August 16-31, 2012 Issue

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PHILIPPINES

AUGUST 16-31, 2012

AUGUST 16-31, 2012

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POVERTY, SCARCITY AND THE RULE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

PHILIPPINES

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The poor should be the key players in determining their own futures and contribution to society: Philippines has struggled to achieve what virtually all other Asian nations have accomplished: families with the desired amount of children, The the enactment of an effective reproductive health law. properly spaced, are more in control of their own children’s upbringing and education.

By lila ramos shahani

N another attempt to maneuver the facts related to the Reproductive Health (RH) bill, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) recently observed that, among 215 congressmen surveyed, the number of proRH supporters in the Lower House was down to a mere 49 representatives.

This is the latest addition in a continuous

series of tactics meant to dampen the ground swell of growing support for the RH bill.

There are contrary reports however that say 143 representatives now support the bill, and that the numbers continue to increase.

For well over a decade, the Philippines has struggled to achieve what virtually all other Asian nations appear to have accomplished thus far: the enactment of an effective reproductive health law. The law’s main opponents in this case: certain sectors in the Catholic Church hierarchy, with contraception being a central source of contention.

While the RH bill offers reliable contraception to those clamoring for a chance to

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regulate child birth, it also allows government to continue its long-term efforts to significantly improve the quality of life of women, particularly those who are poor.

2008-0029 – are not enough to junk the bill altogether.

However, the sponsors of the bill remain open to amendments. But it is undeniable that, without the passage of this bill on reproductive health, there would be significant limitations to the type of health care services accessible to women and families as a whole.

Marcos to Arroyo years One way of assessing the value of RH policies is to look not only at other countries in the region, but at past administrations too.

Certainly, there were significant gains in each administration: the Marcos years saw the creation of the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (now the Philippine Commission on Women). The Cory years, in comparison, strengthened legislation on the Family Code and the Philippine Development Plan for Women. With its Philippine Plan for Gender-Responsive Development, the Ramos years pushed women’s concerns even further.

But what if one were to use a single matrix to measure the quality of life among women and examine its changes over time?

The maternal mortality rate (MMR) – how many women die for every 100,000 live births – could be one such crucial marker, for instance.

During the Marcos years, the average MMR was 140; during the Cory administration, it improved significantly, dropping to 90 deaths, remaining at a similar level throughout the Ramos years.

Regrettably, despite Estrada’s Philippine Agenda for Women Empowerment, the MMR rose to 100 during his time. The country further ranked 48th out of 194 on the United Nations (UN) Gender Inequality Index, indicating, among other things, that a significant number of women remained unaware of their basic rights.

Arroyo’s impressive Framework Plan for Women – with goals of increased economic empowerment, protection and fulfillment of women’s human rights, and

AUGUST 16-31, 2012

Our constituents

Among the poorest 10% of women of childbearing age, 44% of the pregnancies are unwanted; 22% hope to avoid pregnancies but do not use family planning; and at least 41% do not use any contraceptives at all. gender responsive governance – also did little to quell the worst numbers of any administration thus far: a staggering MMR of 230 deaths all told.

Aquino administration Today, that number has gone down but, at 221, remains no less disquieting. We still have one of the highest birth rates in Asia, the worst poverty situation in the entire Asean 4 region, and the dubious distinction of being the 12th most populous country in the world.

Alarmingly, the National Statistics Office projects that our population will be 103 million by 2015.

These issues have now become a matter of sheer human survival.

We currently face an array of new problems. At 37%, the deadly HIV virus is dangerously on the rise, and the UN continues to observe that the Philippines lacks the political will to confront it in a systematic manner.

According to the 2006 Family Planning Survey, among the poorest 10% of women of child-bearing age, 44% of the pregnancies are

Mothers breastfeed their babies at a government hospital in Manila. unwanted; 22% hope to avoid pregnancies but do not use family planning; and at least 41% do not use any contraceptives at all.

Evidence across Asia suggests that strong government policies on population and family planning are critical to sound economic and poverty reduction policies. And yet, the struggle to pass an RH bill has remained a source of bitter legislative contention in this country.

Typically, it is the poor who tend to suffer most. The National Demographic and Health Survey reports that women in the poorest 20% have the shortest birth intervals.

Nevertheless, the RH bill is opposed mainly by those living in luxury and comfort, our bishops and legislators among them.

Similarities found in other policy pronouncements – the Magna Carta for Women, Presidential Decree No. 965 and the Department of Health’s Administrative Order No.

Our concern should be for the poor, whose voices have remained unheard and whose interests remain unprotected even now. Indeed, they should be the key players in determining their own futures and contribution to society: families with the desired amount of children, properly spaced, are more in control of their own children’s upbringing and education.

Responsible parenthood, in the final analysis, should always be about informed choice.

The stories of women and children – often raw, visceral and ultimately about grinding poverty – are echoed here throughout. The passing of this bill, then, offers us a critical opportunity to expand the choices of Filipinos in new and unprecedented ways.

The time has come, and the time is now.

(Rappler.com) (The author is Assistant Secretary and Head of Communications of the Human Development and Poverty Reduction Cabinet Cluster, which covers 20 government agencies dealing with poverty and development.) n

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S a Philippine property boom gathers pace, even Paris Hilton, Donald Trump, and high-fashion house Versace are getting a piece of the action. The good times are into their fourth year, fuelled by steady economic growth, Western firms offshoring jobs to the Philippines, the buying power of millions of Filipinos working abroad and low interest rates.

“It just so happens that today the stars are aligned....we have never seen the economy this bullish,” said Antonino Aquino, president of Ayala Land, one of the country’s biggest property developers.

Ayala Land is one of the main players in what industry figures describe as an unprecedented construction boom that is transforming the skyline of the nation’s capital, as well as many provincial cities.

In Manila, formerly sleepy pockets such as the Fort army base and the rundown Eastwood industrial zone have become chic, new business districts, catering mainly for the fast-growing outsourcing sector.

At the Fort, Ayala Land this year broke ground on its $714-million One Bonifacio High Street project, which when completed in 2017 will host the Philippine Stock Exchange, a Shangri-La hotel, and retail outlets.

The project also has a 63-story residential tower, with 298 suites ranging from $500,000-$1.9 million that sold out last month in 96 hours, according to the company.

Across the country, more than 850,000 square meters (9.1 million square feet) of office space and 14,000 residential units will enter the market this year, property consultants CBRE Philippines said in a report.

It said many of the residential

PHILIPPINES

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PROPERTY

BOOM

TRANSFORMING PH SKYLINES

Across the country, more than 850,000 square meters (9.1 million square feet) of office space and 14,000 residential units will enter the market this year.

The building boom has also spread to hotels, shopping malls, and casinos, triggering hopes of a long-anticipated take-off of the underdeveloped A former army base outside Manila has become a chic, new business district, tourism industry. catering mainly for the fast-growing outsourcing sector.

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The building boom has also spread to hotels, shopping malls, and casinos, triggering hopes of a long-anticipated take-off of the underdeveloped tourism industry. units catered for a growing middleclass on the fringes of Manila and other urban centres.

The building boom has also spread to hotels, shopping malls, and casinos, triggering hopes of a long-anticipated take-off of the underdeveloped tourism industry.

Three of the world’s biggest gaming industry leaders are building a $4-billion, 100-hectare (247acre) Entertainment City complex of casinos on Manila Bay. The first of the casinos are set to open early next year.

Meanwhile, Trump, the New York mogul, has put his name to a $150-million, 56-story, curtainglass-walled Trump Tower that

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Three of the world’s biggest gaming industry leaders are building a $4-billion, 100-hectare (247-acre) Entertainment City complex of casinos on Manila Bay. The first of the casinos are set to open early next year. broke ground in the financial district this year.

“High-end buyers look for key differentiated features,” said Robbie Antonio, managing director of Century Properties that is behind the Trump Tower development.

He said 70 percent of the 220 residential units, which are worth up to $1.86 million each, have been sold.

The firm is putting up a nearby tower designed by the Versace fashion house -- the first of its kind in Asia -- featuring individual wading pools as well as its iconic Medusahead brand imprinted on lamp shades and cutlery.

Century also flew in socialite and hotel heiress Paris Hilton to Manila last year to help design and promote a suburban Manila residential project that features a manmade beach.

Industry players say the property boom reflects the overall status of the nation’s economy as it picks up steam after decades of underperforming compared with many of its

Industry players say the boom reflects the overall status of the nation’s economy as it picks up steam after decades of underperforming.

Asian neighbors.

The economy grew 6.4 percent in the first quarter, the stock market has surged 20 percent this year to hit all-time highs, and the country’s credit rating has been bumped up to just a step below investment grade.

The central bank’s benchmark interest rates are also at historic lows -- 4.0 percent for the benchmark borrowing rate -- ensuring large piles of cheap cash for property development.

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Aside from the macroeconomic picture, real estate analysts point to the outsourcing phenomenon as one of the key drivers of the property boom.

From virtually nothing a decade ago, outsourcing now employs more than 600,000 people and is worth $11 billion annually, according to the main industry association which is forecasting 15 percent growth in the years ahead.

Many of the skyscrapers are being built to cater for the outsourcing workforce, which performs a myriad of tasks from call centre duties to designing architectural plans for foreign firms.

Meanwhile, roughly nine million Filipinos who work overseas are sending large chunks of the $22 billion they

earn -- equal to 10 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product -back home, often investing in real estate.

The frenetic building pace has some quarters anxious over a potential property bubble, with the global economic woes adding to concerns.

But Rick Santos, CBRE Philippines chief executive, remains bullish, in large part because of the expected continued growth in the outsourcing sector.

“As economies in the West tighten, global companies will

AUGUST 16-31, 2012

see it in their interest to outsource their non-core functions to save on costs,” Santos told an industry briefing recently.

Ayala Land’s Aquino also said local market had not seen the price bubbles that preceded crashes in other countries, where property values suddenly doubled or tripled.

“The price increases have been very close to or a little more than the inflation rate,” Aquino said.

Trump Tower developer Antonio added: “We are confident that there’s still a demand that has to be met.” (Agence France-Presse) n

AUGUST 16-31, 2012

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FLOODS IN PH MAN-MADE DISASTER, SAY EXPERTS

Damaged watersheds, massive squatter Deadly floods are more the result of poor planning, lax enforcement and political colonies living in danger zones and the interest, according to experts. neglect of drainage systems are some of By mynardo macaraig the factors that have made the chaotic EADLY floods that have swamped nearly all city of 15 million people much more of Metro Manila are less a natural disaster and more the result of poor planning, lax enforce- vulnerable to enormous floods. ment and political self-interest, experts say.

Damaged watersheds, massive squatter colonies living in danger zones and the neglect of drainage systems are some of the factors that have made the chaotic city of 15 million people much more vulnerable to enormous floods.

Urban planner Nathaniel Einseidel said the Philippines had enough technical know-how and could find the necessary financing to solve the problem, but there was no vision or political will.

“It’s a lack of appreciation for the benefits of long-term plans. It’s a vicious cycle when the planning, the policies and enforcement are not very well synchronised,” said Einseidel, who was Manila’s planning chief from 1979-89.

“I haven’t heard of a local government, a town or city that has a comprehensive drainage masterplan.”

Eighty percent of Manila was

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covered this week in waters where some parts were nearly two meters (six and a half feet) deep, after more than a normal August’s worth of rain was dumped on the city in 48 hours.

Twenty people have died and two million others have been affected, according to the government, which has said the floods will last for days and longer if more monsoon rains fall.

The deluge was similar to one in 2009, a disaster which claimed more than 460 lives and prompted solemn pledges from government leaders to make the city more resistant to floods.

Squatters often build shanties on river banks, storm drains and canals, dumping garbage and impeding the flow of waterways.

Unsuccessful efforts A government report released then called for 2.7 million people in shantytowns to be moved from “danger zones” alongside riverbanks, lakes and sewers.

The plan would affect one in five Manila residents and take 10 years and P130 billion (US$2.77 billion) to implement.

But Einseidel said that while

there had been some efforts to relocate squatters, they never succeeded.

“With the increasing number of people occupying danger zones, it is inevitable there are a lot people who are endangered when these things happen,” he said.

Squatters, attracted by economic opportunities in the city, often build shanties on river banks, storm drains and canals, dumping garbage and impeding the flow of waterways.

