October 16-31, 2012 Issue

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OCTOBER 16-31, 2012

OCTOBER 16-31, 2012

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President Aquino at his inauguration: Kayo ang boss ko!.

WHEN THE PRESIDENT SPEAKS THE LANGUAGE OF THE PEOPLE

PNoy will perhaps be remembered as the president who spoke the language of the people. After all, more than 90 percent of the population can understand and speak Tagalog-based Filipino because of mass media.

By j. i. e. teodoro

INALLY, we have a president of the republic who speaks the language of the people -- both the educated and the lesseducated, the haves and the have-nots. The publication of President Benigno S. Aquino III’s Kayo ang Boss Ko sa Daang Matuwid: Mga Piling Talumpati (Filipinas Institute of Translation, 2012) is a milestone in the history of the Philippines, especially in the development of Filipino as the national language.

The book consists of 37 speeches delivered by PNoy on various occasions all over the country. It opens with his inaugural address, Tayo Na sa Daang Matuwid, on 30 June 2010, and ends with his third State of the Nation Address (SONA), entitled Sambayanang Filipino ang Gumawa ng Pagbabago, delivered last 23 July 2012.

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The speeches are arranged chronologically, serving as veritable records of the achievements of PNoy’s administration. Many of the speeches (especially the SONAs) are also well-supported exposés of the excesses of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s administration.

Political and practical utilities aside, however, the speeches in this book are also examples of wellwritten and well-argued essays. The use of Filipino is almost elegant.

“Matatala si PNoy sa kasaysayan bilang ang pangulong ganap na nagbigay-daan sa Filipino bilang tunay na opisyal na wika ng gobyerno at kapakipakinabang na instrumento ng pambansang komunikasyon at pagsusulong ng kapakanan ng sambayanan. Mula rito, masasabi natin kung tunay nga ba siyang naging Pangulong maka-Filipino hindi lamang sa salita kundi lalo’t higit sa gawa,” according to the book editors Romulo P. Baquiran, Jr. and Michael M. Coroza.

Both editors are award-winning poets, and also recipients of the prestigious Southeast Asian Write Award from the royalty of Thailand. Baquiran is on the faculty of the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman Department of Filipino, while Coroza is with the Filipino Department of Ateneo de Manila University.

Filipino or Tagalog?

While the book is a laudable effort, I can already imagine the violent comments from non-Tagalog speakers about PNoy’s brand

PHILIPPINES

OCTOBER 16-31, 2012

President Quezon was dubbed “The Father of the National Language” despite his Tagalog-centric leanings. of Filipino. Why, it sounds very much like Tagalog! Is the president supporting, or worse, making it official -- the Tagalization of our socalled national language? What is so national about it when it is just Tagalog?

Admittedly, this is a very difficult question to answer without fanning the flames of regionalism.

Some would even call it “nativism” in today’s language politics, which can be potentially, emotionally messy.

But perhaps we should look at the issue from a historical perspective.

The idea of a national language was based on an indigenous language first mentioned in the 1935 Constitution, during the time of President Manuel Quezon. One year later, Quezon created the Surian ng Wikang Pambansa, which chose Tagalog as the basis of the national language.

As expected, the choice was questioned by the Visayans. Why not Cebuano, which is widely spo-

seriously and actively attempting to make the concept of the national language real and tangible.

For example, the SWF in U.P. Iloilo, first directed by Palanca Hall of Famer Leoncio P. Deriada, gathered words and concepts in the three languages of Panay, namely Aklanon, Kinaray-a, and Hiligaynon. Deriada also gave creative writing workshops in the different schools in Western Visayas, where he promoted his brand of Filipino that he calls “Visayan-laced Filipino.” This is a type of Filipino that is Tagalog-based, but is open to vocabularies and syntax from the Visayan languages.

From Gloria to PNoy By talking in Filipino, PNoy is better able to communicate his message to the people. ken in the Visayas and Mindanao? there is a conscious effort to have This became the start of the “the it developed and enriched by other war of the languages.”

Philippine languages as well as othNevertheless, President Quezon er foreign languages like Spanish, was dubbed “The Father of the English, and Arabic.

National Language” despite his TaThis means that the national galog-centric leanings, considering language is still more an ideal than that he is from the Tagalog heart- reality. Nonetheless, academic inland of Tayabas. Everyone recog- stitutions like the University of nized that his vision to develop a the Philippines Sentro ng Wikang national language is an achieve- Filipino (SWF), aside from the ment in itself.

Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino unIn the 1987 Constitution, under der the Office of the President, are the presidency of Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, the national language is clearly named -- Filipino. It is still Tagalog-based, but

PNoy’s Filipino today is definitely Tagalog-based. Maybe he should, with the help of his speech writers, consider incorporating non-Tagalog words into his future speeches. Perhaps, if he is giving a speech in Cebu, he should use more Cebuano words. If he is in Iloilo, why not use Hiligaynon and Kinaray-a words? If he is in Ilocandia, why not put Ilocano words in his speech? And so on.

Or maybe we can just leave PNoy in his Tagalog-based Filipino. Since +5

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AQUINO DEFIES CHURCH TO PUSH FAMILY PLANNING Economists say the church’s persistent opposition has been the most important factor influencing population policy.

By karen lema

RESIDENT Benigno Aquino III is squaring off against his country’s powerful Catholic church in a bid to give people free access to the means to limit the size of their families.

The predominantly Catholic country has one of Asia’s fastest-growing populations together with significant levels of chronic poverty. While neighbors have accelerated towards prosperity, the Philippines has lagged.

Economists say high population growth is a primary factor for that, but the church disagrees. It says population growth is not a cause of poverty and that people need jobs, not contraception.

Aquino, a Catholic like 80 percent of the population, has thrown his support behind a Reproductive Health bill that will, if passed by the two houses of Congress, guarantee access to free birth control and promote sex education.

That’s something that Liza Cabiya-an might have benefited from, if she’d had the opportunity.

Cabiya-an, 39, has 14 children.

The oldest is 22, the youngest just 11 months. Their home is a hut in a Manila slum.

“It’s tough when you have so many children,” said Cabiya-an, a shy smile revealing poor teeth. “I have to count them before I go to sleep to make sure no one’s missing.”

At one time Cabiya-an had access to contraception but Manila Mayor Jose Atienza, a devout Catholic, swept contraceptives from the shelves of city-run clinics in 2000.

After that, Cabiya-an’s efforts to limit the size of her family were patchy, restricted by her meager resources. She went on and off the pill and resorted to an illegal abortion more than once.

With income of about 7,600 pesos ($180) a month from doing laundry and her husband’s pay as a labourer, Cabiya-an has only been able to send five of her children to school. The others would appear doomed to join the quarter of the country’s 95 million people stuck below the poverty line.

Contraceptives are generally available in the Philippines although they are not used as much as elsewhere.

In the Philippines, 45-50 percent

The Church argues that contraceptives are not the answer to poverty. The people are poor “not because they have no access to contraceptives but because they have no work. Give them work and it will be the most effective birth spacing means for them,” says a Catholic priest.

Women hold their babies while waiting for a free consultation at a government health center in Tondo, Manila. of women of reproductive age, or their partners, are using a contraceptive method at any given time.

Indonesia’s rate is 56 percent and Thailand’s 80 percent.

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Population growth mirrors that. The Philippines population is increasing by 1.9 percent a year, while Indonesia’s is 1.2 percent and Thailand’s is 0.9 percent. China’s

population is growing at an annual rate of 0.6 percent.

“If you increase access to contraceptives for women ... you will have births averted,” said Josefina

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pines is ever to take advantage of a “demographic A health workers shows how to use contraceptives during a family planning seminar. dividend,” when a large, young workforce is generNatividad, director of the Univerating the savings and investment to sity of the Philippines’ Population give the economy a sustained boost, Institute. it will have to bring down the fertilThough available in most placity rate. es, the cost of contraceptives is proThe median age in the Philiphibitive for many people. But that pines is only 22.2 compared with should change if the Reproductive 25 in Malaysia, India’s 25.1 and Health bill is passed.

Indonesia’s 27.8.

Aquino’s government has promUnlike aging countries such as ised what it calls inclusive growth and it sees slowing population ops Conference of the Philippines’ Japan, where the elderly put a burEpiscopal Commission on Family den on the working population, in growth as key to that. the Philippines it’s the children who “The president has already, at and Life.

“They are poor not because they command the resources that could the risk of alienating the church, declared that the bill is a priority,” have no access to contraceptives but otherwise be diverted to savings Budget Secretary Florencio Abad because they have no work. Give and investment. them work and it will be the most There are 58 dependents for evsaid. “That message is very clear.” effective birth spacing means for ery 100 working-age people in the But it’s a message the church them.”

Philippines, according to World doesn’t like.

Economists say the church’s Bank data, compared with 40 in InIt says artificial contraception is immoral, and the bill will pave the persistent opposition has been the donesia and 29 in Thailand.

“The demographic window will way to legalising abortion. The bill most important factor influencing population policy. only open if fertility rates are going does not legalise abortion though “The state ... has been immobil- to go down in such a way that the it seeks to improve care for women suffering from complications after ised from effectively addressing the young-age population will grow at issue by the Catholic hierarchy’s a slower rate than the working-age an illegal abortion.

The church says people should hardline position,” a group of 30 population,” said Arsenio Balisacan, economists from the University of socio-economic planning secretary. use natural family planning.

Aquino might seem an unlikely It says poverty is a cause, not ef- the Philippines said in a recent pachampion of free contraception. fect, of a high birth rate. Children per.

But despite the arguments of His late mother, Corazon Aquino, are being born into homes without the church and political opponents rose to power at the head of a peoenough food to eat because of the government’s failure to end corrup- who decry using state funds to fi- ple power revolution, fostered by tion and provide jobs, the bishops nance contraception, a poll last year the church, that swept away old dicshowed about 70 percent of people tator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986. say.

Marcos had made reining in pop“It’s our firm belief that contra- support the bill. Its backers want it ceptives will never be the answer,” passed during the term of this con- ulation growth a priority beginning in the 1960s and enshrined family said Father Melvin Castro, execu- gress, which ends in June.

Economists say if the Philip- planning in a 1973 constitution. But tive secretary of the Catholic BishCorazon Aquino, mindful of the church’s help in the democracy movement, scrapped that clause when the charter was rewritten in 1987.

(Reuters) n

“They are poor not because they have no access to contraceptives but because they have no work.”

OCTOBER 16-31, 2012

WHEN THE PRESIDENT SPEAKS THE...

Former President Arroyo – who speaks Tagalog, Kapampangan, Cebuano, and Hiligaynon – could have been the president to champion the national language.

From page 3

he was brought up in Metro Manila, he cannot help but be Manilacentric and Tagalog-centric in his language. Perhaps, we should wait for another great president who can speak several Philippine languages, and mix these languages in order to create a real and more representative national language that would truly be Filipino in form and content.

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo could have been this kind of president. I heard her once giving a radio interview when she was still President. It was broadcast all over the Philippines, and she was answering questions in Tagalog, Kapampangan, Cebuano, and Hiligaynon. Sayang, she squandered her chance to be a president who would champion the national language.

Whatever his future holds until 2016, once he leaves office,

PNoy will perhaps be remembered as the president who spoke the language of the people. After all, more than 90 percent of the population can understand and speak Tagalog-based Filipino because of mass media.

In the words of National Artist Virgilio Almario on the back cover of this yellow book, “Tumutulong ang mga talumpati ng Pangulong PNoy upang burahin ang mga guwang at hanggahang panlipunan, upang mabilis na mapalaganap sa buong kapuluan ang anumang mensaheng pambayan, at upang higit na mailahok ang sambayanan sa pamamalakad ng bansa.

Napakahalagang isipin ng madla na ‘kinakausap’ sila ng kanilang Pangulo ng Filipinas.”

(J. I. E. Teodoro is an awardwinning writer from San Jose de Buenavista, Antique. He is an assistant professor of Filipino at Miriam College in Quezon City.) n

OCTOBER 16-31, 2012

By nicole curato

ECENT surveys for the 2013 senatorial elections paint a familiar picture: many topranked candidates are either re-electionists or relatives of incumbent or former politicians. This, once again, prompts a discussion on political dynasties, whether this is an issue that should concern voters in the upcoming elections or something that can be accepted as part of our representative democracy.

In principle, there is nothing wrong with political dynasties. In practice, however, its prevalence exemplifies the exclusionary power structure in the Philippines, where local elites continue to exert considerable influence in our country.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile has said in an interview that dynasties have existed since politics was invented. Dynastic politics is not unique to the Philippines, he added, citing the example of the Kennedys and Roosevelts in the United States. Following the footsteps of one’s parents or relatives is not in itself unacceptable so why should politics be any different?

Part of the answer lies in the historic character of electoral politics in the Philippines. Dante Simbulan’s pioneering study described the Philippines as an elite democracy where elections have been institutionalized to manage intra-elite competition.

Elections have formalized the process of political succession through a periodic democratic exercise which can be easily manipulated for selfish ends. Elite rule is legitimized through this process by giving the illusion that the public has the power to choose its leaders, even though the pool of electable candidates is generally limited to a set of individuals with familiar surnames.

Based on this analysis, one can make an argument that political dynasties are mere post-colonial legacies. To this extent, Enrile is correct – that dynasties have existed since the beginning of Philippine politics.

They are social realities that can be traced to the emergence of a cacique class from the Spanish colonial era and, in several cases, the creation of new elites under the Marcos regime. These de facto nobilities are able to stay in power by address-

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WHAT IS WRONG WITH POLITICAL DYNASTIES?

Twenty-years after the 1987 Constitution was ratified, Congress has not passed a law to implement the anti-dynasty provision in the charter.

Zaldy Ampatuan is arrested by police after the 2009 massacre in Maguindanao, believed to be perpetrated by the powerful Amapatuan clan. ing the needs of their constituents through the strategic distribution of patronage masking as “public service” and the maintenance of compadre ties. To put it crudely, dynastic politicians are not entirely to blame, given that they too are products of the principalía’s evolution into the modern day elite.

To accept this as part of our contemporary reality, however, is to be oblivious of political dynasties’ abuse of our weak democratic structures. One of the main promises of representative democracy is its commitment to future redistribution of material wealth and political power that were accumulated through historic injustices. What’s wrong with political dynasties is that instead of working towards the creation of equitable political structures, they have further strengthened the barriers to political inclusion of traditionally disenfranchised citizens such as peasants, workers, indigenous and other minority groups. In his research, Pablo Querubin has found a causal effect

What’s wrong with political dynasties is that instead of working towards the creation of equitable political structures, they have further strengthened the barriers to political inclusion of traditionally disenfranchised citizens such as peasants, workers, indigenous and other minority groups.

