Nine million reasons to be closer together, closer to

THE MAKING
OF SUPERMAID
AND WHAT IT
MEANS FOR THE
FUTURE
PAQUIAO:
THIS FIGHT IS
FOR FAMILY,
COUNTRY AND
FOR MYSELF
NEWS FEATURE 24-25
PALAKASAN 44-45
filipino globe
hong kong / manila edition
Issue 1, Volume 1
www.filglobe.com
November 2006
Nine million reasons to be closer together, closer to home
T
en years in the making,
we arrive with the longest
birth pains.
We could not have picked a
better time to be born. There
are nine million reasons. You
are one of them.
In the past decade, more
of us have come to live or work
overseas than there are people
in Hong Kong, Singapore,
Kuwait or Switzerland.
And we are everywhere, a
virtual nation that has existed
largely in economic statistics
(US$12 billion in remittances
Philippines
unveils new
weapon in
DH battle
‘Supermaid’ the nation’s answer
to intensifying market competition
JOSE MARCELO
and LARA CLIMACO in Manila
An ambitious and controversial policy is set to be implemented by the government in
an attempt to unleash a new
breed of domestic workers
into the overseas market.
The “supermaid” program
is designed to churn out meticulously screened, specially
trained, and highly skilled
domestic helpers that would
in turn command higher salaries.
Under the program, a “supermaid” certification will be
required for future deployment of Filipino domestic
helpers overseas.
“This will minimise the departure of inexperienced, illtrained and undocumented
workers who are most prone
to abuse,” Labor Secretary
Arturo Brion said.
The program has sparked
wide debate, with placement
agencies saying the policy is
tantamount to banning the deployment of Filipino domestic helpers overseas.
To qualify for the program,
applicants must be at least
25 years old and have a high
school diploma. They must
be proficient in oral and written English.
A “supermaid” certification
every year)
and in
migrantspeak
(overseas
Filipino workers) — until now.
Filipino Globe hopes to forge
a stronger sense of community
and closer ties with our country
by providing a means for
interaction while filling a need
for news from home.
Your newspaper comes
to you with the added
resources of an internet
edition.
Together, they provide the
most comprehensive content
by any publication of its kind.
Going forward, we hope to be
in key areas in the world where
our kababayans live.
Because we believe that
where we are closer together,
we are closer to home.
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• Continued on Page 2
EDITORIAL – PAGE 20
Good or bad, the ‘supermaid’ policy will change the market for Filipino overseas workers.
2
news
filipino globe
November 2006
Prisoners hope – and wait
Inmates make appeal as final agreement on transfer languishes in congress
JOSE MARCELO
Filipinos languishing in Hong Kong
jails are enduring more anxiety
waiting for the implementation of
an agreement that will allow them
to serve out their sentences in the
Philippines.
Hong Kong citizens in Philippine
jails face the same prospect.
The so-called Transfer of Sentenced Persons agreement was
signed between Hong Kong and
Manila in June 2002.
But the long-delayed enabling
legislation on the part of the Philippines is pending in congress.
“We’re really just waiting for the
final draft and approval of the implementing rules and guidelines,”
said consul Victorio Dimagiba,
head of the Philippine consulate’s
legal division.
He said at least five Filipinos have
applied to serve their time back
home, where it would be easier for
their families to visit.
More than four years later, the
wait is still on.
“Some of these inmates have
been complaining why it is taking
so long,” Dimagiba said. “They’ve
been sending petitions to our government officials and they’ve been
doing it for a while already.”
A ray of hope came months ago
when the Department of Justice and
the Bureau of Corrections agreed to
form an inter-agency panel to put
together draft guidelines.
But until the final hurdle has been
cleared, the Filipino prisoners can
only hope – and wait.
‘Black Jack’
gang members
fall in Kowloon
police swoop
Hong Kong police have arrested
six Filipino members of a syndicate
preying mostly on Japanese tourists
in the Kowloon Park area in Tsim
Tsa Tsui.
Tagged as “Black Jack Squad”,
the syndicate was in the process of
divesting a 28-year-old Japanese
tourist of HK$80,000 worth of gold
when they were arrested.
The six Fillipinos, aged 36 to 68,
have bee detained. They are facing
fraud conspiracy charges.
Police learned syndicate
members usually approach tourists
at Kowloon Park and offer to teach
them the fine points of the card
game black jack.
Three syndicate members had
taken the Japanese tourist to a
jewellery shop in Tsim Sha Tsui
and encouraged him to buy, using
a credit card, HK$80,000 worth
of gold, which supposedly would
be used as stakes in the card game
against a rich businessman.
Unknown to the gang members,
Hong Kong detectives were already
on their trail and made the arrests
shortly after the purchase.
JOSE MARCELO
will entail over 400 hours of
training, including countryspecific language and culture
orientation.
In turn, a certified “supermaid” will be guaranteed a
minimum salary of US$400,
slightly below the minimum
in Hong Kong.
“The government of a labor-supplying country cannot
demand what it wants from
foreign employers,” Federat-
EASTERN SAMAR
The Department of Public
Works and Highways
is doubling its efforts to
finish the Dolores-OrasSan Policarpio road
project. DPWH director
Gil Villanueva said the
road concreting project is
57.42 per cent complete.
Being built at a cost of
P117.8 million, the project
is covered by a loan
agreement between the
Philippines and Japan
Bank for International
Cooperation. The project is
under contract with Tokwing
Construction. The road will
serve as a vital link from
municipalities in Eastern
Samar to various market
areas.
BENGUET
Benguet provincial board
member Cesar Soriano is
urging local businessmen to
invest in mini-hydroelectric
dams to generate high
revenues and profitability.
Soriano was among
Cordillera officials who were
in guided tours of various
hydro-electric plants of the
Hydroelectric Development
Corp (Hedcor) to personally
see how the electric-irrigation
systems are environment
friendly and essential to the
local economy. During the
tour, Hedcor officials showed
how Hedcor developed a
small section of a river into
an electric generator, making
use of the water current and
producing cheap energy.
PALAWAN
Amid Kowloon Park’s lush and serene surroundings, criminals operate with impunity.
Philippines unleashes new weapon in DH market battle
From Page 1
ANGBANSA
ed Association of Manpower
Agencies Inc president Eduardo Makahiya said. “That is
a function of a free market,
dictated by demand and supply.”
There are fears that the policy will create another layer
of red tape in an already complex recruitment system.
“Baka pagdating ng araw,
pampadagdag lang sa gastos
‘yan,” said Marian Macapagal, 38, from Tsuen Wan.
The biggest fear is that the
stringent screening could lead
to a decline in the number of
Filipino domestic workers.
Even without the policy, Indonesian helpers are on pace
to outnumber Filipinas in
Hong Kong by next year.
“Paliit na nga ang mga bilang ng mga Pilipino rito,
tiyak na liliit pa ‘yan,” said
Remedios dela Cruz, from
Manila.
Dimapilis-Baldoz, howev-
er, believes the policy will elevate Filipino domestic helpers to a level that they won’t
even need to compete with
helpers from other countries.
Lita Catimon, a 51-year-old
domestic helper from Naic,
Cavite, agrees.
“Kahit ano pa ang ilagay
nila riyan, marami pa ring
employer and kukuha ng mga
Pilipina.”
“Alam nilang iba pa rin ang
Pilipina.”
Opening of cross-border
trade between the
Philippines and Malaysia
set in Brooke’s Point,
Palawan on Tuesday
has been shelved.
Provincial information
officer Rolando Bonoan
blamed the unavailability
of a commercial vessel
to be utilised by Palawan
governor Joel Reyes, other
officials and members of
the Development Exposure
Trip and Trade, Tourism
and Investment Showcase.
The vessel reportedly lacks
proper crew documentation.
The East Asian trade
grouping brings together
Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia
and the Philippines.
news
filipino globe
November 2006
Officials linked to visa scam
Former OFW says immigration officers conniving with fake-passport gangs
BRAD CAMPOS
and RAUL ACEDRE in Manila
Philippine immigration officials are
being linked to a multimillion-dollar passport scam involving Filipinos bound for Europe.
A former overseas Filipino worker
serving a prison sentence in Hong
Kong for possession of forged documents, said he was allowed to go
through immigration at NAIA without being checked and was escorted
by officers into the departure area.
“I strongly believe some immigration officials are involved in the
scam,” he said on condition of anonymity.
“May hinala akong alam ng mga
opisyal ang passport ko kaya hindi
na ako pinadaan sa immigration
check-in.”
A spokesman at the immigration
bureau in Manila declined to comment “without the benefit of an investigation”.
The victim has been jailed for nine
months in Hong Kong after being
sent back from Rome. His situation
became a domestic matter because
he transited Hong Kong on his way
to Italy.
He said he had paid a recruiter
P400,000 for the passport with a
valid Italy visa. “Sinabihan akong
magpanggap na kasama ang pamilya, pero hindi ko kilala ang mga
kasama ko,” he said.
“Pagdating sa Italy, kargahin ko
raw ‘yung batang kasama namin na
kunyaring anak ko para mapabilis
ang proseso sa immigration dahil
yung bata ay marunong ng Italian.”
Known as “baklas”, the scam involves the use of genuine passports
and visas. The details of the original owner are kept but the picture is
substituted with that of the user.
“Syndicates buy these passports
from Filipinos in a foreign country
and send these to Manila for forgery,” a foreign affairs official in Manila told Filipino Globe.
Vice-consul Noel Novicio, chief
of the assistance to nationals section
of the Philippine consulate, said the
consulate is handling nine such cases, eight involving Filipinos bound
for Europe.
“It’s alarming,” he said. “You
cannot begin to comprehend the extent of the problem until you have
talked to the victims.”
The latest one is a Filipina barangay official from Batangas who was
arrested in Hong Kong. She is serving time in jail.
3
ANGBANSA
CEBU
Eric Amaro, 18, has been
unable to get a college
education because of
poverty. His mother is in
dire need of a leg surgery.
Yet Amaro, and his cousin
Arnel Pahanonot, 17, did
not think twice when they
decided to return to a
television station a shoulder
bag containing P100,000 in
cash and two bank books
containing a P160,000 that
they found while biking near
their home in Sitio Campo,
Barangay Guadalupe in
Carcar town. Amaro said he
and Pahanonot were biking
at around 5am when he
noticed a brown shoulder
bag at the roadside. Inside,
he found the cash.
DUMAGUETE
Mayor Agustin Perdices
has urged educational plan
holders of distressed preneed educational companies
to avail of scholarship grants
offered by the Parents
Enabling Parents (PEP)
Coalition. Perdices issued
his call following the recent
visit of PEP Coalition officer
In Hong Kong,
strictly family
affair – well,
almost
JOSE MARCELO
Even presidents need some
distraction from matters of state.
President Arroyo is no exception
– and Hong Kong was just the
place for that.
Coming after a hectic week of
President Arroyo takes time out with Filipinos in Lamma (top) at the end of a hectic week
meetings of Asean and Chinese
which had taken her to Xiamen, China, where she addressed a regional summit (above).
leaders in the mainland, four
put her feet up, hit the fairways
but it was no more than a chance
discussion with members of the
relatively quiet days in Hong
and
spend
time
with
her
family.
encounter
when
the
two
leaders
foreign press.
Kong during All Saints’ Day
Elaborate
state
dinners,
as
a
heard
early-morning
mass
at
St
There was also a function
came as a welcome and refreshing
result,
were
replaced
by
lunch
at
Joseph’s
Church
in
Central
on
All
attended
by about 30 leaders
change of pace for the chief
an
al
fresco
seafood
restaurant
in
Soul’s
Day.
of
Filipino
organizations
executive.
Lamma
Island,
and
later
a
quiet
The
President
squeezed
in
talks
in
which
the
President was
Except for a handful of talks
dinner
with
the
First
Family
at
a
with
Philip
Chen,
chief
executive
joined
by
Consul
General
with top business executives
floating
restaurant
off
Aberdeen.
of
Cathay
Pacific
and
Robert
Alejandrino
Vicente
and OWWA
and leaders of the Filipino
She
did
meet
with
Hong
Kong
Kuok,
chairman
of
the
ShangriAdministrator
Marianito
Roque.
community, the visit was a rare
chief
executive
Donald
Tsang,
La
group,
as
well
as
a
round-table
But
that’s
about
it.
opportunity for the President to
Vicente Ortueste, wherein
he disclosed that only four
applicants from Dumaguete
and Oriental Negros whose
educational planholders had
already matured, had filed
for the tuition grant. The
scholarship grant comes
from a P50 million fund put
up by former congressman
Mark Jimenez.
CAMARINES
Authorities in Pili are
keeping strict warning
against consumption and
selling of shellfish from
three coastal towns of Bicol
as investigations continue
to determine if other toxic
chemicals could be blamed
for the latest death in Rizal,
Sorsogon City. The Bureau
of Fisheries and Aquatic
Resources said it had
launched another round of
investigation in the affected
areas, particularly Sorsogon
Bay, to determine the toxicity
of red tide in the water and
the shellfish collected from
the areas where the ban was
earlier imposed. Two more
deaths were reported after a
family in Barangay Rizal ate
mussel.
4 November 2006
filipino
globe
November 2006
5
6
news
filipino globe
November 2006
Remittances seen topping US$21b
Robust demand for healthcare workers to drive explosive growth in deployment, says TUCP
DANTE VINO in Manila
If trends continue, the annual remittances of overseas Filipino
workers will hit US$21.4 billion
by 2010, or double the US$10.7
billion last year, the Trade Union
Congress of the Philippines (TUCP)
said.
“We foresee migrant worker remittances increasing by at least 100
per cent over the next five years,
barring a global economic shock,”
former senator and TUCP general
secretary Ernesto Herrera said.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas statistics show OFW remittances ex-
panded at an annual average compounded rate of 16 per cent from
2001 to 2005. Herrera said the annual double-digit growth rate is sustainable due to the continued robust
demand for semi-skilled and highly
skilled Filipino workers.
Remittances reached US$6.04 billion in 2001; US$6.88 billion in 2002;
US$7.58 billion in 2003; US$8.55
billion in 2004; and US$10.7 billion in 2005. As a rule, any amount
that grows at a compounded annual
rate of at least 15 per cent doubles
every five years.
Herrera cited three key remittance
growth drivers in the years ahead.
These are:
• The ageing of 77.5 million “baby
boomers” (those born between
1946 to 1964) in the US, which has
spurred demand for foreign healthcare workers, including nursing
home staff. The oldest baby boomers are turning 60 this year;
• Soaring energy prices that have
boosted the economies of oil-producing countries in the Middle
East that, in turn, have stepped
up hiring of foreign workers in
industries such as construction,
travel and tourism and oil and
gas exploration, development and
production;
• Rapid globalisation that has
increased the need for multinational corporations to retain highly
qualified, experienced and Englishspeaking Filipino business and production managers.
The US is the Philippines’ biggest source of remittances. Inflows from OFWs based in US
grew by US$1.51 billion or 31
per cent, from $4.91 billion in
2004 to US$6.42 billion last year.
About US$6.61 billion from
North America, including $190 million from Canada, accounted for 62
per cent of all remittances.
The Middle East is the third
biggest source of remittances at
US$1.42 billion in last year, behind
Europe (US$1.44 biliion).
Hong Kong, home to more than
120,000 OFWs, accounted for
US$360 million of the estimated
US$1.1 billion from Asia-Pacific,
including Japan, Korea, Australia,
Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan.
Peso expected
to gain more
strength from
Christmas rush
RAUL ACEDRE in Manila
A surging peso is expected to pick
up more steam after record remittances in the first nine months
helped drive it to a 4-1/2-year high
It is trading at just under P50 to
the US dollar after touching a fresh
high of P49.99, its strongest level
since 2002, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said.
The currency is expected to stay
on the strong side of trading for
the rest of the
year. The peso’s
strength leaves
room for the
BSP to cut interest rates, which
could push up
the US dollar/
Tetangco
peso exchange
rate. But most
economists say any such cut would
be taken by the market as an opportunity to buy back the peso.
“I think there will be very little
effect on the strength of the peso,”
one economist said. It has had time
to consolidate its gains.”
Improved economic fundamentals and strong inflows of overseas
remittances have combined to power the peso to levels not seen since
more than four years ago.
OFWs have sent home more than
US$9 billion in the first nine months
of the year, just under the the $10.7
billion for all of last year, and within
sight of the US$11 billion expected
for this year.
“There’s every reason to believe
that the target for this year will be
achieved,” BSP governor Amando
Tetangco said. “This has implications on the continuing strength of
the peso and on exchange rates.”
THE STARS COME OUT
A Philippne Airlines jet looks like part of the Christmas
decor at the NAIA terminal. The airport is decking itself out
for the holidays just before an expected surge of overseas
Filipino workers returning home for Christmas.
NAIA officers warned over ‘discourteous’ behavior after Luli fiasco
RAUL ACEDRE in Manila
NAIA personnel have been told to
treat all passengers courteously and
fairly, regardless of their nationality.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita issued the reminder after an
incident in which the President’s
daughter, Evangeline Lourdes “Luli
Arroyo” reportedly got a boorish
treatment from an immigration officer.
Edgardo Padlan has been suspended by his superiors at the Immigration Bureau pending an investigation.
