June 2014 B issue

Celeb Scoop page 26

E E FR

Connecting Global News & Views For The Community

UK & Europe Edition

June 2014 / Fortnightly

REVILLA TELLS PNOY: KRIS, OTHER SHOWBIZ FOLK HELPED YOU WIN

SENATOR Ramon “Bong” Revilla had choice words for President Benigno Aquino III after the Chief Executive in his Independence Day message warned Filipinos against voting for entertainersturned-politicians in the next elections.

“Baka nakakalimutan niya na ang kapatid niya, isang malaking naitulong din sa kanya ay nagmula din sa showbusiness at ang mga sumusuporta din sa kanya ay mga singer, mga artist, artista. Kumbaga ‘wag niyang maliitin,” Revilla said in an interview with dzBB on Friday.

Aquino’s sister Kris, actor Dingdong Dantes and singer Ogie Alcasid were among the prominent showbiz personalities that actively supported the President during his campaign in the 2010 elections.

“Ang hamon sa atin: Piliin ang mga kandidatong kayang ipaglaban ang interes

ng bawat mamamayan, sa harap ng anumang hamon. Hindi natin kailangan ng magaling bumigkas ng script, mahusay sumayaw, o kaya magaling kumanta,” Aquino said during his Independence Day speech in Naga.

Malacañang sought to clarify Aquino’s statement, saying it wasn’t meant to discriminate against entertainers.

Deputy presidential spokesperson

Abigail Valte said Aquino’s statement was “not directed to a particular class or a particular group of people but more of what the President was trying to say is that qualification should not be limited to that.”

Revilla wished that Sandiganbayan would be fair in handling the plunder case he and two other senators are implicated in, GMA News’ “24 Oras” reported Friday.

Revilla said he was prepared and ready

Volume 5 - Number 12

to be handcuffed.

Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas, who has supervision over the PNP, said there will be no political persecution nor will there be any special treatment once the warrants of arrest are served on Revilla and senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Jinggoy Estrada.

Enrile and Estrada are the two other senators accused of plunder and graft in connection with the multibillion-peso pork barrel scam.

Plunder and graft raps have also been filed against the alleged mastermind Janet Lim Napoles.

“Napaka-clear ng policy, posture, directive at ng gawain at ng pamahalaan ng pangulong PNoy, which is sundin ang ebidensya. Paanong masasabi na political

www.hello-philippines.com

persecution ito e nagsimula po ito sa away sa pagitan ni Benhur Luy at Janet Napoles?,” Roxas said.

The Sandiganbayan on Friday raffled off the task of presiding over the cases filed against the three senators among its divisions.

Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje Tang, along with Associate Justices Samuel Martires and Alex Quiroz, will preside over Enrile’s case in the 3rd Division.

Associate Justice Roland Jurado, Associate Justice Alexander Gesmundo, and an undetermined third are assigned to Estrada in the 5th Division.

Revilla’s case was given to the 1st Division headed by Associate Justice Efren dela Cruz, with Associate Justices Rodolfo Ponferrada and Rafael Lagos as members.

■ Rie Takumi / NB, GMA News / June 13, 2014 / 9:14 PM

4

www.hello-philippines.com

BUSINESS & FINANCE

June 2014 / Fortnightly – No. 12 • UK & Europe Edition

San Miguel threatens to sue after DPWH disqualifies its CALAX bid SAN Miguel Corp (SMC) plans to go to court after the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) disqualified its bid for the P34.5 billion Cavite Laguna Expressway (CALAX) Project.

In a resolution dated July 11, the DPWH Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC) said the bid security submitted by Optimal Infrastructure Development Inc (OIDI) didn’t comply with the bidding rules, which explicitly require 180 calendar days. OIDI is a unit of San Miguel.

“The SBAC further resolves to rate the proposal of OIDI as not in compliance with the [invitation to bid] requirements, particulary the required bid security expiry date, and therefore further resolves to return unopened the technical and financial proposals as well as the bid security submitted by OIDI,” the resolution read.

“Optimal was disqualified due to defective bid security. Defective bid security particularly the expiration date was short of the requirement,” DPWH Secretary

Rogelio Singson said in a text message to InterAksyon.com.

The SBAC however recommended the qualification of the technical proposals of MTD Capital Berhad, Team Orion and MPCALA Holdings. MTD is the Malaysian group that built the Skyway, Team Orion is a joint venture between the Aboitiz and Ayala groups, while MPCALA is a unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp (MPIC).

MPCALA confirmed its qualification. “We got a notice that we passed the technical evaluation and that the bids will be opened tomorrow at 3 p.m,” its spokesman, Christopher Lizo, told InterAksyon.com in a text message.

“Disagree in strongest terms”. In a statement, SMC said it “disagree[s] in the strongest terms with the decision of the DPWH Special Bids and Awards Committee to disqualify Optimal Infrastructure Development Inc from bidding for the Cavite Laguna Expressway.”

“Given that we have already clarified the

issue of bid security and amended our bid to make it responsive to bidding criteria, the decision to throw out the bid of our subsidiary Optimal Infrastructure Development Inc is prejudicial, unfair, and disregards both legal and all common-sense considerations that should be given to projects of this scale and importance,” SMC said.

San Miguel said preventing the company from proceeding with its bid severely limits government’s options on how it can maximize benefits from this project and ignores what the company might bring to the project in terms of quality of meeting the infrastructure specifications and getting the job done.

“As such, we reject this decision and will explore all legal remedies available to us in order to ensure fair play and give the Filipino people the best possible deal for this vital infrastructure project,” SMC said.

DPWH’s decision to disqualify San Miguel came after MPCALA wrote the agency to point out that OIDI didn’t comply

with bidding rules, alleging that the bid security had an invalid period and that the proposal was “not properly packaged, sealed and labeled.”

SMC has insisted that its bid substantially complies with DPWH rules, saying its bid security is valid and effective for 180 days or from June 2 to November 29.

The P35.4-billion CALAX involves

the financing, design, construction, operation and maintenance of a four-lane, 47-kilometer closed-system toll expressway connecting the Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX) and the Southern Luzon Expressway (SLEX).

InterAksyon.com is the online news portal of TV5, which like MPIC is chaired by Pangilinan. ■ Darwin G. Amojelar / InterAksyon. com / June 12, 2014 / 2:02 PM

‘Sari sari’ store to hold out despite incursion of bigger retail outlets—TNS MANILA - Sari-sari stores can still hold out despite the growing number of convenience and supermarkets in the Philippines, according to Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS).

In a briefing on Tuesday, TNS Asia Pacific managing director for retail Tara Prabhakar told reporters that the traditional neighborhood or sari-sari stores would continue to satisfy the emergency and quick shopping needs of Filipino consumers.

TNS is part of Kantar, the data management division of WPP and one of the world’s largest insight, information and consultancy groups.

“I think they will stay. There are two things that ensure sari-sari store will remain: the government protects and encourages the traditional stores, and they service the different shoppers’ mission -- emergency shop, quick shop and items that run out of

your daily meal shopping,” Prabhakar said.

“The traditional format has some advantages because you may not spend for fuel or the time to go to a modern format store and that’s going to become increasingly important given the economic condition,” she said, referring to inflation, particularly the cost of electricity.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show that inflation averaged 4.1 percent in the first 5 months of the year, still at the mid-point of the central bank’s fullyear target range of 3-5 percent.

“The modern format store would have to find a value proposition beyond the price or beyond convenience because traditional trade store is all about convenience. So, modern format cannot be just about convenience. It should provide other things,” Prabhakar said.

“Modern format stores would actually start delivering beyond value. It is about experience, engagement and entertainment. Hypermarkets would become a hangout place for family during weekends -- that is the outlook of modern format,” she said.

In this regard, brands and retailers should focus on making shoppers happy in order to encourage bigger spending, Prabhakar said.

“The fact that happy shoppers spend more is one of the most under-appreciated truths in retail. The reality is shoppers want the whole experience to be easy.

And whilst this sounds simple, actually simplifying the shopping experience presents a number of challenges,” she said. ■ Darwin G. Amojelar / InterAksyon.com / June 11, 2014 / 10:04 AM

BSP seen to hike rates mid-June as inflation expected to hit 5 pct in 3Q MANILA - With an accelerated inflation rate the past month, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is left with no choice but to tighten its policy rates by at least 25 basis points in two weeks.

According to HSBC’s economist Trinh Nguyen, the room too keep key interest rates on hold has narrowed, with headline inflation rising more than expected on higher food and housing prices.

She said that as the country moves closer to the El Nino season, headline inflation may even move towards the higher

end of the target range of 3-5 percent set by monetary authorities. As such, the BSP may also have to hike interest rates on special deposit accounts by 25 bps when the policy-making Monetary Board meets on June 19 to mop up excess liquidity.

The May headline inflation reflected both cyclical and long-term structural issues but the latter is “more” worrisome.

“Production, whether it’s food or electricity, is still short of what’s needed to keep up with rising demand. El NÄ©no will likely exacerbate these supply constraints,

as it is expected to cause below-average rainfall in Q4 2014 and Q1 2015,” the HSBC economist said in their latest research note.

This view was supported by Singapore’s DBS, saying that the current pace of economic growth, there is a “good chance” that consumer price index inflation (CPI) mayhit 5 percent in the third quarter.

“That will only widen the differential between inflation and policy rate even further. While it may be temporary, it is still likely to trigger a reaction from the central bank,” DBS said in its research note on Friday.

“The disappointing 1Q GDP print last policy rate week may be a factor that pushes the central bank to delay further policy tightening. But domestic demand re mains relatively strong, particularly on the investment front, and upcoming data will continue to support this view,” the bank added.

Peso to depreciate. With the pressure exerted by the faster inflation, the peso is expected to depreciate gradually through the year despite the currency’s positive external balances and the Philippine economy’s resillient growth outlook.

Dominic Bunning, HSBC’ senior FX strategist, said that from a real yield perspective, the peso would be less desirable to investors because of the negative real returns. Real policy rates are now at -1 percent, with real onshore bond rates at -2.4 percent in the first year tenor.

“Following this inflation print, the key focus will shift to whether the BSP continues to move towards a more hawkish stance, as it has done over the last few months, both in terms of its rhetoric and with the recent 200 bps of RRR hikes it has implement,” Bunning said, referring the two consecutive hikes in the banks’ reserve requirements.

“The rise in onshore bond market yields (as reported by Bloomberg shortly after the inflation print was released) suggest the market is getting prepared for more liquidity tightening or potential policy rate hikes,” the FX strategist said.

HSBC expects the peso to end at 44.8 against the US dollar by the end of the second quarter, 45 by the third quarter, and 45.2 by the end of the year.

On Friday morning, the peso averaged P43.671 against the greenback after trading between 43.705 and 43.635. ■ Likha CuevasMiel / InterAksyon.com / June 6, 2014 / 12:21 PM

40% savings!

Discover Cebu! from GBP 149.00 per person

•Return flights Manila-Cebu •2Nights/3Days B&B •Half Day City Tour with Local guide (based on 2 person sharing)

“The Eight Wonder of the World”

Banaue Rice Terraces from GBP 319.00 per person

•Transportation by Minivan with English speaking Driver •Two nights accomodation (based on 2 person sharing) •All Meals •Banga-an Village Tour •Local Tour Guide

To Barcelona with Love from GBP 179.00 per person

•Return flight London - Barcelona •2 Nights / 3 Days B&B •Tapas & Flamengco Tour (based on 2 person sharing)

T&C of Packages: Flights and Hotel—Standard Room, based on 2 people sharing and subject to availability and taxes. For other worldwide packages deals, call us!!! Travel restriction and black out period apply.

HOTELS • TOURS • TRANSFERS • AIRPORT SERVICES • CAR HIRE

6

www.hello-philippines.com

BUSINESS & FINANCE

June 2014 / Fortnightly – No. 12 • UK & Europe Edition

Puregold ties up with Japan’s Lawson for convenience store venture MANILA – Puregold Price Club Inc is partnering with Japan’s Lawson Inc for its foray into the convenience store business, a move that will intensify competition in the retail sector of Asia’s third fastest-growing economy.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the Puregold said it entered into a joint venture agreement with Lawson Asia Pacific Inc and Lawson Inc. to build and operate convenient stores.

Puregold will take a 70 percent share in the joint venture while Lawson will have 30 percent.

The entry into the convenience store business is a “natural extension of Puregold’s presence in the local retail landscape,” the Lucio Co-owned Philippine firm said.

The Philippines will be Lawson’s third market in Southeast Asia after putting up 60 stores in Indonesia and 31 in Thailand.

At end-May, Lawson had 11,867 stores in Japan and 401 stores in China.

Puregold’s venture into the convenience store business comes on the heels of property giant Ayala Land Inc’s similar move into the segment dominated by the Paternos’ 7Eleven and the Gokongwei’s MiniStop.

The property arm of the Ayala group teamed up with the Rustan’s Group in 2012 to bring in Japan’s FamilyMart, the second largest convenience store chain in the world.

Retail giant SM Investments Corp is also looking to operate smaller retail formats.

Puregold bucked a double-digit expansion in sales to register a drop in

earnings to P943 million in the first quarter of the year from P962 million last year on lower interest income.

The supermarket operator expects sales to grow by a fifth this year from the P73.18 billion generated in 2013, as the company continues to roll out new stores and acquire existing ones.

The food retailer said it will open 25 new Puregold stores annually in the next 5 years with bulk of the store openings located outside Metro Manila in a bid to serve more geographical markets.

The retailer closed 2013 with a consolidated store network of 213 Puregold and S&R stores, reaching its 200-store count a year ahead of its 2015 target. ■ Krista Angela M. Montealegre / InterAksyon.com / June 13, 2014 / 10:43 AM

BCDA bags funding from PPP Center for Clark Green City feasibility studies

STATE-RUN Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) has secured funding from the Public Private Partnership

(PPP) Center for the feasibility study of the Clark Green City Food Processing Terminal Project.

The $1.7 million funding will come from the Project Development and Monitoring Facility (PDMF) of the PPP Center.

“We laud the PPP Center and the PDMF in securing funding for the feasibility study of Clark Green City’s Food Processing Terminal Project, as it is a major first step in its realization,” BCDA President Arnel Paciano D. Casanova said in a statement.

The PDMF support would facilitate the procurement of consultants who will prepare the feasibility study for the food processing terminal and provide transaction support services during the PPP project approval and bidding stages.

Casanova said the Clark Green City

Food Processing Terminal Project is envisioned to become a “stock exchange” of fresh agricultural produce and processed products.

“In a similar fashion where Clark Green City will be the intellectual hub for science and technology education and research, the Clark Green City will also be a ‘stock exchange’ of fresh produce and processed products that would ensure the food security and nourishment of the residents in the city,” he said.

Casanova said this will entail the establishment of required infrastructure and facilities by the private sector for processing, handling, storage, and distribution of agro-

fishery products using integrated research and development technology.

Earlier, Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said the food processing terminal will promote social inclusion, within the concept of the inclusive growth thrust of the government, by ensuring sufficient and better quality of food within Clark Green City, beyond the project area, and perhaps outside the country as well.

The food processing terminal is also seen to augment the void left by the disposal of the old Food Terminal Inc (FTI) in Bicutan.

Ayala Land Inc had won the bidding for the FTI. ■ Darwin G. Amojelar / InterAksyon.com / June 13,

2014 / 10:49 AM

June 2014 / Fortnightly – No. 12 • UK & Europe Edition

BUSINESS & FINANCE

www.hello-philippines.com

7

Gov’t suspends cloud seeding operations after drop in Angat water level decelerates MANILA - The government has suspended its cloud seeding operations after the drop in the water level of the Angat Dam slowed down, helped in no small way by the recent rains, according to the staterun National Power Corp (Napocor).

This afternoon, the water elevation at the dam stood at 170.80 meters above sea level (masl), or 11 centimeters lower than the 170.91 masl yesterday. While the water level is down, the speed with which it has declined has slowed to between 10-19 centimeters a day from the 40 centimeters last month, Napocor, which operates the dam, said.

Despite the slowdown, Napocor said the current elevation is way below the 180 masl required to resume irrigation of farmlands in the Bulacan and Pampanga provinces. The government had restricted release of water for agriculture after the elevation at Angat

dropped below the threshold.

“Yung irigasyon, kailangan abutin ng 180. Made-delay yung cropping season kung hindi tumaas ng180,” said Rodolfo German, Angat Dam general manager.

German however expects the water elevation at Angat to reach “turning point” anytime soon as the rainy season started on schedule this year.

“Siguro bababa na lang ng konti yan sa 170 tapos aakyat na,” he said, pointing out that Napocor has asked the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) to suspend its cloud seeding operations.

Notwithstanding the “turning point,” the National Water Resources Board (NWRB), which decides on the allocation for Angat and other reservoirs, is keeping the current 42 cubic meters per second a day release from the dam.

“Nagsisimula na siyang mag-recover.

But we are still recommending to retain the 42 centimeters naaverage. Yung sa irigasyon din kasi, below 180 pa siya kaya wala pa rin tayong maibigay doon,” said NWRB executive director Sevillo David.

“At 42 centimeters, sufficient na level naman na yun ng alokasyon para maaddress ang water supplyng Metro Manila.

Yung mga dams natin -- aside from Angat like Ipo and La Mesa -- may pag-ulan doon na nakakadagdag,” he added.

German said consumers should still conserve water to enable the Angat to replenish its supply, especially on expectations of an El Nino in the latter part of this year.

“May suplay man o kakulangan, pareho pa rin ang panawagan ng tamang paggamit ng tubig, walang waldas. Dapat bago ang katapusan ng taon, maka-ready tayo sa pagdating ng El Nino,” he said.

Photo from napocor.gov.ph

German said Angat would require nearly 3 typhoons to bring back its water elevation to 210 masl, which is its normal water level.

“Kung bawat buwan dalawang bagyo,

kahit isa o dalawa lang ang bumagsak rito, makakaapekto na iyon sa atin,” he said. ■ Michelle Orosa-Ople / News5 / June 13, 2014 / 11:30 PM

Phinma spending P743M to build more Microtel hotels MANILA – Phinma Corp is beefing up its network of Microtel Inns and Suites amid the bullish prospects of the tourism industry.

Microtel Inns & Suites Pilipinas Inc (MISPI) chief finance officer Demetrio P. Lucila told reporters in a recent interview

that the company is investing P743 million to bring its chain of hotels to 25 as early as 2016. Phinma owns MISPI, the Philippine master franchise holder of Microtel.

“We are going to be the largest in terms of the number of hotels,” Lucila said.

Microtel will have a total room count of 1,500 in the next 2-3 years, doubling its current portfolio of 746 rooms from 15 hotels, 12 of which are operating.

“We are still looking for partners, usually the land owners or our existing partners if they want to invest,” Lucila said, adding that building the additional hotels will cost P3

billion, P743 million of which will represent the company’s share.

Phinma is opening a 120-room Microtel at the UP-Ayala Technohub in Quezon City.

It is building a hotel in Coron and developing its second one at the Mall of Asia complex, a 195-room hotel beside One Esplanade.

“We are negotiating for two more properties: one in Dumaguete and another one either in Tuguegarao or Bohol. We are hoping we can sign up 4 this year,” Lucila said.

Microtel is also targeting to expand its presence in Cebu, Butuan and Iloilo and

exploring new areas such as Cagayan de Oro, Clark and Metro Manila.

“We see the expansion of the market into these areas. The airfare is affordable. Because of the influx of tourists in the country, we have to support the drive of the government to encourage tourists,” Lucila said.

Phinma is spending P11.4 billion this year mainly to bankroll the expansion of its power generation business. The company also is engaged in housing, education, steel manufacturing and strategic consulting. ■

Krista Angela M. Montealegre / InterAksyon.com / June 12, 2014 / 7:17 PM

8

www.hello-philippines.com

IMMIGRATION / OFNEWS

Miss World, stars enliven PHL parade in NY THE splendid street dancers of Bacolod MassKara Festival NY Edition shared with BIBAK Northeast’s dazzling float the top honors at Sunday’s annual Philippine Independence Day parade in Manhattan.

Bacolod Masskara N.Y., formed by Nestor and Imelda Gargarita in 2011, was named best marching (and dancing) group for third consecutive year.

It is a reproduction of the famed MassKara Festival of Bacolod featuring vibrant and colorful street dancing parade and competition that draws huge crowds in the Negros Occidental capital every October.

The participants’ whimsical and colorful masks were made in Bacolod City.

BIBAK’s winning float depicted the rustic life of natives and the serene beauty of the Mountain Province.

BIBAK represents the provinces of Benguet, Ifugao, Bontoc, Apayao and Kalinga in Northern Luzon in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, the Philippine-American

Association of Connecticut Inc. (PAAC) was named first runner-up in the marching category, while the second runner-up prize was won in a three-way tie by Cebuanos Engaged in Building Unity (Cebu), Filipino American Association of Pittsburgh (FAAP), and Barangay Gingoognon USA (GI-USA).

In the float category, Kapampangan Foundation was adjudged first runner-up, while Ati-Atihan International Foundation Inc. was second runner-up.

Judging was based on 25 points each for creativity, theme, impact and details.

The panel of judges was composed of Joey Cruz, Dr. Francia De Vera, Dr. Rene Gega, Belen Gonzales and Romeo Reyes Velayo.

Results were tabulated by Maria Gervacio and Mara Olaguer, and audited by Annie Ortiz.

All winners was formally honored at the Philippine Independence Day Council, Inc.’s Philippine Independence Ball at the

Renaissance Newark Hotel on June 7.

This year’s parade was led by Grand Marshals Drs. Emilio and Felicisima Quines, who marched along family members from 38th Street down to 27th Street on Madison Avenue.

Behind them are the dignitaries that included Consul General Mario de Leon, Jr. and wife Eleanor de Leon, who marched with U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York Lorna G. Schofield; Philippine ambassador to the United Nations Libran Cabactulan and wife Fe Cabactulan; and the PIDCI officials led by its president Fe Martinez.

Retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba, spokesman of AARP, also marched with AARP members and war veterans.

Miss World Megan Young, international artist apl.de.ap, singer-songwriter Ogie Alcasid, film and TV actress Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, OPM composer Cecile Azarcon, model-actress Bessie Badilla and Pop Diva

June 2014 / Fortnightly – No. 12 • UK & Europe Edition

The winning contingent: Bacolod MassKara Festival NY Edition.

