The Filipino Express v27 Issue 39

Transcription

totalprosports.com
VOL. 27 w
NO. 39 w
NATIONAL EDITION w
NEW JERSEY w
NEW YORK w
OCTOBER 4 - 10, 2013 w
(201) 434-1114 w
$1.00
Undocumented
parents worried
over Obamacare
By Anthony Advincula
NEW YORK -- R. Ng and his wife, both from the
Philippines, have overstayed their visas since 2003. They
have a nine-year-old son who is a US-born citizen.
As the nation prepares for the new healthcare system
under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Ngs have found
themselves in an immigration and healthcare bind: how
do they enroll their child in a healthcare exchange without
disclosing their immigration status?
“That would not be an easy thing to do,” said Ng, who is
ethnic Chinese. “That's scary, actually.”
It's a dilemma faced by thousands of mixedimmigration-status families like the Ngs here and around
the country. Afraid of coming into contact with a
government agency, many immigrant families are wary
that mandatory ACA enrollment for documented
members of the household may put those who are here
illegally in harm's way.
“It's a no-brainer, because we're going to enroll our
child but not ourselves,” Ng added. “It's almost an
admission to the government that our child has
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, center, accompanied by other lawmakers and people whose lives have been impacted by lack of health
undocumented parents.” The ACA does not extend to
insurance, smiles during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013, to celebrate the first day of the Affordable Care Act,
popularly known as Obamacare. Undocumented parents, however, including Filipinos, have found themselves in an immigration and healthcare bind:
undocumented immigrants.
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how do they enroll their child in a healthcare exchange without disclosing their immigration status? AP
Misuari charged with rebellion,
crimes against humanity
MNLF leader Nur Misuari
By Julie S. Alipala
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The
police announced Thursday they
have filed charges of rebellion
and crimes against humanity
versus Moro National Liberation
Front founder Nur Misuari and
82 of his followers in connection
with the three-week-long siege
of Zamboanga City in which more
than 200 persons were killed and
tens of thousands forced out of
their homes.
Senior Superintendent Edgar
Danao, chief of the Western
Mindanao office of the Criminal
Investigation and Detection
Group, said the charges were
filed at the regional prosecutor's
office on Wednesday.
“Misuari is among the 83
persons charged,” he said.
Danao said the police were
“able to establish the
participation of Misuari in the
attack.”
“We have gathered affidavits
linking Misuari to the said attack,
and it's common knowledge,
with all his declarations before
the said attack,” he said.
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Long-wanted US murder suspect
nabbed after getting passport in PH
Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA -- Twenty
years after he allegedly gunned
down his wife's friend in a
Philadelphia restaurant, a
fugitive “spiritualist” who sold
religious artifacts around the
world is in custody after visiting
the US Embassy in the
Philippines.
S a n t i a g o Pe d ro s o , 7 1 ,
applied for an emergency
passport in Manila on Sept. 6,
prompting a routine criminal
check. The 1992 murder charge
soon popped up, leading the FBI
to compare an old file photo
with one submitted to the
embassy.
“Just looking at the two
photographs, we knew
immediately it was him,” said
FBI special agent David E. Carter
of Philadelphia, one of two
agents who greeted Pedroso on
Wednesday when he returned to
US soil in Los Angeles.
The murder warrant
charges Pedroso in the June
1992 death of 41-year-old
Delores Alvarez.
His estranged wife had
recently moved in with Alvarez
when he ran into them in a
restaurant on Father's Day,
according to newspaper reports
at the time.
Pedroso allegedly shot
Alvarez five times just after she
ordered dinner, as his teenage
daughter begged him to stop,
Newly crowned Miss World Megan Young of the Philippines, smiles after winning the
Miss World contest, in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013. AP
'Megan Young embodies the best
of Philippines, US,' says envoy
By Tarra Quismundo
Megan Young, the Virginia-born
and Olongapo-raised actress
MANILA -- She hails both
who
made history Saturday
from the Philippines and the
night when she became the
United States and embodies the
country's first ever Miss World
best of both sides.
title holder.
US Ambassador to the
“We don't have a toast
Philippines Harry Thomas Jr.
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had this to say about Amerasian
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October 4 - 10, 2013
Page 2
THE FILIPINO EXPRESS
P337M in kickbacks went to high officials, whistle-blowers say
Arroyo, 3 Cabinet men charged with plunder
By Cynthia D. Balana
Former President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo, three of her
Cabinet secretaries and 20
others were charged with
plunder in the Office of the
Ombudsman on Thursday for
allegedly stealing P900 million
from the Malampaya Fund
meant for impoverished victims
of back-to-back storms in 2009.
In a letter-complaint, Justice
Secretary Leila de Lima and the
National Bureau of
Investigation recommended
that a preliminary investigation
be conducted to determine if a
case merited trial in the
Sandiganbayan against the 24
who have allegedly diverted and
“stolen” the fund coursed
through the Department of
Agrarian Reform (DAR) in a
scheme arranged by Janet LimNapoles.
Napoles, the alleged
mastermind in the P10-billion
pork barrel scam, is among
those named respondent with
Arroyo, now a Pampanga
representative, who is under
hospital arrest for plunder in
the alleged misuse of funds of
the Philippine Charity
Sweepstakes Office.
Also charged were Arroyo's
Executive Secretary Eduardo
E r m i t a , A g ra r i a n Re fo r m
Secretary Nasser Pangandaman
and his undersecretary Narciso
Nieto, Budget Secretary and
n ow C a m a r i n e s S u r Re p .
Rolando Andaya Jr., and his
undersecretary Mario
Relampagos, and Candaba
Mayor Rene Maglanque.
De Lima said the lack of
specificity in Arroyo's and
Ermita's identification of the
CHARGED WITH PLUNDER. Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita smile in this photo taken in Malacañang in 2009.
WEALTH SOURCE. The Malampaya gas platform located 80 kilometers northwest of the
coast of Palawan. INQUIRER PHOTO
authorized purpose by which
the Department of Budget and
Management could access the
Malampaya Fund resulted in
almost discretionary, if not
a r b i t r a r y, g r a n t i n g o f
implementing agency requests
for millions of pesos in funds by
the DBM.
This, De Lima said,
happened without the
submission of any agency work
or development plan showing
that the funds will actually be
used for the purpose authorized
by the President.
“This leniency control
displayed by the then President
in the use of and access to an
essentially presidential
d i s c re t i o n a r y f u n d m a d e
possible the plunder of such
fund, either intentionally or
through gross inexcusable
negligence,” De Lima added.
Also included in the charge
sheet were DAR officials led by
Rodriguez, JLN Corp. driver;
Lorna Ramirez, wife of JLN Corp.
security/driver, Ginintuang
Pangkabuhayan Foundation
Inc.; Ronald Francisco Lim, JLN's
brother; Micro Agri Business
Citizens Initiative Foundation
Inc.; Simplicio Gumafelix, JLN
Corp. administrative officer,
Karangyaan para sa
Magbubukid Foundation Inc.;
and John Raymund de Asis, JLN
Corp. security/driver;
Kaupdanan para sa
Mangunguna Foundation Inc.
House OKs P2.268-T 2014
budget on Second reading
MANILA -- The House of
Representatives on Saturday
pass on second reading the
proposed P2.268 trillion 2014
national budget , even as
lawmakers rush to include their
respective congressional
infrastructure projects under the
now “porkless” expenditure
program.
With viva voce mode of
voting, the ayes have it so Speaker
Feliciano Belmonte Jr., bang his
gavel around 2:18 a.m. of
Saturday as he declared the
passage of the 2014 budget under
House Bill 2630 for 2nd reading.
There were over 100 party
members in the House of
Representatives who endorsed
the removal of the P25.2 billion
lump sum appropriations for the
discretionary fund but this do not
mean sudden death to the
controversial lump sum budget
because it was realigned to six
implementing agencies while the
P200-million Priority
Development Assistance Fund
(pork barrel) of the office of Vice
President Jejomar Binay which he
requested to remove has been
stricken out of the proposed 2014
budget.
On August 23, President
Aquino announced that it was
high time to abolish the PDAF
amid the widespread public
outrage triggered by its misuse.
Congress goes on three-week
recess and will be back on
October 14, the resumption of
session -- this time to concentrate
on committee and individual
amendments and pass the
measure on 3rd and final reading
on or before October 25.
During the three-week recess,
all chairmen of standing
committees and special
committees are allowed to
conduct hearings.
Teresita Panlilio, then director
of finance and management
administration office and
presently officer in charge of the
Presidential Agrarian Reform
Council secretariat; and
Angelita Cacananta, Nilda Baui,
Dominador Sison Jr. and Ronald
Venancio.
The private respondents
included Napoles, her relatives,
presidents and staff of her
nongovernment organizations
(NGOs).
They were Evelyn de Leon;
Ruby Tuason; Jesus Castillo,
driver; Dalangpan Sang Amin
Utod Kag Kasimanwa Edn.;
Lilian Espanol, househelp;
S a g a n a n g B u h ay s a A t i n
Foundation Inc.; Genevieve Uy,
JLN's family friend;
Kasaganahan para sa
Magsasaka Foundation Inc.;
Ronald John Lim, JLN's nephew,
Ginintuang Alay sa Magsasaka
Fo u n d a t i o n I n c . ; E u l o g i o
Biggest cut to Arroyo cousin
In a press conference, De
Lima said that the whistleblowers, all employees of Lim,
identified Pangandaman as
having received a P75-million
kickback in cash from Napoles
and through bank withdrawal
care of Manlaque; Panlilio, P14
million received in cash from
Napoles and through a bank
withdrawal; Nieto, P6 million
received through bank
withdrawal c/o De Leon; and
Tuason, P242.775 million
received through bank
withdrawals for a still
“unidentified principal.”
Tuason's husband is a cousin
of Mike Arroyo, husband of the
former President.
In all, the identified
kickbacks and their receivers
amounted to P337,775,000. The
complaint did not say if Arroyo,
Ermita or Andaya received cuts
from the deal. Arroyo was
identified as a “conspirator” in
the misuse of the Malampaya
Fund for her alleged negligence.
“The rest of the DBM and
DAR officials participated and
conspired in this scheme by
facilitating the irregular release
of the P900 million from the
Malampaya Fund to the DAR and
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Poe wants P1-B appropriation
to indigent cancer patients
MANILA -- Senator Grace
Poe has filed bill creating a
Cancer Assistance Fund aimed
at providing medicine and
treatment assistance to poor
cancer patients nationwide.
Poe said the high cost of
cancer cure has made it
difficult for poor people
afflicted with the disease to
avail of treatments, which has
led to a growing number of
fatalities.
Under Senate Bill 1283, or
“An Act to Assist Indigent
Cancer Patients and their
F a m i l i e s ,” a n a n n u a l
appropriation of P1 billion is
recommended as seed fund for
the government's medicine
and treatment assistance
program to cancer victims.
A study conducted by the
University of the Philippines'
Institute of Human Genetics,
Senator Grace Poe
National Institute of Health
showed that 189 per 100,000
Filipinos are afflicted with
cancer, killing four Filipinos
every hour or 103 cancer
patients every day.
“ We wa n t t o e n s u re
organized and sustained
specialized care and
preventive measures against
cancer which has afflicted
thousands of poor Filipinos,”
Poe said.
She noted the expensive
costs of radiation treatment or
the conduct of a Memory
Re s o n a n c e I m a g i n g a n d
chemotherapy.
The PhilHealth will
administer the cancer
assistance fund, assisted by
the Department of Social
Welfare and Development
(DSWD) and the Department
of Interior and Local
Government (DILG), in
consultation with the private
sector.
Poe proposed the measure
following a report that cancer
is the third leading cause of
death in the Philippines, next
to communicable and
cardiovascular diseases.
October 4 - 10, 2013
Page 3
Unfazed, US to John Kerry to visit
fund local NGOs PH in Obama's stead
By Tarra Quismundo
MANILA -- Amid the pork
barrel scam that may well have
tainted the image of the country's
thriving nongovernment
organization community, the
U n i t e d S t a t e s o n M o n d ay
announced a P984-million ($24
million) grant-giving facility that
aims to fund over the next five
years deserving Philippine NGOs
in pursuing “innovative solutions
[to] the country's development
challenges.”
The US Embassy in Manila
said the Philippine-American
(Phil-Am) Fund, initiated by the
US Agency for International
Development (USAID), is a
component of the continuing
implementation of the American
Partnership for Growth Program
(PFG), a wide-ranging program
that seeks to help the Philippines
steer itself toward inclusive
growth.
Reflecting its continuing faith
in the country's NGO community,
the US Embassy announced the
g ra n t f a c i l i t y j u s t a s t h e
Philippines continues to
investigate the misappropriation
of state funds for bogus programs
through fake NGOs allegedly
By Tarra Quismundo
MANILA -- US Secretary of
State John Kerry will visit
Manila in President Barack
O b a m a' s s t e a d , A g e n c e
Fra n c e - P re s s e re p o r t e d
Wednesday night.
Obama scrapped a visit to
Manila next week due to a US
government shutdown, but he
is still attending two regional
summits in Asia.
The Department of
Foreign Affairs (DFA) on
US Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr.:
Wednesday night said Obama
Advancing shared vision. Inquirer photo
“conveyed his regrets” to
President Aquino that the
perpetrated by the now jailed
long-planned visit would not
Janet Lim-Napoles.
push through because of the
“I am very pleased to be a part
shutdown.
of this exciting and innovative
“President Aquino
project that will help advance our
understands the decision of
shared vision of broad-based and
President Obama. PhilippineUS Secretary of State John Kerry AP FILE PHOTO
inclusive growth under the
US relations remain strong
Partnership for Growth Initiative.
and forward looking,” said
Under the PFG, our governments
D FA s p o k e s m a n R a u l
to go forward with his planned
in a statement.
are committed to work together
Hernandez.
travel to the Philippines.”
The embassy confirmed
to achieve inclusive economic
The US Embassy said
“The President reaffirmed
that Kerry will “travel to
growth in the Philippines,” said
Obama called President
our strong alliance with the
Manila” to take Obama's place.
US Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr.
Aquino to inform him that
Philippines, and committed to
In Malacañang,
The Philippines is one of only
“due to the government
travel to the Philippines later
Communications Secretary
shutdown, he will not be able
in his term, the embassy said
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Page 12
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October 4 - 10, 2013
Page 4
Aquino passes blame on
'pork’ scam to Arroyo
Arroyo, 3 Cabinet
men charged ...
From page 2
the processing of the check
payments to Napoles NGOs
despite the fact that all
documents pertaining to the
award of said projects were
manufactured and faked and the
projects were all ghost projects
with zero delivery,” De Lima said.
De Lima also said the
signatures of 97 city and
municipal mayors where the
projects were identified were all
faked, including the
memorandum of agreements
and other documents.
“The mayors' signatures
were faked but the signatures of
officials of DAR were genuine,”
she stressed.
De Lima said the liquidation
documents prepared by
Napoles' staff were
manufactured as these again
contained the faked signatures
of mayors.
The schemes became
possible mainly because of the
issuance of Executive Order No.
848 on Oct. 13, 2009, by Arroyo
authorizing the DBM “to release
funds in such amount as may be
necessary” from the Malampaya
Special Fund (DOE SAGF-151)
created under Presidential
Decree No. 910 to implementing
agencies for “whatever purposes
as may be authorized by the
President.”
Ermita request to DBM
On the same date, De Lima
said, Ermita sent a letter
informing Andaya of the former
President's approval of Ermita's
request for authorization to use
the Malampaya Fund “in such
amounts as may be necessary,”
for the relief operations,
rehabilitation, reconstruction
and other works and services to
areas affected by natural
calamities, without, however,
citing the EO as legal basis.
De Lima said the letter did
not specify what amount from
the fund representing the
g ove r n m e n t s h a re i n t h e
revenues from the operation of
gas and oil fields off Palawan
province was to be allotted to
DA R fo r re l e a s e t o l o c a l
government units and farmerbeneficiaries in agrarian reform
communities hit by Tropical
Storms “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” in
2009.
The NBI used as proofs the
testimonies and documentary
evidence of the whistle-blowers
who are former JLN Corp.
Employees led by Benhur Luy,
affidavits of former local
exe c u t ive s , d o c u m e n t s o f
Napoles' NGOs from the
Securities and Exchange
Commission, disbursement
vouchers, and DAR documents
on the Malampaya Fund projects
such as the Malampaya Fund
special allotment release order
(Saro).
Among the irregularities
noted in the processing of the
transactions were the selection
of the Napoles NGOs that were
incorporated only in 2009
(four), 2008 (seven) and 2004
(one); the presidents of NGOs
were either JLN Corp. employees
or Napoles' household staff,
relatives and family friends.
The NBI said Napoles' NGOs
had been allowed by the DAR
officials involved to implement
an average of seven projects each
almost simultaneously, in
f l a g ra n t d i s re ga rd o f t h e
Commission on Audit circular.
Napoles is under detention in
connection with the alleged
illegal detention of Luy.
In addition to the plunder
charge, some of the accused
were also recommended for
prosecution for violations of the
Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices
Act, Code of Ethical Standards for
Public Officials and Employees,
and the Revised Penal Code.
Inquirer.net
By TJ Burgonio
MANILA -- Bristling at the
tag “pork barrel king,'' President
Benigno Aquino III on
We d n e s d a y a c c u s e d h i s
predecessor, Gloria MacapagalArroyo, of accumulating close to
P1 trillion in discretionary fund
to stay in power.
The President, assailed over
the release of P1.107 billion in
pork barrel to senators after the
Senate convicted Chief Justice
Renato Corona, shifted the
spotlight on the Arroyo
administration in the current
saga of scams.
The President himself
wondered whether portions of
the fund were being used in a
black propaganda against him.
“It could have surpassed P1
trillion. How much was lost,
stolen and played around with,
or used in transactions to stay in
power?'' Aquino said at the
Brotherhood of Christian
Businessmen and Professionals'
Grand Breakfast at the SMX
Convention in Pasay City.
“Is it too much to suspect
that this money is now being
circulated to undermine your
trust in daang matuwid (straight
path)? To sow trouble and terror
in many forms, and challenge
those of us who had long been
abused, and are now seeking
justice to hold the violators
accountable?'' he added.
And while he's become the
target of criticisms over the
large-scale misuse of pork
barrel, the President vowed not
to turn his back on reforms.
“I assure you, that even if I
get threats or a deluge of
criticisms every day, I'll not turn
my back on the opportunity to
bring about change,'' he said.
“I just shake my head when I
get called pork barrel king even
if I have removed the discretion
to commit graft; I have tightened
spending, stopped budget
reenactment and insertion,
misuse of lumpsum funds, and
even the over-importation or
rice. You be the judge of what
runs in the mind of those saying
this,'' he said.
The President said that from
Day One of his presidency, he
and his Cabinet officials had
been plugging the loopholes left
behind by Arroyo, now an
elected lawmaker detained on
election and graft-related
charges.
Proof of this, he said, was his
Executive Order No. 1 creating
the Truth Commission, but
which the Supreme Court ruled
as unconstitutional, and
Executive Order No. 2 seeking to
nullify “midnight
appointments.''
“Let's be clear on this:
neither the exposé of Mr. Benhur
Luy, nor the arrest of Mrs. [Janet
Lim] Napoles started our
campaign against corruption,''
he said.
Based on their “initial
s t u d y,' ' t h e p r e v i o u s
administration skimmed off
P637.36 billion in savings from
reenacted budgets; P23.33
billion in Malampaya fund, and
P177-billion loan for rice
importation, Mr. Aquino said.
“The fund that became
discretionary and that could
have been used to perpetuate
the `padrino' system is
estimated at P836 billion,'' he
said in his speech.
These were on top of the
P140.6 billion accruing from the
“doctored'' automatic
appropriations in the General
Appropriations Act, he added.
All the four items add up to
P978.29 billion.
These four mechanisms had
been put to a stop, the President
said.
“If we put it side by side with
this: their average annual
budget in close to 10 years was
P1 trillion every year, isn't this
very abhorrent? That they had at
their disposal a budget
equivalent to an annual national
budget and used it as they
pleased?''
“We're not done seeking
answers to our questions: Who
did it, what exactly did they do,
where did the money go, who
benefitted? Who are the real
culprits? We're not doing this by
c h a n c e . We' r e g a t h e r i n g
evidence directly from agencies,
despite the traps,'' he added.
Inquirer.net
October 4 - 10, 2013
Page 5
Post-impeachment pork: Drilon, Enrile top list
By Michael Lim Ubac
Twenty senators received a
total of P1.107 billion in
additional pork barrel a few
months after they voted to
convict former Chief Justice
Renato Corona last year.
Budget Secretary Florencio
Abad on Saturday confirmed the
fund releases, but immediately
pointed out that the funds came
from the so-called Disbursement
Acceleration Program (DAP) that
was introduced in 2011 to “ramp
up spending and help accelerate
economic expansion.”
Of the 20 senators who voted
to convict Corona for betrayal of
public trust and culpable
violation of the Constitution,
only then Sen. Panfilo Lacson did
not accept the additional pork
from the executive larder.
But then Senate President
Juan Ponce Enrile, Sen. Franklin
Drilon (former chair of the
Senate finance committee), and
Sen. Francis Escudero received
double helpings of the additional
pork barrel.
Two of the three senators
who voted to acquit Corona got
nothing: Ferdinand “Bongbong”
Marcos and Miriam DefensorSantiago.
Sen. Joker Arroyo, who also
voted to exculpate Corona, was
allotted P47 million, which was
released in February 2013.
Arroyo, who retired last June,
did not use the allocations for
him in the Priority Development
Assistance Fund (PDAF) for most
of his term, which began in 2001.
(December 2012P50 million),
Enrile (December 2012P92
million) and Drilon (December
2012P100 million).
In previous interviews,
Drilon admitted to getting only
P50 million.
