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hong kong / manila edition
Volume 2 Issue 1
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November 2007
CALICOAN
8
Tucked away
from it all, it’s one
of the few places
you’d like to
be stranded in
33
Philippines moves to
ease peso-dollar pain
Government sets three-point program to tackle OFW woes over surging peso
THE MAIN POINTS
Reggie Amigo in Manila
The government is set to announce a
three-point program to ease the impact of a surging peso on overseas
Filipino workers and their families.
Malacanang
confirmed this to
Filipino Globe after a cabinet meeting during which
the Department of
Labor presented
the initiative to
President Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo.
“The President is very concerned,”
said Marianito Roque, administrator
of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, who made the cabinet
presentation.
“In fact, she said it [the issue of the
soaring peso] is always on her mind,”
Roque said.
He said the program includes wideranging measures but breaks down to
three main points:
• Providing income-boosting livelihood projects
• Making low-cost basic commodities
more widely available
• Providing local training and employment
“Our marching orders from the
President is to look for ways we can
supplement the income of marginal
overseas workers – those earning less
than US$200 a month,” Roque said.
The program, to be launched in
the next six months, is expected to
cost the government a fraction of the
US$12.8 billion sent home last year
by more than eight million OFWs.
It will be announced in a series
of public discussions starting next
week, which will include a steppedup campaign by the Bangko Sentral to
educate OFW families on the efficient
use of money.
A big part of the initiative involves
the Department of Agriculture, which
has been accelerating its countryside
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
Launch income-boosting
livelihood projects for
marginal OFWs
Make basic goods and
services more affordable
through commissaries
Provide local training
and employment
BANKS’ ROLE
Major lenders are being
asked to participate in a
hedging scheme aimed at
stabilising exchange
rates
2
PESO SOARS AGAIN
Analysts expect peso to
test P42.75, while others
see it settling down to
more modest levels
WHO’S HURTING?
The peso broke new ground earlier in the
week, soaring to a seven-year high of
P42.795 against the US dollar.
Most Filipinos
are not
affected
by the
deteriorating
dollar-peso exchange
rate, says SWS
Singapore model may be the one for us PAGE 2
2
4
2
the surging peso
filipino globe
ANGBANSA
Peso stays
on course
for more
gains
The peso hit a seven-year high,
breaching the P42 barrier, before
closing trade on Friday back above
P43 to the US dollar.
“The weakness of the US dollar
across the board and expected cut
of US Fed rate supports the strength
of the peso,” said Marcelo Ayes,
vice-president of Rizal Commercial
Banking Corp.
Traditionally, most remittances
from overseas Filipino workers pour
into the country in the last three
months of the year.
Traders expect remittances to
reach US$14.7 billion this year.
However, the continuing strength of
the peso decreases the value of dollar
earnings, particularly from OFWs in
the US.
More dollar sales are expected to
come as the remittance season goes
into high gear toward the Christmas
season.
Ayes said the surging peso
is expected to be sustained by
continuing investment flows from
initial public offerings of Splash
Corp and TKC Steel, and the
privatisation of the 20 per cent share
of Philippine National Oil Corp.The peso is expected to test P42.75
to P42.40 in the weeks ahead, traders
said.
For next year, the peso is seen
falling within the government’s target
of P45 to P47 against the dollar.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
expects the peso to average P46 to
P48 this year.
Market players were surprised that
Bangko Sentral did not support the
US dollar at P43.
“The failure of the BSP to provide
support to the dollar gave traders
the green light to sell US dollars
aggressively as they reversed long
US dollar positions and others added
to their short US dollar positions,”
the Metrobank said.
The US dollar weakened further
against major currencies after
US Federal Reserve Chairman
Ben Bernanke said the American
economy will slow down in the
coming months due to a slump in the
housing sector.
Higher oil prices are also expected
to put pressure on the greenback for
some time more.
Davao
The Department of Agrarian
Reform Davao will hold a
stakeholders’ forum this
month to muster support
for the extension of the
Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Program that is set to
end in 2008.
Fraulein Montañez,
information officer of DAR’s
provincial office, said DAR will
invite mayors, congressmen,
church officials, people’s
organizations, non-government
organizations and members of
the academe to the forum.
“We aim to gather support for
the CARP extension after we
we found in our latest inventory
that there are still more areas
to be covered in this program,”
Montañez said.
She said there is yet 1.3
million hectares of land
nationwide to be distributed
under land reform.
Pangasinan
Commercial banks and remittance service providers are being asked to consider a hedging scheme.
Singapore-style fund
‘may be the answer’
Roque floats idea of re-introducing investment vehicle
Raul Acedre in Manila
A provident fund that combines the
features of a pension scheme and an
investment vehicle might be just the
ticket for banishing our exchange-rate
ills.
“Something similar to the Central
Provident Fund in Singapore might
work for us,” OWWA administrator
Marianito Roque said.
Loved and hated by Singaporeans,
CPF is a mandatory pension scheme
to which employer and employee
contribute a certain proportion of the
latter’s salary towards his retirement.
Its resources are handled by professional fund managers and invested in
various assets.
Members may draw on the fund for
BY THE NUMBERS
500
Amount in US dollars an OFW must earn
to take part in a CPF-style scheme
specific purposes, such as to pay for a
down payment on a flat.
In the case of OFWs, a similar fund
could be used to help stabilise exchange rates.
Roque said its compulsory nature
might not sit well with workers and
the cost of running it requires a high
level of contribution, which makes it
something not for everyone.
“We’re talking about a comfort zone
of US$500 – that’s the minimum that
an OFW should be earning per month
to be able to afford the monthly contribution,” he said.
He said the closest OFWs got to
having their own managed fund was
the Overseas Worker Investment
Fund, which “did not happen due to
low yield,” Roque said.
“The basis for the fund was Philippine debt papers, which were projected to yield 13 per cent,” Roque said.
“We ended up with 6 per cent.”
Roque said the fund could be reintroduced with certain features that
will institutionalise the sourcing and
regeneration of assets so it can continue to be a viable proposition.Any
such move requires legislative action.
RP sets 3-pronged attack on exchange woes
FROM PAGE 1
development program. The Technical
Education and Development Authority and the Department of Trade and
Industry have been directed to provide training and help create employment opportunities, respectively, in
the communities of marginal OFWs.
This is the first time the government
has flagged its response to growing concerns about the soaring peso,
which has seen US dollar remittances
shrink in value by more than 23 per
cent since last year.
November 2007
And for the first time, the peso was
up against the currencies of all major
OFW host countries, including Saudi
Arabia, Britain, Japan, Canada, Australia and Singapore on November 6.
It hit a seven-year high of P42.795.
Several other measures are on the
table, including a form of hedging to
cushion fluctuations in the exchange
rate.
This could be in the form of currency forward contracts in which
banks could buy foreign exchange at
a pre-agreed rate and at a pre-deter-
mined time in the future. Roque said
commercial banks could cover half
of the remittances under this scheme
but added that because of the huge
amount involved, it is under “careful
consideration”.
A proposal for an exchange rate
stabilisation fund, which Vice President Noli De Castro is understood to
have taken up with President Arroyo,
is getting short shrift from critics who
say it is unaffordable.
“Where will the money come
from?” said a Hong Kong-based in-
vestment adviser, who asked not to be
identified.
“It can’t be like the oil price stabilisation fund in the old days and the
export stabilisation fund, because in
both instances, money was plowed
back into the funds in the form of surcharges which then paid for any fluctuations in prices,” he said.
“There is no such mechanism for
remittances. The moment you deduct
anything from a remittance to put into
the stabilisation fund, you defeat the
purpose of the whole exercise.”
Nineteen outgoing barangay
chairmen will be honored by the
Alaminos City government in
an appropriate ceremony at the
Don Leopoldo Sison Auditorium
here on November 24.
Mayor Hernani Braganza,
vice-mayor Teofilo Humilde Jr
and members of the city council
will honor the outgoing barangay
chairmen.
Also to be honored are
outgoing Sangguniang
Kabataan chairpersons.
City administrator Wilmer
Panabang said the occasion will
coincide with the presentation
and mass induction of the city’s
new set of barangay and SK
officials.
Braganza and Humilde will
confer plaques of recognition
to the outgoing barangay
chairmen.
Most of the outgoing barangay
captains served for a maximum
of three consecutive terms.
Bacolod
Eight regional festival queens
in Western Visayas are all-out
in their support of the newest
program of the Department
of Tourism in pushing
entrepreneurial tourism in the
countryside.
A grand finals and beauty
pageant of the region’s Miss
Western Visayas Tourism
culminated in the coronation
of Miss Masskara 2007 queen
Rosario Ann Sales and Miss
Tourism and her court.
The ceremonies were held
at the covered gym of the
Negros Occidental capitol
grounds in Bacolod City.
First runner-up was Christy
Joy Comohoy of the Paraw
Regatta Festival of Iloilo City
and second runner-up was
Christer Mari Taclobos of
Panaad Festival Lin-ay sang
Negros.
filipino globe
November 2007
3
4
the surging peso
filipino globe
November 2007
Soaring peso
not a problem
for most of us,
says survey
Remittance
boycott in
Gulf states
fizzles out
SWS poll shows 30pc of families better
off when dollar exchange rate was high
Most Filipino families are unaffacted
by the surging peso, the latest Social
Weather Station survey shows.
The survey, conducted from September 2 to 5 showed that 57 per cent,
or about 10 million Filipino families,
were not affected by the stronger currency.
However, 30 per cent or about five
million families said their lives were
better off when the exchange rate was
over P50 to the US dollar. The peso
closed at P42.92 against the dollar on
Friday.
Only 13 per cent or about two million Filipino families said they are
better off with a higher peso exchange
rate.
However, the survey noted that
“while majority of families say their
well-being has not changed much, the
net effect of the stronger peso is negative in all areas and classes.”
Among families in Luzon, 33 per
cent said they were better off before,
while 11 per cent said they are better
off now, for a net effect of -22.
Twenty-six per cent of Metro Manila households reported that they
were better off before, while 11 per
cent said they are better off now, or
a net of -15.
Twenty-six per cent of families in
the Visayas also said they were better
off before, while 13 per cent said they
are better off now.
Twenty-nine per cent of Mindanao
families said they were better off be-
Twenty-eight per cent of
lower-income families
say they are better off
before than they are now
as a result of the strong
peso.
fore, while 17 per cent said they are
better off now, or a net of -12.
Among class ABC families, 34 per
cent said they were better before,
while only 9 per cent said they are
better off now. Thirty-two per cent of
hj.
class E families said they were better off before, while 11 perc ent said
they are better off now. Among class
D families, 28 per cent reported that
they were better off before, while 14
per cent said they are better off now.
A Gulf-wide remittance boycott by
Filipinos appears to have flopped, at
least in Bahrain, with many sending
payday money home.
Through e-mails and blogs,
Filipino organisations in the Gulf
states and Saudi Arabia called on
compatriots to boycott remittance
in a bid to exert pressure on the
Philippine government to fix a steady
peso-dollar rate.
The peso rose dramatically over the
past few months and hit a seven-year
high of P42.795 on Monday. The
boycott was supposed to continue
until that day.
Mohammed Ismail, 40, did not
see any clear goal the boycott would
achieve.
He was at the counter of an
exchange centre in Manama to remit
money as has been his routine every
month for the past five years.
“It is just normal for me like the
others. We cannot just let our family
wait. Besides, the boycott does not
have any clear goal,” he said.
“Such a call will not help any,
especially not my family. We are
losing part of our income but there
are ways to cope with the loss, not a
boycott.”
city
filipino globe
November 2007
ANGBANSA
Zamboanga
The Worldwide Fund for
Nature-Philippines, together
with concerned civil society
groups, is campaigning to stop
an Australian geo-engineering
firm from dumping massive
amounts of toxic urea in the
Sulu Sea, the heart of the
earth’s coral triangle.
WWF-Philippines information,
education and communications
officer Gregg Yan said the firm
had originally scheduled to
dump the urea in the Sulu Sea
before the yearend.
However, Yan said it would
not push through this year
due to strong clamor from
environmentalist groups for the
firm to secure an approval from
the government first before
dumping the urea.
Urea is an organic compound
that is commercially derived
from ammonia and carbon
dioxide.
Cebu
A senior official of the
Department of Energy has
cited Cebu’s need for additional
power plants, especially since
the power reserve has dropped
to 30 megawatts from the
normal reserve of 50 mw.
Korean Electric Power Corp
had announced that it would
build a 200 mw plant in the city
of Naga, Cebu but the project
is still under negotiation, said
Antonio Labios, DOE Visayas
Field Office director.
Starting November 16
Philippine Airlines Check-In in Hong Kong
will be at SkyPlaza Terminal 2
DOE is mandated by law to
make plans and set the policy
regarding energy.
Officials cannot categorically
state the reasons for the delay in
Kepco’s power project.
This is despite the fact
that President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo and Cebu
governor Gwendolyn Garcia
had endorsed the energy
development project as early as
two years ago.
Eastern Samar
Philippine Airlines welcomes you to SkyPlaza Terminal 2 of the Hong Kong International Airport
(Chek Lap Kok). It is direcly connected to Terminal 1.
Checking-in at our new Philippine Airlines counters at SkyPlaza Terminal 2 is now more enjoyable
and convenient with more shopping, dining and entertainment centers; a coach station; and an
automated people mover that takes you directly to your boarding gate.
Have a pleasant experience.
For booking and inquiries, call Philippine Airlines Reservations at (852) 2301 9300 or your travel agent.
The provincial government
of Eastern Samar sponsored
a job fair which fast-tracked
the meeting of job seekers
and employers/overseas
recruitment agencies in only
one venue.
In line with the celebration
of 42nd founding anniversary
of the province, job seekers
and employers met with
employment agencies.
The National Statistics
Office served 13 clients for
marriage contracts and 104
clients for birth certificates,
while 88 clients for new and
renewal clearance were
served by the National Bureau
of Investigation.
The Department of Foreign
Affairs processed new and
renewed passports.
Other participating agencies
were Department of Labor
and Employment, TESDA and
POEA.
For advertising inquiries
Bob Waterfield (Hong Kong) 9470 2764
Ricky Sumallo (Philippines) 0917 539 0486
TJ Badon-Doble (Philippines) 0928 502 0379
Josephine Miranda (Philippines) 0920 951 6917
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Visit our website
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about our
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www.filglobe.com
5
6
city
filipino globe
November 2007
Beijing gets Macau consulate
assurance from top RP envoy
ConGen Al Vicente says opening unlikely this year ‘unless there’s a miracle’
Jose Marcelo in Hong Kong
China’s central government has
been given assurance that a full
consulate in Macau is forthcoming
as the Philippines moves closer to
establishing an official presence in
the enclave.
In a call to the China’s foreign
ministry, Ambassador Sonia Brady,
joined by all the Filipino consuls
general in China, informed Chinese
officials that an appropriation for a
Macau consulate is in the Philippine
government’s 2008 budget,
Brady also assured them that
Macau would be given priority in the
likely event that a budget allocation
for additional consulates in China
is approved by Congress, Consul
General Al Vicente said.
“Natuwa naman ang mga Chinese
officials with what we had to
say,” said Vicente, who has faced
intense pressure from both the
mainland and Macau governments
for the Philippines to fulfill its
consular commitment to the former
Portuguese colony.
“We knew they would bring up
the Macau issue so kami na ang
nag-bring up. The ambassador also
conveyed to them that if we do
succeed in opening another consulate
in China, the first to be established
would be Macau.
“So I hope we now deliver on
what we promised because 2000 pa
‘yong commitment natin to put up a
consulate there.”
The Macau government has
placed the number of Filipino
migrant workers in Asia’s booming
gambling capital at 11,000, making
the situation there difficult to manage
from the Hong Kong post.
Macau has also withdrawn official
recognition of the Philippine Labor
Extension Office there.
Unconfirmed reports said the
government-run Philippine Gaming
Corp has entered the picture and
is assisting foreign affairs officials
looking for office space where a
career consulate could be established.
Although officials denied
knowledge about the development,
The number of employers on the
consulate’s watch list climbed
to a high of almost 300 at the
end of October after three more
were barred from hiring Filipino
domestic helpers.
Labor attaché Romy Salud (right)
has blacklisted 78 individuals
since intensifying the drive against
employers with dubious hiring
records, bringing the number to 127
this year and 296 overall.
The latest to make the list are
two Chinese couples as well as a
French employer after their Filipino
domestic helpers reported abuse
November 2007
ANGBANSA
Iloilo
The Department of
Environment and Natural
Resources launched the first
regional ecology center in the
country in Iloilo coinciding with
the two-day second Regional
Solid Waste Management
Summit at the Punta Villa
Resort.
Zoilo Andin Jr, executive
director of the National
Solid Waste Management
Commission Secretariat said
the center aims to create
a network and database of
accomplishments of various
government agencies on
environmental programs.
DENR Secretary Lito
Atienza in a message read by
Environmental Management
Bureau director Julian D
Amador expressed confidence
that the regional offices will
succeed in propogating the
program in the countryside.
Palawan
Thousands of Filipino workers are being drawn to Macau amid a construction that shows no sign of slowing.
BY THE NUMBERS
11,000
Filipino migrants working in Macau’s
casino-driven building boom
they see Pagcor’s involvement, if
true, as a sign that top government
officials are keen to speed up the
process.Pagcor may get involved in
the funding aspect of the plan until a
consulate in Macau is given a budget
appropriation, they said.
But despite the encouraging
developments, Vicente doubts if a
career consulate in Macau would
be in place by this year. “Hindi na
siguro aabot (for this year) … unless
there’s a miracle,” he said.
Brion’s men ready for big move
The Department of Labor
and Employment is making
preparations in anticipation of
the opening of a consulate in
Macau.
Bernie Julve, former labor
attaché to Hong Kong, has
laid the groundwork for the
integration of a labor office to
a full consulate in the enclave
on orders of Labor Secretary
Arturo Brion (right).
“Hopefully, we’ll have a
consulate in Macau soon so
from our end, we’re preparing
for that eventuality,” said Julve
at the end of an official mission
to Macau, Hong Kong and key
cities in the mainland.
As Brion’s emissary, Julve
has moved
to smoothen
relations with
officials of Macau
who early this
year had stripped
the Philippine
Labor Extension Office there of
official recognition.
The Macau officials’ move had
effectively clipped its authority
to mediate on behalf of Filipino
workers in labor negotiations
and come to the aid of
distressed nationals.
“We’ve assured Macau
officials that we’re going in
that direction [of putting up a
consulate there], Julve said.
Jose Marcelo
Palawan board member Ernesto
Llacuna is proving to be an
ally of local barangay officials
not just in the province, but
nationwide.
Llacuna filed a resolution that
seeks the automatic retention
of the 50 per cent share from
all community tax collections to
enhance revenue generation
programs for basic priority
projects.
In his resolution, Llacuna said
that under Section 156 of the
Local Government Code, cities
or municipalities may levy a
community tax.
The proceeds of the
community tax, actually and
directly collected by the city or
municipal treasurer shall accrue
entirely to the general fund of
the city or municipal concerned.
However, the proceeds of the
community tax collected through
the barangay treasurer shall
be apportioned as provided for
under the Local Government
Code.
Employers on blacklist hit 300 as more complaints filed
Jose Marcelo in Hong Kong
filipino globe
and indignities they allegedly
suffered under their employ.
One domestic helper from the
slums of Tondo sought the help of
the consulate’s labor office after her
harrowing experience in just over
a month of working for a Chinese
couple.
She recounted a catalog of
physical and verbal abuse at the
hands of her employer’s wife who
she said would not stop beating her
even if she had a baby in her arms.
“Tinatakot ako ng husto
– minura, tinulak, dinuro. Hindi
ko binibitawan ang bata para hindi
n’ya ako masaktan. Tinuturo ang
aking dibdib at lalamunan, masakit
kaya umiiwas
ako,” she said
in a seven-page
letter to the
consulate.
“Masakit
rin mata ko sa
sampal at suntok
nila. Nahihilo na
rin ako sa batok n’ya.
She continued: “Grabi si ma’am,
walang respeto sa buhay ng isang
tao. Higit pa sa alipin at alila ang
turing sa iyo.
“Naranasan kong matulog ng alas
tres ng umaga at gumising ng alas
kuwatro. Sa gabi gigisingin ako
ni ma’am mga bandang 2:30 para
patayin lang ang ilaw nila sa kwarto
at pagalitan at insultuhin ng isang
oras.”
She has since quit her job and
sought refuge at the consulate’s
Foreign Workers Refugee Center.
Consulate officials had initially
helped her file a case of physical
abuse against the employer, but
she backed down when her boss
accused the maid of stealing money
from her.
The maid left on November 7
without collecting her wages, a
welfare officer said.
Another domestic helper said
she was made to work from 7 am
to one the following morning with
very little food to tide her over.
“No food every morning. I eat for
lunch whatever is left from her two
children aged three and five. I eat
at 3 pm. At dinner I also eat very
little,” she said.
A third maid’s letter to the
consulate recounted an even worse
fate at the hands of her French
employer. “If we buy eight kilos
of rice, she wants us to [to make it
last for] one month. No bathroom.
We just sneak into [the masters]
bathroom when they’re out because
they get angry,” she said. “The
problem is they don’t want us to
open all the windows. There was no
aircon (in the house).”
western union
(film)
7
8
filipino globe
city
Announcing the winners of filipino globe
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November 2007
ANGBANSA
Cebu
Visitors to the Cebu City Public
Library can now access rare
Filipiniana materials, new
books and more than 36,000
titles of foreign journals through
the Electronic Library Project.
Thesis and dissertations,
bibliographic database and
other reference materials from
five agencies are also available
and can be downloaded by
users.
The project is a joint
undertaking by the Department
of Agriculture, Department
of Science and Technology,
Commission on Higher
Education, University of the
Philippines and the National
Library of the Philippines.
Consolidated records,
materials, books and the entire
library collection of the five
agencies and all their affiliates
can also be accessed using the
service.
Baguio
The city government
will implement next year
improvements on Burnham
Park, including the development
of the long-neglected children’s
park.
City councilor Pinky Chan
Rondez said about P30 million
from the national government
has been earmarked for the
facelift of the 15-hectare premier
park on the fringes of the central
business district.
city
filipino globe
November 2007
Children’s gift
enough prize
for former
HK helper
By rewarding their parents with hard
work, they helped create model family
Jose Marcelo in Hong Kong
Siony Narag Castillo stood on stage
in her Sunday best, alongside doctors,
engineers and other men with glowing titles before and after their names.
The kindly domestic helper admitted
she was awed by her surroundings,
but she nonetheless was beaming with
pride.
“Iyon na siguro ang isa sa mga
pinakamasayang araw sa buhay ko,”
said the 57-year-old lady from Fugaru
Anladanan, Isabela, weeks after her
family was named among the finalists in OWWA’s nationwide search
for the 2007 Model OFW Family of
the Year.
“Isipin mo, puro mga duktor at mga
engineers ang mga kasama kong pina-
rangalan, ako lang ang nag-iisang domestic helper. Kaya siguro noong ako
na ang tinawag, nagpalakpakan lahat
sila.”
Weeks after that special day at the
Roma Hotel in Tuguegarao, Cagayan,
the smile still lingers in Siony’s face.
And understandably so. The trophy,
check and plaque the family received,
Siony said, were a heartwarming validation that the sacrifices she has made
working as a domestic helper in Hong
Kong for the past 14 years have been
worth it.
Her real trophies, though, are her
children – all seven of them. The
education they have attained and the
success they are now enjoying, Siony
said, would have been beyond the
family’s reach had she not decided to
Siony Narag Castillo and
husband George are
understandably proud of
the honor, but they say
their biggest success is in
having given education to
their children.
leave her job as a Grade 3 teacher and
set sail for Hong Kong in 1993.
“Pareho kaming titser ng mister ko,
pero kulang na kulang ang suweldo
namin dahil lumalaki na nga ang aming mga anak,” said Siony. “Labingisang taon ako sa serbisyo, pero ang
hj.
suweldo naming mag-asawa noon
mga P2,600 lang.
“Kaya noong nagka-chance ako
na pumunta ng Hong Kong, nag-file
muna ako ng indefinite leave. Noong
nagustuhan ko na sa Hong Kong,
bumalik na lang ako after one year at
H A P P Y H O L I D A Y S
She said the city has
improved its promenades,
dredged the lagoon, installed a
dancing fountain, planted more
ornamental and perennial trees.
“The children’s park is
envisioned to delight kids who
want to play and whose safety
and welfare are the utmost
concern of the parents and the
authorities. The city will do our
best to improve its facilities,
landscape and security,” she
said.