Photo by Rex Romero ©Filipino Reporter

Kuh Ledesma led the entertainment guests who joined the parade and later performed for the crowd at the cultural festival.

Athletes like figure skater Michael Christian Martinez, boxer Ana Julaton and racing driver Michele Bumgarner also took

part in the festivities.

GMA artists Heart Evangelista and Tom Rodriguez were also present and met fans at the GMA Pinoy TV booth stationed at the street fair. ■ Edmund M. Silvestre / Filipino Reporter / June 11, 2014 / 3:33 PM

First month of overseas voters registration ‘record breaking’–DFA THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has registered a “record breaking” number of registrants during the first month of overseas voter registration for the 2016 elections.

Based on records by the DFA’s Overseas Voting Secretariat (DFA-OVS), 18,631 new overseas voters were processed by various Philippine posts around the world during the month of May. This was a 111-percent increase from the 8,819 recorded for the 2013 elections, 64-percent increase from the 11,397 recorded for the 2010 elections, and over 630-percent increase for the 2,543 recorded for the 2007 elections.

The 2016 and 2010, where the numbers

CA upholds dismissal of 2 immigration officers over human trafficking THE Court of Appeals has upheld the dismissal of two immigration officers accused of helping illegal recruiters sneak people in and out of the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA).

In a 15-page decision penned by Associate Justice Eduardo Peralta Jr., the CA 10th Division denied a petition filed

by Robin Pinzon and Sheryll Manguerra seeking to reverse their dismissal by the Civil Service Commission on June 27, 2012.

The administrative case against the two stemmed from a complaint filed by their fellow immigration officer Racel Ong before the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Ong claimed that Pinzon and Manguerra helped facilitate illegal transactions and human trafficking activities at the departure area of the DMIA between May and July 2008. Ong herself is facing a separate criminal case for the same illegal activity.

In April 2010, the DOJ under thenJustice Secretary Alberto Agra dismissed Ong’s complaint, saying she merely filed it because she had an “axe to grind” against Pinzon and Manguerra.

In May 2011, however, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima reversed Agra’s decision and ordered that charges against Pinzon, Manguerra, and 16 other Bureau of Immigration officers be filed with the Civil Service Commission.

First-hand account. De Lima gave weight on Ong’s testimony because it was based on first-hand account and personal knowledge of the alleged illegal activities at the DMIA. The CSC eventually found Pinzon and Maguerra guilty of the charges, prompting the two to elevate the case to the Court of Appeals.

The two insisted that Ong’s testimony was full of inconsistencies and lacked corroborative evidence.

In its ruling, however, the CA ruled in favor of the CSC and DOJ, and upheld the two officers’ conviction, saying the two—contrary to what they claim— have been given due process because they were appropriately informed of the nature and cause of the accusations against them, and were given an opportunity to answer the charges in a formal hearing.

“As revealed by the record of this case, the formal charge substantially indicated the material and relevant facts of the administrative charges against them. It contained elements of the offense for petitioners’ preparation of their exculpations,” said the CA. “Moreover, the affidavits of complainant Ong narrated how petitioners’ and other BI personnel carried out illegal operations at the DMIA. Thereafter, petitioners were extended the opportunity to submit the necessary pleadings for their defense, and they participated in the formal hearing conducted,” it added.

Like the DOJ and the CSC, the CA also gave weight on Ong’s testimony, noting that she “even intimated how they divide the sum they collected from the illegal transactions.”

“Evidently, these facts were anchored on her personal knowledge and therefore worthy of probative value,” the CA said.

Concurring with the ruling were Associate Justices Magdangal de Leon and Stephen Cruz. ■ Mark Merueñas / KBK, GMA News / June 12, 2014 / 8:03 PM

are relatively higher, involve presidential elections.

According to the DFA-OVS, Middle East and Africa registered the highest number of applicants (7,301), followed by the Americas (5,186), Europe (3,160), and Asia and the Pacific (2,984).

Out of these regions, the top 10 cities with the highest number of applicants were Riyadh (1,398), Los Angeles (1,354), Jeddah (1,136), San Francisco (1,018), Abu Dhabi (973), Singapore (903), Dubai (877), New York (848), Lisbon (731), and London (678).

The DFA said it is hoping that the increased trend will continue until the end of the registration period on October 31, 2015.

The DFA-OVS is targeting 1 million new overseas voters for the 2016 elections.

The total registered overseas voter stock accumulated during the previous registration periods stands at 975,263, the DFA-OVS said.

Filipinos who are qualified to vote during the 30-day overseas voting period for the 2016 elections could register at all Philippine Foreign Service posts, the three Manila Economic and Cultural Offices (MECO), and at registration centers approved by the Commission on Elections.

A list of approved centers may be found at www.dfa-oavs.gov.ph or www.comelec. gov.ph. ■ Rie Takumi / KBK, GMA News / June 13,

2014 / 7:31 PM

Pinoy designer wins award for work in Imelda Marcos musical

FOR merging the historic opulence of Imelda Marcos and the tackiness of disco, a Filipino costume designer for “Here Lies Love,” a musical about the former Philippine First Lady, was honored by an Off-Broadway theater body in New York.

Clint Ramos took home the Lucille Lortel Awards for costume design in May, tying with Paloma Young for her work on “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812,” according to Variety.

Ramos’ award was only one of the four received by “Here Lies Love” this year.

Ruthie Ann Miles, Justin Townsend, and M.L. Dogg and Cody Spencer took home the awards for best lead musical actress, lights, and sound, respectively.

Ramos was no stranger to international recognition. A graduate of New York University Tisch School of the Arts, he received the Obie Award for Sustained Excellence of Costume Design in 2013.

As a kid in Cebu, Ramos briefly met Mrs. Marcos whom he based his award-winning designs on. He told New York Times in an interview that his extravagant designs were made to be intentionally tacky, but still deserving of the glamor the erstwhile First Lady exuded.

“I wanted to have fun with image of

Imelda but at the same time not demonize her,” he said.

In the show, Miles, who plays Mrs. Marcos, wore gowns directly inspired by the former First Lady’s real wardrobe, but touched with disco affectations such as gold and a pure plastic frock.

Ramos is the current costume designer for the Off-Broadway play “The Village Bike” and the “The Elephant Man,” which stars two-time Academy Award nominee Bradley Cooper. ■ Rie Takumi / KBK / GMA News / June 13,

2014 / 5:14 PM

Clint Ramos. Photo from his Wordpress blog

HELLO PHILIPPINES IS PUBLISHED FORTNIGHTLY BY UNIVERSAL INFINITY LIMITED. THIS PUBLICATION IS COPYRIGHTED AND ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. UK & EUROPE EDITION • NORDIC, IRELAND, ITALY, SPAIN, AND FRANCE • WWW.HELLO-PHILIPPINES.COM

Get ready for a weekend to remember!

LAMPTON PARK, LAMPTON ROAD, HOUNSLOW TW3 4DN THE MOST *POPULAR* LOCATION IN LONDON WITH EASY AND CONVENIENT TRAVEL AND ACCESS

SATURDAY, 5 and SUNDAY, 6 JULY 2014 1 0 : 0 0A M T O 6 : 0 0 P M TUBE STATIONS: HOUNSLOW CENTRAL / HOUNSLOW EAST / HOUNSLOW WEST – PICCADILLY LINE – ZONE 4

TO GUARANTEE ENTRY AND A CHANCE TO WIN A SELFIE WITH THE ARTISTS PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS ONLINE NOW AT WWW.HOUNSLOWSUMMERFESTIVAL.COM (N O T I C K E T N O E N T RY) £2.00 ADMISSION PER PERSON / PER DAY (C H I L D R E N U P T O 1 2 Y E A R S O L D E N T E R F R E E)

EVENTS@HELLO-PHILIPPINES.COM / 020 3004 9268 / 07577 813 104 / CALL FIRST TO PURCHASE TICKETS AT VICTORIA, LONDON OFFICE AND TO FIND OUT OTHER TICKET OUTLETS HOUNSLOW SUMMER FESTIVAL LONDON UK

TICKETS / UPDATES / GENERAL ENQUIRIES:

10

www.hello-philippines.com

IMMIGRATION / OFNEWS

June 2014 / Fortnightly – No. 12 • UK & Europe Edition

New migrant children lack US legal status, says official WASHINGTON - The thousands of unaccompanied migrant children who have journeyed to the United States in recent months have no guarantees of citizenship or legal status, and are prioritized for deportation, officials said Thursday.

Three out of four minors who illegally cross the border into the United States

come from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.

The children make the grueling journey of hundreds of miles (kilometers) through Mexico to escape the dire economic conditions and violence in their home countries, and to join relatives in the United States.

“I am not encouraging in any way,

shape or form illegal migration. That’s the message,” US Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson told reporters.

“Those who cross our borders today illegally, including children, are not eligible for an earned path to citizenship.”

An immigration reform bill currently before Congress that has cleared the Senate aims to further secure US borders, reform visa procedures and offer an eventual path to citizenship to the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in limbo.

In recent months, a surge of unaccompanied children has flooded the southwestern US border.

From October 1, 2012 to September 30, 2013, US authorities identified nearly 24,500 children who had entered the country illegally without the company of an adult.

But that figure doubled to more than 47,000 children between October and

May, in what President Barack Obama and leading lawmakers have termed a humanitarian crisis.

US officials expect that figure to reach 60,000 this year, said Mark Greenberg, acting assistant secretary for the administration of children and families at the Health and Human Services Department.

Most of the children were nabbed in Texas, and many have been sent to Arizona due to overcrowding at Texas facilities.

Johnson said those caught illegally crossing the border were “priorities for removal.”

“They are priorities for enforcement of our immigration laws regardless of age,” he added.

The Department of Defense is loaning three military bases to process and shelter the children.

And Johnson said the government has “surged” federal law enforcement officers

to crack down on human traffickers who operate along the border.

Overwhelmed. Greenberg said his agency has been building capacity to handle the increase of migrants, but was overwhelmed in recent months.

“What has happened in this most recent period is that the numbers, particularly since the beginning of May, have grown at a pace beyond what we had predicted and beyond what (the) Department of Homeland Security had predicted,” he said.

“That’s what has caused this most recent set of challenges.”

Johnson said he planned to travel to Guatemala in July to address the crisis.

“We know we must do something to stem this tide,” he said, noting he had been in touch with the ambassadors and other officials from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Mexico. ■ Agence France-Presse / June 13, 2014 / 8:29 AM

Trauma and debt for Pinay teacher victimized by illegal recruiter ALL Engelyin Belmonte-Morano wanted was to give her family a good life. But she knew that with her meager salary as a science teacher, that would be a long and difficult process, if not impossible.

Hoping for better pay, Morano — or Ma’am Gelai as she is called — decided she would try her luck in the United States, where teachers earn eight times higher than her salary.

“Gusto ko mabigyan ng magandang kinabukasan yung mga magulang ko at yung mga kapatid ko na gusto pang makapag-aral,” Morano said in a report by Kara David on “24 Oras” on Wednesday. “‘Yun ang nag-udyok sa ‘kin [at] nag-inspire sa ‘kin para maghanap ng opportunities sa labas ng bansa.”

Victims. But instead of having a decentpaying job in the US, Morano found herself cash-strapped and in debt after she and close to 200 other teachers were victimized by an illegal recruiter.

According to the report, Morano used her savings and loans to pay the $6,000 processing fee being asked by a recruitment agency.

“Wala akong magawa kasi nasa kanya na yung pera ko,” she said, referring to the recruiter.

Worse, Morano said she has to deal with the “trauma” that resulted from her experience.

“Ang masakit dun, yung dangal mo bilang isang guro, na parang ikaw pag pumasok ka sa eskwelahan, tinitingala ka bilang isang idolo pero pag lumabas ka, nandun yung trauma na eto naloko,” she said.

Case filed. In a way, Morano was lucky as she didn’t get the chance to leave the country. Others Filipino teachers were already in the US when they learned that they have been victimized by an illegal recruiter. “Janet” is one of them.

“Naghanap kami ng sarili naming trabaho. Nag-end up kami sa mga daycare centers. Walang mga benefits,” Janet,

whose real identity was withheld, said in the same report The report said some 200 teachers who were victims of illegal recruitment have filed a case against a certain Isidro Rodriguez, who has not been showing up on hearings.

Morano is hoping justice would be served to them.

“Pag tinitingnan ko nga yung anak ko ngayon, napapaiyak pa din kasi ano ba tong nagyari sa nanay mo. Dahil ba to sa pangangarap? Kasalanan na ba ngayon mangarap para mabuti yung pamilya natin?” she said. ■ KBK, GMA News / June 11,

2014 / 8:12 PM

Pinoy kid with rare disease in UAE seeks help

Lucky OFW in UAE gets reimbursement from bank after losing money to ATM fraud

AN overseas Filipino worker lost funds he saved for his wife’s delivery allegedly due to a fraudulent ATM withdrawal, but could count himself lucky as the bank reimbursed his lost money, a UAE news site reported Thursday.

The Dubai bank reimbursed the funds of sales executive Bernardo Umali, 36, on “humanitarian grounds,” Gulf News reported.

“We have decided to temporarily reverse the amount to the customer’s account as an exception till such time our investigation is complete. The matter is solved as of now and the customer is a happy man,” a bank spokesperson told Gulf News XPRESS.

“Such things happen. It’s not uncommon. Once we establish that Umali’s card chip and pin were indeed stolen and used fraudulently, we will close the case permanently,” the spokesman added.

Umali, who earns Dh7,000 a month, had saved for the birth of his second child, who was born June 2. He said he learned of the questionable ATM withdrawals last May 26, when he got notifications on his cell phone.

“I was shocked to see the messages,” Umali said.

According to him, the two withdrawals were made at around 7:20 p.m., one for Dh4,500 and another for Dh200. The

withdrawals were made within a minute of each other.

While he first thought his ATM card was stolen, he checked his wallet and confirmed his card was still with him.

“My worst fears came true when I checked my account online. It showed a withdrawal of Dh4,700 had been made.

That’s when I realized I was robbed, and that too just a few days before my wife was to deliver our second child,” he said.

Umali reported the incident to the bank.

When Gulf News’ XPRESS contacted the bank on his request, the bank promised to look into the matter. ■ Joel Locsin / KBK, GMA News / June 12, 2014 / 12:19 PM

THE relatives of a 10-year-old Filipino boy in Dubai are appealing for help to raise Dh70,000 for surgery to address his rare congenital heart disorder, a UAE news site reported Thursday.

Gil Merced Gatdula is suffering from Tetralogy of Fallot since birth, a rare congenital heart defect, and needs financial help for surgery at Khalifa Hospital, Khaleej Times reported. “(He) has been suffering from the medical condition since birth. He cannot walk even for a few meters because he has a hard time breathing, becomes very weak and finally loses consciousness,” his mother Mercedita said.

The boy is the third son of Mercedita and Gil Gatdula, who have worked in Dubai for seven years.

Mercedita works as a teaching assistant and earns Dh2,250 a month, while Gil Sr. was terminated after his company was sold.

Their two older sons work as janitors.

Big money needed. While doctors had suggested open heart surgery, the procedure was reset frequently because of the family’s lack of funds.

Mercedita said medication costs Dh1,700 a month while surgery may cost Dh70,000.

In the Philippines, she said they were even asked to prepare P800,000.

Khaleej Times said Tetralogy of Fallot is a rare, complex heart defect which occurs in about five out of every 10,000 babies.

Despite his young age, Gil has wrinkled skin and shows signs of aging. The surgery has to be done soonest as his condition is deteriorating.

Startup expenses raised. Susan Jose, who looks after charity activities at St Mary’s Church in Dubai where the Gatdulas belong, said parishioners have “startup” medical expenses.

“Volunteers at St Mary’s Church under the guidance of the parish priest, Rev Father Tomasito, have supported initial medical expenses and would help the family stay together on compassionate grounds,” she said.

She said surgery will be scheduled at Khalifa Hospital as soon as the money is raised. ■ Joel Locsin / KBK, GMA News / June 12, 2014 / 1:44 PM

IMMIGRATION / OFNEWS

June 2014 / Fortnightly – No. 12 • UK & Europe Edition

www.hello-philippines.com

11

Wary of Chinese advances, India’s Modi woos neighbours NARENDRA Modi will step up a charm offensive with India’s neighbours in the hope of stopping them falling into China’s embrace when he travels next week to Bhutan on his first foreign trip since becoming prime minister.

A month after his election, the Hindu nationalist premier will pay a two-day visit to the tiny Buddhist kingdom from Sunday when he will meet his counterpart Tshering Tobgay and King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.

“We’re honoured to have him choose Bhutan as the first country he’s visiting,” Tobgay said in comments published by the local Kuensel daily. “It speaks volumes about the importance he attaches to the region.”

Tobgay was one of seven regional leaders invited to Modi’s inauguration and analysts say the decision to make Bhutan his first port of call is designed

to underline the importance he attaches to neighbourly relations, which suffered under the last government.

“Bhutan may be a small country but it is strategically very important and ...

China is on the other side,” said Ranjit Gupta, a retired ambassador whose postings included Nepal and India’s UN mission.

“If you aren’t interested in your neighbours, they’ll lose interest in you.”

With the exception of Pakistan, India enjoyed generally close ties with its South Asian neighbours in the first six decades after independence.

But critics say the previous centre-left Congress party government started to take things for granted, allowing China— which shares a border with four of India’s neighbours—to step into the breach.

Relations with Sri Lanka, complicated

by India’s large ethnic Tamil population,

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) shaking hands with visiting Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay during a meeting in New Delhi on May 27, 2014. Photo by Raveendran ©AFP Photo

became so bad that Modi’s predecessor Manmohan Singh boycotted November’s Commonwealth summit in Colombo to protest at the government’s rights record.

More evidence of wanin g influence came during recent election disputes in the Maldives, Nepal and Bangladesh, where Indian mediation efforts failed.

There was friction with Bhutan when India cut fuel subsidies ahead of elections last year, although they were restored after Tobgay’s victory.

The move was seen as a rebuke over Bhutan’s moves to engage more with China but commentators say India is more likely to keep its neighbours on side by reaching out to them rather than punishing them.

Chinese power. Former diplomat G. Parthasarathy said “far greater imagination” was needed given China’s economic clout.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) shake hands during a meeting in New Delhi, Modi is hoping to charm Asian neighbours. Photo by Press Information Bureau ©AFP Photo

“The fact of the matter is that China’s power has grown substantially and its economy is larger,” he said. “As the Indian economy has slowed, our ability to engage in the neighbourhood has been affected.”

As Chinese investment has grown, countries such as Sri Lanka and the Maldives have fallen further away from India’s sphere of influence. Even Bangladesh, which partly owes its existence to India’s intervention in its independence war, is seeking China’s help to build a new port.

Despite his nationalist credentials, Modi has stressed a desire in his early days in office to forge good ties with Beijing and has invited President Xi Jinping to visit.

There had been expectations Modi would pick Tokyo for his first trip but such a choice could have upset China.

“Mr Modi—who is keen on strengthening economic links with China—is clearly alert to reactions in Beijing were Tokyo to be his first port of call,” said an editorial in The Hindustan Times.

“Equally, by heading to Thimphu, Mr Modi conveys to China that just as he is alert to dynamics in its neighbourhood, Beijing too must be sensitive about Delhi’s sphere of influence.”

It is three years since the eight-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has held a summit.

In a speech read by President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday but written by the

Indian President Pranab Mukherjee arrives with Indian Prime Minster Narendra Modi to address Parliament in New Delhi on June 9, 2014. Photo by Prakash Singh ©AFP Photo

premier, Modi said he wanted “to revitalise SAARC as an effective instrument for regional cooperation and a united voice on global issues”.

While Modi is heading to Bhutan, his Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj has chosen Bangladesh for her maiden trip.

Belying his reputation as a bruiser, Modi’s charm offensive has already produced one unexpected result.

After being a guest at Modi’s swearingin, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif sent a sari as a thank you gift for his mother. Modi promptly thanked him for the “wonderful” present. ■ AFP / June 13, 2014

12

www.hello-philippines.com

NEWS

June 2014 / Fortnightly – No. 12 • UK & Europe Edition

Huwag laitin ang Pinas: Spanish academic defends PH from American author’s ‘close-minded’ depiction EDITOR’S note: Jorge Mojarro, a Spaniard, is a PhD candidate doing research on Filipiniana. He has lived and worked in the Philippines since 2009.

Asia’s Cauldron, the latest book by the well-known traveler and geo-political analyst Robert Kaplan, deals with the current situation in Southeast Asia, where he foresees a potential danger for the planet in the strong nationalism of the countries of the region and the recent expansionist attempts by China. He appears to be a very knowledgeable person about the topic he tackles. However, I have to confess my deepest disappointment when I finished reading the chapter he devotes to the Philippines, entitled “Colonial American’s Burden.”

Kaplan starts his essay mentioning The Manila Shawl, a painting by Matisse that reminds him of the Spanish legacy of the Philippines. Shawls were traded in Manila, but fabricated in China. Thanks to the Galleon, Manila became a melting cultural pot and a landmark of the early globalization: The spicy taste of the many dishes in Southeast Asia would be impossible without the chili traded from Mexico.

Kaplan’s mention is anecdotal but strategic as a starting point to explain, from the historical point of view, the current disheartening situation in the Philippines: “For the Philippines is not only burdened with hundreds of years of Spanish colonialism, which, with its heavy, preReformation Roman Catholic overtones, brought less dynamism than the British, Dutch, and Japanese varieties experienced elsewhere in the First Island Chain, but they are doubly burdened by the imprint of Mexican colonizers, who represented an even lower standard of modern institutional consciousness than those of Spain.” (pp.

117-8) How did Spanish colonizers fare visà-vis British, Dutch? I cannot see but the shadow of the Spanish Black Legend in such an unfortunate assertion, since it clearly ignores the strong institutions being built all over the so-called Spanish Overseas Provinces from the very beginning; not only the very complex set of Leyes de Indias, an early and incomparable—although not always fully implemented—attempt to establish good governance.