The “3 Kings” of the United Nationalist Alliance – (seated L-R) Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Vice President Jejomar Binay and former President Joseph Estrada – with UNA’s senatorial bets. The three leaders have one child each in the lineup. between winning elections and hav- nomic resources within given tering relatives in office. In particular, ritorial jurisdictions or bailiwicks.” “individuals who win their first Consequently, concentration of porace by a small margin” are “four litical power among a few families times more likely to have relatives benefits a narrow set of economic in office in the future” compared to interests over a period of time, insti“individuals who run but lose by a tutionalizes economic inequalities narrow margin and never serve.” and perpetuates a culture of depenThese findings are revealing in that dency between an economically/ they expose how relatives of previ- politically dominant patron and an ous incumbents exclusively benefit otherwise disenfranchised client. from the political investments of It is not accidental that provinces their predecessors which, in turn, with established political dynasties consolidates disproportionate po- are also among the poorest. litical power in a few families.

The trend of political dynasties This is particularly troubling has also served to limit the liberatbecause in the Philippines, political ing potential of democratic polipower is closely linked to economic tics. It undermines the principle of power. It is unlike other countries political equality in its most basic that have a distinct political class form through the principle of one of civil servants and technocrats person, one vote. While this right is that are relatively autonomous often qualified by saying that voters from oligarchic interests and, in usually end up choosing between the case of South Korea, can dis- tweedledum and tweedledee, virtucipline economic elites. Instead, ally unopposed political dynasties as John Sidel argues, politicians in do not even make room for tweethe Philippines have “monopolistic dledee. The seeming inheritability control over both coercive and eco- of political positions is reminiscent

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of an oppressive absolutist state, where citizens are mere subjects that have no choice but to affirm the dictates of a ruling family rather than active citizens that are able to shape their political destiny.

By making this argument, I do not mean to discredit dynastic politicians who, through their actions, have expressed commitment to reform Philippine politics. Congressman Erin Tañada has been at the forefront of institutionalizing transparency through the Freedom of Information Bill. Senator Pia Cayetano has strengthened the system of rights through the Magna Carta for Women and the Reproductive Health Bill. Senator TG Guingona has been the champion of participatory modes of governance in budget reform. It is indisputable that some dynastic politicians have a good track record of advocating progressive policies but these individual achievements have done little in dismantling the structures that perpetuate political exclusion in a representative democracy. It is only when a person who has worked up the ranks in a political organization can stand an equal chance of being elected with a candidate with a political last name can we consider dynasties as fair practices in a democratic process.

So where do we go from here? A viable option is to strengthen alternative political spaces for the public to organize and secure meaningful inclusion in the political process. Electoral politics has become so crowded with dynastic politicians, requiring mechanisms for citizen participation that are relatively independent of electoral politics. Political scientists describe this as “democracy from below” or the practice of democracy through people’s organizations, nongovernment organizations, social movements, new political parties and social networks that oppose elite politics and espouse new politics.

Indeed, Philippine politics has been historically driven by bottomup struggles for social justice and accountability. Grassroots political activities have ousted presidents, raised wages, and guarded ballot boxes. Hopefully, these democratic impulses eventually translate to systemic reform where the citizenry can effectively enforce democratic control over its politico-economic elites. That way, to paraphrase candidate Bam Aquino’s hubristic statement, Aquinos don’t have to become President every time there’s a political crisis. (GMA News) (Nicole Curato, PhD, is Assistant Professor in Sociology at University of the Philippines Diliman. She is the Associate Editor of Manila Review.) n

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Pacquiao files his certificate of candidacy for Sarangani congressman as wife Jinkee looks on.

OLITICAL dynasties have been an integral part of Philippine politics. Without them, our elections would not be as colorful, lively and entertaining. Every election season the headlines are filled with familiar names from entrenched political clans who vie for every political position at stake.

To be sure, many ordinary Filipinos are annoyed, appalled and livid by the arrogance, gall and brazenness of these political warlords. At the same time, many of us earnestly seek them out if only to be entertained.

In this current political season, we have culled a few names and races that we found interesting, wacky, ghastly and even funny.

Dynasty in 3 provinces

Political dynasties usually wield power in one province, city or town. But the Jalosjos clan of Zamboanga del Norte is of a different breed. It is set to spread its wings to three provinces and four cities in the Zamboanga Peninsula.

The clan patriarch, former governor and congressman Romeo Jalosjos, who served time for raping a minor, now wants to be mayor of Zamboanga City, from where he intends to oversee his expanding fiefdom consisting of the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay as well as the cities of Dapitan, Dipolog and Pagadian.

Dapitan City Mayor Dominador Jalosjos is challenging incumbent Zamboanga del Sur Gov. Antonio Cerilles. In the province’s first district, Kat-Kat Jalosjos will face Cerilles’ wife, reelectionist Rep. Aurora Cerilles. In Pagadian City, outgoing Pagadian Mayor Samuel Co, an ally of Jalosjos, is running for the congressional post of the second district.

For the Zamboanga del Norte gubernatorial post, it will be a fight between Cesar Jalosjos and Roberto Uy, husband of Dipolog City Mayor Evelyn Uy. Rep. Bullet Jalosjos (first district) and Hannah Jalosjos (third district) are seeking another term. In Dipolog City, reelectionist Mayor Evelyn Uy will face former Rep. Cecilia Jalosjos-Carreon.

In Zamboanga Sibugay province, Gov. Rommel Jalosjos is running for another term.

Father-son tandems

In Caloocan City, fathers and sons form rival tandems.

After using up the allowable three terms, outgoing 1st District Representative Oscar Malapitan is setting his sights on City Hall. His son, Dale, is seeking to take over his father’s congressional seat.

Out to derail the Malapitans’

If it’s all money and popularity that matter in elections, count us in.

THE MANY FACES OF

POLITICAL DYNASTIES Pacquiao’s close association with politicos like Chavit Singson and Lito Atienza must have rubbed on him one valuable lesson: that by being an elected official he could continue dispensing favors using government funds and not dipping into his pocket. ambitions is another father-and-son team. Outgoing Mayor Enrico “Recom” Echiverri is facing off with Dale, while the mayor’s son, Ricojudge, will do battle with the elder Malapitan for the mayoralty post.

Pacquiao dynasty in the making

If it’s all money and popularity that matter in elections, count us in. This could have been what was on the mind of boxing icon Manny Pacquiao when he decided to start building a dynasty of his own.

Pacquiao is known in his hometown for generously sharing his newfound wealth. At every occasion and calamity, he gives away

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“Kasi, pag sa pulitika, di naman patalinuhan. Ang importante is matulungan natin ang kababayan natin,” Jinkee told reporters after she filed her certificate of candidacy.

Pacquiao added: “Maraming matatalino, ang problema napapaikot nila ung pera ng gobyerno. Sa sobrang talino pinapaikot ung pera ng gobyerno.

Di napupunta sa mga tao.”

The boxing champ’s youngest brother, Rogelio, meanwhile wants to become a congressman of neighboring South Cotabato. A sister-inlaw is a barangay chair in General Santos City.

Garndpa vs grandson

Jalosjos and his clan are set to expand their power and influence to the whole of Zamboanga Peninsula. money, food, prizes and relief goods to his constituents. His close association with politicos like Chavit Singson and Lito Atienza must have rubbed on him one valuable lesson: that by being an elected official he could continue dispensing favors using government funds and not dipping into his pocket.

Pacquiao is seeking a second term as representative of Sarangani’s lone congressional district.

In a surprise last-minute move, he fielded his wife, Jinkee, for the vice governor post of Sarangani.

Jinkee said it’s not about one’s The 77-year-old Villafuerte, a veteran intelligence but the person’s willingof many electoral battles, finds himself being challenged by an ness to help that will make one an effective public servant. upstart – his own grandson.

Over in Camarines Sur, the fight for political dominance of the province kicked off with a grandfather and a grandson squaring off for the governorship.

The bizarre contest pits the family patriarch, Luis Villafuerte, against his own grandson, Miguel “Migz” Villafuerte. The elder Villafuerte, who is serving his third and last term as congressman of the third district of the province, is out to reclaim his old governor’s post, which is to be vacated by his son Luis Jr., also known as LRay. Father and son had a falling out many years ago and have since become bitter political enemies.

Migz said the Villafuertes have served the people in their own time in different periods and that it is now his time as the youth constitutes 67 percent of the population.

“I am the fourth-generation Villafuerte and our great-grandfather is Mariano Villafuerte Sr. who was also a governor. It is now the time of Migz or LRay Jr. to serve the people,” Migz told a crowd of supporters.

LRay, who is on his last term as governor, is now running for the congressional seat of the second district. His mother, Nelly, is gunning the congressional seat to be vacated by her husband, Luis Jr. But she is in for a rough time against Leni Robredo, the widow of the late Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo. n

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‘WHY I DECIDED W TO BE BEAUTIFUL’

OCTOBER 16-31, 2012

IMELDA’S SHOES STILL DAZZLE

ER name made synonymous to “ext r ava g a n c e ” in the universal language, former First Lady Imelda Marcos was not without noble intentions in doing what she does best -being “Imeldific.”

“To me, it was important that I dress up well,” Imelda told lifestyle magazine Metro Society in a recent issue.

“Being tall, I was always sticking out like a sore thumb. And since I was very visible, they would ask me, ‘Where is the Philippines?’

They thought we were monkeys living in the trees,” she said.

“That’s why I decided to be beautiful,” she added.

Throughout her decades-long stint as the First Lady of the Philippines, Imelda’s uncompromised display of beauty and wealth by way of her ternos, her infamous collection of shoes, and the way she carried herself, somehow became an identifying legacy of her husband’s regime.

But she was only among the few, if not the only one, who had seen value in making the Filipino “beautiful” in the eyes of foreigners.

“The problem is many of us are ashamed of ourselves and our culture. Kinahihiya natin ang sarili. I al-

The Marcoses with US President Reagan during their US state visit in 1982. ways want to look beautiful and the terno makes me beautiful,” Imelda said.

“I wanted to be an icon, fashionable, and respected so that even big-time couturiers like Balenciaga would appreciate the Filipina and what she is wearing,” she added.

As it was, the iconic fashion designer was not alone in appreciating the Filipina beauty in the person of Imelda. Cuban leader Fidel Castro would humble himself before her. “[World leaders] were all kissing

my hand. They were bowing to me.

They liked me,” Imelda recounted.

“Fidel Castro said, ‘I drove for only two women in my life -- Imelda and my mother.’ Mga driver ko lang ang mga ‘yan,” she added, smiling.

Now decades since she first wowed the world with her beauty and extravagance, Imelda’s legacy is made tangible anew, with ongoing talks of her jewelry, seized by the government, being put on display and for auction. (ABS-CBNnews.com) n

HEN news broke that the shoes of former first lady Imelda Marcos are rotting and being eaten by termites at the National Museum, the city government of Marikina offered to restore the shoes and even house them at the Marikina Shoe Museum.

“Nanghihinayang kasi si Mayor (Del De Guzman) sa mga sapatos.

Nag-offer yung mga magsasapatos namin to restore the shoes at kung gusto nila, i-house namin dito sa museum,” Marikina Tourism officer Maria Theresa Curry said.

The Marikina Shoe Museum opened in 2001 and has been attracting curious visitors who want to see Mrs. Marcos’ shoe collection, which includes famous brands like Gucci, Charles Jourdan, Christian Dior, Ferragamo, Chanel and Prada.

More than 150 carton boxes of clothes, dress accessories and shoes of the Marcoses were transferred to the National Museum for safekeeping two years ago after termites, humidity and mold threatened the apparel at the riverside palace.

The National Museum said some of the shoes were damaged by the incessant rains last August.

Malacañang, meanwhile, shot down suggestions to put the massive shoe and gown collections of Mrs. Marcos in a public exhibit, saying they have no “historical significance.”

Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Undersecretary Manuel Quezon III said that the only significance of the gowns and shoes

Mrs. Marcos amidst her shoe collection which includes famous brands like Gucci, Charles Jourdan, Christian Dior, Ferragamo, Chanel and Prada. of the former first lady is that some of them were designed by prominent Filipino designers.

“The boxes hold no historical significance, except some of the clothes were made by Joe Salazar, Pitoy Moreno, and other designers,” Quezon said.

The Marcoses’ only son, Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., took offense at the statement. “So, that part of our history is not important? I’m just astounded by them dismissing outright years of our national history as insignificant,” he said. “This is not about material things. We can make more gowns, ‘di naman ‘yan ang problema. It’s rewriting history.”

The young Marcos said he was astounded that some people are still not over the Marcos era and can’t “move away from 1986,” referring to the Edsa People Power Revolt that drove away the Marcos family to exile in Hawaii.

“Again, we’re back to talking about politics here. Even if my family has moved away from (that period), why can’t they? I think that’s what it’s all about,” he said. n

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OCTOBER 16-31, 2012

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PHILIPPINES

PARTY-LIST SYSTEM

THE JOKE IS ON US

Party-list Congressman Mikey Arroyo escorts his mother, Pampanga Rep. Gloaria Macapagal-Arroyo, at the House of Representatives.

By leandro milan

What was meant as an avenue for greater people’s representation, the party-list system has become just another traditional political arena for the rich and powerful. Using socalled people’s organizations clothed in fancy and elaborate names, vested interest groups have hijacked the partylist system and turned it into another charade.

UR brand of democracy, specifically our electoral system, is a fraud. The rules are designed so that only the rich and powerful get elected. The “sovereign people” are relegated to choosing the lesser evil, the more popular or the more moneyed among the elite candidates. In some cases, their votes are not even counted; they are manufactured and counted prompting Commission on Elecbefore election day. tions (Comelec) Chairman Sixto In an attempt to broaden representation in policy-making bodies such as Congress, the framers of the 1987 Constitution introduced the concept of “party-list” representation wherein the so-called marginalized sectors – peasants, urban poor, disabled, cultural minorities – will be allotted seats in the House of Representatives. The pertinent provision states: “The party-list representatives shall constitute twenty percent of the total number of representatives including those under the party list. For three consecutive terms after the ratification of this Constitution, one-half of the seats allocated to party-list representatives shall be filled, as provided by law, by selection or election from the labor, peasant, urban poor, indigenous cultural communities, women, youth, and such other sectors as may be provided by law, except the religious sector.”

