YEAR 11, No.

4 OCTOBER 2007 Home Paper of the 1999 Canadian Ethnic Journalists’ and Writers’ Club Winner for Best Editorial Toronto, Ontario

Treating-or tricking? Be safe

COLD CASE
(See page 12; PHILIPPINE TRADITIONS on page 13)

INSIDE
Ooops & Bloops
Sir, ‘Bai:
What’s
in a
title?
-7

Jocelyn Balog Dulnu- By BUTCH GALICIA home. There will be no

an is going home ...
... In a box not as or-
nate as the Mississauga
mansion in which she
Pacman’s retire- met her tragic and un-
ment gift - 30 timely death on Oct. 1.
... On a 24-hour jet
flight not as fast as of-
ficials and compatriots
answered calls for help
to facilitate Jocelyn’s
Lanzones and plane space.
Camiguin - 24 ... To bereaved moth-
er Godeliva, 58; her nine
siblings, fiance Sandy
Kinnud and orphaned
Manulife
four-year old daughter
Dancing To Bevows
A Star Kristine Angelique, who
longer
- 33 faces a future as un-
stay in
known as the ongoing
RP - 31
thorough police investi-
gation of her slay.
Hello! Big Brother
bands, no streamers to
... To the mountain ... To her people meet her; just sad sobs,
farming village of Nam- whose grief over her empty faces, flowers
ulditan in 5th class untimely demise is nev- and prayers.
Hingyon town, Ifugao er measured by blood But why? That is the
province not as cold as money. story as sad as her life.
Ontario. Jocelyn is going (To page 5)
Philippine History: A Glimpse
(On page 29)
“On behalf of my government, I
restore to you a constitutional
administration by countrymen of
your confidence and your choice
and as our forces advance, I
shall in like manner restore other
Philippine cities and provinces
until throughout the entire land
you may walk down life’s years
erect and unafraid, each free to
toil and to worship according to
his own conscience with your children’s laughter again
JOCELYN DULNUAN
Friendster Photo brightening homes long darkened by the grim tragedy of
conquest.” - Gen. Douglas MacArthur with exiled Philip-
pine President Sergio Osmeña, Tacloban town hall, three
days after the Leyte Gulf landing on Oct. 20, 1944.

GSIS e-card may be used as national ID Canadian History: A Glimpse

Implanted on the Government
Service Insurance System (GSIS)
eletronic card or e-card are an in-
dividual’s personal data, and fin-
gerprint and voice biometrics.
What then can prevent offi-
cials of the state-controlled GSIS
to easily hand-over the personal
profiles of some 1.6 million GSIS
members to fit the intents of a re-
pressive regime?
Nothing, as far as GSIS presi-
dent and chairman Winston Gar-
cia, scion of a Cebu political clan
and President Gloria Macapagal-
Arroyo’s appointee, is concerned.
“The e-card may even be used
as a national ID,” Garcia declared
in a press briefing that capped the
launching of the e-card at the Phil-
ippine Consulate General’s office
in Toronto on Sept. 24.
Instead of talking about deter-
ring Orwellian applications of the
e-card, Garcia said trends in North
America, including Canada, Eu-
rope and other developed nations
point to electronic profiling.
Despite a long discourse that
feigned ignorance of other coun-
tries’ privacy laws, Garcia failed
to cite any Philippine law or as-
surance that would protect a per-
son’s privacy and hold criminally
liable any public official divulging
personal information for dubious
purposes.
Since the ouster in 1986 of a
20-year authoritarian era, ruling
politicians to this day have tried to
establish a national ID, to the cha-
(To page 4)
(On page 28)
“I believe that it is of the utmost
importance to have that (monar-
chial) principle recognized so
that we shall have a sovereign
who is placed above the region
of party — to whom all parties
look up; who is not elevated by
the action of one party nor de-
pressed by the action of anoth-
er; who is the common head and
sovereign of all.” - First Canadi-
an Prime Minister John A. Macdonald, speaking in 1865
about proposals for the confederation of Canada
2 Manila Media Monitor OCTOBER 2007

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CALENDAR
OCTOBER 2007 Manila Media Monitor

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4 NEWS Manila Media Monitor OCTOBER 2007

CLC seeks probe Desjardins replaces Sutherland

on duped OFWs as Canadian envoy to RP
OTTAWA - Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) sec- Ambassador Robert
retary-treasurer Hassan Yussuf has demanded a formal Desjardins is Canada’s new
investigation of allegations that an unscrupulous labor envoy to the Philippines,
recruitment broker had blatantly dishonored Canadian succeeding Ambassador
labor laws to victimize a number of Filipino migrant Peter Sutherland who com-
workers. pleted his four-year term in
Yussuf, in a recent letter to James Sutherland, direc- the country.
tor of the Foreign Worker Program (FWP) of the Hu- Prior to his appointment
man Resources and Social Development Canada (HRS- as ambassador, Desjardins
DC), also sought for an updated report on the Filipino served as the director-gen-
workers’ cases. eral for consular affairs of
Yussuf said the CLC had been contracted to do, Canada’s Department of
“is increasingly concerned the CLC official said. Foreign Affairs and Inter-
DESJARDINS
about the well-being and “It is our understanding national Trade in Ottawa.
whereabouts” of the work- these workers were put to He supervised the evac- developing countries; dep-
ers who recently came to work doing tasks different uation of thousands of Ca- uty director, international
Ontario under the federal than their qualifications and nadian citizens from Leba- economic relations; deputy
government’s FWP. expectations, and their wag- non last year. director, human resource
He said so many allega- es were withheld,” he said. He has been with Can- strategy; and director, Japan Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo re-
tions have been lodged in the “When the workers ada’s foreign ministry for division. ceived the credentials of new Canadian Ambassa-
case of the Filipino workers; eventually did receive par- almost 30 years and has Canada has remained dor to the Philippines Robert Desjardins at Mala-
“that we, at the CLC, are tial pay, it was considerably been posted to Cuba, Hong one of the largest develop- canang’s Rizal Hall on Sept. 14. Desjardins told
demanding a formal inves- less than the wage levels that Kong, China, and Thailand. ment partners of the Philip- the President he looked forward to serving the
tigation by the federal gov- had motivated them to come In Ottawa, he served as pines. Philippines and the Filipino people. “It is a great
ernment’s department that is to Canada in the first place,” desk officer for the consular More than 450,000 Ca- honor and privilege to serve your people and it is
supposed to care about these he added. policy section; personnel nadian citizens and perma- my pleasure to further strengthen the diplomatic
workers, when they are in Yussuf asked: officer; deputy director for nent residents are of Philip- relations between the Philippines and Canada,”
Canada.” ► What investigative economic relations with pine descent. PR he said. (Rico Borja-OPS/NIB Photo)
The case, similar to so steps would the HRSDC,
many that have reached the RCMP and CSBA take,
the CLC, involved breach or were taking, on the case?
state about FWP failures,
particularly the disregard for LABOR FORCE SURVEY ON NEW IMMIGRANTS
of contract, withholding of ► What were being
wages or payment of sub- done to name, pursue and
compliance or enforcement
of Canadian workplace laws Better schooled, but more
likely to be unemployed
standard wages, excessive prosecute involved labor and standards.
recruitment fees and exploi- brokers, contractors and “This program fails the
tive working conditions. employers; and to retrieve workers because it keeps
Yussuf said the CLC wages and usurious fees the them vulnerable to abuse Many newcomers would tistics Canada Labor Force in the labor market, and the
learned the workers paid a workers paid? and exploitation,” he said. need time to break into the Survey (LFS). more the gap narrowed be-
big sum of money to a la- Consequences Meanwhile, labor bro- Canadian workforce, as they Immigrants who landed tween them and Canadian-
bor broker to work as either The consequences of kers and some employers face many barriers to find- from 2001 to 2006 had the born workers.
welders or plumbers. the case included long last- clearly profited from the ing a job. Thus, they might most hardship getting good Further, established im-
But on arrival in Canada, ing damage to Canada’s in- ease of access to foreign need more time to adjust to jobs, even though they were migrants, who had been in
the broker was said to have ternational reputation, and workers they were afforded their new life in Canada. more likely to have univer- the country for more than
confiscated important per- the injustice could include by the FPW, he said. Impeding their integra- sity education than Cana- ten years, had labor market
sonal documents such as loss of life, as had been seen Karl Flecker, national tion to the labor force were dian-born workers. outcomes in 2006 that most
passports and work permits for some workers under the director for CLC’s Anti- the perennial barriers - lack In 2006, the unemploy- closely resembled those of
and then delivered the work- FWP, Yussuf said. Racism and Human Rights, of Canadian work experi- ment rate for these immi- Canadian-born workers.
ers to a workplace where Over the last two years, has promised to provide the ence, lack of recognition of grants was 11.5 percent, Other findings
they were given jobs not CLC and affiliate unions Manila Media Monitor with foreign credentials and lan- more than twice the 4.9-per- ► Immigrants in strong
consistent with what they have reported to the federal updates of the case. guage, according to a Sta- cent rate for the Canadian- labor markets, such as Al-

