Planet Philippines (Calgary Edition) September 1-15, 2011 Issue

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SEPTEMBER 1-15, 2011

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An exploding population coupled with inadequate basic social services leads to neglected, malnourished and unhealthy children.

Bayawan City and other local governments have upgraded to secondary hospitals, which extend obstetric and gynecological services to pregnant women.

MATERNAL DEATHS...

From page 13

due to a land dispute.

The hilot does come in handy for pregnant women in the villages, as they are usually available anytime of day. Often old women, they possess motherly instincts and take care of the pregnant woman like their own daughter.

“I’ve experienced giving birth in the hospital. It’s lonely there. The nurses don’t really take care of you. It’s not like the hilot.

She will not leave you from the time you labor until several hours after you’ve given birth. She is just beside you like a mother,” said Mary Jean Faburada, who recently gave birth to her second child with the help of a hilot.

Sixty-year-old Candelaria Combite has been a hilot for three decades but it was only a few years ago that she received training, and consequently, a license from the City Health Office.

“This is the gift that God gave me. So, this is the mission that I have to do,” Candelaria said.

Contraceptives and religion

Records from the Bayawan City Health Office show high contraceptive usage, reaching 62 per cent in 2010. Despite the high prevalence rate, most couples have as many as seven or eight children, especially in the remote villages.

These figures, says midwife Naida Cuenca, reflect the lack of proper knowledge of many residents when it comes to the use of

Eleven Filipino pregnant women die each day, or some 4,500 each year, due to complications in childbirth. An overwhelming majority, 70 percent of the deaths, occur at childbirth or within a day after delivery. modern family planning methods.

“They also have superstitious beliefs.

They think, for example, that ligation is bad and can kill them,” Cuenca said.

Others shy away from artificial contraceptives because of religious convictions, such as 43-year old Editha of neighboring Basay town, who is seven months pregnant with her seventh child. A Catholic, she believes that taking artificial contraceptive is a sin.

“Having many children is God’s will,” Editha said. Once, she got a free supply of pills from the health center but did not develop the discipline to take it regularly so she stopped it.

At her age, Editha’s pregnancy poses a high risk to her health but she is not worried and does not even bother to visit the health center near her house.

“I don’t get anything from going to the

health center. The midwife gives me prescriptions for iron supplements but I have no money to buy these in the drugstore.”

Instead, she gets a regular massage from her hilot, who happens to be her mother-inlaw.

Strong-willed and industrious, Editha continues to go out to the sea to fish despite her condition. The only fisherwoman in the village, she wakes up early and by four in the morning, she pushes her boat as she sails off to the sea.

“If labor pains hit me while I’m at sea, I would just shout and the other fishermen will help me. If there’s no one, then I will have to row the boat fast back to the shore,” she said.

In rural Philippines, the female is the face of poverty.

Unreachable goal

The government has introduced health reforms to rapidly reduce maternal mortality such as active information campaigns, training of health personnel, and building health facilities in remote villages. Bayawan City and other local governments have upgraded to secondary hospitals, which extend obstetric and gynecological services to pregnant women.

These efforts have borne fruit in the past few decades. The percentage of childbirths assisted by trained health personnel has steadily increased from 58.5 percent in 1990 to 69 percent in 2000. More mothers are receiving prenatal check-ups and postpartum care, resulting in the decline of maternal mortality rate from 209 per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 160 in 2009.

Yet, both the government and the UNI-

CEF concede that the Philippines’ commitment to the UN Millennium Development Goal of lowering maternal mortality rates by 75 percent by 2015 may not be achieved.

President Benigno Aquino III has lowered the target for pregnancies attended by skilled health workers from 100 percent to 85 percent by 2015. But according to the UNICEF, saving the lives of mothers requires more than just medical intervention.

Health services are most effective in an environment supportive of women’s empowerment, protection, and education.

The controversial Responsible Parenthood (or Reproductive Health) bill that Aquino promised during his campaign was finally included in his administration’s list priority bills.

Daughters suffer

Women’s groups are worried that if lower maternal mortality is not achieved soon, more and more children, especially the girls, will suffer.

Beth Angsioco, national chairperson of the Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines, said when mothers die, her responsibilities are usually passed on to the living daughter. In many cases, she is forced to quit schooling, just like in the case of sisters Michelle and Daisy.

“Gender roles are traditionally defined in poor communities. The female is the face of poverty,” Angsioco said.

When girls are deprived of their right to education, the cycle of high maternal death rate and poverty continues. This is highlighted in the UNICEF report: “If a girl is educated six years or more, as an adult her prenatal care, postnatal care and childbirth survival rates will dramatically and consistently improve.”

Armed with appropriate information about child-rearing practices, educated adults are more likely to have fewer children and will ensure that their children start school on time, according to UNICEF, based on global statistics.

Until Michelle goes back to school, she will have to continue dealing with the pain of losing a mother and the pressure of filling the shoes of a missing parent. Her chances of finishing school, and ending her poverty, are gloomy. It’s too much tragedy for a nine-year-old girl. (GMA News) n

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BLOOMING

B

EA

Bea can’t seem to hide her smile these days. Her energized career lands her a dream project opposite one of her idols, action star Robin Padilla, in a TV series. On the love front, her relationship with Zanjoe Marudo is looking bright and sassy.

BY PEPPER MARCELO

With her career as strong as ever and her love life on the rebound, Bea is definitely on Cloud 9 these days.

NCHANTING and beguiling, Bea Alonzo is one of the leading lights of ABS-CBN’s roster of talents. Despite her young age, she’s had an accomplished career, being the principal actress in many highly-successful projects for film and television. Able to play a diverse array of characters – from the glamorous and sophisticated (And I Love You So), to the geeky misfit (Betty La Fea), to the simple girl next door (Dreamboy) – she has impressed critics and her dedicated legion of fans with her broad range of acting talent.

Bea has appeared opposite several popular leading men, including John Lloyd Cruz, her love-team partner in sev-

eral blockbuster YV and movie project; Piolo Pascual and Sam Milby. Currently, she’s displaying another side of her acting repertoire, this time playing an action heroine in the TV series Guns and Roses, opposite the top action star Robin Padilla.

In the series, Bea showcases her physical chops as Reign Santana, a woman whose fiancé was killed in a brutal shooting. Her character teams up with Abel Marasigan (Robin), who’s on a mission of revenge to find the people that killed his father.

In a recent press conference to promote the teleserye, the 23-yearold actress explained how working with the iconic leading man marked yet another high point in an already bountiful career.

“Matagal ko na yatang hinihintay na makatrabaho siya,” she said.

“Sino ba namang artista ang hindi gustong makatrabaho ang isang Robin Padilla? I feel na lahat ng artistang ka-edad ko, siya ‘yung hinihiling na maging leading man siya.