“The same people who were already told not to return to the rivers and creeks and floodways are back.

They are there again and they are the ones who don’t want to leave now.”

He blamed the phenomenon on poor enforcement of regulations banning building along creeks and floodways, with local politicians

often wanting to keep squatters in their communities to secure their votes at election time.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Manila, vital forested areas have been destroyed to make way for housing developments catering to a growing middle and upper class, according to architect Paulo Alcazaren.

Alcazeren, who is also an urban planner, said the patchwork political structure of Manila had made things even harder.

The capital is actually made up of 16 cities and towns, each with its own government, and they often carry out infrastructure programs -- such as drainage and watershed protection -- without coordination.

The controls of physical development must not be dependent on political boundaries of towns and provinces,” he said.

“Individual cities can never solve the problem. They can only mitigate. If you want to govern properly, you must re-draw or overlay existing political boundaries.”

Solutions to the flooding will all require massive efforts such as replanting the watersheds, building low-cost housing for the squatters and clearing drainage systems, the experts said.

“It will cost billions of pesos but we lose billions anyway every time it floods,” Alcazeren said. (Agence France-Presse) n

Massive squatter colonies living in danger zones and the neglect of drainage systems make Metro Manila much more vulnerable to enormous floods.

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AUGUST 16-31, 2012

AUGUST 16-31, 2012

The wily guard, nicknamed The Quick Brown Fox, eludes a phalanx of defenders during his playing days in the PBA. By ricky brown

ROWING up, my mother, a Filipina, always shared the many experiences and memories she had about her life in the Philippines. We spent lots of time talking about the closeness and importance of family, values of the people, lifestyle in Manila, the importance of traditional Filipino dishes, the different customs, the humility of the people, the work ethic, respect for others – especially the elders, and the influence of the Catholic religion.

When I was released from the Houston Rockets, and Danding Cojuangco’s group contacted me to possibly come to the Philippines to represent the national team, it was like a dream come true for me. One of my goals in life was always to travel to the Philippines to meet my family members, especially my Lolo and Lola, of whom I only knew from letters and photographs. I wanted to see and feel for myself my mother’s homeland and the Filipino culture that I had heard about so much about since I was a little boy, and quite frankly, to learn more about myself and just how “connected” I was to the Pinoy side of me.

Coming to the Philippines, the most difficult adjustment for me was the climate.

I had been in Southern California for several years, which has a semi-desert climate, and the heat and humidity in Manila was really difficult for me.

The food was not an is-

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The love of country, compassion and respect for others, humility, good work ethic, the need and desire for closeness of family, the willingness to assist others, and undying PRIDE in being Filipino. Those, among others, are the qualities that make a “true Filipino” in my eyes. sue to me since I ate mostly Filipino food even in the States.

One of the things I did when I arrived in the Philippines was get out often and “see and do and learn.” I was out and about all of the time trying to learn as much as possible about the culture, the people, the food, the places where the common folk spent their time.

Also, I lived in a condo as opposed to the hotel where almost all of the players were housed, and I was really thankful for that. Living away from the hotel allowed me to be immersed in the Filipino culture among its people, and that is exactly what I wanted, and it enhanced my adjustment to life in the Philippines.

Yet, boy did I have some lessons to learn! I can still remember walking around Quiapo in a three-piece suit on a sweltering hot evening!

No wonder the people were looking at me like I was from another planet! That was just “innocent ignorance” on my part, but the more I mingled with and engaged the people, the more I learned and became more comfortable with the common folk and the “Filipino way.” I became an expert in bartering for the wonderful Filipino fruits that I loved. Or at least I thought I was an expert!

Living in the Philippines Now a high school principal in California, the former PBA star remains in touch with his Filipino friends in the country.

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dramatically changed my perspective about being a Filipino. I learned the true qualities of a Filipino: the compassion for others, the humility, the intense love of family, the importance of food and the Catholic religion, the respect for our elders, the respect men have and display for the Filipina, and the pride in culture and country. Engaging and learning from Filipinos in the States is vastly different than engaging and learning from Filipinos in the homeland. Spending nearly 10 years in my mother’s homeland, which I now also refer to as home, taught me first-hand what a true Filipino is.

When I left the Philippines in 1990, maintaining a connection with the country was difficult.

There was no Internet, no social media, no TFC, and only newspapers. I tried as best as possible to keep up to speed with what was going on back home in the Philippines, but it was difficult. I can remember taping the news program TV Patrol on a nightly basis so I could at least have an idea of what was going on back in Manila and the rest of the country.

My wife is a Filipina, and my needs and desires were now heav-

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“The more I mingled with people, the more I learned and became more comfortable with the common folk and the “Filipino Way.”” Ricky receives his trophy as member of the PBA Hall of Fame. ily influenced by Filipino culture and lifestyle from living 10 years in Manila. The difficult thing for me, and it haunted me for years, was how painful it was for me to be away from the Philippines and most importantly, the common, everyday Filipinos who I became so close to on a daily basis while living in Manila.

Here in the States, I have come across some Filipinos who have “adjusted” their culture, their desires, their needs, their language, and in essence, their “heart” from

the Filipino to the American way of life. Physically, they still look Filipino and still consider themselves a Filipino. But to me, there is something missing. They do not possess the “Filipino heart” that makes the Filipino so special.

The love of country, compassion and respect for others, humility, good work ethic, the need and desire

for closeness of family, the willingness to assist others, and undying PRIDE in being Filipino. Those, among others, are the qualities that make a “true Filipino” in my eyes.

And while there may be some naysayers still who say “Ricky Brown is only a half-Filipino,” I can tell you, with all of my heart,

AUGUST 16-31, 2012

that this Pinoy blood in me runs deep and with sincere Filipino pride. Those who know me on a personal level would attest to that emphatically because I wear it on my sleeve.

Ricardo Brown is a pioneering Filipino-American basketball star. After playing for Pepperdine University in the US NCAA, he was drafted by the Houston Rockets in the third round of the NBA draft before moving to Manila in 1980 to embark on his Philippine basketball career. Nicknamed ‘The Quick Brown Fox’ by the local press, the 6’1” guard was voted PBA Rookie of the Year in 1983 and Most Valuable Player in 1985. He finished his career as the league’s all-time leader in scoring average. Ricky is now a high school principal in California. He visited Manila last July, his first since retiring in 1990.

This article was written for ‘What’s a Filipino’ series on Interaksyon.com. n

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PINOY FOOTBALL PHENOM TO HOME TALENT IN BARCELONA Sandro, standing 4 feet tall, is taking a road less traveled by homegrown Filipino players, and although a significant amount of money was needed to open the opportunity for him, there was little doubt of his immense potential.

The fourth grader dreams of playing for FC Barcelona someday.

By cedelf p. tupas

TARTING September, when most kids his age are in school, 9-year-old Sandro Reyes will be leaving the comforts of home in Manila to pursue his dream of football greatness in the school run by one of the biggest -- and most successful -- clubs in the world, FC Barcelona in Spain.

It will be a long journey for him to become the player he dreams to be, but at the rate things have gone for the fourth grader, the possibilities seem endless.

“I’m excited,” Sandro told the Inquirer after news broke of him going to FCB Escola -- the Barcelona football school. “I want to play for FC Barcelona someday.”

A “complete player,” Sandro has been dominating football festivals in Manila since he was 7.

Known for producing Spain’s finest talents, Barcelona, popularly known as “Barca,” is one of the most accomplished teams in club football history. The members of the club currently form the core of Spain’s World Cup and European Cup winning squad.

The long list of greats include Paulino Alcantara, a player born

in Iloilo to Spanish parents, who is still the club’s all-time leading scorer, Dutch master Johan Cruyff, Brazilian sensations Ronaldinho and Ronaldo, and currently, Lionel Messi, the Argentine superstar whom Sandro aims to emulate.

Road less traveled Sandro, standing 4 feet tall,

is taking a road less traveled by homegrown Filipino players, and although a significant amount of money was needed to open the opportunity for him, there was little doubt of his immense potential.

Until two years ago, when its national team reached the semifinals of the Asean Football Championship, the Philippines barely created a ripple in international football and it is still ranked in the lower quarter of the International Football Federation (Fifa) rankings at 152. And the fact that Sandro will be getting top football education in the world’s top footballing nation makes his move to Spain even more compelling.

Described by a coach as a “complete player,” Sandro has been dominating football festivals in Manila since he was 7. Observers took notice of the boy in a youth tournament in the football hotbed of Barotac Nuevo in Iloilo a year ago

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and created a stir in tournaments in Singapore and Portland, Oregon.

But the turning point came in March when he attended a Barcelona camp in Singapore, where he emerged as the most outstanding player. The performance in the camp led to an invitation for a trial in Spain.

“We wanted to gauge his skill with the rest of the world,” said Sandro’s father, Edmundo Reyes.

“It was a one-day trial and whatever happened, it’s one day he would never forget for the rest of his life.

Never mind being accepted. Getting invited is already a big achievement.”

Like ‘American Idol’ audition Although he had been with his son for most of the tournaments, none could have prepared the elder Reyes for what he would see in Cataluña -- the world-class facilities as well as the hordes of players and their parents hoping to see their sons get a slot in Escola.

“It was like an ‘American Idol’ audition,” said Edmundo, a former three-term Marinduque congressman, referring to the long lines and the frenzy that usually attend auditions to the popular television talent show.

There were 400 kids trying out in Sandro’s age-category and although he was just three weeks removed from an ankle injury, he did well enough to get an invitation to another trial in June.

“We had zero expectations because he was injured,” said the father. “But they (Escola coaches) were not only assessing the skills, but also the height, trainability and even the muscles. They were scoring the kids while they were just standing up. They were looking for a player to fit their philosophy.”

Barcelona is known for its tikitaka style of play predicated on onetouch passing and movement. Most of their players are not known for their physical strength but more for their technical ability on the ball and their reading of the game.

Down to 32 When Sandro returned to Barcelona, there was none of the frenzy that marked their April visit. Only 32 players were recalled for a trial and the kids were divided into two groups of 16. From his own count, Sandro -- true to form -- scored four goals and dished out five assists in a scrimmage of his group.

A five-minute video of highlights from Sandro’s stints in tournaments in Manila and overseas

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was proof of his nimble feet. There was a penalty kick that found the top corner, countless through balls for teammates for a score and dribbling skills to beat defenders in small-sided games.

Neco Lambey, who got on board as Sandro’s coach before the Barcelona tryouts, sees big things for the 9-year-old.

“I see him more as a conductor on the field -- a creative midfielder who can distribute the ball and feed the strikers. He’s equally deadly with both feet,” said Lambey.

Lambey, a Belize national who has coached in different international schools in Thailand and Indonesia, said Sandro also stood out for his passion for the game.

Hunger for the game “He would watch Barcelona games on television live at 2 a.m. and would discuss the game with you in the morning,” said Lambey.

“He’s a fan of the game and he studies the game.”

Lambey added: “I see the hunger, I see the fight to be one of the best that he could be. He’s a hard worker and so everything that you teach him, he takes it home and he studies it.”

The e-mail from FCB Escola about Sandro’s entry to the school came on Monday night. Sandro’s mother, Camille, relayed the news to him.

“We told him that he got in and asked if he was ready to move to Spain. He just said OK,” said the father. “I would have been celebrating.”

Not Sandro, though. He was sitting at the backseat of the car. “It seems he’s focused on something bigger,” said Edmundo, whose three other children are also into sports.

“It’s an easier decision to move to Spain because he knows where he’s going.”

Next step Sandro will be accompanied by Camille when he starts studying in Escola, where his education is subsidized by the club.

“We can always come back if he doesn’t want to be there, but right now we want to help him achieve his dream,” said Edmundo. “He is guaranteed a slot in Escola for the next three years.” After Escola, the next step for Sandro would be getting a slot at La Masia, the fabled academy of the club, which has produced World Cup winners Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique of Spain. (Philippine Daily Inquirer) n

A coach sees the nine-year-old as “a conductor on the field -- a creative midfielder who can distribute the ball and feed the strikers.”

