January 1-15, 2013 Publication

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PLANET

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JANUARY 1-15, 2013

JANUARY 1-15, 2013

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The

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bitterest A road in Cateel, Davao Oriental. (Photo by John Javellana) By patricia evangelista

OMPOSTELA VALLEY -- This is a story that begins with a storm. It was black, they say, and screamed as it spun in the night. Some say the wind tasted like salt, others say it was bitter, like rust on a broken nail.

Those who lived to tell the story talk about crouching down inside tiny bathrooms, the safest, they say, small enough that roofs rip away instead of falling in. There is a glassy-eyed look to most of them, especially the children, who sit quietly in evacuation centers or outside shattered houses.

storm

There is very little food and water, in the night, where there used to be videoke machines and the blare of television, there is silence, with the occasional barking dog and howling infant. In the forest, a body was burned after five days under the sun.

The banana plantations of Compostela Valley, livelihood to thousands, were lost in a single night.

(Photo by John Javellana) I’ll tell you how it was in the days after “Pablo” tore through Mindanao, in towns where yellow teddy bears and baby shoes hang from electric posts. The air is still, and smells of sweat and rotten flesh. The dead are part of the landscape here. Stalls in the town market share space with coffins. Dirt roads are lined with baking bodies, the occasional swollen hand stretching out of an unzipped body bag. Bodies lie in rows outside a gymnasium in New Bataan, bright blankets covering muddied grey feet, small towels over faces, right beside lines of families waiting for aid.

In the grandstand, the bleachers are crowded. Some hold chickens, others clutch at plastic sacks. A chopper flies in, carrying the president of the republic. A woman in a red vest takes the microphone. The President, she says, will now meet the survivors who will be awarded P10,000. She announces their names, and the moment becomes a

morbid mix of a game show and the reaping scene from “The Hunger Games.”

Randy Sayson, injured, nephew dead, father, mother, three siblings missing. Randy Sayson is carried before Benigno Aquino III on the back of a neighbor. There is an envelope from the President, a handshake, then a plastic bag of aid. The list goes on. The crowds of waiting are silent. Ricardo Alcano, one dead, his child, two missing, his motherand father-in-law. Marietta Alferez, husband Angelo dead. Justin Traya, brother Charlie dead. Jose de la Rosa, one dead, mother and father missing. Pedro Madronero, two dead, both his children.

The bags of relief goods are distributed the moment the presidential chopper lifts off New Bataan. There is rice and noodles and coffee, enough for a family of 8 for a day, maybe two. Women begin separating the food into meals. A pack of noodles today,

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Residents of Davao Oriental are eager to celebrate Christmas with or without food on their tables.

(Photo by Karlos Manlupig) two cups of rice. Sardines tomorrow, two cups of rice. Maybe it will last four days.

The numbers of dead are rising, by the 20s, by the hundreds. There is a man named Dante, a laborer from Andap – who was told all 18 of his family were lost in the floods – who now walks from corpse to corpse across the length of Compostela Valley hoping for a single body to bury.

In Cateel, north of Tagum City, seven hours through a road that passes through village after village of shattered homes. They are waiting for the end of the world to come, says a sign painted on the wall. A plaster Virgin Mary stands unbroken on a pedestal inside a yellow chapel – it is the only object left standing.

There is very little food and water, in the night, where there used to be videoke machines and the blare of television, there is silence, with the occasional barking dog and howling infant. In the forest, a body was burned after five days under the sun. His family had escaped, they did not know he had been found, and there is no way to send word.

Sometimes, once a day if we’re lucky, we manage a signal to Manila. The Internet seems to know more than we do. We are told people are at fault, because they didn’t evacuate. There are tweets and blogs and articles about government warnings and people who should have known better, about how sad it is that people have died but that maybe it serves as a lesson.

It is difficult to understand this standing across villages that seem eerily like the bombed-out landscapes from file photos of Vietnam. The farmers stand on the road, smoking the last of hoarded cigarettes, staring at flattened fields of banana and coconut.

It is planting season, they say. They should

be planting now. It is all they can say. They should be planting now.

Many of them admit they were warned.

Those who listened marched to evacuation centers, some died inside the schools. A mother sent her daughter to the barangay hall to hunker down with the rest of the village, the little girl died too.

In Isla Kinablangan, what residents call Isla Poo, a red patterned couch sits where Meljohn Monteza’s home used to be. The matching armchairs are scattered across the island. Poo once had over 500 families, now there are little more than 10, the others are dead or lost or had run the morning after the storm.

They are at fault, says Meljohn, because they did not leave. They did not believe there would be a disaster, because the warning was the same as all the warnings before of disasters that never took place, because they had never seen a storm in the 21 years he was born and raised in Poo. If they had understood, they would have moved, would have found somewhere to go, not the evacuation center provided by the government where most of the villagers ran, because that was shattered by the storm. Now he is afraid. Their boats are shattered. Their sack of rice is running out. There has been no aid for days. There is no contact with the mainland. They cannot leave, because they have no money to travel, and even if they do, all they know is how to fish.

In New Bataan, there is a woman who searches for her daughter. Wife of a Surigao miner, mother of 8, she took her whole family to Compostela Valley when her son-in-law called to say that her daughter was lost. She arrived to find a grandson missing, another dead by the river, and two more traumatized by the floods.

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For days they searched, the grandmother and her miner-husband and the sons who carried their small nephews while waiting to find their dead sister. On the 3rd day, the grandfather walked into the evacuation center, leading a small boy holding on to his arm.

The boy is 10, was found in the storm, had watched his mother and father and brothers die in the floods.

“They left me,” he says. “They left me, because they are all dead.”

Today he goes home to Surigao, the new son of a miner and his wife and several large brothers. They are poor, say the miner and his wife, but not so poor they cannot find a corner for a small lost boy.

He will go to school with the grandsons who survived, and they hope they can make him smile.

This is a story that begins with a storm. It was black, they say, and screamed as it spun in the night. Some say the wind tasted like salt, others say it was bitter, like rust on a broken nail.

This is written in the hope that there is another story, one that does not end with a spinning wind. (Rappler.com) (Share the Christmas spirit by texting your donation. Rappler’s “Text to Help” campaign makes helping as easy as sending a text message. Check it out at http://www.rappler.com/ move-ph/campaigns/text-to-help) n

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Old cheers ew Year for the

N

New Year’s celebration won’t be complete without the kwitis, lucis, paputok, watusi and fireworks.

There is an age-old Filipino belief that as the old year comes to a close and the new year approaches, noise must be made in order to drive away evil spirits and bad luck. Households make noise by clanging pans and pots, passing vehicles honk their horns as they rev through the streets, and sometimes some people shoot their firearms in the air.

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From horns to firecrackers to gunshots, Filipinos make all kinds of noise on New Year’s Eve to drive away evil spirits and bad luck.

By cherie del rio

HERE are no countdowns until the midnight kiss in glamorous parties, no watching of fireworks on television while sipping champagne.

But there will be Super Lolo and Judas Belt.

And you can expect a lot of kwitis, bawang, fountain, crying cow, Roman candle, and airwolf. Children will be scratching watusi against the pavement very early in the morning. And come nightfall, the streets will be filled with smoke and the silence will be gone.

New Year’s Eve is the noisiest night in the Philippines.

The Filipinos have a lot of customs and traditions when the Yuletide season begins. And it is not only during Christmas that families adhere to practices and superstitions that have long been honored and observed by generations upon generations.

Pinoys are fans more of the explosive (and oftentimes deafening) paputok, or firecrackers, rather than the visually entertaining fireworks.

There is an age-old Filipino belief that as the old year comes to a close and the new year approaches, noise must be made in order to drive away evil spirits and bad luck. Households make noise by clanging pans and pots, passing vehicles honk their horns as they rev through the streets, and unfortunately sometimes – despite the gun ban – some people shoot their firearms in the air.

Despite the casualties of firing guns and lighting up firecrackers (injuries ranging from bloodied fingers to severed hands), Filipinos are never deterred when it comes to following New Year’s traditions. Each family will always have at least one firecracker -- may it be the cheapest watusi or a stick or two of the lucis.

Over the years, the observance of the superstition of driving away bad elements with loud noise has been coupled with the nurtured desire to watch the pitch black sky be-

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Despite the regular reminder about their dangers, firecrackers are the preferred and “fun” way of welcoming the new year. come adorned with sparkling lights There is a Filipino tradition that and fireworks formations. For a few calls for twelve different kinds of minutes as the country welcomes fruits -- one kind symbolizing each the new year, the gaps of age and month. Each fruit should be round social status are bridged and the (oranges, chico, grapes, chestnuts, people become one in staring up watermelon, everything bilog!) as at the dancing lights across the sky. the shape is meant to bring in more Everyone is hopeful that the new good luck into the household. Some year will bring better tidings than homes in the provinces still practhe last. tice the tradition of putting twelve If Christmas Eve celebrations pieces of the most succulent, purare highlighted by the Noche ple grapes inside a small plastic bag Buena, the New Year’s Eve meals and hanging it on top of the door at midnight bring much festivity way -- an act believed to bring in a into each Pinoy home. The Media more prosperous new year.

Noche cannot be done away with in Pancit, with its usual symbolany household. From simple meals ism of “long life”, must be served of pancit and malagkit to lavish serv- at Media Noche. The traditional, ings of fruits and lechon, the Fili- sweet style Filipino spaghetti has pino dining table becomes a center also become a staple meal. Believnot only of the night’s nourishment ing that eating sticky food can make but also of the family’s bond and the good luck stick to a person or unity. It is a time for families to get home, families prepare malagkit, together and welcome the new year biko, or tikoy. as one.

From firecrackers to food and The food served during Media now fashion -- Filipinos will wear Noche are supposed to be lauriat: red clothes or polka dots during magnificent meals that symbolize New Year’s. It has long been beprosperity and fortune. Food such as fish or chicken are not served because apparently, these are sym- At each home people usually put a basket of twelve fruits on the table bolic of “isang kahig, isang tuka” and at least one of each kind - as another therefore, it would reflect on the way on ensuring that the coming year family’s fortune (or lack thereof). would be plentiful.

lieved that red is a lucky color and polka dots are symbolic of money. Wearing these colors and patterns could mean more money in the new year. Everyone is encouraged to wear bottoms with pockets that can be filled with coins. An empty pocket could mean an empty wallet in the coming year.

Children are urged to jump as

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high as they can as midnight comes to a close -- this could mean that they will grow as tall as they have jumped. Piggy banks are shaken as children jump -- partly to create noise and partly done in keeping with the belief that the gesture will bring in more good fortune. All the windows and doors must be open as the new year approaches, this will drive the evil elements out and at the same time bring in the good luck. All the lights must be turned on as well.

On the morning of January 1st, people must wake up early and start their day right. It is, after all, believed that whatever one does

JANUARY 1-15, 2013

during the first day of the year will be done throughout the entire year!

Hence, no one ever lends money on New Year’s Day and no one dares borrow either.

People have taken the habit of wearing their newest clothes and looking their best, as they hope to stay the same way for the next three hundred and sixty five days.

Of course, after all the superstitions have been observed, when the firecrackers have been silenced, the smoke cleared, the lechon stripped to its bones, and fruits eaten, and the windows and doors shut -- what will remain is the Filipino family marching towards the Church to hear mass. This is perhaps the simplest but most honored tradition of all: hearing mass on New Year’s Day as one big, happy (hopefully, for the entire year) family. n

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Food trucks invade Manila

At Guactruck, you can grab a soft taco or some nachos and a healthy smoothie to go with it. And at Chef Broosy, one can have a bowl of hot Japanese ramen and a kani salad on the side. And then there’s Mio Gelati where you can get a scoop of their best-selling chocolate Ferrero gelato or liquorinfused flavors like Bailey’s or Tequila Rose.