Who got it, when
Those who received
additional pork after Corona's
ouster and the corresponding
amounts were: Senators Antonio
Trillanes (October 2012P50
million), Manuel Villar (October
2012P50 million), Ramon
Revilla (October 2012P50
million), Francis Pangilinan
(October 2012P30 million),
Loren Legarda (October
2012P50 million), Lito Lapid
J i n g g oy E s t ra d a ( O c to b e r
2012P50 million), Alan Cayetano
Ed ga rd o A n ga ra ( O c to b e r
2012P50 million), Ralph Recto
(October 2012P23 million;
December 2012P27million),
Koko Pimentel (October
2012P25.5 million; November
2012P5 million; December
2012P15 million), Vicente Sotto
III (October 2012P11 million;
November 2012P39 million),
Teofisto Guingona (October
2012P35 million; December
2012P9 million), Serge Osmeña
Early birds
Senators Gregorio Honasan
and Escudero got their share way
ahead of the others.
“There were two earlier
releases made in late August of
that same year (2012): Greg
Honasan (P50 million) and
Francis Escudero (P99 million),”
Abad said.
“No releases were made in
2012 to Senators Ping Lacson,
Joker Arroyo, Pia Cayetano,
Bongbong Marcos and Miriam
Defensor-Santiago,” he added.
“In 2013, however, releases
were made for funding requests
from the office of Senator Arroyo
(February 2013P47 million) and
Sen. Pia Cayetano (January
2013P50 million). The 24th
senator then, Benigno S. Aquino
III, was already President (at the
time),” Abad said.
Lump-sum item
The DAP is a relatively new
and little known lump-sum
budgetary item. It was
introduced by the Aquino
Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
administration in 2011 to spur
economic activity.
But since 2012, the DAP has
been tapped as a source of
funding for senators' additional
development projects.
Abad said he released the list
of senators who were granted
additional funds to the public “in
the interest of transparency.”
“To suggest that these funds
were used as 'bribes' (in the
impeachment trial) is inaccurate
at best and irresponsible at
worst,” Abad said in a statement
issued by the Department of
Budget and Management (DBM).
Estrada's insinuation
In a privilege speech on
Wednesday, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada
spoke about the P50-million
additional pork as if it was a
bribe given to the senators in
exchange for voting to convict
Corona.
Estrada raked up the matter
to show that it was not only he
and Senators Juan Ponce Enrile
and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.
were involved in questionable
releases of funds from the PDAF.
Later, Estrada said the P50
million was an “incentive,” but
u
Page 7
October 4 - 10, 2013
Page 6
Palace confirms Zamboanga crisis is over
By Frances Mangosing
MANILA -- Malacañang on
Saturday confirmed that the
deadly three-week standoff
between government troops
and Muslim rebels who held
nearly 200 people hostage in
Zamboanga City has ended with
all of the captives safe.
“We are confirming the
statement that the Zamboanga
City crisis is over,” Deputy
presidential spokesperson
Abigail Valte said on television.
Defense Secretary Voltaire
Gazmin declared Friday the
military mission in southern
Philippine city was
accomplished with the last
hostages rescued from their
Moro National Liberation Front
captors on Thursday night.
Gazmin said only a handful
of MNLF rebels remained in
hiding and were being hunted
by troops in the coastal
outskirts of Zamboanga City,
adding authorities were trying
to determine if rebel
commander Habier Malik, who
led the siege that began on
September 9, was dead.
More than 200 people were
killed in the clashes, including
183 rebels and 23 soldiers and
police, in one of the bloodiest
and longest-running attacks by
Misuari charged
with rebellion ...
From page 1
Chief Inspector Ariel Huesca, the
spokesperson of the regional police
command, said Misuari was actually
among the “fifth batch” of suspects
facing charges in connection with
the infiltration of Zambonga City's
coastal districts on or even before
September 9.
He said that with the fifth batch
charged, the authorities have now
brought rebellion and other cases
against a total of 224 MNLF
members and leaders in connection
with the violence.
Other prominent MNLF figures
charged with Misuari included
Ismael Dasta, Habier Malik, Usong
Ugong, Salip Idjal and Kumander
Haider, Huesca added.
Meanwhile, the military and the
police on Thursday turned over 11
vital installations to the control of
the city government following days
of clearing operations.
Chief Superintendent Carmelo
Valmoria, commander of the police's
Special Action Force, said this meant
that some places in the battered city
were now “safe for occupancy.” But
Valmoria, head of Task Force Suyod,
said many areas still needed to be
cleared.
Armed Forces Chief General Emmanuel Bautista, center left, Secretary of National Defense Voltaire Gazmin, center in striped shirt,
and Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas, in blue shirt, attend a press conference Saturday as they tour the site of a
three-week intense fighting in Zamboanga City. AP
a Muslim group in
Mindanao, scene of decadeslong Muslim rebellion for selfrule in the largely Roman
Catholic country.
Valte said that with the
rescue of all remaining
hostages, the mission was
deemed accomplished.
“It has been the task of the
officials on the ground to ensure
the safety of the hostages and
t h a t
h a s
b e e n
accomplished,” she said.
In a press briefing on
Saturday, Interior Secretary
Mar Roxas said the first phase of
the conflict was finished, and
government forces were now
conducting clearing operations.
The last phase would be
rehabilitation, he said.
In the same briefing, the
whereabouts of MNLF leader
“We are speaking here of
hectares… like 30 hectares for this
sector alone,” he said, referring to
section of the Santa Barbara district
where most government agencies
have offices.
“ We a re g ra te f u l a n d
a p p re c i a t ive o f t h e c l e a r i n g
operations and we are happy we are
now able to move forward and be
able to function with the opening of
other government facilities,” the
city's administrator, Antonio
Orendain, said.
Misuari is believed to be hiding
in the southern Philippines. He is the
leader of a faction of the Moro
National Liberation Front, which
signed a 1996 peace agreement then
accused the Philippine government
of failing to honor it.
The rebel group, which Misuari
founded in the early 1970s to fight
for minority Muslim self-rule in the
predominantly Roman Catholic
nation, has been overshadowed by a
bigger rival group in negotiations
with the government to expand an
autonomous Muslim region.
Misuari's armed followers led a
similar attack in 2001, during which
they also seized civilians hostage. He
was then charged with rebellion,
escaped to neighboring Malaysia but
was arrested and extradited to the
Philippines. He later posted bail and
was acquitted for lack of evidence.
Inquirer.net With a report from
Associated Press
TO ADVERTISE, PLEASE CALL
201-434-1114
Habier Malik were not
detailed, but military chief
General Emmanuel Bautista
said that the only remaining
“enemies” were “stragglers,”
and they were only a few.
Malik, known follower of
MNLF founding chairman Nur
Misuari, led the attack in
Zamboanga.
The MNLF rebels stormed
Zamboanga City on September
9, in a bid to hoist their flag in
the city hall to signify the
formation of an independent
“Bangsamoro Republik,” where
M i s u a r i e a r l i e r d e c l a re d
himself as chief of the
Bangsamoro Armed Forces. The
group is opposing
government's peace initiatives
with its rival, the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front.
The siege caused airports,
seaports and businesses to shut
down for a week. Classes only
resumed this week in areas not
directly affected.
About P5 billion were
reportedly lost in trade and
commerce in the last three
weeks.
Nearly 200 were killed, with
166 of them rebels and 23 from
combined security forces.
H a rd e s t h i t we re t h e
civilians, with at least 100,000
of them housed in more than 50
shelters.
A portion of these will not
have homes to go back home to
as thousands of homes were
burned and destroyed to
gunfires and fire incidents.
The population of
Zamboanga City is close to a
million. With a report from
Associated Press. Inquirer.net
October 4 - 10, 2013
Page 7
Postimpeachment ...
From page 5
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. AP FILE PHOTO
UN chief
hails Filipino
peacekeepers
By Tarra Quismundo
United Nations Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon has
commended Philippine
peacekeepers for staying put in
the Golan Heights despite two
incidents of abduction, where
Filipino troops were taken
earlier this year, the Department
of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on
Saturday.
In a statement, the DFA said
Ban “profusely thanked” the
Philippine government through
Foreign Secretary Albert del
Rosario for deciding to retain its
force of 340 peacekeepers in the
volatile ceasefire zone between
Israel and Syria.
The DFA said Ban extended
his gratitude to Del Rosario
during his meeting with foreign
ministers of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)
in New York on Sept. 26.
Ban “publicly commended
the Philippine government for
maintaining Filipino
peacekeepers in the United
Nations Disengagement
Observer Force (UNDOF) in the
Golan Heights despite the two
kidnapping incidents in March
and May this year,” the DFA said.
The UN chief praised the
Filipino peacekeepers for being
“extremely courageous” in
carrying out an outstanding task,
the DFA said.
After the second kidnapping
incident in May, Del Rosario
proposed to President Aquino
the withdrawal of Filipino
peacekeepers from the conflictstricken transit zone by the end
of the troop rotation schedule on
Aug. 11 due to concerns over the
safety of the Philippine
contingent.
Peacekeepers seized
Twenty five Filipinos were
abducted in separate incidents
during the summer while one
was wounded amid fighting
between Syrian rebel and
government forces on June 6.
But President Aquino
decided to maintain the
country's peacekeeping force in
the area, following appeals from
the UN, the United States and
other countries.
The UN also heeded the
Philippines' request for
improved security for UNDOF,
including the provision of more
armored equipment, raising the
force to the regular strength of
1,250 through encouraging
other nations to send
peacekeepers and a six-month
rotation cycle for the Philippine
contingent.
The world body had asked
the Philippines to rethink its
withdrawal plan, as this would
likely “create a situation where
there would be maximum
volatility,” Del Rosario said
earlier.
for what he did not make clear.
Plunder charges have been
filed against Estrada, Enrile and
Revilla, along with several
former and current members of
the House of Representatives in
the Office of the Ombudsman
for the P10-billion pork barrel
scam allegedly masterminded
by businesswoman Janet LimNapoles.
Contacted by phone, Abad
confirmed that the additional
releases from the DAP were on
top of the P200-million PDAF
allocation for every senator.
“(These are funds for)
additional projects, mostly infra
(infrastructure), to ramp up
infra spending. Why JPE
(Enrile's initials) and Drilon got
higher allocation? They were SP
(Senate president) and chair of
the finance committee,
respectively. Many more go to
them for help,” Abad said.
Escudero's share
Abad also defended the
decision to give Escudero a
higher allocation.
He said Escudero “made a
special appeal to the President,
which was granted. He was zero
or got little during GMA (former
President Gloria MacapagalArroyo) times.”
Escudero, a personal friend
of the President, was the
minority leader in the House
when Arroyo faced repeated
impeachment attempts
involving the alleged rigging of
the 2004 presidential election.
Then House members
Escudero, Alan Peter Cayetano
and Mr. Aquino were on the
same side during those
tumultuous times.
They were elected to the
Senate in 2007, with Mr. Aquino
s u c c e s s f u l ly r u n n i n g fo r
President in 2010.
Senators' request
The senators themselves
apparently sought the
additional funds.
Most releases from the DAP
were made during the period
October-December 2012,
“based entirely on letters of
request submitted to us by the
senators,” Abad said.
Some senators admitted
earlier that the plan to give
them additional pork was
hatched during a Senate caucus.
Caucuses are off-limits to
senators' staff and journalists.
Not bribes?
Abad also responded to
Estrada's insinuation that the
additional releases, although
not bribes, were “incentives” to
the senators.
“In the interest of
transparency, we want to set the
record straight on releases
made to support projects that
were proposed by senators on
top of their regular PDAF
allocation toward the end of
2012,” Abad said.
“These fund releases have
recently been touted as 'bribes,'
'rewards,' or 'incentives.' They
were not. The releases, which
were mostly for infrastructure
projects, were part of what is
called the Disbursement
Acceleration Program designed
by the Department of Budget
and Management to ramp up
spending and help accelerate
economic expansion.”
Not for politics
“In the particular case of
infrastructure projects, the DAP
has played a central role in
boosting government spending
and, ultimately, in expanding
t h e e c o n o my. T h e DA P ' s
efficiency in moving public
funds toward high-impact
projects has in fact been
expressed in our remarkable
GDP growth, all while we
endeavor to bring rapid,
sustainable and inclusive
development to the country,” he
said.
“While it is unfortunate that
DAP releases are now being
maligned to serve some very
questionable political interests,
we hope that these fund
releases are seen exactly for
what they are: as a valuable
fiscal tool for accelerating
government spending, and the
delivery of goods and services
to the people, not as an
instrument for political
c o e r c i o n ,” A b a d s a i d .
Inquirer.net
UN General Assembly
Del Rosario is in New York for
the UN General Assembly. He will
address the world body
t o m o r ro w t o d i s c u s s t h e
Philippines' efforts to achieve
the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs).
The MDGs are global
development goals on health,
education, poverty reduction,
gender equality and
environmental sustainability
that nations must achieve by
2015.
“His statement will share the
Philippine experience on lessons
learned in achieving the eight
MDGs and the Philippines'
proposals on how the post-2015
development agenda should
look. His statement will also
highlight critical issues that are
important to the Philippines,
such as migration, peace and
security, and disaster risk
reduction,” the foreign office said
in an earlier statement.
The UN General Assembly, an
annual diplomatic event that
gathers world leaders in one hall,
opened on Tuesday, providing
member nations opportunity for
high-level discussions on critical
world issues, including the
u
Page 9
October 4 - 10, 2013
Page 8
What does Obamacare mean for
you? Ten things you should know
this the “bronze trap.” Even so,
Skocpol said people who choose
the bronze plan will be
“protected from the things that
drive people into bankruptcy.”
6. Is there a chance I'll pay
more for healthcare? Skocpol
said in a few instances, some
families who have very
inexpensive catastrophic health
insurance that only covers
emergencies may have to pay
more for insurance. However,
their coverage will also be much
greater with the new plans.
Over 60 percent of Americans have admitted they are not sure what is in the new Affordable
Care Act, better known as Obamacare, according to Theda Skocpol, professor at Harvard
University and author of “Health Care Reform and American Politics.”
By Andrea Park
1. Who is eligible for
Obamacare? People who do not
receive insurance from their
employers are eligible for
Obamacare. People under 26 can
stay on their parents' insurance.
2. Where can I sign up for a
plan? You can browse and
purchase plans on your state's
exchange marketplace online:
Visit HealthCare.gov to find your
state's site. People will be able to
read about the various benefits
and costs of each plan and
“comparison shop the same way
t h ey wo u l d i f t h ey we re
comparing the price of airline
tickets,” said Skocpol. Depending
on the state, some sites will also
allow users to enter their income
and immediately sign up for
financial assistance.
3. How much will the plans
cost? The costs vary from state
to state, but many people will
receive financial aid that offsets
the cost. “The tax credits you can
get from the government run
Undocumented
parents worried ...
From page 1
Under the law, individual states
will offer healthcare exchanges
that serve as an online marketplace
for individuals including those who
have never had insurance, as is the
case with many immigrants to
purchase an affordable health plan.
T h o s e i n d iv i d u a l s wh o a re
currently uninsured are required
to apply for coverage through the
exchanges or face a penalty.
Still, many undocumented
parents of US-born children remain
reluctant to seek healthcare and
public assistance. US-born children
of undocumented immigrants are
in fact twice as likely as children
born to citizens to lack insurance,
according to a 2012 study by the
Hastings Center.
Another study by the Pew
Research Center Hispanic Trends
project noted there are now about
11.7 million undocumented
pretty high,” said Skocpol.
“People making $70-$80,000
will get help from Obamacare.”
In the end, most people will pay
much less for their insurance
than they were before for private
insurance plans.
4. What are the different
options for an insurance plan?
There are four tiers of plans:
b r o n z e , s i l v e r, g o l d a n d
platinum. Bronze plans are the
c h e a p e s t a n d o f fe r b a s i c
coverage with higher
deductibles and copays.
Platinum offers more coverage,
but at a higher price.
5. If bronze is the cheapest,
why wouldn't everyone get it?
Skocpol said purchasing the
bronze plan may not be the
cheapest choice in the end. It
could end up costing more than
the other plans, depending on
the frequency of your visits to
doctors and hospitals. Some
people on the bronze plan may
hesitate to see a doctor because
of the higher deductibles:
Skocpol and her colleagues call
immigrants in the United States
and, after the number bottomed
out due to the Great Recession, that
figure may be rising again.
Health-reform advocates are
concerned that fear and mistrust of
g o v e r n m e n t a m o n g
undocumented parents may deter
families like the Ngs from enrolling
their US-born children in a
qualified health plan. Open
enrollment in health exchanges
starts Oct. 1.
“This is the biggest challenge
that we see in the enrollment
p ro c e s s ,” N o i ly n Ab e s a m i s Mendoza, health policy director
with the Coalition for Asian
American Children and Families,
said at a press briefing earlier this
month with ethnic media in
Manhattan. “There have definitely
been some fears going around.”
Emergency room visit
Ng, who works in a retail store
in Queens, says he feels fortunate
that his family has remained
relatively healthy, though the
thought that one of them might fall
7. How long do I have to choose
a plan? Six months. You can sign
up for a plan now and get
coverage in the new year, but you
have until the end of March to
sign up for a plan. Skocpol said n
the future, the enrollment
period will only be two to three
months.
8. What if I don't have
insurance and I want to opt
out of Obamacare? You can
choose to remain uninsured, but
you will have to pay a fine of $95
per adult or 1 percent of your
family income.
9. What if I have a pre-existing
condition? You will still be
eligible for healthcare. The ACA
prohibits insurance companies,
on and off the exchange, from
barring or discriminating
against people with pre-existing
conditions.
10. Are illegal immigrants
eligible for Obamacare? No.
Only citizens are eligible for
Obamacare. Metro
Follow Andrea Park on Twitter:
@andreapark
ill frightens him. “I pray every day
that won't happen,” he says.
When one of them does get sick,
Ng says the family typically selfmedicates. But in 2009, during the
H1N1 scare, Ng's son developed a
high fever, prompting a trip to the
emergency room. “It [the fever]
was very high,” Ng recalled,” and I
didn't want to wait until it was too
late.”
Since 2009, New York Mayor
Michael Bloomberg has enforced
executive ordinances EO 34 and
41that ensure all New Yorkers,
regardless of immigration status,
have access to city services,
including health clinics and city
hospitals.
These ordinances also require
city workers to protect the
confidentiality of a person's
immigration status.
Still, Ng admits he is
uncomfortable going to the
emergency room because “our
information gets recorded” and it
may be detrimental when they
eventually apply to legalize their
immigration status. But experts say
A commuter ferry passes the Statue of Liberty, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013 in New York.
The statue, like other national parks, is closed due to a government shutdown. AP
Tourists baffled and angry
as Statue of Liberty shut
Agence France-Presse
NEW YORK -- Where once
she welcomed immigrants
pursuing the American dream
and more recently hordes of
tourists, the Statue of Liberty
stood alone Tuesday, victim of
the US government shutdown.
Thousands of frustrated
tourists had the choice of a onehour boat trip around New
York harbor or their money
back, with one of the most
iconic monuments in the
United States closed.
Dozens of people working
on the boats taking people to
and from Liberty Island, run by
US National Parks, were on
hand with infinite patience and
multiple languages to help
marshall the baffled tourists.
“No statue today, nobody is
going on the island,” said Brian
Fahey, who works for Statue
Cruises at the Battery Park pier
in southern Manhattan.
“But you can join a onehour harbor cruise that goes by
the Statue, Ellis Island, Ground
Zero, the Brooklyn bridge,” he
added.
Large notice boards
such fears are misplaced.
Guarantee of confidentiality
Sara Rothstein is assistant
director of policy and training for
the New York Health Benefit
Exchange, says, “When enrolling in
the exchanges for their US-born
children, parents who are
undocumented only need
information such as proof of
citizenship and Social Security
numbers for their children, not
themselves.”
While an applicant's
information is sent to a federal
agency for verification purposes,
she continues, that information is
not used for immigration purposes.
“It goes through a series of
verifications. When the
confirmation for each application
gets back to us, it only says
'residence confirmed' or 'residence
unknown.'”
According to Rothstein, when
undocumented parents apply for
the exchange, every member of the
family, regardless of immigration
status, is assessed. For example,
everywhere repeated the same
information.
“ T h e g ove r n m e n t h a s
temporarily shut both the
Statue of Liberty and Ellis
Island. Please join our one hour
sightseeing tour and see the
magnificent sights of New York
harbor.”
But many visitors were
reluctant to be fobbed off with a
boat trip.
“I just arrived yesterday
from Seattle, I bought my
tickets yesterday, they could
have suspended the sales, or
s e n t n o t i f i c a t i o n s ,” s a i d
Shriram Parameshwaran, a 26year-old engineer.
He was uninterested in the
cause of the shutdown the
latest ideological skirmish
between President Barack
Obama and House Republicans
over the scope of the US
government.
“I have no idea what this is
about,” he told Agence FrancePresse.
He wanted his money back.
He wasn't interested in the
mini cruise.
u
Page 9
she says, a family with two
undocumented parents and one US
citizen child would be considered
as a family of three and not one,
which could make coverage for the
child more affordable or qualify
them for financial assistance.
And while undocumented
parents are prohibited from
purchasing health coverage
through ACA exchanges and
receiving tax credits, they are still
qualified for services from safetynet providers such as community
health clinics and public hospitals.
Treatment in an emergency room
also remains available for their
care. All these programs, notably,
have been in place even prior to the
passage of the ACA.
“We will separately consider
each person in a household and
provide the most benefits for the
whole family” based on the
person's eligibility and set criteria,
including household income and
number of members in the
household, Rothstein says. “We will
figure out how each member of the
family gets covered.” New America
Media (Inquirer.net)
October 4 - 10, 2013
Page 9
Tourists baffled
and angry ...
From page 8
Stefan Neuhaus, a retiree
on holiday from Berlin with
his wife, was annoyed but
philosophical, his head in a
guide book looking for an
alternative plan of action for
the beautiful autumn day.