It ignores too the peculiar hispanization of the Philippines, where civil presence of peninsulares was small and the presence of the missionaries were comparatively overwhelming; it ignores educational institutions were open as early as 1595 (Colegio de San José, by the Jesuits) and 1616 (Universidad de Santo Tomás, by the Dominicans) and that education was available for everyone, as American scholar Frederick Fox proved in two articles published in Philippine Studies in the 60s; It ignores enlightened laws by Tamón Valdés, Anda y Salazar, Basco, and Rafael Aguilar, governors in XVIII century Philippines; it ignores first books were printed in the Philippines as early as 1593; it completely ignores too that the society during the Spanish period were more inclusive than it may seem, as shown in the XVII and XVIII century books describing official celebrations.

The depiction of the Spanish colonization in the East Asia is astonishing especially when compared with the ones carried out by the British (they arrived at the end of XVIII and far from trying to acculturate indigenous people who were, in their opinion, not worthy of approaching, they just focused in the exploitation of the natural resources; they opened the first university as late as 1949), and the Dutch (they annihilated entire villages in Formosa and Indonesia and until 1800 was a private enterprise carried out by the very corrupt United East India Company (VOC); they opened the first university in Jakarta only in 1898 aiming to educate white colonizers and indigenous people for the upper class).

Racism is obvious today in the absence of a mestizo group of people in Malaysia or Indonesia: Indigenous people and white colonizers lived in totally separate worlds.

The Japanese imperial enterprise in the Philippines can be summed up in a race for absurd destruction in Manila, worsened by the fact that the event happened in the middle of XX century.

So what kind of modern institutional consciousness is Kaplan referring to the British, Dutch, and Japanese colonies?

Why is Metro Manila so chaotic, ugly? The relationship between Spanish colonization and the alleged horrendous chaos and the aesthetic ugliness of Metro Manila is, therefore, inconsistent.

Ateneo de Manila’s anthropologist F. Zialcita said in what I believe is the best book on Filipino identity: “Many Spanish municipalities have a tradition from the Middle Ages of owning communal land which have helped the poor and have paid for public services. There is a strong civic pride that expresses itself in the care lavished on urban planning, on public buildings, and on public spaces.” (Authentic Though Not Exotic, p. 160) Kaplan himself acknowledges that Intramuros is a notable exception to the chaos. I must add that Mr. Kaplan would have refrained for making such a connection if he had simply looked at photos of Manila from the 1890s, 1920s, or even 1960s (after World War II), easily available anywhere in the Web. The conclusion would soon be made: The fall into the urban decrepitude and widespread dysfunctionality has been a very recent development that began in the mid-sixties with the massive arrival of Filipino migrants from the provinces, a process that is, sadly, still ongoing.

The Filipino elite, obsessed with social status, run the country protecting the assets of the oligarchs, overlooking any redistribution of wealth or any investment in the provinces—that, therefore, remained poor—and centralizing strongly any policy within the limits of Metro Manila.

The result has been catastrophic: A mass of slightly westernized provincianos who were not used to urban rules, courtesies, and disciplines have been invading the capital until today, while the elite has chosen to live in gated communities, to meet in expensive social clubs, and to spend their money in the many malls that have flourished like mushrooms all over the country. Moreover, decades of bad governance and cronyism have facilitated the fast implementation of

a culture of improvisation and short-term solutions.

No distinctive Filipino cuisine? The following comment of Kaplan is neither very kind nor fair: “There really isn’t any distinctive Filipino cuisine beyond fish, pork, and indifferently cooked rice.” (p.119) I cannot but disagree. In fact, the Filipino gastronomy, certainly underrated, is really original and unique: sinigang na hipon, kare-kare, halo-halo, liempo with inihaw sauce, beef salpicao, the different varieties of pancit (I prefer the Ilocano one), kinilaw tanguigue, sizzling gambas, kaldereta, chicken tinola, tuna sisig, crispy pata, lumpia, pinakbet, kangkong adobo, lapulapu in soy sauce, leche flan, lambanog, puto, suman (my favorite dessert), and a very long etcetera.

All those dishes, even if they have features or names taken from other countries, are uniquely Filipino. You can like or dislike the Filipino taste, but claiming there is no cuisine in the archipelago, is an insult and a lie.

It took me some time to discover Filipino food because people in the archipelago tend to please foreigners and, therefore, usually offer “Western food” to visitors, fearing that they may dislike local dishes. They also make the typical joke, offering balut.

Quoting Zialcita again: “Enjoying a foreign dish means more than ingesting food; it is an acknowledgment that the Other has a value worth welcoming into one’s being.” (p. 1) Kaplan not only fails to acknowledge the otherness of Filipino cuisine, but also the entire Filipino culture: “This is a borrowed culture without the residue of civilization richness that is apparent at the archaeological sites in places like Vietnam and Indonesia...” (p. 119) The claim proves the close-mindedness that should be the least feature of a keen observer. Moreover, you do not need to be a very erudite anthropologist to reach to the conclusion that every culture, to some extent, is borrowed. What is essentially American in the USA? The burger, the fries, the beer, Wall Street? What is remarkably Spanish in Spain? The turrón, the cured ham, the wine, the castles, the fiesta? Or maybe the Spanish “legacy of absolutism, fatalism, and the pre-Reformation” that Kaplan observes in the dictator Marcos?

What is especially Indonesian in such a heterogeneous nation like Indonesia?

Indigenous people? Islam? Syncretic Hinduism in Bali? Mie Goreng? Suharto’s immoral corruption?

I would like to know how, apart from the income they generate from tourism, these so-called archaeological “residues of civilization”—let’s say Angkor—help uplift the current pitiful situation of those countries? Looking back at the glorious ruins to find inspiration for the future, as in Greece?

The first victim of globalization. What Kaplan misses and can’t stand is the fact that, in his mind and in the mind of many people, the Philippines is not so oriental as the western imagination wishes it to be: There are no pagodas, no spiritual Buddhism, no philosophical lessons from Confucius. The Philippines is not exotic enough for him.

File photo of Philippine flag at Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan, by AC Dimatatac

Instead, there is a melting pot of 160 languages, ancient churches from its Spanish past, a prosperous community of Chinese businessmen, areas populated mainly by Muslims, and still scattered indigenous groups willing to live far from globalization (like the Mangyans in Mindoro). Perhaps, he might be more contented to find people practicing shamanism, ignoring the English language, or keeping indigenous culture alive.

But the truth is the Philippines suffered the impact of globalization before than any other country in the region and is experiencing a fast Americanization that is being accelerated with the support of new technologies. The Philippines possesses, in fact, a superavit (surplus) of cultures, and what is happening is that its rich human diversity is disappearing, like in so many other places, for many reasons.

We can take the side of cultural conservationists and wish the maintenance of all languages and native traditions. That’s beautiful indeed. But I believe, too, that the cultural shift occurring in the Philippines, much faster in urban centers than in the provinces, is an exciting laboratory to observe the confluence of what is inherently Austronesian, Spanish, Chinese, or American, and how Filipinos more or less consciously are selecting cultural items and practices that are shaping their culture continuously.

It is in this environment for cultural syncretism, with all its intrinsic imbalances, where roots precisely the originality and the complexity of the Philippines, and also many of its current problems.

If you are looking for homogeneity, cultural purity, and easy identifications, better go to another country. The Philippines is, culturally, a very complex puzzle.

Gen. Douglas McArthur is the Filipino hero? Kaplan also writes this flagrant mistake: “The country’s romantic hero is not a Filipino but the protean figure of Douglas McArthur, who in the Filipino mind rescued the country from the butchery of the Japanese occupiers.” (p. 123) This is completely false. He is right when pointing out the pro-Americanism

of Filipinos. School handbooks of history can be blamed for it, as they depict the American period as a pleasant time of preparation for a democracy that was finally granted.

The truth is the Filipinos’ national hero is the more protean and intellectual figure of José Rizal, something that every Filipino knows and whose statues can be seen in every plaza of almost every town throughout the archipelago.

He later claims Mindanao is occupied

by Muslim Moros, (p. 126). The statement is far from being exact: Muslims are the majority in Maguindanao, Cotabato City, and Lanao del Sur. But most of Mindanao is actually Christian, and many indigenous religions are still practiced. Generalizations are dangerous. Even Wikipedia could have helped him from committing these mistakes.

Some other negative comments on the Philippines are strewn throughout the essay, but they are not worthy enough to be mentioned.

At the end, Kaplan goes to Palawan and writes some divagations about Puerto Princesa and Ulugan Bay. He does not explain why he visits Palawan, but I can throw a hypothesis (just my speculation): He wanted to go to Pagasa, the only island populated by civilians in the Spratlys, but he could not get there for some reason. Maybe the weather, maybe he did not get a permit to get there, or maybe he did not pay the soldiers enough.

So, taking away the many factual errors indicated, what are the highlights of Kaplan’s essay on the Philippines? 1. The Philippines is very corrupt. 2. The Philippines is very dysfunctional and poverty is rampant. 3.

The Philippines does not have a strong army and needs the help of the US Army to defend the territories they are claiming. This third point is what he really wanted to make clear in his poorly researched chapter— as the scarce bibliography shows in the endnotes.

We can say, therefore, after reading it, that there was no point in bringing up all this stuff. ■ Jorge Mojarro / Special to InterAksyon. com / June 12, 2014 / 2:50 PM

EVENTS DIARY UK & EUROPE

www.hello-philippines.com

14

DATE / TIME 7 June 18 June2014 to 2 July 2014 Saturday 10:00am 4:00pm – 5:00pm 7 and 8 June 2014 Saturday and Sunday 14 June 2014 Saturday 6:00pm – 1:00am

21 and 22 June 2014 14 June 2014 Saturday and Sunday Saturday 10:00am to 5:00pm 9:00am to 6:00pm

14 28 June June 2014 2014 Saturday Saturday 7:00pm to 11:00pm 9:00am 5:00pm 15 June to 2014 Sunday 9:30am – 5:30pm 28 June June 2014 2014 15 Sunday Saturday 2:00pm 8:00am –to11:00pm 6:00pm 18 June to 2 July 2014 10:00am – 5:00pm 29 June 2014

Sunday 9:00am to 6:00pm 29 June 2014 Sunday 21 and 22 June 2014

Saturday and Sunday to 5:00pm 510:00am and 6 July 2014

Saturday and Sunday 28 June 2014 10:00am to 6:00pm Saturday 9:00am to 5:00pm 28 June 2014

Saturday 12 and 13 July 2014 8:00am to 6:00pm Saturday and Sunday

EVENT VENUE Philippine Embassy – Church of Our Lady of London Biennale 2014: Philippine Embassy 116th Independence Day Victories, 235A Kensington Token of a Times Gone 10 Suffolk Street Thanksgiving Mass High Street, Kensington,

By Reanimating History London 4HG London SW1Y W8 6SA Philippine Morden Park, Morden, Surrey as Art in the Work of Independence Day sa SM4 5DX Noel De Leon Morden

FWA UK 26th Philippine National Day (PND) Dinner & Dance 2014

Palace Suite, Royal Garden Hotel, 2-24 Kensington High Street, London W8 4PT

116 2014th Independence Day Celebration sa Newcastle

Blaydon Club (Carboot Eastville, Rugby Bristol BS5 6XA Area), Hexham Road, Swalwell, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE16 3BN The Chartroom Restaurant / Hoglands Park, Southampton Bar, Inverkip PA16 0AS

Barrio Fiesta in Bristol

Celebrating 2014Barrio – 116th 1st Southampton Philippine Fiesta Independence Party Barrio Fiesta in Leeds

Barrio th Fiesta 116 Philippine Independence Hertfordshire Day Celebration 2014 – Piyesta Ng Kalayaan London Biennale 2014: Token of a Times Gone Bradford Barrio Fiesta

By Reanimating History as Art in the Work of Noel De Leon Barrio Fiesta Northern Ireland 2014 Barrio Fiesta in Bristol 2014

HELLO PHILIPPINES proudly presentsBarrio st 1 Southampton Hounslow Summer Fiesta Festival 2014 Barrio Fiesta

Hertfordshire Barrio Fiesta Birmingham 2014

Eastville Park, Muller Road,

SO14 1NH

Selby Road Leeds LS15 0AD

ORGANISER Philippine Embassy, London, UK and An art exhibition of multi-media Various Filipino Associations installations, sculpture, paintings, founds objects by Mr Noel De Leon. It Bayanihan UK will be organized as part of the London Biennale 2014 and will be curated by Filipino Women’s Association UK Mr. David Medalla, founder and (FWA-UK) director of The London Biennale Filipino Community in Bristol Filipino Community of Newcastle Upon Tyne (FILCAN)

CONTACTS / REMARKS Noel De Leon: 020 8581 3623 / 07504 999 374 Deleon.noeled@yahoo.com Tess Jucohttp://www.1fmediaproject.net/201 020 3417 5038 / 07956 593 236 Website: 4/05/01/london-biennale-2014/ Clarita Richardson (Chairman) 020 8767 0180 / 07505 91 468 Jane Gibbs (PND Coordinator) 01483 714 383 07900 485 194 Wil Manuel Kerima Harris (Deputy PND) 07795 903 419 Sally Sellars 07886 742 417 / Honeylyn 07783 343 848 Program: Eva Bartolome 07542 026 296 / Clarence 07500 896 239 Santacruzan: Haidee Atienza 07814 425 547

Hilda 07909 724 653

Phil-Scot Trust Southampton

Barrio Fiesta

Filipino Leeds Association (FLA-UK Limited)

Fairlands Park, West WingValley Arts Centre Art Centre Showground Arena, Broadhall Stoke(opposite Road Way Stevenage FC Slough SL2 5AX Stadium), Stevenage Philippine Embassy SG2 8RH An art exhibition of multi-media 10 Suffolk Street paintings, Lady Hill Park, Allerton, Bradford installations, Independentsculpture, Team London SW1Y 4HG founds objects by Mr Noel De Leon. It BD15 7AA will be organized as part of the London

Nally 01294 461 Stalls,Carroll sponsorships and709 other Marilyn Kaarits 07805 562 450

enquiries: Paul Maspinas 07894 227 754 Jimmy Cabotaje 07878510 852277 153 Marjorie Horner: 07787 Nora Zuniga 023 8023 4412 Joseph 07534 711 757 / Ivy 07428 184 063 / Michael 07447 588 971 / Myla 07533 764 965

Biennale 2014 and will be curated by

Noel De Leon: 020 8581 3623338 / 07504 374 Nelson 07823 947 /999 Nina 07780 076 256 Deleon.noeled@yahoo.com Website: http://www.1fmediaproject.net/201 4/05/01/london-biennale-2014/

Filipino Association of Birmingham

Wil Manuel 07900 485 194 Honeylyn 07783 343 848 Clarence 07500 896 239 813 104 Roselle Collado – 07577 Hilda 07909 724 653 Mike – 07538 201 870 Stalls,McCarthy sponsorships and other enquiries: Email: events@hello-philippines.com Paul Maspinas 07894 227 754 Jimmy Cabotaje 852 153 Tickets & General07878 Enquiries: Nora Zuniga 023 8023 4412 020 3004 9268711 757 / Ivy 07428 184 063 / Joseph 07534 Michael 07447 971159 / Myla Rozen Malonzo588 07985 203 /07533 Marlo764 965

Mr. DavidIreland Medalla, founder and Hydebank Parks and Playing Northern Filipino Community director of The London Biennale Fields, 19 Newtownbreda Eastville Park, Muller Road, Filipino Community in Bristol Road, Belfast BT8 6BQ Eastville, Bristol BS5 6XA Lampton Park, Lampton Road, HELLO PHILIPPINES Hounslow TW3 4DN Hoglands Park, Southampton Southampton Barrio Fiesta SO14 1NH

Fairlands Valley Park, Showground Arena, Broadhall Woodgate Valley County Park, Way (opposite Stevenage FC Clapgate Lane, Bartley Green, Stadium), Stevenage SG2 8RH Birmingham Lady Hill Park, Allerton, Bradford BD15 7AA B32 3DS

June 2014 / Fortnightly – No. 12 • UK & Europe Edition

Roy 07412 625 738 / Malou 07850 151 678

Quilang 07531 022 269 / Noel Azuro 07861 805 26007823 338 947 / Nina 07780 076 256 Nelson

29 June 2014 Bradford Barrio Fiesta Independent Team Sunday 9:00am to 6:00pm FREE LISTING onFiesta the HELLO PHILIPPINES newspaper and if you know of any Events please contact us and submit your via email the 29 June 2014 of your events Barrio Northern Hydebank Parks and Playing Northern Ireland Filipino Community Roy 07412 625 738 event / Malou 07850 151to 678 Sunday Ireland 2014 Fields, 19 Newtownbreda following at INFO@HELLO-PHILIPPINES.COM Road, Belfast BT8 6BQ PHILIPPINES Lampton Park, or Lampton HELLO PHILIPPINES Collado – 07577 813 104 5 and 6 July 2014 HELLO DISCLAIMER: The Events Diary Listing does not necessarily constitute imply itsRoad, endorsement, recommendation, or favouring byRoselle Hello Philippines newspaper.

The views proudly presents Hounslow TW3 4DN Mike McCarthy – 07538 201 870 Saturday and Sunday of what is and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of Hello Philippines newspaper.

This is merely an Events Diary Listing Hounslow Summer Email: events@hello-philippines.com 10:00am to 6:00pm Festival 2014 Tickets & General Enquiries: happening within the Filipino Communities in Europe. This is for general information only.

020 3004 9268 12 and 13 July 2014 Birmingham Barrio Fiesta Woodgate Valley County Park, Filipino Association of Birmingham Rozen Malonzo 07985 159 203 / Marlo and Sunday 2014 Clapgate Lane, Bartley Green, Quilang 07531 022 269 / Noel Azuro 07861 st 1Saturday Saturday 5:00pm Devotion in Honour of Our Lady of Fatima (Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament / Rosary / Benediction / Mass) St Pius X Birmingham 805 260 Catholic B32 3DS Church, 108 Orme Road, Kingston Upon Thames KT1 3SB – Oliver Abasolo – 07782 661 922

MONTHLY FILIPINO COMMUNITY MASSES IN GREATER LONDON

FREE LISTING of your events on the HELLO PHILIPPINES newspaper and if you know of any Stonebridge Events please us and 1st Sunday 2:00pm Five Precious Wounds Parish, Brentfield Road, Park,contact London NW10 8ERsubmit your event via email to the following at INFO@HELLO-PHILIPPINES.COM Mervic Monocillo – 07894 636 140 DISCLAIMER: Listing does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favouring 1st Sunday The Events Diary 5:00pm Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church, Friary Road, Peckham, London SE15 by 1RHHello Philippines newspaper. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of Hello Philippines news paper. This is merely an Events Diary Listing of what is Allen Abeleda – 07713 625 888 happening within the Filipino Communities in Europe. This is for general information only.

2nd Saturday

4:00pm

1 Saturday

5:00pm

1st Sunday

2:00pm

st

2 Sunday nd

2:00pm

21stndSunday Sunday

2:00pm 5:00pm

Saturday 22nd Sunday

4:00pm

2nd Sunday

2:00pm

2

Sunday

2:00pm

32rdnd Sunday Sunday

3:00pm 4:00pm

Last Saturday

3rd Sunday

6:00pm

3rd Sunday

3:00pm

nd

3rdnd Sunday

Last Sunday

4:00pm 3:00pm

3:00pm

12:00pm

Last Saturday

6:00pm

Last Last Sunday Sunday

12:00pm 2:00pm

Last Sunday

2:00pm

Every Sunday

5:00pm

First Wednesdays First Wednesdays

6:30pm 6:30pm

Every Sunday

5:00pm

the Apostle Catholic Church, MASSES 103 WoolwichIN New Road, LondonLONDON SE18 6EF MONTHLYSt Peter FILIPINO COMMUNITY GREATER

Moises Espanola – 07894 639of Fatima (Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament / Rosary / Benediction / Mass) St Pius X Devotion in Honour of Our648 Lady Catholic Church, 108 Orme Road, Kingston Upon Park, Thames KT1 3SBHA9 – Oliver English Martyrs Church, Chalkhill Road, Wembley Wembley 9EW Abasolo – 07782 661 922 Five Precious Road, Park, 418 London 510 NW10 8ER Becky SarinasWounds – 07949 Parish, 857 699Brentfield / 07425 761 519Stonebridge / Lina B – 07579 Mervic Monocillo – 07894 636 140 St Dominic VioletFriary Lane,Road, Waddon, Croydon CR0 4HN Our Lady ofCatholic Sorrows Church, Catholic 243 Church, Peckham, London SE15 1RH Allen Abeleda – 07713 Merlie Mirto – 07722 216625 462888 St Peter the Apostle Catholic Church, 103 Woolwich New Road, London SE18 6EF St. Anselm and St. Cecilia, 70 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3JA Moises Espanola – 07894 648 639 Feliciano Ramirez – 07733 680 748Road, Wembley Park, Wembley HA9 9EW English Martyrs Church, Chalkhill / 07425 519 Kilburn, / Lina B London – 07579 NW6 418 510 Becky Sarinas Sacred Heart of– 07949 Jesus, 857 New699 Priory, Quex761 Road, 4PS St Dominic Catholic Church, 243 Violet Lane, Waddon, Croydon CR0 4HN Sheidrick de Leon – 07738 210 202 Merlie Mirto – 07722 216 462 Blessed Sacrament Parish, 70 157Lincoln's Copenhagen Street, Islington N1 3JA 0SR St. Anselm and St. Cecilia, Inn Fields, London WC2A Feliciano Ramirez – 07733 680 748 Christy Sangalang – 07709 119 969 Sacred Heart of Jesus, New Priory, Quex Road, Kilburn, London NW6 4PS Our Lady de of Dolours, Servite210 Parish Sheidrick Leon – 07738 202 Church, 264 Fulham Road, London SW10 4EL Fr Allan Satur – 020 7352 6965 / fulhamroad@rcdow.org g.uk / Roland dap – r_adap adap@hotmail.com Blessed Sacrament Parish, 157 Copenhagen Street, Islington N1 0SR Adap Christy Sangalang – 07709 119 969 St Pius X Catholic Church, 108 Orme Road, Kingston Upon Thames KT1 3SB Our Lady of Dolours, Servite Parish Church, 264 Fulham Road, London SW10 4EL Oliver Abasolo 07782 922/ fulhamroad@rcdow.org.uk / Roland Adap – r_adap@hotmail.com Fr Allan Satur – –020 7352661 6965 St X Catholic Church, 108 218 Orme Road, Kingston Thames St.Pius Joseph’s Catholic Church, Roehampton Lane,Upon London SW15KT1 4LE3SB Oliver Abasolo – 07782 661 922 Rafael Santiago – 07795 254 451 St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 218 Roehampton Lane, London SW15 4LE Holy Redeemer Rafael SantiagoCatholic – 07795 Church, 254 451 20 Brixton Road, Oval, London SW9 6BU Holy Ortiz Redeemer Ben – 07723Catholic 318 486Church, 20 Brixton Road, Oval, London SW9 6BU Ben Ortiz – 07723 318 486 Filipino Mass and Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help, Farm Street Church of the Immaculate Conception (Jesuit Filipino Mass and Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help, Farm Street Church of the Immaculate Conception (Jesuit House House Chapel), Chapel), access access on on 114 114 Mount Mount Street, Street, London London W1K W1K 3AY 3AY – – Josie Josie Ramos Ramos – – 07723 07723 024 024 591 591

Media Partner:

16

www.hello-philippines.com

INTERNATIONAL / GOLBAL NEWS

June 2014 / Fortnightly – No. 12 • UK & Europe Edition

Pinay maid who hid stolen jewelry in underwear tried before UAE court A Filipina domestic helper was tried before a United Arab Emirates court this week over charges that she stole some Dh100,000 in jewellery belonging to her sponsor, and trying to hide the loot in her underwear.