Text and photos by Amy A. Uy

HEY have arrived. Make way for those sleek, colorful kitchens on wheels similar to those that have invaded the food scene all over Washington, New York, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

At Cucina Andare, Mercato Centrale’s newly-launched weekend dining destination at Glorietta park just across the Makati Shangri-la Hotel, are Manila’s version of gourmet food trucks that carry loads of good food including mouth-watering shawarmas, healthy wraps and tacos, sumptuous burgers, and yes, even homemade gelato and authentic Japanese ramen.

The food truck trend Food trucks have actually been around as early as the 1900s with the “chuckwagons” feeding herders during cattle drives as their earliest predecessors. In Manila, we’ve also had our own version of these mobile food vans that serve hot meals on wheels.

There are the stainless steel “jollijeeps” stationed at almost every street around the

Makati business district where you can catch white collar employees queuing up for an order of guisadong monggo, menudo, dinuguan, or whatever Filipino dish they want with a cup of steamed rice at lunchtime. And then who can forget those “burger machines” that mushroomed all over town in the 80s?

In the US, food trucks have become a recent trend thanks to social media where

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Glorietta 3 Park in Makati is where all the food trucks converge every weekend.

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people get their kick tracking these mobile restos using high-tech apps.

Chasing street food was not just fun but a hip, chic thing to do.

But what really made these food trucks click was that they were at first run by fine dining cooks who got laid off and were looking for ways to make a living doing what they knew best. Today, these food trucks are now entrenched, an institution of sorts in the ever-changing dining scape. They serve everything from waffles to souvlakis, Korean barbecue, cupcakes, vegan fare, simply everything and anything that is good, edible and can be eaten onthe-go. In New York, they are even reviewed and rated by Zagat.

The Pinoy version Indeed, the time is ripe for a food truck invasion of our own.

And at Cucina Andare in Makati, they are gathered each weekend, aiming to please discriminating diners.

At Shawarma Bros, the young, good-looking guys slaving at the counter look as hot as the shawarmas they are serving. And then there’s Mio Gelati where you can get a scoop of their best-selling chocolate Ferrero gelato or liquorinfused flavors like Bailey’s or Te-

Shawarma Bros truck

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Casa Gonis’ Wagyu Paella quila Rose.

At Guactruck, you can grab a soft taco or some nachos and a healthy smoothie to go with it.

And at Chef Broosy, one can have a bowl of hot Japanese ramen and a kani salad on the side.

But there’s more to Cucina Andare than the food trucks. Rounding up the dining experience for Makati’s late night foodies are more food stalls, some of which have made their names with Mercato Centrale.

There are a few newbies in the food bazaar that are trying out their concepts here, notably Chicken and Waffle Haus, run by young Chinese-American Donn Yu and his friends. Their specialty is a crispy delicious battered chicken fillet sandwiched between slices of a waffle pancake. A slice of waffle is drizzled with a bit of maple syrup and topped with coleslaw. Then the fried chicken fillet goes on top of that. And finally,

another slice of waffle to complete this one-of-a-kind sandwich.

Another must-stop is B.Wings for their Black Mamba Chicken Wings. These wings are slightly bittersweet but once after a couple of bites, you note a hint of hotness. Chef/owner Marc Castro shares that this dish is inspired by the Mexican mole but he coats his wings with a dark cocoa mix, and jalapeños and habaneros for that spicy kick. At P200 for 10 pieces, it sounds like a good deal.

Let the food wars begin While there used to be a battle of the burgers at these food markets, now the battle is in the hotdogs arena. At Cucina Andare, two new stalls fight it out for supremacy in your hearts for hotdogs—Top Dog and Schmidt’s.

In one corner, five young college students from Ateneo de Manila University run Top Dog where you choose any one of their homemade

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hotdogs and your topping.

Pauline Pastor formulated her own recipes and her fellow seniors, Bianca San Juan, Andrea Ang, Francine Supetran, and Miguel Escobar have launched this hotdog stand as a school project. At Top Dog, you can satisfy your sausage craving with an order of their bestselling Spicy Italian dog with the Italian Job topping of mozzarella and marinara sauce.

Over at another corner is Schmidt’s Gourmet Hotdogs claiming they have “the best hotdogs in the world.” For a wow experience here, order their popular Coney Island Chili Dog topped with homemade chili and cheese or their Aucklander with aioli, mint jelly, and tomato relish. Equally-young

entrepreneurs Kim Lee and Lawrence See are on hand to give you the best hotdog sandwich you can find in town these days.

Of course, the choices at Cucina Andare go beyond burgers, hotdogs and trendy wraps and tacos. There are paellas of various persuasions at Casa Goni’s, the most enticing of which is their wagyu paella; hot roast beef sandwiches at the popular Chef Resty’s; and exotic roasted Peking duck and fried pigeon at Cheryl’s Cuisine. And the bagnet war still rages between two familiar players, Carlo’s Kitchen’s Crunchy Belly with their thin chicharon-like

JANUARY 1-15, 2013

bagnet versus Manila Q’s Bagwang or what the vendor said was simply bagnet na may maraming bawang (deep-fried pork belly slices with lots of garlic).

Cucina Andare, with the food trucks and the seductive smell of smoky barbecues, grilled burgers, cool mojitos and cocktails, and the promise of a wide selection of great food you can’t find elsewhere, and a lively acoustic band playing in the background makes eating out under the stars and in this cool December weather a oneof-a-kind experience in Makati.

(GMA News) n

JANUARY 1-15, 2013

By Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales

EMEMBER the time when, decades ago, no one really bothered to think how come people smoked inside jeepneys, buses and even airplanes? When a passenger lit a smoke, no one cared - as if nothing happened. No one took notice… until someone dared to question the situation and confront the person.

Others got wind and started to realize that, all along, a number of people were similarly bothered by the habit. The number grew and reached that critical mass.

Legislations were eventually passed. At present, persons grimace at the sight of a cigarette smoke inside a jeepney or bus. Nowadays, people call that person’s attention to the latter’s humiliation, at the very least, or to the penalties he needs to face, at the very most.

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Do you know who that “someone” was? That “someone” who first questioned the situation and confronted the annoying smoker?

That “someone” must have been bothered by the deeply-embedded practice of smoking with so much latitude as if with unbridled license… or with impunity, if you will.

No one knew who that “someone” was.

He or she must have attended a similar “march to righteousness” during a tobacco awareness day, for all we know.

The point is that you could be that someone

Corruption and the

Ombudsman Morales: It’s not a walk in the park.

‘Culture of Expectations’

Kapag ang isang professional o pulitiko ay nagrerenta lang ng bahay at walang mansion o kaya ay namamasahe lang at walang magagarang sasakyan, sa halip na makita ang kanyang kababaang-loob, ang agad na naiisip ng tao ay ‘mahina siguro siya’ o ‘hindi siya magaling.’

Aquino anchored his presidential run in 2010 on an anti-corruption platform.

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who could do the same in terms of changing the social attitude towards corruption. You could be that someone who is bothered by all these shenanigans.

Shared dissatisfaction Indeed, the call to reform can only take off, if there is a shared dissatisfaction with the status quo.

Discontentment with the past allows us to improve on the present.

This notion also prevents us from sitting on our laurels. The campaign against corruption is bound to win, in the sense that it disturbs us and moves us to action.

I heard one person talking about his friend’s dissatisfaction with the prevailing system: “Tama na, nakakasawa nang lumaro sa ganitong kalakaran.” And with a more efficient system running in an agency, more and more employees will boldly tell their friends and relatives, “Kumpletuhin mo lang ang requirements at pumila nang saglit, ganun din yun, mabilis rin lang.” We hope to lessen “sports-minded” people or “yung mahusay sa palakasan.”

The people are hoping to see the day where diyes porsyento reverts back to its antecedent term that instills fear of God in Diyos por Santo.

They hope to see the day when solutions and orders are decided by considerations of what the senior officials know and not by who they know.

Indeed, more and more people are sending across the message that shady deals involving public funds need to stop. Corrupt practices will no longer be countenanced, definitely, not this time.

This gargantuan task, of course, cannot be done overnight. It cannot be accomplished with a single indignation rally. It is a continuous and concerted struggle. Indeed, there is a long way to go. And it is not a walk in the park.

The good thing, however, is that leadership by example counts and that everybody is expected to toe the line. The nation is starting to nourish a greener landscape. With everyone pitching in an effort or two, we can say that there is hope after all.

Just recently, Transparency International reported in its latest Corruption Perceptions Index that the Philippine has improved in the rankings, from 134 in 2010, to 129 in 2011, and to 105 in 2012.

Further, the Survey of Enterprises on Corruption recently conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) shows that a number of government agencies improved on

Former President Arroyo is led into the Sandiganbayan to face plunder charges.

This gargantuan task, of course, cannot be done overnight.

It cannot be accomplished with a single indignation rally. It is a continuous and concerted struggle.

their sincerity ratings. For one, the Office of the Ombudsman climbed 46 notches in the sincerity ratings from -8 in 2009 to + 38 in 2012.

Culture of expectations This marked improvement goes to show that we must be doing something right. This occasional “pat-on-the back” helps in inspiring us to carry on the battle against corruption. As we do not rest on these laurels, expect us to continue rolling up our sleeves and getting the job done.

The incidence of corruption may also be partly attributed to a culture of societal expectations that condition or pressure the minds of professionals like lawyers, doctors, engineers as well as government officials to exhibit a high level of status just to prove or satisfy the

societal expectation or depiction of a successful professional or leader.

Kapag ang isang professional o pulitiko ay nagrerenta lang ng bahay at walang mansion o kaya ay namamasahe lang at walang magagarang sasakyan, sa halip na makita ang kanyang kababaang-loob, ang agad na naiisip ng tao ay ‘mahina siguro siya’ o ‘hindi siya magaling.’

The desire to get rich quick, no matter which way, has unfortunately become the top goal of today’s youth. Do not get me wrong. There is nothing in dreaming or achieving a comfortable way of life. Biblically, it is not money per se which is the root of evil. It is “[t]he love of money which is the root of all evil.” When you embezzle people’s money which should have been devoted to road infrastructure, medicine distribution or classroom con-

Activist groups demand the prosecution and conviction of former President Arroyo and ertswhile Chief Justice Renato Corona.

struction, then you are taking away something from the poorest of the poor and depriving them of their rightful chance at life.

Parenthetically, the worldly standard of success no longer considers how you maintain your integrity and keep your humility.

Stamping out the forces of corruption is as imperative as granting the Filipino people the full measure of the blessings of a robust economy. Good governance leads us closer to achieving inclusive growth, generating employment, and reducing poverty… and eventually and ultimately creating greater prosperity for the greatest number of people in the country.

And we want that message to be heard -- to remain echoing as a continuing reminder for all and to resonate in the coming elections where we will be placing persons of integrity to positions in government.

I am positive that the entire nation can chart a unified and comprehensive reform agenda that can hit the mark in ridding this country of the corrosive element of corruption and rebuilding the foundation of good governance.

I thus implore all to join hands and extend that needed push in sustaining the momentum in the nationwide campaign to uphold integrity in all aspects of governance.

(Ombudsman Morales delivered this speech on December 9 during the celebration of the International AntiCorruption Day at the Quezon City Memorial Circle, Quezon City) n

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Millionaires

dominate Party-list Seats

Breakdown of professions of party-list representatives

With the entry of multimillionaires and politicians, the party-list system has been “subverted by traditional politics” and its landscape now hardly differs from its richer counterparts in district representation

36%

By Marc Jayson Cayabyab and Mikhail Franz

ITH a net worth of over P130 million, Rep. Catalina Bagasina would hardly strike anyone as someone who represents the interest of laborers in the legislative branch of government. Yet, the former mayor is not the only millionaire who occupies what was intended as a noble position for marginalized groups at the House of Representatives.

In fact, Bagasina is merely the richest among the 47 party-list representatives in the 15th Congress who have a declared net worth of at least P2 million. Together, they account for a whopping 80 percent of the current batch of 56 party-list representatives, a number that has been rising in the past five congressional terms.

