September 2013 a issue

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UK & Europe Edition

September 2013

Volume 4 - Number 17

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MANILA, WASHINGTON WRAP UP 2ND ROUND OF TALKS FOR INCREASED US MILITARY PRESENCE MANILA and Washington on Friday wrapped up a second round of talks to pave the way for increased rotational presence (IRP) of American troops in the Philippines, with Manila stressing that any such arrangement will not lead the ultimate establishment of permanent US military presence in the archipelago.

Any American military presence will be temporary and in compliance with the Philippine Constitution, said

Defense Undersecretary Pio Lorenzo Batino.

In the negotiations at the US Department of Defense in the Pentagon, it was also agreed that joint exercises and activities under a framework agreement for the IRP will require approval from the Philippines. Batino, the chief negotiator for the Philippines, added that any arrangement will have to be mutually beneficial to the defense capabilities of the two countries,

consistent with an already existing Philippine-US Mutual Defense Treaty.

“Both the Philippines and the US panels share the understanding that the American troops will not establish a permanent military presence in our country. That was clear during the discussion,” Batino said. “From the beginning of the talks, we communicated to our counterparts that they could not establish a permanent presence in

the Philippines in accordance with our Constitution.”

Under the agreed minutes released by the panels, all access to, and use of, Philippine military facilities and areas by the US will have to come at the invitation of the Philippine government.

“Where and what can be prepositioned will be subject to prior approval by the Philippine government and based on mutuality of interest,” said explained Foreign

Philippine President Benigno Aquino (R) welcomes US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel at the Malacañang Palace in Manila August 30, 2013.

Affairs Assistant Secretary Carlos Sorreta, panel spokesperson. “Any approval will contain specific areas and time for the temporary activity.”

Sorreta said “specific understandings” were achieved to the following effect: • Facilities used for prepositioning will remain the property of the Philippines • The Philippines maintains the primary responsibility and authority in matters of security

• Any prepositioning or activities will not violate Philippine environmental laws • Any construction will have to be removed by the US once the approved activity is completed The parties also agreed to craft “stronger language on non-prepositioning of prohibited weapons”, said a press statement from the panel. The Philippine Constitution prohibits the entry or presence of nuclear weapons in the country.

Beyond mutual defense matters, Sorreta said the Philippines and the US worked out details on humanitarian aid and disaster relief.

Sorreta also said the Philippines will likely negotiate for a shorter timeframe for the lifespan of any final agreement than what Washington is expected to ask for. “For the Americans, they typically have agreements like these that have a duration of 20 years.

Right now, the Philippine delegation is looking at a much shorter duration,” he said.

Negotiations on a framework agreement on the IRP officially started on August 14. The Philippines is hoping that with an IRP in place, the country can achieve a “minimum credible defense” posture amid territorial threats in the South China Sea, and even as it tries to modernize its badly resourced armed forces.

The next round of talks will be held in the second week of September in the US. The Philippine panel is composed of Batino, Sorreta, Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III and Defense Assistant Secretary Raymund Quilop. ■ InterAksyon.com / August 31, 2013 / 9:45 AM

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BUSINESS AND FINANCE

September 2013 – No. 17 • UK & Europe Edition

Emerging market volatility back? Don’t worry, says BSP MANILA - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) today said a selloff in emerging markets that has dragged down their currencies could reignite volatility in the local financial markets over the short term, especially after the extended break in trading brought about by bad weather.

But the Philippines’ strong fundamentals should limit any contagion effect, BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said.

“We can expect more volatility in our market tomorrow than in recent past. Given we were closed for a couple of days while others in the region, notably Indonesia and India, have moved quite a bit. From experience, we’ve seen markets not only over-react, they also move in herd,” Tetangco, Jr. said in an email.

Emerging Asian currencies have tumbled, with the Indonesian rupiah slumping to a four year-low and the Indian rupee plummeting to a fresh record over investor concerns that the US Federal Reserve’s withdrawal of its economic stimulus would leave these markets high and dry.

The Malaysian ringgit also slid to a threeyear low, while the Thai baht dropped to its lowest in a year.

“What we will have to emphasize is that some of these countries—whose currencies have moved quite a bit—have

large current account deficits or are coming out of subsidy regimes. This is not the case in the Philippines. We are hoping that real money funds, not the portfolio kind, will be able to make the distinction,” Tetangco said.

When it last traded on August 16, the peso firmed up to P43.640 against the US dollar from its previous close of P43.790.

The Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp had cancelled trading since Monday because of heavy rains that have flooded half of Metro Manila.

Trading however resumes tomorrow after the government lifted rainfall warnings.

Tetangco said the BSP would assess if movements in the peso are excessive relative to other currencies and other market prices, adding that the central bank would act accordingly to minimize volatility in the exchange rate.

The country’s economic managers earlier revised their exchange rate forecast to a range of P41-43 for every US dollar, lower than the previous estimate of P43-45.

The Philippines has ample gross international reserves (GIR), increasing nearly two percent to $82.9 billion last month from the $81.3 billion in June. Last month’s increase reversed the decline in June brought about by a drop in the price of gold.

An ample GIR helps prop up the peso

BSP chief Amando M. Tetangco Jr. Photo courtesy of Citi

and keep domestic inflation at bay. Inflation averaged 2.9 percent in the first seven months of the year, or at the lower end of the BSP’s full-year target range of 3-5 percent.

“There is always the risk of spillover effects especially now that the markets appear to be impressed by the notion of a generalized shift of funds from emerging markets to advanced economies,” BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo however told InterAksyon.com “This perception is driven by both the macro slippages in emerging markets and some improvements in US and to some

limited extent, Europe and Japan. However, when everything has been digested by the markets, there should be limited impact on the Philippines,” Guinigundo said.

“Our fundamentals remain sound, our ability to manage both inflows and outflows of capital has been proven and our financial system remains robust to effect financial intermediation and to serve as channel of monetary policy,” he added.

Astro del Castillo, managing director at First Grade Finance Inc. said a weaker peso is expected in the next few days due to the strengthening of the US dollar, weak regional currencies, and the long holiday.

“It seems P44 could be target in the next few days,” he said.

Light trading is also expected in the Philippine Stock Exchange tomorrow, after closing at 6,525,950 last Friday, he said.

In an earlier report, Citi said the Philippines is the least vulnerable in Asia to rising global risks brought about by China’s slowdown and the looming end to the US Fed’s economic stimulus.

Citi managing director and Asia-Pacific head of economic and market analysis Johanna Chua had said the Philippines, unlike its neighbors, need not worry about financial risks because of its sound fiscal management, strong growth and stable primary surplus.

The country’s economy is expected to grow above the government target of 6-7 percent this year, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said.

NEDA Director-General and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan earlier said the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth may outperform the target given that it already expanded at a rate of 7.8 percent in the first quarter.

The second quarter looks “good” as economic fundamentals remain intact, he said. ■ Maricel E. Burgonio / InterAksyon.com / August 21, 2013 / 10:32 PM

US execs rate Philippines as most improved, but still prefer investing in other Asean countries towards the US, stable government and political system, and tax structure.

The Philippines registered dissatisfaction only in terms of its office lease costs, while no change in sentiment marked local protectionism.

Survey respondents said the Philippines improved the most in terms of the stability of government and political system, but their major concerns remain corruption, the tax structure, insufficient infrastructure, laws and regulations, and the ease of moving products through Customs.

In fact, the Bureaus of Customs and of Internal Revenue (BIR) are the two agencies satisfaction for which is very low for US companies doing business in the Philippines. In contrast, they have high regard for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Department of Finance (DOF), which ironically supervises Customs and BIR.

Montealegre / InterAksyon.com / August 28, 2013 /

Despite the country’s “most improved” image among survey respondents, they however would rather expand in Indonesia (49 percent of respondents), Vietnam (43 percent), Thailand (40 percent), Myanmar (39 percent) and Malaysia (31 percent).

The Philippines was the sixth preferred investment destination, with 29 percent of respondents, followed by Singapore, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei.

Asked about their reasons for expansion, survey respondents’ top pick was potential for business growth (83 percent of respondents), followed by increasing market share (46 percent), diversification of customer base (32 percent), economic recovery (30 percent), reasonable production costs (24 percent), and stable government and political system (15 percent).

Notwithstanding the above, 82 percent of respondents whose companies already operate in the Philippines said they would expand, with another 15 percent saying they would maintain production levels and the balance of three percent still uncertain about their plans.

Furthermore, the Philippines topped its Asean peers as an alternative destination for US investors wanting to leave China this year.

The web-based self-administered survey was conducted from May 10 to June 10, involving a sample of 2,618 from across Asean. The response rate however was a low 18 percent. In the Philippines, 237 members of the American Chamber of Commerce were polled, but only 16 percent sent back the accomplished survey forms. ■ InterAksyon.com / August 26,

3:51 PM

2013 / 11:59 PM

Lucio Tan, George Ty holding firms join benchmark stock index, replacing Meralco and Belle MANILA - The respective holding firms of Lucio Tan and George Ty have joined the 30-company benchmark index of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), replacing the gaming arm of Henry Sy and the country’s largest electricity distributor.

According to a notice published on the local bourse website, LT Group and GT Capital Holdings will replace Manila Electric Co (Meralco) and Belle Corp.

The changes in the PSE index (PSEi), a basket of 30 publicly traded shares regarded as bellwether for the market, will take effect on September 16.

“The changes reflect the dynamics of the market. The periodic review of the main index and the sector indices is necessary to give the investors a reliable and transparent

MANILA - Executives from American companies operating in Asean have rated the Philippines the most improved location for doing business, but the country still won’t get the lion’s share of their investments, according to a new survey.

In its annual Asean Business Outlook Survey, the US Chamber of Commerce and its affiliates across the region said the Philippines made the most improvement this year in terms of its business environment since 2008.

Out of 16 indicators, survey respondents felt the country made gains in 14, namely, availability of low cost labor, availability of raw materials, availability of trained personnel, corruption (or lack thereof), ease of moving products through Customs, free movement of goods within the region, housing costs, infrastructure, laws and regulations, new business incentives offered by government, personal security, sentiment

gauge of the market’s performance and trading activity,” said Hans Sicat, PSE president and chief executive officer, said in a statement issued today.

To be included in the PSEi, a listed firm must be among the top companies in terms of liquidity and market capitalization, and its free float should be higher than the minimum requirement of 12 percent.

Bloomberry Resorts Corp of ports magnate Enrique Razon replaced Henry Sy-led SM Development Corp during the last PSEi recomposition.

InterAksyon.com is the online news portal of TV5, which like Meralco is chaired

by Manuel V. Pangilinan. ■ Krista Angela M.

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BUSINESS AND FINANCE

September 2013 – No. 17 • UK & Europe Edition

Timetable for common ticket project of LRTs, MRT pushed back

MANILA - A third public-private partnership (PPP) project is facing delays as well, after the government pushed back the timetable for the Mactan Cebu International Airport upgrade and the southbound extension of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT1).

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has postponed for a month the deadline for bids for the common ticket scheme of the two LRTs and the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT3).

“Please be notified that the bid submission date will be 30 calendar days from the date or release of the final concession agreement,” DOTC said in a special bid bulletin.

DOTC had scheduled the submission of bids for the P1.72 billion Automated Fare Collection System (AFCS) on August 30.

The five prequalified bidders are AF Consortium, Comworks Consortium, E-Trans Solutions Joint Venture Inc Consortium, Megawide-Suyen-Eurolink Consortium, and SM Consortium.

AF Consortium is led by Metro Pacific Investments Corp (MPIC) and Ayala Corp, while Comworks Consortium includes Taiwan’s Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp.

E-Trans Solutions Joint Venture is led by East West Banking Corp, while MegawideSuyen-Eurolink Consortium will tap the expertise of Singapore’s EZ Link Pte Ltd. Likewise, the DOTC issued guidelines for conducting surveys or interviews of key personnel of state-run Light Rail Transit

Authority (LRTA) and DOTC-MRT3 as well as of passengers of the three overhead train services.

The survey and interviews should be done no later than September 27.

Similar to Hong Kong’s “Octopus” card, the Philippine version would allow commuters to use a single ticket when they ride the LRT1 and LRT2, as well as the MRT3.

The three rail services have a combined ridership of a million a day.

The AFCS is a tap-and-go system that the winning bidder will operate for 10 years.

The project is aimed at enhancing fare collection efficiency by reducing leakage and fraud.

LRT1 or the “green line” runs from Baclaran in Pasay City to Roosevelt in

Quezon City, while LRT2 or the “blue line” runs from Santolan in Marikina to Recto in Manila. MRT3 or the “yellow line” runs from North Avenue in Quezon City to Taft in Pasay.

In the future, the AFCS can be expanded to include other transport modes such as buses, toll roads and the Philippine National Railways.

Earlier, DOTC pushed back the bidding for the P17.5 billion Mactan Cebu International Airport Project because the concession agreement has yet to be finalized.

Meanwhile, the bidding for the P60 billion LRT1 Cavite Extension Project failed after the government rejected the offer made by the lone bidder. ■ Darwin G. Amojelar

/ InterAksyon.com / August 28, 2013 / 3:06 PM

Philippines no longer lone fastest growing economy in Asia after gov’t cuts 1Q GDP estimate MANILA - The Philippines no longer holds the distinction of being Asia’s fastest growing economy, as it now has to share the throne with China.

In a report today, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) revised downward the Philippines’ first-quarter economic growth to 7.7 percent from the earlier estimate of 7.8 percent.

With the revision, China, which also expanded 7.7 percent in the first quarter, can likewise lay claim to being Asia’s fastest-growing.

The indisputable second-fastest growing is Indonesia with six percent, followed by Thailand’s 5.3 percent and Vietnam’s 4.9 percent.

The NSCB said manufacturing largely was responsible for the downward revision of the first-quarter GDP with a negative 0.03 percentage point.

The estimate for the contribution

of trade and repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles, personal and household goods also was cut by 0.02 percentage point. Other sectors that pulled down the growth data were agriculture and forestry; real estate, renting and business activities; other services; transportation, storage and communication; financial intermediation; construction; and public administration and defense.

“Minimal revisions were contributed by electricity, gas and water supply; fishing; and mining and quarrying,” NSCB added.

The GDP data revision comes a few days before the NSCB will release the secondquarter data.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Baliscan earlier said strong remittances and low inflation would lead to “robust” economic growth in the second quarter. ■ Darwin G. Amojelar / InterAksyon.com / August 28, 2013 / Updated 5:43 PM

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NEWS

September 2013 – No. 17 • UK & Europe Edition

PSEi re-enters ‘bear’ territory, peso hits 3-year low as Syria crisis adds to worries over US Fed Tan, head of research at COL Financial Group Inc. All sectors were in the red, led by the holding firms and property sectors, which shed over four percent each. The PSEi has shed 1.29 percent from its 2012 close of 5,812.73.

There were five losers for every gainer, while 31 issues were unchanged. A total of 1.54 billion stocks worth P13.63 billion changed hands. Foreigners were net sellers at P5.7 billion.

Most actively traded stocks were SM Investments, Metrobank, Alliance Global, Ayala Land and Ayala Corp. Top advancers were Philracing, Medco and Filipino Fund, while the biggest losers were 2GO, Philippine Seven and Asian Terminals.

“Everyone is a victim of the crisis in the Middle East. There are concerns of the impact of the geopolitical crisis on oil prices and its repercussions on global economic growth,” said Astro del Castillo, managing director at First Grade Finance Inc. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 170.33 points, or 1.1 percent, to 14,776.13, hitting its lowest level since June 25, over a possible Western-led military strike against Syria, fuelling concern of a disruption in Middle East oil supplies.

Crude oil closed above $109 a barrel for the first time since early last year.

A day before, US Secretary of State John Kerry blasted Syria’s use of chemical weapons in a massive deadly attack last week.

“Even as attention finally shifted away from the Fed, it nevertheless found another scapegoat to justify fears—a possible escalation of the tensions in Syria...In as much as a timeline for the Fed’s action on QE3 is indeterminable, so is the timeline on Syria. This fluidity in global events raises the degree of uncertainty and risk,” said Calaycay.

After losing nearly six percent last week, the PSEi shed another four percent yesterday as concerns in Syria added to lingering worries about the future of the US Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing program. The local market was also pricing in the public clamor against the pork barrel, which could slow down the Philippine government’s spending and hold back economic growth.

Emerging markets like the Philippines have been taking a beating as the US central bank mulls the end of its massive stimulus program. The Fed’s $85-billion bond-buying program—the third tranche

that has come to be called the third quantitative easing (QE3)—has been a key driver of equities rallies in the past several months.

P45:$1 in near term The peso sank to a three-year low today as risk aversion ruled the market on the back of growing tensions in the Middle East.

At the Philippine Dealing System, the peso closed at P44.750 to the US dollar, down from Tuesday’s P44.500. It traded between a high of P44.75 and a low of P44.53. Total turnover reached P1.242 billion.

Jonathan Ravelas, BDO chief market strategist, said the peso is seen to hit P45 in the near term, adding that the yearend target of P42.10.

“With the break of the P44.70 levels if broken may still see P45.00-45.30 levels in the near term. These events decrease the chances of our original yearend target of P42.10. It will most likely be revised higher closer to P43.5044 levels,” Ravelas said.

Earlier, the country’s economic managers revised downward their foreign exchange forecast to a range of P41-43 from the earlier estimate of P4345. ■ Krista Angela M. Montealegre and Maricel E. Burgonio / InterAksyon.com / August 28, 2013 / Updated 6:41 PM

ORIGINAL CREATION & COPYRIGHT RESERVED BY © HELLO PHILIPPINES 2013

MANILA - The Philippine stock market today re-entered “bear” territory after it plunged to an eight-month low, wiping out gains for the year amid a global selloff triggered by mounting political tensions in Syria.

At the Philippine Stock Exchange, the benchmark index pared its losses of as much as six percent in early trade but still closed at its weakest level for the year.

The PSE index (PSEi) fell 178.93 points or 3.02 percent to finish at 5,738.06.

It was the market’s weakest close since closing at 5,636.59 on December 18, 2012.

“The floodgates of pessimism opened wide after the PSEi breezed past the 5,900-mark, sending year-to-date returns to negative for the second time this year,” said Jun Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp.

The composite index is now more than 22 percent off its May 15 peak of 7,392.20. The first time the stock market tipped into “bear” territory was on June 25 when it closed at 5,785.24. A drop of at least 20 percent from a previous high is the common definition of a bear market.

“It’s not enough for the market to close down 20 percent from its peak, but it has to stay in that level for two months.

We only met the first part,” said April Lee-

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NEWS

September 2013 – No. 17 • UK & Europe Edition

5 things you need to know about National Heroes Day

Commission on Culture and the Arts, this was when a nation was born, when the first Filipino national government was established.

This government, which Andres Bonifacio founded, had all the elements of a government: territory (where it exercised its functions as a state), armed forces (that fought for and defended the state’s existence), and diplomatic component (which tried to gain international recognition for the new nation). More important, Bonifacio’s Katagalugan government had the population’s loyalty.

Subsequent governments, notably that of Emilio Aguinaldo, “could only proceed from it.” Bonifacio’s government “certainly had a large mass-based following than the 24 August 1897 entity that deposed it,” they said.

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THIS August day is especially significant today, as a million Filipinos are called to rally against corruption. Here, five things every Filipino must know about National Heroes Day: 1. Why do we celebrate National Heroes Day? Historians debate the when and where of the beginning of the revolution against Spanish colonization. Some say the “Cry” was made in April 1895 in Pamitinan Caves in Montalban. Some say 23 August 1896 in Balintawak. And still others say 26 August 1896 in Pugad Lawin.

This unresolved debate is why instead of celebrating the Cry of Balintawak or the Cry of Pugad Lawin, the country celebrates the National Heroes Day. And this is also why National Heroes Day is a moveable feast. The government designates the last Monday of August as National Heroes Day. Despite the debate on the exact date, August 1896 was when members of the secret society of Katipunan launched the revolution. Key events happened that month to lead up to the tearing of the cedulas (identification receipts issued for payment of taxes) and the cry that started the armed struggle for independence. One of them was 19 August, when the Spanish government discovered the Katipunan and the Katipuneros fled to Balintawak.

So why celebrate August 1896? Because to historians Milagros Guerrero, Emmanuel Encarnacion, and Ramon Villegas, in an article posted on the website of the National

Aguinaldo, according to the three historians, usurped Bonifacio’s authority as President of the Republika ng Katagalugan and renamed it Republica Filipina.

That’s why apart from celebrating the day, they also want Bonifacio recognized not only as the founder of the Katipunan and leader of the revolution of 1896, but as the first Filipino president, “the father of the nation and founder of our democracy.”

2. Who were these heroes?

Aside from Bonifacio, who were the others who fought against Spanish colonial rule? In 1952, more than half a century after the cry, Katipunan veteran Guillermo Masangkay gave an interview and named 56 of the 1,000 men who were in Balintawak before they encountered Spanish forces.

They were a mixed bunch of workers—at Diario de Manila, in the tobacco industry, a good number work in government, and even three were “government secret agents.”

3. Which countries shared this common history of bondage under Spain and and fight for freedom against it?

The “Cry” was not unique to the Philippines. According to historians Guerrero, Encarnacion, and Villegas, journalists of the time used the term “Cry of Rebellion (El Grito de Rebelion)” to describe the various uprisings in many Spanish colonies then: in Mexico it was the “Cry of Dolores” (16 September 1810), Brazil the “City of Ypiraga” (7 September 1822), and in Cuba the “Cry of Matanza” (24 February 1895). This may be why the Philippines is

often described as a Latin American country in Asia.

4. What are the other significant dates of August that year and the year after?

After declaring war on Spain, on 30 August, freedom fighters of the time lost the Battle of San Juan. Governor General Blanco also declared war on eight Luzon provinces: Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, and Tarlac.

On 31 August, General Emilio Aguinaldo replaced Bonifacio as supreme military leader.

By the following year, in another August day (10 August 1897), Aguinaldo begins negotiating with the Spanish colonial government in Manila for an end to hostilities. According to historian Bernardita Reyes Churchill, of the University of the Philippines-Diliman and De La Salle University-Manila, thenegotiations ended with a truce in Biak-na-Bato. Aguinaldo agreed to go on temporary exile to Hong Kong after the Spanish government paid him and his revolutionary junta P400,000.

“The truce failed as both sides entered the agreement in bad faith—neither was really willing to abandon hostilities but were biding time and resources to resume the armed conflict,” Churchill said.

Of course, the war against Spain ended with a new war against the more powerful United States.

5. Or why must 13 August 1898 be remembered as well?

Just two years after Asia’s first anti-

colonial revolution, on 13 August 1898, a day after Spain and the United States signed the Protocol of Peace, Spanish and American forces fought in the bogus Battle of Manila Bay. Initially viewed as allies, the Americans kept the Filipino fighters out of the loop and stole the revolutionaries’ thunder. It is a day that should live in infamy and is in fact commemorated by a street name (13 de Agosto) in Barangay 41 Zone 06, Pasay City.

The following day, 14 August 1898, the Spanish colonial government surrendered to the US. Later that year, in December 1898, Spain and the US concluded the Treaty of Paris without Filipino representation.

Filipino revolutionaries continued the war even after US forces captured Aguinaldo in Palanan, Isabela in March 1901 and after he took his oath of allegiance to the US on April 1.