“I was very happy, I had
tickets for the crown and now
it's impossible… there is no
possibility until November
and we'll be gone.”
“It is a very bad political
system, the opposition has
such strong power,” he said.
Michael Mueller, a retired
visitor from Arizona, and his
wife Bea had planned their
trip to New York for six
months.
Instead, she was left in
tears at what she said should
be the last thing to close.
“The Statue of Liberty is
such a strong symbol for so
many people. It is America, it
symbolizes freedom, jobs, a
government you can trust,”
she said.
Her husband said he was
fed up. “I am really unhappy
with Washington, by the
executive power and
Congress, they cannot get
anything done,” he said.
UN Chief hails ...
From page 7
Syrian conflict, Iran-US
tensions, the IsraeliPalestine conflict, nuclear
disarmament and the MDGs.
T h i s ye a r ' s g e n e ra l
assembly is themed around
“ T h e Po s t - 2 0 1 5
Development Agenda:
Setting the Stage,” laying the
groundwork for plans of
member countries for the
years following the MDG
deadline.
Some progress
A report recently
“I'd like to tell them 'get it
done'.” As the morning went
on, the crowd of tourists only
g o t b i g g e r. S o d i d t h e
incomprehension.
8,000 visitors a day
Staff were left to explain,
again and again, in English, in
Spanish or sometimes in
Italian.
“I've read everything
about the Statue, I always
wanted to come to New York, I
came from Seattle and it is
closed?” said Michael Hines,
47, blaming the Republicans.
One staff member, called
out to man the crowd of
tourists and who refused to
give her name, said she was
just happy to still be working.
“People in the concession
stands on the island, they
have all been furloughed.”
According to Fahey, 8,000
people visit the Statue of
Liberty each day at this time
of the year.
No one knows when it will
reopen. The Statue was
already closed eight months
after the devastation of
Hurricane Sandy last October.
“Never mind, it's just bad
luck,” said one French couple
from the Auvergne. “Happily
there are plenty of other
things to do.” Inquirer.net
released by the UN
Development Program, the
UN Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the
Pacific, and the Asian
Development Bank found
the Philippines an “early
achiever” in gender equality
and women empowerment,
and noted some progress in
implementing programs for
the prevention of HIV/AIDS
and other deadly diseases.
The report, however,
found the Philippines
lagging in achieving the
other goals, particularly
poverty reduction and
improving access to basic
education.
Chief Cowan Brings 25 Years of Supervisory Experience
Fulop Appoints Robert M. Cowan, 35-Year
Veteran of the JCPD as Chief of Department
JERSEY CITY – Mayor Steven
M. Fulop today announced the
appointment of Robert M.
Cowan, a 35-year veteran of the
Jersey City Police Department,
as Chief of Police. Cowan, a
Jersey City resident, has served
in a supervisory role in the
Police Department for 25 years,
most recently as Deputy Chief of
Patrol of the 771-member force.
“Chief Cowan's leadership
has been especially critical
during the first three months of
our administration, where he
has been both an integral part in
d eve l o p i n g o u r p l a n fo r
targeted police sweeps and
actively involved in the field
operations leading to the arrest
of more than 200 individuals.
His vision is in line with mine,
which is to move Jersey City
forward and create one city a
safer city for all of our
residents. Furthermore, we
wanted someone who has
experience in patrol and a track
record of being out on the front
lines with the troops,” said
Mayor Fulop.
“The Chief returned to duty
each time after seven major
surgeries, any one of which
could have ended his career, to
continue working in the patrol
division. It is a testament to his
commitment to return to patrol
after suffering multiple line-ofduty injuries over 35 years that
required him to miss months of
duty for medical care
something others would have
used as an opportunity to retire
on a disability or take a desk
job,” Mayor Fulop added.
Since June 1, Capt. Joseph
Connors has been serving as
Acting Chief of the Department.
Connors, who has served on the
force for 33 years and who is a
Jersey City resident, is being
appointed as Deputy Chief to fill
the vacancy created by the
appointment of Chief Cowan.
Mayor Fulop noted the close
working relationship between
Acting Chief Connors and Chief
Cowan in implementing new
Robert Cowan, a 35-year veteran of the Jersey City Police Department, was
sworn in on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013, as police chief. Cowan most recently
served as deputy chief of patrol. Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal
policies, creating accountability
within the department,
redeploying personnel and
building stronger relationships
with the community.
“We are proud of the
leadership Chief Cowan has
displayed and view the
department as already moving
in the right direction,” said
Public Safety Director James
Shea. “We know that Chief
Cowan's experience,
knowledge of the department
and the city, and dedication will
further our mission of making
Jersey City one of the safest
mid-size cities in America.”
In addition to Connors,
former commander of the
Internal Affairs Unit, Joseph
Delaney, is being promoted to
the rank of Deputy Chief to fill a
va c a n c y c re a te d wh e n a
number of superior officers
retired in June. Delaney, a Jersey
City resident, is a 28-year
veteran of the Police
Department.
“We are pleased with the
changes Mayor Fulop is making
to the Police Department,
including adding more foot
patrols, establishing a Citizen
Advisory Board, and creating
measures of accountability,”
said Rev. Reginald McRae, of Mt.
Pisgah AME Church.
“ We l o o k f o r w a r d t o
working with the new
leadership in the department
and appreciate the Mayor's
commitment to working with
the community.”
“We applaud the new
l e a d e r s h i p o f t h e Po l i c e
Department and are pleased
both with the significant
number of officers set to join
the force over the next year
along with expanding out reach
with the business community
throughout all of Jersey City,”
said Maria Nieves, President &
CEO of the Hudson County
Chamber of Commerce.
Editorial & opinion
October 4 - 10, 2013
Page 10
Sexy revenge
The roiling controversy over President Aquino's
Disbursement Acceleration Program is exactly what Sen.
Jinggoy Estrada intended when he took to the Senate floor
last week to defend himself against charges that he had
benefited from the so-called pork barrel scam. He did not
name the DAP; he likely did not know the details behind
what he called an after-the-fact “incentive” of P50 million
“allotted” to each senator who voted for the conviction of
Chief Justice Renato Corona. But what he said was enough
to start a shift in the public discussion over pork.
Still, let us not be misled. The most important task in
the short term is to pursue justice in the pork barrel scam:
to end the elaborate scheme to divert billions of pesos in
government funds to ghost projects through ghost
organizations, by jailing the operators and politicians who
perpetrated the scheme. The long-term objective is to end
a thoroughgoing culture of political patronage. The latter
can be done, but only if the former is first achieved.
The dramatic statements from Estrada, and now from
Senators Joker Arroyo and Miriam Defensor-Santiago
about the DAP, have complicated the pork barrel issue. The
public can still follow the now-convoluted narrative, but
with at least three major politicians already charged at the
Office of the Ombudsman for involvement in the scam, we
must all be on guard against deliberate attempts to
confuse the issue.
Necessary distinctions must be made. The pork barrel
system must goeven if some of the pork went to vital or
much-needed projects. Congressional pork is wrong in
itself: Even the most vigorous defense offered by
lawmakers implicated in the scam suggests they felt no
responsibility for the outcome of the projects they helped
fund. The practice of lump-sum appropriations at the
Executive's control must endeven if it is the responsibility
of the Executive to choose, implement and fund projects.
More: The pork barrel system exposed by the
revelations about Janet Lim-Napoles' laundering
operation for the Priority Development Assistance Fund,
conducted with the active participation of a considerable
number of lawmakers, including allegedly that of “Sexy,”
an apparent code name for Estrada, can be brought to an
end only with both operators and conniving politicians in
jail. Removing the PDAF from the General Appropriations
Act is a good first step, but hardly enough. Narrowing the
scope for congressional participation in the Executive's
project-naming and -funding process may have seemed
like a good idea in the week before the Million People
March; it looks seriously inadequate today. As long as the
powerful politicians who enabled the network that the
likes of Napoles are alleged to have built are not convicted
on corruption charges, pork-enabled corruption will
remain very much a possibility.
Green Card for Aliens of
Extraordinary Ability
Fo re i g n n a t i o n a l s o f
extraordinary ability are eligible
to become lawful permanent
residents under the
employment-based first
preference category (EB-1).
They do not need a job offer from
a U.S. employer, which means
that they can self-petition or file
the immigrant petition
themselves.
Under the EB-1 category
there is also no labor
certification requirement. Since
there is currently no visa
backlog, the foreign national as
well as his spouse and children
do not have to wait long after the
approval of the petition before
being able to immigrate or
receive their green cards. If they
are in the U.S., the I-140 petition
and I-485 adjustment
application may be concurrently
filed.
The demand for a EB-1 visa is
comparatively low because of
the high standard under this
category. This is especially true
of individuals who want to
qualify as aliens of extraordinary
ability. Outstanding professors
or researchers and certain
multinational executives and
managers are also eligible for
EB-1 classification.
To b e a n a l i e n o f
extraordinary ability, one must
demonstrate sustained national
or international acclaim and give
extensive documentation of his
achievements.
Sustained national or
international acclaim is best
Publisher/Editor-in-Chief: Lito A. Gajilan, Jr.
Columnists: Reuben S. Seguritan, Esq.,
Juan L. Mercado, Jonathan Suarez, Joel Baclit
Correspondent: Contessa Bourbon
The opinions expressed by columnists are their
own and do not reflect the opinion of the paper
nor that of the publisher
Contact us:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 201-434-1114 Fax 201-434-0880
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Page 12
Toxin-laced symbols
in Bulacan, as Greenpeace
inspectors found. But the
Philippines has no monopoly on
sewerage dumps.
Founded in 1986
evidenced through a one-time
a c h i e v e m e n t o f a m a j o r,
internationally recognized
award, such as the Nobel Prize,
an Oscar Award or an Olympic
medal. However, it can also be
proven by submitting evidence
falling under at least three out of
the ten regulatory criteria.
These ten criteria are the
following: (1) receipt of lesser
nationally or internationally
recognized prizes or awards for
excellence; (2) membership in
associations in the field that
demand outstanding
achievement of their members;
(3) published material about the
alien in profession or major
trade publications or other
media; (4) evidence that the
alien has been asked to judge the
“Only when the last river has
been polluted, the last tree cut
and the last fish caught, will we
realize we cannot eat money.” Is
this why 50 of the country's 421
rivers are “biologically dead”?
Ganges and Yamuna in India,
Tietê in Brazil, Yangtze and Jian
in China are among the world's
most toxic rivers. So are the
Mississippi in the United States,
plus all Jakarta rivers in
Indonesia.
Rivers form a community's
circulation system. But a
growing number have been
clogged with trash, toxic spill
from factories and waste
dumped from homes sans
toilets. These morph into
cesspools. When oxygen is
sealed off, the river dies.
To revive the Pasig and 47
tributaries, President Aquino
committed P10 billion a year,
says Gina Lopez, chair of the
commission for the river's
rehabilitation. Half that money
will relocate 300,000 squatters
who huddle along the banks or
esteros.
All five Cebu City rivers, for
example, are kaput. So is Marilao
Since 2010, the commission
rehabilitated four esteros. Over
6,500 squatters were relocated
from the 2.9-kilometer Estero
de Paco alone. It now sports
tree-lined boardwalks, Agence
France-Presse reports.
Significantly, vendors stopped
using it as a refuse bin. Work will
start on 16 esteros this year.
Pasig River's water remains
badly polluted, cautions Asian
Development Bank's urban
development specialist Javier
Coloma Brotons. Problems
range from lack of sewage
treatment plants to geography.
The Pasig River links 3,813square-kilometer Laguna de Bay
to Manila Bay. At high tide, waste
from Manila's huge ports and
crammed communities surge
back.
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Page 12
October 4 - 10, 2013
Page 11
OPINION Global Filipinos: A Sleeping Giant
By Philip S. Chua, MD,
FACS, FPCS
The origin and formation of
the Filipino people dates back at
least 50,000 years ago, long
before the development of the
Austronesian languages.
Fast forward to March 16,
1521, when the Philippines was
discovered by Portuguese
navigator Ferdinand Magellan.
Filipinos, in general, have
always excelled wherever they
were.
One such Filipino was our
national hero, Jose Protacio
Rizal, an FMG, yes, a foreign
medical graduate, who obtained
his Doctor of Medicine degree in
Making
life worth
living
Ellen Tordesillas
Malacañang must be feeling
beleaguered.
Press Secretary Edwin
Lacierda went all the way from
Malacañang to ABS-CBN to
appear personally in Anthony
Taberna and Gerry Baja's radio
program “Dos por Dos” to insist
t h a t DA P ( D i s b u r s e m e n t
Acceleration Pogram) is not
violative of the Constitution
according to the opinion of
former Senator Joker Arroyo.
Arroyo said it's the first time
that he heard such an animal
called DAP.
Former National Treasurer
Leonor Briones questioned the
legality of this DAP, which was
Madrid, Spain, in 1885, 128 years
ago.
He was a European-trained
ophthalmologist, one of very few
specialists at the time, when
specialization was not even
popular.
Rizal, believing in the
brilliance of his people, exhorted
the Filipinos to regain the pride
in themselves and in their race.
Some say the history of the
Filipinos in the United States
dates back to 1763, when the
Manilamen, as Filipinos were
called then, all sailors on the
Manila Spanish Galleons, jumped
ship and settled in the bayous
and villages at St. Malo and
Barrataria Bay, Louisiana, just
outside New Orleans.
That popular historical
version puts it at 250 years ago,
but actually records show that
F i l i p i n o s , t h e n k n ow n a s
“Luzonians,” first set foot in 1587
on Morro Bay San Obispo, now
known as California 13 years
before the considered first
settlers, who were from the
Great Britain, arrived in the 1600
in what we now call the USA.
So, to set the record straight,
they were Filipinos, and not
British or American Indians who
first set foot in America, some
426 years ago.
We, Filipino, are therefore
technically not foreigners in the
United States!
Today, there are more than 3
million of us in America and
about 11 million overseas,
comprising about 14% of the
total population of the
Philippines, which is almost 99
million.
Remittances from all us this
year is expected to be 22.5
Billion, US dollars. Without this
infusion of money to the
P h i l i p p i n e e c o n o m y, t h e
government would literally shut
down.
If all of us stop these
remittances even for a few
months, the country would go
bankrupt.
The global Filipinos are
indeed a vital and powerful
lifeline for the Philippines, its
government and its people.
Filipinos have a literacy rate
of 96-98% and majority of us are
fluent in English. No less than
47.9 % of us in the United States
have at least a Bachelor's Degree.
Twenty percent of the
world's seafarers are Filipinos.
There are 1.2 million sailor and
cruise employees around the
world.
In the USA alone, there are
22,000 physicians and more than
50,000 Registered Nurses and
caregivers, thousands in
businesses, electronics, media,
law, art and sciences…the rest in
stores, restaurants, casinos, and
in almost every facet of the
economic and social
infrastructure of the nations they
live in, serving their
communities.
Indeed, the more the world
knows about Filipinos, the more
they'll love us….except, of course,
our corrupt politicians and some
snakes in our won forest.
So, imagine a world without
Filipinos!
In the United States alone,
most hospitals and clinics,
factories, casinos would be
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Page 12
DAP - pork in another form
created in October 2011, two
months before the start of the
impeachment against Corona.
“Is there an executive order? Is
t h e re a p rov i s i o n i n t h e
Constitution which legitimizes
its creation?”
Sen. Miriam DefensorSantiago has also questioned the
constitutionaity of DAP and has
asked the Commission on Audit
to look into the DAP.
DAP surfaced as the new
buzzword in political patronage
DAP after Sen. Jinggoy Estrada
exposed that Malacanang gave
each of the 20 senators who
voted to convict Supreme Court
Chief Justice Renato Corona on
May 29, 2012, for culpable
violation of the Constitution and
betrayal of public trust P50
million each.
Estrada said it was not a
bribe. He called it “incentive.”
The public saw it as political
patronage, the common practice
in political systems to award a
special favor to persons whose
cooperation the giver needs.
The evolution of
Malacañang's reactions (I will
refrain from saying “lies”) on
Estrada's P50 million expose
would have been amusing if it
were not our hard- earned
money.
I n t h e b e g i n n i n g t h ey
outrightly denied it. But some
senators confirmed the
distribution of the post-Corona
largesse. Sen. TG Guingona
admitted he got lump sum.
Former Sen. Panfilo Lacson, they
discussed it in a caucus but he
did not get his share.
Senate President Franklin
Drilon, who initially denied it,
later said it was the muchm a l i g n e d P DA F ( P r i o r i t y
Development Assistance Fund)
which were withheld during the
four month Senate
impeachment.
The Department of Budget
later admitted they released
lump sums after the Corona
impeachment . They gave out the
list which showed that Drilon,
who was the chairman of the
Senate Finance committee got
P100 million, Sen. Chiz Escudero
P99 million, and then Senate
President Juan Ponce Enrile, P92
million.
DBM changed tune and said
it was not PDAF. It's DAP,
Malacañang said. Lacierda said
they money (P72 billion in
2011) came from the savings?
“Is savings illegal,” he
challenged critics.
Edwin Lacierda (Inquirer photo)
Mr. Secretary, that's not
issue. The question is the legality
of the re-alignment of savings,
without Congress approval.
As Briones said, “If the
source is from different savings
then we have to clarify
constitutional provision. Who
has power to realign? Isn't it the
legislature? After the budget is
passed and the President
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Page 12
A strange incident
President Noynoy Aquino
didn't plan on staying nine days
in Zamboanga City originally.
But it appears that he was forced
to do so, because the military
and his own security group
decided that he was safer there
until the threat of an alleged plot
to remove him from office was
evaluated.
The supposed plot involved
two groups of soldiers belonging
to a Zamboanga-bound military
contingent that broke ranks with
their main convoy, which was
headed to Sangley Point in
Cavite, the transshipment point
of reinforcing troops bound for
that troubled southern city. The
two groups, both led by a
Scorpion light tank backed up by
several truckloads of soldiers
each, missed going to
Zamboanga, as a result, and
startled civilians traversing
main roads who saw them on
that day.
A source in the military
explained that the two tanksupported groups would later be
investigated for failing to join the
main contingent because of
suspicions that they had been
enlisted in a plot to bring down
the Aquino government. In their
defense, one group said it failed
to join the Sangley Point
deployment because it had
gotten lost on the way to Cavite;
the other group explained that it
had encountered mechanical
problems in their vehicles and
decided not to join the main
convoy headed for Zamboanga.
At the time, Aquino was still
in the provincial city, supposedly
monitoring the defense of
Zamboanga after the bloody
attack staged by the Moro
National Liberation Front. As a
result of the incident, the
Presidential Security Group
decided to keep Aquino in
Zamboanga for a few days more,
after ruling that the President
would be much safer in
Mindanao instead of Manila.
Naturally, both the military
hierarchy and the PSG did not
really buy the excuse of the
leaders of the two tank-led
groups of soldiers that they had
merely gotten lost or had
experienced a mechanical
breakdown. For the moment,
though, no sanctions were
imposed on the officers and men
who belonged to both Army
groups.
However, at least one other
source told me that it's possible
that the supposedly unplanned
breakaway was indeed staged by
members of the military who
were trying to “test the waters”
in the event of a full-scale
uprising. “The PSG was correct
in not believing the reasons they
gave for not proceeding to
Sangley,” this source said. “The
two tank groups could have been
staging a dry run, to see if they
could gather support from other
sectors of the military.”
Meanwhile, as a result of the
incident, top officials of the
military are closely monitoring
their men, to ensure that no
similar events happen in the
future. Just to be on the safe side,
of course.
***
Unless the Aquino
administration can sufficiently
prove to a corruption-weary
populace that Congress was not
bribed to dismiss former Chief
Justice Renato Corona and that
Budget Secretary Florencio
Abad Jr. had acted on his own in
establishing, in 2011, a whole
new pork barrel fund for
C o n g re s s , t h e b e l i e f t h a t
President Noynoy Aquino has
strayed from the straight path
will continue. And given the
latest disclosures about how
Malacanang put up a whole new
fund to give tax money to the
Senate and the House,
disbursing these funds right
before and after the removal of
Corona, it doesn't seem like the
people will be convinced that
this self-proclaimed righteous
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Page 14
October 4 - 10, 2013
Page 12
John Kerry to
visit PH ...
From page 3
Ricky Carandang said, “We
fully understand the reason
for President Obama's
cancellation and look forward
to welcoming him to the
Philippines at a more
opportune time.”
Obama has also canceled a
visit to Malaysia next week due
to the shutdown.
No budget
The shutdown took effect
early Tuesday after the US
Congress, unable to break a
deadlock on a health care law
pushed by Obama, missed its
deadline to fund the
government.
Obama is scheduled to
leave Washington on Saturday
night for what was originally a
Long-wanted US
murder suspect ...
From page 1
The Philadelphia Inquirer
reported at the time.
Pedroso walked out of the
restaurant and disappeared,
investigators said.
Au t h o r i t i e s i n M a n i l a
arrested him outside the
Global
Filipinos ...
From page 11
handicapped severely, if not
paralyzed and close, without
Filipinos.
We, Filipinos, are indeed a
Sleeping Giant, and we have
every reason to be proud as
Filipinos.
All we, global Filipinos, need
today is to wake up from our
slumber, unite, and claim the
glory of a people long victimized
and dominated, no longer by
past foreign powers and
conquerors, but by our fellow
Filipinos themselves, our very
own elected officials in the
government, whose plunder of
our nation, through pork barrel
and other means of robbing our
n a t i o n a l t r e a s u r y, h a s
disenfranchised, marginalized
and neglected our people, more
than 30% of them now
languishing in the gutter of
poverty, robbed not only of
clothing, food, and shelter, but of
their dignity, honor, pride, and a
future.