How did a rich politician like Bagasina manage to get into a representational system that was supposed to be reserved for the marginalized and underrepresented?

The answer may lie with the Commission on Elections (Comelec), whose members have differing interpretations of the law that created the party-list system.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Rene Sarmiento says the party-list system is meant to level the playing field in the elite-dominated legislature. The original intent of the system was to open the political arena to “sectors or groups that have a national con-

businessman

16%

other proffessions

stituency, without specific reference to the marginalized and underrepresented sectors or groups,” according to Sarmiento.

However, when the Party-List System Act of 1995 or RA 7941 was passed, the words “marginalized” and “underrepresented” were inserted into Section 2 of the law, reserving seats for sectors or groups such as labor, peasant, fisherfolk, urban poor, indigenous cultural communities, elderly, handicapped, women, youth, veterans, and overseas workers.

The system was first implemented in the 1998 presidential elections. But through the years, the proliferation of millionaire partylist reps has tainted the noble ideal of getting marginalized sectors represented in Congress. Sectoral representatives have become richer and richer, as seen in their declared statements of assets and liabilities

ngo worker/ volunteer agriculturist

4% 25%

lawyer

3% 5% 11%

accountant Source: Certification of Nominations, Election Records and Statistics Department, Commission on Elections

teacher/ educator

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net worth (SALN).

Before she became the partylist representative of the Association of Laborers and Employees in 2010, Bagasina served as the mayor of Sasmuan town in Pampanga for three terms.

The second richest party-list representative is also from Pampanga, former 2nd district congressman Juan Miguel Arroyo of Ang Galing Pinoy, who gave up his seat in favor of his mother, former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

At the other end of the spectrum is Nueva Ecija farmer Rafael Mariano of Anakpawis, the poorest congressman with a net worth of P61,328. The second poorest is another legislator from militant groups, Teodoro Casiño of Bayan Muna with P91,000.

Arroyo and Bagasina are not the only former government officials who morphed into party-list representatives as a continuation of their political career.

Bernadette Herrera-Dy, who served as Quezon City councilor for nine years, now sits for Bagong Henerasyon which claims to represent the urban poor, women, and elderly. Reena Obillo, a senior program officer of the Department of Agrarian Reform, represents Una ang Pamilya while former Agrarian Reform secretary Nasser Pangandaman has taken a congressional seat for AA Kasosyo.

In the same vein, political families have found the party-list system a convenient entry point into Congress. Robert Raymund Estrella and Francisco Emmanuel Ortega III, both from prominent political families in the Ilocos Region, both sit as representatives of the farmers’ party-list group Abono.

“Naging wake-up call ito sa Comelec dahil marami sa party-list napansin naming magkakamag-anak,” Sarmiento said.

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Many party-list representatives are no different from the regular congressmen in terms of wealth and power.

“Sobra na ito. And then merong mga pulitiko na gustong bumalik sa Kongreso through a party-list. For me, this is making a mockery of the party-list system. This has to end,” he added.

In the past two months, the Comelec has been reviewing the incumbent, registered, and new party-list groups to assess if these truly represent marginalized and underrepresented Filipinos.

As of Dec. 4, the Comelec has approved 79 party-list groups and disqualified over a hundred others.

If he had his way, Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. said he would prefer to disqualify all multimillionaires from the party-list system, but he has to adhere to the collegial nature of the poll body.

“Palagi naming tinatanong ang SALN nilang lahat,” Brillantes said, referring to the accreditation hearings. “Kung ako lang, baka walang nakalusot - maski isa.”

Sarmiento agrees: “Malaking factor rin naman ‘yan, kung SALN mo ikaw ay talagang napakayaman mo, and here we are speaking of the marginalized and underrepresented.”

But more than wealth, Sarmiento thinks the poll body needs to resolve the question on whether party-list representatives should be a member of the marginalized and underrepresented sectors they seek to represent, or whether it suffices that they are merely advocates of these groups.

Commissioner Elias Yusoph is

among those who believe that being an advocate is enough for a nominee to represent a marginalized sector.

He said the party-list law specifies that “sectoral party-list” shall have a “principal advocacy pertain(ing) to the special interest and concerns of their sector.”

“There is no clear definition of what is marginalized and underrepresented,” Yusoph said. “(Even if) the one advocating a party-list sector does not belong to the sector, if he is advocating for it, then we consider it to be accredited,” Yusoph said.

But according to Sarmiento, the 2001 Supreme Court ruling on Ang Bagong Bayani vs. Comelec has already interpreted the law to mean that the nominees should belong to

JANUARY 1-15, 2013

the sectors, with the decision even mentioning the words “marginalized and underrepresented” 35 times.

Differences of opinion within the Comelec may be the reason why, despite the Supreme Court ruling, many party-list representatives still do not fit the mold of marginalized sectors.

In the 15th Congress, they are not just “able to read and write.”

Many are also educated professionals with backgrounds in business and law, just like typical district representatives. At least 20 are business people while 14 are lawyers, and very few come from the sectors listed in RA 7941.

Among them is Teodorico Haresco of Ang Kasangga, who is supposed to represent micro entrepreneurs in Congress. Hardly a small-time businessman, Haresco is the chairman of Winsource Solutions, a service provider for call center agencies and other business process outsourcing companies. He is also currently the third richest party-list representative, with a net worth of P92.8 million.

There’s also Julieta Cortuna, who sits as representative of A Teacher and supposedly teaches health, wellness, and livelihood programs for unspecified institutions. She is also the president of a trading and milling company, general manager of Dreamland Travel and Tours, and proprietor of Worldwide Marketing of RLE Squalene Product Essential Life Corp.

With the entry of multimillionaires and politicians, the party-list system has been “subverted by traditional politics” and its landscape now hardly differs from its richer counterparts in district representation, said Bobby Tuazon, policy analyst of the Center for People Empowerment in Governance. (GMA News Online) n

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By boo chanco

OTH houses of Congress passed the RH (Reproductive Health) bill on third reading.

P-Noy’s endorsement of it as an urgent measure, a wise use of his political capital, saw it through.

There is still the bicam and possible Supreme Court challenge but the people’s sentiment is finally reflected in the law. (Editor’s note: The bicameral committee of the two houses of Congress approved last Dec. 20 the consolidated version of the measure which is set to be signed into law by President Aquino before the end of the year.)

A Facebook friend summarized it well: “it allows an option on the number of children people care to have. It will prevent unwanted children, back alley abortions. The use of condoms will prevent further spread of STD and AIDs. Planned parenthood brings health benefits to women and children. Added benefits are the social and environmental impact of reduced population density, especially in an impoverished country.”

I am however amazed at the amount of disinformation about the measure. I was also appalled at how some congressmen explained their votes against it. We still need to understand the basics of why we urgently need a good population program.

First of all, it isn’t about abortion. If it was, I wouldn’t support it. I strongly believe in the sanctity of life. There is a Psalm in the Bible I read every day and it captures the thought that underlies my belief on why the unborn life is sacred.

Psalm 139 verses 14 to 16 expresses the wonder of how we all began.

The passage of the RH bill will not change that. Indeed, a good population program empowers women with the knowledge necessary to avoid resorting to abortion.

Ignorance about sexuality and reproductive health is now causing over half a million deaths of our women who have resorted to abortion out of desperation. We are not talking only of single women who sought abortion to protect their social reputation. There are more women who are married but have

Not abortion but quality of life

The RH bill’s proponents argue that the measure is aimed giving the people the option of determining the number of children they want to have and preventing unwanted pregnancy.

Simply, uncontrolled population growth can overtax the limited resources needed to provide all the necessary social services from health care to education. But that is not the principal reason why the RH bill must become a law.

Improving the quality of life of more than half of our people mired in poverty is.

sought abortion even at the risk of death because they could not bear having another child they cannot afford to raise.

There is no argument that life indeed begins at conception but that doesn’t happen unless sperm unites with the ovum. Until then, both are just strings of genetic information.

Contrary to what Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile declared, sperm by itself cannot be considered a viable life.

Otherwise, as Sen Miriam Santiago said, all men should be considered murderers for jacking off.

Preventing conception from happening, which is the basis of the population program contemplated in the RH bill does not kill life. Using a condom or taking a contraceptive pill prevents the sperm form uniting with a woman’s ovum. That does not end life because life has not begun. The so-called natural family planning method approved by the Church works on the same principle of preventing such meeting of sperm and ovum but less reliThe maternity ward of the government hospital Fabella Memorial Hospital in Tondo, Manila, is a virtual baby factory.

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ably so. That’s why it is also called the Vatican Roulette.

Senators Enrile and Sotto, among others, expressed uneasiness over the inclusion of the phrase “safe and pleasurable sex” in the bill. But to me that is simple hypocrisy on the part of these macho men. I want to see them swear on a stack of Bibles they have never sought nor experienced sexual pleasure… and if they are typical of the male of the species, not just with their wives.

The point here is simply, we are all human with very human weaknesses. We are talking of urges that are difficult to control even among supposedly celibate priests. Catholicism may frown on having sex for reasons other than procreation but we must deal with reality.

As for the claim of the bishops that the RH bill will promote promiscuity, it would be more accurate to put the blame on the increasing failure of our religious leaders to influence the moral behavior of their flock. The RH bill does not coerce anyone to behave against his beliefs.

The RH bill is about quality of life. It is about giving each life born into this world a good chance to live a life with the dignity that be-

Students from a Catholic school stage a rally to oppose the RH bill.

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The RH bill’s sponsors in the Senate - Senators Pia Cayetano and Miriam Santiago – are surrounded by supporters in front of the Senate building. fits one of God’s creations. We see all around us that this is simply not happening. Children are being born and raised under subhuman conditions that should shame the Christianity in us.

Managing a country’s population growth is an economic issue.

Our fast growing ASEAN neighbors have shown us that. Simply, uncontrolled popula-

tion growth can overtax the limited resources needed to provide all the necessary social services from health care to education. But that is not the principal reason why the RH bill must become a law. Improving the quality of life of more than half of our people mired in poverty is.

The positive economic impact of a well managed population program can only be seen over time. But the RH bill aims for something more urgent… improv-

ing the quality of lives now… not ten years from now. It aims to help couples have just the number of children they can afford to bring up in this world. It also aims to have every child born to parents by choice and not just by “accident”.

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A family with little means can do a lot better with fewer children than they now have. Fewer children will enable parents to better care and educate them and thus have a better chance of breaking out of poverty.

But children who must eke out an existence in our streets from as young as 3 or 4 selling sampaguita strings will most likely remain uneducated, malnourished and condemned to remain in poverty’s vicious grip.

No, population management is not an imposition of the US, the World Bank or the United Nations.

It is not an affront to our national sovereignty nor is it an unwanted foreign interference into our affairs.

It is a universal concept designed to help jump start development of our economy. The RH bill will not eradicate poverty but it will help alleviate some of its harshness. (Excepted from the column of Boo Chanco, “Demand and Supply”, in the Philippine Star) n

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Pinoy teens and sex:

Sex education is offered in a few select high schools and is incorporated in health subjects, which is sorely inadequate.

By carmela g. lapeña

AN you get pregnant from just one time? The answer is yes, but not everyone knows that.

Asked by GMA News Online, one anonymous respondent said she had no idea how many times you need to have sex in order to get pregnant. The respondent, a sexually active 17-yearold college freshman, said she learned about sex from friends in third year high school.

“Nakahalo siya sa mga biruan,” she said.

She also learned a little about sex from her health teacher in high school, but added that her current sex partner taught her everything from oral sex to “actual sex,” in-

cluding how to prevent pregnancy without using contraceptives.

“Isa na dun ay naka-depend sa male kasi siya ‘yung naglalabas ng sperm eh,” she said.

Just how much do they know?

In the absence of a formal sex education in schools, young Filipinos rely on parental guidance and the say-so of friends as they navigate the murky waters of sex and unwanted pregnancy. Will the passage of the Reproductive Health measure lead to responsible parenthood?