Ermita was reacting to the incident
in which Arroyo was reportedly told
off by Padlan after she complained
about a foreigner being allowed to
jump the queue. Padlan reportedly
snapped at Arroyo: “Hindi ka ba
marunong maghintay?” (Don’t you
know how to wait?)
“I called the attention of the public servants there (NAIA), dahil siy-
empre, kahit siguro hindi anak ng
presidente could make that observation and call the attention of the immigration personnel,” Ermita said.
“Hindi naman tama … what he
had done at the expense of a Filipino, parang nagpapakita lamang sila
na para bang binibigyan ng pabor
ang mga foreigner,” Ermita said.
filipino globe
November 2006
7
8
news
filipino globe
November 2006
Property tops
wish list as
OFWs step up
buying spree
The property market
is being seen
as the country’s
next sunshine
industry, potentially
overshadowing the
phenomenal growth of
the telecoms sector.
Short-term potential for market
staggering, Globe survey finds
BETING L DOLOR in Manila
The Philippine property market
is enjoying an unprecedented revival as overseas Filipino workers
increasingly give priority to buying homes for themselves and their
families.
The continued exodus of Filipino
workers means the number of families with the purchasing power to
buy property will continue to swell,
a poll of the biggest developers conducted by Filipino Globe shows.
Robinson’s Land Corp general
manager Danilo Ignacio says the
potential for short-term growth of
the industry is “staggering”.
From mid-cost to high-end housing, to residential developments in
the outskirts of Metro Manila, to
sprawling leisure resorts in the regions, the market will continue to
grow, Ignacio said.
OFWs who have families in
Metro Manila and who receive
regular remittances are a new breed
of consumer, he said.
For this reason, the conglomerate
founded by taipan John Gokongwei started the trend of building
high-rise condominiums near their
existing malls.
The condos are aimed more at
the Filipino middle class than the
upper class. A large chunk of this
new middle class are, in fact, OFW
families.
One of the country’s oldest and
biggest developers, DMCI, has also
taken note of the growing middle
market created by OFWs.
DM Consunji Inc, whose core
business used to be infrastructure
development (bridges and commercial buildings), is a pioneer in
sending Filipino workers abroad,
with the Sultan’s Palace in Brunei
its biggest project.
The company took part in the
growth of the OFW phenomenon
when it began sending Filipino
workers to Brunei in the early
1980s for its projects there, instead
of hiring local labor. It can be said
that DMCI helped create the OFW
market for homes.
For this new class of Filipino
“
They need to
know that they
will have a place
to come home to
CYNTHIA YAP
Broker
homebuyer, DMCI formed DMCI
Homes, which has been responsible
for such projects as Raya Homes,
Mahogany Homes, Palm Grove,
Vista de Lago, Lakeview Manors
and Hampstead Gardens, among
others.
Alfredo Austria, the prime mover
behind these developments, expects
the deployment of skilled Filipino
workers to continue.
“This means a growing market of
potential homebuyers,” he said.
He said some OFW families prefer houses and lots, others condominiums, and still others may opt
for agricultural land in their home
provinces.
The choices may differ, but all
have the desire to own property.
Broker Cynthia Yap, who specializes in the Filipino-American
market, says half of her sales are
to OFWs or Filipinos permanently residing abroad. “They
need to know that they will have
a place to come home to,” she
told Filipino Globe.
“In most cases, real property is
the biggest investment most people
will make. The broker must be both
partner and, if possible, friend to the
buyer,” she said. Yap also believes
that the real estate industry will be
the sunshine industry of the next few
years -- decades even.
Robinson’s Ignacio says the next
few years could be the brightest for
Philippine real estate. “Real estate
could be seen as the investor’s new
darling in the Philippines, replacing
the telecommunications sector.”
Expo taps growing class of cash-rich potential homeowners with dollars to spend
BETING L DOLOR in Manila
Up to 60 per cent of new projects are being
snapped up by overseas Filipino workers or
immigrants, some of whom have become
citizens of their host countries.
With this in mind, the Philippine real
estate industry will hold the “Philippine
Properties Festival 2007” in January next
year, with more than 100 top developers
taking part. The expo will be held
specifically for OFWs and Filipino migrants
living and working abroad. “They want
to come back to buy properties,” festival
chairman Rose Basa said.
The expo reverses a trend that began a few
years ago when the country’s top developers
began tapping the OFW or Filipino migrant
community by sending their sales people
abroad via road shows, or by setting up
satellite marketing places where OFWs
abound
Organizers estimate that roughly
one-fourth, or 25 per cent of the entire
Philippine labor force, is employed outside
the country.
They could be domestic helpers in Hong
Kong, entertainers in Japan, teachers in
Texas, nurses in California, oil refinery
workers in the Middle East or seamen
aboard merchant ships. They earn from
$300 to $400 a month, to hundreds of
thousands of dollars a year,
To cater to this diverse class, the expo
will showcase the widest range of real
property, from socialized and middle-class
condominiums, townhouses, house and lot
units, to upscale property investments in
golf, resort and country clubs, hotels, and
leisure developments.
news
filipino globe
November 2006
9
Tindahan Natin program
gets P160m budget boost
What can you buy for P20,000
these days? Not much,
probably, if you’re a consumer.
If you’re the entrepreneurial
type, that’s enough money to
start your own store.
It will be called Tindahan
Natin, which President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo has
described as the “poor man’s
7-Eleven” store.
The government is pouring
P160 million to the scheme
from next year’s budget,
beefing up the program fivefold.
The money will mostly
be used to lend to store
operators (P20,000 each) to
start their inventories of basic
commodities, at the same
time expanding the number of
outlets nationwide to more than
7,000 from 1,400 today
The program is part of efforts
to fight poverty especially in
rural areas.
President Arroyo hands a certificate
to a participant in the government’s
Tindahan Natin program.
Defense chief exit stirs Arroyo critics
Widening cabinet rift seen as silence surrounds Cruz resignation and calls grow for civilian successor
Malacanang moved to counter
speculation of a widening cabinet
rift after Defense Secretary Avelino
Cruz resigned under guarded circumstances.
President Arroyo accepted Cruz’s
resignation last week and was
promptly urged to appoint a civilian
succesor. Arroyo critics said Cruz’s
departure showed a rift in her administration and that this could lead
her cabinet to collapse. Malacañang
officials denied the allegation.
“This is a clash among vested interest groups who wanted to widen
their areas of influence. The mili-
tary will end up a casualty,” retired
Commodore Rex Robles said, referring to a squabble among cabinet
members over proposals to amend
the constitution. He said having a
“civilian professional” to head the
military had been recommended by
a special commission.
Even as Cruz maintained his silence, an ally said the resigned defence chief would prefer a civilian
successor. “We just hope that his
successor will continue the important work he has begun,” he said.
He said one of the major accomplishments of Cruz was being able
to put up the structure for a military
reform.
The country has had six civilian
defense chiefs. They included Senator Juan Ponce Enrile (who served
under Ferdinand Marcos) and former senator Orlando Mercado, who
served President Joseph Estrada.
10
news
filipino globe
November 2006
RP moves on KL deportations
House delegation asks Malaysia to ensure ‘smooth and humane’ transfer
RAUL ACEDRE in Manila
A House delegation has begun talks
with Malaysian authorities for a
“smooth and staggered deportation”
of Filipino women and children
found to have been staying illegally
in the country.
The mission follows a visit by
Speaker Jose De Venecia to Kuala
Lumpur in April, when he discussed
the plight of the children of more
than 1,000 illegal Filipino immigrants in Sabah.
Of the 1,170 Filipinos held in detention centers in Sabah at the time
of de Venecia’s visit, 241 were under 17 years old, of whom 90 were
girls.
The delegation is composed of
congressmen Hussin Amin (first district, Sulu), Nur Jaafar (Tawi-Tawi),
Munir Arbison (second district,
Sulu), and Partylist representative
Mujiv Hataman (Anak Mindanao).
De Venecia said the group will ask
Malaysian authorities that there be
no massive deportation of Filipino
women and children and that they
be extended full humanitarian treatment.
He said he is confident the mission will be able to smooth out the
process to the satisfaction of both
countries.
During his visit in April, de Venecia appealed to the government to
allow children of illegal Filipino
immigrants being held in detention
centers to attend local schools or be
given special instructors.
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo confirned
the return of 136 Filipinos from
Malaysia.
Their return is part of a regular repatriation program of the Malaysian
government that reunites migrant
Filipinos with their families.
“We continue to work closely with
the Malaysian government, through
diplomacy, coordination and meaningful dialogue to further improve
ILOCOS SUR
A teenage student
drowned and her two
companions are missing
after they were swept
away by waves whipped
up by an approaching
typhoon. Clarissa Otrera,
19, a second-year nursing
student at the Northwestern
University in Laoag, and
her two companions were
swimming in sitio Buneng,
barangay Mansante in
Magsingal town when
high waves swept them
into the sea. The victims,
together with their
relatives, were having a
picnic at the beach when
the accident happened.
Police investigations are
continuing.
ILOILO
Milkfish producers in
Western European Union
as a potential market, taking
advantage of the country’s
trade and offices in Europe.
The region is one of the
most competitive in the
country, especially in the
use of organic products
for its produce. Trade
the implementation of both short
and long-term, mutually agreed
repatriation mechanisms,” Romulo
said.
The program also includes access to health facilities for returning Filipinos and an agreement to
repatriate only those fit to travel.
It also provides for a safe, secure
and orderly return of affected individuals.
Speaker
Jose de
Venecia
says the
mission will
secure the
safety of
the women
migrants
and their
children.
World wide web nets US Pinay’s long-lost birth mother
As a true convert, Jella
Naguimbing believes you can
find anything on the internet. True
enough, it has turned up amazing
things in her wonderful world of
web design.
Lately, it has turned up her
long-lost mother.
“She told me she wants to
make up for lost time and invited
me to live with her in Spain,”
Naguimbing is quoted as saying
in a report in the Philippine Daily
Inquirer.
It was the biggest hit she ever
made, the final reward for a
ANGBANSA
painstaking
search in
cyberspace
for her birth
mother who
she knew
little about
except her nickname (Gingging),
her birthplace (Bacolod) and her
possible whereabouts (Spain).
The search began in the US
where Naguimbing lives, then
Ireland where some friends and
family members have settled and
finally Spain. Next step was a
phone call, with fingers crossed.
Bingo. “Si Jella ni? ’Day, ako ang
imo iloy (Is this Jella? I am your
mother),” were the first words
Naguimbing heard from her
mother.
“My mom said we have a
house in Spain. My brother is in
London and he wants to see me.
All my aunts from her side of the
family are in Spain. My father’s
Spanish relatives also want to see
me because he never had a child
and Ging never had a daughter,”
Naguimbing told the Inquirer.
Gingging Parreño became
pregnant with Jella while working
as a domestic helper in Spain
in the 1970s. She went home to
Bacolod to give birth but since her
mother was already taking care
of two children from a previous
relationship, Parreño decided to
put up her third child for adoption.
Then she returned to Spain. Jella
was adopted by a childless couple
shortly after she was born in 1977.
She never knew her father.
Lagrimas, 53, now a school
teacher, and Naguimbing are
planning a reunion. Who knows
what other wonderful things it
might turn up. RAUL ACEDRE
Undersecretary Thomas
Aquino told delegates to
First Bangus Congress
that the government is in
a strong position to push
Philippine products and
services in Europe through
its trade offices in Britain,
Netherlands, Sweden,
Germany, Italy, Switzerland,
France and Spain.
DAVAO
The local clergy led by
Bishop Patricio Alo (below)
has asked President Arroyo
to put a stop to massive
logging activities in Davao
Oriental.The appeal came in
the wake of
the Aliwagwag
Bridge tragedy
that killed
nine people
and wounded
three. The priests signed
a manifesto denouncing
the “never-ending” and
intensifying logging activities
in Cateel town and nearby
municipalities. In a letter
to the president, they said
illegal logging in the area has
bred anarchy, alienation, and
a ruined ecosystem.
filipino globe
November 2006
11
filipino globe
12 November 2006
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news
filipino globe
November 2006
13
RP bids to save lives of Saudi Pinoys
Top Middle East negotiator in whirlwind trip to win release of seven nationals facing death penalty
CHITO MANUEL in Jeddah
If he’ll have his way, DFA Undersecretary Rafael E Seguis would
like to see families of seven Saudi
OFWs facing capital punishment
have a joyful Christmas with their
return home to freedom.
Tough call. Seguis, the undersecretary for special concerns, quietly
slipped into Riyadh on a mission to
secure their release.
Of the seven, a woman has been
convicted for murder with robbery
and the rest for murder. They are
languishing in jails across the Kingdom.
“We are doing our best,” Seguis
told Filipino Globe in a telephone
interview from Riyadh.
Seguis was tapped to help save
the nationals from the death penalty given his legendary diplomatic
skills and influence with people in
the right places, having served as
Philippine ambassador to Saudi
Arabia from late 1999 to 2002.
Also, Seguis headed a Philippine
delegation to Iraq that successfully negotiated the release of Filipino accountant Robert Theodore
Tarongoy from his Iraqi captors in
June last year after more than 200
days in captivity.
On his first working day on Saturday, Seguis met with charge
d’affaires Nestor Padalhin and other
officials at the chancery of the Philippine embassy in the diplomatic
quarter.
The next day, Seguis made a side
trip to Dammam then rushed back
to Riyadh, where he was briefed by
Consul General Pendosina Lomondot of the Philippine consulate general in Jeddah.
Prior to his arrival, Seguis said
the Philippine embassy and consulate had been doing their part in the
negotiations with relatives of the
victims.
A lot of backchanneling work
has been going on to negotiate for
the relatives’ forgiveness, the first
step in a long process to settle the
matter via the payment of diyah, or
blood money, under Islamic Sharia
law, according to Seguis.
“In the negotiations, we will have
to satisfy the private rights of the
victims’ relatives as well as the
public rights of the government,”
Seguis said.
The negotiations are continuing.
Labor Attache in Baghdad and now OWWA Deputy Administrator Angelo Jimenez, DFA
Undersecretary for Special Concerns Rafael E Seguis and Consul Ezzedin Tago pose with
Robert Theodore Tarongoy after the Filipino’s rescue from his Iraqi kidnappers.
TOP RESCUE PLAYER TIPPED FOR JEDDAH POST
Consul Ezzedin Tago is being seen
as the man to succeed outgoing
Consul General Pendosina
Lomondot of the Philippine
Consulate General Jeddah.
DFA Undersecretary for Special
Concerns Rafael E Seguis, on a
visit to the Kingdom, said: “It is
not certain yet whether Tago is
indeed the official being groomed
to succeed Lomondot.”
“I am certain though that he is
the most qualified to be assigned
to Jeddah as Consul General. I will
not hesitate to recommend him to
when the proper time comes,” he
added.
Seguis confirmed Lomondot
is already due back in the home
office in accordance with the
rotation system.
Tago is well known as a Seguis
protégé. They played a leading
role in the Philippine Team
that rescued Robert Theodore
Tarongoy from his Iraqi captors
last year.
CHITO MANUEL
14
news
filipino globe
November 2006
Honolulu, Tokyo beef up OFW imports
Steady growth in elderly population prompts increased efforts to tap Filipino healthcare workers
RAUL ACEDRE in Manila
Hawaii and Japan are increasingly
turning to Filipino professionals to
provide health care for their ageing
populations.
Senator Suzanne Chun-Oakland
said the state’s elderly population
is growing beyond the scope of the
local healthcare system, making it
necessary to import caregivers.
“The ageing society is a great concern for us. We have to import people as caregivers,” Oakland said.
“We need to get more nurses from
the Philippines because the work-
INVEST IN WHAT
REALLY MATTERS
D
eath is not the greatest loss in life.
The greatest loss is what dies inside
us while we live.
Whenever my mind is confronted with
the topic of death, I always remember how
short life is. It prompts us to ask questions
like: What is the purpose of life? What gives
meaning to life? Bakit ba ako nabubuhay?
Ano nga ba ang tunay na mahalaga sa
buhay?
Si Alexander the Great ay isang tanyag
na tao sa kasaysayan ng mundo. Ngunit
nang siya ay nakaratay at malapit nang
mamatay, ipinagbilin niya sa kanyang mga
tauhan na kapag siya’y namatay, gusto
niyang nakabukas ang kanyang mga palad.
Sabi niya: “I want everyone to see that even
if I have conquered the world, my hands
are empty, for in my death, I cannot take
anything with me.”
For some reason, death has a way of
putting things into perspective. Sa isang
iglap, you realize the things that really
matter and the things that are important.
It reminds us that we do not hold the future
and the only time that we have control of is
what is given to us now.
Ika nga ni Hellen Keller (1880-1968): “I will
not just live my life. I will not just spend my
life. I will invest my life.”
Kaya Be Committed. Be committed to the
right things in life. Be committed to invest
in the things that really matter, moment by
moment, day by day.
1. Be committed to your dreams. Sa
ating pagiging expat Pinoy ay binigyan
tayo ng oportunidad na iuwi ang ating mga
pangarap kaya’t kailangan ay panghawakan
mabuti ang ating mga biyaya nang hindi
ito mapunta sa wala. Ugaliing mag-ipon
sa lalong madaling panahon Malaking
kaibahan ang mag-umpisang mag-ipon
habang ikaw ay 25 years old pa lang at
kung mag-ipon nang ika’y 35 years old na.