Pinangarap kong makasama siya

On her relationship with Zanjoe: “Kung saan na lang kami dinadala ng agos, doon kami. Siguro nga doon na rin kami papunta.”

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pero hindi ko maisip na magiging ganito kaganda ‘yung pagsasamahan naming project.”

Robin has a reputation of being extra kind, charming and gentlemanly to his leading ladies and Bea was eager to experience that firsthand. “Madami na akong narinig na kwento tungkol dun. I must admit na na-excite ako na gusto kong ma-experience sa sarili ko kung paano siya mag alaga ng leading lady.”

During production work last December, Bea was not disappointed, as Robin would go out of his way to make sure his leading lady was comfortable during their highly-charged scenes together, or between set-ups.

The actor’s kindness extends to his fans as well. “He really cares for the fans,” Bea confirms, recalling how he would go out of his way to meet and greet starstricken admirers. “Sa mga tao, lalo na sa mga taong nanonood sa shooting nila, talagang nilalapitan niya, kukumustahin niya.”

Even during stressful or emotional moments during shooting when the crowd would sometimes becomes noisy and boisterous, Robin would always be patient and accommodating. “Siyempre napu-frustrate yung mga staff kapag marami yung nanonood. Nakakatuwa na sa kanya nanggagaling yung, ‘Pakiusapan n’yo na lang, hindi naman nila alam kung ano yung nangyayari, ano yung ginagawa natin.”

When asked whether the thought of falling for the recently-wedded 41-year-old star, Bea laughed at the notion. “Hindi naman. Hindi na inabot ng utak ko ‘yun,” adding that she was focused primarily on her character and the story to think of anything else.

Bea says the biggest lesson she has learned from his co-star is to love and be respectful to your fans, supporters and most of all, the craft of acting. “Natutunan ko na dapat bigyan ng importasya yung mga sumusuporta sa inyo. ‘Tsaka dapat minamahal mo talaga yung craft mo. Nakakatuwa na talagang ibinabalik niya yung passion ko sa acting. Kasi parang siya, na napakatagal na niya sa industriya, on fire pa rin pagdating sa trabaho, dapat ako din.”

She also compliments her other leading man, Diether Ocampo, with whom she became close during the production period. Diet

plays a law enforcement agent who gets involved with Bea and provides an added love-triangle element.

She looks to the one-time “hunk,” whom she nicknames “Best D” (he calls her “Best Bea”) as a mentor figure, especially when it comes to business and financial dealings off-camera. “Kasi ako, siguro kasi nasanay ako na may ibang tao na nag-aayos nun para sa akin -- yung Star Magic, yung nanay ko, yung parang hindi ako ganun karesponsable.

Aaminin ko, hindi ako ganun karesponsable pagdating sa pera, hindi talaga. Tatanungin mo ako, magkano laman ng wallet ko, hindi ko alam, o ng ATM ko. Siya, ang galing niya kasi alam niya lahat!”

One leading man fans and audiences would love to see Bea reunite with once again is her erstwhile perennial love-team partner John Lloyd Cruz. In the last decade, the two were one of the most formidable romantic couples in showbiz, breaking box office records on films such as 2007’s One More Chance and 2010’s Miss You Like Crazy.

John Lloyd has since gone on to be paired off with different romantic partners, such as singer Sarah Geronimo (A Very Special Love) and actress-host Toni Gonzaga (My Amnesia Girl). “Si John Lloyd naman, kahit kanino mo itambal ngayon, nagwo-work, e,” says Bea “Natutuwa ako para sa kanya, na naabot niya yung estado na yun, at natutuwa ako na kasama ako sa journey niya.”

Bea says that plans are in the works to reunite them once again for a movie project, tentatively scheduled for 2012. She adds that despite fans’ clamor for them to be solely exclusive to one another, at least on-camera, having separate careers can only benefit both of them in the long run.

“Ngayon, bago ko siya [John Lloyd] makatrabaho, gusto ko magbabaon muna ako ng natutunan ko kay Robin, kay Bossing [Vic Sotto, whom she worked with in Pak! Pak! Dr. Kwak!].

Para pag nakatrabaho ko na siya, meron akong bago. Kasi, alam ko marami siyang bago. May mga pasabog siya pag nagtrabaho kaming dalawa. E, nakakahiya naman pag wala akong pasabog, kailangan nagle-level up!”

To the disappointment of devotees to the John Lloyd-Bea loveteam, the two did not end up as a couple in real life. John Lloyd is in a

Bea and Robin team up for the first time in the TV series Guns and Roses.

SEPTEMBER 1-15, 2011

relationship now with Shaina Magdayao, while Bea is playing beautiful music with Pinoy Big Brother actor-model Zanjoe Marudo.

Although Bea says she and Zanjoe spend a lot of time together – from partying to golfing and target shooting – they have not yet made their romantic bond official yet.

“Hindi ko masasabing kami na talaga,” she says. “Kung saan na lang kami dinadala ng agos, doon kami.

Siguro nga doon na rin kami papunta. Sana. Mahirap sabihin ngayon na kami na. Kung magiging kami, siguro hindi ako ang mag-a-announce.

Siguro dapat siya,” she confides.

For his part, the ex-boyfriend of Mariel Rodriguez (now Robin’s wife), admits he’s committed to her, and is willing to wait. “Ang hirap kasi magsalita. Basta ang comment ko, I’m there.”

He adds that he’s okay if Bea’s in no rush to fall in love at the moment. “Kung nasaan man kami ngayon, sobrang maligaya ako. Kung ano man ang nagagawa namin na mga bagay, sana mas mag-grow pa, kung saan man ito papunta. Hindi ko naman minamadali.”

Bea says the prospect for a fullblown relationship looks good.

Why else would she be so candid in revealing their closeness in the first place? “Hindi naman ako aarte nang ganoon in public kung alam kong ‘yong relasyon eh walang future,” she says. n

SUDOKU RULES: Place a number from 1-9 in each empty cell. Each row, column and 3x3 block bounded by bold line (9 blocks) contains all the numbers from 1-9

SOLUTION ON PAGE 25

CALGARY EDITION MARIA PERCY JAVELOSA ............................................................ Publisher/Advertising Manager CARMELA SARILE ...................................................................... Graphic Artist STEVE TARZWELL, JULIE PICOC, FERDIE GAYOS .......................... Contributors

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PLANET PHILIPPINES, the global newsmagazine for overseas Filipinos, is published and circulated in various cities and countries around the world. Each edition of PLANET PHILIPPINES is published by authorized individuals and companies under an exclusive licensing arrangement. We welcome inquiries from anyone interested in becoming a publisher of PLANET PHILIPPINES in their territory. Contact us at planetphilippines@gmail. com or visit our website at www.planetphilippines.com.