Although she was aware that contraceptives such as condoms can be used to prevent pregnancy, she said she did not use these during sex. “Ayaw ng sex partner ko. Anyway, I trust him naman na safe talaga siya,” she said.

“It’s to prevent pregnancy, pero wala daw kwenta kung gagamit nito,” she also said about condoms.

She said she would prefer to get her information about sex from her family and from school. According to her, sex education in her school

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is just incorporated in health subjects. “It depends sa teacher kung i-incorporate niya,” she said.

Interestingly, a study conducted

by McCann Philippines in 2006 showed that only about six out of 10 Filipino youth aged 20 and below considered casual sex as wrong together with taking something without paying, use of violence, drugs, drunk driving, suicide, and marital infidelity while about half think that pre-marital sex, sex on TV, phone/Internet sex, porn, and sexually explicit language is wrong.

Sex ed and the RH bill

The ways to prevent pregnancy, along with other important information regarding sex and reproductive health, may be made known more by Pinoy teens once the RH bill is signed into law.

Among the controversial issues regarding the RH bill is the inclusion of sex education in schools.

Under House Bill 4244 or the consolidated RH bill, parents have the option whether or not their children will attend sex education classes, which will include: • values formation; • knowledge and skills in self protection against discrimination, sexual violence and abuse, and teen pregnancy; • physical, social and emotional changes

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CELEBRITYFILES in adolescents; • children's and women's rights; • fertility awareness; • STI, HIV and AIDS; • population and development; • responsible relationship; • family planning methods; • proscription and hazards of abortion; and • responsible parenthood.

Despite the inclusion of values formation, the Catholic Church strongly opposes the proposed sex education modules, as these will include information about artificial contraceptives.

According to psychologist and family medicine doctor Lucille Montes, the proposed sex education will corrupt Filipinos’ morality and behavior, especially when it comes to beliefs about sexual behavior, a report on the CBCP website said in August.

Sources of information Some students themselves would prefer to learn about sex in school, which has already been the case in some schools. In 2008, the Department of Education pilottested modules of its “Adolescent Reproductive Health” program

Opponents of the RH bill claim that sex education will promote promiscuity and encourage use of contraception methods. in over 150 elementary and high schools.

Asked by GMA News Online, some teenagers specifically said they preferred not to get information from their parents, relying instead on other authority figures, or even friends.

One 18-year-old respondent said she would prefer to get information from an authority figure other than her relatives. Another respondent, 17, said getting information from a teacher or doctor would be better, as “it seems much more formal and reliable than simply learning through hearsay and ‘advice.’”

For her, the best way to prevent pregnancy is being responsible.

“Being responsible’ doesn’t simply mean not having intercourse -- it can also mean using condoms/con-

Supporters of the Reproductive Health bill display condoms to support the passage of the controversial measure during a rally in Manila. traceptives in order to prevent get- One 19-year-old respondent said she first learned about sex in ting pregnant,” she said.

Another respondent, 18, said grade school, from her parents. she preferred to get her information She was told that sex “is for marfrom science teachers, or someone ried people to show their love and older than she who she trusts, but have children.” While sex educanot her parents. She and a few of tion was integrated in biology and the other respondents first learned homeroom classes in her school, about sex in Grade 5, from their sci- she said she preferred to get her ence or health teachers. However, information from her parents.

Another respondent, a 17-yearthey described the information as old student at a private Catholic vague and technical. school, knew about sex as early as five years old. Apart from warnParental guidance There are also some who pre- ing her about rape, her parents also fer to learn about sex at home. discussed sex with her. “They told

me what it is, what it does, how it works, and possibly what it can do to my body if I get pregnant,” she said.

“Unfortunately though, living in the Philippines where conservatism still exists, teens seek for their answers on questions concerning sex from other teens as well. And that is a very bad idea. That is why I’d like to learn about it from school too, so we can all just look at it maturely,” she said.

Only one of the respondents said she was sexually active.

The average age for the first sexual encounter is 18, according to the most recent (2002) Young Adult Fertility Survey of the University of the Philippines Population Institute.

According to the survey, about 16 percent of Filipinas 15 to 24 years old have had premarital sex.

Contraceptive use during premarital sex for the first time was at 27.6 percent for males and 14.5 percent for females.

As of 2011, one in 10 mothers who gave birth in the country in 2009 was a teenager, according to the National Statistics Office.

(GMA News Online) n

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REVIVING 5,000 YEARS OF CIVILIZATION. WORLD’S TOP CLASSICAL CHINESE DANCERS ORIGINAL LIVE MUSIC

BY THE SHEN YUN ORCHESTRA ANIMATED BACKDROPS & EXQUISITE COSTUMES

ALL-NEW 2013 SHOW WITH LIVE ORCHESTRA

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“Absolutely beautiful... It has become this one big poetic event. It was so inspiring, I think I may have found some new ideas for the next Avatar.”

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Academy Award-winning production designer

A Global sensation returns to VANCOUVER

“It was an extraordinary experience… The level of skill, but also the power of the archetypes and the narratives was startling. And of course it was exquisitely beautiful.”

Cate Blanchett

Shen Yun. For Chinese, the words evoke

Academy Award-winning Actress

a sense of wonder, magic, and the divine.

“A dazzling show, ... the production values are grand.”

— The Globe and Mail

“5,000 years of Chinese music and dance in one night.”

— The New York Times

“Brilliant choreography!

Extravagantly beautiful.”

—Broadway World

To audiences who have seen it, they recall the experience of a lifetime—a moment so powerfully beautiful it touches the soul.

Discover the grandeur of a fantastically rich culture, that of classical China, brought to life through brilliantly choreographed dance and mesmerizing, all-original orchestral compositions. Magnificently costumed dancers—the world’s elite—move in poetic arrangements that evoke pastoral beauty, imperial drama, and the glory of an ancient civilization. This season, discover what art was meant to be. Discover Shen Yun.

The Shen Yun Orchestra uses ancient Chinese instruments to lead the melody on top of a full Western orchestra. You will be delighted by its extraordinary music.

ShenYun2013.com

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S

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UPERMODEL turned actress turned horse. This is how Jose Marie Viceral, or Vice Ganda, describes himself in his Twitter account.

With over 2.2 million followers on Twitter (@vicegandako), Vice is unquestionably one of the Kapamilya network’s most bankable stars.

And he is, without a doubt, the biggest gay celebrity in Vice makes a splash in magazine cover.

Tinseltown today.

Addiction

to

Vice

Vice has a talent in coming up with punch lines which he delivers so flawlessly that he has the crowd unable to control their laughter. A lot of comedians can do this, too -- but not without a script, and not without the impeccable timing and style that Vice exemplifies.

The biggest gay celebrity in town.

He is one of the top endorsers of one of the major telecommunication companies in the Philippines.

His movie, Praybeyt Benjamin, was not only a huge blockbuster hit -its ticket sales soared on to make it the country’s highest-grossing film of all time. A regular host of the noontime show It’s Showtime, Vice last year was given his own Sunday late night show, Gandang Gabi Vice -- a comedy variety show that has been known for its ability to trend in Twitter every time it airs.

Before Vice made it big in showbiz, he was a struggling comedian who nevertheless captured audiences with his wit and unique sense of humor. In 2008, he spiced up the now defunct Singing Bee (hosted by Cesar Montano) when he appeared as a guest. He won several times and each time, the Filipino audiences bore witness to the gay comedian’s singing and comedic talents. In the same year, he played small roles in ABS-CBN TV shows (Ligaw na Bulaklak, Dyosa, Pieta).

It was in 2009, however, when Vice finally had his long-awaited

Vice acts as muse of the PBA team Powerade Tigers. showbiz breakthrough. He became a judge and host of It’s Showtime.

His “unkabogable” comedy skills combined with “trending” quips and pick up lines have undoubtedly contributed to the show’s success and popularity. Not long after, Vice has become a household name.

There have been many gay comedians who have struggled to make it big in showbiz but none of them have reached the level of stardom that Vice has attained. The formula of being gay and being funny was no longer sufficient to push one’s career to the

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top. One had to be quick and creative, and able to deliver comic lines so swiftly without failing to make audiences double over in laughter. Many have tried but it is only Vice who met the standards.

Observing his shows and movies would lead one to conclude that Vice has a talent in coming up with punch lines which he delivers so flawlessly that he has the crowd unable to control their laughter. A lot of comedians can do this, too -- but not without a script, and not without the impeccable timing and style that Vice exemplifies. His talents stretch out into the silver screen and his movies, Petrang Kabayo and This Guy’s In Love With You Mare, are testaments to his success as a movie star.

Although Vice is arguably the personification of “funny”, there are audiences out there who find some of his jokes and punch lines offensive and demeaning. He makes fun of people’s looks sometimes -- and this is something that some Pinoy audiences cannot take.

And this is where Vice’s detractors are born. But Vice simply chooses to ignore the negative comments.

“Life is about pushing and pulling yourself,” he says.

“Hindi ko po ipinagtatanggol ang sarili ko. Kasi parang pointless ‘pag ipinagtanggol mo pa yung sarili mo… bakit kailangan mong i-defend o i-explain ang sarili mo sa mga taong hindi ka naman gusto dahil kahit anong sabihin mo hindi ka naman nila paniniwalaan, di ba? At bakit mo rin kailangang ipagtanggol at ieksplika ang sarili mo sa mga taong nagmamahal sa iyo, e, kahit anuman ang gawin mo at sabihin mo ay mamahalin ka pa rin nila.”

Like many of the big celebrities before him, Vice’s love life is not hidden from the limelight. In October, he admitted in an interview with Kris Aquino that he was in a relationship.

He has been linked to FEU basketball players Terrence Romeo and RR Garcia, but Vice refuses to identify his partner. However, a few weeks after his admission, he revealed that he had been having problems in his relationship.

But whatever troubles Vice may have on the love front could probably be compensated by his soaring showbiz career. Apart from hosting the daily noontime show It’s Showtime, he has been having live shows and tours left and right. And this December, his new movie, Sisteraka, will hit the theaters. n

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CELEBR TY

CHIZ REVEALS HIS HEART

Manny and wife Jinkee arrive in Manila after his loss to Marquez.

NO FIGHT FOR MANNY UNTIL SEPTEMBER TOP Rank chief Bob Arum is ruling out the possibility that Manny Pacquiao will make his comeback in April 2013, saying the Nevada Athletic Commission has in fact suspended the Filipino fighter following his brutal sixth-round knockout loss at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas last Dec. 8 (Dec. 9 in Manila).

“The way I look at it, I don’t see doing it before September because with the election in May you can’t do a June fight. I don’t want to do a summer fight, and so September is the best possible day. And because Marquez is Mexican, we can do it on Mexican Independence weekend,” said Arum.

“First of all, it’s too soon because he’s suspended for 120 days and 90 days no contact. So I don’t want to rush,” he said.

Arum said he will try to bring over Pacquiao to the “Cleveland clinic in Las Vegas, the brain center, which is a brain specialist and we’ll gonna do an extensive brain examination before we commit him to a fight.”

Pacquiao is being asked to undergo an exam before being allowed to fight again even if he underwent a test shortly after Marquez dealt him his most devastating defeat in his 17-year career.

Arum said he will shoulder the expenses and is hoping that Pacquiao is given the green light to fight again.

A fifth fight with Juan Manuel Marquez is being eyed while there is also a possibility that Pacquiao might even meet Brandon Rios.

SENATOR Francis “Chiz” Escudero found himself in unfamiliar territory when he and his girlfriend, Heart Evangelista, attended on Dec. 22 the premiere of the film, Sosy Problems, where the latter was appearing.

PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) took the chance to have a brief Q & A session with the 43-year-old politician.

Q: Would he say that Heart has the qualities he is looking for in a long-term partner?

A: Definitely. Anybody in a relationship would want to have that.

Q: What does he like most about Heart?

A:Sobrang lambing niya.

Q: What do his four-yearold fraternal twins, Maria Cecilia and Joaquin Cruz, call Heart?

A: [They call her] Tita.