GSIS e-card may be used as national ID

(From page 1)
grin and objections of na-
tionalists who foresaw in the
national ID the emergence
of another dictatorship and
the possible disregard to hu-
man rights.
Complaints
Reports reaching the
Manila Media Monitor have
noted the failure of the GSIS
e-card system to live up to its
much-vaunted technological
efficiency.
In Toronto as elsewhere
in the Philippines, com-
plaints included e-card inac-
cessibility, particularly for
pensioners; late payments of
pensions and other benefits,
difficulty in getting much-
needed loans, broken and
dysfunctional e-card kiosks,
long waiting time for online
activation, etc.
Garcia emulated how
fast and easy the GSIS e-
card system could deliver
services to members in se-
lected areas worldwide.
But he did not echo
the apologies he made last
GARCIA
month in Manila for system
“glitches.”
“The imperfection in
the system is intolerable. If
there had been inefficiencies
in our system, there is no
excuse for that. My apolo-
gies,” Garcia told the Phil-
ippine Daily Inquirer.
“The human infrastruc-
ture that we have at the GSIS
sucks,” he added.
Union Bank deal
During the Toronto press
briefing, Garcia defended
the deal he made with Union
Bank, as official GSIS de-
pository and e-card conduit.
He said Union Bank had
the fiscal fluidity and the in-
frastructure to oversee GSIS
e-card multi-million peso
transactions per month.
He implied that this was
getter than that of the Phil-
ippine National Bank, the
Bank of the Philippine Is-
lands and the state-run Land
Bank of the Philippines and
Development Bank of the
Philippines.
However, this was not
the way critic Anakpawis
Rep. Crispin Beltran saw it.
Since 2004, Beltran has
filed at least 12 still pend-
ing resolutions in Congress
seeking for an investigation
of suspected GSIS-related
anomalies, one of them be-
ing the irregular transfer of
GSIS funds from Land Bank
of the Philippines to Union
Bank.
“GSIS has so far evaded
the question of why the funds
were transferred to Union
Bank despite the fact that it
has less system infrastruc-
ture that is capable of giv-
ing government employees
more convenient, economi-
cal, and efficient access to
their benefits. For example,
Union Bank has only 112
branches nationwide while
Land Bank has 350 branch-
es. Also, UnionBank’s 94
ATMs is only one-fourth of
the number of Land Bank’s
448 ATMs nationwide,” he
explained.
Audit report
Garcia also told his To-
ronto audience how he had
to fight tooth and nail those
who “wanted to sabotage”
the GSIS and the e-card sys-
tem and those who tried to
undermine his integrity and
leadership as GSIS top of-
ficial.
He shrugged off a Com-
mission on Audit Special
Audit Team (SAT) report as
“malicious and politically-
motivated.”
SAT findings reported to
the Office of the Ombuds-
man questioned why the
GSIS multi-million peso
e-card project never went
through a bidding process,
as required by law. BG
born population.
This high joblessness
rate was greatly felt in all
three of Canada’s largest
census metropolitan areas,
particularly in Montréal
where the unemployment
rate reached 18.1 percent, or
three times higher than the
5.9 percent among Canadi-
an-born Montréalers.
If at all the new immi-
grants got jobs, these were in
factories, small production
firms, or in accommodation
and food service industries.
Very few have slipped
into the professional, scien-
tific and technical services
sectors, the LFS noted.
Longer stay, good jobs
The study said the situ-
ation has improved for im-
migrants who landed be-
tween 1996 and 2001. Their
unemployment rate was 7.3
percent.
As expected, the lon-
ger immigrants remained in
Canada, the better they fared
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berta’s hot economy and in
Manitoba, tended to have
relatively strong labor mar-
ket outcomes.
► Labor market out-
comes were better for immi-
grant men than their female
counterparts, and that young
immigrant women in par-
ticular have struggled.
► Immigrants aged 25
to 54 were more likely to
have a university education
than Canadian-born men
and women in 2006. Some
36 percent of immigrants in
the age group had at least a
bachelor’s degree, as against
22 percent among those born
in Canada.
The study was quick to
note that while unemploy-
ment rates for Canadian-
born workers were lower for
people with progressively
higher levels of education,
rates for very recent im-
migrants remained high
regardless of their level of
education.
OCTOBER 2007
COLD CASE
(From page 1)
“Jocelyn’s body is due
home, on the evening of
Oct. 16 aboard a Korean
Airlines flight,” Philippine
consul general in Toronto
Alejandro Mosquera told
the Manila Media Monitor.
The body stayed for
a while at Mississauga’s
Scotts funeral homes, Mos-
quera said.
Costs covered
Mosquera said the De-
partment of Foreign Affairs
(DFA) in Manila sent the
repatriation funds, as soon
as it got wind of the case.
Foreign Affairs Secre-
tary Alberto Romulo on Oct.
5 also ordered Mosquera to
fully cooperate with Ca-
nadian police in tracking
down Jocelyn’s killer(s).
Information reaching
the consulate added that the
Ontario Ministry of the At-
torney General (OMAG) in
Toronto assumed the costs
of embalming and other
mortuary needs, including
the coffin.
Acting silently
Mosquera implied that
the consulate had to act
silently but swiftly, so as
not to add to the noise and
confusion being made by so
many voices whose inter-
ests were just about every-
thing, other than to find jus-
Manila Media Monitor
tice for Jocelyn or to help
Jocelyn’s immediate family
get through the loss.
He said that he issued,
as early as Oct. 3, a memo-
request to the DFA for repa-
triation funds.
Toronto labor attache
Frank Luna, on the same
day, made a parallel request
with the Overseas Work-
ers Welfare Administration
(OWWA), even if Jocelyn
was said to be an undocu-
mented worker in Canada.
It was no longer a ques-
tion of job status, but a
statement of high regard
for Jocelyn’s Filipino citi-
zenship and her being an
honorable overseas Filipino
worker (OFW).
Relatedly, what could
be recalled was the case of
Marilou Tabuno, who died
in a vehicular mishap in To-
ronto on May 24, 2006 but
whose body remained in a
morgue for 50 days due to
OWWA’s inefficiency.
The body of Marilou,
an OWWA enrolee, finally
boarded a flight back home
after the consulate and the
labor office, then under
Rico Olalia, made represen-
tations with the morgue.
Beware
Amid all the misleading
news and gossip, Mosquera
JOCELYN DULNUAN: Friendly, spirited, athletic.
Peel Regional Police photo
calmly advised the public
to be wary of unscrupulous
people taking advantage of
the situation.
The consulate, he said,
did not authorize solicita-
tions for donations for Joce-
lyn’s repatriation.
Reports reaching him
NEWS
said donations using the
consulate’s name and those
of other people and groups
were being asked up to now
even in malls.
Fundraiser
Filipino-Canadian As-
sociation of Vaughn officers
Erlinda Insigne, Imelda
Belanger and Jess Anto-
nio have staged on Oct. 6
a fundraiser at the Patricia
Kemp Community Centre.
The group, which even
sought the consulate’s help
to fan out info on the event,
raised $4,664. Cheques and
pledges were expected.
The event was done
to raise money - at least
$10,000, they said - to send
Jocelyn home, as they ac-
cused officials of inutility
and inaction on the matter.
But Fay Hangdaan,
cousin of Jocelyn’s fiancé,
said the cash raised and any
other donations would now
be sent to Jocelyn’s family.
Hangdaan, in an e-mail
response to Manila Media
Monitor queries, named the
fiance as Sandy Kinnud,
said to have been married to
Jocelyn in Ifugao rites.
She said the Jocelyn
Dulnuan Funds had been
set up with a trust account at
TD CanadaTrust, Account
Number 1968 6393536.
She said donations could
also be sent to c/o Fay Hang-
daan, P.O. Box 62506, 85
Ellesmere Road, Scarbor-
ough, ON, M1R 5G8.
She asked donors to sign
their names, and provide
their e-mails, addresses and
phone numbers for proper
acknowledgment.
Jocelyn Balog Dulnuan
On Aug. 31, 2003, the
5
name Jocelyn Balog Dul-
nuan landed in the pages of
then Philippine daily Ma-
nila Standard.
Dulnuan was one of
2,776 out of 7,798 Filipinos
who passed the Criminolo-
gists Licensure Examina-
tion of the Board of Crimi-
nology.
Four years later to the
day when she expectedly
took her oath as a licensed
criminologist before the
Philippine Professional
Regulation Commission
on Oct. 5, 2003, and up to
the time of this writing, the
name Jocelyn Balog Dul-
nuan has become not only
a media byword, but also a
cyberspace and grapevine
topic; but in another place
and under very different
circumstances.
Police said Jocelyn, 27,
came to Canada on a work
permit in November 2006.
She arrived from Hong
Kong, where she joined her
mother to work since Au-
gust 2005.
Like all foreign workers
in Canada, she had dreams
to live and strive for.
She hoped to earn
enough money that would
ensure that she and her
Kristine Angelique back
home in Namulditan would
share a better future.
She was confident. She
(To page 6)
6 NEWS
COLD CASE
(From page 5)
had to her credit her crimi-
nology license and her col-
lege education at the Uni-
versity of Baguio (UB).
Her entries in Friendster
showed Jocelyn as friendly,
spirited and athletic, a UB
volleyball and basketball
player. Family and friends
remembered her as shy but
enjoyed a good laugh at a
good joke, as she was hon-
est and hardworking.
Hard job search
Jocelyn’s first few
months in Canada were
spent with sponsor Regina
K. Lachapelle, who told
this to consulate officials in
a visit on Oct. 3 to seek help
to bring Jocelyn home.
Lachapelle is the sister
of Sandy Kinnud, the father
of Jocelyn’s child.
Into a mansion
Police said Jocelyn had
been from a job to another.
In June, Jocelyn was
hired as a nanny in a two-
story mansion on Doulton
Place, Mississauga.
Jocelyn tended to the
needs of a family the main-
stream media named as Dr.
Jaya Chanchlani, her hus-
band Vasu and their three
children.
Tragic fate
The job could have been
the answer to her dreams.
Fate, however, never
meant it to be.
On Oct. 1, all her
dreams, and that of her
waiting daughter, faded -
with her life.
On that tragic day at
about 5 p.m., police got a
9-1-1 call from a woman,
saying that the lifeless body
of Jocelyn was found in her
basement room.
In a media briefing at
the Peel Regional Police
Brampton headquarters on
Oct. 3, homicide inspector
Norm English said the Dul-
nuan slay was an “isolated
incident” during a possible
robbery.
Inday Barona speaks in PPCO forum
MCLUHAN FELLOW INDAY ESPINA-BARONA (4th from left. seated) briefs
members of the Philippine Press Club Ontario on social, economic and polit-
ical developments in the Philippines during a recent forum. PHOTO: LARRY
TORRES
“The location was tar-
geted for a specific reason
... I do believe, though, that
there was property taken
from the residence,” Eng-
lish said, adding the killers
might have targeted Dulnu-
an, the mansion, or both.
On the murder’s circum-
stances, English said: “The
persons that would know
that are the killers and I’ll
hold that off until we inter-
view them.”
Fourteen days into the
murder, English told me-
dia that they were eyeing at
least two persons who com-
mitted the robbery-murder.
Except for very scant
details, police to this day re-
mained zipped-lipped in its
investigation of the case.
“Understandably,” said
community press club pres-
ident Tenny Soriano. “As in
other high-profile crimes,
the police want to build an
air tight case to get the sus-
pects prosecuted.”
In Hong Kong
Even in Hong Kong,
mother Godeliva seemed to
be in the dark too.
Bruce Shu of Citigate
Dewe Rogerson, who told
Manila Media Monitor he
and his firm were PR advi-
sors of Mrs Dulnuan, quot-
ed Godeliva: “As a Chris-
tian family, we do not seek
revenge. We simply need
to know what happened to
Jocelyn. I spoke with her
on the phone last Sunday
(Sept. 30), and on Monday
(Oct. 1) she was dead.”
“During this difficult
time, we have been sus-
tained by the love and kind-
ness of so many people.
The Filipino community
and many others in Toronto
have come together to sup-
port our family, and we ask
the community to turn its
attention now to helping the
police find Jocelyn’s killer
or killers. I beg anyone who
knew or had any contact
Manila Media Monitor OCTOBER 2007
CONSULATE’S STATEMENT Mosquera cites great Tarlac sons,
To set the record straight, the Philippine
Consulate General in Toronto would like to daughters who died for country
state the following: Philippine consul general in Toronto Alejandro Mos-
The Consulate General has sufficient funds
quera has called on the community to remember the great
to bring home to the Philippines the remains of Filipinos who have shed their blood, sweat and tears to
the late Jocelyn Dulnuan.
make the Philippines a better country to live in.
From the time it learned of the untimely de- Mosquera, in his inspirational message before the Tar-
mise of Jocelyn Dulnuan, the Consulate Gen-
lac Society of Ontario (TSO) on Oct. 12, said the lessons
eral has been in touch with Police authorities of social idealism and patriotism could be learned from
concerning the case, including coordination
Tarlac’s sons and daughters in the likes of Gen. Carlos P.
for the repatriation of her remains to the Phil- Romulo and Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquino who have given their
ippines.
life to the service of the country.
Arrangements for the repatriation of the re- He also cited the great contributions of persons who
mains of the late Jocelyn Dulnuan have been
made Tarlac the renowned “Melting Pot of Central Luzon,”
made, and will be implemented as soon as as he urged the TSO members and the community to be
Police investigators have completed foren-
more socially and economically productive in their adop-
sic examinations on the deceased (expected tive land, Canada, which in itself has been known for its
within two days) and turn over her remains to
multi-cultural mosaic.
the designated funeral home in preparation for During the occasion, Mosquera swore in the TSO’s
repatriation.
executive officers led president Jess Meneses. Also sworn
The Consulate General is issuing the fore- in were Anita Sanchez, executive vice president; Bert Chi-
going statement to rectify misleading and
chioco, vice president, 1st District; Conrad Agustin, vice
incorrect statements and information which president, 2nd District; Jose Reyes, vice president, 3rd Dis-
have been circulating.
trict; Tess Meneses, secretary; Cely Chichioco, treasurer;
Art Sanchez, auditor; Adela Agustin, PRO; and Ores-Espi-
Philippine Consulate General Toronto nosa-Ting, adviser, being the immediate past president.
10 October 2007
with Jocelyn to speak with lyn’s return home.” tawan ni Jocelyn,” Olayta and those who nodded with
the (Peel Regional) police,” Arrangements are be- said in an e-mail thread. her views.
Godeliva said. ing made for Jocelyn’s fu- She said they were ap- Incomplete story
Earlier, Mosquera told neral in her home village pealing to Jocelyn’s family However, the grieving
the Manila Media Monitor of Namulditan in Hingyon for the stay, even mulling Dulnuan family back in Ifu-
that Godeliva had autho- following her return to the over asking Jocelyn’s moth- gao has as much as the same
rized a police investigator Philippines. er to come over. business and right, and they
to act as her official repre- “This is not the home- Right to know are just as eager to know
sentative in matters pertain- coming we expected, but it On Oct. 14 at the St. why Jocelyn had to come
ing to Jocelyn’s repatriation is a homecoming neverthe- Simon Anglican Church, home in a coffin.
and police coordination less,” Mrs Dulnuan said. the Jocelyn Dulnuan Sup- To get a clearer idea of
with Philippine officials. Justice for Jocelyn port Committee and the how and why Jocelyn died,
The Special Power of Knowing the hard facts San Lorenzo Ruiz Parish perhaps the family would
Attorney given to the police have become the crux of conducted a light-a-candle agree to another full au-
officer was confirmed by contention of a group of prayer-rally to seek justice topsy of Jocelyn’s remains,
Jocelyn’s extended kin in citizens to seek a delay in for Jocelyn. to be conducted by Philip-
Toronto. repatriating Jocelyn. “Money will surely be pine forensics experts and
Shu, in a press release, If she had her way, Ter- raised. But justice? I don’t findings could be reported
said the police have assured ry Olayta of the Caregiv- know how many more back to the community in
the family that any conver- ers Resource Centre would deaths have to happen be- Canada, an observer said.
sations with members of want the body of Jocelyn to fore we can gain the courage As Jocelyn’s body lifts
the public on Jocelyn’s case stay a while. to say enough is enough,” off for home, police are yet
would be treated in strict “Sana ay huwag mu- Olayta said. to announce the arrest of the
confidence. nang ipa-uwi ang bangkay “We need to work to- suspect(s) in her slay.
Mrs. Dulnuan also said: ni Jocelyn dahil hanggang gether, not only for the How and why Jocelyn
“We are grateful to the Phil- ngayon ay wala pang re- financial side but for edu- was killed have remained
ippine government, the Ca- sulta ang imbestigasyon ng cating ourselves in seeking unanswered questions.
nadian authorities and our kanyang pagkamatay. Kung justice,” she added. Not until Jocelyn has
friends in Toronto and else- ngayon pa lamang ay nahi- “It is our business, our been dealt justice, her life’s
where for their assistance rapan na tayo sa pag-alam right to know who killed story will never be com-
and generosity in providing ng mga pangyayari. lalo na Jocelyn and what really hap- plete, like the story of her
the funds needed for Joce- kung wala na dito ang ka- pened to her,” said Olayta death.
Fluvial parade for Our Lady of Peñafrancia
Bicolanos in Toronto give respects to Bicolandia’s Patroness the Virgin of
Pinafrancia in a fluvial parade at the Bluffer’s Park on Sept. 15. A nine-month
novena preceded the Virgin’s feast day.
OCTOBER 2007
Sir, ‘Bai: What’s in a title?
If there is anybody I ad-
mire in the community for
one’s energy, it is veteran
mediaman Jojo Taduran.
At the rate we’ve been
getting all those feeds on re-
cent debuts, weddings, an-
niversaries of organizations
of sorts, and what has he,
I could only wonder how
Jojo attends those events -
most photos of which were
credited to him.
‘Jo, ang lagay ba na-
man, e, ganito na la’ng?
***
At the end of Philip-
pine Times editor Paul de
la Cruz’s column are in-
scribed the words, “Paul
de la Cruz is Founding
President of the Philippine
Press Club Ontario.”
Paul, may umaangkin
ba? Sabihin mo sa akin.
Ako ang bahala.
***
At the end of Rose Ti-
jam’s column in the same
publication, is stated, “Rose
Tijam is currently the vice
president of Philippine
Press Club Ontario.”
Manila Media Monitor
Ace Alvarez
Aba! Mukhang nagka-
kaangkinan na nga, a.
***
With the foregoing I
sent a request to Manila
Media Monitor editor
Butch Galicia to put after
my column, “Ace Alvarez
is a Founding Member of
the Philippine Press Club
Ontario.”
On second thought, I
asked Butch to put, “Ace
Alvarez is a Founding
Member of the Philip-
pine Press Club Ontario,
among other founding
members,” para hindi na-
man magalit iyong ibang
founding members din.
***
Butch replied with a
note, “How did you become
a founding member?”
I wrote back, “I was a
member when we founded
the Philippine Press Club
Ontario, or PPCO.”
He asked, “So, you were
a member even before you
founded PPCO? Which
came first, the chicken, or
the egg?”
Mad, I wrote back, “For-
get it.”
He sent an e-mail back,
saying, “Don’t get mad. I’m
just clarifying? What about
Rose Tijam? She writes:
‘Rose Tijam is currently the
vice president of the Philip-
pine Press Club Ontario’.”
Butch continued, “Is” is
present; “currently” is pres-
ent. So what happens when
her term of office expires
and another vice president
is installed?”
Ace to Butch: “E di ila-
gay niya that ‘Rose Tijam
was currently the vice pres-
ident of Philippine Press
Club Ontario’. O, ano pa
ang problema mo?”
***
While all these devel-
oped, I read somewhere
that PPCO president Ten-
ny Soriano identified him-
self as “abang kasapi ng
PPCO”; “Grandson of the
late Senator Antero So-
riano of Tanza, Cavite”;
“Former Vice-President
of the Philippine Defense
Press Corp.”; “Former
VIEWS
Board Member of the
Dangerous Drugs Board”;
“Member, National Press
Club of the Philippines”.
I think an election is
coming up at the PPCO.
Yahoo! Mabuhay kay-
ong lahat!
One important thing
though: Manila Media
Monitor editor Butch
Galicia declares at the
PPCO barbeque party,
Sept. 8, “Jess Cabrias for
President!”
***
Editor Butch says that at
a private function recently
at the Golden Valley’s Ban-
quet Hall in Scarborough,
PPC-O auxiliary ladies
Chuchi Punsalan and Ma-
ribel Montemayor asked
some seniors if they would
be interested in purchasing
Goji, an energy drink ex-
tracted from red fruits found
in the Himalayas (www.
kissgoji.com) and attributed
to contribute to long lives of
people in that remote part of
the world.
While sorting out the or-
ders, Butch overheard Chu-
chi saying: “We’re in trou-
ble, Maribel. Some of the
seniors declined to pay for
their orders. They thought
we were offering them con-
gee.”
***
Am sure most have
seen the TV commercial
of Casino Rama where
people were walking with
their arms raised.
There’s some truth in
that TV ad. Front Page
Philippines TV Host Gie
Alvarez observes that
most often than not, when
one goes to Casino Rama,
and after leaving the casi-
no, one feels he, or she was
held up.
Mabuti na la’ng that
the Asian-Canadian En-
trepreneurs and Profes-
sionals (ACEP), headed
by our man-about-town
Rafael Nebres, General
Manager of Action Honda,
has set the organization’s
fund-raising trip to Niag-
ara’s Fallsview Casino.
To reserve your space
on the bus trip, please call
Mr. Nebres. (Oh yes, it’s
okay to give him a ring.
Alam n’yo na, “… whether
bibili kayo, o hindi, it’s al-
ways a pleasure to talk to
a kababayan.”
But if I may add, inci-
dentally, “It’s better, kung
bibili kayo, instead of just
“talk to a kababayan”…
oh, I almost forgot …
7
Mabuhay!)
What? Where’s Mr.
Nebres’ phone number?
I’ll give it later after ACEP
has approved the budget
for this publicity.
***
All times at various
times, we read from various
results of research studies
that ethnic communities of-
ten face barriers; in hiring,
at workplace, etc., etc., etc.
On Friday, September
21, Ryerson University
sent a press release based
on a research it conducted:
“Ethnic Communities Of-
ten Face Cultural Barriers
at Death”.
Finally, the researchers
put an end on cultural bar-
riers to ethnic communi-
ties; end of various research
studies, too; ‘till death do us
part, folks!
***
Press Release received
by this publication, Thurs-
day, September 20: “UP
president Emerlinda Ro-
man, who was in Toronto
for a visit last spring has
laid out plans under her
tenure, one of which is to
continue UP’s mandate as
a national university …”
(underscoring mine).
Is there any other way?
The president of UP has
no choice but to continue
the university’s mandate
created by an act of Phil-
ippine legislature.
(To page 10)
OCTOBER 2007 Manila Media Monitor VIEWS 9