Legazpi
Sagot
1) Ayala Center or Automart
2) Robert Jaworski and Atoy Co
3) Charlie’s Angels (Jaclyn Smith, Farrah Fawcett and Kate Jackson)
4) Guada Sanchez
5) Mike Hanopol (Juan dela Cruz band)
6) Guadalupe
7) Cubao (Aurora Boulevard)
Terms and conditions:
• Entries may be submitted starting on July 14 but not later than October 31, 2007
• Entries with the most number of correct answers will qualify to win a prize
• Only one entry per person is allowed
• Winners will be announced in the November issue of Filipino Globe and on our website (www.filglobe.com)
• Winners will be notified individually by telephone, and may claim their prize at a pre-arranged time
• Flights must be taken within six months of the prize being presented, except during the Christmas and Chinese New Year holidays
• Information required in this entry form must be properly filled and completed. Otherwise, the entry may be invalidated
• Employees and correspondents of Filipino Globe or their dependents cannot participate
• In case of any dispute, Filipino Globe reserves the right to make the final decision
The city government is
determined to increase
agricultural production,
particularly vegetables and root
crops to meet the increasing
demand in the Bicol region.
Mayor Noel Rosal said
the massive devastation
from successive typhoons
on agricultural and fishery
production has led the
administration to implement
more food security projects to
enable this sector to bounce
back from its losses.
“The agriculture sector in
this city has recovered after 10
months of rehabilitation,” Rosal
said.
Land for the commercial
production of cassava and
corn in barangays Bariis and
Banquerohan will be expanded
from 60 to 100 hectares, he
said.
More land will be planted to
high-yield rice varieties.
9
nag-retire.” She proudly ticks off her
children’s accomplishments, hardly
missing a beat.
Their eldest Jocelyn, 32, is a registered nurse based in New York with
her husband. Judith, 30 and a mother
of two, finished her studies at the
National University and is now a licensed pharmacist at International
Pharmaceutical Inc.
Juvie Ann, 29, graduated cum laude
from the University of the Philippines
and is now a Central Bank accountant
,while 26-year-old Janice is a licensed
physical therapist. She works in a call
center.
Johanne, 25, is an accountant who
graduated cum laude from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines;
only son Guardson, 22, has just finished his nursing course at Perpetual
Help while their youngest, Jennifer,
has recently passed the nursing licensure exam.
“Sila po ang dahilan kung bakit ako
nagpunta sa Hong Kong, pangarap ko
talaga na sila lahat makapag-aral,”
Siony, a petite lady with the cheerful
disposition of a caring aunt, said. “At
alam po nila ang hirap na pinagdaanan ko dito, kaya pinagbuti nila. “Iyon
daw po ang pagsukli nila sa sakripisyo ko.”
Her success story would have gone
unnoticed had Visitacion Bungal, a
friend and a co-teacher of her husband George, not gotten wind of the
MOFYA awards and nominated the
family for the honor.
Siony and her family made it all the
way to the final five for Region II in
the search, but fell just short of becoming the region’s representative in
the grand finals where a winner each
would be named for Luzon, Visayas
and Mindanao.
10
city
filipino globe
November 2007
Fund boost sought for ATNs
Proposed budget measure seeks to double allocation for distressed nationals
Jose Marcelo in Hong Kong
Consulate officials are keeping their
fingers crossed that a Department of
Foreign Affairs budget proposal to
double the allocations for Assistance
to Nationals sections and the Legal
Action Fund will pass through Congress without drastic cuts.
DFA officials are seeking to raise
the ATN allocation from P51 million
to P100 million and the Legal Action
Fund from P15 million to P30 million
– an increase which vice-consul Val
Roque (right) said has become necessary to meet the increasing needs of a
growing migrant population.
“We welcome it of course and we
hope it gets approved,” said Roque,
head of the ATN section in Hong
Kong.
BY THE NUMBERS
23,000
Cost in Hong Kong dollars of repatriating
a body to the Philippines
The DFA said that foreign posts
are forced to constantly dip into the
two funds since the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration only takes
care of members, whereas embassies
and consulates come to the aid of all
migrant workers whether documented
or not.
The rise in the number of undocumented workers, it said, has triggered
a corresponding increase in the num-
ber of problems that
foreign posts need to
address, most of them
requiring
significant
funding.
It is for this reason
that the ATN budget,
which left a surplus of P5 million in
2004, started experiencing deficits of
P17 million in 2005, according to the
Office Undersecretary for Migrant
Workers Affairs.
Roque said the bulk of ATN expenditure goes to the repatriation of
human remains – $23,000 per case
in Hong Kong and 48,300 patacas in
Macau.
The ATN fund is also used to cover
medical expenses, plane tickets for
distressed undocumented Filipinos.
Consul Kira Danganan said the
Hong Kong post rarely taps into the
Legal Action Fund with a legal aid
program in place in the territory.
“In most cases, the home office
supports our recommendations,” said
Danganan.
Roque hopes that a bigger budget
would allow the creation of a revolving fund. This is especially essential
in Hong Kong, where the ATN often
has to deal with incidents involving
terminated domestic helpers who are
sued for petty offences by their employers..
Bail in these cases can be anywhere
from $300 to $500, Roque said, while
the visa extension cost around $160.
“Kapag kinasuhan kasi, tatanungin
kung may pang-bond ang worker.
Sometimes they can’t afford it,” he
said.
Loan sharks
linked to
rise in lost
passports
Vice-governor Emmanuel Piñol,
who earlier whacked with a
golf putter an abusive South
Korean in Davao City last
week, has asked the Bureau of
Immigration and Deportation to
initiate deportation proceedings
against the foreigner.
Piñol pushed for deportation
of the abusive Korean national
in a letter to immigration
commissioner Marcelino
Libanan.
Pinol said foreigners must
learn to respect the people of
their host country.
He met with immigration
officials in Manila to discuss
the case against Korean Young
Yong-yun who figured in a golf
putter whacking incident on
November 9 at the Davao City
Golf Club.
“I believe that we, Filipinos,
must protect our honor and
dignity as a people,” Piñol said.
Governor Nestor Fongwan has
asked authorities to conduct
analysis of drinking water in
barangay Gumatdang after a
person died and 50 others fell ill
with suspected diarrhea.
Those who fell ill hours after
consuming lavish food in a
traditional feast in the area were
brought to hospitals.
Not all those who ate the food
fell ill.
A woman arrested recently in Central yielded 14 passports said to have fallen into the hands of loan sharks as collateral.
had used them as collateral for loans
at cutthroat rates.
It turned out to be just the tip of the
iceberg.
The 14 passports, police later
learned, were just her haul for the day.
A follow-up operation, a consulate official said, yielded a cache of over 70
passports, loan agreements and employment contracts which were also
pawned to the illegal lenders.
“Karamihan sa mga pumupunta sa
amin dito, ganyan ang reklamo,” said
attaché Abner Sto Domingo, revealing that on one Sunday alone, almost
30 maids had sought their help.
Vice-consul Val Roque, head of the
Assistance to Nationals section, said
the consulate is trying to approach the
menace two ways – help the police
track down the masterminds while
deterring domestic helpers from dealing with loan sharks.
“The consulate is taking the position that this is an illegal activity and
we want to dig deep into the root of
the problem,” said Roque.
“We’re balancing two things here:
the need of our workers for continued
employment in Hong Kong and the
need to enforce our laws. We don’t
want them to lose their jobs, but at the
same time we want them to realize
that what they’re doing is illegal.”
To strengthen the case against the
loan shark, who is out on bail while
awaiting trial in a case of lending at
excessive rates, the consulate has
mandated the owners of the 14 confiscated passports to make a statement
with the Hong Kong police.
Until the illegal practice was uncovered, most victims had been able to go
around the problem by declaring their
passports lost.
“We just want to make sure that
they’re helping the police prosecute
these people,” Roque said. “And remember, the affidavit is a public document which we can use against them
if they do it again.”
Consulate starts e-passport application on Monday
The Hong Kong consulate will
become the first foreign post to
issue the new machine-readable
Philippine passport.
Starting on November 19,
consulate officials will accept
applications for a passport
designed for faster checks
at airports and with features
meant to deter, if not eliminate,
North Cotabato
Benguet
Jose Marcelo in Hong Kong
Aling Conching was desperate and
close to tears. Her contract, she told a
consulate official, was up for renewal
in less than three weeks’ time and
her passport was still in the hands of
a loan shark who was holding it as a
collateral for a debt she shared with
a relative.
The domestic helper feared that she
would only end up being charged if
she went to the police. She couldn’t
tell her dilemma to her employer, for
fear that she would be sacked. She
had settled her loan, but her relative
has no way of paying the $6,000 balance – most of it interest.
“At may tumatawag po sa akin gabigabi, tinatakot po ako,” she sobbed.
“Hindi ko na po alam ang gagawin
ko.”
Aling Conching is not alone in her
predicament.
According to consulate officials,
more and more Filipino domestic
helpers are, like Aling Conching, putting themselves in desperate situations due to dealings with loan sharks
in Hong Kong who use pawned passports and other documents to bleed
their clients dry.
An arrest made by police on September 26 showed just how bad the
situation has become. The Filipina
domestic helper nabbed in Central
had 14 passports in her possession
– all of them owned by maids who
ANGBANSA
tampering. Taking into account
the three-week lag between
the filing of the application and
the completion of the intricate
process, consulate officials
estimate that the maroon-colored
passports will begin coming out
in Hong Kong in the second week
of December.
“This will be up to international
standards. In fact, we are one of
only 38 countries with machinereadable passports,” said Consul
Kira Danganan. “And as always,
Hong Kong will serve as a pilot
for this project.”
Consulate officials said the new
passports will be worth the wait.
The data page alone contains a
scanned photo, a thumb mark
and encoded particulars that
only need to be swiped – not
entered into computers – in most
immigration counters.
It is also replete with advanced
security features. The binding of
the pages also makes it difficult
to tear off pages, a practice
common among illegal recruiters.
Jose Marcelo
The results of the laboratory
analysis of the victims’ waste
samples were not made
available to the media as of this
time.
Fongwan said that due to
the number of the people who
suffered stomach ache which is
a common sign of water-borne
diarrhea, the government has
to ascertain the potability of the
drinking water from local springs
and deep wells.
The request was pending as of
Friday evening.
Aklan
The provincial government has
begun preparing for the million
tourists projected to visit
Boracay in 2010.
Nieven Maquirang, CaticlanCagban Port administrator,
said he received instructions
from governor Carlito Marquez
to coordinate with the
provincial engineer’s office
and map out plans to ensure
that the tourist target will be
realised.
Maquirang said there is a
plan to float some P50 million
to P100 million worth of
bonds to be used to finance
infrastructure development on
the island.
“We are building a twostorey building in Cagban
Jetty Port that will serve as
a business center of the
provincial government under
the Economic Enterprise
Development program,”
Maquirang said.
news & views from home
filipino globe
national
November 2007
11
15 Manila agencies suspended for overcharging
The Philippine Overseas
Employment Administration
has cancelled the license of 15
recruitment agencies for violation
of the placement fee policy.
POEA chief Rosalinda Baldoz
said the the agencies had been
charging more than the amount
allowed by law.
Those suspended were Tierra
The POEA will remain vigilant against malpractices by recruiters.
POEA not
taking over
from private
recruiters
Baldoz says agency’s role is limited
to agreements with certain countries
The Philippine Overseas Employment
Administrator said it is not taking over
the recruitment of Filipino overseas
workers from licensed agencies.
“Contrary to reports, the POEA will
limit its recruitment to service the
manpower requirements of foreign
government clients only,” POEA administrator Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz said.
“The recruitment of hundreds of
thousands of Filipino workers will
continue to be serviced by the private recruitment agencies licensed by
POEA,”
Some members of the recruitment
industry have accused the government of taking away from the private
sector the task of deploying overseas
Filipino workers.
Baldoz reiterated the government
policy not to compete directly with
the private sector which is expected
to deliver the target of one million decent overseas jobs a year.
She said the POEA is not expected
to handle recruitment on a large scale
except for its small share of the deployment volume representing the
limited hiring of its small group of
clients and special hiring programs
covered by bilateral agreements such
as those with Taiwan and South Korea.
However, she warned that the POEA
will remain vigilant in actively managing the overseas employment program and will be ready to intervene in
cases of malpractices by recruitment
agencies.
BY THE NUMBERS
20,000
Filipino workers deployed under the
Employment Permit System
She said the deployment of POEA
through its Government Placement
Branch accounts for only 3 per cent
of the total.
Baldoz said the decision of the
Korean government to implement
the Employment Permit System only
through a public organization in specific sending countries was an aftermath of the malpractices of some recruitment agencies and brokers.
Other than the Philippines, EPS is
also implemented in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Mongolia and Sri
Lanka.
Baldoz said the POEA can handle
the EPS program and has since deployed some 20,000 Filipino workers
since its pilot testing in August 2004.
Baldoz said EPS has built-in protection mechanisms by way of laws
governing the employment of foreign
workers in Korea.
Filipino workers are covered by a
grievance mechanism implemented
by the Korean Ministry of Labor.
On-site labor problems are attended
to by the Philippine Overseas Labor
Office at the Philippine embassy in
Seoul.
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Manpower Development Corp;
Ren-Glo Enterprises Placement
Agency; Castle Rock Human
Resources and Management;
Madison Overseas Placement;
Adventure Placement and
Promotion; Rubies International
Services; PMAC International
Management Services; FEIMS
International Manpower Services;
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Agency; Six C’s Manpower
Centre; RDRI International
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international Manpower Services,
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Services.
Raul Acedre
12
national
filipino globe
November 2007
Arroyo escapes impeachment
Committee blocks complaint, ensuring no fresh bid can be mounted for now
A congressional committee has
blocked a new impeachment complaint against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo over corruption allegations.
The vote was held a day after a nailbomb attack on Congress that killed
four people, including a Muslim legislator, and wounded 17. Wahab Akbar, who represented Basilan, was
killed on Wednesday.
Police said Akbar, who had clashed
with Muslim militants operating from
Basilan, was the probable prime target of Tuesday’s blast .
Other legislators were injured in the
explosion, and Manila’s police chief
said police were checking to see if
they could have been targets.
“Among the group, it is Akbar who
has the more colourful life, who has
the more threats,” national police
chief Avelino Razon said .
Although it was the first attack on
a central government building and
comes less than a month after an explosion killed 11 people in a Manila
mall, investors shrugged off the blast.
“It is unnerving, that is true, but it
does not affect the fundamental forces that drive the economy,” said Luz
Lorenzo, an analyst with ATR-Kim
Eng Securities in Manila.
It is the third consecutive year that
Arroyo’s allies in the House of Representatives have blocked moves to
impeach her.
The vote will end any further bids to
impeach her.
Members of the opposition did not
Manila
filipino globe
November 2007
13
ANGBANSA
Hong Kong Jumbo Tours
The Philippine Supreme Court
has ruled that Filipinos who
undergo sex reassignment
surgery cannot have their
gender and name changed in
their birth certificates.
The high tribunal issued the
ruling following a plea by a
45-year-old Filipino man to alter
his birth records after becoming
a woman through a sex-change
operation in Bangkok five years
ago.
The petitioner wanted to
change his gender and name
in his birth certificate to reflect
her transformation so she can
marry her American boyfriend.
The Supreme Court, however,
ruled that the man’s request
was not possible at this time
in the predominantly Catholic
Philippines. “Under the Civil
Registrar Law, a birth certificate
is a historical record of the facts
as they existed at the time of
birth,” the court ruling said.
Palawan
attend the session, claiming the deliberation in the justice committee was
a sham.
The failed impeachment complaint
stemmed from allegations that Arroyo
condoned an alleged bribery attempt
by a Chinese firm to ensure that it got
a US$329 million government contract for the national broadband project. Arroyo cancelled the controversial deal in October after the allegations of kickbacks, bribery threatened
to derail her government.
World leaders send condolences
Speaker Jose de Venecia said he
has received an “outpouring of
sympathy and condolences” from
governments and parliamentary
leaders in Asia, Europe and North
America after the bomb attack on
Congress.
De Venecia said the House
has received messages from
the governments of the United
States, conveyed by Ambassador
Kristie Kenney; the United
Kingdom and the European
Union, conveyed by British
Ambassador Peter Beckingham,
the Italian Ambassador Rubens
Anna Fedele and the government
of New Zealand.
Liliane Foundation Philippines,
a foundation for children with
disabilities in developing
countries, has assisted 7,776
children and youth with
disabilities in the country.
This was announced by
Sr Argentia Naval, national
coordinator of Liliane
Foundation Philippines, during a
regional media forum.
Voucher contract worker
tickets to Canada/USA
Naval said the LFP, which
is registered as a branch of
LF-Netherlands, has a partnerorganizations nationwide to
extend direct assistance to
children and youth with various
forms of disabilities.
These children are visually
impaired, orthopedically
handicapped, hearing impaired,
physically handicapped,
mentally challenged or and
those with cerebral palsy.
The foundation began
operation in 1985.
It’s that
time of
year
again
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filipino globe
The Department of Agriculture
Region 7 is putting up barangay
food terminals in Cebu and the
region to help farmers who are
often exploited by middlemen.
Geraldine Montecillo Franza,
chief of the DA 7 agribusiness
and marketing assistance
division, said farmers are often
the victims of middlemen who
buy their products at token
prices and sell them in Carbon
market in Cebu City at rates 10
times higher.
Franza said DA 7 will put
up as many barangay food
terminals all over Central
Visayas as there are planned.
A food terminal will be
launched on November 20
in barangay Inayawan and
another one on November 26
in barangay Sambag II, both in
Cebu City.
“These two barangays are
depressed areas. Their officials
are coordinating with us,”
Franza said.
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14 November 2007
filipino globe
national
filipino globe
Poor village
girl’s wish
comes true
much too late
November 2007
JUMBO BOX 24 x 24 x 30
PREMIUM 24 x 14 x 14
15
MILLENNIUM 24 x 18 x 20
Suicide note and unmailed letter tell
of dreams and despair of 12-year-old
Raul Acedre in Manila
It would have been a dream come
true for Mariennet Amper.
Everything she wished for became
reality: a pair of school shoes for
herself, a bicycle for her brother and
goats for her unemployed parents.
Sadly, she didn’t live to see it
happen.
Mariennet, 12 hanged herself
just weeks earlier inside the family
thatched house in the village of Maa,
Davao City, a victim, reports say, of
grinding proverty.
Earlier, she had written to GMA
7’s “Wish Ko Lang” show, where she
expressed her yearning for the things
she would most dearly love.
The letter, written two years ago,
remained unmailed because she had
no money for stamps, but it came
to light after relatives discovered a
suicide note the girl had written. In
it, she despaired over hunger and
extreme poverty.
The network came through, albeit
too late.
At her funeral last week, Mariennet
had an unusual wealth of people
mourning her death and praising her
short life.“All her classmates were
present and they cried..We cried, but
could do nothing else now,” the girl’s
father said.
A government official’s statement
that the girl’s suicide was an isolated
incident stirred a hornet’s nest.
“A child committing suicide
because of hunger and poverty may
be an isolated case, but Filipino
families experiencing extreme
hunger and poverty are definitely
prevalent,” Alphonse Rivera, head
of the child rights organization,
Salinlahi Alliance for Children’s
Concerns, said.
Two Roman
Catholic bishops
viewed the young
girl’s suicide
differently, according
to a report by the
online publication
GMA News.TV.
Bishop Leonardo Medroso, head of
the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission
on Canon Law, urged others to draw
lessons from Mariennet’s tragedy by
not losing hope.
“They said the reason a person
commits suicide is because the
person lost hope. A Christian should
never lose hope,” Medroso was
quoted as saying.
But Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop
Oscar Cruz (above) said the Catholic
church could reverse its discipline
on suicide victims due to the
advancement of behavioral sciences.
24 x
24 x
o
30
b
Jum
Children’s changing eating
habits alarm state agencies
Filipino children’s eating habits have
been changing as they eat more empty
calories and no longer eat vegetables,
the National Nutrition Council says in
a study.
They have been eating less than half
of the required consumption of vegetables and resort to eating hamburgers, potato fries and other easy-to-prepare food from fast food chains.
A sample population of children
was taken from Metro Manila and Cagayan de Oro City, the study said.
The Department of Health and NNC
also said the Philippines has 1,163 barangays or barrios that are “vulnerable
to hunger and malnutrition”.
These are in the provinces of Masbate, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Apayao,
Capiz, Negros Oriental, Zamboanga
del Norte, Basilan, Bukidnon, Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur.
Alarmed by the changing eating
habits, the government has been campaigning for higher consumption of
vegetables that will supply the children with the nutrients the body needs
such as calcium, ferrous, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamins C and A.
Television and radio programs
promote locally produced nutritious
food, specifically vegetables.
Influence of adult members of the
family has a lot to do with the children’s changing eating habits. the survey said.
Children eat what the adult family
members eat, the study said.
According to the survey, children
do not want to eat vegetables because
they are not palatable.
Preferred vegetables for those who
eat them are squash, potatoes and
string beans.
Majority do not want to eat ampalaya (bitter gourd) and okra.
Consumption of vegetables has declined by more than 50 per cent from
1978 up to 2003, according to the
study.
Eating in fast-food chains has become a status symbol. Filipino children envy others who do not eat vegetables.
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world
16
global news & views
November 2007
filipino globe
US bill sets tougher nurse entry rules
Filipinos will be required to serve home country before being allowed to work in American institutions
Filipino nurses will be required to
serve the home country before being
allowed to work in the US if a draft
legislation becomes law.
Employers will pay US$1,500 for
each nurse to help fund a federal program for training US nurses.
The measure, introduced by US
Senator Dick Durbin, has cleared the
Senate.
“Nurses care for our children and
grandchildren, our parents and other
loved ones. We know the difference
Pension
bill splits
US war
veterans
They are sometimes called the
invisible veterans – soldiers who
defied death fighting for the United
States, only to be denied US benefits
at war’s end.
Now in their 80s, these Filipino
veterans, effectively drafted in World
War II to fight alongside the US
military against Japan, are dying,
about 10 a day, while they still hope
to win veterans benefits for their
service.
Their number has dwindled to
about 6,000 in the United States and
12,000 in the Philippines.
For 17 years, they have asked
Washington for benefits. Now, for the
first time, a bill to grant full pension
payments to Filipino veterans
has cleared the House and Senate
veterans affairs committees, raising
hopes it could pass this year.
Time is running out for veterans
like Peping Baclig, 85, a US citizen
and community activist in Los
Angeles, who was captured by the
Japanese and survived the Bataan
Death March in 1942.
The bill has drawn opposition from
some veterans groups, which say the
plan would fund the Filipino benefits
– which would cost US$500 million
to US$900 million over the next 10
years – by taking money from a
program for disabled veterans whose
disabilities are not combat-related.
And some opponents of the bill
argue that it is overly generous to
veterans based in the Philippines,
where a lower standard of living
would elevate their health and death
benefits.
They also note that the US is
no longer responsible for the
Philippines, which was granted
independence in 1946.
Baclig said the pension and other
benefits were less important to him
than the official acknowledgment of
his service to his country.
“It’s the recognition,” he said,
“the gratitude of the US government
for our sacrifices with our war
comrades.”
nurses make in our lives – and increasingly we are noticing the difference when we do not have enough of
these dedicated men and women when
we need them most,” said Durbin.
“More needs to be done to boost
our nursing schools in order to train
the nurses we will need in the years to
come,” he said.
Durbin’s amendment also contains
two provisions to enhance global
healthcare cooperation and to safeguard against an exodus of foreign
BY THE NUMBERS
1,500
Amount in US dollars an employer of a
Filipino nurse will pay to a federal fund
healthcare workers from countries
where they are critically needed.
A high number of Filipino nurses
are leaving the Philippines each year,
tens of thousands of them find work
in America and other industrialised
countries, leaving the health care system in the Philippines in dire need of
competent nurses.
The World Health Organization
said the Philippines was the biggest
supplier of nurses globally because
of their English skills, smartness and
competence.
The first provision would allow a
healthcare worker who is a legal per-
manent resident in the US to temporarily provide healthcare services in
a country that is underdeveloped or
that has suffered a disaster or public
health emergency without jeopardizing his or her immigration status in
the United States.
“Projections show that by the year
2020, our country’s nursing shortage
will have grown to 1 million. Importing several thousand foreign nurses is
only a band-aid solution to this projected shortage,” said Durbin.
After miracle surgery, Pinoy twins start to live separate lives
Arlene carries Carl into a bus in
Scarsdale, New York. Clarence
is in the window.
When Arlene Aguirre came to
the US in 2003, she had her own
idea of the American Dream.
It wasn’t a good job or a better
life for herself. It was a fervent
wish to give her two young sons
a chance at their own separate
lives.
Aguirre had her wish. Carl
and Clarence, who were born
conjoined at the top of their
heads, emerged one night on
separate stretchers – fragile but
each with his own life.
The death-defying surgery at
the Montefirore Medical Center
in New York captivated the public
and sparked headlines around
the world.
Arlene appeared on CNN and
on the “Today” show in which
she repeatedly expressed her
gratitude. She was an accidental
and reluctant celebrity, basking
in the media glare beyond her
wildest dream.
Four years later, the cameras
are gone, but the Aguirres are
not. The twins need more surgery,
and it can only be performed
in the US. And Arlene is alone,
contemplating the uncertainties
of the future and struggling to
care for her boys, who are still in
diapers even though they are now
five years old..