As these corrupt leaders fill
up their pockets and bank
accounts, the poorest of the
poor Filipinos go to bed at night
hungry, not only with empty
stomach but with empty hope
and empty dreams.
Fortunately, in 2010, the
Filipinos at home and abroad
have elected by an impressive
landslide a man of integrity and
honor.
While the progress of
fighting the deeply-rooted
four-nation tour of Asia.
bases here. The United States
is the Philippines' closest
defense partner and one of the
biggest providers of aid to the
country.
Talks with Aquino
The White House said
Obama would still travel to
Indonesia to attend the
summit of the Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation (Apec)
forum on Oct. 7-8 and to
Brunei to attend an East Asian
leaders' meeting on Oct. 9-10.
Obama was originally
scheduled to make a first visit
to the Philippines on Oct. 1112 and meet with President
Aquino for wide-ranging talks.
Obama's predecessor,
President George W. Bush,
visited the Philippines in
2003.
Filipino and US officials
are in the midst of
negotiations for a framework
agreement that will increase
the rotations of US troops
visiting the Philippines and
allow the US warships
expanded access to military
No Malaysia visit
Malaysian state news
agency Bernama announced
the cancellation of Obama's
visit to Kuala Lumpur on
Wednesday. Bernama quoted
Malaysian Prime Minister
Najib Razak as saying that
Obama postponed his visit to
Malaysia due to the US
government shutdown.
Ke r r y w i l l a l s o t a ke
Obama's place in Malaysia, the
White House said.
Obama twice canceled
trips to Asia in 2010, once to
stay in Washington for votes
on his healthcare law, and once
because of an oil spill in the
Gulf of Mexico. Inquirer.net
With reports from Michael
Lim Ubac, AP and AFP
embassy on Sept. 9. He is now in
custody in Philadelphia, where
he was arraigned Friday on
charges that include murder,
illegal possession of a firearm
and reckless endangerment.
The 1992 Inquirer article
described Pedroso as a
“spiritualist” who ran a religious
bookstore.
Detectives said Pedroso was
enraged by the friendship
between Alvarez and his
estranged wife, 44-year-old
Maria Gomez.
A naturalized US citizen
from Cuba, Pedroso traveled
widely after that , selling
religious wares around the
world, the FBI said Friday.
The FBI believes Pedroso
was in the Philippines by 1996,
perhaps landing there as a
cruise ship stowaway
culture of corruption is slower
than we all would like to see,
there are many encouraging
signs of the change we all dream
and hope for, like the arrest of
former president Gloria Arroyo,
who is facing several criminal
charges, the impeachment and
forceful removal from office of
former Chief of the Supreme
Court, Renato Corona, who is
also facing charges for
unexplained wealth and tax
evasion, and about 4 weeks
ago….the incarceration of Janet
Lim Napoles, apparently the
mastermind behind the ten
b i l l i o n - p e s o p o r k b a r re l
(Priority Development
Assistance Fund) scam.
She is expected to turn state
witness against 37 others
implicated in this scam,
including Senate Minority
Leader Juan Ponce Enrile,
Senators “Jinggoy” Estrada,
Bong Revilla, Gringo Honasan,
and Ferdianad Marcos, Jr.
More than 4,000 vigilant
Filipinos marched and rallied
against the Pork Barrel scam
near EDSA, which has led to the
surrender of Janet Napoles and
the ongoing investigation today.
I am sure more heads will
fall.
There are several other
investigations on corruption
g o i n g
o n
t h e
Philippines…courtesy of the
Aquino administration.
All these could NOT, would
NOT, have happened if we had a
president who was corrupt.
The impressive economic
boon in the Philippines and the
excellent international credit
rating of the country today are
the impact and fruits of an
honest and transparent
leadership from the top.
I only hope and pray that the
one who succeeds Noynoy
Aquino in 2016 is equally a
leader of integrity, honesty, and
transparency.
Otherwise, we shall be back
to square one and waste all the
changes and progress achieved
so far.
Filipinos around the world,
must come together, even in our
d i v e r s i t y, e v e n w i t h o u t
unanimity, and unite for a
common cause, and inspire our
people towards responsible
citizenship, and our nation,
towards good governance and
ethical leadership.
When united, this sleeping
giant could harness super
power and clout.
Just think about it: If each of
the 14 million of us outside the
Philippines contributes just one
single dollar, we shall easily and
painlessly have $14 million as
our war chest overnight…….for
the humanitarian programs of
many organizations like the
P M AC a n d t h e i r m e d i c a l
missions, the Gawad Kalinga,
and several others.
What we need is a
revolution…… not a revolution
of arms where blood shall be
shed, but a revolution of
principles, priorities, attitude,
and discipline, where sweat and
tears INSTEAD shall be shed to
bathe our nation clean.
All the little miracles and
providential omens developing
in our country and among
Filipinos around the world
today are a manifestation of
positive things to come.
DAP - pork in another form
From page 11
realigns again, how do you call that? It is pork. Clearly, the source has to be
clarified as to legitimacy and constitutional basis.”
Briones said DAP is clearly pork barrel. “By definition and tradition and
international language, pork is given to legislator. Is it correct? No because it
is pointed out that their function is to create laws not implement projects.”
she said.
Lacierda said the question should be was the money under DAP used
properly? Isn't that the same issue with PDAF?
Green Card for
Aliens ...
From page 10
work of others, either individually
or in a panel; (5) evidence of
original contributions of major
significance to the field; (6)
authorship of scholarly articles; (7)
display of the alien's work at artistic
exhibitions or showcases; (8)
evidence of performance in a
l e a d i n g o r c r i t i c a l ro l e fo r
organizations that have a
distinguished reputation; (9)
evidence of high remuneration in
relation to others in the field; and
(10) evidence of commercial
success in the performing arts.
The foreign national may
submit other comparable evidence
if these criteria do not readily apply
to his field of expertise.
In adjudicating EB-1 petitions,
USCIS officers will take a two-part
approach. The adjudicator will first
look at the evidence to count how
many evidentiary prongs were met.
If at least three of the criteria were
met, the adjudicator will find that
the self-petitioner or the
beneficiary has established the
minimum eligibility requirement to
Toxin-laced ...
From page 10
“To clean up Pasig, address
problems with the bay,” Coloma
Brotons urges. The political
system's “general chaos make a
coordinated approach extremely
difficult,” ADB notes. Vested
interests interlock. And these took
their toll “in repeated and costly
failures to transform Pasig.”
The Aquino administration has
dusted off the moribund Clean
Water Act of 2004 by pinpointing
eight rivers as critical “Water
Quality Management Areas.” They
are geographically spread.
In Luzon, there are the
Sinocalan-Dagupan rivers of
Pangasinan, the MarilaoMeycauayan-Obando river system,
areas within the Laguna Lake
Development Authority's
jurisdiction, plus the San Juan River
in Metro Manila. For the Visayas,
these are the Tigum-Aganan
watershed and the Iloilo-Batiano
river system. The Silway River and
Sarangani Bay, and Taguibo River in
Agusan del Norte, are in Mindanao.
Citizen-based initiatives are
qualify as an alien of extraordinary
ability and proceed to the next step.
The adjudicator will look at the
evidence in totality and find out
whether the foreign national meets
the required level of expertise for
the category. The evidence must
show that he has the level of
expertise of that small percentage
of individuals who have risen to the
very top of their field of endeavor,
and that he has sustained national
or international acclaim and his
achievements have been
recognized in his field of expertise.
Ad d i t i o n a l ly, t h e fo re i g n
national must seek to continue
working in the same field of
endeavor and that his entry will
substantially benefit prospectively
the U.S.
Because of its very strict
requirements, the EB-1category is
certainly not for everyone. But for
those who can meet demonstrate
eligibility as aliens of extraordinary
ability, it offers the one of the fastest
routes to permanent residence.
(Editor's Note: REUBEN S. SEGURITAN
has been practicing law for over 30
years. For more information, you may
log on to his website at
www.seguritan.com or call (212) 6955281.)
sprouting: Cebu held a “River
Summit 2013” and its academe
network taps research facilities and
expertise from universities among
them, San Carlos, University of the
Philippines, Southwestern, San
Jose-Recoletos, Cebu Institute of
Technology, Cebu Doctors. Cebu
Mayor Mike Rama pledged that the
city's Risk Management Council will
cooperate. If it delivers, Cebu could
set a model. But the work is
grueling. And like other cities, Cebu
haphazardly enforced laws on clean
water and solid waste.
Global climate change is
inflicting a heavy toll, warns the
2013 World Bank report titled
“Getting a Grip on Climate Change in
the Philippines.”
This study follows up the bank's
earlier “Turn Down the Heat”
report. That warned current efforts
to tamp down global warming,
below a
2-degrees-Celsius surge, were
faltering. A 4-degrees-Celsius hotter
world will wreak havoc everywhere.
“Things can get ugly fast.”
The bank ranks the Philippines
as the third in the world's list of
countries most vulnerable to
u
Page 14
TO ADVERTISE, PLEASE CALL
201-434-1114
Only $30 for 25 words (deadline is Wednesday noon)
u
Page 14
October 4 - 10, 2013
Page 13
Unfazed, US ...
From page 3
four countries where the
United States is implementing
the White House-led PFG
program, which seeks to
improve the country's
e d u c a t i o n , g o ve r n a n c e ,
justice and financial systems
through collaborative
engagements between the US
and Philippine officials and
organizations.
The embassy said the
newly launched Phil-Am Fund
wo u l d p rov i d e f u n d i n g
support to civil society
organizations working on
projects in the areas of
entrepreneurship and
promotion of new businesses,
governance, fighting human
trafficking, technology-driven
adult literacy and biodiversity
conservation.
“ We a re wo r k i n g i n
partnership with the
Philippine government, the
private sector and civil society
organizations to help put the
Philippines on an accelerated
growth path that would
benefit the majority of its
population. The Phil-Am Fund
will help us reach this goal,”
said USAID mission director
in the Philippines Gloria
Steele.
The embassy said the fund
was open to all “non-state
i n s t i t u t i o n s ,” i n c l u d i n g
“qualified Philippine private,
for profit, nonprofit
organizations and NGOs,
including universities,
research institutions,
professional associations,
faith-based and community
organizations and other
relevant groups.”
The Phil-Am Fund will be
implemented by the Gerry
Roxas Foundation, one of the
country's oldest foundations,
which has been receiving
USAID grant support since
1992 for programs on health,
governance and justice.
Victoria Garchitorena, a longtime leader in the country's
NGO sector, is the program's
chief of party.
The United States is
k n ow n to i m p l e m e n t a
stringent screening of grant
applicants and a careful audit
of fund disbursements by
partner organizations.
Last year, USAID sued its
long-time NGO partner, the
renowned and multiawarded
Philippine antitrafficking
organization Visayan Forum
Foundation Inc. (VFFI), for
allegedly failing to account for
some P210 million in funds.
Two whistle-blowers had
come forward to report that
fake receipts and contracts
were used to liquidate the
USAID grant.
V F F I h a s re p e a te d ly
denied the accusations and
continues its advocacy to stop
human trafficking and
provide assistance to victims.
Inquirer.net
Rizal and Pope Francis
By Michael L. Tan
In September 1894 while in
exile in Dapitan, Jose Rizal wrote
to one of his favorite former
teachers, the Jesuit priest Pablo
Pastells, to thank the latter for a
gift. Rizal knew Pastells had an
agenda, which was to bring this
wayward subversive back into the
Catholic fold.
Thus started an exchange of
long letters where Rizal tried to
explain his views about God and
religion, and the search for truth.
In one letter, Rizal wrote, “I believe
firmly in the existence of a Creator
more than by faith, by reasoning
and by necessity,” and talked about
finding God in “his wonderful
works.” Pastells' letters became
more agitated, accusing Rizal of
having been influenced by
Protestants, Masons and
“philosophers of the French
Revolution.” There is only one
“fundamental truth,” Pastells
argued, revealed to the Catholic
Church. Rizal replied: “I do not
believe Revelation impossible,
rather I believe in it, but not in
revelation or revelations that
every religion or all religions
pretend to possess.”
In the end, Rizal politely asked
to end the correspondence. It was
clear he knew there was little to be
gained from the correspondence
with Pastells the preacher, with an
idea of only one source of “truth.”
I wonder how Rizal would have
felt if he were around today and
got to read an interview with
another Jesuit, Pope Francis,
published last Tuesday in Italy's
largest daily newspaper, La
Repubblica. The interview is really
more of a dialogue with La
Repubblica's founder and former
editor, Eugenio Scalfari, who is an
atheist.
On July 7 and Aug. 7, La
Repubblica, which has been very
critical of the Catholic Church,
published what was tantamount
to an open letter from Scalfari to
the Pope about various issues
related to faith. The Pope replied
w i t h a n e s s a y, w h i c h L a
Repubblica published on Sept. 13.
It didn't end there. The Pope
made one of his now-famous
direct phone calls to Scalfari,
setting an appointment for an
interview which took place in
Francis' simple home. You can
read the articles in their original
Italian, or in English, Spanish and
French translations on
repubblica.it. Type “The Pope:
how the church will change” for
the interview and “An open
dialogue with non-believers” for
the Pope's essay. Don't forget to
press “cerca” or search.
This latest interview has
received much less attention than
an earlier one that appeared last
month in several Jesuit periodicals
with a call to Catholics, especially
the religious, not to be judgmental
when it comes to such issues as
homosexuality, contraception and
abortion. This latest interview is
less “sexy” but is just as important,
with the Pope declaring in strong
terms that the Church will change.
Solemn nonsense
The interview starts out
lightly, the Pope pulling a fast one
by telling Scalfari: “Some of my
colleagues who know you told me
that you will try to convert me.”
When Scalfari retorts, “My friends
think it is you [who] want to
convert me,” the Pope replies,
“Proselytism is solemn nonsense…
We need to get to know each other,
listen to each other and improve
our knowledge of the world
around us.”
The interview unfolds into a
conversation on issues like
conscience (“Everyone has his
own idea of good and evil and must
choose to follow the good and fight
evil as he conceives them”), agape
(“It is love of others, as our Lord
preached. It is not proselytizing, it
u
Page 14
October 4 - 10, 2013
Page 14
Rizal and Pope
Francis
From page 13
is love”), narcissism in the Church
(“Heads of the Church have often
been narcissists, flattered and
thrilled by their courtiers. The
court is the leprosy of the
papacy”), clericalism (“It also
happens to me that when I meet a
clericalist, I suddenly become anticlerical. Clericalism should not
h ave a ny t h i n g t o d o w i t h
Christianity”).
When asked to name saints
closest to his soul, the Pope first
protests that rankings are for
sports and that he can name the
best footballers in Argentina but
not the saints. In the end he relents
Global
Filipinos ...
From page 12
You, who are here today,
leaders of our people in your
o w n r i g h t , e m b o l d e n my
sustained faith in the Filipino
people.
You represent what is best in
humankind, and your nobility
and compassion towards our
fellowmen ensure the Filipino a
rightful place in history.
You are not only the source of
hope for our people but the
foundation of dignity and pride
for the Philippines.
I have an abiding faith that
the Filipinos are destined for
greatness.
Leaving this world after this
life is not a tragedy. Dying
and names Saints Augustine and
Francis of Assisi.
As in the interview last month,
the Pope once again talks about
mysticism, this time emphasizing
that “a religion without mystics is a
philosophy.” Readers who practice
meditation will relate to Francis as
he describes how he overcame the
great anxiety he felt when he was
informed he had been elected
pope: “I closed my eyes and I no
longer had any anxiety or emotion.
At a certain point I was filled with a
great light. It lasted a moment, but
to me it seemed very long. Then the
light fa ded…” La ter in t he
interview, when he is asked if he
feels he has been touched by grace,
he replies: “No one can know that.
Grace is not part of consciousness,
it is the amount of light in our
souls, not knowledge, not reason.
Even you, without knowing it,
without
making a difference, without
significance, without leaving an
inspiring legacy behind, is.
I am, therefore, making this
clarion call to all of you within
the reach of my voice, and to all
within the reach of yours
tomorrow, to unite and join the
crusade, the revolution, and
come together for a noble cause,
to serve our poor, to renounce
corruption, to reclaim our lost
glory of the 1950s and '60s, and
recapture our dignity, honor, and
pride as a people and as a nation.
Ladies and gentlemen, with
all these signs and symptoms
and heartaches of our suffering
fellowmen back home, let us not
wait for SURGERY to open our
heart.
Let us come together now as
our brothers' keepers, as our
nation's loving patriots, to serve
a cause nobler and greater than
could be touched by grace.”
No Catholic God
Scalfari, perhaps intrigued,
asks if even a nonbeliever can be
touched. The Pope's reply is brief
and to the point: “Grace regards the
soul.” When Scalfari declares that
he does not believe in a soul, the
Pope answers: “You do not believe
in it but you have one.”
The high point in the dialogue
comes when the Pope turns the
tables around and asks Scalfari:
“You, a secular nonbeliever in God,
what do you believe in? … Don't
answer me with words like
honesty, seeking, the vision of the
common good… I am asking what
you think is the essence of the
world, indeed the universe.”
Scalfari answers: “I believe in
Being, that is in the tissue from
our individual selves, and,
someday soon make OUR
appointment …..with destiny.
The writer, Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS,
FPCS, is Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus in
Northwest Indiana and Chairman of
the Filipino United Network (USA). He
was Chairman of Cardiovascular
Surgery at Cebu Doctors' University
Hospital, and former president of the
Association of Philippine Physicians in
America and the Society of Philippine
Surgeons in America. His website is
philipSchua.com and his email address
is [email protected]
which forms, bodies arise.” The
Pope responds: “And I believe in
God, not in a Catholic God, there is
no Catholic God, there is God and I
believe in Jesus Christ, his
incarnation. Jesus is my teacher
and my pastor… This is my Being.
Do you think we are very far
apart?”
This is a Pope that genuinely
wants dialogue and has touched
people like Scalfari, who also turns
the tables around at one point,
agreeing with him that the world is
in “deep crisis, not only economic
but also social and spiritual… That
is why we want dialogue with
believers and those who best
represent them.”
In fact, Scalfari starts out his
article quoting the Pope on the
most serious problems in the world
today, which Francis says are
“youth unemployment and the
A strange incident
From page 11
administration is on the up-and-up.
(Aquino didn't dream up the
“tuwid na daan” tagline himself. That
was the brainchild of a retired
advertising executive drafted into
Aquino's campaign, a man whose
biggest success was in marketing a
brand of fast-food fried chicken; the
line's author is now serving in a
Cabinet position as his reward.)
This is the trouble with Abad's
Disbursement Acceleration
Program, the pork fund that it cannot
blame the previous administration
for, having been established a mere
two years ago: former Senator Joker
Arroyo says that by putting up DAP,
the pork scandal has reached the
very doorstep (if not the private
bedroom) of the President.
It is not enough, after all, that
Aquino doubled the regular pork
allocations of Congress as contained
i n t h e P r i o r i t y D eve l o p m e n t
Assistance Fund. He also put up his
own pork funds.
Toxin-laced ...
From page 12
weather-related extreme events
from droughts to sea level rise. More
than 20 typhoons annually lash the
country's northern and eastern
parts. (In the last three years, three
storms slammed a Mindanao that
used to have a typhoon barrel
through every 12 years or so, notes
1992 Ramon Magsaysay Foundation
awardee for public service, Angel
Alcala.)
Floods rampage through Central
Luzon and southern Mindanao. And
there have been disastrous
landslides. “These climate-related
impacts will reduce cultivatable
land,” the report foresees. That in
turn will whittle down “agricultural
productivity and increase food
insecurity.”
“In a 4-degrees-Celsius warmer
world, sea levels will rise between
0.5 and 1 meter by 2100 and could
affect cities in the Philippines. Coral
bleaching and reef degradation will
accelerate in the next 10-20 years.”
L a s t
F r i d a y,
t h e
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) reported in New York:
Scientists are “virtually certain” that
man's fossil-fuel-related emissions
drove global warming. “Each of the
last three decades has been probably
warmer than any time in the past
loneliness of the old.” The Pope
worries: “Can you live crushed
under the weight of the present?
Without a memory of the past and
without the desire to look ahead to
the future by building something, a
future, a family?”
What a relief to hear a Pope
who defends the “family” not with
judgmental attacks on
contraception and homosexuality
but with a concern for the elderly,
and the young, and a call to the
Church to feel responsible “for both
souls and bodies.”
There is no real end to the
interview, with the Pope inviting
Scalfari to talk again about the
philosopher Pascal and about
women in the Church: “Remember
that the Church (la Chiesa) is
feminine.”
Rizal would have been elated.
Arroyo and Senator Miriam
Defensor Santiago have both
castigated the Palace for creating a
fund that is illegal because it is not
authorized by any law. And former
National Treasurer Leonor Briones
has noted that the use of the savings
of other agencies for other purposes
is prohibited, unless they are savings
accumulated by the Office of the
President itself.
And Abad, who claimed not to
have known what Senator Jinggoy
Estrada was talking about when he
said senators were rewarded for
c o nv i c t i n g C o ro n a , s u d d e n ly
remembered that he had been giving
out money through the new fund.
And, in doing so, Abad only heaped
more opprobrium on the Palace for
bribing Congress.
There is still no “endgame” in
sight for the Aquino administration,
but the present situation certainly
doesn't look good. As for daang
matuwid, well, it's now being proven
to be an empty boast, a lie foisted
upon an unsuspecting populace by
an administration that is as dirty as
any that went before.
1,400 years.”
“The heat is on,” UN Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon said. Act now
or face disaster.
In Sweden, 195 member-nations
meet this week to discuss IPCC's
study. Even if the greenhouse gas
emissions are curbed, they'd still
breach the critical threshold of 2
degrees Celsius by the end of this
century. “Those who choose excuses
over action are playing with fire,” US
Secretary of State John Kerry
warned.