“It took the United States Army three years to suppress the revolution in the Philippines, much longer than American commanders in the field had expected and at great cost on lives and resources,” Churchill said.

“It took even longer (until 1913) to establish peace and order in Mindanao and Sulu. Samar and Batangas proved the most tenacious in their resistance to American rule, and also showed in dark colors the brutality that war breeds in men, regardless of race,” she added. ■ Veronica Uy / InterAksyon.

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Magsaysay laureate challenges Pinoys to bring healthcare rights violations to SC

ORIGINAL CREATION & COPYRIGHT RESERVED BY © HELLO PHILIPPINES 2013

THE Supreme Court has issued landmark rulings protecting citizens’ rights to vote and to enjoy a better environment. But in its entire 112-year history, it has yet to be confronted with a case concerning one of the ordinary Filipino’s basic rights—the right to have access to healthcare.

With the recent passage of the National Health Insurance Act (NHIA) and the launch of the government’s Kalusugang Pangkalahatan (KP) program, 2013 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee Dr. Ernesto Domingo thinks the time is ripe for the high Court to decide on a case related to public healthcare.

“It’s about time to bring the issue of healthcare to the Supreme Court,” Domingo said at a forum on public health held at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) Wednesday.

The 76-year-old physician, who was one of the convenors of the Universal Healthcare study group that produced the “Blueprint for Universal Healthcare” that the Department of Health eventually adopted for its KP program, said that with the recent policy developments, it is timely for the Court to address violations regarding public access to healthcare.

“People have brought to the Court cases where they were disenfranchised as a voter and the Court restored their

political right. Perhaps now people can bring to the Court specific cases of violation of [their] right to healthcare,” he said.

Domingo said that only the Supreme Court can decide whether a person’s right to health has been violated in the hypothetical story he cited about a poor patient dying due to lack of access to medical care at a hospital.

“If a poor person goes to a public or private hospital but did not get the necessary medical attention and then dies as a consequence, was his right violated? That should be tried in court.

Let’s see what the high Court will say,” he said.

Game changer. Domingo’s public lecture became an open discussion on the government’s healthcare policies since the event was attended by public officials who are or were once at the helm of government health agencies— all of whom were his former students at the University of the Philippines Manila.

The officials present during the forum were: Former Health secretaries Manuel Dayrit and Alberto Romualdez, former PhilHealth President and Chief Executive Officer Eduardo Banzon, current Health undersecretary Teodoro Herbosa and acting Food and Drug Administration (FDA) chief Kenneth Hartigan-Go.

After giving a short speech, Domingo asked each of his former students about the possibility and sustainability of providing free healthcare for all Filipinos.

Banzon said universal healthcare is no longer a far-fetched dream for the government to achieve as it has managed to raise the money through sin taxes to include the poorest Filipinos in Philhealth’s coverage.

The former PhilHealth CEO, who quit his post in January, said the increase in PhilHealth’s budget is a “game changer” that will allow PhilHealth to provide better coverage for more individuals.

“Historically, we’ve only been able to cover people based on the resources available to us. Given that the money is there now—which was not there before—forget about just limiting PhilHealth coverage to the poor. Let’s do the Thai approach and enroll everybody now,” he said.

Herbosa, meanwhile, said one of Department of Health’s present challenges is the upgrade of healthcare facilities to accommodate Filipinos who would like to avail themselves of medical care.

The Health undersecretary mentioned the pork barrel scam in passing and said the P10 billion channeled by certain lawmakers to bogus non-government

organizations could have been used to improve the national healthcare system.

“Every legislator who’s trying to escape the scam is declaring that their PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) was put in[to] health. So I challenge them [to] really put it in the health department and make it work for the modernization of healthcare facilities. If they’re gonna put that much money, I can modernize the hospitals and provide (healthcare) access to any Philhealth member,” he said.

Brown people need more. Domingo added that an additional challenge for the government is to recruit and retain healthcare practitioners who would commit to serve even if there are lucrative offers for them to practice elsewhere.

The physician related that he recently told an “insensitive joke” about why he decided to return to the Philippines despite receiving lucrative offers to set up a practice in the United States after staying as a fellow in various American hospitals.

“I told the guy, ‘I can’t work with white people.’ What I mean by that is that they (Americans) have so much but the brown person needs a lot. They don’t need me there anymore because [America has] a lot of doctors already,” he said.

Domingo, a specialist in hepatology and gastroenterology, devoted over four decades of his life to UPM as a researcher, teacher, chancellor, and Professor Emeritus.

His research in liver-related diseases and advocacy for public health has earned him numerous accolades through the years, including the 2000 Dangal ng Bayan Award from the Civil Service Commission and the Most Outstanding Physician Award from the Philippine College of Physicians.

In 2010, the National Academy of Science and Technology named Domingo as a National Scientist.

In conferring Domingo with the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the foundation’s board of trustees “recognizes his exemplary embrace of the social mission of his medical science and profession, his steadfast leadership in pursuing ‘health for all’ as a shared moral responsibility of all sectors, and his ground-breaking and successful advocacy for neonatal hepatitis vaccination, thereby saving millions of lives in the Philippines.”

He will join three other distinguished Asians in receiving the Ramon Magsaysay Award at a presentation ceremony on Aug. 31. ■ Xianne Arcangel / VC, GMA News

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Cebu Pacific wants PHL, Japan open skies deal CEBU Air Inc., operator of budget carrier Cebu Pacific, is urging the Aquino administration to forge an open skies policy with Japan as a way of boosting trade and tourism and reverse a decline in Japanese tourists to the Philippines.

An open skies agreement between the bilateral partners should be tackled in the upcoming air talks with Japan under the Philippine Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), a Cebu Pacific official said.

“An Open Skies agreement with Japan will benefit local tourism and trade, especially since we believe Japan can rival South Korea when it comes to foreign tourist arrivals,” vice president for marketing and distribution Candice Iyog noted in a statement Wednesday.

In a position paper filed with the

Philippine Air Consultation Panel, the Cebu Pacific said carriers from the Philippines would not be able to mount additional flights to other countries including Japan in the absence of seat entitlements as Philippine authorities struggle to increase capacity at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Seat entitlements must be given by other countries like Japan so airlines can increase flights or add international destinations, according to the budget airline.

An open skies deal with Japan would let Cebu Pacific to expand its Japan operations beyond the thrice weekly Manila-to-Osaka flights. “Cebu Pacific plans to aggressively expand into Japan in the future. We fully support the CAB in its efforts to further boost tourism and the Philippine aviation industry,” Iyog said.

Japan could dislodge Korea as a major source of tourists for the Philippines, the airline official noted.

Official data showed a 2 percent compounded drop in tourist arrivals from Japan in 2006 to 2011, primarily in the absence of new seat entitlements.

“Aside from Japan being one of the Philippines’ biggest trading partners, it is also home to 350,000 global Filipinos.

Cebu Pacific’s expansion in Japan will allow us to offer our trademark lowest fares to the Philippines to boost business and leisure traffic,” Iyog said..

Japan, once one of the most protective aviation sectors in the world, has signed Open Skies agreements with countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Australia,

Cigarette’s curse: Your smoking can afflict your 3rd-gen offspring with asthma MANILA - Incorrigible smokers would do well to borrow a leaf from a biblical passage against visiting the sins of parents on their offspring. A new study in the United States shows that smoking can cause chronic asthma up to the third generation of offspring, the anti-tobacco group Health Justice Philippines (HJP) warned Tuesday.

According to HJP managing director Atty. Irene Reyes, “maternal nicotine exposure caused by smoking during one’s pregnancy” has been linked to asthma far beyond the woman’s offspring.

She stressed: “We need to put a stop to who the tobacco industry hurts. This study shows that the harm goes far beyond the smoker. The tobacco industry is harming our future.”

The study was conducted, said the HJP, by the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center (LA BioMed) and published online by the American Journal of Physiology—Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology.

The study indicated that while there are other possible causes for childhood asthma, the findings should give women more reason to reconsider smoking.

“For years the tobacco industry has kept these harms hidden from consumers. Let’s put a stop to that. Let’s compel them to put the appropriate graphic health warnings on cigarette packs,” Reyes said.

HJP project manager Atty. Diana Trivino said that placing pictures that depict the ill

effects of smoking on one’s health could help deter a person from smoking.

“Studies have shown how the disease can affect productivity and impair one’s quality of life. People need to know that their smoking can seriously affect the health and welfare of their children and of their children’s children,” she added. ■ Jet Villa /

September 2013 – No. 17 • UK & Europe Edition

France, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom, US, Canada, and Mexico.

CAB Deputy Executive Director Porvenir Porciuncula told reporters Wednesday the PHL-Japan Air Consultation Talks is scheduled for Sept. 11 to 13 in Tokyo.

The Philippine panel hopes to secure additional seat entitlements for Philippine carriers to mount additional flights to Japan, Porciuncula said.

The Philippines and Japan last held air talks in 2008. ■ VS, GMA News / August 28, 2013 / 6:10 PM

Coast Guard: Barge with 3,500 tons coal capsizes off Mindoro

A barge loaded with 3,500 metric tons of coal capsized off Semirara Island in Mindoro Oriental Tuesday evening, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Thursday.

Citing belated reports from its station in Calapan, the PCG said the incident happened at 6 p.m. off Semirara Island in Bulalacao town in Oriental Mindoro.

In a post on its Facebook page, the PCG said the barge “Bestloader” capsized one nautical mile off the coast of Barangay San Roque in Bulalacao town.

No casualties were reported after the incident, it added.

“The said barge is loaded with approximately around 3,500 metric tons of coal owned by Sea Loade shipping Corporation when the incident happened around 6 p.m. Tuesday,” the Coast Guard said.

It said the barge was eventually towed and placed to safety by the tugboat M/T Magilas. ■ VVP, GMA News / August 29, 2013 / 9:50 AM

InterAksyon.com / August 27, 2013 / 7:34 PM

Janet Lim Napoles mugshots, fingerprints THE Philippine National Police on Thursday released the mugshots and fingerprints of controversial businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles, the suspected brains behind the P10-billion pork barrel scam, formalizing her arrest.

Napoles was fingerprinted, and her mugshots were taken, a day after her surrender to President Benigno S. Aquino III. Napoles is facing formal charges of having allegedly illegally detained a former associate, Benhur Luy, whose falling out with the businesswoman led him to expose her alleged operation to siphon as much as P10 billion in legislators’ pork barrel funds to a network of bogus NGOs. The government is open to the possibility of Napoles turning state witness in a larger probe on misused pork barrel funds, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas told reporters past midnight Thursday. But the notion stirred a hornet’s nest within and outside legal circles, with her accusers calling her the “most guilty” in the pork barrel scam, and therefore disqualified from the state witness program.

Litigator Raymond Fortun, in an independent legal opinion, echoed the same concerns.

In his opinion posted online, Fortun wrote: “(Napoles) says she feared for her life. I’d rather believe that she was enticed by the promise that she could become

a state witness instead in order to avoid imprisonment. (But) Janet Napoles CANNOT become a state witness because SHE IS THE MOST GUILTY. She is most guilty because she had the most to gain from the pork barrel scandal.” ■ InterAksyon.com /

August 29, 2013 5:14 PM

Five senators dragged in alleged Napoles scam steer clear of Senate probe

ALL five of the senators dragged in the alleged P10-billion “pork barrel” scam involving businesswoman Janet LimNapoles on Thursday steered clear of the Senate probe into the supposed anomaly.

Senator Jinggoy Estrada initially attended the Senate blue ribbon committee inquiry, only to request to be excused even before any witness was allowed to speak.

“I feel compelled to excuse myself participating in these proceedings... My participation may be perceived as impeding the free flowing discussion,” Estrada said at the start of the investigation.

Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who said Wednesday he has not yet decided whether to attend the probe or not, ended up not attending as well.

Senators Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. and Gringo Honasan have earlier said they will not attend the Senate probe.

Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile was also a no-show, despite his earlier statement that he is willing to face investigation on the supposed irreguralities involving his pork barrel funds.

Last month, the Philippine Daily Inquirer identified these five senators as those who allegedly allocated portions of their pork barrel funds to ghost projects worth P10 billion—a scheme allegedly masterminded

by Napoles.

All five have already denied involvement in this alleged anomaly and having close ties with Napoles. ■ Andreo Calonzo / RSJ GMA News / August 29, 2013 / 10:44 AM

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Australia opposition’s asylum-seeker plan ‘crazy’ JAKARTA - A senior Indonesian lawmaker on Tuesday described as “crazy” a plan by the front-runner in Australia’s election to pay Indonesians for unseaworthy boats to stem the flow of asylum-seekers.

Tony Abbott, who is leading Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in opinion polls ahead of the September 7 vote, unveiled the plan last week, saying it would stop the leaky wooden vessels falling into the hands of peoplesmugglers.

Thousands of would-be refugees stage perilous sea journeys each year from Indonesia in a desperate attempt to reach Australia. Many have died when the rickety vessels sink.

Mahfudz Siddiq, head of the Indonesian parliament’s foreign affairs commission, told AFP: “This is a crazy idea.

“The idea is degrading and offensive to the dignity of Indonesians.”

“Obviously he (Abbott) doesn’t understand diplomacy or bilateral cooperation,” added Siddiq, from the Prosperous Justice Party, Indonesia’s biggest Islamic-based party and a member of the ruling coalition.

Abbott’s Aus$440 million ($400 million) scheme would include a capped government buy-back plan for the vessels as well as stipends for Indonesian “wardens” in 100 villages to provide information to Australia and bounty payments for information leading to successful smuggling prosecutions.

Siddiq was also critical of Abbott’s plan “to use villagers as agents”.

“Indonesia is not Australia’s colony whose people can be bought for another country’s interest,” he added.

He said that buying boats from fishermen on the south coast of Indonesia’s main island of Java, where many asylum-seeker boats depart for Australia, would destroy livelihoods.

Abbott dismissed his concerns.

“Just because one member of the Indonesian legislature was prevailed upon to say something mildly critical doesn’t mean that anyone serious in the Indonesian government has any issues with it,” he told reporters.

Rudd’s ruling Labor party has criticised the plan as “bizarre”. A spokesman for Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono previously declined to comment.

Asylum-seekers arriving by boat are a major political issue in Australia and tend to dominate election campaigns.

Both major parties have pledged a crackdown—the Labor government has signed an agreement with Papua New Guinea to banish boatpeople there for permanent resettlement even if found to have a valid refugee claim. ■ AFP / August 27, 2013 / 7:58 AM

Indonesia marine police guard asylum seekers on a boat at Benoa port in Denpasar on Indonesia’s island of Bali on May 12, 2013. Lawmaker Mahfudz Siddiq has ridiculed a plan

by Tony Abbott to pay Indonesians for unseaworthy boats in an attempt to stem the tide of asylum seekers. ©afp.com / Sonny Tumbelaka

Bo trial reveals lavish lifestyles of China’s rich JINAN, China - The family’s safes held more cash than an average Chinese might see in a lifetime. Their French villa was held through shell companies designed to avoid taxes and publicity. The son gallivanted around the world at huge expense.

The sensational corruption trial of Bo Xilai exposed the lavish lifestyle of one of China’s most powerful politicians, gripping the Communist-run country where mounting inequality has stoked public discontent.

The bribery and embezzlement charges against Bo, until last year the head of the megacity of Chongqing and one of China’s top-25 leaders, amount to 26.8 million yuan ($4.4 million).

And that only touches on a few business dealings in the early part of the 64-yearold’s career.

Bo defended himself against allegations from his wife Gu Kailai that she once saw $80,000 in bribe money by revealing the amount of ready cash they kept at home.

“In the shared safe there were hundreds of thousands of yuan, so how could she know the money she took out was from me?” he said, according to court accounts.

The ruling party mounted an apparently unusually open trial following its most explosive political scandal in decades.

The court in the eastern city of Jinan posted lengthy transcripts on its Twitter-like Weibo account each day—although their completeness and accuracy could not be verified.

Bo was charged with bribery amounting to 21.8 million yuan, embezzlement of 5.0 million yuan and abuse of power, all of which he vehemently denied during the five-day trial.

He is accused of accepting 20.7 million yuan in bribes from businessman Xu Ming, who testified for the prosecution.

The court heard that Xu paid for a $3.2 million villa in the French Riviera resort of Cannes after Gu said she wanted to buy it.

The six-bedroom mansion with a pool, shaded terrace and colonnaded balconies sits in an exclusive neighbourhood overlooking the Mediterranean.

It was allegedly funded by Xu through three different companies and managed by others, so that neither Bo nor his family

A man looks through a gate at one of the houses belonging to fallen Chinese political star Bo Xilai.

Journalists watch a broadcast of Gu Kailai during her recorded testimony during Bo Xilai’s trial.

The convoy carrying disgraced politician Bo Xilai leaves court at the end of his trial in Jinan.

appeared on records as owners of the property.

The complex setup was “to avoid tax” and because “I didn’t want to bring any bad influence on (Bo)”, according to Gu’s testimony.

Tang Xiaolin, another businessman, allegedly gave Bo 1.1 million yuan including the $80,000 seen by Gu after profiting from a land deal the politician helped facilitate.

Gu would grab thick wads of yuan and US dollars from safes in the couple’s homes during three trips back to China a year from England, where she lived with their only son Bo Guagua.

Both bribery accusations stemmed from Bo’s years overseeing Dalian city and its northeastern province Liaoning in

the 1990s and early 2000s. He became national commerce minister in 2004 and Chongqing’s leader in 2007.

Their son meanwhile attended topnotch schools and universities with hefty tuition fees including Harrow in Britain, Oxford, Harvard and, from this autumn, Columbia law school in New York.

Xu paid for Guagua to travel to Germany for the 2006 World Cup, as well as Italy, Latin America and Africa, and for toys such as an 80,000-yuan Segway scooter, the court heard.

Guagua charged $50,000 to his credit card—paid off by Xu—brought back a month’s worth of exotic meat from Africa and in 2011 treated 40 Harvard classmates to an expenses-paid trip to China.

At the same time in Chongqing, Bo— who during the trial admitted to having had extramarital affairs—mounted Maoist revivalist rallies chanting “Serve the People”.

Some Chinese would be surprised if a politician of Bo’s stature had not obtained even more wealth, said Steve Tsang, a China politics expert at the University of Nottingham in Britain.

“I think for a lot of people, the question would be, could this be it?” he said. “Surely someone in Bo’s position could and would have enjoyed much more than what was revealed in court.”

Many Chinese have come to expect ill-gotten riches of their leaders and Bo’s supporters may be willing to overlook

his actions, said David Goodman, of the University of Sydney.

“Given that they’re all at it, why shouldn’t you support people you think have views that you think are acceptable?” he said.

“They don’t make a complicated calculus about, well, he’s corrupt but he’s for us—but that’s what it comes down to.”

Official corruption is rampant across China, as the leadership has acknowledged this year while vowing to crack down.

Multiple examples of excess have been revealed over recent months, even among low-level civil servants.

A county official in the southern province of Guangdong was found to own 22 properties worth as much as 40 million yuan, at a time when homes are becoming increasingly unaffordable for many.

But far greater wealth at the highest levels was exposed by Western media last year—and proved so sensitive that the outlets’ websites have since remained blocked inside China.

President Xi Jinping’s family was reported by Bloomberg to have investments worth $376 million, and the New York Times said former premier Wen Jiabao’s relatives had controlled assets worth $2.7 billion. ■ Carol Huang / AFP / August 27, 2013 / 05:13 AM

Yale opens controversial college in Singapore SINGAPORE - Yale University formally opened a controversial liberal arts college in tightly governed Singapore on Tuesday, saying there was demand for “critical thinking” in the city-state and other Asian nations.

The Yale-NUS College, a joint project with the National University of Singapore, had been criticised by faculty members of the leading US university due to Singapore’s restrictions on protests and on student political activity.

“Singaporeans, and Asians more broadly, have a greater hunger for pedagogy that truly encourages critical thinking and a model of liberal arts and science education adapted for the 21st century,” Pericles Lewis, president of the college, said in a speech.

He told AFP that “we’re not setting out to change any political discourse, but

we’re giving students the tools to be active in citizenship, to think about the issues”.

“We think that a well-educated citizenry is the most important thing for any country, especially in Singapore.”

The pioneer batch of 157 students from 26 countries -- 97 of them Singaporeans -was selected from a pool of over 10,000 applicants and began lessons this month in temporary facilities.

The college’s own purpose-built campus with residential facilities will open in 2015 and is designed to have a full capacity of 1,000 students.

The college is the first established by Yale outside its campus in New Haven, Connecticut.

“We believe that the college has the potential to serve as a model for others, particularly in Asia,” said NUS president Tan Chorh Chuan.

In a resolution passed in April 2012, the Yale faculty expressed “concern regarding the history of lack of respect for civil and political rights in the state of Singapore”.

It called on Yale-NUS to uphold civil liberties and political freedom on campus and in broader society.

Campaign group Human Rights Watch accused Yale of “betraying the spirit of the university as a centre of open debate and protest by giving away the rights of its students” at the new campus.

“Instead of defending these rights, Yale buckled when faced with Singapore’s draconian laws on demonstrations and policies restricting student groups.”

Singapore’s education ministry said at the height of the controversy that student demonstrations on campus would require approval from the Yale-NUS administration.

■ Carol Huang / AFP / August 27, 2013 / 10:41 AM

Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam (R) officiates at the inauguration ceremony for Yale-NUS College while Professor Pericles Lewis (C), president of Yale-NUS College, and other officials look on in Singapore on August 27, 2013. Yale University formally opened a controversial liberal arts college in tightly governed Singapore on Tuesday, saying there was demand for “critical thinking”. ©afp.com / Roslan Rahman

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September 2013 – No. 17 • UK & Europe Edition

Doubts over ‘127-year-old’ Chinese woman

Newly-born conjoined twin girls receive treatment at a hospital in Suining in southwest China’s Sichuan province on May 9, 2011. Conjoined twin baby girls have been released from a hospital in China almost three weeks after they were separated in a marathon operation, state media reported Tuesday. ©afp.com

Conjoined twin girls separated in China: media BEIJING - Conjoined twin baby girls have been released from a hospital in China almost three weeks after they were separated in a marathon operation, state media reported Tuesday.

It took a team of 20 medical workers nearly 10 hours to separate the girls, who were joined at their livers, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing doctors at a hospital in the southern region of Guangxi.

One of the girls took their shared navel while the other may have surgery later to give her a belly button, according to a separate report by the government-run

news portal gxnews.com.cn.

“The operation resulted in low blood loss and the two girls are in stable condition,” said Yang Tiquan, chief pediatric surgeon of the hospital in Nanning, according to Xinhua.

The twins were born on June 14 in a small hospital in Guiping county, it added.

“I felt really helpless when the doctor told me they were conjoined,” the girls’ father Ying Yigui said, according to gxnews.

Conjoined twins are rare and they have a low survival rate. ■ AFP / August 27, 2013 / 10:21 AM

A handout video grab taken on May 28, 2012 and released on October 19 shows North Korean Kim Han-Sol, Kim Jong-Il’s teenage grandson, talking to former UN under secretary general and special rapporteur for Human Rights in Bosnia-Hercegovina Elisabeth Rehn. The teenage nephew of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un will study at France’s prestigious Sciences-Po university, an official said Tuesday. ©afp.com / Mikko Kelloniemi

BEIJING - A Chinese government news portal has claimed that a woman in China’s remote far west is 127 years old, making her the oldest person ever to have lived—but experts raised questions over the supposed record Wednesday.

