontiveros and Ramon
“Jun” Magsaysay Jr., who have
been both lagging behind in
previous surveys, made it to the
Top 16.
Hontiveros received
25.8 percent while Magsaysay
got 25.6 percent. Both Team
PNoy candidates ranked 12-17,
kicking out UNA bet and former
senator Richard Gordon.
The top six spots were
occupied by Loren Legarda (51.5
percent, 1-2), Chiz Escudero
(48.3 percent, 1-2), Grace Poe
(42.4 percent, 3-4), Alan Peter
Cayetano (40.0, 3-7), Cynthia
Villar, 37.7 percent, 4-9) and
Antonio Trillanes (35.8 percent,
4-10).
The other Team PNoy
candidates who made it to the 16
likely winners were Benigno
“Bam” Aquino (35.7, 4-10), Koko
Pimentel (32.7 percent, 6-12)
and Edgardo “Sonny” Angara
(31.2 percent, 8-14).
UNA senatoriables who
made it to the list were JV
Ejercito Estrada (34.7 percent,
5-11), Nancy Binay (34.6
percent, 5-11), Migz Zubiri (29.7
percent, 10-16), Gringo Honasan
(27.9 percent, 11-16) and Juan
Ponce Enrile Jr. (27.2 percent,
11-16).
Pulse Asia said that
levels of support for most of the
16 candidates remained
generally unchanged, but five of
them “experience a decline in
their respective national voter
preference.”
These candidates are:
Binay with a -5.0 percentage
points decline in the national
voter preference, Enrile (-5.2
percentage points), Cayetano (8.7 percentage points), Honasan
(-8.9 percentage points) and
Pimentel (-9.0 percentage
points).
Pulse Asia also said that
former senators Ernesto
Maceda, Jamby Madrigal and
Gordon and former Tarlac
governor Margarita Cojuangco,
who are outside the Top 16,
registered “a drop in voter
preferences.” The firm also said
that based on the latest survey,
6.1 percent or less than one in 10
Filipinos is not inclined to vote
for any of the 33 candidates for
senator.
“Filipinos are naming a
mean of seven and a median of
six preferred senatorial
candidates (out of a maximum of
12) for the May 2013 elections;
only about one in four Filipinos
(27%) has a complete senatorial
slate as of April 2013, Pulse Asia
said. Camille Diola
May 3 - 9, 2013
Page 9
Government, public must work together
to ensure credible may polls, Palace says
MANILA -- Close
cooperation between government
agencies and the public is the most
effective way to thwart any plan by
groups or individuals wanting to
sabotage the May 13 polls, a Palace
official said on Saturday.
Authorities warned the
public this week that using signal
jammers aimed at disrupting the
May 13 midterm elections next
month is a criminal offense and
punishable by law.
In a press conference at
C a m p C r a m e o n T h u r s d a y,
Commission on Elections Chairman
Sixto Brillantes said the use of
signal jammers near polling centers
during the May election can delay
the transmission of election
returns.
During a radio interview
Saturday over dzRB Radyo ng
B aya n , D e p u t y P re s i d e n t i a l
Spokesperson Abigail Valte said the
joint press conference on Thursday
of the Comelec and the Department
of the Interior and Local
Government made the public aware
about the effects of signal jammers
on the automated election
especially during the transmission
of results.
“Now everybody is aware
and everybody is on the lookout for
these devices. Ang lahat ng
kampanya, ang kakampi talaga ng
pamahalaan ay ang ating mga
kababayan,” Valte said.
“Ngayong alam na ng
marami na merong mga ganitong
device at puwede itong gamitin sa
ganitong paraan, ini-encourage
natin ang ating mga botante na
mag-report ng mga ganitong
suspicious devices to the police
para maaksyunan agad ng ating
kapulisan at ng Comelec.”
Brillantes said the use of
signal jammers near polling centers
is an act of interfering with the
transmission process of votes and it
is a criminal offense punishable
with eight to 12 years of
imprisonment.
The Comelec eyes to
finish the transmission of election
results at the local level in 48 hours.
The use of jammers would delay the
transmission and might affect the
credibility of the polls, Brillantes
said.
T h e
N a t i o n a l
Telecommunications Commission
said signal jammers are considered
smuggled items and the agency
clarified that it didn't issue any
permit for the sale of these gadgets
in the country.
Parallel manual count
Measure will restore credibility of automated elections - Bishop
By Leslie Ann G. Aquino
Manila -- A Catholic
prelate wants a parallel manual
count in all precincts in the May 13
midterm elections.
Manila Auxiliary Bishop
Broderick Pabillo, chairman of the
Catholic Bishops' Conference of the
Philippines National Secretariat for
Social Action (CBCP-NASSA), said
the parallel manual count will help
restore the credibility of the
elections.
“If Comelec (Commission
on Elections) has nothing to hide,
we challenge it to institute manual
count,” he said.
“This manual count will
check whether what has been
transmitted is the same result as
those found in the precincts,” added
Pabillo, who is part of the election
group Tandem or Tanggulan
Demokrasya.
The CBCP official said the
manual count will also prove once
and for all if the automated system
using the Precinct Count Optical
Scan (PCOS) machines and its
present software are reliable.
Pabillo said time or
logistics should not be an issue for
they are very much willing to lend
their help to the poll body in the
conduct of the manual count.
“If they'll ask for our help,
we will volunteer. Even the political
parties are prepared to volunteer
because they also want to see a
manual count,” he said.
He said the stakes are too
great for the Comelec not to do all its
power to prove the reliability and
trustworthiness of the present
automated system. Pabillo had
earlier asked the poll body to
conduct a source code review,
saying the lack of source code
review might put in question the
credibility of the elections.
He was reacting to the
statement made by Comelec
Chairman Sixto Brillantes that he's
no longer interested in getting the
source code because it's already too
late and that Election Day is so close
and even if the source code is given
now, it can no longer be reviewed
for lack of time.
Dominion has been
refusing to give its permission for
SLI Global Solutions, the Comelec's
third party reviewer, to release the
source code certification to the poll
body amid the former's continued
legal dispute with its former
partner, Smartmatic International.
This had prompted
Brillantes to initiate tripartite
negotiations with Smartmatic and
Dominion in a bid to work out the
release of the source code.
Last Monday, the poll chief
stressed that there is a source code
and that it has been reviewed.
Brillantes said what the Comelec
cannot meet is making it available to
political parties and other
interested groups for their own
review.
But even if they were not
able to make it available for review
to political parties and other
interested groups, he said they
won't violate the Poll Automation
Law since this is not mandatory.
Poll watchdog Parish
Pastoral Council for Responsible
Voting (PPCRV), meantime, would
rather not comment on the matter,
saying it's up to the Comelec to
decide if they will allow a parallel
manual count or not. “The Comelec
is the one who decides on what to
do,” PPCRV Chairman Henrietta de
Villa said.
The church-based poll
watchdog group is also the citizens
arm of the Comelec this May 13
polls.
Lawyer accuses Loren of not
declaring NY property in SALN
MANILA -- Re-electionist
Senator Loren Legarda was one of
the 20 senators who last year
convicted former Chief Justice
Renato Corona for failure to disclose
properties in his Statement of
Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth
(SALN).
Now, she herself is being
accused of doing the samean
accusation the senator described as
mere black propaganda.
In a statement released to
the media, lawyer Louis Biraogo
said he discovered from the online
services of the New York City
Registry of Property Deeds that
Legarda purchased for $700,000 a
condominium unit on Park Avenue
in New York City on May 9, 2006.
The problem, Biraogo
said, is that the unit was not
declared in her SALNs for 2007,
2008, 2009, and 2010. He added
that although it was eventually
declared in her 2011 SALN, she did
not explain where she got the
money to acquire the unit.
“Mas masahol pa si
S e n a t o r L o re n L e g a rd a k ay
impeached Chief Justice Renato
Corona sa pagtatago ng yaman at
pagsusumite ng palsipikadong
statement of assets, liabilities and
net worth (SALN). Ang dapat itawag
kay Legarda ay Lady Corona," he
said.
Legarda, however, said
she has a certification that the SALN
she filed in 2007 included the New
York property.
"[It was] described as
'Other Investment' in Annex A, in
the amount of P 7,175,000 equal to
one-fourth of the total investment in
the acquisition of apartment
amounting to P 28,700,000.
Beginning December 31, 2007 up to
December 31, 2010, the same
property was also included on the
SALN described as “Equity in Real
Property”, also one-fourth of the
total P28,700,000. As of December
31, 2011 and December 31, 2012
the New York property was also
included in my SALN described as
“Real Property-USA," she said in a
statement released Thursday.
In his statement, Biraogo
also said that Legarda
underdeclared the acquisition cost
of the property at P27.8 million
since what she paid in 2006 was
valued at P35.9 million since the
exchange rate was P51.40 to a
dollar.
He likewise said her
declaration of the property in her
2011 SALN is just a "cover-up"
which he said would supposedly not
save her from graft, perjury,
plunder, money laundering cases,
among others.
“Wala bang kahihiyan si
Legarda? 'Guilty' verdict ang
ipinataw niya kay Corona gayung
siya pala mismo ay hindi
nagdedeklara ng tama sa kanyang
SALN. May mukha pa siyang
naipapakita sa campaign sorties ng
Team PNoy gayung hindi tuwid
bagkus ay baluktot ang kanyang
landas na tinatahak?” he said.
“Ito ang dapat isipin ni
Legarda. Si Corona ay Chief Justice
na nga pero hindi pa rin siya
nakalusot dahil lalabas at lalabas
ang totoo. So, sa ngayon pa lang ay
dapat nang mag-withdraw si
Legarda sa eleksyon dahil ang
suma-tutal ay mapapatalsik rin siya
tulad ni Corona,” he said.
'Black propaganda'
Legarda, however, said
that she is just being attacked
because of her ranking in poll
surveys. “Hindi po ako magtatago sa
anomang anomalya dahil ako po ay
naglilingkod ng tapat sa bayan. Isa
po itong black propaganda dahil di
po ako natitinag sa pagiging number
one," she said in a statement
released Thursday.
The senator also said it is
"deplorable that people, possibly
even some fellow candidates, could
engage in such gutter politics,
diverting people from the real
issues."
“It's political season and I
have survived to answer clearly all
the black propaganda hurled
against me. I challenge the source of
all this to come clean. I ask other
candidates to stick to what we as
candidates can do to address the
problems facing the country,” she
said.
"Hindi po sila nakuntento
s a p a gka l a t n g m ga
kasinungalingan, ngayon ito po ang
inimbento. Lahat po ito ay walang
katotohanan at handa po akong
humarap sa kahit kanino. At
ipagdadasal ko na lang po sila," she
added.
Editorial & opinion
May 3 - 9, 2013
Page 10
Delusional government
It was embarrassing to listen to President Aquino
badmouth members of his own economic team last week
simply because they reported that poverty had remained
unchanged since 2006.
The statistics, released every three years by the
National Statistical Coordination Board, showed that 28 out of
100 Filipinos still lived in poverty as of 2012, much as they did
in 2006. While the numbers were reported without comment,
they clearly suggested what Mr. Aquino was loathe to admit.
Nothing he did in his first two years in office put a dent in the
war on poverty, and the billions he had squandered on his socalled 4Ps program, a straight dole to the “poorest of the poor”
families, had accomplished nothing that was statistically
significant.
On this basis, the President called into question the
veracity of the statistics and even the motives of the
bureaucrats in his government that collated them. Pointing to
an unrelated statistical error that was reported by a completely
different agency of government, he cast doubts on the NSCB for
sharing an inconvenient truth with the public.
The behavior is sadly typical of an administration that
has mastered the art of cherry-picking figures that put it in a
good light and dismissing or even discrediting data that lifts the
curtain on its failures. The offshoot of this practice is that it
leads to a false sense of accomplishment and provides a poor
basis for sound policy making.
For the last three years, we have had to listen to Mr. Aquino
blame his predecessor for all the country's woes, and paint a
rosy picture of change under his administration in his annual
State of the Nation Address. But we now know from experience
that what Mr. Aquino says often bears little resemblance to the
unadorned truth.
Last year, for example, he boasted that disaster
response under his administration was so good that “relief
goods are ready even before a storm arrives.” It isn't farfetched
to believe that Mr. Aquino's complacency and confidence
contributed to the social disaster that followed in Davao, where
starving farmers, victims of a powerful typhoon, stormed a
government warehouse in February after the Department of
Social Welfare and Development had failed to keep its promise
to distribute sacks of rice to them to stave off hunger.
Confronted with her failure to do her job, the Cabinet member
responsible simply turned the tables on the typhoon victims,
calling them “agitators” and threatening to charge them in
court.
In the same State of the Nation Address last year, the
President boasted that the agrarian reform program that his
mother had begun during her term would finally see fruition
under his guidance. The inconvenient truth: one full year after
the Supreme Court ordered Mr. Aquino's family to distribute its
Hacienda Luisita sugar estate to tenant farmers, not a single
square meter of farmland has changed hands.
Mr. Aquino's love of the positive also colors his
relationship with the press, whom he has constantly chided to
focus on good news and to “avoid negativism” which is fast
becoming an administration mantra.
United States President Barack Obama, whom Mr.
Aquino likes to style himself after, offered a contrasting view at
a recent dinner for the press. “My job is to be the president, your
job is to keep me humble,” he told the roomful of journalists.
On the other hand, Mr. Aquino insists that the role of
media is to make him look good, whether he deserves it or not.
(Manila Standard)
Founded in 1986
Publisher/Editor-in-Chief: Lito A. Gajilan, Jr.
