Uplifting PINOY
SUMMER 2016
ISSUE # 8
INFLUENCE Rich Abarquez
Manny Pacquiao: A Tribute to the One of the Most Accomplished Fighters of All Time Etiquette for OFW families Shawna Warhurst: A True Role Model
ABSOLUTELY FILIPINO MAGAZINE
Editor’s Note
C
an you feel the gentle summer breeze? It is the favorite season of Canadians, and personally, I have been longing for this to come. I look forward to enjoying the warmth of the sun and experience all the fun activities that come with summertime adventures. Since there’s no school during this time, it is an opportune time to bond with your family. But if you are working in a medical field just like me, there is no guarantee that you can get a vacation right at this season. Nevertheless, I believe that planning is key to having an enjoyable and safe vacation. Our long drive and visit to Banff, Alberta was the highlight of our summer last year, while this year my family is planning to Vegas! Our cover story focuses on an elementary teacher who is making rich connections with his students and is influential in various communities. Here we find out the influence
isn’t merely about being successful in one’s chosen field but going out of one’s self and making a huge contribution towards the community. We also touch on the results of the Philippine General Elections this May, and we give tribute to our Pambansang Kamao as he retires from boxing. We also included a muchneeded article that voices out the pangs of fellow OFWs towards their families back home. I also want to let you know that Absolutely Filipino Magazine now has more followers outside Canada. In fact, we have been receiving messages from Filipinos in all parts of the world who want to share their stories with us. We are looking forward to feature these new faces and inspirational journeys in our next issues. I thank you for all your support and for spreading the word about our magazine. As always, we welcome your comments, and we’ll try our best to accommodate all your
requests. I would like to thank our staff and volunteers, advertisers and loyal supporters for everything that you’ve done for us. May God bless you all! You can find us in: www. absolutelyfilipinomagazine.com and Absolutely Filipino Magazine on Facebook #UPLIFTINGPINOY Jinkee Porta-Mercurio Editor-in-Chief
PUBLISHER / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Jinkee Porta-Mercurio | CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Joandrea Santiago Merryl Catherine Talan • Kurt Zubieta | GUEST CONTRIBUTING WRITER: Diwata Delos Reyes | COPY EDITOR: Joandrea Santiago LAYOUT AND DESIGN EDITOR: John Paulo Fernandez | PHOTOGRAPHY: Dwight Simon Marlon Mercurio • DREAMSTIME.COM | CIRCULATION: Marlon Mercurio FOR SALES AND ADVERTISING INQUIRIES: jinkee.mercurio@outlook.com | 778-792-0071 • 778-792-0049 ANTONIO TAMPUS (tonton_gem@yahoo.com) 604-3568714 | RYAN FERRER (nryanferrer@gmail.com) 778-241-4895 WEBSITE: www.absolutelyfilipinomagazine.com
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LUKE 1:37 “FOR NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD.”
what’s
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inside?
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06 Cover Photo: Rich Abarquez by Dwight Simon
SUMMER 2016
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news
The People’s Vote: Philippine General election 2016 Diwata Delos Santos
feature
manny pacquiao: A Tribute to the One of the Most Accomplished Fighters of All Time
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06
Kurt Zubieta
on centre stage
The Creative Way Of Making An Influential Connections
Merryl Catherine V. Talan & Joandrea Santiago
feature
etiquette for ofw families
Jinkee Porta-Mercurio
12 feature shawna warhurst: A True Role Model
news
applying for canadian citizenship
Jinkee Porta-Mercurio
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16
Joandrea Santiago
travelogue
our unexpected spring break gateway
Jinkee Porta-Mercurio
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Photo from dreamstime.com
by Diwata Delos Santos
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THE MAYOR avao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has won the 2016 Philippine Presidential Election with a landslide victory over his rivals. He has garnered almost 16 million votes, which is roughly 38% of the total votes for president. Despite being the first presidential candidate whose roots are from Mindanao, Mayor Duterte was able to capture the support of the whole country, including regions belonging to Luzon and Visayas. He is also the only presidential candidate to date that has appealed to all the economic class: 62 percent approval in the economic classes A, B, and C, 37 percent in Class D, and 32 percent in Class E. A TIGHT FIGHT FOR THE VP POSITION Nobody can question Duterte’s victory, however, the same cannot be said for the vice presidential race. Congresswoman Leni Robredo is in a close lead against Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. The latter’s camp is alleging cheating due to the change of a computer code while the counting was on going at the PPRCV. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) later explained that the tweak in the code was merely to change the script for “?” to “ñ”. Moreover, former Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes firmly states that there has been no electoral sabotage done, especially because the allegations is against the unofficial count of the PPCRV. He goes on saying, “You cannot win from an unofficial count. How can there be electoral sabotage when it is unofficial”. As of this writing, both Cong. Robredo and Senator Marcos have declared a premature victory, while the former is currently leading in the polls by a little over 200,000 votes. The race is still on and we await the official count and declaration by the congress. THE MAGIC TWELVE In the senatorial slate most of the winners have names that are already familiar to us. Franklin Drilon is on the top of the list. He