PLANET PHILIPPINES Worldwide LEANDRO MILAN ..................................................................................

PEPPER MARCELO ...............................................................................

ARNEL RIVAL........................................................................................

ROMY FLORANTE..................................................................................

DIANA PAMELA TRISTE ........................................................................

Editor-in-Chief Assistant Editor Art Director Photographer Editorial Assistant

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CELEBR TY

PIOLO SAYS ROMANCE WITH KC IS OKAY PIOLO Pascual dismissed specualations that his 10-month-old relationship with KC Concepcion is on the rocks.

“No, we are okay naman, wala namang problema. Klaro naman,” Piolo told Showbiz News Ngayon in a recent fashion event.

Speculations that the celebrity couple’s ties are encountering troubled waters grew after the young actress’ mother, Sharon Cuneta, gave a loaded warning to those romantically involved with her daughter.

“I just want whoever it is that will be in my daughter’s life to love her and take care of her the way we would. Kasi hindi ko pinalaki yan para i-take for granted lang o balewalain,” Sharon said in a separate interview.

She added: “Kristina, Mama’s here.

Don’t you forget, you’re my daughter. We love you. We went through so much when you were little. You don’t have to go through it yourself.”

Sharon said she she is not in a

PIOLO and KC position to disclose what KC is going through and that she did not wasn’t to meddle in her personal affairs.

An unnamed source of PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) confirmed that the lovers are indeed having some misunderstanding.

The PEP source, who is close to both Piolo and KC, said, “May tampuhan but nothing serious. Normal lang naman for real relationships, di ba?

They’ve been through worse than

GLEE DENIES RIVALRY BETWEEN CHARICE, LEA MICHELE

LEA BECOMES A DISNEY LEGEND

A rousing applause greeted Lea Salonga as she went up on stage to receive her recognition as a Disney Legend.

Twelve outstanding talents were recognized by the company for their lasting contributions to Disney’s legacy.

Lea was the singing voice of Princess Jasmine in Aladdin and Fa Mulan in Mulan and Mulan 2.

“I’m really usually great shooting from the hip, but right now I’ve just been rendered speechless by this,” Lea said when she received her award last Aug. 20 at Disneyland in Anaheim, California.

“This is a really big deal,” she added. “It’s wonderful for all these princesses to be honored in such a wonderful way by the Walt Disney Company. To the Walt Disney Company, thank you so much.”

The Disney Legends program was established in 1987 and its recipients are chosen by top Disney executives.

Lea is the first Filipina to receive the award.

Previous awardees include Tom Hanks, Elton John and Barbara Walters.

Lea performed the theme song of Mulan, and then sang with the other voices of beloved Disney characters, including Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Ariel of The Little Mermaid, and Princess Tiana

this. By now, baka nga bati na.”

The source said that “the two are still very much on up to this minute.”

“No relationship is perfect,” the source added. “But as long as both remain committed to make it work, there is enough reason to believe that they would celebrate their first anniversary as a couple on October 21st. Of course, we don’t expect Piolo to comment on the issue out of respect to KC and her mom, whom he puts in high regard.”

LEA of The Princess and the Frog.

Lea said that although she has officially hit middle age at 40 years old, she feels that things can only get better from now on.

“I don’t know that it can get better than this, but I have a feeling it’s still going to.”

Apart from the Disney Legends sculpture, Lea will also have a bronzed handprint that will be displayed at the Walt Disney headquarters in Burbank.

WERE the scenes of the little lady with a big voice Charice Pempengco in the hit television series Glee cut to avoid upsetting the show’s star Lea Michele?

A New York Post report on Aug. 23 quoted a show source as saying, “Charice was signed for a minumun of five episodes and did a press junket with Chord Overstreet. She has a big debut, but things changed and they didn’t put her back in. The word is, Lea is the big star, and producers want to keep her happy.”

However, a Glee spokesman de-

HOW TO WIN SARAH’S HEART “MABIBILIB talaga ako kapag ka niligawan muna, kung sinuman yung nanliligaw na yun, ang parents ko.”

With these words, Sarah Geronimo gave a clue to prospective suitors on how to win her heart, although she stressed that she is not yet ready to fall in love.

Taking her experience and the advice of her parents into consideration, Sarah mentioned three things that should happen before any guy could come near her.

First, she has to be ready. “Let’s be practical. Pag talagang na-in love ka, madi-distract ka, e, talagang magpo-focus ka dun sa puso, puro pagmamahal. Parang gano’n kasi, siguro dahil hindi pa naman ako sanay sa relationbships. Pero, ganun ang nakikita ko sa ngayon.

Di ko pa kayang mag-handle ng isang relationship.”

Second, she talked about “time.” Given her showbiz com-

CHARICE nied rumors of a rivalry.

“While it is true that she [Charice] appeared in fewer episodes last year than we originally anticipated, this was due to her busy schedule and the natural creative process in which some story arcs ... did not material-

ZANJOE DECLARES LOVE FOR BEA “OO, yes!”

This was what Zanjoe Marudo – albeit after a short pause – admitted when The Buzz host Toni Gonzaga asked him in a taped interview on Aug. 21, “Masasabi mo bang mahal mo na si Bea Alonzo?”

It was the last of the six questions Toni asked in rapid succession, which Zanjoe all answered in the affirmative.

The other questions were, “Si Bea Alonzo na ba ang nakikita mong pakakasalan mo years from now?” “Takot ka bang mawala si

Bea Alonzo sa’yo?” “Masaya ka ba ngayon dahil kay Bea Alonzo?” and “Nagsabi ka na ba ng ‘I love you’ kay Bea Alonzo?”

Zanjoe also intimated that Bea is the closest person to his heart right now.

Bea was tickled pink over Zanjoe’s statement. “I’m very, very happy to hear na ganon ‘yung nararamdaman niya. Nakakakilig, sa totoo lang,” she said in a separate TV interview.

She said it was very courageous of Zanjoe to make such gesture on

BEA and ZANJOE national television, and she was truly impressed by his courage.

“Siyempre, ang sarap ng pakiramdam, kasi di ba parang proud siya or hindi siya, wala siyang pakialam sa sasabihin ng ibang tao kasi wala basta happy lang.”

The two were in Paris recently

SARAH mitments, she said she can’t seem to find time for love. “Hindi naman kasi ako yung tipong nakakalabas lagi.”

And she has to know how to balance her career, studies, and relationship, because, “pag ako na-in love, parang yun lang at yung lang din, e...siya lang, parang ganun.”

Third, more than the gifts, Sarah will be impressed with a guy who can face her strict parents.