Columnists: Reuben S. Seguritan, Esq.,
Juan L. Mercado, Jonathan Suarez, Joel Baclit
Correspondent: Contessa Bourbon
The opinions expressed by columnists are their
own and do not reflect the opinion of the paper
nor that of the publisher
Contact us:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 201-434-1114 Fax 201-434-0880
Major changes in family immigration
proposed in Senate Bill
In line with its goal of
shifting the focus of immigration
from family-based to skillsbased, the Senate comprehensive
reform bill proposes a number of
major changes in the current
family-based preference system.
The annual limit of
family-based immigrant visas
will be reduced from 226,000 to
161,000. The per country cap
will rise from 7% to 15%.
The bill will eliminate
the 4th preference category for
brothers and sisters of U.S.
citizens and limit the 3 r d
preference category to married
sons and daughters who are
under 31. The changes will take
effect after the bill is passed so
that petitions filed before that
will continue to be processed.
U.S. citizens should consider
filing their petitions for these
relatives now.
U n d e r t h e c u r re n t
system, the 4 t h preference
category is allocated 65,000
annual visa numbers. As of
November 2012, the Department
of State recorded 2,873,114
applicants, including 188,521
Filipinos, on the waiting list.
T h e 3 r d p re fe re n c e
category on the other hand with
current annual allocation of
23,400 has a waiting list of over
830,000 applicants. The bill will
allocate 25% of the worldwide
level for this scaled-back
category.
The first preference
category for the unmarried sons
and daughters of U.S. citizens will
be retained. This category has a
waiting list of 288,000 and has an
annual allocation of 23,400.
Under the bill, it will have 35% of
the worldwide allotment.
Unmarried sons and
daughters of lawful permanent
residents who are classified
under the F2B preference
category will be allocated 40% of
the worldwide level.
Spouses and children of
lawful permanent residents
currently under the F2A category
will be upgraded to the
immediate relative category and
would not therefore be subject to
visa number limitation. Under
that category they would be
allowed to adjust their status
even if they have overstayed or
u
Page 12
STILL TROUBLED SEAS
“Hopes for calmer times
under this year's new
management?” Economist
earlier tacked that keep-yourfingers-crossed title on a “leader”
for a 2013 Association of SouthEast Asian Nations summit. Were
those “hopes” partly achieved
Wednesday and Thursday in
Brunei?
The meeting "went
well", President Benigno Aquino
III told reporters, after an
opulent working dinner at a vast
stone-cum-marble building that
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah built
just for the summit. Perhaps, the
now decade-old proposal to craft
a legally-binding code of conduct
in the South China Sea could
proceed?
ASEAN leaders agreed
on a “two-step approach”: to deal
with territorial disputes, the
Brunei sultan said. Claimant
states will deal with overlapping
claims. Asean and China wish to
tamp down tensions “and to
urgently work on the Code of
Conduct”
T i n y
B r u n e i
(population: 400,000) took the
rotating Asean chair in a
“moment of almost existential
crisis”, Economist noted. Flush
with petro-dollars, “puts Brunei
in the happy position of being
(financially) free not to kowtow
to China or anyone for that
matter. That was Cambodia's
undoing last year…”
Asean chairs are
supposed to be impartial. Not
Phom Penh. It blocked Vietnam
and the Philippines from even
referring in the final
communiqué about the disputed
Scarborough Shoal. And it
peddled Beijing's line: It'd
discuss claims with individual
countries, not with Asean as a
group..
States with coastlines
like Vietnam, the Philippines,
S i n g a p o re , M a l ay s i a h ave
legitimate concerns over claims
that may wash up against their
shores.. Even Brunei has title to a
half-submerged reef..
Indeed, “Cambodia
tried to pull a fast one on the
Philippines and other Asean
countries,” Inquirer wrote after
the 2012 summit..
u
Page 14
May 3 - 9, 2013
Page 11
OPINION Trans Pacific Partnership: Dog Eat Dog
By Erick San Juan
Columnist Ben D. Kritz
latest article at the front page of
Manila Times, “Why You Should
Be Worried About 2015?” dated
April 30,2013, caught my
attention especially now that
that the global economy is in
turmoil. Mr. Kritz was alarmed
with the pulic relations fall out of
the latest poverty statistics.
Thanks to the NSCB (National
Statistics Coordination Board)
for telling the truth. He added
that the PIDS (Philippine
Institute for Development
Studies) raised serious concerns
about our preparedness for
regional economic integration in
2015 as projected by the U.S. He
commented that the nation's
Making
life worth
living
Ellen Tordesillas
President Aquino is
discrediting the report of his
own government agencyNational Statistical
Coordination Board which says
the much-vaunted impressive
economic growth has not
trickled down to the teeming
poor in the country.
The NSDB official
release said: “Poverty incidence
among population was
estimated at 27.9 percent
during the first semester of
2012. Comparing this with the
2006 and 2009 first semester
figures estimated at 28.8
percent and 28.6 percent,
respectively, poverty remained
micro, small and medium
enterprise (MSME) sector is not
ready to face the competitive
pressure of an ASEAN
(Association of South East Asian
Nations) free market because
MSME's account for over 90% of
the country's business
establishments. He concluded
that the effects of AFTA could
cause an economic crisis in 3
ways. First, the Philippine export
sector will suffer. Second,
government revenues will be
adversely affected. The third
effect on the economy will
impact our agricultural sector
more than the others. Kritz
believe that with our entry with
the TPP agreement, the situation
will be more worrisome.
Even Wayne Allyn Root
of Townhall.com (April 18,2013)
said,”Here in America, we hear
the same lies and distortions
about the economy like
'everything is fine', 'it's getting
better', 'unemployment is
improving', 'the recovery is
already underway' but we now
know that they are delusional
lies. We are nearing complete
c o l l a p s e .” M o s t e c o n o m i c
a n a ly s t s w o r l dw i d e h ave
painted gloomy scenarios about
global current situation.
Businessworld
columnist Calixto V. Chikiamco
commented (April 22,2013) that
“The situation seems hopeless.
Our economic oligarchy is
powerful. It controls
conglomerates that reach into
almost every aspect of Filipino
lives, it's unassailable position
protected by law or other
b a r r i e r s to e n t r y. I t c a n
penetrate, influence and
manipulate the weak state and
it's institutions almost at will. It
c a n b uy o f f o r i n f l u e n c e
politicians, judges, bureaucrats
and media organizations to
thwart change, prevent
competition and extract more
economic favors or rent through
the weak state.” “The country
may be forced to amend the
constitution to lift the
restrictions on foreign
ownership if it's to join the USsponsored TPP (Trans Pacific
Partnership). TPP is believed to
be a counterweight to China.”
Chikiamco advised that all
countries in Asia should get their
act together and strengthen
their anti-trust law. “If not
Philippines will be doomed to a
thousand year rule by an
irresponsible political and
economic oligarchy which will
re s i s t a ny re fo r m o f i t ' s
privileges and rent-seeking
power.”, he warned.
Ac c o rd i n g to
international economic experts,
the TPP is one of the most
important components of U.S.
strategy in returning to Asia.
However, unlike a number of
other integrated economic
institutions, negotiations
between America and TPP
participating countries are
reportedly conducted in a less
transparent form which
dissembles the pitfalls of the
contract. Pundits believe that
out of 26 chapters of the TPP
agreement, only two are directly
related to the trade. Most of the
n e w a g re e m e n t a l l e g e d ly
provide the rights and privileges
u
Page 12
Confronted with unpleasant reality, Aquino goes
into denial mode
unchanged as the computed
differences are not statistically
significant.”
In simpler terms, life
for the Filipino poor has not
improved in the past six years.
Aquino must have been
so furious that government
figures don't jibe with the
upbeat assessments of global
think tanks and rating agencies
about Philippine economy
posting impressive growth that
he bumped off from his Brunei
delegation Economic Planning
Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.
Speaking on the
sidelines of the Asean Summit in
Brunei, Aquino was quoted by
ABS-CBN as saying, “May konti
akong duda… Hindi ba doon
hindi nga ni-report nang tama
'yung population, 'yung
population na pagkukunan mo
ng per capita, paano naging
tama 'yung comparison in '09
and '12?”
He said he “has
reservations over data on
ARMM where poverty incidence
was found to have worsened. He
said that comparing current
data with those from the
previous administration may
not be reliable since some
information collected from that
region had to be corrected,
including its voting population.
He also said that
results of government's health
and education programs for the
poor, as well as the conditional
cash transfer program, should
be looked at.
ABS-CBN also said
Aquino cited government's
“intervention” in agriculture
that helped reduce the price of
milkfish (bangus) compared to
galunggong.
Aquino disputing
publicly government statistics
makes us recall the reaction of
Gloria Arroyo in June 2006
when her education secretary,
Fe Hidalgo, reported that there
was a classroom shortage of
6,132 rooms.
She berated Hidalgo in
a cabinet meeting where she
was doing the presentation. She
reminded Hidalgo of her
instruction not to use the ratio
of 1 classroom to 45 pupils,
which was the ideal situation
conducive to learning but to use
100 to 1 ratio because they
increased the class size to 50
and since there are two shifts in
one day, 100 students use one
classroom.
A humiliated Hidalgo
went back to the Department of
Education, did some dagdagbawas, and came back to
Malacañang with a glowing
report that there was no more
classroom shortage.
We are wondering
what Balisacan is going to do
when Aquino comes back. Is he
going to revise his poverty
statistics?”
u
Page 12
Truly anti-labor
May 1 is Labor Day,
when government traditionally
offers Filipino workers
something to be happy about by
way of higher wages, more
benefits and louder praises. And
President Noynoy Aquino did
just that yesterday, when he met
with leaders of organized labor
groups in Malacañang Palace to
listen to them and offer them
“non-wage benefits”which the
labor leaders quickly
denounced as severely lacking
after their meeting with the
Chief Executive.
But if the various
workers' organizations have
always viewed Aquino as antilabor and anti-poor, they cannot
be blamed. Beyond the usual
empty platitudes that
presidents past have routinely
mouthed in praise of laborers,
there is nothing this current
leader has said or done that will
give the impression that he truly
cares for those who toil for
wages and whose taxes also
keep the economy afloat.
On the other hand, it
appears that what this
administration loves most are
those people who can only wait
for government to support them
with cash doles. That's why fully
P100 billion has been allocated
and given out in the past three
years (a lot of it from taxes paid
by workers) to the so-called
poorest of the poor, who receive
P500 to P1,400 a month so that
they will not have to work even if
they can.
I n t h e p a s t ,
governments have found a way
to temporarily employ people
during economic doldrums and
jobless periods through makework schemes that also build or
rehabilitate public
infrastructure. The forerunner
of such programs was the one
implemented by the pre-war
Works Progress Administration
of the New Deal-era in the
United States, which employed
millions of mostly unskilled
Americans for needed public
works projects.
But over the years, the
WPA and other make-work
schemes went out of fashion in
favor of the Brazil-type directdole program, on which the
current and greatly expanded
Conditional Cash Transfer
project is based. In the process,
people who would otherwise
have worked for their pay in
dignity and helped build many
public works projects like
highways and roads that the
Philippines needs have been
reduced to wards of the state,
needing only to go for neo-natal
care and to enroll their children
in public schools to qualify for
the handouts.
And yet, as the official
statistics show, no headway is
being made in reducing poverty,
despite the dole. And you have to
wonder how many roads and
bridges would have been
b u i l t a n d h o w m u c h re a l
economic activity would have
been generated if all those
billions were spent on WPAstyle projects instead.
***
More important than
the usual platitudes and
imaginary benefits that will be
proclaimed by Aquino and his
officials today is the
commemoration of the first
anniversary last week of the
landmark Supreme Court
decision to distribute the
Hacienda Luisita plantation of
the family of the President. And
ye s , o n e ye a r a f t e r t h a t
important ruling, which led
directly to the impeachment and
removal of Chief Justice Renato
Corona, the 6,000 or so farmers
of the hacienda still don't own
the land that they have tilled for
decades.
A small group of Luisita
fa r m e r s m a rc h e d o n t h e
President's home on Times
Street to mark the event and to
call for the immediate
distribution of the 4,915
hectares of sugarcane land in
Tarlac, something that was
largely ignored by the proAquino media. But more than all
the promises made by this
u
Page 14
May 3 - 9, 2013
Page 12
Modern-day Pieta. Not an unusual sight in Metro Manila's sidewalks
and underpasses.
TPP: Dog eat
dog
governments directly through the
created institutions, international
tribunals, requiring to remove
barriers to their potential profits.
From page 11
In particular, the U.S.
trade representative Ron Kirk, in a
letter to the U.S. Congress said
that the terms of TPP are expected
to subject to American standards
the issues related to labor, patent
and copyright, as well as land use,
fo o d , a g r i c u l t u re , p ro d u c t
standards, natural resources and
policies. TPP will directly affect
the financial and energy policy,
health care, telecommunications
and service sector. Experts note
that the TPP goes far beyond the
s t a n d a rd t ra d e a g re e m e n t
between two countries.
for global corporations.
Observers call the TPP agreement
a 'corporate coup' or 'NAFTA on
steroids'. Thus, U.S. intends to
grant a new political power to
transnational corporations,
which would weaken the ability of
national authorities to regulate
their economy. It is assumed that
foreign corporations operating in
the territory of sovereign states
will no longer be subjected to the
internal laws of a nation-state like
e nv i ro n m e n t a l p ro t e c t i o n ,
financial and labor rights,etc. In
addition, transnational
corporations are entitled to sue
TPP will surely have a
huge impact on intellectual
property right, copyright and
patent rights. Pharmaceutical
companies are provided with a
'handicap'. Their competitors are
prohibited to enter the market
with a similar product for 14
years, until they pass additional
tests for safety and effectiveness.
Monopoly gives corporations the
right to establish exclusively high
price for drugs to the detriment of
poor nations like the Philippines.
