ILLUSTRADO Magazine_March 2011

15 MARCH 2011-15 APRIL 2011

50 issue th

WOMEN OF SUBSTANCE 2011 ATYPICAL FILIPINA BALINGKINITA-NOT: THE PLUMP AND PROUD PINAY TITA MOMMY WOMEN AND FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE RELATIONSHIPS: DR. MARGARITA HOLMES & JEREMY BAER BEAUTY X 3 CRUISING DOWN THE MIGHTY YANGTZE THE ANNIE B. CHRONICLES

The

Filipina

EDITOR’S NOTE

Photo by Eros Goze

50 Issues 4 Years of Empowering the Filipina This month marks an exciting landmark for us at Illustrado: our very own golden issue and the fourth year of our Women of Substance advocacy.

We started the latter as a germ of an idea meant to help boost, not only the morale, but also the profile of our women and to provide our own brand of support towards their betterment – in effect, contributing to the empowerment of the Filipina. We have used our core gifts – the earnest drive and enthusiastic ability to spread positivity and progressive proFilipino thinking, celebrating the achievements, strength, the generosity of spirit, delightfulness, beauty and the genuine triumph of Filipina women from different perspectives, to generate inspiration and hope within our community, and to motivate our kababayans to improve upon their lives by providing them great examples.

Why? Because we’ve always believed that our women are so much more than what popular negative stereotypes would tell us, and we know for a fact that our smart, hardworking, strong, fearless, devoted, all smiling-all loving-and-all sacrificing mothers, sisters and friends, deserve to gain due respect and acknowledgment.

Our campaign so far, has honored 22 extraordinary Filipinas from all walks of life, who exemplify achievement, societal contribution and exceptional character, including community leaders, achievers and volunteers, entrepreneurs, social activists, artists, exemplary mothers, survivors, philanthropists, women on the cutting-edge, as well as beauties who promote true, confident Filipina allure. We have also produced the documentary ‘The Empowered Filipina’ a film by award winning director Kamil Roxas on fighting negative Pinay stereotypes, which has touched the minds and hearts of kababayans not only here in the UAE and Gulf, but also the Philippines and different countries around the world. We have spread the message of our advocacy through the help of community volunteers here and from around the globe – with a significant number of individuals and groups carrying and making their own, our hopes and aspirations for the Filipina.

The humble idea has now turned into a movement.

Four years on, a lot of work still has to be done. We have just hit the tip of the iceberg and we can do so much more.

This year, we invite you to celebrate with us, as we honor yet another seven Filipina role models - a young entrepreneur who rose from extreme difficulties; a jet-setting top executive at a renowned global corporation; a community volunteer who has played the role of de facto crime buster; a mother-career woman-socio-civic leader who is the embodiment of grace; a devoted spiritual servant; a creative Pinay motivating young Emiratis to success; and a woman who made Philippine foreign affairs history. Each of these women has their own significant and inspiring journey to share with us.

But the story doesn’t end there.

We need your assistance to carry this advocacy further by pitching in to share the positivity and the drive towards inspiring and motivating our women towards reaching their full potential.

We need your help towards realizing our common dream - to see the Filipina take her rightful place of respect under the sun, standing tall and proud, the image of grace and generosity that we have always known.

My dear Illustrados, we can only do this together.

Taas Noo, Filipino!

LALAINE CHU-BENITEZ Publisher and Editor-in-Chief

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4 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Send your letters to: editor@illustrado.net or join the discussion at Ilustrado Magazine’s Facebook page

with Adam again! The order of the universe has been restored. I… thank…you.

Annie B Fan - Dubai Hello mga kabayan! A shout out to the Filipinos in Dubai! I worked there in 1996 as a Production Analyst for Marmum Dairy Company.

Joe Malicdem – Lingayen, Philippines ………………

On Loving our Kabayans & Ourselves

The XOXO Issue Love, love, love your month of love issue, Illustrado!

Wonderful articles and a piping hot fashion editorial with a really gorgeous male model - please feature more of them hunks! I Heart Illustrado!

Kat Montefrio Thank you for your Editor’s Note – “How do I love Me? Let me count the ways.”

I really needed to read something like that at this time while I’m feeling very low with all the things that are happening around me. I’m a timid and hardworking Pinay with a big heart. People say that kindness is a virtue, but with me somehow, I feel like people are taking my kindness for granted and sometimes, I feel like I am being taken advantage of.

I guess, I already know the solution.

In fact, I’ve heard it so many times from my sissy, every time she gives me a “sermon” but it’s just a hard habit to break. But then again, after reading your note, I really am the only one who can solve my own situation.

So I better set things right. I know you don’t know me, but thank you just the same, for writing a note that went right into my head.

Lady Belle – Dubai, UAE Ohmahgeeh! Sooo soo happy for my fave Annie Batobalani! Back

illustrado Magazine

If you don’t love your own, it’s telling me you don’t love yourself…

You can love your own people without being a victim of jealous souls. Just limit your interaction and do what makes you successful. It doesn’t matter who they are, if they see you as a threat to their pride by being more successful, you will be a target by wagging tongues. Accept it and succeed.

Cheers to all Filipinos...

Lily Arribas – Abu Dhabi, UAE Sometimes we do hate kabayans for their deeds, manners, political views, intellectual incapacity and the worse thing is because of crab mentality. But still when it comes to bad situations, not to mention the calamities, accidents, and etc., the true blood of Filipinos comes out – always ready to lend a hand, whether physically or even financially. So our love and concern for our kabayans is not only lip service, it sincerely comes from within.

Rodell Salvador – Dubai, JUAE So true!!!! I have my own share of stories. As much as I love my kabayans or kababayans, sometimes the way they treat you can really drive you up the wall. I guess there are people who find it easy to take a person from the same nationality for granted because they think it’s an acceptable behavior.

Anonymous

I love Pinoys who are kind hearted and willing to help, lalo na yung mga OFs/ expats na kahit mga sucessful na, napaka humble pa din. I hate Pinoys who are the opposite.

Juliette Casabal – Almaty, Kazakhstan The Philippines is a beautiful country.

Thousands of islands in the Pacific, with almost perfect weather and great people, yet we are the target of envy and have been always bad mouthed. We can show we love ourselves by being proud of who we are and for everything we accomplished in life. My suggestions when we are criticized as a Nation – 1. Confront criticism if it is not warranted 2. Do not let any criticism go unanswered 3. Refute criticism with facts 4. Do not allow to be steamrolled by criticism you don’t deserve it 5. Be assertive in rejecting unwarranted criticism 6. Recognize your strengths 7. Make a list of all your good qualities and never to forget it 8. Look for opportunities to build selfconfidence 9. Large or small - celebrate your successes 10. Celebration is important. Do it often.

A Liza Julao – Miami, Florida You have to love, just to survive...

We cannot love anyone else if we don’t love ourselves; it has to start from within... Taas Noo Filipino!

Dixie Morente – Dubai, UAE A question of Love for Dr. Margarita Holmes: I’ve had relationships with other nationalities and I want to understand why Filipinos are labeled as the most dramatic persons, so much so that we sometimes end up losing some relationships? Are we that sensitive or is that how stone hearted other nationalities are? Please explain.

G A - Dubai Dear GA, Interesting questions! We’ll definitely forward your note to Dr. Holmes.

Ed

CONTRIBUTORS Margarita Go Singco Holmes & Jeremy Baer Margarita Go Singco Holmes is a clinical psychologist and professor at the Department of Psychology, UP Diliman. An author of 17 books, she has recently launched Down to 1: Depression Stories, the first book on clinical depression ever written in the Philippines.

Alfred “Krip” A. Yuson

Krip has co-authored travel books (among these APA Insight Guide to the Philippines and Philippines: Islands of Enchantment). He has earned distinctions as a literary author of over 20 other books — from poetry, short stories, children’s stories, biographies, and translation. A Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature Hall-of-Famer, he has also received the SEAWrite (SouthEast Asia Writer’s) Award from Thai royalty and the UMPIL or Writers’ Union of the Philippines’ Gawad Balagtas for lifetime achievement.

In this month’s issue, Krip writes about the works of art inspired by the power, strength and beauty of the Filipina.

Oxford University law graduate Jeremy Baer worked in banking - the last 16 years as Global Head of Ship Finance at Lloyds TSB Bank in London. He worked very closely with Human Resources in the areas of personal development and self-actualization and for the last six years has been training under Dr. Holmes as a psychotherapist. He is a columnist for OPINYON, a weekly newspaper, and co-hosts an OPINYON radio show with Dr. Holmes. He is currently working on his first book.

In their first column for Illustrado, Margie and Jeremy tackle balancing inter-racial relationships and close Filipino family ties.

Aby Yap Aby believes in the importance of spaghetti, travel, fat cats, and a fast internet connection. Or, if the last one isn’t possible, an extended deadline will almost always do. As a freelance writer, she continually hopes to deliver material that’s both entertaining and thought-provoking.

Her work often touches on stories celebrating the exciting uniqueness, the sheer honesty and humor, of Pinoy culture.

In this issue, Aby writes about the plus-size Pinays — her woes and her coming to terms with loving herself, curves and all.

Mariyah Gaspacho & Cristina Linaza

Nikka Sarthou

Full-time freelance writer Nikka specializes in lifestylerelated features. She has written for various local print and online publications, as well as corporate clients. She is one of the founders of Writer’s Block Philippines, an organization that aims to provide writers an avenue to hone their skills and make them effective communicators, and content manager of OfficiallyPhilippines.com, a website that aims to be the ultimate travel guide to the Philippines. Writing the article, “Atypical Pinay”, where Nikka discovered Filipinas who do not conform to society’s standard of beauty, has reawakened her admiration for those “atypical” Pinays who are confident in their own skin.

Mariyah ‘Mahryska’ Gaspacho and Cristina ‘Tinayums’ Linaza are proud Pinays making a mark in the Dubai fashion industry as photographers and bloggers. Having met several years ago at OPPPS (www.oppps-community.org), they discovered that apart from their common devotion to community volunteer work, they also shared great passion for photography, beauty and fashion. Since then, having built a strong friendship, they have been working side by side, as a powerful team. Recently, they have been chosen as the first duo and first Filipina photographers, to be a part of the exclusive Sandisk Extreme Team of international fashion photographers representing the Middle East.

Ushi Sato

With his forays into fashion, graphic art, and blogging (www.theshadesandscarf.com), multifaceted Ushi Sato has the makings of a design maverick. Ushi works for Warda Couture – Dubai where collaborates to spin his own pop-art take on fashion, accessories, hats and styling. Ushi is also known for his monster shoes creations loved by leading designers in the country. He says, “Design for me is art and fashion is one of the manifestations of art. My approach to designing and styling is very holistic. It always revolves around my philosophy of ‘Art Translated.” In this issue, the perky designer styles the versatile ‘Mariposa’ of Ditas Sandico-Ong to regally clothe our Women of Substance 2011 honorees.

Publisher & Editor-in Chief Lalaine Chu-Benitez Associate Editor Ana Santos CONTRIBUTING WRITERS UAE, Philippines, USA Aby Yap JR Bustamante Anna Lorraine Balita Jude Cartalaba Bernadette Reyes Karen Galarpe Bo Sanchez KC Abalos Carlito Viriña Krip Yuson Chayie Maligalig Lawrence Diche David Poarch Shar Matingka Excel Dyquiangco Toni Loyola Flordeliz Samonte Sonny Guzman Francisco Colayco Vic Lactaoen Isabel Warren Victor Sollorano Isabelo Samonte Ivan Henares Jack Catarata Jesse Edep ART DIRECTORS Tom Bolivar Paula Lorenzo Ron Perez CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS UAE Eros Goze Mariyah Gaspacho Christina Linaza Illuminado Ong CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS PHILIPPINES Dr. Marlon Pecjo Glenn Peter-Perez Filbert Kung Alan Desiderio CONTRIBUTING STYLISTS & FASHION TEAM UAE Zekundo Chu Jessie Tabla Ginno Alducente Ushi Sato PUBLISHER - UAE Illustrado Communications FZ-LLC 2nd Floor, Building 2, P.O. Box 72280 Office 20C Dubai Media City, UAE Tel: +9714 365 4543, 365 4547 Fax:+9714 360 4771 E-mail: admin@illustrado.net, info@illustrado.net Web: www.illustrado.net, www.illustrado.agilaglobal.net PRINTERS PRINTWELL PRINTING LLC P.O. Box 18828 Dubai, UAE Copyright Illustrado Communications FZ-LLC 2006-2011. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Illustrado Communications FZ-LLC.

CONTENTS

64MARCH2011 Pinay beauties Clarita de Quiroz, Tanya Hyde and Sarita Broutin grace Illustrado’s 50th issue cover and our triple hair and make-up treat on page 66.

FEATURES

Deconstructing Maria Clara 12 Atypical Pinay 14 Balingkinita-Not: The Plump AND Proud Pinay 18 Tita Mommy 22 Women of Substance 2011 43 Perla Dulay: On Empowering Filipinas 62

90

REGULAR COLUMNS

REGULAR COLUMNS Editor’s Note 1 Retailers 2 Letters 4 Contributors 6 Contents 7 Illuminati: Women, Beauty & Wellbeing 10 Pinoy Pro 26 Kabuhayan: Mushroom Burger 29 Kabuhayan: Women and Financial Independence 30 Community 32 Spirituality: Get Rid of Toxic Faith 36 NEW: Relationships – Cross Cultural Liaison 38 Illustrado Scrapbook 58 Global Barrio News 74 Onli in da Pilipins: I, Pinay 96 Annie B Chronicles: Super Annie and the Wonder Twins 98

BEAUTY

Beauty x 3 64 Artist Profiles 76

PEOPLE & PLACES

My Pinoy Life In… 80 Trippin’: Five Things To Do this Month 84 Bakasyon Grande: Batanes Up Close 86 Pinoy Planet: Cruising Down the Mighty Yangtze 90 Trippin’: Salon de Ning 94

43

10 ILLUMINATI

Women Beauty

Well-being

By Krip Yuson

It’s only right that this issue’s theme spans that title above (well, minus the equals signs, but then, they appear there as my prerogative, since I like to think I am equal to a few women).

The month of March means commencement exercises in our country, while for the West, it heralds spring. On both counts, a woman is always an end and a beginning. She is also a budding flower after all that cold and misery, a come-hither fragrance that takes over the thaw.

Then too, classic literature tells us that mid-March is all about being cautious: Beware the Ides of March. Was Ol’ Will warning us about women? Every time you lose one, it certainly feels like stabs in the back, from that old posse of Fate.

illustrado Magazine

Beauty lost is well-being suddenly vanished — until we can restart the cycle of hope, and become April’s fools again.

No Woman, No Cry, wailed Bob Marley. We used to sing along, while drowning ourselves in pithy self-pity. But then other melodies picked us up from the dumps, from Marley’s own One Love to all the names for adoration paraded by the Beatles: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Lady Madonna, Dear Prudence, Eleanor Rigby, Julia... And so we wail again, or rather caterwaul, since we do it more happily this time: All You Need is Love, And I Love Her, (You Got To) Hide Your Love Away... until we trace it all back to Elvis’ Love Me Tender.

ILLUMINATI 11 From a man’s point of view, of course, a woman represents the prime, if not primal desideratum, the Significant Other whom we can say to, however cheesily: “You complete me.” Even well before movies gave us the full range of romance, as cavemen, we loutish ones have always been led by our noses to seek out that scent that marks the counterpart that can only make us whole.

Thus is woman often equated with beauty. Somehow our aesthetic sense dovetails with the prodding of our testosterone, sniffing out the call of pheromones.

In our country, the monument to the lovely courage of Gabriela Silang — astride a horse and waving a bolo — off an Ayala Avenue intersection represents one end of the spectrum. Other exemplars exist to fortify our landscape.

A recent addition has been a statue in U.P. Diliman, where students have a new landmark to be fond of, and which they’ve already christened rather cleverly, as “J. Lo.” It’s a sculptural monument, a statue of a robust, naked lady that is seen to be a counterpart or partner for the famous Oblation. Its heroic stance and provocative proportions are likened to those of sexpot Jennifer Lopez, however.

Biology entails beauty, too, as much as it does well-being. We can only evaluate an environment as paradisiacal when there’s a healthy equation between woman, the desired or desirable and man, the desirous. It has always been so, long before Cole Porter convinced us that even birds and bees do it.

Trust the pre-eminent creator of forms and figures, Napoleon “Billy” Abueva, National Artist for Sculpture, to come up with yet another whimsical... no, not statement, but simply a creative expression of an idea.

With our planet’s continuing evolution towards sophistication, why, it’s become even more ideal, with relationships between genders taking on a more equable and equitable mode. Women have chucked off shyness, coyness, and now express their own state of turning desirous. Not only do they know what or whom they want; they will say it, in so many words or as expressive action.

The J. Lo statue is actually titled “Magdangal.” National Artist for Literature Virgilio S. Almario, then Dean of the U.P. College of Arts and Letters, proposed the concept to Billy: create a female form that would signify the Filipina as an active partner, more than just a supportive figure. Mounted in front of the new College of Arts and Letters (CAL) building, the sculpture became the college’s contribution for U.P. Centennial Year 2008.

From the advent of the Looking for Mr. Goodbar syndrome to the current appreciation of the denizens of Cougar Town, indeed, women have come a long way in terms of empowerment.

We all wish, of course, that we could say as much of the ladies who still have to unveil themselves in certain parts of the world.

Otherwise, indeed, women have been holding up half of the sky, even as some men remain brutish, and too one-track-minded in simply fantasizing about holding up women’s petticoats entire — for their vision of heaven.

Oh, but they don’t do those things anymore, do they? Such has been the fashionable march of the times, so that the restrictive corset of the Victorian era has gone the way of the dodo. Why, even brassieres have lost habitual significance for some liberated, up-front women.

What Victorian times have left as a legacy has been pruned down to the essentials, now bearing such brand names as Victoria’s Secret.

Again, technology marries art so as to enshrine woman in all her beauty and well-being.

Speaking of art, nowhere does the conduct of creative activity polish itself to a peak than in the production of sculpture that places the fairer sex on pedestal after pedestal. Why, even an armless Venus de Milo is still beautiful in her classical glory, however partial.

As Billy recounts, he showed “Rio Alma” (Almario’s nom de plume) his first study for the figure — an athletically built Filipina with chest thrust forward and hands poised by her sides, ready to spring to action or lend assistance. Rio suggested that her right hand be transformed into a clenched fist — not raised, but still by her naked side, as a subtle highlight of her bold and brave figure.

Billy complied, and erected the ten-foot-tall sculpture in three months. Made of reinforced concrete and painted bronze, it was unveiled in August 2008. Below the statue, on its high pedestal, is a plaque crediting the partnership between two National Artists, as well as a verse quatrain from the poet-dean.

Below the title “Magdangal,” it reads: “Magbangon ka, aking Mutya/Mula dagat ng dalita,/Pairalin mo sa lupa/ ang tarong, ragsak, at laya.” (“Rise up, my muse, from the sea of misery. Let justice, joy and liberty prevail on earth.”)

Thus is the heroic woman honored in our country. From heroism, too, springs her beauty.

12 FEATURE

Deconstructing

Maria Clara

By By Ana Santos

In Ayala Alabang, home to the rich, famous and powerful, a local ordinance has divided the village. Barangay Ordinance #1 entitled, “Protection of the Unborn Child” prohibits the sale of any form of modern contraception without a prescription. The division is evident in the neighborhood in the banners hung outside homes; some condemning religious bigotry, others proclaiming a pro-life stance.

Both sides site in their arguments the need to protect the lives and health of women and the sanctity of life – but the bone of contention lies in the manner by which these rights are to be upheld. For the pro-lifers, it is chastity abstinence and morality. For those opposed to the ordinance, it is freedom of informed choice and the right to act on that choice without coercion or judgment.

And in the middle is the Filipina, the woman they want to protect, the would-be mother who will someday bring life to a child.

This division, these side by side contradictions, is by no means limited to Ayala Alabang Village. Everywhere we look, there are contradictions; manifestations of our deep seated Madonna/Whore Syndrome complex - from the titillating billboards that feature underwear ads that pepper the city, to the potions and herbal concoctions that promise to bring on delayed period sold outside a church.

It is no surprise that the Filipina of today, tasked to be the gatekeeper of virtue, is confused about the modern values she wants to live by and the traditional values that she, despite this modernity, wants earnestly to preserve.

illustrado Magazine

Both Paragon of Virtue & Woman of Substance The Filipina is lauded for many virtues such as being conservative and modest - mahinhin, they would say in the vernacular. Perhaps reminiscent of Maria Clara, these are traditional values that make us unique as Filipinas.

But the modern day Filipina is, in the same vein, lauded for her fortitude, her ambition and drive that are tempered by her innate ability to show empathy and compassion.

It is an ideal mix of the modern empowered woman who has not lost sight of what also makes her a woman.

Even international surveys have taken note of the long way the Filipina has come, showing everyone that she can take on the world. The World Economic Forum’s 2009 Global Gender Gap Index, which measures economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, political empowerment, health and survival of women, ranked the Philippines number 9 in the world - the only Asian country in the top 10.

FEATURE 13 We were right up there with the first world countries that hold the gold standard for gender equality. Chalk it up to having not one, but two female presidents, to the many women occupying top management positions commanding boardrooms and the fact that girls receive a higher level of education than boys.

The empowerment, coupled with the exposure to Western media, has liberalized the Filipina mindset. Strong, yet compassionate and nurturing; modern in her view, yet traditional in the values she holds dear.

It does sound ideal, but in reality, this makes the Filipina one of the most confused and misunderstood women in the world.

Her own struggle with contradictions, her internal wrestling to come to terms with these values is evident. Thus, it is not at all uncommon to see barely clothed young girls on afternoon TV shows gyrating to tunes about a bulakalak na bumubuka and then taking to the camera to say “Hi” to mama, papa, ate, kuya and their whole barangay.

She wears plunging necklines, short shorts, but covers it up with a shawl. She will engage in intimate relations with a boyfriend, without being fully aware of its ramifications, both on a physical, emotional and psychological level.

Statistics indicate that there are an estimated 3.4 million pregnancies in the Philippines every year, and that half of them are mistimed or unwanted.

Has the Filipina overlooked the need to take control of that one aspect of her life that she should be equally concerned about? Her sexuality?

This is the woman who wouldn’t think twice about making supreme sacrifices to give her family a better life and yet when it comes to negotiating and safeguarding her own reproductive health and her future in relation to it, she is at a loss.