Twenty-five years hence, the party-list system, is alive and well.

Problem is what was meant as an avenue for greater people’s representation has become just another traditional political arena for the rich and powerful. Using so-called people’s organizations clothed in fancy and elaborate names, vested

interest groups have hijacked the party-list system and turned it into another charade.

The list of groups seeking party-list seats gets stranger and more absurd every election season,

Brillantes Jr. to call the party-list system a joke.

Almost every group now wants to be accredited by the Comelec to be eligible to seek congressional seats -- health promoters, aviation

Brillantes: The party-list system is a joke.

The House of Representatives: bastion of the rich and powerful.

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advocates, athletes and hobbyists, entrepreneurs, former drug users, ex-military renegades, school dropouts, foreign-exchange dealers, LPG marketers.

The election watchdog Kontra Daya, led by Fr. Joe Dizon, is spearheading a campaign to expose bogus party-list groups. One group on its watchlist is Ang Mata’y Alagaan (AMA), which claims to represent blind indigents and people afflicted with all kinds of eye diseases and disorders.

In a petition before the poll body, Kontra Daya says the nominees of AMA belong to the well-connected Velasco family. The group’s first nominee is Lorna Velasco, a nurse and the wife of Supreme Court Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco.

Velasco’s daughter, Tricia Nicole, a lawyer, is AMA’s second nominee.

“The Velascos are very powerful politically and economically, considering that they have as head of the family a sitting member of the highest court of this country,” Kontra Daya said. “Clearly, the AMA has no bona fide intention to represent the sector it claims to represent, but rather to represent the interest of the already powerful, well-connected Velascos.”

Kontra Daya also cited 1-AsalPartylist, a group that claims to represent the urban poor but none of its nominees is a slum dweller. In fact, its first nominee, Ryan Tanjucto, lives in posh Corinthian Gardens in Quezon City. The group’s two other nominees are Tanjucto’s wife, Maria Lourdes, and Manila City Councilor Raymundo Yupangco.

Kontra Daya also referred to the Association of Local Athletics Entrepreneurs and Hobbyists Inc. (Ala-Eh), whose first nominee, Elmer Anuran, is a known boxing promoter who runs a boxing gym and oversees Saved by the Bell Promotions.

Earlier, Kontra Daya had asked Comelec to cancel the accreditation of Ang Galing Pinoy party-list group represented in Congress by Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo, the eldest son of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Ang Galing Pinoy claims to represent security guards, tricycle drivers, farmers and small businessmen.

But Kontra Daya says Ang Galing Pinoy is not a legitimate party-list group representing marginalized or underrepresented sectors but a “tool of the Arroyos and their political allies to remain in power.”

Kontra Daya also questioned the credentials of Ang Galing Pinoy’s

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Let’s drink to that! nominees for next May’s elections, Charlie Chua and Eder Dizon.

According to the watchdog, Chua is a member of the Sangguniang Bayan of Lubao, Pampanga, and a senior partner at Chua and Munsayac Law Firm, while Dizon is a cosmetic surgeon and businessman who owns the Pampanga-based Suncove Corp.

Kontra Daya observes that new groups continue to sprout claiming to represent the urban poor but whose current nominees come from the upper crust of society. Some organizations also claim to represent the sick and the handicapped, but their representatives are neither ill nor handicapped and some of them come from well-known wealthy political families.

Brillantes said he was aware that many party-list representatives in the House are multimillionaires and many of the groups seeking accreditation for next year’s elections have handpicked nominees who are either former government officials or members of powerful political clans. One name readily comes to mind: President Benigno Aquino’s aunt, former Tarlac governor Margarita “Tingting” Cojuangco, who is the first nominee of the party-list group Aksyon Magsasaka-Tinig ng Masa.

“That’s why we are doing this [review] to be able to cleanse the list,” Brillantes said.

Two hundred eighty-nine groups have filed applications for accreditation to contest next year’s party-list elections. One hundred sixty-five of them are new groups, and the Comelec’s job is determining their legitimacy to cleanse the party-list system that it concedes is infested by sham organizations.

“Can you imagine if every three years there are 165 new groups applying? By 2019, there will be more than 1,000 of them listed on the ballot… that will make the party-list system of elections absurd,” Come-

The Comelec blames the infestation of the party-list system with sham groups on the ambiguities in the law. lec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento noted. “So to me, this is the opportunity to screen and process these party-list organizations.”

As of Oct. 10, the Comelec has disqualified 33 organizations for not meeting the standards for party-list groups set by the Constitution and the Party-list System Act. Among them were groups claiming to represent habal-habal (extended-capacity tricycle) operators and drivers, former drug addicts, peace advocates, and banana farmers.

The Comelec blames the infestation of the party-list system with sham groups on the ambiguities in the law. The Constitution does not clearly define the concepts of marginalized and underrepresented and also does not lay down the qualifications for party-list nominees, Sarmiento said.

Sarmiento and other election officials cited the need to amend the party-list law. “We appealed that the vagueness in the law be addressed for the guidance of the Comelec since we implement the law,” Sarmiento said.

In the absence of a more rigid law for the accreditation of nominees, the Comelec has tried to remedy the ambiguities in the law by issuing Resolution No. 9366, specifying that only those who belong to marginalized underrepresented sectors can seek party-list representation in Congress. n

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PHILIPPINES

STEM CELL THERAPY TO INJECT VIGOR INTO MEDICAL TOURISM

OCTOBER 16-31, 2012

Medicine, which handles stem cell therapies, stem cells are “master cells” that are capable of renewing themselves through cell division, and can be modified, under particular physiologic conditions, to become tissue or organ-specific cells with special functions.

Among the hospitals in Manila that offer stem cell therapy are the Medical City, Makati Medical Center, St. Luke’s Medical Center, and the Kidney and Transplant Institute.

A six-month program for stem cell therapy at the Medical City costs between P2.2 million to P2.5 million for disease-related services, and about P1.5 million for health and wellness (or aesthetic) therapy. Similar treatments abroad are three times higher.

Sam Bernal, a world renowned cancer specialist and head of the Medical City’s IPMM, said medical tourism has bright prospects in the Philippines.

“The Philippines is an ideal destination for international patients,” he said. “MoreThe healthcare management over, there is website, HealthExecNews.com, has really no realisted St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City as No. 11 in the 25 son for any Filipino paworld’s most beautiful hospitals. tient to have to travel abroad for stem cell therapy when the best technology and the best VIP treatment is available right here.”

Bernal said that among the In promoting stem cell therapy, the focus will be on the skill, the professionalism, the genius, the caring of the Filipino, says Tourism Secretary foreign clientele who have underJimenez. gone stem cell therapy in Medical HE Department of Tourism is cooking up another excuse City are an American billionaire to entice tourists to visit the country. No, it’s not about couple, who had earlier gone to the another costume-themed festival or a lost lagoon in some renowned Johns Hopkins Hospital getaway island in line with the agency’s “It’s More Fun in the in Baltimore, shipping magnates Philippines” tourism campaign. from Norway, and patients from This time, the DOT is prepping he said, is how to effectively mar- Singapore and Malaysia. Over 315 up the country’s anemic medical ket these medical services abroad. patients have undergone stem cell “Foreigners would obviously therapy at Medical City since 2005, tourism program by injecting it with a tantalizing offer – stem cell spend less if they sought care in of which 54 were foreigners. therapy for a fraction of the cost their own country like the United In promoting medical tourism, States or Europe [because they Jimenez said the Filipinos will be that other countries charge.

“Medical tourism focuses on don’t have to travel outside their the selling point. some very serious, important ar- country]. So you really have to “Like the ‘Its’ More Fun in the eas of healthcare that the world have a value that will mitigate the Philippines’ campaign, it is addiwill travel for,” Tourism Secre- cost of that travel. Your service tional evidence that it is the Filipino tary Ramon Jimenez said during has to be superior, greater value that makes the difference. As you a forum on stem cell science at for their money,” Jimenez said. can see, pati sa medical tourism that Stem cell therapy is a procedure will be the differentiator, the skill, the Medical City hospital in Pasig that introduces new adult stem cells the professionalism, the genius, the City last month.

Jimenez said the Philippines is into damaged tissue in order to treat caring,” he explained. “Iba talaga in a position to offer world-class disease or injury. According to a mag-alaga ang Pilipino e, di tayo nagmedical services, including stem primer from the Medical City’s In- tatapon ng tao. Filipinos never forget cell therapy. The challenge now, stitute of Personalized Molecular they’re dealing with people.” n

A six-month program for stem cell therapy at the Medical City costs between P2.2 million to P2.5 million for disease-related services, and about P1.5 million for health and wellness (or aesthetic) therapy. Similar treatments abroad are three times higher.

T

OCTOBER 16-31, 2012

KEEPING UP WITH KIM PLANET

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PHILIPPINES

With the triumph of My Binondo Girl, and an onslaught of product endorsements (Kim is the brand ambassador of personal care products, cellphone, apparel, restaurants, and many other products and services), the sparkle in Kim’s chinita eyes finally came back.

By cherie del rio

IX years ago, the Kapamilya Network’s Primetime Princess was but a mere teenage “Chinese cutie” from Cebu who wanted to try her luck in a reality TV competition. Back then in Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Edition, her appeal to the masses and ability to captivate audiences were evident: she was never nominated for eviction and she was hailed as the Big Winner. And as she came out of the Big Brother house, rose into stardom as she was raised to the stage, in a white gown – a showbiz royalty was born.

But Kim Chiu’s showbiz career was not the only thing that the PBB House created. It has likewise forged a successful love team between the housemates: Kim and Fil-Am heartthrob Gerald Anderson. The two had an on-screen romantic chemistry that sparked what was one of the industry’s strongest fandoms: Kimeralds (Kim and Gerald’s f i r s t n a m e s merged ala Brad and Angelina’s Brangelina).

Together, Kim and Gerald starred in a multitude of TV shows and movies.

Their primetime soap opera, Sana Maulit Muli, was a phenomenal hit.

The two continued to star in movies and teleseryes together. They played the lead roles in the Filipino remake of the Korean telenovela My Girl. Following the successful My Girl is an equally top-rating teleserye, Tayong Dalawa.

Critics started to take note of Kim’s acting process and in 2009, she won several awards for Tayong Dalawa. In the same year, she became part of the cast of I Love you, Goodbye alongside Gabby Concepcion, Angelica Panganiban, and Derek Ramsay. It was one of the very few movies that Kim had without Gerald in the same cast. The following year, however, their pairing was once again brought to the big screen with Paano Na Kaya. They appeared in another primetime soap, Kung Tayo’y Magkakalayo, with Albert Martinez, Gabby Concepcion, and Kris Aquino in the lead.

The Kimerald pairing was definitely one of the golden love teams of showbiz. Together,

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they have appeared in numerous TV commercials, dramas and specials, variety show appearances, movies, and mall shows. The popular love team has thrived for years, and although breakups in showbiz are a common thing, no one really saw it happening for Kimerald.

In 2010, Kim and Gerald appeared in the movie Till My Heartaches End. Rumors began to circu-

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PHILIPPINES

OCTOBER 16-31, 2012

The love team of Kim and Gerald was one of the golden love teams of showbiz. late about their alleged breakup and one could not help but conclude that, judging from both parties’ tearful interviews, there is a lot of truth in the reports. Many theories have been thrown around as to why the couple split, but most of them pointed towards Gerald as the culprit. He was rumored to have dated Bea Alonzo and thus two-timed Kim. While there was no confirmation or proof offered for this theory, Gerald’s admission in a press conference that he was only human and that he makes mistakes did not really help his case.

After Till My Heartaches End, the Kimerald pairing slid into the gradual spiral leading to separation. Gerald starred in shows without Kim, and vice versa.

Audiences noticed the considerable change in Kim -- the already skinny actress looked like she lost even more weight, and the sparkle in her eyes has faded. The young actress can smile for the cameras but she still seemed lonely. But time heals all wounds, they say, and in 2011 Kim’s heartaches had finally ended. Her career started to blossom once again and the Primetime Princess reclaimed her throne.

She starred in the hit telenovela My Binondo Girl opposite three leading men: Jolo Revilla, Matteo Guidicelli, and newcomer Xian Lim. Kim played a dual role: the female Jade and the male Yuan. Fans and critics alike had nothing but praises for Kim’s acting skills in the said soap

The Kimerald pairing was definitely one of the golden love teams of showbiz. opera. With Kim’s versatility (she can sing, dance, and act), the show snagged top ratings. What came as a big surprise was the phenomenal success of her team up with Xian. As their characters Jade and Andy eventually grew closer and fell in love, it seems that the same thing had happened in real life.

Xian, much like his character in the soap, began to court Kim by having choirs serenade the young actress, giving life-sized teddy bears and a tree of roses, among other things. With the triumph of My Binondo Girl, and an onslaught of product endorsements (Kim is the brand ambassador of personal care products, cellphone, apparel, restaurants, and many other products and services), the sparkle in Kim’s chinita eyes finally came back. In one TV interview, Kris Aquino noted that the happy, cheerful Kim was finally back -- that she was finally smiling and laughing again.

Was it because of Xian Lim? Many people think so. Although Kim has admitted that Xian makes her “sobrang happy,” she likewise clarified that even without Xian,

Kim and Xian received the Couple of the Night award during the recent Star Magic Ball. she was already happy. “Kahit na- kami,” she said.

Kapamilya primetime slot soon. man hindi dumating si Xian, masaya And who wouldn’t be happy Judging from the influx of projects, na naman ako. And mas masaya lang with what they have and where the thousands of Instagram folloako na nakahanap ako ng bagong kai- they are right now? Kim recently wers and the plethora of fan clubs bigan,” she said. starred alongside Vilma Santos in devoted to her, Kim truly remains Fans continue to speculate on the horror flick The Healing and her to be one of the most successful and the true status of the romance bet- new teleserye opposite Xian, Ina, undoubtedly most admired young ween Kim and Xian (fondly dub- Kapatid, Anak, is set to invade the actresses of her generation. n bed as KimXi), although both parties are quick to admit that they are not hiding anything.

Kim has stressed that she is happy where things are right now.

“Basta sa aming dalawa, alam po namin kung ano po yung nangyayari at kung ano yung ginagawa namin.

Masaya naman kami kung ano

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OCTOBER 16-31, 2012

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PHILIPPINES

CELEBR TY

CHIZ ADMITS HEART IS HIS GIRLFRIEND

KOKO’S WIFE SEEKS ANNULMENT THE estranged wife of Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III has sought a Church annulment of their marriage before the Marriage Tribunal of the Diocese of Bacolod.