Our nation and the Asean should
build their policy based on their
own economic interests and study
the western corporate proposal
which many think is a one sided
deal. The west will earn instead of
helping us, shortchanging the
Asians in the process. Don't let the
elites and the 'corporats' of the
west manipulate the elites of the
east. Wake up!
Confronted
with
unpleasant
reality ...
From page 11
A n y h o w, o n t h e
record, here are excerpts from
the press release of the NSCB
on poverty incidence in the
country:
“During the first
semester of 2012, a Filipino
family of five needed PhP 5,458
to meet basic food needs every
month and Php 7,821 to stay
above the poverty threshold
(basic food and non-food
needs) every month. These
respective amounts represent
the food and poverty
thresholds, which increased by
11.1 percent from the first
semester of 2009 to the first
half of 2012, compared to the
26.0 percent-increase between
the 1st semesters of 2006 and
2009.
“The food threshold is
the minimum income required
Major changes
in family
immigration ...
From page 10
Worked without authorization.
Under the current system, only
the spouse, unmarried children
and parents of U.S. citizens have
this benefit.
Derivative beneficiaries
of immediate relatives applying
for green card will be allowed to
immigrate with their parents
unlike now where they have to be
petitioned separately under a
different category. This will
prevent separation of the
children from their parents.
The bill will also benefit
the unmarried sons and
daughters of U.S. citizens under
31 and unmarried adult sons and
daughters of lawful permanent
residents who are beneficiaries
o f a p p rove d fa m i ly - b a s e d
petitions. They will be eligible for
V visas to enable them to live and
work in the U.S. while waiting for
their priority dates to become
current.
Brothers and sisters of
by an individual to meet
his/her basic food needs and
satisfy the nutritional
requirements set by the Food
a n d N u t r i t i o n Re s e a r c h
Institute (FNRI), while
remaining economically and
s o c i a l ly p ro d u c t ive . P u t
a n o t h e r w a y, t h e f o o d
threshold helps measure food
poverty or “subsistence,”
which may also be described as
extreme poverty.
“The subsistence
incidence, which represents
the proportion of Filipino
families in extreme poverty,
was estimated at 10.0 percent
during the first semester of
2012. At 10.0 percent in the
first semester of 2009 and 10.8
percent in the first half of 2006,
the differences among these
three figures remain
statistically insignificant.
“In terms of poverty
incidence among families, the
NSCB estimates a rate of 22.3
percent during the first
semester of 2012, and 23.4
percent and 22.9 percent
during the same periods in
2006 and 2009, respectively.”
U.S. citizens and sons and
daughters of U.S. citizens over 31
years will also be eligible but they
will not be authorized to work
and their admission may not
exceed 60 days per year.
Other new provisions
under the bill include raising the
age of a stepchild from 18 to 21
fo r p u r p o s e s o f a l l o w i n g
sponsorship by the stepparent;
raising the age requirement for
adopted child from 16 to 18;
allowing aged-out children to
retain the priority dates of the
original petition of their parents;
and permitting lawful
permanent residents to file for a
fiance petition.
The current rules
pertaining to termination or
reinstatement of registration for
an immigrant visa, retention of
priority dates, automatic
conversion of visa petitions,
petition for orphans and widows
and inadmissibility waivers will
be modified.
(Editor's Note: REUBEN S.
SEGURITAN has been practicing law
for over 30 years. For more
information, you may log on to his
website at www.seguritan.com or
call (212) 695-5281.)
May 3 - 9, 2013
Page 13
ASEAN’s
procrastination
in the ...
From page 1
never been better in the last 16
years. This is mainly a result of
increased economic ties and the
considerable growth in trade
volume between the two parties.
Such a phenomenon is
one of the most important pillars
of both China and ASEAN
member states' economic
growth. China is regarded as the
new center of attraction, offering
the member states wide-ranging
flexibilities, fruitful economic
relations and openness to
multilateral frameworks that are
significantly different from the
USJapan alliance model.
H o w e v e r, C h i n a ' s
engagement with ASEAN states
has been continuously limited
and filled with uncertainty. Until
now, the region has not fallen
within Beijing's sphere of
influence. In this regard, ASEAN
has been successful in
restraining China's influence in
the region. ASEAN has
relentlessly engaged China
through institutional
involvements and multilateral
frameworks.
W i t h i n s u c h
limitations, China's objectives
remain clear and consistent.
Chinese officials aim at create a
stable periphery that would
contribute positively to its
economic growth. The quest for
a strong economy has
encouraged China to offer
flexibility and be more
accommodating in its
interactions with Southeast
Asian states.
In doing so, China
expects to counter the “China
threat theory” that finds fertile
ground as its economic and
military capability continues to
grow. As former premier Wen
Jianbao once said, China should
be viewed as a “friendly
elephant”. Such an image will
support China's long-term
interests as a potential
superpower in the international
system.
The South China Sea would
certainly be regarded by
China as a strategic interest
in its energy security
framework.
The image of a “friendly
elephant”, however, fails to
manifest in the case of South
China Sea disputes. While both
sides took the confidencebuilding measure of signing the
Declaration on the Conduct of
Parties to the South China Sea in
2002, ASEAN states have been
haunted by China's pattern of
assertiveness in managing the
territorial disputes in which it is
involved.
The Taiwan Missile
Crisis in the mid-1990s and the
occupation of Mischief Reef in
1995 and 1998 demonstrated
the way an assertive China tends
to deal with territorial disputes.
These examples
suggest that it is even more
plausible that a stronger China in
the 21st century will use force as
an instrument in the settlement
of territorial disputes.
As if confirming such a
belief, China declared in 2012
that the South China Sea was its
“core interest”, meaning that
China's claim to the territory is
non-negotiable. Beijing seems
willing to use military force to
respond to any party who
challenges the status quo.
China's policies and
behavior in managing the recent
disputes will prove how strong
Beijing's commitment is to
maintaining stability in the
region. In other words, they will
test the lower limit of Beijing's
interest in its interactions with
ASEAN.
The issue of national
unity is frequently utilized by the
nationalist faction in China's
domestic politics to push the
government to be more
assertive, which limits the
flexibility of policymakers in
Beijing. On the other hand, it is
clear to them that such a move
could be counterproductive to
the country's interests in
advancing its national economy.
This highlights the
urgency for ASEAN to push
China to make significant
progress in addressing the
territorial disputes in the South
China Sea for at least three
reasons.
First, with regard to its
slowing economic might, Beijing
should be concerned with
preventing any potential conflict
on its periphery that could
negatively impact its economic
performance. In line with its
significant role as a source of
legitimacy, China's economic
development is still the priority
of the Communist regime in
Beijing.
Second, any noncooperation measure leading to
the failure of maintaining peace
and stability in the region would
allow other major powers, such
as the US and Japan, to intensify
their influence in the region, at
the expense of Beijing's
leadership and position in the
regional balance of power.
Moreover, internationalizing the
dispute is something that Beijing
has always tried to avoid.
Finally, it would be
better for ASEAN to accelerate
its progress now before China
grows even bigger, as its demand
for energy will also increase to
support its economic wheel. The
South China Sea, with its
potential energy reserves, would
certainly be regarded by China
as a strategic interest in its
energy security framework.
In its relations with
ASEAN, the way China manages
the South China Sea issue will
showcase how China, as a great
power, treats its neighbors.
Assertiveness and inflexibility
would only create a negative
image of China, which is
projected to play a more
considerable role in global
affairs in the future.
On the other hand, how
ASEAN proceeds in managing
this dispute will show what kind
of regional institution ASEAN is.
Having failed to achieve any
significant development last
year in Phnom Penh with ASEAN
unable to merge contending
i n t e r e s t s i n t e r n a l ly, l e s s
meaningful progress was made
in Bandar Seri Begawan this
year.
With both internal and
external limitations facing
policymakers in Beijing, ASEAN
still appears reluctant to issue
the kind of strong statements
necessary to show its
commitment to making
significant progress in managing
the dispute.
This strategy of buying
time, from the perspective of
ASEANChina relations, will not
result in peaceful dispute
settlement. China is continuing
to grow larger both militarily
and economically.
Any further delay in
settling this dispute will only
allow China to raise its
bargaining power relative to
ASEAN's.
When the situation
arises in which ASEAN cannot
catch up with China, that will be
the time when peaceful dispute
settlement is no longer
plausible. (The Jakarta Post)
The writer is managing director
of the ASEAN Study Center at the
University of Indonesia's (UI)
school of social and political
sciences in Depok, West Java.
May 3 - 9, 2013
Page 14
Labor Day
protest
marches ...
From page 7
u n re m i t te d p re m i u m s a s o f
December 2010, he said.
The SSS also has
collectibles amounting to about
P14.6 billion from employers who
failed to avail themselves of the
a g e n c y ' s a m n e s t y p r o g ra m ,
Colmenares said.
But the SSS, he added, has
yet to file charges against 170,000
delinquent employers who failed to
remit their employees'
contributions.
What the workers need is
not additional burdens, but
additional income, protesters said.
Protests everywhere
More than 11,500
workers marched in Cebu, Iloilo,
Aklan and Capiz.
Speakers took turns
decrying the labor policies of
Aquino and reiterating their
demand for a P125 across-theboard increase in the minimum
wage.
Workers also marched in
Southern Luzon provinces,
demanding wage increases and
pleading for less deductions from
their wages.
Protests were held in
cities in Laguna, Cavite, Batangas,
Quezon and Rizal. Hermenegildo
Marasigan, spokesman for the
workers' alliance Pagkakaisa ng
Manggagawa sa Timog
Katagalugan-Kilusang Mayo Uno,
said about 10,000 workers joined
the marches against low wages and
continued “contractualization” of
jobs in the region.
Despite the intensity of
the workers' demands, there were
no reports of violence.
In Metro Manila,
terminated workers of Digital
Telecommunications Philippines
(Digitel) and their supporters
marched across the business center
in Makati City to protest what they
called “unfair labor practices” at the
telco.
Digitel, one of the biggest
telecommunications companies in
the country, is now a subsidiary of
the Philippine Long Distance
Telephone Co. (PLDT), which is led
b y b u s i n e s s m a n M a n n y V.
Pangilinan.
The workers have been
picketing PLDT headquarters on
Makati Avenue for 21 days since the
management's refusal to implement
a Supreme Court decision ordering
the company to start talks for a
collective bargaining agreement
with the workers and reinstate 13
employees it had dismissed in 2005
with full compensation.
There were no untoward
incidents. Except for about 30
protesters who sought shelter at
first-aid stations, the marches were
peaceful, according to Manila Police
Director Senior Supt. Robert Po.
Protesters burned 10foot-tall effigies of President Aquino
and US President Barack Obama to
symbolize the supposed state of the
nation under the Aquino
administration.
Welcome but no talk
Politicians running for
office in the May 13 elections joined
the pleas for worker benefits. They
were welcome at labor rallies, but
were not allowed to speak.
But United Nationalist
Alliance (UNA) senatorial candidate
Jack Enrile said the government
should keep the door open to an
increase in the minimum wage to
show that it is truly sincere in saying
it protects the rights and welfare of
the country's workers.
Gordon proposal
Enrile said labor groups
should continue pressing for
reforms and better working and
living conditions as the economy
continued to improve.
Another UNA senatorial
c a n d i d a t e , R i c h a rd G o rd o n ,
suggested that the government tap
the potential of tourism to create
new jobs.
Gordon said the
government could harness the
potential of tourism as a source of
jobs if it would allow the full
implementation of the Tourism Act
of 2009.
Gordon, a former
secretary of tourism, said the
tourism development law, which he
himself authored, had yet to be fully
enforced.
He alleged that the
implementation of the law has been
hampered by concerns raised by the
Bureau of Internal Revenue and the
Bureau of Customs regarding
revenue leakage. He noted that the
finance department and the BIR
have historically opposed the
granting of fiscal incentives as this
could lead to revenue loss.
But he said there were
clear provisions in the law that give
the Tourism Infrastructure and
Enterprise Zone Authority full
jurisdiction over the grant of
incentives to tourism enterprise
zones. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Truly ant-labor
From page 11
administration to the workingman,
the dilly-dallying on the distribution
of land secured by the Cojuangco
clan using borrowed state funds
shows just how anti-poor and antiworker Aquino really is.
Indeed, halfway into the
current Aquino regime and more
than a quarter of a century since the
first one took over the government,
Luisita remains firmly in the hands
of the clan. And despite the ruling of
the Corona Court, there is still no
guarantee when the land will be
finally given out to the intended
beneficiaries.
On the anniversary of the
April 24 ruling, Corona issued this
rare statement from his forced
retirement: “When God asks me
someday to point to one specific act
which will prove that I did
something for the least of His
brethren, I can humbly cite our
Hacienda Luisita decision. That was,
Still Troubled
Seas
From page 10
President Aquino rejected
Prime Minister Hun Sen's
conference summary that claimed
Asean agreed that negotiations on
conflicting maritime claims “would
be held within an Asean-China
f r a m e w o r k … We d e p e n d o n
international law and the UN….”
President Aquino rejected
Prime Minister Hun Sen's
conference summary that claimed
Asean agreed that negotiations on
conflicting maritime claims “would
be held within an Asean-China
f r a m e w o r k … We d e p e n d o n
international law and the UN….”
“Other (Asean) countries
disputed Cambodia's statement,”
New York Times noted. Between
clenched teeth, Indonesia's Foreign
Minister foreign minister Marty
Natalegawa churned out 18 drafts to
reflect members concerns.
Cambodia ignored the protests. So,
these countries officially insisted on
revisions. .
For the first time in 45
years, Asean adjourned without it's
usually forgettable communiqué.
Cambodia's partiality derailed talks
to fill in blanks for a European
Union-style economic block by
2015.
Asean leaders adopted the
AEC Blueprint in November 2007.
This would establish, just two years
from now, a highly competitive
single market and production base
for its 10 member economies. This
coordination is to facilitate Asean's
i n t e g ra t i o n w i t h t h e g l o b a l
community.”