Letters & Voices Let’s take back

Effective communication
Dear Ace/Gie,
the sidewalks!
I read the Manila Media Monitor and saw your write-up on our
Show. Now I know what’s the meaning of effective English. It cov- Let’s take back the sidewalks! cycle paths will stop this abuse holiday in my heart.
ers and successfully promotes all the ingredients that are necessary A few weeks ago, I was walk- until we do. For too long, George W. Bush
to build up a Show. Everyone on-stage, off-stage and all the readers ing along Toronto’s Bloor Street *** and his gang of tricksters have
will love to see this article! Thank you very much! Andrew Cheng, when I met hordes of cyclists all I’m disgusted over the re- been leading Americans into an
President, Home Karaoke Ltd. chanting “More bicycle lanes on ported physical attacks on Asian- inflated sense of their superiority.
September issue booboo Toronto streets!”
I hope they win their way. I’m
Canadian fishermen and the spray
painting of homes and vehicles
But the higher loonie is bad for
our exporters and tourism from
Reader Banjamin Navarro phoned and noted an inexcusable all for giving the utmost protec- with anti-semitic and anti-homo- the United States, and I know it’s
booboo in Manila Media Monitor’s September 2007 issue. The con- tion to those who choose to pedal sexual slogans in York Region. bad in that it signifies the begin-
tinuation of the Election-Referendum story to page 6 was nowhere their way along the streets: it’s This may sound paradoxical, ning of what looks like an eco-
to be found. (Navarro’s eagle eyes deserve commendation. My healthier, and better for the envi- but I feel it could not have hap- nomic downtown which will af-
apologies. Maraming salamat po. The Editor) ronment and the economy. pened in a better place. fect us all.
***** However, and this is a Big As might be expected, cultur- So let’s hope for the American
I missed the continuation of the story on Ontario’s election and however. Cyclists must be pre- ally sensitive Chief Armand La- people and for us that the worst
referendum. But what do I care? It’s all over any ethnic and main- pared to give a little - and these Barge of the York Regional Police won’t happen. And I certainly
stream print and broadcast media I could lay my eyes on. Whatever, aren’t just kids. Service has been quick to come up hope the current flood of Cana-
your September 2007 issue was very informative and very educa- I’m talking about thousands with statements that he considers dians shopping across the border
tional. I appreciate your editors’ wise decisions to put in timely and of cyclists who are abusing our these to be criminal acts. slows down; it’s not good for our
relevant feature articles, particularly that report on the Filipino-Ca- sidewalks invading them at will, Too often, when anything like own retail industry.
nadian community. The sections on Philippine tourism and history expecting pedestrians to jump out this happens, municipal govern- Oh yes, I’ll take some of the
were a blast. They easily protrayed the beauty of our lupang sinilan- of their way. They refuse to stop ment representatives from mayors blame there too, but I intend to
gan (land of birth) and the events that shaped the Philippines, ang at red lights and they hurtle down to police chiefs to other solid citi- mend my ways.
Perlas ng Silanganan (the Pearl of the Orient). If it is not an intru- one way streets in the wrong di- zens come out with woolly state- There are certain steps Cana-
sion, I’d like to suggest a section on Canadian history too, to make rection. ments which enjoin us to ”wait and dian businesses must take. If par-
me and the community more knowledgeable of our adoptive coun- It is all very well to blame the see”, whether these are really hate ity or an even higher rate begins
try. - Jesus Cachola, Toronto (Again, I’m sorry for the inadver- police for not being more vigilant, crimes or “isolated” incidents. to look permanent, Canadian re-
tency. Thanks for the observations. Yes, we shall start a monthly but these road warriors know we Whichever way you look at it, tailers have better attend to com-
highlight of Canadian history in this issue. - The Editor) just have not enough police on the an offence of this kind against a petitive pricing what can now be
streets. I know that it takes time single mosque, or a single syna- obtained for much less south of
LETTERS, COMMENTS, REACTIONS may be and money to establish the nec- gogue, or a single cemetery, or a the border.
sent to mediamonitor@rogers.com. All communica- essary bureaucracy to begin an single man, woman or child is a
enforceable bicycle licensing sys- crime. One such act isn’t just an (Used with permission. Ben
tions will be edited.
tem, but no amount of dedicated isolated incident. Viccari is the President of the
It’s the product of a sick mind Canadian Ethnic Media As-
that if it’s swept under the rug will sociation [CEMA] and makes
feed other sick minds that are just frequent appearances on OMNI
waiting to sneak out of the closet TV Commentary. Some of his
and back again before their anon- commentaries are republished in
ymous acts are given the perpetra- this publication and slightly ex-
tor’s name. panded in some cases from their
*** 70-second broadcast originals.

Restless I must confess that when the

Canadian loonie rose above parity
For more of his work, please visit
Ben’s website at: http://canscene.
with Uncle Sam’s, I made a little ripple.ca)