Alimihan Seyiti from Kashgar, near the border with Kyrgyzstan, was born on June 25, 1886, said ts.cn, a government website in Xinjiang—when Grover Cleveland was president of the United States and William Gladstone the British prime minister.

Chinese longevity records are not generally recognised internationally, as there was no reliable system for certifying most births until after the Communist Party took power in 1949.

At the time of Seyiti’s supposed birth much of Xinjiang was ruled by Yakub Beg, a Tajik warlord, while Russia held other parts of the region.

Ts.cn, which cited the little-known Carrying the Flag World Records as its source for her age, said that Seyiti had 56 descendants.

“She likes love songs and can pick up them from TV after hearing them just once,” it said.

“She drinks cold water whether in

summer or winter and has a big appetite: she can finish a dozen meat buns in one meal or 500g of meat, and sometimes a whole big watermelon.

“She’s in good health and can still do housework like making dumplings, looking after children and weaving grass mattress. She likes shopping and going to bazaars.”

But Charles Wharton, records manager for the widely respected Guinness World Records organisation in greater China, told AFP: “Currently, we are yet to receive a claim from Alimihan Seyiti.”

According to Guinness, he said, the oldest person ever was Jeanne Calment of France, who lived to 122, while the oldest person currently alive was Japan’s Misao Okawa, “who is 115 years and 176 days old as of today”.

“As we have yet to receive a claim from Mrs Seyiti, we are unable to establish the credibility of her claim,” he added. “We do look forward to hopefully receiving a claim from her soon.”

On its website, Carrying the Flag World Records showed Seyiti’s Chinese identity card, issued in 2009, as purported evidence for her age, and her residency

power in 1994 and like Kim Il-Sung—the founder of the ruling family—led the hermetic state until his death in late 2011.

His family has lived in virtual exile mainly in the Chinese territory of Macau ever since his father fell out of favour with Kim JongIl following a botched bid to enter Japan in 2001 with a fake passport and visit Disneyland.

The teenager has studied at the United World College in Mostar in Bosnia. He avoided the media but in a rare interview to Elisabeth Rehn, a former UN undersecretary general, branded his uncle Kim Jong-Un a “dictator”. ■ AFP / August 27, 2013 / 11:49 AM

August 28, 2013 / 09:25 AM

Chinese general’s son ‘denies gang rape charges BEIJING - The son of a Chinese general who went on trial Wednesday over an alleged gang rape denied having sex with the victim, reports said, in a case that sparked public outrage.

Li Tianyi is among five men who allegedly gang-raped a woman in a Beijing hotel in February, state news agency Xinhua said, the latest allegation against the privileged children of officials to provoke anger.

He “did not admit to the sexual assault and did not admit to a relationship, saying he was drunk and did not know anything” about what happened, the Beijing News said in an online posting about the trial, which is closed to the public due to his age.

The 17-year-old’s father Li Shuangjiang holds the rank of general as dean of the music department for the Chinese army’s Academy of Arts.

His mother Meng Ge, who is also a prominent singer, attended the court in Beijing on Wednesday but did not take

questions from journalists when she arrived, Xinhua said.

Sina Internet news portal said in a posting on Sina Weibo, a microblogging site that is China’s equivalent of Twitter, that she became angry during the proceedings when another defendant said that her son had slapped the victim.

The family have previously argued the incident was a case of prostitution rather than rape, according to reports.

Xinhua quoted the victim’s lawyer saying that she had been hospitalised because of stress and would not take part in the hearings.

It was not clear how long the trial would last, but a posting by the official Beijing courts service on Sina Weibo said it will resume on Thursday.

Elite youths in China are commonly perceived to live extravagantly or above the law due to their connections, and the case has dominated discussion in the country’s hugely popular Internet chatrooms.

N.PARIS Korean leader’s nephew to study at French university - The teenage nephew of North is the eldest son of Kim Jong-Il, who took Korean leader Kim Jong-Un will study at France’s prestigious Sciences-Po university, an official said Tuesday.

Kim Han-Sol, 18, who studied in Macau and Bosnia, is due to start at Sciences-Po’s campus in the northern city of Le Havre in this year’s Europe-Asia undergraduate programme, university official Caroline Allain said.

The English-taught course addresses the relationship between Europe and Asia.

Students have to learn French and pick one Asian language—Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi or Indonesian.

The teenager’s father Kim Jong-Nam

permit, issued earlier this month.

The firm claims to be based in London but the written English on its website is barely comprehensible.

“Carrying the flag World Records is the world’s first and only one to the 2012 London Olympics world record world record certificate issued athletes the world recordcertification organization,” it reads in part.

In what appears to be a description of its verification process, it says: “World Recordscertified organic 999 of its subsequent expansion of the real experts all walks of life.”

It adds: “Carrying the flag is the first!

Carrying the flag is the only!” ■ AFP / AFP /

Lan He, legal advisor for the family of Li Tianyi—the son of a Chinese general charged with rape, according to state media—is surrounded by a group of journalists before the trial of Li’s case in Haidian court in Beijing on August 28, 2013. The son of a Chinese general who went on trial Wednesday over an alleged gang rape denied having sex with the victim, reports said. ©afp.com

Meng Ge, the mother of Li Tianyi who is charged with the rape of a woman in Beijing, arrives in court .

Following reported remarks by Li’s family that the alleged victim may have been a bar hostess, a top legal expert inflamed controversy when he said the woman’s profession made the act of gang-rape less harmful.

“Even if it was rape, the harm of raping a bar hostess is less than raping a woman from a good family,” Yi Yanyou, a law professor at the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing, said on Sina Weibo.

Li Tianyi triggered public controversy in 2011 after he and another teenager, both driving expensive cars, attacked a couple who reportedly blocked their passage, while the victims’ child looked on.

In another scandal involving the offspring of China’s wealthy elite, the son of a police chief in 2010 tried to use his father’s status to avoid any consequences for a fatalcar accident.

After running over a student in the northern province of Hebei, Li Qiming shouted: “Sue me if you dare. My father is Li Gang!”

He was later sentenced to six years in prison. ■ Neil CONNOR / AFP / August 28, 2013 / 12:10 AM

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North Korea urged to grant access to UN rights panel SEOUL - A UN inquiry gathering harrowing testimony of human rights abuses in North Korea appealed Tuesday for access to the country, even as Pyongyang condemned its work as slanderous and provocative.

The three-member Commission of Inquiry chaired by retired Australian judge Michael Kirby has just wrapped up five days of disturbing hearings in the South Korean capital Seoul—mostly testimony from North Korean defectors.

As Kirby prepared to give a final press conference Tuesday, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) launched a bitter attack on the UN panel, calling its witnesses “human scum” manipulated by the South Korean authorities.

The commentary said the commission’s work would only set back recent progress towards engagement between North and South Korea after months of heightened military tensions.

The North, which strongly denies allegations of rights abuses, has refused to recognise the commission and barred it visiting the country.

Despite the KCNA attack Kirby issued another in a long series of formal and informal appeals to North Korea to grant his three-member panel of experts access.

“We will act with respect, we seek to

find facts, we will provide due process, we will have no preconceptions,” he told reporters.

“We are not a prosecutor. We are not a judge. An ounce of evidence is worth many, many pounds of insult or attack.

“The best way for North Korea to respond is with evidence... and by letting us inspect sites where abuses are alleged to have taken place.”

The commission’s repeated requests for access included a formal written letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, but it has had no direct response.

The Commission of Inquiry is the first United Nations expert panel to officially examine North Korea’s human rights record, and plans to collect witness testimony in Japan, Thailand, Britain and the United States.

The final report is due to be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council in March next year, and Kirby said he expected the UN to act on any recommendations it might make.

“It’s difficult to accept that the international community established this commission without the intention that it would lead somewhere,” he said.

Much of the testimony gathered from the dozens of witnesses who participated in the public hearings in Seoul has been documented before, by rights groups,

NGOs and in books written by the individuals themselves.

Kirby said he had been “greatly affected” by the testimony, but stressed that it did not always amount to evidence of alleged wrongdoing.

He cited allegations of medical experiments on people with mental disabilities as one contention that could not be established.

He also said there was not enough evidence to prove the North Korean state wilfully engaged in policies that deliberately led to starvation during the famine of the mid-1990s.

“But there is, of course, a fine line between what is deliberate and what is the result of persistent and wilful incompetence,” he said.

He also highlighted “believable, repeated, highly specific” testimony on the “inhumane” conditions in camps for both political and non-political prisoners, as well as the use of extra-judicial executions and torture.

In order to avoid being “just another UN report”, Kirby said the commission was considering presenting its findings in a multi-media format, including video footage of the dramatic witness testimony.

“We may well be endeavouring to use some of those particular images,” he said.

■ Giles Hewitt / AFP / August 27, 2013 / 02:28 PM

Sex-for-fixing Lebanese referees refuse to testify

Eric Ding Si Yang (L) arrives at a district court with his lawyer in Singapore on August 27, 2013.

Two Lebanese match officials jailed in Singapore for accepting free sex from alleged match-fixer Ding have refused to return to the city-state to testify at his trial, a court heard Tuesday. ©afp.com / Roslan Rahman

SINGAPORE - Two Lebanese match officials jailed in Singapore for accepting free sex from an alleged match-fixer have refused to return to the city-state to testify at his trial, a court heard Tuesday.

Assistant referees Ali Eid, 33, and Abdallah Taleb, 37, were deported in June after serving three-month prison sentences for accepting the services of a prostitute as a bribe from Singaporean nightclub owner Eric Ding Si Yang.

Another Lebanese national, referee Ali Sabbagh, testified for the prosecution last month while he was still in Singapore serving a six-month jail term.

Tan Kian Tat Jeffrey, an investigator from the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), told the court that Ali Eid and

North Koreans walk to work near the railway line between Pyongyang and North Phyongan Province on April 8, 2012. The head of a UN inquiry into human rights in North Korea appealed on Tuesday for access to the country, even as Pyongyang condemned his commission’s work as slanderous and provocative. ©afp.com / Pedro Ugarte

Michael Kirby, chairman of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in North Korea, pictured.

North Korean workers dig in freezing temperatures on the banks of the Yalu River near Sinuiju.

Abdallah Taleb had communicated to him through the Lebanese Football Association and a Lebanese diplomat in Singapore their unwillingness to return to testify.

State prosecutors had earlier said they hoped they could get the Lebanese pair to appear in court.

“Each of them say they have made clear and detailed statements on their involvement with Ding Si Yang and have nothing to add to the statement which can assist the prosecution in the trial,” Tan said.

Ding’s lawyer Hamidul Haq told the court he would “vehemently” object to the admission of the written statements as evidence as “we don’t have the right to cross-examine them”.

The trial was abruptly adjourned Tuesday to allow Ding’s lawyers to prepare for an “ancillary hearing” on the admissibility of

the written statements.

Ding, 31, is accused of “corruptly giving gratification” to the three Lebanese football officials as an inducement to fix football matches that they would officiate in the future.

He faces a maximum prison term of five years and fines of up to Sg$100,000 (US$80,000) for each of the three charges—all of which he has denied.

He separately faces two charges of stealing evidence and obstructing police investigations after he declined to disclose the password to his laptop computer.

The case is a colourful addition to Singapore’s long history of matchfixing scandals, including allegations that syndicates in the wealthy city-state organised the rigging of hundreds of games worldwide. ■ AFP / August 27, 2013 / 05:59 AM

After sin tax hike : Winston maker says reduction in tobacco use way below expectations MANILA - Higher excise tax rates may have fueled an increase in government revenues, but tobacco consumption fell at a pace much slower than what Philippine officials were hoping for, according to the Japanese maker of the Winston and Camel brands of cigarettes.

In a press briefing last week, Japan Tobacco International (JTI) Philippines general manager Manos Koukourakis said the Aquino administration can exceed its P51.6-billion excise tax collection target for cigarettes this year.

“From a government perspective, this is a successful legislative measure, because at the end of the day, it will achieve the target it has. The government in that respect did a good job,” Koukourakis said.

In the first six months, excise taxes slapped on cigarettes reached P22.4

billion, or 53 percent more than the P14.6 billion raised in the same period last year.

The tax take from alcohol products hit P16.2 billion in the first half, or 37 percent more than the P11.8 billion a year ago.

Taxes raised from both “sin” products climbed 46 percent from P26.4 billion last year to P38.5 billion this year.

But while tax collections improved, cigarette use—another policy objective of the law hiking sin taxes—fell in the low double-digits, or way below the government’s forecast of halving tobacco consumption.

“If we go back one year ago, other companies in the market said that the introduction of excise tax will reduce the consumption of cigarettes by 50 percent.

Our company was a little more optimistic, we were thinking about 40 percent,”

Koukourakis said.

At the height of the policy debates over excise taxes, the government cited a University of the Philippines study showing that higher rates would cut tobacco consumption by at least 51 percent.

Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corp (PMFTC), which accounts for at least eight out of every 10 sticks of cigarette sold in

the Philippines, made the same forecast in raising concern about the potential job loss of an increase in taxes.

“What happened is that we were all mistaken. The reality is that the total market consumption fell by around eight to 12 percent, or more or less 10 percent, and not by 50 percent,” Koukourakis said.

He said the less sharp drop in cigarette use can be traced to the entry of cigarette brands that sold for P1 a stick or P17 a pack.

“Before the ‘sin’ tax enactment, you had less than 10. Now you have more than 30 products. That means that consumers have cheaper choices than they had before,” Koukourakis said.

Despite the influx of these cheaper brands, JTI expects to maintain its 3.2 percent share of the local market.

“Our company decided consciously not to participate in this. JTI Philippines will have no brands at P1 per stick, or at below P20 per pack. We could never be in a position to do it,” Koukourakis said, adding that competing with cheaper brands would result in losses of P8-10 a pack for the company.

“We are doing okay, slightly better than our targets. Even with the sin tax, we expect that we will meet our targets,” he said.

“The Philippine market is a lucrative market. One thing that is certain is our company is here to stay,” he added.

Apart from Winston and Camel, JTI also manufactures and distributes the Mevius brand (formerly Mild Seven). JTI used to outsource production of its cigarettes to Fortune Tobacco Corp. ■ Rain Castro / InterAksyon.com / August 19, 2013 / 5:46 PM

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DATE / TIME EVENT 7 Miss & Mr. Philippines UK 2013 18September www.hello-philippines.com Saturday DATE TIME EVENT 5:30pm – Till/Late 7 Miss & Mr. Philippines 2013 7 September September Hataw Sa Tag-Araw 5 UK – The Saturday Saturday Annual Worthing Filipino Festival 5:30pm Late 8:00am – – Till 6:00pm 7 Hataw Sa Tag-Araw 5 – The 7 September September 1st Invitational Volleyball Saturday Annual Worthing Filipino Festival Saturday Tournament – Mens & Womens 8:00am 8:00am – – 6:00pm 6:00pm Division 7 1st 8 September September 1st Invitational Invitational Volleyball Volleyball Saturday Tournament – Mens & Womens Sunday Tournament – Mens & Womens 8:00am – 6:00pm Division 8:30am – 5:30pm Division 8 September 1st Invitational Volleyball 8 September Fluvial Mass in Honor of the 313th Sunday Tournament – Mens & Womens Anniversary of the Feast of Our Sunday 8:30am – 5:30pm Division Lady of Penafrancia 12:00pm – 4:00pm 8 September Fluvial Mass in Honor of the 313th Sunday Anniversary of the Feast of Our 12:00pm – 4:00pm Lady of Penafrancia 14 September Feast Day Celebration of Our Saturday Lady, Mary Mediatrix of All Grace 3:00pm – 8:00pm 14 September Feast Day Celebration of Our 14 & 15 September Penefrancia Fiesta 2013 and Saturday Lady, Mary Mediatrix of All Grace Saturday– & Sunday Leicester 1st Basketball League 3:00pm 8:00pm 14 & 15 September Penefrancia Fiesta 2013 and 21 September Mrs. Philippines UK 2013League Saturday & Sunday Leicester 1st Basketball Saturday 6:00pm – 11:00pm 21 September Mrs. Philippines UK 2013 28 September Pinoy Night Saturday Saturday– 11:00pm 6:00pm 6:00pm – 11:00pm 28 September Pinoy Night Mass and Procession on the Feast 28 September Saturday 6:00pm Saturday– 11:00pm Day of San Lorenzo Ruiz and 28 September Mass Procession on Address the Feast 3:30pm Bishopand Philip’s Episcopal Saturday Day of San in Lorenzo Ruiz and to Filipinos the Diocese 3:30pm Bishop Philip’s Episcopal Address 5 October Bayanihan Night to Filipinos in the Diocese Saturday 5 October Bayanihan Night 7:00pm – 11:00pm Saturday 7:00pm – 11:00pm A Day of Pilgrimage and 6 October Sunday Celebrating the Feast Day of Our 6 October A Dayofofthe Pilgrimage Lady Rosary and Sunday Celebrating the Feast DayShrine of Ourof 6 October Marian Pilgrimage at the LadyLady of the Sunday Our of Rosary Mount Carmel 6 October Marian Pilgrimage at the Shrine of Sunday Our of Mount Carmel 19 October 20thLady Anniversary Annual Charity Saturday 19 October 6:00pm Saturday 6:00pm 26 October Saturday 26 October 6:00pm Saturday 16 November 6:00pm Saturday 16 November 16 November Saturday Saturday 16 November 30 November Saturday Saturday 30 November

Dinner & Dance 20th Anniversary Annual Charity Dinner & Dance Mr. & Ms. Philippines Europe Goodwill Ambassador Mr. & Ms. Philippines Europe Goodwill Ambassador Miss Pearl of Asia UK 2013

Miss Pearl of Asia UK 2013 Plymouth Bantay Bata 163 Charity Concert Bantay Bata 163 Charity Plymouth Annual Dance Competition 2013 Concert Annual Dance Competition 2013

Saturday

7 December Saturday 7 December 6:00pm – 1:00am Saturday 6:00pm – 1:00am

20th Annual Christmas Dinner & Dance 20th Annual Christmas Dinner & Dance

VENUE ILEC Conference Centre and Ibis Hotel, 47 Lillie Road, Earls Court, VENUE London SW6 1UD ILEC Conference Centre and Ibis Homefield Park, Worthing, West Hotel, Sussex47 Lillie Road, Earls Court, London SW6 1UD BN11 2HZ Homefield Worthing, RamgarhiaPark, Sports Center, West 8-10 Sussex Chapeltown Road, Leeds LS7 3AQ BN11 2HZ Ramgarhia Sports Center, 8-10 The Edge Sports Center, University of Chapeltown Road, Leeds LS7 3AQ Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT

ORGANISER

Philippines UK Org EVENTS DIARY UK & EUROPE

The Edge Sports Center, University of Boat along the River Thames – Boat Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT leaves at Butlers Wharf Pier, Shad Thames. London SE1 2YE (on the Boat along the River Thames – Boat Queen’s Walkway / East of Tower leaves at Butlers Wharf Pier, Shad Bridge onLondon the South Thames.

SE1Shore) 2YE (on the Holy Cross Chapel,/Charing Cross Queen’s Walkway East of Tower Hospital, Palace Road, Bridge onFulham the South Shore) London W6Chapel, 8RF Holy Cross Charing Cross Guthlaxton College, Sports Hall, Hospital, Fulham Palace Road, Station Road, Wigston, Leicester London W6 8RF LE18 2DS Guthlaxton College, Sports Hall, Baden-Powell 65-67 Queen's Station Road, House, Wigston, Leicester Gate,2DS London SW7 5JS LE18 Baden-Powell House, 65-67 Queen's Marian Community Centre, 1 Gate, London SW7 5JS Stafford Road, Kilburn NW6 5RS Marian Community Centre, 1 St. John’s Cathedral Portsmouth, Stafford Road, KilburninNW6 5RS Bishop Crispian Way, Portsmouth St. John’s PO1 3HG Cathedral in Portsmouth, Bishop Crispian Way, Portsmouth PO1 3HGHall, St Joseph’s R.C. Christall Church, St Margaret Drive, Epsom Christall KT18 7JQHall, St Joseph’s R.C. Church, St Margaret Drive, Epsom KT18 7JQ Places to visit: 1. St Jude Shrine, Faversham Places to visit: 2.

Carmelite Community, Aylesford 1. St JudeKent Shrine, Faversham Aylesford, 2. Carmelite Community, Aylesford Aylesford, Kent

Radisson Blu Portman Hotel, Portman Square, London W1H 7BG Radisson Blu Portman Hotel, Portman Square, London W1H 7BG Maritim proArte Hotel Berlin, Friedrichstrasse 151 , 10117 Berlin, Maritim proArte Hotel Berlin, Germany Friedrichstrasse 151 , 10117 Berlin, The Camden Centre, Judd Street, Germany London WC1HCentre, 9JE The Camden Judd Street, The NewWC1H Continental Hotel, Millbay London 9JE Road, Plymouth PL1 3LD The New Continental Hotel, Millbay Sion-Manning RCPL1 Girls School, 75 St Road, Plymouth 3LD Charles Street,RC Ladbroke Grove, Sion-Manning Girls School, 75 St London W10 6EL Charles Street, Ladbroke Grove, London W10 6EL Copthorne Tara Hotel, Scarsdale Place, Kensington, London W8 5SY Copthorne Tara Hotel, Scarsdale Place, Kensington, London W8 5SY

ORGANISER Philippines UK Org Worthing Filipino Community UK Worthing Filipino Filipino Leeds Association Community UK

CONTACTS / REMARKS Eva Macadangdang – 07983 593 914 September 2013 – No. 17 • UK & Europe Edition Marlowe Macadangdang – 07956 944 520 / CONTACTS / REMARKS mp_uk@yahoo.co.uk / www.philippines-uk.org Eva 07983 Earl Macadangdang Leonardia – 07823– 883 830593 914 Marlowe Macadangdang – 07956 944 520 / mp_uk@yahoo.co.uk / www.philippines-uk.org Earl Leonardia – 07823 883248 830917 Freddie Ocampo – 07595

Filipino Filipino Leeds Leeds Association Association

Freddie Freddie Ocampo Ocampo – – 07595 07595 248 248 917 917

Filipino Leeds Association Tower Hill Station or Tower Gateway or London Bridge Station (15 minutes walk) / Tower Hill Station or Tower Bus: RV1 Gateway or London Bridge Station (15 minutes walk) / The Community Prayer Bus: RV1 Crusade – West London (Non-Profit Organisation) The Community Prayer

Freddie Ocampo – 07595 248 917 Adelle Caguimbal – 07717 493 541 Essex Angulo – 07946 510 347 Joseph Lontoc – 07902 395 741 Adelle Caguimbal – 07717 493 541 Essex Angulo – 07946 510 347 Boat Ticket: £20.00 with 395 lunch Joseph Lontoc – 07902 741 Betilda – 07919 380 513 MerlaTicket: – 07939 684 558 Boat £20.00 with lunch

Crusade – West London (Non-Profit Organisation)

Aguman Kapampangan UK Aguman Kapampangan UK The Cordillera Connection The Cordillera Connection

Betilda – 07919 380 513 Jessie –Amar – 07983 576 082 Merla 07939 684 558 Rico Casyao – 07769 262 947

Jessie Amar – 07983 576 082 ZanieCasyao del Mundo – 07733 781 858 / Rico – 07769 262 947 07886 881 432 Stella 07817 200 –444 Zanie –del Mundo 07733 781 858 / Marvin Orfiano – 07411 177 652 07886 881 432 Stella – 07817 200 444 Marvin Orfiano – 07411 177 652 Fr. Claro Conde 07803 191 502 Fr. Claro Conde 07803 191 502

Filipino British Nurses Association of Surrey Filipino British Nurses Association of Surrey The Community Prayer Crusade – West London The Community Prayer (Non-Profit Organisation) Crusade – West London Sponsored by different (Non-Profit Organisation) Filipino Communities Sponsored by different Filipino Communities Batangas Association UK (BAUK) Batangas Association UK (BAUK)

Ms. Philippines-Germany and Youth Cultural Group Ms. Philippines-Germany e. V and Youth Cultural Group Miss e.