Jewel May Lobaton, a former Bb. Pilipinas-Universe, announced the filing at a press conference last Oct. 2 that she and Pimentel had agreed to seek a Church annulment. They also agreed that the senator would be filing for a civil annulment of their marriage before the courts, she said.

Jewel said she and the senator have remained friends and that they share custody of their two sons, aged 8 and 2.

Pimentel last May confirmed his separation from his wife of almost 12 years. He said they had been living apart since November 2011.

Jewel said she was filing for an annulment, “so I can fully move on with my life.”

“I’m fixing my life, he (the senator) is fixing his life,” she said.

She denied rumors linking her to another lawmaker, Bacolod Congressman Anthony Golez.

She also denied allegations that she was the cause of the breakup of the marriage of Golez and his wife, Princess Soraya Jaafar Golez. She said Golez and his wife had separat-

ed two years before she “came into the life of Congressman Golez.”

“We are [the] best of friends.

My commitment to him as his friend is I will stay beside him no matter what other people do,” Jewel said of her relationship with Golez.

According to her, she and the congressman are often seen together because they work on projects and shared advocacies. She asked people not to put malice into their special friendship.

“Whether or not it will prosper into a deeper relationship, boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, husband-wife relationship, that’s up to God,” she said.

She also said a photo of her kissing the congressman that circulated in Bacolod was fake, ascribing its appearance to the political season.

Jewel said she is not closing the door to falling in love again.

“If there is one right man that God will give me, who am I to refuse, because I think I deserve to be happy,” she said.

SENATOR Francis “Chiz” Escudero let the cat out of the bag as he admitted his relationship with Heart Evangelista.

On Oct. 5 on the TV show, Kris TV, the senator was quizzed by his co-host Kris Aquino on his romance with the actress. When asked if Heart is his “girlfriend,” the senator said: “I’d like to think so, yes.”

For Heart, her current boyfriend’s public admission of their relationship comes as an affirmation that she isn’t so “difficult to love” after all.

“Actually masaya ako. Natutuwa rin ako dahil hindi pala ako ang klaseng tao na mahirap mahalin,” she told newscast 24 Oras, referring to the confirmation of Escudero that he and the former teen star are now a couple.

Escudero’s admission comes after months of speculation on the real score between the two.

Neither of them had directly answered whether they were a couple, opting to say instead that they continue to have “meetings,” until Escudero’s revelation

JODI DRAGGED INTO CAVITE POLITICS THE political stage in Cavite features an interesting battle between the sons of two incumbent senators. The vice gubernatorial race pits actor Jolo Revilla, a son of Senator Bong Revilla, against Ronald Jay Lacson, a son of Senator Panfilo Lacson.

What makes the faceoff doubly intriguing is that Jolo is reportedly playing beautiful music with actress Jodi Sta. Maria, who is the estranged wife of Pampi Lacson, elder brother of Ronald Jay. In one interview, Jodi confessed that Jolo is “special” to her.

Senator Bong Revilla has this to say about the issue: “Sana nga, huwag nang ma-drag pa si Jodi sa aspeto na ‘yan.” His wife, Con-

gresswoman Lani Mercado, added: “Walang kinalaman si Jodi rito. I hope not. Kawawa naman si Jodi. . . Wala pa si Jodi sa buhay ni Jolo, si Jolo has been a public servant already.”

The elder Revilla said he won’t interfere with his son’s personal life. “Jolo is old enough. . . At kung sinuman ang ibigin niya at umibig sa kanya, masaya na rin ako for him.”

The Revilla couple said they hoped the political rivalry won’t affect their relationship with Senator Lacson. “Politika lang naman ‘yan, e,” said Bong.

“Hindi naman ito personalang labanan,” said Lani. “Kasi iba ang pag-ibig, iba rin ang pagiging lingkod-bayan.”

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on television.

Heart said she and Escudero continue to “enjoy each other’s company, and we’re getting to know each other.”

She said she is intent on keeping private her new romance with the senator since being under the limelight had spelled the end of her earlier relationships.

“Natutunan ko sa nakaraan ko na in any kind of relationship, na pag naging publiko siya, maraming nauunang mga intriga, and so maganda na ‘yung ganito, na I’m a bit private,” she said.

Before Escudero, Heart was in a relationship with Brazilian-

Japanese model Daniel Matsunaga, a TV personality based in the Philippines. She blamed her split with Daniel on “cultural differences.”

No more than a month after she confirmed in April her breakup with Daniel, rumors linking Heart and the senator surfaced. At the time, the senator’s marriage with his former wife, Christine Flores, had already been annulled.

Another Heart’s ex, Jericho Rosales, who the actress considers her “one true love, ” said he is happy for his former flame. The couple had a two-year affair that ended in 2008.

KIM ON XIAN: ‘KONTING EFFORT PA!’

KIM Chiu says her friendship with Xian Lim has grown deeper. The two are appearing together again in a new teleserye, Ina Kapatid Anak.

“Kaming dalawa, siguro mas naging close kami ngayon,” the actress disclosed.

Their friendship started when they were first paired in the hit TV series, My Binondo Girl.

“Sumasama siya sa amin ng mga kabarkada ko, since konti lang yung friends niya from showbiz. . . Yun nga, sabi niya, loner siya, isinasama namin siya. And masaya naman siyang kasama,” the actress told reporters during the press conference for their upcoming TV show.

In previous interviews, Xian had said that Kim is special to him. Kim confirmed that she really felt this from the actor.

“Kasi tinatrato niyang espesyal yung buong pamilya ko,” she said.

Kim shared how Xian one time told her that he wanted to visit her lola in Cebu while he was in a mall show there. Other times, Xian would ask her if he could come and visit her at home.

She said Xian would shower her with gifts out of the blue.

“Gaya nung binigyan niya ako ng bag na pink na Prada. Sabi ko, ‘Anong meron?’ He’d say, ‘Wala lang!’”

So, is she ready to fall in love again? She replied: “Puwede na, kasi two years na rin naman,” referring to her split with Gerald Anderson.

Could it be Xian this time around? “Konting effort pa!” she quipped.

Kim dispelled speculation that they’re already a couple.

“Parang pinapangunahan kami ng ibang mga tao. . . bahala na kung kelan maging kami o kung anuman. Tingnan na lang natin.”

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PHILIPPINES

OCTOBER 16-31, 2012

CELEBRITYFILES

ANNE GRABS ANOTHER BEST ACTRESS AWARD ANNE Curtis took her second acting award. This time it’s from the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (Famas), which recently bestowed her the Best Actress award for her performance in the movie No Other Woman.

“It’s every actress’ dream to win. It proves that you’re doing something right,” she gushed.

Anne received her first Best Actress award in 2008 for the movie Baler, an entry in the 2008 Metro Manila Film Festival.

She said the first award came as a “shock,” and it was the second one that she found “sweeter and more real.”

“It gave me a sense of a c h i eve m e n t .

It meant that I wasn’t just a one-time-bigtime thing,” she explained.

Anne recalled how it took her 15

years to get to where she is now.

“I had to play the roles of a balikbayan or a sister of the lead actress again and again. I had to do all these before finally getting the award-winning lead roles.”

In the movie No Other Woman, Anne played the role of a well-off and open-minded woman who’s having an affair with a married man, played by Derek Ramsay. The two had steamy scenes but Anne said said her French-Filipino boyfriend, Erwan Heussaff, took it all

in stride.

“It helps that he’s halfFrench and a film enthusiast,” she said. “The sexy scenes here are nothing compared to what he normally sees in the films he watches. This doesn’t bother him at all. Of course, there’s that awkward feeling, especially when we watch my movie together. But he understands. He would always squeeze my hand.

This is not something we quarrel about.”

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OCTOBER 16-31, 2012

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CELEBRITYFILES

DEREK KEEPS NEW AFFAIR PRIVATE DEREK Ramsay reveals that a non-showbiz girl is currently making him happy these days.

But he wants to keep their relationship as private as possible.

“I’ve been in a high-profile relationship for a number of years,” he said, referring to his past relationship with Angelica Panganiban. “This time, I want to keep this for myself.”

The hunk actor pleaded for privacy from the media. “Just let me enjoy the moments that I will have with her in private,” he said. “Lahat ng gawin ninyo, magnified, we were always being watched.”

Angelica, meanwhile, recently tweeted thanking foreign artist Taylor Swift for her song, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, wondering if the song was actually made for her.

Derek said he was not aware of Angelica’s tweet be-

cause he has stopped following his ex on Twitter.

“For as long as wala ang name ko sa tweet ni Angel, I will not assume na it has something to do with me,” he said.

Derek said Angelica might be last girlfriend in showbiz.

“Sa nararamdaman ko ngayon, I want Angel to be the last girl that I had a relationship with in showbiz,” he stressed.

He added: “That’s the thing about moving on. We move on and we don’t turn back. We find a new place to be happy.”

DINGDONG, MARIAN ‘AT THE PEAK OF HAPPINESS’ DINGDONG Dantes’ insinuations that his relationship with Marian Rivera is shaky even as he denied rumors linking him to TV host-actress Isabelle Diaz “We’re now at the peak of happiness,” he said.

“We’ve never been this happy. Parang ngayon, nagsi-sink in ang lahat dahil mas mature kami ngayon. Ang dami nang napagdaanan, ang saya lang ng feeling.”

Addressing the rumors, Isabelle’s mother, former beauty queen and actress Gloria Diaz, said her daughter is not the type to “steal” boyfriends. “[Isabelle] is not the type to get somebody else’s boyfriend. Hindi siya ‘yung tipong ganun eh, nang-aagaw,” said Gloria.

“I think they’ve only met once during the pictorials and everything. I haven’t seen any flowers at home or chocolates. So baka hindi totoo,” she added.

Dingdong and Isabelle were launched last April as the endorsers of a clothing line’s specialized consumer card.

Dingdong was peppered again with questions about his marital plans. But he was evasive as usual.

“Sino bang hindi may gusto nun?” he explained.

“Pero para sa akin, darating ang tamang panahon para diyan.”

He said he is happy for ex-girlfriend Karylle, now in a relationship with Yael Yuzon, lead singer of the band Sponge Cola.

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PLANET

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By andrei medina and veronica pulumbarit

NTIL now the Philippine g ove r n m e n t continues to deny its labor export policy even as the country has become one of the world’s top sources of foreign workers. As of last year, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) says there were 1.32 million land-based and 330,424 sea-based Filipinos deployed in 190 countries. The number does not include workers that are not registered with POEA but are employed through various means abroad.

(According to the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, as of 2010 over 10 million Filipinos were residing abroad whose stay overseas is employment-related. The number includes the 1.65 mil-

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HOW THE OFW PHENOMENON CAME ABOUT The overseas employment program during Martial Law sought “to temporarily address the unemployment program and, at the same time, ease the country’s need for foreign exchange.”

But what was intended as a shortterm employment program extends to this day with thousands leaving the country each month.

No matter how much the government denies its labor export policy, the fact is thousands of Filipinos leave for overseas jobs every month.

lion OFWs registered with POEA.)

The phenomenon traces its roots to the years shortly after Martial Law, when strongman Ferdinand Marcos issued Presidential Decree 442 or the 1974 Labor Code. The legislation formally adopted a recruitment and placement program “to ensure the careful selection of Filipino workers for the overseas labor market to protect the good name of the Philippines abroad.”

“The overseas employment phenomenon at that time was a shortterm employment program which the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) was tasked to manage and to provide OFWs maximum protection possible,” according to a POEA statement.

“There was no labor export policy during the Martial Law. There is none at present,” DOLE insists.

DOLE acknowledges, however, that the overseas employment program during Martial Law “sought to temporarily address the unemployment program and, at the same time, ease the country’s need for

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foreign exchange.”

Marcos created three government agencies to attend to the needs of what were then called Overseas Contract Workers (OCWs): (1) the National Seamen Board (NSB) - tasked to “develop and maintain a comprehensive program for Filipino seamen employed overseas;” (2) the Overseas Employment Development Board (OEDB) – mandated to “promote the overseas employment of Filipino workers through a comprehensive market and development program;” and (3) the Bureau of Employment Services (BES) - responsible for the regulation of “private sector participation in the recruitment of (local and overseas) workers.”

Labor export takes shape In 1978, Marcos issued Presidential Decree 1412 to “strengthen the network of public employment offices and rationalize the participation of the private sector in the recruitment and placement of workers, locally and overseas.”

Four years later, he merged the three government agencies into what is now the POEA. On Labor Day in 1982, Marcos also issued Executive Order No. 797 that created the Welfare Fund for Overseas Workers to provide insurance coverage, legal and placement assistance, and remittance services, among others.

Even before Martial Law formalized export labor, however, DOLE said the migration of Filipino laborers had begun much earlier, as early as the 1900s “when Filipino agricultural workers were recruited to Hawaii to fill temporary labor needs in the agricultural sector.”

Filipino laborers later moved to other parts of the US “to work in downtown hotels and restaurants, sawmills and railroads construction, in California’s agricultural plantations, and in Alaska’s canning industry,” DOLE said.

When the Second World War ended in 1945, some Filipino military servicemen became American citizens after serving in the US Army. Many medical professionals, nurses, accountants, engineers, and other technical workers also began migrating to the US after the war.

The move was mainly to appease growing dissent brought about by unemployment, landlessness and growing poverty, and to systematize earnings from remittances.

Exportation of cheap labor was the way to go without requiring much capital from the government (all charges were collected from OCWs themselves or their foreign employers) and profit was sure-proof through remittances and foreign exchange,” she added.

From OCWs to OFWs

Activist groups stage a rally to slam the continued deployment of workers abroad. mantan, Indonesia,” according to DOLE. “However, the active and systematic migration of Filipinos for temporary work came in the 60’s when the US government and contractors of US military and civilian agencies recruited Filipinos to work for construction and service-related jobs in certain areas of the Pacific and Southeast Asia such as in Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, Wake Island, and Guam.”

Later, more Filipino medical workers, physicians, and nurses sought employment in the US, Canada, and Australia, prompting the Philippine government to issue the new labor code in 1974 that covered Filipinos working overseas.

“Filipino engineers and skilled construction workers were recruit-

The Marcos dictatorship made the deployment of Filipino workers more systematic. ed by multinational companies with projects in the oil-rich countries in the Middle East which experienced an economic boom at that time. This organized system for migration of Filipino workers paved the way for the deployment of millions of Filipinos all over the world up to the present time,” said DOLE.