Friend or flirt?

Here in the Gulf, this confused state is often misinterpreted. The Filipina is perceived to be flirtatious, rather than just being friendly.

Her kind smile, innocuous in most other places, is taken as a hint, as an invitation.

Recently, Illustrado conducted a random survey on sexual harassment involving 100 women between the ages of 20 and 50. The results showed that 75 per cent of the respondents admitted they had experienced some form of sexual harassment at some point – ranging from unwanted verbal to physical attention.

There are considerable reports about Filipinas being sexually abused and raped. In some instances, as is in most unfortunate situations, she is blamed - she encouraged advances, she called attention to herself.

The confusion is also often interpreted as naiveté. Worse, ignorance for not knowing how to adapt and understand the nuances of a local culture that is much more conservative than the one back home.

Illustrado Women of Substance 2009 honoree and GeoSciences

Testing Laboratory CEO Engr. Mary Jane Alvero-Al Mahdi cites the results of similar research which show that harassment or assault and other forms of “unwanted gestures” from known or unknown individuals happen, simply because the victims are ignorant or refuse to open their eyes to the reality that these could happen to them and therefore are neither on the guard nor oblivious of their surroundings.

“We can control and prevent all these things from happening if we decide not to let these happen to us,” said Al Mahdi.

The Pinoy Schizo That is the dilemma of the schizophrenic view we have about our sexuality. According to clinical psychologists, there are several different ways in which a person can develop the symptoms of schizophrenia and that “inheritance (genes) is involved in 28% of cases.”

Could we then have truly inherited this giggling-and-blushingon-the-outside-but-writhing-and-raging-on-the-inside from our colonizers?

Clinical studies also show that there is no known cure for schizophrenia.

Or maybe it’s not a cure that we should aspire for, but just acceptance of our humanity and yes, we can all say out loud — our sexuality; that acknowledging our sexuality is the first step to putting it in its proper place, which does not necessarily mean being promiscuous.

At the heart of the matter is the fact that part of accepting our sexuality is recognizing and valuing our options. That we have choices; that we have every right to abstain from sex as well as engage in it. That virtue and chastity, as a matter of personal choice is as much a right, as being sexually active.

This realization must also be coupled with personal accountability and (wo)manning up to the consequences of our decisions. Love, sexual health, motherhood are not things that just come to us by way of fate, but as a matter of destiny.

Like all the successes that the Filipina has achieved, these are things that she must take charge of, because ultimately her future will be shaped by her knowledge and the choices that she makes because of it.

14 FEATURE

Atypical

Pinay

ATYPICAL (adj):

uncharacteristic, nonconforming, uncommon Brown, golden skin. Wild, curly hair. Pudgy — even flat nose. Round hips and legs. Atypical Filipina or in many ways a typical one? Nikka Sarthou inspires us with the stories of real women who may be a far from conforming to the standard of beauty, but have embraced their uniquely Pinoy features.

A nose like any other name

Christina Sapnit 31 years old, Critical Care Nurse

Christina believes that she does not at all conform to the Philippines’ standard of beauty as she is definitely not fair-skinned and her nose is nowhere near pointy. But living in the U.S. for over a decade has taught her to love her golden skin tone. She defines it as being right in the middle of light and dark, which gives off a healthier and glowing appearance. Her healthy-looking skin is actually the envy of her American friends.

Her pudgy nose though is her least favorite body part. She even attempted to improve its appearance using different makeup techniques — to no avail. One time, she even overheard a stranger call her “flat face,” and although it offended her, it did not break her spirit. Christina has finally accepted her Filipino nose — which we most often refer to as pango - which hardly ever bothers her most of the time anymore. She admits that she still sometimes envies girls with high nose bridges when she sees them, but she does not lose sleep over it. She even gets to laugh about the nose issue now! She professes, “My face wouldn’t be my own face without my nose.”

Big and beautiful

Anna Oposa 23 years old, university student Being naturally curvy was one of Anna’s biggest struggles back in high school, as she would get teased about it a lot of times. She had

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a big chest, small waist, big hips, and big thighs — the very opposite of the perception of the typically slim Filipina. It was when she took a creative writing workshop in New York that she finally learned to be more confident about her body image and to love herself as well.

She eventually got tired of being too conscious about her looks and focused on being fit instead of thin.

Anna regularly does yoga, runs, and swims and has learned to accept her curves — all thanks to genetics. Whenever she feels insecurity rearing its ugly head , she just thinks about how her mom, aunts and grandma are with her and how they are amazing, beautiful and successful women — curves and all.

Odd (Wo)man Out

Andrea Macaventa,

29 years old, Staff, Embassy of the Czech Republic Manila Andrea had some issues with being morena as a child, especially when almost everyone in her family was relatively fair-skinned. They would tease her about being the odd one out. But it gave her an

16 FEATURE opportunity to work on the other qualities that she had going for her. There was positive affirmation coming from the other aspects of her life so she felt good, even if she didn’t exactly get endless praises for her looks. At the back of her mind she thought, “I may not be mestiza, but I sure had a lot of other things to offer!”

Due to her father’s overseas posting, she spent most of her teen years growing up and studying alongside other expat kids who were mostly from North America, Europe, and Australia. In that multicultural setting, her unique qualities worked in her favor.

Her smooth, even, tanned skin was envied. Her tomboy ways were celebrated. Andrea’s physical features, personality, character, and interests were socially accepted and appreciated in that environment.

She candidly shares, “And to have spent that stage in my life — those awkward teen years — in a setting where you are socially accepted and your unique qualities rewarded, I was very lucky.”

No Snow White

Diorella Cabagnot 30 years old, Business Processor

Ranjit believes that the definition of beauty for many Filipinas is being fair-skinned, relatively tall, and slim, which is mainly because of western and media influence. Although she is not insecure about her weight, she will no longer be complacent about it either. She is still making an effort to live an active and healthy lifestyle. According to Ranjit, “Self-pity won’t get us anywhere.”

Skin-sational woman

Sally Houlihan 35 years old, wife and stay-at-home mother When she was younger, Sally used to fill up her shopping bags with whitening products. She began using such products because she really thought she needed it and believed that she would look more attractive if she were fair. Also, everyone else was doing it so she thought of joining the bandwagon.

When she moved to Australia though, her tanned skin tone was the topic of conversation among her husband’s family and friends.

They all loved her color so much and even wished that they had a complexion like hers.

Diorella believes that society has a certain mold for what comprises beauty. One is considered beautiful if she were slim, fair, has a pointed nose, and long straight hair. It sometimes sounds so simple; as if those attributes could be bought out of a can.

Looking back at her beauty ritual of slopping on whitening creams, Sally shares, “I think you have to make a decision that you like who you are; that you have to be happy with what you have and even make fun and laugh about it.”

Being morena, Diorella spent most of her youth dreaming of having fairer skin and tried to achieve it by using countless papaya soaps and whitening lotions. As she became older and wiser, Diorella grew to love her natural skin tone and believe in the adage, “Beauty is more than skin-deep.”

Laughing she adds, “It doesn’t hurt to have a good set of friends around you who won’t use your insecurities to put you down.”

For her, even if being whiter and fairer is just a bath away or a pill away, she no longer feels the pressure to conform. Her rationale is simple: “I would rather invest in wellness products like antioxidants or multivitamins, rather than whitening products.”

Cool and confident

Ranjit Basi

31 years old, AVP Marketing, Group Marketing Head When she was twelve years old, Ranjit and her family went to the beach where Ranjit naturally had to don a swimsuit. She distinctly remembers her dad telling her mom, “If you can’t make her lose weight, you can at least make her confident.” Having such parents, Ranjit says allowed her to grow up being comfortable in her skin and with her size.

“I had no early concept that my dark complexion and heavy frame were unacceptable to begin with,”says Ranjit whose childhood memories include being able to swim as long as she wanted. Her mom never told her to stay off the beach because she will get darker.

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Petite sweet dreams

Twinkle Legaspi 30 years old, baker Twinkle wished she could be petite because it seemed to be so feminine.

But Twinkle came to terms with her body image with the realization that, “The only person who can make you feel awkward is you. If you’re comfortable with how you look, and what you wear, so will everyone else around you.”

Twinkle, who owns and manages her own baking business, spends her days thinking of desserts that are as unique and spunky as her.

For example, her chili salt Oreos, combine sweetness and spice to tingle the taste buds. She calls these cookies, which are a hit among her customers, “The Big O”.

Twinkle believes that transforming into something you are not built to be is a full-time job that requires 100% commitment. She frankly shares, “I don’t have the time nor the patience for that, I can think of better things to do with my time like thinking of other delectable desserts.

18 FEATURE

Balingkinita–NOT: The Plum AND Proud Pinay

Photo by: Rae Miranda, Model: Leslie Ann Fiestan

She’s far from the 33-25-35 slim and dainty physique typically perceived of Asian women.

No biggie actually. But in a society which defines beauty with perfectly sculpted cheekbones, a tiny waist and bony limbs, measurements become a biggie a burden for the full-figured Filipina.

She becomes invisible, if not the target of unwanted attention. She’s “napabayaan sa kusina,” “tabachingching,” and “tabatchoy.” She’s egged on during feasts to get more food because “baka kulang pa.”

She can’t go out in sleeveless tops and non-puruntong shorts, or she’ll be compared to “pata tim.”Family and friends joke about her impending due date, often with a warning that she won’t be able to hook a boyfriend or keep a husband. Gym representatives in malls ask her bluntly if she wants to be fit and pretty. Sales staff eye her curiously as she checks out the clothes rack, sometimes apologizing that there’s no size for her in the regular section.

Battle against Bulge

Public school teacher Marnelli Bautista, 31, knows the picture all too well. She started gaining weight way back in college and last year, she reached 217 pounds. People would compliment her pretty face, only

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to remark “What a waste!” afterwards. While Marinelli says she can level-headedly handle the mockery, either for fun or as an insult, it’s when people blame her weight for “misfortunes” that it gets to her.

She explains, “They may not say it out of politeness, but I can feel it especially when they give you the stares and the giggles. Sometimes it can be very hurtful.”

To deal with her insecurity, she decided on a lifestyle change last year.

Braving her colleagues’ challenge to be The Biggest Loser in 10 weeks for the prize of PHP20,000, she took meal supplements and enrolled in gym classes. “I spent a fortune to pressure myself to get my act together or my hard-earned money would just go to waste,” reveals Marinelli. The meal supplements alone, which she took religiously for four months, cost PHP1,100 and was good only for 11 days.

FEATURE 19 It all paid off. She became 24 pounds lighter and performed two belly dance shows for the gym recitals. She also learned to discipline herself: doing daily exercises, watching her diet, checking food labels, and bidding sodas goodbye. She didn’t win the cash, however. But to have earned the respect and admiration of her friends and relatives in the difficult process of losing weight, Marinelli relates, has given her back her self-respect. She adds, “I’ve begun to consider my happiness first and not what others would think of me.”

Fat and Fab

For 19-year-old twins Danah and Stacy Gutierrez of www. theplumpinay.com, a bodyacceptance and appreciation blog that challenges the media’s restricted definition of beauty; fat is just an adjective and shouldn’t hinder plump Pinays from becoming fab.

Erzullie, a plus-size clothing line for women, believe that self-love is key. Their brand is actually the name of the voodoo goddess of self-love, Erzulie. Their advocacy is plus-size women empowerment through fashion. Both plus-size women themselves, 155 pounds and 175 pounds respectively, they disclose that Erzullie was born out of their own need for moderate to high fashion clothes.

Berna, 24, who wished to be slim then thinking it was sexy, vents her frustration over past shopping experiences, “Most of the fashionable clothes that I wanted only fit regular-size women. In my head, it’s like only regular size women are allowed to be fashionable.”

Raisa on the other hand says, “I’ve always wished that I’d be sexy, whatever the essence of the word is,” she discloses. “I’m pretty sure it’s never determined by body type. It’s the feeling that we give off (from ourselves) to others.”

For the two, size, which used to be a drawback, has now become an outlet for creativity and an opportunity to reach out to other plussize women.

Openly admitting to having the “fat genes,” both suffered the effects of trying to lose weight in all ways possible during high school. Stacy was diagnosed with Anorexia-Bulimia for seven months, while Danah became obsessed with dieting.

“But not all these women are insecure about their looks,” argues Berna “More women are now embracing their curves.” Berna declares, “We’re helping other women experience self-love by accepting themselves as plus-size and adorning their beautiful bodies with the right fit of clothes and the proper designs that would enhance their curves more.” The two slam the misconception that plus-size should hide their curves through loose clothing.

One good thing came out of the experience though. They realized they had to fully accept and appreciate their bodies, and encourage others to do the same. On November 29, 2009, they started the blog www. theplumpinay.com. More than just talk about body acceptance and appreciation, it shows fabulous, plump Filipinas who are confident and much comfortable with their bodies. The twins, students at the University of Asia and the Pacific, also blog about plus size fashion tips and even share their unedited photos, fearlessly revealing their bodies’ imperfections.

Erzullie has steadily gained positive feedback since its launch last year through social sites online. With a Holiday collection, followed by a daring Resort collection, and retail in Cinderella at Glorietta 3, as well as at the Backstage Store in Serendra and Sueno in Makati, Raisa and Berna have more plans in store for their line. But first on their list will always be the clothing needs of plus-size women, provided at an affordable price.

The response of their readers from all over the globe is “amazing and overwhelming,” says Stacy. “They often are stumped that we have the boldness and courage to talk about fat without being offended or offensive.”

Their blog, they disclose happily, has over 500 clicks a day and they have nearly a thousand fans on Facebook. They’ve also been featured in various blogs and magazines.

“Women who are like us feel good that finally, they’re being acknowledged,” Stacy remarks on their blog’s success. “It’s a breather for people who’ve been bombarded with fake and much altered images of stick-thin women. What we show is real, and I think that’s what people are craving for nowadays.”

For those who find it hard to accept and appreciate their bodies, she has this advice: “Throw away the magazines. That’s the ultimate source of false beauty ideals.”

Our Fierce Curves

Raisa de Guzman and Berna Cuevas, owners and designers of

Berna continues to be overwhelmed when she sees customers, once desperately looking for the right clothes, leave Erzullie in high spirits. “That made me realize how wonderful it is to be a plus-size woman,” she contemplates.

Raisa sums it up, “Only when we start to love ourselves can we become happy with our lives.”

And feel beautiful, balingkinitan or not.

22 FEATURE

Tita Mommy

By Bernadette Reyes

We call the Overseas Filipinos (OFs) as the “bagong bayani� of our generation. They have forgone countless birthdays, graduations, Christmases and New Years with loved ones to earn a more respectable income hoping to realize their dream of a better life for their family. illustrado Magazine

FEATURE 23

During these occasions they have missed, someone else witnessed their baby’s first step; someone took their role of the putting on a medal around the neck of their graduating son or daughter; someone else put their kids to bed at night. While that someone bears witness to these milestone occasions, unknowingly or not the life of that someone is being altered for a while, at times even longer and sometimes their lives may change forever.

Ahfpr volunteered to look after his four-year-old nephew, Allane Alquiryham Valenzuela whose parents are working in Dubai. Single and jobless at 24, Ahfpr’s life pretty much revolves around Allane as she assumed the role of a foster mother. She would give him a bath, cook for him and bring him to school. On weekends they would play in the park or go to the mall. Wherever she goes Allane is sure to

At 46, Gemma Gliponeo is still single having spent most of her younger years looking after her relatives’ children. When she was 16, Gemma took care of her cousin’s youngest son, Hubert Gobres upon request from her cousin Richelle, who went to work in the US. She also took the role of a nanny to sons and daughters of her other relatives. At first, looking after them was just another job but soon she developed a deeper connection with them.

Gemma admitted her attachment to the children she has mothered took away the best of her years supposedly spent looking for a husband and raising their own children. “Hindi na ako gaanong nakakalabas. Nagkaroon ako ng mga boyfriend pero text-text lang (I don’t often go out anymore. I had several boyfriends but we only communicated through text messaging,)” she said.

Whenever anyone was sick she would have sleepless nights making sure she is able to attend to their needs. Instead of going to the mall during her days off, she would play with her nephews and nieces at home.

Gemma Gliponeo takes care of her cousin’s youngest son, Hubert Gobres

Thirty years later, she no longer thinks about having her own child but worries about who would look after her in her golden years.

“Minsan iniisip ko sino mag-aalaga sakin pagtanda ko. Siguro si LingLing, pinsan ko na inalagaan ko rin anak nya. (Sometimes I think about who will take care of me when I grow old. Maybe Ling-Ling will, she’s my cousin and I took care of her daughter,)” she said.

Unlike Allane’s parents, Ahfpr couldn’t give the financial support he needs yet like a true mother to a son, she wouldn’t have second thoughts about spending her last centavo to buy Allane’s needs if she has money.

While Gemma has given up on finding a lifetime partner, Ahfpr Valenzuela on the other hand hopes her experience taking care of her nephew would be her baptism of fire on married life.

tag along. “Kahit may lakad kami ng barkada ko kasama ko sya (Even if I have to meet friends he goes with me),” she said.

Ahfpr finished a two-year course in Computer Technology and plans to work in Dubai but she won’t have second thoughts about giving up her dream for Allane. “Okay lang na i-give-up ko ang makapagtrabaho sa Dubai kung kinakailangan para sa bata (It’s okay if I give up my plans to work in Dubai should he need me),” she said adding she will

24 FEATURE

never regret her decision as her experience has taught her invaluable lessons about motherhood. “Napamahal na sya sakin.

Tsaka natututo ako sa kanya paano mag alaga ng bata para pag mag-asawa na ako, mas madali na (I’ve come to love him. Besides I learn how to take care of a child so when I get married, it will be easier for me).”

While both Gemma and Afhpr would give up their dreams for a child they have come to love as their own, for Marife Cuadra taking care of her cousin’s son gave her a new perspective about life.

Marife took care of her cousin’s son, Dirk Siron whose mother went to Dubai to work when he was in second grade. She was 16 then. Now 30, she still looks after Dirk who turned 23. Dirk would refer to her as “Ate Fe” but his actions were more like she was a mother to him. Dirk would kiss her before he leaves and would always tell her stories about how his day went when he came back. In turn, she would stand in for Dirk’s mom on graduation day, celebrate his birthdays and cook for him on ordinary days. While Dirk has always known his real mother, it was easier for him to open up to her. “Kapag may kailangan yan sa school, sakin sya magsasabi para sabihin ko sa papa nya (Whenever he needs something for school he will tell me then I will relay it to his father),” she said.

While Marife may not know much about parenthood, she does what she feels is best for Dirk and is proud of what has become of him - thoughtful, disciplined and respectful of elders.

More than learning about motherhood, her experience taught her life lessons about raising her own family. Seeing how difficult it was for Dirk growing up away from his mother, Marife has made a promise to herself. “Hindi ko kaya maging OF kase mahirap magpalaki ng anak kapag wala ang magulang. Yung iba napapariwara. Buti na lang si Dirk mabait at masuniring bata (I don’t want to become an OF because it is difficult to raise a child without the parents.

Others go astray. Good thing Dirk is a good and obedient child),” she said.

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Maintaining a Healthy Parent-Child Relation More Filipinos are reportedly leaving the country in search of the proverbial “land of milk and honey.” In 2009 about 1.42 million Filipinos were deployed, an increase of 15.1 percent from 1.24 million Filipinos deployed in 2008. This number makes up the 11 million OFs all over the world. Saudi Arabia, UAE and Hong Kong were the top three destination countries of OFs in 2009. The top three most popular occupations include household service workers; nurses and waiters, bartenders and related workers. In all three categories, the numbers are made up of more female than male. Child and family studies specialist Dr. Pia Ramos said with more and more Filipino women working overseas, children left under the care of foster mothers are also increasing. Here are some helpful tips on how to maintain a healthy parent-child relation.

Explain why parents have to leave. A number of children of OFs are characterized with low-self esteem, rebellious and resentful of their parents. They need a proper explanation on why their parents have to leave. “Oftentimes parents are focused on the financial needs of their children that they overlook the psychological impact their absence would create,” Dr. Ramos said. OFs should explain to their children why they are leaving and give them assurance that they are coming back. Delegate a close family member to look after the child.

Wait until the children are seven years old and above before working overseas. While the degree of understanding of a child is a case-to-case basis, the formative years of children are upon birth up to seven years old. Said Dr. Ramos, “Once children reach the age of seven, parents can start explaining to their children the need for them to work overseas. Children this age will have a better grasp of what’s happening and foster parents should follow this up once the parents have left.”

Establish frequent communication with children. Facebook, Skype, Yahoo Messenger and the cheaper cost of international texts and calls have paved the way for more and better communication lines between OFs and their children. Low airfares of budget carriers have also allowed OFs to go home more frequently than before. OFs should take advantage of these channels to establish frequent communication with their children and keep them upto-date with each other’s lives. “Parents should always send their latest pictures or use the webcam so their children will have an idea how they look and how their looks may have changed over the years. This will allow them to recognize them as their real parents and distinguish them for their foster parents,” said Dr. Ramos.

Explain the role of the foster parent. Oftentimes foster parents develop a deeper attachment to the children that they sometimes find it difficult to detach themselves once the real parents come back. “It should be clear to the foster parents that their parenting role is temporary and you will eventually come back. Their role is a helping role not a replacement role,’” Dr. Ramos said.

Reintegration will take time. Be patient. When parents come back some children may feel uneasy around them. At times they may deliberately disobey their parents other would say out loud they would rather have their parents away. Dr. Ramos suggests parents should give children the time to adjust because eventually they will. “Keep on trying to win them back. Do not force it. Do little steps until they recognize you and acknowledge your role as their parents.”

26 PINOY PRO Celebrating the Professional Pinoy

Mark Serrano Management Consultant for the Middle East and other Emerging Markets, A.T. Kearney – UAE Mark Serrano is a senior management consultant for one of the world’s top tier consulting firms, A.T. Kearney. Mark finished his Masters in Business Administration at the London Business School, the #1 ranked MBA program in the world.

Mark also spent a semester at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

While he was taking his MBA--which he started at the age of 23Mark worked with private equity firms, investment banks and hedge funds in London and New York.

Mark moved to Dubai in 2006 and has worked closely with CEOs and senior executives in the Middle East across the banking and financial services, telecoms, sovereign wealth funds and government sectors.

When he was based in Manila, Mark worked as an IT consultant after graduating Magna Cum Laude from the University of the Philippines with a degree in Business Economics.