‘I have to be strong
for my little boys’
Carl can speak a few words,
but they are often unintelligible,
and he cannot walk on his own
because of an impaired left side;
he crawls with his right knee and
arm, dragging his limp left limbs
as he moves about the house.
Clarence can walk and talk,
though his speech is somewhat
garbled.
The boys do not eat well, so
they must be fed all night, every
night. Liquid food is pumped into
their bodies through tubes Arlene
attaches to an opening in their
bellies.
The family lives in a home
managed by a charity, and Arlene
is not sure how much longer
they will be allowed to stay. If the
donations that have supported
them dry up, she wonders, how
she is going to provide for her
sons since, as a visitor from
abroad, she is not allowed to
work.
“I guess nobody really think,
if ever we’re going to live in a
community, how we’re going to
survive,” she said.
Over the past two years, Arlene
33, has slowly cut the family’s
daily ties to the doctors, nurses,
therapists and social workers who
had made up their safety net.
Now Arlene and her sons are
caught in a vacuum, celebrating
the end of the first phase of the
boys’ recovery while waiting to
hear when the next portion of
their treatment, an operation
to reconstruct the parts of their
skulls that were removed in
the separation surgeries, will
take place. (Had they not been
separated, the boys would
probably not have survived their
second birthday, doctors said.)
Residents in their Scarsdale
community collected donations
that provide a monthly food
allowance of US$160 for the
Aguirres at a local supermarket,
but it is not certain how much
longer the allowance will last.
Arlene has no relatives or
friends in the US, except for
Meredith Gosin, a social worker
and Ronald Feiner, a Manhattan
entertainment lawyer.
For the past two years, Arlene
and the twins have lived in
Scarsdale, in a house managed
by Westhab, a charity that
provides shelter for homeless
families in Westchester County.
In August, a Westhab worker
told Arlene that their home would
have to be vacated by the end of
the school year.
The Aguirres’ medical visas
must be renewed every six
months. Arlene, who fills out
the visa renewal forms with Ms.
Gosin’s help, said that the last
visas expired in September, and
she still does not know if new
ones have been approved.
“I cry, but nobody see. I feel
embarrassed to cry. If I’m going
to cry, I’m like a weak person,
and nobody is going to help me
because I’m a weak person,”
Arlene said.
“Because of everything that’s
going on with the boys, with our
lives, I have to stay strong.”
November 2007 17
18
world
filipino globe
November 2007
Human traffickers have been using
fraudulent electronic plane tickets to
smuggle Filipinos into Singapore.
During the past two months 15 Filipinos have been jailed for between
three and 10 months for using fake
return tickets, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.
Filipino tourists who travel abroad
are required to purchase return tickets
to discourage illegal immigration.
Human traffickers entice their victims with the offer of a return e-ticket
– sometimes faked with the help with
travel agencies, the department said.
The victims are then compelled by
the traffickers to repay spurious debts
of up to US$6,000 , it added.
Philippine Ambassador Belen Anota
said that Philippine ambassador
in Islamabad Jaime Yambao
“is reaching out to Filipinos
in Pakistan, advising them to
take personal safeguards and
precautions and immediately
report to the embassy.
He said Philippine honorary
consul in Karachi and Lahore is
also ready to help ensure their
safety.
Cristobal said the embassy has
been coordinating with embassies
BY THE NUMBERS
9,000,000
Filipinos living or working overseas
according to the latest estimate
warned Filipinos to closely scrutinise
return e-tickets and to buy open-dated tickets if unsure of a return date.
In a meeting with the leaders of the
Filipino community in Singapore,
Anota asked for support in informing
travelers to the city-state about the
problem.
She warned travel agencies they
Authorities say travelers to Singapore should use
open-dated return tickets if unsure of a return date.
risk facing charges if they engage in
the sale of spurious electronic tickets.
To curb the rampant use of fake
return tickets, the embassy has proposed the following measures:
• Tougher penalties against erring
travel agencies and individuals
• Stricter monitoring by immigration officers
• Stepped-up information campaign
The Philippine embassy in Singapore linked the worsening problem of
human trafficking to the rampant use
of dummy tickets by Filipino travelers.
To lure prospective victims, human
traffickers and illegal recruiters provide “free” round-trip tickets (usually
The ill-starred Japanese tanker Golden Nori, similar to the one above, had 23 Filipino crewmen aboard.
Mutineers home free as ship Hope grows
owner won’t press charges for 23 Filipino
Nine Filipino mutineers surrendered
in Mauritius after commandeering
their fishing boat because of alleged
mistreatment, and were headed home
after the Taiwanese owner decided
not to press charges.
The ship had left the Indian Ocean
nation of Mauritius for what was to be
a three-month fishing expedition.
But the Filipino sailors locked their
Taiwanese captain in a room and
seized the steel-hulled ship last week,
four days into the trip because of exhausting labor, paltry meals and meager pay, Filipino crew leader Roderick Sumang said.
The ship later returned to the Mauritius capital Port Louis, where the
Filipinos were taken to the police station, Sumang said.
The Philippine consul from Kenya, Bernadette Mendoza, flew to
Mauritius to help the crew negotiate
a settlement with Huang Jui-yin, the
Taiwanese ship owner and captain,
Sumang said.
In Manila, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos said no
criminal charges will be filed.
“That is so far the agreement that
we have,” he said.
Philippine Vice President Noli de
Castro, who is also presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers, said:
“This is good news as no one got hurt
from this unfortunate incident.”
No threat to nationals in Pakistan, says DFA
There is no immediate and
direct threat to the safety of the
estimated 3,000 Filipinos in
Pakistan, despite the worsening
political violence in the country,
the Department of Foreign Affairs
said.
But it’s not taking things easy. It
has asked Filipinos in the country
to contact the Philippine embassy
in the event of a worst-case
scenario.
DFA spokesman Claro Cristobal
19
Department of Foreign Affairs issues
warning after 15 Filipinos fall prey
US may demand his extradition but
Washington silent on possible move
He was arrested in west Belfast in
January 2004, and faced eight different charges which allegedly linked
him to the Southeast Asian Islamic
terror group Jemaah Islamiya, also
known as JI.
Six of those charges
were dropped because
of defence applications in the intervening
years. He was acquitted
of the last two counts.
Prosecutors
had
claimed he was involved in financial
transactions for JI and had also accessed information useful to terrorists.
Some of the claims were allegedly
based on CIA information about computer contact between Belfast and the
Philippines.
US President George W Bush
(above) has tagged JI as a terrorist
cell and marked it as major target in
his global war on terror. The group
operates in the southern Philippines
through a maze of cells linked to organizations in Pakistan, Afghanistan
and the Middle East. It is also on the
terror list of the Philippines.
November 2007
Snakeheads
slip victims
to Singapore
using e-tickets
Belfast jury
clears Pinoy
of Islamist
terror charges
A Filipino man has been acquitted of
Islamist terrorism charges in Northern Ireland after spending almost four
years awaiting trial.
Jaybe Ofrasio, 34, will have his
passport returned and his civil rights
restored after the verdict by a jury in
Belfast.
No evidence was offered against
Ofrasio, but his lawyer said he still
had concerns about Ofrasio’s legal
status until his passport is returned.
Sources indicated the US government had expressed interest in Ofrasio, raising the possibility that he
could be extradited.
Washington has so far refused to respond to questions about its interest
in Ofrasio, who lives in Mercer Street
in Lisburn.
Solicitor Patricia Coyle of Harte
Coyle Collins said he requested the
return of Ofrasio’s passport.
Belfast authorities said a number of
exhibits are “being processed and are
to be returned by arrangement.”
Ofrasio feared re-arrest for extradition proceedings but walked free from
the court. He refused to speak to reporters and covered his face.
world
filipino globe
of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations in Pakistan on how
to assist their respective nationals
in emergency situations.
“Just hours after the
proclamation of the state
of emergency on Saturday,
ambassador Yambao released an
advisory to the leaders of Filipino
organizations,” Cristobal said
President Pervez Musharraf
(right) declared the emergency
amid escalating violence.
seamen in
Somali hijack
Talks are continuing to secure the
release of 23 Filipino crewmen of a
Japanese tanker hijacked by Somali
pirates last month.
Vice President Noli De Castro said
he had received information that the
owner of the hijacked Golden Nori,
Dorval Kaiun KK of Japan, has established contact with the hijackers, but
no details were available..
The Golden Nori was seized on October 28 off the Somali coast.
It was loaded with a chemical shipment headed for Europe.
De Castro said the Philippine government is not directly involved in the
negotiations and has no direct knowledge of the talks.
“We are not privy to the negotiations because the ship’s owners are
the ones negotiating with the hostage
takers,” De Castro said.
The Filipino ship captain, Restituto
Bulinan, was allowed to call his wife
and the ship’s headquarters on Thursday.
The other Filipino hostages are chief
officer Melchor Cayabyab, second officer Loreto Quiles, third officer Raymundo Panaligan Jr, chief engineer
Mario Ocenar, first engineer Adelino
Amparo, second engineer Virgilio
Lotoc, boatswain Laureano Villanueva, and chief cook Ismael Perez.
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in the form of e-tickets), valid for one
way, and charge them a minimal fee.
To lower the costs, human traffickers connive with travel agencies
to issue dummy return tickets, usually from an airline different from the
outbound portion, to comply with the
Philippines’ immigration requirement
of a round-trip ticket for tourists.
20
world
filipino globe
November 2007
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editorial, community & features
filipino globe
Lomondot taps network in personal
diplomacy to secure Pinoy’s freedom
Chito Manuel in Jeddah
Sarkia Pondusan is wheeled into emergency admission. Her sister-in-law was dead on arrival at King Fahd Hospital.
Filipina survives pesticide accident
A second victim in a pesticide
suffocation accident in Jeddah last
month has been discharged from
hospital and is expected to fully
recover.
Sarkia Pondusan spent two
weeks at King Fahd Hospital.
Pondusan’s sister-in-law, Kalsun
Handi, a 36-year-old mother
of two from Zamboanga del
Norte province in the southern
Philippines, did not survive.
She was declared dead hours
after she and Pondusan were
admitted to the hospital.
In an interview at her hospital bed
earlier in the week, Pondusan said
she went to the apartment of Handi
and her husband Jul-anni Saleh
Entuman as she usually did during
her day off.
She said she and Kalsun did
some general cleaning.
“Kalsun told me that she and Jul-
anni sprayed pesticide in the dark
or hidden corners of the apartment
the night before,” she said.
“We didn’t know that we were
inhaling the pesticide because it
was of the odorless type.”
Pondusan said it was only after
they went to bed that she and
Kalsun began having difficulty
breathing.
Both were rushed to hospital as
their condition worsened.
Dailies fight for Pinoy hearts and minds
Mark Pineda in Jeddah
The Filipino card is increasingly being played in the theater of war of
the English-language dailies in Saudi
Arabia.
In near death following years of
declining circulation and falling advertising revenue, cash-rich Saudi
Gazette, instead of folding, posed a
renewed challenge to top dog Arab
News in the battle for the hearts of
minds of the readers.
To lure the Filipino readership,
Saudi Gazette started Kabayan, a
two-page daily insert in the Tagalog
language, on October 13. This section that targets a particular audience
was added months after Saudi Gazette
was relaunched as a broadsheet in
semi-glossy paper.
Three Filipino sub-editors recruited
from Manila arrived for the relaunch ,
and when Kabayan became part of the
paper, another was rehired to beef up
the Gazette’s Filipino staff.
Kabayan seemed to be well received
by the Filipinos whose hunger for
news from home Kabayan hoped to
sate with a daily staple of hard news,
showbiz gossip and sports news.
This was not the first time that Saudi OFWs got to read news in the vernacular or in Filipino, if you will.
The defunct Riyadh Daily introduced in succession a weekly supplement in Filipino, Kabayan and Tagalog, in the mid-1990s. The latter was
a four-page tabloid that combined
local and Philippine news and the
former was added in the paper’s news
pages.
When loss-making Riyadh Daily
shut down operations in December
2003, Arab News saw an opportunity
to rope in the Riyadh-based paper’s
Pinoy readers and launched Pinoy
Xtra, an eight-page pullout that comes
out every Sunday.
Despite enjoying brisk sales, let
alone massive ad revenues, Arab
News is not resting on its laurels and,
already, there are plans to double the
frequency of Pinoy Xtra.
Rasheed Abou-Alsamh, a SaudiAmerican senior editor at Arab News
who loves most things Filipino, was
philosophical in reaction to the competition.
Rasheed told Filipino Globe: “The
recent addition of two daily Tagaloglanguage pages in the Saudi Gazette
is, I think, a reaction to Arab News’
Pinoy Xtra weekly tabloid. We in
Arab News started Pinoy Xtra more
than three years ago. At the time, SG
was tabloid-sized and was on the road
of eliminating a daily page dedicated
to Philippine news. This I think, ate
into their readership, causing many
Filipinos to turn to AN for our daily
page of Philippine news.”
Using what he calls “personal diplomacy and personal touch,” Consul
General Pendosina Lomondot (below) saved a truck driver from a possible death penalty after working for
his release from jail in a case that had
been closely followed by government
officials back in the Philippines.
Benedicto Mariano Capulong, a 57year old trailer truck driver who killed
four people in a vehicular accident on
June 12, 2004 walked a free man days
after the Ramadan Eid holidays.
He was released from the Briman
prison in Jeddah after being granted
clemency by the royal court on recommendation of the grand shariah
court of Jeddah.
Capulong’s case was elevated to the
royal court for final resolution after
the payment of “diyah” or blood money to satisfy the private rights of the
heirs of the victims. Under the Islamic judicial system, the public aspect
still needs to be settled apart from the
private details of a criminal case.
“Masaya ako dahil ako ay malaya
na. Labis labis ang aking pasasalamat
sa lahat ng tumulong sa akin lalunglalo na kay Congen Lomdondot,”
Capulong told Filipino Globe in an
interview at Lomondot’s office at the
Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah.
The short and stocky Capulong
spent three years and four months in
jail. Based on the investigation of the
Jeddah police, Capulong was found
liable for the deaths of two men and
two women. One woman was killed
on the spot and the three others died
in a hospital the following day.
According to Capulong, the accident
happened at 9 p.m. He was maneuvering his truck on the left shoulder of
the Jammuh highway outside Jeddah
when the GMC Suburban carrying the
four people and traveling at top speed
ran smack into his 10-wheeler.
BY THE NUMBERS
250,000
Amount in Saudi riyal paid to the victims
of a traffic accident involving Capulong
Capulong,
a
resident
of
barangay
Makinabang,
Baliuag, Bulacan, said he saw
the oncoming
vehicle
from
long distance
and thought he had enough time to
turn and clear the road.
Lomondot tapped his network of
friends to raise the blood money of
250,000 riyal (100,000 riyal each
for the two men and 50, 000 riyal for
one woman). The heirs of the fourth
victim, a woman, had waived their
rights.
Of the amount 200,000 riyal came
from a Saudi philanthropist, who refused recognition, and 50,000 riyal
from a businessman, Lomondot said.
He said no less than Senator Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel, Jr and Foreign
Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Seguis
followed the Capulong case. Though
Capulong’s was a “hadis moroor” or
traffic accident and not murder, he
could still be meted the death penalty
if the blood money was not paid, said
Lomondot.
A similar case happened in 1995.
Yolando Isanan had not been saved
from execution two years later because of the failure to pay blood
money.
“Magmula nang dumating ako dito
sa Jeddah as Consul General hindi
ko pinabayaan ang mga may kaso ng
capital offenses,” Lomondot said.
November 2007
21
We need Nora back
to sing – and lift our
collective spirits
Please call Arshid Mahmood on 9811 1945 or 8207 8318
Driver in fatal
Jeddah car
crash escapes
death penalty
focus
I
Germany was rebuilt after the war, which could have been an opportunity for corrupt officials to make plenty of money.
No honor among thieves, is there?
T
he controversies swirling
around Gloria remind me of
three great figures of World
War II.
These are England’s Winston
Churchill, France’s Charles de Gaulle
and Germany’s Konrad Adenauer.
In the postwar period of massive
reconstruction from the ashes
and rubble of the war, these men
presided over the gargantuan effort
that, in another milieu, let’s say the
Philippines, could have earned them
under-the-table billions in contracts
to keep them and their families in
obscene luxury for several lifetimes
on earth.
To their everlasting credit, they
spurned the grand opportunities
the times and their position in
government offered.
Churchill’s widow, Lady Valentine,
was for a time contemplating to sell
some of her husband’s paintings
(when he was depressed, as when
right after Hitler’s Germany was
crushed, the Half-Century Man lost
the elections to a namby-pamby
Labor Party leader, Churchill liked
to paint).
The British Parliament
immediately raised her monthly
pension to enable her to maintain her
accustomed lifestyle.
De Gaulle’s Olympian hauteur (the
standing joke at the Elysee if he was
late for a meeting with his Cabinet
was “the President is still talking to
God”) most certainly forbade him
to descend to the level of a common
thief.
And Adenauer, in his down-
PRESSBOX
comment
FT
Ocampo
to-earth style of governance,
concentrated on recapturing the lost
glory from the horribly tarnished
reputation of his country and
rehabilitating the former self-respect
and dignity associated with the
German name.
Their superlative achievements,
without any thought of immoral
enrichment and material gains,
was made possible by a sterling
quality of leadership that moved a
most respected pundit to coin the
phrase “immaterial something plus”
ingrained in their character.
Great world leaders with great
integrity, notably of the past,
intuitively felt in their interior world
their great responsibility to God and
history.
In this epical context, all time will
be the measure of their glory.
All these years since her
presidency, I had nursed a vibrant
hope that Gloria could lift this
country to the “sunlit uplands”,
perhaps not within her term, but
by laying the groundwork for its
realisation in the not so distant
future. Complementing her
academic credentials is an inherent
strength that was buttressed by deep
religiosity and abiding faith.
She has balls enough to make her
worthy of any man’s steel and, for
a time, I was carried away by my
illusions.
She could be another Margaret
Thatcher, the Iron Lady who was
never tainted with the acquisitions of
filthy lucre and whose 11-1/2 years
of brilliantly masterful stewardship
of the United Kingdom is now being
hailed by contemporary historians as
the Thatcher Era.
Well, we live and learn.
I am also reminded of a saying
prevalent in some mercenary
circles, that there is no honor among
thieves. Her recklessly hasty pardon
of a convicted plunderer proved
otherwise.
S
urprise, surprise.
With an estimated nine million
OFWs around the world, the
Philippines ranked fourth only
among the top recipients of overseas
remittances, according to a United
Nations report.
Leading the pack per report of
the UN’s International Fund for
Agricultural Development was
India with US$24.5 billion, closely
followed by Mexico with US$24.2
billion, and China with US$21
billion.
Russia with US$13 billion, was in
the 5th slot, after the Philippines.
But there’s an interesting caveat,
the US$14.65 billion remittances
to our country was based on a
“conservative estimate”.
SWS survey: first, the Erap pardon and now this
The credibility of the Social Weather
Stations keeps going from bad to
worse. Only recently, the public
opinion pollster opened itself to
accusations of bias when it released
an opposition-financed survey,
purportedly showing that a majority
of Metro Manila residents favored a
pardon for deposed President Joseph
Estrada.
The survey results came – as if
on cue – a week before the antigraft court, the Sandiganbayan, was
to pass judgment in his plunder
trial. The opposition was quick to
OTHERVOICES
what they say
Manila
Standard
Today
capitalise on the “findings”, calling
the survey a vindication of the
deposed president but neglecting to
say they paid for the whole exercise,
and suggested what questions to ask.
Now comes a report from the SWS
claiming that five million families
say they are worse off now that the
peso has strengthened against the
US dollar. In contrast, the SWS says,
only two million families say they
are better off with a strong peso.
Now we learn that the survey was
based on 1,200 respondents. Can
anyone say with confidence that these
respondents were representative of
the entire population? The economic
circumstances of any one respondent
could be vastly different from the
next.
t has been really difficult trying
to find the proverbial silver
lining amidst all the “clouds”
bedevilling the Philippines these
days.
For me, the gloom set in when
Nora Aunor, who has settled in
California, said she didn’t want to go
back to Manila. She said this after
completing the community service
imposed for her drug misdemeanor.
She probably felt she has lost face
– and her fans – for getting caught
in a bit of a shady mess.
I find this rather sad, having been a
Guy admirer ever since she became
an actress.
Why, I wonder, hasn’t she
considered that we Pinoys would
probably give her the benefit of the
doubt – after all, haven’t we allowed
real criminals to return to the country
from their luxurious exiles and let
them become government officials
and all manner of celebrities?
Haven’t all those hundreds of
cases pending in the courts against
those important people (we know
their names) been relegated to
limbo – with the lame excuse given
that we’re a Christian people who
forgive all sinners and let bygones be
bygones?
It wasn’t just Nora who broke
our hearts recently. What was
more shattering was the depressing
plethora of corruption charges in
government, followed soon after by
the outrageous presidential pardon of
Joseph Estrada.
The absolute last straw came when
a report soon appeared about the
administration thinking of appointing
Erap a “Poverty Czar.” It was
enough to turn the numbing national
despondency into acute despair.
For a country once labelled “the
showcase of democracy”, there
simply aren’t enough words to
describe the depths to which our
politicians have sunk.
With the rule of law now well
and truly trampled, the country
could easily join the list of countries
like Burma, China, Kenya and
Zimbabwe, where good governance
is non-existent and corruption is rife.
Seeking a ray of hope amidst all
this appalling news, I found it in
the report from the International
Labor Organization, which
declared that Filipino women are
giving their country a good name
– notwithstanding their country’s
political situation.
The report brought to mind that
Mao Tse-tung dictum about women
“holding up half the sky”.
Call me a female chauvinist sow,
but I’ll wager that it’s not just half
but three-quarters of Pinays who are
holding up their country’s national
ceiling.
None of this is news, of course.
It’s been going on for a while, the
result of the Marcos legacy which
left the country impoverished and
demoralised.
As the analysts have shown,
Filipinos today are still suffering
PINOYDIMSUM
observations
Isabel T
Escoda
from the consequences of that
dictatorship. The malignant
corruption generated by that era has
spread around the country, damaging
not just livelihoods but morale and
morals.
And it’s been the women, as
highlighted in the ILO report, who
have been battling against this
national malaise.
The statistics reveal that not just
large numbers of Pinays comprise
the numbers of domestic contract
workers abroad, they also dominate
in office jobs at home.
Over 40 per cent of the work
force of 37 million people in the
Philippines are female.
The ILO quotes the ratio of women
to men in executive jobs (58 per
cent) in the Philippines as the highest
in the world – in the U.S., the ratio is
only 42.3 per cent.
“
For a country
once labelled
the ‘showcase of
democracy’, there
aren’t enough words
to describe the
depths to which our
politicians have sunk
Our own Department of Labor has
noted a 2.25 million rise of women in
senior positions in 2006, compared to
1.62 million men.
Professor Danilo Antonio of the
Asian Institute of Management
has said that women are “better
managers of people; they are also
more hardworking”. He added
that women have “strong human
leadership skills.”.
So what about Pinoy men? Are
most of them now so emasculated,
which is why they’re often seen in
the usual “istambay” poses around
the country – when they aren’t
thronging the cockpits and porno
cinemas on weekends?
Do they live month to month
just waiting for their women’s
remittances from abroad to pay for
cigarettes and San Miguel beer and
jueteng?
What a sad state of affairs. Where
is Nora now that we need her to sing
and lift our collective spirits?
22
forum
filipino globe
TINGINNAMIN
November 2007
Numbers up in search
for greener pastures
Dante Vino in Manila
A stroke of boldness and not much else
A mixed bag. That’s what we got
from the government in its response
to demands for measures to mitigate
the pain of the runaway peso.
And that’s what it’s going to get in
return when the measures come in
for review by OFWs.
Short on detail, the so-called
three-point program looks more
like an investment in the future than
anything resembling relief, here and
now, for our stressed dollar earners.
Those three points are nothing
new. They’re already part of existing
programs the government likes to
trumpet everytime it goes on the
road.
Conspicuous by its absence
is immediate action to inject
confidence. No matter how
insignificant, a reduction in certain
fees (if not the elimination of others)
would have done the job.
It would not hurt to revisit the noplacement-fee policy, which has been
openly flouted by some employment
agencies, to see what can be done to
ensure its strict implementation.
Still, the measures bear watching
for their stroke of boldness. By
asking banks to look into foreign
currency hedging to help stabilise
exchange rates, the government has
shown it means business.
With a vast amount of money
needed to cover currency forward
contracts, the banks are expected
to move softly, softly. But they will
move nonetheless. And then there is
the idea of an institutional approach,
such as an OFW investment fund.
Let’s see what happens.
SULATLETTERS
Ang iksi ng ating alaala. Ilang
taon lang ang nakararaan,
nagkaisa tayong lahat sa
Edsa para patalsikin ang
pinakamalaking gambling lord sa
bansa.