Philippine General Election 2016 is followed by a newcomer, “TESDA man” Emmanuel Joel Villanueva, who got the 2nd place; Vicente Sotto III, Panfilo Lacson, Richard Gordon, and Juan Miguel Zubiri landed in the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively. Congressman Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao landed on the seventh place despite the controversy on his comment about same sex marriage. Former broadcast journalist and a party-list representative Ana Theresia Hontiveros is on the 8th list. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan is on the 9th place; Sherwin Gatchalian, also a newcomer, got the 10th; Ralph Recto in the 11th place; while former Secretary of Justice Leila De Lima landed the 12th position. VOTERS’ PARTICIPATION The Commission on Elections recorded a historic voters turnout of 81.62%; that is about 40 million of the 54.4 million Filipino registered voters. The numbers of absentee voters who participated in the election have also gone up to 31.45% compared to 26.96% in 2010. They were able to cast their votes from April 9, 2016 to May 9 this year, allowing them 30 days to vote for their favored candidate. The majority of their votes favored Rodrigo Duterte for president garnering 72% of the total votes and Bongbong Marcos for vice president with 40% of the votes. With the tight race against the VP position, the OFW-votes may be considered a “game-changer”. A SUCCESSFUL GENERAL ELECTIONS The 2016 general elections is considered the most peaceful and fast-paced our country has ever experienced. However, there were 11 towns in Visayas and Mindanao where Comelec had to declare failure of elections. Reasons include: no printed official ballots, lacking official ballots, and wrongly delivered official ballots. This has affected 52 precincts and 17,657 voters. Meanwhile in NCR, some voters were not able to cast their votes because they could not find their name in their respective precincts and some are not listed in the voters’ assistance desk’s list. On the other hand, some of the names listed
are already deceased and yet classified as active ones. There was an instance when a senior citizen was not able to cast his vote because his name is on the deceased list. The old man was aghast asking how that could be when he’s still alive and even presented his senior citizen’s ID. These cases are considered as minor discrepancies compared to the general success and speed of the voting experience and canvassing this year. THE PUNISHER Presumptive President Mayor Duterte, also known as “the Punisher”, is famous for transforming Davao City from the murder capital of our country to one of the safest cities in the world. His platform focuses in cleaning up crime and putting a harsh penalty for selling and using drugs (perhaps bringing back the death penalty for heinous crimes). Discipline is a key ingredient in Duterte’s style of leadership, which we expect him to bring to the whole country. He also plans to remove corrupt officials and workers in the government and police service, and replace them with people who are appointed by their merit. Federalism is also in the works, but such things will take time. All in all we can expect a significant difference in Duterte’s government style compared to the traditional politicians we are used to. Duterte is a man of action, he is blunt, and he is not scared to speak his mind and challenge the norms. We must now put our trust and participate in the plans of our president and new leaders as we hope to create a better tomorrow for our country. UPDATE: As of May 30, 2016, the Senate and the House of Representatives have proclaimed Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte as president-elect and Camrines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo as vice president-elect. Duterte won by a landslide of 16,601,997 based on the final official canvass report, Robredo won with 14,418,817 – a narrow lead over her closest rival Bongbong Marcos who got 14,155,344 votes.
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NEWS
The People’s Vote:
‘‘
I want to let the people to know that there is God who can raise someone from nothing into something. And that’s me. I came from nothing into something and I owe everything to God. He gave me this blessing. It’s all credit to the Lord.” -Emmanuel Dapidran”
– Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao (source: Rappler News)
Manny Pacquiao:
A Tribute to the One of the Most Accomplished Fighters of All Time
by Kurt Zubieta
MANNY PACQUIAO
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man with humble beginnings puts the Philippines on the forefront of the world though the sport of boxing. Born to poverty and hardships, our hero’s life inspires the nation to overcome its own struggles.