Systematic migration in the 60’s “In the 1950’s to the 60’s, nonprofessional contract workers went to neighboring Asian countries as artists, barbers, and musicians in East Asia and loggers in Kali-

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Filipino farm workers in the US in the 1930s.

Cheap Filipino labor The migrant workers advocacy group Migrante, however, believes that Marcos pushed for the labor export policy for two reasons: to quell dissent brought about by massive domestic unemployment and the political crisis, and to consolidate foreign exchange from remittances.

“During Marcos’ time, labor migration of Filipinos took on a new dimension. The Marcos dictatorship made the deployment of Filipino workers more systematic, ushering in the transformation of Filipino cheap labor into an exportable commodity through the labor export policy,” said Connie Bragas Regalado, Migrante sectoral partylist chairperson.

“The country was in disarray both economically and politically.

After Marcos was ousted during the 1986 People Power revolution, President Corazon Aquino issued Executive Order No. 126 renaming the Welfare Fund into the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

“The term OFW was adopted after the enactment of RA 8042, also known as Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995. Following this, the 2002 POEA Rules and Regulations Governing the Recruitment and Employment of Landbased Overseas Workers adopted the term Overseas or Migrant Filipino workers,” according to DOLE. POEA said the Philippine government “frowns upon the tendency to regard OFWs as commodities, which results to undocumented workers going abroad at a great peril to themselves, in terms of human trafficking, maltreatment, and abuse.”

Under President Benigno Aquino III, the agency “gives the priority and weight in strengthening the local industries to promote and sustain local employment so that overseas employment shall only be an option for the Filipino workers.”

(GMA News) n

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ACK in 1974, a record saucily titled Unang Kagat was released, and altered the landscape of Pinoy pop music. Suddenly, there was such a thing called the “Manila Sound:” disco infused with man-on-thestreet and colloquial sensibili- Sundays meant families and lovers going on a stroll at the Luneta Park. ties. We mean the now-classic songs like Bongga Ka, ‘Day, Ikaw ang Miss Universe ng Buhay Ko, and Annie Batungbakal. The band in the middle of all of this? The equally saucy Hotdog.

The “Manila Sound,” however, is best expressed in Hotdog’s most famous song, Manila, an upbeat love letter to the city.

The chorus says it all: “Manila/ I keep coming back to Manila/ Simply no place like Manila/ Manila, I’m coming home.”

As bass guitarist and founding member Dennis Garcia told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, “[We] felt our favorite city should also have an anthem of its own, a tune that will last forever.”

Nearly four decades on, is the feeling still the same? We chat with founding members Dennis and Rene Garcia about their fond recollections of yesterday’s Manila.

How are you liking Manila now?

Manila, the city, is not as interesting as it was in the 70s. There is too much of everything: too much crime, too much dirt, too much decay.

How has Manila changed from when you wrote “Manila”? Do you still feel the same way for the city now, as when you wrote the song then?

The song Manila was for the Manila we knew in 1977 which was a beautiful city… a fun city where you can go walking – even by yourself – without being mugged or extorted.

There is a certain fresh, easy-going vibe to the song that is spot-on with the freshness and vibe of Manila, especially along Roxas Boulevard. Did you have any particular place that you had in mind when writing the song?

We wrote the song with the Malate-Ermita-Roxas Boulevard areas in mind. That was where it was all happening – long before

MY MANILA ‘The song Manila was for the Manila we knew in 1977 which was a beautiful city… a fun city where you can go walking – even by yourself – without being mugged or extorted.’ there was such a thing as Makati Commercial Center. It was the fun zone – clean and safe.

Where in Manila did you go to have a good meal?

Good meals, of course, meant the diner at Acme supermarket on Padre Faura Street, or comfort food at Selecta. The footlong hotdog at Brown Derby, and when the budget was just enough – good, old reliable Aristocrat... barbecue chicken with Java rice at Aristocrat or pork barbecue at Aling Nena’s stand on Vito Cruz.

How did you spend your Sunday mornings?

Sundays meant church at Paco Park or at Paco Parish Church. [That] was followed by 10-centavo arroz caldo

being peddled by the suki vendor.

People hopped on the Matorco double-deck bus on Dewey Blvd. to enjoy the breeze and sights of Manila Bay. Camara and Afterbirth at Rino’s, Minstrels at Wells Fargo, Circus at Pension Pilipina, Bong Penera at Calesa Bar or the Howlers at Flame.

Where in Manila did you go to get a decent haircut?

Every corner had a decent barber who’ll cut your hair for 50 centavos.

This was how Roxas Blvd. looked in the seventies – no traffic and pollution.

Where in Manila did you go if you needed a boost of inspiration?

Back then, Luneta was a sure bet for instant inspiration with its well-manicured greens – and none of the extortion gangs they have now.

Where in Manila did you go to clear your mind?

Clearing the mind was easy: either at the USIS Library on Padre Faura with lots and lots of books (and pretty girls hanging out), or

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Couples used to go dating at Paco Park and not in the mall. the National Library.

Where in Manila did you go to unwind?

Manila was the center of the universe when it came to entertainment. You could watch our first band (RedFox) jamming with the Afro-American group “Masters of Time” at the back of Luneta Hotel. Or make ronda and watch Boy

Where in Manila did you go to get a fantastic ice-cold San Miguel?

The cheapest was what used to be the “barbecue plaza” fronting Roxas Boulevard.

Where in Manila do you go when you feel like going on a date with your wife?

Malate – then and now – is blessed with the best “dating” places. Café Adriatico has defined the whole shebang.

Where in Manila do you go for that perfect cup of coffee?

Country Bakeshop on UN Avenue.

What do you hate most about Manila?

I hate the expensive lamps they put up that are dark as hell.

Somebody must have made a lot of money on those useless pieces of junk. Again.

What is it about your Manila that you’d like to share with a greater public?

Best thing we’d like to share is how glorious it was – once upon a time…with the hope that the glory will come back within our lifetime. (SPOT.ph) n Hotdog crashed into the scene in 1974 and introduced “Manila Sound” at a time when foreign music was dominating the airwaves.

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Among the first to go in the willful defacing of Manila’s cultural landscape on a large scale was Avenida Rizal when the Light Railway Transit infrastructure was constructed.

By constantino c. tejero

HEN in an interview on US television The Bourne Legacy director Tony Gilroy said that after seeing Jakarta and Saigon he decided to shoot his movie in Manila because it felt so “Bourne”-ish, he was just being factual.

What got the goat of supersensitive fellows was when he explained the city: “It’s just so colorful and ugly and gritty and raw and stinky and crowded.”

That’s unacceptable to our custom of hospitality. You don’t go to someone’s home, receive its amenities, then tittle-tattle about the tackiness of its furniture or the crappiness of its food. It sounds so ungrateful. We even have a colorful idiom for it: asal hayop, or “beastly,” that is, biting the hand that feeds it.

Yet, if Gilroy’s statement is taken in context, we shouldn’t have been so on-

ion-skinned. Because we’ve brought it upon ourselves. It is we ourselves who’ve made our place ugly and stinky and, well, “Bourne”-ish. We deface our landscape, defile our home, and when some visitor comments about it, we get touchy, we are hurt.

Some years ago, the Unesco tackled precisely such problems in a workshop in Italy, billed “Partnerships for World Heritage Cities: Culture as a Vector for Sustainable Development.”

In the tourism sector’s drive to commercialize

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BECOME A PORTRAIT OF UGLINESS In the tourism sector’s drive to commercialize heritage, and with the government’s sense of service and politicians’ sense of value, we are spoiling the cultural landscape. Most obvious is the way we clutter the place.

Vancouver Edition

heritage, and with the government’s sense of service and politicians’ sense of value, we are spoiling the cultural landscape. Most obvious is the way we clutter the place.

It is our horror vacuui—that very Pinoy rococo-baroque sensibility that wants to fill every available space with gewgaws. It is a sensibility that cannot appreciate the aesthetics of the empty space or the blank wall as part of the integrity of the view, as much as clusters or groupings are.

Rash of superstructures Just look at Plaza Miranda fronting Quiapo Church. This used to be a square, one of the few open spaces in the heart of Manila. It is now choking on new structures -porticos, booths, obelisk, columnar pedestals, concrete vats of ornamental creepers and weeds -- that look more suitable for the Temple of Minerva than the Church of the Black Nazarene.

The ugliest is that clumsy structure some wise guys appended to the church

What used to be a square, Plaza Miranda is now choking with vendors and a variety of odd structures.

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as a memorial to the victims of the Plaza Miranda Bombing. Is it supposed to resemble the torii of a Shinto temple, or a modified replica of the Arc de Triomphe? If they really wanted to honor the dead, a simple marker would have been well-appreciated.

The common perception is that some public officials are making a lot of money from such unnecessary projects -- from the bidding of public land and building contractor to the purchase of construction materials. Can we help it if we think so, too?

Look at Mehan Garden. The former site of Parian district, where the Chinese population was quartered by the Spanish colonials, it was established as Jardin Botanico in 1858, the first zoological and botanical garden in Manila, and renamed in 1913 after John Mehan, the American chief of sanitation and park superintendent at that time.

Whatever happened to it after protests over the plan to build new structures in that historical and archeological site some 10 years ago?

It is now squeezed between the campus of University of Manila on its southern part and a multistory parking facility on its northern part.

And what once was a functional garden has been left to riffraff -- homeless people taking abode on the paved grounds, under the gloomy trees, right in front of the incongruously situated monument of Russian national poet Alexander Pushkin.

What still baffles us is: Why here, when the place was already clogged as it was? There are plenty of wastelands in Manila and environs, fallow fields and idle lots these people can develop and where they can build their superstructures.

Adaptive reuse In fact, nearby Manila City Hall and surrounding areas are now crammed with infrastructures, a mall, and ongoing constructions, obliterating the view of elegant old structures such as the GSIS Building on Arroceros Street.

This stately 1950s building has been scheduled for demolition despite the fact that it is protected by law, with the specification of the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 (Republic Act 10066) that the modification or demolition of properties 50 years old and above needs the consent of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, which would evaluate its sig-

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PHILIPPINES Selling heritage

The tawdry look is in vogue along the whole length of many thoroughfares featuring rows upon rows of extravagantly lit lampposts.

The much-ballyhooed restoration of Metropolitan Theater, the crown jewel of Art Deco structures in the city, has been left to destiny. nificance before a special permit to erskating, a playground happily splashed with murals and graffiti. demolish could be granted.

Someone with political will better By the look of it, the GSIS headquarters would go the way of give these people proper relocation as those pair of Art Deco jewels, the they’re slowly overrunning the place, Jai Alai Building and the Meralco or they won’t stop until the walls Head Office, merrily demolished collapse. (Some 3,500 families were by the Atienza and Lim administra- reportedly displaced by the urban retions, respectively. They can always newal of Xintiandi.) practice adaptive reuse, but no, easy money is more alluring.

Meanwhile, the much-ballyhooed restoration of Metropolitan Theater, the crown jewel of Art Deco structures in the city, has been left to destiny. Meanwhile, some drunk, punk or crackpot has shattered with stones several panels of its invaluable Place a number stained-glass marquee. from 1-9 in each Urban renewal of historical disempty cell. Each tricts is successfully being done by row, column and our neighbors. An example is Xin3x3 block boundtiandi, Shanghai’s affluent shopping and entertainment district of ed by bold line (9 reconstituted traditional stone-gate blocks) contains houses on narrow alleys. all the numbers Its counterpart is our Intramufrom 1-9 ros, now ridden in parts with informal settlers. A few meters behind Manila Cathedral, youngsters have Solution on page 30 appropriated a lot for basketball, volleyball, skateboarding, roll-

SUDOKU RULES:

It doesn’t stop with the informal settlers, however. To sell heritage, the Intramuros Administration allowed the construction of a ninestory hotel by the main entrance to the Walled City. This come-on for tourists is laudable, its architectural detailing tries to harmonize with the Hispanic look of the surroundings, but shouldn’t someone doublecheck if it’s the proper height?

Over at the Luneta, our national park, the sacred ground that is the Rizal Monument is virtually untouched -- but for those incongruous murals and kitschy clock fronting it, across the boulevard. Again, it is the horror vacuui at work.

The tawdry look is in vogue along the whole length of Roxas Boulevard, and Quirino Avenue and MacArthur Bridge, and everywhere else in Manila, in fact. It is those rows upon rows of extravagantly lit lampposts that Mayor Lito Atienza started and Mayor Alfredo Lim seems to have loved as he continues installing them.

The willful defacing of Manila’s cultural landscape on a large scale started probably during the Marcos years. Among the first to go was Avenida Rizal when the Light Railway Transit infrastructure was constructed. The façade of the De La Salle University Main Building, that American-period architectural wonder considered one of the most beautiful in the country, has been pushed out of view by the monolithic LRT structure along Taft Avenue.

The same would certainly happen to the architectural treasure that is the University of Santo Tomas complex, declared a National Historical Landmark by the National

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Historical Institute, should the plan to construct a flyover on Lacson Avenue and an MRT line along España Boulevard push through.

Cultural integrity In a paper presented at the Unesco workshop in Italy, “Protecting the Urban Morphology of Asian Cities” by Minja Yang, the extent of the problem of urban development as it affects cultural integrity is well-articulated: “Most Asian countries have national laws for the protection of historic monuments but very few have regulatory frameworks specific to the conservation of the historic urban fabric.

Some countries of the region have included in their urban-planning regulations the concept of historic zones, but the planning instrument has mainly been limited to the restriction of the height of buildings.”

When you go abroad, you’d feel nanliliit when you see how those countries protect their heritage structures. Singapore, for instance, preserves even what looks like 15year-old buildings ever so carefully.

In Shanghai, they assiduously practiced adaptive reuse and turned a historic district into a lifestyle center. In Seoul, they rerouted a network of streets so as not to touch an ancient temple in the middle of a rotunda. In Beijing, they would rather transform ancient courtyards into nightclubs and brothels than tear them down for a mall.

And here we are, so Pinoy, so Third World, who’d prefer to turn cultural heritage into cold cash and erase what little valuable architectural landscape that we have from the face of the earth. (Philippine Daily Inquirer) n

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By coni tejada

PRESENTDAY Manila was laid out by noted Chicago architect Daniel Burnham.

Heavily influenced by the “City Beautiful” movement -- the belief that a beautiful urban environment could promote moral and civic virtue amongst the population -- his vision for Manila was to be a European city in the tropics. To the credit of the Americans, it was already taking shape with the paving of tree-lined boulevards and the rise of civic structures like the Legislative Building and Central Post Office Building.