Tingin natin magiging isang
aral ang nangyari kay Erap sa
lahat ng mga corrupt government
officials.
Ngayon, hindi lang talamak
ang graft sa ating pamahalaan,
nasa labas na rin si Erap
matapos ang kwestionableng
pardon ni Pangulong Arroyo.
Ano na ang nangyari kabayan?
Jorge Lapitan
Hong Kong
There has been too much
confusion about holidays
domestic helpers are entitled to.
As an employer, I am as
confused as them. Is there a
way for our consulate to publish
these holidays. I understand
some of them are movable,
meaning they vary from one year
to the next.
But it should be a lot of help if
we’re given at least an idea of
the regular ones.
Marie
Hong Kong
I have to disagree with your
assertion that your consulate
has been dealing with abusive
employers. including Filipinos,
fairly. I am not sure it is fair to
publicise one such employer in
the way that Jacky Cheung was
castigated in the press, while
others enjoy the protection of
anonymity.
There should be discretion in
the release of information by
your consulate to the media.
The number of Filipino nurses
seeking gainful employment in the
United States has soared almost
50 per cent, according to the Trade
Union Congress of the Philippines.
TUCP spokesperson Alex Aguilar
said that in the nine months to
September 30 this year, a total of
15,083 Philippine-educated nurses
sought to practice their profession
in America by taking for the first
time the eligibility test of the US
National Council of State Boards
of Nursing.
This represents an increase of
4,793 (or 47 per cent) compared
to the 10,290 Filipino nurses
who took the NCLEX first time
(that is, non-repeaters) in the
same nine-month period in 2006,
according to Aguilar.
Citing official statistics,
Aguilar said the 15,083 who took
the NCLEX in the nine months
to September this year just about
matched the 15,171 Filipino nurses
who sat the examination for the
first time in the whole of last year.
NCLEX, or National Council
Licensure Examination, is the final
step in the nurse eligibility process
in the US – the equivalent of the
Philippines’ nursing licensure test.
Aguilar said the Philippines
still led the five countries with
the greatest number of (non-US)
nationals who took the NCLEX for
the first time in the three quarters
to September.
India came in second, with 4,071
examinees, followed by South
Korea, 1,440; Canada, 682; and
Cuba, 525. TUCP’s disclosure
comes not long after the NCSBN
started allowing Filipino nurses
aspiring to work in America to take
the NCLEX in Manila.
This was in August, with
the installation here of a new
international test center.
The labor group earlier said it
expects the number of Filipino
nurses applying for US jobs and
subsequently passing the NCLEX
to increase significantly in the
months ahead on account of “the
favorable home ground testing.”
Previously, Filipino nurses had to
travel overseas to take the NCLEX
in test centers elsewhere inAsia
and the Pacific.
This created accompanying
disadvantages and pressures, the
foremost of which was financial.
Partly owing to these past
difficulties, historically, only about
half of the Filipino nurses passed
the test the first time they took it.
TUCP has been batting for the
deployment of surplus Filipino
nurses to more lucrative job
“
NCLEX, or
National Council
Licensure
Examination, is
the final step in
the US eligibility
process – the
equivalent of our
nursing licensure
test
markets abroad, saying that every
professional is entitled to take his
or her skills to wherever these
would get the greatest reward.
Lured by the promise of greener
pastures abroad, the number of
Filipinos wanting to become nurses
has been growing by leaps and
bounds.
As of June this year, a staggering
total of 632,108 students were
enrolled in more than 400
Philippine nursing schools, an
increase of 30 per cent, or 145,875,
from the 486,233 last year.
CONSULAR FEES AND CHARGES
New/renewal 32 pages
$425 New/renewal 64 pages
Replacement of lost passport 32 pages
Replacement of lost passport 64 pages
Issuance of travel document
Amendment of passport entries
Single entry (3 months) $212.50
Multiple Entry (3 months) $425
Special investors resident visa
Special resident retiree’s visa
• The first day of January
• Lunar New Year’s Day
• The second day of Lunar New Year
• The third day of Lunar New Year
• Ching Ming Festival
• The first day of May
• Tuen Ng Festival
• The day following the Chinese MidAutumn Festival
• Chung Yeung Festival
• Chinese Winter Solstice Festival or
$510
$765
$1,190
$255
$170
Multiple Entry (6 months) $680
Multiple entry (1 year)
$1,020
$3,400
$3,400
Notarial services
Affidavit of support/consent
Acknowledgment of instruments (deeds, powers of attorney)
Authentication of documents
Jurat (sworn statements, letters)
Original Seen
Seen and noted
Contracts (authentication and verification)
Issuance of certified true copy of document
Taking of deposition
Report/registration of marriage/birth/death
Any other certification
$212.50
$212.50
$212.50
$212.50
$212.50
$212.50
$297.50
$212.50
$212.50
$212.50
$212.50
SSS CONTRIBUTION SCHEDULE
All OFW members
Salary
bracket
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
Compensation
range
(pesos)
4,750 – 5,249.99 5,250 – 5,749.99 5,750 – 6,249.99
6,250 – 6,749.99 6,750 – 7,249.99 7,250 – 7,749.99
7,750 – 8,249.99
8,250 – 8,749.99
8,750 – 9,249.99
9,250 – 9,749.99
9,750 – 10,249.99
10,250 – 10,749.99
10,750 – 11,249.99
11,250 – 11,749.99
11,750 – 12,249.99
12,250 – 12,749.99
12,750 – 13,249.99
13,250 – 13,749.99
13,750 – 14,249.99
14,250 – 14,749.99
14,750 and over
Comparative schedule
Before Now
Before
Now
Monthly
salary
credit
(pesos)
5,000
5,500
6,000
6,500
7,000
7,500
8,000
8,500
9,000
9,500
10,000
10,500
11,000
11,500
12,000
12,500
13,000
13,500
14,000
14,500
15,000
Before
Now
470
520
705
780
940
1,040
517
572
752
832
987
1,092
564
624
799
884
1,034 1,144
611
676
846
936
1,081 1,196
658
728
893
988
1,128 1,248
New
monthly
contributions
(pesos)
520
572
624
676
728
780
832
884
936
988
1,040
1,092
1,144
1,196
1,248
1,300
1,352
1,404
1,456
1,508
1,560
Before
Now
1,175
1,222
1,269
1,316
1,363
1,410
1,300
1,352
1,404
1,456
1,508
1,560
Contributions must not be less than P200 a month
PHILIPPINE CONSULATE GENERAL
14/F UNITED CENTRE, 95 QUEENSWAY, ADMIRALTY
Hotlines: 9155 4023 (Consular), 608 08323 (Labor), 6345 9324 (OWWA),
Trunkline: 2823 8501 Fax: 2866 9885
Ngayon meron, ngayon wala.
Ito ba ang hinaharap ng ating
mga kababayan sa Macau sa
paghihintay ng pagbubukas ng
Konsulado.
Sawa na siguro sila sa mga
pakonti-konti na kilos ng ating
gobyerno pagdating sa isyung
ito.
Working hours and statutory holidays
Filipino nurse hopefuls can now take the US licensure exam in Manila.
PUBLISHER Reggie Amigo Executive EDITOR Rex Aguado PUBLISHING CONSULTANT Philip Evardone ADVISERs Therese Necio-Ortega, Prof Dr Maurice Teo
CORRespondents Eddie Alinea (Manila), Celeste Terrenal (Manila), Terrie Fucanan (Manila), Chito Manuel (Jeddah). Rick Sumallo (New Jersey), Loi Liwanag (Los Angeles)
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Bernie Domantay, AccessPoint (Philippines) Josephine Miranda (Philippines), TJ Badon-Doble (Philippines), Bob Waterfield (Hong Kong)
EDITORIAL BOARD Reggie Amigo, Rex Aguado, Philip Evardone, Prof Dr Maurice Teo CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Beting Laygo Dolor, Teo Antonio, Chito Manuel, Danny Vibas, Dante Vino
Filipino Globe is published once a month by Apex Services (HK) Ltd, Suite 1905, Lippo Centre Tower 2, Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong, telephone (852) 2918 8248, email [email protected]. No part of this publication
may be reproduced without the written permission of the publishers. Printed by Premier Printing Group, Yuen Long, New Terrories, Hong Kong
The Consulate is open from 9 am to 4 pm, Sundays to Thursdays,
except during the following holidays:
For advertising inquiries
1 July Hong Kong SAR
Establishment Day
Bob Waterfield (Hong Kong) 9470 2764
Ricky Sumallo (Philippines) 0917 539 0486
TJ Badon-Doble (Philippines) 0928 502 0379
Josephine Miranda (Philippines) 0920 951 6917
26 September Chinese
Mid-Autumn Festival
1 October China National Day
19 October Chung Yeung
Festival
1-2 November All Saints’
and All Souls’ Day
23
HONG KONG STATUTORY HOLIDAYS
Passport services
Visa services
November 2007
Flexi Fund
Name and address
supplied
Name and address
supplied
lingkod-bayan
filipino globe
30 November Bonifacio Day
22 December Chinese Winter
Solstice Festival
24-25 December Christmas Day
30 December Rizal Day
Note:
Other holidays may be declared
by the Philippine government
filipino globe
the OFW newspaper
1905 Lippo Centre Tower 2
Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong
(852) 2918 8248, email: [email protected]
Christmas Day (at the option of the
employer)
• The first day of July
• The first day of October
If an employer needs the services of a
worker during a statutory holiday, the
employer has to give the worker prior
notice of not less than 48 hours and an
alternative holiday within 60 days of the
statutory holiday.
24
features
filipino globe
T
echnology, particularly the
internet and the mobile
phone, have dramatically
brought people from distant
places closer together, this
vast universe shrinking into a global
village.
Nowhere is this phenomenon felt
more than in the lives of families torn
apart by circumstances, as in the case
of Filipino workers driven to a foreign
land by the promise of a better life.
Gone are the days when homesick
husbands and wives, daughters and
sons and friends communicated to
loved ones by writing kilometric letters
and personal telenovelas on tearstained yellow paper that took weeks
to reach their destination by mail – if
they get there at all.
Nowadays, loved ones – even
strangers – are just a fingertip away.
One click of the computer mouse or
the keypad of your handheld phone
and your message is posted, pronto.
Welcome to the 21st century, the age of
instant gratification.
Cyberspace has changed the way
we conduct our lives and do business
– from courtship to the purchase of
books and merchandise, even the
transmission of news and information.
More and more people, especially the
young and professionals, are turning
to the internet for news, gossip and
entertainment – a complement if not
an alternative to newspapers and
magazines.
From this has grown a community of
people with ideas to share and voices
dying to be heard. Call them bloggers.
They set up their personal websites and
reflect on everyday topics – from those
as mundane as what dress to wear to a
party and to more serious like a strong
peso’s effect on OFWs’ buying power.
Never mind if other people care to read
them. Their blogs serve as journals,
diaries or, as blogger.com calls them,
“daily pulpits”, “political soapbox” and
“memos to the world”.
Interested in the lives of Filipinos
residing in Hong Kong? There
are bloggers who can satisfy your
curiosity, maybe keep you interested
enough that you start looking them up
regularly.
Just see what they’re up to, what
they’re thinking, how they’re feeling.
It’s easy to relate to – or disagree
with – them. In the world of bloggers,
blogger.com says, “there are no real
rules”.
lmer Cagape, a systems
engineer, web developer and of
late a search engine marketing
man, has made the SAR his home for
the past six years. He started his blog,
Living in Hong Kong (A day in the
Life of a Filipino in HK), in mid-2004.
As “one of those who jumped into the
blogging bandwagon”, this Davaoeno
E
finds himself no different from the
typical blogger, for whom no topic
seems off limits.
Quarry Bay-based Elmer writes
about a whole gamut of topics: his
travels, barkada, encounters with
fellow Filipino migrants, even Cantopop celebrity sightings.
He has been fortunate to see Maggie
Q, Charlene Choi of the Twins
and professional model Rosemary
Vanderbroucke in the flesh but has
yet to stumble on the most famous
Hongkonger in the world: Jackie Chan.
A sample of the halo-halo, sari-sari
entries in his blog: Tips for Tourists
Coming to HK, Maintaining Friendster
Friends, Paradox on Hong Kong Fake
Goods, Army of Maids Labor Hard for
Little Returns, Philippino vs Filipino,
Quality Migrant Plan Needs More
Promotion, Balikbayan Box: The
Door-to-door Dilemma, and Tips on
Movie-watching in Hong Kong.
One of Elmer’s musings, MTR
Secret: They Have Toilets!, posted on
August 28, is an eye-catcher. Although
most of us commuters have never seen
them, there are at least seven toilets
in each MTR station for staff use,
according to Elmer. Only in cases of
emergency are the public allowed in.
“I get to share what are the benefits
and constraints for a typical foreigner
living here that other people may not
think or be aware of [dealing with
language barriers, discrimination,
culture, etc] My other blog (SEO Hong
Kong) helps me find new contacts who
share the same interests and possible
collaborations,” Elmer says.
“I get satisfaction from readers and
blog reviewers who appreciate my
writing style and varying points of
view. Blogging requires ample amount
of time and brain activity. So when
someone says he/she reads my entries
every now and then and leaves a ‘keep
up the good work’ message, I get
fulfillment from that.”
t is ironic that in a medium that
allows its users to introduce, even
advertise, themselves to the world,
Jon Mariano prefers to be anonymous.
His blog, Filipino Life in HK (Just
Plodding Along), does not carry a
single photo of himself. Neither does
it reveal personal information – apart
from describing himself as your
“ordinary OFW”.
His reflections are often serious,
insightful and informative, largely on
Philippine politics and economy. If
he were a newspaper columnist, Jon
would be the hard-hitting type. But
he is also a basketball fan at heart and
not averse to some showbiz chika (if
there’s a lesson to be learned). This
fortysomething Ilonggo is a permanent
Hong Kong resident and engineer,
which perhaps explains the colorful
photos of the city’s architecture and
I
INTERNET
MADNESS
There’s a very personal dimension to this new-age
phenomenon that makes it more than a tool to send
mail, view porn, read news, check spelling or do your
homework. Gabby Alvarado zeroes in on blogging
landmarks on his website. Among
the commentaries in Jon’s blog are:
Blips in Times of Plenty, Hong Kong
is Generous, Time for HK to Stop
Maid Levy, The Strong Peso – Who
Benefits?, Pinoy Prosti, Hiding the
Truth By Running Away, H5N1 is
Here Again!, Supreme Court has Lost
its Respectability, and My EDSA 1
Not surprisingly, his first two entries,
If It Ain’ Broke, Don’t Fix It and
Counting the Votes, dealt on politics
and the raucous national elections
that pitted Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
against FPJ, among others.
A regular reader of all online
Philippine newspapers, he is also fond
of the websites of veteran Filipino
Filipino is indeed a whimsical
language. Whilst Cantonese was
invented for non-Chinese to utterly
ridicule themselves and German
sounds like a linguistic war-hammer
to the rest of the world, Filipino is
best described as a straightforward
language that lacks the past perfect
tense.
For instance, if someone screams
the words umpug, wakas or disgrasya
at you, you would instinctively
associate something with bodily harm.
And you’re right. Now that’s really
onomatopoeic.
Onomate ... what? Wiki describes
it best: “onomatopoeia is a figure of
speech that employs a word [...] that
imitates, echoes, or suggests the
object it is describing.”
With the right volume
Filipino can infuse so
many (negative) emotions
into the pronunciation of
the words it’s like being
bent to a pretzel by a
female wrestler.
I always get goose bumps watching
Filipino dramas where people scream
at each other. It’s comparable to
looking at the Medusa with the help of
a mirror. You may witness the terror
without being petrified.
Evil father who repudiates daughter:
“Wag kang bumalik dito o ...” followed
by the nasty word tarantado.
Frail, crying daughter: “Daddy, ayo
kong lumayas...” followed by words
journalists Manuel Quezon III (“he
seems to offer a realistic political
view of the Philippines”) and Ellen
Tordesillas (“she offers the view of the
masses”) .
He says: “I like writing and it has
helped me express my thoughts a little
better – I think – using the written
word. It [blogging] has also opened
online friendships – if you can call it
that. But it sure beats doing nothing.”
nd then there’s Lory May
Martin. She’s funny,
fascinating and quirky. This
Filipina, raised in Germany where her
parents were both employed as nurses,
came to Hong Kong because of a
“rascally Chinese also known as my
husband.”
The love of her life, identified in her
blog as Kar-Leung but is actually KarWing in real life, took a job in the SAR
a few years ago. Lory May followed
him to live the life of an expat wife.
She later found a job of her own in the
SAR and tried to get her MBA – “a
much more meaningful activity than
shopping,” she explains.
Her musings on her blog, Dice Six
(We demand rigidly defined areas of
doubt and uncertainty!), have catchy
titles like Fashionation, PSP –Praise
Stimulated Person, Going K-razy
(on Korean telenovelas like `Jewel
in the Palace’), The Cult About
Yakult, Defeat Isn’t Bitter if You
Don’t Swallow it, Boobitrap (on bras),
A
Geekeed Out, Don’t Sit Next To Me;
Just Because I’m Asian, My Big Fat
Chinese Wedding, LKF Laughable
Kinky Females, Supercaliegoistic, and
Leg-Intimate.
“Whenever I blog about Hong Kong
topics, it’s mainly about three things,”
27-year-old Lory May says, “Food,
shopping and cultural differences
which I refuse to comprehend.”
Just how funny this lady is? Listen to
her HK shopping experience.
“Before I came to Hong Kong, I did
not know much about fashion brands.
Hell, I once mixed up Mark Jacobs
with Marks & Spencer,” she says. “But
once you enter the gates of shopping
you go through the whole `The Devil
Wears Prada’ transformation. That’s
what this place does to you. After three
months, you are able to spot a fake LV
bag 50 meters away on a hazy day.”
It’s difficult to tell when she’s talking
as Lory May or Dice Six.
“The real me and my blogger
persona are not exactly the same,”
she offers. “Actually the blogger me
is a filtered and more cheerful version
of me. I have the need to censor it to
some degree in case I get to read all the
stuff I’ve written years later and realise
what a kitschy-drama dope I was.
“It’s easy to describe your younger
self but I have difficulties describing
me in the here and now. Let’s say
I’m a person who knows that she
should improve herself or even strive
to perfection but came to realise it is
easier to accept oneself.”
Two of Lory May’s entries, This
Used to Be My Playground and The
Spirit of Travel, posted in September
and October 2005, talk about her visit
to her mother’s hometown of Baguio,
where Lory May spent her preelementary days.
On this exhilarating trip, she was
accompanied by her sister Jazz and
German friends Silk and Sanne.
“I know that Filipinos stay longer on
my blog when they find out that I’m
one of them,” she says.
“Blogging has helped me improve
my Filipino spelling. I sometimes write
short sentences in Tagalog or try to
integrate new Tagalog words I’ve just
learned. So I’m forced to look them
up because I don’t want to embarrass
myself in front of my Pinoy posse.”
There are two Hong Kong-based
Filipinos whose blogs she often reads.
One is http://www.knoizki.net/. “His
blog is the slice-of-life-kind of blog.
It feels real and makes you feel good
because you see how another nice
person tries to cope in Hong Kong.”
The other blogger is http://blog.
myspace.com/donatbel, who she
regards as a friend. “She usually blogs
when she’s down,” Lory May explains.
“So I check up on her by reading her
blog.”
JON MARIANO
LORY MAY MARTIN
ELMER CAGAPE
I’ve often read articles that
spell Filipino, my nationality as
Philippino. I don’t know why
such misspelling occurs.
Even the British, whom I think
are knowledgeable enough
about the name of people who
live in the Philippines can still go wrong.
Let alone those who aren’t so familiar with
geography or adopt English as a second
language.
I guess it’s similar to being called a
Thailander instead of Thai, or Hongkie
instead of Hongkonger. Just a piece of
correction to what I am called.
Let’s simplify it, I am a Filipino which
is easier to spell than Philippino; people
sometimes spell it Phillipines instead of
Philippines.
(1986) Memory. “I’m quite concerned
about what’s happening in our country
and blogging has given me a platform
to let myself be heard. That’s the
main reason why I blog,” says Jon.
“Recently I started to look at the
monetization of my blog. It’s exciting
to see that it really works.
Jon started blogging in June 2004.
November 2007
drowned in tears which Dicey cannot
understand because her Filipino is
crappy.
So much wretched despair and
furious anger, it could fuel the dark
force for aeons. Especially Filipino
mothers can add this pinch of highpitched hysteria in their scolding
technique. Imagine they’re hitting the
brakes really, really hard leaving the
smell of burned nerves behind and
skid marks on your vulnerable soul.
During the war, Hopi Indians were
wind talkers, Filipino mothers could
have been an interrogation instrument.
God cop and pissed mum.
I hope my mum won’t get to read
this. Phone speakers do not extenuate
the sonic impact.
The past few months was an experience that
is both exciting, mentally challenging, and
sometimes, well, dragging and choppy. I’m
talking about my blogging experience.
It was exciting and a nice challenge to
communicate and exchange ideas with
other bloggers. It was enjoyable to see other
people’s ideas and to sometimes lock horns
with them over some issues. And it was
pleasing to see that Filipinos care about the
motherland. It is indeed going to be a serious
medium in expressing one’s ideas and
preferences, albeit I think that for Filipinos, it
still has to take some time to be so.
I mainly dabbled in Philippine politics
discussion. I shared my ideas and feelings
on Manuel L Quezon III’s blog at www.
quezon.ph/blog, Ellen Tordesillas’ at www.
ellentordesillas.com, Dean Jorge Bocobo’s at
philippinecommentary.blogspot.
com, and John Marzan’s at
politicaljunkie.blogspot.com
Some of the things I have
observed:
At the moment, blogs about
TV shows and stars gets more
traffic. Blogs about song lyrics and food gets
more traffic than serious discussions about
politics.
• Good blogs gets visited a lot (very
obvious)
• Your blog can generate some income thru
adsense, but you need to have a lot of traffic
for it to be appreciable
• Even in serious discussions, there will
always be hecklers
I think that I will continue to do what I’ve
been doing.
25
Fear and loathing, pride and
prejudice in cyberspace
Laura G Perez in Sacramento
So you think that time, travel
and education have narrowed
the divide between people of
different races. We imagine
ourselves to be more broadminded, accepting of other
cultures and open to interracial
relationships.
We are pleased that
technological advances
have expanded our choices.
A local newspaper report
says over 100,000 Filipinos
have registered with online
dating services based in the
Philippines, namely itzamatch.
com and Friendster. In the
US, there are match.com,
cupidjunction.com, eHarmony.
com and loveacess.com,
among many others.
Singles don’t meet that many
eligible individuals in socials
anymore. They are biased
against those who hang out
in bars. Besides, you get to
specify what you want in a
perfect mate on search engines
and eliminate undesirable
characteristics right away
(“Those on welfare with police
record need not apply!”).
Search engines give you
several hits in all states and
even outside the country. They
say Russian women have
replaced Filipinas in the mailorder bride category. Women’s
groups have tried in vain to
shake this tag off.
So are we any different from
Jane Austen’s society? Does
it make sense to wait eternally
for somebody to come along
while we are cooped up in
our tiny cubicle – counting
other’s money, spell-checking,
organizing files – or are we
right in taking the initiative, in
exploring new frontiers?
Initially, the problem with
internet correspondence is that
you get letters like this:
“I want my best frind weed
not juge me as i wood not juge
her welling to let me pamper
her i dont cheet I wood hope
she wood showe me the the
same. and ever I get the
nochion to jump bick and off in
to yhe sunseat and just rubb my
nick once en a will that wood
just fine.”
Or “I’m not a member of this
site so you’ll have to give me an
email address.” The next time
you check, your yahoo account
is flooded with spams.
You wouldn’t believe
the fascinating characters
that populate cyberspace.
Executives and bums, geniuses
and retardates, straight,
bisexual, and downright
confused. The fun part is
creating a profile. It is like a
creative writing exercise. You
can describe yourself in fancy
adjectives, post a nice photo
taken in your heyday (prior to
your lobotomy) and set down
some impossible criteria for
your soulmate like this one
posted by a Kansas man:
“I’m hoping to find an
attractive, fit, intelligent,
passionate woman who is
interested in other cultures, who
takes care of herself, and who
is confident enough and friendly
enough to greet a passing
stranger.
“You should definitely enjoy
international food, and hopefully
have had some experience with
other cultures or a desire to
learn ... Hope to find someone
who enjoys life ... who likes to
laugh (including laughing at
herself at times) ... who is very
sensual and very sexual, with
a sparkle in her eyes and a
devilish grin at the right times.
Hopefully, you will also enjoy
animals (I have four neutered
cats) and kids from two
previous marriages.
“Oh, one more thing ... if you
voted for George W, it would
probably be a waste of your
time to contact me because
we would have some major
differences that might be too
great to bridge.”
You would expect him to say
in the end that “Some mustard
and pickles wouldn’t hurt. And
could you deliver that in fifteen
minutes?”