Ugaliing mag-ipon ng regular. Palagi nating
sinasabi sa ating programa na kailangan
i-develop ang HABIT OF SAVING. Handle
your finances well. Handle your life well. Be
committed to invest in the things that really
matter.
2. Be committed to your loved ones.
Sabi nga nila, nobody on his deathbed
will say”I wish I’d spent more time at
work”, but instead will say “I wish I’d spent
more time with my family”. Kaya sa ating
pagiging expat Pinoy, huwag po nating
makalimutang magbigay-panahon sa ating
mga mahal sa buhay. Kahit tayo po ay
malayo sa kanila physically, huwag nating
hayaang malayo ang ating mga puso
sa kanila. Mag-invest ng oras. Sumulat.
advertorial
force is really a problem at present,” Oakland said. She said Filipino nurses in Hawaii are performing
“very well”.
Eighty-eight per cent work in
adult care, while the remainder
work in childcare centers.
She said of the US$1.3 billion al-
located for health care in Hawaii,
about US$800 million goes to the
aged and disabled. Elderly people
in the state have reached 320,000,
needing various kinds of care. The
number is still growing, she said.
In Japan, a foreign ministry official has singled out Filipino health
workers to provide care for its elderly citizens.
Tamohiko Taniguchi said Japan
is reviewing its policy in light of
its growing need for health workers
even as he noted the rising number
of Filipinos are already working in
the country.
Kye
Diamante
Tumawag. Magtext. Mag-email. Magtanim
na sa paniniwala na sa tamang panahon
ay aani ka. Love begets love. Life is too
short. We have to seize the opportunity to
continuously express our love to the people
that matter to us.
Kaya’t ngayong Nobyembre ay namimigay
ng libreng tawag ang BPI sa bawat pagremit mo ng at least HK$1,500 through BPI
Remittance Centre (HK) Ltd. Mag-remit na
at tumawag sa inyong mga mahal sa buhay.
Be committed to invest in the things that
really matter.
3. Be committed to God. Tandaan na sa
gitna ng paghihirap at kalungkutan na ating
pinagdadaanan bilang mga expat Pinoy ay
may Diyos na nagbibigay ng kalakasan at
saya sa ating mga puso. Oswald Chambers
said that “Man cannot find true essential joy
anywhere but in his relationship to God.” It
is God who will give us the strength to go
on. In the end, it is God who gives meaning
to our lives. Kaya’t huwag makalimot
magbigay-panahon sa Kaniya. Kaya’t
huwag makalimot lumapit sa Kaniya. He
knows what we go through and He loves
us. Be committed to invest in the things that
really matter.
Be Committed. BPInoy.
Nagpapasalamat kami sa AsiaTelecom
na sumusuporta sa programang Gawaing
Expat. Ang AsiaTelecom ang magbibigay
ng libreng call cards sa lahat ng magreremit sa BPI Remittance Centre ngayong
Nobyembre. Subukan ang tapat na serbisyo
ng AsiaTelecom.
Ang “Be the new Pinoy, BPInoy!” series ay handog ng
BPI Remittance Centre. Ito ay mapapakinggan sa AM
1044 Metroplus at mababasa sa Filipino Globe, Hong
Kong News at Kayumanggi Magazine. BPI contact
number 2527 2289.
Japan’s growing elderly population has prompted a rethink of its policies.
POEA confident of starting
hiring for Japan caregivers
RAUL ACEDRE in Manila
POEA administrator Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz said a memorandum
of understanding on the recruitment
of caregivers and nurses for Japan
is yet to be finalised, so the hiring
process cannot start immediately.
Tokyo is expected to receive 400
to 500 Filipino nurses and caregivers annually beginning next year.
“Almost all issues relating to
the selection and deployment of
our workers, and the selection and
qualification of Japanese employers
have been resolved,” Baldoz said.
She said the POEA should soon
be able to announce the start of the
hiring process.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and then Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi signed the
agreement in Helsinki recently.
Candidates selected by the POEA
will undergo a Japanese language
course for six months in Japan be-
fore they receive on-the-job training.
The training will last three years
for nurses and four years for caregivers. Within that period, they will
be required to pass a qualification
exam in order to be allowed to work
in Japan.
The agreement
provides for government-to-government hiring and
excludes private
entities, including
recruitment agencies. “We tried to
negotiate for the participation of the
private sector, but Japan stood firm
on its position considering that this
is the first such program and they
want to make sure that there will be
no problems in its implementation,”
Baldoz said.
Under the agreement, placement
fees, air fares and tuition fees for
the language training course will be
borne by employers.
filipino globe
November 2006
15
16
news
filipino globe
November 2006
Bataclan comes
to seamen’s
aid in Sweden
storm disaster
RAUL ACEDRE in Manila
Filipino workers will continue to be in demand in Canada, which is suffering from a shortage of skilled labor.
Filipino Globe Picture
Canada, Spain still top markets
Joblessness in developed countries ‘should not affect OFW prospects’
JOE MURILLOS in Vancouver
Most of the Philippines’ overseas
labor markets still offer solid employment opportunities for Filipino
workers despite rising joblessness
in developed countries.
Senator Edgardo Angara said
Canada and Spain, two countries
mentioned in an International Labor Organization report as having
a growing number of unemployed
youths, remain a viable destination
for skilled Filipino workers.
“Canada is short on skilled manpower. The skills of Filipino work-
ers can very well fit
into the Canadian job
market because Filipinos are creative, hardworking and trustworthy,” he said.
“An aggressive marketing effort will place
scores of Filipino workers there.”
Angara
He said resources-rich
Alberta is enjoying an unprecedented boom, which could open job opportunities for Filipino engineers,
geologists and technicians.
Job openings in North America
and Europe may compensate for the loss of Filipino markets in troubled
Lebanon and other parts
of the Middle East.
Angara said Spain is
one European market
Filipinos can well serve.
“The job openings are
not limited to agriculture because Spain needs
workers in the service industry as
well,” he said.
Angara said while he believes that
there is nothing better than developing the domestic job market, he still
sees the necessity of marketing the
skills of Filipino workers overseas
because the money sent in by these
workers has been the life support
system of the country.
OFWs remit at least US$12 billion a year, which is roughly onefourth the country’s gross domestic
product.
“This just demonstrates how big
and vital their contribution is to the
national economy,” he said.
“OFWs are our top-earning exports.”
(With additional reporting from
PNA)
Pinoy jailed in Brunei, DH gets reprieve over bullets
An overseas Filipino worker
has been jailed for six months
in Brunei after being caught by
airport police with a live bullet in
his wallet, the Philippine embassy
said.
The Filipino, whose name was
not released, was due to take a
vacation in the Philippines after
completing a two-year contract.
He was given a lighter sentence
on a lesser charge of “negligent
possession of ammunition”
after the Philippine embassy
made representations with the
government,” Ambassador
Virginia Benavidez said in a
report to the Manila head office.
The Filipino would have served
from five to 15 years had the
charge not been changed.
Meanwhile, a domestic helper
also caught in Brunei airport with
a bullet, escaped imprisonment
after an appeal by the Philippine
embassy.
She was enroute to Dubai when
she was stopped and arrested by
airport police shortly before she
was to board her flight.
She told consular officials the
bullet had been given to her by
a faith healer as a lucky charm
when she was having difficulty
getting pregnant.
After giving birth a few months
later, she kept the amulet in her
wallet and thought nothing of it.
She said she had forgottem
about it until her arrest.
She has been released and
allowed to travel to Dubai to take
up employment.
Benavidez also reported that the
embassy helped in repatriating
the body of a Filipino tourist who
drowned when she fell off a boat.
RAUL ACEDRE
Former Hong Kong consul general
Victoria Bataclan jumped to the
assistance of Filipino survivors in
the sinking of a freighter during a
storm in the Baltic Sea.
Bataclan, the Philippine
ambassador to Sweden, travelled to
the south of the country to secure
the safety of the nine Filipino
survivors from m/v Finnbirch, a
roll-on, roll-off vessel owned by a
Danish company.
A 10th Filipino crewmember died
in the disaster, Bataclan said.
The survivors, part of a
14-man crew
that included
four Swedes,
have now
returned to the
Philippines.
They are
Gilbert Salido,
Benedicto
Bataclan
Agngarayngay,
Manuel
Barcelona, Gerry Dupo, Rolando
Esguerra, Leo Jose Talipe, Wilfredo
Ramos, Jose Noel Saquilayan and
Ephraim Torre.
The lone Filipino fatality, Danilo
Paras, 52, died after being brought
to a hospital suffering from severe
hypothermia.
The vessel was enroute from
Helsinki, Finland to the Danish
port of Aarhus when it was lashed
by big waves and sank off the
Swedish coast.
Rescuers plucked all 10 Filipinos
to safety, but Paras, the last to be
found, had been suffering from
extreme loss of body heat and died
a short time later in hospital.
The Philippine embassy in
Sweden had been in constant touch
with the shipowner, Lindhom
Shipping, since the sinking, the
latest in a string of marine disasters
involving Filipinos.
Bataclan was accompanied by
Consul Flerida Anne Mayo, also a
former consulate official in Hong
Kong. They coordinated with the
Swedish authorities for the return
of Paras’ body to the Philippines.
Meanwhile, 136 Filipinos have
returned home from Malaysia as
part of of a regular repatriation
program to reunite migrant workers
with their families.
“Together with our partners in the
international community, we are
committed to further strengthening
measures that will ensure the
welfare of our nationals wherever
they may be,” Foreign Affairs
Secretary Albero Romulo said.
“We continue to work closely on
this program with the Malaysian
government,” he said.
filipino globe
November 2006
Today’s toxic environment coupled with the high-fat,
high-sugar diets that are so common among most people
combine to make it very difficult to achieve optimal health,
slow aging and prevent chronic illness. In many ways,
conventional medicine has failed to fully address the
problems we face in today’s world.
Overall wellness and disease prevention require not
only a healthy diet and an active lifestyle, but also an
added nutritional boost from the right supplements with a
balanced nutrient and antioxidant profile. Surprisingly, the
answer many people are looking for can be found in a juice
blend that contains two important ingredients: chocolate
and the acai berry.
Dr Steve Warren is board certified
in family medicine as well as
hospice and palliative medicine
Most Americans tend to think of chocolate as a sweet
candy created in relatively recent history. However, to the
ancient peoples of Mesoamerica, chocolate was revered
for its nourishing qualities and ability to provide energy and
stamina for long periods of time. Today, health conscious
consumers are learning that dark chocolate possesses
some impressive health properties that are increasingly
supported by science. Believe it or not, chocolate can be
very good for you.
In the past five years, science has finally begun to discover
the actual health benefits of cocoa.
The acai fruit offers an excellent array of phytonutrients
to protect against free radical damage, slow aging, fight
disease and promote optimal health. Acai can make a
significant difference in overall health and quality of life.
Fortunately it tastes great too, especially when used
in combination with antioxidant-rich, immune-boosting
superfood complements like red grapes, blueberries, chilli
peppers, prunes, oranges and agave.
The acai fruit has a long history of use in South America.
The purple, berry-like fruit is roughly the size of a small
grape. It grows on palm trees common to the Amazon
www.xocaipinoy.com; email [email protected]; mobile +63917 5390486;
MXI Corp Philippines pick-up and training center: (632) 637 5279; fax (632) 634 7909
17
filipino globe
18 November 2006
Jollibee
at
filipino
globe.
Tulad mo,
Pilipino.
Jollibee Central
Des Voeux Road Central
Hong Kong
cut this box and present to counter staff
FREE Mais Con Hielo
with any food purchase
save $11.50
Please present this coupon upon order.
Valid at Jollibee Central until December 15, 2006.
This offer is not valid with any other promotion
offer and will be accepted following
one coupon per transaction only.
www.filglobe.com
1905 Lippo Centre Tower 2, Queensway, Admiralty, Hong
Kong Telephone : 2918 8248
focus
editorial & features
filipino globe
November 2006
OFW phenomenon not a brain drain but a net gain
I have to say I’m getting a bit
tired with all these hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth over
the so-called social costs exacted
by the overseas Filipino workers
(OFWs) phenomenon.
Like that other intellectually
slothful cliché of the Philippines
as the sick man of Asia, it seems
that no news story or commentary on OFWs is complete
without the mention of social
ills such as brain drain, juvenile
delinquency among the children
of OFWs left behind in the Philippines, broken families, crass
materialism – you name it.
With all this negativism, it is no
wonder that some people think
that Filipinos who head overseas
for work are a kind of anti-social
criminals.
It is also not surprising that
some OFWs who toil abroad
must undeservedly bear the twin
burdens of homesickness and
guilt – the feeling that they have
FIRSTWORD
editor’s briefing
Rex
Aguado
done something terribly wrong
by leaving their families behind.
Well, it’s time to geld the guilt.
The bleeding hearts who write
and talk about what they deem
to be the national tragedy that
is the OFWs give short shrift
to Filipinos both at home and
abroad.
For one thing, they seem to
imply that Filipinos who leave
the country for jobs overseas
are mere ciphers who have no
control over their lives – slow
and dim-witted lambs offered
for sacrifice by some sinister
government policy.
Secondly, with this silly talk of
brain drain, they are suggesting
that the Filipinos who are left
behind in the Philippines are
dregs – unemployable and
incompetent.
Thirdly, commentators who
glibly link the OFW phenomenon
to an imagined rise in the cases
of broken families and juvenile
delinquency among OFW
children usually fail to ask
themselves a key question: What
would have happened to the
families of these OFWs had they
stayed at home, jobless and or
underemployed?
The answer is a no-brainer:
perpetual poverty, family fights,
broken marriages, hungry
children who invariably end
up as beggars, child prostitutes
and juvenile criminals, the
proliferation of squatter colonies,
an epidemic of crime – real hardcore social ills.
Yes, OFWs may be a symptom
of bigger social and economic
problems in the Philippines, but
they are also part of the solution.
Much has been said about
the US$12 billion a year that
Filipinos abroad send back
home to the Philippines. But
another not-as-tangible but just
as revolutionary an impact is a
radical shift in the mindset and
attitudes of OFWs based on
their experiences in their host
countries – the realisation that
things can actually work, that
laws can actually be observed,
that criminals can actually be
punished, that corruption can be
contained, that government can
be made to work for the people.
These positive ideas and spirit
of renewal they will take with
them when it’s time to go back
home, for OFWs do pine for
the Philippines.There is no such
thing as a brain drain. At the end
of the day, it’s a brain gain
[email protected]
Saan ka man sulok ng mundo, mabuhay ka kabayan ko
Noo’y naging popular ang salitang
“itaas mo” mula sa propaganda ng
serbesa. Kapag itinataas ang baso
o bote ng serbesa ay naroroon ang
tapat na pagsasama at pagdiriwang
ng barkada.
Kapag nagtatagayan naman
mula sa isang baso kaharap ang
isang pitsel ng serbesa ay itinataas
muna ng nagtatagay ang baso bago
tunggain. Pagkaraa’y sasalinan
ang baso at ipapasa sa katabi
patungo ang sinasalinang baso sa
magkakasunod na nag-uumpukan
sa inuman.
Pero ang simbolo ng pagtatas
ng baso at salitang “itaas mo”
ay maraming sanga-sangang
kahulugan. Maaaring kung nasa
ibang bansa ang isang Pilipino na
naging matagumpay sa trabaho ay
makakatanggap ng text na “itaas
mo pre” ang dangal ng Pilipino.
Kung noo’y napapanood natin na
itinataas ng yumaong FPJ ang baso
at bote ng serbesa sa telebisyon ay
tuwang-tuwa ang kanyang hukbo
ng tagahanga. Ngayon naman
ITAASMO
kabayan
TEO
ANTONIO
ay ang idolong boksingerong si
Manny Pacquiao ang nagtataas ng
bote ng serbesa at katabi si Kris
Aquino.
Ang pagtatagay ng anumang
inuming alak na nasa baso man o
kopita ay bahagi ng marangal na
pagkilala sa mabuting pagsasama
o pagkakaibigan. Bahagi ito ng
ritwal mula sa kanto, lansangan
hanggang sa mga mararangal na
piging sa alta sosyedad at palasyo
ng Malakanyang.
“Itaas mo” ang ating pambansang
pangarap sa paghahanap ng
dangal ng mga Pilipino. Ang
ating mga OFW ang tunay na
nagtaas ng pondo ng bansa mula sa
kanilang remittances. Tinagurian
silang mga Bagong Bayani.
Ang reserbang dolyar ay tumaas
dahil sa ipinadadalang dolyar ng
mga OFW. Kaya’t bumaba sa 50
piso ang palitan ng isang dolyar,
patunay na umaangat ang halaga
ng piso. Bumababa rin ang halaga
ng ating binabayarang utang sa
labas ng bansa.
Hindi masisisi ang pagdami ng
mga Pilipinong nais magtrabaho sa
ibang bansa.Kamakailan pinutakti
ang opisina ng Overseas Workers
Welfare Adminsitration ng mga
aplikante sa pagtratrabaho sa
Korea. Kinailangan pang humingi
ng tulong sa ating mga pulis upang
maayos ang pila. Dahil wala silang
placement fees na gagastusin.
Kaya lamang, limitado ang pipiliin
at ipadadala.