THE YOUNG WARRIOR
Emmanuel “Manny” Dapidran Pacquiao was born in Kibawe, Bukidnon, and is the fourth in the brood of 6. At the age of 14, poverty forced him to stop school in order to support his mother and siblings since his father left them for another woman. At this young age, he snuck on a boat to Manila and there began his journey as an amateur
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boxer. He joined the Philippine National Amateur Boxing Team and racked up a record of 60 wins and four loses. At age 16, Manny moved to the big leagues and became a professional boxer. His professional career began in the light flyweight division on January 22, 1995 against Edmund Ignacio. The death from a boxing match of his close friend and fellow boxer, Eugene Barutag, was instrumental in fuelling Manny to pursue their shared dream of fighting to the top. He won his first 12 fights in this division until loosing to Rustico Torrecampo. After his loss, Manny gained weight and won 15 consecutive fights in the flyweight division including the lineal and WBC flyweight titles (his first major
boxing world title) against Chatchai Sasakuland. His lost came while defending this title for the second time against Medguen Singsurat via third round knockout. Once again, Manny’s loss fuelled him for his future fights. He gained weight and entered the super bantamweight division where he won the WBC International Super Bantamweight title. He defended this title five times before he got his chance to fight in the world title fights. Manny’s big break came as if by chance when he stepped into the ring with Lehlohonolo Ledwaba as a late replacement. Only given two week’s notice before the fight, Manny won with a technical knockout and earned an IBF Super Bantamweight title, his second major boxing world title.
In November 15, 2003, Pacquiao raised his glove against one of the most formidable boxers in the world, Marco Antonio Barrera. Fighting his first match in the featherweight division, he defeated Barrera with a technical knockout on the 11th round. His win over Barrera became the cornerstone of his career as he punched his way to the top of the boxing industry. Paquiao went on to fight big boxing names such as Juan Manuel Marquez, Oscar De La Hoya, Timothy Bradley, and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. “I remember as a little boy I ate one meal a day and sometimes slept in the street. I will never forget that and it inspires me to fight hard, stay strong and remember all of my people in the country, trying to achieve better for themselves.”
ACCOLADES
After his fight with Antonio Barrera, Pacquiao was awarded the Presidential Medal of Merit from the former president of the Philippines Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. This was followed by the Congressional Medal of Achievement bestowed by the members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 2003. Pacquiao is also a military reservist in the Reserved Force of the Philippine Army with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. On May 2009, he was given the special rank of Senior Master Sergeant and was designated Command Sergeant Major of the 15th Ready Reserve Division. Pacquiao was named “Fighter of the Decade” (for 2000-2009) by Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA), World Boxing Council (WBC), and the World Boxing Association (WBO). Pacquiao’s greatest achievement in the world of boxing is his title as an eight-division world champion, the first boxer in history to win ten world titles in eight different weight divisions.
EDUCATION
In February 2007, Pacquiao took and passed a high school equivalency exam and garnered a high school diploma from the Department of Education making him eligible for college education. He enrolled for a college degree in Business Management in Notre Dame of Dadiangas University. He was also conferred an Honorary Degree of
Doctor in Humanities (Honoris Cuasa) in Southwestern University, Cebu City. In preparation for his career in politics, Pacquiao enrolled for a Certificate Course in Development, Legislation and Governance at Development Academy of the Philippines.
OTHER ENDEAVORS
Aside from boxing, Pacquiao also loves basketball. He became an honorary member of Boston Celtics and was presented with a green and white jersey entrenched with his name and a number 1. In 2014, Pacquiao submitted his application for the Philippine Basketball Association rookie draft and was picked 11th overall on the first round in the Kia basketball team—at 35, he was the oldest rookie to be drafted on the PBA. Prior to this, Pacquiao previously played in the semi-pro league, Liga Pilipinas, for the MP-Gensan Warriors. Pacquiao likewise dipped his feet in the entertainment industry by guest hosting and having appearances on several TV shows for ABS-CBN and GMA network. He also started in the movie Wapakman, which was as an entry in the 35th Metro Manila Film Festival. Manny is well known for his love of singing and in 2006, he came out with an album titled “Laban Nating Lahat ito” under Star Records. This album includes one of his famous songs “Para Sa’Yo Ang Laban na ‘To” (This Fight is for you).
POLITICAL CAREER
On the May 2007 Legislative election,
Pacquiao decided to run for a seat in the Philippine House of Representative but was defeated by incumbent Rep. Darlene Antonio-Custodio. On the May 2010 elections, Pacquiao announced that he will run for the seat for a second time against the Chiongbian clan who reigned in Sarangani for 30 years. Pacquiao won a landslide victory over Roy Chiongbian. He again ran and won for his second term in the congressional seat in the May 2013 elections. This year, Pacquiao ran for a higher position in the senatorial race. He ranked seventh from the number of votes and became a senator at the age of 37.
ONE PACMAN
Manny confirmed that he has retired from boxing after his victory against Bradley last April. Pacquiao hanged his glove with the professional boxing record of 58 wins, including 38 knockouts, 6 defeats, and 2 draws. Starting June 30, 2016, Senator Pacquiao will no longer fight inside the ring but will fight for the lives of his fellowmen—this time as a legislator. Pacquiao now faces a different kind of arena, yet he remains true to his love for our country. Time stood still in every one of his big fights, and all of us will remember how hard he fought in each of his battles to bring glory and inspiration to his people. Hopefully, Pacquiao will make a name for himself once again, but this time as a political leader who will espouse impactful changes in our society.