There are egomaniacs with
profiles like this:
“My ambitions are geared to
large-scale goals and I love to
overcome obstacles, live up to
challenges, and reach out for
the stars to bring them down
to earth. Like the Snake that
enchanted Eve, I know how to
make more than one person
lose their head! When I start
out, my efficiency is terrifying
and all the more so as I often
work alone and at my own
rhythm. I am faster than the
average person, as I slide over
obstacles like a snake in the
grass.”
Move over, Spiderman.
After exchanging a few letters,
you are now ready for the
moment of truth – meeting them
in person. A friend said her date
turned out to be a survivor of a
horrific car accident who walked
with a limp. She didn’t mind the
limp too much. It was his shortterm memory loss that bothered
her.
“He said he might forget my
name or what he said to me a
few minutes ago.” Of course,
that could create really big
problems like he might turn to
you later while driving, ask who
you are and throw you out of
the car.
Other Romeos talk mostly
about their former wives, the
big-time court battles over
alimony and child support that
drove them to a therapist’s
couch. An alarm should go off
in your head. Some are frank
about their being a recovering
alcoholic or sex addict.
Now all you have to consider
is whether it would be wise
to give them a chance
considering that you have
teenage daughters. You wonder
if there’s anything they are
hiding from you such as a
rare, congenital illness that will
transform you into an instant
caregiver. And how would you
like meeting a folk singer who
claims he is a prophet?
Once in a while, you find
someone who sweeps you off
your feet. He brings his Bible,
prays with you before and after
meal and serenades you with
his guitar. He opens the trunk
of his car to reveal a telescope
and proceeds to show you
Venus, coincidentally way up
there in its splendor on this
particular night.
Perfect, you keep on thinking,
perfect.
He sends you an email the
next day. It reads: “Dear Karen”
.....
Ooooops ... but your name is
not Karen.
Anyway, you read on:
“I had a wonderful evening
and I just wanted to drop you
a note letting you know that it
was amazing. By the way ...
you kiss a lot better than your
dog. Man! I gotta get a different
shade of lipstick!”
Needless to say, you don’t
have a dog.
If I said dorks are the rule
rather than the exception in
cyberspace, you would say I
am prejudiced, right? Let me
then say that depending on
your diligence and perception,
there is a chance you could
meet someone online who is
tantalizingly NORMAL.
Some basic rules: Take your
blinders off and find out who the
person really is. Be aware of
the currents of life and accept
the rude economics that govern
all social classes. Above all,
trust your judgment when you
take the risk.
26
community
filipino globe
November 2007
community
filipino globe
November 2007
Gal R Roma looks back on the years with
classmates she grew up with and catches
up with them as workers in a foreign land
The three winners of the Boardwalk Dream Girl search pose with finalists. Right photo shows Boardwalk directors with company president Bernardo Madera, business
development head Brenda Pingol (left) and Hong Kong branch head Gemma Montalban. Occasion was the first anniversary of the company’s Hong Kong business.
Hong Kong newcomer shines through
Thoughts of ailing father
come rushing in as
Bicol lass is crowned
Ms Barkadahan. Gabby
Alvarado finds out what’s
so special about this day
for Marian Joy Zafe
S
o many things are happening
for the very first time in the
life of 22-year-old Marian Joy
Zafe.
Her 14-month stay so far in Hong
Kong is her first time to be away
from her mama Emma and papa
Miguel. Cheerful but introverted by
nature, Marian Joy never thought
she had the silky moves, much less
the guts, for belly dancing in front
of thousands of strangers. Until she
joined SmarTone’s Ms Barkadahan
beauty pageant, another first for
this charming Bicolana who had
never been part of even a Mutya ng
Barangay contest.
“Nag-search lang po ako sa internet
kung paano isayaw yon,” she says of
belly dancing, which she performed
in the pageant’s talent portion and
definitely one of the reasons that
won the hearts of the judges and the
crowd at Chater Garden.
“Walang time po mag-practice
dahil laging may kasama sa bahay
na alagang bata at yeye. Sa boarding
house na lang po ako nag-practice
bago mag-umpisa ang contest.
Pahabol lang. Dinasal ko na lang na
sana sumunod ang katawan ko sa
kanta.”
Marian Joy, a midwifery graduate
from Virac, Catanduanes, had never
entertained thoughts of becoming
a beauty queen. But the urgings of
four aunts, who also happen to be
working in Hong Kong, and the lure
of the prize money and perks on offer
were enough for her to overcome her
inhibitions. Joining the contest, for
her, was not a form of vanity – it was
done for the parents left back home,
particularly her bedridden papa.
“Naisip ko ang pera para sa papa
ko. Bedridden siya since 2005.
Na-stroke one week bago yung
graduation ko. Hindi na ako nagattend ng graduation kasi mas gusto
ko doon ako sa tabi niya sa hospital,”
she says.
Gerlie Marfil, the 2006 SmarTone
Winners of the search for Ms Barkadahan 2007. From left to
right: Resilie Rivera, second runner-Up; Marian Joy Zafe,
Ms Barkadahan 2007 grand winner and Ms Fitness 2007; and
Brinny Amoro, first runner-up. Zafe shows her winning
form on the catwalk (below).
“
Naisip ko ang
pera para sa papa
ko. Bedridden
siya since 2005.
Na-stroke one
week bago yung
graduation ko. Hindi
na ako nag-attend
ng graduation
MARIAN JOY ZAFE
Ms Barkadahan 2007
Ms Barkadahan winner from
Malabon, found fulfilment in
performing her duties as ambassador
and spokeswoman for the mobile
phone network provider during her
12-month reign. Her beauty title,
as well as previous experience as
an amateur stage actress in college,
helped her land a role in the play
Migrant Collective, staged at the
Fringe Club earlier this year.
For five successive Sunday
afternoons in the lead-up to this
year’s contest, Gerlie tirelessly
joined the 10 finalists from almost
200 aspirants in plotting dance
moves, rehearsing poses and helping
boost their confidence for their big
day.
What she and all the 10 aspiring
beauty queens have is a kinship, a
bond that speaks of woman power.
Unlike typical beauty pageant
contestants who are pampered,
trained ramp models or grew up in
well-to-do families, these strong,
admirable women are their family’s
breadwinners. They do not let the
hardships of a domestic helper’s
life hinder their quest to become
well-rounded persons in search of a
better life for their loved ones. Their
monthly remittances are among the
reasons why the country’s economy
is booming.
Each is already a winner even
before she stepped on the makeshift
stage.
And on November 11, before
shrieking supporters and whistles
from male admirers, Marian Joy
became the fifth winner of the
competition.
Cebu City’s Brinny Amoro, 24,
took first-runner-up honors while
Resilie Rivera, 23, of Balagtas,
Bulacan, was second runner-up.
Prizes worth P500,000 awaited
the top winners, and for Marian Joy
that included HK$17,000 worth of
prizes as Ms Barkadahan and an
additional HK$5,000 for winning the
Miss Fitness award and a cache of
vitamins and food supplement from
sponsor Health Comes first, which
she intends to give out to aunts
Susan, Salome, Susie and Sarah
Abundo, who had nagged her into
joining the contest.
Her campaign was a Bayanihanstyle affair, with support from friends
in the Shatin building where she
works, her elder sister Mariel who is
also a domestic helper based in North
Point and a generous couple she
calls Mama Jean and Papa Jo who
provided most of her needs including
the costume for belly dancing.
“Na-develop ang confidence ko
dahil sa contest. Dati takot akong
mag-approach ng tao,” says Marian
Joy.
“Natuto akong makihalubilo sa
mga kasama ko dito na taga-ibaibang lugar. Mababait pala sila. At
saka nalamn ko na marami pala ang
nagki-care sa akin.”
Marian Joy is the second among
three siblings. Her mama sells
seafood and maintains a small
boutique in Virac while her papa was
a tricycle driver until he was taken
ill. She describes herself as a “food
tripper” who loves traveling and
reading pocketbooks, and is a big fan
of pop and R&B music, especially
those of Beyonce, Akon and Pussycat
Dolls.
Ever the polite and dutiful
daughter, this reluctant beauty queen
has a simple wish. “Simple lang
po ang gusto ko,” Marian Joy says,
“Maiangat sina mama at papa sa
kahirapan.”
That’s something you don’t hear
from a Dayanara Torres or Charlene
Gonzales or Gloria Diaz.
High school
life, and the
days we now
live overseas
L
isette Garcia-Idala thought
she could become a
teacher in her hometown
in Pangasinan, where life
is simple and everything is familiar.
Instead, she became a nurse in
a place where the people, food,
language, culture and work ethics are
foreign, and where strict Islamic law
rules – Saudi Arabia.
Jolly Carani’s ambition was to
pursue justice and represent the poor
in court. In his third year in law
school, he left the Philippines and
became a caregiver in Hampshire,
UK. He has not touched any law
books since then.
Meanwhile, Ricardo Romero
was just a couple of years away
from becoming a doctor. For some
reason, he took a slight turn and
never looked back. He became
an emergency medical technician
(EMT) in Qatar.
They’re ordinary Filipinos who,
because of circumstances, decided to
forgo their dreams and work abroad.
To me, however, they are
something else. They are
extraordinary individuals whom I
have had the opportunity to grow up
and dream big dreams with, when we
were classmates in high school.
Fifteen years ago, when we
were but adolescents enjoying the
pleasures of high school life, we
wanted nothing but to just finish
college and land a job, and grow old
loving that job. The term “overseas
worker” was something foreign to us.
Who would ever think that’s
exactly what we have become?
So what was it that made them
decide to work abroad? Why have
they become one of the millions
of Filipinos who take care of the
elderly, or talk to patients in sign
language or in foreign accents, in a
country that is not theirs? “It’s really
just about the money,” says Idala,
working as a nurse for three years
now at a foreign hospital in southern
Saudi Arabia. “If I have a choice, I
would stay in the Philippines.”
Idala did not dream of becoming a
nurse in the first place. Back in high
school, she excelled in oratorical and
declamation contests. She could have
chosen a career in theater or press
relations, or teaching, but constant
prodding from relatives took her to a
different path.
“My aunt wanted me to enrol in
nursing. Mas maganda raw ang
future ko sa nursing,” she tells me.
After passing the licensure
exam, Idala worked as a nurse at
the Philippine General Hospital in
Manila. It was an ideal job, serving
the poor and caring for the needy in a
public hospital. “Since the salary was
not enough, I was pressured to go
abroad,” Idala continues, adding “but
I resisted the need to do so because
I thought it was still best to work in
your own country.”
Idala instead decided to move to
his husband’s hometown of Kalibo,
Aklan so they could start building a
simpler lifestyle, and to have more
time to raise their then two-year old
son.
She became a school nurse for
a couple of years before deciding
that her job was not enough to
build a good future for their son.
She applied for work abroad. “I
was scared at first because there are
many restrictions when working in a
Middle Eastern country,” Idala says.
“After a few months, I realized
that the work was not really difficult.
Gal Roma revisits her high school days
with the help of an old class photo
(inset). Lisette Idala gets ready for work
in a Saudi hospital. Jolly Carani (below
right) takes a break in EuroDisney
and Ricardo Romero is on call as an
emergency personnel in Qatar.
“
It’s hard to
accept the
reality that many
Filipino medical
professionals apply
their skills abroad
because of lack of
opportunities
back home
RICARDO ROMERO
Qatar medical emergency staff
The only problem was the language
because not too many patients speak
English. But I am still thankful for
this work. The money I earn here is
really far better than what I received
back home.”
But does she plan to work in Saudi
for a long time? “No, no, I want to
go home to my family, finish the
house we’re building, and get a
teaching job like my husband. That’s
what I really like to do, just a simple
life,” she says.
olly Carani took his name to
heart – he’s a funny, exuberant
and witty person who makes
everyone around him laugh. That’s
how I knew him in high school and
he has not changed a bit, except for
the slight British accent in between
our mixed conversation in Filipino,
English and Pangasinense.
“I used to feel a bit frustrated
because my work is totally
incongruent with what I studied.
Maybe there’s a reason for this,” says
Carani in a phone interview.
Carani has a degree in English
and masters in education and was
in his third year in law school at the
University of Sto Tomas when he
decided to become a caregiver in
Hampshire, in the south of Britain.
It has been five years since, and
next year, he will be getting his
citizenship. “I decided to embrace
my calling as a caregiver and
have taken special courses and
management training to improve
my skills,” Carani says. His efforts
have paid off and last month was
J
27
promoted as deputy manager, next
to a Jamaican boss. He said he
has stopped regretting about not
becoming a lawyer. Now, he revels
in his job taking care of children
with learning disabilities. He
finds satisfaction in being able to
communicate with them through the
use of “Makaton”, which uses signs
and symbols to teach people with
special needs.
Carani says the work is not
difficult, sometimes it is the
environment that makes it difficult
to work. “Filipino workers in the
UK cannot get rid of their ‘crab
mentality’ and some British see the
Asian race as ‘inferior,” he says.
“Hindi supportive ang mga
kababayan mo pag umangat ka sa
trabaho, tapos ‘yung mga ibang
locals, maliit pa ang tingin nila sa
iyo. You really have to work doubly
hard if you want to be on par with
the locals.”
But these challenges make Carani
appreciate his work more and get
accustomed to a life with bread and
jam, and porridge and English tea
with milk.
But does he want to go back home
someday? “I still desire to go back
but it seems that the longer I stay
here in the UK, the lesser I long for
my mother country. If we to take into
account the political and economic
conditions in the Philippines, it’s not
reasonable to go back permanently.”
icardo Romero was in his
third year in medical school
when he realized the path to
his becoming a doctor was getting
very long and very costly.
“After a long soul searching, I
decided to let go of that dream,”
Romero says. He wanted to earn
some money and help his parents.
He decided to take a caregiving
course, as well as an EMT training
course in UP-PGH so he could apply
for a job abroad. “Naging positive
‘yung results ng application ko as
a caregiver in Canada and UK. But
I was also accepted as an EMT
in Qatar so I didn’t know what to
do,” Romero says. He was torn
between earning a citizenship in both
commonwealth countries and the
idea that he could further his career
as an EMT in Qatar.
“In the end, I chose to work in
Qatar and I have no regrets. I love
the job,” he says. Romero is equally
proud of the fact that he belongs to
one of the first batches to be hired
as EMTs in Qatar, in 2004. “They
saw how competent Filipino workers
were so the hospital decided to hire
more.”
His line of work involves
responding to all kinds of medical
emergencies. “I have the same work
as those people working for rescue
9/11 and throughout my duty, I am in
the ambulance.”
His wife Merci, a pediatrician,
followed him in 2006, also to work
as an EMT. “We both discussed our
decision to stay here. Of course,
the salary is better. We can also get
additional training which we can
apply when we eventually go home
to the Philippines.”
Romero plans to enrol in a
two-year course to become a
paramedic while his wife is getting
specialization in emergency
medicine.
“It’s hard to accept the reality that
many Filipino medical professionals
apply their skills abroad because of
lack of opportunities back home,”
Romero says. “But I am happy I
made the decision to leave. Pero
babalik pa rin ako. Mas gusto kong
tumanda sa Pilipinas.”
R
filipino globe
28 November 2007
filipino globe
filipino globe
center
internet cafe
November 2007
29
Some home
truths about
paint and
wall cover
From cheery to airy – choose the world you
live in. Tom Arguelles looks at the endless
possibilities inside and outside your door
P
aint and wall coverings are
two of the best design tools for
creating attractive, comfortable
spaces in your home. They make
walls come alive, accentuate
furniture and accessories, and
help tie the overall look of a room
together.
The versatility of paint makes it a
popular choice for do-it-yourselfers
and homeowners who want quick
results. “Because paint isn’t
permanent, it’s an easy and not very
expensive way to make a dramatic
change to a room,” says Manila
contractor Jason Go.
New formulations make the latest
interior and exterior paints very userfriendly. Preparation and priming is
the key to achieving that professional
look.
“Paint has come a long way since
its inception,” Go says.
“Lower volatile organic
compounds and new formulations
make paint more durable than ever,”
he says.
You also need to choose the right
type of paint and sheen for your
particular project. “If you have a
high traffic area, you don’t want to
use a flat surface paint that picks up
marks,” Go says. A satin finish paint
that provides a bit of sheen would be
a better choice.”
“
Because paint
isn’t permanent,
it’s an easy
and not very
expensive way to
make a dramatic
change to a
room
JASON GO
Contractor
New textures, natural colors, and
subtle designs make today’s wall
coverings a far cry from the frilly,
garish prints that hung in your
grandmother’s house.
The trend nowadays is towards
the classic look. Tropical prints,
botanicals, and animal prints are
popular, especially for bedrooms.
“Large-scale floral patterns,
especially roses, are very popular
and great in romantic spaces like
bedrooms,” Go says.
When choosing the right
Start with a mix of
color (left), then
choose a scheme
for your exteriors
(top). By not
limiting yourself
to certain colors,
you can be more
flexible with the
wall cover, such as
wallpaper (above).
wallpaper for your home, consider
the task at hand. “You need to
choose what you like and choose
something suitable for the room
intended,” says interior designer
Carol Sta Maria.
Solid-sheet vinyl or vinyl-coated
wallpapers are good choices for
a kitchen or bath, because of
their easy- to-clean qualities and
resistance to moisture and grease.
More delicate wall coverings, like
genuine grass cloth or silk, are
better suited for spaces like living
rooms and bedrooms.
Some of the latest wall coverings
are also more user-friendly, allowing
you to install and remove them faster
than ever. Before you make your
final selection, consider consulting
with an expert. “I tell people to visit
independent retailers because they
have designers on staff who can
help point the consumer in the right
direction,” Sta Maria says.
I thought I knew man’s best friend until I had one of my own
now open
in north point
shop 75 b&c, block 13, city garden shopping arcade
233 electric road, north point
home, health & beauty, money, travel, stars & sports
life
Q
I have dealt with dogs for
much of my adult life, but I
realised that when it comes to
basic care, I have a lot to learn,
more so now that I have one of
my own.
Grace Togonon
Hong Kong
A
telephone:
2982 0221
Having a dog in the house
can be a lot of work. Among
the main tasks involved in caring
for your dog are feeding, bathing,
grooming, and exercise.
In general, dry dog food is
more nutritious than moist dog
food. Any time there’s a new pet,
however, check with a veterinarian
for dietary recommendations.
Never offer your dog pork chop
bones, chicken bones, or fish
DIYBOB
do it yourself
ROBERT
LUNARIA
bones. These can splinter into
sharp pieces and catch in your
pet’s throat.
If you must give your dog a
bone, give only marrow or knuckle
bones that have first been boiled
to remove fat and grease that
might cause diarrhea. Take the
bone away as soon as it starts to
splinter.
On a hot day, be vigilant about
your dog’s water supply. Fill your
pet’s bowl with cold tap water and
freshen it often.
When it comes to grooming,
comb a long-haired dog before
a bath. Then you won’t have to
untangle wet hair.
Make certain the water
temperature is roughly 100
degrees fahrenheit. Warmer or
cooler water will cause your pet
distress and may make it difficult
to handle.
Wash the head, ears, and neck
first. If you don’t, any fleas that
are on the animal will take refuge
there while you clean the body.
If your dog smells bad but
there’s no time to give it a bath,
rub baking soda or cornstarch into
its coat and brush it off.
Remember, few things pleases
a dog more than being taken out
on a walk. This may also be a
good chance to relieve the animal,
but be prepared to clean up the
mess.
Never-ending loyalty will be your
reward from your pet.
Send your questions or comments
to [email protected]
30
health matters
filipino globe
November 2007
filipino globe
November 2007 31
Your biological clock is ticking, but it’s all part of the process
W
omen at a certain age begin
to experience symptoms
associated with the end of
their reproductive years.
Often, these are transitory, meaning
they will come to pass as the
bioglogical process takes hold.
Some of these symptoms are
flagged well beforehand.
Writing in from Jeddah, Saudi
Arabia, Clara Medel wonders
whether her symptoms are warning
signs she’s entering menopause.
We asked Dr Ernesto Lactaoen,
a gynecologist at the Mandaluyong
City Medical Center, to give us an
idea about premenopausal syndrome.
He writes:
Menopause is defined as the
cessation of the menstrual cycle for
a year without a known underlying
HEALTHTALK
what the doctor says
Dr Jun
Amigo
cause. It usually occurs in women
between 45 and 50.
Syndrome refers to a collection
of symptoms and changes that often
occur together.
Premenopausal syndrome is
just a collection of symptoms and
changes in a woman’s body before
menopause.
“
It’s just a collection
of symptoms
and changes in
a woman’s body
before menopause
Among the symptoms are physical
and emotional changes such as
irregular period, hot flushes, vaginal
dryness, drying and wrinkling of the
skin, irritability, sleep disturbances
and to some even memory loss.
Also, menopausal women are at
risk of certain medical conditions,
including osteoporosis and heart
disease.
Premenopausal syndrome occurs
when a woman no longer produces
eggs in her ovaries which are
responsible for the production of
the two hormones estrogen and
progesterone.
Since this condition is part of
the aging process, premenopausal
syndrome need not be treated.
The symptoms are best relieved by
oral contraceptives (pills).
The contraceptives eliminate
hot flushes, vaginal dryness and
emotional symptoms of irritability.
As the woman progresses from
premenopausal to menopause, oral
contraceptives can be replaced by
estrogen replacement therapy.
This involves low estrogen drugs
that tend to replace the lacking
hormones.
However, long-term use of
hormone therapy has certain side
effects. Studies have shown that
prolonged hormone replacement
therapy increases the risk of breast
cancer, heart disease, strokes and
osteoporosis.
A woman with a strong family
history of breast cancer should not
be getting hormone replacement
therapy.
In dealing with premenopausal
syndrome, women should note that
these changes that occur in their
bodies are part of a natural biologic
process called aging.
Send queries to [email protected]
Solon wants
‘misleading’
cigarette
labels stubbed
Pia Cayetano calls them lies and backs
move for mandatory graphic warnings
Raul Acedre in Manila
Senator Pia Cayetano is calling for
the removal of misleading information on cigarette packs, saying it does
not help in educating the public about
the risks of smoking.
She said “Mild, Low Tar and Light”
on cigarette labels, which purports to
indicate milder effects of smoking,
should be stubbed.
Cayetano, chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography,
described the label as lies and totally
misleading to the public.
She said the tags are useless in educating the people against the dangerous effects of smoking.
Cayetano lauded a proposal by the
Department of Health and the World
Health Organization to implement
rules and regulations on the cigarette
labeling.
The proposal calls for mandatory
placing of graphic photographs on the
serious effects of cigarette smoking.
Also under the proposal, half of each
cigarette pack must have a warning in
English on the front and in Pilipino on
the back cover.
The picture-based warning is one
of the recommendations under article
11 of the World Health Organization
Framework Convention on Tobacco
Control, in which the Philippines is
one of 35 signatories.
The warning has been introduced
in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand,
Uruguay, Canada and Singapore.
Cayetano said those picture-based
warnings on cigarette packs being
The most common method of transmission of the AIDS virus remains heterosexual sex and drug use.
Overseas workers top AIDS list
“
It’s ironic that
cigarette labels
with graphic
warnings sold
in Thailand are
printed in the
Philippines
PIA CAYETANO
Senator
sold in Thailand were manufactured
in the Philippines yet, “the country
has failed to implement the same
here”, she said.
“It’s ironic that cigarette labels with
graphic health warnings being sold in
Thailand are actually printed in the
Philippines, but these are not being
required here,” she said.
Filipinos working overseas
account for about a third
of 3,000 HIV cases in the
Philippines.
The total number of infected
individuals over the past 20
years is far below estimates, the
Department of Health said.
The National Epidemiology
Centre, which monitors human
immunodeficiency virus cases
in the country, said 2,916 such
cases have been traced in the
country since 1984.
About 770 cases developed
into full-blown AIDS (acquired
immune deficiency syndrome),
it said without giving the figures
of deaths due to the disease.
International health experts
estimated about 10,000 HIV
infections in the country, but
a government programme is
proving to be successful in the
fight against the disease. It said
more than half of those infected
were males in the 25-39 age
bracket.
Sexual intercourse, which
accounts for 87 per cent of the
cases, was the leading mode of
transmission. This was followed
by perinatal transmission,
where the virus is passed from
a mother to her unborn child,
and drug use by injection.
Health chief confirms Samar diarrhea outbreak
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III
confirmed an outbreak of diarrhea in
Gamay town in Northern Samar but
said steps are being taken to contain
it.
Duque said that 85 cases out of the
154 diarrhea consultations from last
month to last week were admitted to
Gamay District Hospital.
About 30 per cent of the cases came
from Barangay Burabod. He said the
worst-hit age group is one to 14. One
death was reported, the Department
of Health said.
Duque said the DOH Center for
Health Development Region 8 has
provided technical assistance to help
determine the source of infection.
This will enable local health authorities to conduct environmental
inspections and water sampling.
Reports said patient showed cholera-like symptoms.