Pero tuloy pa rin ang ating
nga kabababayan na mangarap
at umasa sa bawat pagkakataong
makapagtrabaho sa ibang bansa.
Sa katunayan ang isa kong
pamangking babae ay kasama
sa banda ng mga mang-aawit sa
Japan ang naroon na, dalawang
buwan ang nakakaraan, habang
naghihintay ang tatlo kong
pamangking lalaki na tutungo sa
Dubai.
Ang aking kaibigang si Leo,
na kasabay kong nagretiro sa
korporasyon ng gobyerno ay isa
nang business consultant sa Dubai.
Wala pa akong natatanggap na
email sa kanya. Ang aming dating
kasamahan sa opisina, si Pidi ay
kasalukuyang computer graphic
artist sa Qatar. Madalas siyang
mag-text sa akin lalo’t sumasapit
ang Pasko at Bagong Taon. Isang
UP fine arts graduate ang kaibigan
kong ito.
Si Leo ay nagtapos ng kursong
agribusiness sa UP Los Banos
at may master in business
administration sa Ateneo.
Saan mang sulok ng mundo
naroroon ang kababayang
sumasagupa sa masigwang laot ng
pakikipagsapalaran para mabuhay
na marangal.
[email protected]
19
Meet the A-Team
of our new-found
economic revival
and strength
PRESSBOX
comment
FT
Ocampo
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs)
are invading contemporary
economic history.
Who would have thought that a
good number of Filipinos could be
working in a country such as Papua
New Guinea, that some of them
could be enduring the dizzying
heights and numbing cold of Nepal
or the burning desert sands
of the Middle East?
Even pocket wars did not
deter our determined OFWs from
working in Israel and Lebanon.
And now, in the apocalyptic
flashpoint that is North Korea,
almost a hundred Filipinos are
braving a potential nuclear crisis.
Not much unlike the biblical
diaspora, our intrepid and
hardworking compatriots have
encircled the globe over the past
decades in search of the proverbial
green pasture.
In the process, they are
contributing approximately US$10
billion to US$12 billion annually
to government coffers. The peso
has dramatically strengthened from
almost 56 to the dollar over the
past months, to a little over P49 a
few weeks ago.
Thanks to OFWs, the prospects
for the continuing improvement of
the economy are decidedly more
promising and rosy.
The clear duty of the
administration is to insure their
welfare and safety.
The government has
demonstrated this by sending
a peace-keeping force to Iraq,
no matter how small, and by its
response to the turmoil in Lebanon.
These have gone a long way not
only in securing the well-being of
OFWs in those countries but also in
easing the fears and apprehension
of their families.
This is the kind of relationship
– based on mutual respect and
responsibility – that without doubt
will endure.
Between the government and
what has been dubbed the “new
heroes”, the nation is in good
hands.
[email protected] 20
forum
filipino globe
TINGINNAMIN
Superskilling – that’s how we will prevail
Superskill me. That could well
be the next buzzword in the OFW
market, and where slogans are an
inexpensive commodity, it is sure to
catch on, at least on paper.
In fact, the notion of a superskilled
overseas Filipino worker – trained
in the ways of the outside world,
from language to computer literacy,
emergencies and human behavior
– has just become national policy.
It is the cornerstone of our initiatives in the overseas labor market in
which competition is tightening by
the day.
Good concept, but will it work?
We say it will, and it will work
in a way that will ensure our competitiveness in all fields. This is how
OFWs will prevail.
Call it “supermaid certification
program”, if you like, but this initiative goes beyond churning out takecharge domestic helpers. It is designed to reinvent our workers into
engineers, health workers, seafarers
and technicians that are trained and
equipped to a level where they only
compete against themselves.
Admittedly, such an ambitious
program cannot have smooth sailing. Not everyone is on board.
Employment agencies fret that
highly skilled domestic helpers who
command higher salaries will force
employers to look for cheaper alternatives. They’re reminded that
Filipinos will soon be overtaken by
the Indonesians in Hong Kong even
without the policy.
The biggest fear comes from the
workers themselves. They worry
that this is tantamount to culling,
where only the best and strongest
survive. What of the lesser skilled,
lesser educated ones? What will
happen to them?
The answer is not here. It is in the
future. Only by taking the pain now
will we be able to enjoy the benefits
of that future.
SULATLETTERS
It’s disconcerting that we
seem to be apathetic to
elections after we have
regained the privilege to vote.
The results of the recent
overseas voting registration
confirm the worst: we refuse
to stand up and be counted.
Granted there’s nothing
about Philippine politics
worth taking part in, that’s no
excuse to take for granted the
efforts and sacrifices of those
who worked to restore our
privilege to vote.
JULINO TORRES
Singapore
Kung tama ang tinatahak
nating landas sa charter
constitutional assembly para
isakatuparan ito.
RONITA AGUAS
San Jose, California
change, kailangan pa bang
patagalin natin ang proseso?
Dapat tigilan na ng mga
proponents nito ang kanilang
kampanya na manalo sa
Korte Suprema sa kanilang
People’s Initative at ituon
na ang pansin sa mga
realistikong paraan ng mabilis
na pagbabago ng ating
Saligang Batas.
Makabubuting hayaan
nang magkaroon ng
Sa kabila ng pagiging
efficient ng MTR, puwede
ka pa ring mabuwisit pag
bumaba ka nang wala
sa oras at napunta ka sa
concourse. Hindi mo alam
kung nasaan ka dahil walang
indikasyon o pangalan ng
istasyon saan man dito.
Lahat ng signs nasa platform.
Lalabas ka pa para tingnan
and pangalan ng istasyon sa
entrance.
TESSA ROMAN
Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong
November 2006
We all have our chance to
work overseas – I had mine
The attraction of working
abroad is common among us
Filipinos. I should know. I had
two opportunities to do so. In
both instances, I was directly
hired by two newspapers
without having to go through
the usual process.
This means I did not have to
go through the POEA and
all the hassles attached to the
procedures of being a
documented OFW. This was
both good and bad, as I
eventually discovered.
The first chance came when
I attended the launch party
of Emirates Airlines at the
Intercon Hotel in Makati. I got
to meet the editor-in-chief of a
publication owned by Gulf News
in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The lady was a Bangladeshi and
she asked me if I wanted to work
in the Middle East.
I was hesitant at first. But she
convinced me that Dubai was
the best place to work in that
part of the world. Since it was a
simple yes or no question, I said
yes. I thought nothing of it since
it sounded pretty rhetorical.
About two months later, I got
a call from a Singaporean who
said he was following up that
conversation I had with the
editor of the weekly magazine.
He said he had been working in
Dubai for a few years and was
sent to Manila to give me an
offer.
It was a working contract that
mentioned how much I would
get. Along with the document
was a plane ticket. That was
it. I had the choice of going or
not. After a talk with my wife, I
decided to give it a try.
My appointment said I was to
work as a reporter, but within
one day of my arrival, I was
asked if I could edit and lay
out pages. Since that was the
job I had in my local paper, I
said I most certainly could. It
was decided there and then that
I would not be a reporter, but
would instead work as a subeditor (their title for section
editor).
There were no adjustments
in salary. Worst of all, and I
was not informed of this, the
company kept my passport.
That was one of the things that
bothered me about working
in the Middle East. Like all
Filipinos, our passports were
VIEWPOINT
the observer
Beting
Laygo
Dolor
taken by the personnel manager.
We were told that we could
get that most important of all
documents anytime we needed
to travel. This practice also
applied to my other co-workers
from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh
and Sri Lanka.
What I was disheartened to
learn was that employees from
Western and Arab countries
were not subject to this rule. An
American lady who worked as a
reporter still had her passport
on her. Ditto a Briton. I had an
Irish co-worker (a really pleasant
guy) who never surrendered
his passport. My immediate
superior was an American and
he, too, could travel whenever
he pleased. One African-Arab
who worked as translator had
the same privilege. When I did
ask to go home on vacation on
my 11th month in the job, the
company did not give me any
problems.
A yearly vacation was, after
all, part of the contract. I went
home and went back after two
weeks, on full pay.
And yes, Dubai proved to be
a decent place to work. Being
a Christian, I could drink at the
handful of bars in the city and
could actually buy alcoholic
beverages with a permit. The
other Filipinos I worked with
all became my friends. Most
said they preferred to stay until
retirement. By my second year,
however, I had decided that I
was better off going back to
Manila.
That’s precisely what I did.
I went home and rejoined
BusinessWorld. I didn’t know
that 10 years later, I would end
up as an editor of the biggest
and oldest Filipino-American
newspaper in the US. But that’s
another story.
[email protected]
Beting Laygo Dolor worked as sub-editor
of Gulf News in Dubai in 1990-92 and as
managing editor of Philippine News in
San Francisco, California in 2000-2002.
In between, he was section editor of
BusinessWorld and managing editor of
Manila Standard. He is presently
editor-in-chief of Inquirer’s Bandera.
Executive EDITOR: Rex Aguado PUBLISHING CONSULTANT Philip Evardone MARKETING ADVISER Therese Necio-Ortega BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Ricky Sumallo
CORRespondents Eddie Alinea (Manila), Celeste Terrenal (Manila), Terrie Fucanan (Manila), Chito Manuel (Riyadh). Gina Putong (San Diego), Percy Della (Los Angeles)
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Josephine Miranda (Philippines), TJ Badon-Doble (Philippines), Venice Austria-Paita (Hong Kong)
EDITORIAL BOARD Rex Aguado, Philip Evardone, Prof Dr Maurice Teo CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Beting Laygo Dolor, Teo Antonio, Chito Manuel, Danny Vibas, Dante Vino
Filipino Globe is published once a month by Apex Services (HK) Ltd, Suite 1905, Lippo Centre Tower 2, Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong, telephone (852) 2918 8248, email [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
filipino globe
November 2006
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21
22 November 2006
filipino globe
filipino globe
November 2006
23
24
news fe
November 2006
She is one
a new bree
of highly
skilled Filip
workers,
trained in
everything
from
dealing wit
challenging
behavior to
emergenci
Lara Clima
looks at ...
I
magine this: you have just
sent an important e-mail,
written down the details on
a check, tapped your grocery
list on your mobile phone, and
now you’re driving to school
to pick up junior from music
class.
If you think it couldn’t be
you, think again.
Chances are, there are
already a handful of multiskilled Filipino domestic
helpers in Hong Kong and in
many parts of the world. When
the new skills certification
program of the Department
of Labor takes off, the
reinvention of the overseas
Filipino worker will also have
kicked into high gear.
The program aims to equip
OFWs with the skills to further
cement their competitiveness,
project a more positive image
to the market and eliminate
a constant source of abuse
stemming from poor training.
Under the “supermaid”
certification program, domestic
helper contracts will not be
processed unless applicants
have acquired a certificate
of competency from the
Technical Education and
Skills Development Authority
(Tesda) and a certificate
of completion from the
Overseas Workers Welfare
Administration of its countryspecific language and culture
orientation.
In return, the “supermaid”
will get a guaranteed
minimum salary of US$400
per month and no deductions
on her pay, according to
the POEA. “For a start,
this will cut the number of
inexperienced, ill-trained and
undocumented workers who
are most prone to abuse by
recruiters and employers,”
Labor Secretary Arturo Brion
said.
The notion of a “supermaid”
came up when the country was
grappling with the repatriation
of thousands of workers from
war-torn Lebanon. President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
started talking about the
“supermaid” program after
hearing about the plight of
domestic helpers among the
Beirut evacuees.
At the same time, Secretary
Brion announced reforms in
“
It’s an eye-opener.
Lahat ‘yan kayang
magawa nating
mga Pilipino.
MILA DOLORICO
Former Hong Kong domestic helper
the deployment of domestic
helpers. These include
skills upgrade, orientation
courses on country-specific
culture and language, job
site protection, requiring
employers to pay for the cost
of deployment, and increasing
the minimum salary to a
level commensurate to their
competencies.
The reform pegs the
minimum basic wage for
Filipino domestic helpers at
$400 a month – slightly under
the prevailing minimum in
Hong Kong, the benchmark
for trained and highly prepared
FDHs. The new policy also
makes illegal the industry
practice of deducting one
month’s salary to cover the
applicant’s placement fee.
The age threshold has
been raised to 25, and since
the “supermaid” training
program makes household
services certification an entry
requirement, FDHs must also
be high school graduates,
able to communicate in both
oral and written English.
Not everyone, however,
is excited about the coming
of the “supermaid”. The
Federated Associations of
Th
of su
Manpower Exporters has
complained that it was not
consulted on the minimum
wage increase.
The consensus among some
labor recruiters is that raising
the minimum wage would
increase the likelihood of
illegal deployment and drive
employers to other markets
such as Indonesia, Sri Lanka,
Vietnam and Thailand. That’s
eature
filipino globe
25
e of
ed
pino
g
th
g
o
ies.
aco
he making
upermaid
no cause for worry, says POEA
Administrator Rosalinda
Dimapilis-Baldoz. “The
market will correct itself
in a short while,” she said.
“Besides, FDHs deserve a
better deal. Let’s not
race against other countries for
positions that pay US$100
to US$150,” she said. “The
helpers we will be sending are
better equipped and more
highly skilled.”
How’s that for defying Third
World stereotypes of the
domestic helper?
“It’s an eye-opener,” Mila
Dolorico, a former Hong Kong
domestic helper, told Filipino
Globe.
“Lahat ‘yan kayang magawa
nating mga Pilipino,” said
Dolorico, who worked for
eight years in Hong Kong
before returning home in 2004.
‘Manager’ si Mana Sayong sa bahay nila
Noon pa man ay supermaid na si Rosario
Feniza (kanan).
Manager and papel niya sa bahay ng
mag-asawang retirado, na nagmamay-ari
ng hotel at restaurants sa Hong Kong at
ibang bansa. “Ako na ang dumidiskarte sa
maraming bagay, mula sa budget hanggang
sa renovation ng bahay at mga handaan,”
sabi niya.
Dating guro si Feniza, na kilala ng mga
kasamahan bilang Mana Sayong, mula sa
barangay Mantang, Taft, Eastern Samar.
“Kamag-anak ang turing nila sa akin at ‘yan
din ang turing ko sa kanila,” wika niya.
Sa kabila niyan, propesyunal ang kanilang
pagtutunguhan. “Binigyan nila ako na laya
na makapagdesiyon sa maraming bagay na
may kinalaman sa bahay. Pati mga anak nila,
ipinaubaya na rin ang mag-aalaga sa kanila.”
May buntot na responsibilidad ang ganitong
sitwasyon. “Mahirap din dahil nasa labas
sila ng Hong Kong three months at a time
at madalas ‘yun. Obviously, I am doubly
responsible for the household when they’re
away,” sabi niya.
May katumbas din na fringe benefits ang
ganitong sitwasyon. Talo pa ni Mana Sayong
ang turista pagdating sa biyahe. Nakarating
na siya sa France, Italy, London, US atbp.“Sa
France, ang hiniling ko lang sa kanila na
makapunta ako sa Lourdes. Hindi ako
nagdalawang salita.”
Sa katulad niya, di malayong may
oportunidad na naghihintay sa ibang lugar.
Ngunit sa ngayon, makaraan ang 20 taong
paninilbihan, masaya sa kanyang employer.
“Pag-nagretiro daw ako, magretiro ako sa
kanila.”
BRAD CAMPOS
26 November 2006
filipino globe
life
home, health & beauty, stars & sports
filipino globe
November 2006
27
Leaky faucet giving me sleepless nights
Q
My leaky faucet keeps
giving me sleepless
nights. I’ve tried everything
except throw the kitchen sink
at it.
How can I stop it getting
into my nerves?
VIR SAN JUAN
Jordan
A
The first thing you should
do is figure out what kind
of faucet you have.
This will help you get an idea
as to what replacement parts
you need.
DIYBOB
do it yourself
ROBERT
LUNARIA
Also, there are simple ways
you can resolve the problem
before you make that trip to
the hardware store.
With minimum plumbing
skill, one should be able to do
certain things and not end up
feeling helpless.
Start by turning off the water
supply to the leaky faucet.
Water shutoffs are often
located under the sink, but in
older homes, there may only
be one main water shutoff
for the entire house, usually
located where the water pipe
enters (often facing the street).
Open the faucet and let any
water in the pipes drain out.
Put in the sink drain plug or
put a towel in the sink bottom.
Faucets have small screws
and you don’t want to lose one
down the drain.
Remove the faucet handle.
Virtually all handles are
attached with a screw often
hidden under a decorative cap
that can be pried off with a
small screwdriver.
Remove the workings of the
faucet and determine what
kind of repair is required. Once
you have identified what kind
of faucet you have, you’re
almost ready to start some
repairs.
A word of caution: When
working with chrome and
brass fixtures, make sure you
protect the surfaces from tools
that can scratch and scuff the
finish.
Use a cloth or put masking
tape on wrench jaws to
prevent marring the surface.
Send your questions or comments to
[email protected]
Ready-made
or made to
fit, it’s all
up to you
Prefab houses are opening
doors to investment and
profit, writes Lori Sandoval
If it fits, wear it. Better still, live
in it.
Many housing developers live
by that mantra. It’s based on the
notion that buyers who are in the
market for inexpensive homes in a
hurry want instant gratification.
It has not always worked,
largely because of perceptions that
anything cheap and done in an
assembly-line fashion is not worth
the investment.