Mark is currently enjoying Dubai with his family – his wife Vida, a lawyer from the Philippines and their 9 month old son, Miguel.

Randy Ramos Recio Company Trainer DHL EXPRESS – UAE If you can imagine a creative free-spirit who has a love for music, innovation, creativity and romanticism, then you would have already met Randy Ramos Recio. The 100% certified Batangueno was educated at De La Salle-Lipa and completed an Accountancy Degree at San Beda College, Mendiola.

His life took an unusual path after graduation, when he joined the world-renowned University of the Philippines Singing Ambassadors group in the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing in 2002.

Seeing the world, meeting a lot of people, getting acquainted with cultural diversity, and rehearsing a repertoire of different international songs made a huge impact on the life of Randy. It led him to eventually explore the world of teaching in 2004 as he became a vocal coach for Center for Pop Music, training aspiring singers to explore and discover their singing abilities and directing concerts.

Randy migrated to Dubai in 2006 and was hired by global express and logistics giant, DHL Express, as a service point agent. After a string of achievements, Randy was promoted to Company Trainer, a position that he holds to date. Ensuring that the service provided at all customer touch points is at a superior level is his primary focus.

Randy is also a volunteer trainer for Overseas Pinoy Professional Photographers Society, a UAE-based group of artists whose primary reason for existence is to elevate the skills of Filipinos in photography.

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Catherine Datugan Senior Marketing Manager Hitachi, Ltd. – UAE Catherine describes herself as “a successful marketer who sees the big picture and identifies tasks that propel product portfolios to top market positions.”

In the daily grind, this Senior Marketing Executive for Hitachi Ltd. crunches data analysis and reports on sales growth. She also oversees the development of advertising and promotional materials for the brand.

Marketing and sales may be a surprising career path for the Biology graduate from De La Salle University, but for Catherine, who is often praised by her colleagues as an achiever, this is not surprising at all.

Ambitious, passionate, hard working and driven, Catherine started out as an Office Administration for Reliv, Philippines in the onset of her career.

Here, she learned to be a practical and analytical team player which then earned her a spot as a Marketing Executive for Creative Labs ME FZE (a subsidiary of Creative Technology Ltd - HQ in Singapore) in Dubai.

Catherine’s career is soaring to new heights — literally and figuratively.

On a regular basis, Catherine is sent abroad for trainings and meetings to analyze and interpret market information via retail audit data. Catherine has already travelled to the United Kingdom, Morocco, Iran, Syria, and China, as well as most of Southeast Asia. .

Currently, Catherine is pursuing a Masters in Business Administration to enhance her knowledge and capabilities in Marketing. She plans become her own boss someday by becoming an entrepreneur.

Rowena Navarro Supervisor – Clarins Skincare, Cosmetics and Perfumes IDE - International Distribution Establishment – UAE Being the only girl among seven siblings, Rowena learned to be competitive at an early age. This natural drive took her from her home in Pampanga, Philippines to Manila where she started her career at Prudential Insurance at the tender age of 18.

Later, Dubai came calling and Rowena took a step into the unknown. She arrived in the emirates 15 years ago, and worked in catering operations with Americana Co. But Rowena found her true passion when she joined the world’s leading skin care brand as Beauty Advisor and Brand Trainer.

It was a role far removed from the environment of the catering business, but Rowena was more than up for the challenge. Since she joined the company in 2000, Rowena is now a supervisor, managing the premium skin care brand, Clarins and is responsible for the day to day operations of over 26 outlets located in Dubai’s most prestigious malls.

Interestingly enough, Rowena says that it is the solid work ethic that she learned during her years in catering that provided her the drive and ambition to succeed in her passion for skincare and beauty.

Rowena dreams of creating her own range of beauty care products and perhaps even open a spa someday. She would also like to bring her expertise and knowledge to the Philippines by establishing a mid-range luxury spa aimed for the general public, so “everybody can enjoy the pleasure of being pampered,” says Rowena.

28 kabuhayan EnTREPREnEuRShIP

Mushroom

Burger

By Bernadette Reyes

From a sale of only one burger on opening day, Mushroom Burger is now selling an average of 1,600 burgers daily. “Kailangan may tiyaga, ganyan ang business (You must have patience, that’s what business is like),” says Alberto Dy, owner of the famous Mushroom Burger fast food restaurant in Tagaytay.

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kabuhayan EnTREPREnEuRShIP 29

If it weren’t for Dy’s patience, he wouldn’t have become the successful entrepreneur that he is today. In 1973 he ventured in his first business producing brine cured ginger but lost PHP1 million. “At that time a car cost only PHP10,000. Imagine how much I lost back then,” he says. Despite his failure, Dy’s appetite for business never went away. In a trip to Taiwan where his father exported lumber back in the day, he learned that he can grow mushroom using sawdust - a common refuse of lumber. “In two weeks I learned the A to Z of the business. I went back to Manila to start growing mushrooms,” he says.

In 1975 he started growing mushroom in a small patch of land in Caloocan. A year later he commenced commercial production, and in 1978 Dy relocated his greenhouse in Tagaytay to house a bigger farm. While his business seemed to have grown fast as mushrooms do, he said introducing mushroom to the Filipino diet was a struggle. “People thought mushrooms are poisonous.

Some are but not all,” he says. Desperate to introduce mushroom in the market, Dy along with two of his workers would go out every night carrying two packs of mushrooms. He’d ask one pack to be cooked in the restaurant to be shared among the customers and the kitchen crew. Before he left, he’d leave behind the other pack with his calling card. “Almost always after I week I get a call asking me to supply them with mushrooms,” says Dy. As his efforts started to pay off, sales picked up exponentially.

From a low of 50kg of mushrooms a day, sales increased to 800kg daily.

Before Dy’s mushrooms found its way on burger buns, his mushrooms was first used as an ingredient in siopao until his friend who happened to be a chef of Philippine Airlines gave him a recipe on how to make a burger patty out of mushrooms. On November 1, 1978 Dy started selling mushroom burger every Sunday under a makeshift tent along Aguinaldo Highway in Tagaytay. During the first day, he sold only one burger in a span of 12 hours. For almost a year, Dy says he couldn’t sell more than four burgers every weekend.

Until one day a customer told him that the mushroom burger was indeed tasty but was priced way too cheap for its quality and the packaging could be improved. It took Dy almost two months to come up with a better packaging and he produced 15,000

pieces for the price of PHP13,000. “I said to myself, ‘If I will sell only five burgers a day it would take me about 11 years before I could ever use up all these wrappers then it would already smell of mold,” he says.

He then thought of increasing his price to PHP4.50 to compete with Tropical Hut, his biggest competitor at the time whose burgers were sold at PHP4.95 each. True enough the right price and the new look drove up sales. Operating hours were extended on weekends and soon the fast food restaurant was open seven days a week.

A graduate of industrial engineer from the University of the Philippines, Diliman, Dy designs the electrical installation of his fast food restaurants. His business prowess on the other hand came from practically observing his father during his youth.

“When I was young as was always with my father, I observed how he managed his business. That’s how I got some of my ideas,” says Dy. Yet putting up a restaurant business was a gamble that he played well. “This whole restaurant thing is totally Greek to me.

Everything I did was based on trial-and-error. If I made a mistake, I changed my approach, then I would try again,” he adds.

Mushroom burgers have come and gone in other fast food restaurants but Dy says nothing beats the original. A healthy alternative to the tradition burger made of beef, Dy’s mushroom burger is 30 percent less in fat content. The menu has expanded from the traditional abalone mushroom patty to include patties made from mixes of different mushrooms. It has also introduced innovative flavors such as the Pinoy Mushroom Burger, an unconventional mix of mushroom and longaniza patty. Dy has also come up with an out-of-the-box dessert using sweet mushroom mixed with gulaman.

Mushroom Burger has branches in West Avenue and Katipunan both in Quezon City. In spite of being surrounded by other fastfood chains, sales of Mushroom Burger in both areas are doing well. Today Mushroom Burger is selling over a thousand burgers a day, but Dy says he will still remember the day he lost a million in a failed business and the date he opened business with one burger sold but he will always treasure one piece of paper from a chef that made all the difference. “I have kept the recipe until now,” he says.

30 kabuhayan money

Women and

Financial Independence

By Francisco J Colayco

In the dictionary, ‘substance’ has several definitions and some of the related adjectives are: dependable, stable, important and significant.

We know that the Filipino family follows a matriarchal system where the mother has a quiet, but decisive role in all matters. Yet as a matter of practice, Filipina women are still considered inferior to males, although this belief is slowly changing.

Talking as a Christian, it probably all started from the teaching in the Bible that Eve was created from the bone of Adam. This is further emphasized in weddings – the thinking that wives should be obedient to their husbands, and husbands should love their wives.

(However, it goes without saying that husbands who love their wives will not require them to be obedient to a point that will harm them.

I just want to clarify this because some women might not like my statement reminding them to be obedient to their husbands.) Finally, the wife is the carrier of the couple’s off springs; the one who goes through the experience of childbirth and raising the children.

husbands will die before them, and that their children will have their own families to support.

On the other hand, those who are not married and are used to being independent tend to forget that their earning capacity will not last forever.

Whatever the case, women should prepare as early as possible for their financial independence when they can no longer work.

There are many options: Educate yourself: Read and study and join as many seminars as possible to be financially literate.

Make a financial plan: From my books, seminars, and workshops, learn to make a financial plan and have a target savings and investment plan.

With all these things in the life of a woman, it is natural that wives will tend to think more of their husbands, children and even parents, before thinking of themselves. This kind of behavior is normally praised by society in general because it shows generosity and charity.

Women tend to behave in the same way, following the example set by their own mothers.

Keep your attitude in check: Keep in mind that parents should not expect support from their children. Educate children so they can support themselves. At the same time, parents should save and invest so that they will not have to depend on their children upon retirement. This should be the case even if only one parent is still alive. Living with children could be an option to make life more convenient for all, but the objective should be for each to still be financially independent.

However, there should be some limit to this kind of behavior. Women who read Illustrado are surely enlightened women who are educated and aware. They are women of substance – characterized as achievers in their careers, while loving and caring for their families and loved ones. They are women who offer many reasons to be honored and looked up to.

Talk it out with those concerned: Take time to communicate with your husband, children and parents and even siblings. Making a financial plan and adhering to it will require that you all share the same goal of being financially independent. This may also require a change in mindset. You may not see the change immediately, but future generations can certainly benefit if the plans start now.

Unfortunately, as I encounter so often, most women, even those who are admired, are not prepared to live a life of financial independence.

Married women who bring in the bulk of the income while they pursue their careers tend to forget that they may eventually be alone.

Studies show that women live longer than men. Therefore, women should prepare as early possible to live a “life alone.” They have to understand and accept that there is a strong chance that their

We discuss these financial plans and issues in our seminars/ workshops.

illustrado Magazine

Join them when you are in Manila and start building your own path to a financially independent and thus, worry-free future. Call us at 6373731 or 6373741 or visit www.colaycofoundation.com Share this information with your family and relatives in Manila so they can help you reach your goal of financial freedom.

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32 COMMUNITY

6th Philippine Participation to Gulfood 2011 Twenty-two local food companies joined the sixth, and so far biggest, Philippine delegation to the 16th Gulf Food Hotel and Equipment Exhibition, the largest food, food service and hospitality event in the Middle East, and Salon Culinaire 2011 on February 27 to March 2, 2011 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Center. The Philippine participation is spearheaded by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in the partnership of the Department of Agriculture - Agribusiness Marketing Assistance Service (DAAMAS).

This year’s participation is in response to the growing demand in the region for Filipino food products, despite tough competition from participating Asian neighbors. “By joining Gulfood, we hope to increase awareness of our brand and expand our network of consumers,” said Gulfood first-timer Brian Tan, General Manager of Bethany Sales, producer of coco vinegar, coco water and snack foods.

The company currently exports to North America and within Asia, and aims to soon successfully penetrate the Middle East.

However, for firms Foodsphere, Inc. and Kwality Philfood, joining Gulfood for the first time more importantly serves to cater to the large group of Filipino migrants living and working in the highlyaffluent oil regions of the Gulf.

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“We have already been exporting to the Middle East for four years, and it’s actually our number one market because of the many Filipinos based there,” said Iyya Ramos of Foodsphere, manufacturer of CDO frozen/processed meat products and San Marino corned tuna.

“Ninety percent of our export market comes from the Middle East, so we have to sustain it,” said Echie Cacnio, Export Manager of Kwality Philfood, maker of fruit preserves and condiments. “We believe that we already have a captured loyal market, and we consider this an advantage because even with the availability of similar products from other countries, Filipinos still look for their own.” The over two million Filipinos in the Middle East are among the large migrant populations in the region.

Other Gulfood participants include: Agri-nurture (juices and fresh fruits); Brandexport Phils. (coconut products, sardines and mackerel, dried mangoes, sauces, condiments and preserves); Celebes Coconut (banana chips); FCG (assorted food products); Florence Foods (preserves, seafood products); Gem Foods (preserves, frozen fruits); Global 88 (pickled fruits and vegetables, condiments); Hi-Las Mktg. (fresh mango, dehydrated tropical fruits and purees); Laura’s Foods (traditional Filipino biscuits); Magicmelt (otap, biscocho, mamon tostado); Marikina Food (bihon); Market Reach (mixes and noodles); Mega Fishing (sardines); Oceanic Exports (cereals, fruit wines, supplements and snacks); Philippine Grocers (noodles, mixes and condiments); Profood (dehydrated tropical fruits, purees); Q-Phil Products (noodles, sweet preserves); RDEX (value-added products, frozen tuna products); and Universal Canning (sardines and mackerels, dried fish).

In 2010 the Philippines generated US$16 million in sales in Gulfood, posting a 4.5% increase from last year’s figures. Buyers from UAE, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, India, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Singapore, Pakistan, China, and Sri Lanka, among others, attended the previous year’s show.

As part of international promotional activities for Philippine food exports, the Philippine participation in Gulfood is also meant to promote the country as a major source of quality food in Asia, as well as attract food buyers to IFEX Philippines, a CITEM-led trade food fair exports scheduled this May. Latest statistics from the Bureau of Export Trade Promotion show that Philippine food exports to the UAE reached US$43.25 million in 2009. For January to November 2010, the Philippines had exported about US$45.07 million worth of foodstuffs to the UAE. Major food exports are fresh fruits, canned tuna and sardines, pasta/ noodles, sauces/spreads, sausages/meat preparations and prepared/ preserved fruits.

For more information on the Philippine participation in Gulfood 2011, log on to www. ifexphilippines.com/gulfood2011 or get in touch with the following UAE contacts: Mr. Jose Ma. Dinsay - Commercial Attaché, Philippine Trade & Investment Center - Embassy of the Philippines, Phone: (+9712) 6396955 or 2236526, Fax: (+9712) 5396954 or 2229588, E-mail: comatdxb@emirates.net.ae, jojiedinsay@yahoo.com or Mr. Gil B. Herico - Agricultural Attache - Consulate General of the Philippines, Phone: (+9714) 2544331, Fax: (+9714) 2544229, E-mail: daagriattdxb@gmail.com, gbherico@gmail. com, gilherico@yahoo.com

34 SUCCESSFUL PINOY SPIRITUALITY

No, I’m not talking about your Brand of Religion. You could be Catholic, BornAgain, Muslim, Buddhist, or Hindu.

It doesn’t matter. In each of these, you could have Toxic Faith. It’s not the Brand of Religion, but the poisonous way you carry out your religion. It poisons you and it poisons others around you.

One of the clear signs that it’s Toxic Faith is that it fuels our hidden addictions.

I know of a significant number of religious persons who are addicted to sex, alcohol, food, anger, materialism, and obviously, to religion itself. But what is Toxic Faith? How do you know if you have Toxic Faith? Let me describe five symptoms of Toxic Faith:

Symptom #1: You Have a Distorted Image of God - He’s Judgmental

One day, a man came up to me and said, “Bo, I’ve been feeling guilty. I feel God is angry at me today…”

“Angry at you? Why?” I asked. “Because I missed my prayer time today. I’m afraid that He’ll punish me and cause bad things to happen today.”

Get Rid of Toxic Faith Does Your Religiosity Worsen Your Hidden Addictions?

By Bo Sanchez

It’s that time of the year when we usually reflect on our faith – how well or how toxic it is. Yes, there is such a thing as toxic faith. Instead of healing, it kills. Instead of blessing, it harms. Instead of giving, it robs. illustrado Magazine

Friends, I know that feeling very well.

Because for years — no, decades — I used to feel this way. I used to pray daily because of fear. Do you know how absurd that is? Imagine a father calling up his son by phone and growling, “Ingrate!

How dare you forget me? You don’t visit me anymore. I’m warning you. I’m going to put a curse on you if you don’t visit me right this minute…”

We call those fathers abusive monsters.

And yet I imagined God to be like that.

Today, I still pray daily, but I do so because I love to pray. God blesses me, nourishes me, and fills my heart with love. If I do miss my prayers, He doesn’t throw lightning bolts on me. When my image of God changed, my whole world changed as well.

SPIRITUALITY SUCCESSFUL PINOY 35

Do You Worship a Judgmental, Wrathful, Vindictive, and Vengeful God? If a person has a distorted image of God, your subconscious beliefs are as follows “God will love me only if I behave.”

“God hates sinners and is angry with me.”

“He wants to punish me. He’s written down all my sins.”

“God is never satisfied with me.”

“If I sin, God will throw me to Hell forever.”

“I’m now sick with cancer. God is punishing me for not being good enough.”

“Our business flopped. God must be punishing me for forgetting Him.” “We just met a car accident. You know why? We failed to pray…”

When you have Toxic Faith, it seems as though God is preoccupied with your sins. All He does the whole day is waiting for you to make a mistake. Your entire relationship is based on shame. He has everincreasing demanding standards, like a target that keeps on moving, and they can never quite satisfy Him.

Symptom #2: You Have a Distorted Faithfulness - You’re Legalistic My friend Melanie ( not her real name) believes that God wants her to pray at the exact time every day — 5:00AM She’d feel very guilty if, because she woke up late or had to do something else, she was forced to pray at 5:30AM To Melanie, that wasn’t honoring God. Toxic Faith produces very faithful people, but its expression of faithfulness is distorted: It’s legalistic and painfully scrupulous.

Legalism in itself is an addiction.

When Melanie was able to keep her 5:00AM prayer each day, she felt good about herself. She felt God accepted her and liked her — so she liked herself too. But she looked down on others who didn’t pray, who prayed late, or who prayed shorter than her. But when she was late with her 5:00AM appointment with God, she was filled with shame. She felt God frowned on her. She felt bad about herself. She was an ungrateful, undisciplined, insect before God. She is the modern-day Pharisee that needs to hear again Jesus’ words: “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees.

Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law — justice, mercy, and faith.”

Are You a Religious Addict?

Legalism can be an addiction. Rigidity can be an addiction. Religiosity

can be an addiction. You can be addicted to anything as long as it can give you an escape from your inner pain. And religion is the easiest thing to be addicted to because it’s something acceptable and highly admired. How do you know if you’re a religious addict? If instead of facing your past wounds or resolving personal issues head on, you ESCAPE from your inner pain by drowning yourself in religious activities — prayer, Bible reading, doctrinal studies, ministry meetings — then most likely you’re a religious addict.

Symptom #3: You Have a Distorted Image of Self You Feel Condemned A person with low self-worth will be damaged by Toxic Faith.

I have talked to many whose language expresses a very negative picture of themselves. They say something like this, “I’m bad. My body is bad. I’m ashamed of myself. God wants me to disregard my feelings (because it’s of the flesh) and give up my valid and legitimate needs (because that’s selfishness).”

Toxic Faith will never allow us to love ourselves. Instead, it will urge us to call ourselves a wretch and a worm — and urge us to treat ourselves that way.

Some people actually pray in this way: “Lord, I’m a worm, a despicable, ugly, sinful worm. I don’t deserve your love. I’m so repulsive in your sight. I’m a beast, an infestation, a virus, a wretch like no other…”

Toxic Faith will distort how you look at yourself. It will also distort the very beliefs you believe in…

Symptom #4: You Have a Distorted Faith You Practice Hyper-Faith

I’m a preacher that gives hope to people. It’s my mission. Every Sunday, I preach to a people that are tired and burdened from the daily grind of life. In our dark world, we need hope badly. So I tell people to dream big dreams and pray for them every day. I tell people that they’re surrounded by God’s abundance — and at anytime, they can tap into that overflowing resource for all that they need. But there’s a thin line that I dare not cross: The realm of Hyper Faith.

Hyper Faith is a common ingredient of Toxic Faith. Hyper Faith preaches, “If you only have faith, all your problems will be solved. If you just believe and pray, God will fix everything magically.”

That’s not true. I tell people that while they’re breathing, problems are a part of life. They don’t disappear just because we’re close to God. But in every problem, God will accompany us.

36 SUCCESSFUL PINOY SPIRITUALITY Real Faith heals, but Toxic Faith kills. How? Let me give you a few examples…

When you don’t get healed, is there something wrong with you?

My friend Ren (not her real name) has cancer. For some time, she’s been praying for healing. One day, she was prayed over by a Pastor of the Hyper-Faith variety. After praying over her, this Pastor declared to her with the authority of an Old Testament prophet, “The only reason why you’re still sick is because you lack faith.”

Ren was devastated. She felt guilty. Sad. Confused. And angry. She felt guilty that she had little faith. She was sad that she couldn’t make it grow after all these years. She was confused because she didn’t know what to do. And she was angry at God that He was giving her healing but placed it beyond the reach of her small faith. But the truth was knew Ren. My friend has great faith. She trusted in God even in the midst of her sickness. But Hyper-Faith will not allow that.

If you want to be wealthy, just tithe?

This is their belief: If you’re close to God, you’ll be healthy and wealthy. You’ll never get sick and you should never be poor.

2. The Leader is punitive, judgmental, and castigating 3. The Leader isn’t accountable to anyone 4. No real Communication between Leaders and Members 5. Members feel it’s their group “Against the World” 6. Members are suffering 7. The priorities taught to members are as follows: Submit to the Leader at all times.

Don’t ask, don’t doubt, don’t think.

Never express feelings except positive ones.

Don’t trust outsiders. (Just listen to our teachings.)

Don’t do anything outside your role.

You need to give money or else.

Protect the image of the organization at all costs.

Jesus said, Beware of the false prophets, who come in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. False prophets don’t have to be cultist leaders or strange guys who call themselves Messiah. When a Leader creates his own exacting standards and tells people that unless they follow them, they’ll not enter the Kingdom of Heaven, he is shutting Heaven’s gates to them. When any leader robs people of their ability to think, controls them by his use of guilt and fear, manipulating them to strengthen his power or to enrich himself, he is a false prophet.