Q: How does he deal with the 16-year gap between him and his girlfriend?

A: I don’t notice it. I hope she doesn’t either. We don’t talk about it. We understand each other and we share a lot of things together.

Q: How does he adjust to the fact that he is committed to someone from showbiz? How is he dealing with intrigues?

A: Labas ako diyan. First time kong ma-in love sa isang showbiz [personality] at wala akong balak na gawing madalas ito. Siya rin walang balak na gawing madalas ito.

Q: Is it okay for him if Heart does kissing scenes or love scenes with her leading men in future projects?

A: Trabaho ‘yon. Okey lang ‘yon.

REGINE DISMISSES RETIREMENT TALK

REGINE Velasquez has rebuffed notions that she is now mulling retirement after her 25th year showbiz anniversary concert “Silver” last November was cut short due to faltering singing voice caused by viral infection.

“Hindi pa naman... I’m not thinking that far off. These things happen naman talaga eh, and although oo, nuong una medyo napraning talaga ako, hindi naman ako dumating sa… inisip ko na tumigil sa pagkanta,” she explained in an interview.

Regine, in fact, is restaging the concert next year, on Jan. 5.

“Tuloy na tuloy na ito and I wish everyone would come para naman maipakita ko sa kanila ang dapat ay napanood nila the

last time around,” she said.

Losing her voice was a big lesson for Asia’s Songbird. She admitted that she had somewhat taken her health for granted in the days leading to the concert.

“Inalagaan ko naman ang katawan ko pero my doctor explained to me na masyado nabugbog ang katawan ko,” she said. “Kasi ‘di ba nga nabuntis ako so [I was dealing with] hormonal changes, then tumaba ako, tapos nagpapayat naman ako, then nagkasakit ‘yung anak ko at ako nag-alaga so ayun…ang daming nagyari. Pero now, I’m making sure na hindi na mangyayari ulit ‘yun.”

She said it was the overwhelming love and support showed by fans that gave her the strength and courage to move on from the setback.

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CELEBRITYFILES

COURT AFFIRMS AGA’S DISQUALIFICATION

Aga meets his constituents.

AI AI IS LIVING IN WITH BF

AI Ai de las Alas came to the press conference for her new movie Sisterakas with a prominent kiss mark on her neck, courtesy of her boyfriend, Jed Salang.

“Hindi ko naman alam na gagawin niya yan,” she told reporters. “Nakatago naman daw, e nakita nyo.”

It’s been her practice to remain celibate when she has a new movie to insure its box office success, so, the media inquired, how come she’s now living in with Jed? “Nagpaalam ako kay Mama Mary, sabi ko, pasensiya na. Ang kapalit, binubuo ko yung simbang gabi. Nagigising ako 4:30 a.m. para sa 5 a.m. mass sa Green Meadows,” she explained.

So she’s ready to marry Jed? “Yes, pero hindi kami nagmamadali,” she replied, adding that her children have come to accept him. “Kasi nage-effort naman siya to win them. Dad na nga tawag sa kanya. Mabait siya, seloso lang. Huling nagselos, kay Robin Padilla nang mag-guest ako sa ‘Todo Max’.”

She said the past year had been good to her. “Maraming blessings. Nakilala ko si Jed. Ang dami kong bagong endorsements.

Sa TV, magsisimula na uli ang ‘Pilipinas Got Talent’ and I’ll have a new soap. At heto, wala na akong balak gumawa ng filmfest entry, biglang pumasok itong ‘Sisterakas’. 25% ng kita rito, mapupunta sa’min nina Kris Aquino and Vice Ganda. Sa’kin ‘yung 12.5% at hati sila doon sa matitirang 12.5%.”

Ai Ai and Jed

THE Regional Trial Court of Camarines Sur has dismissed for lack of merit the appeal filed by Aga Muhlach and his wife, Charlene Gonzales-Muhlach, questioning their exclusion from the list of qualified voters in Bgy. San Juan, San Jose, Camarines Sur. According to RTC Branch 30 judge Noel D. Paulite, the couple failed to meet the residency requirements of the Omnibus Election Code as earlier found in the October 25, 2012 ruling of the Municipal Trial Court of San Jose-Presentacion.

If the decision of the court becomes final, Aga will be disqualified as a candidate because one of the qualifications to become a candidate is that he must be a registered voter in

JANINE OPEN TO SHOWBIZ

MISS Universe 2012 first runnerup Janine Tugonon says she is not closing her doors on show business.

In a phone interview on the ABS-CBN morning show Umagang Kay Ganda, Janine said her boyfriend, Jaypee Santos, is against the idea but she is willing to give showbiz a try.

“Hindi ko pa alam pero siya (boyfriend) ayaw niya. Ako naman okey lang naman pero I don’t think na full time,” she explained.

“Siguro titignan ko muna kasi hindi rin ako magaling umarte.

So titignan ko muna, iwe-weigh ko muna ang sitwasyon.”

But she stressed that she will consider her boyfriend›s opinion. “Dapat mag-submit ako sa kanya pero sabi niya okey lang basta huwag masyadong fulltime. Okey lang kung endorsement or commercial, ayaw niya lang na may ka-love team or kaeksena. Naiintindihan ko siya, kasi kung ako rin naman ang nasa pwesto niya, ayaw ko rin ng may ganoon. Hindi ba siguro kailangan kong mag-submit sa kanya at gusto kong i-save ang relationship namin.”

Janine shared her thoughts about settling down with her boyfriend.

“Actually napag-uusapan naman namin ‹yon.

I mean, kami naman pareho ay sigurado na sa isa›t isa. Pero sa ngayon ay masyado pang maaga for that,” she said.

the place where he is running.

But Aga is bringing the case to the Court of Appeals where he hopes to get a Temporary restraining Order that will allow him to run in the may 2013 election.

Aga had intended to run for the fourth congressional district of Camarines Sur under the administration Liberal Party.

The couple last March 19 filed their application for registration as voters of Bgy. San Juan in San Jose town , claiming they are already residents of the area by way of a house they rented along Rizal St. Their registration, however, was questioned by at least 14 local residents who questioned the couple’s claim of being “residents” of their locality.

ANGELICA: I’M LUCKY TO HAVE JOHN LLOYD

FOR the first time, Angelica Panganiban admitted that she has been in a relationship with actor John Lloyd Cruz for five months now.

During her guesting on KrisTV recently, Angelica happily shared that she and Cruz officially became a couple last July.

Asked what made them decide to be open about their romance now, the actress said: “Actually siya talaga ‹yung mas vocal, mas open. So sabi ko for a change, try natin. Feeling ko noon, baka naman puwede kong ipagdamot ito, hayaan lang muna ako ienjoy. So ngayon na na-enjoy ko na, oh sige sali na kayo.

Sabi nga nila, happiness is best when shared.”

Angelica said she did not hesitate to let John Lloyd into her life because she is sure from the start that she likes him. “Hindi na ako nagpakipot. Bakit ako magpapakipot, alam ko namang gusto ko siya?” .She said she is lucky to have John Lloyd as her partner. “Sobrang bait. Noong anniversary nga namin sa ‘Banana Split,’ may pakain siya sa amin, may flowers siya sa aming lahat. Ganoon siya.

Mahal niya lahat ng mahal ko,” she said.

She continued: “Okey siyang makisama lalo na sa pamilya ko, sila mama and ‹yung lola ko. Sobrang favorite siya ng lola ko grabe. Kasi may dementia ‹yung lola ko. Kapag nakikita niya ako, hahanapin niya agad si John Lloyd. So nung blessing nung bahay, buong araw niyang hinahanap sa akin.”

JANUARY 1-15, 2013

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Take a bow, 22

Janine M ISS Philippines Janine Tugonon, the 23-yearold BS Pharmacy cum laude graduate from the University of Santo Tomas, brought great honor and pride to the country by finishing first runner-up in the Miss Universe 2012 Pageant in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Dec. 19.

Her poise during the question and answer portion and her “cobra walk” installed her as a beauty-andbrains contestant worthy of the crown. But even without the crown and the title, Janine is every Filipino’s Miss Universe. Here are shots of Janine during the different phases of the competition.

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COMMUNITYNEWS

I-REMIT NEWSbreak

DOWN-TO-EARTH International singer and songwriter Jose Mari Chan with fans in Vancouver BC Canada last December 2012

A Lovely Vancouver Holiday Concert

by Joseph Lopez

I

-Remit Chairman & CEO Bansan C. Choa receives the Pusong OFW Award from the Blas F. Ople Policy Center and Training Institute on December 12, 2012 The Happy OFW Christmas Fellowship is an annual event organized by the Blas F. Ople Policy Center and Training Institute . For its celebration this year, they gave recognition to I-Remit Chairman & CEO Bansan C. Choa for his great contribution to the welfare of Overseas Filipino Workers. He received the Pusong OFW Award from the organization’s Founder and President, Susan “Toots” Ople.

Great Stampede Promo

First Prize Winner Josefina San Jose - I-PAD, 2nd Prize Winner Elaine Martin - Netbook, 3rd Prize Winner Glace Cara - Cellphone

I

nternationally renowned crooner and songwriter Jose Mari Chan was in Vancouver for a concert at the Massey theater in New Westminster.

Two days before his concert on December 16th, Mr. Chan met with the media at the worldfamous Max’s Restaurant which was founded, the singer jokingly said, the same year he was born, 1945.

Since it was the holiday season, Joe Mari, requesting the media to address him by his nickname, was asked to reminisce on his memorable Christmas moments.

“When I was around 15 years old – I would walk with my Lola (grandma) to church on Christmas Eve to attend the Midnight mass.

I remembered falling asleep on her lap. When we would return my Lola would give me a hot cup of chocolate!”

“Living in the USA for 11 years in New York, one Christmas Eve, I used powder on my rubber boots sole to make “snow” imprints on the floor from the fireplace to the Christmas tree. When my kids woke up on Christmas Day I said pointing on the floor ‘Look, Santa was here!’”

“The other memorable moment was when I spent Christmas in Japan with my then fiancé now wife Mary Ann who was a missionary teacher at the Assumption Catholic school.”

Joe Mari’s wife Mary Ann, who was seated next, was asked what it was like to be the wife of popular singer and songwriter. She said that “it has been a combination of fun and hard work.” But she and her husband made a pact before they got married that “we would relish every moment and it has been like that ever since.”

Of the two songs that Joe Mari wrote for his wife, Mrs. Chan said “Afterglow” has a special meaning.

“Afterglow was written after we had a crisis in our relationship, and a second favorite, ‘Refrain’ written a year before we got married. I still think ‘Refrain’ is one of the most beautiful songs I ever heard.”

Joe Mari’s New Year’s wish for 2013? The singer said that after returning from a trip to New Zealand, he saw how the gap between the rich and poor in the Philippines has widened further. He said his 2013 wish is that there is more equitable income distribution down the line. The Chans own a sugar refinery in the province of Negros Occidental. Joe Mari said in the Philippines it is customary to give a 13th month pay (an additional month’s pay to the 12 months) given in December as a company Christmas gift to its employees.

But the Chan company even pays up to a 17th month distributed throughout the year.

Mr. Chan who is turning 68 this year advises everyone, “Every chance you get to give to others – do it. Don’t hold back.”

And Joe Mari did not hold back in his third concert in Vancouver.

The show was a hit with the Vancouver public. The 1260 seat capacity Massey theater was almost full on a very cold wet evening. The crooner ended the lovely evening with one of his signature songs “Christmas In Our Hearts”.

Many in the audience were overheard saying, or something similar to, “This one of the best holiday concerts here in Vancouver.”

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Filipino language

Vancouver Edition

is going global

‘You cannot learn a language without understanding its culture so I have developed many courses. I have a course on Philippine films… on Filipino food, music and rituals. Language and culture: they are like twins.’

By anna leah sarabia

courses, programs and people teaching Filipino. I am in correspondence with some high school teachers in Melbourne, Australia who are teaching Filipino there.