REGIONAL TITLES: 1. OPBF Flyweight Champion 2. WBC International Jr. Featherweight Champion 3. WBC International Jr. Lightweight Champion WORLD TITLES: 1. WBC Flyweight Champion 2. IBF Jr. Featherweight Champion 3. The Ring Featherweight World Champion 4. WBC Jr. Lightweight Champion 5. The Ring Jr. Lightweight Champion 6. WBC Lightweight Champion 7. The Ring Junior Welterweight World Champion 8. WBO Welterweight Champion 9. WBC Jr. Middleweight Champion
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FEATURE
PACMAN DEFEATS THE LEGENDS
The Creative Way of
MAKING AN INFLUENTIAL CONNECTIONS By Merryl Catherine V. Talan & Joandrea Santiago
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ichard “Rich” Abarquez’s is all about making connections. His story tells his journey through the ups and downs of life, self-acceptance, creating impactful contributions to his community, and ultimately, giving back.
GRATITUDE
Rich was born the second youngest amongst ten other siblings. His father died when he was three, and his mother was left to take care of them all. There were always people and even strangers that helped and provided for their family’s needs to get by every day. His situation taught him the values of gratitude, believing in himself, having faith in humanity, and making a difference, however, big or small. These growing up experiences of being poor and being at the receiving end of other’s generosity made a mark on Rich and would continue to guide his path throughout his adulthood.
CANADA AND SELF-ACCEPTANCE
Rich was on his third year of college taking up Engineering in the Philippines, when he, his mother and youngest sibling were plucked from the country and flew to Canada. Unbeknownst to Rich, who was merely a teen then, his eldest brother, Robert, had applied for them to move to Canada. At 20, Rich believed that priesthood was the path he should take where he could give back and be able to connect with others. He entered the Seminary of Christ the King in Mission, BC and after three years, finished a Bachelor Arts degree in Philosophy. It was during these years that Rich experienced a transformational change. He
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talks about his coming out: “For the longest time I never accepted who I really was, but once I realised and accepted me as me then I knew that priesthood wasn’t my calling. But giving of myself to others, creating rich connections will always be me. At the time, I thought to myself: I can finally move forward and start anew.”
EDUCATION
“I have learned so much in the seminary: discipline, being a reflective practitioner, knowing how to meditate, intuitive listening, etc. That’s the place where I realised teaching was one of the ways I can give back and help the community as well.” Rich then took up Bachelor of Education at the University of British Columbia and graduated with an Outstanding Practicum Award. He has been teaching at the elementary level from 2007 to present. Rich is happiest in his vocation as a teacher. He tells us the things he looks forward to waking up for every day: “When I do my “check-ins” with my students every day, even for just a minute or two. I give them my undivided attention, and we create goals daily. Also, when we do stretches and an activity called Mindfulness. I do smile therapy with them as well as gratefulness activity where I ask them who and what they are thankful for. I am a huge advocate for Social and Emotional Learning.” “I am a teacher because I regard this profession as one that is valuable to society, and to the formation of responsible, respectful, emotional, and sociable learners and citizens.”
ON CENTRE STAGE Jewelry: Robotic Ring by Caroline Bruce Bow Tie & Pocket Square: Green Embassy Make Up: Mylene Abarquez Hair: Jasmine of Beaute’ Studio Facial Treatments: Maria Nuestro of Nuestro Day Spa
PINOY PRIDE
Rich is a board member of an LGBTQ group called Pinoy Pride Vancouver. With this group, he co-hosts at Vancouver Co-op Radio Station 100.5 Fm CFRO. His segment is called Pinoy Rainbow under the Jeepney Cafe show, which airs every first Saturday of each month from 5-6 PM (PST).
CULTURE AND ARTS
Acting, dancing, and singing, are amongst Rich’s endeavours, which he uses as avenues to promote Filipino culture. He belongs to the Philippine HISTORAMA, a cultural show that depicts significant periods of Philippine History in short plays, songs, and dances. He is also a performer under the Kababayang Pilipino of British Columbia, which focuses on Filipino culture, heritage, and language. Aside from these, Rich hosts Pinoy Fiesta, a huge summer event that showcases Filipino culture, arts, entertainment, heritage and food.
MODELLING AND ENTERTAINMENT Recently, Rich was invited to be a model and ambassador of Green Embassy, an Australian clothing label that creates Haute Couture from ecofriendly organic materials. There, too, have been a number of designers and companies who gave their trust to Rich to represent their products and model for them—indeed this is a result of the magnitude of his connections.