CATCHING UP WITH COCO

PLANET 12 PHILIPPINES

AUGUST 16-31, 2012

By cherie del rio

NOWN as the MultiAwarded Actor of His Generation, Gawad Urian’s Natatanging Aktor ng Dekada, Coco Martin continues to make waves in Philippine showbiz with a hit primetime teleserye and an equally successful comeback in the independent film industry. The actor who plays Daniel in the ABSCBN soap Walang Hanggan, alongside Richard Gomez, Dawn Zulueta and Julia Montes, has found his way back to the indie cinema with his latest project, Sta. Niña.

Ever since he had earned fame and critical acclaim for his performance in the indie film Masahista, Coco has been reaping one award after another, winning a total of six Best Actor trophies for his role in the Kapamilya soap Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin.

“I’m coming back to where I started,” Coco relates during an interview at Patio Carlito. “This movie is my ‘homecoming’, a craft that I would love to do regularly apart from my works on TV.” Rodel Nacianceno in real life, Coco is recognized for his many contributions to the independent film industry. He was even dubbed as the Prince of Philippine Independent Films. His debut films include Masahista, for which he won a Best Actor Award from the Young Critics Circle, and Kaleldo.

It is no secret that Coco Martin is one of today’s hottest stars, one of the top-caliber actors that the industry currently takes pride in.

But what could be an obscure fact about the extremely talented actor is his humble beginnings: he once worked as a janitor in Canada and was raised by his grandmother whom he know lives with. He graduated with a degree of Hotel and Restaurant Management from the National College of Business

and Arts. He has worked with both the Kapamilya and Kapuso networks but his big break into the teleserye scene was in 2009 when he starred in the hit drama series Tayong Dalawa and on the following year, in Kung Tayo’y Magkakalayo.

Coco’s first mainstream film was Sa’yo Lamang whose cast included veteran actors Christopher de Leon and Lorna Tolentino. He likewise became a part

Coco and Julia Montes in the TV series Walang Hanggan.

of the cast for the Sarah Geronimo teleserye, 1DOL. Coco never stopped working with the independent film industry, however, appearing in Kinatay (for which he was nominated in FAMAS for Best Actor) and Noy. In 2011, he earned the praise of fans and critics alike for his dual role (as Alexander and

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Javier) in the teleserye Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin. This year, Coco starred in the movie Born To Love You with singer Angeline Quinto. He is set to appear in two new films, with Judy Ann Santos and Marian Rivera as his leading ladies respectively.

Ever since he had earned fame and critical acclaim for his performance in the indie film Masahista, Coco has been reaping one award after another (he has won a total of six Best Actor trophies for his role in the Kapamilya soap Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin) and it looks like the spotlight that has shone upon him will not be dimming any time soon. n

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CELEBR TY

AUGUST 16-31, 2012

SARAH WARNED ABOUT ‘FOLLOWING HER HEART’

SARAH

POP Star Princess Sarah Geronimo has been warned by her parents about “following her heart” – the reminder coming before the singer’s blooming romance with actor Gerald Anderson was made public.

Sarah’s mom, Mommy Divine as she is called, revealed in an interview that she felt pity for her daughter after experiencing her first heartbreak as a result of her brief romance with actor Rayver Cruz. Mommy Divine promised herself she will not let her daughter get hurt again.

“Nakakaawa siya. Hindi siya puwedeng basta basta iwan. Siyempre intindihin din naman natin na wala siya masyadong exposure. Very sincere siya so nakakaawa siya kung mapaglalaruan,” she said.

She added: “Huwag lang niyang kakalimutan ang mga pangaral na-

min. Ang sinasabi ko do not follow your heart kasi minsan kapag ito lang ang finollow mo, most of the time magkakamali ka, iiyak ka.”

There have been reports that Sarah’s parents have personally talked to Gerald about the rules of courtship, which means he could only do it in their house. This was reportedly the reason why Gerald stopped courting Sarah.

Sarah defends her mother from criticism that she’s overprotective of her 24-year-old daughter, saying she’s not in a hurry to enter into a relationship.

“Kung sino man siya, kailangan ng panahon para malaman kung totoo ba ang tinitibok ng puso ko at puso niya,” Sarah said in a sepratre interview. “Hindi yung gusto ko kundi ‘yung gusto ng Diyos para sa akin.”

HEART ON POLITICS AND CHIZ

HEART Evangelista may soon be one of those celebrities-turned politicians, as she openly expressed her interest to enter the world of politics, or public service that is.

She credited Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago for stirring her interest in public service. Heart is very close to Santiago and frequently “sleeps over” at the senator’s house.

“Just being with Miriam makes me want to be a better person. She has just shown me this different world,” she said.

She said she looks at politics as a medium to “inspire” other people.

“You know what, politics? I’d do

it. I want a person to look at me not because I’m dolled up but because I am a strong woman, an inspiration,” she said.

The 27-year-old actress said that at her age, she’s free to do everything she wants. However, she admitted that she needs a man— one who is settled and can support her in her dreams—to achieve this.

“I need somebody to support me and dadalhin ako. Somebody who’s relaxed, who’s seen the world. I don’t want him to be hungry for money or fame,” she said.

When asked who could possibly fit the criteria, she declined to identify the man. She, however, im-

plied that the man’s name sounds like a “dairy” product.

“Basta he’s in politics, he’s older and I just know we’ll talk about a lot of things,” she disclosed.

Showbiz observers said she could be referring to Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero. The two have been spotted together several times and have admitted “meeting” for dinner.

The senator’s previous marriage was recently annulled.

ZSA ZSA HAS MYSTERIOUS ILLNESS ZSA ZsaPadilla disclosed that she is suffering from a mysterious ailment.

“I had some pain in my left kidney, tapos nagsu-shoot up yung pain sa left leg ko, and when I take the medication for it, it makes me groggy,” the singer-actress explained why she missed the 84th birthday of Dolphy celebration last July 25 that Willie Revillame had prepared.

Zsa Zsa doesn’t want to make public the findings of her doctors regarding her illness. “I’m sorry I can’t ano… I don’t wanna depress everybody... everybody’s been praying for me, ‘tsaka na lang.”

She acknowledged the help from Dr. Vicki Belo. “But for now, I’m so happy that I have an angel with Dra. Vicki

ZSA ZSA [Belo], kasi aayusin niya yung treatment ko sa US,” she said. She is set to leave for the US on Aug. 11.

Meanwhile, as a tribute to her long-time partner Dolphy, Zsa Zsa said she will get a Dolphy tattoo.

The singer-actress said in her

official Twitter account: “I am a bit nervous. Will have my first tattoo as a tribute to Dolphy. Jaime Tud of Westside Tattoos will be coming over.”

Dolphy’s sons and grandchildren were the first ones to immortalize on their skin the King of Comedy. Vandolph, Dolphy’s son with Alma Moreno, has a tattoo on his left arm showing an image of Dolphy praying. Dino, Vandolph’s half-brother, has Dolphy’s face tattooed on both of his arms. Another son, Boy 2, also has a praying Dolphy tattoo.

AGA TO RUN FOR CONGRESS

AGA Muhlach is running for congressman in Camarines Sur. He recently took his oath as member of the Liberal Party (LP), the party of President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III. “ M y family’s from there (Camarines Sur), my lola, my dad, and hindi ko naman talaga sisirain ‘yon…So, all I want to do is to prove to them also na mayro’n puwedeng gawin talaga doon,” he explained why he entered politics.

“Why all of a sudden? Bakit parang gusto ko siya?”, he continued. “Siguro, yes, it’s, parang, stage sa buhay natin na all of a sudden you just want to do something. Ayoko namang sabihin na... ayoko namang parang cliché na, ‘I want to help.’”

Aga said it’s all about his desire to help, and the gratification one gets from it. “Ang point ko lang kasi, yung pagtulong. Feeling ko lang, puwede ka talagang tumulong.

And when that happens, masaya yung tao. Pag masaya kasi yung tao, ang sarap ng feeling para sa ‘yo, na pag lumalakad ka dun, ipinagmamalaki nila yung pangalan mo,” he explained.

Aga will face the candidate of the powerful Fuentebella clan.

More Celebrity Files+16

PLANET 14 PHILIPPINES

AUGUST 16-31, 2012

By cherie m. del rio

O live through 50 years in show business making television shows, music records, and movies and snagging major awards is nothing short of a herculean feat for any artist -- but one veteran actress has proven that this kind of phenomenal achievement is possible to acquire. And she has done so with the style and elegance that only she can pull off. Vilma Santos has reached the peak of stellar success in all of her 50 glorious years in showbiz, and she isn’t showing any signs of waning -- her career continues to sparkle.

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Vilma lives up to her billing as The Star for all Seasons with numerous acting awards and blockbuster movies.

VILMA MARKS 50TH YEAR IN SHOWBIZ

FIFTY SHINING SEASONS

Maria Rosa Vilma Tuazon Santos-Recto, or Ate Vi to the legion of fans called Vilmanians, is esteemed as the “Star For All Seasons” of the showbiz industry.

She has been a strong presence in Philippine cinema and her many years of celebrity status has been highlighted with four Grand Slam awards for Best Actress and the distinction of being the Box Office Queen with the longest reign.

A star is born It was Vilma’s uncle who encouraged her to audition for what was supposed to be a role for a child actress in Sampaguita Pictures’ 1969 flick Anak, Ang Iyong Ina. However, when Vilma got to the studio she noticed a queue for little girls and believed it to be the line for the said audition. She lined up not knowing that it was for the movie Trudis Liit. She snagged the title role after the panel audition where she succeeded in impromptu performances of singing, dancing, and crying. She then won the 1963 FAMAS Award for Best Child Performer for playing little Trudis.

The child star’s triumph did not end with Trudis Liit. In fact, she became part of the cast in succeeding films such as Sa Bawat Pintig ng Puso, Maria Cecilia, Kasalanan Kaya?, Iginuhit ng Tadhana, and Pinagbuklod ng Langit.

Vilma continued to star in chart-topping movies and her talent as an actress persisted to be unparalleled. Among the top ten most notable films that the Star For All Seasons has contributed

Vilma has proven herself to be more than worthy of the title “Star For All Seasons” as she continues to shine brightly throughout her five decades in showbiz, no matter what the season, no matter what the challenge there may be in her career. to the excellence of Philippine cinema are Lipad, Darna, Lipad!, Alyas Baby Tsina, Dekada ’70, Tagos ng Dugo, Relasyon, Pahiram ng Isang Umaga, Burlesk Queen, Sister Stella L, Anak, and Bata, Bata, Paano Ka Ginawa?

Acting awards Her movie performances have earned for her a grand total of five FA M A S (Film Academy of Mov-

ie Arts and Sciences) Best Actress awards and two Best Supporting Actress awards. She has been nominated eight times for the Best Actress Category, and won an Exemplary Achievement Award as well as a Lifetime Award from the same body.

Vilma also

belongs to the FAMAS Circle of Excellence and Hall of Fame. The Film Academy of the Philippines, on the other hand, has awarded Vilma with four Best Actress awards. Gawad Urian gave her the distinction of Best Actress of the Decade for two consecutive terms (in 1991 and in

2001). Vilma has won a total of eight Gawad Urian awards for Best Actress. The Star Awards for Movies has chosen Vilma as the Actress of the Year for a total of seven times, and in 2009 she was given the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Guy, Bobot and Boyet An extremely popular and multi-awarded actress like Vilma Santos could not possibly escape the staple showbiz controversies.

She fell prey to celebrity rumors and rivalries just as easily as the next actress. Most prevalent and long-standing of such rivalries was the Vilma Santos and Nora Aunor

PLANET 15 PHILIPPINES

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competition. Both born in 1953, the two have been showbiz rivals for as long as they have been in the industry. In terms of acting prowess, singing talent, endorsements, and overall showbiz careers, Vilma and Nora have been compared and adjudged as to who really is the better actress. Even in the recent clamor for the highly coveted National Artist Award, Vilmanians and Noranians have raised their campaigns for the nominating bodies to consider their respective idols.

Vilma has also had her share of love team partners that made her even more popular in the seventies. Two of her most prominent leading men were Edgar Mortiz and Christopher de Leon.

Her tandem with Edgar began in 1969 when they were paired in the movies My Darling Eddie and Jukebox King. They likewise starred in Young Love, Young Love with the equally popular love team of Nora Aunor and Tirso Cruz III. Edgar and Vilma, or Bobot and Vi, starred in 14 more films and later on became real-life sweethearts. It was Vilma’s partnership with Christopher, or Boyet, however, which proved to be a longstanding success considering that they have starred in a total of 22

A strong presence in Philippine cinema, Vilma has been awarded four Grand Slam awards for Best Actress and is the Box Office Queen with the longest reign.