But here’s the big question: Why is it that there are people who tithe and remain poor? Lack of faith again?

Do You Know the Difference Between Toxic Faith and Real Faith?

Here’s why: Because tithing is only one of the keys to prosperity. There are other practical keys that one has to do to become prosperous.

Like what? Like living simply; and saving regularly; and learning how to invest and knowing where to invest.

God comes to us with a lot of gentleness and a bowl of food - the food of His love, the food of His grace.

Here are three other insane beliefs of Toxic Faith I have no time to explain: A strong faith will protect me from problems and pain.

I should accept everything that happens to me as God’s will.

If it’s not in the Bible, it not true or relevant.

There are others, but let me now go to the fifth symptom…

Symptom #5: You’ll Have a Distorted Faith System - You’re Spiritually Abused Toxic Faith is usually supported by a Toxic Faith System, which is spiritually abusive.To find out if your group, family, community, ministry, organization, or church has a Toxic Faith System, look for these 7 Elements: 1. The Leader claims special access to God and maintains control and authoritarian rule

illustrado Magazine

He will not force us to eat His food. He will not impose His power, His rule, His authority over us. Instead, He will wait, patiently and gently, for us to learn to trust Him - day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. When we are ready, He will feed us. When we are ready, He will wrap His arms around us.

That’s the difference between Toxic Faith and Real Faith.

Toxic Faith imagines God as a Judge that condemns and forces us to follow Him, using threats and intimidation. Toxic Faith requires that His followers do the same — impose, judge, label, pull rank, and intimidate.

Real Faith is very different. It imagines God as a someone patiently waiting for a tiger to leave his cave, so He could feed him and caress him. Real Faith requires that His followers do the same — love, forgive, share, care, bless, and serve.

I choose Real Faith. Real Faith heals my addictions. Toxic Faith worsens them.

Choose Real Faith.

38 SUCCESSFUL PINOY RELATIONSHIPS Dear Dr. Holmes and Mr. Baer: I am 32 years old and working as a senior corporate executive in the Middle East. I’ve just gotten engaged to Alan, my British boyfriend of two years, but I have kept my relationship a secret because I did not want to deal with all the prejudice I would be subjected to if they knew I was marrying a foreigner.

Can you believe that the ones who look down most on Filipinas going out with foreigners are Filipinos themselves? They accuse us of being after the money foreigners make. I want to tell them I make my own money and can support myself without anybody’s help. In fact, I earn enough to send all my nieces and nephews back home to La Salle.

It becomes even worse when a Filipina marries a foreigner. They presume all she wants is a foreign passport.

Can you blame me for keeping this relationship a secret both here and in the Philippines? I didn’t want my family to worry so I didn’t tell them about my boyfriend. They are so protective and so far, have found no one good enough for me to marry.

Please help me. Alan insists we’ve waited long enough and now wants to get married. I don’t blame him and I, too, want the same thing. But I don’t know how to do this without the Filipino community here finding out about it and then telling my parents in the province.

Marissa

Dear Marissa,

Cross-Cultural Secret Liaison Each month, husband and wife team - renowned clinical psychologist Dr. Margarita Holmes and Philippine columnist Jeremy Baer, tackle issues on relationships, family, emotional, psychological and OF concerns as told through letters

Being British and a man myself, I find it incomprehensible that marrying a British man could possibly be considered anything less than a stellar choice (joke only). However your concern focuses on what Filipinos will think.

It seems to me that you have been putting the opinion of others ahead of your own happiness. As far as your immediate family and friends are concerned, they can judge for themselves because they know, or will have the opportunity to know, the two people involved in this relationship - you and Alan. They will know if he fits the stereotype of a foreigner wanting a woman who is obedient, feminine and good in bed or is actually a man who appreciates you, Marissa, for your own qualities, which I’m sure are transcend that.

They will also know whether you conform to the stereotype of wanting a foreigner for his money or a passport, or are instead happy with your own money and passport and are simply in love with a man who just happens to be a foreigner.

As for other Filipinos, they will either come to realize as they get to know the two of you that there are no grounds for having such a low opinion of you both, or they will be impervious to the truth in which case there is no way you can change their minds anyway.

illustrado Magazine

RELATIONSHIPS SUCCESSFUL PINOY 39

the reason you told no one about your boyfriend until you were sure he was THE one?

The bottom line is that if you believe that Alan is the love of your life and you want to marry him, you should not put your future happiness at risk just because of the misguided views of others.

Bravo, Marissa!

In realizing that your needs are not necessarily what your family thinks you need (or need themselves), you have taken an important step towards maturity. Is it not logical (albeit painful) that you now take the next? Panindigan mo ang desisyson mo.

I leave it to Dr. Holmes to discuss managing people’s expectations and the broader aspects of the issues you have raised.

Best of luck - JAF Baer

Dear Marissa: Thank you very much for your letter. Mr. Baer has outlined what I will tackle in this column and I shall do as he asked. And no, this is not just because I am eager to misrepresent myself as an obedient wife (joke only).

On managing people’s expectations, first decide how important it is to fulfill the expectations of people. I hope that your basis for deciding is not how society may view you but rather how the people you love (yourself first and foremost) will feel. And even when it comes to that, I hope you learn to be more discerning between what the people you love want for you (and possibly for you alone) and what they may unconsciously, under the guise of merely being protective of you, want for themselves.

Please don’t get me wrong. I am not necessarily saying that your family is selfish in finding no one good enough for you. I have never met them so I haven’t got a clue.

However, I have seen enough Filipino families where one member, usually female, is chosen to be the one who takes care of their parents when they get too old to take care of themselves. And if that family member earns a lot, well, it makes sense to also take care of her nieces and nephews in ways her siblings cannot. Since your siblings, the parents of your nieces and nephews, work in the Philippines, everyone takes for granted you earn more than they and so to them, it makes perfect sense that you pick up the slack. After all, the “designated caregiver” has no children of her own, so “sino pa ang makikinabang sa sueldo niya kundi pamilya niya?”

It’s possible your family didn’t purposely decide that you be the “designated caregiver,” but that doesn’t change the fact that you may have become the one. By virtue of being the only single child left and perhaps the only one “obedient” enough not to let anyone your family might disapprove of get close enough to be a serious suitor, they’ve come to rely on you to make life a lot easier for themselves.

I totally agree that Filipinas make wonderful daughters, sisters and aunts, but please, please, Marissa, learn to distinguish between an objective appraisal of your suitors’ qualities and an unconscious desire to keep you single. Perhaps you already have. Might this be

Why do you quiver and quake about your family’s finding out about your getting married? Most people presume their families would be thrilled to bits!

And while it would be great if your family would feel as happy for you as you’d want them to, well, sometimes you can’t always get what you want.

Actually, you’ve had great practice at that. All these years abroad what you want has always taken second place to what your family expects. Time to unshackle those chains, Marissa. Free yourself from the expectations — even demands! — of people who think they know more about what will make you happy than you yourself do.

However, it doesn’t have to be that way. I so hope your family comes around and supports your decision. I hope they realize that this is actually one of those clichés that can be made true; that in marriage, one is not losing a daughter/sister, but could is actually gaining a son/brother.

At first it will be difficult and even painful. At first you might even blame Alan, although you seem level-headed enough to realize that what may be more responsible for most of the pain is your past, rather than your present.

Wishing you the best of luck, happiness, courage, equanimity and humor, MG Holmes P.S. Your letter also made us wonder: Why is it only our women, and not our men, get criticized when we go out with foreigners?

Why is it mainly women get chosen to be the ones who will take care of parents in their old age - in other words, the tagasalo?

I have no doubt we could have a lively discussion trying to answer the above questions, but due to lack of space, I chose to focus on other aspects of your letter. My excuse: differences in gender relations underlie so many of our behaviors and problems that I am sure this issue will crop up in a future column.

WOMEN OF SUBSTANCE 2011 43

Women of substance 2011

What is the true measure of a Filipina woman of substance?

It is in the choices that she makes The fruits of her labor And the life that she lives well You can see it in the family she nurtures The community she embraces And society where she has proven her worth It is in the principles that she stands for The light and goodness that she exudes And the generosity that wells from her heart Most of all It is in her triumphs despite adversity The true power in her femininity Her fierceness together with her sheer capacity to love This year, Illustrado is proud to honor seven Filipina women, from different walks of life, all of them the epitome of a strong and proud Filipina, and each one representing a certain facet that make her an empowered woman - commitment, ambition, resilience, courage, influence, grace and devotion. “Look closely at the faces of our women on these pages, young and old, peasant and aristocrat. Inspite of the truculence of the times, the banality of our politics, the intransigence of our leaders, despair does not limit their eyes. Hope and joy reside in them, for these are Filipinas who will prevail, whose unhappy country will yet be redeemed by them.�

F. Sionil Jose Novelist, National Artist for Literature Introduction, Filipina: A Tribute to the Filipino Woman

44 WOMEN OF SUBSTANCE 2011

COMMITMENT

Ambassador Ma. Corazon Yap-Bahjin First Muslim Filipina Ambassador “Forget that you are a woman; because dignity and humanity has no gender. Women do not need any special treatment, because we can do it just like everyone else can.”

That philosophy might sound quite radical in a world where specific gender roles – male versus female - are still as distinct as night and day, but for the First Muslim Filipina Ambassador, who considers herself “feminine but not a feminist,” these are just simple truths founded on sound and pragmatic thinking.

Bangkok in 1992 and was promoted to First Secretary in charge of Political Division and Consul and Deputy Representative, ESCAP for the Philippine Embassy there. Her last post before heading the Philippine diplomatic mission in Bahrain was in Xiamen, China as Consul General from 1995-2005.

Ma. Ambassador Corazon Yap-Bahjin made Philippine Foreign Service history when she became the first Filipina Muslim to pass the career Foreign Service Officers’ examination, and then head a diplomatic mission, when she became the Philippine Ambassador to Bahrain in 2009 – the fourth female to have done so in the kingdom.

At the home office, she served as Acting Asst. Secretary of the Office of Consular Affairs in 1999, Asst. Secretary of the Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Coordination 2006-2007 then Asst. Secretary of the Office of Personnel and Administration Services from 2007 to July 2009.

Of Tausug roots, the eldest of two siblings born to highly educated parents – her father was a lawyer and her mother the first Regional Director of CNI (a defunct office in charge of indigenous people in the Philippines) who later became a college professor - Ambassador Yap-Bahjin takes pride in her parents’ legacy of good values. “The pursuit of excellence and hard work has always been a tradition in our family, with both my mother and my father. We were taught to be honest and dedicated, and to be loyal to our service,” she shares.

Asked about her formula for success, the Ambassador credits it all to hard work, her commitment to her profession and her constant pursuit to improve upon herself and the work she did. She explains, “I was never competitive. I only competed with myself.” She furthers, “At the end of the day, if you want to set your target on 80 percent, or 100 percent or even 120 percent, it is all up to you.”

And indeed, her family’s principles put her in good stead, setting her up for a purposeful future. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Education degree at the University of Santo Tomas in 1967, graduating cum laude with a co-major in English and Theology.

In 1974 she finished Master of Arts, major in Social Studies, at the University of the Philippines, and went into a teaching career from 1967 to 1979.

On being the first Muslim Filipina Diplomat, she says that certainly, there are challenges that one faces, not only because of being from a community that is considered a minority back home and one that suffers some negative stereotypes, but being a woman at that – “I have to prove that we also have what it takes to succeed and that we can be as good, if not better, as everybody else. But,” she counters, “in the long run, when it comes to my work, it is really not about me being a Muslim, or me being a woman, it is the work and the service that I am focused on. My output and work do not depend on my religion or gender.”

She joined the Foreign Service in 1979. Rising from the ranks, she started as Acting Director of the Cultural Division of the Office of Islamic Affairs (now the Office on Muslim Affairs). Her first overseas posting was for a Vice Consul’s position in Jeddah in 1986.

Thereafter, she was posted as Second Secretary and Consul at the Philippine Embassy in Amman in 1990 where she assisted in the repatriation of Filipinos from Kuwait during the first Gulf War. Her next posting took her to Cairo as Second Secretary and Consul at the Philippine Embassy. She then moved to the same position in

The good Ambassador is constantly working for the betterment of some 45,000 Filipinos in Bahrain and hopes that someday the deployment of domestic helpers, the most vulnerable segment of Filipino expatriate workers, will eventually stop. She says, “It would be better if our women did not put themselves at such a vulnerable situation, for meager salaries, especially considering the social cost of such employment.” She continues, “We’re not belittling our compatriots, but if only they can be a little creative, they can earn more at home.”

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WOMEN OF SUBSTANCE 2011 45

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE PHILIPPINE EMBASSY IN BAHRAIN

46 WOMEN OF SUBSTANCE 2011

AMBITION

Gerby Cadungog Young Entrepreneur, Go Getter

“I’ve always known that I’m going to be rich someday. I didn’t know how, but I was very certain that it was going to happen,” entrepreneur Gerby Cadungog said resolutely. In her mid-30s, this young Filipina achiever cofounded and leads a successful five year old company - NineCubes Interior Design Company LLC, which counts Etisalat, Comtel, UTS, Al Sayegh Brothers and LG, among their roster of prestigious clients.

But her bright smile and infectious energy would belie the fact that her climb to sustainable entrepreneurship was not an easy one, in fact just eight years ago, her family went broke and was saddled with a PHP1.8 million debt when they were cheated out of an investment.

She shares, “We had no means to pay our debts. We were left with PHP4,000 in the bank. I was in a catatonic state.”

Gerby was born to a middle class Filipino expat family and spent her early childhood in Iran and Libya. “I was the responsible ‘ate’ always taking care of my brother, especially when we were left home alone, when our parents would go to work.” From a young age, she was already very conscious about her responsibilities and was eager to help contribute to the family’s finances. “My parents were not so savvy when it came to managing our money. So I knew I had to be prudent.”

She was a go-getter and a consistent achiever from the start – a valedictorian from elementary through to high school, an awarded high school Corps Commander and Editor-in-Chief, and a scholar at the University of the Philippines where she took up Journalism.

“More than just wanting to learn and excel, I had to make sure that I was at the top of my class to get scholarships - to save my parents from paying tuition fee.”

A voracious reader, Gerby poured all her efforts into everything she set her heart to. She even joined the Binibining Pilipinas in 1997 and bagged the Ms. Talent award in a bid to convince her brother Gerard Pizarras now an actor, to explore his potential in modeling and enter Philippine showbiz. “I used to have a weight problem.

And I didn’t have much money so I would dance for an hour at home every single day, just to get myself into shape,” she shares.

The same determination, focus and drive were carried by the young lady everywhere she worked. She started as Marketing Officer and later moved on as Area manager and Sales and Marketing Manager for leading shipping and logistics companies in the Philippines, as well as Japanese pharmaceutical corporation Yamanouchi where she was a consistent performance awardee, leading sales teams towards achieving their numbers.

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Then, misfortune struck in 2003 when she and her family were left heavily in debt, when they were cheated off a pyramid scheme investment.

Determined to recover and pay-off their dues, Gerby tried out for employment in Dubai and landed an Account Executive job at Pico, a company that provided experiential marketing services. Here she focused all her efforts on work. Her colleagues found her strange, she said, since she didn’t socialize much. “My focus was my work, to close as many projects as possible so I can get commissions. I had to work late nights and early mornings. In some client meetings, I was even hesitant to spend for bottled water because I only had ten dirhams in my wallet. It was a trying time but I survived and surpassed it with flying colors.”

She made waves in the company, bagging three performance awards during her training in 2005, and got the attention of satisfied clients who were offering to help her start her own business. In 2006, with the encouragement of a colleague and an investor backing her up, Gerby left Pico and started NineCubes with a designer and production manager. And the rest is history.

For the last five years, Gerby had been able to recover capital, and drive the company into profitable and sustainable existence. On a personal level, Gerby says she was able to settle the family debt and secure their financial situation and make some worthwhile investments in the Philippines. She also continues to give back to the community and built a dream house in scenic Tagaytay. Currently, she is building a Montessori Pre-school back home and she has also completed a course in Pre-School Montessori Education. She says, “Learning is never ending. Education is the best investment. I want to become a teacher, who teaches life experiences and help create future leaders.

This will be my legacy.”

And you better believe it, because this empowered Filipina will definitely make that happen.

WOMEN OF SUBSTANCE 2011 47

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48 WOMEN OF SUBSTANCE 2011

RESILIENCE

Socorro Yap Sun World Class Senior Executive

Socorro Yap Sun oversees 70 countries for the Nestle Nutrition business, and is in charge of taking care of the performance, welfare and development of some 500 employees. As Regional Human Resources Head for the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan and Sub-Sahara Africa, this lady has a few lessons to teach and quite a few misconceptions to correct, for those pushing to get ahead in the corporate ladder.

Quite different from the stereotypical aggressive and stressed out jet-setting female top executive you would expect to find in major corporations around the world, Coritte, as she is known to her friends, is easy to smile and is spontaneous. She is also a good listener and thoughtful conversationalist. The calm air about her and her gentle pleasant presence are what strike you first when you meet her. Though with this Filipina achiever, you can trust that your first impression is not a misleading one. In fact, it gives you a peek at how she actually conducts her life and her work.

Socorro has shining credentials and started her career at the prestigious San Miguel Corporation in the Philippines. Here, her different approach to work was already evident. At one time, she refused an offer for a promotion that would fast track her career, believing that it would be unfair to her colleagues who were more senior than her – a move so rare in the corporate rat race where everybody is jostling their way to the top, and where office politicking is the order of the day.

She has over 31 years in Nestle spent in key leadership positions. She started with the company’s Philippine organization and diligently worked her way up from Personnel Officer, Asst. Vice President – HR Management to HR Team Leader – Nestlé Globe project from 1979 to 2004. In a measure of admirable patience and conviction, Socorro, through all this time, resisted the pull of foreign posting – the acceptance of the latter a usual circumstance if one wanted to get ahead in any multinational company’s system. She says as a matter of fact, “I opted to wait for so many years before I accepted a posting abroad. My family is my first priority, and I had to make sure that we will move only when all of us are ready.”

In 2005, she finally took the plunge and accepted the post of HR Director - for Nestlé Southern African Region’, wholly supported by her family. Her husband, Dr. Facundo Sun, offered to take a sabbatical from his medical practice, and her only son was now in his late teens.

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Socorro hit South Africa with tremendous impact. Her first order of business was to ensure that the HR function is effective and efficient; leading a team of over 100 HR managers, specialists and administrative staff, redefining the situation of some 3,000 employees.

It was a bold move. One where she had to deal with the difficult job of having employees moved, at times terminated, as well as dealing with resistance that the change generated. It was particularly hard in the beginning considering how she was viewed with a lot of caution and skepticism - as a woman, and an Asian one at that. Despite that, Socorro took on the challenge successfully and achieved what she had set out to do. She shares, “You just have to be clear with what you have to do and be sensitive to the environment as it will make the journey somewhat easier.”

With her contributions recognized, Socorro earned her current position in January 2010, in charge of an extensive area and sizeable workforce. Here, she continues, not only to lead HR talent management and organization changes, but also to develop company leaders and to foster a high performance corporate culture the organization is known for.

She says of her success, “I am very lucky to have a supportive family and had supportive bosses whom I can be very candid with.” She adds, “I’m also very fortunate that I did not have to sacrifice my family, nor did I lose my core values and my character for the sake of my career.”

Asked what was it that helped her get to where she is right now, Socorro thoughtfully answers, “Resilience, I guess; being strong, flexible and open to new ideas. Those are the qualities that have helped me through all the years and challenges.” She furthers, “And it wasn’t aggressiveness or being unduly hard that helped me succeed and win the confidence of people. It was gentle firmness.”

Truly, these are the admirable qualities of an empowered Filipina.

WOMEN OF SUBSTANCE 2011 49

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50 WOMEN OF SUBSTANCE 2011

COURAGE

Lourdes ‘Tata’ Kintanar Kapfer Fearless Community Volunteer In tightly-knit Cebu, the Kintanar’s are well known as government and military officials. So it comes as no surprise that Lourdes ‘Tata’ Kintanar Kapfer grew up as an assertive and fearless lady who did whatever she thought she needed to do, and stood up for what she believed was right.

A Political Science major with three years of Bachelor of Laws studies, Tata was quite the activist in her youth. With her strong calling to government service, she spent the 70s through to the mid 80s working for various government departments - including the Philippine Population Commission (POPCOM), the Interim Batasang Pambansa (Philippine Parliament), and the Bureau of Customs in Cebu.

Tata has dealt with government and military VIPs, community groups, not to mention some dangerous elements in her involvement with Cebu Coastguard and Customs joint-operations in the AntiSmuggling Task Force.

seven Filipino crew members of a yacht to get their two year’s worth of unpaid salaries by bringing up the case to the ITF/IMO (International Transport Workers’ Federation/International Maritime Organization) headquarters in Rotterdam. Tata also assisted in the Perfume Palace swindling case in the French Riviera where over 50 Filipinos were victimized.

Through all this time, Tata also collaborated with the Philippine Embassy Paris, doing various works which included the sealing of the casket of deceased compatriots about to be repatriated, with the French authorities – the task that she dreaded most.

She was a PRO and VP-Development of the Cebu Hara Jaycees and a member of Cebu Travel & Tour Operators Association, as well as the NBI Gun Club and shared James Bond’s Walther PPK pistol as a favorite piece with her mentors at the CPRA (Cebu Pistol & Rifle Association) Shooting Range.

Back home in Cebu, apart from her civic contributions - helping Looc, Oslob Elementary School and Oslob District Hospital through personal donations and soliciting medical equipments from France, Tata was also instrumental in the jailing of a German national who was into gun running. Thereafter, she also assisted in the case of a Filipina being battered by her estranged British husband - in the end personally taking the consequences for a three year court battle.

Enter the civilian Tata, circa 90s. After a long stint in the government, Tata moved into the tourism business and married Frenchman Vincent Kapfer. That meant her relocating abroad to start a family in Lyon, and eventually settling in scenic Cannes.

She says of her exploits, “I don’t know why, wherever I go, I get attracted to help carry other people’s burdens. I’m just very lucky to have a supportive and understanding husband and four loving children.”