Hospitals and rural health units in
Gamay and Lapinig were provided
medicines, intravenous fluids and
other medical supplies.
The regional center also distributed
chlorine for home water chlorination
to ensure safe drinking water.
Residents have been advised to observe personal hygiene.
Medical personnel have been sent
from other areas to help stressed
health workers in the affected towns.
Raul Acedre
products available at
filipino globe center
32
lakbayan
filipino globe
November 2007
Lahos Island in Caramoan (above) offers the usual sun, sea and sand alternative, but the real beauty of nature reveals itself in the wilds of Camarines Sur, from the waterfall below to a deer farm.
Wild thrills for the adventure seeker
Camarines Sur has
what it takes to
complete a perfect
vacation. Tess
Mauricio visits its
many attractions
M
ost Filipinos think only
of Camarines Sur as the
source of the smallest ,
commercially harvested fish in the
world, the “sinarapan”.
Yet the goby specie is not the only
wonder of Bicol province. When it
comes to new and exciting activities,
Camarines Sur is emerging as the
next big destination.
CamSur, as the province is
commonly called, lies in the heart
of Bicolandia. It is fast becoming
one of the prominent a must-go
places in the Philippines and now
in the international scene, thanks to
the opening of CamSur Watersports
Complex, a facility offering wild
thrills for adventure seekers.
Formally opened on 21 May this
year, the complex is the very first
world-class water sports complex in
the Philippines and in Asia.
It boasts an impressive six-hectare
park with a six-point cable ski
system suspended at the top of a
man-made freshwater lake.
The complex is now a well-known
destination for international and
local wakeboarding enthusiasts as
the lake’s setting in the middle of the
park makes the water flat at all times
and conducive to riding.
As a testament to its popularity,
the facility will play host to the
2008 International Water Ski
Federation cable Wakeboard
World Championships. The event
is expected to draw about 400
participants and 3,000 spectators
from around the globe. The complex,
only five minutes from the airport,
is ready for the global competition.
So are Pili and the nearby towns that
would accommodate participants and
visitors.
Within the premises is another
exciting option, a mountain bike
park. The area offers suitable
grounds for each of the major
disciplines of the sport, including
BMX. It has several rugged loops for
cross-country, very technical routes
for downhill and a dual slalom track
for the riders and racers, all easily
“
CamSur would
be a more
adventurous
alternative to
frequented sun,
sea and sand
destinations
convertible to other or newer forms
of the sport such as four-cross and
Super D. Recently, they have been
boasting a new addition, a pump
track. It is a course for mountain
bikers and BMX riders alike to
improve their bike handling skills by
using (pumping) the back lips of the
obstacles to gain momentum without
pedalling.
With its white and sandy beaches
stretching along the edge of the
gulf, CamSur would be a more
adventurous alternative to frequented
sun, sea and sand destinations
such as Boracay and Palawan.
The Caramoan Peninsula, on the
northeastern side of the province, is
an ideal place for travellers looking
for calm and isolation in a holiday
destination with turquoise waters
loaded with rich marine life.
The immense and peculiar
limestone and geologic formations,
the coves and secret lagoons likewise
add to the area’s mystique, as well as
a venue for another extreme activity,
rock climbing.
The province is also a favourite
of mountaineers due to Mt Isarog.
With an elevation of 6,489 feet above
sea level, experienced climbers
consider the eight to 10-hour trek
among the most technical ascent in
the Philippines. The climb passes by
steep, rocky and challenging terrain
from Barangay Panicuason to the
summit.
Mt Isarog, considered as the last
rainforest of Southern Luzon, is a
sanctuary of indigenous flora and
fauna such as the Isarog shrew
mouse, striped shrew rat, forest frog
and the velvet-fronted nuthatch.
Hundreds of waterfalls and hot
springs remain relatively untouched
within the thick forest such as
Malabsay Falls, Mabuntalan Spring,
Slide Falls and the Hiwacloy Sulfur
Springs.
Aside from the sinarapan found
in Lake Buhi, popular swimmers
of CamSur waters are the dolphins.
The friendly creatures are frequently
found in the Ragay Gulf from
December to August. Common
species like the spotted dolphin
and the Indo-Pacific dolphin often
enthral the gulf’s visitors with their
delightful exhibitions.
Naga, Camarines Sur’s provincial
capital, is already nationally famous
for the Penafrancia festival. Annually
held in the second half of September
at the Naga Metropolitan Cathedral,
the feast of Bicol’s patron saint is
characterised by a fluvial procession
carrying the image of the Virgin
Mary, participated in by barefoot
male devotees according to custom.
Another religious festival is
observed in the city of Iriga every
February honouring Our Lady of
Lourdes. The thanksgiving rite for a
fruitful harvest is celebrated at the
Milaor Parish church, built in 1585
with St Joseph as the patron saint.
A Filipino version of Italy’s
leaning Tower of Pisa can likewise
be found in the province. The
Bombon Parish and its Leaning Bell
Tower started construction during
the term of Fray dela Torre but was
completed under father Jose Ribaya.
Every summer, the province
commemorates a literally hot festival
to celebrate its foundation day.
With the chilli pepper as the
festival symbol, it is no secret as
to why the provincial cuisine is
described as spicy.
The festivity is the largest and most
colorful in the Bicol region and runs
for nine days starting on 20 May.
Bordered by Camarines Norte and
Quezon on the north, Catanduanes
is the east and Albay in the South,
Camarines Sur can be accessed by all
modes of transport. By air, Philippine
Airlines services a daily, 45-minute
flight from Manila to Pili. The
Maharlika and Quirino Highways
plus the Philippine National Railway
tracks are the main routes by land
from the Philippine capital.
From Cebu, CamSur can be
reached by sea transport using the
Pasacao and Nato Ports in Sagnay
town.
lakbayan
filipino globe
February 2007
November
33
Calicoan rides
tourism wave
on crest of
surfing boom
Reggie Amigo sizes up the island’s potential and
finds that its biggest plans are on a modest scale
I
magine yourself being swept
up on a surfboard by a giant
wave, slapped down across its
belly under a cascade of water and
triumphantly brought to shore on a
foamy brine.
“It’s the biggest thrill,” says Tom
Stadler, a 27-year-old amateur surfer
from Hawaii.
You’d have to believe him. Having
grown up on the beach in Kona, one
of the hottest destinations for surfers
of all stripes, Stadler has seen it all.
“I’ve surfed Hawaii, California,
Australia and Bali, but one of my
best moments was in Calicoan last
summer,” he says.
Thanks to people like Stadler,
Calicoan has earned its credentials
by word of mouth, not bad for this
speck of an island off the southern
tip of Eastern Samar which outsiders
knew little about just over a year ago.
“We don’t really advertise, so
people learn about us from other
people, from magazine writeups and
TV features,” says general manager
Kevin Go.
“We have a good mix of locals
and foreigners. Most of our Filipino
guests come from Manila, but many
balikbayan Samarenos also book
with us,” he says. “In the surf season,
some American and European surfers
also find their way here.”
Here is where Calicoan’s varied
attractions lie.
The island is girdled by a white,
powdery beach, which seems to
go on forever under the clear, silky
water. It’s a place for peace and
quiet.
But the island’s main draw is its
less serene side, the part that opens
out to a breathtaking vista of nothing
but sea and sky – the Pacific Ocean.
Here, waves crash on a wall of
rock, leaving it with a pocked, sharp
surface that makes it dangerous to
tread. The constant bombardment
creates a spectacle of giant swells
breaking up into a spray of water
twice the height of the boulder.
This phenomenon brings the ideal
conditions for surfing, which could
run to seven months of the year from
April.
The beach is unruffled by the
ebb and flow of this force of
nature, but excitement runs wild
among enthusiasts at the sight of
“competition-standard” waves that
come thundering in succession.
A virgin forest sits on the resort’s
doorstep, putting a different world
of thrills within a heartbeat. Nature
trekkers are well served with guided
walks through its cool, sun-dappled
footpaths. With an itinerary given
over to nature, you are left to your
own devices the deeper you go.
None of this was lost on the owners
when they decided to develop part of
the island into a world-class surfing
resort, complete with amenities for
competition and recreation, which
they aptly named Surf Camp.
“It was a family-and-friends
private resort for us at the time. In
2005 we constructed more cottages
and we now have seven – three
tropical villas, three superior
cottages and a deluxe cottage,” says
Go, who oversees the 1.5-hectare
property and another 400 hectares in
various places on the island.
The Go family, some members of
the Aboitiz clan (both Cebu families
have extensive interests in shipping,
among others) and their partners
developed Surf Camp to the last
detail of a master plan that calls
for a “cozy and exclusive feel” and
controlled expansion.
“We’d like to keep it that way.
Ultimately, we’d like to build more
cottages and expand the facilities a
bit, but we’d like to keep the number
It’s a surfer’s picture-postcard moment (top) in Calicoan island, which is
served by plane charters (top) between Cebu and Guiuan town.
“
In the surf
season, some
American and
European surfers
also find their
way here
KEVIN GO
Surf Camp general manager
of rooms to 10, certainly no more
than 12,” Go says. “As resorts go, we
have a very high staff-to-guest ratio.”
The owners want to avoid the
pitfalls of “runaway, hodgepodge
development” that has often
characterised many of the country’s
leading tourist spots, and keep the
island as close to its natural state as
possible.
“Our guests always comment
about the gentle hushing sound
of the waves, which can be heard
throughout the resort, and how
relaxing it is,” Go says. “The island’s
tourism potential is enormous.”
Still, Calicoan struggles to find its
place on the international tourism
map. Because Eastern Samar is
not known as a tourist destination,
Calicoan suffers from poor name
association.
“That’s what we want to
overcome,” says Eastern Samar
governor Ben Evardone. “We want
to promote the province and make
people aware of the exciting things it
has to offer.”
That aside, it’s the things that
people don’t know about Calicoan
that make it seem too far off, or
worse, inaccessible.
In fact, it isn’t. Calicoan lies just
off the coast of Guiuan town, a major
staging point for the US Army during
World War II.
The town, which inherited an
airstrip from the Americans, is a twohour drive from Tacloban, gateway
to Eastern Visayas, which itself is
just an hour’s flight from Manila.
Guiuan can be reached quite
as easily by fast ferry from Cebu
through Ormoc, where transfers can
be arranged. Surf Camp also operates
plane charters between Cebu and
Guiuan.
“The plan is for the Guiuan airstrip
to be upgraded into an airport and
open it to commercial traffic,”
Evardone says. “We have been
getting a positive feedback from
the national government and from
potential stakeholders.”
Ironically, it’s the idea that the
island is the perfect getaway, tucked
away from it all in an obscure, quiet
location, that may be its greatest
asset. This may change if Calicoan
is overrun by tourists and its owners
respond by building recklessly on the
demand.
But for now, you couldn’t find a
better place to get stranded in.
P20m project links long-lost Samar neighbors
The road ahead ... infrastructure development is transforming Eastern Samar.
The dusty, bumpy travel across
the border between Northern and
Eastern Samar will soon be a thing
of the past with the completion of
the P20 million Jipapad-Lapinig
road project.
The 5.22-kilometer corridor
completes the Samar
circumferential road project aimed
at easing the flow of transportation,
goods and services by connecting
Lapinig, Northern Samar with
Eastern Samar.
At the same time, the ArtecheLapinig road is being upgraded.
The
infrastructure
projects, would
spur tourism
development in
Eastern Samar,
particularly in
Guiuan town,
governor Ben
Evardone said.
Guiuan boasts an airstrip it
inherited from the Americans
during World War II, which is
being eyed for redevelopment for
commercial air traffic.
Presently, it can handle light
aircraft.
Also under way is the
rehabilitation of the farm-to-market
road in Lavezares, Northern
Samar, and construction of a
similar access road in barangay
Obong, Can-avid.
The projects received a boost
during a visit by President Arroyo
to Eastern Samar last week.
Arroyo made a brief inspection
tour, received reports on the
progress of the projects and
ordered that work be stepped up.
34
money matters
filipino globe
November 2007
Here’s why you need to make
your remittances work harder
R
ecently, a private research
company which surveyed
OFW families in Manila
revealed that, generally, dependents
were apparently living it up at the
expense of their relatives abroad.
While the primary purpose of an
individual in working overseas is
to earn good money to adequately
provide for the family, the effort
often results in almost nothing
saved for both income earner and
beneficiary.
It’s a black hole, particularly if the
OFW is also burdened with expenses
for the medical needs of a sick family
member.
With the peso growing stronger
against the greenback – and forecast
to continue for the next three years
– there is a need for many OFWs to
seriously rethink their remittances.
The strong peso means that
more dollars should be remitted to
beneficiaries. That basically reduces
the OFW’s own personal expenses.
From a high of 56 pesos to the
greenback last year, the US dollar
has lost some 22 per cent of its value
in pesos today.
It’s OFWs and their beneficiaries
started a frank discussion about their
lifestyle and spending habits. Except
OFWWISE
be your own boss
Herbie
Sancianco
for tuition fees, school expenses,
home-cooked meals, household
utilities, medicine and health
maintenance, other non-essential
items should be reviewed and either
reduced or completely stopped.
There should now be a conscious
effort to save money. Loans to
relatives that in many cases are not
paid back should be stopped.
For spouses left behind and
unemployed, I strongly recommend
that a feasible business be
considered.
It can be a home-based entity if
it’s a sole proprietorship. If there are
several other OFW families within
the area, a business cooperative or
a formal corporation can be formed
with a modest capital.
They can pool some of their
Aklan vice-governor Gabrielle
Calizo has urged small and
medium entrepreneurs in the
province to invest in homemade
“pasalubong” or souvenir items.
The call was made by Calizo,
who said majority of pasalubongs
or souvenir items that are being
sold in the island comes from
Cebu or Mindanao.
“If we are looking for potential
economic opportunities and
employment generation, then
making homemade souvenirs
to be sold to foreign and local
After harvest, rice stalks are left in a compost to turn into organic fertilizer. It’s then used to grow Magsaysay Rice, or Magrice as villagers like to call it.
Pride of Magsaysay farmers
Organic fertilizer using rice waste makes staple the new star on the table
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Name:
November 2007
35
Aklan entrepreneurs told to boost souvenir business
savings for the initial working
capital.
Examining opportunities should
be the first step in determining the
business idea.
An inherent skill can be a starting
point in creating a product or service.
One of the easiest ways to do this is
to go into the food business.
A laundry service is also a good
idea. A home industry could include
sewing. Making Christmas decor for
sale in local tiangges or department
stores from mid-November is a
winner. There are many more ideas,
of course. You just need to be
imaginative.
Working around a budget out of
the money remitted from overseas is
highly recommended. The profit that
will eventually be earned will be able
to more than supplement the financial
needs of the family.
A productive OFW family is more
financially secure and will help ease
the financial pressure on the dollar
earner. This, in turn, will help create
a stronger family relationship.
Herbie Sancianco is a professor in
the graduate school for continuing
education, De La Salle College of
St Benilde, Manila
money matters
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filipino globe
the OFW newspaper
P
utting down her “garab” or
harvesting knife for a short
rest, Juanita Boliva, 36, scans
the wide open rice fields of Bala
village, as far as her eyes can see.
“We’ve been here since six in the
morning,” she says, wiping the beads
of sweat from her sunburnt forehead
with her forearms. “We won’t
stop until we get this whole field
harvested before sundown.”
Her fellow harvesters, mostly in
long-sleeved dark shirts, wearing
wide-brim “buli” hats to shield
them from the searing heat of the
mid-morning sun, kept slicing at the
thick clusters of brownish-green rice
stalks, now heavy with golden palay
grains.
It’s harvest time at the rice fields
of picturesque Bala village and
farmfolk like Juanita, along with her
relatives, are out in the fields – the
third time this year – just a short
distance away beside the narrow,
pebble-strewn road, is the rice
thresher, chug-chugging away the
rice stalks, filling up the 50 kg white
poly sacks.
Filled with palay grains,
villagers will soon load them
into trucks which haul the sackfilled grains to the big rice mills
in nearby Bansalan town where
they are milled into a special kind of
white rice.
This rice harvested by Juanita isn’t
just any ordinary rice. And the rice
farm in Bala village, Magsaysay,
Davao del Sur, is not just any rice
field. This is a special organic rice
grown here using only organic
fertilizers from rice wastes.
Big piles of rice stalks, turning
brown under the sun, will soon
be carried to wide rectangular
ditches where they are allowed
to decompose along with organic
wastes like manure from chickens,
horses, carabaos, cows and even
fish intestines. In four to six months,
this pile of rice wastes will turn to
organic fertilizer.
This organic rice farm here is
run by farmers belonging to the
Diversifed Organic Farming System,
a special rice production program
set up by the local government of
Magsaysay town.
Farmers here don’t use any kind of
chemicals to grow this special kind
of rice and they make sure this rice
has not been adulterated with other
varieties of rice.
“It’s safe because we don’t use
chemicals or any pesticides to kill
off the usual pests that bother the
growing of rice here,” says Juanita
who joined the group last year.
The only fertilizers they use for
growing their organic rice are the
“organic fertilizers” which they
“
We’ve been here
since six. We
won’t stop till we
get this whole field
harvested before
sundown
JUANITA BOLIVA
Farmer
produced from rice stalks, weeds and
organic wastes.
“We can’t use them because they
suck out the nutrients from the soil.
If we use them, our rice fields will
produce less rice,” says Juanita.
Magsaysay farmers call their
organic rice “Magrice”, an acronym
for Magsaysay Rice, to identify it
closely with its origin here. The
“Magrice” brand name is spreading
like wildfire and becoming more
popular in Davao, Cebu, and Manila.
A number of foreign buyers who
heard about this rice have been
sending inquiries to the Department
of Trade and Industry Davao regional
office asking how they can order
this organic rice in big volumes on a
regular basis.
tourists in Boracay is one,” said
Calizo during a meeting of small
entrpreneurs organised by the
Department of Trade and Industry
and the German Technical
Cooperation.
Majority of the small businesses
in the province are producers of
fibers and furniture that are being
sold abroad.
Poor residents want to produce
products for local consumption
but they lack skills and financial
support.
DTI provincial director
Ermelinda Pollentes said the
Hugod Akeanon, an organization
of small businesmen in Aklan, has
established a product showcase
center in Boracay.
She said there is still a need for
additional local souvenir items or
homemade delicacies that could
be sold in the resort island.
Most of the locally made
delicacies and souvenir items
are currently being sold at the
Kalibo Airport, but few of these
are available in local shops within
reach of tourists.
36
celebrity
filipino globe
November 2007
celebrity
filipino globe
Gabby’s call
to birthday girl
Jolina seals
movie team-up
Danny Vibas in Manila
Star mess-up over Dennis Trillo L
Danny Vibas in Manila
Warning to girls who would allow
themselves to get romantically
linked to remarkably handsome actor
Dennis Trillo: former Binibining
Pilipinas Carlene Aguilar, with
whom he has just had a love child
born in California, doesn’t take
things lightly.
Carlene, who came home with
their baby boy only a few weeks ago,
reportedly sought out GMA 7 actress
Cristine Reyes while the latter
was taping for the show All Star K
Videoke Challenge at the network’s
studios in Broadway Centrum.
Cristine was once linked
romantically to Dennis – though
she denied that there was something
going on between them. She said
they are just friends who often see
each other during tapings of GMA
7 shows that they have been part of,
such as Lupin and Super Twins.
Carlene’s alleged excuse for
going to the studio was to bring
her pasalubong to her friend Jenny
Miller, a sexy actress like Cristine.
But showbiz reporters who happened
to be around did not see anything
being handed over to Jenny by
Carlene when they met in the studio.
The showbiz scribes suspect that
Carlene had learned from Jenny that
Cristine was among the contestants.
Some of them overheard Carlene
asking Jenny to introduce her to
Cristine. When Jenny allegedly
refused – because she, too, is aware
that Dennis was once linked to
Cristine – Carlene turned to some
staff of the show for help to no avail.
Carlene finally found a way to
introduce herself to Cristine during a
break in the taping.
When Carlene shook Cristine’s
hand, Carlene is said to have
squeezed it so hard Cristine
reportedly cringed with pain.
Witnesses said instead of saying
anything, Cristine turned her back
and walked away.
When Carlene tried to follow
Cristine, the show’s director, Rico
Gutierrez, who had earlier become
aware of Carlene’s presence,
reportedly blocked her and asked her
to leave.
Cristine later refused to say if she
was hurt by Carlene’s handshake,
but the reporters noted that she was
teary-eyed.
Meanwhile, a reporter for one of
the network’s showbiz-magazine
shows wrote that he talked to Carlene
before she left the studio premises.
The reporter, who also writes a
column for a tabloid, quoted Carlene
as saying she would not have gone
to see Jenny Miller at the taping had
she known that Cristine was going to
be there.
Recalling that Carlene once called
Cristine “a home wrecker”, he tried
to confirm with her if she did call Ara
Mina’s younger sister that.
To which Carlene replied: “Hindi
ko na po maalaala.” She then pleaded
to be spared from anymore questions
about Cristine and Dennis.
Reports have it that Dennis sees
his son anytime, though Dennis
and Carlene don’t seem to be living
together. They are unmarried, and
both claim that they broke up a long
time ago.
Carlene once denied that she
was pregnant and admitted only
because GMA 7 showbiz reporter
Lahr Santiago bumped into her in
California.
She also denied that the father of
the baby was Dennis who claimed
to have broken up with her. Dennis
would later say it was upon Carlene’s
insistence that he lie about their
ongoing relationship.
When Carlene gave birth
sometime in September, one of the
attending nurses was a Filipina, who
immediately e-mailed the news to
friends, including the identity of the
father.
With Shaina-Rayver love team, will John Prats make 3?
Will ABS-CBN 2 still bother to
promote the Shaina MagdayaoRayver Cruz on-screen loveteam
now that actor-dancer John Prats
has finally admitted that he has
been courting Shaina who is some
six years his junior?
John says he is happy whenever
he is with the actress. He describes
Vina Morales’ younger sister as a
“very good person.”
John also admits he gave
Shaina a “fashion ring” – and not
a “commitment ring” as previous
reports suggested.
“It’s just a fashion ring. And it’s
not the his-and-hers kind. I bought
only for her and not for myself.
“Kung engagement ring ‘yon,
bakit ko naman ikakahihiyang isuot
ko ang akin? Look, I’m not wearing
one now,” he said.
The diminutive actor-dancer said
he doesn’t know exactly when he
began falling for Shaina.
“Nagulat din ako. Matagal ko na
siyang kilala, kasama pa siya ni
Camille [Prats, John’s sister], so
I saw her grow up. Never kong
plinano na ligawan siya, dumating
na lang isang araw,” he said.
“Also for the record, never
pa kaming nag-date na kaming
dalawa lang. Every time na
lumalabas kami, it’s always with a
group,” he said.
“Nang nabalitang nag-dinner
daw kami some place, that’s true,
but we were with Nikki [Gil], Iya
[Villania], and Joross [Gamboa]
after ASAP [the ABS-CBN 2
Sunday noontime musical-variety
show]. Magpa-practice kami nang
sabay-sabay that afternoon for the
Star Magic ball.”
He does not expect ABS-CBN
to team him up with Shaina just
because of the revelation.
“Si Rayver pa rin ang kaloveteam ni Shaina, hindi ko ito
sisirain. The good thing about Star
Magic, hindi rin sila nakikialam sa
private affairs namin.”
Would the network promote
instead a love triangle? Watch this
space.
Danny Vibas
ooks like fans of Gabby
Concepcion who have
been aching to watch the
stunningly handsome ‘80s matinee
idol on the big screen could get their
fervent wish next year.
GMA Films, the sister movie
company of TV network GMA 7
has begun to crow about starring
megastar Sharon Cuneta’s first
husband in a movie with Jolina
Magdangal.
Gabby has been living in the US
for more than 10 years now, and
he is reportedly a very successful
real estate agent now – though in
his early years, he worked as a
bellboy in a hotel in San Francisco,
California.
The movie will be shot in Italy and
some parts of Europe. The story will
involve a European
cruise.
Their doing a
movie together
is the reason the
biological dad of
KC Concepcion
made an overseas
call from the US
to Jolina when she celebrated her
birthday at the GMA 7 Sunday
noontime show SOP last week.
At first, Jolina thought the call was
a joke being played on her by SOP
host Janno Gibbs who is very good
at mimicking voices. But Jolina soon
realized it was indeed Gabby who
was at the end of the line.
“Natutuwa ako na nabati kita kahit
sa telepono lang. Magkikita rin tayo
nang personal,” Gabby announced to
Jolina.
“Salamat po, at sana magkita tayo
pagpunta ko riyan ‘pag may show
ako,” replied Jolina.
“Oo, magkikita tayo. Kapag
dumating ka rito, tawagan mo ako
para sunduin kita. Ano ba gusto mo,
limousine o jeep?” Gabby said.
“Siyempre limo, para sosyal,”
laughed Jolina, who began her
showbiz career as a child singer who
was a member of a group called 14K.