The enduring dramatic tandem of Vi and Boyet in one of their many movies. movies over the past almost three decades.

Vilma ended up marrying coactor Edu Manzano and had a son with him (Luis “Lucky” Manzano) but the relationship eventually failed. Vilma later met and married the now Senator Ralph Recto and had a son, Ryan Christian. Shortly after, Vilma dabbled into politics.

She ran for the mayoral seat and won, becoming Lipa City’s first female mayor. She served three consecutive terms, and in 2007 she ran

AUGUST 16-31, 2012

for the Batangas governor post and won (also the first female governor of the province). She was re-elected in 2010 and is said to be running for her third and final term as governor in the May 2013 elections.

Shining Through She began working when she was nine years old, and to this day she still has top billing in the country’s premiere films. In celebration of her golden anniversary in showbiz, Vilma led a powerhouse cast in the Chito Roño suspense-thriller, The Healing, which was released on July 25th. Vilma is joined by Kim Chiu, Pokwang, and Janice de Belen.

Vilma has proven herself to be more than worthy of the title “Star For All Seasons” as she continues to shine brightly throughout her five decades in showbiz, no matter what the season, no matter what the challenge there may be in her career. The Grand Slam Star and Box Office Queen has battled showbiz storms and has risen triumphant. Fifty years later, her star shines brighter than ever. n Vi in one of her most unforgettable performances as an activist nun in Sister Stella L.

PLANET 16 PHILIPPINES

AUGUST 16-31, 2012

Vancouver Edition

CELEBRITYFILES

MAJA ADMITS BREAKUP WITH MATTEO

CRIMINAL RAPS VS RICHARD UPHELD JUST when everyone thought Richard Gutierrez is off the hook on criminal charges previously slapped against him, the Court of Appeals ordered the filing of criminal charges against the young actor in a decision written by Justice Stephen Cruz dated July 19.

Richard was involved in a car accident in Silang, Cavite in 2009 that led to the death of his personal assistant, Norman Pardo. The actor was behind the wheels when the accident happened.

The two resolutions of the Department of Justice issued in 2010 that dismissed the charges of reckless imprudence resulting to homicide by widow Lorayne Pardo were overturned by the appellate court.

The police report said Richard lost control of his sports car on May 22, 2009 while driving along the northbound lane of Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road.

The sports car slammed over

MAJA & MATTEO HER relationship with actor Matteo Guidicelli has ended, Maja Salavador has confirmed.

When asked by host Kris Aquino

on her TV show, Kris TV, about her current status, Maja said, Single,” confirming reports that she and Matteo had split.

Maja said she remains friends with Matteo. “Kasi ano pa ba ang sasabihin ko, pero magkaibigan kami.”

She said the breakup was their mutual decision and that no third party was involved. She said of them wanted to focus on their career.

“Sobrang magkaibigan kami.

Kasi wala namang third party, parang nag-decide lang kami na i-end muna ang relationship kasi may priorities kaming dapat unahin like siya yung career niya at pagiging triathlete niya, siyempre yung oras mo sobrang mahahati sa lahat, tapos ako din naman sa trabaho, yung taping naming, so minsan mahirap yung hindi laging nagkikita hindi mabalance yung oras sa isa’t isa,” she explained.

AI AI KEEPS MUM ABOUT RUMORED VEGAS MARRIAGE WITH BOYFRIEND

RICHARD the opposite lane and brought down a lamp post, killing Richard’s assistant. Richard and his bodyguard suffered minor injuries.

RUMORS have it that Ai Ai delas Alas got married in Las Vegas to businessman Jed Salang, her boyfriend of six months.

But the actress remains mum about the issue. Ai Ai said in an interview with The Buzz that a lot of factors have to be considered, that is why she can’t simply comment on the rumored marriage.

“Puwede bang sumagot ako ng diumano’y no comment? Kasi nahihirapan akong sagutin iyan eh. Marami kasing factors. Saka ko na lang ipapaliwanag,” she told co-host Boy Abunda.

Ai Ai, who was previously married to actor-singer Miguel Vera, said she personally values the sacredness of marriage. Her eldest son, Sancho, approves of the possibility of his mom marrying again. “Ang usapan namin kahit sino or kahit ano pa iyan, as long as happy siya, go! Dream niya po talagang maikasal,” Sancho said.

It was in July when Ai Ai finally made public her relationship with Jed when he was introduced on the game show Kapamilya Deal or No Deal.

AI AI

PLANET 17 PHILIPPINES

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AUGUST 16-31, 2012

www.manila-express.ca West Broadway 604-736-6121 Richmond 604-279-1545 Main Street 604-874-5571 Surrey 604-588-1975

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PLANET 19 PHILIPPINES

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AUGUST 16-31, 2012

KC EXCITED TO FALL IN LOVE AGAIN KC is looking outside showbiz for her next boyfriend, saying “Ayoko na ng showbiz, natuto na ako.” She says she is satisfied with how things are going with her life, and believes that she now knows what she wants in her next relationship.

KC and Piolo in happier days

YEAR after her controversial breakup with hunk actor Piolo Pascual, actress-host KC Concepcion said she is happy and open to entering into a new relationship.

But getting there was not easy, said KC, who had a hard time getting along with men after calling it quits with Piolo.

“There was a time na sobra talaga akong natatakot na ma-in love ulit,” she said in an episode of the show Kris TV, where she showed viewers her spacious condominium unit in Taguig City.

“Ang tagal kong mag-open up sa guys na parang lagi ko na lang friend nang friend lang, pero ‘pag medyo nararamdaman ko na na masugid [manligaw] inaaway ko talaga na ‘I’m not ready, I’m working and it’s not the time. I don’t want to think about it.’”

“And doon ko nakita kung sino ‘yung nagsta-stay na guy,” she added.

When asked by Kris TV host Kris Aquino about the men who “stayed” with her, KC replied: “Dalawa, pero may isa kasi na parang kahit anong gawin ko to push him away, to the point na gumagawa na talaga ako ng excuse, andun pa rin.”

KC refused to name the two men in her life, who are both not from show business.

She said one of them is a foreigner. “Hindi siya Pinoy. He’s puresomething else. But he loves the [Filipino] culture,” she said. “He has never been here. Ayoko pa siyang papuntahin.”

“Nakilala ko ang sarili ko, kung ano ang gusto ko at ayaw ko in my relationship... So yes, I’m excited to fall in love again.

The other man, according to KC, is half-Filipino. “‘Yung isa, half siya, pero mas friend siya ngayon. Tumira siya sa ibang bansa for a while.”

Asked if she used to date actor Sam Milby, the actress-host said: “Hindi. Ayoko na ng showbiz, natuto na ako.”

KC said she is satisfied with how things are going with her life, and believes that she now knows what she wants in her

next relationship.

She added that she does not regret experiencing heartbreak which, she said, is what makes a woman more beautiful.

“I’m very optimistic. I think it makes a woman more beautiful ‘pag nasaktan and natuto talaga ako mag-rise above, mag-move on. At mas nakilala ko ang sarili ko, kung ano ang gusto ko at ayaw ko in my next relationship,” she said.

She continued: “So kung dati parang patient ako, na tino-tolerate ko lang lahat, na ‘okey lang, magbabago ‘yan,’ ngayon mas alam ko na ‘yung gusto ko. At saka I would go for bad boys talaga before, mahilig ako sa bad boys. And ngayon, naa-appreciate ko na ‘yung mga good guys talaga. Kahit wholesome doesn’t mean na boring or passive na walang initiative.

So yes, I’m excited to fall in love again. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.” (ABS-CBNnews. com) n

PLANET 20 PHILIPPINES

AUGUST 16-31, 2012

Biko

By noel f. de jesus

HAT was it like before the fastfood syndrome caught on?

Some of the present generation asked me this recently, after having read one of my columns on yesteryears’ fare.

For one thing I told him, Filipinos did not even have to leave their homes to enjoy delicious merienda, of which there was a great variety.

Most of them were basic native recipes, with a few that were Chinese in origin, but which locals had come to accept and taken a fancy to. (For instance: hopia, buchi, taho) By the way, taho now comes in various flavors.

At around 3 p.m. or thereabouts, one could simply wait by the window for the appearance on the streets of a motley group of enterprising hawkers offering kakanin.

These were contained in bilaos, tin receptacles, baskets or what-haveyou. As the hawkers passed by, they would call out in their singsong manner for everyone to hear each merchandise they carried - for you and each and sundry to decide which of these delicacies were specifically fancied that particular afternoon.

It is obvious that these (with the exception of taho, which was, and is prepared in a factory) were cooked in the vendors’ home.

Most of them would usually succeed in selling everything they had prepared. This would be ob-

VANISHING

‘KAKANIN’ At around 3 p.m. or thereabouts, one could simply wait by the window for the appearance on the streets of a motley group of enterprising hawkers offering kakanin.

These were contained in bilaos, tin receptacles, baskets or what-haveyou. As the hawkers passed by, they would call out in their sing-song manner for everyone to hear each merchandise they carried. vious from the smiling faces displayed as they wound their way homewards. They seldom had leftovers. And if ever they did, you could be sure they’d readily and eagerly give it to their suki who might have asked. That was PR, if not a display of goodwill on their part, which, we now know, would go a long, long way. The grateful recipient henceforth would decidedly buy from that vendor more often, to express his/her appreciation.

I remember an older sister who regularly bought chicharon bituka from an old woman. The latter carried the stuff on a bilao softly balanced on her head atop a coil of

cloth. The chicharon was neatly wrapped in cone-shaped packages, its aroma permeating the paper (No one had ever heard of wax paper in those days).

I also remember an item called carioca. These were chewy delights made of glutinous rice formed into small balls, deepfried and covered with syrup. Three to four of these were skewered together on a bamboo stick, and

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Halo-halo

carried on a bilao. I tend to believe that the carioca was the precedent of the banana cue fad.

To this day, I hanker for that unique sauce called heko brushed atop slices of papaya - not quite ripe, but more on the green side (manibalang), which was crunchy. It would upset my poor mother whenever she discovered that I managed to buy this on the sly. She worried that heko, which usually had the appearance of mud and the consistency of bagoong Balayan, might give me stomach ache, if not something worse.

I loved it whenever we called the puto vendor (usually a male) who carried his wares in two tin receptacles balanced on a bamboo cane. Banana leaves lined the receptacles containing the puto and kutsinta.

On one side

was freshly grated coconut, with two halves reserved for replenishment. I even remember one vendor in particular who also offered kalamay na ube. Which brings me to the variety of biko, maja blanca, bibingkang malagkit, palitaw, pichi-pichi, and other glutinous rice cakes which were topped with either latik (brown curd left after coconut milk is heated and oil separates) or grated, toasted sweetened coconut meat.

Those were the days when one could feast on freshly fried maruyang kamote, ukoy, along with ginataan (halo-halo, monggo or mais) contained in clay pots which were also carried in the heads of women.

PLANET 21 PHILIPPINES

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AUGUST 16-31, 2012

PALAWAN ISLAND IS WORLD’S NO. 1 GETAWAY SPOT

T

HE fun in the Philippines is definitely starting to pick up with a private getaway island in Palawan province taking the top spot in the British edition of Vogue Magazine’s 100 best holiday destinations in the world.

Ginataan

Magnolia, which then had its plant on Echague Street (now renamed Carlos Palanca) had its ice cream vendors doing the rounds pushing yellow carts with the Magnolia sign done in blue. At that time, the variety was limited to ice cream scooped onto cones, as well as popsicles in chocolate and orange flavors. Soon, they were offering ice cream covered with a crust of chocolate and shaped like a lollipop. Also ice cream sandwiched between two wafers, followed by pinipig crunch.

Magnolia’s competitors were the “dirty ice cream” vendors as well as Sison’s Ice Drop which specialized in adding sweet mongo beans at the tip of the ice drop.

And who can ever forget binatog (corn kernel freshly wrapped in banana leaves, also conical in shape to which were added salt and freshly grated coconut).