Then there is the realization that
a house is probably the biggest
investment anyone will make in
his life.
“It has always been a quality
issue, more than a price issue,”
said Gus Brion, a Manila-based
project engineer for a developer
that specialises in prefabricated
housing.
“But now, homebuyers are
beginning to accept the idea that
prefab is the way to go.”
A rising number of OFWs are
driving demand for ready-made
housing, with cash chasing
anything to invest in.
“They have first-hand experience
and they have seen that the idea
works,” said Anthony Velasco, a
Filipino architect in Hong Kong.
“If you live in the US or any
developed country for that matter,
you will have been exposed to the
prefab phenomenon.”
Mostly, that’s what is being
done there, but will it sell in the
Philippines?
Real estate broker Rita
Campomanes thinks so.
“Its already happening. To a
great extent, most developers have
embraced the idea,” she said.
“There used to be a lot of
resistance from the market but
now, we are even getting inquiries
and cold calls.”
But this is not the end of
traditional custom construction as
we know it.
Custom-made or prefab, homebuyers have a wider clear choice. Many are opting for ready-made houses.
This market easily outstrips that
for ready-made homes. For one
thing, developers like the generous
profit margins.
“It’s a no-brainer. Those who
have definite ideas about how they
like their houses built, how they are
designed and how much they are
willing to spend make this market
a going proposition,” Campomanes
said.
But those looking for value,
rather than frills, now have another
choice, and an increasing number
are opting for it.
“We’re able to pass what is saved
in terms of manpower to buyers, so
they pay less than they otherwise
“
There used to be
a lot of resistance
from the market.
Now we are even
getting cold calls
RITA CAMPOMANES
Real estate broker
would,” said Freddie Bartolome,
who runs Royal Ventures, a
Hong Kong-based company that
has been cashing in on the prefab
phenomenon.
By being upfront with
customers regarding the
materials used in the “Lego”
house, the industry has been able
to ease worries over quality of
construction. “We have to be
transparent with them. We are
always willing to show them
what materials are being used
to build their house and we
explain why we do it this way,”
Bartolome said. (With reporting
from Raul Acedre in Manila)
filipino globe
28 November 2006
Ang "Fastcard" ay isang remittance na magagamit ng
inyong “ Beneficiary “ sa maraming paraan :
Mabilis! Maari
itong gamitin ng iyong mahal sa buhay
or ( Beneficiarie’s) ora mismo pag pinadalhan mo ang
Fastcard niya.
Naiiba!
Ang perang padala ninyo ay matatangap
ONLINE sa pamamagitan ng Fastcard remittance. Hindi na
kailangan magbukas sila ng bank account.
Madaling Gamitin! Ang perang
inyong pinadala ay
maari nilang mai-withdraw sa higit na 6,000 ATM ng
Megalink, Bancnet at Expressnet, 24 hours a day, 7
days a week.
Ligtas!
Ang pag-wi-withdraw sa ATM ng beneficiary
ninyo pagkat Fastcard ay protektado ng kanilang PIN na
sila lang ang nakakaalam .
Meron Pa!
Ang "Fastcard" ay maari ding gamitin ng
beneficiaries ninyo sa Gimik sapagkat ito ay
tinatanggap na pambayad sa humiigit na 20,000
Department stores, Groceries , Tindahan, Supermarket at
Restaurants sa Pilipinas at International kasi nga Visa
Electron.
filipino globe
November 2006
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season with our special
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coming out on
December 17.
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filipino globe
the OFW newspaper
29
30
featu
November 2006
For Calayan couple,
the team is the thing
Practice builds on the principle that
everyone has the right to be beautiful
F
oresight is behind the
success of the young but
competent Cosmetiderm
team. Headed by husband and wife
Manny and Pie Calayan (below),
the 11-year-old cosmetic surgery
and dermatology clinic has steadily
built a solid reputation in the
medical field that is grounded in an
efficient partnership.
It did this college sweethearts
well to decide on separate but
complementary specializations
in medical aesthetics. After tying
the knot and graduating from the
UERM College of Medicine, Pie
Calayan developed a keen interest
in dermatology, which in turn
motivated her husband to pursue a
related field in cosmetic surgery.
“We agreed our choices would
be advantageous in our future
practice,” says Pie. “Manny would
perform the operation and I’d take
care of the finishing touches like
treating the incisions to make sure
they wouldn’t scar.”
Clearly, the Calayans arrived
at the perfect formula. For soon
after they finished their respective
residencies, the marriage of
dermatology and cosmetic surgery
drew patients to their clinic. Trust
was easy to build because their
qualifications were clear and
specific. Treatments concerning the
skin and hair were the domain of
Pie, while any procedure involving
incisions, big or small, were the
“
It’s not just the
confidence of being
in good hands with
these doctors. It’s the
certainty of being in
the right hands for a
particular procedure
PATIENT
On the Calayan pratice
responsibility of Manny. “It’s not
just the confidence of being in good
hands with these doctors,” said a
lady patient at the Cosmetiderm
waiting room in the Medical Plaza
clinics. “It’s the certainty of being
in the right hands for a particular
procedure.”
It has always been this way with
the Calayans since 1995, when
they first established a simple skin
and cosmetic surgery clinic at the
Healthkard Building on Herrera St,
Makati. Then called Cosmetiderm
Skin Center and Aesthetic Surgery,
the practice initially offered the
more “traditional” dermatological
and aesthetic procedures; the
simple treatment of acne, allergies
and other skin conditions, and
straightforward enhancement
procedures like rhinoplasty,
facelift, and eye bag removal.
“Lasers and other technologies
were just being developed then,”
says Manny. “But of course my
wife and I kept ourselves updated
on different developments, and we
were quick to avail of the various
training programs in Thailand and
Singapore so we could administer
the procedures here.”
Keeping abreast of breakthroughs
comes easy to Manny being a
fellow of the American Academy of
Cosmetic Surgery, the Asia-Pacific
Academy of Cosmetic Surgery,
and the International Society of
Cosmetic Laser Surgeons, among
other affiliations. The same goes
with Pie, who is a member of the
Philippine Academy of Clinical
and Cosmetic Dermatology.
By 1996, the advent of laser
treatments, Cosmetiderm acquired
its first carbon-based laser system
and laser wart removal machine.
More training and equipment
acquisitions followed, most
recently a hair removal machine
and a high-powered lipoplasty
equipment.
“Everyone wants to be beautiful,
and everyone has the right to be
beautiful,” Manny says. “That’s
why in our clinics, you would see
everyone – from the rich to the
masa – coming for treatments.”
Seeing that the Calayans are
an approachable tandem, GMA
7 has offered them a segment
on the early morning program
Unang Hirit. On television, as in
their practice, husband and wife
complement each other.
Ganda!
PHILIPPINES TARGETS US$3 TRILL
Medical tourism is being targeted as the
next frontier for the Philippines in a bid
to cash in on a market worth US$3 trillion a year.
“It’s one of the solid niches for our
country,” President Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo said.
Arroyo pushed the initiative in a meeting with her economic advisers, saying
Filipino professionals “can serve the
world right here at home, as we provide
more jobs downstream”.
The Philippines ranks fifth among
Asia’s top healthcare centers after Thailand, India, Malaysia and Singapore.
“Medical tourism is a rapidly growing
trend where citizens of developed nations travel to other countries to avail
ures
filipino globe
31
! Ganda!
Beauty-conscious
Filipinos are
turning the
cosmetology
industry
on its head.
Tessa Mauricio
profiles the
country’s leading
professionals
in the business
of looking
and feeling good
LION MEDICAL TOURISM MARKET
themselves of quality but affordable
medical and healthcare services, along
with rest and recreation,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said.
Duque said Filipino doctors are on par
with their western counterparts, with
most medical specialists in the country
having undergone training overseas,
Services offered in the country in-
clude cardiology, pulmonary and cervical care, and nephrology.
Statistics show that blepharoplasty, a
procedure to widen the contour of the
eyes, popular among the Koreans and
Japanese , costs P150,000, but costs
roughly US$10,000 or P500,000 in
their countries.
RAUL ACEDRE
S
he only wanted to be “your best friend in
While Belo, the patient, as more than familiar
beauty”. But now, Victoria Belo is a famed
with the “alcohol-prick-inject” routine from years
“doctor to the stars,” and more significantly,
of visiting top dermatologists, she wished that her
one of the most successful businesswomen
doctors had more time to get rid of her pet peeves:
the country has ever had.
The white heads and black heads on her t-zone.
She is the founder of Belo Medical Group, a
“I knew that no dermatologist would bother to clean
16-year-old enterprise that boldly paved the way for
your face really well, so in between consultations, I’d
cosmetic surgery to be widely accepted in Philippine
go scout the best facialists but still I’d break out.”
society and turned the one-time taboo into a profitable
When she set up her first clinic at The Medical
industry.
Towers in Makati, she made sure that she devoted
“It took me a long time to admit that we’re a
an entire wing to facials, minus the concoctions of
business,” Belo tells Filipino Globe. “I was like many commercial creams. Her routine was that after she
doctors who thought I shouldn’t mix medicine with
treated the patient’s acne or allergy, she would send
business.”
them to her trained assistants for a final, thorough
With six booming centers, including a newly opened cleaning. The patients would then go home with the
practice in Glorietta, the group has joined the big
right kind of medicine for their skin condition, and
league in the medical industry.
with a bit of luck, all will be well.
But where business ends and medicine begins is
Belo’s interest in liposuction was also the result of a
well defined. “The lines are clearly drawn,” she says.
personal condition: weight problem.
“Our main objective is still based
“The reason I went into
on what I’ve always wanted to do:
liposuction to begin with
make everybody equal if they want
was because I was a fatso,”
The whole point
it. My dream has always been for
she says. “That’s also why I
people to have confidence and selfwent into teaching aerobics
is to be beautiful
esteem, no matter how they look.
because I really needed to
without people
If that could just happen, it would
work out,” she adds, touching
be great, right? But I know that
lightly on a widely publicised
knowing what you
those who are born with the better
controversy involving
have done
genes usually get the breaks.”
Rosanna Roces. The feisty
As a young student in a girls’
actor recently sued Belo for
school, Belo noticed that the
her weight gain, five years
VICTORIA BELO
prettier ones were always the
after her last liposuction;
On quick and painless procedure
ones who made it big on campus.
the word “five” being the
They were the popular girls, the
operative word in the case.
teacher’s pets who also got all the
“My being an aerobics
dates. “I was right smack in the
instructor was really a big
middle – I wasn’t really ugly or pretty,” she says. “All help,” Belo continues. “It was then that I saw that
the same, I hated inequality or discrimination of any
no matter how hard my students worked out, their
sort. It bothers me when people are judged for how
stomachs would still bulge, even if their muscles were
they look.”
so hard.
When she developed a severe acne problem that
It was then that Belo built on the wonders of
went well into her 30s, she picked up mannerisms to
liposuction, thereafter pioneering the procedure
hide her insecurity. She would either tilt her head low
in the country. She trained with Dr Jeffrey Kline
or repeatedly smooth the sides of her hair over her
in Capistrano, California. The man is responsible
face.
for developing the safest and most effective form
And so, after her father – a noted lawyer in his time
of surgical body sculpting, known as ultrasound
– convinced unica hija Vicki to live his dream of
tumescent liposuction.
being a doctor, a specialization of choice was obvious
Even when colleagues came down hard on her for
for the University of Sto Tomas medical graduate.
carrying out such alien procedures as liposuction,
In the late 1980s, she headed for Thailand, where
laser and Obagi treatment in the country, she persisted
she studied with a progressive team of doctors for a
in research, training, and treatment.
diploma in dermatology.
Belo looked straight ahead, and in the process
“Even when I came home to start my practice in
helped change many lives for the better. “The whole
1990, I still had bad skin,” Belo says. “My patients
point of undergoing cosmetic surgery is to improve
who’ve been with me for the past 14 years had always a person’s looks, but unfortunately, the traditional
told people, ‘Her skin was so bad, I wanted to turn
methods entail a lot of pain, bleeding, and swelling
around when I saw her!’”
and bruising during recovery. But with these new
Her own condition made her go into dermatology,
developments, cosmetic surgery becomes less toxic,
believing she was in a better position practice it.
and more importantly, safer for everyone.”
It was from her frustration as an acne patient that
She also says that downtime is cut significantly by
Belo came upon the concept of her present practice,
more than half, which perfectly fits today’s active
a brand of dermatology that others had thought to be
lifestyles.
too untraditional in the beginning, but one that many
“The whole point is to be beautiful without people
duplicated almost immediately.
knowing what you have done.”
“
32
your money
filipino globe
November 2006
Sign here and be your own boss
It could be as easy as that but franchising is a challenging concept that needs patience and hard work
JUANITO CONCEPCION
An increasing number of Filipinos
overseas are turning to franchised
businesses back home in the
hope that the success of those
businesses could one day provide
an alternative to the income they
are earning abroad.
A franchised business is an
ideal entry point for aspiring
entrepreneurs among overseas
Filipinos, especially because
they often do not have the time,
the means and energy to conduct
proper research on a prospective
business.
Simply put, franchising is
duplicating a successful business.
“Between starting a business
from zero and going into a
franchised business which already
has a track record for making profit
and running well, it is obvious that
returning overseas Filipinos face
much lesser risks and have greater
prospects of success if they will go
into franchising,” said Tess Ngan
Tian, immediate past president
and chairman of the Association of
Filipino Franchisers Inc (AFFI).
Citing the Lots a Pizza franchise
S
that her company is offering, she
said investors can fully recover
their investment over a relatively
short period of time, depending on
location and other factors.
“We have three former OFWs, all
seamen, who set up Lots a Pizza
franchises in different parts of
Metro Manila and they recovered
their investments within six months
to 1-1/2 years,” she said.
She said the minimum investment
for a Lots a Pizza cart-type
franchised business is P350,000 in
a package which includes setting
up of the cart, equipment and
training. A kiosk package costs
P550,000 while a dine-in package
costs P750,000.
AFFI president Ricky Cuna
said more and more Filipinos are
going into different franchised
businesses. “We have 65 member
franchisers and people who want to
have a franchised business can do
so for as low as P150,000,” he said.
“About 60 per cent of the
franchised businesses being offered
by our members are engaged in
food while the rest is engaged in
different types of services,” he
added.
Ngan Tian said the prospects are
bright for the franchising industry
in the Philippines. “Nowadays,
most people recognise and
understand the merits of going into
a franchised business unlike in the
past when not so many people were
talking about it,” she said.
“It is much easier for an aspiring
entrepreneur to assess his or
her prospects of success after
observing the operations of the
different branches of a particular
franchiser that he or she is
interested in,” she said.
“He or she won’t have the benefit
of this study if he or she were to
start a business from scratch.”
Rudolf Kotik, president of
RK Franchise Consultancy, cited
the major merits of franchised
businesses.
“By buying a franchise, you get a
proven profitable business system,
assistance in selecting the location
and setting up the business, training
and other help before and after
opening the business,” he said.
“You avoid totally the trialand-error stage which you will
likely experience if you set up an
independent business and you start
from scratch.”
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your money
filipino globe
November 2006
33
Too busy making money? Spend some time managing it well
TERRIE FUCANAN in Manila
Wealth does not necessarily mean
having lots and lots of money
— as most people would usually
think.
The financial advisor Manuel
Colayco, author of the Pera Mo,
Palaguin Mo book series, offers a
more substantial definition of this
often misconstrued term: “Wealth
is a condition where your present
financial resources can support
your lifestyle over a long period
of time, even if you do not work
to generate income.”
Even a middle-income earner
can be wealthy, as long as his
earnings complement his expense
profile. Colayco elaborates: “If
your living expenses are very
high because of your lifestyle,
or perhaps because you have so
much debt, then you would still be
financially challenged even if you
had P1 million.”
Colayco’s statement could
never be more applicable than
to Filipinos. We are known to
be hard workers, but we are also
financially negligent.
“Most people are focused on
making money, but they have no
real understanding of how to keep
and manage their money. For
some reason, people seem to think
that wealth comes only from new
earnings,” he says.
Because Filipinos are often too
preoccupied about making money,
Colayco says there is no financial
planning, making our quest for
wealth more difficult.
Misguided spending is
commonly seen among OFWs,
employees who suddenly got
promoted, and entrepreneurs
whose profits doubled overnight.
The thrill of receiving a large
sum of money seems to trigger
a person’s urge to improve his
lifestyle, but not his financial
position.
“Many OFWs come back with
hardly enough money to retire
comfortably,” he says. “Worse,
they end up with just the same,
or even less, than what they had
when they first left. Many have
perhaps been ill-advised with
regard to the money they have
earned.”
For all the money they have
made overseas, these OFWs are
hard pressed to gain financial
independence.
In his book Wealth Within
Your Reach, Colayco goes to the
heart of the matter: “Financial
independence is within everyone’s
reach. All you have to do is to
acquire the ability to reach it.”
The book is intended not only
for OFWs and retirees, but for
all income earners who wish to
manage their finances well.
34 November 2006
filipino globe
celebrity
filipino globe
November 2006
35
Erik on Rudy Hatfield: I have no wish to meet him or know him
DANNY VIBAS in Manila
Singing champ Erik Santos (left)
had a press launch one afternoon
recently for his new album, Your
Love.