Among other things, the
plan includes freer flow of goods by
whittling tariffs, spurring free flow
of services across borders to
expansion of the $240 billion
regional foreign exchange reserve
pool, established to deal with
financial crises.
“In the Philippines, we
need to cobble the measures needed
for ”inevitable differential impacts,
writes the Inquirer's Cielito Habito. ,
The time to do all these analyses is
yesterday.
“Money can make demons
turn and grind stones”, says a
Chinese proverb. China this month
pledged another $548 million in soft
loans and grants for Cambodia,
Reuters reported.. In return,
Cambodia reiterated its diplomatic
I think, a great moment in history
and something all of us in the Corona
Court, the Office of the Chief Justice,
the Supreme Court as an institution
that protected the rights of the
downtrodden, and all Filipinos
imbued with a sense of justice and
patriotism will always consider with
deep pride to be one of our finest
moments.”
Not many people will
remember or will want to
remember how Aquino punished
Corona for forcing the distribution
of his family's hacienda. But the
workers who will denounce Aquino
today would be wise to remember
how foolhardy it is to expect this
President to be pro-labor and propoor, given his defense of his own
family's status as part of the
economic and landowning elite that
has ruled this country for more than
a century.
It is in Aquino's interest to
keep the poor in poverty and just
barely alive to gratefully keep him in
power. To expect Aquino to change
this late is delusional.
support for China.
Since 1994, Chinese
investment in Cambodia has totaled
$9.1 billion. That includes almost
$1.2 billion in 2011. Thus, “some of
the maps in the Peace Palace in
Phnom Penh had Chinese place
names in the South China Sea.”
That's peanuts since China gets far
more.
Within Asean, China has a
vote, albeit with a Khmer accent, In
any Asean capital, like Jakarta or
Bangkok, Beijing has two embassies:
an official one and, across the road, a
de facto clone in the Cambodian
embassy. Can Asean still craft a
code of conduct for troubled seas
which Cambodia peddles to the
highest bidder.”
Asean likes to resolve
disputes “quietly amid the rustle of
batik silks”, the Singapore Straits
Times notes. That's exactly how the
publicity-shy Sultan Hassanal
Bolkiah prepared, then presided
over the Brunei summit..
He flew to Manila to
discuss the agenda with President
Benigno Aquino,. He touched base
with other Asean leaders, as well as
other key.players. US President
Barack Obama has crafted a “pivot to
Asia” of US armed forces to, among
other things, keep key sea routes
open. China's Xi Jinping oversees his
country's claims
Bolkiah oversaw summit
proceedings with an even hand. That
didn't keep him from saying that one
of Brunei's priorities, as this year's
ASEAN chair, is to see a legally
binding code of conduct on the sea
by year's end.
Asean may have
committed a strategic mistake by
agreeing to a crucial process that is
easily stalled, says territorial conflict
scholar Carl Thayer. “China would
not commit to anything that'd
restrict its plans”.
Eight Chinese maritime
surveillance ships, this week, sailed
into the 12-nautical-mile zone off
contested islands, which China calls
Diaoyu and Japan dubs Senkaku. “If
the Chinese were to make a landing,
we'd expel by force," said Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe. Scarborough
shoals are 124 nautical miles from
Zambales and 550 miles from
Hainan Island, At the shoals, Chinese
fishermen bolted underwater ropes
to keep Filipinos from fishing in
their own waters.
That's where the Asean
statement will be tested.
(Email: [email protected])
May 3 - 9, 2013
Page 15
DOJ files tax evasion raps vs. Corona
MANILA -- The
Department of Justice (DOJ)
has found probable cause to
charge ousted Chief Justice
Renato Corona for allegedly
evading tax liabilities worth
P120 million.
"In a 65-page
resolution, the DOJ found
probable cause to file tax
evasion charges against
Former Chief Justice Renato
C. Corona," the DOJ said in a
statement Thursday.
The DOJ wrapped up
last December its
investigation on the tax
evasion case filed by the
Bureau of Internal Revenue
against Corona, who was
ousted in May last year after
being convicted of failure to
declare around P200 million
in peso and dollar deposits
which he acquired while in
public office.
Corona attended the
last hearing of the
preliminary investigation on
the case, during which he said
the charges were part of the
continuing campaign to
persecute him.
" T h e B I R ' s
complaint is an endless series
of double counting of
accounts," Corona had told
Dr. Potenciano “Yong” Larrazabal III and wife Donna Cruz. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Ousted Chief Justice Renato Corona
reporters in Manila at the
time. “That kind of complaint
by the BIR is for propaganda
and not for the court of law."
GMA News Online
has contacted Corona's camp
for their comment, but has
yet to receive a reply as of
posting time.
Corona was accused
of attempting to avoid
payment of tax liabilities, in
violation of Section 254 of
the National Internal
Revenue Code (NIRC) of
1997. He was also accused of
failing to file returns, and
supply correct and accurate
tax information in violation of
Section 255 of the NIRC for
the years 2003, 2005, 2007,
2008, and 2010.
A BIR investigation
showed that Corona failed to
declare on his statement of
assets and liabilities (SALN) a
condominium unit at The
Columns along Ayala Avenue
bought for P3.6 million in
2004, and a property in Fort
Bonifacio worth P9.16
million in 2005.
BIR goes after husband of
singer-actress Donna Cruz
By Jerome Aning
MANILA - The husband
of singer-actress Donna Cruz, a
Cebu City-based ophthalmologist,
has been charged with tax evasion
by the Bureau of Internal Revenue
(BIR) for allegedly failing to report
the correct information on his tax
returns for 2009 to 2011.
Charged by the BIR in the
Department of Justice was Dr.
Potenciano Larrazabal III who, the
revenue agency said citing third
party information, received
P29.14 million in professional fees
between 2009 and 2011 from
PhilHealth alone but declared only
P4.72 million for the three-year
period.
The BIR said Larrazabal
should have registered as a valueadded taxpayer and filed the
required quarterly VAT returns as
his earnings were well above the
threshold required to register as a
VAT taxpayer.
Top Cebu eye doctor
The BIR computed
Larrazabal's tax deficiency for the
three-year period at P21.14
million.
Larrazabal is a
prominent Cebu eye doctor whose
family owns the Cebu Doctors'
H o s p i t a l a n d U n i v e r s i t y.
(Philippine Daily Inquirer)
May 3 - 9, 2013
Page 16
When the Sunflower blooms
By Norby Bautista
The Sunflower is
popular with kids and the kids at
heart, thanks to the computer
game “Plants vs Zombies.” But it
has always been an iconic and
important flowering plant. Being
a gardener myself, I didn't
realize then it can actually grow
here in the Philippines. My first
encounter with this plant was
when I took my college at the UP
Los Baños. Sunflowers were
established near the UPLB
Administration building. It was a
delight to learn that some
varieties do have the typical
dinner plate-size flowers.
The sunflower
symbolizes hope, as it depicts
the appearance of the sun. It also
symbolizes simplicity, as it has
only one big flower on a stem. Yet
it's also a complex plant since
each flower holds hundreds of
seeds.
This plant is not native to the
Philippines and is found in the
Americas, but some tropical
varieties do grow very well here.
Scientifically known as
Helianthus annuus, and
belonging to the Asteraceae
plant family, it's the official
flower of the University of the
Philippines. This large and
diverse plant family also
includes the asters and the
daisies, flowers which typically
have a flower head.
This is an annual plant
and it has a large inflorescence
or flower head. The typical plant
has a rough, hairy stem with
broad, coarsely toothed rough
leaves and circular yelloworange heads of flowers. The
flower head is not just one
flower; it actually consists of
many individual flowers which
mature and dry into seeds,
usually by the hundreds, on a
receptacle base.
Sunflowers commonly
grow to heights between five to
12 feet.They grow best under the
full sunlight Seeds are sewed on
the ground during summer. They
require fertile, moist, welldrained soil with organic matter.
Typically, seeds are planted 1.5
feet apart and one-inch deep.
The seeds quickly germinate
into vigorous seedlings. Regular
w a t e r i n g
i s
recommended until it is fully
grown. The plant will bloom in
roughly two months.
This is more than just
an ornamental plant. Corn
farmers weary of birds that eat
their crops usually use
Sunflowers as a decoy. As it
happens, birds like to eat the
Sunflower's seeds. Also,
sunflower oil, which comes from
the seeds, is used as a cooking
ingredient. Leaves can be used as
cattle feed. Stems contain a fiber
which may be used in paper
production. Sunflower “whole
seed” or the fruit are sold as
s n a c k fo o d , . T h i s c a n b e
consumed raw or roasted, with
or without seasoning.
Sunflowers can be processed
into a peanut butter alternative
known as sunflower butter. In
Germany, it is mixed with rye
flour to make sunflower whole
seed bread.
The seeds are also sold
as birdfood and can be used for
cooking and salads. Sunflower
oil can be manufactured into
biodiesel. Thus it can actually
harness energy and convert
carbon dioxide and water into
oil. It can also be used in
biotechnology; as a
bioremediant, it can remove
toxic substances and heavy
metals from the soil.
In many ways, the
Sunflower is an inspiration to
the youth, especially to those
who are graduating this summer.
They are often advised to be like
the Sunflower; to be simple yet
complex, to have hope and to
“follow the light and look
forward to a bright future,”
May 3 - 9, 2013
Page 17
EXPRESSWEEK
FilAms urged to exercise right to vote
WASHINGTON, D.C. –
The Philippine Embassy called
on members of the FilipinoAmerican Community in the
United States who are
registered as overseas voters
to exercise their right to vote
in next month's national
elections in the Philippines.
In a statement,
Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia
urged the almost 85,000
Filipino and FilipinoAmerican overseas voters
across the US to actively
participate in the 13 May
election for members of the
Senate and the House of
Representatives.
“ We c a l l o n o u r
kababayans here in the United
States to make a difference by
helping ensure that we only
send the best people to
represent us in Congress,”
Ambassador Cuisia said. “We
urge you to exercise your right
to choose the kind of people
we want to lead us.”
Although the voting
period for overseas voters is
from 13 April to 13 May,
Ambassador Cuisia strongly
encouraged voters to mail
their ballots as soon as they
receive these in the mail.
“For those who want
to personally cast their ballots,
we will make available for
them a ballot reception box at
the Consular Section of the
Embassy where they could
cast their votes until 7 a.m. on
May 13,” Ambassador Cuisia
said.
He added that voters
registered with the Embassy
as well as those in the
Philippine Consulates General
in New York, Los Angeles, San
Francisco, Chicago, Honolulu
and Guam, will be receiving
their voting packets by mail.
The packets, he said, contain,
among others, the official
ballot that voters have to mail
to the Foreign Service posts
where they are registered.
On Wednesday, the
Embassy conducted its first
Talakayan sa Embahada forum
where Consul Arlene Magno
explained the overseas voting
process to members of the
Filipino Community who were
in attendance.
Consul Magno said
registered voters who were
disenfranchised after failing to
vote in the 2007 and 2010
elections will be allowed to
vote by personally appearing
at the Embassy and other US
posts where they are
registered until 4 a.m. of 13
May.
Voters who still have
not received their voting
packets are requested to check
the certified voters lists
posted in the websites of the
Embassy and the Consulates
General in the US.
May 3 - 9, 2013
Page 18
PIDCI 2nd GENERAL
COMMUNITY MEETING
Friday, May 10, 2013
NEW YORK The Philippine Independence Day
Council, Inc. (PIDCI) has called the second of three General
Community meetings in preparation for this year's
commemoration of the 115th anniversary of the declaration
of Philippine Independence.
The meeting is scheduled at the Kalayaan Hall of the
Philippine Center at 556 Fifth Avenue, between 45th and
46th Street, Manhattan, New York 10036-5002 on Friday,
May 10, 2013 starting at 7:00 in the evening.
Presidents and/or representatives of PIDCI
member organizations are invited to attend the meeting
where officers, Board members and committee chairs will
discuss what's left of the year's scheduled commemorative
events: on Philippine Independence Day, Sunday, June 2 with
the three major events of Independence Day Street Fair, the
Independence Day Parade and the afternoon Cultural
Festival.
Specially called to the meeting are prospective
vendors, merchants and exhibitors interested in selling and
or promoting their products (food or non-food) or services
during the Independence Day Street Fair along with
organizations, groups and others wishing to march and join
the Independence Day Parade. Additionally, talents and
performers who may be interested in auditioning for the
afternoon Cultural Festival for Independence Day.
For more information, you may call PIDCI President
Fe Martinez (973) 222-0085, Vice President Elvira Reyes
(551) 208-4986, Secretary Joyce Castillo (848) 467-0269,
Treasurer Violeta McGough ((201) 707-8152, or any
member of the Board of Directors: Jesse Arteche (908) 4821398, Albert Diala (347) 260-8063, Dora Koltsidis (617)
637-5947, Ner Martinez (347) 837-5853, Angie Molina (718)
857-2901, Maryann Sanagustin (908) 456-7063, Aristides
Uy (347) 749-2022, Vivian Velasco (917) 623-3827, Margie
Wisotsky (347) 306-7707; or Gheng Pingol (917) 669-0505.
The third and final community meeting is scheduled
for Tuesday, May 21, 2013.
*****
PIDCI 3rd GENERAL
COMMUNITY MEETING
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
NEW YORK The Philippine Independence Day
Council, Inc. (PIDCI) has called the third and last General
Community meetings in preparation for this year's
commemoration of the 115th anniversary of the declaration
of Philippine Independence.
The meeting is scheduled at the Kalayaan Hall of the
Philippine Center at 556 Fifth Avenue, between 45th and
46th Street, Manhattan, New York 10036-5002 on Tuesday,
May 21, 2013 starting at 7:00 in the evening.