You can connect with Rich on: Twitter: @richconnections Instagram: @createrichconnections Facebook: @richconnections Watch out for: Historama in Portland in October; Kababayang Pilipino performance in Porto, Portugal on July 30-August 8; Hosting/Emceeing the Perth Eco Fashion Week in Australia (November); also watch out as he models for Green Embassy.
#RICHCONNECTION
Rich is involved with other advocacies such as human rights issues, mental health, homelessness, public education, social and emotional learners and the right to vote. For mental health, he founded #here4Umovement and for the homeless, #HelptheHomelessCampaign, where he calls upon his community to donate time and material things (such as mismatched socks, mittens, and clothes) to help these groups. Rich is involved with politics as well. In the little ways,
he teaches his students the process and importance of voting. He also helped out in his friend’s campaign, doing telephone canvassing, home to home visits, and even flyer canvassing. Although Rich is active in the social media and his communities, it is ironic that he has disposed the use of a mobile phone since Sept 2015. This is a choice he made consciously to be more present and connected with each person he is meeting instead of being distracted from his phone. It is no surprise from all Rich’s
involvement in various communities that he received the Maharlika Award for Community Service last 2014. Despite the plethora of activities Rich is involved in, there are still many things he wants to achieve: a Master’s diploma before turning 40, owning and building his own home, travelling to foreign places, becoming a star host (like Boy Abunda or Ellen Degeneres) and of course, creating a positive impact and rich connections with more communities.
Etiquette for OFW Families by Jinkee Porta-Mercurio
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ecently I noticed a post on Facebook made by an acquaintance of mine. He posted a photo of his mother at the NAIA terminal who was about to leave for Saudi Arabia to work as a domestic worker. There was nothing wrong with the photo, except the description that said: “Don’t forget to send chocolates”. Following the description were joking comments of other people posting their shoe sizes and making fun of the post. Many of you, most of all our families, do not know how offensive and hurtful it is for us OFWs to see these kinds of things. That offensive post moved me to voice out the need for us OFWs to be understood and be treated fairly especially by our family. I have been told many stories by my fellow OFWs of how they are taken for granted by the families they left behind at home. I know that this post is not applicable to all, however, there remains a majority who do not understand what it is like for us OFWs to brake our backs working to make a living.
Ninett Papina: OFW in Italy
Jenniren Legaspi: A young OFW
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1. Stop demanding unnecessary luxuries such as pasalubongs and balikbayan boxes. We may be working overseas but that does not automatically mean that we are rich. We are not banks! Many of the OFWs here earn only minimum salaries/wages and these are the ones assigned with the heavier workload. We cannot provide everything that you ask for. We ask for your understanding, and that you do not feel bad when we aren’t able to send you what you want. We try our best to send money or packages when there are occasions, and this is only if we have money in excess of the budget we send for your needs. Understand, we will not always have excesses.
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that the spouse we left in our country remains faithful in our marriage because this decision to work abroad had to be done for our family and keeping our family together remains a priority. If you have the capacity to send us a message or give us a call to ask for money or gifts, then it is your duty to inform us when these things already arrived. “Thank you” are words we long to hear. We want to know that we have been a part of your success, of how you were able to build your business, how you were able to graduate from school, or the mere fact that you eat a full meal at least three times a day. I have known a fellow OFW who sent her niece to college. When the niece graduated, she thanked everyone— her parents, teachers, schoolmates, and even her boyfriend—but never mentioned her aunty who sent her to school. We long for you thanks, acknowledgement, and gratitude. Give back. We broke our backs to help you go to and finish school, we gave you money to start your business . We only hope that as you succeed in your life, that you will not forget about us—the people who helped you get to where you are now or where you will be. I have known a fellow OFW who sent her nephew and nieces to school. She never heard back from them; she is now old, still working, and paying for her debts. Live a responsible life and stay away from trouble. Do not break our trust: study well, don’t do vices and drugs, do
not get your girlfriend pregnant, and avoid getting into trouble. We are too far away to be there when problems like these arise. But even so, these things will add up to the things we need to worry about aside from already doing our best to work and provide. Many of you believe that OFWs live an easy life and earn a lot of money because we live abroad. Often the truth is far from the premise. The life of an OFW is difficult and lonely. We are always subject to discrimination because we are second-class citizens of a foreign country. Our employment status is not always secure, and we can be sent home anytime the company we work for decides to terminate our contract. Residency is another issue; some of us work abroad without proper documentation. Some of us are lucky to find good employers here, but some too had been very unlucky and were mistreated. Many of you have seen OFWs seeking help in social media to spread news that they are being mistreated and abused. Exploitation and discrimination is more common than you think. To the family we left behind in the Philippines, we hope that you will read and put into heart these sentiments we are now only able to voice out. We also ask that you show us your love by doing your best, being honest and responsible while we are away. Remember that we are working aboard for you, our family, and our dreams of a better life.