The maid, 24, had tried to run away from her Egyptian sponsor and his wife last March allegedly because they were treating her badly, UAE news site Khaleej Times reported Wednesday.

However, she did not show up at the

Pinay held for running ‘fraudulent’ maid agency in UAE A Filipina has been arrested in the United Arab Emirates over accusations that she duped Dubai residents who were looking for full-time household helpers.

The Filipina allegedly took and ran away with advance payments from would-be employers in Dubai, according to a report on UAE news site Khaleej Times.

She was arrested in an entrapment operation conducted by police and supposedly admitted to the crime, the report said.

The report said the Filipina, who was not named in the report, had been linked to at least eight such fraud cases, and may have made Dh80,000 in one year.

Dubai police anti-crime department head Col. Ahmed Thani bin Ghalita was quoted as saying they learned of the racket after an Emirati woman from Al Warqa lodged a complaint.

Investigation showed the Filipina would claim she worked for a company recruiting Filipino domestic workers, and even asked the victim to choose from photos of supposed maids. She would then ask the victim to pay Dh6,000 in advance, supposedly to bring the maid into the UAE. The suspect received Dh3,000 in advance payment and gave the victim a photocopy of the supposed maid’s passport and a “receipt.” But once the victim tried to contact the suspect via mobile phone, she found it was switched off.

Further record checks showed the Filipina was the subject of similar complaints at the Rashidiya and Al Qusais police stations, and an arrest warrant was issued against her. ■ Joel Locsin / KBK, GMA News / June 9, 2014 / 12:28 PM

Court of First Instance for the first hearing, with the next hearing being scheduled for June 15, the report said.

The maid was arrested March 3 at her sponsor’s house in Silicon Oasis, after her employers kept her in her room.

“When we reached the apartment, we found that the maid had been restrained in her room by her employer and prevented from leaving the house. They had suspected she stole their valuables and other belongings,” a police corporal said.

But the corporal said they did not find jewelry in the maid’s bag, which contained a mobile phone and women’s clothes including a pair of pants and a shirt.

Police eventually found necklaces, rings, earrings, and bracelets hidden in the Filipina’s underwear. The Filipina even hid some other valuables in her sanitary pads.

The Filipina was described as looking “very scared and agitated” at the time of her arrest, the report said. ■ Joel Locsin / KBK, GMA News / June 11, 2014 / 1:04 PM

Employer of scalded Pinay maid in Saudi out on bail – report

THE employer of a Filipina who was scalded in Saudi Arabia last May 4 has been arrested but is now out on bail, the victim’s kin claimed.

Harrish Alagasi, whose cousin Fahima Palacasi suffered burns from the incident, also claimed a Saudi-based agency is offering big amount if they withdraw their case, Arab News reported Monday.

But the Arab News report also said Harrish was frustrated with the Philippine Embassy, which he said does not give them any update so far.

“Dealing with the Philippine Embassy is very frustrating because they don’t give us any update,” he was quoted as saying in the report.

Palacasi, 22, who hails from Pikit in Cotabato, was reportedly abused by her

employer in Riyadh, and suffered burns when she was scalded with boiling water.

The incident prompted the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration to preventively suspend the employer of the OFW as well as the Philippine and Saudi recruitment agencies that deployed her.

According to the Department of Labor and Employment, Palacasi complained that she was constantly kicked and lashed by

her male employer. She also alleged that her sponsor’s mother poured boiled water over her due to a misunderstanding as her sponsor’s mother did not speak English.

Palacasi eventually escaped from the hospital on May 11, and went to the house of her cousin. On May 13, the employer reported to the Saudi recruitment agency that Palacasi ran away while undergoing treatment.

On May 17, Palacasi’s cousin posted photos of Palacasi’s wounds on Facebook.

The next day, personnel from the Philippine Embassy fetched Palacasi and brought her to the Shumaisy Hospital.

Palacasi then got counseling from a social welfare attache from the Department of Social Welfare and Development. ■ Joel

Locsin / KBK, GMA News / June 9, 2014 / 2:50 PM

13 Pinoys convicted for carrying stun guns in HK in 1st quarter 2014 Saudi cop arrested for sexually assaulting Pinoy driver

AT least 13 Filipinos were arrested and convicted for carrying stun guns in Hong Kong in the first quarter of 2014, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday.

The DFA said this has prompted the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong to start an information campaign reminding Filipinos not to bring or carry stun devices there.

“Bringing such devices into the territory has been outlawed and prohibited under Hong Kong’s Firearms and Ammunition Ordinance. Those who are caught bringing those restricted or prohibited stun devices are charged with Possession of Other Arms without License under the Firearms and Ammunition Ordinance. If found guilty, they will be fined HK$100,000 and/or a maximum sentence of 14 years imprisonment,” it said in a news release.

Info drive. The Consulate General said the information campaign applies to Filipino

travelers “transiting or entering Hong Kong as visitors, workers or residents.”

It said the restricted or prohibited materials include stun guns, tear gas, bullets, extendible batons, flick knives, and knuckle busters.

Such items should not be in hand-carried or checked-in luggage, the DFA said.

“Hong Kong authorities are very strict in enforcing the above ordinance. All handcarried and checked-in luggage of all passengers are subjected to strict security screening at all airport terminals in Hong Kong SAR,” it added.

Arrests and convictions. The DFA cited a report from the Philippine Consulate General showing 57 Filipinos were arrested and imprisoned for carrying restricted or prohibited stun devices in their hand-carried bags and checked-in luggage in 2012.

In 2013, it said 68 were arrested and convicted for similar offenses. ■ Joel Locsin / KBK, GMA News / June 11, 2014 / 2:21 PM

A Saudi police officer has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a Filipino driver last April, a Saudi Arabia news site reported late Sunday.

The report on Arab News said the police officer was from the Eastern province, and was accused of assaulting the driver last April 13 at Khurais checkpoint at DammamRiyadh Expressway.

It said the Filipino driver, 31, identified his attacker in a police line-up, and that the policeman admitted to the crime.

The victim, who arrived in the Kingdom on June 2 last year and hails from Iloilo, works for a Riyadh-based company.

Earlier, the Filipino sought help from the Philippine Embassy, having initially lodged a complaint with the Azizia police station

in Riyadh and then with the Khurais police station in Dammam.

He later received a phone call that the officer had been arrested.

The Arab News report said the victim went ahead with filing a complaint despite the suspect’s “warnings and intimidation,” saying other drivers could face similar attacks. ■ Joel

Locsin / KBK, GMA News / June 9, 2014 / 1:38 PM

Pakistan to appeal ruling allowing Musharraf to leave country: lawyer

PAKISTAN’S government on Saturday filed an appeal with the country’s Supreme Court seeking to overturn a decision allowing ex-military ruler Pervez Musharraf to leave the country, his lawyer said.

“The federal government has filed an appeal in the Supreme Court,” Ahmad Raza Kasuri, a member of Musharraf’s legal team, told AFP. The move comes after a court in Karachi on Thursday ordered the lifting of a travel

ban imposed on the 70-year-old, a ruling his supporters hoped would draw a line under a raft of legal troubles.

Musharraf has been battling several court cases -- including treason charges for imposing emergency rule in 2007 -- since he returned to Pakistan last year to contest elections, stoking tensions between civilian authorities and the powerful military.

Akram Sheikh, a senior lawyer who is the chief prosecutor in the treason case,

confirmed an appeal had come from the attorney general’s office.

“I hope it will be fixed for (hearing on) Monday,” he added.

Observers say the former general’s exit from Pakistan could help ease tensions between the army and civilian authorities at a time when the country is fighting a resurgent Taliban following a brazen attack on Karachi’s airport last week. ■ AFP / June 14, 2014

Filipino workers in CNMI set to pay US taxes in 2015 GARAPAN, Saipan – Thousands of Filipino workers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands will be required to pay U.S. Social Security and Medicare taxes starting on Jan. 1, 2015.

Currently in the CNMI, only Filipino workers are not being required to pay taxes under the Federal Insurance Contribution Act, or FICA. But the U.S. Internal Revenue Service said employers of workers from the Philippines working in the CNMI must start withholding and paying FICA taxes starting Jan. 1, 2015.

The transitional immigration program that allows the CNMI continued access to some 10,000 foreign workers mostly from the Philippines has just been recently extended by five years or up to Dec. 31, 2019.

This means at least up to that year, Filipino workers with CW permits will be required to

pay U.S. Social Security and Medicare taxes under FICA. Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP), the CNMI’s nonvoting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, told GMA News that he is “not going to spend political capital” on extending the FICA tax payment exemption for Filipino workers because the pre-2015 reprieve was supposed to be only a one-time deal.

Filipinos and other workers in the U.S. territory of the CNMI will also see a 50 cents increase in minimum wage starting on Sept.

30 this year, or from the current $5.55 an hour to $6.05 an hour.

A U.S. law requires an annual – later amended to become every-other-year – 50 cents increase in minimum wage in the CNMI until it reaches the U.S. federal wage floor of $7.25 an hour. ■ Haidee Eugenio / ELR, GMA News

Pakistani motorists drive past a police cordon leading to a residence of Pakistan’s former military ruler Pervez Musharraf in Karachi on June 12, 2014

Pakistan’s former military ruler Pervez Musharraf addresses foreign media representatives at his house in Islamabad, December 29, 2013

Media Partner:

20

NEWS

www.hello-philippines.com

June 2014 / Fortnightly – No. 12 • UK & Europe Edition

Independence Day insight: Economic gains from EDCA are overstated MANILA - Philippine sovereignty remains seriously challenged even as the country marks its supposed 116th Independence Day on June 12. The biggest threat still comes from the US especially amid its socalled pivot to Asia. This foreign policy of the Obama regime involves the deepening of US-PH colonial ties such as through the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

Recently signed, EDCA is now the most blatant symbol of US intervention in the country, much like the old US military bases in Subic and Clark. And like before, government is reciting all sorts of benefits to justify what is an essentially new basing deal with the Americans.

Economic gains? One of the supposed gains is economic. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) claims that EDCA will further benefit the Philippines “through the provision of jobs and other economic opportunities in the construction activities… and procurement of local goods and supplies by the US military and personnel.”

Local construction firms, professionals and experts are expected be hired by the US military to build their facilities in so-called “Agreed Locations” under EDCA. Entrepreneurs near these agreed locations will profit as well due to demand for services and products from American troops. EDCA defines Agreed Locations as facilities and areas that are provided by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for access and use by US forces and contractors. Although denied by officials, these shall effectively function as military bases for the US, including prepositioning materiel. Agreed Locations can be anywhere in the Philippines, even in areas where there are no existing AFP bases.

Meanwhile, improved business confidence is another purported economic gain from EDCA. The presence of US forces is claimed to provide stability that local and foreign investors seek. The military deal is said to reinforce stability in Asia, which underpins growth in the region. No preferential treatment Alas, like its supposed defense and security benefits such as AFP modernization, maritime domain awareness, etc., authorities are overstating EDCA’s economic gains.

For one thing, EDCA does not require the US to give preferential treatment to Filipino firms to build facilities in agreed locations or supply the needs of American troops. On the contrary, it gives the US the exclusive right to choose its own contractors and suppliers.

Article VIII paragraph 1 of EDCA states: United States forces may contract for any materiel, supplies, equipment, and services (including construction) to be furnished or undertaken in the territory of the Philippines without restriction as to the choice of contractor, supplier, or person who provides such materiel, supplies, equipment, or services. Such contract shall be solicited, awarded, and administered in accordance with the laws and regulations of the United States. What EDCA merely requires is for the US to make the best effort to hire Filipino contractors and suppliers although this too shall conform to US policies.

Paragraph 2 of Article VIII states: United States forces shall strive to use Philippine suppliers of goods, products, and services to the greatest extent practicable in accordance with the laws and regulations of the United States.

Bases for US profits. Building and maintaining foreign military bases have become a lucrative industry in the US, and is dominated by a handful of private American contractors. Based on one rough estimate, private contractors raked in US$385 billion in overseas bases in the past decade with the 10 biggest groups cornering one-third of the amount.

The central role that profit-seeking contractors play in nearly 1,000 US foreign military bases worldwide has been made possible by the privatization of logistics and core military roles in US wars and intervention. As one study published in the Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies put it, “To economically and efficiently ‘manufacture’ the ‘product’ known as security, the DoD (US Department of Defense) has increasingly operated like a transnational corporation: it has adopted the corporate strategies of rightsizing, outsourcing, and offshoring.”

Private contractors perform various functions outsourced to them by the US Defense department – from the construction and security of foreign military bases to

“running dining facilities and performing laundry services” inside these bases.

Retired US defense and military officials usually found and head these private contractors, explaining their tight relationship with Pentagon. Thus, it is not surprising that the US Defense department ensured that EDCA would not tie their hands as to their preferred contractors that will provide goods and services in Agreed Locations.

American contractors. Even before EDCA was signed, some of the biggest American private contractors have already been working in the Philippines to support US military operations here. One of them is DynCorp International, which has a $16.34-million contract with the US Navy to perform “labor, supervision, management, tools, materials, equipment, facilities, transportation, incidental engineering, and other items necessary to provide support services” to the US Joint Special Operations Task Force – Philippines (JSOTF-P).

JSOTF-P forces have been rotationally deployed by the US in Mindanao since 2002 through the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). Their deployment was part of the so-called war on terror of the then Bush administration. They keep facilities inside AFP bases in Zamboanga City, Maguindanao and Sulu. These facilities are being maintained and secured by DynCorp.

Another is Huntington Ingalls Industries, which builds ships for the US Navy and Coast Guard.

In 2012, Huntington Ingalls forged a service deal with giant South Korean firm Hanjin Heavy Industries to provide maintenance, repair and logistics services to the US Navy at Subic Bay. The contract was apparently in anticipation of increased US military presence in the country that will now materialize under EDCA. Exploiting workers. At best, the only possible economic “benefit” that Filipinos may have under EDCA is as a source of cheap labor. To further bloat their profits, US military contractors usually subcontract to a third party (e.g. recruitment agency) the hiring of workers to perform low-paying jobs inside US military bases.

This system, as a study by Al Jazeera disclosed, is being used to exploit the

PHL files protest with China over West PHL Sea reclamation activities

THE Philippines has filed a new diplomatic protest with China over reclamation activities at disputed reefs in the West Philippine Sea, radio dzBB reported.

The report, which quoted Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose, said the Philippines believes China is conducting reclamation works at at least five reefs in the West Philippine Sea. Jose had said last Monday, June 9, that the reclamation and construction activities on the reefs “are provocative and unilateral actions that constitute an infringement on the rights of the Philippines under United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and they are violations of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea...These actions raises the level of tensions in the region.”

The South China Sea – a major shipping lane said to be harboring rich oil

and natural gas reserves - is also claimed in part or in whole by Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

Analysts feared that the overlapping claims could trigger a major military conflict in the region.

China has also angered Vietnam for installing an oil rig in the Paracels, another South China Sea feature jointly claimed by

the two countries.

Manila has challenged China’s indisputable ownership of the waters before a Netherlands-based tribunal that operates under a United Nations convention to try to declare its assertions as illegal. China has rejected the Philippine case. ■ with Michaela

del Callar / DVM/ELR, GMA News / June 13, 2014 / 10:38 PM

File photo of an anti-VFA protest. The US Joint Special Operations Task Force â?? Philippines (JSOTF-P)forces have been rotationally deployed by the US in Mindanao since 2002 through the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). Their deployment was part of the so-called war on terror of the then Bush administration. They keep facilities inside AFP bases in Zamboanga City, Maguindanao and Sulu. These facilities are being maintained and secured by companies like DynCorp., which are expected to make a killing again from contracts under the EDCA.

workers. DynCorp and other US contractors in Afghanistan, for instance, collude with recruiters to charge exorbitant fees to workers and pay them cheap wages while working 12-hour days with little or no time off to do the “cooking, cleaning, laundry, construction and other support tasks necessary to operate military facilities”.

Worse, EDCA not only fails to provide protection mechanisms to workers, but also in fact deprives workers a chance to use Philippine laws to safeguard their rights and welfare.

As pointed out by the petition submitted by Makabayan and others to the Supreme Court (SC) questioning EDCA’s constitutionality, Article XI of the deal states: “Disputes and other matters subject to consultation under this Agreement shall not be referred to any national or international court, tribunal, or other similar body, or to any third party for settlement, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties.” Such disputes may include violation of labor rights, which is worrisome since Article VIII of EDCA allows the US to hire contractors without any restriction.

This means that even the most notorious contractors such as DynCorp and their partners like Hanjin (also infamous for the series of deaths of their shipyard workers in Subic) will continue to land deals under EDCA. Another possible source of “jobs” are the services for the “rest and recreation” of American troops. But this also means increased exploitation of Filipino women as red light districts near Agreed Locations are sure to thrive like in the heydays of Subic and Clark.

Certainly, these are not the sort of “economic opportunities” we seek under EDCA. Generous perks. In reality, it is the US and its contractors who stand to gain the most economic benefits from EDCA. Agreed Locations, as specified in Article III paragraph 3 of the agreement, for instance, shall be made available without rental or similar costs. And while the country allowed the US to use the Agreed Locations rent-free, the Philippines may still have to compensate the US for the “improvements or construction” in the Agreed Locations, as stated in Article V paragraph 2 of EDCA. The same thing is true with equipment stored in the Agreed Locations, which the Philippines may still need to purchase from

the US subject to its laws and regulations (Article V paragraph 5).

Furthermore, US contractors and troops can use public utilities such as water and electricity tax-free, as stated in Article VII paragraph 1 of EDCA. It will be the Filipino taxpayers who will be shouldering the tax burden on the use of such public utilities

by US contractors and troops. As noted by the Makabayan petition against EDCA, no private company in the Philippines currently enjoys such generous privilege.

Impact on livelihood. Government is clearly exaggerating the supposed economic gains from EDCA while concealing the fact that negotiators gave too many unjustifiable perks to the US. Aggravating the matter is the likelihood that increased US military presence and operation under EDCA will harshly impact on the livelihood of local communities where the Agreed Locations will be established.

Already, Balikatan military drills have been affecting local livelihood such as the small fishers who are being displaced during naval exercises by US and Filipino troops.

Government will also likely acquire more lands or areas to build military facilities in order to accommodate Agreed Locations that the US wants to establish. This is because some locations that the US finds suitable may not be hosting AFP bases. In Subic, for example, which is now a free port zone, the AFP is negotiating with civilian authorities to establish its bases there so that a portion of it can be used as an Agreed Location.

What if the US wants to build a naval or air force facility in Palawan or Batanes where there are fishing or farming communities?

The US is notorious for displacing whole communities just to build its bases such as what it did in Okinawa and Diego Garcia.

EDCA is evidently a lopsided agreement that violates our sovereignty while promising false gains. It has always been the case in our more than a hundred year old relationship with the US. This needs to change.

IBON Foundation, Inc. is an independent development institution established in 1978 that provides research, education, publications, information work and advocacy support on socioeconomic issues. ■ Arnold Padilla / IBON Foundation Inc. / June 12, 2014 / 2:03 AM

ADVERTISE WITH HELLO PHILIPPINES! MIKE McCARTHY PARTNER / SALES DIRECTOR NO.: +44 (0) 1708 550

TEL. E-MAIL:

398 mmccarthy@mshareltd.com MOBILE NO: +44 (0) 7989 403 904 E-MAIL: enquiries@hello-philippines.com WEBSITE: www.hello-philippines.com

22

www.hello-philippines.com

HEALTH and Lifestyle

Hay fever and children HAY fever symptoms, including itchy eyes and a running nose, can be particularly distressing for children, who may find the symptoms harder to manage and won’t always realise that they can ask for help.

According to Pierre Dugué, consultant allergist at Guy’s Hospital in London, you should make an appointment with your GP to get a diagnosis if you think your child may have hay fever.

“It’s important to know if it’s hay fever, as it could be a non-pollen allergy such as dust mite or pet fur,” says Dugué.

Dugué says hay fever has clear seasonal symptoms, which occur at the same time every year. “The strict diagnosis of hay fever is allergy to grass pollen. But your child could also be allergic to tree pollen, which usually comes at the end of spring, before grass pollen is produced.

“Allergy to tree pollen usually means allergy to birch, hazel or elder trees, which are in the same family.”

Signs of hay fever in children. Hay fever often affects children at school, and while it is typically thought of as occurring in summer, the hay fever season in the UK starts much earlier in the year, during the spring. Look out for symptoms from March to October.

Sometimes hay fever can be confused with a virus. The way to tell the difference is by how long the symptoms last. If it’s a virus, they should only last for a week or two.

Viruses rarely last for weeks and weeks.

If your child has a constant runny nose and is sneezing every day for part of the year but not in the winter, it’s a sign that they may be allergic to something.