Presidents and/or representatives of PIDCI
member organizations are invited to attend the meeting
where officers, Board members and committee chairs will
discuss the centerpiece of the year's commemorative events:
the Philippine Independence Day, Sunday, June 2 with the
three major events of Independence Day Street Fair, the
Independence Day Parade and the afternoon Cultural
Festival.
Specially called to the meeting are prospective
vendors, merchants and exhibitors interested in selling and
or promoting their products (food or non-food) or services
during the Independence Day Street Fair along with
organizations, groups and others wishing to march and join
the Independence Day Parade. Additionally, talents and
performers who may be interested in auditioning for the
afternoon Cultural Festival for Independence Day.
For more information, you may call PIDCI President
Fe Martinez (973) 222-0085, Vice President Elvira Reyes
(551) 208-4986, Secretary Joyce Castillo (848) 467-0269,
Treasurer Violeta McGough ((201) 707-8152, or any
member of the Board of Directors: Jesse Arteche (908) 4821398, Albert Diala (347) 260-8063, Dora Koltsidis (617)
637-5947, Ner Martinez (347) 837-5853, Angie Molina (718)
857-2901, Maryann Sanagustin (908) 456-7063, Aristides
Uy (347) 749-2022, Vivian Velasco (917) 623-3827, Margie
Wisotsky (347) 306-7707; or Gheng Pingol (917) 669-0505.
FOOD
Southside sarap!
By Maan D'Asis Pamaran
While summer is the
t i m e to d o s o m e t u m my
trimming, it being swimwear
season and all, all diet bets are
off when Chef Pauline GorricetaBanusing rolls into town for her
annual stint at the Ilonggo Food
Festival of the Mandarin
Oriental's Paseo Uno. While this
is the fourth installment of her
much-awaited food event, she
definitely did not come without
a few Filipino gourmet surprises
up her sleeve.
The Ilonggo staples
such as the piping-hot umamirich Batchoy is present and
accounted for, along with the
Chicken Inasal. But while these
have become popular with the
fast-food court crowd at Manila,
the chef's passion makes a big
difference when it comes to
taste.
She reveals that she is
puzzled by the Manila inasal. “I
don't know why they use toyo in
the marinade,” she shrugs. “The
way it is really done back home
is to marinade the chicken for
not more than 10 hours in a
marinade that contains
ingredients such as vinegar, salt,
sugar, and annatto, then grilled
just before serving.” The result
of her loving care is a chicken
dish that is fork-tender and
flavorful inside and out. Yes,
foodies, you might not want to
go back to your usual after
experiencing a taste of Visayan
poultry done right. Molo Soup is
another Ilonggo dish that she
“authenticated.” “The way we
have it is with a rich and thick
chicken and shrimp broth,
unlike the version offered
elsewhere that utilizes only
chicken stock,” she explains.
This year, the chef also uses
something extra special for
flavoring: Tultul salt from
Guimaras, a specialty of a
singular family on the island,
made with a tedious process of
dripping briny water with
coconut milk.
Since Iloilo is also
p r i m a r i ly k n ow n fo r t h e
freshness of its seafood from
both its own coastline and that
of surrounding provinces, these
are definitely the items that
discriminating diners should
heap on their plates. Chef
Pauline is particularly proud
this year of three grilled fish
items that she has brought to
join the festivities blue marlin,
black marlin, and a fish called
the Managat or Visayan Snapper.
The Black Marlin is something
new to city eaters, and is a
definite must-try for its melt-inthe-mouth texture and freshfrom-the-ocean taste.
Then, while Paseo Uno
is located in a genteel hotel, it
takes a lot of self-control not to
give in and enjoy every last
morsel of Capiz crab meat and
crab fat from the Alimango na
May Ginisa na Guinamos dish.
Did we mention crab fat? We will
mention this culinary
temptation again, as it was
utilized for dietary sinning with
the Lukon na may Aligue Kag
Paho or Kalibo Prawns sautéed
with crab fat and topped with
green mango slices, so
obscenely good, we rolled our
eyes heavenward in
thanksgiving. Chef Pauline also
brought with her what Capiz
looks like before it bedecks
antique-style windows, with the
shellfish called Bay-Ad simply
steamed until it opens. Roxas
oysters are also on the menu,
fresh and fear-free.
Two non-seafood
dishes to try are the Native
May 3 - 9, 2013
Page 19
Chef Pauline Gorriceta-Banusing
Manok sa Gata na may Estiwitis
(annatto seeds), and the Kansi
na Baka Kag Lanit-Lanit, where
the chef utilized the parts of beef
that are laced with tendons.
Dessert happily
includes the Yema Cake that the
chef is known for, and freshlymade piaya, prepared on the
Spot to produce something
satisfyingly warm and sweet.
While, again, this is starting to
be a Manila staple, Chef Pauline
gives her input on what a good
piaya is: “The pastry should not
be flaky. While others may
prepare it only using flour, I
discovered that they use a kind
of polvoron mix with it as well.”
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
EU calls for more Investments in Job-Generating sectors
By Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat
The Philippines will
certainly attract more jobcreating European investments
if it continues to open up its
economy, said EU Ambassador
Guy Ledoux.
“Europe is already very
present in this country but if the
Philippines continues to open
up its economy it will certainly
attract much more job-creating
European investments,” said
Ledoux who led a group of
ambassadors from various
European countries during a
recent visit at the high-tech
facility of Lufthansa Technik
Philippines.
The Partnership and
Cooperation Agreement (PCA),
which was signed in June 2011,
was supposed to trigger the
start of negotiations for the
Philippines-EU bilateral FTA,
but the Philippines said it was
not yet ready as wider
consultations with stakeholders
have yet to be conducted.
“Lufthansa Technik
Philippines is a very good
example of European
investment creating quality jobs
for Filipinos in their own
country. But it need not be the
end. This could be just the
beginning,” said Ledoux, head of
the EU Delegation.
“Our visit here today is
not an isolated event. It follows
on from several visits to the
Philippines from high profile
Europeans including by the
French Prime Minister, the
German Foreign Minister, other
prominent Ministers from the
Czech Republic, Italy, Ireland
and the UK as well as a
delegation from the European
Parliament. The red line through
EU Ambassador Guy Ledoux
many of these visits was
investment,” he added.
The visiting EU
ambassadors came from the
embassies of Belgium, the Czech
Republic, Germany, France and
Romania , and other diplomats
from Spain and the UK.
Since year 2000,
Lufthansa Technik Philippines
has been providing a broad
range of maintenance, repair
and overhaul services to some of
the most reputable airlines in
the world. LTP specializes in
providing support to the Airbus
aircraft type, and has already
completed a total of more than
400 base maintenance checks
for over 30 international and
local airlines.
The Manila-based
facility has recently added the
world's largest and most
t e c h n o l o g i c a l ly a dva n c e d
aircraft, the Airbus A380, into its
roster of capabilities. This
aircraft type is now being
supported inside a dedicated
hangar which was inaugurated
in 2012.
While OFWs are
making a much appreciated
contribution in different sectors
in Europe, the EU supports the
Aquino administration's
ambition to create high quality
jobs for Filipinos in their own
c o u n t r y. T h e c o n t i n u e d
expansion of Lufthansa Technik
Philippines employing 2,500
highly qualified Filipinos is a
practical expression of this
support.
German Ambassador
Joachim Heidorn mentioned
that “Every single job for
Filipinos created by European
investment is very welcome. The
well-paid jobs for highlyeducated Filipinos offered by
European companies like
L u f t h a n s a Te c h n i k a re a
particular source of pride.”
European investments
in high tech industries are the
clearest recognition of the skills
and talents of Filipino workers
who have shown themselves
able to meet the challenges
posed by some of the most
t e c h n i c a l ly s o p h i s t i c a t e d
industries, the EU ambassadors
said.
The EU claimed they
are already the largest investor
in the Philippines in terms of
stocks. Last year, the EU was also
the largest source of approved
FDI accounting for a full 40% of
the total.
Likewise, Filipino
investors have cumulatively
invested some €1.7 billion in the
EU in 2010, which indicates that
about one third of the
Philippines'overseas direct
investments are made in the EU.
EU-Philippines trade
also continues to expand, with a
continuous trade surplus for the
Philippines: In 2011 alone, EUPhilippines trade in goods was
worth over €9 billion, with over
€5 billion in Philippines' exports
to he EU (and therefore a trade
surplus of €1.1 billion).
A Brown Co. Eyes 12 power facilities in Mindanao
12 projects, under separate
“build-operate-maintain and
transfer agreements for
b ra n d - n e w b u n ke r - f i re d
engines, which will last for 15
years.”
By Amy R. Remo
MANILA - Publicly
listed A Brown Co. Inc. plans to
put up 12 power projects that
will generate a total of 110
megawatts of “peak” capacity
for electricity-starved
Mindanao.
T h e p ro j e c t s a re
expected to provide muchneeded additional power
supply for the so-called A+ or
green-rated electric
cooperatives in Mindanao, the
company said in a regulatory
filing Monday.
According to A
Brown, its unit Peakpower
Energy Inc.. will implement the
The projects will have
a short gestation under a take
or pay arrangement on the
capital expenditure, and will
have direct connection to the
grid.
A Brown explained
that the planned facilities
would “address the lack of
base load power in the
Mindanao grid for the next two
to three years.”
It will also allow the
cooperatives “to meet the
needs for peaking power,” A
Brown added.
After signing a power
purchase and transfer
agreement with South
Cotabato II Electric
Cooperative, a 20-megawatt
will be installed in the heart of
General Santos City in the next
12 months.
At present, A Brown
is involved in the construction
of a 135-MW coal-fired power
project in Concepcion, Iloilo.
The facility, which is expected
to be commissioned by 2015,
will fill the anticipated power
supply gap in Panay and the
Visayas grids by 2016, the
company said.
“While only 135megawatt is on a firm basis, the
plant site and support units are
programmed for two units.
The preparations for the
second unit are forecast to
begin two to three years after
commissioning of the first
unit,” A Brown further said.
A B ro w n i s a l s o
eyeing a 26-MW hydropower
project in Surigao and is
currently awaiting the
approval of its application for a
renewable energy service
contract.
May 3 - 9, 2013
Page 20
VP Binay commends housing
sector for creating jobs
Vice President Jejomar Binay
BUTUAN CITY - Vice
President Jejomar Binay on
Labor day commended the
housing industry sector which he
said creates a domino effect in job
creation, thus contributes to the
growth of the economy.
B i n a y, a l s o t h e
chairman of the Housing and
Urban Development
Coordinating Council (HUDCC),
made the statement during the
awarding of land titles to
beneficiaries of the Social
Housing Finance Corporation's
(SHFC) Community Mortgage
Program (CMP) in Butuan City,
Agusan del Norte.
“Ang sektor ng pabahay
ay isa sa mga industriyang malaki
ang naitutulong sa ekonomiya sa
pamamagitan ng paglikha ng
trabaho,” Binay said.
“ K a y a p o s a
pagdiriwang ng Labor Day,
ipinagmamalaki po namin ang
kontribusyon ng sektor ng
pabahay sa pagbibigay ng
trabaho sa ating mga
manggagawa,” he added.
The vice president
cited a single house could create
jobs and could help lessen the
unemployment in the country.
“Ang pagtatayo ng isang
maliit na bahay o yung tinatawag
u
Page 23
Job generation better
than pay hike - economist
MANILA - A private
economist on Wednesday said
it is more important for the
government to create more
jobs than to hike salaries
because higher wages will
discourage foreign
investments.
Dr. Ernesto Pernia of
the University of the
Philippines School of
Economics said the minimum
wage rate in the Philippines is
already one of the highest in
Asia. He said any wage increase
should be accompanied by an
increase in workers'
productivity.
“Mahirap kasi kung
magtaas ka ng sweldo
palagi...hindi tayo maka-attract
ng investors, foreign investors
or local investors,” he said.
Pernia said an
increase in productivity would
lower inflation and increase
real purchasing power of labor
groups. He also said palliatives
such as nonwage benefits are
not the solution. “Para sa
ekonomista, mas importante
na magkaroon ng employment
opportunities. Lalago ang
investment at ekonomiya.
Dadami ang trabaho,” he said.
The UP professor said
he supports government's plan
to launch an agro-industrial
program in the last quarter of
the year. He also said the
A q u i n o a d m i n i s t ra t i o n' s
potential to improve the labor
situation is better compared to
the previous administration.
"It is not the rate of
economic growth that is
important but the quality of
economic growth, the
structure. Dapat ang sources of
economic growth should come
from agriculture,
manufacturing, not from
services or [business process
outsourcing]. That's on the
supply side. On the demand
side, dapat hindi lang
Dr. Ernesto Pernia
consumption. Dapat
investment rin ang driver ng
economic growth," he said.
For his part, Alan
Tanjusay of the Trade Union
Congress of the Philippines
said the country only has the
third highest minimum wage
rate in the ASEAN. He said one
problem faced by the country is
high electricity rates, which
affects both employers and
workers and deters investors.
Negotiated pay hikes
Meanwhile, former
Labor Secretary Patricia Santo
Tomas said trade unions
should negotiate with specific
companies for salary hikes
instead of seeking across-theboard wage increases from
government.
Santo Tomas said it is
time to replace the traditional
methods of seeking salary
adjustments because
companies have different
financial situations.
She also said the
relationship between
management and laborers in a
particular company should
come into play in the internal
discussions for wage increases.
She also said
government should prioritize
the industrialization of the
a g r i c u l t u ra l s e c to r ove r
employment issues in urban
centers.
May 3 - 9, 2013
Page 21
7 consortia submit bids for the
P17-B Mactan-Cebu airport project
By Emmie V. Abadilla
Of the 12 companies
which originally signified
interest in the Department of
Transportation and
Communications (DOTC)
bidding for the P17.5-billion
Mactan Cebu International
Airport (MCIA) public-Private
Partnership Project (PPP), seven
tendered their bids yesterday.