“I also found out that there are Filipinos teaching Filipino in Malaysia, Brunei and Beijing. In Beijing, there is a masters’ degree program in Filipino. In Gaida University in Osaka, Japan, there is a Philippine Studies program, major in Filipino, and it sends students to take higher level courses in Filipino to the University of the Philippines.

“In the University of Hawaii, I have a government-funded Fulbright program that sends Fil-Am students to study advanced-level Filipino in Manila for 10 weeks.”

N this age of globalization, nothing could be more difficult for a Filipino living abroad than to work for the preservation of one’s own language and culture.

But Dr. Ruth Elynia S. Mabanglo is not so easily discouraged.

As a multi-awarded poet and playwright, her love for the Filipino language has found meaning and it remains a calling. The first woman to join the Hall of Fame of the Don Carlos Palanca Awards for Literature, Ruth has made it her mission to promote Filipino worldwide.

Ruth was in Manila recently to pick up a plaque from President Aquino as a 2012 Presidential Awardee for Filipino Individuals and Organizations Overseas, in the “Pamana ng Pilipino” category. It is conferred on Filipinos overseas who have brought the country honor and recognition through excellence and distinction in the pursuit of their work or profession.

Dr. Mabanglo: Her mission is to promote Filipino worldwide.

During a weekly Tagalog Language Table at a cafeteria at the University of Wisconsin, lecturer Monia Manalo (second from left) leads a discussion on the Filipino language. .

She has published six books of poetry and several scholarly works included in anthologies and often cited in scholarly journals. In 2008, the De La Salle University Filipino Department convened critics and scholars for a monthly forum on

her works, the “Ruth Elynia Mabanglo Lecture Series.” Her poems were among those highlighted in the 2012 Aliw award-winning film

by Alvin Yapan, Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa. Ruth’s latest crusade is to nurture Filipino as a global language.

Several years ago, when then President Gloria Arroyo pushed for Spanish to be taught in high schools and for prioritizing English so Filipinos could better serve global business, Ruth mobilized a protest petition.

“I encouraged my stu-

dents all over the United States to sign a petition to fight the killing of Filipino in high school and college, which was part of the Gullas Bill that Arroyo favored. Later on, I organized the ‘Filipino as a Global Language’ conference as a professor of Filipino language and Philippine literature at the University of Hawaii,” she said.

Courses around the world Through the conference, Ruth began to identify all the Filipino language programs in the world.

“I was able to identify, for instance, that in Sorbonne University in France, there is a Filipino named Marina Pattiere who is teaching Filipino. I found out that in the University of London, there is a Philippine Studies course and students there are asked to go to learn the Filipino language in the Philippine Embassy. I was looking for

Teaching materials Apart from identifying these programs and creating a global network of specialists in Filipino, Ruth and her conference colleagues agreed to help each other with materials for teaching courses on Filipino.

Right now, she said, there is a Consortium for the Advancement of Filipino started by Dr. Teresita Ramos; there is a newsletter that informs and updates members about developments and conferences. “In my case, I started an organization called the Global Consortium for the Advancement of Filipino Language and Culture, which is another network.

People want to study the Filipino language for different reasons.

“In Germany and France, the interest would be mainly for the children of women who married Germans or French. I met some of them in 1997. There are volunteers who were teaching Filipino as a churchbased activity. The idea was to con-

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nect the children to the culture of their mothers, as sometimes the mothers can’t speak German so well and the children need to have conversations with their mothers.”

In Osaka, the interest in Filipino could be related to being able to use it in business and work places where there are Filipinos. Maybe some Japanese students also take up Philippine Studies in connection with their history. “We are part of the World War II story of Japan, so they opt to learn Filipino, too,” she added.

2nd generation Filipinos In Hawaii, Filipino is taught mainly for two reasons. One is for the younger ones to learn the language of their fathers or grandfathers. “Before, children of immigrants were not allowed to speak (any other language besides English) so they want to correct this.

The third-generation Filipinos want to learn to speak with their lolas and lolos.”

The other reason has to do with the history of immigrants in Hawaii. “The American sugar barons who brought in Filipinos workers to the sugar plantations 1906 were required to hire only those who could not read or write. This was to

Tagalog is taught at the Department of Comparative Literature and Foreign Languages at the University of California, Riverside. prevent the workers from applying for jobs with other companies, since the working conditions in the plantations were very oppressive. They were treated almost like slaves,” she said.

“There are a few Filipinos in Hawaii who are saying that Taga-

log is marginalizing the other languages in the Philippines. Which is untrue—historically or anthropologically,” she argued.

“In the past, others claimed that there were more Cebuano or Ilocano speakers. But today, Filipino is really the dominant

language. My job is to find out how globalized Filipino is at the secondary and tertiary levels.”

Language and culture At the basic level, overseas Filipinos have found the means to teach Filipino language and cul-

JANUARY 1-15, 2013

ture. In Boston, for instance, the doctors and nurses have established church-based programs including a children’s rondalla that has released a DVD. But all the teachers are volunteers, and there are no learning levels.

“However, in San Diego, California, would you believe there are 70 high schools that teach Filipino as a ‘world language’? California even has an accreditation system for those who would like to teach Filipino in high schools. I would like to bring that system to Hawaii so that Filipino majors can earn credits to teach in high schools. I am working on that now. I am also trying to standardize the curriculum so that high school students can have at least basic knowledge of Philippine culture, and a basic literacy of Philippine literature in Filipino. For instance, one basic canon of Philippine Literature is Florante at Laura

by Balagtas. Students must be able to pass basic exams on this Tagalog work.

“You cannot learn a language without understanding its culture so I have developed many courses. I have a course on Philippine films… on Filipino food, music and rituals.

Language and culture: they are like twins.” (Philippine Daily Inquirer) n

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Vancouver Edition

BEAUTIFUL PHILIPPINES

By ma. stella f. arnaldo

HE first time I went to Basco, on the main island of Batan in Batanes, none of the major cell-phone providers had reached it yet. And so, for four days, with my cell phone switched off, my friends and I were able to enjoy the quietude of this northernmost province of the Philippines.

(Since that vacation, I haven’t switched on the SMS ringtone for my cell phone ever again.)

The weather in Batanes is usually cool and breezy even during the summer months. And the air is so pure and clean, the joke is when Manila folk go to Batanes and breathe it in, they will likely suffer a choking fit—what with our lungs being so used to pollution in Metro Manila.

The capital of Basco is where most of the population congregate, but it is hardly crowded. So cars are still few and far between. The common modes of transportation are tricycles and jeepneys.

Walk around the neat and narrow streets, or take a bicycle or motorbike and drive around the paved national highway to the coastal areas and rolling hills. Every site will usually make one pause and give a silent prayer of thanks to the artist who painted the beautiful scenery before him.

There are steep cliff drops into swirling wisps of crisp white water. Also, wide open spaces with lush

Fundacion Pacita provides the most comfortable luxe accommodations on the island.

TH

E

Batanes

bliss There are steep cliff drops into swirling wisps of crisp white water. Also, wide open spaces with lush greenery eventually invite comparisons to Scotland. Scattered around the main town, as well as the nearby Sabtang Island, are old churches swathed in colors, and dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries.

greenery eventually invite comparisons to Scotland. Scattered around the main town, as well as the nearby Sabtang Island, are old churches swathed in colors, and dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries.

What’s more, the people are gentle, honest folk who seem shy at first, but are eager to talk with and accommodate the needs of visitors from the mainland.

It may be a bit expensive to fly there, but believe me when I say that it’s all worth it. For how can anyone put a price on bliss?

Must-see’s The hills are alive. One of the most popular sites in Basco, the capital of Batanes, is “Marlboro Country,” so-called because it is grasscovered hill

with horses and cows pausing to feed, you have a feeling the hot Marlboro Man with his trademark cowboy outfit, astride his dark horse, is about to ride up to you and offer you a pack of smokes.

In the Ivatan dialect, it is called Racuh a Payaman, and from here, tourists can either gaze at the coastline with the strong waves crashing on the shore, more grassy, rolling hills and a lighthouse in the distance. It’s a great place for tourists to take photos of each other making those wacky jump shots aka “jumpologies” that have become such a fad.

Church pilgrimage. There are Spanish-era churches here mostly built in the espadaña-style, with façades using bell gables (espadaña) instead of a full bell tower, as these were less expensive to construct.

Among these are the Basco Cathedral (Santo Domingo de Basco) first put up in 1787, the Mahatao Church (San Carlos Borromeo Church) founded in 1789 and considered by the

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PHILIPPINESthe BEAUTIFUL National Commission for Culture and the Arts as a “national cultural treasure,” and the San Vicente Ferrer Church on Sabtang Island (1844).

On the other hand, the San Jose de Ivana Church founded in 1755 has a separate bell tower to its right.

Climb it and you can look out into the savage sea and catch a glimpse of Sabtang Island. (The other inhabited island is called Itbayat.)

Ivatan lodging. If you can take a seasickness-inducing ride from the port of Ivana using the falowa (outrigger-less banca) to Sabtang, drop by Savidug, a village of traditional Ivatan houses constructed from limestone, coral and cogon grass.

As your grade-school teacher probably told you, the houses in Batanes use such materials and are built low to withstand the raging typhoons that regularly visit the province.

Tsunami’s wrath. Sometime in the 1950s, a humongous tidal wave wiped out an entire village in what is now known as Barangay Uyugan. All that is left today of the village—the so-called Songsong Ruins—are the frames of the stone houses that once stood there. Yes, it can be quite eerie walking through the ghost town, so say a silent prayer to calm the restless spirits that may still inhabit the area. (Awoooo!)

Wide open spaces with lush greenery invite comparisons to Scotland.

To-do’s Hike up the volcano. Those into mountain climbing can hike and trek up Mount Iraya, an active volcano on Batan Island. Located near the Basco Airport, the volcano’s summit is usually enveloped in clouds—an indication that someone has passed away, according to local folklore—so climbers are advised to do their hikes in September when the Indian summer rolls around.

Have a picnic and get a tan.

While in Sabtang, drive down to the Nakabuan beach with its white sand and interesting geological formations. Most tour packages to Batanes (if you choose to include a trip to Sabtang) can provide lunch picnics to the beach with Ivatan dishes like the turmeric-enriched yellow rice, coconut crabs (a local delicacy), lobsters and pork adobo with veggies—all served usually with seaweed soup.

Watch the sunset. One of the best places to view the sun set amid a panoramic setting of the rampaging sea is the lighthouse on Naidi Hills in Basco. Climb the lighthouse for a better view, or take photos from the ground as the sky turns pink, then a deep midnight blue as dusk finally sets in.

Beside the lighthouse is a row of bunkers one of which has been turned into a restaurant called Bunker Café. With its flaming red in-

The stone houses are designed to withstand the ferocious typhoons that visit the island regularly. teriors and fake stone fireplace, the café offers a limited choice of Ivatan dishes. But it’s still a pleasant venue for dinner, even more so if you dine outside—that is, if the winds haven’t been whipped to a frenzy yet.

Get coffee. Honesty Café (Radiwan, Ivana), has become the most iconic example of how Ivatans are simple, trustworthy folk, that they treat visitors there similarly. The store is usually unattended, but you can buy souvenir T-shirts here, get a cup of coffee and some biscuits, or drink bottled water. You go to a counter and just pay for the items by dropping your money in a wooden box with a slit. The only operating principle here is, as its name

implies, honesty and it is a refreshing dose, in a world of malice and untruthfulness.

Where to stay Batanes Resort is a 10-minute ride from the capital, and sits on a hill overlooking the sea. The beach at the back is a bit wild and rocky, but quite photographic. (I really can’t think of any place in Batanes which doesn’t yield well to the camera.)

Its cottages are built to resemble the Ivatan stone houses. The establishment is clean and inexpensive, with basic amenities, such as hot and cold water. They also serve local Ivatan cuisine; this is where I got my first taste of crispy fried flying fish—delish! (For inquiries and

reservations, call 927-2393, 09275829078.)