The showbiz scribes invited to
the event were too polite to grill
him about the persistent talk that
he is gay.
Instead, we asked him which
of the songs in the album he
dedicates to his sweetheart of four
months, Rufa Mae Quinto. His
answer was All That I Need, which
happens to be the only original
song in the album that features hit
Pinoy band songs of the 90s.
We also gamely asked him about
how he feels towards Rufa Mae’s
ex, cager Rudy Hatfield, who is
back in town and has been playing
for Alaska.
Erik said he has never met Rudy
and is not at all interested to meet
the Fil-Am hunk. He insisted he
doesn’t believe in digging up the
past with his girlfriends (he has
had three before Rufa Mae), so
he doesnt even bother to ask Rufa
Mae at all about her ex-boyfriend.
His relationship with Peachy
(Rufa’s real-life nickname) is
going stronger. They plan to put
up a cafe together and they have
an offer to do a series of shows
together in Europe early next year.
Erik celebrated his birthday
recently and Peachy’s gift to him
was a Cartier watch which he was
proudly wearing that afternoon of
the press launch.
Erik does seem happy and oh
so wealthy. From flood-prone
Malabon, the music idol who is
just in his early 20s, has moved his
family to a five-bedroom house in
Novaliches, QC. He also owns a
condo unit in Mandaluyong City.
His career is well-managed by a
mighty gay named Boy Abunda.
Pops takes
time out for
life and
enjoys it
Concert Queen looks to start
all over again as she turns 40
TERRIE FUCANAN in Manila
Pops Fernandez says she has
never enjoyed life to the full
– until now.
“I used to take life too
seriously,” she says. “Now I’m
enjoying it.”
This is not to say that the
Concert Queen, recording artist,
actress, fashion entrepreneur, host,
commercial endorser, and mother
to Robin and Ram – her sons by
Concert King Martin Nievera
“
I used to take life
too seriously. Now
I’m enjoying it
POPS FERNANDEZ
On turning 40
– is retiring from showbiz to live
a carefree life. Pops is actually
doing the contrary, but with more
energy and enthusiasm.
“I like to work,” she says.
And how. Pops just launched
a new album under Universal
Records entitled Silver, which
marks her 25th year in the local
music industry. It’s a 10-track
follow-up to her 2004 album with
Warner Music, When Words are
Not Enough.
“Most of my albums in the past
carried romantic titles,” she says.
“But for my latest one, we decided
to highlight my 25th year in the
music business, although it’s an
album filled with sentimental
songs.
Composed of nostalgic remakes
and never-before-released
compositions, Silver is, indeed,
very Pops Fernandez. “Filipinos
like to hear painful songs, don’t
you think? I like songs that make
me cry.”
This year, Pops turns 40, an
age she has resolved to mark by
“starting all over again.”
“It’s not just through a new
album, but also movies and a lot
of new avenues for self-expression
and artistic growth,” she says.
Next year will be a busy one for
Pops, but at the moment, she is
focused on her 40th birthday show
at the Crowne Plaza Galleria on
December 11.
On New Year’s Eve, she will
perform live at the Makati
Shangri-La Hotel. “I need to make
a living for my boys,” she jokes.
That’s Pops these days: positive,
easygoing, yet driven as ever.
She has some very good years
behind her, but the best is yet to
come.
Pops Fernandez is
starting with a clean
slate, from her singing
career to movies. “I do
have to make a living for
my kids,” she jokes.
36
celebrity
filipino globe
November 2006
Is she Robin’s new Angel? We’ll soon find out
DANNY VIBAS in Manila
After Regine Velasquez, expect
Robin Padilla to be tightly and
persistently linked next to Angel
Locsin (left) – yes, the younger
Locsin, not to the not-so-young
but always beauteous Aquino.
Robin is teamed up next over
at GMA 7 with the star of Darna
and Majica who is very much
the girlfriend of Oyo Boy Sotto.
Asian Treasures will take Robin
and Angel to various parts of Asia
for their filming. The publicity
yarn from GMA 7 brags that
Cambodia, China, India, Thailand,
and, of course, the Philippines
will be among the setting of
the network’s newest fantasy
adventure series.
In the Philippines, the shooting
venues include Corregidor, Bataan
and Anilao in Mabini, Batangas.
Robin is very much aware that his
new leading lady is the girlfriend
of a Sotto boy whose clan he
respects. Pinoy showbiz’s Bad
Boy is known for easily falling
for his leading ladies and pursuing
them with a passion in most cases.
He did it to Regine Velasquez
while they were filming and
promoting their second and latest
movie together Till I Met You, coproduced by GMA Films and Viva
Films. And for some reason, as
well as for the first time in her 20year-old showbiz career, Regine
made a big show of kissing
passionately with her leading man
even in public, such as during the
second night of her recent concert
at the Big Dome.
‘The first time I saw Robin, I
froze – and I was in the middle
of retouching my make-up’
Here’s why
Bea has a soft
spot for the
tough guy
Next to his
macho machine,
Robin Padilla
exudes the kind
of toughness
girls swoon
over and many
women fall for.
DANNY VIVAS in Manila
S
tunning Bea Alonzo may
be delicately lovely but she
likes bad-boy-looking men,
not refined, neat dudes, thank you.
Her biggest showbiz crush is not
her on-cam sweetheart John Lloyd
Cruz, but Robin Padilla.
The young actress turned 19 last
October 17.
Star Magic of ABS-CBN 2, her
career handler, hosted a dinner for
her with the press recently, and it
was during the after-dinner banter
with Star Magic PR Rykka Dylim
and other network staffers that we
learned about the young actress’
kind of guy.
“The first time I saw Robin, I
froze – and I was in the middle of
retouching my make-up in one of
dressing rooms (of ABS-CBN).
“I must have stared at him for five
full minutes before I realized that I
had to finish what I was doing since
my cue to face the camera would
come any moment,” recalled Bea.
With an impish, little girl smile
(and she’s not petite at all due,
perhaps, to her British blood
from her hardly known dad), she
admitted that up to know, she still
gets reduced to nerves every time
she sees Robin in person.
And up to now, she still feels a
little bad that ABS-CBN 2’s plan
to have her paired up with Robin
“
That boy should
stop getting into
trouble and spend
more time instead
taking care of his
showbiz career
BEA ALONZO
On John Wayne Sace
never got off the ground. That
night at Cheapsteaks restaurant at
ABS-CBN’s The Loop mall, she
showed her concern for another
actor with a bad boy image:
John Wayne Sace, who recently
figured in a brawl with a neighbor
who had him arrested by the
police.
“That boy should stop getting
into trouble and spend more time
instead taking care of his showbiz
career,” she said. Realizing what
she has just said, she quickly
clarified: “Oh, God, why do I think
of him still as a boy when he’s, I
think, just a year younger than I
am.”
Bea has been saying she has no
boyfriend, but we have it on good
authority that there’s a brownskinned, unneat-looking young
guy whose name is Mark and lives
in a condo in the Ortigas area in
Pasig where his family lives. He is
known as Bea’s boyfriend.
Bea, who admits that she now
lives in a condo with only some
maids as housemates, does not stay
in the same building, though.
Meanwhile, Bea insists she and
John Lloyd are just very good
friends who enjoy ribbing each
other when they are together.
They get that chance to do a bit of
horseplay on the set of their new
ABS-CBN soap opera Maging
Sino Ka Man.
celebrity
filipino globe
Dingdong and
Jessa miss the
star treatment,
but they’re
doing just fine
in the States,
writes Danny
Vibas
type of visa
granted to singer April Boy Regino
who, according to Dingdong, lives
in Carlson City.
The couple had to hire an
immigration lawyer to facilitate
the processing of their application,
backed by voluminous documents.
Their greencards
allow them to be away
from the US for a
maximum of four
months in a row in
a year. “So, if, for
instance, Jessa gets
offered a TV soap
here and she would
be taping for only
four months, that
could be arranged,” Dingdong
says.
Dingdong says settling in the US
is a humbling experience even as
the decision to move his family
there was a well-thought-out one.
One humbling experience he had
was getting rejected for a credit
“
You’d think she’s
shooting a
commercial for some
kitchen product
DINGDONG
On Jessa’s new passion
card. “In the Philippines, agents
and companies were running after
me to offer me all kinds of credit
cards,” he says. In the Philippines,
of course, he was a well-loved
pop singer for almost 15 years.
Ai Ai comes clean about children’s fathers
DANNY VIBAS in Manila
There must be something about
turning 42 that moves comedienne
Ai Ai de las Alas (right) into being
more open about some truths in
her life.
For instance, she now openly
admits that her three kids do not
have only one father in the person
of singer Miguel Vera who is now
based in the US.
Her only son, the eldest, has
37
She cooks, he
takes out
the trash
S
inging stars Jessa Zaragoza
and Dingdong Avanzado
are a new kind of
sensations in the US.
“I am the phenomenal
housemaid,” Jessa quips, “ironing
clothes, washing dishes, name it.”
“And I’m getting to be an expert
at what I do around the house, like
taking out the garbage” Dingdong
chimes in.
The couple immigrated to the US
a few years ago, leaving behind
the bright lights of the Philippine
music scene.
They have a four-bedroom,
two-storey house in Vallejo,
Califrornia, where Dingdong works
on weekdays as marketing manager
of a mortgage company owned by
an uncle. Jessa has been busy lately
learning how to drive. Dindong
has just bought her a brand-new
Mercedes-Benz..
They still get to do shows either
together or separately on most
weekends. There are, after all, 2.4
million Pinoys in the US eager to
watch their kababayan perform.
Jessa flew to Hawaii a few weeks
after the October 15 earthquake
that left several islands there
without electricity for a few days.
“I was supposed to do the show
with Rica (Peralejo) but she got
stranded on an island that had
no power for several days due
to the earthquake, so I ended up
doing the show all by myself,”
Jessa tells Filipino Globe.
The couple are back in the
Philippines for a visit and to
promote their duet album, which
they recorded a few months
before they migrated to the US.
On most weekdays, Jessa is a
housewife who had to learn how
to cook. She wakes up early and
makes a big production out of her
cooking.
“You’d think she’s shooting a
commercial for some kitchen
product,” Dingdong says, teasing
his wife.
Like a typical household in the
US, they have no maid, not even a
yaya for their daughter who misses
having a pet dog in the house.
Dingdong and Jessa obtained
special visas that classify them as
“extraordinary persons” due to
their singing talents. It’s the same
November 2006
stage actor Rey Malte Cruz as
father. However, the boy, who will
be college age next year, seems
to have always known that his
father is not Miguel with whom
her mother had an invalid marriage
for years – since Miguel was
already married (to a non-showbiz
girl) when he deceived Ai Ai into
matrimony more than a decade
ago.
Actually, Ai Ai did not keep it a
secret to some press guys that one
of her kids is not Miguel’s. That
is, to press guys who happened to
ask. But then she would not say
which one of her three children
was not fathered by Miguel and
who the kids dad is. And after
admitting her indiscretions, she
would beg the scribes not to write
about it to spare her children from
embarrassment. To return her
honesty, no showbiz reporter ever
wrote that her three children had
two different fathers.
Ai Ai recently told some scribes
that her son has met his halfsiblings. And since the boy is about
to go to college, she has warned
him not to get anyone pregnant.
And that if he could not suppress
his urge to bed some girl, he had
better know how to use rubbers.
Ai Ai is suddenly talking about her
children and their father perhaps to
avoid talking about her own flimsy
and whimsical lovelife.
And she has none these days.
He even became a councilor in
Quezon City.
Cleaning the house, mowing
the lawn, taking out the garbage,
going out to the laundry shop,
and lining up for anything and
everything are things Dingdong
regularly does in the US. “Oh,
once in a while some really sweet
kababayan would recognize me
and point me to a side door so I
can be attended to without waiting
for my turn in a long line of
people,” Dingdong says. While he and Jessa miss the star
treatment in the Philippines, they
find life in the US well worth it.
In fact, they want their next child
to be Made in the USA.
38
celebrity
filipino globe
November 2006
The dead
are getting
richer and
why not?
How much is Marilyn Monroe’s
pin-up photo worth these days?
POL ISIDRO in Los Angeles
The good times roll for Elvis, Curt Cobain and Albert Einstein. They make millions a year.
They’re long gone, but they may
be worth more now that they’re
dead than when they were living.
From Elvis to Frank Sinatra and
Albert Einstein, dead celebrities
are making more money than
they ever did, ensuring their
iconic status and making them a
continuing business proposition,
according to Forbes magazine.
Elvis dominated the scene
for many years, thanks largely
to shrewd management of his
estate by former wife Priscilla.
When the estate sold the licensing
rights to a management firm
recently, the King of Rock ‘n Roll
pocketed a handsome profit.
Much of Elvis’ wealth comes
from that deal with CKX, which
paid US$100 million for 85 per
cent of Elvis Presley Enterprises
left to daughter Lisa Marie
Presley.
The purchase includes
publishing rights to some 650
songs and Graceland, Elvis’
famously tacky Memphis home.
But stripping out the one-time
profit from the deal, Elvis can’t
claim the No 1 spot on Forbes’
list. That place has been taken by
Curt Cobain, the former frontman
of Nirvana, who killed himself in
1994. His widow, Courtney Love,
and their child, Frances Bean,
sold 25 per cent of the band’s
catalog to former Virgin Records
chief Larry Mestel for a reported
US$50 million.
Then there’s proof that making
loads of cash is not exactly rocket
science. Albert Einstein has been
dead more than 50 years, but he
continues to inspire films and
stories and his image remains
widely used, for which his estate
receives royalties to the tune of
US$5 million a year. Einstein has
helped create an industry that was
worth US$400 million last year.
Marilyn Monroe’s much-loved
pin-up photo with her white
skirt lifted up from under a
manhole blower on a New York
street continues to be a bestseller, accounting for much of
the US$8 million she made last
year. Recent uses of the blonde
bombshell were in ads that peddle
everything from Dom Perignon
(her favorite drink) to a Spanish
airline.
Campbell’s Soup once
fetched a quarter a can. Today, a
paperweight tagged with Amdy
Warhol’s pop rendering of the
can sells for US$16.50, courtesy
of the Andy Warhol Foundation
for the Visual Arts, which owns
his estate. It even gets royalties
from a Warhol-influenced pair
of Adidas sneakers. Last year,
it brought Warhol, who died in
1987, a whopping US$16 million
in royalties.
McCartney faces US$400m bill in ugly and costly divorce
LOI LIWANAG in Los Angeles
It’s as nasty as it gets. Not only
that, former Beatle Paul McCartney
could lose one-fourth of his
estimated US$1.6 billion fortune
in his split-up with Heather Mills.
As the divorce is fought out in
the tabloids, McCartney and Mills,
once one of the most celebrated
showbiz couples with their very
public devotion to each other, are
standing their ground over a final
settlement.
Ultimately, however, McCartney,
64, who started the proceedings,
could end up paying Mills, 38, up
to US$400 million.
The allegations range from
Mill’s “unreasonable behavior”
to McCartney’s abusive character
and drug-induced violence, enough
fodder to keep the British media
fed for one year.
“It’s not the money,” Mills, a
former ramp model who lost a leg
in a car accident, once protested.
“But in this situation, something
has got to give.”
Michael Douglas is known to
have paid off his wife US$100
million to marry Catherine Zeta
Jones, Tom Cruise parted with a
“fairly good amount” in his divorce
with Nicole Kidman and Brad Pitt
is coy on how much it cost him
to gain his freedom from Jennifer
Aniston.
McCartney’s potential settlement
has drawn punters into the fray
with some of the most outlandish
betting on how much the final bill
would be.
No deal ... McCartney and Mills.
filipino globe
November 2006
39
filipino globe
40 November 2006
Where
it’s at ...
Internet Cafe
Printing, Scanning
Philippine Products
E-Load
E-Charge
Phone Cards
Lunch/Dinner Boxes
Videoke
Maus@Point
62-A Sai Wan Ho Street
Sai Wan Ho, Hong Kong
(infront of Ki Wan School)
Tel : 2567 9555
filipino globe concepts
celebrity
filipino globe
November 2006
Cruise as movie mogul? It’s no mission impossible
POL ISIDRO in Los Angeles
Tom Cruise has been called many
things, but up until now, studio
mogul was not one of them. The
Mission: Impossible star and
longtime producing partner Paula
Wagner have teamed with MGM to
reform United Artists, the long-
defunct studio founded 85 years
ago by Charlie Chaplin, Mary
Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and
D.W. Griffith.
Cruise and Wagner will have
“substantial ownership” of the
revitalized banner and have
nearly complete control – budget
permitting – over developing new
productions. MGM will financially
back the deal and be responsible
for marketing and distributing the
Cruise-approved flicks.
Wagner has been named CEO
of the joint venture, while Cruise
will both produce and star – though
not exclusively – in the UA
productions.
Tom
Cruise
will have
a firm
grip on all
projects.
Adoption
furor hounds
Madonna
41
TAKEFIVE
BRANGELINA THREAT
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
have received threats on
their lives from members of
al-Qaeda. The couple are
in India shooting the film A
Mighty Heart, based on the
life of Daniel Pearl, the Wall
Street Journal reporter who
was killed at the hands of
al-Qaeda militants in
Pakistan in 2002. According
to The Financial Times,
British security experts were
flown into Pune, India, earlier
this week, after being alerted
by authorities in neighboring
Pakistan.