There, Tata was in- charge of the UCPI/UCPB (United Coconut Planter’s International) representative office, and also took active interest in the Filipino community. She founded the Association Heritage Philippin, Cannes. She also played the role of President for the PAG-ASA Filipino Association and participated as well, in L’Association Francaise de Conchyliologie, L’Association FranceGrande Bretagne de Cannes, and the FSC Filipino Seaman’s Club Cote d’Azur. In 1999, recognizing her service to the community and exceptional capabilities, the PTIPO-Paris (Philippine Trade and Investment Promotion Office), recommended her appointment as HITR-South of France (Honorary Investment and Trade Representative), a role which she held for four years.

Tata brought the same brand of socio-civic participation when she and her husband moved to the emirates in 2003. During Former Ambassador Libran Cabactulan’s tenure in the country, she volunteered to assist in trade endeavors and under former Philippine Labor Attaché Ching Ardivilla, provided voluntary assistance to countless distressed Filipinos, including a nurse cheated by her employer, and abandoned in a hospital after suffering from a stroke, as well as illegal recruitment victims. She was also involved in a corruption expose case leading to the recall of a diplomatic official.

But that was not all for Tata, the call to serve her compatriots and her keen sense of justice drove her to some precarious situations; thankfully, however, to the benefit of those she came to help.

Through all the grave situations she has experienced, however, Tata remains lighthearted and refuses to take herself so seriously. With expressive eyes sparkling, the fearless lady chuckles, “I’m not so sure about my mission in this world. It seems that I’m just another version of Tia Dely, a little crime buster, or perhaps, a warrior in my previous life?”

In France, she aided a number of distressed Filipinos – some victims of exploitation and some cheated out of their dues. She also helped

Whatever her true mission is, one thing is certain: people like us are very fortunate that there are Filipinos like Tata Kintanar Kapfer.

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WOMEN OF SUBSTANCE 2011 51

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52 WOMEN OF SUBSTANCE 2011

INFLUENCE

Susan de Guzman Top Notch Educator

There was a time at the beginning of Susan de Guzman’s career as a teacher in the Emirates, when a colleague, referring to her credentials and her pursuit of a Masters Degree, said to her, “But what do you need all that qualification for? Don’t you know that Filipinas are seen as domestic helpers?”

Sixteen years on, this humble and soft-spoken educator has stayed on-the-job, and stands proud as lead faculty at the Sharjah Women’s College - Higher Colleges of Technology. She has consistently driven her students to earn award after award, year after year, and is instrumental in helping the esteemed educational institution gain a reputation of excellence, especially in the field of graphic arts.

Truly, this is one Filipina who has not only imparted knowledge and skill, but is also helping to shape the minds and values of young Emirati women set to be part of the country’s privileged circle of movers and shakers in the future.

Susan de Guzman was born to parents who were both doctors, She says, “My siblings and I were reared on the values of integrity, hard work, determination, and a sense of family.” Although her parents wanted her to follow in their footsteps, Susan’s calling in life was totally different, “I’ve always wanted to be an artist, for as long as I could remember. I love exploring and actualizing new ideas, and the fact that art is freewheeling.”

From a very young age, her creativity was already apparent – Susan won countless art and talent competitions in school. In college, she earned a degree in Fine Arts at the University of Santo Tomas. But her quest for knowledge didn’t stop there, she pursued continued professional learning, while working as a teacher, and gained two masters degrees – Masters in Educational Technology and a Masters of Education in Open and Distance Learning, both from the University of Southern Queensland, in Australia.

Early on in her professional life, she dabbled both in advertising, working as a graphic artist, and in education, as a faculty member at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. Somehow her career path led her completely to teaching. She joined the Higher Colleges of Technology in 1996, first as Graphic Designer in the school’s Academic Services Department, and was eventually promoted to faculty when management took notice of her capabilities. “People were telling me that I should be working in the advertising industry, especially here in the UAE, because there’s more money there,” she shares. “But somehow, I’ve always kept it in my mind that I want to be a teacher, especially to these Emirati students. So that when they

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become business owners someday, they will know how to treat their Filipino employees.”

Susan’s approach to work extends well beyond just teaching her subjects. She said that oftentimes, she provides guidance like a surrogate mother and friend, as knowledge is the least of the students’ challenges - some of them lack confidence and some have emotional issues. As a Filipina educator, she credits her success in enriching her students learning experience with the innately caring attitude of Pinoys, “It’s probably our nurturing spirit. It helps a lot. There are certain students who need special attention. So I make it a point to hold their hand through the process, and help them realize how good they are, helping them gain confidence and motivation.”

But all is not easy with this highly disciplined firm educator, she shares “Yes, I do fail students, sometimes too. Strangely enough, there are students who thank me even when I fail them. They say that because of the failure, they eventually realized how to correct their mistakes and improve upon their work.”

And her formula for teaching seems to work wonders. Since she has joined the college, Susan has helped the school secure countless honors from various academic award giving bodies, at one time orchestrating a grand slam earning 22 top awards in 2005. Her efforts have been duly recognized as well. In 2008, she received the much coveted Director’s Award from the Higher College of Technology.

Just recently, she has also been selected as Deputy Chief Expert for the World Skills Competition London 2011, the first Asian (carrying the UAE flag, at that) to have been given such distinction, in the competition symbolizing excellence in vocational training, with participating countries from all over the globe.

Still, with all her accolades, Susan says she has one regret, “I wish that I was doing all this for Filipino students; helping them to be successful in life.”

Regrets aside, it has to be said, that in the grand scheme of things, the role that Susan plays for Filipinos as a whole, is nothing short of priceless.

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54 WOMEN OF SUBSTANCE 2011

GRACE

Agnes Aquino Stott-Briggs

Mother, Career Woman, Community Leader, Image Consultant Agnes Aquino Stott-Briggs is a walking-talking testimony that women can: take care of their families, efficiently run a household, have a successful career, participate actively in the community, entertain socially, follow their personal passions - and do so elegantly in high heels.

More than just the effective and efficient multi-tasker, Agnes is, first and foremost, a doting wife and mother of three, who has a thriving career in real estate - a Leasing Manager running a team of various nationalities in the UAE capital, handling high profile clients and dealing multi-million contracts. She is the Chairman of the Philippine Business Council (PBC) - Abu Dhabi , who has also recently added the title Certified Image and Style Consultant to her credentials.

Agnes is one of those rare ‘superwomen’ who seem to be able to juggle managing a family, a beautiful home (with interiors done by herself and maintained without any fulltime household help), property leasing and expat relocations with personalized service, team supervision, social and networking events for the PBC, the International Business Women’s Group, Expat Woman and various other clubs, throwing fabulous parties in her home, pursuing continued professional education to follow her dream, all the while always looking elegant and immaculately put together, without so much as breaking a sweat.

“It’s all about planning ahead of time, time management and timely execution. I grew up in a very dynamic household where there was always something to do, so it became a way of living,” says Agnes who is the eldest of 9 children of a middle class family from sleepy Pangasinan. She adds, “Both my parents worked and I learned to be responsible at an early age, helping my parents look after my brothers and sisters. I could wash my own clothes at the age of 9 and can cook a meal at 10 years old. As a result of my family upbringing, I have a strong sense of responsibility and I am sure I got my decision making capabilities from my mother.”

Agnes has a Bachelor of Arts degree, Major in Economics from Saint Louis University in Baguio City, a diploma in Interior Design, as well as a Real Estate Broker’s License in the Philippines. Arriving in Manila from Baguio City, when she was 23, she took a Personality Development course at Cora Doloroso, which she says has helped her to enhance her personality and ability to work with all sorts of people confidently – a skill that has paid off for her especially in her dealings with high profile clients in the capital. “Believing in yourself and being confident in the fact that you are as good, if not better, than most people you meet whatever nationality, is the first step

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to being accepted as a business person in an international market,” Agnes shares.

Apart from diligence, good work ethics and managing her time wisely, she also puts a premium on the importance of appearance.

Agnes explains, “It’s important to always project the right image and to be dressed appropriately and for the occasion. You only get one chance to make a first impression. And I believe that your personal presentation, communication skills and appearance influence people’s perception towards you - including their instant evaluation of your intelligence, credibility, capability to comply with requests; whether to trust you with information, give you access to decision-makers, pay you a certain salary or fee for contracted business; or even hire you or purchase your product.”

But Agnes was quick to point out a common misconception - that being well presented and stylish is not about flaunting expensive things. “A Louis Vuitton bag with a too tight spaghetti strap top, a skirt that is too short and flip flops doesn’t make you stylish,” she states emphatically. “Style’’ is a manner of expressing oneself through appropriate and tasteful clothing. It is about being smart when choosing a wardrobe that consists of clothes that are age appropriate, clothes that flatter your body lines, scale and proportion, clothes that reflect your personality in colors that complement the color of your skin to create a polished , well put together look in order to boost your confidence and help you reach your goals and triumph at work and at home and in life!

Last year, pursuing her passion for style and the dream of having her own finishing school in the Philippines someday, Agnes earned her Image and Style Consultant certification from the Sterling Style Academy – USA. She says, “I want to make a difference in people’s lives by teaching them how to look polished and confident in order to best present themselves to better their opportunities and achieve their best potential in their chosen careers.” She furthers, “I have come from simple provincial background and now work at a corporate level in an international community in a country halfway around the world. I know that other Filipinas can do the same.”

Indeed, this well-rounded Filipina can teach a thing or two to those of us who want it all – and how to do it fabulously.

WOMEN OF SUBSTANCE 2011 55

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56 WOMEN OF SUBSTANCE 2011

DEVOTION

Lily Libo-On Spiritual Servant

Very few could claim to have been touched by something as lifechanging as a miracle; Lily Libo-on is one of those rare people.

In 2005, then based in Brunei Darussalam, Lily who had a flourishing career in journalism was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and was given two months to live. After seeking a second opinion and being given the same findings, she decided to go to Mindanao, where her family lives, and where all of them - her mother, five sisters and a brother were involved in an evangelism and healing ministry. Lily travelled there to wait for death to come.

But it wasn’t Lily’s time to go. When her family members preached spiritual healing and laid their hands on her, she had a profound experience that allowed her to rise up and changed her life forever.

Lily remembers that defining moment. She shares, “I felt so blessed.

Gone was the excruciating pain. The unbearably distressing feeling suddenly turned into a feeling of relief. I knew from that time on that I had to devote my life to become a spiritual servant and a prayer warrior for others in the same situation to be free.”

A regular member of the National Press Club - Philippines, and the Filipino Press Club - UAE, Lily is also a United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) accredited environmental journalist since 1987.

She was one of four Filipino journalists commissioned by the UNEP to write a four-country book on ecology, which included the Philippine Environmental Situation in 1991-1992. She presented a paper before the UN delegates entitled “Eco Tourism: A Boon or A Bane in the Philippines.”

This mother of four has been an Overseas Filipino (OF) since 1995.

She started her expat life working as a Technical Director to the Asian Institute of Development Communication (AIDCOM) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She then moved to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah to join Borneo Post as Feature Editor. After that, she shifted to Brunei Darussalam to work for News Express as Business Editor for two years, then as Deputy Editor. Her last post was Chief Editor at online newspaper brudirect.com before her life took a different turn in 2005.

Six years on, Lily reflects on how she decided to stop working and live her life fully by faith. She shares, “My two sons were still in college and could not understand my decision. They were worried about how they could finish their studies. I could not give them clear answers except that God would do it. Somehow, scholarship offers came and we were able to manage.”

Lily studied to join the spiritual community, both in Manila and in Kuala Lumpur and served the healing ministry. During her free time then, she could be found at Luneta Park and all over Luzon, even as far as Mountain Province sharing the good news of salvation to

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everybody she encountered.

By a stroke of destiny, she ended up in Dubai in October 2007 to aid a friend who needed healing. During her trip, she saw many distressed Filipinos who needed spiritual direction, assistance and comfort. At the same time, without any plans of working or staying in the country, fate led her to a job offer at Khaleej Times. She took the latter and accepted to humbly work, not as an editor but as a staff reporter for the first time in her life, so that she could also pursue her spiritual advocacy.

With a ministry combining journalism and spiritual servanthood, Lily did her bit to help in the local community - writing about the situation of Filipinos and other expats to call the attention of the authorities, and at the same time, feeding the souls of the needy, vsiting the sick, the imprisoned and the distressed.

Together with other well-meaning Filipinos, Lily helped a lot of compatriots in distress; among them were 61 construction workers in Sharjah left by their employers with no food and salary, 86 abandoned cleaners in Ajman, runaway maids, as well as women who were forced into the flesh trade. Each time they helped, Lily’s group provided not only assistance and food, but also hope and spiritual comfort.

At work, while keeping a low profile, Lily has achieved quite some success. Last year, she received an “International Media Award,” as one of 23 awardees from different countries, the only journalist from the UAE honored at the 8th Thailand Tourism Awards. In the same year, she also received the “Best Prolific Writer” award from the Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment (DEPE) – a feat she replicated just recently when she won the same honor in February 2011. Her latest is the “Best English Press Coverage Award” from the Global Village, handed to her by Shaikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum also in February, the fourth award she got since arriving in Dubai.

Still, with the recognition, Lily says nothing keeps her more motivated than the drive to share the love, light and life that she has received from above.

She says simply, “God has blessed the works of my hand as He has promised. He is amazing and faithful. He made greater things happen to me. Many times in my life before, I felt emptiness inside me even in the midst of a tremendous success in my career. I used to ask myself why without finding any answer. Now, I have found what I have been searching for: the fullness of life in my Creator.”

WOMEN OF SUBSTANCE 2011 57

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58 ILLUSTRADO SCRAPBOOK A platform for budding Filipino creative talent

Sheryl Juan

A graduate of the Philippine School of Business Administration – Manila, Sheryl is a Certified Public Accountant and is one of the Founding Members of Camera Club of Dubai (CCD).

Fascinated by the beauty of photography, Sheryl has been passionate in capturing stories through images and sees it as an art form, rather than merely photos.

Benny De Guzman Benny is currently working as Creative Designer in an exhibition company in Dubai.

Despite the demands of his day job and the many deadlines he has to meet, Benny manages to make time for photography.

Benny’s expertise lies in capturing portraits and landscapes. Recently, he has dabbled into food and fashion photography as well.

Abu Dhabi-based Benny is a member of photography aficionados group Lightcatchers,

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which was founded in 2008. Last November, the group organized the Desert Radiance Workshop and it was here that Benny met internationally acclaimed photographer, Manny Librodo, who has inspired his work tremendously.

When not looking through the lense of his camera, Benny loves to work while listening to good music.

“I’ve had a fascination for the arts since my childhood; unfortunately my desire to be an artist never materialized because I didn’t know how to draw. I had a lot of concepts playing in my mind, but I wasn’t able to express it until I found photography. Every snap and click of the shutter is like a creative outlet for me. I want to take photographs to preserve precious memories and to share them with generations to come,” Says Sheryl.

A platform for budding Filipino creative talent

ILLUSTRADO SCRAPBOOK 59

Dennis Dionisio

Dennis Dionisio is a Financial Analyst who works for the pharmaceutical company, Merck Serono. During his younger years, he loved visual arts but ironically took an Accountancy degree in college.

In 2010, he revived his interest in arts by enrolling in a Basic Photography course.

Having re-discovered his love for capturing visuals and images, Dennis later became one of the founders of Camera Club of Dubai (CCD). His definition of a good photographer is someone who shares not only photography, but also good values.

62 FEATURE

Perla Paredes Daly: On Empowering Filipinas

Uplifting the image of the Filipina on the cyberspace is what Perla Paredes Daly does best. With a number of web initiatives such as Bagong Pinay (www.newfilipina. com), the first online community for Filipinas, this new age activist is passionate about promoting Pinay positivity to the world.

Indeed, over the years, this multimedia artist has helped shape the Filipina identity online. She conducted networking nights for Filipina-Americans in New York City and Women’s Wisdom events in Manila between the years 1998 and 2004. With Leny Strobel, she helped launch international online discussion groups for Pagbabalikloob (decolonization, or translated as return to deepest inner self ) and for Tagipusuon sg Babaylan (Heart of Babaylan).

Perla has chaired the Filipino American Women’s Network (FAWN) 2005 event “Coming Into Our Own Spirit and Success.” She received the Filipino American Women’s Network (FAWN) 2000 Babaylan Award for the global community work.

Working as a Senior Art Director for a US-based financial company, she is also currently blogging with Baybayin Alive to help people understand baybayin as a tool for decolonization and exploring

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Filipino identity. She is the creator of the Babaylan Mandala Fine Art Series.

In an exclusive interview with Illustrado, Perla shares her thoughts about what it really takes to be a truly proud Filipina.

You are very passionate in your aim to uplift the Filipina image.

Can you tell us please how do you view Filipina empowerment?

Filipina empowerment involves giving Filipino women, in the Philippines and around the world, resources, such as new insight and ways of thinking through things, and resources so that they can be ALL that they can potentially be in this world.

What challenges do you think Filipinas face in this day age?

Some challenges I can think of are media, poverty and prejudice or stereotyping. Such things can cause limitations to becoming one’s full self.

FEATURE 63 Another set of challenges has to do with limiting beliefs. At home, in the Philippines, one example of limiting beliefs would be the double standards for the genders. Abroad, the challenges we might have would be racism and stereotypes that people project upon us. These are uneducated beliefs that limit us in other people’s eyes.

Another stereotype is that we are very sexual women but, at the same time, also obedient, subservient and faithful to our husbands. This stereotype has been used to make Filipinas commodities and promote them as “products” on mail order bride sites or online matchmaking services. Many Filipinas may very well be so, but to limit Filipinas to this idea is small-minded.

Why do you think it is essential to empower your fellow women and fellow Filipinas?

I believe in pakikipagkapwa and that it is a Filipino universal truth and wisdom that all life in the Cosmos is connected from a Sacred place. And because we are all connected and so it is essential to empower them not only for themselves, but also for their families, their communities, societies and the whole Philippines. The force and energy of empowered Filipinas will be a moving force alongside that of Filipinos in the rise and evolution of the Filipino people and the Philippines as a nation.

Then yet another outright mistake is that Filipina is defined in some European dictionaries as “maid” or domestic helper. My goodness.

Philippine women can make great homemakers and great household help (and we wish that they all could be wonderfully paid and not exploited), but to define all of them that way sure is ignorant and uneducated.

The media can also be a challenge to Filipina identity. I mean, we always hear the news about a Filipina domestic helper that was abused in the Middle East, but we rarely hear about the cool Filipino men and women who work as engineers, teachers, and marketing teams in that part of the world. (Illustrado Magazine is changing this!) And the movie industry does no justice to Filipinas if they continue to do the hyper-sexual women characters.

How do you think we, Filipinas, should handle these challenges?

Over the past decade, one of the ways for me to overcome limiting beliefs from others is to say to myself - “That is their belief or prejudice. That is not my belief about myself. I know who I am. They do not. I know more than that. They do not. I am more than that.

They are limited. I am not.” And if one cannot convince another that they are more than what is expected of stereotyped, projected upon them, well then, try to get away gracefully.

Perla Daly and Family

And there is another type of education that goes beyond high school and a college degree, and that is the education that eliminates limiting beliefs, ignorance and ultimately the illusions of the ego. This type of education is inner work and spiritual.

Your works have been inspiring to Pinays around the world.

What made you work on these kinds of projects? How influential do you think are your works in extending the message?

The true source for all my web publishing, writing and art is my love for being a Filipino and for being a woman of Philippine heritage.

My education at U.P. Diliman has been a big influence in almost all my creative works and online publishing.

Moreover, the amazing thing about my artworks is that it first speaks to the heart and soul and maybe even the gut before it speaks to the intellect. If art is effective, it evokes feelings and maybe even smells and memories, which stir within and then bubble up, out and outwards.

Babaylan Spirit Exhibt

Visiting Mananzan

BEAUTY 64 BEAUTY

PHOTOGRAPHY: MARIYAH GASPACHO AND CRISTINA LINAZA HAIR AND MAKE-UP: JESSIE TABLA, GINNO ALDUCENTE AND JOJO PADUA MODELS: CLARITA DE QUIROZ, TANYA HYDE AND SARITA BROUTIN

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illustrado Magazine

BEAUTY 65

The country’s top three Filipino hair and make-up artists create three fabulous looks for three distinctinctly unique Filipina beauties.

A veritable triple beauty treat! illustrado Magazine

66 BEAUTY

Summer in Suburbia

By Jojo Padua

illustrado Magazine

All natural look with softly blow-dried hair and medium beige skin; eyes in light pastel green eye shadow with well groomed dark blonde eyebrows; ‘candylicious’ lips in sheer pink, plus a hint of rose bronze on the cheeks

BEAUTY 67

Youthful Femininity

By Ginno Alducente

With a little bit less of a shine, skin is more natural with matte peachy foundation, matched with a hint of pink swoon blush for very healthy cheeks and a flush on the lips.

Natural looking big curls complete the fresh look.

illustrado Magazine

68 beauty

Less is More

By Jessie Tabla

illustrado Magazine

Flawlessly blended matte foundation with eyes in bare earth tones; well-defined glossy peach color lips and sun-kissed cheeks; hair in sleek ponytail with easy curls at the bottom

BEAUTY 69

Red Carpet Allure

By Jessie Tabla

Opaque skin with a creamy texture to add a bit of a glow; intense well-blended smoky eyes with perfectly shaped lips in red; cheeks in peach-pink blush; the look is finished with an updo for the ultimate in Hollywood glam

illustrado Magazine

70 BEAUTY

Sahara Nights

By Ginno Alducente

illustrado Magazine

Edgy glam in flicked smoky eyes featuring purple glitter on eyelids; mineralized foundation on the skin adds a sheer glow for the night and a bit of contour on the face; Ăźber dark lips complete the drama

BEAUTY 71

Shanghai 30s

By Jojo Padua

Asian socialite glam comes to life with porcelain foundation; smoky eyes with black eye shadow and eyebrow tamer; lips are very light in peachy gloss; cheeks feature a hint of apricot-brown with mild contouring; hair is finger waved to recreate the circa 20s-30s look

illustrado Magazine

FASHION 72

Arabian Drama Queen

By Ginno Alducente

Compelling smoky eyes with purple undertones matched with flawless porcelain skin and pink stained glossy lips illustrado Magazine

BEAUTY 73

Future Sleek

By Jessie Tabla

Matte skin with perfectly sculpted cheekbones; darkly dramatic smoky eyes with a fuchsia tinge and extreme lashes, matched with pale pink glossy lips

illustrado Magazine

74 BEAUTY

Afrique Moderne

By Jojo Padua

Skin in medium beige foundation; eyes in brick red with black coal eyeliner and shadow in pink and yellow; lips with onyx black lipstick; canary yellow cotton candy hair with a base of twisted fuchsia and Russian red colored hair

illustrado Magazine

BEAUTY 75

illustrado Magazine

76 ARTIST PROFILES

Jessie Tabla His clients fly him around the Middle East, India, and even to Italy, London and New York just to get his brand of beauty.