Diagnosing your child’s hay fever.

It’s important that hay fever is diagnosed so it can be treated and your child can take steps to avoid it. If your child only has symptoms in July and August on a very sunny day, it’s almost certainly hay fever.

In this case, you don’t really need a formal diagnosis. But if your child has symptoms all year round and you’re not sure if it’s hay fever, go to your GP for a diagnosis. Your child may have perennial allergic rhinitis.

Treating your child’s hay fever symptoms. If your child doesn’t like taking tablets, antihistamines are also available as a liquid. Other treatments include steroid nasal sprays.

Eye drops can be particularly useful if eye symptoms are one of the main symptoms of allergic rhinitis.

How to give your child eye drops.

Below is some advice from the charity Allergy UK on how to give your child eye drops.

• Before you begin, follow directions such as washing hands in advance to avoid adding more irritants and infections.

• It can be easiest to administer eye drops by lying your child down and gently pulling down their lower lid – for example, have their head in front of you as they lie on the end of a bed.

• Older children sometimes like to sit in a chair while the drops are administered as they lean back and look up.

• When you add one drop gently into the eye, your child will naturally blink as a reflex and may then find the drops initially uncomfortable.

• When giving eye drops to young children, it can be helpful to have something you can use to distract them once the eye drops have been given, such as letting your child put a star on their chart.

• It can be helpful to role play with your child using a doll or teddy bear, telling them what is going to happen and letting them do it to their toy themselves after having their own eye drops administered.

• Remember to praise older children after medication, as it can also be

June 2014 / Fortnightly – No. 12 • UK & Europe Edition

Hay fever usually affects children from the age of seven, and older children and teenagers are more susceptible to the allergy than adults.

uncomfortable for them. Mentioning to others how well your child is coping while they are present can boost their selfesteem and make them more compliant.

Preventing hay fever symptoms in children. Pollen is released in the early morning. As the air warms up, the pollen is carried up above our heads. As evening comes and the air cools, pollen comes back down.

This means that symptoms are usually worse first thing in the morning and early evening, particularly on days that have been warm and sunny.

To reduce your child’s exposure to pollens: • Keep windows closed at night so

pollen doesn’t enter the house.

• Buy your child a pair of wraparound sunglasses to stop pollen entering their eyes.

• Smear petroleum jelly (Vaseline) or another pollen blocker around the inside of your child’s nose to trap pollen and stop it being inhaled.

• Wash your child’s hair, face and hands when they come back indoors, and change their clothes.

• Don’t let them play in fields or large areas of grassland.

• Use air filters to try to reduce pollen that’s floating around the house.

• Keep the car windows shut when driving. ■ NHS Choices

Five tips to reduce hay fever symptoms ACCORDING to the charity Allergy UK, hay fever can adversely affect many areas of your life including your social life, your emotional wellbeing, your performance at work or school, and your self-esteem.

A survey undertaken by the National Pollen and Aerobiology Research Unit of more than 2,000 people with hay fever, found that lifestyle factors, such as stress and exercise, can have a major impact on hay fever.

Although there are many prescribed and over-the-counter treatments for hay fever, the following lifestyle tips can also help to ease the symptoms.

1. Reduce your stress. Try to reduce your stress levels. The survey showed a clear link between stress and the severity of hay fever symptoms. Almost seven out of 10 stressed-out hay fever sufferers rate their symptoms as unbearable or debilitating. As stress

levels drop, symptoms become milder.

For more information, read about stress management.

2. Exercise more. Regular exercise can improve your hay fever. The survey found that people with hay fever who exercise most have the mildest symptoms. Exercise will help reduce your stress levels, too.

Aim to do 150 minutes (two and a half hours) of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, such as cycling and fast walking, every week. However, during hay fever season, it’s best to avoid exercising outdoors when the pollen count is high.

This is generally first thing in the morning and early evening. Instead, exercise in late morning or afternoon when pollen counts tend to be lowest. If pollen counts are really high, stick to indoor exercise, for example at your local gym or swimming pool.

3. Eat well. The survey suggests that people with hay fever who eat a healthy diet are less likely to get severe symptoms.

Eat a varied, balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables, but be aware than some healthy foods can make hay fever symptoms worse. Foods that can worsen hay fever symptoms for some people include apples, tomatoes, stoned fruits, melons, bananas and celery.

Eat foods rich in omega 3 and 6 essential fats which can be found in oily fish, nuts, seeds, and their oils. These contain anti-inflammatory properties, and may help reduce symptoms of hay fever.

4. Cut down on alcohol. Watch how much you drink at your summer picnics and BBQs! Alcohol worsens hay fever. Beer, wine and spirits contain histamine, the chemical that sets off allergy symptoms in your body. As well as making you more sensitive to pollen, alcohol also dehydrates

“THE main triggers of hay fever are tree and grass pollen,” says Lindsey. “The pollen count is always higher when it’s a nice, bright, sunny day.”

Don’t mow your lawn. If grass makes you sneeze, get someone else to mow your lawn. “It sounds obvious, but many people don’t think of this,” says Lindsey. If you react to grass and you spend time on the lawn, you’ll get symptoms.

Create a barrier. Smear Vaseline inside your nostrils. “This acts as a filter for the pollen,” says Lindsey.

Time it right. Don’t sit outside between 4pm and 7pm or in the early morning, as the pollen count is highest at these times.

“If you go out, or need to hang out the washing, do it after 10.30am and before 3.30pm,” says Lindsey.

Shut the windows. Don’t sleep or drive

with the windows open, as this will allow pollen to come in.

Damp dust regularly. Dusting with a wet cloth, rather than a dry one, will collect the dust and stop any pollen from being spread around.

Wash your hair. “Pollen is sticky and may be in your hair,” says Lindsey. “It can then transfer to your pillow when you go to bed, and will affect you during the night.” If you’ve been out in the evening, wash your hair at bed time, as clean hair can help you sleep better.

Vacuum. “Pollen can live in carpet for up to three months,” explains Lindsey, so get vacuuming.

Think about your medication. Talk to your GP or pharmacist about any treatment you’re taking for hay fever as it might be worth trying a new treatment.

“The same antihistamine [anti-allergy treatment] doesn’t always work for someone year after year,” Lindsey says. “Try something different, such as a nasal spray or a new antihistamine.”

You can take early steps to avoid symptoms of hay fever before they start.

“Most people wait until symptoms start before they take treatment, but you really need to start at least two weeks before, so that the antihistamine is already in your system when pollen triggers your hay fever,” says Lindsey.

Look back at previous years to work out what time of year your hay fever usually starts, and try to identify what triggers your hay fever.

For example, grass pollen is in the air from May until July or August, so you could start taking antihistamine in April. You can find out more about the pollen count each day.

Preventing hay fever

Your lifestyle can affect how severe your hay fever symptoms are.

you, making your symptoms seem worse.

For more advice on how to cut down on your drinking, read these articles about alcohol.

5. Sleep well. Try to avoid too many late nights during the hay fever season.

The survey found that people with hay

fever who get a good night’s sleep tend to have the mildest symptoms. Just one in eight (13%) people who had at least seven hours sleep a night reported severe symptoms, compared with one in five (21%) who regularly had five hours sleep or less a night. ■ NHS Choices

Hay fever affects around 20% of people in the UK. Lindsey McManus of Allergy UK offers some tips on avoiding the causes and reducing your symptoms.

You can also talk to your GP or call the Allergy UK helpline for more information.

Don’t ignore hay fever. Hay fever can make everyday life uncomfortable and tiring, with sneezing, watery eyes, runny nose and an itchy throat.

However, there are hay fever treatments

available and symptoms can get better.

Hay fever can also increase your risk of asthma. “There is a definite link between hay fever and asthma,” says Lindsey. “If you get hay fever, you’re more likely to get asthma so it’s important to take hay fever seriously and try to treat the symptoms.”

■ NHS Choices

Media Partner:

24

www.hello-philippines.com

HEALTH and Lifestyle food

June 2014 / Fortnightly – No. 12 • UK & Europe Edition

‘We made healthy eating fun for the kids’

BETWEEN feeding three hungry little mouths, the school run, keeping on top of household chores and her freelance work, Rachel had enough on her plate.

But fully aware of the family’s costly food expenditure, she took on the NHS Choices Eat4Cheap challenge thinking she had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

The week-long Eat4Cheap challenge aims to show that eating healthily doesn’t have to cost more – in fact you can save money.

From an average weekly food and drink spend of £200, which included some eating out, Rachel managed to cut spending by £100 while still eating a healthy balanced diet and plenty of fruit and veg.

It was a family effort, with the kids – Amelia, six, Leila, five and Joseph, three – all getting stuck in to bake homemade treats that would normally have been bought.

“I got the children on board by making it fun for them,” says Rachel, from Bristol.

“They love baking so we made brownies together one day and pizzas on another.”

She saved money by reducing their consumption of meat and fish, eating leftovers for lunch, cooking in bulk, making treats at home instead of eating out and kicking her daily coffee shop latte habit.

“The challenge was a real eye-opener,” says Rachel. “I know we spend a lot of money on food and I felt there were areas where we could make obvious savings.”

One of the challenges for Rachel was to get the children to try different types of food. “Amelia and Leila have hot meals at school,” says Rachel. “But I tend to prepare another elaborate meal for their dinner.

“During the challenge, I really went back to basics in the evening with things like scrambled eggs, homemade soups and sandwiches with leftover chicken.

“I realised that I was putting too much pressure on myself to create these culinary feasts for the kids when a simpler meal is

With the demands of running a family of five, finding ways to save money on food was not high on Rachel Mostyn’s to-do list.

enough.”

For lunch her youngest, Joseph, would have the leftovers from Rachel and husband Toby’s dinner on the previous evening.

Gone were the usual after-school snacks such as cereal bars, mini cheddars and yoghurt raisins, replaced by fruit, carrot sticks and crackers.

“We always have a large fruit bowl in the kitchen full of fruit so the kids are used to eating fruit. So I’m fairly confident they were already getting their 5 A DAY.” ■ NHS Choices

20 tips to eat well for less If your regular shopping basket tends to include fizzy drinks, crisps, snack bars, biscuits and cakes, try trimming down on these non-essential items.

IF cost is discouraging you from trying to make changes to you and your family’s diet then read on: healthy eating doesn’t have to cost more.

The NHS Choices Eat4Cheap challenge aims to show you how, equipped with a few simple money-saving tips, you can eat a healthy diet and still save money.

Write a shopping list. Draw up a weekly meal plan, incorporating ingredients you already have, write a shopping list and stick to it. Don’t be swayed by impulse purchases or special offers, just buy what you need. Try not to shop when hungry.

Studies show that people who shop when hungry are more likely to spend more, especially on less healthy foods, such as high-fat and sugary snacks.

Waste nothing. The average family with children throws away almost £60 of good food every month, according to Love Food Hate Waste (LFHW). Be strict about buying only what you’ll actually eat.

Plan your meals so that all ingredients on your list get used and that includes fresh herbs like basil or parsley. If necessary, freeze any unused food. Freezer bags and food storage boxes will come in handy.

Eat leftovers for lunch. Cooking extra portions for your evening meal so that you can have the leftovers for lunch the next day saves time and money, and can be a healthier option than the traditional “mayo-laden sandwich, crisps and soft drink desk-lunch” option. Any extra portions can be frozen for another day.

Eventually, you’ll have a freezer full of

homemade ready meals on tap. Find out how to use leftovers safely.

Buy frozen. Frozen fruit and vegetables are underrated. They come pre-chopped and ready to use, are just as good for you (try to avoid those with added salt, sugar or fat), and are often cheaper than fresh varieties. Frozen vegetables are picked at the peak of freshness and then frozen to seal in their nutrients. Get tips on freezing and defrosting.

Trade down. You could cut 30% off your shopping bill by buying cheaper brands than you normally do, according to Money Saving Expert – that’s a potential saving of over £1,500 a year on a family’s £100 weekly shop. Give it a go and let your taste buds be the judge, not the shiny label. Find out how food labels can help you make healthier choices.

Veggie might. Meat and fish are typically the most expensive food ingredients on a shopping list. How about adding vegetables to meat dishes such as casseroles to make your meals go further? Or try a few vegetarian meals during the week to keep costs down?

Make it fun by joining the thousands of people who regularly take part in the meat-free Monday movement.

Cook with pulses. Pulses, such as beans, lentils and peas, are some of the cheapest foods on the supermarket shelf.

These pulses are low in calories and fat but packed with fibre, vitamins and minerals and also count towards your 5 A DAY. Use them in dishes to replace some

Can you eat healthily and save money? You bet your bottom dollar you can! Here are 20 tips to help you have your (low-fat) cake and eat it.

of the chicken or meat, such as a chilli con carne with kidney beans or a chicken curry with chickpeas.

Freeze leftover bread. Bread is the most wasted household food according to LFHW. Reduce waste by freezing bread, preferably in portions (for convenience) and when it’s at its freshest (for taste).

For best results, store bread in an airtight container (such as a freezer bag) and gently squeeze out as much air as possible before sealing to avoid freezer burn.

Know your kitchen. Know what’s in your kitchen store cupboard, fridge and freezer. You may find you’ve got enough ingredients to make a meal! Plan your week’s meals to include ingredients you’ve already got in and avoid buying items you already have. Check use-by dates to make sure you use up ingredents before they go off.

Buy cheaper cuts. If you’re prepared to take a little more time with your cooking, buying cheaper cuts of meat is a great way to save. Choosing a cheaper cut of meat, such as braising steak, shin or shoulder, doesn’t mean missing out on a tasty meal. Slow cooking gradually breaks down the fibres in cheaper cuts, giving great taste at a lower cost.

Look up cheap recipes. Cheap doesn’t have to mean less tasty. There are plenty of websites offering recipes for cheap eats and leftover ingredients. Check out Change4Life’s meal mixer, Love Food Hate Waste,The Skint Foodie, A Girl Called Jack, Frugal Queen and The Resourceful Cook for some recipe inspiration.

Eat smaller portions. Try eating smaller portions by saying no to a second helping or using smaller plates. You’ll have more left over for lunch the next day and your waistline may benefit, too! Try weighing or measuring out staples such as pasta and rice when cooking to stay in control of portion size and reduce waste.

Cook from scratch. One in every six meals is eaten out of the home, according to a Public Health England study (PDF, 776kb). Of particular concern

are hot food takeaways, which tend to be high in fat and salt, and low in fibre, fruit and vegetables. Cutting back on takeaways could save you up to £800 a year and inches off your waist! Preparing and cooking your own meals is generally cheaper than buying a takeaway or a ready meal, and because it’s easier to control what goes in to your dish, it can be healthier.

Buy chicken whole. The cheapest way to buy chicken is to buy a whole chicken.

It’s often more expensive to buy two precut chicken breasts than a whole chicken.

From a whole chicken, you’ll get two breasts, two thighs, two drumsticks, plus a carcass and wings for making stock.

Consider the deli counter for cheese and cured meats. You can get exact amounts, which is cheaper and less wasteful.

Price-check pre-packaged produce.

Fruit and vegetables sometimes cost more pre-packaged than loose. Check the price per weight (for example £/kg).

Stores know that consumers want to buy in bulk, and so they mix it up: sometimes the packaged produce is cheaper, sometimes it’s more expensive. Also, prepackaged isn’t always the freshest and you may end up with more than you need.

Cut down on luxuries. If your regular shopping basket tends to include fizzy drinks, crisps, snack bars, biscuits and cakes, try trimming down on these nonessential items. Many of these are high in sugar and fat so you’ll be doing your waistline as well as your bottom line a favour. They can also contain a lot of salt. Think about cheaper and healthier alternatives – such as sparkling water and

fruit juice instead of cola, or fruit and plain yoghurt.

Beware of BOGOF offers. Special discounts such as buy-one-get-one-free (BOGOF) deals can offer good value, but be careful: only buy items you actually need and are likely to keep and use – tinned or frozen fruit and veg or rice and pasta are a good example. Markdowns on perishables at the end of the shopping day are another way to bag a saving – but make sure the item gets used before the use-by-date and doesn’t go off sooner than expected.

Toddlers eat the same. If you’ve got a toddler in tow, get him or her used to eating the same meals as you instead of relying on costly pre-prepared toddler food. Simply blend or chop up their portion to suit their age and freeze extra child-sized portions for later. Make sure not to add any salt to their portions and be careful with spicy food.

Shop online. Price comparison websites, such as mysupermarket.com, let you select a basket of products and then choose the cheapest supplier. The price differences can be significant.

Unlike going to the shops yourself, you’ll know how much you’ve spent before going to the till, which can make it easier to stay within budget.

Shop during the ‘happy hour’. Most supermarkets discount fresh items towards the end of the day. However, with longer opening hours it’s a case of finding out just the right time to grab those bargains. Time it right and the “reduced to clear shelves” can save you big money.

Always check use-by dates. ■ NHS Choices

Media Partner:

26

www.hello-philippines.com

CELEBRITY, SHOWBIZ & ENTERTAINMENT SCOOP

June 2014 / Fortnightly – No. 12 • UK & Europe Edition

Marian Rivera like never before in GMA 7’s Primetime Musical MARIAN BEGINNING June 21 (Saturday), make way for the Kapuso Network’s Primetime Queen Marian Rivera as she unleashes a different side of her in the newest Saturday primetime musical, MARIAN. She has captivated the people locally and abroad with her undeniable acting ability, charmed audiences with her striking beauty and presence, and inspired them with her advocacies. And yet, there’s no stopping the Kapuso Primetime Queen as she grooves to the beat of being the most beautiful Dance Diva in her self-titled show.

Through her mass-oriented personality, spectators get the chance to celebrate with Marian as a performing artist in the show. Marian heats up the stage through her contagious energetic vibe, as she will absolutely be a feast for the eyes with her

show-stopping costumes, make-up and hairstyles.

“Sobrang excited ako dahil isa ‘to sa mga pangarap kong gawin. Ibang side naman ni Marian Rivera ang makikita ng mga manonood at siyempre kaabangabang din ang mga makakasama namin sa show, mula sa mga magagaling na choreographers, dance crews, hanggang sa mga celebrity artists,” says Marian.

Aside from Marian’s special production numbers every week, viewers will also witness the high-powered, face-to-face battle of dance crews together with celebrity dancers. Meanwhile, Marian reveals her playful side as Yan-Yan in the segment Playlist when she grooves to the top three dance hits of different genres every week.

Sharing the stage with Marian is one

of Eat Bulaga hosts Paolo Ballesteros.

Known for his animated charm, Paolo will be engaging himself in an insightful banter with Marian and the show’s guests. Adding musical beat to the show is Kapuso Pop Superstar Julie Anne San Jose.

Captivating, grand and ever-surprising, every Kapuso will see Marian Rivera like never before as she pushes herself to the limits. The show is directed by Louie Ignacio with head writer Rommel Gacho.

Let’s make Saturday nights Marian Nights as MARIAN premieres June 21 on GMA’s flagship international channel, GMA Pinoy TV. Get the latest updates about MARIAN from its official facebook page www. facebook.com/GMAMarianShow, twitter account @GMAMarianShow and the GMA Network website www.GMANetwork.com. ■

GMA Pinoy TV offers intriguing and fascinating drama in THE HALF SISTERS

IS it possible for a woman to conceive “twins” with different fathers?

This is the attention-grabbing premise of The Half Sisters, GMA Network’s newest drama series currently airing on the Network’s flagship international channel, GMA Pinoy TV. The Half Sisters explores the phenomenon of hetero-paternal superfecundation, which is the successive fertilization of two or more ova from the same ovulation cycle by different sires. This is made possible by separate successive acts of sexual intercourse resulting to one woman bearing “twins” with different fathers.

This controversial soap opera stars Kapuso teen actresses Barbie Forteza as the kind, diligent and obedient Diana Alcantara, and Thea Tolentino as the spoiled, conceited and manipulative Ashley Alcantara.

The series also features seasoned actress Jean Garcia as Rina MercadoAlcantara, the doting mother of Diana and

Thea Tolentino and Barbie Forteza

Ashley; multi-talented actor Jomari Yllana as Benjamin/Benjie Valdicañas, the exboyfriend of Rina and the biological father of Diana; and versatile actor Ryan Eigenmann as Alfred Alcantara, the hardworking biological father of Ashley and the husband of Rina.

Playing opposite the teen actresses are the Kapuso Network’s up and coming leading men, Derrick Monasterio as Baste Torres, a working student who will be Diana’s close friend; and Andrei Paras as Bradley Castillo, the rich, good-looking school jock.

In the series, Rina (Jean) becomes pregnant with “twins,” one sired through copulation with her husband Alfred (Ryan) and the other one sired when she was raped by her former boyfriend Benjie (Jomari).

Benjie is sent to prison for his crime, while Rina remains a loving wife to Alfred.

Rina eventually gives birth to twins Diana (Barbie) and Ashley (Thea).

Meanwhile, Alfred is having doubts on

Jean Garcia

Ryan Eigenmann

the paternity of the children and demands Rina to undergo DNA testing. The results confirm the occurrence of hetero-paternal superfecundation, wherein Rina’s twins have different fathers – Diana by Benjie and Ashley by Alfred.

After Benjie is released from prison, he begins managing their family business which eventually becomes successful. On the other hand, Alfred’s business has failed.

Prompted by financial woes and obligations, Alfred asks his daughter Ashley to pretend to be the biological daughter of Benjie so that his daughter can live a more comfortable life, thus, robbing Diana of her birthright as the rightful heiress.

How will the uncommon situation affect Alfred and Rina’s marriage? Until when can Alfred and Ashley keep their deception? Will Benjie and Diana ever know the truth about their father-daughter relationship?

Directed by Mark Reyes, find out how the intertwined lives of Diana and Ashley unfold in The Half Sisters only on GMA Pinoy TV. ■

Jomari Yllana

Thea Tolentino

Barbie Forteza and Andrei Paras

Barbie Forteza

Derrick Monasterio

Barbie Forteza and Derrick Monasterio

Andrei Paras

Dingdong Dantes is all set for Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real KAPUSO primetime king Dingdong Dantes takes on a new and challenging role in GMA Network’s newest primetime series, Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real, currently airing on its flagship international channel, GMA Pinoy TV.