Jolina is aware, of course, that
GMA Films has been quietly
negotiating with Gabby about the
film whose title is still under wraps.
Gabby’s call to her practically
confirms that he has accepted the
terms offered to him for the project.
His last movie must have been a
decade ago – and practically no one
remembers what it was.
Also yet to be announced are the
directors and the rest of the cast. But
its script has been finalised by Gina
Marissa Tagasa-David, the favorite
scriptwriter of GMA Films, which
is headed by lawyer Annete GozonAbroga, daughter of GMA Network
big boss Felipe Gozon who is also a
lawyer like his daughter.
Marvin Agustin, Jolina’s on-screen
sweetheart back in their ABS-CBN
days as a love team, may or may not
be cast in the Jolina-Gabby movie.
Jolina, 28, recalls that she first met
Gabby at a hotel in San Francisco,
California when he was a real-life
bellboy. Jolina was then in a show
tour in the US with other Pinoy
showbiz idols. She says since no
one in the group recognized him, it
was Gabby himself who announced
to them that he was the once very
famous Pinoy actor.
Meanwhile, Jolina is very much
“on” with lawyer boyfriend Bebong
Muñoz who lived in the US for
about five years – all
the while keeping
a long-distance
romance with Jolina.
Bebong, who
failed in his bid in
Caloocan to become
a congressman,
“
Oo, magkikita
tayo. Kapag
dumating ka rito,
tawagan mo ako
para sunduin kita
GABBY CONCEPCION
Calling Jolina on her birthday
sang to Jolina during her birthday
celebration at SOP. Well, singing
runs in their family. He is an older
brother of the late young singer
Tenten Muñoz.
For some reason, Jolina and
Bebong seem to be not in a hurry to
get married even as their romance
has been going on for seven years
now.
Gabby went to the US a few years
after his marriage with Sharon
Cuneta broke up – with only KC (for
Kristina Cassandra) as the fruit of
their not-so-happy marriage.
Before Gabby migrated to the US,
though, he had one daughter each
with the mestiza model Jenny Syquia
and the brown-skinned Grace Ibuna
who comes from a political family in
Gabby’s native San Juan town.
27
37
Iza gets taste of Pinoy Hollywood production
Iza Calzado (right) is back from
Canada, where she finished filming
the horror movie The Echo with
actor Jesse Bradford under the
direction of Filipino film maker Yam
Laranas.
The Echo is the Hollywood
version of Laranas’ own Filipino
film Sigaw, which was his entry in
the Metro Manila Film Festival just
a few years ago.
Laranas is reputedly the first
Philippine-born film maker of his
generation to get a Hollywood
break.
Iza was also in Sigaw, which
All but director and cast yet to be named before
filming starts in Europe for the ‘80s idol and one
of the country’s hottest young stars today
Carlene Aguilar (above, center) was reportedly asked to leave the studio after the incident with Cristine Reyes
(below) over her supposed affair with Dennis Trillo (inset). Trillo has fathered a lovechild with Carlene.
November 2007
Marian Rivera and Katrina Halili (inset) went through the bodywork routine.
Marimar bikini
showdown
scene ready to
make waves
For the love of Sergio, bitter rivals put
on their best shape in sexiest episode
Danny Vibas in Manila
GMA 7 boasts that its Marimar teleseries has been rating as high as 47
per cent in Mega Manila, which,
aside from Metro Manila, includes
some parts of Pampanga, Bulacan,
and Cavite.
But that dizzying rating from
an AGB survey hasn’t stopped
the network from doing other
“gimmicks” that can make the
show’s rating soar higher over that of
rival ABS-CBN.
The local adaptation of the soap
opera once made phenomenally
popular in the Philippines by
Mexican bombshell Thalia will soon
feature a bikini showdown between
the characters Marimar/Bella and
Aldama/Angelika Santibañez.
In effect, that means, a bikini
showdown between Marian Rivera as
Marimar/Bella and Katrina Halili as
Aldama/Angelika Santibañez.
“Kinunan na ang bikini showdown
nina Marian Rivera at Katrina Halili
sa isang resort sa San Pablo, Laguna.
Inabot nang late ang mga eksena
dahil sa pagkuha ng maraming
anggulo sa katawan nina Marian at
Katrina,” a scribe said.
It will be Marian’s first time to
appear on screen in a bikini, though
as Marimar, she has been sashaying
and going around in body-hugging
and thigh-exposing dresses.
For Katrina, though, strutting
around in a bikini is next to normal
and natural. She has been on the
cover and inside pages of the men’s
adult magazine FHM twice.
“Ninenerbiyos ako kasi never pa
akong nagsuot ng ganito ka-sexy,”
said Marian. “Kaya dusa ako sa
diyeta. Nag-workout din ako as much
as I can para mas makatulong sa
pagpapapaganda ng katawan ko.”
Katrina laughingly told the press:
Hindi na ako worried, unlike noong
mga una kong mag-bikini. Hindi ako
confident noon. Pero ngayon, kahit
araw-arawin na natin.”
Katrina appeared in a bikini with
Ehra Madrigal in the defunct GMA
7 fantasy adventure series Lupin
topbilled by Richard Gutierrez.
“Pero sa eksena namin na ito ni
Marian, hindi lang paseksihan ito,
kasi matindi ang drama naming
dalawa. Kumbaga, pagtutuos ito
kung sino ang pipiliin ni Sergio.
Kaya ‘yan ang abangan nila,”
Katrina said.
Sergio is portrayed by Dingdong
Dantes.
was topbilled by
Richard Gutierrez
and Angel Locsin.
Iza reprised in the
Hollywood version
her role in the
Filipino version:
battered wife of
a demented policeman (locally
played by Jomari YIIana).
The Echo wrapped up shooting
in Canada and the US and is
currently in the final stages of
production.
Experiencing Hollywood
production first hand was hard
work and nerve-wracking, said
Iza, a daughter of former dancerchoreographer Lito Calzado.
“Mas organised ang shooting kasi
mas mahaba ‘yong preparation,”
she said.
She said she learned from Yam
that the film’s production budget
was US$7 million, which is low
budget by Holllywood standard.
“At kung ganun lang ang pera
ninyo sa Hollywood, kailangan
talagang pagplanuhan nang mabuti
ang shoot para matapos ang
pelikula within the budget.”
Danny Vibas
38
celebrity
filipino globe
November 2007
Baywalk dancer admits
mobile-phone sex video
said during a promotion of the
latest album of her group – The
Very Best of Baywalk Bodies.
She suspects that it must have
been through Will’s cellphone
that the sex video spread around.
“Baka po kasi may nakialam
ng cell phone niya kaya kumalat
‘yon,” she said.
She admitted, however, that
she once showed the video to an
entertainment reporter. Another
reporter said a colleague had a
cellphone copy of the video.
Even before Palmolive’s
revelation, some of her Baywalk
Bodies colleagues had told some
showbiz reporters about the
existence of the video.
Meanwhile, neither ABS-CBN
management nor Will’s manager,
Dondon Monteverde, has
commented on the issue.
But inside Big Brother’s house,
Will is said to be developing a
romance with “housemate” Riza
Santos, a Fil-Canadian beauty
queen.
Palmolive Palma (second from left) admits she and Will Devaughn
are in an explicit video making the rounds via mobile phones.
His separation from the network
immediately led people to believe
that he had become a has-been
before his star had risen. There
was talk that rival network GMA
7 was going to sign him up. But it
didn’t.
The young man is a Visual Arts
student of the University of the
Philippines in Diliman and has the
budding skills of an independent
film maker.
He has, in fact, written and
39
Batman movie wraps up HK shoot
Dozens of police officers storm a
skyscraper in Central and Hong
Kong’s world-famous Victoria
Harbor sunset brings the curtains
down on another installment of the
Batman movie.
Although none of this involved the
major stars, led by Christian Bale
and Morgan Freeman, the final take
provided more highlights of a shoot
notable for scenes off the camera.
For starters, the high-profile
shoot was clouded by concerns
over pollution, noise and energy
consumption.
“The Dark Knight,” which also
involves scenes shot in Chicago and
The SexBomb Girls move on without Jopay Paguia. Manager Joy Cancio says Jopay is welcome to return.
Punishing schedule too
much for SexBomb girl
Jopay Paguia takes a long break but group leaves door open
Danny Vibas in Manila
S
exBomb member Jopay Paguia
is denying rumors that she is
set to leave the popular allfemale dance-singing group.
She clarified that she only wants to
take a break from the frenetic pace of
showbiz.
“Magbabakasyon po ako. Magla-lie
low po muna ako para ma-ano ko po
ang sarili ko ... Para makapagpahinga
po ako,” she said.
She admitted that she is
overfatigued by the continuous
taping she had for their afternoon
show on GMA 7, Daisy Siete.
“Siguro po napagod lang po ako.
Simula po nung namatay po ang dad
ko, dire-diretso po talaga yung taping
ko. Nagmano-mano po, Chiquita,
tapos ngayon po, Tabachingching.”
Jopay further made it clear that
there was no argument or fight with
any SexBomb member that could
have caused her to ask for a leave of
absence.
“Kasi nung sinabi ko po sa kanila,
nagulat po sila. Na-huh, bakit
ganoon?’ Pero inintindi po nila na,
‘Oo nga, kailangan mo talagang
magpahinga muna kasi nga yung
health mo’,” Jopay narrated.
She said she has the support of Joy
Cancio, the group’s manager, about
“
Basta ang sabi
niya sa akin,
mag-ingat lang
daw po ako kung
magbabakasyon
po ako
JOPAY PAGUIA
On manager Joy Cancio
her decision to take a break from the
group.
“Yun nga po, pinayagan niya
naman po ako. Basta ang sabi niya
sa akin, mag-ingat lang daw po ako
kung magbabakasyon po ako. Huwag
daw ako masyado magpapataba kasi
nga SexBomb pa rin po ako,” the
young dancer said.
This was confirmed by SexBomb
manager Joy Cancio in a separate
interview.
“Nakiusap nga si Jopay. Inintindi
ko naman kasi nga, na-realize ko din
po ... Kasi nga namatay ang father
niya, talagang pinilit naming magtaping kasi trabaho ‘yan. Talagang
dire-diretso po siya, puyat ... Nakita
mo naman na yung hita niya, wala
na. Talagang nangayayat,” Joy said.
Joy, however, cautions Jopay not
to stay away too long.
“Kapag sinabi na namahinga,
ibig sabihin mawawala sa showbiz.
Actually yung rest lang to give time
to your family and to yourself. Hindi
yung matagal. Kasi mahirap mabawi
yung career na ginawa namin for
her.”
Jopay has only kind words for her
manager. “Sabi ko, naiintindihan ko
naman po. Wala naman akong ibang
sisisihin kundi ang sarili ko sakali
man bumagsak ako.”
Hero Angeles shines again, this time behind the camera
Hero Angeles may yet make a
name for himself as a well-rounded
independent film maker.
Remember the guy? He was
the last winner of the defunct
Kapamilya network star search
reality show Star Circle Quest. He
was Sandara Park’s first on-cam
sweetheart as they were both Star
Circle Quest contestants.
Hero had a falling out with ABSCBN 2 which was supposed to
build him up to full stardom.
November 2007
Off-camera scenes overshadow latest installment of top-grossing film franchise
Danny Vibas in Manila
The sex video maniacs are at it
again.
This time around, the victims
are commercial model Will
Devaughn (right) and dancersinger Palmolive Palma, who is
a member of the all-female show
group known Baywalk Bodies.
Palmolive admitted it is she and
Bill that are in a sex video being
passed around in the Philippines
through mobile phones.
Talk about the existence of
the video started to spread
almost as soon as skinhead Will
was presented as one of the 14
contestants on ABS-CBN 2’s
reality show-contest Pinoy Big
Brother-Celebrity Edition 2 a
month ago.
The contest requires the
participants to stay together in a
house-studio for at least 100 days
– unless they get evicted.
As of press time, only
Palmolive has admitted that she
is in the sex video. Will would
neither confirm nor deny it.
Palmolive said she was not the
source of the mobile download
of the sex video and that only
she and Will have a copy of the
video on their respective mobile
phones. She said she and Will
took the video themselves one
drunken night when they were
both ramp models.
“Totoo pong may sex video
kami ni Will. Pero matagal na po
‘yon nangyari. Wala po kaming
relasyon, pero napagkasunduan
po naming i-video ‘yon na para
sa amin lang. Nag-promise pa po
kami sa isa’t isa na dapat ay hindi
namin ipakita ‘yon sa iba,” she
celebrity
filipino globe
directed a digital film in which he
was the lead actor.
The movie is simply titled
“Stockroom,” and it has been
screened at Robinson’s Cinema
in Ortigas Avenue, Pasig City
and at the most recent Cine
Malaya Independent Film Festival
sponsored and hosted by the
Cultural Center of the Philippines.
The film has also begun to
enjoy international exposure. It
was shown on November 2 at a
Halloween international film festival
in Malta, the smallest country in the
European Union.
The festival, billed as “Revenge
of the Blood,” was a one-day
marathon screening of 13 horror
films from various countries.
Venue was the St James Cavalier
Center of Creativity, reportedly the
equivalent of the Cultural Center of
the Philippines.
The festival screened from
classic films to indies. It included
four premieres, including
Stockroom.
In it, Hero plays an unemployed
English teacher who is left at home
with his niece Naya. By accident,
they disturb an element of the past
while inside a stockroom.
The incident sparks the beginning
of the spirits’ intrusion into their
lives. Samio and Naya find
themselves trapped in the past,
present and future.
Danny Vibas
London, involves Batman leaving
Gotham City for the first time. His
foray into Asia hit several snags in
Hong Kong.
Local media reported that
filmmakers cut a scene involving
Batman jumping from a plane into
the city’s Victoria Harbor because of
its filthy waters.
Director Christopher Nolan denied
the reports, saying the change was a
scripting decision.
Environmental activists also
criticised a request from the
film’s producers asking tenants of
waterfront buildings to keep their
lights on all night to better showcase
Hong Kong’s skyline, filled with
glittering skyscrapers, calling it a
waste of energy.
Hong Kong officials earlier also
expressed concern over noise
pollution and traffic chaos during the
shoot.
Earlier, director Christopher Nolan
and his crew filmed Christian Bale,
who plays Bruce Wayne and Batman,
and Morgan Freeman, who portrays
Lucius Fox, having a conversation
on a pedestrian bridge that connects
Hong Kong’s Central financial
district and the upscale Mid-Levels
residential area.
They also filmed Lucius Fox
arriving at the same office building
stormed by the police officers and
chatting with security guards.
Bale said at a press conference
he was scheduled to jump off Hong
Kong’s tallest building, the 90-floor
International Finance Center, a
sequence also featured in “Lara Croft
Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life,”
starring Angelina Jolie.
“The Dark Knight,” a sequel to
the 2005 hit “Batman Begins,” also
stars Heath Ledger as the Joker and
Michael Caine as Batman’s butler,
Alfred.
The Warner Bros production is due
out next summer.
Christian Bale ... Who’s that guy?
40
celebrity
filipino globe
Harry turns to
text messages
to win back
his girlfriend
TAKEFIVE
Tom Cruise fears his new
movie Lions for Lambs will be
an expensive flop after it failed
to break into the top three at
the box office in its opening
weekend.
He was
hoping the
film, which cost
an estimated
US$35 million
to make, would
be a hit, but the
Robert Redforddirected movie
debuted at No 4 in the box
office with only US$6.7 million.
The movie is the first release
from Cruise’s United Artists
studio.
FRIEND
Describing Chelsy Davy
identity as her own person rather
than as Prince Harry’s girlfriend.”
The insider adds: “This is not an
over-for-good situation.”
The prince, 23, is said to be
Harry and Chelsy love watching sports but apparently as a joint undertaking. She
had issues when the prince went to a rugby match and passed up on her party.
devastated over being dumped by
Davy, 22, a South African socialite
who recently moved to England to
study law at Leeds University (she
may soon ditch the school, too,
according to the London Sun).
Harry has purportedly been
“bombarding” her with text
messages and phone calls, with a pal
explaining to the Mail.
“He is keen to see her to talk things
through.”
But on Friday night, not long after
their apparent bust-up, Harry seemed
more keen to chit-chat with a “leggy
brunette” at a London hot spot,
where he and some pals rang up a
US$4,000 bar tab, reports the Daily
Mirror (one of his buddies paid the
bill).
Heather Mills is set to take to
the dance floor once more in a
special British festive edition of
Dancing with the Stars.
The one-legged former model
and estranged wife of Paul
McCartney appeared on the US
reality TV show earlier this year,
and has signed up to star in the
UK equivalent, Strictly Come
Dancing.
Mills, who lost her left leg in
a road accident in 1993, was
criticised after she launched
a scathing attack on the
former Beatle in a string of TV
interviews across the globe
earlier this month.
She is now keen to win over
the public.
November 2007
41
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Mills takes to floor
“
She needs to
carve her own
identity rather than
as Prince Harry’s
girlfriend
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filipino globe
Lions worry Cruise
British royal gets the boot after skipping
Chelsy’s birthday party for rugby match
You’re a young, hunky redhair
popular enough to be in politics and
too good-looking not to be in the
movies.
But what if you also happen to be
a prince who likes rugby and hip
parties.
You get dumped by your girlfriend,
that’s what. Just ask Britain’s Prince
Harry.
Girlfriend Chelsy Davy thought
she had had enough of the prince’s
antics after he skipped her birthday
celebration and instead attended a
rugby match, Britain’s Mail reports.
And that’s just scratching the
surface. There are deeper reasons,
of course. “She still loves him,” a
Chelsy source tells the paper. “But
she feels she needs to carve an
classified globe
November 2007
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A doctor researching an ancient
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their teeth. This region between
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places on earth.
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November 2007
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November 2007
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palakasan
filipino globe
November 2007
Gaby, bagong
mukha ng
labanan sa
motor sport
Relax and pamper yourself
MBC
Maganda, matalino. Kilala siya
bilang “the Racing Diva.”
Halos lahat ay napapalingon kay
Gaby dela Merced, pero lahat ay
iniiwanan din niyang kumakain ng
alikabok, lalo na kapag sakay siya ng
kanyang pangarerang kotse.
Madalas na kuning modelo si
Gaby. Ilan sa kanyang mga product
endorsement ay ang sa skincare
center at shampoo. Pero hindi
maaaring husgahan ang nakikita
lamang. Kahit mukhang hindimakabasag pinggan, si Gaby ay isa
sa mga top drivers sa bansa.
Katunayan, kahit na noong bata
pa ito ay mahilig na ito sa extreme
sports.
Ngayon, itinuturing na isa sa mga
prolipikong race-car driver si Gaby
sa Asian Formula 3 circuit.
Sa unang tingin ay hindi mo
aakalain na agresibo ang 23-anyos na
si Gaby, pero sa sandaling hawak na
niya ang manibela, lumalabas na ang
kanyang pagiging kompetitibo.
“I think I was fascinated more
with driving,” masayang wika
niya. “I wasn’t much of a gear head
GABY DELA MERCED
Race-car driver
growing up. I wasn’t the type who
knew the insides of an engine.”
“In fact, back then, if you showed
me a Toyota and a Honda emblem, I
wouldn’t know the difference. Now
I can say my knowledge of cars is
above average. I would know what’s
wrong with my engine. At least I
you more or less have control of your
time,” wika niya.
“That’s when I can juggle meetings
with sponsors and my other rackets
– because I don’t just do stocks, there
are other business ventures that I’m
getting into right now,” kuwento nito.
Sumali na si Gaby sa local
slalom championship noong 2001
kung saan nakuha niya ang ladies
championship. Nang sumunod na
taon, pumangatlo sita sa Philippine
touring cars, sa novice production
class.
Noong 2003, muling pumangatlo si
Gaby sa Philippine BRC Production
Touring Car Championship. Sa
Skating rink ang mundo ni Anna Villafuerte
Celeste Maring in Manila
Walang snow sa Pilipinas. Subalit sa
sandaling nakasuot na ng kanyang
saktes at nagsayaw na sa ice rink si
Anna Isabel Villafuerte, tila buong
buhay na ito na naglalaro sa niyebe.
Kung tutuusin, nakagugulat na
isipin na ang isang 11-anyos na
Pilipina ay magtatagumpay sa isang
sport na isang pampalipas oras
lamang sa mga mall sa Pilipinas.
Umaani ng tagumpay si
Villafuerte hindi lamang sa local na
kompetisyon, sa halip ay pambato rin
siya ng bansa sa mga internasyunal
na laban.
Siya ay isa ring swimmer at
soccer player sa kanyang paaralan,
ay nagsanay sa gymnastics bago
niya nadiskubre ang skating nang
minsang bumisita ito sa mall noong
walong taong gulang pa lamang
siya. Pagkatapos ay nanood siya ng
Disney on Ice at hindi na natigil pa
sa pagkahumaling sa skating.
Kinuha niya ang bronze medal sa
kanyang unang mall competition
noong 2003 pero kinailangan niyang
mag-break ng anim na buwan bago
muli sumabak sa skating. Sa ngayon
ay anim hanggang pitong oras siya sa
araw-araw na nagsasanay.
Kumakatawan si Anna Villafuerte
sa SM International Ice
Skating Rink.
Itinuturing si Villafuerte na isa
sa mga achievers na kumakatawan
sa SM International Ice Skating
Rink, na nanalo ng medalya mula sa
mga internasyunal na kompetisyon
kabilang na ang sa Guangdong at
Shenzhen sa China, at sa Bandung,
Indonesia noong nakaraang taon
Kamakailan lamang ay idinagdag
niya sa kanyang mga medalya at
tropeo ang panalo niya sa Skate
Beijing sa China World Trade
Center nang walisin niya ang lahat
ng gintong medalya rito.
Dinaig ni Villafuerte ang may
300 skaters mula sa Hong Kong,
Guangdong, Shenzhen at Beijing.
Siya lamang ang tanging Pilipino sa
sport na ang naglalaban ay pawang
mula sa mga bansang may tag-lamig
na klima.
Sa husay ni Villafuerte sa mga
programa na inihanda, kinuha niya
ang top score sa solo technical, solo
footwork, solo artistic, solo spotlight,
solo competition, at surprise number,
at pair events na couple shot at jump
and spin, kung saan naging kapareha
niya ang kanyang coach na si Denise
Martinez para sa panalo.
“In some events, I was really
scared because my competition, their
programs were really good and then
when it came to me, sometimes I
was shaking. But when it came to the
results, I was really surprised, I mean
I didn’t know I did that good a job,”
sabi ni Villafuerte .
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“We were OK with three golds,
because that’s where I saw she had
the chance to win, but one came
after the other,” sabi ni, Fe ang ina ni
Villafuerte.
Maging ang kanyang coach
ay nagulat din sa ipinamalas ni
Villafuerte.
“Actually, before she got all the
medals, I even scolded her because
… she didn’t want to listen, but
she proved me wrong again for the
hundredth time,” dagdag ni Martinez.
“But she was a fast-learner,
progressing through the skating
levels quickly.”
Sa huli niyang panalo,
nagkwalipika si Villafuerte na sumali
sa ISI World Team Recreational
Championships sa Chicago,
ang kompetisyon na maaaring
magpaangat ng kanyang tsansa na
katawanin ang bansa sa 2010 Winter
Olympics sa Vancouver, Canada.
Subalit kahit na sunod-sunod ang
tagumpay, hindi nagmamadali si
Villafuerte.
“You have to go step by step; you
have to go through more stages,
more levels, difficulties in skating.
And I’m not in a rush to go to the
Olympics. I’m still young and I am
enjoying myself,” wika niya.
taong din iyon, pumangalawa siya
sa Production Class ng Philippine
Petron GP Touring Car Series. Noong
2004, nasa third overall sa Philippine
Formula Toyota Championship.
At ang kanyang hirap at tiyaga ay
nagbunga nang makasama siya sa
formula BMW Asia scholarship
driver noong taong din iyon.
“I’ve always been passionate about
what I do. And that’s how you should
live life, no matter how ridiculous
things seem. It’s not about showing
the world, but showing yourself that
this is what you want, this is where
you want to go, and that you can find
ways to get there,” sabi ni Gaby.
9170 7558 email: [email protected]
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Employment and Travel Services
PABL ready to
suspend play
in bid to help
national team
The Philippine Basketball League
will back the national team any time
it’s called upon to help.
Team owners committed their
resources to the national team during
a meeting to map out plans for next
month’s 24th Southeast Asian Games
in Thailand.
The PBL board decided that the
nationals, who are currently in
Singapore for a series of tune-up
matches, will be reinforced by more
players seeing action in the ongoing
PBL V-Go Extreme Energy Drink
Cup.
They include Fil-Am sensation
Gabe Norwood of Hapee Toothpaste,
who suited up for the RP Team to the
FIBA-Asia qualifiers in Japan earlier
this year.
The league also agreed to throw its
resources behind the effort to capture
the SEA Games gold medal, the last
international basketball crown the
country holds, including suspending
the current tournament, a spokesman
said.