He has made up famous faces like actress Frieda Pinto of “Slumdog Millionaire, Miss Universe 2000 Lara Dutta and Bollywood superstar Bipasha Basu, as well as a few top international models and celebrities, including women from the local elite. But for hair and make-up artist Jessie Tabla his professional success, really comes from a simple winning formula - “I make a woman beautiful by bringing out the best in her,” he shares.

Senior make-up artist Jessie is Mac trained and is a Certified Make- up Artist for Lancome Middle East. He is definitely “it” when it comes to high definition make-up and wedding glamour in the country. He has done countless lavish weddings, fashion editorials, events including the Middle East International Film Festival and the Dubai International Film Festival. He has also done runway shows for Valentino, Emmanuel Ungaro, Sonya Rykiel, Kenzo, International Vogue show, Dubai Fashion Week and the Dubai and Abu Dhabi Bridal Shows, which he says he enjoys immensely. Jessie shares, “Being in the fashion industry is such a fabulous thing, because you not only meet prominent celebs, but also learn about different cultures, while you keep track of the latest style trends.

Jessie, whose dream is to create a global reputation for himself and be a top international make-up artist someday, lets us in on what he considers to be the most important make-up must Filipinas should know. He says, “Your main consideration should always be your skin color. Make sure that you get the foundation right. The tone should be consistent with the rest of your skin. This is so important because it could make or break your make-up.”

This summer, Jessie says a natural no-make-up look is best, “Skin texture is the most important thing, spiced up with a bit of sun kissed bronze, topped with healthy thick lashes and flawlessly defined eyebrows.”

illustrado Magazine

Ginno Alducente “Outgoing women should get crazy with make-up, because at the end of the day, you can still remove it.

For those who are minimalists, follow your heart.

Just don’t forget to wear lip gloss!” says Ginno Alducente, who is fondly referred to as the ‘McQueen of the Make-Over World’ in the local fashion industry.

Fearless and edgy in his approach to makeup, Ginno who is at the height of his career in the UAE is into TV productions, magazine collaborations, and runway and has been fortunate to have worked for international brands like Roberto Cavalli, Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Alexander McQueen, Gucci, YSL, Balenciaga, Chanel, Ellie Saab and many more. His works have also been featured in local and international magazines like Elle, Harpers Bazaar, Velvet, Russian and Gulf Connoisseur, Grazia and Ahlan to name a few.

Just recently, Ginno had the privilege to work for an Emirati film which is set to compete in Cannes, as well as music videos for local and international singers. He was also chosen as one of the key make-up artists for an upcoming fantasy-themed television series slated to be shot in Dubai, with a cast of more than 100.

Of his impressive body of work, Gino says that, “One of things that I am most proud of is that I’m a commissioned make-up artist for Amato Haute Couture. This brand inspires me to be frustrated make-up artist for Italian Vogue that I am - turning models into mannequins. It’s a great honor working Amato Haute Couture led by Furne One. I can’t wait for the brand’s forthcoming gala show, where I will be the key make-up artist.”

Another Mac trained artist, who’s loved doing hair all his life, Ginno says that, “Decision making is a fundamental part of doing your make-up. Selecting the look that will best suit your personality, lifestyle, facial shape and features, skintone and personal tastes is integral.

Determining the level of either subtlety or intensity, and how the colors and textures will match and relate to one another on the skin, is the key to good make-up application.”

Jojo Padua Me m o r a b l y flamboyant Jojo Padua is not your typical hair and make-up stylist.

He calls himself an “inventor” and not merely a consumer, and says he is not a fan of any artist who is bookish and follows what he reads in manuals.

He spins such unusual and out-of-this world styles that at one time, Furne One, his client and friend, was amazed when he saw him using edible materials during an editorial shoot. To which, Jojo casually quipped, “What you see in pictures, is not always to be believed.” He also adds cheekily, “I’m pro animal testing but not human. Haha! I’m using different products and materials to create high fashion looks - whatever it takes, as long it’s not toxic.”

Trained at Pivot Point International, Toni & Guy, as well as the Salon Expert LÓreal Paris Professionel, Jojo teaches and trains some of the styling staff of the leading salons in Dubai while managing his own business – Belccillino Salon.

At the same time, Jojo professes that the fashion industry constantly beckons especially because of the demand from his A-lister designer clients who admire his brand of unfettered creativity.

He explains, “They like me because I have no limit in this field, and I’m more of an artist than a business man.”

These days Jojo is working hard in his workshop creating avante garde pieces to be used in a huge fashion gala that’s about to hit Dubai during the forthcoming fashion week season. He says he has already stared molding, sculpting and freezing wigs for the big show.

But while we’re waiting for Jojo’s astounding take on beauty on the catwalk, he give us tips for looking good this season. He advises against wearing dark lipsticks and dark eyebrows. He says, That’s very 90’s and not fashion forward.”

He adds, “What’s great right now is healthy glowing skin with mineralized light foundation refreshed with Evian spray, light eyebrows, and candylicious lips.”

78 GLOBAL BARRIO NEWS

Two Pinays receive Oscar nominations Stefanie Walmsley and Hailee Steinfeld are now the Pinay talents who have caught Oscar’s critical eye.

From her short stint co-hosting the long-running noontime show “Eat Bulaga,” the New York-based Filipina Stefanie Walmsley is now an Oscar-nominated producer. Her production of the film “God of Love” was nominated for Best Live Action Short Film in this year’s Oscars.

The Oscar nomination was just one of the many nods “God of Love” has received. The film has gained recognition from the National Board of Review, Telluride Film Festival, Flickerfest Festival in Australia and Angelus Student Film Festival. It even won the Gold Medal at the Student Academy Awards before picking up the official Oscar nomination for Best Live Action Short.

On the other hand, Hailee Steinfeld, a 14-year-old Filipino-American actress, whose outstanding performance in the Coen Brothers’ Western adaptation of the movie “True Grit” paved the way for her Oscar Best Supporting Actress nomination. Prior to the Oscars, Steinfeld has received a Best Actress nomination for the 2011 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTAs) and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Best Supporting actress.

Awards, accolades and acting alongside Hollywood veterans Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon have pretty much left the teener unaffected. Steinfeld counts as a major achievement presenting alongside teen sensation Justin Bieber in the Golden Globes. Despite the recognition of the Oscars and BAFTA, Steinfeld is still a regular teenage girl at heart.

Monique Lhuillier continues to shine in NY Fashion Week Monique Lhullier recently unveiled her 2011 Fall collection at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York City which was described as “very dark sensual, [and] sultry” in a report from Reuters.

For the collection which featured pieces that ranged from cocktail dresses, red carpet-ready gowns, to chic blouses and pants, Lhuillier made liberal use of black, gray, and cream, as well as some leopard prints and weaved them with other elements such as lace, feathers and soft, flowing fabrics.

Lhuillier’s designs were described as having captured “the essence of sophisticated luxury by provoking femininity, allure and glamour that have made her renowned in the world of design. Monique’s innate sense of style and understanding of a woman’s desire to look and feel beautiful are prevalent throughout her bridal and readyto-wear collections.”

Hollywood A-listers that Lhuillier has dressed include Lea Salonga Britney Spears, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Jessica Simpson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Connelly. Recent red carpet events also saw Catherine Zeta-Jones, Mandy Moore, Julia Stiles, and Angie Harmon donning Lhuillier creations.

Fifteen years after its world premier, “Flipzoids,” a play written by Ralph Peña, returned to the stage in New York City with a few changes.

Fil-Am stage play returns in New York illustrado Magazine

The celebrated stage play “Flipzoids” features three Filipinos of three generations, living in the US and struggling with varying degrees and kinds of isolation as they fight to search for identity - personal, cultural and otherwise.

A change from the original version was the national discourse on identity that has deepened since “Flipzoids” was last staged. According to previous interview with Peña, “Don’t get me

wrong, racial bigotry is very much alive and well in America, and our colonial baggage continues to weigh down Filipinos in this country, but I think the play itself needs to make a tonal shift to reflect how immigrants (today) see them selves.”

“Flipzoids” ran until February 6 at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater, Playwright’s Horizons Center, New York City. “Flipzoids” is also included in “Savage Stage,” an anthology of plays developed and produced by Ma-Yi Theater, available in the USA through www.ma-yitheater.org/shop and in the Philippines at National Bookstore.

GLOBAL BARRIO NEWS 79

“Lola” reaps more awards in international film fests Cannes 2009 Best Director Brillante Mendoza has continued to garner more international recognition for his independent film “Lola”.

Maria Aragon rises as the new singing sensation Thanks to the viral world, 10-year-old Filipina, Maria Aragon, had the chance to share the stage with Lady Gaga during her sold out show in Toronto, early this month.

The pop superstar, known to be one of the most followed celebrities on Twitter, posted in her official Twitter account a video of Aragon singing a cover of her song, “Born This Way” and described the 10-year-old Filipina as “the future.”

Days after, Maria’s rendition of “Born This Way” raked in millions of hits on YouTube. The buzz landed Maria a guest slot on a morning radio show and the young Pinay was blown away when Lady Gaga herself was brought in via phone patch.

Lady Gaga told Aragon how her rendition of “Born This Way” made her so happy she cried. Lady Gaga, recognized as one of the most influential stars of this decade, thanked the young Filipina and reminded her never to give up on your dreams.

Upon learning that Hot 103 will be flying Aragon to Toronto to watch Lady Gaga’s concert in March, the multi-award singer invited the young Filipina to sing with her onstage. This gracious offer made the young singer cry, especially when sang a bit of the chorus of “Born This Way” on air.

Aragon’s rise to popularity on the web also landed her an appearance at “The Ellen Degeneres Show.” Her performance in the renowned television show earned her standing ovation.

The movie’s leading actresses Anita Linda and Rustica Carpio tied for the Best Actress award at the just-concluded Tehran International Film Festival in Iran (29th Fajr Film Festival). On the other hand, the movie bagged the Best Film award which is the highest honor given by the body.

The Fajr Film Festival is held each year to commemorate the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran.

“Lola” also recently won the Grand Knight Award, the Grand Jury Prize in the World Competition of the 27th Miami International Film Festival in the US. The Philippine film bested 13 other entries from countries as diverse as Russia, Brazil, China, Bolivia and The Netherlands in the category that celebrates the works of up-and-coming filmmakers from around the world.

Aside from these new accolades, “Lola” was also recognized at the 8th Asian Film Festival held in Rome last July, and the Best Film at 2009 Dubai International Film Festival. It was also featured in the Tribeca International Film Fest in New York.

80 GLOBAL BARRIO

My Pinoy Life In...

Living out of a suitcase Felicity Tan

While others have email signatures that read: sent from my Blackberry Wireless or iPhone, Felicity Tan’s email signature reads: “Sent from the road”- literally. As a journalist, 26-year old Felicity is constantly on the go; moving from one country to another. She has spent the last couple of years traveling and living in various cities around the world and actually had a hard time pinpointing a city to fill in the sentence “My Pinoy Life in ___.”

She finally decided to settle for “My Pinoy Life living out of a suitcase”. illustrado Magazine

GLOBAL BARRIO 81

Tell us something about your host city.

Every day is an adventure in Beijing.

I’ve had so many (mis)adventures literally since the moment I arrived here. Sometimes it makes me laugh, other times I want to hurl a panda out the window (no actual pandas were hurt in the making of this article about my Pinoy life abroad).

Beijing is one of the most dynamic cities I’ve been in; I don’t think I’ll run out of things to do. This place is enormous.

It is certainly a 24-hour city. There is a significant expat community and not a day passes by that I have not made a new friend. The traffic is bad like Manila, so is the pollution, kaya siguro hindi pa ako nagkakasakit kasi sanay na ako! Foreigners are known to get sick in their first few weeks.

It’s the dead of winter, so it’s very dry and quite blustery; it’s been snowing recently but I think it’s beautiful under a thin blanket. That said, nobody moves to Beijing for the weather or the air quality. Maybe the food. The kinds of people. The one-of-a-kind culture.

The language. The history. The vibe of living in one of the fastest-growing cities in the planet, which is at the same time, for better or worse, stuck in its past. Beijing is a living, breathing contradiction. I love that.

Your City

Currently, Beijing, China is “home.” I moved here on Feb 7, 2011.

Before this, I was living in The Hague, Netherlands in 2010.

Can you recount briefly why you moved there?

I moved here to take on a job as a news anchor for China Central Television’s English news service, which was re-launched in 2010, with the view of becoming the authoritative international news channel for Asian affairs.

I’ve been living out of a suitcase since I went off to university in Boston back in 2005. I guess you can say I’ve been “on the road” since. I spent time working/living/studying in Paris, Washington, DC, London, Chicago, back home in Manila, then The Hague and now Beijing. I’ve visited about 20 countries and nearly 100 cities for work and play. I’m about to hit the six-year anniversary of my nomadic lifestyle. Maybe I’ll cross the Gobi on horseback to celebrate.

Is there a Filipino community there?

I’m not the type to actively seek out other Filipinos where I live. I believe in a truly globalized world where nationality or race should not matter. You’ve got to be blind to the color of one’s skin or the color of one’s passport. That said, I do love meeting other Filipinos and learning about their experiences, and it is such a joy to be able to speak Tagalog where no one else can understand you. It’s like a secret language - it’s fantastic. I have not met true-blue Pinoys yet in Beijing, but everywhere else I’ve lived I’ve always had a makeshift Pinoy support community.

In The Hague, it was a different story, the Filipino community there is very well-established and you can’t avoid them, even if you are not Filipino! My best buddies at the U.N. were Filipino, I lived with my extended families in Chicago and Washington, my college roommate was a good friend from high school in Manila, and you just meet so many young professional Filipinos in London. And it always feels

82 GLOBAL BARRIO like home. Maybe I was most detached from Filipinoness in Paris. But I do miss the food! Aside from Washington, D.C. and Chicago, there weren’t a lot of places to get real Pinoy food. I can always count on Cebu Dried Mangoes and adobo, which are always a hit with my foreign friends.

One cannot generalize how Filipinos are treated. Here in China, no one cares. I’ve never felt discriminated against, and they’re always amused when I say I’m ‘Feilubin ren ,’ which is “Filipino” in Chinese; Feilibin (Philippines) and ren (person), but maybe because I’m singkit. I normally travel with a US passport so I don’t get into any trouble at immigration.)

But when traveling with Filipino friends, I notice they are questioned at immigration far longer than most, even if they’ve been residents in the host country for so long. I think that is unfair. I myself had to wait a month for my student visa to a certain European country to be processed, as opposed to two working days, because the consulate found out I was also a citizen of the Philippines.

Outside of that, I’ve never really seen much discrimination against Filipinos - perhaps isolated incidents. But in general, I think the world is starting to see that we do have a lot to offer. I once had an American boss who told me that he found it very inspiring to watch the Filipinas in his community, who start off mahinhin, spread their wings. “And I’m not just talking fluffy angel wings,” he told me. “I’m talking eagle wings.”Nothing truer has been said.

Tell us about your life there.

I’m still settling in. It’s been difficult because of the language barrier, but I have a rapidly expanding network of friends who have all been in the same boat, so they have been a tremendous help. I’ve been spending an equal amount of time at work, getting settled in terms of residency requirements and other necessities, and meeting new people. The Beijing party scene quite rivals Manila’s, I have to say.

Then during the day time, since I work atypical hours, I just explore

the city and am always on the lookout for new places to eat. The best thing about being here is the diversity of options so I’m never bored.

It’s just a pain to get around because the subways are always full and while taking this taxi is cheap, it’s not always convenient because of the size of this very populous city.

What cultural practices/behaviors have you acquired from your host countries?

I pick up something here and there from wherever I’ve lived, usually from the language. I instinctively say “coucou” instead of “hello” now.

It’s French, but I picked it up while I was at the UN in Holland.

Ideologically, perhaps the US left the most impact on me because I was there the longest. Being in such a liberal democracy, which is also paradoxically incredibly conservative, has opened my eyes to new ideas like the fact that there are so many philosophies, and one is not particularly “more right” than another. This kind of mindset makes settling in to new environments much easier for me, especially with all the moving I do. Weirdly enough, this is probably more a Dutch mindset, but I learned it being in America. Shows you how global this world really is!

In any case, that does not guarantee I am Zen all the time. Certain local mannerisms do try my patience, but most of the time I just go with the flow. I am very Filipino when it comes to dealing with people; my foreign friends need to get used to me making beso all the time. And when it comes to birthday blowouts, I always lose.

Because as a Filipino, when it’s your birthday, it’s your treat. But in every other country I am in, when it’s someone’s birthday, it’s your treat, so parati akong lugi!

Your message to Filipinos across the globe –

There’s something special in the Filipino spirit that makes Pinoys successful in whatever they set their hearts and minds to. So if you’re dreaming of doing something, go for it! No one’s stopping you but you. For those of you already out there, you make me proud, truly. So many Filipinos have done far more than I can even dream to accomplish, and my foreign friends are doubly impressed because they understand that Filipinos aren’t lucky; to get where we are, we have to fight to beat the odds. If that’s not exceptional, I don’t know what is.

illustrado Magazine

ADVERTORIAL 83

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designed to resemble the Thai “wai” (a gesture of greeting, welcome, and thanks where both hands are clasped together to resemble a lotus flower.)

The hotel has 321 rooms and suites, and has seven restaurants and bars including the hotel’s signature restaurant Benjarong offering authentic Royal Thai cuisine in a traditional Thai setting, PAX serving rustic Italian and The Californian with its international favorites buffet. Dusit’s Friday and Saturday Brunch is recognized as one of the best in the city and has become a Dubai must-do.

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Bonnington’s accommodations are elegant, well-equipped and come with high-speed Internet access, flat screen TVs with high-tech

Splash Summer Hot Trends Splash presents hot trends through seven distinctive themes this summer. The women’s line carry the themes - ‘Pretty Boho’, ‘Modernist Resort’, ‘The Luxe Traveller’ and ‘Divinity’ while men’s style inspirations come from ‘Humble Classics’ to ‘Sophisticated Safari’ ‘Rock the Casbah’ to ‘Riviera’ and ‘Vintage Picnic’ to ‘Pop Culture’.

Summertime is hippy chick time with playful bohemian pieces inspired from the 50s and 60s. The collection features T-shirts and tanks, medium to light washed denims, rompers and pinafore dresses, as well as head scarves, bandanas and oversized canvas bags.

Explore fashion and break new ground with the 70s styled collection with flamboyant color mixes in crisp, clean graphic shapes, slender suits and square cut casual wear in the form of pencil skirts, pant and short suits, leg lengthening 70s pants and harems along with metallic gold belts.

An escape from excess and delving into spirituality, white claims dominance in spotless relaxed clothes in an easy to wear collection in soft cottons. Dreamy chiffons in billowing volume, antique lace, crochet and cutwork smothered in clear crystals provide sparkling evening looks.

For men casual functional dressing is key this season, in neutral colored lightweight fabrics - linen and cotton with the occasional dusty panel and rustic textures. Pieces include sheer woven shirts,

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Contact Bonnington Jumeirah Lakes Towers: Phone:+9714 3560000, Fax:+9714 3560400. E-mail: info@bonningtontower.com, website: www. bonningtontower.com

knits in silk and linen blends, bush jackets in cotton poplin, along with safari vests and sleeveless jackets.

The ‘Riviera’ trend, on the other hand, features mixed stripes with cotton, linen and terrycloth washed blazers, cotton pea coats in nautical brights, sailor sweaters, wide-legged pajama pants, monochrome cotton linen suits, slim polos, cut shorts in distressed white and bleached out jeans.

The entire collection is fresh and puts together bygone eras contrasted with modern-day practicality and style sense.

5 Month 84 TRIPPIN’

things To Do This

We’re all going to groove to music this March as concerts and festivals are set to excite and energize the emirates. Surely we, Pinoys, wouldn’t want to miss out on the action. From pop superstar Usher to legendary Stevie Wonder - classical artists even - the awaited performances are a mustsee, must-attend in the most happening spots in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. To guide you through the dizzying flurry of mega events this month, Illustrado lists down the musical gatherings you must go to - your dancing shoes will thank you for it.

Chill out with the Brand New Heavies at Nasimi Beach From sundown to (almost) sunrise, the Sandance by Nasimi Beach will surely unleash the party animal within. Artists such as Armand van Helden, with Chicane, Baby D, Ronin & Nesta and Zero 7 on the lineup and some of Dubai’s local heroes will be bumpin’ and groovin’ at this five-star music festival happening at the Atlantis Hotel’s Nasimi Beach.

Sandance will showcase huge headliners including 2manydjs (DJ set), Roger Sanchez and The Brand New Heavies live on stage. With sun, sand, a touch of distinctive glamour and internationally acclaimed musicians to provide the soundtrack, it is definitely the place-to-be this month. The Brand New Heavies jazzing it up is just icing on the cake.

The Sandance by Nasimi Beach is on March 11 from 2pm to 2am. Call 055-2004321 for tickets.

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Listen to Mozart at the Abu Dhabi Festival 2011

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The Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation presents the Abu Dhabi Festival, featuring a prestigious line-up of world-renowned performers from across the world.

With a program combining music, art, dance, jazz, ballet and fine arts, the Festival will showcase the very best from a wide artistic spectrum.

A stunning blend of large-scale concerts, recitals and dramatic performances alongside exhibitions, workshops and debates, including many community-based educational activities are to be expected. Aficionados of classical music will be enthralled by the opening-night “Mozart Masterpieces” concert, featuring the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, conducted and led by Augustin Dumay. Soloists will include world-renowned Lebanese pianist Abdel Rahman El Bacha accompanied by his protégé, Ukrainian pianist Christia Hudziy, violinist Nikita Boriso-Glebsky and Maxim Rysanov, recognized as one of the world’s greatest viola players.