These include: MPICJGS Airport Consortium, AAA
Airport Partners, which teamed
up with US operator Houstor
Airports System, Filinvest-CAI
Consortium which partnered
with Changi Airport Saudi Ltd.,
SMC-Incheon Airport
Consortium, Premier Airport
Group, GmR InfrastructureMegawide Consortium and First
Philippine Holdings Corp-Infratil
Asia Ltd.
E a r l i e r, t h e D O T C
announced it was “optimistic
that the MCIA will generate the
same level of interest from major
local and international
companies as what we saw from
the Automatic Fare Collection
System (AFCS) Project.”
“We made sure that this
project will also be attractive to
investors in order to foster
competitive and open bidding,”
the agency stated.
The seven consortia
submitted their prequalification
eligibility documents to the
DOTC after the transport agency
revised its criteria to make the
process more competitive and
broaden participation to firms in
the airline business.
U n d e r
t h e
government's Instructions to
Prospective Bidders (ITPB),
airline companies and airlinerelated entities from having a
direct interest in the Facility
Operator an entity which will
actually operate the airport.
However, to avoid conflicts of
interest, the government pledged
to install safeguards in its
concession agreement with the
winning bidder.
The winner will
construct a new world-class
international passenger terminal
building which can
accommodate 8 million
passengers per year in the
MCIAA, aside from renovating
and expanding the existing
terminal, installing required
equipment and the operating
both existing and new facilities.
Once the new MCIAA terminal is
finished, the existing terminal
which currently serves domestic
and international passengers
will be limited to domestic
passengers.
Still, it's a long way to go
for the 7 bidders, inasmuch as
their financial bids will not be
opened until 4 months from now.
The Mactan-Cebu
facility, one of the government's
priority infrastructure projects
under its public-private
partnership programme (PPP), is
the second-busiest airport in the
country by passenger traffic.
It is a major gateway to
central and southern Philippine
provinces. About 6.8 million
passengers used it last year,
above its 4.5 million annual
capacity, so a successful deal will
help boost tourism in the
country.
The project involves the
right to build a new terminal with
an annual capacity of 8 million
passengers, rehabilitate the old
terminal and operate the entire
a irp ort fa cilit y. Ma n ila is
expected to issue a list of
qualified bidders after 20 days.
The Philippines has
been seeking local and foreign
investors in PPP projects aimed
at improving the country's roads,
ports, airports and other
infrastructure to spur more
economic activity and propel
growth above 7 percent.
Dong Feng eyes
vehicle assembly
y Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat
Dong Feng Motors,
second among the “Big Five”
Chinese automakers, is
planning to invest in
manufacturing assembly in
the country given the right
incentives.
Businessman
Francis Chua, one of owners
of China Dong Feng Motor
Distributors, Inc. Philippines,
the exclusive distributor of
Dong Feng brand in the
Philippines divulged the
C h i n e s e m o t o r ve h i c l e
manufacturer's plan upon his
arrival from the Shanghai
International Motor Show
where Dong Feng was one of
the exhibitors.
“They will invest in
motor vehicle assembly in the
country given the proper
incentives,” Chua said.
Chua justified the
need to extend incentives to
the car manufacturing sector
as he cited the stiff
competition from fellow
ASEAN countries for foreign
investments once the full
ASEAN integration comes
into full force by 2015.
“While all investors
are looking at ASEAN because
it will be a one huge market
with the same tariff rate come
2015, an ASEAN country still
has to come up with better
incentives to attract nonASEAN companies to invest in
its country. It is not easy
because each ASEAN country
has now become our
competitor,” Chua said.
“So we need
government to come up with
proper incentives to win a
foreign investment,” he said.
Founded in 1969,
Dong Feng Motor has the
financial muscle to invest in a
manufacturing plant in the
Philippines. It ranks second
among the “Big Five” Chinese
automakers in China. It has a
complete line of vehicle
categories from passenger
cars, a series of light
commercial vehicles
including heavy to light
trucks, special vehicle series,
pick-ups, buses, tractors,
dump trucks. It also produces
motor vehicle parts including
Dongfeng Cummins engine
parts.
Dong Feng, Chua
said, is a highly diversified
Chinese firm and is present in
u
Page 23
May 3 - 9, 2013
Page 22
PH's fresh credit rating upgrade seen to draw more foreign investments
By Michelle Remo
M A N I L A - T h e
Philippines is on a roll.
After being given bullish
growth outlooks from various
institutions and getting its first
investment grade from Fitch
Ratings, another international
credit-rating agency placed the
country, on Thursday, in the
investment status.
S t a n d a rd & Po o r ' s
announced in a statement that it
has raised the country's credit
rating by a notch from BB+ to
BBB-, the minimum investment
grade, citing the country's rosy
macroeconomic fundamentals in
the wake of global economic
problems.
S&P assigned a “stable”
outlook on the country's new
rating, which means this is likely
to remain the same at least over
the short term unless unexpected
developments that could
significantly change the
country's macroeconomic
indicators happen.
A credit rating is used by
foreign investors in making
i nve s t m e n t d e c i s i o n s . A n
investment grade signals to the
investors that a country is a place
suitable for business, and that its
government and private
enterprises in general have the
ability to service debts to bond
and equity investors.
Finance Sec. Cesar Purisima
BSP Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr.
S&P credit analyst Agost Benard
“The upgrade on the
Philippines reflects a
strengthening external profile,
moderating inflation, and the
government's declining reliance
on foreign currency debt,” S&P
credit analyst Agost Benard said
in the statement.
S&P's move to raise the
country's credit rating came after
its decision last month to
upgrade its economic-growth
projection for the Philippines for
2013 from 5.9 to 6.5 percent.
The improvement in the
credit rating and growth estimate
for the Philippines come as global
economic problems, led by the
euro zone crisis, are dampening
outlooks on many countries.
For instance, while S&P
upgraded its credit assessment
for the Philippines, it also
announced on Thursday that it
lowered its outlook on the BB+
rating of Indonesia from
“positive” (which indicates
likelihood of an upgrade of the
credit rating) to “stable” amid
drag caused by unfavorable
external environment. A rating of
BB+ is a notch below investment
grade.
S & P s a i d t h e
Philippines' “external profile,” or
ability to pay its debts to foreign
creditors as these fall due, has
strengthened as evidenced by the
country's foreign-exchange
reserves. These reserves, which
currently stand at about $84
billion, are driven largely by
remittances from overseasbased Filipinos, foreign
investments in business process
outsourcing sector (which
includes the call centers), and
foreign investments in pesodenominated securities.
The foreign exchange
reserves of the Philippines are
enough to pay for about one year
worth of the country's import
requirements, thus exceeding
international standards for
a d e q u a c y. A c c o r d i n g t o
benchmarks, reserves must be
worth at least four months of a
country's import requirements
to be considered comfortable.
Given the enormous
foreign exchange reserves
managed by the Bangko Sentral
ng Pilipinas and other foreignexchange liquidity kept in banks
in the country, the Philippines is
not dependent on the
international capital market for
its dollar requirements,
according to the S & P.
The foreign exchange
reserves also exceed the total
outstanding, short-term debts of
government and private entities
in the country. According to the
BSP, these short-term debts
currently stand at about $60
billion.
Gov't infra, capital outlay jumps 50%
By Zinnia B. Dela Peña
MANILA - Government
spending for infrastructure and
capital outlay jumped 50.1
percent in the first quarter of the
ye a r to P 5 8 . 1 b i l l i o n , t h e
Department of Budget and
Management reported yesterday.
This, along with
improved spending for
maintenance and other operating
expenditures (MOOE), which
expanded by 25.1 percent to
P70.4 billion as of March, helped
push first-quarter disbursements
to P430.8 billion. The amount is
9.1 percent higher than the
previous year.
Disbursements
amounted to P148.8 billion in
March alone, up 3.3 percent from
last year's level.
“Although our year-onyear growth figures for the first
quarter may appear
unremarkable, the data that
defines these spending levels is
actually very encouraging. We
were able to make dramatic
improvements in our
infrastructure and MOOE
disbursements, mostly because
we routed more budgetary
support to these items, instead of
devoting more funds to tax
subsidies and interest payments,”
said Budget and Management
Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad.
“In other words, the
single-digit growth is actually the
result of us spending less on items
According to the DBM,
year-on-year spending levels for
net lending plunged by over 300
percent in the first quarter, while
tax expenditure funds (TEF) dived
by 83.5 percent. Interest
payments also slowed down by
0.2 percent
“Besides the improved
pace of expenditures for the first
quarter, we're seeing greater
precision in the way we're
implementing the budget.
Disbursements are going exactly
where they're urgently needed: in
programs and projects designed
to boost our growth prospects,
and which will translate to direct,
immediate, and sustainable
benefits to all Filipinos,” Abad
said.
Infrastructure and
capital outlay climbed 50.1
percent or P19.4 billion, due
largely to increases in both
current and prior years' payables
for contractors of infrastructure
projects and equipment
suppliers. As of end-March, the
Department of Public Works and
Highways has released around
P34 billion to its creditors to pay
for goods and services, 76 percent
higher than last year's P19.3
billion.
MOOE also rose by 25.1
percent to peak at P70.4 billion.
The amount reflects the P14.6
billion in cash grants for the
implementation of the
C o n d i t i o n a l C a s h Tra n s fe r
program under the Department of
Social Welfare and Development.
H i g h e r M O O E
disbursements also account for
the implementation of other key
socio-development programs,
including those that provide
access to safe and potable water,
public health care services,
agriculture development
programs, and improved public
education. (The Philippine Star)
u
Page 23
Auto parts makers
impress Taiwan
By Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat
that contribute little to
our development strategy, such as
tax subsidies to GOCCs or
maturing loans for other entities
outside the National Government.
We're also working with lower
interest rates that can help widen
our fiscal space, which will
ultimately favor the
administration's socio-economic
growth platform,” Abad added.
S&P likewise cited
benign inflation, which is
believed to help encourage
households to consume more
and enterprises to buy more
capital goods for investments. A
low-inflation environment is
thus favorable for businesses,
according to economists.
In the first quarter,
inflation averaged at 3.2 percent,
which was close to the low end of
t h e g o ve r n m e n t ' s o f f i c i a l
inflation target range of 3 to 5
percent.
The credit-rating firm
likewise noted the Philippine
government's declining debt
burden, which was attributed to
efforts for nearly a decade to
improve tax collection and the
country's growing economy.
After hitting a peak of 74
percent in 2004, the ratio of the
government's outstanding debt
to the country's gross domestic
product (GDP) continually
declined to reach about 50
percent by the end of 2012 and is
projected by S&P to fall further to
47 percent by the end of 2013.
“The current and
previous administrations
improved fiscal flexibility
through restraining
expenditures, reducing the share
o f fo re i g n c u r re n c y d e b t ,
deepening domestic capital
Filipino automotive
parts manufacturers generated
close to $10 million in sales
from their participation in the
recently concluded motor
vehicle parts show in Taipei.
Ferdi Raquelsantos,
president of the Motor Vehicle
Parts Manufacturers
Association of the Philippines
(MVPMAP) said six Filipino
auto parts producers
participated at the recent AMPA
2013 also known as Taipei
International Auto Parts &
Accessories Show.
According to
Raquelsantos, initial reports
from the six companies that
participated in AMPA show that
on-site sales generated was
close to $2.0 million while
prospective sales from serious
inquiries could amount to about
$10.0 million in the next nine
months.
“The Philippine
pavilion at the recent 2013
Taiwan AMPA Show was one of
the biggest crowd drawers in
the trade exhibit,” he said.
The show was
participated in by members of
MVPMAP) with the support of
the Manila Economic and
Cultural Office (MECO).
The six Filipino
companies that joined the 2013
A M PA we re : C e n t ro
Manufacturing Corporation
(truck body builder); Famous
Secret (airplane parts);
Hardware Labs (highperformance radiators); MD
Juan Enterprises (jeep bodies
and parts); Narida
(remanufactured automotive
starters and alternators); and
Nito Seiki (machine parts such
as the Elite racing components).
Philippine delegation
h e a d W i l b e r t Yu q u e o f
Hardware Labs said that AMPA
was a very good opportunity for
local parts makers to break into
the export market.
“Both local and
foreign visitors were made
aware that the Philippines is
capable of making high-quality
export products. This inspires
local parts makers to come up
with more export products that
are at par with those from other
countries”, he adds.
Raquelsantos noted
that AMPA 2013 had over 1,000
exhibitors occupying over
3,000 booth spaces. “It was so
successful that it drew about
45,000 local and 6,500 foreign
visitors, most of them buyers.
Our products were exposed to
foreign buyers from Japan,
China, USA, Malaysia, Thailand,
Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong,
Indonesia and Australia,” he
said.(BCM)
May 3 - 9, 2013
Page 23
Ph’s fresh
credit rating
upgrade ...
From Page 22
markets, and more recently
through modest revenue gains,”
S&P said.
T h e c r e d i t - ra t i n g
agency, nonetheless, cited a
major weakness of the
Philippine economythe low
per-capita incomewhich it said
the government should focus
on addressing.
S&P estimated that
the country's per-capita
income (the economy's total
income divided by the
population), estimated to settle
at $2,850 this year, is below
those seen in most countries
with the same credit rating as
the Philippines.
“The Philippine
economy's low income level
remains a key rating constraint.
The concentrated nature of the
e c o n o m y, i n f r a s t r u c t u r e
shortfalls, and restrictions on
foreign ownership, which deter
foreign investment, are factors
that hamper growth,” S&P said.
The Philippines,
together with other developing
Asian countries, is often
described by economists as
suffering from “non-inclusive
growth” in that while its
economy is growing robustly,
this is so far unable to lift poor
people above the poverty line.