FEATURE
2. Do not lie and do not weave stories just so you can ask and receive money from us. Some of you ask for tuition money but it turns out the kids already stopped going to school. You ask for extra money for projects but you use the money for material luxuries such as gadgets or branded items. You tell us you need money to fix the house but in truth, there was nothing to fix. The worst is when instead of using the money we send for our family, you use it for your lover. One of the most painful things you can do to us is lie. 3. Be responsible in spending the money we send you. Many of you have the idea that just because a family member works abroad that you are already rich and arrogant. That is not always the case. Yes we do work abroad but we’d like that you spend the money we send for your needs first. Just because we work abroad does not mean you can buy branded items or gadgets. Also, learn to be thrift and save the excess of the money we send you. There is always uncertainty and anytime we can be sent home from our employment. It will be helpful if we have savings for rainy days such as these. 4. Show us your genuine concern and affection. We feel loved when you show how excited you are to talk with us on Skype or speak over the phone. It feels good to know that you miss us and we are thankful when you allot a time for us to communicate every day or week, after all, our lives as OFWs are often lonely and hard. It is also very important
Shawna Warhurst:
A True Role Model by Joandrea Santiago photos COURTESY OF SHAWNA
S
hawna is turning 19 this September and it was only two years ago that she joined the world of pageantry. Here, she shares with us the huge transformation joining pageants has contributed to her personal life—erasing the many stigmas given to the industry. Shanwa Warhurst is a half Filipino half Canadian born and raised in Canada. It was through her mother’s influence that in 2014 she joined her first pageant, Miss Teen Philippines of the World. Shawna’s first pageant was already in the big leagues as she was competing with other Filipina girls from all over the world—adding the fact that she was a new comer—she was still able to win the crown. This allowed her, at the young age of 17, to fly out to Guatemala and represent the Philippines in Miss Teen Universe 2015 where she won Miss Congeniality. It was summer of last year that she joined the Miss Calendar Girl pageant by the Luzvimin-Bisaya Association of the Philippines and once again won the crown. This year, she joined the regional pageant, Miss Teenage BC, and has won the Miss Teenage Maple Ridge title. The title qualified her in the Miss Teenage Canada pageant, which will be held in July.
SHAWNA’S TRANSFORMATION
Before joining pageants, Shawna was an introvert. “I used to be a low-achiever, a ‘wallflower”. Joining pageants created a positive transformation in her life. By going out of her comfort zone, she became more confident, she took on more challenging goals (after all, balancing her pageantry career, school, part time job, sports, volunteer activities, and family is not a walk in the park), and became more vocal with her passions and advocacies. “Honestly, pageants saved my life”. Most of us expect that the women who join pageants already have it
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all. But it’s not always true. To many of the girls, pageants are a transformative experience. Pageants have long been given the stigma of merely being a “beauty” pageant, but Shawna proves us wrong. She has honed her skills in communication, leadership, setting priorities, and has increased her confidence and learned to work on achieving her goals through her experiences in pageantry. Shawna is not merely beautiful; she is a young woman with substance.
ROLE MODEL
Being a role model for young girls is what Shawna believes is her greatest contribution made possible by her pageant career. “I believe girls these days do not have enough appropriate role models. The message I bring is not about having the perfect body or looking a certain way—but treasuring yourself, having selfrespect, and knowing who you are”. Having a younger sister that looks up to her, Shawna takes being a role model seriously. When you engage in conversations with delegates such as Shawna, you realise that these women have so much more to say. Currently, Shawna is a college student taking up Liberal Arts as a stepping stone for Fashion Design. Combining her two passions for fashion and animal rights, Shawna’s personal objective is to create vegan, animal cruelty-free apparel and raise awareness in consumers about the terrifying processes that animals go through in order to create the clothes they wear. Joining pageants gave Shawna a bigger audience and a louder voice in spreading her advocacy.
Photo by Dkenz Yap
You can find Shawna in: https://www.facebook.com/ shawna.warhurst.9 https://www.facebook.com/ missteenagemapleridge2016/ Instagram: @miss_teenage_ maple_ridge_2016
Photo by Diones Lago
Shawna speaks lovingly about her family and says that they are a huge part of her success. “Joining pageants had been an eye-opener for me of how fortunate I am to have parents that support my ambitions and passions”. Shawna is also thankful for her brother who is her best friend and supports her by helping manage her schedule. When Shawna speaks about her family, she gets teary-eyed describing how much they have influenced and have helped her get to where she is now. She is also grateful for Verna Bohn, a stylist whom she met at the Miss Calendar pageant. Verna owns curvesisfashion.com and has been instrumental in helping Shawna prepare both emotionally and physically for her pageants. “I would like to also thank friends, sponsors, and most importantly, God who have all been supporting me through my journey”.