“
Siyempre gusto
naming makapagpro [professional
player]. Lahat
naman kami yun
ang pangarap
PAUL ECHAVEZ
Amateur golfer
Stalwarts of National Caddies Program
tee it up in strong Hong Kong showing
Aileen Gabutina in Hong Kong
Carrying bags has taken Paul
Echavez a long way from home.
When the young Apo Golf Club
caddy was approached by Tommy
Manotoc and told he was going to
compete in the 2007 Hong Kong
Amateur Golf Open Championships,
Echavez, for a fleeting moment,
thought his coach was pulling his
leg. He almost laughed.
But then he realized Manotoc
would never joke about such things.
Manotoc knew too well how much
an international trip meant to the 19year-old.
Echavez, along with fellow
Davaoeno Zanieboy Gialon and
Zamboanga native Jerson Balasabas,
flew to Hong Kong with Manotoc
late last month and vied in the
tournament which also saw players
from other Asian countries and
Britain compete.
“Unang biyahe ko po ’to kaya
grabe ang kaba ko. Pagdating ko
nga dito sa Hong Kong sinabi ko
kaagad sa sarili ko ‘hindi lahat ng
tao nabibigyan ng chance na tulad
nito.’ Pakiramdam ko nga nanalo na
kaagad ako,” said the soft-spoken
Echavez. “Ito kasi talaga ang gusto
kong gawin mula pa noong bata
ako.”
Echavez’s two buddies from
the National Caddies Program,
Balasabas and Gialon, who also
came from humble beginnings, made
their first out-of-the-country trip
last year, competing at a Malaysian
tournament, where Gialon placed
second.
“Twelve years old palang kami ni
Zanieboy nung magsimula kaming
maglaro [ng golf]. Noon din kami
nagsimula mag-caddy sa Apo [Golf
Club] dun na kami natuto maglaro
habang pinanonood namin yung mga
players,” said Echavez.
Gialon, 18, is not the only caddyturned-golfer in his family. His firstcousin, Dante Becierra, also from the
Apo Golf Club, is a national team
45
YATKA
A long way
from home, a
step closer to
their dream
Champion driver Gaby dela
Merced is a fashion
model and top product
endorser. She also works
at the stock exchange.
think I know,” pahayag ni Gaby
“I have a very special relationship
with my car,” nakangiting wika ni
Gaby. “When I’m behind the wheel, I
become the car.”
Bukod sa karera ng kotse, sumasali
rin si Gaby sa extreme sports at
nakasama na sa ilang adventure
races. Coach din siya ng flag football
club sa Miriam College grade school
kung saan siya nag-aral.
Bukod sa pagiging race-car driver,
si Gaby ay nagtatrabaho rin sa stock
market.
“Well, the stock market is a 9-to-12
thing – it opens in the morning and
closes at noon. So in the afternoon,
November 2007
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And that’s how
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life, no matter
how ridiculous
things seem
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Jerson Balasabas lines up a putt
on his way to a tie for fifth place.
player. Becierra, in fact, won the
2007 HK amateurs. Balasabas tied
for fifth, Echavez placed 12th and
Gialon tied for 14th.
“Most of the caddies are from
Davao,’’ said Manotoc. “Apo Golf
Club, for years, has been a good
venue in honing their skills dahil
pinapayagan silang maglaro sa
course unlike the private clubs in
Metro Manila.”
It was in 2005 that Manotoc
discovered the three players at the
National Caddies Open. Although the
three failed to finish near the top at
the open, they showed promise.
Manotoc took Echavez, Gialon,
and Balasabas to Batangas so they
could play regularly at the Calatagan
Golf Club, of which Manotoc is
a member. The club is owned by
Tonyboy Cojuangco, who is another
supporter of the caddies program.
The 24-year-old Balasabas, who
started playing when he was 14,
polished his skills at the Edwin
Andrews Air Base Golf Club in
Zamboanga. He said he was a latebloomer, and his entry into the
caddies program took some nudging.
“Nakiusap na nga lang ako
kay coach na isama ako sa team
pagkatapos ng 2005 Open,” said
Balasabas.
With sheer determination,
Balasabas redeemed himself and
topped the same tournament the next
year.
“It’s their break in life, that’s why
you can really feel their dedication,
their passion [in golf]. Unlike the
golfers who can afford to play the
sport, it’s a hobby to them. Sa mga
batang ’to, eto na yung buhay nila,”
said Manotoc.
Echavez said the three of them
share a dream. “Siyempre gusto
naming makapag-pro [professional
player]. Lahat naman kami yun ang
pangarap.’’
The three players are now back in
Calatagan. They are a long way from
home, but they are one small step
closer to their goal.
Kahit caretaker lamang, taglay ni Sonny Barrios ang buong malasakit sa PBA
Celeste Maring in Manila
Nang hindi siya napiling
Commissioner ng Philippine
Basketball Association noong
2002, tinalikuran na rin ni Sonny
Barrios ang kanyang pangarap na
makuha ang naturang posisyon.
Minsan nang nadismaya
si Barrios nang ang kanyang
pangarap na maging PBA
commissioner ay di natupad,
kaya’t laking gulat niya nang
manombrahan siyang Officer-InCharge. Ang dahilan – hindi na
siya naghahabol pa na maging
Commissioner.
“One qualification why Barrios
was chosen] is because he
has no ambition [of becoming
commissioner],” sabi ni outgoing
league chairman Ricky Vargas ng
Talk ‘N Text .
“And he had the inside track
because of his knowledge of the
PBA,” dagdag ni Vargas tungkol
sa 60-taong gulang na si Barrios.
“He will be purely the OIC. This
is just a bridging job [for the next
commissioner.”
Si Barrios, nagtrabaho
sa Commissioner’s Office ng
18 taon, ay dating executive
director ng liga at naging OIC ng
magkasakit noong 2000 si Emilio
“Jun” Bernardino.
Kung tutuusin, ang
pagkakaibigan nina Barrios at
Bernardino ay
halos dalawang
dekada na ang
pinagdaanan.
Graduate ng
business studies sa
Ateneo, pumasok
si Barrios sa PBA
noong 1984 bilang assistant ni
Bernardino na noon naman ay
executive director kay Mariano
Yenko.
“This came as a surprise,”sabi
ni Barrios.
“The circumstances
surrounding 2002 notwithstanding,
I never thought that this would
come. Being a candidate in itself
was a surprise.”
Idinagdag ni Barrios na kahit
na nasa Estados Unidos siya
noon ay nanatili ang puso niya
sa liga na matagal din niyang
pinaglingkuran.
May care-giving business si
Barrios at ang kanyang asawang
si Becky sa Sacramento,
California.
“My heart will always be with
the PBA. I’ve been with the
league for how many years and,
certainly, my experiences will be
of great value,” wika ni Barrios.
Idinagdag niya na hindi
alintana sa kanya na short term
lamang ang kanyang pagiging
commissioner at sa halip ay
pinasasalamatan pa niya ang
miyembro ng PBA board dahil sa
tiwala nito sa kanya.
Hindi napanalunan ni Barrios
ang commissionership makaraang
magretiro si Bernardino noong
2002 season. Si Noli Eala na
nagbitiw kamakailan makaraang
madisbar ng Supreme Court
dahil sa “immorality,” ang naging
ikaanim na commissioner
matapos si Bernardino.
Nagbago ng isip ang board
sa pagpili ng OIC makaraang
kumpirmahin ng mga miyembro
nito na shoo-in na si former
senator Freddie Webb sa
puwesto. Nais ng board ang
matagalang pamamalagi sa
puwesto ni Webb.
46
palakasan
filipino globe
November 2007
Thank you all – it was
well worth the journey
Coming off a disastrous stint last season, the Celtics have put together their biggest start in 20 years at 4-0.
Hot-streaking Boston
out to put past behind
Searing start sends Boston chasing history again, writes Tom Almazan
S
pare a thought for the Boston
Celtics. After all this time, the
winningest team in the NBA is
still making history.
With a 4-0 card, the Celtics have
already assembled their best start in
20 years. They could forget about
what happens next, except that
Boston wants to wipe out the stain
of their second worst record ever last
season.
“When you coach or play in
Boston, every day is something with
history,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers
said. “This team is so history-rich.
We’ve just got to get better.”
The Celtics’ 16 championships are
the most in NBA history. Their 18game losing streak last season was
their longest ever.
It fell to Kevin Garnett last week
to get the Celtics on the march again,
powering Boston past the Atlanta
Hawks, 106-83.
The 10-time All-Star but first-year
Celtic had 27 points, 19 rebounds,
six assists and three blocks against
a young and improving Atlanta
team. Boston is much older but
has improved more since posting
the second worst record in the
franchise’s impressive history last
season.
That 4-0 start is their best opening
since 1987-88, when they won their
first six games, finished with 52
wins and went on to the Eastern
Conference finals, the last time the
original Big Three of Larry Bird,
Kevin McHale and Robert Parish got
there.
“It’s not only Garnett,” Hawks
coach Mike Woodson said. “When
you throw Ray Allen and Paul Pierce
in the mix, you know they’ve got
shooters spaced all around Garnett.”
Boston became the NBA’s only
“
When you coach
or play in Boston,
every day is
something with
history. We’ve just
got to get better
DOC RIVERS
Celtics coach
remaining unbeaten team after the
Los Angeles Clippers lost at Detroit
in the same week.
Garnett has had a double-double
in all four games, Pierce scored 23
points, Allen had 14 and Boston
led by at least eight throughout the
Kevin Garnett is proving his trade
from Minnesota well worth it.
second half. Another newcomer,
Eddie House, came off the bench
to score 19, hitting four of five 3pointers.
The Celtics won just 24 games
during the past season but so far have
lived up to pre-season predictions
after they obtained Garnett and
Allen.
“Boston looks like a great team,
three great All-Stars” Johnson said.
“They play the game the way it
should be played.”
The Hawks led 31-30 before
Allen’s short jumper gave the Celtics
the lead for good and began an 11-2
run that made it 41-33 with 4:49 left
in the second quarter.
Atlanta cut that to 47-39 but
Boston finished the half with an 8-2
spurt in which Pierce had six points.
Atlanta came back again, trimming
the lead to 67-59 with 2:42 left in the
third quarter as the Celtics played
sloppily. They finished with 18
turnovers.
“We hit our own guy in the head
with the ball,” Rivers said. “We’re
better than we played tonight.”
They were solid on defense, a point
of emphasis for the rebuilt team.
“The offense is the obvious, but
you all don’t know how hard we
work on our defense,” Garnett said.
“Talking to each other and being
one when we’re out there. We know
we’re not flawless.”
“We tightened up the defense and
when we did that the offense started
rolling,” House said.
Garnett started that rally with a
short turnaround jumper, House hit
a three-pointer and Garnett sank two
free throws before Marvin Williams’
tip drew the Hawks to 74-61 at the
end of the third. But they could not
turn the game around.
The Lucky 8 expat Olympic
torchbearers have been chosen and
I didn’t make it. I have already
posted a congratulatory message
to the winners who were given
the rare honor of carrying the
Olympic torch for 200-400 meters,
a short distance but perhaps a
beautiful run for a lifetime.
I joined the competition because
like all the others I wanted to carry
the sacred Olympic symbol of
global peace, friendship and unity.
The good thing about it was the fact
that the organizers clearly stated that
the China-wide search among expats
was not purely a popularity contest.
But because I believe that the best
thing in the Olympics is by merely
competing, all of us who joined the
contest are all winners.
From the bottom of my heart and
on behalf of my family, I would
like to thank everyone – all global
Filipino citizens – who supported
and joined our journey during the
competition. I would like also
to thank all of those who posted
those heartwarming and beautiful
messages. I really appreciate them.
Some messages even moved me
to tears. I am also very happy to
be reconnected with childhood
friends, former classmates, relatives,
colleagues and fellow global citizens
all over the world.
I would like to mention especially
the heartwarming and overwhelming
support that our community in Hong
Kong has given to me during my
two-week “Olympic journey.” Hong
Kong will always remain dear to me.
As in life, the voting and selection
process may not be perfect. But
for me there were perfect moments
during the competition – when I
received those encouraging notes and
messages from people who believed
in me. Joining the competition
was one of the most memorable
experiences in my life. I will always
treasure this.
As an Olympic watcher and
enthusiast since my high school
days, I will always treasure the
Olympic ideals of excellence and
volunteerism. We should not only
OLYMPICUPDATE
letter from beijing
Noel
Novicio
excel; more importantly we must
also care for others. They have
always been my guiding principles in
life and in work.
It is indeed a blessing to be in
China at this time. This will be
our home for the next three and a
half years. We also look forward to
watching some of the games live
during the Beijing Olympics next
year. As I wrote in my essay, my
ultimate dream in next year’s Beijing
Games is to hopefully witness our
athletes win our very first Olympic
gold medal since we first joined
the Olympics at the 1924 Paris
Olympiad.
Twenty years
after watching
live my first
Olympic Games
at the 1988
Seoul Olympiad,
I really feel
blessed and
privileged to be
given again the
opportunity to witness perhaps the
greatest sports spectacle on earth.
I’d like also to thank Lenovo and
China Daily for giving us a platform
to participate actively in pre-Olympic
activities in Beijing.
Finally, I would like to thank my
wife, Doris, who is the moving
inspiration behind my joining the
competition. I share with her and our
two children, Paolo and Clara, the
joy of simply being in the contest.
Maraming salamat sa lahat. Thank
you very much everyone. Xie xie.
The writer is Third Secretary and Vice
Consul at the Philippine Embassy
in Beijing. This is his personal
contribution.
dibersyon
November 2007
BUHAYPALAD
ARIES Mar 21-Apr 19
LIBRA
Last month, Mercury
was retrograde in
your partnership and
money sectors, which
could have caused you a number
of frustrating delays. Unanticipated
obstacles may have come up to
thwart your efforts, so you were
continually challenged to come up
with new solutions.
Career is certainly on
your mind, and you
have been doing so
very well since the end
of September. The wind, however,
will temporarily change direction
for several months, so it will be
imperative that you move to sew up
current deals as quickly as you can
and waste no time.
TAURUS
SCORPIO
Apr 21-May 20
Olympic fever grips Beijing as the countdown to next year’s Games
continues. This early, the city is sprucing up for the great event.
Oct 23-Nov 22
There are certain
souls who wake up on
their birthday with a
big grin on their face,
and cheerily chirp to everyone
they meet, “It’s my birthday!” and
then invite friends to help them
celebrate. You’ve always been a
private person, and you often feel
a bit embarrassed when people
shower you with gifts.
GEMINI May 21-Jun 20
SAGITTARIUS
You have an
impressive work
picture this month,
with interesting
assignments and a solid sum of
money coming your way. This is the
kind of month that just gets better
as you go along, so settle in for an
unusually happy ride this month,
enjoy the fruits of your labours and
celebrate.
Take a moment to
catch your breath.
You’ve been moving
at the speed of light
all year, but you might want to slow
down just a little to survey all that
you achieved this year, both in your
career and on a personal level. You
are nearing the end of a year of
Jupiter in Sagittarius, which made
2007 a landmark year for you.
CANCER
CAPRICORN
Nov 23-Dec 22
Dec 21-Jan 19
November finds you
feeling in high spirits,
and rightly so. Lots of
cosmic goodies are in
store for you, so you have every
reason to believe that you’ll enjoy
the month. Mars is still moving
though Cancer, a sign that you are
in the process of starting a brand
new cycle.
It has been probably
a quiet year, a time
when you would
decide what, precisely,
you want for your future. You may
have spent a lot of time working
on building a firm foundation for
a future enterprise that is dear to
you, or deciding which relationships
needed to stay in your life.
LEO Jul 21-Aug 21
AQUARIUS
Are you ready to
upgrade your home
to all that you have
always imagined it
to be? Here’s your chance. Your
home, family, and other real estate
decisions are about to form a big
theme. You may be amazed at how
easily – and quickly – you can get
things into place “just so.”
This month will
likely bring you an
extraordinary career
opportunity, and when
it happens, the offer will materialise
suddenly. Your new job will have
prestige, room for creativity, and
more responsibility, not so much
that you’ll feel crushed with all you
will have to do.
VIRGO Aug 22-Sep 22
PISCES
You are in top form,
thinking clearly and
moving forward with
projects and plans.
Last month could have been
frustrating because your ruling
planet – Mercury – was in weak
retrograde. Mercury caused you
delays and mix-ups, and possibly a
few missed meetings as a result.
Travel would be a
grand idea this month,
especially if you take
your trip early in the
month. You seem to be your own
best ambassador, and all sort of
serendipitous events will come up
along the way to make you realise
that this trip was to be blessed from
the start.
USEFUL NUMBERS
Philippine Consulate
2823 8501
9155 4023
Labour Hotline
6080 8323
Immigration
2824 6111
Police/Fire/Hospital
999
Labour Department
2717 1771
Labour Tribunal
2717 1771
Airport assistance
2861 3980
Int’l Social Services
2836 3598
Caritas Filipino Serv
2526 4249
2147 5988
Bethune House
2721 3119
Bayanihan Center
2817 8928
Asian Migrant Center
2312 0031
Mission for Fil Mig
2522 8264
Unifil Hong Kong
2522 8264
Race Relations Unit
2835 1579
Fil Mig Work Union
2915 9468
ANGSISTE
Sep 23-Oct 22
Last month was
a difficult month
because Mercury was
retrograde and that
probably caused you many delays,
postponements, and mix-ups. This
month, Mercury will go direct, but
because it acts the wildest on the
start and end of its retrograde, it’s
best to wait until well into the month
to resume normal activities.
Jun 20-Jul 21
47
filipino globe
KATUWAANLANG
Doctors, bums, show-offs, husbands and wives
Doctor: Mrs Cruz, your check
came back.
Mrs Cruz: So did my arthritis.
Q: How many Pinoy guys does it
take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They just go to the
sabungan and let their wives do it.
Doctor: You’ll live to be 60.
Patient: I am 60.
Doctor: See? What did I tell you?
Lying in a motel room with
thin walls, a man kept hearing a
woman next door saying, “How
about it, John?” over and over for
hours. He couldn’t sleep, thinking
the boyfriend was a cold fish until
he heard her yell, “How about
getting off me, you ape.”
Patient: Doc, I keep hearing
ringing in my ears.
Doctor: Don’t answer.
Judge to drunk: You’ve been
brought here for drinking.
Drunk: Okay, let’s get started.
Bum to Pinoy: Give me P100
until payday.
Pinoy: When is payday?
Bum: I don’t know. You’re the
one that’s working.
Bum to Filipina socialite: Ma’am,
I haven’t eaten in three days.
Socialite: Force yourself.
Q: Why do many Pinoys die
A guy was bragging to the boys:
I just got back from a pleasure
trip. I took my mother-in-law to
the airport.
before their wives?
A: They want to.
Q: Why do Pinay women make
great parole officers?
A: They never let anyone finish a
sentence.
A man tells his therapist: I’ve
been in love with the same
woman for 49 years. If my wife
ever finds out, she’ll kill me.
Someone stole his credit cards,
but he won’t be reporting it. The
thief spends less than his wife.
LARONGSUDOKU
Jan 20-Feb 18
Feb 19-Mar 20
Pinakamainit na laro ngayon, hamon sa kakayahang mag-isip at magbilang. Punuin ang mga square ng
numero mula 1 hanggang 9 na hindi umuuulit. May dalawa kayong tsansa para hamunin ang sarili. Suko?
Tingnan ang sagot sa aming internet edition (www.filglobe.com).
YOURDIARY
November 18
Passi City Iloilo Association
of Hong Kong “Pinoy Got
Talent” competition and
fourth anniversary, 11 am
- 6 pm, Grappa’s Cellar,
Jardine House, Central.
Noemi 9511 3224
November 18
Candonian HK Association
fiesta and Miss Candonian
2007 coronation, 1-6 pm,
Bayanihan Center, Kenedy
Town. Rechilda 6151 6502
November 25
Federation of Eastern
Samar OFWs in Hong
Kong induction, 12-6 pm,
Newton Hotel, North Point.
Rachel 9233 8413
December 2
Overseas Filipino
Friendship and Mutual
Aid Association annual
Christmas party, 2-6 pm,
Caritas Community Hall,
Caine Road, Central. Dorie
9433 7173
December 2
BSK Christmas party and
induction, Empire Hotel,
Wanchai. Aida 6227 7285
Ongoing activities
Filipino Nurses AssociationHK signature campaign
EXCHANGE RATES
to introduce professional
licensure examination for
nurses in Hong Kong. Call
6438 4464 or 9518 0835 for
details.
Hong Kong dollar
Unified Drivers Association
invites all interested drivers
to join the association.
Marivic 9263 8634
Send your activities and
programs for publication
to [email protected]
British pound
5.5106
88.1405
Saudi riyal
11.4898
Canadian dollar
44.4122
Euro
62.9036
Australian dollar
39.7132
Japanese yen*
0.3852
Singapore dollar
29.6634
US dollar
42.9200
*per 100 yen
Above rates are for reference only. Please
check with your bank for the actual rates.
shoot, show & tell
filipino globe
the big picture
November 2007
48
ONLY IN SPAIN
With Madrid opening up its labor market in various sectors, overseas Filipino workers have increasingly found Spain as a lucrative destination in Europe. OFWs are mostly in the services industries,
and more recently, in health care, technology and engineering. Madrid and Manila have signed an agreement simplifying procedures, among others, for the entry of Filipino workers to the country.
Pardon the noise, it’s just us trying not to think
O
ne of our neighbors works
abroad as a seaman, and we
always know when he’s in
town. He throws a big party, an allnight celebration featuring lots of
food, lots of guests and lots and lots
and lots and lots of noise.
Did I say lots of noise? Kindly
excuse the weakness of my
descriptive powers. What I meant
was mind-shattering explosive bursts
of hideous sound strong enough to
split boulders and cause the resulting
pebbles to bleed.
The highlight of the celebration
(and if you’re a true Filipino
you’ll have guessed it by now) is a
karaoke sing-along, where guests
of various ages, genders and states
of inebriation take turns belting
out what I suspect to be music.
I’m pretty sure they think they’re
carrying a tune, although from where
I am, it sounds like two drunken steel
factories mating.
I think my neighbors wire large
speakers atop each tree, and bury a
subwoofer the size of a living room
in their garden. Anyway, the output
can make the trees dance – in fact,
the trees would probably want to run
LIGHTERSIDE
view from home
Alan C Robles
in Manila
[email protected]
“
The minute
Filipinos are
compelled to be
quiet, they’ll be
forced to start
thinking about
serious stuff ...
away, if they weren’t weighed down
by speakers.
My neighbors are just being
Filipino. This, after all, is the
Republic of Noise, where every
citizen is duty bound to make a
constant racket. Noise wakes you
up in the morning, follows you
in your commute, surrounds you
in your office, in the malls, in the
gym, escorts you home and tucks
you in at night. After that. you can
look forward to some restful quiet
until such time (2 am) as you are
blown off your bed by a passing jeep
playing music loud enough to wake
the dead.
Speaking of the deceased, they
shouldn’t expect to rest in too
much peace either. Anyone who
went to the cemetery this month
during All Saint’s Day will have
seen the touching Filipino tradition
of showing reverence for our dead
by bringing offerings such as
food, memorabilia, mahjong sets
and of course boom boxes, sound
systems and the ever popular Magic
Sing microphone pre-loaded with
hundreds of karaoke tunes. No
wonder we have so many stories
involving vengeful ghosts.
I’ve read that any sound above 75
decibels is supposed to pose health
risks.
One study puts the average noise
level in Quezon City at 90 decibels
– in QC’s district 2, it’s 110 decibels
(district 2’s motto is “What Did You
Say?”) A tricycle’s engine registers
at 80 decibels. I’ve heard – get it?
oh, never mind – the drivers actually
remove mufflers because they want
their machines noisy.
I can picture the scene at the
terminal, one macho driver holding
forth, “Wala yan, konting ingay lang
yan” while his pals nod and laugh
uproariously though the truth is they
can’t hear what he’s saying because
they’re all stone deaf.
A friend, Sheila Coronel, offers this
explanation why Filipinos say they
love noise: “masaya kasi.” Here’s
how I see it: constant noise prevents
any deep thought and reflection.
The minute Filipinos are compelled
to be quiet, they’ll be forced to start
thinking about serious stuff like
our political leaders and their bank
accounts. And then there’ll be real
trouble.
So, next time you ask me to
contemplate the age-old conundrum
of the sound of one hand clapping,
here’s what I’ll say: you bring your
hand. I’ll bring the Magic Sing. It
will be a perfect match.
PHOTOESSAY
Show us your flash for
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the big picture of the Filipino
expat’s life. Photos must be
accompanied by a caption
of not more than 100 words,
describing the event or
circumstances behind them.
Or tell us an interesting
anecdote or observation in
not more than 500 words
and share them with the
world.
Each photo or essay
entitles its owner HK$200
and becomes the property
of Filipino Globe. Photos
should have a minimum
resolution of three
megapixels. We reserve
the right to make changes
in line with house style.
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