“Mabibilib talaga ako kapag ka niligawan muna, kung sinuman yung nanliligaw na yun, ang parents ko. I think, yun lang hinihintay ng mga magulang ko na makita nila na meron talagang brave na haharap sa kanila, na sasabihin kung ano yung intensiyon nila para sa ‘kin, di ba?” ize as planned,” the Glee statement said. “Lea is a consummate pro who couldn’t be more welcoming of other powerhouse singers on the show.”

On Twitter, Lea and Charice are friendly. Last March, Lea even tweeted a warm welcome to Charice, with a photo of the two.

“She is such a sweet girl,” Charice said of Lea. “I was scared at first of her. When I came back to the show, she immediately said, ‘Hi Charice! We missed you so much!’

Then she took a picture with me.”

Charice was first introduced in the pilot episode of Glee’s second season last September.

for ABS-CBN’s Kapamilya Fiesta Caravan. Zanjoe said they had a romantic dinner at a garden restaurant in the City of Light.

“Masayang-masaya ‘yung Paris namin dahil unang-una, first time ni Bea pumunta ng Paris. Nagtrabaho kami pero isang araw lang naman. One week, seven days kami nando’n,” he related.

The two later proceeded to Florence, Italy. According to the actor, the entire European trip gave them the opportunity to know more about each other.

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CELEBRITYFILES

MAJA UPSET OVER INTRIGUES

MAJA Salvador is very upset over intrigues hurled against her, the latest of which links her to Director Paul Soriano, the boyfriend of Toni Gonzaga.

“Ang masasabi ko lang po. . . malaki ang respeto ko kay Toni Gonzaga. At saka di naman ako gumagawa ng pelikula para makipaglandian sa kung kanino mang kasama ko sa pagbuo ng pelikula,” she said.

As to what she calls non-stop intrigues against her: “Siyempre po sa akin, masakit.

Ang dami kasing intriga na ibinabato nila sa akin na parang hindi ba nauubusan. Parang halos lahat ng intriga nasa akin na. Laging may lalaki raw... Lasenggera, at halos lahatlahat, e, sa akin na nila ibinigay,” she said, tears falling on her cheeks.

She continued: “Parang sobra na at nasasaktan na talaga ako nang husto. May isyu naman ako ngayon with my director.

Ang pangit naman talaga. Lalo na’t wala naman talaga akong ginawang masama at

hindi totoo ang pang-iintriga nila sa akin.”

Paul, who directs Maja’s latest film, Thelma, categorically denies the rumor linking him to the young actress.

“I was just really motivating her,” he said. “So yeah, the working relationship got close, I got to know a lot about her and her family. I got to meet her mom Thelma and her family, so in that regard yes we got close pero I look at her really like a little sister.”.

He said he is not really affected by the rumors. What really gets to him, however, is the fact that this issue is starting to upset Maja.

“Actually when Toni found out about it, she just told me you know ‘Welcome to showbiz.’ It’s inevitable,” he said.

U.S. HITMAKER DAVID FOSTER SEARCHING FOR NEW CHARICE PEMPENGCO

BY POCHOLO CONCEPCION

F

OR HIS all-star Asia tour that comes to Manila in October, top US record producer and pop hitmaker David Foster said Charice Pempengco will be the “clean-up woman.”

“Do you know what that is?” Foster asked the Inquirer in a phone interview on Aug. 23.

Before he could get an answer (and that would have been a “no”), Foster explained: “In baseball, the clean-up guy comes in when a team is in trouble.

He’s the guy who hits the ball out of the park. Charice is like that, she hits the notes way up high, like hitting a home run.”

The petite Filipino singing sensation may just be returning the favor, since Foster actively helped launch her international singing and recording career.

He still can’t believe that every Filipino he meets seems grateful for that. “It happened again this morning,” said the 16-time Grammy-winning singersongwriter.

He had gone to see a doctor in Malibu, California, only hours before, and a Filipino named Melinda approached him. “She said, in a very soft voice, ‘Thank you for helping Charice.’ It never fails to touch my heart,” Foster said.

Apparently inspired by Charice’s talent and success, plus his recent collaboration with 11-year-old soprano Jackie Evancho, America’s Got Talent 2010 runner-up, Foster has launched a search for young singers via the website borntosingasia.com. The search is worldwide, he said, but the website is exclusively for Asian talents.

“I know there are lots of other great singers out there, especially in the Philippines,” Foster said.

Aspirants aged 8 and older may log in, register and submit a video not longer than four minutes.

“We will pick two winners and they will perform with me in Manila,” said Foster, whose Asia tour, Hitman Returns: David Foster and Friends, comes to the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Oct. 25.

Featured artists are Philip Bailey of Earth, Wind & Fire, tenor Russell Watson and Charice, with the special guest appearance of soul superstar Michael Bolton.

Winners of the talent search also get a chance to record a song, with Foster as producer.

According to the website, they will be brought “in the fall” (possibly before the tour) to Mandalay Bay in

DAVID

Las Vegas, where Foster mounts a monthly show. (He said his energy for touring came rather late, having spent the last 35 years in the cold confines of recording studios.)

Asked why Donna Summer and Chaka Khan (two iconic R&B singers who figure prominently in the “Hitman Returns” live CD and DVD) were not on the lineup for Asia, Foster said, “It’s difficult to get these artists to leave home for weeks on the road.”

But, he insisted, Bolton, Bailey Watson and Charice Pempengco are no pushovers, either: “I got my big break (as a songwriter) through Earth, Wind & Fire. Bailey will sing some of his solo stuff in the concert. Watson is another great find.

We’ve never worked together in the studio, but he has recorded my songs—I may ask him to sing Nessun Dorma. As for Bolton … I’ve always admired him since the first time I heard him.”

The tour starts in Tokyo on Oct. 19 and 20, moves to Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 22, then Manila. It proceeds to Jakarta on Oct. 28, Bangkok on Oct. 31 and Singapore on Nov. 3.

This is the last time that Charice Pempengco, now 19 (he had taken her under his wing when she was 16), is going on tour with him, Foster revealed.

He’s not writing new songs for her, either. “She wants to hit a younger market— that’s not my forte,” he explained. “She’ll be working with new producers.”

If “hitting a younger market” was not right up his alley, how come his talent search welcomes 8-yearolds?

That sure sounds like a contradiction, but one thing is clear: Foster can’t keep still.

In fact, he said, he wants to “write and produce more songs for more people.” He’s not called “The Hitman” for nothing. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)

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22 PHILIPPINES

BY JESSICA ZAFRA

ELCOME TO the Philippines! You’ve probably noticed that Filipinos are friendly, accommodating, and nice all around.

For starters we are always smiling. It is not true that we are always smiling, but it is likely we do it more than your people.

This is because it is so much more pleasant than frowning or scowling.