V Pearl Of Asia Miss Pearl Of Asia Filipino British Association in Plymouth (F.B.A.i.P) Filipino British Association in Camarines Sur Filipino Plymouth (F.B.A.i.P) CommunitySur UK Filipino Camarines Community UK

Aguman Kapampangan UK Aguman Kapampangan UK

Ludy McGrath – 07704 854 399 Celeste Sheath – 020 8716 3030 Ludy McGrath Norma Thomas– –07704 01737854 356399 392 Celeste Sheath 020 8716 3030 Price: £15.00 per– person Norma –Thomas – 01737 Betilda 07919 380 513 356 392 Price: £15.00 Merla – 07939per 684person 558 Betilda£20.00 – 07919 380 513 Price: Merla –Caguimbal 07939 684 558 Adelle – 07717 493 541 Price: Angulo £20.00 – 07946 510 347 Essex Adelle Caguimbal – 07717 Joseph Lontoc – 07902 395 493 741 541 Essex Angulo – 07946 510 347 Gloria Diaz – 07572 795 321 Joseph Lontoc – 07902 395 741 Julie Villanueva – 07956 422 068 Gloria Diaz – 07572 795 321 Ched Gomez – 079800 66 209 Julie Villanueva – 07956 422 068 Tita Leus McCarthy – 07958 732 406 Ched Gomez – 079800 66 209 msphilippinesgermany.berlin@hotmail.com / Tita Leus McCarthy – 07958 732 406 www.msphilippinesgermany.org msphilippinesgermany.berlin@hotmail.com / www.msphilippinesgermany.org Email: enquiries@misspearlofasia.com Email: enquiries@misspearlofasia.com Email: fbaip@fbaip.co.uk Email: fbaip@fbaip.co.uk Junart Nieva – 07980 557 467 Arthur Junart Nieva Nieva –– 07947 07980 344 557 422 467 Elizabeth Villaflor – 07584 411 180 Arthur Nieva – 07947 344 422 Mathie Smith – 07908 581 411 062 180 Elizabeth Villaflor – 07584 Zanie Mundo – 07733 Mathiedel Smith – 07908 581 781 062 858 / 07886 781 881 858 432 / Zanie del Mundo – 07733 Estella Gomez – 07817 200881 444432 07886 Erroll – Gomez 07429 187 991 200 444 Estella – 07817 Omie 07832187 597991 530 Erroll ––07429 Nilda – denil123@hotmail.com Omie Dean – 07832 597 530 Nilda Dean – denil123@hotmail.com

21 December BRITFIL Christmas Party Chasewell Community Social Club, British & Filipino Community Saturday Avoce Way, Cherwell Height, (BRITFIL) 21 December BRITFIL Christmas Party Chasewell Community Social Club, British & Filipino Community Saturday Avoce Way, Cherwell Height, (BRITFIL) 6:00pm Banbury, Oxon OX16 9YA 6:00pm Banbury, Oxon OX16 9YA of any Events please contact us and submit your event via email to the following at FREE LISTING of your events on the HELLO PHILIPPINES newspaper and if you know FREE LISTING of your events on the HELLO PHILIPPINES newspaper and if you know of any Events please contact us and submit your event via email to the following at info@hello-philippines.com info@hello-philippines.com DISCLAIMER: The Events Diary Listing does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favouring by Hello Philippines newspaper. The views and DISCLAIMER: The Events Diary Listing notnecessarily necessarilystate constitute or imply recommendation, HelloDiary Philippines The views within and opinions of authors expressed hereindoes do not or reflect thoseits of endorsement, Hello Philippines newspaper. Thisor is favouring merely anby Events Listing newspaper. of what is happening opinions of Communities authors expressed herein doisnot state or reflect the Filipino in Europe.

This fornecessarily general information only. those of Hello Philippines newspaper. This is merely an Events Diary Listing of what is happening within the Filipino Communities in Europe. This is for general information only.

2013 Monthly Filipino Community Masses in Greater London 2013 Monthly Filipino Community Masses in Greater 1st Sunday 2:00pm Five Precious Wounds Parish, Brentfield Road,London Stonebridge Park, London NW10 8ER st 1 Sunday 2:00pm Five Precious Wounds Parish, Road, Stonebridge Park, London NW10 8ER Mervic Monocillo – 07894 636Brentfield 140 Mervic Monocillo – 07894 636Church, 140 5:00pm Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Friary Road, Peckham, London SE15 1RH 1st Sunday 1st Sunday 5:00pm Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church, Friary Road, Peckham, London SE15 1RH Allen Abeleda – 07713 625 888 Allen Abeleda – 07713 625 888 2nd Saturday 4:00pm St Peter the Apostle Catholic Church, 103 Woolwich New Road, London SE18 6EF 2nd Saturday 4:00pm St PeterEspanola the Apostle Catholic 103 Woolwich New Road, London SE18 6EF Moises – 07894 648Church, 639 Moises Espanola – 07894 648 639 nd 2nd Sunday 2:00pm English Martyrs Church, Chalkhill Road, Wembley Park, Wembley HA9 9EW 2 Sunday 2:00pm English Martyrs Church, Chalkhill Road, Wembley Park, Wembley HA9 9EW Becky Sarinas – 07949 857 699 / 07425 761 519 / Lina B – 07579 418 510 Becky Sarinas – 07949 857 699 / 07425 761 519 / Lina B – 07579 418 510 2:00pm St Dominic Catholic Church, 243 Violet Lane, Waddon, Croydon CR0 4HN 2nd Sunday 2nd Sunday 2:00pm St Dominic Catholic Church, 243 Violet Lane, Waddon, Croydon CR0 4HN Merlie Mirto – 07722 216 462 Merlie Mirto – 07722 216 462 2nd 4:00pm St. Anselm and St. Cecilia, 70 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3JA nd Sunday 2 Sunday 4:00pm St. Anselm and St. Cecilia, 70 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3JA Feliciano Ramirez – 07733 680 748 Feliciano Ramirez – 07733 680 748 rd 3:00pm Sacred Heart Heart of of Jesus, Jesus, New New Priory, Priory, Quex Quex Road, Road, Kilburn, Kilburn, London London NW6 NW6 4PS 4PS 3 rd Sunday 3 Sunday 3:00pm Sacred Sheidrick de de Leon Leon – – 07738 07738 210 210 202 202 Sheidrick 3rd 3:00pm Blessed Sacrament Sacrament Parish, Parish, 157 157 Copenhagen Copenhagen Street, Street, Islington Islington N1 N1 0SR 0SR rd Sunday 3 Sunday 3:00pm Blessed Christy Sangalang Sangalang – – 07709 07709 119 119 969 969 Christy Last Saturday Saturday 6:00pm Our Lady Lady of of Dolours, Dolours, Servite Servite Parish Parish Church, Church, 264 264 Fulham Fulham Road, Road, London London SW10 SW10 4EL 4EL Last 6:00pm Our Fr Allan Allan Satur Satur – – 020 020 7352 7352 6965 6965 / / fulhamroad@rcdow.org.uk fulhamroad@rcdow.org.uk Fr Roland Adap Adap – – r_adap@hotmail.com r_adap@hotmail.com Roland Last Sunday Sunday 2:00pm St. Joseph’s Joseph’s Catholic Catholic Church, Church, 218 218 Roehampton Roehampton Lane, Lane, London London SW15 SW15 4LE 4LE Last 2:00pm St. Rafael Santiago Santiago – – 07795 07795 254 254 451 451 Rafael Every Sunday 5:00pm Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, 20 Brixton Road, Oval, London SW9 6BU Ben Ortiz – 07723 318 486 First Wednesdays 6:30pm Filipino Mass and Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help, Farm Street Church of the Immaculate Conception (Jesuit House Chapel), access on 114 Mount Street, London W1K 3AY Josie Ramos – 07723 024 591

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IMMIGRATION / OFNEWS

September 2013 – No. 17 • UK & Europe Edition

Malaysia to crackdown on illegal foreign workers starting Sept. 1 ON September 1, Malaysian authorities will begin a crackdown on foreign workers without valid permits, its home minister said on Friday.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said this aims to ensure compliance with the laws on foreign workers in the country.

“We do not want employers to employ foreign workers without permits,” he said in a Bernama news agency report posted on Malaysia’s The Star Online.

However, he also said Malaysian authorities want to see to it that employers “provide housing and medical facilities, as well as look after the welfare, of their workers.”

“This is to ensure Malaysia is regarded as a country which needs foreign workers and takes care of their well-being,” he added.

He said the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) and other enforcement agencies under the ministry will carry out the operations.

Illegal workers in Sabah. Meanwhile, Malaysian authorities may start soon a massive crackdown on illegal immigrants in Sabah, starting in the Lahad Datu area where followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III engaged Malaysian forces in deadly clashes earlier this year.

Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa

Aman disclosed this Monday even as he noted Filipinos formed the bulk of illegal immigrants deported from January to July 2013.

“Foreigners without any documents in these settlements will be referred to the Immigration Department for further action,” Musa said, according to a report on The Star Online.

He said that of some 8,190 foreigners deported from Sabah between January and July this year and 6,209, the bulk of them were Filipinos.

The others included 1,870 Indonesians, 38 Chinese, 30 Vietnamese, 24 Pakistanis, 12 Nepalese, three

Deported OFWs complain of neglect by PHL Embassy in Japan A group of Filipino overseas workers deported from Japan last July claimed on Tuesday that they were neglected by the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo during their months of detention at Japanese immigration centers.

“One year and seven months akong naka-detain. Ni walang [sinuman] galing sa Philippine Embassy na dumalaw sa amin,” said deported OFW Celso Pamiloza in a report aired on “24 Oras” “Hindi kami naipagtanggol. Sa halip sumang-ayon sila [na ma-deport kami],” Pamiloza added.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) had reported that Japan deported 75 undocumented Filipinos, including eight children, last month for immigration offenses.

Erly Regondon, a pastoral worker in Japan, said a fact-finding team from the Japanese Catholic Bishops’ Conference concluded that the OFWs did not receive adequate assistance from the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo.

“We found that their human rights were violated and their rights were disregarded,” she said.

According to the fact-finding team’s report, the embassy did not help process the OFWs papers, which would have legitimized their stay in Japan. Nor did the embassy

provide any form of medical counseling, given the trauma the OFWs suffered while in detention.

However, DFA spokesperson and Assistant Secretary Raul Hernandez denied that the Philippine Embassy in Japan was remiss in its duty in providing assistance to the undocumented workers.

“Upon learning of the Japanese government’s decision to deport Filipino nationals who violated its immigration laws, the Philippine government, through our

embassy in Tokyo, immediately engaged in dialogue with Japanese immigration officials to ensure the safety and welfare, and the humane and dignified treatment of Filipino nationals during deportation,” said Hernandez.

The Japanese Catholic Bishops Conference said that as of August 2013, there are still around 5,000 undocumented OFWs staying in Japan, with over 100 of them detained in immigration centers. ■ Xianne Arcangel / DVM, GMA News / August 27, 2013 / 11:40 PM

OFWs warned vs. costly hidden charges when remitting from UAE OVERSEAS Filipino workers (OFWs) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) sending money to their families in the Philippines should be wary of hidden fees that can significantly reduce their remittances.

A report on Gulf News said some remittance services profit from a “backend“ fee, which can cost up to 40 percent

of the transaction charge.

Sudhesh Girivan, vice president and business head of Xpress Money, said the senders usually miss this because the fee is broken up into two parts: “fees charged in dirham and back-end fees charges in pesos in the Philippines.”

Under the scheme, a Filipino sending

money home may be asked to pay Dh15 for the transaction in the UAE. However, once the money is delivered, an additional Dh10 is collected.

The Gulf News report said transfer agents, currency brokers and banks make money also from the exchange rate margins.

An exchange rate margin is the amount added to the interbank exchange rate.

The Philippines is one of the popular recipient countries of remittances from the UAE but is known to charge back-end fees, the report said.

Girivan said back-end fees alone can affect the actual remitted funds, adding the beneficiary “receives (a) lesser amount than what is intended.”

Xpress Money recently said it does not charge any back-end fee on customers transferring money from the UAE to the Philippines. ■ VVP, GMA News / August 27, 2013 / 10:40 AM

Indians, two Ukaranians, one German, and one Bruneian.

Another 5,130 foreigners were detained during the same period, he added.

For the coming crackdown, he said the Federal Special Task force on illegal immigrants will implement the crackdown, getting help from the police, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) and the military.

He said the crackdown will initially focus on the east coast including Lahad Datu, where Kiram’s followers engaged Malaysian forces in a standoff in February.

The standoff ended in bloody clashes in March, leading Malaysia to mount an offensive against the Kiram followers.

After the east coast, Musa said the operation “would then be carried out in other parts of Sabah.”

He added that the Immigration Department would carry out state-wide checks at factories and plantations to ensure employers and their workers were complying with laws and regulations.

He said Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) was carrying out a population census of those living at the seaside settlements. ■ VVP, GMA News /

August 24, 2013 / 8:10 AM

Fil-Ams in New York, New Jersey warned vs. Pinay con artist BEWARE of this serial Pinay con artist preying on dozens of Filipinos in the New YorkNew Jersey area, who have lost thousands in life savings to her never ending tricks.

Merlyn Gacayan, 55, also known as Merlyn Maric and Merlyn de la Cruz, pitches everything to her victims—from fixed marriages to obtain a green card to investments with huge returns in imaginary businesses—only to disappear once she gets hold of the victims’ money or when her checks start bouncing.

It turned out the heartless Gacayan has also swindled a number of people in her native Cebu City in the Philippines, and even landed in a local jail after being arrested for estafa and illegal recruitment in 2010.

She and two others were formally slapped with criminal charges in January 2012 before Cebu’s Regional Trial Court.

How she managed to sneak out of the Philippines pending her trial is still a mystery even to the Philippine Consulate General in New York, which has warned the public to be cautious of Gacayan.

Consul Felipe Cariño, head of the Consulate’s assistance to nationals office, told the Filipino Reporter that the Consulate is aware of the public complaints against Gacayan “swindling people no end.”

“The Consulate actually received information from Manila asking her whereabouts due to numerous complaints in the Philippines,” Cariño said.

“In turn, the Consulate put her on the look out list and will ask her to explain once she comes in to renew her passport or apply for a service,” he said.

“Her passport renewal will be held in abeyance, too.”

Gacayan is reportedly a green card holder.

“The Consulate has taken steps to insulate and protect community members by posting her picture in the Consulate and requesting our personnel to be on the look out for her and to report her presence in the premises,” Cariño said.

He said victims may come forward and provide the Consulate a written complaint that will be provided to the police to stop Gacayan from duping more people.

Cariño declined to release other personal and legal information about Gacayan due to the “sensitivity” of the information.

The Consulate, however, will assist the victims and coordinate with proper authorities, Cariño noted.

Gacayan’s last known residence was an apartment on Vanderveer Street in Queens Village, before she disappeared in July without paying rent since moving in there in November 2012, according to sources.

She previously lived in New Hyde Park, Garden City Park and Elmont, all on Long Island, N.Y., the same sources said.

Gacayan used to work as a caregiver and has a daughter in the area, the sources added.

The Reporter obtained about a dozen names of Gacayan’s alleged victims, but most of them declined to comment on record for fear of retaliation.

Some provided copies of Gacayan’s bounced checks.

Two of those contacted by the Reporter said many of the victims are undocumented and were threatened by Gacayan with deportation if they report to authorities.

Gacayan, who is said to be once married to a retired New York City police officer, reportedly moves around the Queens area where a large number of Filipinos are concentrated.

“Doon siya nangingisda ng mga magagantso niya kasi ang daming isda roon na madaling maloko,” said another alleged victim.

“She’s often seen in Filipino restaurants dealing with people. Basta kung saan maraming tao. Matagal na niyang ginagawa ‘yon.”

One victim reportedly lost a $40,000 investment to a non-existing business, while another lost $14,000 in fancy bags after Gacayan offered to help her sell the goods.

At least one victim reportedly filed a complaint before a small claims court and won, but Gacayan hasn’t paid up yet.

Gacayan’s victims may e-mail Cariño at felipe.f.carino@gmail.com “Due to numerous complaints in New York and in the Philippines arising and in connection with a swindling/scam activities, this lady is considered a person of interest in an ongoing investigation by the Philippine Government,” the Consulate stated.

“Any information as to her whereabouts or circumstances may be given to the Philippine Consulate or to U.S. law enforcement authorities,” it added.

“As a matter of right, (Gacayan) is free to give her explanation to aid in the investigation by immediately contacting the Consulate General.” ■ Filipino Reporter / August 29, 2013 / 8:40 AM

September 2013 – No. 17 • UK & Europe Edition

IMMIGRATION / OFNEWS

www.hello-philippines.com

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Asian-American students, women have higher risk for suicidal attempts—study

TWO Filipino-Americans completed suicide this year in different parts of the United States.

On April 27, the body of Nycal Rodriguez, a 21-year-old English major of Bloomfield College, was found on the Edgewater coastline of New Jersey, the news site North Jersey.com said.

Meanwhile, Gabrielle Molina, a 12-yearold student at Jean Nuzzi Intermediate School 109, hanged herself last May 22, the Filipino Reporter news site reported.

Both students left suicide notes and came off school-related problems prior to their deaths.

While the circumstances behind their deaths are different, the two join the slew of Asian Americans who have tragically completed suicide in the country.

Statistics, preventive factors and risks.

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), the suicide rate among Asian Americans is lower than the national average- 6.10 per 10,000 compared to 11.5 per 10,000.

However, Asian Americans with suicidal thoughts are less likely to seek professional help and treatment. College students and women, US-born and those between ages 65-84, of Asian American descent are more likely to have suicidal thoughts and to attempt suicide than other minorities.

One of the huge factors often cited in studies is the labeling of Asian Americans as a model minority.

The University of Texas (UT) describes the model minority stereotype as the expectation placed on people of that race to be “smart”, wealthy, hard-working, obedient, and uncomplaining.

Another UT article states that the term came from a 1966 NYT Magazine article, where UC-Berkley Professor William Peterson described Japanese-Americans, who were increasing their financial and educational status through education, as a model minority.

A team of three professors from different universities made a multi-campus national study on Asian American students and suicide in 2011.

The study was conducted across 66 campuses and with 1,377 Asian American student volunteers. It examined risk and protective factors associated with suicide ideation.

According to the study by Wong, Brownson, and Schwing, belongingnessliving with family members and a partneris a protective factor against suicide.

They hypothesize that racism may be a reason why active participation in at least one student organization was positively associated with having morbid thoughts and serious considerations of suicide.

Having a specific religious affiliation is another preventive factor. Emory University adds that impulse control, sobriety, and a healthy lifestyle, among others, lowers the odds for morbid or suicidal thougths.

The 2011 study cites medication for mental health concerns, being female, having a low GPA, and being an undergraduate as high risk factors. Recent family problems (47.7%) and academic problems (43%) are cited as the most reported events before morbid or suicidal thoughts occurred in students. The study

also hypothesizes that participating students with poor academic performance may have higher susceptibility to parental criticism.

Family problems, low grades and female gender roles present higher odds of suicide. In an article on Hardboiled, a newsmagazine on Asian-Pacific-Americans at UC-Berkley, Dr. Dung Ngo of UT-Baylor says Asian American women experience a two-fold pressure from being female and of a certain ethnic descent.

In the same article, he said, “The cultural expectations are that Asian women don’t have that kind of freedom to hang out, to go out with friends, to do the kinds of things most teenagers growing up want to do.”

“In addition, Asian American girls are under pressure to be the perfect mothers and daughters and wives as well. They are often expected to be super moms in their near future who would be dedicated to their family and work a full time job at the same time,” he added.

Culture-based shaming of mental illnesses. Andrew Lam expounds on culture-based shaming of mental illneses in 2009, posting an analysis in New American Media.

The analysis was prompted by the three Chinese-American students who died by suicide at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in the same year, and the Asians and Asian Americans who made the 13 out of 21 suicide victims between 1996 to 2006 at Cornell University.

“It seems to be the pressure of family cultural expectations all the way back to their home country, from China to Vietnam to Japan to Korea. Passing the exams is crucial in you position in society, and that is the basic understanding. If you fail that, you fail a lot of expectations,” said Lam in an interview with Sandip Roy on the Brian Leher show.

When asked why Asian-Americans are least likely to seek out therapy, he said, “There’s a lot of Asian cultures where emotional conversations are very difficult... in many cultures, particularly in Confucianbound cultures, those things are not articulate[d] verbally. You understand things through a kind of gesture you do for each other, but because [they are not taught how to express their feelings]... it can be debilitating to begin to discuss how things are affecting you.”

Earlier in the interview, he commented on parental expectations, and said, “Their whole lives revolve around how to get better education for their children, and the children likewise perceive this as a way to connect to their parents. I’m not a psychologist but I can say safely that a lot of these kids perceive their identity very much through an academic lens.”

Philippine rates and incidents. Monina Garduno-Cruz, MD, published in the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development website on June 2012 that the incidence of suicide among Filipino males increased from 0.23 to 3.59 per 100,000, while the female rate rose from 0.12 to 1.09 per 100,000 between 1984 and 2005.

Dr. Randy Dellosa, a psychiatrist, said Filipinos have a tendency for confusing depression for normal sadness.

The World Health Organization reported

that only one out of three Filipinos will seek counselling, and those who do not seek help or are unaware of their condition may commit suicide.

Their data also showed that there are 4.5 million depressed Filipinos, the highest in Southeast Asia, a stark contrast to the 2012 survey that tied the Philippines and Guatemala as the seventh and eight happiest countries in the world.

In the study, the reasons cited for Filipinos not seeking help are inability to afford treatment and the lack of qualified psychiatrists in the country.

How to help prevent attempts and aid in recovery. The 2011 study by Wong, Brownson, and Schwing cites belongingness as a preventive factor.

Joseph Miravite, a college student in Los Angeles, CA, reinforces the role of having a community which supports immigrants in adjusting to a new environment.

“I had a lot of time to adjust before going

back to school,” he told GMA News Online.

“That down time gave me time to study and learn the culture around me.”

He also said that living in a diverse state like California meant that experiences of racism or discrimination were at a minimum.

“It’s harder here because you’re all alone and it gets to a point where you have to face your inner demons at a more intense and personal level—kasi nga you’re alone in a very different atmosphere,” Missy Maramara, a Fulbright scholar studying her Masters in Fine Arts at the University of Arkansas, also told GMA News Online.