MISS TEENAGE CANADA 2016 Photo by Norm Lee
Photo by Dkenz Yap
The journey is still a long one for Shawna, and pageantry could only be a stepping stone for greater triumphs. Let’s give her our full support as she tours and competes in Toronto for the Miss Teenage Canada Pageant this July. Good luck Shawna!
FEATURE
SHAWNA’S TEAM
Applying for Canadian Citizenship:
A Must or Unnecessary? By Jinkee Porta-Mercurio
T
he life of an immigrant in Canada is usually busy and hectic. Hence, many of us find it burdensome to initiate the Canadian Citizenship application. I’ve met a number of people who are not interested in applying for citizenship because their home country doesn’t allow multiple nationality statuses. For others, they find the tedious process unnecessary due to their assumption that the only difference between being a Permanent Resident versus a Canadian Citizen is that the latter allows them the right to vote. Applying for a Canadian Citizenship is never a pleasant task. First of all, the application fee is considerably expensive and this year it is up to $530 per adult applicant. Not only that, gathering the pertinent documents and filling out the application forms are
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both arduous and stressful. Plus, you have to meet the English requirements and pass the Canadian Citizenship test. (If you are older than 55 years old, you are exempted from the English requirements.) All these and not knowing the many benefits a Canadian Citizenship provides discourage many from applying. Last year, my family decided to go through the application process after moving here in 2010. It was only a few months ago, in March, when we took our oaths as Canadian Citizens. We don’t have any regrets.
WHAT ARE THE TANGIBLE BENEFITS OF BEING A CANADIAN CITIZEN? HAVING A CANADIAN PASSPORT
The first thing you will be able to obtain after the Canadian Citizenship oath-taking is the Canadian passport,
which draws a plethora of benefits. It starts with the ability for the passport bearer to enter and exit Canada anytime. Through this passport, you can also visit 170 countries and territories visa-free or with visaon-arrival. (My former American professor who is also a Canadian citizen suggests carrying a Canadian passport when travelling outside the country because you will mostly like be treated better due to Canadian’s reputation of being friendly, kind, and polite.) More so, a Canadian passport gives you the option to get a ten-year term passport and processing usually takes 10-20 business days. There are other hundreds of advantages that we can talk about, but those I mentioned are just a part of the bigger picture. We are fortunate that the Philippines allows dual citizenship so we can always reapply to regain our Filipino citizenship anytime we want.
Photo by Marlon Mercurio
If you are already a Canadian citizen and will give birth outside of Canada, you are not obliged to report/register the birth of your child. However, you might still consider registering your child (in a Canadian Consulate) to obtain a certificate of citizenship and a passport. That way they may also be provided consular services and support. This also prevents the hassle of going through the application process later on when they get older and decide to live in Canada (because they will have the citizenship of the country they were born in).
HOW LONG IS THE PROCESS? VOTING RIGHTS AND POTENTIAL POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT
The ability to vote allows you to choose your leaders in the government, more so since there are already a number of politicians here in Canada who are Filipino in origin such as Senator Tobias Enverga. Aside from that, you also become eligible to run for a government position if you have political aspirations.
A PROMISING JOB IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Based on our experience, gathering the documents took us seven months to complete--which was our fault. We then filed our application last November. Then we received another letter in December informing us the date of our Citizenship Test. The test was scheduled for January, followed by the Canadian Citizenship oathtaking in March this year. After two weeks, our Canadian passports were issued.
The process of sending our application up to the oath-taking was relatively short: 4 months. Aside from this, when you have acquired your Canadian citizenship you need not renew your Permanent Resident Card every five years. With its processing time of 193 days plus the mailing of documents (up to 6 weeks), don’t forget the residency requirements that comes with it, in the long run, getting a Canadian Citizenship saves you a lot of time and money, especially if you’ve decided that you wish to stay in Canada for good. Whatever choice you may have, becoming a Canadian Citizen is a major decision that you have to make. It is only you who can determine if this is the right move and action for you and your family. You must remember that Canada values its multicultural immigrants as the supporting backbones of its economy. Hence, obtaining a Canadian citizenship doesn’t mean that we disown our own native ancestry and heritage. Because no matter what we do or say, we will always be a Filipino, in our minds, deeds, words, and in our hearts. No one can take that away from us.
I do not know anyone who is currently holding a position in a government-owned business in Canada, but priority is given to Canadian citizens for its job postings. To those who are interested, you can visit Job Bank to see any employment opportunities. If you go to the online job postings, it states that they prefer Veterans and Canadian citizen applicants.