Dingdong Dantes

Maricel Soriano, Dingdong Dantes and Lovi Poe

He plays the role of Anthony Real, a man who is in love with two women and marries them both. The two women are endearing to Dingdong’s character, making him feel complete as a man, husband and a father.

According to him, playing this character is far from what he portrayed in his previous roles. “Medyo malayo siya sa previous roles ko kasi ito nangyayari talaga sa totoong buhay and at the same time, first time kong gaganap na may dalawang asawa,” he said.

Adding that the series is not a typical story about infidelity or unfaithfulness, “it’s really about the story of three people who love in different forms, in different intensity levels, and it is also a story about families and how they cope with mistakes and

consequences.”

Playing opposite him in the series are Kapuso Premier Actress Lovi Poe as Shiela Real and the Diamond Star Ms. Maricel Soriano as Millet Real. The series will be the first team up of the industry’s multi-awarded actors: Dingdong, Lovi and Ms. Maricel; and anticipation is high as they showcase their love triangle onscreen which promises to captivate viewers with their stellar performances.

“Isang malaking karangalan na makatrabaho si Lovi and Maricel. Since this is a different and challenging role for me, sila pa ang makakasama ko,” said Dingdong.

With the international airing of this exciting new series, Dingdong hopes that

Kapuso fans overseas will feel closer to home through local programs such as this.

“Parati niyong asahan na patuloy kaming gagawa ng mga shows na makapagpapalapit pa lalo ng Pilipinas sa inyo,” he expresses.

Find out until when can Dingdong as Anthony Real live the life of being a husband to two wives in Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real only on GMA Pinoy TV. For updates on GMA Network’s programs, artists and events, visit www. gmanetwork.com/international, Facebook pages www.facebook.com/GMAPinoyTV or www.facebook.com/gmalifetv, and, www. facebook.com/gmanewsinternational, and Twitter pages @GMAPinoyTV and @GMA_ LifeTV. ■

28

www.hello-philippines.com

CELEBRITY, SHOWBIZ & ENTERTAINMENT SCOOP

June 2014 / Fortnightly – No. 12 • UK & Europe Edition

GMA Network Earns Fourth Peabody, Dedicates Victory to Yolanda Victims NEW York—GMA Network formally accepted the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award in New York City on Monday, May 19, for its coverage of SuperTyphoon

Yolanda (Haiyan) in November 2013.

GMA News and Public Affairs Senior Vice President Marissa L. Flores received the Peabody Award on behalf of the network

at a ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. Also in attendance were First Vice President for News Programs Jessica A. Soho and news anchor/reporter Jiggy Manicad, who represented the GMA News teams who covered Yolanda.

“This is for the survivors, the Filipinos and our unsinkable spirit. Philippines, Mabuhay!” Flores said after accepting the award. “Receiving this award is bittersweet for us at GMA Network because it is on the account of the suffering of Filipinos from Typhoon Haiyan or Yolanda, the strongest typhoon to have made landfall,” she added.

The Peabody Award is considered the broadcast equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize for print media, and the Oscar Awards for film.

On its website, the Peabody Awards cited GMA Network for “overcoming the challenges posed by a historic storm to provide coverage that was thorough, candid and compassionate.”

“Faced with daunting logistical challenges and sharing in the national

shock and grief, GMA reporters and crews from State of the Nation with Jessica Soho, 24 Oras (24 Hours), Saksi (Eyewitness), 24 Oras Weekend and Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho (One at Heart, Jessica Soho) provided desperately needed spot news coverage and information, gaining strength and perspective as they worked. They followed up with solid reporting and public-service broadcasts about the aftermath, heroic acts and relief efforts. The coverage includes footage of storm-surge rapids ripping through streets and apocalyptic winds decapitating houses that’s so close-up and intense that it’s a wonder the videographers survived.” it said.

The winning programs chronicled the GMA News teams’ detailed reportage of the typhoon from before it hit the Philippine area of responsibility to its unforgiving blows to the Visayas region and its painful aftermath.

“We accept this with immense gratitude on behalf of the people of GMA News and Public Affairs who risked their lives to tell the

story,” added Flores.

This is the fourth Peabody Award that GMA Network received on behalf of the Philippines. The network earned its first Peabody in 1999 for the I-Witness documentaries “Kidneys for Sale” and “Kamao” by Soho and for Jay Taruc’s child labor story on Brigada Siete. Kara David’s I-Witness episode “Ambulansyang de Paa” succeeded in 2010 followed by Reel Time’s “Salat” in 2013.

GMA is the only news and public affairs organization in the country to have received this prestigious award for excellence in broadcast journalism. Along with GMA News in this year’s roster of winners are the series Breaking Bad, House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, three HBO documentaries, and twelve programs by the broadcaster PBS. Personalities present in the awarding ceremony included NBC anchor and special correspondent Tom Brokaw who received a personal award and Anthony Bourdain of CNN’s Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. ■

GMA Network stays ahead of rivals in Urban Luzon and Mega Manila in May: Gears up for upcoming launches in June GMA Network continued to lead in its stronghold areas of Urban Luzon and Mega Manila in May, according to data from the broadcast industry’s most trusted ratings service provider, Nielsen TV Audience Measurement.

Urban Luzon and Mega Manila account for 77% and 60%, respectively, of the total urban TV household population in the entire country.

For the period May 1 to 31 (with the dates of May 25 to 31 based on overnight data), GMA led competition in total day ratings in Urban Luzon with a 35% household audience share, besting ABSCBN’s 33% by 2 points, and TV5’s 11.9% by 23.1 points.

GMA also kept its total day ratings advantage in Mega Manila, registering a 36.5% household audience share, ahead of ABS-CBN’s 30.6% by 5.9 points and TV5’s 12.9% by 23.6 points. GMA led across all day parts in the area including the hotly contested primetime block.

Compared to its key competitor, more GMA programs (18 out of 30) registered in the list of top-performing programs in both Urban Luzon and Mega Manila.

Multi-awarded news magazine program Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho led all Kapuso shows in both the Urban Luzon and Mega Manila lists; while grabbing the number one spot over-all in Mega Manila once again.

Other ratings drivers for the month were Magpakailanman, Celebrity Bluff, Pepito Manaloto: Ang Tunay na Kuwento,

24 Oras, and the newly launched primetime drama, Niño.

Nationwide, GMA continued to beat rival networks in the morning block with its 33.1% average, up 4.5 points from ABS-CBN’s 28.6% and up 17.9 points from TV5’s 15.2%.

This June, GMA further strengthens its programming by launching several new shows, namely Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real starring Dingdong Dantes, Lovi Poe, and Ms. Maricel Soriano on GMA Telebabad; The Half Sisters featuring Barbie Forteza and Thea Tolentino on GMA Afternoon Prime; Ismol Family a weekend sitcom with Ryan Agoncillo, Carla Abellana, Mark Justine Alvarez, Miguel Tanfelix, Bianca Umali, Mikael Daez, and Carmi Martin;

and Marian, a dance-variety program topbilled by Marian Rivera.

The Network is also set to launch My BFF, a family drama which stars Janno Gibbs, Manilyn Reynes, Mona Louise Rey, and Jillian Ward; Dading, a weekday soap with Gabby Eigenmann, Glaiza de Castro, and Benjamin Alves; and My Destiny, a forthcoming drama on GMA Telebabad starring Rhian Ramos, Tom Rodriguez, Sid Lucero, and Carla Abellana in the latter part of the month.

GMA subscribes to the Nielsen TV Audience Measurement service, while ABS-CBN is the lone local major TV network that subscribes to Kantar Media, formerly known as TNS. Nielsen data is gathered through a greater number of sampled homes nationwide in comparison to Kantar Media.

To know more about GMA International channels, please visit www.gmanetwork. com/international. ■

Jessica Soho

Miguel Tanfelix and David Remo

Eugene Domingo

Michael V

Mel Tiangco

June 2014 / Fortnightly – No. 12 • UK & Europe Edition

CELEBRITY, SHOWBIZ & ENTERTAINMENT SCOOP

www.hello-philippines.com

29

Zandra Flores one of the Miss Universe Great Britain 2014 Finalists SHE graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Bradford. She is now taking up Masters in Biomedical Sciences at Manchester Metropolitan University and Advanced Diploma in Counselling and Psychology at International Career Institute.

A student at the American Institute for English Proficiency in Makati. She was crowned Miss Philippines-UK 2010 and Queen of Friends of the Commonwealth 2010 in United Kingdom. During her adventure in the Philippines in the world of pageantry and modelling industry she joined Miss Philippines Earth 2012, won the best in National Costume and placed 2nd in catwalk challenge. The following year she was qualified to enter Binibining Pilipinas 2013 and soon after was featured in “Please Be Careful with my Heart” as Maya’s friend, Liezel Manrique as a flight attendant. Her television exposure opened her door for TV commercials, to name one, KFC. She then ventured for Mutya ng Pilipinas 2013 where she was awarded as the Favourite of the Press, Miss Photogenic and included in the Top 10. During Miss World Philippines 2013 she placed Top 7. Now, she is the finalist of Miss Universe Great Britain 2014. ■

30

www.hello-philippines.com

CELEBRITY, SHOWBIZ & ENTERTAINMENT SCOOP

June 2014 / Fortnightly – No. 12 • UK & Europe Edition

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony say Yolanda benefit show gives their music more meaning BEST known for hits like “Thuggish Ruggish Bone”, “Days of our Livez”, Look Into my Eyes”, “If I Could Teach the World”, and their US number one smash, “The Crossroads”, American hip-hop rap legends Bone Thugs-NHarmony are thrilled to be performing for the second time in the country.

The bad news is that only three members of the Cleveland-based group, namely Layzie Bone, Krayzie Bone and Wish Bone, were able to make the trip. During a press briefing at Solaire Resort & Casino to promote their June 11 concert at the Mall of Asia Arena for the benefit of typhoon Yolanda, Layzie told InterAksyon and other media that passport issues have always prevented all five of them from performing outside the US. “That remains our goal, for all five of us to travel the world together. We’re definitely planning to come back for a real thrilla in Manila,” Layzie declared.

Layzie, Wish and Krayzie admitted that they had wonderful memories of the Philippines the last time they were here for their “Crossroads Asia Tour” at the SMX Convention Center in 2011.

“I remember we had a good time at the hotel we stayed right near the beach. We just stayed all day and all night and reminisced at how far we’ve come. Just taking a stroll down memory lane while marveling your beautiful sunset is definitely one of our fondest memories here in Manila,” Layzie confessed.

“Yes, the Philippines is one of the most memorable places we’ve visited. But then, any country we’ve visited is memorable because any country that accepts us and our music is always a blessing to us,” added Wish.

Wearing a FrancisM baseball cap, Layzie was also asked if he ever got the chance to know the local rap legend.

“I didn’t know him personally but I took the time to study his music and check his videos. He’s like the Tupac of the Philippines so rest in peace to him and much love to his family. I know he was a young cat, about our age so I admired what he did and he left a legacy that will be here forever,” he acknowledged.

As to what makes the second go-round of the Grammy-winning group that sold

more than 40 million records worldwide more special than the last, Layzie said it has something to do with giving their share in helping out the Yolanda survivors.

“I think the fact that we’re here because of the cause already makes this trip very special. I think when we do ‘Days of Our Livez’ and ‘The Crossroads’ onstage now, they take on a more significant meaning than before,” he pointed out.

“Also, we got new music that we’d like to share. We’re keepin’ it relevant, keepin’ it fresh and giving our fans something new to listen to and enjoy.”

Although the group almost disintegrated in 2011 when Krayzie and Wish left to work with their independent label, they later returned and reunited with the group. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony eventually went on to record their latest studio album, “The Art of War: World War III”, in 2013.

Asked what’s the secret to their longevity, all three members point to the fact that some members are actually related with Layzie and Flesh-N-Bone being brothers, Wish is a cousin, Krayzie and Bizzy Bone are friends since junior high school.

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony members Wish Bone, Layzie Bone and Krayzie Bone.

Photos by Edwin P. Sallan ©Interaksyon

“The thing about of Bone Thugs-NHarmony is that we’re a family before we became a group and that is why we remain very close,” Wish concluded.

“Bone Thugs-N-Harmony Live in Manila” also featured live performances from guest

local artists Gloc-9, Blaze N Kane, JayR, Amber Davis, LDP, Mica Javier, Q-York, Roxee B, Dannieboi, DJ Ron Poe, DJ Buzz, DJ Marlon, DJ Skratchmark, Nathan J and more. ■ Edwin P. Sallan / InterAksyon.com / June 11, 2014 / 8:14 PM

Yolanda benefit concert hopes to help rebuild damaged chapels, churches WHILE discussing the second edition of his Akapela Open project with PLDT-Smart Foundation president Esther O. Santos and One Meralco Foundation president Jeffrey O. Tarayao, maestro Ryan Cayabyab hit upon a novel idea.

“I told them that I have accumulated a good number of sacred songs that I wrote over the years and I’m willing to share them for free for a worthy fund-raising concert.

And that’s how this ‘Rise! Rebuilding from the Ruins’ project for Yolanda survivors began,” Cayabyab recalled in a recent interview with InterAksyon and News5.

Ryan Cayabyab and Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle.

As part of Caritas Manila’s “Damayan sa Haiyan” rehabilitation program with the artist also known as Mr. C and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra under music director Olivier Ochanine, the benefit concert for the rebuilding of typhoonravaged chapels and churches in Samar and Leyte is presented by the PLDT-Smart Foundation and One Meralco Foundation together with the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

“Rise! Rebuilding from the Ruins” features Cayabyab’s inspirational music as performed by seven Philippine-based

choirs, the Voices of Aloha from the University of Hawaii, the Ryan Cayabyab Singers and pop and classical singers Basil Valdez, Dulce, Jed Madela, Clarissa Ocampo and Ervin Lumauag.

The concert will also feature Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle in a very special participation.

Cayabyab said he personally invited the performers including Cardinal Tagle, whose presence he said will make the concert even more special.

“Cardinal Tagle’s involvement added more prestige to this concert. Add to that the

Ryan Cayabyab and the Ryan Cayabyab Singers rehearsing for the ‘Rise!

Rebuilding from the Ruins’ concert. Photo by Edwin P. Sallan ©InterAksyon

choirs and the artists who are performing for honorariums that is probably the equivalent of their taxi fare. And then you have about the 30 members of the Voices of Aloha from Hawaii who are really coming here for another concert but decided to fly early just to be a part of this show. All these talents coming together for a good cause,” he enthused.

A Papal award recipient for his contribution to sacred music and religious themes, Cayabyab saw this project as an opportunity to offer his talents as his way of thanksgiving and helping out the less fortunate.

“Music heals. It heals the hurt, the sadness and loss of loved ones. Music also not only rebuilds confidence but also rebuilds places of worship destroyed by nature’s wrath. We enjoin fellow Filipinos to sing as one as we see our churches in the Visayas rise again in glory,” he said.

TV5 chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan, a member of Caritas Manila’s Board of Trustees who also chairs the PLDT-Smart Foundation and One Meralco Foundation, is also appealing for the support of the general public for this special show.

“Our companies support this advocacy because we believe in the power of great

talent—all the more when it is shared selflessly for the benefit of Filipinos who are still recovering from the devastation caused by supertyphoon Yolanda. As they begin a new life, it is important that they also regain the strength of their faith. We hope that our friends in the private sector will also take part in this meaningful concert, and help typhoon survivors to truly begin a new and better life,” Pangilinan said in a statement.

For his part, Caritas Manila Board of Trustees chairman Cardinal Tagle sees the concert as a clear manifestation that Yolanda victims are far from forgotten several months after disaster struck. As for his special participation in the concert, he just smiled and had this to say.

“Ako naman ay pansingit lang. Sana maawa naman sa akin si Maestro Ryan Cayabyab. Ilang araw na akong nawawalan ng boses. So tingnan natin kung ano ang magagawa sa rehearsal,” the archbishop quipped.

The “Rise! Rebuilding from the Ruins” concert is happening on June 11 at the Manila Cathedral-Basilica in Intramuros, Manila. For ticket inquiries, contact Caritas Manila at (632)5620020 to 25 or visit www.caritasmanila.org.ph. ■ Edwin P. Sallan / InterAksyon.com / June 9, 2014 / 4:26 PM

Veteran actor Tommy Abuel talks about love and infidelity

VETERAN actor Tommy Abuel is an expert in the field of acting. When it comes to matters of the heart, how does the Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real actor measure up?

In the drama series, the award-winning actor plays Justino Salazar, the father of Lovi Poe’s character, Shiela.

“Ako ay isang istrikto at disciplinarian na ama ng karakter ni Lovi Poe. In spite of that, nakalusot ang aking anak at nagkaroon ng relasyon sa karakter ni Dingdong,” he said about his role.

Infidelity is the theme being heavily tackled by the show. What can viewers learn from it?

“Ang matutunan nila ay kung paano ihahandle ‘yung situation when it happens.

Kunwari, sa mga katulad ng karakter ko na mga ama ng na-argabyado, they will learn how the family will handle the situation.

Iyong mga tao na in love or mai-in love, depende na sa kanila iyon kung paano nila maa-apply ‘yung natutunan nila,” he answered.

Would he prefer to be bound by a contract or bound by heart?

He replied, “Kapag kasal sa papel, ang pananaw ko ay walang pag-ibig na namamagitan. Kung sasabihin mong kasal sa puso, iyon ang may tunay na pag-ibig, mas matimbang [ito] definitely.”

What would he do if his wife cheats on him?

“Kung yung asawa ko ay hahanap ng

iba, I will assess the situation. First, why is she doing this? Tatanungin ko rin ang sarili ko kung saan ako nagkulang. I will not immediately put the blame on her,” he said.

He continued, “Open the communication. Talk about it. Kung alam ko na ang kanyang hinanaing. I will try to adjust to save the marriage and to keep the family together.”

“Kung gusto mong humiwalay, huwag na natin parusahan ang ating mga sarili.

I will not force you to stay in the marriage if you’re not happy. Kung nakakita ka ng mas mahal mo sa akin, bilang isang taong nagmamahal, I will let you go.” ■ Samantha

Portillo / GMANetwork.com / June 13, 2014 / 3:43 PM

32

www.hello-philippines.com

CELEBRITY, SHOWBIZ & ENTERTAINMENT SCOOP

June 2014 / Fortnightly – No. 12 • UK & Europe Edition

‘Bossing’, Kris, Vice entries lead 13 semifinalists for 2014 MMFF THE more things change, the more they stay the same?

That seems to be the case as far as the line-up of semifinalists for the 2014 Metro Manila Film Festival is concerned. Thirteen entries made the shortlist that will eventually be trimmed down to eight.

Five are certified sequels, one is a possible remake, and three are headlined by MMFF staples Vic Sotto, Kris Aquino and Vice Ganda.

Yes, there will be a sequel to last year’s MMFF top grosser “My Little Bossings” as lead star Vic Sotto remains undaunted by the flak and backlash the film received for scenes that showed one product placement after another.

The new film, “My Big Bossing’s Adventures”, is not co-produced by Kris Aquino Productions this time and does not also include Kris and son Bimby in the cast.

Kris herself will return in the MMFF with a sequel to her 2004 horror blockbuster, “Feng Shui” that earned her the title of Box Office Horror Queen. Again to be directed

by Chito Roño, “Feng Shui 2” will also be headlined by Coco Martin.

Vice Ganda will look to duplicate or even surpass the success last year of “Girl, Boy, Bakla, Tomboy” with “Praybet Benjamin 2”, the sequel to the top grossing Filipino film of 2011. Also starring Richard Yap, the film will again be directed by Vice’s longtime

Vic Sotto, Kris Aquino, and Vice Ganda

collaborator, Wenn V. Deramas.

Other sequels in the film festival are Erik Matti’s “Kubot: The Aswang Chronicles 2” and a new “Shake, Rattle, & Roll” film directed by Jerrold Tarog.

Last year’s Best Actor winner, Robin Padilla, is back with “Bonifacio”, a new biopic on the controversial national hero.

Cesar Montano, who previously won an MMFF Best Supporting Actor award for his portrayal of Andres Bonifacio in “El Presidente”, is also in this year’s shortlist with “Kid Kulafu”.

And in a year of professional and political setbacks, former Laguna Gov. Jeorge “E.R.” Ejercito hopes to find some silver lining with “Magnum Muslim .357”, a possible remake of Fernando Poe, Jr.’s similarly titled “Muslim Magnum .357”.

Among the newer films, easily the most surprising and intriguing submission is Pepe Diokno’s “Above The Clouds”, a film headlined by Pinoy Rock legend Joey “Pepe” Smith and promising newcomer Ruru Madrid.

The film is co-produced by the French media outfit, Unlimited, through the World Cinema Support fund managed by the

CNC and Institut Français, under the French Ministry of Culture and Communication and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development.

Also in the mix is superstar Nora Aunor’s “Whistle Blower” directed by Adolfo Alix, Jr. and co-starring Cherry Pie Picache.

Here are the 13 semifinalists for the 2014 Metro Manila Film Festival: “Above The Clouds”. Directed by Pepe Diokno and starring Pepe Smith and Ruru Madrid. (ATC Motion Pictures).

“Bonifacio”. Directed by Lawrence Williams and starring Robin Padilla and Iza Calzado. (Philippians Productions) “Bonggagster”. Directed by Val Iglesias and starring BB Gandanghari. (Double Tap Films) “English Only, Please”. Directed by Sam Villegas and starring Sam Milby and Angeline Quinto. (Quantum Films and Heaven’s Best Entertainment) “Feng Shui 2”. Directed by Chito Roño and starring Kris Aquino and Coco Martin.

(Star Cinema) “Kid Kulafu”. Directed by Paul Soriano and starring Cesar Montano and Alessandra de Rossi. (Ten17 Productions)

“Kubot: The Aswang Chronicles 2”.

Directed by Erik Matti and starring Dingdong Dantes, Isabelle Daza, Lovi Poe. (Reality Entertainment, GMA Films, and Agostodos Pictures).

“Kung ang Hanap mo ay Ligaya sa Buhay”. Directed by Elwood Perez and starring Boots Anson Roa and Ronnie Liang.