Halo-halo was sold side by side with mongo con hielo, mais con hielo, and saba cooked in syrup to which evaporated milk and ice flakes (kaskas) were added. Sandwiches like hotdogs and hamburgers, much less pizza, were unheard of, except in restaurants that served continental fare.

I also miss bicho-bicho, which is a bigger-sized version of churros. It was the Chinese who sold bicho-bicho made of dough that was twisted, its length measuring around eight inches. It was fried in a deep wok within sight of eager costumers whose appetites were whet as the Chinaman smothered these fried pieces in white sugar. Tira-tira galloria, also called gorgoriya, pianono or jelly roll, tamales and bibingkang galapong, are some of the other delicacies which, if everyone still both-

In these days, we have no choice but to cope, which naturally results in an taste entirely different from the original. ers to sell them, have undergone innovations which are quite disappointing to those of us who know the authentic taste of each.

Modern times have introduced the commercial variety of readymixes which have been substituted for the original galapong or rice flour said to be more tedious to prepare and entails more time and effort.

In these days when everyone is in a hurry, we have no choice but to cope, which naturally results in the production of an entirely different taste other than the original.

Take note also of how bakeries have renamed bakeshops, which eventually gave birth to patisseries.

And lately, croissanteries.

Still, who can tell? Just as there is such a thing as revival in the field of music, and while fashion designers seem to like the idea of recycling and bringing back early fashion trends, there just might be someone who is presently researching and gathering age-old recipes.

And one day soon, we may just suddenly find a shop that specializes in these treasured food items we grew to love, the tastes of which still linger on in our taste buds. I certainly look forward to that day.

(Manila Bulletin) n

The Department of Tourism (DOT) announced that the magazine, which named Ariara Island -- a 103-hectare “private paradise” snuggled among the untouched Calamian Islands -- as the world’s No. 1 getaway spot, will hit the stands in August.

In a statement, Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. said Philippine tourism would surely benefit from the worldwide recognition.

“What is remarkable is that the entire resort is a testament to the unique artistry and skills of Filipino designers and artisans,” Jimenez said.

“The use of local materials and traditional techniques serves as good advertising for Filipino craftsmanship and world-class products,” he added. “Tourism is not just about counting tourist arrivals … more importantly, it is about building opportunities on the ground and improving lives, in communities, in very real places.”

The resort is owned by British property developer Charles McCulloch and his wife, Carrie.

The United Kingdom remains to be one of the Philippines’ biggest tourism markets, registering over 104,400 tourist arrivals last year, which the DOT noted was a record.

Ultimate destination Ariara Island’s eco-friendly structures, its luxurious and spacious villas and cottages, were designed by renowned Filipino architect Jorge Yulo.

Every piece of furniture that adorns these structures was handcrafted and upholstered by local carpenters. Some had also been outsourced to Filipino artisans.

The DOT said the resort’s wooden baths employed traditional boat-building techniques, while marble baths were handcarved from single blocks of Romblon marble.

Take life at your own pace … whether you prefer action and adventure or peace and relaxation … it’s your choice.

Escape to your own tropical island secretly hidden in an untouched corner of the Far East.

Cushions were crafted from Mindanao’s vivid tribal fabrics and its wall accents featured heliographs and ceramics created by Filipino artist Ugu Bigyan.

The tropical island resort has been described as “the ultimate off-the-beaten-track destination,” which offers guests -- a group of up to 18 people -- an all-inclusive package of exclusivity, relaxation, 24hour service, excellent cuisine and a wide array of amenities.

For $295 (P12,000) a night per person, guests can relax in its posh villas and cottages and enjoy an unbroken view of the neighboring islands and the clear blue waters of Palawan.

Guests will be made to feel like royalty even in the bedroom, which is adorned with a private terrace and a garden, hanging chairs and hammocks, a four-poster bed, a walk-in closet, a large bathroom and an open-air shower.

Out in the sea, they can enjoy jet-skiing, windsurfing, canoeing, snorkeling or scuba diving to discover Calamian Islands’ rich diversity of marine life.

Intensified promotions Lucky visitors may even spot some of the world’s endangered species of sea turtles such as Hawksbill,

leatherback, Olive Ridley and green turtles crawling along Ariara’s main beach to lay eggs.

Guests who are avid bird watchers may turn to the island’s unspoiled forest for relaxation.

It is home to eagles, owls, kingfishers, woodpeckers, egrets and flower peckers, among other bird species.

“The resort’s properly planned development and low density show the owners’ respect for the environment,” Jimenez noted.

“We want to see more of this type of investment which supports the principles of responsible, ethical and sustainable tourism,” he added.

From January to May this year alone, British tourist arrivals continued to grow, yielding 50,347 arrivals. This was “one notch higher” from its previous 10th place, according to the DOT. It also said that British tourist arrivals were expected to improve with the ongoing promotional efforts in the United Kingdom via London cabs, double-decker buses and posters mounted in strategic places in time for the Queen’s recent diamond jubilee and the 2012 Olympics. (Philippine Daily Inquirer) n

AUGUST 16-31, 2012

Filipino gunsmiths work in an illegal makeshift gun factory on the outskirts of Danao in Cebu.

PLANET 22 PHILIPPINES

CEBU

GUNMAKERS

TAKE AIM FROM THE BACKYARD

As the pro- and anti-gun lobbies in the United States agonize over how to respond to yet another massacre of innocents, in the Philippines many want even more liberal gun laws to boost production of a small but growing legal industry.

Vancouver Edition

By manuel mogato

ANDAUE City -- In the Philippines, they vote with their trigger fingers. Elections mean big business for illegal gunsmiths, who are looking forward to 2013 mid-term polls.

With election-related violence commonplace, the Philippines imposes a ban on the carrying of guns for six months, from campaigning to the proclamation of winners.

With legal access denied, Filipinos simply turn to the many illegal gunsmiths who ply their trade in back alleys and on the edge of rice fields despite government crackdowns.

In Danao City, in the northeast of Cebu, they are already anticipating a windfall.

“There’s actually huge demand for guns, especially now and because of the elections next year,” said a 33-year-old gunsmith, who asked to be named only as Remo, as he hammered away at bits of scrap metal in a makeshift factory in Danao.

Loud music drowned out the noise of Remo’s workshop on the edge of a dry creek, hidden from view by thick bamboo groves, as he and two assistants hammered, filed and drilled away.

“We are actually having some difficulty in keeping up with the orders because it usually takes at least two weeks to make one .45 calibre pistol, even if I work 16 hours a day,” he said.

As the pro- and anti-gun lobbies in the United States agonize over how to respond to yet another massacre of innocents, in the Philippines many want even more

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liberal gun laws to boost production of a small but growing legal industry.

Guns have long been part of everyday life in the Philippines, especially since the end of World War II. After the war, farmers took up arms during agrarian unrest in the late 1940s and early 1950s and then a Maoist insurgency that has become one of the world’s longest-running conflicts.

Today, all private security guards in the Philippines carry either handguns or shotguns, or both. Guns are a common sight in shopping malls, government and private offices, banks, restaurants and even schools.

“When we were children, we were already surrounded by guns.

It was the world of our fathers,” said Elmer Genzon, a third-generation gunsmith who once made paltik, or illegal weapons, out of scrap metal and bits of angle iron.

According to www.gunpolicy. org, a site hosted by the University of Sydney’s School of Public Health in Australia, there are about 3.9 million guns -- legal and illegal -- held by civilians in the Philippines, or about 4.7 per 100 people.

That puts the Philippines 105th place on a list of 179 countries, tiny in comparison to the 88.8 per 100 in the United States and behind even Australia with 15 per 100.

While it is impossible to count the number of illegal guns in the Philippines, the national police estimate there are about 350,000, again paltry in comparative terms to Central and South American weapons hotspots like Guatemala, Honduras and Colombia.

Yet the Philippines suffers worryingly high gun-crime rates.

According to the latest available figures from the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, there were 8.9 homicides per 100,000 people in 2003, by far the worst in Asia and outstripping Europe.

While not at the levels of Central and South America, the number was still almost triple that of the United States, which had 3.3 homicides per 100,000 people the same year.

Illegal guns are not just carried by criminal gangs, Maoist rebels and Muslim separatists. They also belong to civilians and politicians who keep private armies.

Investigations into the Ampatuan family, a political clan linked

PLANET 23 PHILIPPINES

A gunsmith inspects a newly assembled multi-action shotgun at a gun manufacturing company in Cebu. own.

His partly automated factory now produces about 20,000 guns a year, with up to 85% of them sold abroad, making him the second largest gun manufacturer in the Philippines.

With cheap labor and Filipino ingenuity, de Leon wants to expand into new markets in Eastern Europe and South America.

With more foreign markets in their gunsights, legal manufacturers hope President Benigno Aquino III, a gun enthusiast who shoots competitively, will help A gunsmith puts together part of a gun at its factory in Danao. liberalize gun laws.

“What to the 2009 massacre of 57 people, “We no longer have to worry we want is a more balanced gun including dozens of journalists, about police raids and we also legislation, not too restrictive, found more than 1,000 high-pow- have a steady source of income, but we also understand that guns ered weapons, including mortars plus some health and other social must be regulated,” said Demeand .50 calibre machine guns. benefits,” Genzon, 33, told Re- trio Tuason, head of the largest In the 2004 elections, authori- uters while he wrapped a hand- and oldest manufacturer in the ties decided to crack down on il- crafted model of a 1911 Colt .45 Philippines, Armscor, at a Manila legal gunsmiths in Cebu. There destined for a dealer in Rochester, gun show. had been more desultory attempts New York.

Existing laws allow Filipinos to act against an industry dating A small army of 400 workers to own one “long” firearm -- a riback to the early 1900s. assembles revolvers and pistols at fle or shotgun -- and one handgun.

Police closed the Genzon fam- the Mandaue factory, which ex- Guns are meant to be licensed ily’s home factory on the edge of ports guns to the United States, and owners must have permits to a rice field during the 2004 crack- Australia, Italy and Thailand. carry them in public. down.

Factory owner Romulo de Tuason wants gun licences Like other gunsmiths from his Leon III, a second-generation more like driving licences, allowhometown, he was soon work- gun dealer, quickly recognised the ing people to “own as many guns ing at the government-registered unusual skills developed by the il- as they can afford.”

Shooters’ Arms Manufacturing legal, backyard gunsmiths when Not surprisingly, gun sellers factory about 25 km down the he decided to switch from selling also want to expand the industry, road in Mandaue City. imported weapons to making his worth about P2.5 billion ($59.37

AUGUST 16-31, 2012

million). Export receipts grew fourfold to $23.4 million between 2000 and 2011.

But, just like in the United States, there seems little appetite to change existing laws. “That’s not a priority right now,” Aquino told Reuters in an interview in July.

There are 34 gun-related bills before both houses of parliament, some seeking looser laws and others more control.

Supporters of two prominent bills seeking to outlaw civilians carrying guns in public and stiffer penalties for possession of illegal weapons have all but given up hope.

Much like the United States, guns are so deeply ingrained in Philippines culture that they don’t expect the July 20 shooting in a Colorado cinema, in which 12 people were killed and 58 wounded, will have much of an impact. ““For the last 22 years we’ve been telling our lawmakers ... to pass a strict gun control law but nothing has happened,” said Nandy Pacheco of the Gunless Society group.

“Our gun laws are encouraging a culture of guns, a culture of violence. When do we act?

Are we waiting for a similar attack to happen here in our movie houses?”(Reuters) n

PLANET 24 PHILIPPINES

AUGUST 16-31, 2012

By chen reyes-mencias

WENTY years ago I set foot on an island that is at the farthest end of Luzon. It is 642 kilometers from Manila and was so remote back then that it took 24 hours for me to get there.

Today, this pristine island can easily be reached by air-conditioned luxury buses, or by plane via Tuguegarao airport and then by a 2 ½ hour land trip.

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keling and hiking and yet be able to sleep in a nice comfortable hotel at the mainland. Very few places in the Philippines can offer such an experience. This possibility is opening Sta.Ana to enormous opportunities for tourism development.

The entire Palaui Island and its surrounding coral reefs and water have been declared as a protected landscape and seascape.

This paradise of an island is Palaui. Some friends call it Palau with an “i”. It is part of the municipality of Sta. Ana and the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport.

Six years ago, the once sleepy town started to buzz with life as businesses started locating in the area.