And people generally look better when they’re smiling, no? Here in Manila there is so much aggravation to put up with. It’s sweltering even when it’s rainy, the traffic is horrendous, it’s noisy and poverty is widespread. Smiling is the last thing one feels like doing under these circumstances. If you think about it, smiling in these conditions is a form of protest. It is a way of rising above the situation. It is not, as you might think, a vapid reflex.

Your people probably have a lot more to smile about than we do. They should smile more, it would make them look younger.

Right now we’re smiling at you because we are curious as to what you, a foreigner, are doing in our country. Are you a corporate executive, a chef, a diplomat?

A retired soldier fetching your fiancée whom you met online, or a Brazilian model? A Peace Corps volunteer or an NGO worker?

A tourist drawn by our famous beaches, or just looking to get laid? Filipino curiosity is insatiable. We have to be in the know.

We don’t even have to do anything with the knowledge, we just have to know.

No doubt you have been told that we pride ourselves on our hospitality. Our hospitality is not a PR thing; it is genuine. We are glad that you’ve come all the way here—we like having guests. You are someone new to talk about.

Entertaining others entertains us. And since you’ve taken the trouble to come all this way, we figured the least we could do is prepare this basic guide to help you get acclimatized.

1. Our beaches are renowned the world over for their powdery white sands, brilliant sunshine, and the spectacular biodiversity in the water. Beaches, as far as we know, are on the seashore. When you are more than ten kilometers from the sea, say, in the shopping and office complexes of Makati and Mandaluyong, don’t feel compelled to dress for the beach.

We assure you that we natives won’t feel ill at ease if you don’t wear your loosest tank top, ratty board shorts and crumbling flipflips while walking around the mall. Don’t dress down on our behalf; we do like to dress up. We think it is a way of showing respect not just for the occasion and the setting, but for yourself.

2. It is hot and humid in Manila so we sweat a lot. In order to stay cool and refreshed we take baths or showers every day, if not two or three times a day. If those

ETIQUETTE FOR EXPATS, TOURISTS AND OTHER VISITORS TO THE PHILIPPINES Our hospitality is not a PR thing; it is genuine.

There is no need to express profound surprise when we speak to you in English. Please don’t tell us, “But your English is so good!”

Yes, we have English. And indoor plumbing, electricity and wi-fi, and we don’t actually live in that treehouse, it’s decorative.

We are always smiling. This is because it is so much more pleasant than frowning or scowling. of us who were born and raised here find it hot, it must be positively infernal for those of you from America, Europe, Australia-

NZ and the temperate zone!

You must shower every day, if not several times a day. For maximum refreshment we recommend

When you are more than ten kilometers from the sea, say, in the shopping and office complexes of Makati and Mandaluyong, don’t feel compelled to dress for the beach. generous applications of soap, shampoo, and antiperspirants.

Just dousing yourself in cologne is not enough to cool you down.

Take a shower every day, you’ll feel so much better.

We insist.

3. The Philippines is a former colony of the United States, and English is taught in our schools.

We watch Hollywood movies and American television programs, sing popular songs in English, and visit websites in English. Plus millions of us have relatives in English-speaking countries, and we are the world number one in voice-based call centers.

So there is no need to express profound surprise when we speak to you in English. Please don’t tell us, “But your English is so good!”

Yes, we have English. And indoor plumbing, electricity and wi-fi, and we don’t actually live in that treehouse, it’s decorative.

Calgary Edition

4. From childhood we have been trained to do things for each other. We do this without thinking—our programming is so thorough. For instance if the friend of a friend is looking for a particular type of bread that is not available in stores, and we know someone who lives near a baker who produces that bread and sells it at an organic market, we will obtain that bread for the one who’s looking. It’s no big deal, it’s the way we were brought up. We are not currying favor, we are not sucking up, we are just being helpful.

It’s our culture.

So if we go out of our way for you, it’s not because we think you are the Big Kahuna or because we want something from you or we think you are wonderful. We do it because we were brought up to be caring and considerate, and it is considered selfish and unfriendly for us not to do it. Plus if our mothers find out that we did not help when we could have, we’ll never hear the end of it. If you are suspicious about accepting our generosity, know that we’re really doing it for ourselves. It is not a sign of weakness; it is one of our strengths.

5. If you consider the Philippines a shithole cesspit backwater, please do not feel compelled to grace us with your presence.

Certainly we will miss the pleasure of your company, but we will manage somehow. We were born here and have lived here all our lives; this is our home. We presume your homeland is not a shithole cesspit backwater, so we are mystified as to why you would choose to be here when you could be there. Surely someone of your magnificent qualities and impressive qualifications would be appreciated and rewarded in your own country?

6. It is true that lots of Filipina women prefer foreigners over their own countrymen. For some it is a matter of true love triumphing over ethnic and cultural differences. For others it is a matter of economic necessity. It may be useful to remember this when you are swarmed in redlight districts by exotic women cooing at your manliness. We are bound by very strong family ties—children are duty-bound to give financial support not just to their parents but to entire villages of relatives.

7. Your dollar/pound/euro/ other foreign currency goes a long way in the Philippines, allowing you to enjoy a higher standard of living than what you would have back home. You can afford a lifestyle that is luxurious compared to the average Filipino’s. We hope you will not confuse the foreign exchange rate with personal merit. Unfortunately the Philippines is not a meritocracy. (Interaksyon. com) n

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23 PHILIPPINES

BY LYN RESURRECION

EHICLE OWNERS and public transportation in the Philippines are currently faced with the horror of almost weekly increases in petroleum prices that lead to higher transport fares and constantly increasing prices of consumer products.

Added to that, the noxious gas the oil guzzlers emit makes the air unsuitable for people to breathe, which causes respiratory illnesses.

Recent reports from the World Bank said that 18 million Filipinos are exposed to air pollution, with health cost and loss of income amounting to P7.6 billion annually.

Asian Development Bank (ADB) data show that emissions from the transport sector currently represent 30 percent of total pollution in the country, and about 80 percent of air pollution in Metro Manila, recent reports said.

It said that a big proportion of vehicle emissions could be attributed to inefficient public transport, particularly from tricycles, jeepneys and buses.

While the government is still looking for solutions to the unabated oil-price increases, it is inching to finding solutions to lessen vehicular emission—through electricpowered public transportation.

After the electric jeepney was earlier introduced in Makati, 20 ADB-funded electric tricycles (etrike) have been turned over to Mandaluyong City as a sustainable, energy-efficient transport model for the country. Mandaluyong City is one of the pilot cities in Metro Manila to use the technology.

President Aquino, who graced the event, said the project would help in reducing the pollution contributed by around 5 million tricycles in the country, with 2.8 million based in Metro Manila.