SMITH IN HOSPITAL
Anna Nicole Smith has
been hospitalized in the
Bahamas as medics attempt
to drain fluid from her lungs.
The former model was
admitted to the hospital
after experiencing pain in
her chest. Her partner and
lawyer Howard K Stern told
Entertainment Tonight: “Anna
Nicole was experiencing
severe pain in her right
chest and back. A CT scan
at the hospital revealed that
she has pneumonia, with a
significant amount of fluid in
her lungs.”
Superstar hits back at critics and
says she plans to take on another
child, writes Loi Liwanag
CRIKEY FOR SHOW?
Madonna is the doting
mother as David Banda
enjoys his first moments
in the bosom of his
new family in Britain.
Madonna will take on another
child, but this time, she hopes the
adoption process will not be as
complicated as the one which is
hounding her to the four corners of
the globe.
“I wouldn’t rule it out,” she told
a British TV show. “But I would
like it not to be as complicated.”
The pop superstar was referring
to the furor that her adoption of
Malawian boy David Banda has
caused over accusations she and
husband Guy Ritchie flouted
adoption rules and ignored national
customs and traditions.
The controversy has hounded her
during her trips abroad and dogged
her all the way to the recent MTV
Europe Music Awards in Denmark.
Madonna has fought back at
criticism she should have adopted
a Malawi orphan instead of a boy
with a father, insisting she offered
to pay for David’s father Yohane
Banda to rear the child.
The Material Girl and her
husband were granted temporary
adoption of the 13-month-old baby
last month, which has sparked
criticism from adoption support
TIMBERLAKE PUTS SUPERSTAR IN SHADE
Madonna was lampooned
on stage at the MTV Europe
Music Awards as she failed
to take a single prize despite
being nominated for three
titles in Copenhagen.
The 48-year-old star
was up for best pop act,
best female and album.
But best pop was won by
Justin Timberlake, female
by Christina Aguilera and
album by The Red Hot
Chili Peppers for Stadium
Winner ... Justin Timberlake
Arcadium.
Madonna, who has enjoyed
phenomenal success this year with a multimillion-selling
album and a world tour, was even ridiculed. TV comic Avid
Merrion dressed up as the Material Girl in her leotard-wearing
incarnation and gave a comic rendition of her performance at
MTV’s events last year.
groups, who claim she could have
adopted a child with no parents
instead of “taking” David away
from Banda.
Banda placed David in an
orphanage last year after the death
of his wife because he couldn’t
afford to care for the youngster.
In an interview on NBC News,
Madonna said: “When I met him, I
said, ‘I would be happy to facilitate
to bring him back to your village
and help you financially raise him.’
And he said, ‘No.’
“And there was a lot of
translation situations and I couldn’t
really understand that decision.
I don’t want to judge him. And I
don’t know his life.,” she said.
“And I think he truly felt in his
heart of hearts that he (David)
would have a better life with me.
The Malawian baby boy has gone
from extreme poverty to European
luxury in just three weeks, after
his new mother spent a fortune on
his winter wardrobe, according to
NBC.
The singer called trendy Los
Angeles baby store Petit Tresor
at the beginning of the week and
ordered the best cashmere winter
clothes co-owner Nina Takesh
had, from designers like CV and
Larucci.
“She wanted very high-end,
luxury winter products and items.
It’s the luxury of all luxuries,”
Takesh said.
The bill for the spending spree
came to US$10,000.
Late Crocodile Hunter star
Steve Irwin (below) has been
branded “a showman” by
a BBC wildlife filmmaker,
outraging fans and family.
Alastair
Fotherfill, the
director of hit
series Planet
Earth, accused
the recently
deceased
father of two of being more
interested in showing off than
helping wildlife. “Let’s face it,
Steve was a showman,” said
Fotherfill, to the dismay of
Irwin’s followers.
PRINCE CHARMING
Salma Hayek has a real-life
Prince Charming to thank
for returning pricey jewelry
to her when it ended up on
the back seat of a taxi. The
pretty Frida star picked out
$50,000 worth of rented
jewelry to show off at a
recent New York benefit and
her assistant left it in a taxi.
Fortunately for the actress,
Lorenzo Borghese - the royal
star of The Bachelor - was
the next person to hail the
cab. “He’s a real prince. I
couldn’t thank him enough,”
said a grateful Hayek of
Borghese.
42
filipino globe
Mata ng
lawin: ang
magikero
sa bilyar
palakasan
November 2006
Dennis Espino
walang kaba
bilang puso’t
kaluluwa ng SLR
CELESTE TERRENAL in Manila
Sa gulang na 51 anyos, hindi pa tapos
si Bata Reyes sa kanyang inumpisahan
CELESTE TERRENAL in Manila
Noon, inaakala ng lahat na ang pagbibilyar ay isang “bisyo” lamang.
Pero, binago ni Efren “Bata” Reyes
ang pananaw ng lahat nang iangat niya sa ibang antas ang larong
ngayon ay nagbibigay ng prestihiyo
sa bansa.
Kilala si Efren bilang “The Magician,” o “Bata.” Halos nalibot
na niya ang buong mundo upang
maglaro, manalo at pahangain ang
mga dayuhan sa bilyar.
Ang kanyang mga pakikipagsapalaran sa bilyar ay tila mga kuwento ng kabayanihan na pinagpapasapasahan hanggang sa tila maging
isang bahagi ng alamat.
Noong 1999 ginawaran si Efren
ng Philippine Legion of Honour
at dahil sa mga pakikipagsapalaran
niya sa bilyar, tila kabute na sumulpot ang mga billiard halls sa mga
kanto at karamihan sa mga bata ay
gustong maging billiard player dahil sa laki ng premyong kinakamada
ni Efren.
“The Philippines is in search of
heroes in the international scene,”
sabi ni Aristeo Puyat, co-owner ng
Puyat Sports at kilalang sponsor ni
Efren. “The Olympics are a debacle; we never win a medal. Even
in the Asian Games we have a hard
time. But here, in billiards, we have
a champion.”
Nagsimula si Efren sa paglalaro
sa Estados Unidos noong dekada
80 bilang money player. Nineties
nang magsimula siyang manalo sa
mga major tournaments sa mga top
player sa US. Noong 1995 nanalo
siya ng anim na major events at kinunsidera siyang pinakamahusay na
9-ball player sa bansa.
Patuloy siyang nanalo ng major
events hanggang sa bagong milenyo at pinatunayan na isa siya sa
pinakamahusay na player na humawak ng cue – lalo na sa nine-ball
– sa daigdig.
Noong 2001, ipinoste niya ang
mahigit sa $200,000 na panalo, isa
sa pinakamalaki noong panahong
iyon.
Itinaas si Efren sa Hall of Fame
ng Billiards Congress of America
at noong Disyembre 2005 nanaig si
Reyes sa International Pool Tour’s
King of the Hill 8-Ball Shootout.
Tumataginting na US$200,000
Ganito katindi ang hawak ni Bata Reyes sa larong bilyar.
ang halaga ng kanyang pagkampeon
makaraang daigin ang kapwa Hall
of Fame member na si Mike “the
Mouth” Sigel sa straight sets.
Kamakailan ay napanalunan ni
Reyes ang 2006 International Pool
Tour World Open 8-Ball Championship laban kay Rodney Morris. At
ang US$500,000, na napanalunan
ni Efren ang pinakamalaking premyo sa kasaysayan ng pocket billiards.
Habang isinusulat ang artikulong
si Reyes ay nakikipagtunggali sa
World Pool Championship kung
saan itinuturing siyang paborito na
makuha ang kampeonato kahit natalo siya sa kanyang unang laban.
Shooting star si Mendoza pero hindi ang klaseng panandalian lang
Nasa komportableng posisyon
ngayon si Paolo Mendoza
(gitna). Kaya’t hindi niya
pinalalagpas ang pagkakataon
na iangat pa ang kanyang
laro makaraang malipat siya
sa two-guard position sa
pagsisimula ng PBA Philippine
Cup.
Ikinasa agad ni Mendoza
ang mga statistikong hindi
inaasahan na kanyang
magagawa upang pamunuan
ang Sta Lucia Realty na
humahataw sa standings.
Dating naglalaro sa point
guard position, si Mendoza
ang naging dahilan nang pagusad ng Realtors sa solong
liderato habang isinusulat
ang artikulong ito kahit pa
wala ang top draft pick na si
Kelly Williams na nagpunta
sa Estados Unidos upang
umabay sa kanyang matalik na
kaibigan.
“Masaya po ako at nananalo
po kami at nakakatulong
po ako sa team ko. Malaki
rin po ang pasasalamat
ko sa coaching staff at sa
management, sa tiwala nila,”
sabi ni Mendoza.
Maging si coach Alfrancis
Chua ay nasisiyahan din sa
laro ni Mendoza.
Kumakamada si Mendoza
ng 11 puntos kada laro. At ang
mga puntos nito ay ginagawa
niya sa pagkakataong
kinakailangang ng kanilang
koponan.
Nagkaroon ng pagkakataon
ang 28-anyos na si Mendoza
na makabalik sa shooting
guard nang makuha ng
Realtors sina Alex Cabagnot
at Ronnie Bughao noong
nakaraang taon.
“Mas komportable ako sa
shooting guard kasi ‘yun and
nilalaro ko noong amateur
days ko,” sabi niya.
CELESTE TERRENAL
Walang duda. Kahit pa dumagsa
ang malalakas at malalaking player,
si Dennis Espino pa rin ang puso’t
kaluluwa ng Sta Lucia Realty.
Sa kasalukuyan, may tatlong
panalo sa apat na laro ang Realtors. Huli silang nakaranas
ng ganito kagandang kartada
noong 2001 sa Governor’s Cup na
pinagkampeonan din nila kasama ang import na si Damien Owens.
Ano nga ba ang mga katangian ni Espino na nagluklok sa kanya
bilang isang tunay na lider?
“Yung attitude niya,” sabi ni
coach Alfrancis Chua sa kanyang 32-taong gulang na team captain.
“He’s a winner and he wants his
teammates to adopt the same
mindset.”
Maging ang mga teammates
ni Espino ay kinikilala rin ang
kakayahan nito bilang lider ng Sta
Lucia Realty.
“He went out of his way to talk to
us and he make us realize the team
has fair chance of making it no
matter what our record is,” sabi ng sophomore na si Alex Cabagnot.
Sa nakaraang mga laro ng PBA
Philippine Cup, hindi pumayag
si Espino manatili lamang
nakatago sa anino ng mga popular
at malalakas na manlalarong
sina Cabagnot, Kelly Williams
at ang nasa ikatlong taon na sa
propesyunal na basketball na sina Cesar Catli at Nelbert Omolon.
Sa halip, mas kuminang si
Espino at tinulungan pa nito
ang Realtors na sumikwat ng
tatlong panalo kasama na ang
dalawang magkasunod na naglagay
pansamantala sa kanila sa unahan ng standings sa kasalukuyang
komperensya.
“I feel responsible for the team,
especially for my teammates,
because no matter how many good
plays coach gives us, if we don’t
execute well, wala rin,” paliwanag
ni Espino.
Sa bawat laro ng Sta Lucia
Realty, iyan ang nararamdaman ni
Espino.
Espino asserts his authority.
filipino globe
November 2006 43
44
palak
November 2006
This one is
for family,
country –
and himself
Las Vegas grudge fight with Erik
Morales means more to Pacquiao
than anything else in his career
RONNIE NATHANIELSZ
One thing will weigh heavy on the
mind of Manny Pacquiao when he
climbs into the ring against Erik
Morales: Himself.
Pacquiao has made a ritual of
dedicating his fights to country and
family, but this time, in the glare
of Las Vegas and in the presence
of an audience expecting a settling
of scores once and for all, the
Filipino gladiator will be fighting
for himself.
“Nothing can be as important to
him as this right now,” a boxing
analyst said. “After all his successes,
after all those conquests, he wants
personal glory.
And understandably so. The score
stands at 1-1 in Pacquiao’s headto-head clashes with the legendary
Mexican and the November 18 fight
could be his crowning achievement.
Or his opponent’s.
With that in mind, Pacquiao is not
short on detail about how he will
execute the plan. “I always go for a
knockout in every second of every
round,” he said. “Morales will feel
the strength of 80 million Filipinos
with every punch that I throw.”
Pacquiao has wrapped up a
rigorous two-month preparation at
Freddie Roach’s sweatshop in Los
Angeles and has been installed, with
good reason, as a heavy favorite
by oddsmakers in Las Vegas who
are convinced he is capable of
duplicating his convincing win over
Morales late last year.
Talk in the lead-up to the fight has
also centered on Morales’ reported
battle with the bulge, so much so
that a clause was inserted in the
fight contract that would slap sevenfigure penalties on the Mexican for
every pound in his body that goes
beyond the 130-pound limit come
fight time.
Pacquiao, however, believes
Morales, who has hired a team of
physical conditioning experts to
supervise his preparations in the
mountains, will go into the fight in
the best shape of his life and that
the weight issue is only meant to
breed overconfidence in the Filipino
fighter.
And he’s not about to take the
bait.
“(The weight issue) is only being
blown out of proportion to make me
overconfident,” Pacquiao insisted.
He said he expects Morales to
make the 130-pound limit. But
nonetheless, Pacquiao said that if
by some chance, Morales weighs
over 132 pounds, he will take the
US$1 million penalty and refuse to
fight him – a luxury given him by
the fight contract.
Pacquiao’s camp anticipates a
whole new game plan from Morales,
who by now has broken down tapes
of their first two fights and would
find new ways to throw him off.
But he’ll be ready, Pacquiao
vowed. “Despite some distractions,
we are on the right track,” he said.
As for his own fight plan, Pacquiao
said he and celebrated trainer Roach
had been “working my right hook
to perfection”.
He is also working on some other
new things, Pacquiao added, but
would divulge little else, saying,
“they are all top secret now”.
When asked about a possibly more
lucrative rematch with reigning
world champion Marco Antonio
Barrera next March, Pacquiao said
he is not looking past Morales.
It was his victory over Barrera in
2004 that catapulted the Filipino to
superstardom.
“Right now, I am only focused on
Morales and I will decide after the
fight if Barrera is next,” Pacquiao
said.
“Of course, all the fans would
want me to face Barrera. That would
be a great rematch and I would love
to face him anytime, anywhere.”
Laki sa hirap, hindi kumuk
“There’s something about hunger that drives a m
sport like boxing, it’s your burning desire. Manny
S
a murang edad ni Manny Pacquiao
ay nahubog na ito sa matinding
pakikipaglaban sa buhay. Bata pa ay nakibaka na si Pacquiao sa
hamon ng buhay kasama na ang tindi ng
kanilang kahirapan na isang malaking
dahilan ng pagkakahiwalay ng kanyang mga
magulang.
Lumaki at ipinanganak si Pacquiao sa
Kibawe, isang maliit na bayan sa Bukidnon. Ikalawa siya sa apat na magkakapatid.
Ang kanyang ina, mula sa Tampakan,
South Cotabato, ay may dalawang anak sa
unang karelasyon. Ang ama niya ay isang
magsasaka, mula Pinamungajan, Cebu.
Maagang nabanat ang buto ni Manny sa
pagtatrabaho. Nagtitinda siya ng mga gulay
kasama ang dalawang nakababatang kapatid. Dahil na rin sa kahirapan, elementarya
lamang ang natapos ni Manny.
Labindalawang taong gulang si Manny
nang iwan sila ng kanilang ama. Ang
pangyayaring ito, ayon kay Manny, ang
pinagmumulan ng kanyang determinasyon
na makaangat sa kahirapan. Katunayan,
habang siya ay nagtatrabaho bilang
panadero sa isang bakery, sinimulan na rin
niya ang pakikipagsapalaran sa larangan ng
boksing. Sa isa sa kany
siya ni Rey Golingan, i
sa Bukidnon. Noon ay
Pacquiao na 60 panalo
Sinimulan ni Pacquia
professional boxing ca
106 pounds. Wala ni isang sentim
nakipagsapalaran si Pa
gulang pa lamang noon
ng kanyang manager n
Maynila upang maging
boksingero.
Sa L&M Gym nagsan
kasan
filipino globe
The fight to watch may be
the one outside the ring
Pacquiao gets taped up
for practice in Freddie
Roach’s LA sweatshop.
After two months of
rigorous training,
Pacquiao is
itching for action.
kurap sa hamon ng buhay
man’s determination. In a competitive
has a lot of it.
Shelly Finkel, Pacquiao’s coach
yang laban, napanood
isang local promoter
may record na si
at apat na talo.
ao ang kanyang
areer noong 1995 sa mo sa bulsa,
acquiao, 15-taomg
n, bitbit ang pangako
na sasanayin sa
g mahusay na
nay si
45
Pacquiao. Nanalo siya sa kanyang unang
laban sa professional boxing laban kay
Enting Ignacio sa four round decision.
Pero barya-barya lamang ang kinita
ni Pacquiao. At upang hindi magutom
nagtinda siya ng sigarilyo sa kalsada. Nagtagumpay si Pacquiao sa sumunod
niyang 11 laban bago ito nakatikim ng talo.