It was followed by the arrival of the first wave of tourists. Guided by the vision that the frontier town will eventually become a hub for tourism and agro-industry, the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) focused on creating the right environment for investment and tourism.

CAGAYAN’S GEM

Dream island Having been identified as the most pristine natural attraction in Sta.Ana, Palaui Island became the site for the community-based sustainable tourism project that CEZA launched in 2006. The entire island and its surrounding coral reefs and water have been declared as a protected landscape and seascape under the NIPAS law.

Palaui boasts of 70 % forest cover, thick mangrove forests, extensive seagrass meadows, caves, waterfalls

and beautiful rolling hills. It is characterized by a rugged coastline on the north and west side, and long stretch of sandy beaches that are hugged by inter-tidal zones along the south and eastern portions. The western part of the island is fringed by stunning coral reefs that gradually slope down from 20 to 40 feet before they plunge steeply all the way to 120 feet. or more. In the shallow coral gardens are numerous tropical reef fishes, colorful soft corals, anemones and well pre-

Palaui boasts of 70 % forest cover, thick mangrove forests, extensive seagrass meadows, caves, waterfalls and beautiful rolling hills. It is characterized by a rugged coastline on the north and west from the lighthouse ruins of Cape side, and long stretch of sandy beaches. View Engano on Palaui Island. served branching and foliose corals.

Small coves serve as habitats for interesting marine life forms making the island ideal for snorkeling activities.

During the rainy months, the seascape turns surreal as several waterfalls may be seen along the beaches. Since there are no major river systems on the island, rain flow through several creeks and eventually end up draining to the sea. The rugged western shore becomes an enchanting display of waterfalls.

Scientists who have vis-

ited Palaui are often amazed at the state of the ecosystems and the biodiversity. The potential for education, recreation and adventure is enormous considering the numerous natural attributes of this island destination.

Despite its distance from urban areas, it is not difficult to reach and there are amenities and facilities on the mainland that can make the visit quite comfortable. Palaui is therefore being branded as a “dream island” since adventure doesn’t have to be synonymous with sacrifice.

One can spend a day in Palaui snor-

Heritage for all Filipinos CEZA CEO and Administrator Jose Mari B. Ponce stresses that Palaui is a heritage not only of the people of Cagayan but of all Filipinos. DENR Regional Director Benjamin Tumaliuan adds that Palaui, as a protected area, is ecologically valuable and as such, only sustainable tourism should be implemented. Tumaliuan says that through ecotourism enterprises, the people will be empowered to benefit economically from the resources without taking anything.

There is simply too much at stake. The wrong kind of tourism can destroy something that is so important to the country. According to scientists, it is highly possible that there are plants and animals that may be discovered in Palaui that are yet to be identified. Just a year ago Dr. Mike Fortes of the Marine Science Institute discovered Halophila gaudichaudii at Siwangag Cove, a first for the Philippines.

Due to its natural and cultural attributes Palaui is unique and valuable. It was, in fact, declared by the National Museum as a National Cultural Property and should therefore, be protected. The General Management Plan of the island adopts a tourism framework that espouses conservation, education and recreation. Tourism is seen as a tool towards conservation since it provides motivation for island residents to protect the resources.

Ecotourism enterprises have recently been introduced by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, through the Integrated Coastal Resource Management Project (ICRMP) that provides technical and financial assistance to the Palaui Environmental Protectors Association (PEPA). (Manila Bulletin) n

The potential for education, recreation and adventure is enormous considering the numerous natural attributes of this island destination.

Vancouver Edition

PLANET 25 PHILIPPINES

AUGUST 16-31, 2012

AUGUST 16-31, 2012

PLANET 26 PHILIPPINES

Vancouver Edition

COMMUNITYNEWS

VANCOUVER Impressions

By Mel Tobias

VANCOUVER – SECOND HIGHEST HOUSING PRICES IN THE WORLD

Famous Matisse painting at Vancouver Art Gallery

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report on the housing situation in Canada for the United Nations Rights Council showed that Vancouver lost more than 1,400 low-income housing units since 2003. There is also no rent control where more middle-income people are able to live in Vancouver.

At the moment, Vancouver has the second-most expensive housing market in the world, after taking into account residents’ incomes. Hong Kong was listed as number one, making Vancouver the most expensive housing in the Western Hemisphere.

There is more rights-based approach to housing in Montreal and Toronto, European cities, Berlin and Vienna. Sao Paulo, Brazil has rights-based legislation that transfers money from wealthier areas to improve poorer neighborhoods.

It also showed that Canadians are more likely to pay top prices for their region’s popular food items such as British Columbia fruit and wine, Alberta special beef, vegetables from Ontario, cheese from Quebec and Atlantic seafood like lobster.

Many are asking themselves “What is really in that food and how does that affect me from a health perspective, from a local economic development perspective, respect for other species, concern over fair labor.”

HOLLYWOOD LOOK TO PORN STAR LOOK

Vancouver really blooms during the summer season. The range of activities is phenomenal, from countless athletic activities, parades, street festivals, multicultural presentations, fireworks displays, songfest, folk festivals, air show, salsa evenings, and Shakespeare plays on the beach. The city is truly alive with endless activities. And here are some more unique presentations for late August to late September.

Did you hear the bizarre story of a Filipina in Brampton, Ontario who was awarded $155,600 in damages? The Filipina came to Canada 17 years ago but has not picked up much English but was able to get a Canadian husband. She has little formal education and communicates with her husband through simple words and gestures.

In 2007, the diminutive, 46-year old Filipina with the consent of her husband went to a cosmetic surgeon. She wanted to “look Hollywood” but instead got a “porno look” like Pamela Anderson (cheap and trashy). The $17,000 surgery gave the Filipina extra-large breasts, so huge for her tiny frame that she’s in constant pain. And her nipples face different directions. She also acquired a hip-to-hip horizontal scar above her bikini line.

The Ontario Superior Court stated that it was clear that the Filipina is not a sophisticated consumer and she lacks the ability to comprehend the doctor’s explanation about the risks of the operation. There was no way for her to understand the medical and legal terminology in English without extensive explanation.

The hilarious part of this story was when the doctor was asked about his interpretation of the “Hollywood look”. He wanted to recapture the look of Canadian starlet Pamela Anderson because that was his perception of looking Hollywood. The end result was a porno/hooker look.

PAY MORE FOR LOCAL PRODUCTS

A new survey reported that Canadians are willing to pay higher prices, up to 19% higher, for local products when they shop for groceries, especially for regional specialties. Buying local products to support Canadian producers was the most common reason (28%) for the willingness to pay more, also the concern for freshness, the environment and safety.

VANCOUVER’S SUMMER BONANZA

Vancouver Latin Film Festival 2012 VANCOUVER LATIN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL (September I to II) This is one of the best- organized mini-film festivals before the yearly Vancouver International Film Festival. The Latin American countries are usually well represented. This year, it will be a competitive film festival with three competition sections.

The opening night gala is from Argentina (El Hombre de Al Lado – The Man Next Door) and the closing night gala is from Mexico (Chicogrande). Films from Brazil, Chile and Cuba can be enjoyed in this latin-oriented cinema festival.

Da Vinci the genius and his Mona Lisa at Science World

COLLECTING MATISSE AND MODERN MASTERS AT VANCOUVER ART GALLERY Boston sisters Etta and Claribel Cone began to amass a collection of 3,000 objects, forming one of the world’s greatest holdings of early European Modernism. This rare exhibition provides a unique opportunity to view nearly 50 exceptional works from the stunning collection. It includes 27 signature works by Matisse. One of the artist’s most famous paintings, Large Reclining Nude, displays the daring scale, simplified forms and bold colors with which the artist treated the female form in the late 1930s.

DA VINCI EXHIBITION AT SCIENCE WORLD Da Vinci – The Genius is the most comprehensive exhibition ever compiled on the works of Leonardo da Vinci. The fascinating exhibition features a vast array of full-scale machine inventions crafted from Da Vinci’s personal notebooks and anatomical sketches.

His art is examined in extraordinary detail, including the Mona Lisa and three-dimensional interactive presentations of the Last Supper.

Vancouver Edition

PLANET 27 PHILIPPINES

AUGUST 16-31, 2012

COMMUNITYNEWS that inevitably decay over time. Earth Art is meant to be ephemeral, drawing the viewer’s attention to the beauty of the sculptural art, and the landscape in which it sits, through all its stages of existence. The art is not meant to last.

ALBERTA NOW ACCEPTS WELDERS, CARPENTERS

T Experimental cinema at Vancouver Art Gallery

Earth Art at VanDusen Botanical Garden

YANG FUDONG’s FIFTH NIGHT AT VANCOUVER ART GALLERY Fifth Night is a multi-channel video installation by Chinese artist Yang Fudong.

He is one of the most important and influential artists to emerge in China. In Fifth Night, the artist captured a single scene in a film from seven different vantage points, he then pieced this footage together to compose a fractured whole that plays out across seven screens. The end product is poetic, layered and disjunctive narrative that poses a sense of dislocation that is reflective of the new China, a position that hovers between traditional ideologies/values and recent modernization. This is the first presentation of this much -talked about work in Canada.

JULIA CHILD’s RECIPES COME ALIVE AT BISTRO PASTIS

Little Green Dresses at Earth Art EARTH ART IN VANDUSEN GARDEN VanDusen Botanical Garden highlights acclaimed international and local earth artists. Earth Art uses organic materials taken from the landscape to create sculptures

Bistro Pastis on 4th Avenue is celebrating Julia Child’s Centennial by recreating her recipes for the entire summer season. The special French menu is based on Child’s two books on French cooking and is changed every week. Some of her wellknown recipes include Artichaut Sauce Hollandaise, Soupe au Pistou, Boeuf Bourguignon, Braised Lamb Shoulder in White Beans and Roasted Tomatoes. And for dessert, Babas au Rhum, Vanilla Poached Peaches and Raspberry Coulis and Crepes Baked with Almond Cream and Dark Chocolate. n

HE Province of Alberta has extended its Temporary Foreign Worker Pilot (TFWP) project to include welders and six other skilled occupations, according to Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz.

Citing a report by the Philippine Embassy in Ottawa, Canada, Baldoz said Alberta had expanded its TFWP project effective July 16.

The TFWP allows eligible foreign workers to take jobs in Canada for an authorized period.

The report, conveyed to Baldoz through a letter by Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Patricia Ann Paez, said that Alberta employers had been allowed to hire highly skilled foreign workers in certain in-demand occupations other than steamfitters or pipefitters.

Alberta’s TFWP project will include welders, heavy duty equipment mechanics, iron workers, millwright and industrial mechanics, carpenters and estimators.

“The expansion of this pilot project will enable more employers in Alberta to hire foreign workers on a temporary basis to fill short-term skills and labor needs when Canadians or permanent residents are unavailable,” said Baldoz.

Baldoz said Canada’s Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney had announced a temporary pause on new applications to the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Federal Immigrant Investor Program to allow Citizenship and Immigration Canada to make important changes to its economic immigration programs.

Consequently, Baldoz instructed the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration to monitor further developments in the Canadian labor market and to issue an appropriate advisory on the decisions of the Canadian federal government.

She also warned prospective overseas Filipino workers to check with the POEA regarding accredited employers and approved job orders in Canada.

“This is to ensure that applicants undergo the correct and legal process of worker migration,” Baldoz said.

SOLUTION ON PAGE 30

PLANET 28 PHILIPPINES

AUGUST 16-31, 2012

Vancouver Edition

DEATH TOLL FROM FLOODS UP TO 60 As the water rose in Manila on Aug. 8, Hernelie Ruazol and Ram Ocampo didn’t realize that their vow “for better or worse” would be tested so early. They were married inside a church but exited to a deluge. “I only wished to have a simple wedding but we had an extraordinary one!” said Hernelie, an elementary school teacher.

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T least 60 people are confirmed dead due to the relentless rains and floods that pounded Metro Manila and surrounding regions while thousands more survivors are crammed into evacuation centers as waist-high water covered vast farming regions.

The National Capital Region (NCR) accounted for majority of the fatalities with 26 while Region III or Central Luzon has 19, according to the latest report of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Aug. 10.

Region IV-A or Calabarzon has 12 fatalities, Region I or the Ilocos region has two, and Region IV-B or Mimaropa

has one, it said.