I’m restless. It’s late at night
and I can’t sleep. My mind wan-
ders from one thing to another
and I can’t seem to focus on any
one thing for more than a few sec-
onds. What I need to do is focus
on sleep. But I can’t.
I know I’m going to pay for this
tomorrow. The whole day will be
short – a write off. I’ll be cranky,
and short-tempered all day. I’ll
have trouble focusing on my work
and on the important things. My
mind will wander all day bounc-
ing from one thought to another,
unable to hold on to a single idea
for more than a few seconds.
I know all of this but I still
can’t sleep. What got me here was
an encounter with Emma.
I’m restless because I don’t
want to think too much about
what she told me. I see a little of
myself in her and I’m not sure I’m
too happy about that.
I’ve always asked myself:
What’s the difference between rich
and poor, success and failure?
Why do we cheer some people
on while we envy and put others
down?
Everyday, on TV and in mag-
azines, we’re bombarded with
the lives of the rich and famous
watching their luxury and excess
and wonder what it would be like
to live like them. But we don’t
hate them. We might envy them a
little but in a nice way.
We sigh and think it would
be really great to live like Paris,
like Angelina, like Brad or even
Oprah. Each of them plays out
their lives in public - an ongoing
drama in which we share but have
no control over.
It’s fun and it’s safe. They are
as far removed from us as a distant
star is from our world. The way
they live is just as inaccessible.
These people are successful and
rich in a way we can only dream
of. We might not always agree
with how they live their lives but
we can’t get enough of them.
But it’s a different story when
that kind of success is closer to
home; when that someone could
have been us. Something happens
and our admiration and respect
turn to envy and spite.
I see it every day and I saw it
in Emma. And that’s what’s mak-
ing me restless. I see a little of it
in myself. Emma’s friend Imelda
started a small cleaning business
that’s slowly taking off.
Both Emma and Imelda
worked as nannies in Toronto and
came here at about the same time.
Both have been talking on and
off for a few years about starting
something either together or on
their own.
Finally Imelda took the plunge
and gave it a try. And for now it
seems to be working.
There’s no guarantee that she
will continue to be successful but
at least she tried.
I’ve written often about the
need to take risks because that’s
the only way to move one’s life
forward.
I admire Imelda for taking that
risk.
Emma, on the other hand, is
seething. She can’t stand the idea
that Imelda’s business might suc-
ceed.
And I think this envy is be-
cause Emma and Imelda are so
close. Imelda’s success could have
been Emma’s success. Rather than
admire Imelda, Emma is filled
with envy and spite.
When she told me her story,
Emma was complaining about her
friendship with Imelda; or rather
about how that friendship had suf-
fered because Imelda no longer
had time for her.
But when I listened, really
listened, to what she was saying,
I understood that she was really
complaining about herself; about
her own lack of progress as com-
pared with Imelda.
Envy is an awful thing. It
blinds us to our own failings.
Rather than focus on fixing
our own shortcomings, we spend
energy trying to put someone else
down, fantasizing about the many
faults they have and the many
India on my mind ...
(From page 8)
Rakesh also embodies the real
India: materially poor but cultur-
ally extravagant, hence full of
soul, robust and promising.
The stories painted by media
about India bursting forward as a
superpower and industrial titan in
the next decades may be true.
The progress is palpable.
India also has the advantage of
numbers.
ways in which they can fail.
There’s a fine line between
constructive criticism and outright
envy.
Emma’s life is stagnating and
she doesn’t know how to move it
forward. That’s not Imelda’s fault.
But Emma is upset at being left
behind.
Forced to watch her friend’s
success from the sidelines while
her own progress stands still, all
she can do is seethe with envy.
Her envy and spite are really about
herself but she can’t see that. Not
yet at least.
So that’s why I’m so restless. I
see a little of Emma in myself and
I’m not happy about that.
But what will propel it is not
its huge population nor its highly
literate society.
It is its constancy to its iden-
tity and selfhood.
I look forward to another visit,
to check on Rakesh and listen to
his drum beating.
And to make sure that India
does not lose track of its heritage
the way we almost have.
10
Ooops and Bloops ...
(From page 7)
***
Philippine daily Manila
Times’ item of Tuesday,
September 25 reads: “The
Philippine government says
ASEAN still wants democ-
racy in Myanmar”.
Yes, people, look far-
ther.
Do not look at the Phil-
ippines!
***
In sending his and
his party of PPCO mem-
bers’ RSVP to president
Jess Carlos of Mahara-
jah Heritage of Canada
on Monday, September
24, the latter responded
to PPCO president Tenny
Soriano: “I am honored
and humbled on the sup-
port of my colleagues …,”
and proceeded to sign his
note as follows: JESS M.
CARLOS, BBA: Presi-
dent & CEO - JC Link
Financial Group, Presi-
dent - Maharajah Heri-
tage of Canada; PRO
- Association of Filipino
Canadian Accountants;
PRO - Kalayaan; Director
- Asian- Canadian Entre-
preneur Professional; Life
Member - Million Dollar
Round Table; Member -
Philippine Press Club of
Ontario; Member - Free
and Accepted Mason; Un-
franchise Owner and Dis-
VIEWS
tributor of Market Amer-
ica, a multibillion dollar
brokerage industry.
I thought, “Honored?
Maybe; humbled? Ah, let
me decide on that later.
But probably yes, be-
cause I don’t see that he
listed his capacity as a
Roving TV Reporter of …
of … (Ano nga ba ang title
ng TV show ni Jess?).
Anyway, ganda yata
boses ni Jess Carlos. Pero,
kayo na ang humatol, mga
kaibigan.
(Meantime, Jess, did
you meet your sales tar-
get at JC Link Financial
Group for September af-
ter spending your time on
the things you do as listed
in your titles?)
***
Came the evening of the
event described above, and
the most awaited moment
- the inaugural speech of
the president elect, my very
good friend Jess Carlos, who
delivered a very moving one
(of course, a video camera
is rolling for … ah … ah …
that TV show where Jess is
a roving reporter; EXCEPT
this time, Jess was the star
of the evening).
In his inaugural speech,
he quoted the founder of At-
ari, saying, “The founder of
Atari said that the secret of
success is to do an activity
daily that will contribute to
our growth.”
After Jess said that, I
went into deep thinking:
“What am I doing here
then?”
***
The day after Maha-
rajah’s induction party,
president Jess Carlos sent
an e-mail to his media
colleagues, including this
writer, saying, “Marami
pong salamat sa pagpunta
ninyo at pag-support sa
aking (underscoring mine)
party!”
Ace to readers: Nadis-
grasya na. Nagkaangkinan
na naman. Uhhhhmmmm.
***
See those guys in photo
# 1, I thought that they were
Bonnie and Clyde. My in-
vestigation though revealed
that they were the ones who
lost money (at the nearby
slot machines near the place
where photo was taken).
***
See Photo # 2, those are
Butch Galicia, his wife-
Evelyn, and Front Page
Philippines’ Gie Alvarez.
When photo was tak-
en, it was cloudy, yet Gie
was wearing a sunvisor.
Why? Please don’t ask
me. I refuse to answer the
question (after all, Butch
is a friend of mine).
***
E-mail received from
PIDC’s Suzy Llanera at
Manila Media Monitor
1:46 p.m., Tuesday, Sept.
25, had the following as
recipients: balita@balita.
ca; jbaking@interlog.com;
Jose Baking; Ace Alva-
rez; kathreen@rogers.com;
teresita cusipag; cc: jojota-
duran@gmail.com ; Turing
Muere.
The body of the letter
read in part: “Hi Karen,
please send an invite to the
Media to please attend the
PHOTO 1
PHOTO 2
“SALU-SALO SA DON
VALLEY WEST” …”.
With my familiarity on
the foregoing e-mail ad-
dressees, either under their
names, or those of their me-
dia entities, I thought Suzy
was already inviting the
media!
***
On the same item
above, since a request was
made to Karen Pascual-
OCTOBER 2007
Binaday, PR for PIDC, I
disregarded Suzy’s e-mail
and waited for the official
invitation from Karen.
At 6:01 p.m. of the
same day, Karen sent the
official invitation: “Hello
Everyone, Please see email
below from Suzy Llanera
regarding an invitation to
the media …”.
“Now, this is the offi-
cial invitation,” I thought.
Oops! The addressee
states “To: Mabuhay Ga-
zette; cc: Suzy Llanera”.
In effect, the media at
large, did not receive any
invitation as it was sent
only to “Mabuhay Ga-
zette”, Karen’s publica-
tion.
Anyway, for the rest
in the media who would
have been interested in
the function subject of the
invitation, magpakuwento
na la’ng kayo sa mga taga
Mabuhay Gazette kung
ano ang pinagsaluhan.
***
Filipino newsmen usu-
ally address one another
with “Sir”.
With one stroke of his
e-mail’s “Sent” button,
PPCO member Leto Tig-
ley changed all that. Leto
wrote, “Bai Tenny - I could
be biased …”.
***
PPCO Ladies Circle
member Maribel Mon-
temayor’s e-mail: “Hi All,
(READ ON! To page 11)
OCTOBER 2007 Manila Media Monitor VIEWS 11
Ooops & Bloops
(From page 10)
On Sunday, September 30, 2007, I will have to give a position demo, and … finally,
RUN FOR THE CURE. Please help me he got it.”
raise funds for Breast Cancer.” Gie to Ace: “But you didn’t answer my
PPCO member Ricky Caluen re- question. I’m asking you. What about con-
sponded to the call, and Maribel thanked tent and delivery? Did you counsel him on
him: “Hi Ricky, Thanks for your dona- those?”
tion. I will have my car with me.” Ace: “That I can’t do much about, ano?
Ricky wrote back: “Ha? Anong It’s just like Ontario for Jess: ‘Yours to dis-
klaseng run ito? Nakasakay?” cover’.”
Unto Ricky, I say: “Policy is no re- ***
turn; no exchange. All donations are fi- With the exchange rate of the Cana-
nal” dian dollar vs. that of the U.S., the former
*** being higher than the latter, it was not a
At the PIDC’s Dancing To Be A Star’s wonder to me why Pototan Association
Grand Finale, Saturday, September 22, at of Ontario President Nestor Perez was in
the Macedonian Hall in East York, Ontario, Buffalo, New York, first day of the week ,
Dr. Christina Gamo and Robert Henson and in fact, first day of this month, when
placed first in the intermediate competi- I talked to him that day.
tion; Dr. Masselle Virey and partner, Mike, Back to ‘stateside’ yata ‘yan!
placed 4th. Nestor, please take a close look.
The male emcee was Dr. Solon Guz- The item might be “Made in China”,
man.
To PIDC, through chair Leonie Man-
or “… India”-- just like those in Cana-
da.
Candonians relax with Manila Media Monitor
zanares: “I think the event should have been *** Photo: TONY ANG/JOE DAMASCO
billed as ‘Doctors Are The Stars’.”
***
NOT TRUE THAT THE FOLLOW-
ING HAPPENED:
Sometime August, I phoned the den-
tal clinic of Dr. Solon Guzman in Missis-
sauga to make an appointment for late
afternoon, Saturday, September 1st.
The office reception told me that Dr.
Guzman would not be available, hence, I
proceeded to watch the show at the “Fili-
pino Day at Canada’s Wonderland”, in
lieu of my preferred appointed time.
At this event, I saw Dr. Solon emcee-
ing the program.
Sometime later in September, I
phoned again Dr. Solon’s office in an at-
tempt to make an appointment for late
Saturday, September 22nd.
I was told by reception that, again,
he would not be available that time and
date, thus, I proceeded to go and be at
the “Dancing To Be A Star’s Grand Fi-
nale”.
At this event, there in person, I saw
Dr. Solon as one of the two emcees.
My wife advised me, saying, “I believe
you have to chance upon Dr. Solon on a
late afternoon week-end when there’s no
community activity going on.”
Ace to wife, Gie: “Ano? There are
about three, or four community events
going on every week-end, so if I wait for
that time, sira na lahat ang ngipin ko.”
***
Let’s go back to my very good friend,
Jess Carlos.
While waiting for other members be-
fore a board meeting in one organization,
Jess asked me, “Ace, what advise can you
give me to improve myself as a roving re-
porter?” (Of course, by this time, every-
body knows that this good friend of mine
is a roving reporter for that …. ah …. ah …
other Filipino TV program. What’s the title
again, Jess? I forgot.)
I counseled, “Let me see your face. I
think the left side is your better side, so,
you should see to it that when you inter-
view somebody in front of the TV camera,
you should be on the left side, and that side
is prominent before the camera.”
Front Page Philippines TV host Gie Al-
varez to Ace: “What about content and de-
livery? Did you counsel him on those?”
Ace: “… but Jess didn’t understand
right away, so I said, you should stay on the
left side and your interviewee on your right
side.”
Gie to Ace: “I said, what about con-
tent and delivery? Did you counsel him on
those?”
Ace: “Still, he didn’t quite get it, so, I
12 FEATURE Manila Media Monitor OCTOBER 2007

Always use common Make sure to wear Children should never

Wait till you
sense. a flame retardant ‘trick or treat’ alone.
get home
costume. They should go with
and your
at least two buddies
parents
and/or an adult.
check
your can-
Plan your entire route
dy before
and make sure your
you eat it.
family knows what it is.

Accept treats only in

Halloween the doorway. Never go

inside a house.
Be very cautious
Safety of strangers.

List Always say

‘THANK YOU’
for your treats.

Hallowe’en, or Halloween, is
a holiday celebrated on the night
of Oct. 31. Traditional activities
include trick-or-treating, costume
parties, viewing horror films, vis-
iting “haunted houses”, and par-
ticipating in traditional autumn
activities such as hayrides.
The main event for children
of modern Halloween in Canada
is trick-or-treating, in which chil-
dren disguise themselves in cos-
tumes and go door-to-door in their
neighborhoods, ringing each door-
bell and yelling “trick or treat!”
Upon receiving trick-or-treat-
ers, the house occupants, who
might also be in costume, often
hand out small candies, miniature
chocolate bars, loose change, or
soda pop.
Some homes will use sound
effects and fog machines to help
establish an eerie atmosphere.
Other less scary house decoration Have a
themes might be used to entertain
cellular
younger visitors.
Children can often accumulate phone
many treats on Halloween night, with you, if
filling up entire pillow cases, possible.
shopping bags or large plastic
containers. Wikipedia