Unfortunately, World War II happened and most of the Spanish colonial buildings, as well as the newly-built American ones, were razed to the ground. But even then, Burnham’s plan was already doomed since then-Commonwealth President Manuel Quezon realized that the city could easily be attacked from Manila Bay. The capital simply needed to be moved. What he didn’t realize, though, were the plane bombers that could reach farther than the ships.

Here is a list of the 10 buildings that

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Malacañang Palace

10 BEAUTIFUL

BUILDINGS IN OLD MANILA

thankfully managed to survive World War II. (Note that these are civic buildings and institutions of learning; not included are religious structures and private properties.) There are a number of beautiful historical buildings in Manila if you only care to look. Amidst the chaos and underneath all that grime stand reminders that our beloved capital once had a grand and beautiful past.

Malacañang Palace, 1000 J.P. Laurel St. The most famous house in the entire Philippine Archipelago and the official seat of power,

There remain beautiful and stately buildings in Manila, living testaments to the city’s once glorious past. These structures have been dimmed somehow by official neglect and the rise of modern and high-rise buildings but they stand out for their timeless and unique architecture.

Malacañang Palace was originally the summer residence of the Spanish noble Don Luis Rocha. In 1825, the Spanish government bought it from the testamentary executors of Colonel Miguel Jose For-

mento who bought it from Don Luis in 1802.

Since then, every Spanish Governor General and American Civil General has called this home. The first Filipino head of state to reside here was Manuel L. Quezon. Built in 1750 in the Spanish colonial style, it has gone through so many renovations in the last 150 years that it has lost some of its architectural merit. Nevertheless, it is still beauti-

University of Sto. Tomas

ful with its many arches, balconies, and sliding windows.

Manila Metropolitan Theater, Padre Burgos Ave. The now-decrepit pink building was once the center of performing arts in 1930s Manila. Designed by Juan Arellano and inaugurated in 1931, this 1670-capacity theater was done in the Art Deco style -- a 1920s Parisian innovation that represented elegance, glamour, and modernity.

Art Deco is highly ornamental and uses bold colors, geometric patterns, zigzags, sunbursts, and Egyptian motifs. Applying it to the Metropolitan Theater, Arellano deliberately featured Philippine flora and fauna, firmly believing that they were a source of national pride and meant to be shared with the world.

The sculpture of dancers on top of the building were made by Francesco Ricardo Monti, a famous Italian sculptor, while the relief decorations in the form of Philippine flora featured in the building interiors were by artist Isabelo Tampingco.

The Metropolitan Theater has withstood the war, undergone a couple of rehabilitations, and lived out years of neglect and decay. After another extensive renovation, it was re-opened in 2010. From the looks of it, though, the Theater has fallen into disrepair once again.

National Museum, P. Burgos Drive

National Museum

Another neoclassical structure, this building was originally slated to become the National Library.

The original design was by Ralph Harrington Doane, an American consulting architect of the Bureau of Public Works, assisted by Antonio Toledo.

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When it was eventually slated to become the Legislative Building, plans were handed over to Juan Arellano and he was tasked to do the appropriate changes. The Constitutional Convention of 1934 convened in this building. A year later, Manuel Quezon was sworn into power right on its front steps. The building now houses the National Museum.

Museo Pambata, Roxas Blvd. cor.

South Drive The current Museo Pambata building is a reincarnation of the former Manila Elks Club building.

It was originally designed by American Architect William Parsons as a three-storey edifice that evokes a neoclassical design.

Unfortunately, it was destroyed during the war and the current one was rebuilt by the Cojuangco family in 1949. Though the current building has lost the third floor, the reconstruction respected Parson’s design without any changes that would deface the original look.

The government later bought the building, which now houses a children’s interactive museum managed by a non-stock, non-profit organization.

Manila Central Post Office Building, Liwasang Bonifacio Built on the banks of the Pasig River, the Manila Central Post Office Building was a popular subject of Manila postcards in the 1930s.

Designed by Juan Arellano and completed in 1926, it was, like many other buildings in our list, built in the neoclassical style, in vogue from 1892 to 1938.

This style is mainly characterized by symmetry, a commanding façade, and a roof supported by classical columns. Since it exudes an image of stability and strength, the neoclassical style was mainly used for public buildings, banks, and institutions of learning.

Central Post Office Building

Philippine General Hospital

UST Main Building, España Blvd.

The concrete building in the heart of the UST España campus was designed by Fr. Roque Ruaño, O.P., and is noted for being the first earthquake-resistant building in the Philippines.

In 1923, the Spanish priest–civil engineer was already done with plans when he learned that Frank Lloyd Wright’s Imperial Hotel in Tokyo survived a great quake. He then made a few changes, based on the Imperial hotel’s design that somehow kept it from being reduced to rubble.

Construction started in 1924 and was completed in 1927. During the war, the main building became a large detention center for Americans and other foreigners.

La Gota de Leche Heritage Building, 859 S.H. Loyola St. This pink gem that sits right in the busy University Belt area is owned

by La Proteccion de la Infacia, Inc., the first non-sectarian NGO in the country. Designed by architect Arcadio Arellano, it is a fine example of Italian Renaissance architecture, inspired by the Ospedale degli Innocenti in Florence which was designed by Ital-

ian Filippo Brunelleschi.

La Gota de Leche’s design neatly cops the defining feature of the “hospital of the innocents”: the loggia, a gallery or corridor at ground level on the façade of a building and open to the air on one side, supported by columns or pierced openings in the wall.

Nicanor Reyes Hall, Far Eastern University, Nicanor Reyes Sr. St. Built in 1939, the Nicanor Reyes Hall made its mark in the Philippine architectural history when it bucked the neoclassical style trend. Upon the advice of Nicanor Reyes Sr. who wanted a school done in the modern style, Pablo Antonio designed a building that was done in Art Deco , with clean, simple, geometric shapes.

Taking into consideration the country’s tropical climate, Antonio equipped the build-

Metropolitan Theater ing with sunscreens and slanted windows.

In 2005, this building received the UNESCO’s Asia Pacific Heritage Award for Cultural Heritage for “the outstanding preservation of its Art Deco structures.” Three other buildings in the FEU campus -- FEU East Asia College of Engineering and Computer Studies, the Law and Nursing Building, Auditorium/ Administration Building, and the Science Building, also received the same award.

Philippine General Hospital, Taft Ave. The Philippine General Hospital was one of the very first civic buildings that the American Colonial Government put up. A fine example of Filipino-American architecture in the early 20th century, it symbolized improved social and welfare services.

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Completed in 1910, the building seems familiar -- the steeply pitched roof, generous overhangs, and large capiz shell windows recall a classic bahay na bato, injected with concrete. In addition, the PGH building has several arcades that open up to interior gardens which help in the lighting and cooling of the wards.

The main building may have undergone a couple of renovations throughout the years but its early 20th century design is relatively intact.

Luneta Hotel, 414 TM Kalaw St. Designed by Spanish architectengineer Salvador Farre, the Luneta Hotel is one of the very few buildings in the Philippines to be executed in the French Renaissance style with Filipino-stylized beaux arts. You can see this all across the building’s symmetrical façade, balustrades, cornices, pilasters, large arches, and lavish decorations. The balconies have intricate railings and are supported by sculptures of lions, crocodiles, and griffins.

Currently fenced in by GI sheets, the seemingly hollow Luneta Hotel is currently being restored. It is set to open its doors once again as a posh boutique hotel soon. (Spot.

PH) n

OCTOBER 16-31, 2012

text and photos by amer r. amor

ARAMOAN’S pristin e beaches, mysterious lagoons and rugged mountains have already been a feast for the eyes of Serbs, Israelis, Swedes, Danes, and the French, so Pinoys really do not have an excuse to miss out on these exquisitely lovely islands in the Bicol region.

Several international franchises of the reality television series Survivor have already used Caramoan as a backdrop, but the islands are now really in the global spotlight with the worldwide premiere recently of the 25th season of Survivor US. With Caramoan as its setting, this is the first time that the show -- this season is called Survivor: Philippines -- will carry a strong Filipino flavor, down to the names of the three tribes hoping to outwit, outplay, and outlast one another: Tandang (rooster), Matsing (monkey), and Kalabaw (water buffalo).

While the show, which started filming in March, refers to the un-

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EXPLORING CARAMOAN, SURVIVOR STYLE Hop from one island to another, take a dip, snorkel, and sunbathe.

Relax, enjoy your sumptuous lunch -- Bicol Express, laing, and grilled seafood. Enjoy the scenery. Climb those rock formations, take another swim, frolic under the sun, and then it’s time to move on to another island.

Caramoan’s powdery white sand beaches, interesting rock formations, and lush greenery make it the perfect setting for numerous franchises of the reality television series Survivor.

spoiled islands as its “most treacherous location” yet, what really awaits you in Caramoan is a challenging and unforgettable adventure.

No, there is no immunity up for grabs here, but make sure you bring your athletic self as you prepare to get temporarily marooned in the islands. Pretend you can hear Jeff Probst say, “Survivors ready… go!”

While you can fly to Naga City to cut your travel time, you may want to start the experience in true Survivor style, by enduring the 10-hour road trip from Manila to Naga. From the city, it is still one hour by van to get to Sabang Port where scheduled boat rides to Caramoan can be taken.

The journey to Caramoan is scenic: on your right, the majestic Mayon Volcano is visible on a clear day, while you get to enjoy the sight of verdant rolling hills on your left.

When your boat docks at Guijalo Port, you need to endure another 20 to 30 minutes on a tricycle to get to Bikal Port, the jump-off point to Caramoan’s many islands.

Other hostels and inns in the

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When locals say that some of the islands are closed for the filming of the show, it doesn’t mean you cannot actually go to these islands.

All you need is perfect timing area arrange the transfer from Sabang to Bikal, but why avail of the service when the bumpy tricycle ride renders a more authentic feel to your Survivor getaway?

The tourism boom in the area has already seen the proliferation of inns and resorts in Caramoan. Before the Survivor craze, only about three inns operated in the area, but now numerous establishments dot the way to Bikal from Guijalo.

But you have an option. You can arrange to spend the night on one of the many islands if you’re prepared for it. Just make sure you have your tent, basic camping gear, and food with you as some islands are uninhabited.

Your boatmen, however, will advise you to stay on islands with caretakers, so if security concerns you, this should be the better alternative. You can arrange for the boatmen to fetch you the next day as you continue your island-hopping adventure. You can also ask them to prepare the next day’s food if you want to save energy for your next challenge.

Hop from one island to another, take a dip, snorkel, and sunbathe.

Relax, enjoy your sumptuous lunch -- Bicol Express, laing, and grilled seafood. Enjoy the scenery. Take a picture of your friends amidst the sweeping seascape. Climb those rock formations to get a better view of all the other islands. Take another swim, frolic under the sun, and then it’s time to move on to another island.

After some time, you will find yourself overwhelmed by the many beaches and things that you can enjoy and do in Caramoan. The islands alone do not disappoint in number -- Lahuy, Matukad, Pitogo, Sabitang Laya, Manlawi, Hunongan, Lahus, Gota, Cotivas, and Tinago: each exudes a vibe different from the others.

For instance, the sandbar of Manlawi, which is an enthralling sight at low tide, asks for your

Some of Caramoan’s islands are still uninhabited. If you want an adventure, spend your night on one of these islands for a castaway experience.

Back in 2009 when Survivor Israel and Turkey were filming in Caramoan, we reached Matukad Island and saw some wood and rocks tied together that could possibly be used as stilts during high tide, but crew members of the reality series showed up and shooed us away.

Just when we thought we would never get to truly experience Survivor, our boatmen took us to one of the islands where an abandoned set was tucked some meters away from the shore. Upon learning from the locals that the show had just wrapped filming there, we eagerly took on the obstacle race that had us balancing on a narrow wood and climbing a net made of sturdy abaca.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have the coconuts that we needed to peel using our bare hands to complete the entire experience. (GMA News) n carefree self. The island of Matukad, on the other hand, will require your more daring version. There’s a steep rock cliff here that hides an enchanted lagoon. And if locals’ accounts are to be believed, a sole milkfish guards the lagoon which only shows itself to people of good character.

When locals say that some of the islands are closed for the filming of the show, it doesn’t mean you cannot actually go to these islands.

All you need is perfect timing. And if you’re really lucky, you can actually get your hands on some of their props and try some of the challenges on their set.

Matukad Island hides an enchanted lagoon believed to be the sanctuary of a solitary milkfish that is as mysterious as the lagoon that it guards.

A steep rock cliff surrounds the lagoon.

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COMMUNITYNEWS

NARIMA DELA CRUZ IS RUNNING FOR NOMINATION AS NDP MLA CANDIDATE FOR SURREY-CLOVERDALE

Narima Dela Cruz recently launched her nomination bid running for NDP MLA candidate of Surrey-Cloverdale

Vancouver Kensington MLA Mable Elmore lend her support to Narima Dela Cruz by acting as main host for the event

I

f you and your family or your friends live in Surrey-Cloverdale riding [196St in the East to 152 St in the West, 72 Ave from the Fleetwood boundary/80Ave from the Clayton Boundary down to 0Ave in the South], you will be able to support Narima’s nomination bid by being a member and voting for her on the still unannounced nomination date. 12 yrs old and above resident of the area (does not have to be citizen) is eligible to be a member.

To support, please contact 604-329-6698 or email narimadelacruz@gmail.com Narima also has a Facebook page – narimaforndp and a Twitter account @narimadc.

Photo’s taken by JACOB URSUA of Litrato Photography

The launching event was attended by Narima’s friends and supporters including friends in the media and community leaders.

Narima dela Cruz with her campaign team and some supporters in Surrey-Cleverdale.

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SANDIGANBAYAN TO RULE WHERE TO DETAIN GMA

THE Sandiganbayan has deferred issuing a ruling on where to detain Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

On Oct. 11, the Sandiganbayan First Division, set an October 18 hearing for both parties to support their claims on whether to place the ailing former president under hospital arrest or not.

Government prosecutors insist that Arroyo’s condition has improved and she could now be placed in regular police detention facility.

Arroyo’s lawyer, Anacleto Diaz, however said Arroyo should stay at the Veteran Memorial Medical Center because she is needs to undergo therapy three times a week.

Lead prosecutor Diosdado Calonge said the law does not make a distinction whether an accused is a lowly government clerk or the highest official of the land.

“There should be no special treatment. Anyway she has been previously discharged (from the hospital) on the advice of her doctors,” he said.

Calonge said he would ask Arroyo’s attending physicians about her true medical condition so the prosecutors and the justices themselves could decide.