Pero ang kabiguang ito ay nagsilbing
leksyon kay Pacquiao na bumalikwas
agad upang taluning sunod-sunod sina
Thai veteran Chikchai Chokwiwat nang
dalawang ulit upang makuha ang World
Boxing Council flyweight crown.
Matapos ang limang matagumpay na
pagdepensa sa korona, nagtungo si Pacquiao
sa US para maghanap ng mas mayamang
laban. Naipanalo ni Pacquiao ang laban
kay International Boxing Federation
superbantamweight champion Lehlo
Ledwabang South Africa. Sinundan ito ng
apat pang panalo at isang draw. Tinalo siya ni Erik Morales sa kanilang
unang enkwentro, bago siya bumawi
noong Enero sa Las Vegas, kung saan niya
pinatulog ang Meksikano, sabay dampot sa
tumataginting na US$4 million prize money.
CELESTE TERRENAL
If you think Manny Pacquiao’s
fights are among the fiercest
and most thrilling in the game
today, you should see what goes
on around the celebrated prize
fighter.
Each time he climbs into
the ring, a separate battle, just
as fierce and as colorful and
definitely more intriguing, is
fought outside it among boxing
people who would do everything
to get a piece of the Manny
Pacquiao pie.
Since his impressive victory
over Marco Antonio Barrera,
Pacquiao has become one of the
most marketable boxers of his
time, commanding seven-figure
purses for fights and raking in
millions more from endorsement
deals in the Philippines and
overseas.
This has understandably
spawned a whole new war
among blood-sucking managers
and promoters, each hoping to
cash in on Pacquiao’s earning
potential. A separate and
growing horde of hangers-on
fight for the crumbs.
This war has been going on
from the time a web of intrigues
and controversies, real and
imagined, had Pacquiao’s
longtime manager Rod Nazario
and Murad Muhammad,
a former Muhammad Ali
bodyguard turned promoter,
eased out of the gladiator’s good
graces.
But not long after, the people
who managed to bump off
the pair – actually an entire
management team headed by
Shelly Finkel and promoter
Gary Shaw – would soon fall
prey to the same tactics that
got them in the first place.
Approaching Pacquiao’s third
fight against Mexican hero Eric
Morales, word spread that the
Filipino hero has signed a new
management and promotional
contract with the Golden Boy
Promotions of the legendary
RINGWISE
analysis
Ronnie
Nathanielsz
Oscar de la Hoya, supposedly
lured by a lucrative seven-fight
deal with a big signing bonus
thrown in.
Pacquiao would neither deny
nor confirm the deal, but even
in his silence, it has become
apparent nonetheless that a
whole new team is bound to take
charge of the Filipino’s career
regardless of what happens in
Part Three of the PacquiaoMorales trilogy.
For all those who care about
the Filipino hero, it is not what
he does in the ring that should
be worrying, rather the decisions
and moves he does off it.
Boxing is a dirty game, the
dirtiest of all, and the stakes
multiply for a fighter of
Pacquiao’s caliber. Every step of
the way, there will be someone
out to take advantage, out to con
and out to make a quick buck
off him.
The Philippines has had a
long, proud history in the fight
game, and a long line of great
champions.
But there, too, are chapters
of sad, cautionary tales of
great champions who end up
battered and penniless after their
heydays.
Pacquiao has amassed quite
a fortune in his career and
millions more are bound for his
coffers before his career is over.
But as dirty as the fight
game is, and given his
well-documented penchant
for gambling, there are no
guarantees he won’t suffer the
same fate when it’s all over.
For his sake, here’s hoping he
makes all the right decisions.
Morales tags Pacquiao ... there’s a lot riding on this fight for both men.
46
palakasan
filipino globe
November 2006
IT’S A CRYING SHAME
We had everything going for us. The novelty of it, the initial
excitement, the drive. Too bad, it’s all gone now.
Michael Jordan, Dream Team I
Team USA:
The dream and
the nightmare
Shaquille O’Neil helped lead
two Dream Teams to victory.
It has been downhill for the
Americans from there.
RAUL AGOT in Los Angeles
Basketball is in business again in
the US. Weeks into the new NBA
season, it’s a rip-roaring time for
some of America’s biggest stars.
For a while, they were also the
world’s best outfit. Remember the
Dream Team?
“Forget it,” writes US basketball
analyst Roger Hoffman. “There
won’t be another one.”
The NBA-laced dream ended
in Athens during the 1998 world
championship, where Team USA
got hammered into third place.
OBITUARY
Although it swept into the gold
medal in Sydney two years later,
it sank back into ignominy in the
2002 worlds in Indianapolis and
the 2004 Olympics in Athens. The
nightmare continued in Japan this
year with the US ending up with
nothing better than third place to
show for all the hype and ripple it
stirred across the ocean.
So what’s wrong with Team
USA?
Everything. Unlike Dream Team
I, II and III, which trotted out the
likes of Michael Jordan, Magic
Johnson, Larry Bird, Shaquille
O’Neil, Grant Hill and Reggie
Miller, subsequent teams had a
hard time summoning the kind of
patriotic fervor that drove their
predecessors.
Add to that the constraints of
professional basketball, where
commercial and legal interests
play bigger than the game itself.
The 1998 team, for instance, went
to the world championship already
a loser. It failed to get NBA players because of a lockout over pay
dispute. Instead, the US sent the
“Dirty Dozen”, a team of hardworking present-and-future stars
of the minor leagues. Deprived
of Dream Team status, they wore
their new name like a badge of humiliation.
Outside the US basketball establishment, there’s the inevitable: the
march of once faceless, nameless
players who came to the NBA,
prospered and shone and went
to play for their national teams.
Around them, a small army is built
and under their spell, the army
responds to the challenge —to a
man.
“You can’t keep the coming of
night, just as you can’t keep other
teams from catching up with us,”
blogs Rupert from Indianapolis,
one of thousands of anonymous
commentators of the game that
earlier disparaged for their opinions but are now making a lot of
sense.
Since Dream Team I, the US had
not lost a game until it fell to Russia in 1998. It lost to Argentina and
Spain in 2002, to Puerto Rico, Lithunia and Argentina in 2004 and to
Greece in Japan this year.
The only way the US can ever
regain basketball supremacy is to
forget the dream and wake up.
In his time, Auerbach smoked out the enemy
For the best part of the 1950s and
‘60s, the legendary Red Auerbach
stood head and shoulders above
the NBA, with his trademark cigar
bringing a certain brashness to his
figure.
He had every right to behave
like a giant. In that decade, he
led the Boston Celtics – to a
man a legend – to nine NBA
championships.
When he died early this month
at 89, he had secured his sporting
legacy: 938 wins, making him
the most successful coach in
NBA history until Lanny Wilkens
passed him in the mid-1990s.
Until his death, the straight-
talking Auerbach served as team
president. Fittingly, the team has
dedicated the fledgling season to
his memory.
“Red was a guy who always
introduced new things,” Steve
Pagliuca, a Celtics managing partner, said. “He had some of the
first black players in the league
and some people didn’t like that,
but you’ve got to do what’s right
for the fans,” he said.
“So I think we tried to do things
thoughtfully.”
Auerbach was born in Brooklyn,
on September 20, 1917. He was
inducted into the basketball Hall
of Fame in 1968.
dibersyon
November 2006
filipino globe
BUHAYPALAD
ARIES Mar 21-Apr 19
LIBRA
A banner month for
your finances. It could
also turn out to be
a sexy month, filled
with all sorts of possibilities with
someone you care for, and finally,
this may even turn out to be a
month that allows you to improve
your health impressively as well.
This month should
bring you lots of
wonderful financial
news, some of the very
best of the year. Before you run out
to buy a lotto ticket, wait. There’s
actually no need. The money you
receive now will be money you
earn, not money you win.
TAURUS
SCORPIO
Apr 21-May 20
Oct 23-Nov 22
This will be a sexy,
interesting month, filled
with a few unexpected
twists and turns. No
doubt about it, later you’ll say
November turned out to be one of
your best of the year. While you will
have a few bumps here and there,
you won’t encounter anything you
can’t handle.
GEMINI May 21-Jun 20
SAGITTARIUS
This will be an
amazing month for
breakthroughs in
the workplace and
remarkable news concerning your
health and fitness. You can see
stunning progress in one or both
areas, for you can count on the
friendly help of a whole crowd of
planets in rejuvenating Scorpio.
All eyes will be on you,
so in the first three
weeks of November,
take a few moments
to reflect on the coming twelve
months. Your friends will help you
look like a knockout. It’s now up to
you to look the part and do them
justice. You will be surprised how
well you carry yourself.
CANCER
CAPRICORN
Nov 23-Dec 22
Dec 21-Jan 19
You have not had a
chart this outstanding
for love for a long time.
Your key date to watch
will be November 20, the date of the
new moon. From that day forward,
with just a small effort on your part,
you can start to see things develop
nicely in matters of the heart. That
will be a big date, indeed.
The month will start
out quite highly
romantic. It is likely
to bring on quite
an enchanting evening, one that
you long remember. You may be
surrounded by many smiling friends
one weekend. Perhaps you will
attend a wedding, charity event, or
other magical party.
LEO Jul 21-Aug 21
AQUARIUS
This month holds the
luckiest day of the year,
the day when Jupiter,
the good fortune
planet, is due to meet up with the
mighty Sun. This is an annual event
that we all always anticipate with
enthusiasm. This year, these two
“heavy hitters” of the solar system
will meet on November 21.
Give yourself some
slack and by all
means, don’t rush.
When the answer
comes to you, you’ll know. Actually,
you will benefit from holding off
on decisions until November 20
anyway, so until then, keep your
options open. Your family will want
your attention.
VIRGO Aug 22-Sep 22
PISCES
You will play a
leading role in many
gatherings, and during
the first two weeks,
you will need to untangle snags that
will inevitably come up. Everyone
will be looking to you for direction,
and you will be able to provide it.
Keep smiling, and be confident that
all your efforts will prosper.
There will be a spiritual
touch to November
that will appeal to you,
so get set for one of
the very best months of the year. If
previous obligations have kept you
at home, some unexpected events
may give you time for a
much-deserved holiday either alone
or with someone special.
USEFUL NUMBERS
Philippine Consulate
2823 2288
2982 0384
Labour Office
2258 2311
Immigration
2982 2241
Police/Fire
2725 2241
Labour Department
2982 2231
Labour Tribunal
2242 2231
HK Airport
3212 2251
Consumer Council
2341 4421
Caritas
2312 1212
Bethune House
2922 2231
St John’s Cathedral
2232 1222
Migrante Int’l
2122 2222
Bayanihan
2922 1212
Unifil Hong Kong
2122 2323
ISS
2112 2211
St Joseph Church
2312 1111
1221 2222
ANGSISTE
Sep 23-Oct 22
If you are married, you
should find enormous
benefit from being with
your partner these
days. Your significant other will do
well financially, and so will signs
of much more optimism about the
future. Together, you will consider
how you can do more with the
relationship you share.
Jun 20-Jul 21
47
KATUWAANLANG
Ano nga ba ang
sex ng computer:
Lalaki o babae?
A Spanish teacher was
explaining to her class that
in Spanish, unlike English,
nouns are designated as
either masculine or feminine.
“House” for instance, is
feminine: “la casa.”
“Pencil,” however, is
mascucline: “el lapiz.”
A student asked, “What
gender is ‘computer’?”
Instead of giving the answer,
the teacher split the class into
two groups, male and female,
and asked them to decide for
themselves whether
“computer” should be a
masculine or a feminine noun.
Each group was asked to
give four reasons for its
recommendation.
The men’s group decided
that “computer” should
definitely be of the feminine
gender (“la computadora”),
because:
1. No one but their creator
understands their internal
logic;
2. The native language they
use to communicate with
other computers is
incomprehensible to everyone
else;
3. Even the smallest
mistakes are stored in longterm memory for possible
later retrieval; and
4. As soon as you make a
commitment to one, you find
yourself spending half your
paycheck on accessories for
it.
The women’s group,
however, concluded that
computers should be
masculine (“el computador”),
because:
1. In order to do anything
with them, you have to turn
them on;
2. They have a lot of data
but still can’t think for
themselves;
3. They are supposed to
help you solve problems, but
half the time, they are the
problem; and
4. When you commit to one,
you realise that if you had
waited longer, you could have
gotten a better model.
LARONGSODUKO
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. Hahayaan namin kayong hamunin
ang sarili hanggang sawa. Suko? Magpadala lamang ng e-mail sa amin para sa kasagutan.
YOURDIARY
NOVEMBER 12
Candonian Hong
Kong Association 10th
anniversary celebration,
1-4 pm, Bayanihan Centre,
Kennedy Town
NOVEMBER 12
Passi City (Iloilo)
Association of Hong
Kong third anniversary
celebration, 11 am to 6 pm,
Grappa’s Cellar Restaurant,
Jardine House, Des Voeux
Road Central
NOVEMBER 19
Palawan Migrant
Association paralegal
training, 2 pm to 5 pm,
St John’s Cathedral,
Central. Call 6238 4277 or
9310 8752
NOVEMBER 19
Methodist Filipino
Fellowship 22nd
anniversary celebration,
8 am onwards, Methodist
Church, 271 Queen’s Road
East, Wanchai. Call 9630
2359 or 9327 6664
NOVEMBER 26
Capiz Achievers
Association Hong Kong
post-arrival orientation
seminar, 10 am to 1
pm, Bayanihan Centre,
Kennedy Town. Call 9342
EXCHANGE RATES
5846 or 9187 7082 for
details.
Hong Kong dollar
British pound
95.07
NOVEMBER 26
NOPT refresher course
in professional education
(teaching restructured
curriculum, 12 noon to 5
pm, Bayanihan Centre,
Kennedy Town.
Saudi riyal
13.30
Canadian dollar
44.18
Euro
63.67
Australian dollar
38.41
Send you activities and
programs for publication
to [email protected]
Japanese yen
6.41
42.35*
Singapore dollar
31.99
US dollar
49.99
*per 100 pesos
Above rates are for reference purposes only.
Please check with your bank for actual rates.
shoot, show & tell
filipino globe
the big picture
November 2006
48
GATHERING DUSK
Wedged between the fading summer and the encroaching fall, the mangroves along this shoreline on Catalab-an Island, Eastern Samar, provide a stark
background as Joann wades into the cool waters. This picture was taken by her cousin, Niccolo, with a Pentax digital camera during a family vacation in June.
Bakit mas maraming tupa sa tao dito sa New Zealand
Kung sa Pilipinas ang jeepney ang
binansagang “king of the road”, sa
New Zealand and katangiang ito ay
pag-aari ng tupa.
Saan ka mang mapunta, lalo na
sa labas ng siyudad, malamang ang
unang babati sa iyo ay karnero,
hindi tao. “Saan ba sila galing
daddy,” tanong minsan ng aking
limang taong bunso. “Bakit mas
marami sila sa taong nakikita ko?”
Mahirap maintindihan, pero ang
totoo, tama ang tinuran ng bata.
Mas maraming tupa kaysa sa tao
dito sa New Zealand.
Kakatwa ang makita silang
pinapastol na halos walang patid
ang linya, tatawid sa kalsada na
parang walang pakialam. Kung
nagmamaneho ka, kailangan
pagbigyan mo sila. ‘Yan din ang
FRANKLYSPEAKING
BOBBY
GESOYOT
Auckland
kinakailangang bilis ng pag-iisip
pag motorista ka sa Australia, kung
saan bubulagain ka na lamang sa
daan ng kangaroo. Gayunpaman,
hindi sila kasing dami – at
kasing-ingay ng mga tupa sa New
Zealand.
Hindi ako eksperto sa
demographics ng bansa, pero sa
tingin ko, may dalawang tupa
bawa’t isang mamamayan sa bansa.
May nagbiro nga noon na
pag nagkagiyera daw, tupa ang
ipapadala ng bansa, dahil kaunti
lang ang sundalo rito.
Sabagay, tahimik at maayos
ang New Zealand at malayo ito sa
anumang sentro ng karahasan.
Maganda ang lugar at maamo
ang mga tao. Walang kaba na
makakalabas ka sa anumang oras.
Katunayan, wala kang
masyadong makikitang pulis
na aali-aligid at nagmamasid
sa mga mamamayan. Ito kaya
ang sinasabing “Paradise Down
Under”?
Malamang magalit ang mga
Australyano niyan dahil naging
parang trademark na nila ang
“Down Under” or “Lucky
Country”.
Sa katunayan, meron kaunting
paligsahan, tahimik lamang, ang
magkapit-bahay na ito, mula
sa sports hanggang sa tourist
attractions at teknolohiya.
Sa panlabas na anyo, maunlad
ang New Zealand, pero sa luklok
nito, ito’y isang masaganang sheep
farming community.
Ang tupa ang unang
pinanggalingan ng pag-unlad
ng bansa sa pamamagitan ng
eksportasyon ng buhok ng tupa, na
ginagawang garments, lalo na sa
mga malalamig na bansa.
Mahal at de-kalidad ang
buhok ng tupa, na ginugupit sa
tinatawang na sheep shearing.
Sa mahal nito, mas pinapaburan
ang tupa bilang kasuotan, kaysa
bilang karne.
Masarap ang lamb chop, hindi
ba? Pero ibang istorya na ‘yan.
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anecdote or observation in
not more than 500 words and
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