A total of 39 victims died due to drowning, 11 died due to landslides, four due to electrocution, two suffered a heart attack, and four from unknown causes, it said.

The government’s disaster co-ordination council said that 60 people had been confirmed killed in this week’s floods.

“A lot of them have just reported now because their first priority was response (to the floods),” Anna Orallo, the council’s deputy administrator, said.

The number of people now confirmed killed across the country since the rains first began in late July is 113, according to the council’s data.

The number of affected families has reached 2,442,135 people throughout 1,849 villages.

As much as 3,135 houses have been damaged by the floods and rains, it said.

The flooding that submerged 80 percent of Manila early in the week had largely subsided, allowing people to return to their homes, but vital ricegrowing areas to the north remained submerged as more rain fell there.

Relief supplies distributed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development to disaster struck areas amounted to P38,328,830, it said.

“We need something to eat. I haven’t gone to work or been paid for a week,” said Rogelio Soco, a construction worker and father-of-three in the small farming town of Apalit, about 60

kilometres (40 miles) from Manila.

Soco, 60, said the floods, which began on Aug. 6, were the worst the area had seen since a huge typhoon struck in the early 1970s, and other locals also said they had not experienced anything like it for decades.

Around Apalit, formerly green rice paddies had been turned into an enormous inland ocean of brown water.

Some people stood waist-deep in water and fished in the rice fields as rain continued to fall, while others hitched rides from town to town on government-provided flat-bed trucks.

Nearly two weeks of monsoon rains across the Philippines’ main island of Luzon peaked with a 48-hour deluge earlier this week that battered Manila and surrounding regions.

Meanwhile the government said it was struggling to cope with the scale of a relief effort across Luzon that was expected to last for weeks.

Tens of thousands of people were continuing to stream into evacuation centres that were already overcrowded and unable to provide enough immediate relief goods.

AQUINO ASSURES FLOOD VICTIMS “YOU are not alone to fend for yourselves,” President Benigno Aquino on Aug. 8 assured the flood victims huddled at evacuation centers across Metropolitan Manila and in nearby provinces.

Earlier in the day, Aquino took his celebrity sister Kris Aquino to Muntinlupa City to visit residents reeling from floods the past three days.

The President, Kris and government officials had to use an Army truck to negotiate flooded streets to get to Tunasan Elementary School where the evacuees sought shelter from rising floodwaters.

“I’m very happy to see them both,” Mary Manalastas, 60, said after receiving a bag of groceries from the President, referring to the Aquino siblings.

Mr. Aquino, who also brought some Cabinet secretaries with him appealed for patience, saying the flood may take some time to subside.

“I’m very happy to see you in a lively mood despite the floods. It seems we’re a gritty people here. Seeing you like this lightens our burden,” he said.

But the President told the evacuees, “The flood problem won’t be solved until next week.”

He said there was a proposed project to ease flooding in Laguna Lake and Marikina River, and this was doable, but this may take years to complete. “After that, we’ll be able to avoid this kind of problem.”

Mr. Aquino ordered an aerial survey of Metro Manila to determine the extent of the calamity that hit the National Capital Region and where exactly people needed help.

The President ordered the Philippine National Police to help motorists in distress and disaster-response agencies to give priority to rescue operations.

“You’ve tested this administration, and we performed,” he told reporters later, referring to the government’s response to the emergency.

The President said flood victims need not fret about food, as the government had enough to bring to all evacuation centers.

“You won’t be left alone to fend for yourselves,” Mr. Aquino said at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) at Camp Aguinaldo, trying to assure people huddled at evacuation centers that the government was looking after

President Aquino tours flood-stricken Tunasan village in Muntinlupa City on the way to visit with evacuees at the elementary school. The President was also set to visit Quezon City, Marikina and Caloocan but driving rain and traffic gridlock on Edsa forced him to quit his schedule. Others seen on photo are his sister Kris Aquino, former Rep. Risa Hontiveros and DOTC Secretary Manuel Roxas. their needs.

At the NDRRMC, Mr. Aquino learned that the entire Malabon City could be accessed only by six-by-six trucks; that Obando, Bulacan, was in need of rubber boats; that some parts of the capital were still not passable to all types of vehicles; that apart from Metro Manila, parts of Bataan, Pampanga, Pangasinan and Zambales provinces were experiencing

power outages, among other things.

A diluvian landscape as far as the eye could see greeted disaster officials who surveyed communities north of Manila from the air.

“The sea and floodwaters have merged. I couldn’t tell which was which,” Defense Undersecretary Benito Ramos said after flying over the Camanava (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela cities) area

“The water is still high and the local government units are getting overwhelmed,” Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman told Agence FrancePresse, referring to the farming provinces north of Manila where she was touring on Friday.

“We have evacuation centres that are congested. That is the whole problem.”

The number of people officially affected by the floods also rose to 2.44 million, from 2.1 million on Aug. 9.

In Manila, clean-up operations were under way in riverside communities that endured waters up to two metres (six and a half feet) high on Aug. 7 and 8.

The Philippines endures about 20 major storms or typhoons each rainy season, many of which are deadly.

But this week’s rains were the worst to hit Manila since Tropical Storm Ketsana killed 464 people in 2009.

Environment Secretary Ramon Paje warned that the Philippines must prepare for more intense rains caused by climate change, describing the latest deluge as the “new normal”. n

and towns in Bulacan province along Manila Bay last Aug. 8.

The worst-hit parts of Manila were mostly the poorest districts, where millions of slum dwellers have built homes along riverbanks, the swampy surrounds of a huge lake, canals and other areas susceptible to flooding.

Worst-hit was Central Luzon with 49 flooded areas, followed by Calabarzon, 21 areas; Metro Manila, 17 areas, and the Ilocos, three areas.

The NDRRMC said 126 roads were not passable to vehicles in Regions I, III, IV-A, VI, the Cordillera Administrative Region and Metro Manila.

Damage to crops wrought by the monsoon rains and Gener over the past weeks was estimated at P152.13 million. The Department of Agriculture said that as of August 7, the rice sector posted the biggest loss at P131.49 million.

BPI economist Emilio Neri Jr. said his group was expecting the disruption to have a negligible impact on the growth of the country’s gross domestic product in the third quarter.

Swelled by the incessant rains, Laguna de Bay also flooded communities along its shores. n

PLANET 29 PHILIPPINES

Vancouver Edition

AUGUST 16-31, 2012

NEWSROUND-UP

LAWMAKERS SPLIT ON ROLE OF OVERPOPULATION ON DISASTERS TWO lawmakers are divided on whether overpopulation played a major role in worsening the destruction wrought by the recent southwest monsoon in the country.

While Reproductive Health Bill proponent Albay Representative Edcel Lagman believed that no amount of additional funds could counteract the effect of calamities until overpopulation was resolved, Gabriela Representative Emmi de Jesus insisted that population control was not the answer.

Although the partylist lawmaker admitted that living in danger zones in the country places people’s lives at risk, De Jesus said that the government was also to blame for its inability to implement programs that provide people with decent areas to live in. She maintained that programs on flood control were also lacking and contributed to floods.

She said that seeing women and children forced to live in evacuation centers only strengthened their call for the government to boost its programs which would provide its people with better healthcare and decent living conditions.

This view differed with what Lagman espouses, urging people to accept that the country’s massive population had a direct link to the impact climate change had on

its citizens. He said that because of the high population growth, people were forced to live in forestland and cut down trees for a living or live dangerously in areas not suitable for habitation in the urban areas, clogging waterways with trash.

But blaming these problems on the people was not acceptable to De Jesus, who said that it was the state which should be held responsible for not taking care of its people. “Sila na nga ang biktima, sila pa ang may kasalanan?”

To Lagman, problems on solid waste management and the lack of space to live in cities were effects of overpopulation. He said that these issues were exacerbated in highly-populated urban areas in the country.

And while other lawmakers like De Jesus did not see House Bill 4244 as something which could prevent calamities from wreaking so much havoc in the country, Lagman sees the RH Bill as a solution to problems that the nation finds itself facing time and again in the face of extreme weather disturbances.

He said that the RH Bill, which has just hurdled its period of debates, was about “human rights, maternal and infant health and sustainable human development.” n

THE amendment phase of the controversial reproductive health (RH) bill could prove as protracted as the debates, which only ended last Aug. 6 after a massive push from President Benigno Aquino.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte said there was still a long way to go before the bill reaches the finish line.

The House is expected to tackle the amendments to be proposed to the bill next week, and opponents of the measure are aiming to introduce amendments to take out what they see as its unacceptable provisions on contraceptives and sex education.

The proposed amendments will have to go through discussions involving its supporters and opponents.

Belmonte said this period would be as contentious as the debates, but possibly shorter.

“I don’t think it will be more difficult, but it will be equally difficult,” he told reporters.

Belmonte said he hoped the discussions of the proposed amendments would not last as long as the debates during the interpellation phase. At least in the period of amendments, the discussions would focus on a specific topic, he said.

Cagayan de Oro Representative Rufus Rodriguez and Ang Waray party-list member Florencio Noel, who are both opposed to the bill, said their group would scrutinize the measure “line by line.”

Majority of lawmakers voted to end the debate on the bill Aug. 6, a day ahead of schedule after House members met with the President who pitched for an end to the debates.

The victory was a fairy tale ending for the Manila girls, who were doubtful starters for the 16-18 age-group tournament a few weeks ago as team officials scrounged for resources to pay for their tickets to the United States.

It was the Philippines’ second title in World Series tournaments, which is spread over four age groups and played in different cities in the United States.

The Philippines’ first title came in the girls’ 13-14 age group, or the Junior League division, courtesy of Bacolod City, in Kirkland, Washington, in 2003.

RH BILL STILL HAS A LONG WAY TO GO Belmonte said he was amenable to a proposal from Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II to form a panel composed of supporters and opponents of the bill to iron out the less contentious and more acceptable amendment proposals.

This way, the more controversial amendments could be isolated, which could then be tackled in the plenary, he said.

Parañaque Representative Roilo Golez proposed the suspension of the amendments of the RH bill to allow the chamber, which is in the midst of scrutinizing the P2-trillion proposed

2013 budget, to focus on passing a supplemental calamity budget.

Muntinlupa Representative Rodolfo Biazon, who is in favor of the RH bill, said he was “disturbed” by suggestions coming from the anti RH-bill camp that the deluge may have been a “message” from God. “I do not think God should be blamed for this event of nature that has caused the losses of lives and the sufferings of our people. I do not think this is the message of God. He wouldn’t want that those who are innocent will be the ones to suffer,” he said. n

JBC MAY GIVE AQUINO 5 NAMES

THE Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) may end up recommending five, instead of the customary three, candidates to President Benigno Aquino from which the latter will choose the next Chief Justice.

Iloilo Representative Niel Tupas Jr. admitted to having proposed this to the eight-member body and claimed to have the support “in principle” of majority of the JBC members for his proposal.

Tupas, who represents the House of Representatives in the panel, said he thought the panel should rec-

PINAYS COP SOFTBALL WORLD SERIES CROWN THE team that almost did not make it to the tournament for lack of funds ended its campaign in a blaze of glory.

And in a tribute to its compatriots back home, the team said it was dedicating its victory to the tens of thousands of Filipinos suffering from the onslaught of devastating floods.

Conquering challenges both on and off the field, Team Manila captured the Big League Softball World Series title on Aug. 8 with a powerful 14-2 victory over the United StatesWest bet, Westchester, California, at Vanderberg Park in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

BELMONTE

It was also a breath of fresh air for the Philippines, which had failed to make its mark in the London Olympics and which was ravaged by floods the past few days.

Manila coach Ana Santiago said the win was dedicated to the flood victims.

“This championship is dedicated to Filipinos who are experiencing tough times because of the flood,” she said.

The team, made up of varsity standouts from Adamson, University of Santo Tomas, University of the East and Polytechnic University of the Philippines, had been worried when it heard about the floods. n

ommend five instead of only three names “to give the President leeway to choose.”

The number just had to be increased because there were so many in the list of 20 nominees who were qualified for the position, the congressman argued.

After two postponements since the start of the week because of the bad weather, the JBC will finally get to vote on the nominees last Aug. 10.

Tupas claimed that the panel had the discretion to recommend five names because the Constitution only says that the JBC can name “at least three nominees.”