She said getting over culture shock and letting go of certain home comforts helped her adjust to life in the US. “When I went to China, or Singapore, or even Cebu or Davao, I would feel a great strange culture shock that would make me wish I were back in Manila, as fascinated as I was in being in those progressive and/or exotic places,” she commented. “Home is

home, but sometimes you need to let go of what you’re used to in order to grow.”

Signs of serious suicidal thoughts. Emory University advices those who see signs of morbid or serious suicidal thoughts to listen to the person’s feelings, express their care and concern while not judging or arguing with the person, and assist them in finding help, whether it is through family, counselors, or spiritual leaders.

The Asian American Suicide Prevention and Education project by the Asian American Federation recommends not leaving a person who is having serious thoughts of suicide, and to call one or more of the following numbers: • 1-800-273-8255 (TALK) - National Suicide Prevention Hotline (More than 150 languages are offered) • 1-877-990-8585 - Asian LifeNet Hotline (24 hours). (Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Fujianese are offered) • 911 ■ Rie Takumi / VVP, GMA News / August 28, 2013 / 3:56 PM

POEA suspends manning agency for failing to repatriate 21 Pinoy seafarers stranded in Malta THE Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) on Wednesday announced the suspension of a manning agency that deployed 21 Filipino seafarers who are now stranded at the Port of Malta.

POEA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said on his Twitter account that Southeast Asia Shipping Corp. had been suspended after it failed to repatriate the seafarers last weekend.

Last weekend, Cacdac said the agency would be suspended if it does not repatriate the seafarers after last weekend.

He said the POEA already sent a repatriation notice to the manning agent Friday last week.

“Failure to repatriate the Filipino seafarers on board MV A Ladybug within 48 hours from Fridaywarrants the manning agent’s suspension,” he had said.

Last Aug. 6, Cacdac said efforts were underway to repatriate the 21 pinoy seafarers stranded aboard the MV A Ladybug in Malta At the time, Cacdac cited information reaching him the 21 seafarers, crew of the MV Ladybug, are “safe and in good condition.”

As early as July 30, the seafarers and their Pakistani ship captain had said they were stranded for months aboard the cargo ship “A Ladybug.” ■ VVP, GMA News / August 28, 2013 / 03:00 PM

Senate to continue ‘sex-for-flight’ probe despite charges recommended vs. labor execs THE investigation on the alleged “sex-for-flight” scheme will continue at the Senate despite administrative charges recommended against three labor officials supposedly involved in the scandal.

Senator Jinggoy Estrada, one of the lawmakers heading the congressional inquiry, said the Senate still wants to explore “hints” that could possibly lead to a “modus which preys on the female OFWs into prostitution or sexual favors

in exchange for their repatriation.”

“We still have to find out, establish and institutionalize measures on how to strengthen the protection and further promote the welfare of the runaway OFWs in the custody of our Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO), and prevent abuses against distressed OFWs from happening again right inside the Bahay Kalinga,” Estrada said in a statement.

The Senate has so far conducted two

hearings on the alleged “sex-for-flight” scheme, where four supposed victims of sexual harassment in labor offices and halfway houses in the Middle East recounted the abuses they experienced.

Last week, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) recommended administrative charges against three labor officials allegedly involved in the sexual abuse of distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Middle East.

These labor officials were Labor Attache Adam Musa, Labor Attache Mario Antonio and Assistant Labor Attache Antonio Villafuerte.

During the Senate probe, Villafuerte denied sexually abusing OFWs from the Middle East.

Senator Estrada further said that he wants “to define the functions and proper coordination between the labor and embassy officials under the ‘One Country Team’ approach where the head of the post is the ambassador.”

The Senate blue ribbon and labor committees will resume their probes on the alleged sex-for-flight scheme on Thursday afternoon. ■ Andreo Calonzo / VVP, GMA News / August 28, 2013 / 2:02PM

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IMMIGRATION / OFNEWS

September 2013 – No. 17 • UK & Europe Edition

VP Binay: Saudi authorities start deportation proceedings for jailed OFW Lanuza AFTER 13 years in a Saudi Arabian jail, overseas Filipino worker Rodelio “Dondon” Lanuza may be a step closer to freedom after deportation proceedings for him have started, Vice President Jejomar Binay said on Wednesday.

Binay, the presidential adviser on OFW concerns, said he was informed

by Philippine ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ezzedin Tago that the Dammam Reformatory Jail received an advance copy of the order Aug. 27.

“I was informed by Ambassador Ezzedin Tago today, through Secretary del Rosario, that the Dammam Reformatory Jail received on August 27 an advance copy of the order from the Emir of the Eastern Region regarding the release of Mr. Lanuza. Jail authorities have received the advance copy of the settlement of Mr. Lanuza’s case from the Dammam High Court,” he said in a post on his Facebook page.

Binay said police case officer Ahmad Al Sharie of the Dammam Reformatory Jail

has endorsed Lanuza’s case to the travel section for deportation procedures.

Quoting Al Sharie, Binay said the entire deportation process could take two to three weeks.

Binay lauded Tago and the Riyadh Philippine Embassy staff for their “untiring dedication” in monitoring Lanuza’s case.

“Dondon’s impending release will not be possible without the efforts of the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh through the leadership of Ambassador Tago,” he said.

“I also want to assure the family of Mr. Lanuza that the government is doing everything in its power to expedite the release of Dondon. We all would like to see

him home at the soonest possible time,” the Vice President added.

Procedures. Binay said Al Sharie sent a memorandum to the Director of the Dammam Reformatory Jail on Aug. 27, “requesting approval for the fingerprinting (basamat) of Mr. Lanuza.”

Fingerprinting was part of the four-step process for Lanuza’s deportation, he said.

Once approved by the jail director, Lanuza’s case file will be endorsed to the travel section for deportation procedures, he added.

“Jawasat (Saudi Passport Office) authorities will then assign a basamat number for Dondon,” he said. After that, Lanuza’s fingerprint records will be sent to Jawasat and then to the Criminal Investigation Office (CIO) for clearance.

“Upon receipt of the clearance from the CIO, the exit visa will then be finally issued,” he added.

Buying plane ticket. Binay said the Philippine Embassy’s Assistance to Nationals Case Officers were to return to

Dammam Reformatory Jail on Wednesday to discuss with the Jail Director how the embassy can help in expediting the issuance of Lanuza’s exit visa.

“While waiting for the deportation process to be completed, the Riyadh Philippine Embassy, through Ambassador Tago, has already requested the Department of Foreign Affairs to purchase the ticket for Mr. Lanuza return flight to the Philippines,” he added.

Lanuza was sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for killing an Arab national in 2000.

But he said he acted in self-defense and was just defending himself, claiming the Arab had tried to rape him.

While Saudi Arabia’s highest court affirmed Lanuza’s death penalty in 2001, Lanuza was pardoned after paying SR3 million in blood money.

Of the SR3 million, the Philippine government shouldered SR700,000 while Saudi King Abdullah paid the remaining SR2.3 million. ■ VVP, GMA News / August 28, 2013 / 5:20 PM

Pinoys still being nabbed for drugs abroad despite executions THE grim news about the execution last July of a 35-year-old Filipina caught carrying at least six kilos of heroin in China in 2011 brought to the fore once again the issue of Filipinos being recruited in the trade and trafficking of illicit drugs.

After the Filipina drug courier’s execution, Vice President Jejomar Binay warned Filipinos not to risk their lives attempting to smuggle illegal drugs into foreign countries. He said modern equipment can now detect now easily detect drugs, and authorities may not necessarily accost a drug mule immediately after detecting drugs.

However, just three weeks after the Filipina was executed in China, another drug trafficking case involving Filipinos made it to the headlines once again.

On July 31, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said two Filipino sisters were found carrying 14.5 kilos of methamphetamine—known in the Philippines as shabu—in Hong Kong a few days earlier.

Citing a report from the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong, DFA spokesman and Assistnat Secretary Raul Hernandez said the two Filipinas were bound for Clark, Pampanga when they

were arrested at a Hong Kong airport on Sunday. They are scheduled to appear in court in October.

Based on DFA records, the number of Filipinos detained around the world for drug-related offenses has reached 696 as of August 2013, with 212 Filipino drug couriers imprisoned in China.

In a text message sent last week, Hernandez said 49 of the Filipinos involved in drug trafficking charges all over the world are on death row, with their cases still subject to appeal.

He assured Filipinos, however, that DFA is continuously providing consular and legal assistance to Filipinos in drugrelated cases who are awaiting their fate while in jail.

“The DFA ensures that the safety and rights of these Filipinos are protected by having our embassy officials regularly visit them. We also continue to provide them consular and legal assistance,” he said.

High risk, high returns. Despite the enormous risks to life and safety associated with drug trafficking, some Filipinos continued to participate in the trade because of its lucrative financial returns.

For instance, the 35-year-old Filipina

Is this your last chance to be British?

THE Home Office has recently announced a landmark change to the English language requirement for the immigrants who apply for settlement and naturalisation. This change will come into effect from 28 October 2013.

Currently the applicants can prove their English language proficiency by passing an exam called “Life in the UK” or other relevant English language exams.

The new change insists to have additional B1 English language certificate to be eligible for settlement and naturalisation.

The new B1 English language test and

the life in the UK exams are considered to be relatively tough. The immigrants from non English speaking countries will be facing an acid test in order for them to eligible to settle in the UK. It is important to note that those who have already been granted ILR also have to meet an additional B1 English language certificate when they apply for naturalisation.

It is therefore advisable that all the immigrants who already satisfy the criteria to apply for their settlement and naturalisation before the new rule come into effect. ■

drug courier executed in China earned $3,000 to $4,000—or roughly P129,000 to P172,000—per trip after successfully smuggling drugs from Dubai to Hong Kong and China, according to information from DFA. In a country where one in four people live on less than $1 a day, getting paid more than a thousand dollars for a job is an enticing prospect.

While many are lured to smuggle drugs abroad for the money, some continue in the trade because they have no other choice but to remain drug couriers. There have been reports in the past where foreign drug syndicates coerce Filipinos—usually women—into becoming drug couriers by threatening to harm their families if they do not agree.

In a recent press conference, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said known foreign drug smuggling groups such as the West African Drug Syndicate (WADS) “seem to prefer” recruiting Filipinosbecause many of them go abroad for work.

But in exchange for a princely sum, Filipino drug couriers expose themselves to harm and possible death by using their own bodies as conduits of illegal drugs.

Gone are the days when drug syndicates smuggle drugs into foreign lands by hiding them in discreet compartments in suitcases. To minimize the risk of detection—especially in airports with less-sophisticated X-ray machines, WADS and other groups have shifted to placing packets of methamphetamine and other illicit drugs inside a person’s body.

Drug couriers are either made to ingest several plastic capsules containing illegal drugs or often-untrained doctors recruited by the syndicate sew drug packs inside a person’s abdominal cavity—to be retrieved by opening him or her up when he or she has reached his or her country of destination.

In both cases, drug couriers are put at risk of contracting a serious infection or dying because the parcel inside them might burst and they will be poisoned by several kilograms of illegal drugs.

Imprisonment or death. According to the 2011 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) released by the United States Department of State Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, drug trafficking continues to be one of the three major illicit drug activities in the Philippines, the other two being drug manufacturing and cultivation.

At present, the illegal drug trade in the country is currently valued at over $8.4 billion, with a huge chunk coming from drug smuggling activities.

Out of 42 countries that still impose death penalty for serious and heinous crimes, 11 mete it out for drug-related offenses. These are China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore , Thailand, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Yemen.

Despite its stringent anti-drug trafficking laws, China continues to be a popular destination to smuggle illegal drugs because of its huge market for narcotics.

“As the Chinese economy has become more integrated in the world economy, drug crimes and drug users in China have increased.

In 2010, 611 cases were uncovered with the seizure of more than 1,500 kg. of drugs, representing a 50% increase compared with 2009. Large-scale organized criminal groups traffic drugs to certain major cities in northern and south eastern China,” the US State Department said in 2012.

Unfortunately for drug couriers, the invention of high-technology X-ray machines has made it easier for Chinese officials to detect smuggled drugs at

airports even if it is inside the human body. The 35-year-old Filipina executed in China, as well as the three Filipinos who died through lethal injection there in 2011—Ramon Credo, Sally OrdinarioVillanueva, and Elizabeth Batain—were caught carrying illicit drugs at different provincial airports in China.

Under Chinese law, the possession of at least 50 grams of illegal drugs is enough to warrant a death penalty, usually through lethal injection.

There have been some instances, however, where Filipino drug convicts in China were able to commute their sentence from execution to life imprisonment.

In light of the growing number of Filipinos being nabbd by foreign authorities for drug trafficking, the Philippine government has vowed the stricter implementation Republic Act 9165—also known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drug Act of 2002—that penalizes drug trafficking.

Under RA 9165, drug couriers might face life imprisonment if they are caught carrying more than 50 grams of illegal drugs.

While the US State Department has noted in its latest release of the INCSR that the Philippines has made significant gains in addressing the issue of drug trafficking in the country under President Benigno Aquino III, the government needs to do more to drastically reduce the number of Filipinos lured into the drug trade.

“Although the Philippine government takes the problems of drug trafficking and drug abuse seriously, the lack of resources and effective investigative tools, combined with a high degree of law enforcement corruption, continued to make the Philippines vulnerable to exploitation by transnational criminal organizations,” it said. ■ Xianne Arcangel / VVP, GMA News / August 20, 2013 / 05:30 PM

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24

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HEALTH and Lifestyle

September 2013 – No. 17 • UK & Europe Edition

Kids’ teeth Q&As Children’s headaches

GET your children to care for their teeth from a young age and you could help them enjoy trouble-free teeth for life.

Establishing good habits can help your child avoid oral health problems, such as tooth decay and gum disease.

Can I let my child have sweets?

Most children want sweets, but you can help prevent problems by making sure they don’t eat them often and encouraging them only to eat their sweets with a meal. This way, your child avoids the extra acid caused by eating sweets between meals.

Try not to give sweets or sweet drinks as rewards.

What are the best snacks to give my child? The best snacks are fruit and raw vegetables. Try tangerines, bananas, pieces of cucumber or carrot sticks. Other good snacks include breadsticks, crackers, rice cakes and plain popcorn.

Should I let my child have fizzy drinks?

No. Fizzy drinks contain acids that can affect the enamel on your child’s teeth, making it thinner.

What are the best drinks for my child’s teeth? The best drinks for children over one year old are water or milk. Cows’ milk is not suitable as a drink until your baby is 12 months old.

Use full-fat milk (whole milk) from the age of 12 months to two years. Semi-skimmed milk can be introduced from the age of two, as long as your child is a good eater and growing well for their age. Skimmed milk doesn’t contain enough fat, so is not recommended for children under five.

Fruit juices contain sugars and acids, so it’s best to have these only at mealtimes and use a straw. If your child is thirsty, it’s better to give them water than to encourage a taste for sweet drinks. Try to avoid giving babies fruitflavoured ‘baby juices’, and never give them in feeding bottles.

Fruit juice is not suitable for babies under six months.

Will milk at bedtime damage my child’s teeth? Water is the best drink to give at bedtime, but if you do give milk, don’t add anything to it. Chocolate-flavoured drinks and milkshake powder usually contain sugars, which can increase the risk of decay if given at bedtime.

Are sugar-free medicines better for my child’s teeth? Yes. Always ask for sugar-free medicines and remind your doctor about this

if you’re being given a prescription for your child. This is especially important if your child is taking long-term medication.

When should my child give up bottles?

Your child should begin moving off the bottle and on to a feeder cup at six months. Bottles should be given up completely by the age of one because the teats and spouts encourage children to suck for long periods of time, which can mean the drinks that cause tooth decay stay in contact with your child’s teeth for a long time.

Are sippy cups good for teeth? There’s no need for a child to use a sippy cup. These are similar to a bottle, in that they require the child to suck to make them work. A feeder cup is better as it doesn’t have valves and the flow of liquid is unrestricted. This means children learn to drink normally rather than by sucking.

Will a dummy or thumb sucking harm my child’s teeth? No, but they will encourage an open bite. This is when teeth move to make space for the dummy or thumb. They may also affect speech development.

Thumb sucking and dummies won’t cause permanent problems as long as the habit stops by the time your child gets their second teeth, but it can be a hard habit to break. Discourage your children from talking or making sounds with their thumb or a dummy in their mouth, and don’t dip dummies in anything sweet such as sugar or jam.

What is fluoride varnish? This is a special varnish that is painted onto a child’s teeth to help protect them. It’s done at the dental surgery or sometimes in schools.

It’s recommended that all children over the age of three have a fluoride varnish every six months. Talk to your dentist to find out if your child would benefit from this extra protection.

■ NHS Choices

DR. Anne MacGregor of the National Migraine Centre gives tips for parents on how to recognise and treat headaches in children.

Most children and teenagers get at least one headache a year. They’re often different from the headaches adults get, so parents and healthcare professionals can fail to notice the problem.

Headaches, including migraines, tend to be much shorter in children, according to Dr MacGregor. They start suddenly, with the child quickly becoming pale and listless, and often feeling sick and vomiting.

Children also generally recover very quickly. “The headache can be over half an hour later with the child feeling well and playing outside as if nothing’s happened,” Dr MacGregor says.

Children’s headaches can also affect their stomach, so tummy-ache is a common complaint, she says.

Skipping lunch causes headaches.

“In my experience, children very rarely fake headaches,” says Dr MacGregor.

“Children with headaches often get them if, for example, they skip their packed lunch or they haven’t had anything to drink all day.

“The best way for parents to prevent their children getting these headaches is to make sure they have regular meals and drinks, and that they get enough sleep,” says Dr MacGregor. “Give children a good breakfast so that, even if they miss lunch, they’ve been set up for the day.

It’s also helpful to put children to bed at a fixed time each evening.”

Read more about healthy eating, including five healthy breakfasts.

Find out how many hours sleep a night your child needs.

Sport is a headache trigger. Sport can trigger children’s headaches, probably because of dehydration and the effect on blood sugar. “Drinking lots of water and sucking glucose tablets (available from pharmacies and supermarkets) before and during sport can help. So can a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack as well as meals,” says Dr MacGregor.

Headaches and emotional problems. Sometimes, headaches can be the result of emotional problems.

“They can come on during times of stress, like being bullied at school or because of anxiety over parents splitting up,” says Dr MacGregor. “Parents often think their child is fine, that they’re adjusting to the divorce and that they like their parent’s new partner. Sometimes, however, the child is not fine and their unhappiness is expressing itself as headaches.”

Keep a headache diary. It can be helpful to keep a diary of your child’s headaches. If your child is old enough, they can keep their own diary. This is a good way of working out specific headache triggers.

Keep a record of when the headaches happen. Also record any event that’s different from the normal routine or that might be relevant. This could be a missed meal, sports activity or a late night, or an emotionally upsetting incident, such as a stressful exam or an argument with friends or parents.

After a few months, look through the diaries together with your child and see if there’s a pattern of triggers that could be causing the headaches.

Once you’ve identified possible

causes, get your child to avoid them one at a time over the next few months to see if this prevents the headaches.

Headache self help tips for kids.

Often, simple steps will be enough to help your child through a headache or migraine attack.

• Lie them down in a quiet, dark room.

• Put a cool, moist cloth across their forehead or eyes.

• Get them to breathe easily and deeply.

• Encourage them to sleep as this speeds recovery.

• Encourage them to eat or drink something (but not drinks containing caffeine).

If you think your child needs painkillers, start the medicine as soon as possible after the headache has begun.

Paracetamol and ibuprofen are both safe and work well for children with headaches.

The syrups are easier for children to take than tablets. Alternatively, try Migraleve, a pharmacy remedy that treats migraine and is suitable for children aged over 10.

As with adults, most headaches in children aren’t a serious health problem.

They can be treated at home with pharmacy remedies and avoided by making sure children get enough food, drink and sleep.

Don’t delay consulting a doctor or pharmacist if you’re worried about your child’s headaches, says Dr MacGregor.

“I’d advise parents to seek help if their child hasn’t been helped by painkillers or if the headaches are interfering with schoolwork. It’s important for these children to get the all-clear from a doctor.” ■ NHS Choices

with experienced members who offer advice and assistance. Some also run kite-making workshops.

9. Try a beach holiday. When they hit the sand, children find a multitude of ways to exercise, including games, swimming

and plenty of running around. Or try an activity-based holiday.

10. The National Parks website has lists of events such as guided walks and children’s fun days, for fresh ideas for active days out. ■ NHS Choices

10 ways to get active with your kids PHYSICAL activity helps children grow strong bones, maintain a healthy weight and discover the world around them. Best of all, it’s great fun.

All children should be physically active for at least one hour a day. You can help by encouraging your child to find activities they enjoy, and by building physical activity into family life. Most children love running around a park or playing in a playground.

One reason why physical activity in childhood is so important is because it helps your child to maintain a healthy weight.

But that’s not the only reason. Physical activity is a part of the way children discover the world and themselves. It helps to build strong muscles and healthy bones, as well

as to improve self-confidence.

Bristol University’s professor of exercise and health sciences, Ken Fox, has 10 suggestions that can make exercise fun for all the family.

Ten activity tips for children.

1. Walk or cycle to and from school with the kids as often as possible.

2. Physically build with them in the school holidays. Or, under supervision, encourage them to climb a tree or two.

3. Go roller skating, roller blading or skateboarding, indoor or out. In winter, go ice skating. Kids also love scooters.

4. Do an activity challenge together, such as working towards a fun run or a walk for charity.

5. Take the dog for a walk. If you don’t have one of your own, ask to borrow a neighbour’s or friend’s dog and take it for a walk.

6. Support your kids in sports, clubs or any other activities that may interest them. Joining a weekend club sport ensures commitment to a team and regular exercise. Find all kinds of sporting facilities in your area.

7. Find time every weekend to do something active with your children. Play frisbee or football in the park, go trampolining or try indoor rock climbing.

8. Fly a kite. The Kite Society of Great Britain’s website lists a number of groups that regularly meet for special flying days

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HEALTH and Lifestyle food

September 2013 – No. 17 • UK & Europe Edition

School packed lunches When your child is overweight

THANKS to Jamie Oliver, school dinners have had a radical overhaul. But what about the lunchboxes we pack for our children?

It’s just as important to make sure the lunchbox your child takes to school provide a healthy, balanced lunch as when they eat at home.

This means plenty of foods that contain the nutrients that children need, and fewer foods that are high in sugar and saturated fat.

Packing the lunchbox. A balanced packed lunch should contain: • Starchy foods. These are bread, rice, potatoes and pasta, and others.

• Protein foods. These are meat, fish, eggs, beans and others.

• A dairy item. This could be cheese or yoghurt.

• Vegetables or salad, and a portion of fruit.

Starchy foods are a good source of energy, and should make up a third of the lunchbox. But don’t let things get boring.

Instead of sandwiches give kids bagels, pitta bread, wraps and baguettes. Use brown, wholemeal or seeded bread, not white bread.

Children often like food they can eat with their fingers, so chop up raw veggies such as carrots or peppers, and give them houmous or cottage cheese to dip the veggies in. Breadsticks and wholemeal crackers are great finger foods and they can be spread with low-fat soft cheese or eaten with reduced-fat cheddar and pickles.

Replace chocolate bars and cakes with fresh fruit, dried fruit or unsalted nuts. Vary the fruit each day and get them to try new things, like kiwi or melon.