S&P said the country
should generate more
investments in order to provide
jobs to people in the lowincome segment and lift the
per-capita income. To generate
investments, it said, the country
has to liberalize its regulatory
environment in a manner that
allows easier entry of foreign
investors. It also said the
country has to invest more in
infrastructure, which
businesses need for easier
transportation of goods.
The credit-rating firm,
nonetheless, saw a good chance
for the Philippines to increase
per-capita income over the
medium to long term,
especially if the country would
address infrastructure and
regulatory problems.
“Real GDP per capita
growth averaged 3.3% over the
past decade somewhat slow at
this stage in the country's
development. Based on
ongoing structural changes in
the economy, rising private
sector investment, and with
increased fiscal space allowing
greater public spending, we
expect real GDP per capita
growth to rise to 4.5% in the
forecast period to 2016,” it said.
Meantime, BSP
Governor Amando Tetangco Jr.
said the investment ratings
from Fitch and S&P would
further lift investor sentiment
on the Philippines. He said the
favorable sentiment would
translate into actual
investments over the short to
medium term, and make the
Philippines catch up with its
Southeast Asian neighbors in
terms of foreign direct
investments.
“With our investment
grade rating, we are more
confident that these inflows,
particularly of more FDIs, will
swing towards increasing the
country's productive capacity,
thereby generating more
employment and higher
incomes,” Tetangco said.
Finance Secretary
Cesa r Purisima sa id t he
investment rating from Fitch
and S&P reflected economic
gains from reform policies of
the government. He said the
government's anti-corruption
and transparency agenda has
made the Philippines win the
attention of the international
capital markets.
“The investment
g ra d e ra t i n g i s a n o t h e r
resounding vote of confidence
on the Philippines. Good
governance is bringing
structurally sustainable growth
for the Philippines,” he said.
VP Binay ...
From page 20
Naming row house ay nakalilikha ng
walong trabaho,” he explained.
Further, he noted that for
100 jobs created by a housing project,
18 more jobs are being created from
different industries including nail,
hollow blocks, cement factories.
Since its Labor day, Binay, as
the chairman of the board of trustees of
Pag-IBIG Fund also made mention of
the efforts of the government in
addressing the needs of the public in
Dong Feng ...
From page 21
all motor vehicle categories. It has 50
subsidiaries with each one producing a
particular category. It has existing
partnerships with foreign carmakers
such as Nissan and Citroen.
“But its expertise is really on
the commercial trucks. In terms of
commercial vehicles, Dong Feng is the
biggest in China,” he said.
Thus, Chua said, ifever Dong
Feng will decide to enter in the local
motor vehicle market they would be
suited for trucks, either light trucks or
heavy trucks.
For now, Chua said Dong
Feng will have to concentrate on
establishing its presence in the
country. Chua, who revived his
partnership with Dong Feng five years
ago, has already established a
showroom along Macapagal Avenue.
Another showroom will be put up in
Davao.
“ We w i l l e s t a b l i s h
dealerships around the country,” he
said.
He also noted of the various
car manufacturing firmsin China and
most of them are exporting because
terms of wages and other benefits.
“Ang murang pabahay ay isa
sa mga benepisyong naibibigay sa ating
mga manggagawa sa pamamagitan ng
Pag-IBIG Fund,” he said.
He explained that with the
P100 monthly contributions of PagIBIG Fund members, they could already
borrow up to P500,000 as housing
loans, payable in 30 years.
The vice president said even
minimum wage earners could avail of
Pag-IBIG housing loans which from 6
percent interest, they lowered it down
to 4.5 percent.
they cannot sell in the Chinese market,
but Dong Feng has already established
a good name and is now China's second
biggest.
This year alone, Dong Feng
is producing 3.2 million units of
vehicles for the Chinese market alone.
In 2010, Dong Feng had an annual
output of 1,137,000 vehicles and
121,000 registered employees. The
company ranks 20th in Top 500 of
domestic enterprises and 5th in Top
500 of domestic manufacturers
respectively.
Aligned with the trend of
auto industry development in world
market, the company has defined its
position and set a goal to build a
centennial company capable of
sustained growth.
More aggressively, Dong
Feng is also looking forward to
becoming the No. 1 in China,
internationally weighted auto maker in
the world with convincing profit rate,
sustainable development and constant
value returning to shareholders,
customers, employees and society.
Through over 40 years of
d e v e l o p m e n t , D o n g Fe n g h a s
established R&D and manufacturing
facilities as well as an extensive
distribution and after-sales network.
ENTERTAINMENT
May 3 - 9, 2013
Page 24
Anne Curtis not ready to tie
the knot with Erwann Heussaff
MANILA -- Television
host Anne Curtis said that she's
not ready yet to settle down
anytime soon.
The "It's Showtime"
host said she plans to study an
Early Education course, as she
dreams to become a preschool
teacher, before jumping into
marriage.
"I always have a heart
for children. I don't know if it's
because of 'Showtime' that I'm
always exposed to kids, I always
have a lot of patience for them. I
believe that's a profession I
could excel in if I wasn't in this
industry," she said.
"I don't think I could
have kids and be a pre-school
teacher at the same time. Enjoy
muna yung pagiging pre-school
teacher then settle down," she
said.
Anne said that she and
boyfriend Erwann Heussaff has
lots of dreams yet to fulfill. They
know that getting married will
just come along their way, she
said.
"No. Not anytime soon.
We both have so many dreams...
personal dreams that we want to
pursue, kaya hindi pa," she
Kim Chiu and Xian Lim
Kim Chiu gets promise
ring from Xian Lim
Anne Curtis
added.
But when that special
day comes, the actress said she
wants to get married during
sunset.
Anne said she is happy
when she is with her boyfriend
of three years and shared that is
close to his family.
Erwann is the brother
of Anne's friend, Solenn.
Judy Ann laughs off
annulment rumors
MANILA -- After it
was reported that Claudine
B a r re t to a n d Ray m a r t
Santiago are no longer living
u n d e r t h e s a m e ro o f ,
another celebrity couple is
being rumored to have
separated as well.
In the past week,
speculations that Judy Ann
Santos and Ryan Agoncillo
already ended their
marriage surfaced and
spread in showbiz circles -an issue that the actress just
laughed off.
Santos said she and
Agoncillo are totally clueless
as to where the rumors are
coming from.
"Ako pa nga 'yung
nagsabi [kay Ryan] na 'Huy
annulled na raw tayo?'
Natawa na lang kami. Ni
hindi namin siya pinaguusapan kasi wala namang
Judy Ann Santos and Ryan Agoncillo
pinagmulan," she said.
S a n to s a n d
Agoncillo tied the knot in
May 2009. They are now
blessed with two kids,
Yohan and Lucio.
TO ADVERTISE, PLEASE
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When asked about the
secret of their relationship, Anne
replied: "It's about making time,
being patient and wanting to
make it work. Yun lang naman
yun. Yung sinasabi na hindi
kayang pagsabayin ang career
and love life, if you really want to
make it work, you will make it
work."
MANILA -- Actress Kim
Chiu revealed that she received a
promise ring from rumored
boyfriend, actor Xian Lim, for her
birthday.
"Mayroon siyang
(binigay) na jewelry -- hikaw at
saka promise ring. Oo mayroon
siyang promise ring. Ewan ko sa
pakulo niya, ewan ko, wala lang,"
Chiu said.
Lim gave her the ring
last April 19, Chiu's actual
birthday. Pressed if the ring was
actually an engagement ring,
Chiu said: "Hindi naman. Ito
naman bata pa ako."
A promise ring is
sometimes considered a preengagement ring worn to signify
a commitment to a monogamous
relationship. It can also mean a
purity ring worn to signify a
pledge to sexual abstinence until
marriage.
Chiu and Lim, who star
in the hit primetime series "Ina
Kapatid Anak," are set to do a film
this June.
The actress also said
she didn't buy anything for
herself for her birthday. She also
spent her special day with the
families at Isla Pulo and her fans.
"Wala akong binili para
sa sarili ko kasi nag-Isla Pulo ako,
isang community sila. Tapos
ngayon (Sunday) nagpabirthday bash ako sa mga fan
groups ko. May talent show sila
so doon ko nilaan kung mayroon
para sa akin ay doon na lang," she
said.
"Seven years na silang
sumuporta sa akin at habang
tumatagal ay dumarami sila ng
dumarami. So sobra akong
nagpapasalamat at kahit one
night ay mapagsama-sama ko
sila," Chiu explained.
Page 25
May 3 - 9, 2013
Why Lovi hasn't campaigned for Grace Poe
MANILA -- Actress Lovi
Poe said she has been meaning to
campaign for the adopted
daughter of her father in her
senatorial bid, but has not been
able to due to conflicts in
schedule.
The 24-year-old
actress explained that she has
already spoken with Grace PoeLlamanzares to arrange her part
in the senatorial candidate's
campaign for the May 13 polls.
"Of course, nag-usap
narin kami about the schedule,
and soon, I'll be joining them
soon. May schedule na, naayos na
rin namin," Lovi said.
She added: "I'm excited
na rin to [support Llamanzares],
kasi hindi nagtutugma 'yung mga
ano namin eh... may mga
shooting din ako, and I'm still
shooting with direk Joel
(Lamangan) for this film ('The
Bride and the Lover'). At least
now, may mga mapupuntahan na
ako and I'm excited."
Llamanzares is the
adopted daughter of the late film
icon Fernando Poe, Jr. with
veteran actress Susan Roces.
Lovi, whose real name
is Lourdes Virginia, is the
daughter of Poe with former
actress Rowena Moran.
Admittedly, the 44year-old Llamanzares, in an
earlier interview, said she and
Lovi do not have a close
relationship, citing their age gap.
But the former MTRCB
Lovi Poe
chairperson said she appreciated
Lovi's expression of willingness
to support her openly in the midterm elections.
"Talagang hindi ko
b i n a l a k n a i s a m a s iya s a
kampanya sapagkat baka
sasabihin ng tao na ginagamit ko
naman siya masyado, 'di ba?
Ngayon biglang kasama ko siya
palagi, so, wala akong sinasabi,"
Llamanzares was quoted as
saying by Manila Bulletin.
"Na-touch ako kasi sa
umpisa pa lang ay sinabi niya na,
'Ate Grace I support you.'
Hanggang Twitter lang
naman kami nagsasagutan pero
ang totoo naman noon [ay]
nagtatanong na siya, 'How can I
help? I want to go around with
you,'" she said.
The aspiring senator
also belied rumors of her
estrangement with her sister.
"Para sa akin, wala talagang
[away]. She's always said na she's
ready [to campaign with me] any
time but I just want to find the
right occasion. Ayoko namang
ipilit," she said.
Ryza Cenon on the cover of FHM magazine
'Late bloomer' Ryza Cenon is FHM
Philippines' May 2013 cover babe
MANILA -- At 25, Ryza
Cenon considers herself a late
bloomer. Well, better late than
never, her male fans must be
saying.
The Kapuso actress is
FHM Philippines' May 2013
cover girl, the magazine
announced online on Monday,
after practically giving the
secret away with a teaser video
over the weekend.
Ryza is the third
female winner of GMA' s
“Starstruck” talent search to
land on the cover of the
magazine, after Jennylyn
Mercado and Jackie Rice. And
she certainly took her sweet
time because FHM had been
wooing her since she turned 18
in 2005.
“Kahit before pa
naman, I have had sexy roles
already. The issue was when I
would decide to finally pose for
a men's magazine,” Ryza told
FHM.
“I wanted to be ready
if ever I was going to pursue it.
Now I feel like I'm a late
bloomer, that my body is just
now reaching its womanly
potential. My body is only now
developing,” she explained.
The cover pictorial
was shot by Doc Marlon Pecjo, a
favorite lensman of GMA stars.
Sunshine not
not open
to to
Sunshine
open
reconciliation with Cesar
reconciliation with Cesar
MANILA -- They may be
friends again, but actress
Sunshine Cruz said she is not
planning to get back with her
husband Cesar Montano.
This comes after
Montano was linked to starlet
Krista Miller, which led to the
failure of their 12-year marriage.
C r u z
s a i d
“reconciliation” is not in the
cards at the moment.
“Wala iyon sa
bokabularyo ko sa ngayon. Pero
ang dami ngang nagsasabi, ano
ba may chance or wala? It's hard
to say yes may chance, it's hard to
say no wala ng chance. Only God
knows talaga. Bahala na ang
Diyos,” she said. However, she
said she and Montano are in
talking terms for the sake of their
children.
“We are friends. We are
okay. We text especially when it's
about the children. Ganun talaga
eh. Nangyayari ang ganoon, wala
tayong magagawa,” she said.
“In all fairness to
Buboy, kapag may taping ako,
'yung mga bata sa kanya natulog.
Basta kapag may work ako, nasa
kanya ang kids. Hinahayaan ko. Si
Buboy naman mapagmahal iyan
and very generous sa mga kids. I
have no right na ilayo ang mga
ank ko sa kanya kasi
mapagmahal siyang ama,” she
added.
W h i l e s ay i n g t h a t
“separation is not always happy,”
Cruz said the experience made
her a stronger person.
“For me it's better this
way kasi I really got tired. Medyo
napagod ang puso natin
maghintay ng pagbabago or ng
miracle. The miracle naman, I got
u
Page 26
May 3 - 9, 2013
Page 26
Roxanne Guinoo returns on
TV via 'Home Sweet Home’
Enrique Gil and Julia Montes
Julia Montes, Enrique Gil
to star in new teleserye
MANILA -- ABS-CBN
announced that a series starring
Julia Montes and Enrique Gil is set
to premiere later this year, in
celebration of 60 years of
Philippine TV.