While the “Mozart Masterpieces” will open the Abu Dhabi Festival at the Emirates Palace on March 19, classical concerts will be held every night until April 4.Log onto www.abudhabifestival.ae for further information

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Be lifted at the Al Ain Classics Chamber Music Festival The new series of chamber music concerts in the Courtyard of Al Jahili Fort will present pianist Evgeni Bozhanov and Prague’s Bennewitz Quartet - exciting young musicians who are on an unstoppable conquest of the world’s major concert halls and audiences. Continuing its association with the Abu Dhabi Classics, highlights of the Al Ain Classics Chamber Music Festival include concerts with Italy’s famous Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI under conductor Juraj Valčuha, the UAE debut of cellist Yo-Yo Ma. After concerts with the Vienna Philharmonic and the New York Philharmonic in previous seasons, this year’s highlights underline the international significance of the Al Ain Classics Festival.

The Al Ain Classics Festival was launched in 2001 by a group of dedicated music lovers, who have since established “The Friends of Al Ain Classics Festival” under the chairmanship of Zaki Nusseibeh.

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From March 3rd till the 11th, the Al Ain Classics Festival will run in Al Jahili Fort. For programme and ticket details, check out www.abudhabiclassics.com.

Party with Usher in his OMG World Tour Barely three days after his concert in Belgium, Grammy award winner and songwriter Usher, will be arriving in Dubai as part of his OMG World Tour On March 10. Known for smash hits “Yeah,” “Burn” and “Love in this Club,” Usher will sing tracks from his latest album, “Raymond v. Raymond” such as “OMG” and “DJ Got Us Fallin’ in Love.” Usher will be staging his first ever gig at the al fresco venue the Dubai Media City Amphitheatre. If you want to sing and dance along with Usher (and about a couple of thousand screaming fans) then better book your tickets before it’s too late.

The Usher OMG World Tour is on March 10. Call Done Events at 04-4390900 for more information and to book your tickets.

Jive with the legend Stevie Wonder Celebrated for his notable contributions to the music industry, it is indeed an honor to have the iconic Stevie Wonder performing in the country’s capital, Abu Dhabi. Following the success of the Yas Island Show Weekends which brought Nelly Furtado, The Jonas Brothers and Guns n Roses, Flash Entertainment kicked off the second installment with English guitarist and vocalist Eric Clapton, rock band 30 Seconds to Mars and acclaimed Dutch DJ Tiesto. Ending the series is the much-awaited staging concert of the legendary singer/songwriter/producer Stevie Wonder. For the romantics at heart, it will be a night of singing, swaying and swooning to Stevie’s classics – “My Cherie Amour,” “You are the Sunshine of my Life,” “I Just Called to Say I Love You,” and “Lately,” just to name a few.

This first ever Middle East concert of Stevie Wonder will happen at The Yas Arena on March 18. Call Flash Entertainment at 02-5098000 to book your tickets.

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86 BAKASYON GRANDE

Batanes Up Close

Chavayan view deck

Photos by Brian Blas

Batanes is definitely is a passionate fill of nature, the rockies, history and culture. While now a favorite location for movie and commercial shoots, Batanes remains pristine and untouched, luring many tourists with its antique charm.

Excel Dyquiangco satisfies his wanderlust by exploring the island of Batanes up close.

It now seems so long ago when the whole island of Batanes was battered by strong winds, waves and rains and most tourists opted to travel elsewhere and stay within their comfort zones.

It has been said that people get stranded up here during heavy downpours. But now with the portrayal of the local film industry and the media via the 90s hit film Hihintayin Kita Sa Langit, the Iza Calzado starrer Batanes, and a popular coffee commercial on TV, one wouldn’t even care if his schedule gets derailed. As the mystery behind the Ivatans, the stone-bricked houses, and the Batanes local delicacies unravel, more and more people are willing

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to explore the genuine gems and goldstones of this mystical place up north.

Located at the northernmost region of the country, Batanes is also known as “Home of the Winds” for obvious reasons. The province is composed of 11 islands, three of which are inhabited (Itbayat, the largest, followed by Batan and Sabtang). Unlike the rest of the country, Batanes enjoys four seasons: fall from September to November, winter from December to February, spring from March to May and summer from June to August. The climate is

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lighthouse at Naisdi Hills

Mount Iraya

Marlboro Country

colder than the rest of the country as the province is surrounded by major seas all around – Bashi Channel to the north, Balintang Channel to the South, Pacific Ocean to the east and South China Sea to the west.

The Hills Are Alive The picturesque Batan Island looks like it came right out of “The Sound of Music.” Gentle rolling fields bound by green pastures provide the best view of Rakuh a Payaman (which means “big pasture”). In these parts, cows and goats graze at the steeper mountain slopes, while a few trees provide shade and from the distance come the sight of waves crashing across the shore.

The road to the Rolling Hills is lush with acres of mountains and of green velvet grass; and beyond that is the view of Itbayat Island. As its name suggests, anyone who slips while walking down the narrow pathway gets to “roll” down the hill–a good several meters down.

The Chawa View Deck provides an enthralling glimpse of the Batanes mountainside with a steep line of stairs that bring you closer to the seas. Those who have been to Alapad Road remember the scene in

which Dawn Zulueta and Richard Gomez were frolicking in “heaven” in Hihintayin Kita sa Langit, one of the very first local movies that paid tribute to the mystic Batanes landscape. It was a scene which featured a narrow road on top of a small cliff, and beyond that, a view of the blue crystal seas.

The lighthouse at Naisdi Hills and the Vulugan Boulder Beach, both found at the northern part of Batan, are not to be missed. The operational lighthouse gives guests a view of the stretch of the Pacific Ocean and comes alive in the night guiding fishermen to shore. The lighthouse is also ideal for romantic dinners.

The boulders that line the Vulugan Boulder Beach are andesite rocks spewed by Mount Iraya, an active volcano in Batanes. These rocks were smoothed over time by the Pacific Ocean.

A Fallowa Experience Getting to Sabtang Island, which was chosen by the Department of Tourism as one of the 22 best destinations in the country – with a fallowa (a banca without outriggers) ride from the San Vicente port.

88 BAKASYON GRANDE The journey is not exactly calm as the waves and winds are very fierce, but after thirty to forty-five minutes of a bumpy trip, the municipal hall of Sabtang Island comes to view. The smallest island in Batanes is best known for the stone-brick walled houses. The town of Chavayan, a UNESCO World Heritage nominated site for its preserved houses made of lime and stone that have withstood the strongest of storms. Unlike traditional houses, each section of the house is distinctly separate from the others and they have thick cogon-thatched roofs which take months to make.

The Nakabuang Beach and Arch, also known as the “White Beach,” is famous for its natural rock arc formation. This is a perfect spot to enjoy the clear waters and lounge in the white sands. Ideal for swimming, snorkeling and picnicking, this beach promises nature at its finest.

Interestingly, Sabtang Island is also the home to the oldest person in the whole of Batanes, a 104-year old man who is still sharp. You can find him threading his fishing nets – without eyeglasses. He claims that his secret to a golden life is avoiding eating pork and meat. He only likes kamote and vegetables.

People and Faces Aside from being known for the vacul headdress which Ivatan women wear to shield themselves from the sun and rain and the tadidi, a traditional vest made from dried banana leaves which the men wear, Batanes’ pride is its people. As you explore downtown Batan, you will be greeted by warm smiles all around. You may experience this more if you are Ilocano as there are many Ilocanos on the island, and you have a common language to bind you. A testament to how jovial and respectful the people are is the “Honesty Coffee Shop” at Ivana, where there is only one rule: you pay for what you buy without anyone assisting you.

Ivatans are also known to be trustworthy and peace-loving people.

The province has a zero crime rate which proves that the people cooperate and obediently comply with local laws. Even loitering is a major crime and in almost every corner, there are separate trash bags to segregate paper and plastic.

Nakabuang Arc

With Batanes being such a relatively peaceful community and its spots so magical, no wonder this is a must-visit for guests and tourists who understandably would not mind being stranded in this magical place for a day…or more.

Things to consider when planning a trip to Batanes: Flight Reservations: Only Seair travels to Batanes - once or twice a day. To get the best deals, look out for promotions in their website at http://www.flyseair.com/. Take advantage of last minute deals and your fare of PHP15,000 per person might just be cut in half.

Places to Stay: If you want to experience a modest house with all the amenities you need, including wifi and cable TV, try Novita House in downtown Batan - cost is PHP1,700 per day with an additional of PHP170 in excess of six people. The most expensive room is priced at PHP15,000 a night.

Where to Eat: For breakfast, go to St. Dominic’s College canteen.

They offer hotdogs, ham and eggs. If you are a pizza lover, try Casa Napoli. Also, Hiro’s Café and Pension Ivatan. Insider tip - preorder first, rather than drop by unexpectedly. They don’t have guests coming in every meal and pre-ordering ensures that the food they will cook is going to be eaten.

Best Time to Go: Off peak seasons are from June to January.

Accommodations are reduced during this time as well. But be forewarned that rains come at this time and you might get stranded on the islands. Howe ver, rains can also come during the peak seasons.

Must Brings: Jacket or sweatshirt! Batanes gets windy even when it’s high noon. Bring sneakers for trekking. You can also bring your swimsuit if you want to take a dip in the water. Just below Fundacion Pacita is a low tide beach – water is cool and warm.

Pasalubongs: Some shops sell the Batanes vakul headdress or tadidi jacket for men. You can even buy wallets or other souvenirs made of rattan.

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Cruising Down the Mighty

Yangtze River Text and Photos by Al Manlangit

Ever since I saw “The Three Gorges Dam” on the Travel Channel, I made a mental note that one day we’d go on a Yangtze River cruise. The river, which is the longest in Asia, flows for 6,300 kms from the Tibetan plateau all the way to Shanghai on the eastern side and empties into the China Sea. The mighty Yangtze River plays a very important role in China’s history and economy; its surrounding land area is home to about one-third of the population. illustrado Magazine

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closet, well-stocked bar, large screen LCD and ensuite bathroom with amenities fit for a king. Were it not for the terrace outside overlooking the river, you’d think you were ensconced in a Hilton executive suite.

View Downriver

After unpacking and settling down, we went out to explore the ship. There was a reading room, two dining halls, souvenir shops, entertainment hall, gym and a wide open promenade deck on the topside. A curving staircase connected all the decks and for those too lazy to walk, four high-speed lifts served the same purpose.

We had dinner at 8:00PM and filled ourselves with all kinds of Chinese dishes from the buffet till we could no longer get up from our seats! With some drinks at the bar later on, we found our way to the top deck where everyone was sitting around enjoying the lights of the Mountain City. By 9:30PM, the anchor lifted and after passing by the last neon lights, the boat slipped into the ink-black darkness where only the chugging sound of the engines and the lapping of the waves could be heard.

DAY 2 Dance presentation performed by crew

The opportunity to go on a cruise came when the wife and I met up in Hong Kong – she came in from Manila and I from Kuwait - on our way to the Expo in Shanghai. The journey would be between the cities of Chongqing and Yichang through the spectacular three gorges which are noted for their towering mountains and beautiful scenery. We flew to the picturesque mountain city of Chongqing in southwest China to embark on what we knew would be an unforgettable adventure.

DAY 1

It took a while for the cab driver from the airport to figure out where the cruise docks were in downtown Chongqing. A translator over his phone finally understood where we wanted to go and we made it there at 6:30PM, with still plenty of time to spare since the boat was supposed to leave half past nine.

Porters took our luggage down the steep steps to the shore and over the pontoon bridge to the middle of the floating dock on the Yangtze River where our cruise liner, the Victoria Jenna was anchored.

The four day-three night cruise would take us 600kms down the Yangtze through steep gorges, picturesque country sides and narrow tributaries, all the way downstream to Yichang, where the largest dam in the world is located.

A red carpet and a raucous band greeted us as we made our way up the gangplank and into the main reception where we checked in. Measuring 134 meters long by 19 meters wide with 189 cabins within its six decks that could accommodate 378 passengers, this was the newest and largest boat plying these waters. Our room on the fifth deck had a humongous bed, settee, credenza, spacious

Sunrise filtered through the window sheers as dawn slowly crept up.

With coffee in hand, we sat on the terrace watching the fog lift slowly exposing the heavily-wooded landscape, while the reflections on the water glistened like jewels on dark velvet. It was deathly quiet, save for the occasional cry of a bird somewhere beyond our line of sight as the boat ever-so-slowly chugged its way downstream. Now this was the peace and quiet that I had always longed for – completely unplugged from the wired world.

Breakfast was a brief, but enjoyable affair with fellow passengers coming and going, getting ready for the day’s event. Today we were going to dock in Fengdu, a city that is a popular stop of cruise ships, for a shore excursion to the “Ghost City.”

By 10:00AM, we disembarked and tour guides herded us to the cable car that zipped us up through lush vegetation to the top of Mingshan Hill where a plethora of demon-decorated temples and statues awaited us. The place gained its fearsome reputation as a ghost city when two officials of the 2nd-century Han Dynasty built these structures decorated with wild demon images, vividly depicting the Chinese people’s imagination of hell.

Medium cruise boat

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After dinner, we watched a cultural show put on by the crew who donned beautiful colored costumes, as they interpreted their rich Chinese traditional heritage in song, dance and fashion. The icing on the cake wasthe Captain himself (a good-natured Norwegian), who sang Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” in his rich baritone that brought the house down.

DAY 3

Victoria Jenna docked in Chongqing

Many Buddhist and Taoist temples were scattered amidst the ascending slope so you couldn’t miss them. At the very end of the long climb was a beautiful pagoda with breathtaking views overlooking the Yangtze. Some landmarks on the trail bore horrible names like Ghost Torturing Pass, Last Glance of Home, No Way Out Bridge and the spine-tingling River of Blood. But overall, the place was so serene it would have been the perfect place for a picnic underneath the trees whose canopies swayed from the gentle wind blowing across from the river.

We entered the first of the Three Gorges - Qutang Gorge – the shortest at 5 kms and narrowest at 160 meters. But this was also the most dramatic because the mountainside towered above you almost within an arm’s length away. The river opened up once more and plantations, then villages came into view. It was quite interesting to watch how everyday life went on in these places where people depended so much on the mighty river for their livelihood; be it agriculture, fishing or transport. Many boats and tugs carrying grain, mined ore, equipment and even trucks sailed up and down creating river traffic, just like on a highway.

Back on the boat, hot tea and cold towels awaited us to wipe away any trace of evil spirits that may have clung to us from the mountain.

There were cocktails later in the lounge as the boat left the shore and made its way downstream once more. We again sat on the terrace enjoying the cool afternoon breeze as the sun set amidst a fiery red sky. The beauty of a river cruise is that you can enjoy peace and tranquility in the comfort of your own cocooned world, while contemplating a moving panoply of earth, water and sky in equal measure. Now what could be more satisfying than that?

Condemned man in Ghost city.

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After some time, we traversed the Wu Gorge with its sheer cliffs and forest-covered tops.

We docked in Wushan where we transferred to a medium-sized cruiser to navigate the smaller tributary of the Yangtze; the Daning River where it had its own version of smaller gorges.

The cliffs on either bank, soared to almost 1000 meters and one of the highlights was the cave where 2000-year-old coffins used to be suspended high up on the cliff-face. Now they’re gone, but some are in the museums on display – huge, heavy wooden Pagoda boat-shaped contraptions. How they were brought up there by the ancient Ba people, a mysterious tribe expert in boat building, remains an enigma until today.

We transferred once again to a smaller boat holding about a dozen people to sail several kilometers down the much narrower branch of the river where the deep turquoise water was so clear you could almost see all the way to the bottom.

Swaying bamboo on the shore added what seemed like archways to the already thick foliage where some monkeys watched us with curiosity. Hence, the name Emerald Green Gorge.

Immediately upon getting back to the mother ship, the Victoria Jenna passed through Xiling Gorge which is the longest, deepest and widest of the three gorges. We went up to the viewing deck topside to better appreciate the view of the towering mountains whose peaks were partly covered with heavy mist.

Surprisingly, there were many people living on the higher slopes along with their cattle and vegetable plots carved out of the steep mountainside.

By midnight, we entered the giant locks of the Three Gorges Dam. There were five of them and it was quite amazing how they worked in unison to bring us down to the lower level of the river. Each stage took over an hour to negotiate and we were already fast asleep after the second one.

DAY 4

We got down in Sandoupin, the town closest to Yichang, where buses took us to the Three Gorges Dam under pouring rain. Umbrellas over our heads, we gazed down into the world’s largest dam, but didn’t see much except for a swirling mass of fog and water that extended into the far distance. The guides took us to the exhibit hall to see a huge scale model of the engineering marvel in order to better appreciate its construction and significance to the country.

Once again, we sailed off for about 30 kms before finally docking in Yichang, the main city transport hub next to the dam which was, after cruising 650 kms, the end of our journey. It was still raining hard as we disembarked and took the taxi to the airport where we had a flight to catch. Except for the last part, it was an enjoyable trip - what with the great food, accommodation and entertainment, relaxing ambiance and interesting shore excursions.

Some insider tips on taking a river cruise Booking your cruise: I booked our travel through Victoria Cruise Lines, an American-managed cruise company that has the largest 5-star ships on the Yangtze. The cruise package costs US$475 per person. Contact: www.victoriacruises.com Getting there: You can fly from Hongkong to Chongqing direct. We flew via China Southern Airlines for the 2-1/2 flight. From the airport, you can take a taxi to the cruise docks located downtown on the Yangtze River. It takes about half an hour to get there.

When to go: The best time to cruise the Yangtze is either during April-May or SeptemberOctober when the weather is warm and mild.

Since you have the option to cruise either from Chongqing to Yichang (downstream) or Yichang to Chongqing (upstream), I’d recommend the downstream cruise since the ship passes through most of the interesting shore excursions during the day.

What to bring: Bring comfortable shoes and an umbrella for shore excursions. Bring a sweater since it can get cold at night on the top deck or windy during the day. Motion sickness pills would come in handy for those not used to the rocking movement of the ship though it is minimal. A pair of binoculars or videocam is recommended, but a camera is a must!

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The Zeppelin Room

The Zeppelin Room recreates a section of an actual Zeppelin, then the height of technology and preferred mode of high-flying transport of the wealthy and power elite, as it coasts high above the Manhattan skyline at night. Adding whimsy to the setup is King Kong — sporting a diamond stud on one ear, and a lacquered red pinky nail — getting up close and personal with the Zeppelin while straddling the top of the Empire State Building.

Salon de Ning: Recreating Shanghai’s 1930s Glam

By Ana Santos

Pictures courtesy of The Peninsula Manila

The slender, dark-haired, porcelain-skinned beauty commands a presence; she makes heads turn; she makes people stop mid-conversation - wherever she is. And for Madame Ning, that could be any place in the world where she owns a lavish and stylish home - in New York, in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and of course, Manila.

A frequent traveler and a connoisseur of life’s indulgences, travelling from one place to another with her Italian-made brass and leather trunks and filling them with strange and precious objects that will no doubt become stylish fixtures in her parlor, is a sublime joy for Madame Ning.

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The year is 1932. For Madame Ning, the socialite, the hostess extraordinaire, the social scene is where she holds court. Madame Ning’s parties are partly legend and conversation piece as is her collection of objets d’art, her rare finds and souvenirs from various innovators around the world.

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The Shoe Room: The Shoe Room, embodies Madame Ning’s passion for dramatic footwear.

Behind the heavy drapes, high, glass cabinets set against the walls encase 240 pairs of individually designed shoes. The Shanghai Room, another crowd favorite and the largest space, is Madame Ning’s private sitting room, where a bit of all her Oriental pleasures come to roost — from antique furniture, to exotic pets in cages, to leopard-print rugs on the walls. Each of these rooms is set apart by a large gilded frame, giving guests the feeling of stepping into a set.

For those who have only heard of her and even to those who do know her, but can only aspire to be invited to her salons and parties, Madame Ning might slip into a new evening gown of hand-woven silk from Vietnam and a pair of custom-made stilettos by her favorite Parisian cobbler. She might mix a favorite cocktail and infuse it with something new and unexpected, something she picked up at a souk in Morocco, or perhaps pour bottles of a rare vintage shipped expressly at her bidding from Europe.

Under a jeweled sky of upside-down parasols encrusted with translucent chips of shell, resin and crystal, is a main hall with a stage featuring a stunning, golden beaded backdrop, and a spread of one-of-a-kind chairs in plush velvet.

“Like its predecessors (other Salon de Nings have opened in New York, Hong Kong and Shanghai), the latest Salon de Ning incarnation is flush with the spirit of Madame Ning, reflecting her eclectic and adventurous tastes, bringing to Manila the high drama of Shanghai in its golden age —with a bit of Hollywood thrown in,” says Crook.

For Madame Ning, it is always a good time for dancing and music.

And whatever your poison, you will find it at the bar, but one will not be able to consider themselves a guest of Madame Ning if they have not tried the Salon’s signature drink - “Ning Sling,” a fruity cocktail with an intriguing twist.

Described in such animated detail, using precise clear imagery, it is hard to imagine that the globetrotting and glamorous creature lives and flourishes only in the mind of The Peninsula Hotels CEO Peter C. Borer.

A more extensive cocktail menu is also available across the foyer at The Bar which sports a different design aesthetic from Salon de Ning, but whose “old Cuban cigar factory” concept complements the capital of the East next door.

Madame Ning, Borer’s darling muse, has inspired a series of Peninsula-based cocktail lounges and bars called Salon de Ning, which is drawing the Manila crowds in droves to partake if not relive the enchanting lifestyle.

With predominant colors of cobalt blue and dark brown, and inspired by the character of an old school gentleman who likes his cigar a certain kind of rich flavor and his drink strong and crisp, The Bar smolders with a different kind of sexy. The house specials include cocktails that ring of Latin American passion, such as the “Mango Pomegranate Mojito” (a mix of mango-infused rum, pomegranate, lime and mint leaves), and “Fidel’s Cigar,” a full-flavored cocktail of cigar-infused rum, Orgeat, orange bitters, and apple juice.

To successfully re-imagine the golden age of Shanghai as Madame Ning’s original stomping grounds, CEO Peter Borer worked closely with designer Henry Leung, the Hong Kong-based Design Director of Chhada, Siembieda Leung Limited, who also designed all the other Salon de Nings. Borer himself handpicked a number of fine objects from around the world to fill the rooms; and if he couldn’t find just what he was looking for, he simply had it made — from the crystal to the chairs. Nothing but the best for Madame Ning.

Peninsula Manila General Manager Jonathan Crook describes the vision behind Salon de Ning as an attempt “to recreate the glamorous world of 1930s Shanghai.”

Evenings at Salon de Ning are filled with music and dancing - a different musical act every night; each new musical act bringing to the Salon a different kind of entertainment.

In Salon de Ning, cocktails are theater — an art, a show — where the dancing, conversation and music are the life of the party.