You could also make up a tasty fruit salad. Be inventive and encourage your children when they try something new.

Making healthier food. It may take a while for your children to get used to a healthier lunchbox. But it will be worth it for their health, so keep trying.

You can help by eating a wider range of foods at home, as a family. For ideas on how to introduce more fruit and vegetables into your family’s diet.

Reading supermarket food labels can help you to buy healthier foods for your child’s lunch, and for family meal times.

Save chocolate and cakes for occasional treats. Remember to praise your child when they’ve tried something new, to show your encouragement. ■ NHS Choices

Underweight children aged 6-12 CHILDREN aged 6-12 are still growing, which means they need a lot of energy for their size. If your child is underweight, they may not be getting enough calories.

If you’re concerned that your child is underweight or not growing normally, take them to see your GP. Low weight can occur for a number of reasons.

Your GP will weigh and measure your child and talk to you about what your child is eating. If there is a possible problem with your child’s diet, your GP can provide nutritional advice that will help bring them up to a healthy weight.

Paediatric dietitian Jacqui Lowden, from the Manchester Children’s Hospital, explains basic child nutrition and what to do if your child is underweight.

A healthy, balanced diet for children.

“All children need energy and nutrients from a varied and balanced diet,” says Jacqui.

If your child is underweight, it might seem tempting to fill them up with highcalorie but unhealthy foods, such as sweets, cake, chocolate and fried fatty foods. But it’s important that your child gains weight in a healthy way, and this means eating a balanced diet.

Once they reach the age of five, you can start to make your child’s diet similar to the healthy, balanced diet recommended for adults (children under five need a diet higher in fat and lower in fibre). That means three meals a day and healthy snacks.

A balanced diet includes: • starchy carbohydrates, such as pasta, rice and potatoes, which should form the basis of every meal • lean protein, such as lean meat, fish, pulses, beans and eggs • five portions of fruit and vegetables a day • a low intake of saturated fats (found in biscuits, cakes and pies) • a low intake of animal fats (found in processed meats such as sausages and bacon)

• grilled or baked foods instead of fried food • diluted juice or water instead of fizzy drinks • chocolate, sweets and cake only occasionally Children’s meals at home. “This is a good time to sit down and think about how your family eats,” says Jacqui. “Do you take time for proper meals or do you rely on snacks and quick fixes? If so, that might be part of the reason your child isn’t consuming enough calories.”

Make time for a proper breakfast and dinner and eat together as a family. Make mealtime a fun part of the day. When possible, cook from scratch instead of using ready meals. That way you know exactly what is in your food.

To help your child gain weight, increase their servings of healthy carbohydrates such as brown rice, wholemeal pasta and potatoes.

Children’s lunches. During the week, your child will eat lunch at school. It’s impossible to monitor exactly what your child eats away from home, but you can help your child make healthy choices.

• Talk to your child about the importance of a healthy and balanced diet.

• Give your child a packed lunch or prepaid school dinners, instead of giving money that your child can spend on food.

• Find out what the school’s healthy eating policy is.

Packed lunches are a great way to provide a nutritionally balanced lunch.

A good packed lunch should include carbohydrates, protein, calcium and a portion of fruit and vegetables.

• Sandwiches with a filling of lean meat, tuna, eggs or cheese provide carbohydrates and protein.

• Quiche or pasta salad are tasty alternatives to sandwiches.

• A milkshake, yoghurt or piece of cheese will provide a serving of calcium.

• Cut vegetables into small segments to make them easier to eat. Dried fruit counts as one portion of fruit.

• Don’t forget a drink. Water, milk or fruit juice is best.

Snacks for kids. If your child isn’t consuming enough calories, you can help boost their daily intake by providing healthy snacks.

Younger children in particular will need snacks between meals because their stomachs are not large enough to allow them to consume all the calories they need in three meals.

On school days, you can provide a healthy snack for your child to eat at morning break.

Great snack ideas include: • dried fruit • small sandwiches with a protein filling, such as cheese or eggs • cheese and crackers or cheese on wholemeal or brown bread • yoghurt, which contains protein and calcium • breakfast cereal with milk for a great bedtime snack • other energy-dense foods such as bananas and avocados Keep your child active. Physical activity burns calories your child has consumed. But even if your child is underweight, it’s still important that they’re physically active.

Physical activity helps them develop strong, healthy bones and muscles. It’s a crucial part of the way they learn about themselves and the world. And, best of all, it’s great fun.

Children over five should do a minimum of 60 minutes of at least moderate-intensity activity each day.

But the amount of physical activity your child should do may be different if they’re underweight. Your GP, practice nurse or school health visitor can advise you on this. ■ NHS Choices

IF you’ve learned that your child is overweight, there are simple steps you can take, with support if you want it, to help your child move towards a healthy weight.

Your child’s weight matters, because it can affect their health now and in the future.

Overweight children are more likely to grow up into overweight adults, who face all the health risks that carrying excess weight can bring.

If your child is overweight, it’s time to take action.

Help your child get slim. The good news is that there are steps you can take that will set your child on the road to a healthy weight.

If your child is very overweight, or if they have other health conditions, it’s a good idea to ask for support. Your GP can help (see below).

Children are growing, so it’s usually not necessary for overweight children to lose weight. Instead, it is usually better that the child maintains their current weight while they continue to grow in height.

This will depend on how overweight your child is, and other factors.

If you’re unsure about this or other issues, ask for advice from your GP or practice nurse.

Get healthy as a family. A healthy, balanced diet and plenty of physical activity will lead to a healthy weight for your child.

Making changes to your family’s lifestyle can make a real difference to your child’s weight. These changes work best, and are easiest, when the whole family joins in.

Eat regular meals, together and without distractions (such as TV) as a great first step towards a healthier diet.

Cook yourself rather than relying on ready-made meals to help you to lower the fat and sugar content in your meals.

If your family eats snacks and meals that are high in fat or sugar, such as chocolate, biscuits, sweets and fizzy drinks, aim to replace these with healthier alternatives such as fruit.

Physical activity is also an important part of achieving a healthy weight.

The amount of physical activity that is recommended for children depends on their age, and children who are

overweight may need to do more than the recommended amount in order to lose weight. For more on how much activity children should do, and what counts as activity: Aim to reduce the amount of time your child spends on inactive hobbies, such as watching television and playing video games.

It’s also important to help your child develop a positive body image and good self-esteem. Habits in childhood will remain as they grow into adults, so praise them when they try healthier foods or when they swap a sedentary activity for an active one.

How the school can help your child.

The school that your child attends should support you in helping your child to achieve a healthy weight.

All schools should provide opportunities for physical activity, and healthy food at lunch time. Some schools will also help to ensure that your child does not bring unhealthy foods to school, by working with parents to set guidelines on packed lunches.

If your child is overweight, talk to your child’s teachers about your plans to help your child slim down, and how the school can support this.

Getting support. If you feel uncertain about helping your child to achieve a healthy weight, or the changes you’ve made don’t seem to be helping, then seek support.

This is also a good idea if your child is very overweight, has a health condition or any other special needs such as a learning difficulty.

Your GP or practice nurse can assess your child’s weight and provide further advice on lifestyle changes.

They may also be able to refer you to a local weight management programme for children, such as those run by the Weight Management Centre, MEND and Carnegie Weight Management. These programmes are often free to attend through your local PCT, and typically involve a series of weekly group workshop sessions with other parents and their children.

At these workshops you’ll learn more about the diet and lifestyle changes that can help your child to achieve a healthy weight. ■ NHS Choices

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CELEBRITY, SHOWBIZ & ENTERTAINMENT SCOOP

September 2013 – No. 17 • UK & Europe Edition

GMA Network pulls off an ensemble cast via Akin Pa Rin Ang Bukas

AS GMA Network continues to bring superior and world-class entertainment to its viewers locally and abroad, another compelling drama masterpiece is primed to dominate the airwaves and captivate the hearts of Filipinos via Akin Pa Rin Ang Bukas. It premieres worldwide on September 10 replacing Mundo Mo’y Akin on GMA’s flagship international channel, GMA Pinoy TV. The drama series features the country’s most respected and talented artists in plum roles headlined by no less than Kapuso Station’s Premiere Actress—Lovi Poe—as she takes on a winning lead role as Lovelia Villacorta, a woman who turns vengeful against the people who betrayed her. Lovelia is out to prove that everyone deserves equal rights for genuine and real love despite being born out of wedlock.

Lovi has quickly earned her laurels with the recognition and awards from different award giving bodies in the industry and established herself as one of the country’s most in-demand and finest actresses in film and television. She is hungry to make it far and ready to showcase her depth and versatility via her meaty role in the series.

Sought-after leading man Rocco Nacino reunites with Lovi in Akin Pa Rin Ang Bukas as he portrays the role of Jerry, a man who will be trapped in a game of lies and deceit orchestrated by his childhood love Agatha played by Charee Pineda.

One of the industry’s most versatile

actors Cesar Montano joins the powerhouse cast of Akin Pa Rin Ang Bukas as Conrad Alperos, most trusted lawyer of Lovelia’s father, Roel Villacorta to be played by Gary Estrada. Conrad Alperos will eventually fall in love will Lovelia and will become her protector. Cesar is very happy to be back on GMA and feels very excited working alongside some of the network’s finest artists via the primetime series.

Playing equally important roles in the program are two of the industry’s most esteemed veteran actresses: The Original Queen of Philippine Movies, Actress Ms Gloria Romero as Cristina Alperos, mother to Conrad Alperos and Ms Liza Lorena as Beatrice Villacorta, mother of Roel Villacorta.

The beautiful Kapuso star Solenn Heussaff is set to show a new dimension to her acting ability in the series as Jade, the girlfriend of Conrad Alperos. Jade is out to take revenge after being ditched by Conrad.

Solenn is very honoured to be part of the formidable cast of Akin Pa Rin Ang Bukas.

Set to portray the role of Agatha Morales is newest Kapuso Charee Pineda. With her challenging role as one of the antagonists in the series, Charee is ready to deliver an exceptional performance as the ambitious woman who is willing to compromise her integrity and morals for her selfish motives.

GMA Network is proud to present a stellar cast of the country’s most prized artists: Ina Feleo as Emma Ignacio; Glenda

Garcia as Jenny; Tia Pusit as Nanay Selya; Steven Silva as Tisoy; Kier Legaspi as SPO 2 Brando Morales; Ruru Madrid as Junior and Freddie Webb as Jaime Villacorta.

To helm this primetime masterpiece is one of Philippine Cinema’s all-time best actresses and directors Ms Laurice Guillen.

GMA takes pride in producing a program with Ms Guillen as the director who is known in the industry for her outstanding directing style and technique.

In Akin Pa Rin Ang Bukas, viewers will witness how Lovelia will reclaim what’s rightfully hers after being deceived by the people close to her. She will learn how to take matters into her own hands and seek revenge against Jerry and Agatha who destroyed her life and acquired all her possessions.

With Conrad on her side, will Lovelia’s love for Jerry eventually fade away? Will Lovelia succeed in her quest for vengeance?

Akin Pa Rin Ang Bukas is created by the GMA Drama group headed by Lilybeth G. Rasonable, Officer-in-charge for Entertainment TV; Redgie A. Magno, Vice President for Drama; Cheryl Ching-Sy, Assistant Vice President for Drama; Helen Rose-Sese, Program Manager and Meann Regala, Executive Producer.

The creative team is composed of Creative Director for Drama, Jun Lana; Creative Head for Primetime, RJ Nuevas; Creative Consultant, Suzette Doctolero; and Headwriter, Denoy Navarro Punio. ■ GMA

Lovi Lovi Poe, Cesar Montano and Solenn Heussaff

Charee and Gary Estrada Charee Pineda

Cesar and Lovi

Glenda Garcia

Laurice Guillen

Ina Feleo

GMA’s 24 Oras and I-Witness, only Asian nominees in this year’s Emmys WIDELY regarded as the Philippines’ most awarded broadcast news organization, GMA News and Public Affairs brings pride to the country anew with two nominations in this year’s International Emmy Awards.

GMA’s flagship primetime newscast 24 Oras and longest-running public affairs program I-Witness, which are both broadcasted worldwide via GMA’s flagship international channel GMA Pinoy TV, were among the eight international nominees for the News and Current Affairs categories.

24 Oras’ in-depth coverage of Typhoon Pablo, considered as the world’s deadliest natural disaster in 2012, received a nomination in the News category. Led by anchors Mel Tiangco and Mike Enriquez, GMA News and Public Affairs’ ace team of reporters covered the deadly typhoon that whipped Mindanao a few weeks before Christmas. 24 Oras’ coverage of the heartbreaking loss of lives after the typhoon was cited for being “a catalyst for public debate regarding the effectiveness of the

Kara David

country’s emergency preparedness”.

Kara David’s I-Witness documentary on children’s rights titled “Alkansiya” earned a nomination in the Current Affairs category.

“Alkansiya” tells the story of a 12-year-old boy from Eastern Samar who dives and scours the seabed every night in search of sea cucumbers. Hoping to finish his studies, he eagerly deposits his measly income from

Derek Ramsay at the Adobo Food Festival in California

Mel Tiangco and Mike Enriquez

DEREK Ramsay had a special appearance at the 8th Annual Adobo Food Festival at the Martinez Waterfront Park, Marina, in California last July 6 and 7, where he was Adobo Festival’s Special Awardee for the Most Outstanding Actor in Philippine Cinema 2013. TV5’s Undercover hunk is standing with Dra. Vicky Belo, who had a beauty talk at the event. Every year, Adobo Food Festival celebrates “Filipino food and magic.” In

the program line-up this year were an adobo cook-off contest, a kiddie pop star contest, as well as variety show with audience participation. Sponsor and media partner TV5 had an augmented reality booth that was a major hit with the crowd. This year’s Adobo Food Festival was also very well-attended, drawing the biggest number of attendees ever.

Derek’s show, ”Undercover,” is aired worldwide on KapatidTV5. ■

selling his daily haul to his “alkansiya” or piggy bank. The documentary also received the prestigious UNICEF Child Rights Award in October of last year in Seoul, Korea.

Entries from GMA Network are the sole nominees from the Philippines and even Asia in the News and Current Affairs categories. The eight nominees come from five countries including Brazil, Germany, Romania, Philippines, and United Kingdom.

GMA Network and Brazil’s TV Globo are the only international entries to have earned a nod in both categories.

“The 2013 Nominees reported on subjects ranging from war to politics to human triumph and tragedy,” said Bruce L. Paisner, President & CEO of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the organization conferring the Emmys, in a news release announcing the nominees last August 14.

Winners will be announced at the Lincoln Center in New York on October 1. ■ GMA

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CELEBRITY, SHOWBIZ & ENTERTAINMENT SCOOP

September 2013 – No. 17 • UK & Europe Edition

Tom Rodriguez an international favorite thanks to ‘My Husband’s Lover’

WHEN actor Tom Rodriguez accepted the offer to play closeted homosexual Vincent in the GMA 7 drama series “My Husband’s Lover,” he knew the role would be the biggest challenge in his career so far. What he didn’t expect was that he’d become the talk of the town via his very nuanced portrayal of a conflicted married man torn between his wife Lally (played by Carla Abellana) and his lover Eric (played by Dennis Trillo).

“When I heard about the audition, I had that apprehension, that fear. Nung nakwento sa akin yung theme or the type of show that it was gonna be, I froze. Namutla ako, to be honest,” he said.

“But naisip ko na this is going to be the most challenging thing I’ve ever done.

I don’t know if this is going to be the most challenging thing I’ll ever do, because I want to challenge myself pa more in the future. But this is the most challenging role to date that I’ve done.”

Actually, Tom became more than just a local sensation. The Kapuso actor is now being watched all over the globe through

GMA Pinoy TV. Even non-Pinoys try to follow the unusual love triangle of Vincent, Lally, and Eric—despite not knowing a single word of Tagalog. “My Husband’s Lover” and its numerous hashtags are constant trending topics on Twitter Philippines, and the show continues to be the subject of Philippine—and even international— media.

“Puro mixed emotions pa rin hanggang ngayon, e. Andoon yung pressure. Pressure to continue giving quality product or quality show for the viewers. And at the same time, I’d very happy for the buzz that has been created and we’re so thankful for the fans who are responsible for it,” Tom said regarding the success of “My Husband’s Lover.”

A native of Samar, Tom migrated to the United States when he was 12 years old.

Born to an American father and Filipina mother, the actor (real name: Bartolome Mott) got his start in showbiz via a rival network’s reality show. He appeared in a number of critically and financially successful shows, including 2011’s

“Temptation Island” produced by GMA Films and Regal Entertainment with Kapuso stars Marian Rivera, Solenn Heussaff, Lovi Poe, and Heart Evangelista. He also played the title character in the Philippine stage adaptation of the musical “Aladdin.” But “My Husband’s Lover” has proved to be his tipping point as an actor, the breakthrough of his career.

He credits Carla and Dennis as the best possible co-actors for this kind of show.

“I get to work with a multi-awarded actor.

It’s always a bonus because you get to learn so much na you wouldn’t otherwise get,” Tom said. “Same with Carla, because she is a natural, very talented actress.”

As expected, “My Husband’s Lover” received a bit of scrutiny from religious and conservative sectors. But Tom isn’t concerned about this.

“For me, I always make it a point to stress na everyone is free to have their own opinion. But you still need to have that level of respect with each other. Each of us may not agree with the same opinon, but we’re free to express them. So with that, I have

My Husband’s Lover cast Dennis Trillo, Carla Abellana and Tom Rodriguez.

qualms because we’re secure with what we’re doing,” he said.

The Kapuso actor added, “As long as GMA and the people are happy with what we’re doing, that’s the only thing that matters to us because we’re only here to entertain the viewers.”

“My Husband’s Lover” can be seen worldwide on GMA Pinoy TV, the flagship international channel of GMA. For more details, visit the GMA International website www.gmanetwork.

Tom Rodriguez

com/international, Facebook pages www.facebook.com/GMAPinoyTV, www. facebook.com/GMALifeTV, and www. facebook.com/GMANewsInternational, or Twitter pages @GMAPinoyTV,@GMA_LifeTV and @GMANewsTVIntl ■

Christopher Doyle begins pre-production work for Khavn de la Cruz film GOOGLE any list of the greatest cinematographers, whether past, present or of all time, and chances are the name Christopher Doyle is always a staple.

Voted number 7 in Total Film magazine’s list of the 50 greatest, the Australian cinematographer has a distinguished body of work that includes films by several Hollywood directors such as Neil Jordan (“Ondine”), M. Night Shymalan (“The Lady in the Water”), James Ivory (“The White Countess”), Gus Van Sant (“Psycho” remake), Jon Favreau (“Made”) and Phillip Noyce (“The Quiet American”).

Doyle, however, is best known for his work in Asian cinema, specifically for his eight films with acclaimed Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai, including “Chungking Express,” “Happy Together” and “In The Mood for Love”.

Critics, however, consider his work on Yimou Zhang’s “Hero” as his best to date— something he would quickly dispute by constantly saying that “his next film is his best film”.

That would be Khavn Dela Cruz’s latest feature, “Pusong Wazak” or “Ruined Heart!

Another Love Story Between a Criminal and a Whore”.

InterAksyon recently reported the upcoming collaboration between the eccentric cinematographer and the man regarded as the father of Philippine digital filmmaking.

Relative to that partnership, Doyle was recently in town to scout locations as well as to spend time with De la Cruz before principal photography begins in late September.

InterAksyon caught up with Doyle hanging out with De la Cruz at Sarah’s at the University of the Philippines campus in Diliman. In this exclusive interview, he talked about his work, cinematography in general, his project with De la Cruz, as well as his resemblance to legendary guitarist Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. Excerpts: This is not your first time in the country.

What do you remember about your previous trips here? I’ve been to the Philippines many times. We shot a section of Wong Kar Wai’s

Christopher Doyle. ©Interaksyon/Teddy Pelaez

“Happy Together” in Chinatown. When I was 18 years old, I’ve also been to Zamboanga as part of the merchant marines. I haven’t been back in a while, though.

How did you and Khavn meet? What do you think of him? I think we met through some friends. I’ve seen a couple of his work.

There’s obviously anarchy, a lot of energy and a certain attitude towards the function of film as an art form or as a form of expressing ideas and other forms that take shape.

Would you say your impression of him is the reason why you decided to collaborate on a project together? We’re still getting to know each other. To me, it’s always the people, it’s not the project. I have an agent but I don’t really need one. The projects I do are always with somebody I know, someone I got to know through a friend, someone I became friends with in the process of discussing a project or someone who I’ve been friends with like Gus Van Sant. He was a friend before he became a collaborator.

So it’s important for you to be comfortable with the people you’re working with? Yes, why would you want to spend a year of your life if it’s a big American movie or in the films of Wong Kar Wai, up to five years, if you’re not proud of what you’re doing. If it’s not a project that you share then what’s the point? You’re better off going into real estate, buy some property or open a restaurant.

The energy of somebody, the engagement, how one gathers his thoughts and how perhaps I can bring a different eye to it. In many films, the script is finished before

they get the cinematographer. In my case, I try to be involved when the script is not quite finished.

I think the important thing is, to be as open to the possible as opposed to imposing the probable. To me, that’s probably the reason to do a project in the first place. As with any film, it should be exciting, it should unexplored territory but you have to be prepared for it. The earlier I become involved and give my input, the more solid our engagement becomes.

Total Film magazine described cinematographers as “a director’s best friend”. Do you share this concept of cinematography? The great thing about filmmaking is it’s an organic give-and-take.

There’s a blueprint in your script or there’s a direction you want to go. But every minute of every day, there’s a decision that you have to make based on things you can’t control like the weather or somebody’s energy level or language sometimes.

All these things, you have to deal with everyday. That’s when things become more volatile or organic. Hopefully as the process becomes more organic, it becomes more true or more valid or more personal or more universal.

To me, that’s the concept of cinematography. To be engaged enough, to be familiar enough to see things in a new eye.

It’s always a balance about being subjective and being objective. It’s subjective when it is a mixture of people you’re working with or you’re subjective response to it. It becomes objective when you notice things that people take for granted in their own culture.

All the great cinematographers in the States are not Americans. There’s Anthony Dod Mantle, Roger Deakins, Rodrigo Prieto, none of them are Americans. I think that says something about what we do.

In your experience, what are the differences between working in a big Hollywood movie and in a low-budget independent feature? The only difference is the amount of useless pressure you get.

Where there’s more money involved, there are more concerns. More money means there’s always too many cooks, the more cautious people get, the more restrictive you are in a way that you force the work.

In commercials, there’s always useless people, agents, clients and the agency and all these kinds of people so basically, they’re not helping. They’re just giving their opinion which is usually not so informed, usually from a very restrictive point of view and not pushing anything creative forward.

The great thing about working fast or working with younger people or working on a project that doesn’t have that much financial burden, you make it as you go. Like I said, it’s an organic process.

How would you describe your style? Some say your films are big on colors and saturation while there are others who say that you’re also very good with lights and shadows.

I don’t have a style. When I worked with Neil Jordan in ‘Ondine’, he once asked me how come all my films look so different. I didn’t think of it. I didn’t have that perception.

They look different because they’re done with different countries, with different material, under different working conditions so they make themselves. It’s a mixture of these different ingredients. Nothing to do with style.