Walk, don’t run. Wear a

Visit only houses
Walk on side- watch.
where the lights
are on. walks and
driveways.
Cross the street Carry a
at the corner flash-
Don’t play near lit or in a cross- light.
jack-o-lanterns. walk.
14
Poverty-stricken North America? I think not ...
Having spent my partial grow-
ing-up years in what I now refer
to as “home sweet home” To-
ronto, I regrettably would admit
that I needed a reminder of the
difference between being poverty-
stricken in North America and in
some of the poorest countries in
the world, also known as “third
world”.
Cruising the streets of T.O., one
of Canada’s most expensive cities
to live in, and the most expensive
at that, according to recent polls;
I walked by a group of homeless
people who appeared grateful and
content having been able to afford
to purchase a large pizza pie to
share among themselves.
Add to that, I passed by soli-
tary homeless people begging for
change or sleeping on a dirty side-
walk.
I felt a sense of urgency to
help as I empathized with their
situation.
What made me feel even worse
was when the homeless so nicely
spoke to passers by, only to re-
ceive nothing, though they wished
the latter a nice day, anyway.
I started to speak of the mat-
ter with my spouse who happened
to be among those in my company
that evening, and he sadly remind-
ed me that people had choices.
Though my empathy for those
who have been financially unfor-
tunate did not quite go away, I was
FEATURE
By LENNART LEIGH ALVAREZ-MAHONEY
HOMES ALONG
THE RAILS. For
many in Manila and
other urban centers
in the Philippines,
being poor is no
longer a choice. It
has become a way
of life, as they daily
struggle to make a
little go a long way.
rather confused as to why some-
one would choose to live on the
street, and go without daily show-
ers and the certainty of having
three square meals a day, if they
could choose to live in a shelter
where food was a guarantee, and
daily showers and a warm bed
was provided for.
Rumors have been flying
around as to people choosing the
street, instead of a shelter.
Some have been saying the
homeless made more money beg-
ging or peddling on the streets.
I wasn’t sure and am still not,
if there was any real truth to the
premise.
There fact was people chose
street life, and that was that.
What made the situation worse
in my mind was being reminded
of an old friend’s travel to many
places all over the world and hav-
ing seen some of the worst pov-
erty situations that many lived in
and were still in.
It was rather frustrating to
contemplate why - if someone had
an option - they would not choose
what seemed like the better way.
This made me think about all
those people that I have witnessed
as a child in the Philippines whose
families were living in poverty,
living in dirty dilapidated shacks,
who certainly did not have food
to eat or clean water to drink on a
regular basis and if they wanted to
shower, did so on a dirty river.
Manila Media Monitor
I could remember having
passed by some areas only to see
a mother bathing her babies in a
dirty river, and certainly without
the basic commodity of soap and
shampoo.
Really, what was the point?
I could also recall certain
people I knew, whose families
struggled to send their children to
school, to go for a medical check-
up when needed and to even put
food on the table - never mind the
rent that never got paid.
They did not have the luxury
of OHIP, or the Ontario Health
Insurance Policy, nor the Baby
Bonus, also known as the Ontario
Child Tax Benefit and countless
other benefits that many probably
OCTOBER 2007
took forgranted every day.
I used to think that was the
worst it got.
As an adult, finally becoming
more aware of my surroundings,
I found out about prostitution,
men selling their wives, and par-
ents selling their children’s bodies
only to put food on the table.
If that was that worst I thought
I ever heard of, I also found out
about those who contemplate
which body parts they had was
mandatory to survival, asking
themselves questions like, “Do I
really need all my fingers?”, “Do I
really need both lungs?” and on…
and on… it went.
Having partially grown up on
the other side of the world also
known as the Pearl of the Orient
definitely gave me a brighter per-
spective of how lucky we were
to really be living the “American
Dream”.
But unlike most people, I
won’t forget to remind everyone
that even though North Ameri-
cans could be quite pampered
compared with those who come
from a third world country, the
Philippines was not and is not just
a poverty-stricken country, pro-
viding one had the means to live
comfortably.
The Philippines really was a
nice place to live in. But one won’t
know unless he or she would visit
the country.
OCTOBER 2007 Manila Media Monitor FEATURE 15
Fall home maintenance tips
other obstructions.
► Cover the outside of air conditioners,
and drain and store outdoor hoses. Close the
valve to outdoor hose connection, and drain
Your house is more than the place where windows, and ensure all windows, doors wall to prevent water from draining into the the faucet (unless it is frost proof).
you live. It’s your home, and your most im- and skylights are shut tightly, including the basement. ► Winterize landscaping by storing
portant investment. door between your house and garage. ► Clean leaves from eavestroughs and outdoor furniture, preparing gardens and, if
Carrying out a regular program of main- ► Ensure that the ground around your downspouts to ensure proper drainage from necessary, protecting young trees or bushes
tenance and repairs can help you protect home slopes away from the foundation the roof, and check chimneys for nests or for winter.
that investment for as long as you live in
your home, and help keep your family safe
and sound in every season.
This fall, Canada Mortgage and Hous-
ing Corporation (CMHC) recommends a
variety of simple tasks you can perform to
avoid the most common - and costly - prob-
lems before they occur, in just a few min-
utes a week. The tasks:
► Check and clean or replace your fur-
nace filters on a monthly basis during the
heating season.
► Have your furnace or heating system
serviced by a qualified service company
(every two years for a gas furnace and ev-
ery year for an oil furnace).
► Bleed air from the hot water radia-
tors, and turn the gas furnace pilot light on.
► Vacuum electric baseboard heaters
to remove dust. Also remove the grills on
forced air systems and vacuum inside the
ducts.
► If the heat recovery ventilator has
been shut off for the summer, clean filters
and the core, and pour water down the con-
densate drain to test it.
► Have well water tested for quality.
► Check the sump pump and line to en-
sure proper operation, and that there are no
line obstructions or visible leaks.
► If you have a septic tank, measure the
sludge and scum to determine if it needs to
be emptied before spring. Tanks should be
pumped out at least once every three years.
► Replace window screens with storm
16 WHO? WHAT? Manila Media Monitor OCTOBER 2007

Reming Fund supports Maharajah Heritage of Canada officers inducted

artisans’ training costs

Donors to a North Amer-
ican Typhoon Reming Fund
would bankroll the trainor’s
training program of two ty-
phoon Reming-hit Bicolano
artisans at the Cora Cares
Foundation (CCF) in Mey-
cauayan, Bulacan.
Toronto-based fund co-
ordinator Mila Magno said
fund administrators in the
Philippines, after careful
due diligence, have decided
to invest P100,000 ($2,250)
to train the Bicol handicraft
artisans.
Each trainee would re-
ceive P50,000 from the
fund, to cover board and
lodging, transportation ex-
penses, training materials,
and teacher’s honoraria, and
sustenance for their families
who would be left behind.
The CCF training course
would cover skills upgrad-
ing in design, quality con-
trol and other aspects of the
artisans’ trade to meet the
international standards for
the export of their products.
The trainees are expect-
Press and captioned photo releases published
in the Manila Media Monitor are for public ser-
vice and free of charge. Send them to media-
monitor@rogers.com.
ed to transfer the knowl-
edge and upgraded skills
they have rerceived from
the CCF skills development
program to fellow artisans
in the Bicol region.
Fr. Efren Borromeo,
who has initiated many so-
cial development programs
in Bicol, encouraged the hu-
man resource investment.
“I am sure, as donors,
you can take pride in hav-
ing made this initiative pos-
sible, and also feel good
(PHOTO ABOVE) Philippine Consul General in
about being involved in
something that will surely
Debutante Samantha San Juan Toronto Alejandro Mosquera (left) inducts the of-
help our kababayans to get ficers of the Maharajah Heritage of Canada at the
back on their feet again,” Kalayaan Cultural Community Centre in Missis-
Magno said. sauga on Sept. 29. The inductees (from right) are
In a related develop- president Jess Carlos, executive vice president
ment, the Typhoon Reming Christina Gamo, vice president for internal affairs
Fund has also contributed Julie Nanquil, vice president for external affairs
P25,000 to the Habitat for Sivinar Pineda, secretary Eulalia Co, treasurer
Humanity, Bicol Express to Cecilia Lumba, auditor Al Tupe and PRO Flor-
build one or two houses for ence Pineda. In his acceptance speech, president
typhoon victims. Carlos cited the importance of collegial decision-
Habitat has set to build making among officers and supportive team ac-
some 2,000 houses in Ty- tion among members in the continued success of
phoon Reming-affected Bi- carrying out Maharajah’s programs and projects.
col, particularly in hard-hit Carlos urged his fellows to always advocate the
Daraga, Albay. PR growth of the group and its members to make
Maharajaf a stronger community link. Mosquera,
SAMANTHA SAN JUAN (center) marches with in his inspirational message, noted Maharajah’s
father Alexis (left) and mother Sheila as she cel- community involvement and work, saying the or-
ebrates her 18th birth anniversary with family, sib- ganization had gone far in helping compatriots
lings Stephanie and Stephen, and close friends in need in Toronto and in the Philippines. Photo:
on Aug. 18. JOJO TADURAN MON DATOL, Philippine Courier publisher

Andy Marcelo turns 76

ANDY MARCELO (seated. center) of St. Boniface Parish in Scarborough cel-

ebrates his 76th birth annjiversary on Sept. 23 with family, close friends and
members of the Sarap Buhay Club in a dinner-gathering at the Circle Grill-
house Buffet. TONY SICAT

MFFC caps 18th year of success

The Markham Federa-
tion of Filipino Canadians
(MFFC) capped another
successful year of operations
with a twin 18th foundation
anniversary dinner-dance at
the Thornhill Community
Center on Oct. 13.
Dubbed “Fiesta Inter-
nationale” to project a fes-
tive atmosphere, the event
proved to be a night of fun,
dancing, fellowship, good
food and entertainment.
Guests came in country
attire.
Every year, the MFFC
dinner-dance has become an
occasion where Filipinos in
Markham and neighboring
areas get together for fel-
lowship and camaraderie.
MFFC has been the ral-
lying point for unity and
sense of community that
has earned a high level of
respect for Filipinos and
pride in the community.
In a message, MFFC
chair Yoly Ladines extolled:
“This is the time to join up
and be counted, if you have
just moved in the area or
have just been busy settling
down.”
Ladines said that com-
ing together as a commu-
nity force was the reason
MFFC had been successful
in its undertakings.
Since its founding in
1989, MFFC has helped
build a more progressive
and more tolerant Town of
Markham.
She added that MFFC’s
achievements and contri-
butions in building a better
multicultural Canada had
not been duplicated or had
no comparison elsewhere.
The active participation
in MFFC of every Filipino
resident in Markham and its
many friends over the years
had made it the strong orga-
nization that it had become.
The annual dinner-dance
has also become a regu-
lar MFFC fund-raiser for
its community center pro-
grams and projects. MOGI
MOGADO
OCTOBER 2007 Manila Media Monitor WHO? WHAT? 17
Pototan Association of Ontario, Sept. 29
(All photos by Manila Media Monitor)

G andang
TONNIE FURTO

Chicago-based world-renowned piano and keyboard magician TOTI FUEN-

TES (left) and 70’s Metro Pop Fest interpreter and singer REX DEMAVIVAS
deliver their classy brand of music before an awed audience during the Po-
totan Association of Ontario fundraiser at Prestige Lounge on Sept. 29.

Former band mem-

Cell No. 647-868-5935

ber TENNY SORIANO
(above), ALEX DUMAN-
LAG (middle), who ‘did
a duet’ with famous
singer Oscar Peterson,
Hair and make-up by TONNIE FURTO
and karaoke ace ROL-
LY MANGANTE (below) PRESIDENT NESTOR PEREZ (left) of the Poto-
croon for $100 spon- tan Assocaition of Ontario receives a $500 check
sorships from Pototan from Prestige Lounge’s Emil George and Rolly
supporters that includ- Mangante. The donation is for the association’s
ed Boy Buscar. philanthropic projects in Pototan, Iloilo.

POTOTAN, ILOILO NATIVES (seated, from left)

Philippine Consul General in Toronto Alejandro
Mosquera, Pidoy Pacis and wife Ting, (standing,
from left) Juliet and Nestor Perez are joined by as-
sociation supporter Manny Yanga.

POTOTAN ASSOCIATION OF ONTARIO OFFICERS

18 WHO? WHAT? Manila Media Monitor OCTOBER 2007
PCCT
in GK
walk
Philippine
Chamber of
Commerce
To r o n t o
(PCCT) of-
ficers led by
Paeng Ne-
bres (right)
join the GK
Earl Bales
Park Walk on
Sept. 16. The
PCCT GK 20-
house proj-
ect in Parañaque, Metro Manila is near completion, and ten houses have
been awarded to beneficiaries. A project report is forthcoming.

Zoe Jeunesse baptism

BABY ZOE JEUNESSE is given a party by parents Derrick and May-David

Manaois (holding her) after being baptized at the John XXIII Parish Catholic
Church on Oct. 13. Joining in are (from left) Francis Jay, Erica, Josie and Larry
Manaois and Lilia and Rowena David. PHOTO: PAUL DELA CRUZ, Philippine
Times Editor

Birthday celebrator Cely Potes Marc Ballesteros

BUDDY PARAS and CELY POTES (2nd and 3rd from right, front row) with friends in Mississauga after
a dinner they hosted in celebration of Cely’s recent birth anniversary. (Photo: MIKE CADUCIO/Philip-
pine Courier)
UPAA Grand
Ball spurs
30th year
The University of the
Philippines Alumni Associ-
ation (UPAA) would high-
light its 30th anniversary
celebration with a Grand
Ball at the Marriott Hotel
Toronto Eaton Centre on
Nov. 3.
UPAA president Noel
Cruz said the ball-cum-
fundraiser hoped to provide
a professorial chair for the
alma mater. ROSE TIJAM
Patricia Gabrielle Angeles’ baptism
BABY PATRICIA GABRIELLE, daughter of Angelo and Hazel Angeles, was
baptized at the St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church on Sept. 23. With her
in photo are (from left) Arnold Angeles, Esperanza Reyes, Elsa Angeles, An-
gela Angeles, and proud parents Hazel and Angelo. TONY SICAT
bikes vs cancer
Singer-composer-performer Marc
Ballesteros will trade his guitar and
piano for a bike, to help conquer can-
cer. Ballesteros will pedal with other
men and women in a 200-kilometer
Toronto to Niagara Falls ride from
June 20 to 22, 2008.
He says the Ride to Conquer Can-
cer will support studies on and dis-
covery of new cancer therapies at the MARC
Princess Margaret Hospital.
Marc’s participation is for his
wife, Elsa, a four-time breast cancer
survivor.
“You wouldn’t know it when you
see and talk to her, ‘cause she’s a fun-
loving and beautiful person, inside
and out, very outgoing and with a
love for life even though she’s been
battling the disease since 1996. She ELSA
would always look after your best interests, often times be-
fore her own,” Ballesteros talks of Elsa.
“When you’re stricken with this type of illness, your
whole life is changed forever. You keep hoping and praying
that someday a cure will be made to finally end this life-
altering disease,” he adds.
His ride for cancer is “only a small fraction” compared
to the challenges his wife had already endured over the
years which affected her, both physically and emotionally.
He says “this event will help fund the ongoing research
to find a cure and also my way of thanking the surgeons and
support staff of Princess Margaret and Mount Sinai hospi-
tals who cared for my wife and are still continuing to care
for her. These hospitals have done tremendous work with
cancer research and treatment for their patients.”
Ballesteros, with Personal ID No 520272-2, has set a
personal fundraising goal of $5,000. Visit www.conquer-
cancer.ca/goto/marcballesteros to make a donation online
or call (416) 815-RIDE (7433). PR
OCTOBER 2007 Manila Media Monitor 19

DELILAH
LENNART
celebrates
her first
birth an-
niversary
with sis-
ter Keiran
Abigail, 3,
and mom,
Lennart
Leigh Al-
varez-Ma-
honey.