“These-trikes will help lighten the weight with rising world crude-oil prices. Nobody loses in this project,” Mr. Aquino said.

With this backdrop, Cielo Fregil, managing director of Global Ambient High Technology System Inc. (GATES), would like to introduce liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) jeepneys to the country as an alternative to oil, and in response to the twin problems of increasing prices of petroleum and air pollution.

GATES is into the conversion of engines of taxis and even luxury cars into LPG-fueled ones. Actually, its business in March has increased by 300 percent because of high demand. As a result of oil-price increases, car and taxi owners are rethinking their fuel sources and are turning to LPG-run engine.

Auto LPG costs only P30.40, against diesel’s P49 a liter, and gas’s P57 to P62 a liter. It is cheaper by more than P18 compared with diesel, or from P26 to P31 a liter compared with gasoline.

A jeepney is festooned with balloons during the launch of LPG-powered jeepneys in Mandaluyong City.

NOW IT’S LPG FOR JEEPNEYS

Public transport commuters prefer LPG-powered jeepneys because they have quiter engines and do not emit smoke.

Fregil said the first LPG-fueled engine was launched on Feb. 14, 2011 at the “Love the Air” project, where the prototype LPG-run, 24-seater jeepney was shown at Miriam College Environmental Studies Institute.

“We are testing the engine itself: What it would provide to the jeepney driver, the operator and the passenger. It is supposed to be smoke-free, low or noise-free.

With its big reduction in noise, one would not notice that the jeepney is already running,” she said in Filipino.

She added that it should also provide a faster speed than the 35-kilometer-per-liter diesel-fueled engine.

She said the infrastructure for LPG is already in place, with networks of LPG refueling stations, like that of Clean Fuel, are already widely available.

“I want to make available the LPG-engine fueled kits for jeepney at a very affordable price,” she said, which currently is P250,000, but could be lowered with more demand.

Fregil pointed out: “My mission is to make sure to change the way we run our streets.”

The LPG-fueled engine Fregil is introducing into the country is manufactured by one of the top three manufacturers in Japan. It

After the electric jeepneys, now come the LPG-powered prototypes. While LPG is suited for both cars and jeepneys, there is a push to popularize LPG-fueled jeepneys as a means to address the high cost of gasoline and toxic emissions by gas-powered vehicles. could also be upgraded to run on compressed natural gas.

She said her company initially wanted to make a “new jeepney look” run by LPG, but is having a rethinking because the jeepney operators might have a hard time buying new ones since the bodies of their jeepneys are still

in working condition “which still look iconic, anyway.” She, however, said GATES will still develop a jeepney similar to the current design but with lighter body and

LPG pumps are gradually sprouting across the country as more and more vehicles are fueled by liquefied petroleum gas.

SEPTEMBER 1-15, 2011

have better safety features.

“It will have better fuel efficiency because it is lighter and has a new engine,” she said.

Fregil said she is engaging local government units (LGUs) and jeepney drivers and operators’ cooperative to make her vision come true. She said the LGUs are important because they participate in policymaking, while the cooperatives could avail themselves of the program.

“If we do it in the private way, the reach will be very limited. I want to make it available nationwide to each and every jeepney operator,” she said.

She added that LGUs could also provide for the setting up of LPG stations or run their own since the current LPG stations are privately run.

“What I stand for is to make sure that at least 30 percent of private individuals would convert their cars to LPG [fuel]. I hope to do this in the next three years,” she said. “I’m running my cars in LPG since 2005.

I drive a Ford 150, I drive a BMW, I also drive a Vios. All my cars are running on LPG. They are having no problem in terms of safety, in term of maintenance. Its benefit is the conscientious effort in saving the environment.” And she could save 47 percent in fuel expense because of LPG. GATES has been into LPG-fuel conversion for cars and taxis since 2005.

“In fact, what we fit for taxis are the same kits we fit for BMWs, for Expedition or for Suburban,” Fregil explained, Fregil said GATES is trying to make company cars run on LPG for pricing and environment benefits.

But the companies are afraid they will not be able to maintain it.

She pointed out the best example on how efficient to run cars on LPG, she said, is the taxi.

“Taxis run 400 kilometers a day.

And they run efficiently on LPG. What more can private individuals or corporate cars do? They say LPG is only for taxis. But what is the difference between a car for taxi and family car? If taxis can run 400 kilometers a day, 24/7, their doors opened and closed frequently, they should be very durable. This should tell you what car you should buy,” she explained.

Fregil said there is an approximated 12,000 taxis converted to LPG-fueled engines since 2005.

The biggest number is in Cebu, followed by Manila, Iloilo, Davao and Cagayan de Oro. “If you use an LPG-fueled car, you should not have to undergo emission testing so you could save on fees, or you should be exempted from number coding.

These would encourage the people to use clean energy,” she said.

She also suggested that the price of LPG fuel should be regulated.

(Business Mirror) n

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24

PHILIPPINES

GMA’S 3RD SURGERY SUCCESSFUL – DOCTORS D

OCTORS said that the dislodged cervical spine implants on former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria MacapagalArroyo were successfully reconstructed after she underwent a third spine surgery that lasted for five hours last Aug. 25.

Arroyo’s team of doctors told reporters during a briefing at St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC) in Taguig City that she could now move, walk, and talk.

Arroyo’s chief physician Dr. Juliet Gopez-Cervantes said that Arroyo was also advised to go on leave for about a month to ensure her full recovery.

“She is very intelligent. She understands everything. You cannot even find in her the disappointment that these things happened,” said Cervantes when asked how the former president responded to the series of operations.

Cervantes said that Arroyo, who is on “general liquid” diet, could resume her normal diet starting today.

She would remain confined at the coronary care unit of SLMC for seven to 10 days until her doctors feel that it’s safe to transfer her to a regular room.

Dr. Mario Ver, the team’s lead orthopedic surgeon, explained that

the surgery was successful because they were able to reconstruct the dislodged implants on Arroyo’s cervical vertebrae (bones near the skull) without encountering any infection.

The reconstruction involved the installation of a seven-centimeter long “bone mess cage” in the front portion of Arroyo’s cervical spine. The cage, which looks like a tube with grills, was filled with bone graft from Arroyo’s pelvic bones necessary for fusion or bone growth.

Ver said the main aim was to have fusion in areas which were replaced during Arroyo’s first surgery last July 29.

The surgery was meant to relieve Arroyo from the intense pain caused by pinched nerves on her neck.

Ver said it might take about three to four weeks before the minimal result of the fusion could be seen. For

ARROYO now, Arroyo will continue wearing a “halo vest” to immobilize the movement of her neck.