You’ve worked with Wong Kar wai on eight films. Would you say that he’s a favorite among the directors you worked with? My favorite director is sitting over there (points to Khavn Dela Cruz).

If you say that about your children, that you have a favorite child, then that would be Christopher Doyle with his new ‘favorite director’ disrespectful to your other children. Like I said, my next film is my best film.

Khvan de la Cruz. ©Interaksyon/Teddy Pelaez

There’s always a desire to learn more or go further into or explore one’s flexibilities. In my case, I’ve done a lot of films so I noticed the mixture of experience and my personality with somebody else’s is always on a different energy level. It happens to any marriage or any relationship you have with any person, it should always be give and take.

What can you say about emerging digital technologies like 3D and IMAX and how much they affect today’s cinema? No matter what I say, nothing’s going to change. I can’t control it. But I always say this, kids will teach us. In earlier times, cinematographers would go to art galleries with directors and discuss a certain style of painting. Later, especially in the west, a lot of cinematographers look at other people’s work and discuss them.

Now, everyone is looking at a phone at least 90 percent of the time they’re awake like we are now. Young people look at their phones all the time and they see a lot of images so their visual stimulus is different from mine since I came from a different generation so they’re the ones who should be teaching us.

They should be the ones who should make more films so we can learn from them. That’s what I feel.

And I think that’s great and there’s so many areas to explore, so much access one has as a kid, so many means of expression. The thing now is not how to say it but it’s what you want to say.

Finally, you do bear a striking resemblance to Keith Richards and I think it was mentioned somewhere that you’re the Keith Richards of cinematography. Your thoughts on that? You want to hear a great Keith Richards story. As you probably know, Johnny Depp’s character in “Pirates of the Carribean” is inspired by Keith Richards. When they were casting the role of Johnny Depp’s father in the sequel, they naturally turned to Keith. He ended up doing it but the story goes that his first response to the offer was, ‘Why don’t you get Chris Doyle?’

I don’t know if it’s actually true but it is a great story. ■ Edwin P. Sallan / InterAksyon.com / August 28, 2013 / 12:30 PM

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September 2013 – No. 17 • UK & Europe Edition

Blue Ribbon seeks document on legislators’ endorsements as legal question arises on NGOs’ role MANILA, Philippines - The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on Thursday directed the presentation of documents proving that some legislators endorsed certain non-government organizations (NGOs) to receive fund allocations.

This, as the Commission on Audit (COA) chair asserted there is no law allowing implementing agencies to transfer funds to non-government organizations—a claim that raised questions about how this impacts dozens of NGOs being tapped to carry out projects for government, but not tainted with PDAF misuse or linked to the Janet Napoles group.

“We are trying to trace where, in the process of releasing the PDAF, does the opportunity to divert the fund come in.

The chain of procedures in the release of the PDAF is implemented to ensure accountability. We learned today that there are instances where key procedures were bypassed to ensure that specific NGOs be the beneficiary of the PDAF. We must determine whether this action is illegal. It may be irregular, but we must determine

whether the law was violated,” said Senator Teofisto “TG” Guingona III, who chairs the panel.

It is Republic Act 9184, the Procurement Act, that provides guidance on NGO participation in government projects.

Sec. 53.11. of the RA 9184’s Implementing Rules and Regulations provides for: “NGO Participation. When an appropriation law or ordinance earmarks an amount to be specifically contracted out to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), the procuring entity may enter into a Memorandum of Agreement with an NGO, subject to guidelines to be issued by the GPPB.” During discussions following her presentation, COA chair Grace Pulido Tan said there is no existing law that allows the transfer of public funds to NGOs. Guingona, at one point, asked PulidoTan: “You discovered that some legislators would request the transfer of the funds from the implementing agency to the specific NGO. Yung paglipat from the implementing agency to the NGO, legal po ba ito [Is that

transfer from the IA to the NGO legal]?”

The COA chief replied, “sa amin pong pagsusuri and in our legal opinion, wala po kaming nakitang batas o ordinance na nagbibigay ng authority para po sa paglipat sa pondo ng bayan [From our study and our legal opinion, there is no law or ordinance that authorizes the transfer of public funds] from a government agency to a private corporation like an NGO.” “As a matter of fact, [this is contained in the] implementing rules of RA 9184 or the Government Procurement Act, being implemented by the DBM.” This, said PulidoTan, “also set the conditions that the fund transfer to NGOs is allowed only if there is an appropriation or ordinance earmarking or authorizing the contracting out of government funds to NGOs. In our opinion as auditors [the transfer of funds from] implementing agencies to the NGOs [is not allowed by law].”

Guingona pointed out in a flow chart that the legislators should submit to the Department of Budget and Management their recommendation of allotment of

Cairo’s envoy: No Filipinos will leave Egypt

MANILA - Despite an alert level 4 requiring the mandatory repatriation of Filipino workers, the Egyptian ambassador to the Philippines said Thursday this extreme option was unnecessary, and assured authorities their nationals will be safe despite the spiral of violence in that country.

“No Filipinos will leave Egypt,” Ambassador Mahmoud Mostafa Ahmed said at a news conference, amid the widespread violence that prompted Manila earlier to impose crisis alert level 4, which bars further deployment of overseas Filipino workers and the repatriation of those already in Egypt.

Some 6,000 Filipinos are in that country, which has teetered on the edge of civil war following massive protests— and a subsequent brutal crackdown—by supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi.

In a press briefing at the Egyptian Embassy in Makati City, Ahmed told reporters the 6,000 Filipinos are satisfied about working in Egypt and even “enjoying protection” from the Cairo government.

Ahmed said: “You have to know this, no Filipinos will leave Egypt. They are happy there. They are not going to leave. Egypt is better than other Arab countries.”

In fact, he added, “we are very sensitive about foreigners; if they seek help from our police we come rushing to help them.”

Ahmed admitted frowning on the decision of the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs to raise alert level 4, but added he could “respect and understand” it as the call of the DFA in order to protect Filipinos from harm.

Only the Philippines and Thailand have resorted to repatriating their citizens, he said, noting that the American and European governments only issued a travel alert warning.

So far, only five Filipinos have already availed of the repatriation program activated by the Philippine government. A batch of 15 OFWs are expected to arrive on

An Egyptian man grieves over a victim of the brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters in this AFP file photo.

August 31, while nine are leaving Cairo on September 1.

Ahmed sees the situation in Egypt stabilizing by next week, after the arrest of the pro-Morsi Muslim Brotherhood supreme leader Mohammed Badie last week.

War on terrorists. What is happening in Egypt is not rooted in “political clashes” but a “war against the terrorists”, said Ahmed.

“We are not saying that we are living in a paradise… but what I say, the situation is still under control… the government is trying to contain the situation by any means, they are all Egyptians, we are dealing with them according to the law, no revenge, the policy of revenge, the spirit of revenge is not existing,” Ahmed said.

Tens of thousands of members of the Muslim Brotherhood, believed to be supporters of the deposed Morsi—the first democratically elected leader of the Arab nation—have been holding campouts, prompting the government of interim President Hazem Beblawi to disperse them violently and declare a month-long state of emergency.

Some 230 members of the Brotherhood were killed, said the government, but the group claimed the number if closer to 2,000.

The international community had condemned the brutality of the crackdown.

However, Ahmed said, media reports

focused only on the members of the Brotherhood who died, while ignoring the loss of lives in the ranks of policemen, soldiers and military officials.

“They did not look the other side; they did not look at the burning churches, they did not look at the casualties of our policemen, at this moment while I am talking to you, there are more than 200 policemen who were killed,” Ahmed said.

Ahmed said the Egyptian interim government is ready for negotiations with the group, but will not reinstate Morsi as the Brotherhood demanded.

The violence in Egypt prompted the DFA to raise alert level 3 there on August 15 and then alert level 4 just five days later. Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario visited Cairo two times this month to assess the situation.

The interim government will do everything possible to protect Filipinos working and residing in Egypt, said Ahmed.

All exit routes in the country are all “working normally,” and those who wish to be repatriated won’t have a hard time flying out of Egypt, he added.

Still, the situation is “under control” and the interim government is bent on carrying out its plan of establishing a democratic society based on its nine-month implementation of the roadmap. ■ Pots de Leon / InterAksyon.com / August 29, 2013 / 05:40 PM

Blue Ribbon committee chairman Sen. Teofisto Guingona III (center) and other senators listen to the testimony of COA chair Grace Pulido-Tan (back to camera) during Thursday’s hearing on the P10-billion pork barrel scam. ©Senate PRIB/Joseph Vidal

PDAF. The DBM must then submit a Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) to a government implementing agency. The implementing agency must then submit the project for bidding.

It was bared in the proceedings that certain legislators would issue endorsement letters directly to the implementing

agencies, telling the latter to allot funds to specific NGOs. “We are just hitting the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. We need to find the flaws in the system and find appropriate measures to end misuse of public funds,” Guingona added. ■ Ernie Reyes / InterAksyon.com / August 29, 2013 / Updated 08:13 PM

Cebu oil spill damages P6.5 million worth of mangroves ABOUT P6.5 million worth of mangroves in the town of Cordova in Cebu have been “fully damaged” by the oil spill caused by the collision of ferry boats last August 16.

This was the reason why the Cordova town mayor declared a state of calamity, which is still in force as of August 28, Dr. Simeon Rocel, Environment Department’s Region 7 coastal and marine management chief, told GMA News Online in a phone interview on Wednesday.

Damage to mangroves. Out of 13 barangays, 11 coastal areas are still affected by the oil spill.

“Mayroong 380 hectares of mangrove na na-damage through the oil spill,” explained Rocel. “The Mangroves were coated with oil slick. Hindi ko alam ang chances na mabuhay pa rin ang mga ito kaya hanggang ngayon under observation pa,” he noted citing that some of the mangroves were covered with oil from the “roots to leaves,” causing the plants’ suffocation.

“Sa initial assessment ng DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources), P6.5 million ang damage to mangroves dahil sa oil spill,” he added.

Mangroves are the nurseries and feeding grounds of small fish and, without these, other ecosystems will die, he said.

Fisherfolk also affected. Rocel stated that Cordova’s main livelihood—fishing— is deeply affected. Townsfolk’s fish cages were also affected because fish cannot survive. “Kaunti ang nahuhuling isda at walang mabubuhay na isda [sa fishcage]…

Maraming dead fish ang lumilitaw.”

To augment their livelihood, fisherfolk were contracted for P200 a day as laborers to the oil spill clean up.

As of this posting, Rocel noted that there is still some oil leaking from the sunken M/V St. Thomas Aquinas.

‘Relatively light’ damage? The 2GO Group, operators of the sunken ship, reported that experts had assessed the oil spill damage to the town of Cordova as “relatively light.”

“Although the contamination covered a relatively large area of where the mangroves are, oiling appeared relatively light,” Nicky Cariglia, technical adviser at International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Ltd of London, said in a statement. 2GO commissioned ITOPF to provide damage assessment.

However, Cariglia noted that they have yet to undertake further boat surveys and studies “to gain a better understanding of the organizational structure and activities and exactly how and by whom the oil waste will be processed.”

Disaster recap. Last August 16, the passenger ship M/V St. Thomas Aquinas collided with the cargo vessel Sulpicio Express 7, killing about 82 people, with 55 others still missing.

The sunken ship was loaded with 120,000 liters of bunker fuel, 20,000 liters of lube oil, and 20,000 liters of Diesel.

Authorities are now studying ways to remove the sunken ship, as it threatens to leak more fuel, a report from Agence France-Presse said. ■ Rouchelle R. Dinglasan /

VC/TJD, GMA News / August 28, 2013 / 6:13 PM

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September 2013 – No. 17 • UK & Europe Edition

4th DFA Consular Office in Metro Manila Opens in Metro Gaisano Alabang THE Department of Foreign Affairs opened its fourth consular office in Metro Manila at the Metro Gaisano Department Store in Alabang Town Center.

DFA Secretary Albert F. Del Rosario graced the event as guest of honor and speaker.

The opening of new satellite consular offices and the transfer of Regional Consular Offices (RCOs) in malls is in line with President Benigno S. Aquino III’s PublicPrivate Partnership (PPP) Agenda and with the view to make consular services more accessible and convenient to Filipinos.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs is among the government agencies at the vanguard of this PPP policy. Having been in the private sector myself, I see that the synergy between public and private efforts and the sharing of resources and expertise plus the right policy environment hold the key to the successful implementation of sustainable government projects,” Secretary Del Rosario said during the inauguration ceremony.

DFA Undersecretary Rafael E. Seguis, Office of Consular Affairs Assistant Secretary Jaime Victor B. Ledda, Office of Personnel and Administrative Service Assistant Secretary Melita S. Thomeczek, Department Legislative Liaison Unit Assistant Secretary Victoriano M. Lecaros and Public Information Services Unit

(From left) Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Jaime Victor Ledda, Muntinlupa City Councilor, Muntinlupa Mayor Jaime Fresnedi, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario, Engr. Frank Gaisano (CEO and Chairman, Vicsal Delepment Corp.), Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Administration Rafael Seguis.

Assistant Secretary Raul S. Hernandez also attended the event.

Metro Gaisano Department Store executives headed by Engr. Frank Gaisano, Chairman and CEO of Vicsal Development Corporation; and Mr. Eduardo Ponce, President and COO of Metro Retail Store also witnessed the inauguration ceremony.

The opening of the newest DFA Satellite consular office was also attended by Mayor Jaime Fresnedi of Muntinlupa City.

DFA-NCR South is open to the public from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Mondays to Saturdays.

DFA-NCR South, conveniently located at the fourth level of Metro Gaisano Department

Store, accepts new passport applications, passport renewal and replacement of lost passports and provides authentication services.

DFA’s newest consular office aims to cater to applicants in the southern part of Metro Manila and adjacent provinces. DFANCR South is headed by OIC Ms. Ava Elsa B. Arcilla.

Passport application appointment to DFA-NCR South can be made by logging on www.passport.com.ph or by calling the Passport Hotline at 737-1000. Setting up an appointment online or through telephone is free of charge. ■ August 23, 2013

(From left) Assistant Secretary Ledda, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for Personnel and Administrative Services Melita Sta. Maria-Thomeczek, Undersecretary Seguis, Engr. Gaisano (CEO and Chairman, Vicsal Development Corp.), Mr. Eduardo Ponce (President and COO, Metro Retail Store).

President Aquino hails as timely the holding of the 8th East Asia Conference on Competition Law and Policy in Manila

(From left) Mr. Lauro Punzalan of ACB, ASEAN Assistant Secretary Teresita Barsana, ACB Director Clarissa Arrida, Secretary Albert del Rosario and Executive Director Roberto Oliva.

ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) Executive Director Call on Secretary Albert del Rosario FOREIGN Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario received Atty. Roberto Oliva, Executive Director of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) on August 23.

Atty. Oliva assumed the position as Executive Director last April 22. He bested applicants from other ASEAN Member States. Atty. Oliva underscored the significance of the present and future collaboration between ACB and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Secretary del Rosario reassured Atty.

Oliva of the DFA’s continued cooperation

with ACB on matters concerning the protection and the conservation of biodiversity.

The ACB was established in 2005. It acts as an intergovernmental organization to facilitate cooperation and coordination among the ASEAN Member States and regional and international organizations in the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity as well as the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from such use in the ASEAN Region. ■ August 27, 2013

PRESIDENT Benigno S. Aquino III hailed as “timely” the holding in Manila of the 8th East Asia Conference on Competition Law and Policy, an open event for key high-level officials of competition agencies, to further advocate the importance of competition policy and promote competition and a level playing field in the market.

In his speech delivered at the Mindanao Ballroom of the Sofitel Philippine Plaza in Pasay City on Wednesday, the President lauded the participants from at least 8 countries as they begin their task of discussing ways to create fair trade between themselves and within their respective countries.

“This is precisely why this conference is timely. All of you are gathered here to talk about what can be done to create a fair, level playing field,” the President said.

“All of you here are, in some way, subscribed to the idea that true, inclusive economic growth can only be achieved

by pursuing a healthy competitive environment—one that stokes the natural human drive to compete—to work hard, to innovate, and to create something of worth,” he added.

He said the Philippines is one with the advocacy of the conference and is reflected in the reforms implemented by his administration to “create a business environment conducive to competition.”

These, the President said, include the establishment of the National Competetiveness Council to monitor our competetiveness policies; easing rules and processes for companies to start businesses here; liberalizing the airline industry to allow other carriers to service the country; and the passage of the Common Carriers Tax Law, which will exempt all international air and shipping carriers from paying the three percent common carriers tax on receipts and income derived from transporting passengers.

“These policies, among others, makes it clear: The Philippine government—and the Filipino people—is fully committed to fostering a level playing field. We are doing this because it is one of the most critical pathways to economic growth; we are doing this because we know our entrepreneurs and our work force have the work ethic and the creativity to succeed in any environment.,” the President said.

“Indeed, competition is vital to the growth of any nation. In fact, it is vital to the growth of the world economy, and even to the technological breakthroughs that have, time and again, pushed human civilization into its next great age. And the discussions you will be having here will be essential in continuing that tradition of growth and innovation. I am hopeful that you will take the time to share your ideas and to listen to the ideas of others, all with the vision of how we can best improve Asia’s—and the world’s—competitive landscape,” he added. ■ August 28, 2013

PHL Ambassador Walks for the Poor

Walk for the Poor. Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. (in red jacket) and Mrs. Victoria Cuisia took part in ANCOP’s 2013 Global Walk for the Poor, which was held at the Tucker Road Sports Complex in Fort Washington, Maryland last August 24. The annual event aims to “raise awareness and funds for the poorest of the poor in the Philippines.” Participants walked three miles, with the funds raised going to ANCOP’s programs that include educational scholarships, housing communities, and health-related projects. ©Philippine Embassy/Emil T. Fernandez

September 2013 – No. 17 • UK & Europe Edition

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Ang Nababasa ni Pepe: A Humble Breakthrough

IT started with an ambitious dream. A dream that, when he learned to live with and stick at, slowly turned into a reality right before his eyes.

How it all began. Elijah’s prime motivation and inspiration was Myla, his sister, who had been battling against lymphoma cancer and now, undergoing some series of tests for full recovery. Very eager to sustain for his sister’s diagnostic exams and positively winning the battle, he planned of directing and making an “Indie Film” in collaboration with a Filipino-Spanish director. The supposed film revolved around an inspiring theme, that was, to uplift the spirit of Filipinos, on not to lose hope when big challenges would come along the way. But as soon as scripts and scenes were made and outlined, came his problem with casting.

This paved way to creating his first book instead, where he could eventually narrate his experiences about living in a foreign land and at the same time, he could express his own thoughts and views on what was happening around him.

Behind those sheets. As a beginner in the field, it was never easy for him to understand what he really wanted for his readers. He also feared on not meeting what they might expect of him and his output. But ‘giving up’ was never his thing. He made some researches, tapped various friends for suggestions and even reached out to few known writers to whom he gained great insights for his book.

To get more focused, he locked himself out from all social networking sites, especially facebook, for a few months. Along with it were some matters about her sister’s situation and his difficulties to survive in London. He felt down and even got sick in the process but support coming from family and friends made him more determined to finish what he had started. He worked his own

way out—from finding trusted editors, searching for low-cost publishers, and even to getting sponsors! He learned them all the hard way.

The Reviews. Ang Nababasa ni Pepe is a compilation of stories, teachings and lessons learned by the author from his experiences and exciting adventures overseas—from the moment he first stepped into the foreign land, to meeting friends, making conversations and simple talks and to dealing with varieties of people at work. It is created is such a manner that one can really visualize, feel and easily grasp the message. The book is an integration of happy, dramatic, playful and unique stories intended to complement with and instantly connect to the readers.

Manila Bulletin, J. Fernandez puts it, “Nakakatawa, nakakaaliw, mapupulutan ng maraming aral. Tunay mong mauunawaan ang hirap at ligaya ng pakikipagsapalaran sa mga nababasa ni Pepe. (Funny, entertaining, you will learn many lessons. You will truly understand the hardship and happiness to journeying life in Nababasa ni Pepe.)”

A known writer, psychlogist and therapist, Dr. Margarita Holmes says, “You get to learn a lot from the author’s experiences, all from different views— anthropologically, sociologically/ economically and psychologically. Truly funny and heart-warming…certainly very interesting and I love it!”

Phillip Salvador Palmos, writer, singer, advocate, actor/stage manager in Tanghalang Pilipino added, “A story of hope, perseverance, determination and love. A book that celebrates every Pepe in every country and in every side of the world. A book that speaks of our common humanity and proved once again that the youth is the future of our struggling but beautiful country.” ”Creative and curious. It will help even young people to understand and

appreciate the adventures of Filipinos overseas,” describes Pebbles Badillo Sanchez, Youth Empowerment Advocate and the Team Leader of Greeneration Philippines, a climate change awareness campaign for the youth of the Office of the President—Philippine Climate Change Commission.

The Author. I have known Elija Paul Villanueva for almost five years, for which I have only personally seen him twice or thrice and talked to him just once.

Though we had no formal introduction, we became acquainted through a highly-regarded youth organization in the Philippines, of which both of us were members then. In addition, social networking sites, as facebook and emails, enabled us to continually reach out to each other through which we

formed a type of bond and friendship over the years.

He is a great man. He simply dreams big and works hard for them. Few of the things I admire him the most are his overflowing positivity and determination, and his love for his family. And I believe everyone who knows him definitely sees his sacrifices to provide for his family in the Philippines, most especially for her sister, Myla. Not only that, he has been a sponsor to charities and foundations in his homeland, too. He has been a youth advocate since then—a leader to some youth organizations and once a global ambassador towards uplifting the rights of the youth.

He stays humble in spite of his achievements. With the kind of circle he has—local and global movements and groups, he’ll definitely win Mr. Congeniality. Plus the fact that he easily finds friends and truly values them. He has roamed around United Kingdom and you always find him leaving smiles to people’s faces along the way.

He is a professional photographer.

It has been his passion and fascination to appreciate beauty even in broken structures and crooked lines. He sees beyond just simple hues and puts colour to dull whites, while calmness to strong shades. He gained excellence in his skill after few years of practicing it over United Kingdoms’ amazing architectures and overwhelming landscapes. He then started to capture portraits of renowned models and prominent people, while also being invited to cover big events and special activities within and outside United Kingdom A Valuable Piece. Through his book he is able to show that Filipinos, young and old alike, can easily adapt to someone’s culture without sacrificing his own principles and values. We will learn

how the author dealt with the difficult times and how he looked for ways beyond the unimaginable; on how he saw every hardship as an opportunity to go further with all positivity and courage.

One important note about the book is that, most of the words used are in Filipino and it is written informally just like a casual conversation between the author and his reader. It is produced for entertainment, like a story teller slowly reading to his listeners. Stories are made light and in the simplest way possible for easy comprehension that even little children can enjoy.

The author primarily created the book, not only to support his sister’s medical needs, but also to share his wonderful experiences and how he, as a youth of the new generation, has struggled abroad like others. His aim is to simply acquaint his fellowmen on the new things, prepare us for greater challenge over the unexpected and test our readiness on living in a different environment. This book simply invites us to walk with the writer in his journey towards discovering life and as we go along, we better understand his every step and turn.

This is definitely the kind of book everyone must have, a good read and a rare find. It is absolutely a great time to support and celebrate the success of a fellow countryman, adding to thousands of reasons why we must always feel proud to be Filipino.