The Philippines must urgently
cobble adaptive capacity to increase
“climate resilience of agricultural
practices,” World Bank stressed. This
can create jobs, alleviate food
insecurity, reduce malnutrition, and
help conserve water resources.
“Future development (should)
be carried out with accommodation
to climate change in mind.
Otherwise, the country could be
locked into infrastructure
development, land use changes, and
urbanization processes that are
more vulnerable to climate risks.”
The Philippines should “employ a
sustainable green growth strategy
expanding on mitigation
opportunities.”
The unacceptable alternative is
symbolized by those toxin-laced
rivers.
(E-mail: [email protected])
October 4 - 10, 2013
Page 15
Megan Young
embodies ...
From page 1
tonight. But we're saying three
things: Mabuhay ang Pilipinas,
mabuhay ang America at
mabuhay ang Ms. World!,” said
Thomas in impromptu remarks at
a reception to introduce new
Embassy press and cultural
officers Monday night.
He earlier congratulated
Young via Twitter, mentioning
her birthplace Alexandria,
Virginia, in his congratulations.
Young, 23, was born to an
American father and Filipino
mother in 1990 and moved to
Olongapo City at age 10. She has
since remained in the Philippines
and pursued a career in show
business.
“She represents both of our
countries as a Filipino-American
in so many ways: intelligence,
beauty I know something about
beauty in the Philippines I tell you
poise and never quitting,” said
Thomas, known to have met his
Filipino girlfriend Mithi Aquino
during his tour as envoy here.
Speaking about the affair of
the night, Thomas cited one more
thing common between the US
and the Philippines a free press,
and the transparency it has
afforded governance.
He shared a story from a trip
to Hawaii in 2012 just as the state
braced itself for an incoming
hurricane. At the time, he was
with people from around Asia,
including China and Singapore
where state control of media has
long been a tradition.
“When we got to the part of
how we're going to deal with the
press, someone said what? The
press? We don't have to deal with
the press. We just tell them what
to write and we ignore them. And
I felt how blessed I was to be an
American, to be from a country
where we have to deal with the
press, and to be living here in the
Philippines, another country
where you have to deal with the
press,” Thomas said.
He said the Philippines'
“vitality” has been reflected in the
media, including the widely
utilized social media platforms.
Thomas himself is known as
among the few Manila-based
envoys who widely use social
media platforms, including
Facebook and Twitter.
“And that's why we never say
we have to have all the questions
in advance (for media
interviews), [or that] we can't be
asked certain things. We have to
be able to defend ourselves and
our policies, and that is
important. 'Cause the press,
social media, all those, are
making changes,” said Thomas.
He cited netizens' posts on
t h e U S E m b a s sy ' s o f f i c i a l
Facebook page, where Embassy
personnel engaged social media
users with the question: “If you
had a chance to tour President
Barack Obama around the
Philippines, where would you
take him and why?”
Obama is scheduled to visit
Manila next week, on October 11
and 12, to meet with President
Aquino for wide-ranging
discussions on Philippine-US ties.
Obama is the eighth US President
to visit the Philippines, following
George W. Bush who came here
for a whirlwind trip in 2003.
“People have been saying all
kinds of things. Not only do they
want to take him to other parts of
the Philippines, like Palawan,
Boracay all those beautiful
beaches. But they also say they
want him to investigate,
terminate corruption. That's not
his job, but it's reflective of the
passion you have in your ability to
say things without fear of
retribution,” said Thomas.
Inquirer.net
New Miss World, Megan Young (C) from the Philippines is congratulated by outgoing Miss World Yu Wenxia (L) after winning the
crown, at the Miss World 2013 finals in Nusa Dua, on Indonesia's resort island of Bali, September 28, 2013
Young's win sets two records
By Michael Joe T. Delizo
Megan Young made history
Saturday not just for being the
first Pinay to win the Miss World
beauty pageant but also for
making the Philippines the only
country to have piled up the
crowns in all six major beauty tilts.
The Philippines has two Miss
Universe titles (Gloria Diaz, 1969
and Maria Margarita Moran,
1973), four in Miss International
(Gemma Cruz, 1964; Aurora
Pijuan, 1970; Melanie Marquez,
1979 and Precious Lara
Quigaman, 2005), one in Miss
Earth (Karla Henry, 2008), one in
Miss Tourism Queen International
(Justine Gabionza, 2006), and one
in Miss Supranational (Mutya
Datul last Sept. 6).
For winning the blue-beaded
crown for her country, Young set
trending topics on Twitter with
congratulatory messages from
celebrities and former beauty
queens alike.
Malacañang on Sunday joined
the Filipino in celebrating the
victory. “Young displayed to the
world the beauty, the grace, and
the compassionate spirit of the
Filipina, and has become a source
of great pride and inspiration for
the Filipino people,” read part of
Communications Sec. Ricky
Carandang's statement on Official
Gazette.
Young's first tweet after the
coronation night apparently says
everything she felt “<3.” She will
be staying in London for awhile to
fulfill her duties, promising that
she will be “the best Miss World
ever.” Manila Bulletin
Miss World reveals 'secret weapons'
Miss World 2013 Megan Young of the
Philippines smiles after being crowned
in Indonesia on Saturday. (AP)
By Bayani San Diego Jr.
First, she had to lose 25 pounds.
Then she had to learn how to walk
like Audrey Hepburn and Grace
Kelly.
Those were among the things
Megan Young had to do en route to
winning the Miss World beauty
crown in an international pageant
held in Bali, Indonesia, last
weekend.
Aside from Filipinos all over the
world who cheered her on, the 23year-old beauty queen relied on a
six-member team that trained her
for the contest.
Talent manager Jonas Gaffud
said Monday that his group dubbed
Aces and Queens helped Megan
prepare for the contest. Each
member was in charge of different
aspects of the competition.
“ J o h n Cu ay h a n d l e d h e r
physical fitness regimen. Bessie
Besana took care of her fashion
needs; Albert Kurniawan, her
makeup. Nad Bronce trained her for
interviews and Arnold Mercado
handled her schedules,” Gaffud told
the Inquirer.
Learning from the past
Preparing for a pageant is no
joke and there's a science in
producing a beauty titlist,
according to Gaffud.
“We study and learn from our
past experiences,” said Gaffud, who
has had extensive experience in the
beauty biz.
He helped train the country's
representatives to the Miss
Universe pageant for the past three
years all landed in the winning
circle: Venus Raj finished fourth
runner-up in 2010, Shamcey
Supsup third runner-up in 2011
and Janine Tugonon first runner-up
in 2012.
Lipstick shade
For starters, Gaffud said Young
had to shape up, losing 25 pounds.
“I asked John [Cuay] to develop
exercises for her problem areas: her
thighs and shoulders.”
For her makeup, Bronce
instructed Young to achieve an
Asian look since she's an American
mestiza.
Gaffud, who traveled to Bali,
said Young consulted him on what
shade of lipstick to wear before the
pageant. “I told her to choose a color
between pink and red since her
gown by Francis Libiran was coral.”
As for Young's runway walk,
Gaffud told her to keep it “simple
and elegant.”
Study Hepburn
In contrast, Gaffud and his team
taught Raj the “pilapil walk,”
Supsup, the “tsunami walk,” and
Tugonon the “cobra walk.”
The “tsunami” walk imitates
the movement of the waves and the
“cobra” the slithery grace of a snake.
For the “pilapil,” Raj used her
experience in walking on narrow
rice paddy dikes when she was
younger.
“I told Megan to study Audrey
Hepburn and Princess Grace of
Monaco. She should look sweet and
regal,” Gaffud also said.
“Each pageant has a different
requirement. In Miss Universe, the
walk should be fierce …In Miss
World it should be classy.”
Homecoming plans
Putting her hair up made
Megan look taller, too. “She's 5-foot7 but she also wears six-inch heels,”
Gaffud said.
He said there were plans for a
short homecoming by Megan
before her yearlong stay in London
to fulfill her duties as Miss World.
Gaffud believes Megan's showbiz stint did her well, too.
“She knows how to project
onstage,” Gaffud said. “As a former
veejay and host, she's used to
talking in front of a crowd. She also
copes well under pressure. She was
just being herself but she's also a
good actress so she can adjust
easily.”
Secret weapons
But as far as GMA 7 actress
Lauren Young is concerned, her
older sister's secret weapons were
her humility and willingness to
work hard.
Lauren traveled to Bali with
brother Victor and mother Vicky to
support her sister.
After the coronation, Lauren
got to chat with her sister. “The first
thing Megan told me was: 'This is it!'
She said it was the start of her
journey to help change our country
and the world for the better.”
Lauren added: “Megan showed
that through hard work, you can
attain what you want in life. You
should not rely on anyone but
yourself.”
Lauren asked her sister what it
felt like to wear the blue crown.
“Megan said she still felt the
same,” Lauren said. “That's what I
admire most about her. Even
though all these amazing and lifechanging things are happening
now, she remains normal and
humble.
“Megan understands that it's
not about her, but about making a
difference for the country and the
world.”
Actress Ryza Cenon said her
fellow “StarStruck” alumna won the
Miss World crown “because of her
experiences in life and her desire to
be a beauty queen. She always
dreamt of joining a pageant. She
didn't waste any opportunity to
prove that she could do it.”
October 4 - 10, 2013
Page 16
Bohol: YOLO!
By Nickky Faustine De Guzman
How do you maximize and cram activities in a tourist
destination with a lot to offer like Bohol province given a
limited 48 hours of stay? You do YOLO!
'You only live once' or YOLO is a popular hashtag and
motto in the virtual world. It encapsulates the celebration of
life and the idea of indulgence on food, culture, leisure, or
extreme activity. And Bohol offers good reasons to do YOLO.
The beautiful and scenic natural wonders, rich culture,
diverse food choices, extensive nature activities, and warm
accommodation are part of a Bohol trip itinerary.
For first-time visitors, the tenth largest island in the
Philippines offers its pillars of tourist activities and spots that
put Bohol on the world map the Tarsier, butterfly farm, iconic
Chocolate Hills, and various vintage residences and museums,
which include the Baclayon Church and Museum, are some of
the must-visit places.
The Baclayon Church, which means 'walking distance', is
the oldest coral cathedral in Bohol established in 1596. These
activities and spots have brought thousands of visitors, both
local and foreign, to the province.
However, Bohol is not a one-time-visit tourist destination.
There is more to it than meets the eye. Here are some YOLO
guidelines and itinerary options when in Bohol:
u
Page 17
October 4 - 10, 2013
Page 17
Baclayon Church
Adobong Pusit at Kanin sa Buho
Bohol: YOLO!
From page 16

Do Ecotourism Trips. Provincial Tourism Officer
Josephine Cabarrus shares that Bohol also has nature adventure
parks such as the E.A.T. (Extreme Adventure Tour) Danao Park
and D.A.T.E. Park (Dagook Adventure Tour Experience), which
offer kayaking, rappelling, bungee jumping, canopy and Monkey
Bridge walking among others. Bohol's natural water
environment which is showcased in the Loboc River Cruise gives
one the chance to enjoy the lush green wilderness of the town
forest while cruising on a boat, indulging on Filipino food, and
listening to renditions of local songs. “Aside from the pillars of
Bohol tourism (Chocolate Hills and Tarsier tour), we also
promote ecotourism, which is community-based, a two-way
tourism promotion. This generates income for the locals while
highlighting their indigenous products and hospitability,”
Cabarrus says.

Partake of food, glorious food! “Bohol province has
Tourists on high! A trip to Bohol wouldn't be complete without
seeing the Chocolate Hills.
not yet established a food product that it can call its own unlike
Cebu and Bicol, which have Cebu lechon and Bicol Express. But
we take pride in our ube kinampay, which has natural sweetness
and aroma,” Bluewater Beach Resort Resident Manager Adie
Gallagares shares.
The Bluewater Resort in Panglao Island offered an amazing
food extravaganza during its recent anniversary bash. Chef Sau
Del Rosario and his team prepared Sisig, Brazo de Ube, Mayamaya Mayonesa, Adobo Rice, and Pork Bagnet with Paella.

And don't forget the take-home treats! Despite the
lack of an authentic Bohol dish, the province boasts of many
souvenir and delicacy shops that offer loads of pasalubong
items. They have Bohol t-shirts, Tarsier key chains and stuffed
toys, Chocolate Hill-shaped sweets, and variations of ube
kinampay.

Experience Boholanos' hospitality and
accommodation. Lastly, a total Bohol experience must include
the region's hospitality. Boholanos are known to be friendly and
The iconic Tarsier (Tarsius syrichta) is endemic to
the Philippines.
warm to their guests hence, its capital, Tagbilaran, is dubbed as
the “City of Friendship”. Nonetheless, the warmth of the people
radiates all over the province.
“Boholanos are very friendly that to some extent they
become too prying,” our tour guide, Franz Labad jokes. He adds
that a typical Boholano family offers their home-cooked meals
during festivals and other significant occasions.
“We welcome strangers, passersby, and close friends and
relatives to our houses during fiesta. But usually, the strangers
do not get to eat some desserts, only the people who are
important and close to the host. Sa dessert nagkatalo,” he says
with a laugh.
Bluewater Beach Resort is nestled on a seven-hectare
property. You will find here a spa, bar, restaurant, 46 deluxe
pool view rooms, four family lofts, three honeymoon villas, and
one family villa fit for family or friends on vacation.
Come, re-visit and enjoy what Bohol has in store for you.
Bask in the glory of this world-renowned tourist destination and
go YOLO! Manila Bulletin
Photos by Teddy Pelaez
EXPRESSWEEK
Page 18
October 4 - 10, 2013
San Lorenzo Ruiz Feast 2013
By Vicky Baxa, Liturgy Coordinator, San
Lorenzo Ruiz Chapel
The San Lorenzo Ruiz Feast 2013
Concelebrated Mass on Sunday, September
29, 2013 at 2:00 in the afternoon at St.
Patrick's Cathedral in New York City was
enthusiastically attended by faithful devotees
of the First Filipino Martyr Saint and Patron of
Migrants amidst the reconstruction works
going on in the Cathedral.
The Most Reverend Nicholas M. DiMarzio
of the Diocese of Brooklyn, the confirmed
Principal Celebrant, did not feel well to
celebrate so he was represented by his
Auxiliary Bishop Raymond Chappeto.
The First Reading was done by Mrs.
Eleonor De Leon, wife of Consul General Mario
Lopez De Leon of the Philippine Consulate of
New York while the Second Reading was
proclaimed by Mrs. Fe Cabactulan, wife of
Ambassador Libran N. Cabactulan, Permanent
Representative of the Philippine Mission to
the United Nations.
This year's Hermano/Hermanas are Dr.
Alexander Sy, Dr. Rebecca 'Dolly' Rivera, and
Dr. Miriam Holgado.
The Prayers of the Faithful offered in 10
Filipino dialects represented the more than
7,100 islands that comprised the Philippine
Archipelago.
The highlight of the Mass was when
Reverend Joseph G. Marabe, Moderator of the
San Lorenzo Ruiz Chapel and Director of the
Filipino Apostolate of the Archdiocese of New
York announced that the secretary of H.E.
Timothy Cardinal M. Dolan confirmed to him
that His Eminence will be the Principal
Celebrant of our 2014 San Lorenzo Ruiz Feast
Concelebrated Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral.
A very simple and cozy afternoon
reception followed afterwards at the
Cathedral Priests Garden on 51st Street and
Madison Avenue happily shared by the
Principal celebrant , Filipino clergy,
benefactors/donors, volunteers and devotees
of our beloved saint.
Dr. Dolly Rivera at the procession. Arch.
Zonny Lerum, at right, with wife Amy.
The Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz located at 378 Broome Street,
Manhattan, New York City. The chapel was established in
2005.
Tito De Vera, center, and Jimmy Buenviaje, rightmost
Devotees carry the image of San Lorenzo Ruiz
L-R: Two Filipino priests, Dr. Miriam Holgado, Auxiliary Bishop
Raymond Chapetto, Dr. Dolly Rivera and Rev. Joseph G. Marabe
Photos by
Sonny Austria
Rev. Marabe with devotees and supporters at the Cathedral Priests
Garden on 51st Street and Madison Avenue
"IMAGES FROM THE HEART" Photo Exhibit
Dulcie Dee
SINAG / AMERICAN
SOCIETY OF PHILIPPINE
PHOTOGRAPHERS
cordially invites the
public to the opening of
“Images from the Heart,”
a photo exhibit.
Dulcie Dee will
exhibiting 4 images,
shown here, that were
selected from the recently
published book "Images
from the Heart".
Dulcie graduated from
t h e Ac a d e my o f A r t
University with a Master
of Fine Arts and taught
ESL last Fall semester at
her alma mater.
The exhibit will be
held at the Philippine
Center Gallery, 556 Fifth
Avenue, New York, NY on
Tuesday, October 8. A
cocktail reception will
start at 7 pm.
October 8 at the Philippine Center Gallery, 556 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY
The Woolworth Building
FDR Bike Lane
Soho Lamp
Jersey City's 23rd Annual Artists Studio Tour
JERSEY CITY – Mayor
Steven M. Fulop, the
Municipal Council, and the
Jersey City Division of
Cultural Affairs, in
partnership with Pro Arts,
and the Hudson Reporter,
present the 2013 Jersey City
Artists Studio Tour, a FREE
self-guided walking tour
featuring galleries, artist
studios and ad hoc
exhibition sites. The tour
will take place from noon to
6:00 p.m. throughout the
city on Saturday, October 5th
and Sunday, October 6th.
In its 23rd year, the
Annual Jersey City Artists
Studio Tour is a weekend
celebration of Jersey City's
diverse art scene that
features hundreds of artists,
dozens of exhibitions,
galleries, museums, live
music and performances,
food, drink and parties all
located just five minutes
from Manhattan.
Every year, hundreds of
artists participate in the tour
attracting thousands of
visitors during its two-day
run. The Jersey City
Artists Studio Tour is widely
considered New Jersey's
premier art and cultural
event, and is free and
open to the public.
“Jersey City's artists are a
vital part of our community
and we encourage everyone
to join us in celebrating their
creativity and supporting
the arts,” said Mayor Fulop.
“ We re c o g n i z e h o w
important the artists are to
the vibrancy of our city, and
not only do we embrace the
arts, we are working to
expand the role of art in our
community. The
administration just
launched a citywide mural
program and we are
exploring additional ways to
expand opportunities for
our visual and performing
artists.”
The Studio Tour kick-off
party, which is open to the
public, will be held from 6 to
9 p.m. on Friday,
Starfish
East Coast's Fastest
Growing Art Scene
Features Hundreds of
Artists, Dozens of
Exhibitions, Galleries,
Museums, and Live
Entertainment
A FREE Self-Guided
Walking Tour All
Weekend
October 4 - 10, 2013
Page 19
PHL's Mt. Makiling Forest Reserve is newest
ASEAN Heritage Park
TAGAYTAY CITY , Oct. 1 -- The
Philippines' Mt. Makiling Forest Reserve
(MMFR) is officially Southeast Asia's
newest heritage park.
Philippine environment chief Ramon
Paje announced the ASEAN declaration
after environment ministers of this bloc
approved -- during their 14th informal
ministerial meeting last month in
Indonesia -- MMFR's nomination as an
ASEAN Heritage Park (AHP).
"We have a new AHP -- Southeast Asia's
33rd and the Philippines' fifth," Paje
announced in a speech Philippine
environment undersecretary Manuel
Gerochi read Tuesday (Oct. 1) in Tagaytay
City during the fourth AHP conference
which the Philippines is hosting for the first
time this year.
Paje called for sustained and enhanced
management of Southeast Asia's protected
areas (PAs) so more of these can gain AHP
status, paving the way for further boosting
environmental protection and
conservation efforts there.
"Southeast Asia's biodiversity is very
much threatened -- let's all hope more
AHPs will be declared in the future," he
said.
Scheduled Thursday (Oct. 3) at
Makiling Botanic Gardens, the MMFR
declaration certificate's presentation to the
Philippine government will be among
highlights of the conference.
Southeast Asian park managers,
delegates to the conference and other
ASEAN officials are expected to attend the
presentation.
Covering nearly 4,250 hectares, MMFR
straddles Laguna province's Los Baños and
Bay municipalities and Calamba City as
well as Batangas province's Sto. Tomas
municipality.
According to University of the
Philippines-Los Banos (UPLB), which RA
6967 vested with control, jurisdiction and
administration of MMFR, this forest
reserve is a biodiversity haven hosting
hundreds of flora and fauna species.
UPLB reported among species thriving
in MMFR are those International Union for
Conservation of Nature and the Philippine
e nv i ro n m e n t d e p a r t m e n t a l re a dy
classified as "threatened."
FAO also earlier recognized MMFR as a
model for "exemplary forest management
in Asia," UPLB noted.
MMFR joined 32 other Southeast Asian
PAs previously declared as AHPs.
Southeast Asia's AHPs are in Brunei
Darussalam (one site), Cambodia (two
sites), Indonesia (three sites), Lao PDR
(one site), Malaysia (three sites), Myanmar
(seven sites), Singapore (two sites),
Thailand (four sites),Vietnam (five sites)
a n d t h e P h i l i p p i n e s ( fo u r s i te s ) .
The existing Philippine AHPs are Mt.
Apo Natural Park, Mts. Iglit-Baco National
Park, Mt. Kitanglad Range Natural Park and
Mt. Malindang Range Natural Park.
"Let's continue working together to
conserve biodiversity, our PAs and AHPs,"
Paje urged the conference's delegates.
PAs are areas which receive protection
because of recognized natural, ecological
and/or cultural values there.
ASEAN environment chiefs declare PAs
as AHPs since the organization believes the
uniqueness, diversity and notable values
there deserve the highest recognition so
importance of these sites as conservation
areas can be appreciated internationally.
Paje reported the Philippines already
has 240 PAs covering some 5.45 million ha
and having a buffer zone of about 223,000
ha.
UPLB said MMFR is recognized as
among the Philippines' 18 centers of plant
diversity.