Doctors initially presumed that infection was the source of the implant displacement. But further tests revealed that it was Arroyo’s calcium problems that led to failure of implants, Cervantes said. n

WATCHLIST ORDER VS MIKE ARROYO LIFTED, FOR NOW THE Supreme Court (SC) has ordered to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to remove former First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo from the immigration watchlist.

Ma. Victoria Gleoresty Guerra, acting chief of the SC public information office, said the decision was unanimous, pointing out all 13 magistrates of the high court voted to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the DOJ and to remove Arroyo from the watchlist of the Bureau of Immigration for “probable violation” of his

constitutional rights.

She explained that should the court resolve the case in favor of Arroyo and nullify the WLO without stopping it, Arroyo would be deprived of his right to travel.

Guerra also clarified the TRO only covers the case of Arroyo, in apparent reaction to a reported statement of his lawyers that the order would be beneficial to others similarly situated.

Guerra also reiterated the TRO was just a “provisional remedy” granted by the court to Arroyo. It does not

necessarily mean that the high court already agreed to his claims of violation of his constitutional rights by the DOJ. “It doesn’t preclude the court from possibly ruling otherwise when it finally decides the case,” she pointed out.

Guerra said among the issues the high court would resolve in this case is the constitutionality of the DOJ memorandum circular on the issuance of WLO and hold departure order (HDO).

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and Bureau of Immigration commissioner Ricardo David Jr. were ordered by the SC to comment on Arroyo’s petition within 10 days.

The WLO will be lifted once parties receive a copy of the TRO and until further orders from the court, Guerra added.

De Lima said she would defend the power of the justice secretary to place any person under the immigration watchlist. n

Calgary Edition

SOLONS EYE ARROYO BROTHERS’ TAX RETURNS ALL the senators could do was to admire the bookkeeper’s loyalty to her boss, whoever. They told her she was lying. But she stayed the course. In the end, they had to let her go. They had to look at another way to get at the truth.

First, graft. Now, the Arroyo brothers could also face tax evasion charges if they cannot explain through legal documents how they purchased five helicopters in 2004.

Sen. Sergio Osmeña III dismissed Iloilo Rep. Ignacio “Iggy” Arroyo’s excuse that he entered into a lease contract with Lionair Inc. in 2004 for five helicopters to be used in the presidential campaign of his sister-in-law, Gloria.

“We have to check Iggy’s actual tax returns and have these subpoenaed by the committee,” Osmeña told reporters after the fifth blue ribbon committee hearing on the sale of two secondhand choppers to the Philippine National Police in 2009.

Osmeña said the $500,000 that Rowena del Rosario, former bookkeeper of the Arroyo-owned LTA Inc., remitted to Robinson Helicopter Co. in 2004 was actually a downpayment for the five R44 Raven I helicopters.

Del Rosario earlier said the sum was an advance lease payment as purportedly provided in the lease contract.

Osmeña said $500,000 converted into pesos at a rate of P40:$1 would already amount to P20 million.

“Twenty million pesos can already buy a brand-new helicopter in 2003. I am convinced that it was not a lease. Why pay $500,000 when you can buy one at $298,000? Or $500,000 for two at a discount. We know who’s lying,” he told reporters after the hearing.

Osmeña added that if the advance payment was indeed paid in cash with no paper trail, this would make the transaction more irregular.

The blue ribbon committee’s next agenda should be detection of the balance payment of $750,000 that Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, husband of former President Macapagal-Arroyo, allegedly paid later.

At the hearing, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said that if the helicopters were indeed leased to LTA as Del Rosario claimed, Ignacio would have paid a value-added tax to the US government for this.

“May I remind you that there is a 7.5 percent VAT to be paid if the lessor is a foreigner. This is based on the

OSMEÑA (US) National Internal Revenue Code that subjects a tax of 7.5 percent on gross rentals,” Lacson said.

“I do not remember paying that,” Del Rosario replied.

“You know, you’re so smart,” the senator lashed back. “You’re only feigning ignorance. Unfortunately, we are aware that you’re only fooling us.”

Sen. Francis Escudero wondered why Del Rosario failed to remind Ignacio about the obligatory VAT payments.

“Shouldn’t you as bookkeeper not obliged to remind your boss of the VAT payments? Did you not voice out your suspicion that if there is a lease, why were you not paying taxes like that for other properties?

It did not even cross your mind?”

Escudero asked.

Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, chair of the blue ribbon committee, warned Del Rosario that “discrepancies” may arise when Iggy’s income tax documents are compared with the total P18 million paid for the lease of the helicopters.

“You said Iggy sent cash payments to Lionair every month but the transactions were not recorded in the LTA accounts since the lease was only entered into by Iggy,” Guingona said.

“Yes, but the advance lease payment was from LTA,” Del Rosario said.

“If the payments were really from Iggy, all the P18 million paid without documentation, there might be discrepancies in his income tax documents. That’s P18 million,” Guingona pointed out.

In tears, Del Rosario told reporters after a bathroom break during Thursday’s hearing of the blue ribbon committee that she missed her children and desperately wanted to go home.

Hours later, senators agreed to release Del Rosario, bookkeeper of the Arroyo-owned LTA Inc. for 11 years. n

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25 PHILIPPINES

SEPTEMBER 1-15, 2011

NEWSROUND-UP

RAPS READIED VS PNP OFFICERS OVER CHOPPER DEAL THE criminal charges are almost ready, but will they include Jose Miguel Arroyo?

Five Senate blue ribbon committee hearings later, the Philippine National Police is nearly done with its own investigation of its purchase of three helicopters in 2009 for P105 million.

Two of the choppers, which were said to be previously owned by the husband of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, were passed off as brand-new when these were sold to the PNP. Citing possible “conspiracy,” Di-

rector Samuel Pagdilao of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group promised to press criminal charges soon against police officials and several civilians, led by Lionair Inc. owner Archibald Po. Appearing with Pagdilao at the Aug. 25 hearing, PNP Director General Raul Bacalzo said a preliminary factfinding report earlier recommended further criminal investigation of 27 police officers in connection with the sale.

The mention of “civilians” appeared to have stirred up Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who earlier tagged Arroyo as

GOV’T TO MILF: AUTONOMY, NOT SUB-STATE THE government is standing firm on its proposal to give the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panel “autonomy rather than a substate.”

“The government proposal is the most principled, realistic and practical approach to resolving the decades-old armed conflict in the south,” government panel chairman Marvic Leonen said.

“The government rejects the MILF’s proposal,” he added, emphasizing that the “3 for 1” proposal or three components for one solution to the Bangsamoro problem was crafted within the bounds of the Philippine Constitution, which allows a lot of flexibility.

He also underscored that the 20-page proposal was the result of a series of consultations the peace panel conducted with various stakeholders in Mindanao.