The series, which is yet
to be titled, will be part of the
Kapamilya network's Primetime
Bida block, or TV programs that
air from 6 p.m. to 12 midnight.
This is the first time Gil
and Montes will be paired
onscreen. The two, however,
previously portrayed siblings in
the 2012 Metro Manila Film
Festival entry, "The Strangers."
For both Kapamilya
stars, the new TV project comes in
the heels of the massive successes
of their respective ABS-CBN
primetime series.
Gil previously starred
alongside Kathryn Bernardo and
Daniel Padilla in "Princess and I,"
which aired its last episode in
February. Montes, meanwhile,
was cast opposite Coco Martin in
the "phenomenal" primetime
series "Walang Hanggan," which
ended in October last year.
The director of Gil and
Montes' new series, as well as its
other cast members, have yet to
be announced.
Sunshine Cruz and Cesar Montano
Sunshine not
open ...
Frompage 25
it kasi right now ako ang mas
tumibay na,” she said.
“Whatever it is with
regards to Buboy, it's none of my
business anymore. So whatever
makes him happy, I'm happy for
him. I just hope na whatever
makes me happy, maging masaya
din siya for me,” she added.
Cruz said she just
chooses not to dwell on negative
things and just focus on her work
and children.
Same cover with Krista?
Meanwhile, Cruz
refused to comment on Miller's
new magazine cover allegedly
with the blurb “Another Ray of
Sunshine.” “Ay let's not talk about
people that are not involved,” she
said.
Asked if she gets
offended by people when they
copy her, Cruz said: “Sa mga gay
pageants, marami diyan Sunshine
Cruz. For me it's flattering basta
makapal ang nguso, makapal ang
bibig at nakapulang lipstick na
Sunshine Cruz. Bongga iyon for
me.”
After Cruz posed for
men's magazine FHM, Miller will
be appearing in the May issue of
men's magazine Red.
M A N I L A – A c t re s s
Roxanne Guinoo is back again on
television via GMA-7's newest
afternoon series "Home Sweet
Home."
Roxanne stars opposite
Raymart Santiago, Jake Vargas,
Bea Binene, Jillian Ward, Arkin
Magalona, Gladys Reyes and
seasoned actress Lorna Tolentino
in a story about a young happy
family who moved to an old and
abandoned house believed to be
the home of lost souls and spirits.
She will play the role of
Dulce, Raymart's wife.
" P a r a
a k o n g
nagsisimula ulit," Roxanne said. "I
accepted it because, first, it's a
mother role and I want to explore
the idea of having grown up kids.
And it's very light. My kids will
also get to see the show," she
added.
She said she easily
accepted the role, even though
she just gave birth four months
ago to her second child, because
of its storyline and the actors she
will work with.
It is also her first project
on GMA-7.
"Ang light and ang gaan.
Lahat sila mababait and lahat sila
naka smile, kaya hindi ka masestress. Masayahin din yung group
ng 'Home Sweet Home'. Excited
kang mag-attend ng taping lagi,"
she said.
The actress was a
Roxanne Guinoo
former talent of ABS-CBN's Star
Magic who started in the business
via reality talent search "Star
Circle Teen Quest" where she was
among the five finalists.
Before moving to GMA-7, she
joined the cast of TV5's "Valiente."
Right now, Roxanne
said she's open to everything. She
is looking forward to more
television shows in the future.
She also thanked her
husband, Elton Yap, for allowing
her to return to her job. Roxanne
said her husband's love and
support are enough fuel to keep
her going in the business.
"Alam niya yung hirap
ko sa trabaho and yung hirap ko
din sa mga anak ko. Yung
obligasyon ko, pinipilit kong
talagang gawin kahit pagod ako.
Very hands on mom parin ako and
very supportive naman siya," she
said.
"Ang iniisip namin
ngayon, habang bata pa kami,
mag work na din para sa future ng
kids namin. Marami kaming plans
and hopefully matupad lahat ng
yun," she added.
"Home Sweet Home"
airs weekdays, before "24 Oras"
on GMA-7.
May 3 - 9, 2013
Page 27
Marian Rivera leaves manager, says open to network transfer
MANILA -- Marian
Rivera announced on Friday
that she has left her manager of
seven years, citing the move as
imperative to her "freedom" to
make career decisions
independently.
During a press
conference held on Friday, the
28-year-old actress said her
decision to leave her long-time
manager, Popoy Caritativo, is
also due to difficulties in their
working relationship.
Rivera, who is one of
the most visible leading ladies of
her home network, GMA-7, said
her career is now under the
management of showbiz
veteran Tony Tuviera, who was
her manager for a time before
she became a talent of
Caritativo's firm, Luminary
Talent Management.
"Siguro hindi na
nagiging productive 'yung
relationship bilang talent at
bilang manager. May tampuhan.
For seven years, ganoon ang
nangyayari," Rivera said.
According to the
actress, Caritativo openly
accepted her decision.
" M a l u w a g n a m a n n iya n g
tinanggap. Sabi niya,
'Rerespetuhin ko ang desisyon
mo.'"
Admittedly, Rivera said
she has been hurting from a
supposed misunderstanding
between her and Caritativo,
which she pointed to as one of
the reasons behind her transfer.
She refused to divulge
details of their alleged
misunderstanding.
"Medyo masakit kasi
ang nangyari sa akin. In time,
ako mismo ang makikipag-usap
sa kanya. Walang away na
naganap, para iklaro ko. Parang
m a y
h i n d i
l a n g
pinagkakaintindihan.
"Pero parang unfair
naman kung ako lang ang
magde-detalye para kay Popoy.
Siguro mas maganda kung sa
aming dalawa na lang po 'yun at
hihingin ko po 'yung respeto
ninyo pagdating doon," she said.
'Freedom'
Her change of
management, according to
Rivera, will allow her to more
freely and independently decide
on her career.
"Ang pinaka-isa sa mga
dahilan ay ngayon ay magagawa
ko na ang lahat ng mga ninanais
ko, na ako lang ang
madedesisyon. Ito na 'yung
freedom para sa akin, at isa lang
ang taong naisip ko, na walang
iba 'yun kung 'di si Mr. T
(Tuviera)," she said.
Asked if she felt limited
in terms of career choices under
Caritativo's management ,
Rivera said, "Hindi naman sakal.
Siguro, hindi ko rin masisisi si
Popoy. Siguro, sabihin na lang
natin na marami pa kasi akong
gustong gawin sa buhay ko."
Under Tuviera's
management, Rivera said she is
set to negotiate her contract
with GMA-7, which will expire in
August this year. She added that
she is open to the possibility of
working under different TV
networks.
"Ang GMA, hanggang
August na lang ako. Hindi pa
namin napag-uusapan, pero
uupuan namin iyan ni tatay
(Tuviera), pag-uusapan pa
namin iyan, ang detalye.
"Pero hindi ko
sinasarado ang pintuan ko sa
iba't-ibang klaseng network,
dahil nga sa sinasabi ko ngayon
na freedom, ay gusto kong magtry ng iba't-ibang klase na hindi
ko pa nagagawa. Pero sa ngayon
na may kontrata pa ako sa GMA,
ayaw ko po muna magsalita,"
she said.
Asked which network
she prefers to transfer to, should
the opportunity arise, Rivera
said, "Sa August po, magkitakita tayo kung saan ako
pupunta."
Marian Rivera
Princess Velasco
to marry
boyfriend
in December
MANILA -- Acoustic
singer Princess Velasco is now
engaged to her long-time nonshowbiz boyfriend.
Velasco announced that
she and her boyfriend, who is a
doctor, are going to get married on
December 28.
Before their engagement,
Velasco said it took a year before
they finally agreed to move on from
the mistakes they committed in the
past.
The singer revealed that
she and her boyfriend broke up
before after she found out that he
had fooled around.
During their separation,
she also admitted that she had an
affair with her boyfriend's friend,
who was in a relationship at the
time.
"Parang cool off kami
noon kasi," she said. "Inamin ko sa
kanya ('yung affair) kasi he was
trying to win me back. Noong una
ayaw ko na kasi may ginawa akong
hindi maganda pero he is doing so
much to win me back, kasi ganoon
siya when he say sorry he is really
sincere. Hindi ko kaya na hindi
sabihin ang pagkakamali ko kasi
how can I go into a relationship
again with him na hindi ako honest,
so inamin ko. Ang hirap sabihin
pero may hope ako na if we are
really trying to work this out sana
ay clean slate. Kung hindi I was
ready to let him go."
Velasco recalled that her
boyfriend became really angry
when he found out about the affair.
"Noong time na 'yon he
would call me at night para lang
awayin ako kasi galit siya. Noong
time na 'yon kahit gusto kong idefend sarili ko hindi talaga. Ilabas
mo na lang lahat. So parang
swallow lang lahat ng sakit. Noong
time na sa tingin ko tama na 'yung
galit mo sa akin, tapos tinutuloy pa
din niya. Tapos we are trying to
work it out, kasi siya din gusto niya
na ayusin," she said.
"So noong time na
sumusobra na ako, sabi ko I'm here
kahit masakit sa akin kasi mahirap
ibalik ang dati. I'm going to try and
really commit to trying pero if you
want to try, huwag mo na akong
sumbatan kasi I also have to protect
my dignity, 'yung pagkatao ko.
Matagal pong proseso, one year,
but when he promised me na wala
nang sumbatan, in fairness to him,
wala nang sumbatan," she said.
SPORTS
May 3 - 9, 2013
Page 28
Pacquiao back in November vs
Alvarado or Rios in Macau
By Jun Medina
Arena.
SA N F R A N C I S C O Filipino boxing icon Manny
“Pacman” Pacquiao will return
to the ring in November against
either Mike Alvarado or Brandon
Rios in a big boxing event being
planned in the Chinese resort
city of Macau.
Pacquiao, 34, wanted
an immediate rematch in
September with his arch-rival
Juan Manuel Marquez, but
negotiations apparently bogged
down on the question of pursesharing.
Marquez is saying he
finds Pacquiao-Marquez 5 no
“longer necessary” because of
the decisive result in his Dec. 8
match-up with Pacquiao, which
ended with the Mexican
counter-puncher knocking out
the latter with barely a second in
the sixth round of a thrilling
fight.
However, Marquez had
told the Mexican media that he
wanted $20 million for a
rematch with Pacquiao, more
than thrice the estimated $6
million he got from his decisive
win over Pacman in their HBOtelevised pay-per-view match
last December at the MGM Grand
Pacquiao grossed an
estimated $25 million from that
Marquez fight.
Last week, Top Rank
chief executive Bob Arum, who
also promotes World Boxing
Organization welterweight
champion Timothy Bradley,
announced that Marquez has
agreed to challenge Bradley for
his 147-pound title at Las Vegas
Thomas and Mack Center on
Sept. 14, Mexican Independence
Day weekend.
Marquez, who turns 40
on Aug. 23, hopes to win the title
that Pacquiao lost to Marquez in
a fight most people thought
P a c m a n w o n d e c i s i v e l y.
M a rq u e z , c o n s i d e re d t h e
greatest active Mexican fighter,
would then become the only
Mexican to win a fifth world title
in as many weight divisions.
Arum said he remains
c o n f i d e n t t h a t Pa c q u i a o Marquez would still happen,
probably as early as the first
quarter of 2014, should both
fighters win their coming fights.
“Pacquiao-Marquez 5
is the biggest fight out there, and
I'm sure it's the fight sports fans
would love to see,” Arum said.
In a way, the delay in
EXPRESS SUDOKU
HOW TO PLAY: Place a number from 1 to 9 in each empty cell
so that each row, each column and each 3x3 block contains
all the numbers from 1 to 9
the Pacquiao-Marquez rematch
could be a blessing in disguise
for Pacquiao because it gives the
Filipino boxing hero more time
to recover from the devastating,
one-punch bomb that sent him
crashing face-first in one of the
worst beatings in recent ring
history.
Should the unbeaten
Bradley, 29, retain his title
against Marquez (55-6-1, 40
knockouts), Pacquiao could face
Bradley first to regain a title that
rightly belongs to him and fight
Marquez next.
And should Pacquiao,
the only fighter to win world
titles in eight different weight
classes, continue his winning
ways he could even revive the
much-anticipated showdown
with Floyd Mayweather Jr.,
before the two boxing
superstars retire from
prizefighting.
Respected boxing
analyst Larry Merchant told the
FilAm Star in a recent interview
that although Pacquiao's ring
comeback from his painful loss
won't be easy, Merchant thinks
Pacquiao has the “mental
toughness and physical ability”
of an elite fighter to rebound.
Manny Pacquiao. AP FILE PHOTO
Big boost for PH football
By Cedelf P. Tupas
The Philippine Sports
Commission and Philippine
Football Federation are joining
hands with the German
government in an effort to
sustain the development of the
“Beautiful Game” in the
countryside.
U n d e r
t h e
memorandum of agreement
signed yesterday by PSC chair
Richie Garcia and German
Ambassador Joachim Heidorn,
noted German coach Thomas Roy
will arrive next month to handle a
talent identification search and
supervise coaches' programs in
the next two years.
The 45-year-old Roy, an
experienced mentor who had
already spent time in
Sw i t z e r l a n d , B e l g i u m a n d
Honduras, is a specialist in
spotting talent at the youth level.
“Cooperation is
important and Germany and the
Philippines have a long history in
this aspect,” said Heidorn.
Garcia said Roy's
experience will contribute
tremendously in the
development of the sport. PFF
president Mariano “Nonong”
Araneta said Roy's presence will
be important in the country's
target of sending a team to the
Under-17 World Cup in 2019.
ACTION
CLASSIFIED
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Help Wanted
Jobs
May 3 - 9, 2013
Page 30
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May 3 - 9, 2013
Page 31
May 3 - 9, 2013
Page 32

The Filipino Express Issue 17 (May 3

Transcription

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