Fundacion Pacita Batanes Nature Lodge, was the home of the late great tapestry artist Pacita Abad, and, as such, has been uniquely designed with her own touches, as well as furniture by her brother, the current Budget Secretary Butch Abad.

The lodge also houses the works of young Ivatan artists as well as art pieces by reputable Filipino artists like BenCab and Araceli Dans.

A stay here can set you back

by P7,000+ a night, but the lodge is professionally run, providing the most comfortable luxe accommodations on the island.(Click http:// www.fundacionpacita.ph for inquiries and reservations.)

Getting there The newly formed Skyjet Air will be launching its thrice-weekly Manila-Basco flights on December 14.

(For bookings, call 823-3087/6354810 or see http://skyjetair.com/).

Skypasada offers trips from Tuguegarao-Basco or Itbayat. Manila-based passengers can fly to Tuguegarao via its partner Airphil Express—which then feeds into the Skypasada route to Basco, four times a week. (For particulars, call 912-3333 or click on http://www. skypasada.com) Seair-International launched its Manila-Basco flights last December. (BusinessMirror) n

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Vancouver Edition

RH BILL SIGNED INTO LAW BEFORE YEAREND

Supporters of the Reproductive Health bill rejoice after the measure was passed by Congress.

President Aquino is flanked by Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and Senator Franklin Drilon during the signing of the P2trillion budget for 2013.

AQUINO INKS P2-TRILLION BUDGET FOR 2013

P

RESIDENT Benigno Aquino III signed on Dec. 19 the P2.006-trillion national budget for 2013 that includes allocation for the contentious reproductive health bill that Mr. Aquino was set to sign before the end of the year.

Exuberant over congressional approval of two key pieces of legislation against fierce opposition from some sectors before the year-end, the President called the General Appropriations Act of 2013 an “empowerment budget.”

The budget measure, adopted without any line being vetoed, includes a P8-billion allocation for projects proposed by local government units.

“We designed this budget as an instrument to bring back to the people the power to determine their own fate,” the President told the crowd of lawmakers, led by Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Senators Franklin Drilon and Edgardo Angara, Cabinet officials, business executives, and guests. He spelled out the five principles behind the crafting of the measure.

The Senate and the House separately ratified the General Appropriations Act on December 5.

The allocation for the reproductive health measure has been incorpo-

rated in the Department of Health’s P51.1-billion budget. The RH law provides free services and supplies to indigents, and health and sexuality education to students, and offers a full range of modern family planning methods.

The lion’s share of the budget would go to social services, with the Department of Education getting P232.6 billion; Department of Social Welfare and Development, P56.3 billion; and Department of Health, P51.1 billion, according to Budget Secretary Florencio Abad.

Economic development would be backstopped by the P325.5-billion capital outlay, up by 17.3 percent from this year’s budget, and the infrastructure program of the Department of Public Works and Highways, which is allotted a whopping P155.5 billion, he added.

In his speech, the President made special mention of the P8.4-billion allocation for projects proposed by local officials in the countryside.

“We started the process for bot-

tom-up budgeting where 595 of the poorest municipalities linked arms with their communities to identify the projects and programs that should be included in the Budget. Because of this new process, some P8.4 billion programs and projects from the municipalities and communities are included in the 2013 national budget,” he said.

Because of the election ban in connection with the mid-term elections in May 2013, the government would roll out a substantial portion of the budget in the first half to jumpstart projects, including the Public Private Partnership program, Abad said.

The President said five principles governed the crafting the budget measure: deepening the social contract with the Filipinos; fast-tracking the implementation of priority programs; strengthening accountability of public institutions; empowerment, and designing the budget with the people.

“Through this budget we want to prove that we’re in power, not to focus on our personal interest, but to ensure that the doors of opportunities are opening to our countrymen, especially those in the fringes of society,” he added. n

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino, who had a falling out with the leadership of the influential Catholic Church for pushing for the passage of the reproductive health ill, seemed to be in no rush to sign the measure, which was finally passed last Dec. 17 by both chambers of Congress.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte assured the public, however, that the consolidated version of House Bill No. 4244 and Senate Bill No. 2865 would be definitely signed by the President “before the end of the year.”

At the end of the third and final reading of the bill at the Senate, Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Pia Cayetano embraced each other as they stood in the middle of the session hall, while Senate President Pro Tempore Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada announced the 13-8 vote approving the reproductive health (RH) bill.

It was a long-delayed triumph for both women who gained enemies for their defense of what they believed was a measure that would give a woman the choice to determine the number of her children, meet a teener’s need to be protected from an unplanned pregnancy and educate citizens about sexual health.

“There is no force more powerful than an idea whose time has come and that idea today is the RH bill,” Santiago said. Before the voting, the bill had languished in Congress for 13 years.

A quarter before 8 p.m. on Dec. 17, senators approved Senate Bill No. 2865 on third and final reading, less than an hour after they did the same on second reading.

The vote in the Senate paves the

way for the measure to become law after the House of Representatives also approved on third reading last night the bill that President Aquino had certified as urgent.

The “miracle” that anti-RH groups were waiting for did not materialize, as the House voted 13379-7 to pass House Bill No. 4244 on final reading, increasing the winning margin to 54. In the second reading on Thursday, the chamber voted 113-104-3.

Malacañang hailed both houses of Congress for their “historic vote” and crafting a law “that can truly address the needs of our people.”

“The people now have the government on their side as they raise their families in a manner that is just and empowered,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said.

“It begins a process of healing for the wounds that may have been opened by an often feisty democracy.”

In the Senate, those who voted with the two sponsors in favor of the highly contentious RH bill were Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, Senators Edgardo Angara, Joker Arroyo, Franklin Drilon, Francis Escudero, Teofisto Guingona III, Panfilo Lacson, Loren Legarda, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Francis Pangilinan and Ralph Recto.

Those against were Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Estrada, Majority Leader Vicente Sotto, Senators Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., Gregorio Honasan, Aquilino Pimentel III, Antonio Trillanes IV and Manuel Villar.

Senators Manuel “Lito” Lapid and Sergio Osmeña III were not in the session hall during the vote. n

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NEWSROUND-UP

‘SIN TAX’ LAW IS PNOY’S CHRISTMAS GIFT

“TODAY, we signed, finally—I repeat, finally—a law that will serve as an early Christmas gift for millions of Filipinos,” President Aquino on Dec. 21 said after he affixed his signature to Republic Act No. 10351 (An Act Restructuring the Excise Tax on Alcohol and Tobacco) in Malacañang.

The President said he signed the “sin tax” law, projected to generate P33.96 billion in revenue in the first year of implementation, to help liberate “more Filipinos from the vices of smoking and drinking.”

The law raising taxes on tobacco and alcohol will be implemented starting Jan. 1.

Mr. Aquino said the law was a victory against the powerful tobacco lobby and would provide extra funds for better healthcare and facilities.

“The enemy was strong, noisy, organized and had deep pockets… but as I have always said, there is nothing that can stop Filipinos who are marching in the right direction,” the President, himself a smoker, said in a speech at the signing ceremony.

The tobacco lobby included lawmakers representing tobacco-growing regions as well as powerful cigarette companies that enjoyed one of the lowest tobacco taxes in Southeast Asia.

Beginning Jan. 1, prices of tobacco and liquor products will go higher to raise revenues and discourage smoking and drinking.

The country has the highest incidence of smoking in the region, with tobacco-related diseases costing the country P177 billion in 2011, according to the government.

Health Secretary Enrique Ona described the new law as “a game changer” and a “victory for the health of the Filipino people.”

Ona pointed out that the new law would discourage smoking in the

DIVORCE TALK IRKS CHURCH DON’T rub salt in the wound.

Catholic Church leaders warned that the proposal to introduce divorce in the Philippines would further divide the country after the bitter debate over the contentious reproductive health (RH) bill and implant a “culture of death” in the nation.

Retired Novaliches Bishop Teodoro Bacani said Speaker Feliciano Belmonte’s plan to enact a divorce bill in the next Congress was “not a good development” for the country.

Bacani, along with other bishops and the Catholic Vote Philippines alliance, said that proponents of the bill would have a tougher time pushing the measure compared with the 14year struggle that RH supporters went through.

“Divorce will not be a very good development, in my own personal opinion, especially after the RH bill that has so severely divided the nation,” Bacani said in an interview. “It will further divide the country.”

He said that one big lesson the Church learned from the RH controversy was the need to educate the people.

Bacani said the harm divorce would bring was clear in statistics, not just in social costs. “It will also destroy the very sacred nature of marriage,” he said.

When asked what his message to President Aquino was, Bacani said, “I don’t have a message to him because he does not listen to what we are saying.”

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, the

president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said he had requested a meeting of the bishops to discuss the Church position on the issue.

“I feel sad because some people, or many of the legislators, have the belief that anything they legislate is good and it’s for the good of the country,” Palma said. “What’s next? Samesex marriage, abortion, etcetera?”

“This is part of the plan of the people who want to destroy the family and life,” said Fr. Amadeo Alvero, spokesperson of the Archdiocese of Palo in Leyte province. “This is part of the culture of death,” he said, referring to divorce, euthanasia, abortion, population control and homosexual union.

“What is happening? It would seem that some legislators are throwing the concept of God out the window,” said Msgr. Meliton Oso, director of the Jaro Archdiocesan Social Action Center.

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, who led the opposition to the RH bill in the House, said it would be “arrogant” of the government to introduce divorce legislation now. “Don’t push it. You might bring the country to the moral brink,” he said.

“It’s a serious matter,” said Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez. “Let’s not use political momentum but rather let’s be deliberate about it.”

Strategic Communication Secretary Ricky Carandang shrugged off talk of a divorce legislation. “That is not being discussed, it’s not on the radar,” he told reporters. n

country while injecting P146.7 billion into the country’s public health sector.

The President said the increased revenues would benefit more people under the universal healthcare program and enable Filipinos to avail themselves of new and/or improved clinics and hospitals.

He also delighted in the possibility of more and more Filipinos eventually

PNOY NAMES NEW PNP CHIEF, WARNS ROGUE COPS OBEDIENCE to law is not optional.

President Benigno S. Aquino III stressed this after installing Deputy Director General Alan Purisima as the new Philippine National Police (PNP) chief in change of command ceremonies in Camp Crame, Quezon City last Dec. 17.

Purisima took over as the 18th PNP chief after Director General Nicanor Bartolome opted for early retirement to give the new PNP leadership leeway to prepare for the upcoming 2013 midterm elections.

The President warned erring policemen that he will not hesitate to send them to jail.

Speaking before members of the PNP, President Aquino emphasized that men in uniform should be for “tuwid na daan” (straight path), a policy the PNP leadership under his administration has been observing.

The President noted that he is aware that there are still some erring PNP personnel who taint the image of the PNP. “We will not let those who are supposed to be public servants to be instigators of a crime,” Aquino said in Filipino. n

quitting smoking and binge drinking because of higher excise taxes on cigarettes, distilled spirits and fermented alcohol.

“The fundamental principle of this law is unequivocal: We want health benefits within reach of everyone, rich or poor, because every Filipino’s life is sacred. We will elevate the quality of public health of our nation. This will be the key to the nation robustly benefiting from the opportunities (afforded by an) improving economy,” he said.

Mr. Aquino reiterated that tobacco farmers need not worry about the law’s impact on their livelihood.

“The benefits you have received in the past will not disappear,” he said, noting that the government would actually increase the tobacco-producing provinces’ share of the tobacco

excise tax.

In a statement, Ona said: “With higher prices, the number of young and poor people smoking and drinking excessively will be reduced significantly, resulting in a lower incidence of smoking-related noncommunicable illnesses such as lung cancer, heart attack, strokes and chronic lung disease as well as diseases associated with excessive drinking such as liver diseases and trauma secondary to drunk driving.”