Some 940 genera as well as 2,038
species, 19 sub-species, 167 varieties and
several forms and cultivars representing
225 families of flowering plants and ferns
alone have been recorded in MMFR, UPLB
noted.
"Faunal resources in MMFR are diverse
as the plant resources," UPLB also said,
noting pre-2004 reports cited the area as
hosting over 45 mammal species, 181 bird
species, 65 reptile species, 22 amphibian
species and around 7,000 insect species.
This year, UPLB sought and secured the
Philippine environment department's
recommendation for MMFR to be included
in the AHP list.
UPLB said MMFR meets AHP criteria in
terms of ecological completeness,
representativeness, naturalness, high
conservation importance, legal
gazettement as a conservation area and an
approved management plan.
MMFR also satisfies criteria on
transboundary processes and resources,
uniqueness as well as habitat for important
or endangered flora and fauna, UPLB
continued.
Proclamation 106 established MMFR in
1910 to regulate use of public forest and
forest reserves.
Aside from being a biodiversity haven
that's also a training laboratory for
advancing knowledge on conserving and
protecting natural resources, MMFR is a
watershed providing water for
agricultural, industrial and domestic
purposes.
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BUSINESS & ECONOMY
October 4 - 10, 2013
Page 20
Aquino leads launch of $400-M Globe Trade, tourism on tap
in Aquino-Park meet
Telecom Submarine Cable System
MANILA -- President
Benigno S. Aquino III led the
launch Friday, Sept. 27 of Globe
Te l e c o m ' s $ 4 0 0 m i l l i o n
Southeast Asia-Japan
Submarine Cable System that is
expected to enhance
telecommunication
connectivity between the
Philippines and the rest of the
world.
In his message during the
event held at the Globe Tower in
Taguig City, the President
thanked the telecom company
for modernizing its
infrastructure to the benefit of
the Filipino public as well as the
country's economy.
“For all this, I extend my
gratitude and congratulations
to Globe. Hand in hand with
your ongoing Network
Modernization Program, I am
extremely confident that you
will improve your services even
more,” the President said.
“It makes me optimistic
that, soon enough, other
telecommunications
companies will follow suit and
h e l p p rov i d e t h e n a t i o n
seamless and reliable
connectivity.”
President Benigno S. Aquino III heads the Globe Southeast Asia-Japan (SJC) Submarine
Cable System launching ceremony at The Globe Tower, 7th Avenue corner 32nd Street
in Taguig City on Friday (September 27). With the President during the ceremony are
DTI Secretary Gregory Domingo; Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala; Gil Genio head of
Globe Business; Yukido Oda, President of KDDI from Japan; Ooi Seng Keat, Vice
President of Carrier Services/Singtel; and Song Dai of Brunei International Gateway.
One of the main beneficiaries of the Globe-SJC interconnection will be the local
business process outsourcing and the outsourcing-off shore sectors, currently
regarded as the “sunshine industries” in the country.
According to the President,
Globe has lived up to its brand
with the launching of the new
project. He expressed hope that
the company would continue
working to make the latest
technological innovations
available to the Philippines
especially for future
generations.
The submarine cable
system, which spans at least
8,900 kilometers underwater,
will strengthen the region's
connectivity with other cable
According to the DFA, the
Philippines and South Korea
established relations on March
3, 1949. During the Korean War
(1950-53), the Philippine
Expeditionary Forces to Korea
(Peftok) joined the United
Nations-led coalition in
defending South Korea. Up to
today, the DFA said, both
countries recognize this as the
“bedrock of Philippine-Korean
relations.”
Both Aquino and Park are
children of former Presidents.
Park is the daughter of
President Park Chung-hee, a
Korean War veteran who, like his
c o n t e m p o r a r y, Fe r d i n a n d
Marcos of the Philippines, ruled
South Korea as a dictator. She has
since apologized for the crimes
committed under the rule of her
father, who was assassinated in
1979.
A q u i n o ' s f a t h e r, t h e n
journalist and future opposition
Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr., covered
t h e Ko re a n Wa r. H e wa s
assassinated in 1986.
u
Page 22
PH is most exciting emerging
market real estate destination
The returning head of one of
the biggest and oldest property
developer in the country was
named the Real Estate
Personality of the Year for the
first Philippine Property
Awards organized by Ensign
Media, publisher of real estate
industry publication Property
Report Magazine.
“We chose Mr Aquino as the
recipient of this award based on
his proven track record of
leadership and a clear
commitment to providing real
estate services that extend
beyond just buildings to
improve the quality of life,” said
Jules Kay, managing editor of
Property Report Magazine.
“Under his stewardship,
Ayala Land Inc. continues to set
new benchmarks for excellence
in the real estate industry, and
such achievements deserve
recognition,” he added.
The 2013 Philippine
Property Awards is the first
award-giving activity the
Ensign Media is eyeing in the
Philippines, the winner of
which will form part of the pool
for the next batch of awardees
for the South East Asia Property
Awards held in Singapore.
The South East Asia
Property Awards has been
going on for the last three
years,and was built on the
By Jerome Aning
MANILA -- Increased trade
and tourism will be on the
agenda when President Benigno
Aquino III visits South Korea on
Oct. 17 and 18, the Department
of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has
announced.
Mr. Aquino has accepted the
invitation of South Korean
President Park Geun-hye to visit
the East Asian country, now one
of the Philippines' leading
partners in trade and
investments. It is also a top
source of foreign tourists with
more than a million South
Koreans visiting last year.
Aquino and Park's first
summit meeting will also touch
on political, defense and
d e ve l o p m e n t c o o p e ra t i o n
matters, as well as regional and
international positions.
Aquino will also meet with
the South Korean business
community to promote further
trade and investment in the
Philippines, and he will interact
with the Filipino community in
Seoul.
Emirates Starts Clark-Dubai
daily flights, plus SkyCargo
By Emmie Abadilla
underscored.
“Our partnership with the
Philippines began 23 years ago
when we launched non-stop
flights between Manila and Dubai.
We also value the longstanding
partnership that we have with
Philippines Airlines. We have a
code share agreement with them
on our existing Manila triple daily
service.”
“Due to the growing demand
for Emirates' services, the new
Clark-Dubai route will offer our
passengers the flexibility of
choosing from two destinations in
the Philippines,” said Gigie Baroa,
Emirates Philippines country
manager.
“Clark is shaping up to be a
o n e - o f - a - k i n d to u r i s m a n d
business center and we are proud
that Emirates is a part of that
development,” she added.
Emirates currently uses a
Boeing 777 in a two class
configuration on the route, with
42 Business Class flatbed seats
and 216 Economy Class seats.
Emirates flight EK 338 departs
Dubai International Airport at
0400 hrs arriving at Clark
International Airport at 1640 hrs.
The return flight EK 339 departs
at 1835 hrs arriving in Dubai at
2305 hrs.
With the new daily flight to
Clark International Airport,
Emirates SkyCargo will be able to
provide more than 160 tons of
additional cargo hold capacity
each way per week, further
supporting Philippines exports of
Clark, Pampanga -- Emirates,
one of the world's fastest growing
airlines, further expanded its
global network on October 1, 2013
with the start of its non-stop, daily
service between Dubai and Clark
International Airport, the airline's
second destination in the
Philippines.
Emirates has been operating
flights to Manila, the capital of the
Philippines, since 1990 and, due
to the demand, has continued to
increase its flight frequency on the
route to its current triple daily,
non-stop service.
Clark, Pampanga, located 80
kilometers north of Metro Manila,
is the county's second
Antonino Aquino, Ayala Land, Inc., president, has been feted as the property
international gateway, with two
industry's personality of the year.
million Overseas Foreign Workers
(OFWs) based in the area. Its
strategic location also offers a
organizer's experience of the
given, covering citations for
catchment of 17 million
e i g h t ye a r o l d T h a i l a n d
developer, development, and
passengers.
Property Awards.
design and real estate services.
“The launch of Clark
Terry Blackburn, Ensign
R e a l t o r C i n d y Ta n represents our ongoing
M e d i a fo u n d e r s a i d , t h e
Tajarabata, one of the award's
commitment to the Philippines
Philippines is currently “the
j u d g e s , s a i d t h e awa rd s
and the opening up of Emirates'
most exciting emerging market
committee went to as far as the
second gateway after Manila,”
real estate destination in South
Southern portion of the
Mohammed Mattar, Emirates'
East Asia right now,” making it
Philippines for an actual visit to
Divisional Senior Vice President
fit to have a qualifier for the
sites of qualifiers for the award.
Airport Services told reporters on
property awards.
The “development”
Wednesday October 2 presscon.
“There are premium quality
category included awards for
“Clark has become the 135th
developments going up all over
condos in Metro Manila and
route on our expanding global
metro Manila and in resort
Cebu as well as housing and
network, it is a network of
opportunities and we will be
destinations such as Cebu and
resort developments
promoting the Philippines to the
Boracay that are a match for
nationwide.
business and leisure markets in all
anything in the rest of Asia,” he
The “design” category
of the 77 countries that we fly to
said.
“reflect the best in residential,
a
r o u n d t h e w o r l d ,” h e
A total of 17 awards were
u
Page 21
u
Page 22
October 4 - 10, 2013
Page 21
APEC Economic Leaders' Week 2013 opens in Bali
Bali, Indonesia, 2 Oct. -- The
Leaders and Ministers of 21
Pacific-Rim economies will
gather this week in Bali intent on
revitalizing trade to keep the
global economy on a path to
recovery, create jobs and move
the region towards more
balanced and sustainable longterm growth.
building a resilient Asia-Pacific
as an engine of growth and
taking practical steps to support
the realization of this objective,”
Ambassador Yuri Thamrin, the
lead APEC Senior Official who
has guided work undertaken
within APEC during the course
of Indonesia's 2013
chairmanship.
Following a meeting of APEC
Senior Officials that concludes
on Wednesday, Leaders and
Ministers will focus on
strengthening free trade and
investment in the region,
addressing growing inequities
and environmental challenges
t h a t a re a b i - p ro d u c t o f
e c o n o m i c t ra n s i t i o n , a n d
improving connectivity to
facilitate the cross-border
movement of goods, people and
capital to drive greater
productivity.
“Leaders and Ministers will
have an opportunity to assess
our efforts to lower barriers and
further our pursuit of the Bogor
Goals for free trade and
investment in the region by
2020,” he explained. “The
commitments they make this
week will guide APEC
economies as we address
complex at and behind-theborder issues, develop policies
that help small businesses enter
into global supply chains, and
pursue measures to ensure that
proper infrastructure is in place
for businesses and people to
benefit from increasing
“APEC member economies
are united in our commitment to
integration.”
Leaders will come together
on 7-8 October for two retreats
to discuss policy. They will also
engage with heads of industry
and consider their
recommendations for
improving the business
environment in the region
through a constructive two-way
dialogue.
Ministers will meet on 4-5
October to examine the actions
and insights that have sprung
from APEC deliberations,
projects and economic and
technical collaboration between
economies, ministries, the
private sector and partner
regional and global institutions.
“The APEC region has been
impacted by continued
uncertainty as economies
recover from the global financial
crisis and confront shifts in the
stimulus polices that were put in
place to address it,” said Dr Alan
AARP LAUNCHES FIRST NATIONAL
ASIAN AMERICAN AND
PACIFIC ISLANDER AD CAMPAIGN
Featuring Key Community Leaders Tony Taguba, Ginny Gong and Floyd Mori
Washington, D.C. -- AARP
launched its first national Asian
American & Pacific Islander
(AAPI) advertising campaign
featuring key community leaders
Tony Taguba, Ginny Gong and
Floyd Mori. Created by DAE
A dve r t i s i n g , A A R P ' s A s i a n
advertising agency of record, the
ads will run in prominent Asian
American, Chinese and Filipino
print and online publications in
New York, San Francisco and Los
Angeles this fall. The ads convey
the following message: “The best is
yet to come, and AARP is there to
help people 50+ and their families
live enriched lives in America.”
Tony Taguba, is the second
Philippine-born U.S. citizen to be
promoted to the officer rank of
“General” in the U.S. Army. He
retired with the rank of “Major
General” as a decorated Filipino
American hero and advocate for
breaking down racial and ethnic
barriers in the military. After
leaving the military, Gen. Taguba
became the chairman of PanPacific American Leaders and
Mentors (PPALM), where he
mentors the new generation of
young Asian Americans & Pacific
Islanders. In addition to his
mentorship role, Gen. Taguba also
volunteers for the United Service
Organization and helps veterans
with their benefits. Additionally,
he consults with small businesses
and engages in public speaking on
behalf of the Asian American &
Pacific Islander community,
especially on the issue of benefits
for WWII Filipino Veterans.
“I joined AARP when I was 50
because I wanted to be a part of an
organization that looked out for
us,” said Gen. Taguba. “AARP
provides us with an important
opportunity to maximize the
quality of our lives, as we enter the
next chapter.” To hear Tony
Taguba's testimonial, please click
here.
“General Taguba, Ginny Gong
and Floyd Mori, prominent and
accomplished community leaders
we have chosen for our campaign,
truly embody the spirit of AARP,”
said Daphne Kwok, Vice President,
Multicultural Markets &
Engagement, AARP. “Gen. Taguba
lives life with passion and purpose
after age 50, having served this
nation through his military
leadership and now serving others
through community service. He is
a wonderful example of one who
continually seeks new
possibilities. AARP celebrates
General Taguba, Ginny Gong and
Floyd Mori for their outstanding
leadership, personal
accomplishments, and as role
models for AAPIs 50+.”
About AARP
AARP is a nonprofit,
nonpartisan organization, with a
membership of more than 37
million, that helps people turn
their goals and dreams into real
possibilities, strengthens
communities and fights for the
issues that matter most to families
such as healthcare, employment
and income security, retirement
planning, affordable utilities and
protection from financial abuse.
We advocate for individuals in the
marketplace by selecting products
and services of high quality and
value to carry the AARP name as
well as help our members obtain
discounts on a wide range of
products, travel, and services. A
trusted source for lifestyle tips,
news and educational information,
AARP produces AARP The
Magazine, the world's largest
circulation magazine; AARP
Bulletin; www.aarp.org; AARP
TV& Radio; AARP Books; and
AARP en Español, a Spanishlanguage website addressing the
interests and needs of Hispanics.
AARP does not endorse candidates
for public office or make
contributions to political
campaigns or candidates. AARP
Foundation is an affiliated charity
of AARP that is working to win
back opportunity for struggling
Americans 50+ by being a force for
change on the most serious issues
they face today: housing, hunger,
income and isolation. AARP has
staffed offices in all 50 states, the
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico,
and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
L e a r n
m o r e
a t
www.aarp.org/asiancommunity.
Gen. Taguba will be available
for interviews with the Asian media
on Tuesday, Oct. 8 from 10 a.m. to 2
p.m. and on Wednesday, Oct. 9 from
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Interviews will be
scheduled on a first come-first
served basis.
He can discuss the ad campaign,
caregiving from a personal
experience and the importance of
health & fitness. Gen. Taguba will
not address any questions around
Abu Ghraib or the Taguba Report.
To schedule interviews with
G e n . Ta g u b a , A A R P ' s A s i a n
Am e r i ca n & Pa c i f i c I s l a n d e r
executives, and/or DAE advertising,
p l e a s e
c o n t a c t
[email protected].
Bollard, Executive Director of
the APEC Secretariat.
“This week's meetings can
help to breathe renewed
confidence in the global
economy by laying the
groundwork for increased trade
and investment, and domestic
consumption, noted Dr Bollard
who will discuss the latest
economic trends and put APEC's
agenda in greater context at a
news conference on Thursday.
“Identifying processes for
bridging unfolding regional
agreements and improving the
chances for a positive outcome
during the 9th World Trade
Organization Ministerial
Conference in Bali in December
are components of APEC's
agenda.” The APEC region is
home to about three billion
people, and accounts for 45
percent of global trade and half
of total gross domestic product.
(Issued by the APEC Concluding
Senior Officials' Meeting)
Int’l flight volume
increased 14%
The country's six key
international airports
registered a 14 percent
increase in number of flights in
the first-semester of the year,
while their combined
passenger traffic grew by 8.5
percent during the period.
Data from the Department
of Tourism (DOT) showed that
number of international flights
at airports in Manila, Kalibo,
Cebu, Clark, Davao and Iloilo
reached 27,486 in January to
June this year from 24,184 in
the same period in 2012.
These flights flew in a total
of 4.58 million international
passengers, an increase from
4.22 million in the first sixmonths of last year.
At end-June, the Iloilo
International Airport
registered the biggest gain in
number of flights at 131 from
only four last year, bringing its
total passenger traffic to
significantly increase to 14,681
from 377.
Meanwhile, international
flights of Clark's Diosdado
Macapagal Airport, likewise,
grew 35.4 percent in the firsthalf of the year to 2,590 from
1,913 a year ago, while number
of passengers grew 39 percent
to 289,749 from 208,690.
The Kalibo International
Airp ort , one of t wo a ir
gateways serving the famous
Boracay, also registered a 25
percent increase in foreign
flights from 1,083 in the first
six-months of 2012 to 864 this
year.
International passenger
traffic of Kalibo airport,
likewise, jumped 25 percent
year-on-year to 158,740 in
January to June 2013 from
127,162. Of its total passenger
arrivals, non-Filipino nationals
accounted for 99.8 percent.
Meanwhile, despite delays
in its planned expansion and
rehabilitation, foreign flights at
the Mactan-Cebu International
Airport grew by a hefty 16.6
percent to 2,789 from 2,392 in
the first-semester last year.
International passenger
traffic of the Cebu airport
increased 14 percent at endJune this year to 429,126 from
376,577 a year ago. Of that
number, foreign nationals
arriving at the country's
second-busiest air gateway
accounted for 81.3 percent.
While Philippine
authorities were forced to deny
the request of several airlines
to have regular flights to
M a n i l a , N A I A' s t o t a l
international passenger traffic
slightly grew 5.3 percent at
end-June to 3.68 million from
3.5 million in the same period
last year. Manila Bulletin
Emirates starts ... From page 20
perishables, such as dairy products, fruit and vegetables, meat,
seafood and electrical and electronic equipment, and its
imports of textiles, apparel, plants, flowers and chemical
products.
Emirates is a fast-growing international airline with one of
the youngest fleets in the sky and more than 500 awards for
excellence worldwide. Last year, the airline hauled in US$19.9billion revenues and averages a 15-17 percent growth per
annum. Manila Bulletin
October 4 - 10, 2013
Page 22
Singapore
Europe's organic
importing
market worth $9.5B
Davao Durian
By Bernie Magkilat
The European Chamber of
Commerce of the Philippines
(ECCP) September 30 said it will
push for the Philippines to have a
bigger share of Europe's annual
$9.50 billion organic market.
The ECCP's Fairs & More Inc.
(FMI), a leading trade fair
orga n izer in t he cou n t ry,
together with the Department of
Trade and Industry (DTI) and the
Department of Agriculture (DA)
is bringing 22 companies to
Anuga in Germany the largest
food and beverage fair in the
world.
ECCP vice president for
external affairs Henry
Schumacher said Europe is the
ideal market for the Philippines
considering its rapid increase in
demand for organic products.
“From supermarkets to
butcher shops and bakeries,
there is now a very strong
demand for organic fruits,
PH is most
exciting ...
From page 20
commercial, hotel and interior
design and real estate services
rewards consultancies and
agencies.”
Listed Shang Properties
Realty Corp., was cited as the
“Best Developer” beating peers
(DMCI) Project Developers, Inc.
and Robinsons Land Corp.
Listed Arthaland Corp.,
meanwhile won three of the
available awards grabbing the
“Best Boutique Developer” “Best
Residential Architectural
Design”and the “Best Luxury
Condo (Manila)” awards for its
Arya Residences development.
Pharma Group Zuellig's
Zuellig Building meanwhile won
vegetables, dairy products, and
meats. Most of them are the very
same products the country is
looking forward to export,”
Schumacher said.
He added: “Germany and
France alone represent two of
the three biggest markets for
organic products in the world.
The presence in Anuga is a step in
the right direction for the
country.”
Export Corp., KSK Food Prod.,
Linkage Foods Venture Corp., M.
Lhuillier Food Prod., Mega
Fishing Corp., Miesto
International Foods Corp.,
Monde M.Y. San Corp., Philbest
Canning Corp., Philfresh Corp.,
Philippine Grocers Food Exports
Inc., Prime Fruits International
Inc., Primex Group of Companies
Philippines, Q-Phil Prod. Int.,
Raw Brown Sugar Milling Co. Inc.,
and See's Int. Food Mfg. Corp.
In Anuga, the Philippines will
have its own pavilion at the Fine
Food Section that will be led by
the DTI's Center for International
Trade Expositions and Missions
and DA's Agribusiness and
Marketing Assistance Service.
Aside from organic products,
the ECCP also sees a lot of
potential for the Philippines to
export energy drinks and
coconut water to European
countries.
The companies the ECCP will
be bringing include Alliance
Select Foods Int. Inc., Andy Albao
Enterprise., B-G Fruits and Nuts
M f g . C o r p . , B ra n d e x p o r t s
Philippines Inc., Celebes Canning
Corp., Celebes Coconut Corp.,
Fitrite Inc., GSL Premium Food
“The trend in energy drinks
in Europe is to now have coconut
water as one of its key
component. Again, the
Philippines is in a good position
to supply coconut water to them,”
Schumacher said. Manila
Bulletin
the Best Commercial
Development (office) while
Robinsons Land's Magnolia Town
Center for Best Commercial
Development (Retail).
Zuellig also won an award
under the Best Commercial
Architectural Design category.
Jones Lang LaSalle was cited
as the “Best Property
Management Company” and the
“Best Commercial Agent” in the
Philippines, in the real estate
services category.
Alveo Land, of Ayala Land
meawhile, was cited as the “Best
Residential Agent” awardee.