96 FEATURE Onli In Da Pilipins - 1. n. a phrase used to define anything or anyone that only exists anywhere in the 7,107 islands of the Philippines || 2. adj. a phrase used to describe a Pinas episode or a Pinoy persona so rare one would never find anywhere else in the WWW (whole, wide world).

It merits a documentation of some sort.

I, Pinay

By Aby Yap

Hey Blood Sister, repeat after me!

I, (insert name), who hails from any of the 7,107 islands (during low tide) of the Philippines, acknowledge that we come in all shapes and sizes with various quirks (read: pagkaloka-loka) and goals. Despite our differences, however, we’re bonded by our fancy for endless tsika and showbiz tsismis, especially when trooping to the ladies’ room. We share varying degrees of annoyance when leering men wolf whistle at us every time we go out in sleeveless tops and shorts; moreso, when we’re referred to as “tsiks.” We belong only to one sisterhood, which we proudly call “The Filipinas,” and here we shall remain in mind, heart, soul, and deed.

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Pinay Power

why guys should trust that adage “Behind every successful man, there is a woman.” Be very careful in choosing a wife, indeed.)

In some instances, she could be Valentina whose ugly head of little, angry snakes might turn you into stone and leave a venomous picture of the Pinay. But she could also be Darna, far from the weak and meek Narda that others so misguidedly believe she is. She knows what she wants for herself. She knows what she’s set to do for her family, maybe even for the country. And she soars high to pursue it.

So, Ding, you can now throw that stone away. The Filipina can do without it.

Pinay Passion

Often, she can’t help it, it actually becomes an obsession - a rather expensive one.

Like flawlessly white skin that even Snow White would be insecured of. Sure, kayumangging kaligatan sounds romantic and everything, but the quest to be the fairest of them all is just too tempting - especially when everyone is getting in on the game and winning it can pave the way to your being an artista — the bida, ha! (Have you ever noticed that it’s the sweet tisay look that usually gets the starring role and the handsome leading man? Otherwise, you’re assigned as the mean kontrabida with the dark, pimply goon as your love interest.)

But who is the Filipina?

According to the Oxford English Dictionary of many years ago, she was a domestic helper. Que barbaridad! Was that a joke? We’re more than maids and yayas; we’re also Japayukis and mail-to-order brides.

We’re nurses, caregivers, beauty queens, performers, artists, teachers, entrepreneurs, soldiers, presidents, homemakers, and dreamers.

Fortunately, that erroneous dictionary entry was corrected and the grave injustice against the Pinay rectified.

Why, she’s Gabriela Silang and Prinsesa Urduja whose courage in armed revolutions is legendary even in this century! She’s also lola, against whom you never won that childhood battle of siesta vs. palo.

Even your parents couldn’t stop lola from giving in to your whims when she’s in that indulging grandma mood.

She’s Teodora Alonzo and Melchora Aquino, whose unconditional love and instinctive wisdom nurtured heroes in the process. She’s also nanay who has always known when you’re lying through your teeth (too bad), even when she’s oceans away tending to her employer’s kids. Yes, mothers know best.

So, she develops a phobia of the sun and refuses to leave home without an umbrella. She goes into panic buying mode and grabs the whole load of products which promise an all-white existence — whitening soaps/facial creams/astringents/toners/exfoliants/lotions, glutathione capsules, etc —hoping against hope that she’ll be white in seven days. And of course, if there’s extra cash, Vicky Belo, Manny and Pie Calayan, and company will be too happy to help (getting richer in the process). But if the budget is tight, papaya soap and Chin Chan Su cream are the cheaper alternative. Warning: prepare your best deadma look should your family members start screaming or snickering at your Chin Chan Su-covered face.

If TV/radio ads and the billboards along EDSA dictate that skin is supposed to be white and smooth, then hair should be black and straight. No wonder thousands are spent on hair straightening, relaxing, rebonding, and reborn treatments. See, better penniless than a problem of society (though that kulot salot accusation is way below the belt). Besides, having black and straight hair is your ticket to finding a rich husband or becoming a model employee. Never mind the lack of logic. Just be glad and rejoice. Not!

She’s Ate Vi and Ate Guy, just as much as she’s Mara and Clara. She’s the big sister that we look up to. She’s also the daughter that we hope to raise to become a decent member of society. Please, inasmuch as we admire Freddie Aguilar’s OPM, we don’t ever want our story to turn into that Anak song or movie.

Don’t forget the least attainable of these Pinay fixations: having a high-bridged nose, if not for herself (since getting a nose lift is costly) then at least for her future kids. Now, please, let go of that old practice of nose pinching with a clothespin. You know it can’t make you less pango. Hmmm, this one, though, makes a good excuse to work at yet another secret desire: the search for a Caucasian Prince Charming. Aminin!

She’s Maria Clara and Salome, beautiful in their mestiza and morena looks and faithful to their lovers until the bitter end. She’s also Cory and Imelda, without a doubt the compelling force that propelled their spouses to their current place in history. (Hah, another reason

But, you do realize that these guys go for that famous exotic Pinay look, don’t you? Your natural features already make you a catch and one lucky woman, ateh!

98 FILIPINISMS

The Annie B (Batobalani) Chronicles

The adventures and misadventures of a ‘not so average’ Pinay trying to make it in the cosmpolitan city of Dubai.

Chronicle

48

Super Annie & the Wonder Twins A-N-G G-A-N-D-A K-O !!!

Mismo! Yan ang nagagawa ng walang kamatayang pag-ibig. Walang kasing-tamis na ligaya at tuwa ang dulot ng aking pakiramdam ngayon. Well let’s just say the moon and the stars and the planets aligned to make my world go round. Dumating na ang muling pagkabuhay ng aking lovelife at muling nagbalik sa aking mundo si Adam – the love of my life – matapos ang ilang buwang puno ng pait, hinagpis at lumbay. Yes, I’m definitely back! Fezbook Status: IN A RELATIONSHEEEEP!!! Yes… Dizzizzit!!!

Pagpasensyahan nyo na lang ang trip ko, mga friends. Dala na rin kasi ng sunod-sunod na tinungga kong Coke, Starbucks Expresso at Red Bull, na sinabayan ko pa ng Snickers. Idagdag mo pa ang ngiti sa mga labi kong hindi mapapantayan ng trophy ni Natalie Portman – kaya ako lumulutang sa Cloud 9 ngayon. Pakiramdam ko, lumilipad ako sa ere…parang kaya kong magbuhat ng pison. Ang haba kasi ng hair ko, eh!

Pero ang ganda ko talaga. Mas maganda pa kay Anne Curtis, kay Georgina Wilson at Solenn Heussaff. O, na-imagine mo na kung gaano ako kaganda? Iba talaga kapag nasa ibabaw ka ng mundo feeling mo lahat kaya mong gawin. Parang superhero. As a matter of facts, ipinaramdam ko na sa ilang mga nangangailangan ang taglay kong powers…

Is she a plain? No, does she have a bird? Oh no, it’s Super Annie and the Wonder Twins!!! Kaya ba ng powers mo? Narito na ang tagapaglitas ng mga naapi, kalaban ng mga nang-aapi at kakampi ng mga nagpapa-api. Apppiiirrrr!!! (Napaka-80s!!!) Kilalanin ang aking mga Wonder Twins (O, wala nang kokontra, fantasy ko to eh!) na kaakibat kong magliligtas sa sambayanan. Wonder Twin Powers… activate! Turn into a Hermes Birkin Bag!!! O, may mas kakaVog pa ba sa akin?!!!

Lunes, 8:20am - Habang nakasakay sa aking carlift, napansin kong kakaiba ang kinikilos ni Genivive. Naiiba rin ang anyo nya ngayong

umaga. Ang salarin – ang kanyang superdry, under moisturized, tumitikwas-tikwas na hairdo!!! May sariling pag-isip itu! Anu mang pilit suklayin ni Genivive pakanan eh, pilit tumitikwas sa kaliwa ito.

Parang walis-tambo - pwede nang suyurin ang lahat ng alikabok sa Sheikh Zayed Road. Confeeermed…Genivive is having a bad hair day!

Huwag kang maakot…Super Annie is here to save your bad hair day! Halika, habang nagpapa-gasolina ang driver eh itatakas kita at dadalhin sa toilet. To the rescue sa iyong problema ang aking Andis Pro Ceramic Ionic Hair Blower! Konting wasiwas lang, konting talsik ng hairsrpay, konting hagod ng hairbrush… ayan! Mistulang Sunsilk image model ka na! At hindi mo kamukha si Kris Aquino... kasi si Michael V. ang kamukha nya ha? O di ba? Yallah… humayo ka na at pumasok na sa opisina!

Huwebes, 7:42pm - Habang nagwi-window shopping ako sa Mall of The Emirates, nakasalubong ko si Berting sa loob ng Dolce & Gabbana boutique. Mukhang naliligaw, hindi mapakali, pinagpapawisan ng malagkit… paniguradong may matinding pinagdadaanan. May hot date daw sya, makikipag-eyeball sa matagal na nyang ka-chat sa internet. Dapat daw jumaporms sya. Ika nga, first imfreshon is last. Pero hindi raw nya alam kung saan at ano ang bibilhing outfit. Super Annie to the rescue!!!

Berting, bitawan mo ang Skinny Jeans na yan, kung ayaw mong magmukhang suman! Tandaan mo, size 38 ang waistline mo. May dahilan kung bakit tinawag na Skinny yang pantalon na yan. At hindi bagay sa yo ang yellow sports jacket na yan…kulay kape ang balat mo nakalimutan mo na ba? Makinig ka sa akin, lumabas ka na dyan sa D&G. Unang-una, wala sa budget mo ang presyo ng mga damit dyan…aatakihin ka lang sa puso kapag nakita mo ang price tag. Pangalawa, sa Chili’s Al Ghurair ang Eyeball mo, hindi sa Submarine kaya huwag ka na mangarap lumevel sa mga pamintang durog doon.

FILIPINISMS 99

KaPoww!!!

Dali-dali kong hinatak palabas ng D&G si Berting at dinala sya sa H&M. Dito ka nababagay… lumugar ka kasi. Blazer, Dhs249, check!

Shirt, Dhs129, check! Cargo Trousers Dhs149, check! Sneakers, Dhs109, check! Instant Casual Classics winner! Siguradong kikiligin ang ka-eyeball mo nyan! Pwede mo pang ipang-simba at ipang-Chika Grill – sa halagang wala pang isang libo ikaw na ang bagong crush ng bayan! Pero as a last minute touch, kinailangan ko ng tulong.

Wonder Twin Powers…activate! Turn into a bottle of The Pony Collection No. 3 by Ralph Lauren perfume!!! Naks, amoy Dingdong Dantes pogi ka na nyan! Panibagong kamandag ang masisinghot ng ka-eyeball mo nyan – kaya ipahinga mo na ang Davidoff Cool Water mo – panahon pa ni Randy Santiago sa Lunch Date yun. Aprub?!!!

Ayan, tuwang-tuwa si Berting – laki ng pasasalamat nya sa fashion advice ko, may bago na syang pang-isputing. At naligtas pa sya sa muntikan nang kapahamakan sa credit card nya kung bumigay sya sa D&G. Good luck sa eyeball mo, Tsong!

Biyernes, 10:40am - Hayun ako, kagigising pa lang at excited na tumunganga dahil simula na ng weekend, punong-puno ng mga plano kung paano ko aaksayahin ang oras sa buong magdamag dahil wala ngang pasok, sabik na nag-log in sa ang aking Fezbook account habang kumukurap-kurap pa ang mga nagmumuta kong mga mata nang muntikang kong maibuga ang mainit na kapeng hinihigop ko sa tindi ng kacheapan na nakita kong naka-post sa FB Wall ko…

Malou Singson (kaklase ko nuong College na ubod ng pasosyal to the highest level) tagged you in her post: Grade AAA Channel Bags for Sale: exact replica, best quality. Hurry, limited items only!

Utang na loob! Wala pa rin bang ‘unlike’ button dito?!!! Ang tapang ng apog niyang i-tag ako, pati na rin karamihan sa mga kaklase naming babae, sa illegal at sagad sa buto nyang kabulastugan! Kapal ng fez…nakuha pang i-model ang mga japeyks nyang paninda… at nag-change outfit pa! Anong akala nya? Mauuto nya kaming lahat na kumagat sa raket nyang lantaran namang ipinagbabawal sa batas? Excuse me, I’ve been there, been that na po uyy! Bilang dating nahumaling din sa pag-gamit ng mga japeyks na designer items – na sa totoo lang eh pawang mga bigay at regalo lang naman sa akin ng mga kapwa kong clueless na mga kaibigan at sponsor – at nakaranas na ng kahihiyan na magpa-hanggang ngayon ay nakaukit pa rin sa

alalaa ko (Mismo, ganun ka grabe ang inabot kong interrogation mula sa isang airport customs officer noon), ipinangako ko sa aking sarili at itinaga sa bato na hindi na muli akong tatangkilik ng mga ipinagbabawal na pekeng designer labels na yan. Napag-isip-isip ko na bukod sa sarili ko lang ang niloloko ko (buong paniwala ko na ang taas ang social level ko) ay para na rin akong bumili ng nakaw – dahil nga sa illegal na paggamit ng design at pangalan ng mga sindikatong pasimuno ng krimeng ito. Kaya isinumpa ko na mula sa araw na iyon ay hindi lang ako magpapaloko sa kabulastugang mga ganoon, tutulong pa ako sa pagsugpo ng mga kriminal na walang sawang nangwawalanghiya ng intellectual property rights ng mundo ng fashion na kinabibilangan ko. Super Annie to the rescue na naman!

Imbes na i-untag ko ang pangalan ko sa post ni Malou at dedmahin na lang ang mapanirang puri na ginawa nya sa akin, nag-comment ako upang mabasa ng lahat ng iba pang mga naka-tag at pati na rin ng buong network nya: “Malou, please do the needful. Spair us the shame and wrong deed of luring everyone into being a victim of your illegal and criminal activity. Drink a double dose of expresso strong coffee so that you will have the nerves to think of the people that you want to fool of themselves. You belong to the jail, you merciless merchant of fake designer bags. And by the way, Channel is spelled with one ‘h” only, what do you think of ourselves, poor in spelling?

Repent and be sorrowfull of your sins! You are just as fake as the bags that you sale. KThanksBye!” O di ba very Assumptionista ang English ko doon? Tingnan ko lang kung hindi matunaw sa kahihiyan at magpalamon sa kumukulong kumunoy yang si Malou matapos nyang mabasa ang comment ko sa Post nya. Paniguradong magtatanda na sya at titigilan na ang raket nya na panloloko ng mga walang kamuwang-muwang na fashionista sa mundo ng Fezbook. Queber kung i-unfriend nya ako. Hindi naman talaga kami close noh? Tse! Isa na namang krimen ang nalupig ni Super Annie! Ilang kababaihan din ang nailigtas ko mula sa kapahamakan at kacheapan ng pagbili ng illegal at japeyks na designer bags! Dizzizit!

100 FILIPINISMS

To da reskyu!!!

Sa kabila ng mga kabayanihang na-achieve ko bilang isang natatanging superhero, maraming pangyayari na nagaganap ngayon ang nais ko mang careerin ay aminado akong hindi kaya ng mga taglay kong powers, even with the help of my Wonder Twins. Mga kaguluhan at dagok ng tadhana na bukod sa hindi natin maintindihan ay mahirap ding iwasan. Pero kung tamaan ako ng kidlat at tubuan sa aking katawan ng kakaibang super powers ay mabilis pa sa alas-kuwatro kong sasagipin ang lahat ng mga nangangailangan ng tulong at saklolo.

Haharangin ko ang mga bala at patataubin ang mga tangke sa Libya upang walang sinuman ang masaktan at magbuwis ng buhay sa gitna ng kaguluhang pinagdadaanan ng lahat doon. Isa-isa kong sasagipin at ililipad pauwi sa Pilipinas ang ating mga kabayan na naiipit sa gitna ng putukan at histerya pati na rin sa Bahrain at sa Oman.

Nang sa ganoon ay hindi na sila madamay pa sa kung anu mang gulo at mapawi ang kaba at pagaalala ng mga mahal nila sa buhay na nangungulila sa kanila. At dahil matindi ang pinagdaanan nila, pabubuksan ko ang Duty Free sa tabi ng airport at ililibre ko pa sila ng mga pampasalubong – havey na havey di ba? Lubos-lubusin na natin!

At sa mga ayaw paawat na mga militante na ayaw magsitigil sa kapuputok ng kanilang mga armas, sa tulong ng aking Wonder Twins ay gagawin kong mga bulaklak ang mga baril nila – mas matinding armas, mas malaking bulaklak! Kung pistol, isang red rose. Kapag

uzi o armalite, isang boquet ng bulaklak… yung parang ina-award sa mga beauty contest. Hala, maghampasan kayo ng bulaklak hanggang sa magsawa kayo. Kapag naubos at nalagas ang mga hawak nyo ay gawin nyong mga pupuri nang bumango bango naman ang kapaligaran nyo. Instant beautification to the max, long live World Peace!!!

Ang sarap talaga siguro ng may kapangyarihan ano? Pero sabi nga ni Spiderman, with great power comes great responsibility. Kaya dapat lamang na gamitin sa mabuti at tamang paraan ang taglay na kapangyarihan, kasi, with great power also comes corruption. At kung walang kukurap, walang mahirap! Ay basta, kung hindi mo maintindihan eh ganito na lang: it doesn’t take a superhero to do good things to others. Hindi ka man nakakalipad o nakakabuhat ng tren, pwede ka pa ring gumawa ng kabutihan para makatulong sa kapwa mo. Imagine kung lahat tayo eh sabay-sabay gagawa ng kabayanihan? Eh di ang saya siguro noon! At kapag masaya ka, masarap ang pakiramdam mo. Feeling mo miski ano kaya mong gawin. At higit sa lahat pakiramdam at paniwala mo eh hindi lang maganda ka – pinakamaganda pa! Dyosa level na yan ha? KaVog! Yan ang dahilan ng pagmamaganda ko. Gets mo na? Huwag kang umarte-arte ha? Aminin mo effective ang theory ko. Kaya simulan mo na kabayan by spreading love all over the planet. Maniwala ka, kakaiba ang feelings. Now you know. Dizzizit!!!

CLASSIFIEDS - ILLUSTRADO PARTNERS FILIPINO & FILIPINO-ORIENTED ESTABLISHMENTS BEAUTY SALONS BUR DUBAI, DUBAI Beauty Secret Concord Building 2, Mankhool, Bur Dubai Tel. 04 358 1477 Mars & Venus Beauty Salon Office 202, 2nd Floor, Bin Hamad Building, Opposite Emirates Bank International Tel. 04 344 9219

Mayumy Salon Al Bada Oasis Tower, Satwa (at the back of Chowking) Tel. 04 345 6799

DEIRA, DUBAI Grand Mart General Trading Al- Murraqabat, Deira Tel. 04 297 5888

KARAMA, DUBAI Red Ribbon Bakery Karama Tel. 04 396 8675

Silky Touch Ladies Salon Al Badaa Oasis Tower, Satwa (at the back of Chow King) Tel. No: 04 345 0092

Moonlight Supermarket Near Clock Tower Tel. 04 2942422

Salt & Pepper Karama Tel. 04 396 3770

KARAMA, DUBAI Queen Saba Trading Karama Branch, Fish Market Tel. 04 337 1416

SATWA, DUBAI Big John Restaurant Satwa Tel. 04 344 5677

Sunflower Supermarket Karama, Dubai UAE Tel : 04-3964611 Fax : 04-3964573

Deli Bite Restaurant Al Bada Oasis Tower, Satwa Tel. 04 345 3845

SUPERMARKETS ABU DHABI Saba International Trading Near Dana Hotel, Tourist Club, Abu Dhabi Tel. 02 645 7800

SATWA, DUBAI Well Goal Supermarket Satwa Tel. 04 344 9851

Majestic Restaurant Satwa Tel. 04 332 9860

Queen Saba Supermarket Khalidiyah, Abu Dhabi Tel. 02 666 6280

RESTAURANTS ABU DHABI Hundred Island Foodstuff Madinat Sayed Tel. 02 634 4084

Queen Saba Supermarket Behind Al Salama Hospital, Hamdan St., Tourist Club, Abu Dhabi Tel. 02 677 7626

Kainan Filipino Restaurant Beside Wonder Gift Island, Salam St. Tel. 02 671 5580

RAS AL KHAIMAH, UAE Silky Touch Ladies Salon 1st Flr, Room # 4, Sheikh Umar Bldg., Al Nakheel Road, Ras Al Kaimah, UAE Tel 050 798 5139

KARAMA, DUBAI Bernadita Ladies Salon Al Wasl Bldg., Karama Tel 04 335 3049 Fingers & Toes Salon M4 Karama Gold Bldg., Beside Jumbo Electronics, Karama Tel. 04 336 6495 Fingers & Toes Salon Shop 70 Al-Attar Center, Karama Tel. 04 335 7656 Lilac Beauty Salon Behind Day-to-Day Shop Al Kuwait Road, Karama Tel. 04 397 3369 Reflection Beauty Centre Shops 7-8 Al-Attar Mall, Karama Tel. 04 334 1033 Sensei Salon Behind Day to Day Shop Al Kuwait Road 12 d street Al Karama Tel 043976652 SATWA, DUBAI Mars & Venus Beauty Salon Office # 202, 2nd Floor, bin Hamad Bldg., Dubai Landmark: Opposite Emirates Bank International Tel 04 344 9219

Thai Importing & Trading Tourist Club Area Tel. 02 676 8663 BUR DUBAI, DUBAI Maxim’s Supermarket Mankhool Road Tel. 04 598 5302 SMA Supermarket Bank Street Tel. 04 357 2802

Kainan Filipino Restaurant Fortune Hotel Bldg, Tourist Club Tel. 02 645 5565 Kainan Filipino Restaurant Back of Alaska Fashion, Hamdan St. Tel. 02 671 5850 DEIRA, DUBAI Salt & Pepper Warba Branch Deira Tel. 04 262 8203

Salt & Pepper Satwa Tel .04 345 3459 MISCELLANEOUS DUBAI Spring Glitters Souq Madinat Jumeirah, Jumeirah Dubai Tel. 04 271 3375 or 06 533 5668 United International Private School (UIPS) Muhaisnah 4, Al Ghusais Tel. 04 254 3889 SHARJAH Philippine Tailoring Yarmook, Sharjah Tel. 050 352 7934

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