Alvarez-Mahoney birth anniversary celebrators

KIERAN
ABIGAIL
blows her
cake’s can-
dles as she
celebrates
her third
birth an-
niversary
with broth-
er Russell,
dad Mat-
thew, sis-
ter Delilah
and mom
Lennart
Leigh Al-
varez-Ma-
honey.

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households being served by Mountain Cable, OMNI 2 is on Cable 20; in the Niagara and the St. Catherines
area, OMNI.2 is on (COGECO) Cable 15; in Peterborough on COGECO, Channel 19; in Ottawa, OMNI.2 TV
is on Rogers, Cable 14; in London, Ontario, OMNI.2 is, likewise, on Rogers 14; in the St. Thomas, Strathroy
area- on Rogers, Cable 14; in Tillsonburg and Woodstock, OMNI.2 TV is on Rogers, Cable 14; in the
Georgian Bay area, including Collingwood, Midland and Owen Sound, OMNI.2 TV is on Rogers 14.

OMNI.2 could be accessed over-the-air on Channel 69 by close to one million viewers who rely on antenna
systems.
Front Page Philippines
Front Page Philippines is currently available across Canada to Starchoice subscribers on channel 395, and
airs on OMNI Television
to ExpressVu subscribers on channel 216. LOOK TV carries OMNI. 2 on channel 70. Subscribers to Rogers
Sundays : 11 AM Digital Cable can access OMNI.2 on channel 509.
Thursdays: 12 PM
20 Manila Media Monitor OCTOBER 2007
OCTOBER 2007 Manila Media Monitor 21
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22 Manila Media Monitor OCTOBER 2007

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-9

#9

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+
OCTOBER 2007 Manila Media Monitor
Rule on Writ of Amparo
takes effect on Oct. 24
Will this deter extra-judicial killings?
MANILA - When it takes effect on Oct.
24, the Rule on the Writ of Amparo will as-
sure the Filipino people vindication in Phil-
ippine courts of justice if and when their
right to life, liberty and security is either
violated or threatened.
The Supreme Court (SC) approved the
adoption of the rule on Sept. 25.
Chief Justice Reynato Puno said ”this
rule will provide the victims of extralegal
killings and enforced disappearances the
protection they need and the promise of
vindication for their rights.”
It would also empower the courts to is-
sue reliefs such as judicial orders of protec-
tion, production, inspection, and others that
would safeguard one’s life and liberty.
Puno said the rule would imbibe in pub-
lic authorities, those who took their oath to
defend the constitution and enforce laws, a
high standard of official conduct and would
hold them accountable to the people.
The Philippines 23
The SC defined the rule as “a remedy to
any person whose right to life, liberty and
security has been violated or threatened to
be violated by an unlawful act of omission
of a public official or employee, or of a pri-
vate individual or entity.”
The legal concept originated from Mex-
ico and widely adopted in Latin America,
where, in general, military juntas ruled.
The rule on the Writ of Amparo is root-
ed from the Spanish word amparar, mean-
ing to protect or defend.
The writ has disallowed a general denial
from a respondent, in cases involving ex-
tralegal and enforced disappearances, who
might cite reasons of state security.
The Supreme Court likewise took steps
to prevent the premature use, if not misuse,
of the writ for a “fishing expedition.”
”A litigation is not a game of guile but a
search for truth, which alone is the basis of
justice,” the Annotations to the Rule said.

Razon in as PNP chief,

Abalos out of Comelec
For Gen. Avelino Razon,
Jr. Oct. 1 saw him assuming
the post of Philippine Na-
tional Police (PNP) chief.
But for Benjamin Aba-
los Sr., Oct. 1 was a day he
would rather soon forget,
that time the beleaguered
head of the Philippine
Commission on Elections
(Comelec) resigned from
his post amid allegations
of bribery in connection
with the US$329-million RAZON ABALOS
national broadband network NBN deal, saying “(my res- and responsibilities to Se-
(NBN) deal with ZTE Corp. ignation) is not an admis- nior Comelec Commission-
of China. sion of guilt for any wrong- er Resurreccion Borra, who
New PNP Chief doing” ascribed on him with is expected to be Comelec’s
Director General Aveli- regards to charges that he acting officer-in-charge.
no Razon, Jr. replaced re- tried to bribe a Philippine Abalos’ resignation was
tired Director General Os- official and a businessman the first in recent memory
car Calderon. to nail the NBN deal. for an impeachable govern-
Before his appointment Under oath at the Sen- ment official.
as the PNP’s No. 2 man ate hearings late September, Officials of Comelec,
being the deputy chief for Economic Planning Secre- an independent Constitu-
administration, Razon was tary Romulo Neri alleged tional body, could only be
PNP deputy chief for op- that Abalos tried to bribe removed from office by im-
erations, the No. 3 post in him with P200 million to peachment or resignation.
the PNP. He also served as approve the deal. The resignation ended
the PNP’s chief directorial On the other hand, Abalos’ 40-year career in
staff, the No. 4 top post in Amsterdam Holdings Inc. public service, in which

the police force.
A Philippine Military
Academy graduate (Class
74), he was director of the
former Western Police Dis-
trict Command, now Manila
Police District, Southern
Police District Command,
National Capital Regional
Police Office. He also head-
ed the Presidential Security
Group under former Presi-
dent Fidel Ramos.
Old Comelec head
Abalos, former Manda-
luyong City mayor, said: “I
am resigning the chairman-
ship of the Comelec effec-
tive immediately.”
He reiterated his inno-
cence on the controversial
founder and businessman
Jose de Venecia III said Ab-
alos dangled US$10 million
so he would back out of the
bidding.
Abalos, through lawyer
Gabby Villareal, has filed
perjury and damage suits
against Neri and De Vene-
cia in a Mandaluyong city
court on Oct. 2.
n his suits against De
Venecia and Neri, Abalos
cited not only the malicious
allegations about his “sex-
capades” in Shenzen, where
ZTE is based, but also the
“totally false” assertions of
bribe-giving.
On the same day, Aba-
los turned over his duties
he also served as Regional
Trial Court judge and chair-
man of the Metro Manila
Development Authority.
Abalos made it clear he
resigned to spare Malaca-
ñang and the Comelec of
the “repercussions of my
personal problem.”
President Gloria Maca-
pagal-Arroyo has since can-
celled the NBN deal with
ZTE.
Meanwhile, Press Sec-
retary Ignacio Bunye said
Malacañang wishes Aba-
los well “as we respect his
decision and appreciate his
desire to protect his family
and the Comelec from vi-
cious politics.” PNA/OPS
Impeachment complaint vs
GMA based on 1987 Charter
MANILA Laguna 4th
District Representative
Edgar San Luis said he en-
dorsed the latest impeach-
ment complaint against
President Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo on the basis of the
1986 Philippine Constitu-
tion’s provision on betrayal
of public trust.
“Violating one’s oath
of office may constitute
betrayal of trust,” he said
during the Kapihan Sa Sulo
media forum on Oct. 13
Early this month, law-
yer Roel Pulido filed the
impeachment complaint
against the Chief Executive,
in view of alleged irregu-
larities in the government’s
national broadband network
(NBN) project.
Betrayal of public trust
is among grounds the 1987
Charter cited for removing
through impeachment the
President, Vice-President,
Ombudsman as well as
members of Supreme Court
and constitutional commis-
sions.
Other constitutional
grounds for impeachment
are their culpable violation
of this Constitution, trea-
son, bribery, graft and cor-
ruption as well as other high
crimes.
San Luis said the im-
peachment proceedings
would help uncover the
truth behind the NBN deal,
which Arroyo ordered
scrapped.
24 The PHILIPPINES Manila Media Monitor OCTOBER 2007

THIS OCTOBER IN CAMIGUIN

Lanzones Festival

The lanzones fruit is a major source of livelihood of the people of Camiguin Is-
lands. It is for the annual bountiful harvest of lanzones that the people celebrate a
thanksgiving day every year in October with a weekend of street dancing, parade
and pageants in the town of Mambajao. Houses, carriages, street poles and even
people are decorated and adorned with lanzones and lanzones leaves. Townsfolk
dance in joy abandon in commemoration of the legend that a beautiful maiden
took from the lanzones its bitter flavor to leave only its luscious, sweet taste. The
festival includes an exhibit of agri-cottage industry products, village beautification,
indigenous sports, a tableau of local culture, and a grand parade of the lanzones. SWEET LADIES will surely welcome visitors to Camiguin with sweet smiles
It is said that the sweetest lanzones comes from Camiguin. The lanzones fruit has and a cluster of sweet lanzones on a tray, during this year’s mid-October
a pale brown skin and sweet translucent flesh. The fruit ripens sometime during 28th Lanzones Festival, which celebrates a people’s gratitude for a bountiful
the third week of October Photo: Camiguin Tourism Office lanzones and agricultural harvest. Photo: BOBBY TIMONERA

Hundred Islands tourism booms

ALAMINOS CITY - Some 115,800 foreigners visited
Pinch it, peel it, eat and
enjoy its sweer transluscent
flesh. But be wary of the
bitter green seed.
the Hundred Islands National Park in the first eight months What? Pinch the Queen
of 2007, overshooting the 111,006 visitors recorded in the of Philippine Fruits?
whole of 2006. Lanzones ‘experts’ will
Mayor Hernani Braganza said most visitors to the say that in the pinching
Hundred Islands, the top tourist destination in Pangasinan, lies the secret of the fruit’s
comprised of Asians numbering 112,761; North Americans, sweetness - the very act
1,580; and Europeans, 1,213. of a beautiful maiden that
Braganza said the January to August tourism boost for legend described as having
the Hundred Islands generated some P5.8 million in rev- sweetened the lanzones, and
enues, more than the 2006 total of some P4.7 million. The zapped away all bitterness
revenue was based on ticket sales on people going to the from the fruit’s flesh and
Hundred Islands, pegged at P20 per head. transferred it to the fruit’s
Braganza said the Philippine Tourism Authority helped little green seed.
the city promote Hundred Islands to the rest of the Philip- Long, long ago, a vol-
pines and the world. PNA canic eruption hit Camiguin
Island. (Incidentally, Cami-
guin is an island ‘born of
fire,’ having seven volca-
noes for its five towns.)
The eruption wiped out
food and left the people
starving. All food were
gone, except for trees that
teemed with gold-covered
lanzones with fruit so bitter
that no one cared to gather
them, much less taste them,
even as a last resort to fill
HUNDRED ISLANDS
empty stomachs.
Legend of the Lanzones
LANZONES flood Camiguin’s market
Besides being uneaten,
lanzones was also called la-
son (poison) by some who
tried the fruit but had bad
stomachs.
Perplexed with what
happened, Bathala vowed
to correct the tragedy. So,
he sent a messenger, in the
form of a beautiful maiden,
to the village.
The beautiful lady ap-
proached the nearest tree,
plucked a bunch of ripe
lanzones, took one fruit and
pinched it before removing
its skin, and ate it.
Smilingly, she turned to
the hungry crowd amass-
ing around her - a crowd
amazed at how she man-
aged to like lanzones.
While eating fruit after
fruit to seemingly no end,
she adviced the people to
gratify Bathala by giving
him thanks for providing
them with bountiful lanzo-
nes in their hour of need.
Soon, the people tried
the fruit and finding it edible
and sweet, started gathering
lanzones for their tables.
As this was going on,
the beautiful maiden disap-
peared.
After getting their fill,
the people went to look for
the maiden, but she was no-
where to be seen.
A young woman, the
prettiest in the town, hap-
pened to examine the sweet
lanzones she was eating and
cried in great joy: “Look!
Look at the lanzones!
There’s an imprint of the
lady’s fingermark in them!”
Thus, it came to pass
that the people had to pinch
the fruit before peeling and
eating it, not necessarily to
hurt the fruit but to remind
them of the pinching feeling
of going hungry.
It was believed that
pinching, like what the lady
did, would sweeten the lan-
zones. But the seed bitter
taste would go to the fruit’s
seed.
OCTOBER 2007 Manila Media Monitor The PHILIPPINES 25
News Roundup
Duty Free offers pasalubong discounts
MANILA - Duty Free Philippines (DFP)
would offer overseas Filipino work-
ers (OFW) and balikbayans a discount
program when they return to the Phil-
ippines for the Yuletide holidays. DFP
marketing head Lui Ferrer said the dis-
count program would start October until
December. Ferrer said that besides their
multi-million peso remittances, OFWs
and balikbayans have also been noted
for their spending sprees on pasalubong
for household and kin, spending from
US$300 to US$4,500. Most of them ar-
rived from the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, the Middle East and Europe. Ferrer
said the big spenders were nurses, seafarers and professional workers. At least 900,000
OFWs and balikbayans returned home during the last quarter last year. PNA

Kalinga fruit candy makers raking profits

TABUK CITY, Kalinga - Candymaking using indigenous fruits and vegetables has be-
come one of the most profitable means of livelihood for women in Kalinga, said Gilda
Baliang of the Department of Science and Technology. Most of the candymakers have
completed a series of skills development training programs the DOST has been conducting
in the last two years. The candymakers have been using papaya, pineapple, santol, carrots
and sayote as their main raw ingredients. Baliang said the Department of Trade and Indus-
try has initiated plans to bankroll the expansion of the industry. PNA