(T-Rex Entertainment) “Magnum Muslim .357”. Directed

by Francis “Jun” Posadas and starring Jeorge “ER” Ejercito. (Scenema Concepts International) “My Big Bossing’s Adventures”. Directed by either Joyce Bernal, Marlon Rivera or Tony Reyes and starring Vic Sotto and Ryza Mae Dizon. (Octoarts, MZET, APT Entertainment) “Praybet Benjamin 2”. Directed by Wenn V. Deramas and starring Vice Ganda and Richard Yap. (Star Cinema and Viva Films) “Shake, Rattle & Roll”. Directed by Jerrold Tarog and starring Dennis Trillo and Carla Abellana. (Regal Entertainment) “Whistle Blower”. Directed by Adolfo Alix, Jr. and starring Ms. Nora Aunor, Cherry Pie Picache, Bernardo Bernardo. (Quento Media and Deus Lux Mea). ■ Edwin P. Sallan

/ InterAksyon.com / June 14, 2014 / 3:04 PM

‘Heartbroken’ Kris Aquino moves on with a little help from James Yap APPARENTLY, Kris Aquino needs Instagram — and moral support from her ex-husband — to help heal her broken heart.

The actress-TV host posted on her Instagram account on Friday a picture (see above) of herself getting her makeup done while holding hands with her son Bimby. Bimby is seated beside and has his left leg being caressed by his father, basketball star James Yap. “Cool lang kaming lahat. Advanced Happy Father’s Day James,” the caption said, with a smiley at the end.

Kris and James mended fences in

March after waging a bitter legal battle for custody of Bimby last year. At that time, Kris had started dating Quezon City mayor Herbert Bautista, but the romance ended abruptly in April amid reports of his children’s disapproval.

She has been reeling from the heartbreak since then even as her relations with James (and even his Italian girlfriend Michella Cazzola) continued to improve.

On Tuesday, Kris bid her Instagram followers goodbye but was back on the photo sharing site the next day with her account renamed @ lovelovelovekrisaquino from its original

handle @krisaquino214.

She posted a picture (see right) of three bouquets of flowers late Wednesday, with this caption: “Yes, He Broke My Heart, but 975,000 of you IG followers didn’t… So I’m back & here to stay…

“I went down to get a cup of chamomile tea & saw all these flowers, balloons & in my kitchen so many fruits & cookies & cakes etc… God gently reminded me to stop giving importance to someone who hurt me & START CELEBRATING THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE ME!” Her followers quickly surmised that she was referring to her recently aborted romance

with Quezon City mayor Herbert Bautista.

The next morning, Kris posted a photo of

love notes from her sons Josh and Bimby.

■

InterAksyon.com / June 13, 2014 / 4:32 PM

Lance Raymundo resumes career after near-fatal gym accident “VOLDEMORT looked much better”.

That’s how singer-actor Lance Raymundo described what he saw in the mirror after he was brought to the hospital last March following the much-publicized gym accident that left his upper face crushed.

“Contrary to what was earlier reported, I didn’t just need a nose job. My middle skull was cracked exposing part of my brain, my

cheek bone was shattered, and my left eye was blind after popping out,” he recalled to InterAksyon and other media during his recent birthday and thanksgiving party at Gloria Maris restaurant in Greenhills.

“His face was a total wreck and I could already feel his bones. We had to plan everything out. After the first surgery that kept him out of danger, we had to wait for one month before starting the reconstructive

Lance Raymundo after the gym accident (photo by Cecile van Straten) and after three surgeries on his face (photo by Von Buenconsejo).

process,” added Dr. Michael Porquez, a head and neck surgeon who was among the several doctors who attended to Lance at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center.

To clarify once and for all what exactly had happened to him, Lance himself recalled the incident one more time but vowed to never talk about it again.

“Last March 19, I was working out and preparing for my role as Jesus Christ for the passion play of Lou Veloso. I’m really more of an athlete than a fitness buff, so I box, I swim, I do track and field. But since I want to be more fit to portray Jesus effectively, I decided to do a lightweight workout that day and that involves light bench pressing,” he recalled.

Lance said he was doing what was called the “super slow workout”, which consisted of two workouts with only 30 seconds of interval. The first workout involved bench pressing a barbell. After this exercise, the trainer whose name Lance never mentioned placed it in a high stand, which Lance says was normal.

“After I did the dumbbell fly workout, my trainer bended to get the dumbbell. That’s when he bumped into the barbell stand and the barbell weighing 95 pounds fell straight to my face. Wala akong kalaban-laban kasi

may hawak na dumbbells yung kamay ko,” Lance further remembered.

From the time the accident happened until he was undergoing initial treatment at the hospital, Lance said he remained conscious and endured the pain all throughout as he didn’t want to fall asleep as he was afraid he might not ever wake-up.

But right there and then, he made a conscious decision to forgive his trainer and the gym and not hold them liable.

“The gym was just a simple gym, hindi sila mayaman na gym. And it was an accident nobody wanted. It’s my personal decision not to press charges against the gym and my trainer, and I’m thankful to my mom and dad who respected my decision,” he revealed.

Lance thanked everyone from his mom to the rest of his family to friends, relatives and fans who prayed for him throughout his ordeal. Most of all, he thanked the good lord for giving him encouraging signs while he was still trying to recuperate at the hospital.

“On the second day, I heard voices that told me my suffering would last up to seven days. I am a Catholic but I respect all faith.

What I heard, I would attribute it to Jesus.

Because the words were comforting,” he shared.

“Still, I thought, am I just creating this voice to ease my pain? I couldn’t even stand and I was experiencing such excruciating pain. I really didn’t have enough strength to even sit down but I gave it a shot and then I saw this bearded man who was with a woman who looked like Mother Ignacia, of which my mom is a devotee. Sa iba, baka si Jimi Hendrix yung bearded man na yun or whoever. Pero sa akin, malinaw, maliwanag, it’s Jesus Christ!”

While most survivors of freak accidents would be scarred for life, Lance Raymundo chose to look at that infamous episode of his life with renewed optimism. He looks forward to resuming his career not only with a literally new face but with an even brighter outlook in life.

For 2014, Lance is in the cast of Ato Bautista’s detective thriller “Gemini”, which also stars veteran character actor Mon Confiado, and in Nathan Adolfson’s “A Kid, A Thief & a Killer” with Felix Roco and Epy Quizon.

“I would just like to move on, get back to work and just keep this incident as a positive remembrance for all of us. I hope we also keep in our hearts the lesson I learned in my life as a result,” he conceded. ■ Edwin P. Sallan / InterAksyon.com / June 13, 2014 / 1:01 PM

Filipino Community of Oxfordshire invites everyone to the

116th Philippine Independence DayCelebration “Fil ipino integration to the British Society ”

Saturday - 5 July 2014

Tingewick Hall, Academic Centre, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headley Way, Oxford OX3 9DU

A C T I V I T I E S :

9:30am – Religious Service (Corpus Christi Roman Catholic Church, Margaret Road, Headington, Oxford OX3 8AJ) 11:00am – Muse and Flower Parade (Starting from Manor Surgery, Osler Road, Headington, Oxford OX3 9BP to Tingewick Hall) 12:30pm – Lunch (Salo-Salo) 14:00pm – Speeches and Cultural Show The Filipino Community of Oxfordshire (FilCom Oxford) was founded in 2002.

Its Mission and Vision is to bring Filipinos in Oxfordshire together, united as one big family in promoting our cultural heritage and advocating fair and equal treatment in the community through proper education, training and good citizenship.

FREE FOR ALL – NO ENTRANCE FEE – FREE PARKING

For sponsorship, stalls and performances please email: Ariel Lanada chairman@filcomoxford.org.uk Media Partner:

w w w.filcomoxford.org.uk

34

www.hello-philippines.com

PHILIPPINE EMBASSY NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

June 2014 / Fortnightly – No. 12 • UK & Europe Edition

Embassy Commemorates Philippine Independence Day

Buong katapatang nanunumpa sa watawat ng Pilipinas. Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. along with officers and staff of the Embassy recite the Panunumpa sa Watawat ng Pilipinas during the flag raising ceremony in commemoration of the 116th anniversary of Philippine Independence.

June 12, 2014. Photos by Majalya Fernando ©Embassy.

Minister Elmer G. Cato delivers the Independence Day message of Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory L. Domingo.

Consul General Ariel Penaranda shares with the Embassy the Independence Day message of Vice President Jejomar Binay.

Minister Emil Fernandez delivers the Independence Day message of Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario.

Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia shares with the Embassy the Independence Day message of President Benigno Aquino III as well as his own message

Embassy officers, staff, and attached agencies in their Filipiniana attire during the Embassy’s flag raising ceremony in commemoration of the 116th anniversary of Philippine Independence.

Photo by Ivan Gonzales ©Embassy.

Filipinos in the U.S. can now listen to Philippine radio stations with mobile phones

WASHINGTON D.C.—Filipinos in the United States can now listen to radio broadcasts from the Philippines on their mobile phones with the launching of the second phase of a public diplomacy initiative aimed at connecting them with the motherland.

The availability in the US of broadcasts from six leading Filipino radio stations, including the Catholic-run Radio Veritas, was announced by the Philippine Embassy and AudioNow, the world’s leading call-tolisten platform, on the occasion of the 116th anniversary of Philippine independence.

“Today, we bring our kababayans here in the US closer to home with the launching of AudioNow’s call-to-listen service that would allow them to hear radio broadcasts from the Philippines with their mobile phones,” Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. said.

With the service, Filipinos may now access the following radio stations by calling their assigned telephone numbers: Radio Veritas (Manila): 231.460.1846; People’s Television Network

(Manila):231.460.1000; Catholic Media Network (Manila): 712.432.7150; Spirit FM (Antique): 712.432.7197; Radio Maria (Tarlac): 231.460.1020; and D’Ultimate (Clark Free Port): 712.432.6999. The calls have no surcharge and use only mobile minutes.

“With this next phase, it is our goal to continue serving the Filipino Community in the US with as many resources as possible from home,” said Ambassador Cuisia, adding that the six stations broadcast in both English and Filipino.

“AudioNow extends the reach of our broadcasters into the United States and we applaud Radio Veritas, PTV, Radio Maria, the Catholic Media Network, Spirit FM and D’Ultimate for recognizing this and invite other leading Filipino broadcasters to join this effort.”

Since the end of last year, the Embassy has been working with AudioNow and utilizing its call-to-listen-platform as a new avenue to reach out to members of the Philippine diaspora in the US.

With the launching of Radyo Tambuli, which was developed with the assistance of AudioNow, the Embassy earned for itself the distinction of being the first foreign mission to utilize the call-to-listen platform for public diplomacy purposes. Radyo Tambuli can be accessed by calling 415.628.5777.

“After Radyo Tambuli, adding radio stations from the Philippines was the natural next step,” according to Elan Blutinger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AudioNow, adding that more Philippine radio stations are expected to take part in the initiative in the next several weeks.

“We are honored to provide a bridge home to the Philippines during this important time,” said Blutinger. “With the support of the Philippine Embassy here in Washington, we look forward to working closely with Radio Veritas, PTV, Radio Maria and other Filipino broadcasters.”

Radio Veritas, ranked as the No. 1 faithbased station in the Philippines, brings news advocacy and social concerns, religious programming and public service

for the poor with inspirational music in Tagalog to its audience. Featured programs include Veritas Pilipinas, which provides indepth coverage of advocacy news in Mega Manila and around the world, as well as Barangay Simbayanan, which features the Catholic Church responding to the needs of the community.

Veritas846 kapanalig also brings nationally renowned healer Fr. Fernando Suarez on the air every Sunday, 6pm to 8pm, Sundays (phil time). Listeners may access Radio Veritas by calling 231.460.1846.

The government-run PTV, which was established by an act of Congress in 1992, showcases educational programs on science and technology, the arts, culture and sports, in English and Tagalog. PTV can be accessed by calling231.460.1000.

As the largest radio station network in the Philippines, the Catholic Media Network’s mission is to “bring the message of hope through media.” Listeners can now access their Manila-based flagship station, CMN,

by calling 712.432.7150. CMN’s top program CMN Pilipinas covers news and public affairs issues of national importance while CMN Sagipbuhay aims educate listeners on public health issues.

Spirit FM network — another Catholic Media Network brand — broadcasts in English and Tagalog from San Jose, Antique. To listen to programs such as CMN News, Mega Morning, and Kulitan Calls, listeners should call712.432.7197.

D’Ultimate 105.5 FM broadcasts live from the Clark Free Port in Pampanga and offers the latest music hits from around the world in both English and Tagalog. It can be accessed via 712.432.6999.

Radio Maria, which was established in 2002, broadcasts daily from Tarlac City and features informative and encouraging programming such as Alay Buhay that gives on-going reconstruction efforts updates in the affected areas of Typhoon Hayian.

Listeners may call 231.460.1020 to access Radio Maria. ■ Philippine Embassy USA / June 12,

2014

Filipinos can learn from country’s heroes, says President Aquino NAGA CITY, Camarines Sur) President Benigno S. Aquino III has called on Filipinos to relive the spirit of heroism that spurred the revolution against Spanish colonialism more than a hundred years ago.

In his message during the 116th anniversary celebration of the proclamation of Philippine Independence, the President said the sacrifices of Filipino heroes must be recognized and must serve as an inspiration, as the country pursues the righteous path that the administration champions.

“Bilang mga tagapagmana ng kalayaang ipinaglaban ng mga nauna sa atin, tungkulin po ng bawat isa sa ating hindi na hayaang bumalik ang ating bansa sa dati nitong kalagayan; ang hindi na muling magbunsod ng mga panibagong

sakripisyo sa maraming Pilipino,” he said during the ceremony held at Plaza Quince Martires here Thursday.

With this in mind, the government continues to carry out major projects that will improve the conditions of the people in the Bicol region, he said, giving as an example the Bicol International Airport in Daraga, Albay, that is aimed at enhancing tourism and relations with other countries.

He also cited the proposed one-stop Migrants Resource Center in Naga City which intends to improve the competitiveness and skills of overseas Filipino workers.

The President also said that the Congress has passed the extension of the Philippine National Railway (PNR) charter to open up more opportunities to Bicolanos.

Urging the people to fight oppression, graft and corruption, and poverty, the President said, “Ang pagwawaksi sa korupsyon at pang-aabuso sa sistema saan man sa Pilipinas—sa lokal man o sa mga pambansang antas—ay magbubunga ng mas matibay na mga istitusyong makapaglilingkod sa bawat Pilipino.”

At the same time, he reminded the people to vote wisely in the election two years from now by choosing competent and pro-poor leaders, those who fight for the people’s rights and not those who only deliver flowery speeches and concentrate on entertaining the crowd.

“Pananagutan nating mag-iwan ng mas makatarungan at mas maunlad na Pilipinas kaysa ating dinatnan,” he said.

Heroism among Filipinos continues to this day in different forms, he said, citing the bravery of the Marines stationed in the Ayungin Shoal, the achievements of former Naga City mayor and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) secretary Jesse Robredo, and the courage of millions of Filipinos who gathered in EDSA during the 1986 revolution: the students, professionals, soldiers and policemen.

Naga City Mayor John Bonggat meanwhile thanked the President for choosing his city as the venue for this year’s Independence Day celebration.

The Plaza Quince Martires was built in the heart of Naga City to recognize the heroism of Bicolano Ilustrados, who resisted the Spanish rule.

Eleven of the 15 martyrs from Bicol were executed in Bagumbayan in January 4, 1897, a few days after the martyrdom of Dr. Jose Rizal. Two died in jail and the other two died while in exile in an African island.

■ June 13, 2014

lared in towns across Mindanao; at least 14 people dead

52 Pembroke Road, London W8 6NX Tel.: 020 7602 7171 Email: lakbayasia@btconnect.com Web: www.lakbayasiapilgrimages.co.uk

PORTAVENTURA

theme park and Spain school holiday – 26 to 30 JULY 2014

CAKES, CATERING & DISCO

ORIGINAL CREATION & COPYRIGHT RESERVED BY © HELLO PHILIPPINES 2014

OFFER

- 7-11 September 2014 I C E L A N D West Coast, Geysers, BLUE LAGOON, Reykjavik & more

experience

“Mail Order Cakes” Nationwide! MOLDOVA

the undiscovered EUROPE

FREE DELIVERY

FOR ORDERS OVER £50.00 Visit our website and ORDER ONLINE:

www.dlitas.co.uk

Call: Lita 07904 619 126 / 01724 843 688 Email: enquiries@dlitas.co.uk

nature, religion, history & wine OCTOBER 2014 W/E Pilgrimage to Holland - end October 2014

ST ARNOLD JANSSEN - Divine Word Missionaries Amsterdam & Our Lady of All Nations

E C U A D O R UNESCO sites, Spanish Colonial churches, Shrines

Latin America's

with the "Virgen de QUITO" mid NOVEMBER 2014

CHRISTMAS to choco mocha cake ube macapuno cake

vanilla cake

mango cake

ST NICHOLAS i n B a r i -- I T A L Y

the real FATHER CHRISTMAS

22-29 December 2014

ORIGINAL CREATION & COPYRIGHT RESERVED BY © HELLO PHILIPPINES 2014

WE NOW

36

www.hello-philippines.com

NEWS

June 2014 / Fortnightly – No. 12 • UK & Europe Edition

World day vs child labor too: Yolanda forced children to leave school, work in dangerous jobs MANILA – In the aftermath of super typhoon Yolanda, children have been forced to leave school and work in “harsh, dangerous jobs,” the joint assessment of the Child Protection and Education Cluster of humanitarian groups working in affected areas said.

At 3 p.m. today, also World Day against Child Labor, a march against the practice has been organized in Tacloban. The route of march, which is expected to be participated in by thousands of Yolandaaffected children and their families, government agencies, non-government organizations, and international and humanitarian partners is: from the Balyuan Center near the office of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to Real St. to Avenida Veteranos to Rizal Avenue to Justice Romualdez St. to culminate at the City Engineer’s Covered Court for the program.

According to the March-April 2014 assessment in affected municipalities of Western and Central Visayas after Yolanda 54 percent of barangays reported that children are involved in child labor or in harsh and dangerous labor and 75 per cent

of barangays reported that children who are working are not able to go to school.

The joint assessment, released by the International Labor Organization, took place in 112 barangays and 125 schools and key informants included community leaders and head teachers.

Child labor is not confined to Yolandaaffected areas. According to the 2011 Survey on Children by the National Statistics Office conducted with the support of the ILO, 3 million children from 5 to 17 years old work as laborers in the Philippines.

Why children work and what can be done. ILO noted that poverty as well as economic and environmental shocks (such as job loss or employment injury of an adult in the family, illness in the family, drought, floods, crop failure, and other disasters) play a key role in driving children to work.

“Poor households are more likely to have to resort to child labor to meet basic needs and deal with uncertainty. Exposure to shocks, resulting in loss of family income, can have a similar effect on household decisions,” ILO said.

These economic and environmental shocks “can dramatically reduce household

incomes and cause children to drop out of school and go to work to contribute to the family income,” it added.

To combat child labor, the World Day against Child Labor campaign will focus on the global theme of social protection.

Social protection aims at providing support to poor families, and assistance to help them to weather various shocks, ILO explained.

Social protection instruments which are most helpful in combatting child labor include: • Cash and in-kind transfer programs that enhance income security for families and facilitate access to education and health care, conditional or not, help prevent child labor, and promote enrolling children into schools, taking children for health check-ups.

• Public employment programs, which provide jobs for adults to build and improve roads, schools, health centers, and the like, help to ensure that it is adults who are at work and not children.

• Social health protection, which ensures access to health care and financial protection in case of sickness, can stop

Children in tent community. File photo by Lottie Salarda

households sending children to work when a member of the household falls ill.

• Maternity benefits, which protect pregnant women and recent mothers and allow caring for new-born children, have a key impact on improving the health of mothers and children and avoid that older children have to work to replace the mothers’ lost income.

• Social protection for people with disabilities and those who suffer from employment-related injuries or diseases

prevent households from resorting to child labor.

• Income security in old age, providing pensions to older people, helps protect younger generations by contributing to the economic security of the household as a whole.

• Unemployment protection, which provides adults with at least partial income replacement, reduces the need to rely on the income of working children when facing job loss. ■ InterAksyon.com / June 12, 2014 8:09 AM

Plunder, graft raps vs Enrile, Estrada, Revilla split among 3 Sandiganbayan divisions MANILA – The plunder and graft charges against Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. were raffled out to three separate

divisions of the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court late Friday morning.

The first division will handle the 17 consolidated cases against Revilla, the fifth division the 12 cases against Estrada and the third division the 16 cases against Enrile.

The third division is chaired by Associate Justice Amparo Cabotaje Tang with Justices Alex Quiroz and Samuel Martirez as members.

The fifth division has Associate Justices Alexander Gesmundo and Roland Jurado while the first division has Associate

Justices Rodolfo Ponferrada, Efren Dela Cruz and Rafael Lagos.

Fourth division chairman, Associate Justice Gregory Ong, recused himself from the case due to his purported links to Janet Lim Napoles, who allegedly engineered the scam and is co-accused of all three senators.

The raffle was carried out on orders of the Supreme Court even as it hears a petition from the Office of the Ombudsman for the creation of two special Sandiganbayan decisions toe exclusively handle the cases.

In her request, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales said the “national magnitude of these cases, the complexities of the issues involved, the number of accused and the far-reaching consequences of these cases” justify the creation of the special divisions.

She also invoked the Constitution and the Revised Internal Rules of the Sandiganbayan and cited as precedent the high court’s January 21, 2002 resolution creating a special division in the Sandiganbayan to hear, try and decide, with

dispatch, the plunder case and all related cases filed against former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada and his co-accused.

Morales said Section 5, Paragraph 5, Article VIII of the Constitution states that the Supreme Court has the power to promulgate rules concerning pleadings, practices, and procedures in all courts, while Interal Rules of the anti-graft court provides for the provides for the creation of a special division “where compelling reasons and the interest of justice so require.” ■ Brian Maglungsod /

InterAksyon.com / June 13, 2014 / 9:49 AM

JPE, Jinggoy, Bong, Gigi move to block arrest, file motions before Sandigan

MANILA – Days after the Ombudsman’s office filed plunder and graft cases against them, five of those accused of amassing multimillion-peso pork barrel funds moved to block their impending arrest by filing motions before the Sandiganbayan.