“It seeks not only to provide a just and lasting peace to the troubled south but to improve and uplift the lives of the people who have long suffered from the brutality of decades-long armed conflict,” according to Leonen who, along with panel members Miriam CoronelFerrer, Ramon Piang Sr. and Senen Bacani, met with the MILF panel for their 22nd formal exploratory talks in Kuala Lumpur.

“These components are made up of massive economic development, political settlement with the MILF, and cultural-historical acknowledgment,” Leonen said.

He said this includes a “massive program of social services and economic development” to break the cycle of poverty in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The MILF had rejected the administration’s proposal for an enhanced Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in place of the sub-state that the rebels wanted, effectively cutting short what was supposed to be a three-day negotiation brokered by Malaysia.

MILF vice chairman for political affairs Ghadzali Jaafar said this

the real owner of the two used choppers.

“And Mike Arroyo is not included in the 27 (officers), I suppose?” Lacson asked Bacalzo, who replied: “This report is based only on the records of the PNP. It doesn’t include yet whatever was unraveled in this hearing.”

Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, chair of the blue ribbon committee, said then PNP Director General Jesus Verzosa should be included in the criminal charges, noting that he signed the PNP contract with Manila Aerospace Products Trading Corp. (Maptra), “an entity that was not legally capacitated to do so at that time.” Maptra was an accredited supplier of the PNP. Sen. Sergio Osmeña III said former Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno should also face charges for “command responsibility.”

Puno then headed the National Police Commission (Napolcom), which released a resolution identifying specifications for the choppers.

“He had the type of command responsibility because he was the chair

LACSON of the Napolcom and also [the head of] the DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government),” he said.

Pagdilao said the CIDG would file a case against Po and the owners of Maptra, which represented Lionair in the chopper deal. He declined to name the other officials to be included in the case.

Faced with the looming criminal charges, senior police officials pinned the blame on low-ranking officers tapped to inspect the choppers that

were delivered to the PNP in 2009.

Director George Piano, who headed the inspection committee for purchase, pointed to the pilots belonging to the inspection team for allegedly failing to disclose that two of the three purchased helicopters were secondhand.

Director Luizo Ticman, head of the committee that negotiated the purchase, agreed with Piano that members of the inspection team were at fault. Lacson later pointed out that low-ranking officials were being left to hold the bag.

Several witnesses, including Po, claimed that the two secondhand helicopters sold to the PNP were part of the five choppers bought by Arroyo in 2004 for his wife’s campaign in the presidential election.

Arroyo denied owning the helicopters. His younger brother, Negros Occidental Rep. Ignacio “Iggy” Arroyo, recently claimed that LTA Inc., a company owned by the Arroyos, merely rented the aircraft for two months in 2004. n

OSMEÑA: WHY WAS DE CASTRO SPARED FROM PAG-IBIG MESS? was not acceptable.

“What we want is to address first the political issue of a sub-state because this is a political problem,” he said. “Economic reforms are useless if the political issue is not addressed.”

The rebels want to create a substate that would include the ARMM and have control over its own legislature, courts and police in a federal set-up.

Meanwhile, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said President Benigno Aquino III will “expose” himself to possible impeachment if he allows the MILF to create a substate in Mindanao.

The creation of a sub-state is a clear violation of the Philippine Constitution and should be prohibited, Enrile said in an interview with reporters.

“No self-respecting President of this country will accept a dismemberment of the country during his watch or any violation of the Constitution. The President will expose himself to a possible impeachment if he will violate the Constitution,” he said.

Enrile said that no provision in the Philippine Constitution provides for the creation of a sub-state.

“It does not exist in our Constitution. The Constitution [only mentions] the republic, provinces, cities, municipalities, barangay. That’s all. There’s no sub-state, there’s no such thing,” he said.

Because of this, he said he expects talks with the MILF to “bog down.” n

SENATOR Sergio Osmeña III asked prosecutors to include the previous board of the Home Development Mutual Fund led by former Vice President Noli de Castro in the estafa complaint against Globe Asiatique Realty and Holdings Corp.

He said he was disappointed that the National Bureau of Investigation limited the respondents in the P6.6 billion syndicated estafa complaint to Globe Asiatique chief Delfin Lee, his son Delfin Jr., Globe Asiatique officers Christina Sagun and Cristina Salagan, and HDMF employee Alex Alvarez.

Osmeña, chairman of the Senate

committee on banks and financial institutions, said Lee could not have received the P6.6 billion in home loans given to thousands of ghost borrowers without the backing of the agency’s board.

“There’s always the bribe giver and the bribe taker, or else how did Delfin Lee get that P6.6 billion without bribing somebody?” Osmeña said. “It certainly would not have been released without shenanigans from the higher ups.”

But Osmeña, who is close to the Lopez family of the ABS-CBN network, where De Castro later returned as news

anchor, said he had found no evidence linking De Castro to the scam.

He said the amount involved was so massive that it could not have been paid by the Pag-IBIG Fund without board approval.

“There are several processes, internal rules that you have to follow in any financial organization,” Osmeña said.

“And in finance, it’s even stricter.

You have to go through three committee approvals.”

“He [De Castro] was chairman, he had certain responsibilities. Maybe he was absent—we don’t know.” n

MILITARY BRASS TOLD: SELL GOLF COURSES WOULD the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) consider selling five golf courses situated in prime real estate in Metro Manila to modernize its facilities?

Senate finance committee chair Franklin Drilon’s quick computations showed the military can raise an estimated P45 billion from the sale of land inside facilities that are being used as golf courses that only earn a pittance in green fees.

These are located inside Camp Aguinaldo and Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) in Quezon City, Villamor Airbase in Pasay City, the Philippine Navy and Philippine Army properties in Fort Bonifacio.

“Let’s say on the average, each golf course has 30 hectares, multiplied by five, at the rate of P30,000 per square meter would have a value of P45 billion. I don’t think the military needs golf courses, it needs to modernize,” Drilon said in an in-

terview after the finance committee hearing.

The committee learned that VMMC for example, already has an estimated value of P11.5 billion given its proximity to two giant malls in Quezon City.

The AFP has planned to spend P330 billion spread over several years as part of its modernization program.

So far, it has only used P33 billion or 10 percent of the total.

Drilon said one reason for the slow process is the AFP’s reliance on the annual budgetary allocations given by Congress.

Funds for the military’s modernization also come from proceeds collected by the Bases Conversion Development Authority and royalties from the Malampaya gas project.

Drilon said even if the military only enters into long-term lease agreements, charging lessees 10 percent of the value of the assets can already

collect P4.5 billion a year.

“These are your assets and you know your needs,” the senator told Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and AFP Chief of Staff Eduardo Oban.

“I strongly suggest you take a good look at these assets… This is not rocket science.” n

SUDOKU ANSWER FROM PAGE 19

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