“The quality of nominations
and entries this year was
exceptional and have set the bar
high for next year's Philippines
P r o p e r t y A w a r d s ,” s a i d
Blackburn.
The winners in all categories
will now go on to compete for
regional recognition in the South
East Property Awards that will be
held in Singapore on October 31.
A panel of judges with
oversight by Binder Dijker Otte &
Co (BDO) International Limited
evaluated all nominations and
entries this year.
The short-listed projects
were subjected to site inspections
before the judging panel
submitted their list of Winners
and Highly Commended
developments and businesses to
BDO International Limited.
“The independent panel of
judges as well as the entire
judging process is paramount for
us and has been the cornerstone
of success for these awards. BDO
International Limited oversaw
the entire process from start to
finish ensuring that the judging
process was done fairly and
without bias nor favor,” added
Blackburn. Malaya Business
By Alexander D. Lopez
Davao City -- Export of
Philippine fruits has achieved
another milestone with locally
produced Durian making its
way to the Singaporean market.
After long years of waiting,
Davao's exotic fruit has finally
found its way to the
international market through a
Singaporean buyer, announced
the Department of Agriculture
Region-11 office (DA-11).
Larry Miculob, a durian
farmer, recently shipped 25
boxes 200 pieces at eight pieces
per box, or approximately 500
kilograms of fresh durian to
Singapore, coinciding with the
peak season of durian harvests
here.
Three to four years ago,
Miculob said durian was
exported to China. But it
stopped over packaging
concerns as well as the fruit's
smell and taste.
DA-11 admitted there is a
need to educate people in other
countries on the extraordinary
characteristic of durian to
appreciate it as an exotic fruit,
including its nutritional value.
Though, Miculob has earned
a mark for the Davao fruit, both
he and DA-11 are waiting for the
assessment of his first shipment
on how durian would play in
Singapore market, its
acceptability, especially the
taste.
“If there will be a repeat
Aquino leads
launch ...
From page 20
systems. It was laid out to avoid
quake prone areas in the Pacific
to protect the region during
strong earthquakes.
In 2006, connectivity in Asia
was compromised when two
earthquakes off the coast of
Taiwan damaged the cables.
With this modern telecom
infrastructure, the President
said he expects more reliable
text messaging and voice
services, and higher-speed
Internet links between the
countries linked with the Globe's
system.
The President said the
banking and the BPO sectors will
also benefit from this improved
communications capacities,
adding that it will become
another selling point for the
country's growing fields like
medical transcription,
engineering services, and
animation.
T h i s w i l l a l s o g re a t ly
enhance the government's
capabilities to serve the people,
order, then that's it,” Miculob
said.
Should the Davao Durian
finally conquers the
Singaporean market, the city
government here also plans to
export the exotic fruit to other
foreign markets, particularly to
the United States.
Right now, the Singapore
market wants to buy durian in
Davao during lean months in
Thailand, the main supplier of
durian in that country, Miculob
said. Durian from Thailand and
Malaysia, he said, are relatively
cheaper compared to the
P h i l i p p i n e s d u e to t h e i r
proximity to Singapore.
But due to the constant high
demand and given that lean
months for durian in Thailand
from May to August, suppliers in
Singapore are to find alternative
supply from the Philippines.
Based on the data provided
by the DA-11, durian
production in Davao reached
26,000 tons in 2011, while
Tagum City produced about
7,000 tons in 2010; 7,500 tons
in 2011; and around 8,000 tons
in 2012.
And his advice to would-be
durian exporters: foreign
markets only need a single
variety of durian that farmers
here must focus on.
The Miculob durian farm is
devoted to the “Puyat variety,”
taste of which is similar to
durian products from Malaysia
and Singapore. Manila Bulletin
he added. For instance, the cable
system broadens its access to
government services such as
Project NOAH or the National
Operational Assessment of
Hazards, which allows the public
to be more informed about
disaster mitigation.
Improved access to the
internet also means easier public
access to timely updates from
government agencies such as
PAGASA, the Metropolitan
Manila Development Authority,
and the Official Gazette, the
President said.
He pointed out that the
system will also make it easier
for the 10 million Filipinos living
or working abroad to connect
with their relatives here in the
Philippines, strengthening
family ties.
“And many of us have
corresponded with a relative
working in a faraway country,
trying to make life better for
their loved ones back home.
What this cable promises us goes
b eyo n d i n f ra s t r u c t u re ; i t
promises to make the
Philippines a country with 10
million overseas workers a
country even more closely knit
than before,” the President
concluded.
ENTERTAINMENT
Page 23
October 4 - 10, 2013
The teenage girl
who beat Ate Guy
Teri Malvar, 13, played a lesbian, won best actress
By Bayani San Diego Jr.
Jericho Rosales in 'Alagwa' (Photo from the film's Facebook page)
'Alagwa' wins
big at GIFF
By Jecelyn V. Macahindog
trafficking when his son Brian
(Bugoy Cariño) goes missing.
The Jericho Rosales-starrer
“Alagwa” (international title
“Breakaway”) bagged two major
a wa rd s a t t h e 2 0 1 3 G u a m
International Film Festival (GIFF)
held at the Agana Center Stadium
Theaters in Agana, Guam from
Sept. 24 to 29.
This isn't the first international
award for Rosales. The Kapamilya
actor won Best Actor awards at the
Newport Beach Film Festival 2013
and at the First ASEAN
International Film Festival. The
film also earned Rosales his Gawad
Urian Best Actor.
Chosen as the festival's closing
film, “Alagwa” got the Grand Jury
Award winner for Best Narrative
Feature, as posted on GIFF's official
website. The film about human
trafficking bested the other
n o m i n e e s f ro m t h e U n i t e d
Kingdom (“Girl Shaped Love Drug,”
Simon Powell) and South Korea
(“Jiseul,” O Muel).
As posted on his Facebook
page, Rosales said of his and the
film's latest feat: “Thank you so
much @ianlorenos for giving me
the most meaningful movie role to
date in my career. Congratulations
to us and our entire #Alagwa team
for bagging best narrative and
outstanding acting achievement in
#GIFF2013! To God be the glory!
We have great actors in our movie
and artists&crew with big hearts!!i
can't wait for October 9!
@alagwamovie @manila_genesis
#breakaway.”
The third run of the annual
festival, with over nearly three
hundred submissions from over 30
countries worldwide, also saw
Rosales getting an Achievement in
Acting plum. In the movie, Rosales
plays the impoverished single
parent, Robert Lim, who unearths
the dark facets of human
“Alagwa” is set for a theatrical
run in the Philippines starting Oct.
9. Manila Bulletin
Even she couldn't believe
she won best actress over
more formidable and seasoned
rivals like Nora Aunor, Eula
Valdes, Angeli Bayani, and
Tuesday Vargas.
Teri Malvar, 13 years
young, achieved the seemingly
impossible and received
precisely that honor at the first
CineFilipino Film Festival. She
plays a young lesbian in the
throes of first love in Sigrid
Andrea P. Bernardo's “Ang
Huling Chacha ni Anita.”
A Grade 7 pupil from
Parañaque, Teri acknowledged
t h a t L a Au n o r wa s t h e
frontrunner in the race. “I was
very surprised; I thought she
would win. I saw 'Himala' on
cable and I know how good she
is. My mom has a book of the
'Himala' script by Ricky Lee at
home.”
When Teri heard her name
called, she was ecstatic. “It was
a big reward for all that hard
work,” she said.
Indeed, while most girls
her age spent last summer
loafing, Teri was making her
debut film. And then she
brought home an acting trophy
for it!
Teri said the shoot in Cavite
was like a “field trip” for her
and fellow child actors Lenlen
Frial and Solomon de Guzman.
She related, “Between
takes, we would play games.
surprised me with the results.
In her, I saw Anita's character
and sincerity.”
Sigrid admitted that the
role could have been too heavy
for a 13-year-old. “Every so
often, I would remind her that
we were only making a movie,”
the filmmakers said.
Just in case, Sigrid's mom, a
psychologist, was around. But
Sigrid never had to consult her.
“I didn't want to stress her out,
either, because she was also
the field cashier.”
Teri said Sigrid taught her
how to talk with a deeper
voice, and how to walk like a
tomboy. “She said I shouldn't
exaggerate my movements,
because Anita should still look
like a normal kid.”
Eventually, Teri “became”
Anita, “a confused kid who
didn't know why she fell in love
with another girl.”
TERI Malvar would rather focus
on her studies and leave show
biz to her mom. ARNOLD
ALMACEN
We had a lot of fun. We became
best buddies.”
Psychologist mom
I n s p i t e o f Te r i ' s
inexperience, her director said
the young actress got the job
one efficiently. “She attended a
series of workshops and
Most challenging
The most challenging part
could very well be the scene in
which her onscreen crush
Angel Aquino cuts her long
tresses. Yes, that was Teri's
hair.
“I wasn't scared,” the young
actress said, “because that was
part of Anita's transformation.”
Angel, who won best
supporting actress for the
same movie, went out of her
way to make her teen co-star
feel at ease.
u
Page 24
Matchbox Twenty Live in Manila!
Jennifer Catuyong as Nicki Minaj, 'It's Showtime's' Second Ultimate Kalokalike
'Nicki Minaj' raves about
win, amazing Filipino fans
By Jecelyn V. Macahindog
Her win may not be of
international magnitude but
Ultimate Kalokalike Jennifer
Catuyong a.k.a. “Nicki Minaj” is
happy that her crushes have been
noticing her at last.
The impersonator from Cavite,
who works as a call center agent,
was hailed as the second grand
winner of the Ultimate Kalokalike
contest of ABS-CBN's noontime
show “It's Showtime.”
“ T r u e , e x a c t l y. N g a y o n
pinapansin na ako ng mga crush
ko,” Catuyong, fresh from her
Popular pop rock group Matchbox Twenty is slated for a one-night show on Nov. 8 at
the SM Mall of Asia Arena. Presented by MMI, “Matchbox Twenty Live in Manila” will
feature the hits “Bent,” “Unwell,” “If You're Gone,” “Put Your Hands Up” and “She's So
Mean” as only group members Rob Thomas, Paul Doucette, Kyle Cook and Brian Yale
can deliver. Tickets available at SM Tickets or smtickets.com. (Crispina Martinez Belen, Manila Bulletin)
u
Page 26
October 4 - 10, 2013
Page 24
Mitoy on 'Voice PH' win:
Masaya at pinagpala ako
MANILA – Veteran band
vocalist Mitoy Yonting is still
reeling from his victory
Sunday night after he was
named the first-ever winner of
“The Voice of the Philippines.”
Yonting said he feels
blessed that a lot of people
voted for him. “Masayang
masaya po ako. Pinagpala ako
ngayong araw na ito.
Maraming salamat sa Diyos at
sa mga gumastos ng load nila,”
he said.
Yonting said he is clueless
as to how he got a massive
support but added that he
would like to believe that those
who voted for him really
believed in his talent.
“Siguro 'yung mga
nakakapanood ng gigs ko, baka
doon ko nahuli ang loob nila.
Siguro 'yun ang nagtulak sa
kanila para suportahan ako,”
he said unsurely.
Asked what he is planning
to do with the P2-million cash
prize, Yonting said in jest: “Pagiisipan muna. Itatago ko muna,
siguro after 40 years saka ko
gagalawin. Magkano ang
interes no'n?”
Speaking on a serious note,
the 42-year-old member of
Team Lea said he would
Veteran band vocalist Mitoy Yonting
definitely think about how to
spend the money considering
what he went through to clinch
the victory.
“Pag-iisipan ko muna,
mahirap 'yung bigla kasi
malaking pera. Kung alam niyo
lang ang hriap niyan, talagang
mahirap kaya sisiguraduhin ko
na maayos ang paggagamitan
ko,” he said.
Aside from Yonting, his
coach, Tony winner Lea
Salonga, was equally elated
that her bet won.
“It's been interesting. It's
been amazing. It's been
wonderful. It's been a learning
experience for me because this
is the first time I've coached
like this. I'm hoping that he
actually got something from it,”
she said.
According to Salonga, she
and Yonting did not expect the
victory and that they were
already content with the top 2
spot.
“For me kasi, we were also
talking about it na okay na, we
are in the top 2, we are fine.
Whatever is God's will, that's
what will happen. The kaba
was gone because at that point,
it was beyond us,” she said.
“I think it's God's will that
we got the second spot to sing
which made me happy that he
got to sing last. He picked a
song that he knew, he's
comfortable with, that he
didn't have to learn,” she
added.
Saying Yonting is deserving
of the win, Salonga is hoping
the world will get to know his
talent and good heart.
As the first-ever winner of
“The Voice of the Philippines,”
Yonting won a P2 million, a
new car, an Asian tour package
for two and a four-year
recording contract with MCA
Universal.
Denise Laurel engaged
to basketball player
MANILA -- Actress Denise
Laurel is now in cloud nine after
getting engaged with basketball
player Solomon "Sol" Mercado.
On her official Instagram,
Laurel shared photos and videos
of her special day.
"I'm still speechless but I got to
say the most important word...
Yes!.. My love @m3rcmywords I
thought I was already so blessed
having u as a good friend through
the years..but God just keeps on
blessing us doesn't he? Lil warrior
and I love u with all of our hearts
and I know mom dad n the whole
gang do as well," she said.
"I am so excited for the downs
as ofcourse ups along the way so
we can grow together more with
God leading our partnership:) ur
lil warrior n my best friend and
now life partner :) I can go on and
on but words can even describe
how I feel.. I love u with all of me ,"
she added.
Laurel said she was very
surprised by the proposal, which
she described as "perfect". She
also showed off her engagement
ring.
In another post, Laurel also
thanked all her fans who also
expressed happiness over the
engagement.
Denise Laurel
Laurel clarified that Solomon
is not her son's biological father,
but he is the "best father" to her
son.
"No he's not the father of lil
warrior biologically but he is the
best father /daddy to lil warrior
we are so blessed to have him n
our family," she added.
In previous interviews, Laurel
refused to reveal the identity of
her son's father, except to say that
he is an Italian-American.
Also on Instagram, Mercado
expressed his happiness to have
Laurel in his life.
Laurel is now busy working on
the hit series "Annaliza."
TERI, right, said co-star Angel Aquino, left, treated her like a daughter on
the set of “Chacha.”
The teenage
girl ...
From page 23
“She was like a mother to me,”
Teri said. “She didn't act like a
celebrity at all. She was just a
regular person.”
Wants to be a nun
Teri herself would like to
maintain a semblance of normalcy
even after her very early triumph.
Initially, she told only a
handful of friends about the
movie. But now her entire school
(not to mention the whole
country) knows about her best
actress win. “My classmates
congratulated me; some even
asked for my autograph.”
Teri has no plans of acting full
time, however.
She's leaving show biz to her
mom Cherry, who acts in TV
shows, commercials and movies.
(Cherry previously appeared in
“Barako,” “Kubrador,” “Bakal
Boys” and “I Do Bidoo Bidoo.” She
had a small role in “Chacha,” a
jealous wife who quarreled with
Angel.)
Teri, whose favorite subject is
English, hopes to take up Fine Arts
or Medicine in the future.
“But after school, I hope to
enter the convent and become a
nun,” she quipped.
Why the contemplative life?
“I want to serve the church. I
want to live peacefully,” Teri said..
Inquirer.net
October 4 - 10, 2013
Page 25
With Ai Ai and Marian, 'Kung Fu
Divas' expected to be a blockbuster
By Crispina Martinez - Belen
Derek Ramsay and Cristine Reyes
After a month, Derek,
Cristine break up
MANILA -- TV5 ACTOR and
host Derek Ramsay and ABS-CBN
talent Cristine Reyes are no longer
a couple.
According to a friend of the
couple, the two called it quits after
just one month of dating.
The friend, who refused to be
named, said Derek is not yet ready
to talk about the break-up, but he is
doing really well right now.
Speculations about the
breakup began circulating online
after Ramsay changed his
Instagram username from
“kingderekramsay” to
“kidlatramsay11.”
Meanwhile, from the username
@QueenCKRamsay, Reyes is now
using the Twitter name
@AwesomeQueenCk.
While Ramsay has now kept his
image-sharing account private,
Reyes, for her part, has not posted
any picture with the actor in the
past few days. Reyes and Ramsay
became a couple last August 28.
Prior to their relationship, the
two first were tapped to play a
married couple in the romancedrama film "No Other Woman" in
2011. At the time, Reyes and
Ramsay were still with their
respective partners.
It was only only in January
2013 that Reyes and actor-dancer
Rayver Cruz made a televised
announcement of their separation,
which happened the previous year.
Ramsay and actress Angelica
Panganiban, on the other hand,
broke up in February 2012.
Since Reyes' separation from
Cruz, the actress and Ramsay have
been romantically linked. While the
two admitted that they frequently
go out, they maintained they were
only friends.
The two said becoming a
couple came unexpectedly for them
as they had intended to be only
good friends.
Angelica Panganiban
not ready to be a mom
MANILA -- Actress Angelica
Panganiban said she's not ready
yet to settle down and start a
family.
The Kapamilya star said this
after she was asked on the
pregnancy of close friend and
"Banana Split" co-host Melai
Cantiveros, who is expecting her
first child with boyfriend Jason
Francisco.
Angelica said it is a big
responsibility and her main focus
remains to be her show biz career
and immediate family.
"Malaking responsibilidad
'yun and I think 'yung ganoong
mga bagay ay pinaghahandaan,
pinag-iisipan, pinag paplanuhan.
Mas gusto kong nasa tamang
plano 'yung pagkakaroon ko ng
additional sa akin buhay."
What's important is that she's
happy in a relationship with
boyfriend John Lloyd Cruz, she
said. Happy and nagpaplano na
kami," she jokingly said. Angelica
With Comedy Concert
Queen Ai Ai delas Alas and
Primetime Queen Marian
Rivera headlining “Kung Fu
Divas,” how could it not be a
blockbuster at the tills? Both
have proven box office power,
and joining forces just doubles
the potential of their very first
film together.
But what could be most
significant and unforgettable
for both Ai Ai (a Kapamilya star)
and Marian (a Kapuso) is the
friendship they've forged
together while filming “Kung Fu
Divas.” At the recent press
conference for the movie held
at ABS-CBN's Dolphy Theater
(which we consider one of the
most interesting ever) both Ai
Ai and Marian were all praises
for each other.
Asked about her reaction
when told of the project, Ai Ai
recalled saying, “Si Marian?
Wow! Pinayagan ba siya?”
When they met, Ai Ai found
Marian “parang Virgin Mary
ang dating” in that “ang ganda
niya pala, ang puti-puti, at ang
sweet pala niya…” She also said
Marian is very thoughtful,
“laging may pasalubong.”
Kung Fu Divas:
Ai Ai delas Alas
and
Marian Rivera
Marian said she's honored
to work with Ai Ai. “Si Ate Ai,
Box Office Queen yata 'yan pero
napaka-down-to-earth niya.
May maganda kaming
chemistry, ipinantay niya ako sa
kanya. Para bang kinuha niya
ang kamay ko at iniangat niya
ako.”
The two lauded the film's
to p c a l i b e r c o n c e p t a n d
execution. “Dahil sa movie na
ito, viewers will realize that
Pinoys are very talented at kaya
nating gumawa ng pangH o l ly w o o d n a m a t e r ya l .
Marami na akong comedy films
na nagawa pero ibang klase ang
katatawanan dito, hindi mo maexplain. Kailangan talaga siya
panoorin,” Ai Ai said.
Marian added: “First time
ko rin pong nakatrabaho si
u
Page 27
Dingdong, Bea unfazed by
possible romantic links
Dingdong Dantes
and
Bea Alonzo
napapaanood ko lang siya sa
TV or sa big screen, ngayon
katrabaho ko na. It's a big
thing, especially because we
don't get to work with each
other always kasi magkaiba
kami ng network,” he said.
Dantes said he is fortunate
to see the real side of Alonzo,
who is a prized actress of the
Kapamilya network.
“Honestly, ako I really think
and I believe that she's
sincerely a nice person. Kasi
kung ano ang nakikita mo sa
kanya on screen, 'yun talaga
siya. She's transparent enough
na malalaman mo how nice she
is,” he said.
“She makes everything
seem so light. Kahit anong
klaseng set up iyan, kahit
anong klaseng lugar, she's very
bubbly. Para sa akin, natutunan
ko na not to take things too
seriously sometimes. Relax
lang din pero kapag roll na,
biglang automatic, ang galing
eh. Ibang klase,” he added.
Alonzo, on the other hand,
said he likes how Dantes keeps
himself grounded despite all
his achievements.
“Na-humble ako kasi he's
been here for the longest time
and matagal na siyang nasa
MANILA -- As early as now,
believes their personal lives
Dingdong Dantes and Bea
will actually help them with
Alonzo scoffed at questions
their roles.
about a possible romance now
“This is how I see it -- what
that they are set to star as a love
we have sa personal lives
team in the upcoming movie
namin, it actually helps us
"She's the One" under Star
become more professional kasi
Cinema.
sa mga kanya-kanya naming
Dantes is currently in a
buhay, nakakakuha kami ng
relationship with actress
mga joy and learnings na naaMarian Rivera, while Alonzo is
apply namin sa mga kanya
the girlfriend of actor Zanjoe
kanya naming buhay and sa
Marudo.
work,” he said.
Angelica Panganiban
Alonzo said she believes
Shoving off any possible
viewers are wise enough to
intrigues between them,
added, "Okay naman kami, busy
decipher which rumors are
Dantes said he is just happy to
siya and busy din ako. Lagi kasing
true or not.
be given the chance to work
perfect, everyday." The two
“Feeling ko hindi na siya
with Alonzo.
recently celebrated their first
uso. People are smart enough
“Nakakamangha. Ako I also
anniversary together. Angelica
to
know
kung
ano
ang
totoo
get
to see 'yung mga ginawa
revealed their respective families
and
hindi
totoo.