BCCI urges food safety law in Boracay

BORACAY ISLAND, Aklan - The Bora-
cay Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(BCCI) has asked the Malay provincial
council to require food handlers of restau-
rants and bars operating in the island to
undergo training on food safety and proper
handling, as it warned visitors to eat only
in restaurants bearing the BCCI quality
seal. BCCI secretary general Lyzzelle Cer-
alde said they have received complaints of
tourists who got sick after meals. Ceralde
said BCCI and the Department of Tourism
have been conducting food and sanitation programs for staff of big restos, which are given Over 9,600 three-term village chiefs
the BCCI safety logo. Food handlers in small eateries and food stalls are yet to avail them-
selves of the training. PNA cannot seek same post in Oct. 29 polls
Families ‘legitimized’ in Baguio mass nuptials MANILA - At least
9,642 of 39,145 punong ba-
rector John Castañeda said
the barred punong baran-
Region VI had the most
number of third-termer pu-
BAGUIO CITY - The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has initi- rangays (village captains) gays, however, are allowed nong barangays at 1,133.
ated a September-end sponsored mass wedding and has scheduled more of such nuptials have completed their three- to run as kagawad or coun- The National Capital Re-
before yearend to help legitimize the union of still unwed partners and children born il- consecutive term limit and cil member. gion had 572 third-termers.
legitimate since 2002. City social welfare officer Betty Fangasan said runaway children are barred, under the law, Having been elected In Luzon, Region II
seeking help confided they could no longer bear jokes from peers about their illegitimacy. from running for re-election in 1994, they have served had the most number of
“The legitimization is vital, especially when a parent works abroad and the children’s cus- in the Oct. 29 Philippine ba- their 13th year as chief ex- third-termers at 713; in the
tody is a problem. Also, should certain benefits be awarded to families in the event of dis- rangay polls. ecutives of their respective Visayas, Region VII, 859;
ability or death, authorities should be properly guided as to who shall receive the benefits National Barangay Op- villages, Castañeda said. and in Mindanao, Region
due,” Fangasan said. She noted that parents in a legal union had stable relations, translating erations Office (NBOO) di- An NBOO report said X, 573. PIA

P190M rubber dams snake

to the moral uprightness of children. PNA

Negros Oriental among world’s best places

DUMAGUETE CITY - Negros Oriental through Albay farmlands
is one of the 20 best places in the world to LEGASPI CITY - “It’s
live in, according to an article published in a whale!”
the international Islands Magazine. Quoted “It’s a giant snake!”
in the article were foreign travellers who “No, it’s a rubber dam!”
found the province as an academic center Thus exclaimed local
and home of famous tourist attractions like officials and residents as
the Apo Island in Dauin town, the dolphins a massive rubber tube that
at Tañon Strait off Bais City and the ma- snaked through Busac, Oas,
rine sanctuaries. Also factored in were the Albay rose from the ground,
weather condition, language spoken, ease inflated by pumped air, until
of immigration and accessibility to hospitals and other facilities. Governor Emilio Macias
it became a mini dam.
II said the province should further develop its tourist attractions and sites. Recent projects
Albay farmers were
included the development of Balanan Lake in Siaton and the Hot Springs in Dauin. PNA
happy, their prayers finally
No way to sex studies in grade school answered after 10 years of
waiting for the installation
MATI CITY - Rep. Thelma Almario (2nd District, Davao Oriental) has opposed the in- of two dams made of syn-
clusion of sex education in the curriculum of Philippine elementary education, saying it thetic rubber, the first of its
could impair, rather than do good to, the innocent minds of pupils on their perception of a kind in the Philippines.
supposed “inherently beautiful, natural, spiritual, dignified, and emotional content of hu- The South Quinale Com-
man sexuality.” For high school students, yes; but for grade schoolers, no! Almario said munal Irrigation System
the time and resources that would be spent for sex education should instead go to learning (CIS) rubber dam measured
English, Mathematics, and Science and Technology. These subjects would help the pupils two meters high and 51.6
enhance their academic performance and intellectual capacity. She added that sex educa- meters long, would serve
tion has failed to answer the perennial problem of population explosion, and the alarming 1,174 hectares of farmlands
rise of teenage pregnancies. PIA in the villages of Maruyad,
San Isidro, Bacolod, San
Vicente, Linao and Bun-
sood that composed the Big
Six Reform Community in
Libon town.
The other dam measured
two meter high and 34 me-
ter long to irrigate some
793 hectares of ricefields in
barangays Busac, Unaliw,
San Juan, Talongog, Bon-
goran and San Vicente in
Oas, and barangays Bobon-
suran, Tinampo and Cavasi
in Ligao City, all part of the
Cabilogan-San Juan CIS.
Agrarian Reform Sec-
retary Nasser Pangandanan
said the rubber dams cost an
aggregate P190 million.
The Department of
Agrarian Reform and the
Japan Bank for Internation-
al Cooperation-Agrarian
Reform Infrastructure Sup-
port Project II implemented
the project in cooperation
with the Albay provincial
government, which contrib-
uted P41.5 million as coun-
terpart equity.
National Irrigation Ad-
ministration officer Geme-
niano Panton said the dam
could be fully inflated in
less than an hour.
He added the rubber
dams would automatically
deflate when water level up-
stream would rise 40 centi-
meters high above the crest,
which would normally oc-
cur in the rainy season, to
protect it from damages.
Besides being less ex-
pensive and beneficial to
farming, Panton said the
rubber dam could also help
provide hydroelectric pow-
er. PIA
26 The Philippines Manila Media Monitor OCTOBER 2007

Honoring the dead .....

(From page 13)
Since folk religion could
not stand somber, ponder-
ous theology, it incorpo-
rated earthy humor into the
pangangaluwa by charac-
terizing the errant souls as
old spinsters and male bach-
elors wasting their lives in a
limbo of non-commitment
and thus offending the feu-
dal belief that the grace in
a Catholic’s soul is directly
proportional to the number
of his children.
Kaluluwa naming madla
ng dalagang matatanda
Ang kasamang gumaga-
la ay binatang matatanda.
Kami po’y mga kalulu-
wa na nagbabayo ng ipa.
Kami raw ay nagkasala
pagka’t hindi nag-asawa.
Sa langit aming gawa
ay mag-alaga ng bata
Kami’y nanaog sa lupa
para hulugan ng awa.
(We are all souls of old
spinsters; our companions
are old bachelors.
We are the souls who
pound rice chaff.
We are supposed to
have sinned, for we never
married.)
The song would end
with a request to the owner
to hurry, if at all he would
give alms, for “heaven’s
gate might close on us.”
Owners of visited hous-
es would then give the pan-
gangaluwa carolers money.
By tradition, homeown-
ers who could not give
‘alms’ would not answer
the door by pretending to be
asleep or out of the house;
but they expect the carolers
to mischievously engage in
petty thievery such as steal-
ing eggs, chicken, a small
farm animal or fruits and
later blame the spirits for
the misdeed, Tiongson con-
cludes.
Nine-nights prayer
A tradition in most parts
of Eastern Visayas is the
prayer for departed souls.
The Kalag-kalag prayer
is in reality the last of a
nine-night novena.
It is believed by many
Catholics that these prayers
will help save the souls of
departed loved ones or re-
lease them from purgatory.
Dead eats first
Sunstar Cebu’s Bong
Wenceslao writes of Lirio
village in Cebu where peo-
ple give utmost reverence to
their dead.
In most parts of the Phil-
ippines, food is usually pre-
pared to be partaken when
everyone has returned after
visiting their dead in the
cemetery. This is one of
the few occasions when the
family gets together.
But in Liro, village folk
buys piglets in November to
be slaughtered for the next
year’s kalag-kalag.
It is not easy raising
pigs only to be used later as
offering to the dead, more
so since the cupboards of
Liro folk are almost always
bare.
Manoy insists: Mas nin-
dot ang panaad kon gibuhat
kini sa kalisod.
On kalag-kalag, one is
allowed to eat the food only
until after the dead have
‘eaten,’ which can take a
while depending on the sig-
nal of an invited ispiritista.
And no one has to tell
that food for the dead has
no seasoning.
Hungry ghosts
Chinese Filipinos, on
All Souls Day, celebrate the
Hungry Ghost Festival, one
of three traditions to honor
their dead.
This is intended for sad
spirits who are hungry and
thirsty but have no kin to at-
tend to their needs, or spir-
its of beggars or those who
suffered injustices.
Offerings of food, paper
money, paper clothes, paper
houses and prayers are of-
fered on their behalf in the
hope that they maintain a
happier condition.
Having made the spirits
happy, the family can then
partake of the food offering
after all paper offerings are
burned.
Feast for the dead?
The feast for the dead,
in any case, is supposedly
served to the souls of the
departed who are believed
to be able to visit their for-
mer homes on that night.
However, it is actually
the living who enjoy the
feast, writes Angel Campoy
in Philippine ‘Halloween’
Customs.
Future mate
Campoy also writes of
a scary practice suitable for
an unmarried person, a wid-
ow or a widower who might
like to get a glimpse of his
or her future mate.
The eve of Kalag-kalag
is the right time to do so, if
one tries hard enough.
Campoy instructs: “Get
a ripe orange and a bunch of
orange blossoms ready on
your dressing table before
you go to bed that night.
Also have a knife ready to
peel the orange. Before go-
ing to bed, say a prayer for
the soul of a departed friend
or late spouse.”
“At exactly 12 midnight,
get up quietly and light the
lamp on your dressing ta-
ble. Do not make any noise
so as not to awaken anyone.
Peel the orange. When this
is done, leave the house
as quietly as you can, tak-
ing the peeled orange, and,
without turning around,
walk straight to the nearest
street crossing and there cut
the orange in two.
“Leave one half of the
orange at the crossing and
go back home carrying the
other half. You must not
look back or make any noise
in doing this or the spell will
be broken. As soon as you
are back into the house, kiss
the orange blossoms before
your mirror and behold!
There in the mirror will be
the image of your future
mate – or should be!
“Eat your half of the
orange. While eating, you
will continue to see the im-
age. This must all be done
in absolute secrecy.”
Campoy attests he has a
friend who says the magic
worked with him. When he
looked into the mirror, he
saw the image of a girl who
is now his wife.
Close family ties
Strange as it looks, hon-
oring and remembering the
dead bring Filipinos closer,
be it in kinship or friend-
ship. This is because Filipi-
nos enjoy life with the love
and respect everyone gives
to each other.
Death can not break the
continuity of such family
and cultural relationship,
and this is emulated during
the observance of All Saints
and All Souls days.
OCTOBER 2007 Manila Media Monitor 27

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28 Canadian HISTORY Manila Media Monitor OCTOBER 2007
OCTOBER 10 - 27, 1864

Canadian
Confederation
From October 10 to 27, 1864,
36 politicians from the Province
of Canada (then Upper Canada
or Ontario and Lower Canada or
Quebec), New Brunswick, Nova
Scotia, Prince Edward Island and
Newfoundland gathered in Que-
bec City, in a magnificent build-
ing that stood where the Château
Frontenac is today.
Noted Canadian portrait artist Robert Harris, a founding member and 1893 president of the The meeting, chaired by
Royal Canadian Academy, painted the image above, the Meeting of the Delegates of British Étienne-Paschal Taché, brought to
North America. The painting was an amalgamated scene of the attendees and sites of the the fore the consensus of the Fa-
meeting of the Fathers of Confederation in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and Quebec thers of Canadian Confederation,
City in September and from October 10 to 27, 1864, respectively. The original painting was who laid down the bases of a do-
destroyed when the Parliament Building was destroyed by fire in 1916. From Wikipedia minion known today as Canada.
The Québec Conference, as it
Lower House with representa-
tion by population, and an Upper
House with representation based
on regional, rather than provin-
cial, equality; responsible govern-
ment at the federal and provincial
levels; and the appointment of a
governor general by the British
Crown.
If talks went well, the confer-
ees in Charlottetown looked for-
ward to drafting a constitution in
the next rounds.
Thus, in Quebec, the delegates
drafted a text known as the 72
Resolutions, or the Québec Reso-
lutions. The resolutions were the

Dates of Confederation
On July 1, 1867, the provinces of
Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick
and Nova Scotia joined together,
the act known as Confederation, to
create the new country of Canada.
Confederation was made official
by the British North America Act of
1867. As time passed, other prov-
inces joined confederation and be-
came part of Canada. From A Look
At Canada, Citizenship and Immi-
gration Canada
July 1, 1867 - Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and
New Brunswick
July 15, 1870 - Manitoba, Northwest Territories
July 20, 1871 - British Columbia
July 1, 1873 - Prince Edward Island
June 13, 1898 - Yukon
September 1, 1905 - Alberta and Saskatche-
wan
March 31, 1949 - Newfoundland and Labrador
April 1, 1999 - Nunavut
was called, was the second formal
meeting leading to the creation of
the Dominion of Canada.
During the first talks on confed-
eration in Charlottetown, Prince
Edward Island on September 1,
1864, soon to be first Canadian
Premier John Macdonald called
for a larger follow-up conference
in Quebec the next month.
In Charlottetown, the del-
egates discussed proposals lay-
ing down the foundations for a
new country: preservation of ties
with Great Britain; residual juris-
diction left to a central authority;
a bicameral system including a
basis for the final confederation
initiative called the London Con-
ference at the Westminster Palace
Hotel in London, England on De-
cember 1866 to January 1867.
In London, a final document,
known as the British North Amer-
ica Act, was made, which the Brit-
ish Parliament approved.
Confederation became real-
ity on July 1, 1867 (afterwards,
Canada Day).
Canada started with four prov-
inces, and tt would take more
than a century to add the other six
provinces and three territories that
today make up Canada.

October 14 to November 18.