Arroyo and nine other former officials of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) and the Commission on Audit were indicted for plunder, a non-bailable crime, for allegedly conspiring to misuse P366 million of the PCSO’s intelligence fund from 2008 to 2010.

But doctors at VMMC on Oct. 10 deferred the discharge from the hospital of Mrs. Arroyo, citing the need for further tests.

VMMC director Dr. Nona Legaspi said that Arroyo’s potassium level remained low.

She said Arroyo is not yet ready to be discharged from the medical facility. “We have to find out why the potassium remains low,” she said.

Arroyo has been confined at the VMMC since Oct. 4 after she complained of feeling weak.

Arroyo was served an arrest warrant on Oct. 4 by the Sandiganbayan on plunder charges.

The case stemmed from the alleged misuse of P325 million in intelligence funds of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

The warrant was issued on Oct. 3 following determination of probable cause by the anti-graft court’s First Division, supporting a resolu-

Where is GMA headed: hospital or regular jail? tion of the Office of the Ombudsman denying a motion for reconsideration by the accused.

Also ordered arrested were former PCSO Chairman Sergio Valencia, General Manager Rosario Uriarte, Board Directors Manuel Morato, Raymundo Roquero, Jose Taruc V and Ma. Fatima Valdes, Assistant General Manager Benigno Aguas, former Commission on Audit Chair Reynaldo Villar and COA Region V head Nilda Plaras.

This is the first plunder case filed against Arroyo and the third criminal case she is facing. She has been charged with election sabotage and corruption in connection with the botched National Broadband Network deal with China.

Elements of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit – National Capital Region (CIDU-NCR) served the warrant on Arroyo at 3 p.m. inside the VMMC presidential suite.

More than two months after she walked out of an eight-month stay at VMMC after posting a P1 million bail on the election sabotage charges, Arroyo found herself under arrest again—and in the very same room she occupied before.

On Oct. 4, Atty. Diaz, lead counsel for Arroyo, moved in open court for an oral motion for reconsideration of the court’s resolution that found probable cause against all the accused. This was denied by the court later in the day.

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda welcomed the court action. “We respect whatever decision they issued,” he said.

Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, chairman of the Senate blue ribbon committee that investigated the PCSO case, called on the court to issue a hold-departure order on Arroyo, saying she is a “flight risk.”

He said Arroyo “has a penchant to invent reasons to justify her grand plan to leave the country and escape prosecution for her crimes.” n

Protesters slam new Cybercrime Law.

HIGH COURT ISSUES TRO ON CYBER LAW T

HE Supreme Court stopped for 120 days the implementation of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

At the same time, the high court has set an oral argument on January 15 to hear both parties for and against the law.

In a 13-page ruling, the high court consolidated all the 15 petitions against the Cybercrime Law. “Now, therefore, effective immediately and for a period of 120 days, you, respondents, your agents, representatives or persons acting in your place or stead are hereby enjoined from implementing and/on enforcing Republic Act 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012),” the high court resolution dated Oct. 9 stated.

At the same time, it ordered the government’s lawyer, the Solicitor General to comment within 10 days on the petitions filed against the law.

Petitioners said the law violates the public’s constitutional rights including right to due process, equal protection, freedom of speech, right to privacy, protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, protection against double jeopardy, among others.

The law is envisioned as a measure against hacking, identity theft, spamming, cybersex and online child pornography. But citizens and groups

who protested on social networking sites, blogs and out in the streets fear politicians will use it to silence critics.

The law contains a provision that says libel — which is already punishable by up to six years in prison — is also a cybercrime. It doubles cumulative penalties for online offenses and allows government agencies to search, seize and destroy computer data deemed libelous.

Human rights and media groups have unsuccessfully campaigned for years to downgrade libel from a criminal to a civil offense, saying politicians often use the law to harass journalists and other critics.

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago said it would be better for the Supreme Court to strike down not only certain provisions being questioned in the cybercrime law but the entire law itself.

“My position is that because there are so many invalid provisions there, from my humble point of view, it is better for the Supreme Court to strike down the entire law so that Congress

will not have the duty of amending certain provisions in part or in whole and thus producing a disjointed bill,” Santiago told reporters.

Earlier, President Benigno Aquino III defended the country’s new cybercrime law and said he wants to keep its controversial provision on online libel.

“Ako po’y hindi sang-ayon na tatanggalin natin…. Kung meron kang sinulat, at libelous, meron kang pananagutan. Kung ikaw naman ay broadcaster at sinabi mo sa radyo o sa TV, may pananagutan ka rin. Kung parehong libelous ang sinabi mo, dumaan ka sa Internet, siguro libelous pa rin ho ‘yon. Maski ano pang format kung talagang mali ‘yung mga pinagsasabi mo, e dapat naman ho siguro merong karapatan ‘yung taong naapi para meron siyang redress, ” he told reporters.

The President said he is open to lowering the penalties for online libel but maintains that the law should be implemented immediately.

Aquino said the new law should be seen in its entirely. He noted that the law also addresses gaps in laws covering crimes such as “computer fraud, identity theft, computer-related forgery.” n

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PALACE: NO NEED TO AMEND CHARTER FOR PEACE DEAL

WITH one voice, Malacañang officials and government negotiators in peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) stood their ground and said they would not ask Congress to amend the Constitution to make the preliminary agreement to end the war in Mindanao work.

But Nur Misuari, leader of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) that signed a peace accord with the government in 1996, said the framework accord with the MILF was illegal and would never resolve the conflict in Mindanao.

“Instead of solving [the Mindanao problem], this [agreement] will plunge Mindanao into another war that the Philippine government cannot afford to have at this time,” Misuari said.

The MNLF, Misuari warned, is still “alive and kicking.”

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles and Marvic Leonen, the government’s lead negotiator, said allowing the new autonomous region, Bangsamoro, to have a “ministerial” form of government would not require amendments to the Constitution.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. does not think, either, that the Constitution must be amended to establish

Bangsamoro and give it a ministerial form of government.

Bangsamoro, which will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), will not be a substate, contrary to the understanding by some lawmakers, Deles said.

“It’s part of the Philippines [and] under direct supervision of the President,” Deles said when asked by reporters if Bangsamoro would be a substate.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago earlier said the Constitution must be amended to implement the government’s framework agreement with the MILF. Belmonte said the establishment of Bangsamoro might require amendments to the Constitution, but if changes to the Charter would be needed he promised the effort would not go the way of the Moro homeland deal of the Arroyo administration with the MILF that the Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional in 2008.

Leonen said that it was the MILF that requested a constitutional amendment to give legal certainty to Bangsamoro, and potentially give it more power than the government was willing to concede.

A Transition Commission, Leonen

ROXAS VOWS TO CLEAN UP PNP

INTERIOR and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II has declared war against political patronage and “bata-bata” system in the Philippine National Police.

“Tapos na ang araw ng mga padrino, tapos na ang araw ng palakasan at pagpapapogi at the expense of the institution and of others.

Ang inyong promosyon ay susukatin batay sa inyong performance, sa inyong disiplina, dedikasyon sa katungkulan at katapatan sa serbisyo,” Roxas told PNP officials and personnel during his first flag raising ceremony Monday at Camp Crame.

Roxas said that he would not hesitate to promote and reward deserving police personnel based on their performance and discipline.

“There will be no bata-bata system during my watch. If you perform and deliver, you will have my support. That is the basis of my leadership. We will measure performance objectively and give incentives and rewards based on performance, nothing less, nothing more,” he said.

Roxas officially assumed his post as DILG chief on October 1, replacing the late Sec. Jesse Robredo who died in a plane crash on August 18 off the coast of Masbate.

Roxas said that one of his priority programs was to curb criminality.

“Madalas sabihin ng Pangulong P-Noy, the first freedom is the freedom from hunger. Sa paniwala ko ang ikalawang kalayaan naman ay nasa sa inyong mga kamay, freedom from fear —takot sa karahasan, takot sa krimen, at takot sa pang-aapi at pang-aabuso. Iyan po ang pangunahing tungkulin ng kapulisan, to serve and to protect,” he added.

Roxas also scored the police for the rising criminality in the metropolis, saying that the worsening crime situation in the country has a tremendous impact on society and on the people.

“Let’s do a quick scan. First and most immediate is the worsening, rising criminality. Metro Manila alone experienced a 57 percent increase in crime as of June 2012. Second and on medium term, is the upcoming election and our emerging role in support of the peace process. Third and most intractable and recurring, are the perennial problems of jueteng, illegal drugs and illegal logging. All of these contribute at the core of the PNP’s low public approval rating,” Roxas said.

Roxas also reminded the PNP officials of their continuing duty to cleanse the organization from “kotong cops” and “tiwali” and as well as on how to restore the good image of the department. n

said, will draft a basic law that will serve as the constitution of Bangsamoro, and submit it to Congress for legislation.

Once legislated, the basic law will be subjected to a plebiscite throughout the areas comprising Bangsamoro.

When ratified, the basic law will set the Bangsamoro Transition Authority in motion and replace the ARMM, which will then be deemed abolished.

The new autonomous region,

Bangsamoro will operate under a ministerial government.

Santiago, chairperson of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments, said those objectives of the agreement would require the amendment of the constitutional provision on the presidential form of government and a change that would allow the adoption of the federal system if the government were to treat Bangsamoro as a substate.

Santiago, a constitutionalist, said

there was no such thing as a substate.

Santiago said the Constitution must be amended to accommodate the new political entity Bangsamoro.

At a briefing, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte echoed the position taken by the government peace panel.

“Perhaps there is a difference in legal opinion. However, as stated by Dean Leonen [on Monday], there is no amendment required,” Valte said. n

AQUINO HAILS GOV’T-MILF PEACE PACT

President Aquino announces peace deal with MILF in a press conference attended by his entire Cabinet.

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino said the government had reached a preliminary peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in a major breakthrough toward ending a decades-long insurgency in the country’s impoverished south.

Speaking last Oct. 7 in a nationally televised announcement attended by his entire Cabinet, Mr. Aquino described the deal as a “framework agreement”—a road map for establishing a new autonomous region to be administered by minority Muslims in Catholic-majority Mindanao.

“This framework agreement paves the way for a final and enduring peace in Mindanao,” Mr. Aquino said.

“It brings all secessionist groups into the fold. No longer does the Moro Islamic Liberation Front aspire for a separate state,” the President said. “This means that hands that once held rifles will be put to use tilling land, selling produce, manning work stations and opening doorways of opportunity for other citizens,” he said.

The agreement clears the way for the establishment of a new autonomous political entity to be called Bangsamoro, which will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The establishment of Bangsamoro will follow the constitutional and legal processes to “ensure that the Philippines remains one nation

and one people, with all of our diverse cultures and narratives seeking the common goal,” Mr. Aquino said.

Explaining the context of the negotiations between the government and the MILF for the creation of Bangsamoro, Mr. Aquino said: “The ARMM is a failed experiment. Many of the people continue to feel alienated by the system, and those who feel that there is no way out will continue to articulate their grievances through the barrel of a gun. We cannot change this without structural reform.”

Mr. Aquino went on: “And now we have forged an agreement that seeks to correct these problems. It defines our parameters and our objectives, while upholding the integrity and sovereignty of our nation.”

The agreement came at the conclusion on Oct. 6 of the latest round of negotiations between the government and the MILF peace panels in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which brokered the talks.

The breakthrough came after 13 exploratory meetings in 21 months under the Aquino administration. It was the 32nd round since the talks opened in Kuala Lumpur in 2003.

The two panels will sign the agreement in Malacañang on Oct. 15 in the presence of the President and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, according to Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita QuintosDeles.

The lead negotiators, Marvic Leonen for the government and Mohagher Iqbal for the MILF, will sign the

agreement.

Bangsamoro will encompass a territory much smaller than the one proposed through the Moro homeland agreement that the Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional in 2008.

According to Deles, Bangsamoro will cover the five provinces in the ARMM, plus six municipalities in Lanao del Norte; several villages in six municipalities in North Cotabato, Cotabato City, and Isabela City in Basilan.

Bangsamoro will be the fifth attempt at autonomy as a strategy for dealing with the aspirations of the Moros to handle their own affairs. But this is the third time that an autonomous region has been agreed upon through negotiations.

The two other accords were the 1976 Tripoli Agreement and the 1996 Final Agreement between the government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

The ARMM and the two regional autonomous governments created during the Marcos era were unilateral initiatives of the government.

The agreement will serve as the basis for a law that Congress will enact after consultations with residents of Mindanao.

Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas said the approval of the Bangsamoro law would be through plebiscite.

“This will not be an imposition by the national government on the people of Mindanao,” Roxas said.

“In other words, a plebiscite will still be held.”

The MILF hailed the breakthrough as the “beginning of peace.”

“We are happy and we thank the President for this,” MILF vice chairman for political affairs Ghazali Jaafar said from his base in Mindanao.

While Mr. Aquino did not say when the final peace pact would be achieved, Jaafar said the two sides were aiming for the middle of 2016 when the President’s term ends.

Both Mr. Aquino and Jaafar pointed to major obstacles that still needed to be overcome before a final peace agreement could be achieved. n

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GOV’T TO ROLL OUT $5.5-B INFRA PROJECTS PADACA ASSUMES COMELEC POST THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has lined up more than a dozen major infrastructure projects in the next four years with a budget requirement of over $5.5 billion.

At least five of the public-private partnership, or PPP, projects are “ready for roll-out in 2012 and 2013,” the report said.

The projects are the 7.15-kilometer Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway, 13.4-km North Luzon Expressway-South Luzon Expressway (NLEx-SLEx) Connector elevated Expressway, Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3, 36-km Cavite-Laguna Expressway and Phase 2 of the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road.

Other PPP projects include the C-6 Expressway and Global Link; C-6 Extension; Kennon Road and Marcos Highway improvement; rehabilitation of Quirino Highway traversing Quezon, Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur; Calamba-Los Baños Toll Expressway; R-7 Expressway, and the NLEx East Expressway in Bulacan and Nueva Ecija.

Under the PPP Bridges Project, the department “will implement a pilot test in Luzon, where 139 bridges

will be replaced by new ones,” the report said. “By tapping private sector resources and skills in the design and construction of various types of bridges, the project is expected to improve and provide direct access to and between outlying barangays, municipalities and cities, thereby facilitating the transport of goods and services.”

Later this year, the DPWH also plans to start constructing an additional 9,630 classrooms nationwide to fill up the 60,000-classroom backlog of the Department of Education (DepEd).