Before the voting, however, Tupas said the panel had to resolve first the problem of four nominees with pending cases—Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Presidential Commission on Good Government Chair Andres Bautista, Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza, and Securities and Exchange Commission Chairperson Teresita Herbosa.

The council has three options to deal with the issue, he said.

It can disqualify these nominees outright since the JBC rules are clear that they cannot qualify for the Chief Justice position if they have pending regular administrative or criminal cases against them.

Or they can still be considered as nominees if the JBC decides to amend or suspend the rules on the qualifications of nominees with pending cases, Tupas said.

Whether Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio will be counted among the nominees with pending cases will not be known as the Supreme Court will only be taking up on Aug. 10 the disbarment case filed against Carpio by anticrime crusader Lauro Vizconde.

If the Carpio case is referred to the JBC, the latter would have to decide whether or not Carpio should still be considered for the short list of its nominees to be recommended to the President, he said.

Meanwhile, De Lima shot down the suggestion that she was President Aquino’s choice for the next Chief Justice.

She acknowledged that her chances of being included in the JBC short list became “slimmer” after the IBP junked her petition to dismiss the two disbarment cases against her.

De Lima again protested that the disbarment cases were political in nature and criticized the manner by which the Supreme Court handled them.

“My feeling is I’m being squeezed,” she complained. n

PLANET 30 PHILIPPINES

AUGUST 16-31, 2012

Vancouver Edition

NEWSROUND-UP

GMA BACK IN HOSPITAL; CONDITION MAY LEAD TO DEATH FORMER President Gloria MacapagalArroyo was taken to Makati Medical Center (MMC) on Aug. 13 for examination after the dislocation of the titanium plate supporting her cervical spine, a condition that a doctor at the hospital described as life-threatening.

Dr. Robert Anastacio, a resident cardiologist at the hospital, advised Arroyo to undergo another CT scan to determine if there was a “further deterioration of [her] anterior cervical cage.”

“The presence of a displaced titanium plate along C2-C3 is a serious factor in the mechanism of breathing and

CARPIO LEADS 8 NOMINEES

ACTING Chief Justice Antonio Carpio topped the short list of eight candidates that the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) announced on Aug. 13.

During the JBC interviews, the 62-year-old Carpio expressed fears that the appointment of an outsider as Chief Justice would lead to demoralization in the judiciary following the emotional Senate trial that removed Corona. Carpio then denied Corona’s claims that he had conspired with Malacañang to oust his erstwhile rival.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, regarded as Malacañang’s choice, was not on the short list from which Mr. Aquino will choose Corona’s replacement.

A last-ditch effort to put De Lima on the list failed after a JBC member said she had failed to get a consensus among the eight members to suspend its rules that prohibited the consideration of nominees with pending administrative cases. De Lima is facing disbarment cases for badmouthing Corona and ignoring a Supreme Court order.

Carpio got the most number of votes, seven, according to Supreme Court spokesperson Gleo Guerra. The lone JBC member who did not vote for Carpio was Sen. Francis Escudero, according to two members who spoke on condition of anonymity for lack of authority to discuss the matter.

Sereno and Jardeleza got six votes each, along with Associate Justices Roberto Abad and Arturo Brion and former Rep. Ronaldo Zamora. Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro and former Ateneo law dean Cesar Villanueva each received five votes.

Commentators have suggested that Abad could be a good interim choice for Chief Justice in the wake of Corona’s ouster. At 68, Abad has only two more years to serve before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70.

He told the JBC during his interview that the Corona trial had “wounded” the judiciary and an insider was necessary to do the healing.

Under the Constitution, the President has until Aug. 27 to appoint the new Chief Justice.

Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., a JBC member, said the council ended up submitting eight names to the President after deciding that “whoever gets five votes will be listed.”

Tupas said De Lima was disqualified because the JBC was unable to reach a consensus on a motion filed last week by a JBC member, Malacañang Undersecretary Michael Frederick Musngi, for the council to suspend its rules on the disqualification of nominees.

The JBC rules bar the nomination of applicants to judiciary positions who have pending regular administrative and criminal cases, among others.

A disappointed De Lima told reporters she did not know how to react to her outright disqualification. “Why was I singled out for disqualification?

That’s what I want to ask,” she said, abruptly cutting off further questioning.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson he believed the next Chief Justice would either be Associate Justice Lourdes Sereno, 52, or Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza, 62.

Sereno is President Benigno Aquino III’s first appointee to the high tribunal who held the minority view in its recent ruling regarding the just compensation to workers of Hacienda Luisita, which is owned by his family.

Jardeleza is a lawyer associated with the Chief Executive’s uncle, businessman Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco.

Palace insiders told the Inquirer that the front-runner was Jardeleza, who has been criticized for his role as lawyer in the questionable use of coconut levy funds administered by Cojuangco during the regime of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos to acquire shares of stock in San Miguel Corp. Jardeleza later became corporate counsel in SMC, of which Cojuangco is chair. n

subsequently blood circulation, which may lead to sudden death,” the medical bulletin quoted Anastacio as saying.

On Aug. 3, just days after the Pasay City Regional Trial Court allowed Arroyo to post bail in her electoral sabotage case, she suffered neck pains after choking on a piece of melon. She was rushed to Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) where she had been detained for nearly eight months.

“When I saw the patient during her last confinement, she was very thin and dehydrated with extreme anxiety after an episode of severe swallowing dysfunction, which resulted in choking,” Anastacio said.

Arroyo is having extreme difficulty in eating and swallowing even water, he said.

She also has a blocked artery in the heart, he said. “The former President is suffering from a 40-30 percent coro-

nary artery obstruction of her proximal right coronary artery and left descending coronary artery,” he said.

Arroyo had undergone cervical spine surgery to deal with severe pain in her upper limbs caused by compressed nerves in the neck.

Arroyo was also found to have hypoparathyroidism, a disorder in which the parathyroid glands fail to produce enough of the hormone that helps control calcium, phosphorous, and vitamin D levels in the blood and bone.

Eralier, Anastacio said Arroyo now has a blockage in her artery even as she continues to risk “sudden death” due to a displaced titanium plate along her spine.

In a medical bulletin dated August 11, Anastacio wrote: “It had been three months since I saw her and suggested to repeat her Quantum CT-Scan (Anastacio protocol) to determine any further deterioration of the

anterior cervical cage. I HAD reported that the Superior plate is functionally displaced and compressing the periform recess, the laryngical vestibule and muscles along the voice box. The inferior plate (TL) compressing the trachea. The presence of a displaced titanium plate along C2-C3 is a serious factor in the mechanism of breathing and subsequently blood circulation which may lead to sudden death.

“Again, I suggest that we repeat our Quantum CT-Scan to determine the status of the risk and how to address it. I do hope the patient will consider my serious suggestion of re-investigation and second opinion.

“In addition, the former President is suffering from a 4O-30% Coronary Artery Obstruction of her proximal right coronary artery and left descending coronary artery based on Quantum CT-Scan Angiogram (Anastacio protocol).” n

GOV’T TO BLOW UP ILLEGAL STRUCTURES, PENS ACTION speaks louder than words when it comes to almost everything, including issuing threats to squatters’ homes that clog waterways.

Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson said the national government would go to the extent of blowing up structures that block waterways to ease flooding in Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon.

Following a Cabinet meeting presided over by President Aquino, Singson disclosed plans to “blast all of the illegal pens in waterways” in Laguna Lake and to “remove” all obstructions within water channels in Luzon to solve, once and for all, the perennial flooding in these areas.

At a briefing, Singson said the government would forcibly remove all illegal structures to clear water channels of all “obstructions,” be they houses or fish pens.

“I have identified a little over …

125,000 families on waterways alone in Metro Manila and about 60,000 to 70,000 in waterways around Laguna Lake that should not have been there,” Singson said.

He said the government had started removing illegal structures. “I just received instructions from the President that [if] push comes to shove, we will have to blast the houses if they won’t leave within a certain period.

And we [will] just continue to meet with the LGUs. I think, it has come to a point that we will have to set a deadline when they should be [removed].”

Singson hinted that the directive could include structures within water channels in the Pampanga delta.

On Aug. 12, while leading the distribution of relief goods in Rodriguez, Rizal province, Mr. Aquino vowed to use “political will” to institute sweep-

EX-PALAWAN MAYOR HIDING IN VIETNAM?

FORMER Palawan Gov. Joel T. Reyes managed to slip out of the country on March 18 via Cebu Pacific flight 5J751 bound for Vietnam, according to highly placed government sources.

Reyes and his brother Mario, mayor of Coron, have been in hiding since warrants of arrest were issued against them on March 27 for the murder of Palawan journalist and environmentalist Gerry Ortega.

The information given to media was that Reyes was able to slip through immigration using a fake passport bearing the name Joseph Lim Pe but carrying his real photograph. The passport was supposedly issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs on February 3, 2012.

The Ortega family has declined to issue a statement on the report.

“We will have to first consult our lawyers because this may have some bearing on the ongoing case,” Michaella Ortega, the victim’s daughter, said.

Reyes was indicted by the Department of Justice in February this year based on evidence that he had ordered the hit on Ortega, a staunch radio critic of his administration.

Reyes and his brother, claiming innocence, went into hiding as their lawyers tried to appeal their case in the Court of Appeals. n

ing changes in urban planning to protect lives and reduce damage to property during inclement weather.

Before a crowd of 2,000 flood victims, the President reported that visiting flooded areas had given him a wider perspective of the extent of the flooding problem.

At the Cabinet meeting, the President approved the implementation within two weeks’ time of “high-priority” and “high-impact” flood control projects, which include the repair of breached dikes, the upgrading of aging pumping stations and the clearing of clogged waterways.

The short-term projects, which will initially cost some P5 billion, are expected to be finished in a year’s time.

However, for flood mitigation measures in the longer term, the government is looking at a whopping P352 billion to bankroll a “flood management master plan for Metro Manila and surrounding areas.”

He said the government was studying 4,354 square kilometers, including the river basins of PasigMarikina and Laguna Lake.

“We want flood management on a river basin approach. We don’t want piecemeal [solutions in the] downstream, but look at the whole river basin and address the flooding on a permanent basis,” he said. n

SUDOKU ANSWER FROM PAGE 27

PLANET 31 PHILIPPINES

Vancouver Edition

(L-R) Christine Sutella, son Benicio, Clint Wood and Joezen Apolinar eagerly waiting for the parade on 41st Avenue, Vancouver

Just like in the Mountain Provinces

Little Angels group waiting for their turn on stage

Manio and Arreola families watching the shows on the main stage

Best Festival in

AUGUST 16-31, 2012

Donating to the Flood Relief Operations in the Philippines: (L-R) Demi and Rose Avendaño, Robert Guanzon, Philippine Consul General Jose A.P. Ampeso putting in his financial support, Ching Colobong. and Peter Siglos

British Columbia

By Joseph Lopez

Actor Piolo Pascual singing before a ga-ga crowd in hysteria.

M

Harana at the back of a pickup – classy courtship!

Public taking snapshots with a Muslim prince and princess

Pinoy Buzz – popular local TV program

Damsels of refinement and virtue

ore than 10,000 people swooped down in South Vancouver to join the third annual Pinoy Fiesta – Unang Hirit sa Tag-init (First Cacophony of Fun for the Summer).

After months of miserable wet weather, it was a gorgeous sultry summer day on August 10th. A parade of almost 100 ensembles, representing the various regions of the Philippines, businesses and community groups, churches, bands, beauty queens and brawns paraded down the street of Fraser Street starting on King Edward Avenue culminating at the Memorial South Park on 41st Avenue and Windsor street.

It is one of the best festivals in North America, not only because of the fun crowd-interactive parade, entertaining programs on the main stage, the varied and sumptuous cuisine, the freebies from corporations, but also an exceptional genuine atmosphere of congeniality and friendli-

Ladies of elegance and spirit ness. The smiles that day were enough to electrify the whole province of British Columbia for

Igorot Dance Group

a year. Special guest was actor Piolo Pascual.

Flag bearer Rene Alcantara

Long lines for the Bar-B-Q (actually grilled)

Crowd enjoying castanet dancing on main stage

Beauty Queens: Left – Grace Gonzales and Suzette Hernandez

AUGUST 16-31, 2012

PLANET 32 PHILIPPINES

Vancouver Edition