In his 59-page urgent omnibus motion, Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, who is being accused of plundering nearly P173 million in public funds, asked the anti-graft court to dismiss the charges against him due to lack of evidence.

According to Enrile, there was no direct evidence against him as what pork scam whistle-blower Benhur Luy has are mere records of alleged kickbacks that

are based on the alleged transactions of his former boss, Janet Lim-Napoles, with lawmakers.

In his motion, Enrile said he should be allowed to post bail because the charges against him were weak and he was already too old to be detained. The 90-year-old Enrile included in his motion medical certificates from his doctors.

Enrile told the court that his physical condition was “poor and frail” and “is requiring constant medical attention.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, who is being accused of pocketing nearly P184 million in pork barrel kickbacks, filed his motion on the issue of probable cause,

through his lawyer, Jose Flaminiano.

Estrada also asked the court to junk the charges against him because these were based on hearsay.

Also, Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. filed an omnibus motion asking the Sandiganbayan to first determine if there’s probable cause to send him to trial.

Revilla, accused of amassing more than P224 million of his pork barrel allocations, also asked the court to suspend the issuance of an arrest warrant against him.

Revilla likewise asked the Sandiganbayan to suspend its proceedings as he awaits for the Ombudsman’s office

to produce the complete records of its preliminary investigation into the pork barrel scam complaints filed against him.

Revilla’s chief of staff, Richard Cambe, also filed before the anti-graft court a similar motion.

For her part, Jessica Lucila “Gigi”Reyes, the former chief of staff of Enrile, filed a 10-page urgent motion asking the Sandiganbayan to suspend its proceedings and defer the issuance of an arrest warrant against her pending her plea before the Supreme Court to issue a temporary restraining order against her arrest and a writ of preliminary injunction.

“As the Supreme Court has required the

Ombudsman to comment on the petition within 10 days from receipt of the order before ruling on accused application’s for injunctive relief, and three days have already elapsed since then, no substantial delay or prejudice will be caused by suspending proceedings against the accused in the meantime,” Reyes’ motion read. ■ InterAksyon.com / June 13, 2014 / 11:50 PM

Davao turns to dancing traffic enforcers to relieve stress WITH traffic expected to worsen once the rains intensify in the coming months, Davao City is turning to dancing traffic enforcers to ease the tension among motorists, drivers and commuters.

The city’s traffic management center is now training a team of traffic enforcers to perform dance moves in key intersections, RGMA Davao’s Raul Tolibas reported on dzBB radio.

The report said an earlier initial performance by the traffic enforcers has already impressed City Hall officials.

City officials are convinced the dancing enforcers could be part of the solution to

traffic-related stress, it added.

The dancing traffic enforcers performed on GMA Davao’s “Una Ka Bai!” on Friday.

A video post on the Facebook page of “Una Ka Bai!” showed the uniformed enforcers performed live early Friday along San Pedro Street in Davao City.

Among the songs the enforcers danced to were those by the late King of Pop Michael Jackson and Korean superstar PSY. Even songs of child superstar Ryzza Mae Dizon were part of the Davao dancing traffic enforcers’ repertoire, Tolibas reported. ■ Joel Locsin / LBG, GMA News / June

14, 2014 / 7:44 AM

38

NEWS

www.hello-philippines.com

June 2014 / Fortnightly – No. 12 • UK & Europe Edition

Palace: PNP focusing on recent high-profile killings

THE Philippine National Police is focusing its resources on solving the recent killing of two high-profile personalities in the last three days, Malacañang said Saturday.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima already ordered the PNP units to solve the killing of racer Enzo Pastor and trader Richard King.

“Nagbigay na ng utos ang hepe ng PNP na paspasan at bigyan ng nararapat na focus ang dalawang insidenteng nangyari,” Valte said on government-run dzRB radio.

“At nagbigay na sila ng direktiba na bantayan ang imbestigasyon ng kasong

ito,” she added.

King was shot dead in Davao City Thursday night, according to a report by GMA Davao’s Tek Ocampo on GMA News TV’s “Balita Pilipinas Ngayon.”

Initial information showed King was eating inside his establishment when an assailant entered and shot him, then fled aboard a motorcycle.

Police investigation was hampered with the lack of closed-circuit security cameras.

King reportedly owns the Crown Regency Group of Hotels.

Meanwhile, Pastor was shot dead in an ambush by motorcycle-riding men in

Quezon City Thursday night.

Pastor was driving a truck and had stopped at the corner of Visayas Avenue and Congressional Extension Avenue when a gunman approached and shot him, a dzBB report said.

Pastor succumbed to gunshot wounds in the head, neck and arms. Police recovered shells from a cal-.45 pistol from the crime scene.

A report on GMA News TV’s “News to Go” said police are not discounting the possibility the killing could be race-related.

■ Joel Locsin / LBG, GMA News / June 14, 2014 /

12:17PM

Investigators gather evidence along a road in Silang, Cavite on Tuesday, May 27, after policemen killed eight suspected high-profile robbers.

PHL highlights capture of top Abu commander at UN anti-terror meet Qaeda claims attack on Tunisia minister’s home LAST Wednesday’s capture of suspected top Abu Sayyaf official Khair Mundos (a.k.a.

Abu Ayman) highlighted the Philippines’ report before the United Nations in New York on June 12, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Saturday.

DFA Undersecretary for Civilian Security and Consular Affairs Rafael Seguis also reaffirmed the country’s support for the global fight against terrorism before the UN General Assembly.

Seguis, who delivered the Philippine

statement at the Fourth Biennial Review of the UN Global Counter Terrorism Strategy, also promoted sports as a way to curb terrorism.

“In fact, sports has also been a tool, like the annual Football for Peace, which brings children from selected conflict areas to Manila, not only for sports clinics, but also to transform their outlooks in life from a ‘culture of violence’ to that of a ‘a culture of peace,” Seguis said on the DFA website.

“We must remain even more vigilant.

The fight against terrorism should only unite us in the spirit of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,” he added.

On Wednesday, the Philippine National Police claimed it had arrested Mundos, whom it described as a “top ranking” Abu Sayyaf official.

Seguis also said the Philippines has had success in fulfilling the objectives of the Four Pillars of the UN Global CounterTerrorism Strategy, which are: • Addressing the conditions that give rise to terrorism • Preventing and combating terrorism • Building state capacity to effectively address terrorism

Published: Full text of Justice Carpio presentation on China’s ‘Historical Lies’ MANILA - Last Friday (June 6), SC Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio made a comprehensive presentation at De La Salle University of the ‘historical lies’ that China has been using to assert its sovereignty over virtually the entire South China Sea. Justice Carpio cited ancient Chinese maps for this.

The maps themselves show that China had set its southernmost territory thousands of years ago without including the areas it

now insists on claiming, ratcheting up tension in Southeast Asia, where four countries including the Philippines protest China’s intrusion into sites well within their Exclusive Economic Zones.

Neither the Spratlys and the Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal, which China de facto occupied since an April 2012 naval standoff with the Philippines, are on those ancient Chinese maps, said Carpio. ■ News5 / June 11, 2014 4:25 PM

One of the ancient Chinese maps showing China had set its southernmost territory at Hainan, belying its “excessive claims” that have spurred the Philippines to seek international arbitration.

AL-QAEDA in the Islamic Maghreb said Friday it was responsible for a recent attack on the home of Tunisia’s interior minister that killed four policemen, the first such claim in the country.

“A group of lions... went to cut off the head of the criminal Lotfi Ben Jeddou at his home... and God allowed them to kill a number of his personal guards,” an AQIM statement said.

The statement, posted on a jihadist Internet forum, said the May 27 attack on the house in the western border region of Kasserine, had also wounded other guards and that weapons had been seized.

It added that Jeddou, who was not in the house, “got away this time, but he won’t the next.”

And it said that “entering into open war against Islam and its partisans to please the United States, France or Algeria, will cost dearly.”

The government did not immediately comment.

Meanwhile, the interior ministry said two jihadists were killed by national guardsmen during an operation Friday in the Jendouba region to the north, and that other “terrorists” were being hunted.

Several militants and members of the GMA News / June 14, 2014 / 3:27PM security forces were killed in Jendouba in February and March.

Kasserine is situated at the foot of Mount Chaambi on a range bordering Algeria.

Since late 2012, security forces have been battling dozens of militants hiding out in the remote area.

Authorities have said all along that the militants are linked to Al-Qaeda but, until now, Tunisian mourners attend the funeral in jihadists have not confirmed that.

Kasserine on May 28, 2014 of policeman Ridha But the AQIM statement said the army Chebbi who was killed in an attack at the house of Interior Minister Lotfi Ben Jeddou. ©AFP File. “has been conducting military operations

• Ensuring respect for human rights and the rule of law in counter-terrorism initiatives He emphasized the recent signing of the Philippines-Indonesia Memorandum of Understanding on Combating International Terrorism, and the partnership with the International Center for Counter Terrorism (ICCT), which developed a National Operation Framework on Counter Radicalization and De-Radicalization (CR/ DR).

Also, he said the Philippines is the site of the Regional headquarters of the ChemicalBiological-Radiological-Nuclear Center of Excellence (CBRN CoE) in Southeast Asia, a joint undertaking with the European Union and the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI).

Meanwhile, Seguis, in mentioning the ASEAN Convention on Counter-Terrorism, stressed that while the Philippines “builds an effective criminal justice system by providing more legal tools for law enforcement and judicial authorities to fight terrorism… (it) also respects, protects and uphold the rule of law, particularly civil liberties and human rights, with the latter being the cornerstone of Pillar IV of the UNGCTS.” ■ Joel Locsin / JDS,

against our militants in Mount Chaambi, which forced the lions of Islam to strike a military column.”

Last year, more than 20 security personnel were killed in what the government says were “terrorism-related incidents”.

‘Campaign of arrests’. Until now, the organisation had treated Tunisia as fertile ground for preaching its ideology but not claimed any attacks since the 2011 uprising that toppled dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Previous attacks blamed on jihadist groups in the North African country included two foiled suicide bombings at a resort town last October.

And two opposition politicians were assassinated in separate attacks that plunged the country into a political crisis.

In April, Tunis designated Mount Chaambi and neighbouring mountain districts a closed military zone, and warned of the growing threat posed by “terrorist organisations” based there.

The AQIM statement also roundly criticised the authorities that came to power after the 2011 revolution, accusing them of reproducing Ben Ali’s authoritarian policies.

“They started a blind campaign of arrests against our youth,” AQIM said.

The group also said the government had banned Ansar al-Sharia, a radical Salafist group, last August “to please the unbelievers.”

Much of the deadly violence to hit Tunisia after the uprising was blamed on the hardline Salafist movement, which the government had previously linked to Al-Qaeda and blamed for the killing of the opposition politicians.

Tunisia has also been wary of the growing influence of Islamists in neighbouring Libya, and fears that lawlessness could spill across the border. ■ AFP June 14, 2014

Illegal, unsanitary slaughterhouse in QC raided AUTHORITIES acting on a tip raided an illegal slaughterhouse in Quezon City over the weekend.

The city veterinary department team found the establishment unsanitary, and warned the meat processed there could cause diseases, GMA News’ Victoria Tulad reported Saturday.

Inspectors found the slaughterhouse located at Kaingin 2 in Barangay Pansol had dirty cages for pigs, while the roof was damaged and cockroaches were crawling on the walls.

On the other hand, the innards of animals slaughtered inside the establishment were seen scattered on the floor.

City veterinarian Dr. Ana Marie Cabel said the meat from the slaughterhouse is considered “hot meat” or tainted meat

since it has no meat inspection certificate.

She said this meat may pose a health risk to consumers since it is not inspected.

The team confiscated the meat and equipment from the slaughterhouse and were to bring the meat to the veterinary department to see if it is edible.

City veterinary department meat inspector Dick Domingo said they conducted a two-week surveillance on the area.

He said they are verifying the market that buys meat from this slaughterhouse may not have a business permit.

Authorities are verifying information that a certain Elmer Rivera owns the slaughterhouse, which may supply meat to University of the Philippines, Kaingin Road, and Barangay Pansol.

The team went to the supposed outlet in Barangay Pansol but it was closed.

The owner of the slaughterhouse may face fines of P200,000 to P1 million, or a jail term of six to 12 years.

Meanwhile, authorities reminded consumers to check for a seal of approval and meat inspection certificate on meat to make sure it is safe to eat. ■ Joel Locsin / LBG,

GMA News / June 14, 2014 / 2:19 PM

SPORTS

June 2014 / Fortnightly – No. 12 • UK & Europe Edition

www.hello-philippines.com

39

Gritty Nonito Donaire wins technical decision to capture WBA featherweight title NONITO Donaire bucked an early cut over his left eye to capture the WBA featherweight title with a unanimous technical decision win over Simpiwe Vetyeka on Saturday in Macau.

“Maraming salamat sa lahat ng nandito.

Pasensya na po,” said Donaire, adding his regret that he wasn’t able to give Filipino fans in the venue “a proper fight.”

Donaire caught a bad break late in the first round after suffering a cut after a clash of heads. However, since the referee did not rule a headbutt as the cause of the cut, the Filipino Flash remained in danger of losing the fight if it had to be stopped because of the bleeding.

The second round remained precarious for Donaire as he clashed heads again with Vetyeka a couple of times.

Instead of playing safe, Donaire fought like a wounded tiger. He rocked Vetyeka in the third round, sending the South African champion off balanced. Vetyeka had to hold on to the ropes to stay on his feet, but was not called for a knockdown.

Donaire continued the onslaught in the fourth round, sending his foe to the canvas with a left hook. He continued to stalk Vetyeka throughout the round, with the champion barely surviving.

But the cut was deemed by technical officials at ringside to be too much for Donaire to continue at the beginning of the fifth round. They also ruled the cut to be caused by a clash of heads in the first round.

Because four rounds had been completed, the fight was halted and went to

the scorecards with Donaire winning 49-46 in all three cards.

But even the winner wasn’t too happy with how the match turned out.

“I wanna give them that rematch,” said Donaire.

Donaire improved his record to 33-2 with 21 knockouts a match after he bounced back from a loss to Cuban Guillermo Rigondeaux in April 2013. He knocked out Armenian southpaw Vic Darchinyan in November of 2013.

Vetyeka fell to 26-3 with 16 knockouts.

In another bout, unbeaten Russian Evgeny Gradovich, nicknamed the Mexican Russian, survived all 12 rounds of toe-to-toe action against Alexander Miskirtchian of Belgium, and retained his IBF Featherweight Championship title.

Gradovich improved to 19-0, while Jamaica’s unbeaten Nicholas Walters decisively knocked out Darchinyan in the fifth round, improving his record to 24-0 with 20 knockouts.

On the same card, undefeated Chinese

boxer Yang Ik readily took out Indonesia’s Geisler Ap with a right hook following a flurry of punches in two minutes and 24 seconds of the opening round, improving to 14-0. ■ InterAksyon.com and Agence France-Presse / May 31, 2014 / 11:19 PM

Paul Harris shoots Talk ‘N Text past San Mig Coffee to grab solo first place TALK ‘N Text import Paul Harris scored 39 points on nine three-pointers to lead the Tropang Texters to a 92-88 victory over the San Mig Super Coffee Mixers on Friday

at Mall of Asia Arena.

“I was very pleased by the way the team responded today,” said Talk ‘N Text coach Norman Black, whose squad was

Photo by Nuki Sabio ©PBA

Dominant Global recaptures UFL championship after beatdown of Pachanga GLOBAL FC steamrolled Pachanga PLDT Home Fibr with a 7-2 result to capture the 2014 United Football League championship on Thursday at Emperador Stadium.

Global stamped its dominance against Pachanga from start to finish to reclaim the League trophy it last held in 2012.

Striker Izzo Elhabib opened the floodgates at the 22nd minute, before Angel Guirado and Milad Behgandom buried two quick goals at the 33rd and 35th minutes to give Global a comfortable 3-nil halftime edge.

Pachanga tried to pull off a comeback at the start of second half, with David Fornea finding the back of the net at the 46th minute to trim his club’s deficit to 3-1.

Guirado made a shot at the 50th minute, but Nate Burkey answered with a goal at the

67th minute to keep Pachanga within two, 4-2 But it was all Global after that, with Jeffrey Christiaens, Behgandom and Elhabib scoring one goal apiece late in the match to settle the final score.

After a slow start to the season, Global got its rhythm midway through its campaign to clinch a league-leading 17-2-2 win-drawloss record for 53 points. The club also won the title despite having three matches left in its schedule.

In the first match, Kaya FC (14-4-4) blanked relegated Pasargad FC, 3-nil.

OJ Porteria made two goals, while Janrick Soriano chipped in one for secondseed Kaya, which fell short of catching Global for the title. ■ Karl Decena / InterAksyon. com / June 12, 2014 / 10:47 PM

Photo by KC Cruz ©Sports5

coming off an upset loss at the hands of Barako Bull last Tuesday.

“A lot of credit has to go to Paul Harris, he shot today very very well.”

“I was also motivated because we’re coming off a loss,” said Harris.

With the win, the Tropang Texters improved to 6-2 to move into solo first place in the PLDT Home Telpad Governors’ Cup standings. They virtually assured themselves of a spot in the top four, which comes with twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.

Talk ‘N Text won despite missing team captain Jimmy Alapag. “Jimmy’s very sick, he didn’t get to play today,” said Black.

The rematch of the Commissioner’s Cup finals did not disappoint as the game came down the wire.

Talk ‘N Text controlled most of the first half and the early part of the third quarter.

The Tropang Texters were still ahead, 6557, on a three-pointer from Larry Fonacier.

But a Joe Devance three-pointer touched off a 13-2 run to end the period to give San Mig Coffee a 70-68 edge.

The game remained close in the fourth quarter, with Talk ‘N Text forging ahead, 83-81, with 3:24 to play after back-to-back three-pointers from import Paul Harris.

A few moments later, Harris pulled up for another three-pointer to give Talk ‘N Text an 88-84 lead with two minutes remaining.

Talk ‘N Text held that lead the rest of the way to get a measure of revenge for their finals defeat.

In his third tour of duty with the Tropang Texters, Harris has had to adjust on the fly to the system of Black. Harris played under Chot Reyes in his first two PBA stints.

“Coach Chot runs the dribble drive more. With Coach Norman, I’m more comfortable playing the wing position,” said Harris, who depended on his teammates to figure out the offense.

“It’s a lot different because we’re running with more sets, but the players are pretty much the same.”

Joe Devance scored 30 points to lead San Mig Coffee, which fell to 5-3 in a tie with Air 21, Ginebra, and Rain or Shine.

“We needed this for our confidence,” said Black, whose team wraps up its elimination round campaign on Sunday against Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.

“Big game on Sunday against Ginebra.”

The scores: TALK N’ TEXT 92 – Harris 39, Castro 19, De Ocampo 12, Fonacier 9, Baclao 7, Williams 2, Carey 2, Canaleta 2, Reyes J. 0, Reyes R. 0.

SAN MIG SUPER COFFEE 88 – Devance 30, Blakely 21, Barroca 10, Yap 9, Sangalang 7, Simon 6, Maliksi 3, Pingris 2, Mallari 0, Reavis 0.

Quarters: 31-21, 53-45, 68-70, 92-88 ■ Rey Joble / InterAksyon.com / June 13, 2014 /

10:05 PM

UFL appoints Rely San Agustin as new general manager THE United Football League (UFL) announced on Saturday the appointment of former Philippine national men’s football team goalkeeper Rely San Agustin as their new general manager.

San Agustin served as the commissioner of the UAAP football tournament last season, which saw collegiate football grow in popularity due to its television coverage, and continues to lend his talents as an analyst in the UFL’s TV broadcasts.

He has been part of the football world for a long time, dating back to his collegiate days representing Ateneo before being selected to be part of the national team.

San Agustin made a brief return to competitive football last season, playing for Union Internacional Manila in the UFL’s second division.

“I am very excited to be part of the UFL organization. Having been a part of the Philippine football scene all my life, as a player, organizer and fan, the need for taking this league to the next level is the biggest challenge,” San Agustin said.

“In order to provide our players with quality competition, we must professionalize. Seeing how our fellow UFL standouts dominated during the AFC Challenge Cup in Maldives, it is a clear indication of how the league has become a huge factor in their development. The

program is working and we must continue to build,” he added.

“It’s not going to happen overnight, but as long as the league, the clubs share the same vision, we will not fail.”

Aside from his experience in football, San Agustin is accomplished in the business world as well. The president

of sports marketing consultancy and events management company RSATitan Management Group Inc. oversaw the implementation of the Philippine Goalkeeping Academy, the Ateneo Football League and the MVP Football Olympics, among others. ■ InterAksyon.com / June 8, 2014 / 2:09 AM

sport

Manny Pacquiao to host PLDTABAP national championship in Digos DIGOS, Davao del Sur – The PLDT-ABAP National Championships will be held at the Digos City Gymnasium July 1-7 under the sponsorship of 8-title world champion and Sarangani representative Manny Pacquiao in partnership with the provincial government of Davao del Sur headed by Governor Claude Bautista.

Pacquiao said he wanted to relive his memories as an amateur when he first fought under the Digos team.

“Dito ako nagsimula bilang amateur boxer. At dahil amateur boxing naman ang tournament, naisip ko na gawin sa Digos. Marami akong magandang alaala dyan”, said the current WBO welterweight champion, who is also a member of the ABAP Board of Directors representing Region 12 (SOCCSKSARGEN).

ABAP executive director Ed Picson held a meeting with Bautista on Monday at the

Davao del Sur Capitol Building where the chief local executive introduced him to his point persons for the tournament: board member Ricardo Molina Jr., provincial legal officer Renato Bartolo, public information officer Ma. Ana Sumatra, and events coordinator Oscar Casaysay.

Pacquiao was represented by his former trainer and now team manager of the Pacman Boxing Team Luisito “Bebe” Tinagsa, who will also act as competition manager for the tournament.

Bautista said “we are honored by this gesture of Cong. Pacquiao, who is also a close personal friend. Our province is celebrating its 47th Founding Anniversary and this national championships will enhance our celebrations. Davao del Sur will be ready to warmly welcome all the participants, officials and spectators”. ■ InterAksyon.com / June 11, 2014 / 12:32 PM