LIVING OPTIONS OUTSIDE CANADA
Currently, 3 million Canadians are living outside the borders of Canada. Each of them has their personal and legitimate reasons whether to retire, work, study, volunteer, or seek other opportunities in a foreign country. The Canadian government supports these citizens through consular aid and services. For some of you, this may be the exact advantage you need while retaining the status of a Canadian Citizen.
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NEWS
CANADIAN BIRTHRIGHT
Our Unexpected
SPRING BREAK Getaway By Jinkee Porta-Mercurio Photos by marlon mercurio
T
he beginning of my 2016 had been an overflow of work, work-related training, and extracurricular pursuits. Spring break wasn’t even spared by this crazy and non-stop roller coaster schedules that my husband and I have. Our original itinerary for spring break was to go to Tofino, a tourist destination in Vancouver Island and the surf capital of Canada. I succeeded clearing out my calendar for this vacation, but sadly, my husband’s timetable did not match mine. It is so frustrating when you make meticulous plans that do not unfold the way you foresaw they would.
TALK ABOUT RANDOM
One day, my husband picked me up from work and on the spot we decided to go out of town. I had just finished a sleepless twelvehour night shift yet I heard myself agreeing with my husband selling the idea of having a brief family getaway. I disregarded the notion that it will just be for a day, it was more important that we spend some much-needed family time (especially after the Tofino fiasco).
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We quickly started planning when we arrived home. For a long time, I’ve been checking out a stunning place to relax and enjoy somewhere in the middle of Half Moon Bay so I suggested it instantly. But the place is almost a three-hour-drive and for out-of-towners who have limited time, it just wasn’t practical. After surfing the web to get ideas, we eventually agreed to visit our dream wedding venue. The only trouble we came across was booking a room; it says that a 24-hour lead time for online booking is required. All right. Since we couldn’t get a room, we simply accepted the idea of a back-and-forth visit. Right after our breakfast and some travel preparations, we hurriedly left our home. During our drive, the sky was already dark and gloomy, and by the time we entered the next city, the first fine drizzles fell. We were not well acquainted with the road we took but as always, British Columbia once again astounded me. It is during our time on the road that we see BC’s splendid mountain backdrops, majestic forests with gigantic trees, gorgeous lakes, rivers, and waterfalls, and even fascinating crop and animal farms which accompany us before reaching our destination. And honestly, I will never be tired of all these.
OUR DREAM WEDDING VENUE – ROWENA’S INN ON THE RIVER
By noon, we reached Rowena’s Inn, and we had our lunch at the nearby River Edge Restaurant. My daughter got a Pure Beef Burger, Caesar’s Salad, and a Shirley Temple drink while my husband settled for a delicious Fish and Chips. I had myself their very own Famous Seafood Chowder Soup and the best Carbonara that I ever tasted in my entire life (I’m serious!). The dining service was excellent and beyond our expectations. The personnel were very friendly, helpful, and accommodating. According to the staff, we were so lucky that there was no wedding event that day, making it easier for us to roam and wander around the area, more so because the sky suddenly became crystal clear right after lunch. I asked my husband how he would describe the place and he said it was serene. My daughter depicted it as beautiful and pretty just like the surname of the property owners. For me, it was an utterly breathtaking imagery of mixed nostalgia and happiness. The manor is considerably old, yet its charm and beauty did not fade against the test of time. I hope that you too will be able to see for yourself and experience what my family did that day.
TRAVELOGUE DETOUR – HARRISON HOT SPRINGS
Our original plan was to go home after our visit to Rowena’s Inn. But the after-lunch frolic in their huge grounds wore us down--after all I didn’t have any sleep yet at the time—so we decided to find a place to stay for the night. Once again, like another random decision, we found ourselves booking a room at the nearby Harrison Hot Springs. Our room had a semi-private King-sized bedroom with a Queen-sized pull out couch in the living room, which was an ideal fit for my almost teenage girl. Each space has a flat panel television furnished with tons of channels and a DVD player. The room also features a fully equipped partial kitchen, so I regretted that we could only spent a night there. We took a nap for a few hours in the afternoon and by the time we woke up, the torrential rain were already pouring hard. We had dinner at the nearest restaurant then borrowed a DVD from the hotel reception, and then the whole family watched it in the living room while eating some chips. The next day, we woke up to the picturesque landscape of the lake right outside our window. After brunch, we were ready to go back to our small home and our sweet reality.
SPONTANEITY
When your plans fail, it does not mean that everything is already lost. A random decision that day led us to Rowena’s Inn and Harrison Hot Springs. For quite some time, this was what my family had been longing to have. Life is not merely about work; we all need time and space to be away from the other troubles of life—a time to breathe and temporarily forget all work-related stress. Indeed, a well-deserved time for self and family is important and should be indulged every so often. Add a dash of spontaneity to the whole thing and your getaway is sure to be as interesting as ours.
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