The health secretary said the additional revenues that government would collect under the law would be used to fund the expansion of PhilHealth “to the second poorest 20 percent of our population,” which is composed of around 5.6 million families. n

AQUINO SIGNS’DESAPARECIDOS’ BILL INTO LAW

THE “desaparecidos” bill, or the bill criminalizing enforced disappearances, has been signed into law by President Benigno Aquino III. Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said Aquino signed the Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act of 2012 (Republic Act 10350) on Dec. 21.

In a statement, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said: “The law seeks to end impunity of offenders even as it envisions a new or a better breed of military, police and civilian officials and employees who respect and defend the human rights and civil liberties of the people they are sworn to protect and serve and who observe the rule of law at all times.”

Enforced disappearance is defined as “the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty committed by agents of the State or by persons or groups of persons acting with authorization or support from the State, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared.”

The elements for enforced disappearance to become a crime are: the victim is deprived of liberty; the perpetrator is the State or agents of the State; and, information on the whereabouts of the victim is concealed or denied.

“These principal elements make enforced disappearance a distinct crime separate from kidnapping, serious illegal detention, murder or any common crime,” Lagman explained.

Lagman was the principal author of the bill in the lower House.

He added: “R.A. 10350 is a comprehensive legislation that does not only impose penal sanctions but also provides for restorative justice, pecuniary compensation to victims and their families, restitution of honor, and psychosocial rehabilitation for both victims and offenders.”

Lagman said: “No political instability, threat of war, state of war or any public emergencies can justify the suspension of the enforcement of RA 10350.”

In a statement, the human rights advocacy group, Human Rights Watch (HRW), said the new law “is the first of its kind in Asia and a major milestone in ending this horrific human rights violation.”

“President Aquino and the Congress deserve credit for acting to end the scourge of enforced disappearances in the Philippines,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “This law is a testament to the thousands of ‘disappearance’ victims since the Marcos dictatorship, whose long-suffering families are still searching for justice. The challenge now is for the government to move quickly to enforce the new law.”

The law also prohibits secret detention facilities, HRW said. “The government is to make a full inventory of all detention facilities in the Philippines and create a registry of every detainee, complete with all relevant details including who visited the detainee and how long the visit lasted. It also mandates and authorizes the governmental Commission on Human Rights ‘to conduct regular, independent, unannounced and unrestricted visits to or inspection of all places of detention and confinement.’” n

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CANADA MAKES CHANGES TO POINTS SYSTEM

O

TTAWA - The points system used to decide who can immigrate to Canada is getting a makeover.

The new judging criteria for the federal skilled worker program will award more points to younger immigrants and changes the way the government looks at work experience and education.

The way points are allocated for language ability will also change.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney unveiled the new system on Dec. 20 after first introducing a plan for it in the government’s March budget.

“For too long, too many immigrants to Canada have experienced underemployment and unemployment, and this has been detrimental to these newcomers and to the Canadian economy,” Kenney said.

“Our transformational changes to the (skilled worker program) will help ensure that skilled newcomers are able to contribute their skills fully to the economy as soon as possible. This is good for newcomers, good for the economy, and good for all Canadians.”

The government had stopped accepting new applications under the skilled worker program in July in advance of rejigging the system.

That followed a decision in the March budget to wipe out the existing backlog in the program by returning thousands of applications.

The program is expected to re-open in May when the new changes will take effect.

There will also be a cap on the number of applications being accepted, though that number has not yet been released.

The points system sees wouldbe immigrants graded on a scale of 100, with points awarded for language ability, age, education, work experience and adaptability to Canada.

The pass mark is 67 and that won’t change under the new system.

What is being amended is the way the points are allocated and also how language and education credentials are assessed.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney For example, the maximum number of points awarded under the age category was 10 and that was given to anyone between the ages of 21 to 49.

Under the new system, the maximum number of points awarded for age is 12, with 18 to 35 year olds eligible under that category.

When it comes to language, the new system mandates a minimum level of language proficiency and adjusts the number of points allocated accordingly to favour those with a strong command of either English or French.

But being bilingual will have less weight, with the ability to speak a second official language given fewer points.

An analysis of the program changes published in August for public consultation said research has suggested that there’s no evidence indicating speaking a second official language has any bearing on positive economic outcomes for applicants.

Applicants will also have to pass a language proficiency test.

Under the education component, applicants will now have their credentials assessed ahead of time to see how they compare to the Canadian system and then points will be allocated to match.

Meanwhile, the number of points allocated for work experience will be reduced.

“Foreign work experience is largely discounted by Canadian employers when the immigrant first enters the Canadian labour market, and it is a weak predictor of economic success,” the analysis said.

“These changes will reflect the relative value Canadian employers place on foreign work experience, and redirect points to language and age factors, which are better indicators of success in the Canadian labour market.”

The overhaul of the points system is part of a three-pronged review of the skilled worker program carried out by the government over the last two years.

The other two elements are the introduction of a new immigration stream for skilled trades and changes to the Canada Experience Class, which allows people already working or studying in Canada to get permanent residency sooner.

All three are expected to generate some $90 million in increased revenue to Canadian businesses from a system that better meets their needs, the analysis said. (The Canadian Press) n

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FILIPINO TEACHERS WIN $4.5M IN U.S. SUIT

LOS ANGELES—A federal jury awarded $4.5 million to Filipino teachers who paid large fees to obtain United States jobs through a placement agency.

Jurors on Dec. 18 found that Los Angeles-based Universal Placement International Inc. and its owner, Lourdes Navarro, failed to properly disclose the fees for the 350 teachers who were recruited for $40,000-a-year jobs in Louisiana, mostly in East Baton Rouge Parish.

The teachers arrived in the US between 2007 and 2009 under a federal program that grants worker permits to foreigners with special skills. Most went to East Baton Rouge Parish but others went to Caddo, Jefferson and other parishes and to state-run schools in New Orleans.

In 2010, the American Federation of Teachers and the Southern Poverty Law Center sued on behalf of some teachers who complained that before ever leaving the Philippines, they had to borrow money to pay thousands of dollars charged by the company, as much as $16,000 in some cases—five times the average annual household income in the country.

The class-action suit claimed that more unexpected fees and expensive legal entanglements followed once the teachers arrived in the United States. For example, contracts were required in which the teachers agreed to pay a percentage of their monthly income to Universal, along with fees for arranging housing.

Passports and visas were confiscated to ensure the fees would be paid, the lawsuit said.

The suit claimed the threat of huge debt and loss of their visas amounted to forced labor under a federal law against human trafficking passed by Congress in 2000.

After a two-week trial, jurors rejected the human trafficking arguments but found the recruiting agency had negligently misrepresented the fees and violated California laws governing employment agencies and unfair business acts, attorneys for both sides said.

Don A. Hernandez, a lawyer who represented the company, said there was no intentional wrongdoing by his client regarding disclosure of fees. He called the lawsuit a “witch hunt.”

“These teachers voluntarily took on whatever debt they did to pay the fees to come to the United States. They were not forced, the jury found,” he said. n

WORLD BANK RAISES ANEW PH GROWTH FORECAST

THE World Bank raised anew its growth forecast for the Philippines this year to six percent, a marked improvement from the five-percent projection it made just last October.

In its latest East Asia and Pacific Economic Update, the multilateral lender took note of the country’s strong growth in the first three quarters, which it said could be sustained.

“Consumption, which accounts for 75 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), is expected to drive overall growth underpinned by continued growth in remittances and higher government spending with the national elections next year,” the World Bank said.

Economic planning agency National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) earlier said the Philippine economy will likely exceed its target growth rate five to six percent this year, after third quarter GDP grew an impressive 7.1 percent compared with the same period last year.

“We posted the fastest economic growth within the ASEAN region. We are well on our way to surpassing our growth target of five to six percent

this year and this economic expansion continues to be broad-based, as almost all sectors posted higher yearon-year growth rates,” said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan.

The faster-than-expected growth in the third quarter brought GDP growth to 6.5 percent in the nine months to September.

The World Bank pointed out that the country’s high growth could be sustained and made more inclusive as long as economic reforms are aggressively pursued to create more and better jobs and reduce poverty at a faster pace; more revenues are raised to finance higher spending in physical and human capital; and global growth is supportive and rebalancing in the region continues.

It added that risks to the growth forecasts remain on the downside as the continued high levels of global economic uncertainty combined with weak economic activities in the US, Europe and Japan, the looming “fiscal cliff” in the US, and a slowing Chinese economy are weighing down on global growth prospects. n

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DAMAGE FROM ‘PABLO’ HITS P34.3 BILLION THE damage wrought by typhoon “Pablo” soared to P34.3 billion even as the death toll from the strongest storm to hit the country this year continued to rise, hitting 1,050, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said.

Only 694 of the fatalities have been identified while 838 persons remain missing and 2,662 were injured.

The NDRRMC said the recently recorded deaths were from Monkayo, Compostela Valley.

The leading causes of death

were injuries from fallen trees, (61 percent); drowning (18 percent); and multiple traumas (8 percent).

The NDRRMC also reported that “Pablo” affected 711,682 families, or 6,243,998 persons, from 3,064 villages, 318 towns, 40 cities in 34

‘3 KINGS OF JUETENG’ UNMASKED

THEN First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, then Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno and whoever was the Philippine National Police chief were known as the “Three Kings” of the Arroyo administration who received regular protection money from operators of “jueteng” in Pangasinan, said a town mayor who turned whistle-blower.

Bugallon Mayor Rodrigo Orduña said the husband of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the secretary of the interior and local government (DILG) and the PNP head made up the triumvirate protecting the operations of the multibillion-peso illegal numbers racket in the previous administration.

“In our plantilla, we set aside and send regular payoffs to the

‘Three Kings.’ They are FG (Arroyo), DILG (Puno) and whoever is the PNP chief,” Orduña told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in an interview.

In previous congressional hearings on jueteng, the mayor said “plantilla” had also been referred to as “blue book,” which contained a list of personalities receiving regular “pakinabang” (payola) from illegal gambling syndicates.

“We also gave a portion of our daily collections to the CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the PNP) and members of the media, both local and national,” he said.

Former Archbishop Oscar Cruz, an antijueteng crusader, said in September 2010, that Puno and the then recently retired PNP Director General Jesus Verzosa each received between P5 million and P8 million a month in

jueteng payola.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said at the time that the annual collections of jueteng operators had reached P30 billion, due to a conspiracy between the interior secretary and the police chief.

“They are the prime beneficiaries and ultimate protectors of jueteng,” Santiago said.

Orduña surfaced last month and disclosed the alleged involvement of his erstwhile boss and political ally, Pangasinan Gov. Amado Espino Jr., in the proliferation of jueteng in the province.

The mayor has filed plunder charges against Espino, a retired police officer, who he said received a total of P900 million in protection money from the operators of the illegal numbers racket. n

The death toll from the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year has topped 1,000 and could still rise sharply, the government said on Dec. 23. provinces. Of these, 2,481 families, or 11,688 people, are still in 43 evacuation centers.

Damage to public infrastructure was placed at P7,833,386,310, to agriculture at P26,526,663,474.07, and private property at P49,361,413.

Nine bridges and one road remain impassable while 29 areas still experience power interruptions and six more suffer water disruptions.

Eight provinces, 44 towns and three cities were placed under a state of calamity, with Misamis Occidental being the latest to issue a declaration.

The NDRRMC also said storm sur-

vivors are suffering from various ailments, with 981 patients treated, 129 of them needing surgery and 474 admitted to various hospitals in storm-ravaged areas.

S o m e 300,000 people remain homeless, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

The IFRC said urgent humanitarian assistance was needed to help around 200,000 of those affected

by Typhoon Pablo (international code name: Bopha) -- the deadliest storm to have struck the Philippines this year, killing more than 1,000 across the archipelago.

“The situation is truly desperate,” Gwendolyn Pang, secretary general of the Philippine Red Cross said. “So many people who had very little before the typhoon struck have been left with virtually nothing. The next few weeks will be critical. We have to meet people’s basic daily needs, such as food and water, but they also need help to rebuild their homes and livelihoods.” n

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