Book launching will simultaneously happen sometime in September this year, in London, United Kingdom and in the Philippines. At the same time, copies will be available worldwide through www.amazon.com. For more information please contact him at: www. elijahpaulvillanueva.com and through his mobile 07414 924 303. ■

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September 2013 – No. 17 • UK & Europe Edition

POEA: Recruiters face penalty if they can’t protect household workers RECRUITERS who deploy household service workers abroad will face penalties if they fail to extend enough protection to the overseas Filipino workers, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) warned.

POEA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said recruitment agencies that go around POEA rules may be opening the door to violence, abuse or contract violations by employers against the HSWs.

Cacdac also reminded recruitment agencies to ensure only HSWs with required skills are deployed, and are properly documented.

“We should know by now that unskilled workers and those who have no legal documents for work overseas are more prone to harassment and maltreatment,” he said.

In a news release, Cacdac said violations may mean the cancellation or suspension

of the licenses of the recruitment agencies concerned.

On the other hand, Cacdac noted legal and contractual obligations include: • humane treatment • payment of salaries and benefits • notification of the Philippine embassy about any significant development that may affect the condition of domestic workers.

Also, the recruitment agency must assist in the settlement of disputes and

report significant or important situations experienced by a deployed HSW to the POEA. Shortcuts. Cacdac noted some recruiters take shortcuts in the placement process by getting another agency to deploy its workers.

Others pass off a domestic worker as another type of worker by using fake documents, deployment through the backdoor, or deployment to countries with travel restrictions.

For her part, labor secretary Rosalinda Baldoz reminded recruitment agency owners of their duty to protect HSWs deployed overseas.

“The obligation of a licensed recruitment agency to its hired OFWs does not end upon their deployment to the worksite. The recruitment agency has the continuous obligation to ensure protection of workers, especially domestic workers,” she said. ■ VVP, GMA News / August 29, 2013 / 10:00 AM

Pinoy in US lands in jail for robbing, attacking wife THE Filipino man who was the subject of an extensive manhunt for brutally attacking and robbing his ex-wife on June 30 has been arrested and jailed without bail.

Edmund Manuel, 38, of Bathgate Avenue in the Bronx, N.Y., was apprehended without incident on July 29 at the 104th Precinct, according to a precinct officer, who would not elaborate.

“The case is now in the hands of the Queens DA (District Attorney) and we’re not at liberty to give details anymore,” said the officer.

Queens DA spokeswoman Helen Peterson told the Filipino Reporter that Manuel is now at Rikers Island and had his first court appearance on Aug. 12.

He will remain in jail pending his trial, she added.

Manuel is facing numerous counts of assault, strangulation, robbery, burglary, unlawful imprisonment, grand larceny and criminal contempt, Peterson said.

According to reports, Manuel broke into the home of his ex-wife, Marie Grace Manuel, on 57th Drive in Maspeth at about 3:15 p.m on June 30, tied her down with an extension cord and duct tape, and viciously beat her for several hours while she went in and out of consciousness.

He then reportedly stole her two cell phones, iPad, $1,000 cash, credit and debit cards, and her car following the assault and fled the scene.

The car was recovered by police in the Bronx area with a hammer and duct tape inside the car.

In her deposition, the victim told police she tried to run out of the front door when she saw the suspect barging into her house, but the suspect managed to grab her by the hair, punched her in the face and dragged her into her bedroom.

The victim said the suspect told him, “I’m gonna go to jail anyway, so I might as well get back to you and kill you.”

The victim said once inside the bedroom, the suspect “closed the door and shut the window, then proceeded to repeatedly punch and kick her about the body, and to repeatedly slam her head against the wall.”

The ex-wife also claimed Manuel “produced a sharp object from his pocket and repeatedly slashed her on the face, specifically in the eyes, while repeatedly stating ‘give me your eyes.’”

Manuel then choked the victim “by wrapping an extension cord around her neck and pulling it tight, causing her to have difficulty breathing.”

The victim said the last thing she saw before she passed out was the suspect holding a hammer.

She regained consciousness two hours later, with her hands and feet untied, she said.

104th Precinct Captain Christopher Manson told the Queens Ledger that Manuel was previously arrested for assaulting his ex-wife and twice violating the order of protection she has against him.

The Queens Criminal Court and the Queens Family Court separately issued an order of protection on on behalf of the victim on Jan. 24 and June 13, both ordering Manuel to stay away from his ex-wife at all times.

The orders are in effect until Jan. 23, 2015 and Aug. 12, 2015, respectively.

“He’s an animal with the way he beat her,” Manson was quoted as saying.

“He didn’t just beat her with his fist, but he took an icepick to her eye, slashed her across the eye and now she has a big gash. He’s number one on the manhunt list right now.”

The victim spent four days at Elmhurst General Hospital and had undergone surgery to have her right eyelid reattached and numerous deep lacerations to her face treated.

■ Filipino Reporter / August 24, 2013 / 11:00 AM

PHL nurses in US demand justice for slain colleague FILIPINO nurses in the United States over the weekend demanded justice for a Filipino nurse who was fatally shot in Memphis last July 22.

The nurses made the call during a memorial Mass for Erano Santos at the Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. Saturday, US time.

Last July, Philippine envoys in the US said they were coordinating with Memphis police in the investigations into the fatal shooting of Santos last July 22.

Santos was 33-years-old at the time of his killing.

The Embassy also said it extended assistance to Santos’ kin.

Citing initial information from the Memphis police, the embassy said Santos was a native of Angeles City, Pampanga.

A report on ABC News Radio said the shooting occurred at the Stonebridge Crossing Apartments on Morning Trace Drive.

According to witnesses, Santos was shot during a physical altercation in the complex parking lot, and that his vehicle was taken. ■ DVM, GMA News / August 25, 2013 / 04:57 AM

Songwriting tilts bring out the best in hitmaker Jungee Marcelo DESPITE being already a successful songwriter in his own right, with several big hits to his credit, including Zia Quizon’s “Ako Na Lang” and Daniel Padilla’s “Nasa Yo Na Ang Lahat”, Jungee Marcelo still loves to join songwriting competitions.

“Competitions bring out the best in me.

I like the challenge being put on the table and the camaraderie amongst finalists and the organizers, and I learn something new every time I become part of a contest,” Jungee told InterAksyon in an interview after his entry to the 2nd Philippine Popular Music Festival, “Pansamantagal”, won third prize.

Also a hip hop dance choreographer and dance director who also hosts radio and TV shows as well as live events, Jungee cut his teeth as a gospel songwriter when he was 15 years old. Because of his gospel background, he soon found himself connected with Gary Valenciano for whom he wrote hits like “Hataw Na” and “Muli”.

After an equally fruitful stint as a writer of commercial jingles and theme music for TV shows like the fantasy series, “Kokey”, Jungee hit paydirt when “Ako Na Lang”—a song he wrote for Zia Quizon’s debut album in 2011—became a huge hit and ultimately

won for him Song of the Year honors in the 25th Awit Awards last year.

That inspired Jungee to not just write more songs but participate in songwriting competitions.

While he did not make it among the 14 short-listed finalist when he joined the first PhilPop last year, he had more luck in the 2013 revival of Himig Handog where his entry, “Nasa Yo Na Ang Lahat”, interpreted by teen heartthrob Daniel Padilla won MOR Listener’s Choice, Tambayan 101.9 Listener’s Choice, Star Records CD Buyer’s Choice and the MYX Choice for Best Video.

The success of these two songs were more than enough to re-establish Jungee as one of the country’s top composers.

More songwriting assignments landed on his lap, including two new songs for Zia’s latest album. But PhilPop continued to be on his radar.

“It’s also important for me to know that I still have it, that I can still dish out something interesting for the music industry which I normally can’t under normal album productions or commercial jingles and theme music work environment,” he said.

The second time turned out to be a charm as “Pansamantagal” finally landed

Jungee Marcelo poses after winning Song of the Year for ‘Ako Na Lang’ in last year’s Awit Awards. ©Interaksyon/Rhoy Cobilla

him among this year’s top 12 finalists.

Jungee said the song is about the perennial problem of proper time management of most Pinoys.

“I personally have experienced each and every verse in the song like waiting for my order in a fastfood restaurant, waiting for a meeting, waiting for paper works to get approved and the like,” he said.

“It was in one of my meetings that I heard one of my bosses say about waiting for an approval, ‘Naku sabi nila pansamantala lang daw, eh ang tagal naman, haayyy, ang tawag diyan pansamantagal!’. That sparked something in me to write a song on the word concoction.”

Although the song has a jazzy, soulful feel to it, Jungee said there are also some hip hop and R&B influences in the up tempo number.

Originally designed to be a solo number, Jungee said it was PhilPop’s suggestion for the song to be made into a duet. The “Pansamantagal” ended up being interpreted by the unlikely pairing of acoustic soul singer Julianne Tarroja and bossa nova queen Sitti Navarro.

“The experiment turned out to be well worth it, thank God,” Jungee exclaimed.

“The inspired performances of Julianne and Sitti definitely helped.”

“Pansamantagal” now enjoys airplay in several radio stations. It is also included in the album “PhilPop 2013”, released and distributed by Universal Records Philippines.

In addition, Jungee’s two compositions for Zia are also gaining traction following the release of the latter’s new album.

“The song ‘Bakit Hindi Ka Crush ng Crush Mo’ is very challenging to write but also very rewarding. For the lyrics, I had to research on colloquial terms and the current vernacular of the youth. I also fused light country-jazz elements with current trend acoustic pop styles to meet Zia’s style and the movie’s commercial appeal,” he noted.

Jungee revealed that the other song, “Pasakalye”, the album’s carrier single, is actually his attempt to do a sequel for “Ako Na Lang”.

“It’s a progression from wishful thinking to step one ‘getting-to-know’ stage of courtship. To spice up the music, I chose a progressive yet minimalist acid jazz genre and melodic movement once again to suit Zia’s voice.”

So what’s next for Jungee Marcelo? Can we expect more hit songs in the works from this increasingly prolific hitmaker?

“As long as our good Lord wants me to go on further and compose songs, I would have to depend solely on His blessings to come up with new songs for His greater glory, all by His grace as it has always been.” ■ Edwin P. Sallan / InterAksyon.com / August 27, 2013 / 11:45 AM

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38

SPORTS

www.hello-philippines.com

September 2013 – No. 17 • UK & Europe Edition

Rampaging Fullback: Dreadful pitch nearly turns CLEAR Dream Match ...

Judging from the tweets sent during the game, it appears that the CLEAR Dream Match did what the United Football League is currently trying to do—successfully hook many non-football fans to the game, not just the hardcore fans we see regularly in league play.

It would have been a perfect showcase for the beautiful game; a chance for those admiring the physical attributes of Phil and James (and yes, Daniel Matsunaga and Misagh Bahadoran’s too) to similarly admire the subtle intricacies of the world’s most popular game.

The abysmal conditions in UMak ensured that the latter stages of the game were reduced to a laughing spectacle; one where the use of a fully inflated football is the same as a half-inflated one.

It is no fault of the organizers that copious amounts of rain had fallen on the UMak area as the game went on, the same way that it was not their fault that the field took a battering as continuous rains pounded the metropolis in the days prior. But a scheduled friendly game right smack in the typhoon season surely would have warranted choosing a venue

better suited to these expected conditions?

In the end, what we saw was one game which the referee should have stopped due to unplayable conditions long before the final whistle. But it can be argued that the referee had already decided the outcome of the game early in the game when he sent off Rodrigue Nembot, reducing Team Phil to 10 men.

Even winning goalkeeper Saba Sadeghi Garmaroudi lamented the opposing team’s sending off. “It is a charity match. Why would you give a red card in a charity match? It’s not a serious match!” he said.

“In Iran, if there was a red card shown during a charity match, sometimes they allow another player to come on to maintain 11 players vs. 11 players.”

Adjudged the best goalkeeper of the CLEAR Dream Match two years running, Saba was understandably ecstatic after the match.

“It’s amazing especially this year when Fabio Cannavaro and Dennis Wise—two legends, are here. I did my best and I was lucky to win for the second time.

“The only problem in this year’s game

Continuation from page 40 was the pitch. Last year’s pitch was better.

This year, especially in the second half, it was completely unplayable.

“It is much better next year if they play in a turfed stadium because they spent so much money on this game, but look at the pitch.”

This brings us back nicely to our distinguished guests, Messrs. Fabio Cannavaro and Dennis Wise.

I hope that when fellow football legends Alessandro Nesta, Gigi Buffon, Alex del Piero and John Terry will ask them how their Manila experience was, they will be glowing with admiration describing our famed hospitality and friendliness.

I hope they will be effusive with praise not just for the sincerity and the warmth of the Filipino people who welcomed them with open arms, but also for the growing popularity of football here, aided in no small part by their presence in the second CLEAR Dream Match.

Personally however, I am dreading what Wise will say when asked: “Was that the worst pitch you’ve ever played in, Dennis?” ■ Ryan Fenix / InterAKTV / August 26, 2013 / 06:41 PM

Despite leaving country, star striker Rufo Sanchez still with Stallion, says coach Ernie Nierras SPANISH star striker Rufo Sanchez has apparently left the country despite his stellar performance with Stallion Sta. Lucia last season in the United Football League.

Sanchez led Stallion to the Cup and League crowns and brought home the Golden Boot and the Most Valuable Player awards last season.

But he announced that he has returned to Spain, with his future still uncertain.

“From 16 August didn’t belong to any team. So here I can do whatever I want.

I don’t like the people than speak too much,” Sanchez wrote on his account.

“I hope (to be) back to the Philippines cos i love this country, very soon I will speak about my future.”

Stallion coach Ernie Nierras insisted that the striker is only on vacation and is still with his team.

“All these rumors are just rumors,” Nierras told InterAKTV. “We stand by our contract and what we have.”

Nierras added that some teams are trying to convince Sanchez to walk away from Stallion.

“Some people have been advising

EAC guns for third straight win against Mapua..

The game was supposed to be played last August 22, but NCAA was forced to cancel it due to the heavy floods that hit the country last week.

Sporting a 3-5 win-loss record for eighth place, EAC is riding on a two-game winning run. The Generals beat Arellano, 79-63, in a fight-marred match last August 17 for their second straight victory.

Mapua, which is at the bottom of the standings with a 1-7 slate, is trying to end a six-game slump. The Cardinals’ latest loss came from an 84-64 defeat against

Continuation from page 40 Saint Benilde last August 17.

AksyonTV, TV5’s news and sportsrelated channel, begins live coverage at 4 p.m. Games air over Channel 41 in Metro Manila and Channel 29 in Cebu and Davao on free television, Channel 59 on SKY Cable, and Channel 1 on Cignal Digital TV. Replay of the games will be broadcast over HYPER Channel 53 on Cignal Digital TV. A livestream of the games is also available on InterAKTV. ■ Karl Decena /

InterAKTV / August 28, 2013 / 10:48 PM

Teen Azkals edge Laos to finish ASEAN...

Rufo to break his contract with us.

These people are trying to derail our momentum,” Nierras said. “Other people are just trying to destroy our momentum.”

Global FC is reportedly interested in signing Sanchez, who joined the squad for its Singapore Cup campaign this year.

But Nierras cleared that the deal was only for the duration of the tournament.

“We loaned (him) to Global so people think he moved to Global already,”

Nierras said. “We try to help other teams but some people do not even appreciate what we have been doing.”

Nierras also assured that Sanchez will be back in the country—playing for Stallion—in time for the new UFL season.

“We will be releasing our lineup for the upcoming UFL preseason cup. I promise that Rufo will be on the list,” Nierras said.

■ Karl Decena / InterAKTV / August 26, 2013 / 12:27

AM

The result was almost a repeat of the Teen Azkals’ 2-nil loss to Indonesia last Friday when they conceded one goal apiece in both halves. They also lost to Malaysia, 6-nil, last Wednesday in the tournament opener.

But against Singapore, the Filipinos had a golden chance to score their first goal of the competition after being awarded a penalty kick at the 82nd minute. However, Jeremiah Borlongan’s attempt just went straight to the hands of the Singaporean goalkeeper.

Teen Azkals coach Anto Gonzales said that the squad’s inexperience proved to be too much for them in the tournament.

“I was expecting a better performance from this team considering that they played in the FAM-Frenz tournament,” Gonzales told the competition’s official website.

“But with the limited time that we had and also the level of competition, it was just not to be even though we played better

Continuation from page 40 against Indonesia than we did against Singapore.”

The Filipinos are now out of contention in the tournament after a winless record in three matches to remain stagnant at the bottom of Group A. Indonesia is on top of the bracket, followed by Malaysia, Singapore and Laos.

Only the top two squads will advance to the semifinals to face teams from Group A, which features Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Cambodia and host Myanmar.

The Teen Azkals will face Laos on Tuesday to close out the competition. ■ Karl

Decena / InterAKTV / August 26, 2013 / 12:20 AM

Longtime assistant Gee Abanilla improves to 3-0 record against his former head coaches GEE Abanilla spent many years learning under some of the best coaches in Philippine basketball.

He was an assistant under Ato Agustin at Petron, Yeng Guiao at Barako Bull, and Franz Pumaren at La Salle as those coaches led their respective teams to a title.

Curiously, Abanilla’s first three wins as a PBA head coach came against those three men.

“Hindi ko ma-explain,” Abanilla told InterAKTV in an exclusive interview.

“I have a lot of respect for those coaches—Coach Ato, Coach Yeng, Coach Franz. It’s just that we want our

team to play at a high level. Yun yung objective namin.”

Abanilla deflected much of the credit to his coaching staff, which includes consultant Todd Purves and assistants Leo Austria, Koy Banal, and Biboy Ravanes, along with team manager Siot Tanquingcen.

“I think the coaches are doing a good job in relaying and giving opinions on certain things. It’s working so far. Actually, we defined roles also for the coaches just like what we did for the players,” added Abanilla.

Abanilla started his coaching career as an understudy of Pumaren at La Salle

during the late 1990s.

He later served as an assistant for Guiao at Barako Bull, taking over as interim coach on several occasions.

He later moved to the Boosters, serving under Agustin.

Abanilla said he had an edge when facing his former mentors.

“Of course, I kinda know their tendencies because I admire them also as my coach. Having said that, I picked up some things from them. Those are the good things I want to add to myself.

So, more or less alam ko kung paano sila magri-react,” said Abanilla. ■ Rey Joble / InterAKTV / August 28, 2013 / 10:28 PM

©Sports5/Paul Ryan Tan

SPORTS

September 2013 – No. 17 • UK & Europe Edition

www.hello-philippines.com

No more championship hangover for us, say Alaska Aces after impressive victory THERE’S no more championship hangover for the Alaska Aces.

After starting the Governors’ Cup on a losing note, the Aces played true to form on Wednesday night, demolishing defending champion Rain or Shine, 9479.

For the key members of the Commissioner’s Cup champion squad, it marks the start of a new quest.

“Dapat talaga nasa mindset namin na tapos na yun dahil last conference pa yun,” said guard RJ Jazul. “Para sa amin bagong conference na, different journey.

So very much focused na kami ngayon.”

For center Sonny Thoss, the championship hangover ended as soon as the team began its buildup for the conference.

“It’s over and done with the moment we started getting back to practice,” said slotman Sonny Thoss. “This is a new beginning for us.”

JVee Casio, who bounced back strong against Rain or Shine with a stellar performance of 21 points, five rebounds, and three assists, said there’s not time to celebrate for a conference featuring only ©PBA/Nuki Sabio

a single round elimination phase.

“This is a short conference so we have to play with a sense of urgency,” said Casio. “Our target now is the top four spot.”

Cyrus Baguio echoed his backcourt mate’s thoughts.

“Tawag nga dito sa tournament sprint eh, so dapat tapos na rin yung hangover namin,” said Baguio. “Yung first game namin sa GlobalPort sana wake up call yun sa amin.”

“We learned our lessons sa GlobalPort,” added veteran guard Dondon Hontiveros. “We lost due to breaks of the game, but we also lacked our defensive intensity. May mga details kami sa defense na hindi nasunod. With this win, sana tapos na yung hangover from the championship,” added Hontiveros.

But Nic Belasco, the oldest player in the PBA, believes Alaska isn’t satisfied winning just one title.

“I don’t really see it with this group,” said Belasco. “I still feel that we’re all hungry. We still has a lot to prove because our coach (Luigi Trillo) feels we still have a lot to prove. I don’t think we still feel the championship hangover. We might be a little rusty in the first game, but it didn’t take long for us to get it back.” ■ Rey Joble / InterAKTV /August 28, 2013 / 10:18 PM

39

©Sports5 file/Paolo Papa

Talk ‘N Text coach Norman Black looking forward to return of Gilas players versus Meralco The Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters will be more loaded when they take on the Meralco Bolts on Friday with Gilas Pilipinas stalwarts Jayson Castro, Ranidel De Ocampo, and Larry Fonacier returning to the team.

“We are looking forward to getting three of our Gilas players back versus Meralco as Ranidel, Jayson, and Larry will play,” Black told InterAKTV in a text message.

“Now the goal is to try and improve our game and get some wins. Like everyone else, the goal is to aim for the playoff advantage by finishing in the top half of the standings.”

The fourth Gilas player in the Talk ‘N Text lineup, team captain Jimmy Alapag, is still in the United States to attend his parents’ wedding anniversary.

“Jimmy Alapag will be back for our fifth game,” said Black.

Without its top players, Talk ‘N Text split its first two assignments, defeating Barako Bull in overtime before losing in a blowout against San Mig Coffee. Castro, De Ocampo, and Fonacier are expected to team up with newcomer Sean Anthony to lead the Tropang Texters against the dangerous Bolts, who have lost two straight matches. ■ Rey Joble / InterAKTV / August 29, 2013 /2:45 PM

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sport EAC guns for third straight win against Mapua in lone NCAA seniors battle

EMILIO Aguinaldo College guns for its third straight victory when it battles Mapua in lone NCAA Season 89 seniors matchup on Thursday at The Arena in San Juan.

The Generals take on the Cardinals at 6 p.m. to cap the first round of the tournament.

Continued on page 38

Teen Azkals edge Laos to finish ASEAN Under-16 campaign

THE Philippine national Under-16 football team failed to score in another loss, this time against Singapore, 2-0, to drop its third straight assignment in the 2013 ASEAN Football Federation U-16 Championship Sunday at the Wunna Theikdi Stadium in Naypyidaw, Myanmar.

Continued on page 38

RAMPAGING FULLBACK: DREADFUL PITCH NEARLY TURNS CLEAR DREAM MATCH INTO NIGHTMARE “WAS that the worst pitch you’ve ever played in, Dennis?”

That question was posed to Chelsea legend Dennis Wise after the CLEAR Dream Match last Saturday, which saw James Younghusband and the rest of Team James

avenge last year’s defeat to brother Phil.

The question was never answered, but Wise may have wisely avoiding controversy and was careful not to step on the toes of his gracious hosts. Looking at the state of what was left of the University of Makati football

field, he could undeniably be far from impressed from what he had to endure in his 63 minutes on the field.

The pouring rains over the University of Makati “pitch” ruined what would had started out as a thoroughly entertaining

and interesting game. I have never seen UMak in a good playable condition in recent memory to begin with, but what we saw of the field as the clock neared 90 minutes was a complete shame.

Continued on page 38