I
trust
the
niyang
movies, like kanina sa
were present during the small
p e o p l e ,” s h e s a i d .
Cinema One pinalabas yung
dinner.
D a n te s , fo r h i s p a r t ,
'The Mistress.' Sabi ko parang
u
Page 26
u
Page 27
October 4 - 10, 2013
Page 26
Hailee Steinfeld: Proud to be a Filipino
By Janet Nepales
I am Filipino, too. And I am like
'Yes, this is awesome!' So it is
sort of this one thing that
connected me with many people
that I find is really interesting.
It's really a dream of mine to
visit the Philippines one day.”
Los Angeles -- The first time
we met Hailee Steinfeld was
when she did “True Grit,” where
she got an Oscar nom for her
portrayal of Mattie Ross in the
2010 Coen brothers film and she
attended the Miss Golden Globe
event with her dad, personal
fitness trainer Peter Steinfeld.
She was proud to share with us
her Filipino roots on her mother
side.
When we interviewed her
recently for “Romeo and Juliet,”
Hailee was a vision of
confidence, poise, glamour and
charm. The very smart and
eloquent 16-year-old was
excited to see us.
“Hi, how are you?” she said
as she greeted us when she
walked into the Burton Room of
the Four Seasons Hotel in
Beverly Hills. Dressed in a
stylish Mary Katrantzou top and
a mini skirt, and red fashionable
Cassidy shoes, Hailee displayed
her maturity and intelligence as
she answered our questions.
Accompanied by her mother, the
former interior designer Cheri
Domasin from Bohol, who sat
behind the room and allowed
Hailee to shine, Hailee
acknowledged the great
Hailee Steinfeld
influence of her mother on her.
“My relationship with my
m o t h e r i s a m a z i n g ,” s h e
disclosed. “My mom and I are so
close. She travels the world with
me and I could not do what I am
doing without her by my side. I
found that the best thing when I
am in a group of people, I would
have one or two people come up
to me and say, 'You are Filipino!'
Hailee admitted that the first
people who influenced her into
pursuing acting seriously were
“the people whom I have
worked with Jeff Bridges, Matt
Damon and Josh Brolin.” She
said, “They are three of the most
incredible actors and people I
have worked with. Then, there is
also Paul Giamatti who is in
'Romeo and Juliet.' I had some
great conversations with him
just sort of on the side that is
always so much fun because you
are wrapped up in filming. It's
hard to find time to really sit
down, talk, but you tend to have
that small talk, and even that
means so much. I really find
inspiration in everyone that I
meet.”
Aside from “Romeo and
Juliet,” Hailee revealed that the
love story of her parents
inspires her. “It is something
that I see everyday and that I
admire. I hope that I have a
relationship like that when I am
older.”
Asked what Juliet was for
her growing up, Hailee
confessed, “I was just actually
discovering 'Romeo and Juliet'
at the time the film came
around. I was reading the book
in school at the time.”
She disclosed, “I have never
had a love like Juliet's. In fact, I
have never fallen in love yet. So
doing the movie, I was really
able to explore the romantic
side of Juliet and it was an
emotion that I had to really
think about since I have never
been in love yet.
“There's something so
satisfying of that whole feeling
of being infatuated and being in
love, and just being able to sort
of explore that and play that was
so interesting, so much fun and
an element that really had to be
t here wa s t he chemist ry
between the two characters.
That was also really fun working
with Douglas Booth (who plays
Romeo) and everyone in the film
really working together had so
much to do with helping me out
with my performance.”
Scriptwriter Julian Fellowes
(“Downton Abbey”) added
about Hailee, “There is
something about innocence that
is very difficult to fake, and so it
was lovely to have the real
thing.” Manila Bulletin
Angelica not
ready to
become a
mom ...
From page 25
"Makapag-celebrate
lang, magkasama kayo and
maging thankful sa nabigay
na pagkakataon na maging
masaya yung buong taon.
Kung sino ang mga naging
mahala sa atin, nakatulong
sa atin na makaabot sa
ganito, naging parte sila ng
buhay natin, so wag natin
ipagdamot na yung
celebration ay sa atin lang,"
said Angelica.
When asked how their
first year went, especially
with all the intrigues and
controversies, Angelica
said they're happy and
they don't let intrigues
affect the relationship.
"Okay na okay kami
kaya yung intriga hindi siya
nag matter talaga. Para
hindi nga namin napansin
na may mga tao palang may
ayaw sa amin dahil wala
din naman kaming
naramdaman na ganoon."
Reginal Abrio as Apl.de.ap
“Nicki Minaj’ ...
From page 23
victory, said during her live
interview on “Umagang Kay
Ganda,” Monday.
Bianca Gonzalez, as well as
the rest of the “UKG” hosts,
couldn't help but be amazed over
Catuyong's resemblance and
flawless impression of the
international recording artist's
antics. Channeling her character
Nicki Minaj, she continued:
“Amazing, it's really incredible,
you know.”
“Ready ka na ba to be in a
relationship?” Gonzalez
prodded. “Minaj” responded,
“Nah, not yet. I'm sorry.”
As the “Super Bass” singer
marks her first appearance on
the show, Gonzalez welcomed
“Minaj” to the Philippines and
requested the latter for a
message to her Filipino fans.
“Thank you so much for
having me here in Umegeng Key
Gonda ('Umagang Kay Ganda')…
To all the Filipino Barbs
(collective term for Minaj's fans)
out there, Philippines is really
amazing, incredible,” Catuyong
quipped.
Also with Catuyong is first
runner-up Reginal Abrio a.k.a.
“Apl.de.ap” whom Gonzalez
congratulated for the successful
run of “The Voice of the
Philippines.”
A s “ C o a c h A p l ,” A b r i o
congratulated the first Voice of
the Philippines title holder Mitoy
Yonting. “Happy also (for him)
and talagang binigay niya ang
best niya para magwagi sa laban
niya.” Manila Bulletin
October 4 - 10, 2013
Page 27
John Arcilla spectacular in 'Metro Manila’
By Dolly Anne Carvajal
John Arcilla is like family to me.
His late Auntie Erly was one of my
mom's “loyalists.” John was also
the acting coach of my dala-gay, IC,
during his child actor days. That's
why I'm mighty proud of John,
who's making waves in the
international scene.
His movie, “Metro Manila”
( h e l m e d a n d c o w r i t te n by
acclaimed British director Sean
Ellis), bagged the Audience Award
in the World Cinema-Dramatic
section of the Sundance Film
Festival.
Also in the film are Jake
Macapagal and Althea Vega, who
play a poverty-stricken couple
from the Mountain Province
seeking greener pastures in
chaotic Metro Manila.
It will represent the United
Kingdom in the best foreign
language category of the 86th
Oscars derby. John's portrayal of a
tough security officer has drawn
spectacular reviews from foreign
critics.
Kudos, John for bringing home
the bacon. Our country is in dire
need of that kind of “pork” these
days.
What made “Metro Manila”
clinch the Sundance award?
The plot is very simple, very
“mainstream.” But its texture, the
shot composition, and Sean's point
of view blend well with his
storytelling and honest
philosophy about art and
realitythese elements made the
film powerful. As actors, we
blended well with his intentions.
How did your involvement
with the project start?
When I auditioned, I wasn't
really excited. I knew Sean was an
Oscar nominee for his short film
(“Cashback”). I thought, how could
someone from a different country
write a good film about us? That
kept bugging me even after I
auditioned, especially when he
said he visited the Philippines only
once. He got inspired by a scene he
saw between two security guards.
In 2011, he started the project.
A lot of things were going on in our
country that year and I thought I
wouldn't accept it if an outsider
mocked our situation. He gave me
the script, and as soon as I started
reading, I was hooked! Suddenly, I
felt lucky. It's a good thing that
Sean decided to do it here instead
of in another country.
Tell us about your Sundance
experience.
Utah was snowy. Sean and Jake
were not even planning to stay
until the fest's end. I guess Sean
didn't want to expect, but I was
ready to stay until the end. I told
him and his wife Tilly that I would
stay because somebody had to
receive our trophy. They thought I
was crazy!
We saw how delegates from
different countries received our
film. There were standing ovations
and tears. My intuition was right.
When the emcee called “Metro
Manila,” I couldn't stop myself
from shouting!
Why is “Metro Manila” a mustsee?
The theme is so universal that
everyone can relate to its take on
sacrifice and survival. It can
happen in any city. And Sean is one
hell of an artist.
What's the difference between
working with a Filipino crew and a
foreign one?
From “Amigo” to “The Bourne
Legacy,” to “Metro Manila,” most
crews are mixed. Pinoys are so
competent that they can work
reliably even under pressure.
Foreigners were so impressed by
our crew's professionalism.
I must say that the discipline of
an eight-hour work schedule
matters to them. I think that will
also make a difference here. I
would really love for that to
happen in our industry.
Tell us about your close
encounters with Hollywood stars.
Rachel Weisz and I had time to
talk (on the set of “Bourne”). She
was so bothered by the shanties
and poverty. She wondered what
the government was doing about
it. She was so nice and very downto-earth.
What's your formula for good
acting?
JOHN Arcilla in “Metro Manila”
Analyze the script. Be real.
Listen to coactors. Explore, play
around, go out of the box but don't
lose respect for others' work.
Acting is a collaborative process.
What tips do you give aspiring
actors?
Dingdong, Bea
unfazed ...
From page 25
posisyon niya pero hindi pa rin
malaki ang ulo niya. Hindi siya
nale-late and hindi siya nagdedemand. Sana maging ganun
din ako. Gusto ko maging
kagaya niya,” she said.
Just like Dantes, Alonzo
said it is really an honor for her
to work with the 33-year-old
actor.
“Very smart, very sincere
din. Siya ang closet geek for
me. Masarap siyang kasama
kasi parang kaya niyang
With Ai Ai and
Marian ...
From page 25
Direk Onat Diaz, first time kong
magkaroon ng comedy-action na
pelikula, at siyempre first movie
ko po ito from Star Cinema.”
Ai Ai and Marian co-produced
the film together with Star
Cinema, Reality Entertainment
and O & Co. Picture Factory. As co-
Everyone is an actor. The only
difference between professionals
and everyone else is that they do
not mind doing it again and again
in front of cameras, for a purpose
that is bigger than them.
Inquirer.net
makisama sa kahit sinong tao.
Ang dali niyang pakisamahan.
Ako talagang nag-wish ako na
makatrabaho ko siya. Natupad.
Hindi naman siya pinaplano,
hindi ko rin sinabi sa Star
Cinema pero nangyari. Nung
nangyari, oo agad ako,” she
said.
"She's the One" marks the
third consecutive year Dantes,
a prized talent of GMA-7, is
starring in a film produced by
ABS-CBN's Star Cinema.
The romantic-comedy film,
which is expected to hit
cinemas later this year, is
among Star Cinema's bigscreen offerings in celebration
of its 20th anniversary.
producer, Ai Ai had to forego her
talent fee, and so with Marian
“pero dahil mas mababa ang
talent fee ko kay Ate Ai Ai
kailangan magdagdag ako,”
Marian revealed.
“Kung Fu Divas,” which opens
on Oct.2 in theaters nationwide,
i s p a r t o f S t a r C i n e m a' s
continuing celebration of its 20th
anniversary. Also in the cast are
Roderick Pa u la te, Edwa rd
Mendez, Bianca Manalo, Precious
Lara Quigaman, Nova Villa and
Gloria Diaz. Manila Bulletin
SPORTS
Manny Pacquiao
Fortune aims to revive
Pacman's fortunes
By Nick Giongco
Manny Pacquiao is bringing
in his former conditioning coach
as he steps up his preparations to
revive his sagging fortunes in the
ring.
The return of Justin Fortune,
a Los Angeles-based Australian,
t o Te a m P a c q u i a o w a s
announced by Pacquiao's adviser
Mike Koncz yesterday.
Koncz said Fortune, an exheavyweight fighter, will arrive
on Oct. 6 and will immediately
head to General Santos City
where Pacquiao is holding his
training camp.
Fortune will replace Alex
Ariza who was fired by Pacquiao
following a feud with trainer
Freddie Roach.
Ariza quickly found a new
master in Brandon Rios, who will
be Pacquiao's opponent in an
important comeback fight on
Nov. 24 in Macau.
The 47-year-old Fortune left
Pacquiao in April 2007 after
Pacquiao's fight with Jorge Solis
of Mexico. Like Ariza, Fortune left
because a misunderstanding
with Roach. Koncz said he has
talked with Roach, who assured
him that he won't have any
problems working again with
Fortune, whose boxing record is
15-9-2, with nine knockouts. One
of Fortune's defeats was a fourthround knockout to former
undisputed world heavyweight
king Lennox Lewis.
Fortune's training skills
helped Pacquiao become the
boxer that he is. The Australian is
credited for helping Pacquiao
score a landmark victory over
Marco Antonio Barrera in San
Antonio, Texas, in Nov. 2003.
The electrifying win over
Barrera turned Pacquiao into a
hot property.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao worked
out a sweat yesterday at the MP
Towers (site of the L&M Gym),
displaying speed and power and
a lot more, assuring those in
attendance that he hasn't lost a
step despite his knockout loss to
Juan Manuel Marquez.
On hand was Gerry Peñalosa,
his long-time buddy and former
two-time world champion, who
was impressed by Pacquiao's
splendid showing.
“He remains the same. The
same old Manny,” said Penalosa.
Manila Bulletin
GM Gomez posts
3rd win in GM tilt
Grandmaster John Paul
Gomez defeated Richard
Bitoon to notch his third
straight win in the Battle of the
Grandmaster Chess
Championship at the
Philippine Sports Commission
Conference Room.
The former La Salle
standout won after 35 moves
of an Old Indian defense to
remain on top of the
tournament organized by the
National Chess Federation of
the Philippines in cooperation
with the PSC and Philippine
Olympic Committee.
Twelve-time national open
champion Joey Antonio beat
International Master Joel
Pimentel after 39 moves of a
Nimzo-Indian defense to grab
the solo second spot with two
wins and one draw.
IM Emmanuel Senador
posted his first victory after
three rounds, beating Fide
Master Jony Habla after 34
moves of a Catalan opening.
Senador drew with GM Eugene
Torre before losing to Gomez
by default.
US-based GM Rogelio
“Banjo Barcenilla, Jr. drew for
the third time in as many
matches, this time to National
Master Narquinden Reyes
after 30 moves of a King's
Indian defense. Manila
Bulletin
October 4 - 10, 2013
Page 28
Benjie Paras son World
U-18 slam dunk champ
The son of the former
“Tower of Power” proved to be
just as promising.
Showcasing his high-flying
act on the world stage, Kobe
Paras bagged the slam dunk
crown in the side event of the
Fiba 3×3 Under-18 World
Championship Sunday night in
Jakarta.
Paras, the 16-year-old son
of former PBA superstar
Benjie Paras, beat out 6-foot-7
Antonio Morales of Spain and
6-5 Demonte Flannigan of the
United States in the final round
where he soared over a
teammate on a motorcycle for
a one-handed jam.
His feat came just as the
other under-16 national team
secured a quarterfinal berth in
the Fiba Asia U16
Championship in Tehran, Iran
The 6-foot-5 Paras, whose
father is the only Rookie and
MVP awardee on the same
year in the PBA, had earlier
te a m e d u p w i t h T h i rdy
Ravena, Arvin Tolentino and
Prince Rivero to capture the
Fiba Asia 3×3 championship
last May.
Paras and Co. continued
THE PHILIPPINES' Kobe Paras (center) is flanked on the podium by silver
medalist Antonio Morales of Spain (right) and bronze medalist Demonte
Flannigan of the US after winning the Fiba Under-18 slam dunk crown in
Jakarta Sunday night. FIBA.COM
their surprise run in the
Worlds with a 3-0 start, before
bowing to big guns like USA
and China in a four-game skid.
Meanwhile, the U16
national team secured a slot in
the knockout quarterfinal
stage even before playing its
last second-round match
versus India Monday night.
The U16 boys, who have
been leaning on the consistent
games of Michael Nieto and
Paul Desiderio, stood tied for
second with Japan at 3-1
behind Chinese Taipei's
perfect 4-0 slate in Group F.
Defending champion China
also remained unbeaten in
four games in Group E.
After a thrilling escape
over Kazakhstan (90-88), the
Philippines fell to Chinese
Taipei (90-95) but recovered
by routing Japan (94-76) and
Jordan (73-60). Jasmine W.
Payo. Inquirer.net
October 4 - 10, 2013
Page 29
The 5th Annual Yalin Women's World 10-Ball
Championship in Manila
The Yalin World Championship is where players such as
Jasmin Ouschan & Kelly Fisher became World Champions
Manila -- Dragon
Promotions is pleased to
announce the fifth
installment of the greatest
women's tournament in the
world, the 2013 Yalin
Women's World 10-Ball
Championship!
This year's edition will
take place October 28 November 4, 2013 at the
luxurious Resorts World
Manila, an upscale hotel and
casino adding onto the
dynamic atmosphere of the
coveted championship.
Final Stage 1 Qualifiers will
be held at Star Billiards
Manila on October 28-29
and the pre-event press
conference on October
30th.
An elite 48 world class
lady pros, the best of the
best from 20 countries, will
attend the event to decide
who is the World Champion.
This year's event is again
title sponsored by Yalin
Tables, one of the premier
b i l l i a r d
t a b l e
manufacturers of the world.
T h e Ya l i n Wo r l d
Championships will be live
s t r e a m e d
o n
www.insidepool.tv and
s p o n s o r e d
b y
www.JBET.com, Official
Table YALIN, Official Cue OB
Cues, Official Balls by
Aramith, Official Cloth
Championship, Official
Chalk Master by Tweeten
Fibre, Official Magazine
Pool & Billiard Magazine,
Star Paper Corporation,
www.SabongKing.com, and
www.BaseGameph.com.
The Women's World
Championship is produced
by Dragon Promotions and
filmed by ABS-CBN Sports
airing on BALLS, Studio 23,
and a dozen other networks
in countries worldwide.
With massive media and
global networks covering
the Yalin Women's World
10-Ball Championship, it
will continue as still the
biggest and most watched
women's billiard event in
the world.
Players from around the
world will join the event.
T h e r e i g n i n g Wo r l d
Champion Ga Young Kim of
South Korea will be
defending her title against
all comers. The comers will
be hailing from countries
such as Russia, Iran, China,
G e r m a ny, J a p a n ,
Netherlands, Korea,
Belgium, Australia, Taiwan,
France, the Philippines,
Singapore, Poland, the
United States and many
more.
"10-Ball is the hardest
and most skillful game for
pool. Winning the Yalin
World Championship is
definitely in favor of the
better professional
players", said Allison Fisher,
6x US Open 9-Ball
Champion. The legendary
Fisher is yet to win her first
World 10-Ball title.
EXPRESS SUDOKU
HOW TO PLAY: Place a number from 1 to 9 in each empty cell so that each
row, each column and each 3x3 block contains all the numbers from 1 to 9
Solution to Issue 38 Sudoku
Solution to Issue 38 Crossword
EXPRESS CROSSWORD
ACROSS
1. Not fully closed
5. Scatter
10. Assistant
14. Naked
15. Feudal lord
16. Wear away by rubbing
17. Commencement
ceremony
19. Destiny
20. Soak
21. Flora
22. Fertile areas
23. Treachery
25. Classical Greek
27. Precious stone
28. A star-shaped
character
31. Something of value
34. Anagram of "Smite"
35. French for "Bon"
36. Razzes
37. Wizardry
38. Hodgepodge
39. Supply with weapons
40. Loose fitting cloak
41. Hardy wheat
42. Flight attendants
44. Mass. Inst. of Tech.
45. Ski jacket
46. A style of roof
50. Gown fabric
52. Nasality in speech
54. Also
55. A Freudian stage
56. Unruly
58. Dash
59. Eagerness
60. Initial wager
61. Cooking fat
62. Doglike mammal
63. A fitting reward
(archaic)
DOWN
1. Anxiety
2. Juryman
3. Maxim
4. Scarlet
5. Ski race
6. Moon of Saturn
7. Bridle strap
8. Vain
9. A common cyst
10. An illicit
sexual relationship
11. Short-tempered
12. A romantic meeting
13. Visual organs
18. Disturb
22. 1 1 1 1
24. How old we are
26. Ear-related
28. Auspices
29. Dirt
30. Clove hitch or
figure eight
31. Garments of goat
hair
32. Classify
33. Somewhere
34. Required by rule
37. Darkness
38. Chooses
40. Container
weight
41. Burn slightly
43. Billfold
44. Slogan
46. A worker of
stone
47. Redress
48. Way to go
49. Drugged
50. Sailors
51. Two-toed sloth
53. Broad
56. "___,
humbug!"
57. Male sheep
ACTION
CLASSIFIED
Rentals
Help Wanted
Jobs
October 4 - 10, 2013
Page 30
u
u
u
Personal u
Services
BRAND NEW,
FULLY FURNISHED!!!
4 BEDROOM 2
BATH HOUSE
FOR SALE BY
OWNER
50 Square meters
in area.
158 Renner Avenue
Union, NJ 07083
CONDO
FOR SALE
Located in
EASTWOOD CITY,
Quezon City,
Philippines
Price:
$230,000
For more info, please call:
201-432-5305
TO ADVERTISE,
PLEASE CALL
201-434-1114
Only $30 for 25 words
(deadline is Wednesday noon)
MLS# 3080741
Desirable Chestnut Hill /
Washington School District
Conveniently located minutes
from all major highways and
NJ Transit.
Completely updated and
ready to move in.
Gourmet Kitchen, Finished
Basement, Double Lot
A MUST SEE
open house
on October 13
For more info, please call:
908-451-6177
October 4 - 10, 2013
Page 31
October 4 - 10, 2013
Page 32

The Filipino Express v27 Issue 39

Transcription

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