Under the $233.5-million project, the contractor will “undertake the financing, design and construction of a package of classrooms. After completion, the contractor will turn them over to the DepEd, which shall pay the contractor or the project financier their total investments plus a reasonable rate of return on an agreed schedule.”

The DPWH said the Tarlac-Rosales, Pangasinan, segment or Phase 1 of another PPP project, the TarlacPangasinan-La Union Toll Expressway (TPLEx), is 84.8 percent complete. It is expected to be completed by May 2013.

The 88.6-km and two-lane TPLEx, which costs $269.5 million, also covers two viaducts, eight interchanges, two central toll plazas, 12 bridges and 63 underpasses.

Another PPP project, the construction of the 4-km Daang-Hari-SLEx Link, is scheduled to start later this year. The toll road will pass through the New Bilibid Prison reservation, connecting Bacoor-Cavite with the South Luzon Expressway through Susana Heights. The project costs $45.6 million, P338.4 million of which will be the government’s counterpart fund.

Of the total public investment requirement of P698 billion, at least P586 billion is earmarked for the highways sector, said the DPWH. By 2014, the agency aims to pave all existing unpaved roads out of the 15,872 km of national arterial roads, and by 2016, pave all existing unpaved roads out of the 15,370 km of national secondary roads.

By the same year, the DPWH also targets the rehabilitation of 58,592 meters of national bridges, widening of 12,236 m of existing bridges, construction of 18,255 m of new bridges and replacement of 19,725 m of damaged bridges. n

NEWEST BUS SCHEME ON EDSA STARTS IN DECEMBER their exclusive use.

A bus belonging to Group A, for example, can only stop at loading and unloading bays assigned to the group.

The same policy applies to buses assigned to Group B. The third group, on the other hand, will consist of “all-stop” public utility buses, or PUBs, which can load or unload passengers at all bus stops for the benefit of passengers who are traveling only a short distance.

Tolentino said the new scheme is expected to reduce traffic on Edsa since buses will make fewer stops as well as prevent crowding at loading

FORMER Isabela governor Grace Padaca assumed her post as election commissioner on Oct. 8, vowing to prove her independence from President Aquino and their ruling Liberal Party (LP).

“The people can judge me through the decisions I will make,” Padaca told reporters after being sworn in by Secretary Leila de Lima at the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Critics earlier expressed reservations on the appointment of Padaca to the Comelec, citing her being a member of the LP, which they said could jeopardize her position in the poll body that is supposed to be independent from the executive branch.

They likewise cited her close ties with the Chief Executive, who personally rallied behind her in a graft case she is facing in the Sandiganbayan.

It was the President who paid for her P70,000 bail bond.

Padaca said she thanked the President for her appointment and

2 DEAD, 2 HURT IN CAGAYAN DE ORO BLAST

Will the newest bus scheme work this time?

THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will start implementing its newest program for reducing traffic on Edsa—one of the busiest thoroughfares in Metro Manila—in December.

MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said that during a meeting with 75 of the 100 bus operators who ply routes on Edsa, the majority of them were in favor of the bus segregation scheme.

Under the bus segregation scheme, buses will be classified into groups based on their routes and assigned loading and unloading bays for

Padaca vows independence from Palace.

the latter wished her well in her new post.

Although he did not give specific advice, she believes the President wants her “to do my job well and fairly.”

“I thanked him and then he responded, ‘Ingat (Take care) Grace.’ I did not put any meaning to it,” she said.

Padaca said that she will resign from LP and the civic group Kaya Natin! Movement and will meet with officials of both groups, which have several members running for elective posts in 2013.

Asked about her immediate plans, she cited the need to focus on qualification of party-list groups in preparation for next year’s midterm elections.

Padaca also vowed to pursue electoral reforms by working to stamp out “three plagues” in the system – vote buying, terrorism and fraud.

Padaca has expressed concern over possible rampant vote-buying due to the automation of elections next year. She said automation had made “dagdag-bawas” or the shaving or padding of votes difficult so that candidates may resort to votebuying.

“I think that is one of the aspects that we have to address. I know that vote-buying will be more extensive, having been a candidate myself,” she said.

The Legal Network for Truthful Elections (Lente), a group of lawyers advocating electoral reform, also warned that cheating would continue despite the automated polls.

“The automated election has changed the landscape of our politics and elections. Old election operators have become more aggressive. There has been more vote-buying,” Lente executive director Luie Tito Guia said. n

and unloading bays.

“We are amenable to this proposal but what we can’t predict is if this will be acceptable to our passengers. They will be the ultimate judge of this new program,” said Chito Alejandro, owner of a fleet of buses that ply the Navotas-Sta Rosa, Laguna, route.

According to him, an Ayala-bound passenger who gets on a bus that can load and unload passengers only in Magallanes will have to turn back and walk for about a kilometer or get on another bus to get to his destination. n

TWO civilians were killed and two policemen wounded when one of two improvised explosive devices planted near a hotel in Cagayan de Oro City went off early morning of Oct. 11.

City police chief Senior Superintendent Gerardo Rosales said that at 1:50 a.m., police received a phone call about a suspicious package left outside the Maxandrea Hotel on the corner of J.R. Borja and Aguinaldo Streets.

Policemen responding to the call were conducting a “visual inspection” and trying to control the crowd that had gathered when the bomb exploded, killing Rudy Jote, an employee of the Willshire Inn, and a certain “Toto,” a public transport vehicle dispatcher.

Police Officer 1 Dexter Daño sustained a bone fracture in his upper

torso and a leg wound while Police Officer 1 Rogelio Canilanza suffered a leg wound.

Victoriano del Rosario, a security guard at one of the buildings fronting the hotel, said that he first noticed a package wrapped in cellophane around 1 a.m. of Oct. 11 and alerted the security guards of the Maxandrea and an adjacent lodging house.

The second bomb was found at 8 a.m. by Danilo Alonto, a guest of the lodging house.

Police said they found no evidence to connect the bombing with any group.

Mayor Vicente Emano doubted a terrorist group was behind the bombing. n

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EX-COLONEL WANTED FOR OLALIA MURDER SURRENDERS ONE of the leaders of an aborted coup that led to the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution has surrendered in connection with the celebrated murders of labor leader Rolando Olalia and his driver as the nation grappled with unrest in the military that tumultuous year.

Retired Lt. Col. Eduardo “Red” Kapunan, a prominent officer of the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) formed in the final years of the Ferdinand Marcos regime, has been

in the custody of the Philippine Army since Oct. 6, according to its commander. Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista.

Human rights lawyer Edre Olalia, a cousin of the slain labor leader, said he learned about Kapunan’s surrender during a hearing on Oct. 10 at Antipolo City Regional Trial Court Branch 38 involving Sgt. Desiderio Perez, one of the 13 military men accused in the murders.

The murders of Olalia and his driver, Leonor Alay-ay, were among

the more celebrated crimes in the months following the ouster of Marcos and the restoration of democracy in February 1986.

The principal suspects in the killings were officers and soldiers belonging to RAM whose attempt to oust Marcos was aborted by loyalist troops and sparked the breakaway of then Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and then Gen. Fidel Ramos, culminating in Edsa I. Olalia headed the Kilusang Mayo

ERAP’S AUDITOR FACES PLUNDER RAPS THE Ombudsman has affirmed its decision to charge with plunder the alleged auditor and co-accused of former President Joseph Estrada for gambling payoffs during his presidency.

A review committee, in a 14-page order, dismissed the motion for reconsideration filed by Yolanda Ricaforte seeking the dismissal of the plunder information filed against her in 2001.

The order recommended Ricaforte’s prosecution for allegedly handling illegal gambling payoffs to Estrada who was subsequently convicted of plunder.

It also urged the Sandiganbayan to immediately schedule Ricaforte’s arraignment.

According to the review panel, there was no basis for Ricaforte’s plea to the Sandiganbayan Special Division seeking recall of the plunder indictment as she was not able to present any new arguments, newly discovered evidence or point to any grave errors of law or procedure that would warrant such a reversal.

“Conspiracy between Ricaforte and former President Estrada to commit the crime of plunder was clearly established. Unquestionably, she aided former President Estrada in accumulating ill-gotten wealth for which the latter was found guilty of plunder,” the panel said.

Ricaforte is alleged to have been the auditor of the illegal “jueteng” payoffs made to Estrada. She fled the country at the height of the Edsa 2 revolt that ousted Estrada in 2001.

Estrada was placed on trial and was convicted of plunder by the Sandiganbayan on Sept. 12, 2007, for receiving P545 million in illegal gambling payoffs and another P189.7 million in commissions from the sale of Belle Corp. shares worth P744.61 million and P1.102 billion to the Social Security System and Government Service Insurance System, respectively.

Uno (KMU) and was president of Bayan. He and his driver were abducted, tortured, and killed, with their bodies eventually found in Antipolo on Nov. 13, 1986.

The private prosecutors oppose the military custody of Kapunan, Edre Olalia said.

“There is no legal basis or justification for his military custody. What gives? He is not even in active service.

This would send again the wrong message that there are multiple uneven

standards of justice and treatment in our country,” Edre said.

The lawyer welcomed Kapunan’s surrender and called on the remaining 11 RAM soldiers implicated in the murders to turn themselves in as well.

“It’s been 26 years of painful waiting for justice to be served,” said Edre Olalia, the secretary general of the National Union of People’s Lawyers who is one of the private prosecutors in the case. n

‘SIN TAX’ BILL RAISES FUROR

The proposed measure seeks to raise the taxes on cigarettes and liquor in order to discourage smoking and drinking and at the same time raise money for public health.

SENATE President Juan Ponce Enrile assailed Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares’ supposed feelings of betrayal over Sen. Ralph Recto’s reporting out a Senate version of the sin tax measure that would reduce the projected income from the tax from P60 billion to P15 billion.

“Why should they feel betrayed?

That is not their money. That is money of the people and for the people,” Enrile said.

The Senate President said executive branch officials should just let the Senate do its job of coming up with a sin tax law.

“Every tax measure is subject to scrutiny by Congress. Congress is the one that raises the revenue for the state, no one else,” he said.

Enrile said he understood that President Aquino would want Congress to approve his priority bill that would modify and impose a uniform

tax rate on tobacco and alcohol to increase government revenues from the so-called sin products to P60 billion. “[But] we are not the rubber stamp of anybody. We are independent minds elected by the people to do a job objectively for their interest and not the interest of anyone,” Enrile said.

Enrile appears to favor Recto’s proposal of a three-tier tax rate for tobacco and alcohol products.

During the committee hearings, Enrile, a native of the tobacco-producing province of Cagayan, warned of widespread smuggling if sin products are taxed too high.

However, the Senate President is sure to encounter strong opposition from the President’s allies in the chamber as well as from Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, one of the authors of the sin tax bill, who called the report of Recto’s ways and means committee a surrender to the tobacco

and alcohol lobby.

Sen. Sergio Osmeña III, one of President Aquino’s allies, said he would challenge the assumptions that the Recto committee used in coming up with a bill that prescribes tax rates lower than those that the administration wanted.

Santiago’s bill aimed to generate P60 billion a year from the measure.

After the Santiago bill went through the committee approval process, the revenue target was set at P15 billion for the first year.

The House of Representatives earlier passed its own version that projected annual revenues of P31 billion.

Told that Santiago was calling on students and netizens to declare war on Recto’s version of the sin tax bill, Enrile said: “Let her have her war if she wants to do it.”

The President’s allies appear ready to push his agenda in the Senate.

Osmeña, who appears to believe Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima’s claim that it would be possible to collect an additional P60 billion from the alcohol and tobacco industries, said the assumptions used by the Recto committee were wrong.

“We’re going to challenge those assumptions during the period of interpellations,” he told reporters.

He said he didn’t expect to see smokers quitting entirely because of the higher prices of cigarettes. They’d only shift to lower priced brands, he said.

Sen. Franklin Drilon also indicated he would push for a more immediate implementation of a unitary tax rate

SECOND FILIPINO SAINT CANONIZED ON OCT. 21 AN image of Blessed Pedro Calungsod will be given to Pope Benedict XVI during the canonization of the second Filipino saint in Rome on Oct. 21.

Former Philippine ambassador to Rome Henrietta de Villa, secretarygeneral of the National Commission on the Canonization of Blessed Pedro Calungsod, said three images of the Filipino martyr will be taken to the Vatican. One of these images will be given to His Holiness as a gift.

De Villa said that even the previous pontiff, the late Pope John Paul II, received an image of Calungsod.

It was during the incumbency of Pope John Paul II when Calungsod

was beatified in 2000. At that time, De Villa was the country’s ambassador to the Vatican.

The Pontificio Collegio Filippino in Rome will be receiving an image of the soon-to-be saint. The third image will be used for the “Duaw Nasud” or the national pilgrimage of thanksgiving in the country.

“The other image will be flown back to the Philippines for the pilgrimage of thanksgiving. The image is set to arrive here on Oct. 25,” De Villa said.

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) assistant secretary-general Fr. Marvin Mejia said

Filipinos in Rome are expected to witness Calungsod’s canonization.

Mejia said that from the Philippines alone, there would be about 5,000 pilgrims going to Rome. They are also expecting thousands of Filipinos coming from the United States and other countries.

“This is really going to be a moment of great pride for us Filipinos,” he said. There are about 100,000 documented Filipinos living in Italy.

At least 30 Filipino cardinals and bishops would attend the historic event. Top government officials are also attending the canonization of the Visayan martyr.

for all sin products.

Recto’s version allows for a prescribed period before the three-tier tax system is collapsed and a shift made to a unitary system.

Besides, he said administering the three-tier system would be difficult. It would also make cheaper cigarettes more easily available to the poorest, more vulnerable sectors.

“They are the ones who would go to public hospitals and would have to be responded to by public health allocations,” he said.

Recto has called for calm and sobriety, saying his committee’s version of the sin tax bill will still undergo debate and amendments in the plenary.

“Let’s debate on this. This is just the initial presentation,” he said.

Manuel Mamba, the head of the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO), said Mr. Aquino could always use “moral suasion” to sway lawmakers in favor of the measure.

“This is a health bill. First, because incremental revenues will go to health services programs. Secondly, it discourages new entrants into the vice. The President is calling upon leaders of Congress to see this thing in this light,” he said.

The measure can still be “salvaged” as it is still being debated in the Senate plenary, Mamba said.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the health and finance departments had not given up on the measure. “[They] will continue to work with other advocates to convince our legislators how important the sin tax measure will be to providing for more coverage for the universal health care program,” she said. n

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