OCTOBER 2007 Manila Media Monitor Philippine HISTORY
‘I HAVE RETURNED’ OCTOBER 23 - 26, 1944
Battle of Leyte Gulf
The Battle of Leyte Gulf
is known as the largest na-
val battle in modern history,
the last major naval engage-
ment of World War II and
the last great naval battle
the world would ever see.
It was fought in the Pa-
cific arena of World War
II, in the seas surrounding
Leyte island in the Philip-
pines from Oct. 23 to 26,
1944, between the Allies
and the Empire of Japan.
For the Allies, it was vi-
October 20, 1944, was a day of redemption for Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur (center, tal to invade Leyte to cut off
in glasses) as he splashed ashore in Palo, on the Philippine island of Leyte. It was a com- Japan from her southeast
plete turnaround from the last time he had seen the islands. Asia colonies and cripple
The Japanese army had chased MacArthur out of the islands in March 1942. He had the source of crucial oil
barely escaped Corregidor Island via a Navy Patrol Torpedo boat. As he left the Philip- supplies for the Imperial
pines, he vowed, “I shall return.” Japanese Navy.
But it was not easy. By May of that year, the Imperial Japanese Forces controlled For Japan, its remain-
everything from Burma to the Aleutians and threatened Australia. American forces were ing major naval forces had
fighting a desperate fight on land, sea and air. to defend its foothold on
Then in quick succession came the Battle of Coral Sea and the US Navy victory at the Philippines as losing it
Midway. The US Marines began the long road back fighting in the tropical Hell of Gua- would tantamount to losing
dalcanal. US Army and Australian forces forced their way through the jungles of New the war.
Guinea. Each month, American might grew, and they took on the Japanese at Tarawa, Naval forces
Peleliu, Biak, Saipan, Guam and finally America was ready to redeem MacArthur’s pledge Thus was assembled a
to the people of the Philippines. big number of Allied and
With U.S. Army troops still fighting, MacArthur landed at Red Beach in Palo, Leyte, Japanese ships and sup-
and, via radio, he addressed the Philippine people. “I have returned. By the grace of Al- port-and-attack aircraft that
mighty God our forces stand again on Philippine soil – soil consecrated in the blood would slug it out over su-
of our two peoples. We have come, dedicated and committed, to the task of destroying premacy in the Pacific.
every vestige of enemy control over your daily lives, and of restoring, upon a founda- According to accounts,
tion of indestructible strength, the liberties of your people.” some 738 amphibious land-
Much fighting remained, but the landing at Leyte began the liberation of a people. US ing, escort and supply ves-
Department of Defense sels and warships of the
Seventh Fleet merged with
at least 95 war vessels of
the Third Fleet -- all these
supported by some 1,500
ship-based warplanes -- to
comprise the Allied force.
On the other hand, the
Japanese gathered what was
left of its operational forces
afloat and in the air, consist-
ing of about 65 warships, 35
of which were sunk during
the battle, and hundreds of
warplanes.
The Imperial Japanese
Navy never again sailed to
battle in such large force,
being deprived of fuel, and
returning to Japan to sit in-
active for the remainder of
the war.
In four fronts
The Battle of Leyte Gulf
actually was a campaign of
four interrelated battles: the
Battle of the Sibuyan Sea,
the Battle of Surigao Strait,
the Battle of Cape Engaño
and the Battle off Samar.
The Japanese began us-
ing kamikaze aircraft dur-
ing this battle. A kamikaze
hit the Australian heavy
cruiser HMAS Australia on
Oct. 21, and organized sui-
cide attacks by the Japanese
Special Attack Force began
on Oct. 25.
29
Legacy
In his article The Battle
of Leyte Gulf, Kenneth I.
Friedman wrote on the leg-
acy of the naval fighting:
Great fleets would never
confront each other again as
had been at Trafalgar, Jut-
land, Punta del Este, Dogger
Bank, and Surigao Strait.
The battleship, once the
prime symbol of a nation’s
power, had been rendered
irrelevant ... moth-balled,
turned into scrap, or trans-
formed into museums.
World War II changed
the balance of naval power
to where naval aviation and
the submarine would domi-
nate naval warfare’s future.
The Battle of Leyte Gulf
provided a valuable lesson.
Human decisions played
the most important part in
this great confrontation be-
tween the two greatest naval
powers in war in the Pacific,
not the size of the fleets and
the power of the ships.
The fallibility of human
beings’ judgments made
the study of the Battle of
Leyte Gulf one of the most
intriguing subjects of naval
history.
The course of naval his-
tory changed forever.
30 SPORTS Manila Media Monitor OCTOBER 2007

Pacquiao gives Barrera

a world champ’s farewell
Manny Pacquiao is an
undisputed world boxing
icon, living up to his name
as one of the very few excit-
ing attractions that has kept
the ring sport alive today.
But more than just en-
thralling and entertaining
10,112 boxing aficionados
packed ia the Mandalay Bay
hotel and casino, retaining
his super featherwight belt
and leaving Las Vegas $2
million richer, Pacquiao did
a lot better.
Pacquaio, 28 and at the
prime of his career, gave
Mexican Marco Antonio
Barrera, 33, the honor and
respect the latter so de-
served from an equal but
magnanimous conqueror.
Barrera earlier an-
nounced that the Pound for
Pound stellar with Pacquiao
would be his last fight.
Pacquiao let Barrera (63
wins, 42 by knockout; six
losses; one draw) to walk
away with the dignity of a
three-time world champ,
humbled but proud to have
finished the 12-round bout
standing, drowning every
Pacquiao fan’s notion of
an impending knockout in
reference to how the Fili-
pino southpaw demolished
Barrera and won in an 11th-
round TKO in their first
meeting in San Antonio,
Texas on Nov. 11, 2003.
This was how Manila
Media Monitor’s Ace Al-
ACGA, ACEP, PCCT, FCCM golf tourney
Officers of ACGA, ACEP, PCCT and FCCM pose for lensmen during the annual golf tournament the
organizations hosted at the Angus Glen Golf Club in Markham on Sept. 16. From left are Rodney
Chan, president of ACGA; Cassie Chu, director of ACEP; Rafael Nebres, president of ACEP and PCCT;
Oswald Tugadi, vice president of PCCT; Alice Cheung, direcor of ACEP; and Nancy Chan, vice presi-
dent of ACGA and FCCM.
varez sized up the fight, an
observation shared by many
who swarmed Rey Sunga’s
Aristokrat excitedly waiting
to see the sattelite-fed fight
from about 11 p.m. of Oct. 6
way into the early hours of
the next day.
But with a bloody bonus.
That big cut on Barrera’s
right cheek, which he later
claimed was opened by a
Pacquiao head butt, was the
Baby-Faced Assassin’s “re-
tirement gift,” exclaimed
Balita’s Tenny Soriano, in
between Bud sips.
This scarred image of
his last match would for-
ever be in the Mexican
boxer’s memory, a remem-
brance of an all defense-
anemic offense so untypical
of Barrera, who confided he
could no longer go through
the routine.
Talakayan radio host
and One Philippines con-
sultant and columnist Jess
Cabrias could not help
but yawn midway into the
show, giving credence to a
Las Vegas commentator’s
remark that all Barrera ably
achieved was put the crowd
to sleep.
Talakayan co-host Nel-
son Galvez would rather
spend his time on pending
work with his cellphone.
The only moments
when Aristokrat’s walls
reverberated with melo-
dramatic yells were when
In this Reuters photo, Filipino southpaw and global boxing icon MANNY PACQUIAO breaks through an
all-night defensive tactic and lands a hard right cross on three-time world champ Mexican MARCO AN-
TONIO BARRERA at the height of their 12-round card at the Mandalay Bay hotel and casino on Oct. 6.
Filipino vocalist Kyla sang
Lupang Hinirang, when
Pacquiao landed hard blows
on Barrera’s face and body,
and when people had to
raise their voices above the
crowd’s to order more beer
and pulutan.
Many wished the fight
should have ended sooner
so that the karaoke would
begin soonest.
But there was one long,
loud boo, when a frustrated
Barrera threw in a right
hand at Pacquiao during a
break in the 11th round for
which Barrera lost a point.
News reports noted that
the same indignant booing
reverberated all over the
Philippines.
Political and military
protagonists in the archi-
pelago enjoyed a one-hour
informal bickering and
fighting lull to get their
message to the world that
all Filipinos stood as one
behind their Pambansang
Kamao, in defense of na-
tional honor.
One report cited a crime-
less Philippines during the
Pacquiao-Barrera Las Ve-
gas fight, as everyone’s at-
tention stayed glued on ev-
ery available TV set.
From the start, the cards
were lopsided in favor of
Pacquiao, who has upped
to 45 his winning record, 35
of them knockouts, behind
three losses and two draws.
All three judges gave
Pacquiao their unanimous
votes by a wide margin,
with Glenn Trowbridge and
Jerry Roth scoring it 118-
109 and Tom Schreck scor-
ing it 115-112.
The unanimous decision
was no wonder. Pacquiao
landed 256 punches to Bar-
rera’s 120.
Pacman a.k.a. The De-
stroyer also had more than
twice as many power shots,
hitting on 54 percent against
Barrera’s 34 percent.
Out of the blue, a fan at
Aristokrat remarked: How
Pacquiao wished this same
unanimous approval had
happened in the last May
local polls in the Philippines
where he lost his gubernato-
rial bid by a landslide. But
what was in that election?
Nothing, because Pac-
quiao knew he was better
off with honest-to-goodness
boxing than with dirty poli-
tics.
“I always believed I
could beat him,” Pacquiao
said after the fight.
“I am satisfied. I tried to
give a good fight,” he said.
“I had to be careful because
he is still a good fighter and
not an easy opponent.”
On the other end, Bar-
rera admitted it was a hard
fight, saying Pacquiao “had
a strong defense.”
Pacquiao has blitzed
through the best Mexican
fighters since 2003, includ-
ing Erik Morales, Barrera,
Oscar Larios, Emanuel Lu-
cero, Hector Velazquez and
Jorge Solis.
He lost only once in his
last 21 bouts, a close deci-
sion in 2005 to Morales in
their first encounter.
Meanwhile, Aristokrat
fans and the boxing world
are awaiting word on the
Gen. Santos City pugilist’s
ongoing Mexican conquest.
Pacquiao’s celebrated
trainer Freddie Roach said
boxing fans wanted to see
a rematch between his ward
and World Boxing Council
(WBC) super featherweight
titlist Juan Manuel Mar-
quez, should Marquez pass
the mettle of Rocky Juarez
in their title card on Nov. 3.
Roach told Manila Stan-
dard Today the Pacquiao
camp has also been in talks
about the winner of the the
World Boxing Organiza-
tion’s (WBO) title fight be-
tween Humberto Soto and
Joan Guzman on Nov. 17.
Also possible is Pac-
quiao’s elevation to the next
weight level so he could
slug it out with WBC cham-
pion David Diaz, who de-
feated Erik Morales in his
last fight.
Still another interesting
showdown would be Pac-
quiao against the winner of
the lightweight unification
bout between Juan Diaz and
Julio Diaz for the Interna-
tional Boxing Federation,
World Boxing Association
and WBO titles.
Pacquiao’s close friend
and confidant Rex Salud
said Pacquiao’s next fight
might be scheduled some-
time in February or March
2008 with two possible sites
– in Macau or Vancouver.
Salud said Pacquiao
wanted to fight at 130 “but if
the fight won’t push through
he wants to move up to 135
pounds and fight the winner
of the two Diazes who are
both champions.”
Whatever, the disap-
pointment of not seeing
Pacquiao pummeling Bar-
rera to the canvas and Bar-
rera’s camp reprising the
2003 towel throw-in stuck.
For many, it simply was
unbelievable.
After all, Barrera is re-
tired and Pacquiao is look-
ing forward to another ring
triumph. Butch Galicia
32 MONEY Manila Media Monitor OCTOBER 2007

Gongongong basi launched

SAN ILDEFONSO, Ilocos Sur - The Gongogong Basi Construction of 5.4-km LRT
North Extension in the works
Revolt 1807 wines will very soon hit the domestic and for-
eign markets, courtesy of the Basi Association of San Ilde-
fonso (BASI) charged to make, label and market the prod-
uct. Four types of basi (sugarcane-extracted native wine)
- the red labelled Gongongong Basi Revolt 1807, the white
labelled Gongongong Basi Revolt 1807; the violet labelled MANILA - The con-
Gongongong Basi Revolt 1807 and the black labelled Gon- struction of the P6.3-billion
gongong Basi Revolt 1807 - were recently enrolled under 5.4-kilometer Light Rail
the government’s One Town-One Product program in cer- Transit (LRT) North Ex-
emonies marking the bicentennial anniversary of the Basi tension is likely to begin in
Revolt” in Barangay Gongongong here. BASI received a May 2008.
P50,000 initial check to kick-off production of the basi. Light Rail Transit Au-
PIA thority (LRTA) administra-

ARMM halal certification foreseen tor Melquiades Robles made

the forecast after launching
DAVAO CITY - Shiek Faeyez Hammed Zainy, owner of the bidding for the erection
Abbar and Zainy Corp. said to be the 4th biggest cold chain of the project on Oct. 10.
firm in the world, said he and a team of halal certifying “We are optimistic the
officers would visit the Autonomous Region in Muslim construction of the project
Mindanao (ARMM) in November to undertake halal cer- can finally start by May
tification in the region. Zainy said that if the certification 2008 so that by May 2010,
passed, the immediate export of ARMM poultry products revenue operations can al-
to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would be made. Officials
have been tragetting the Middle East market, where the in-
ready be commenced,” he
said, adding the project
Metro Rail Transit
dustry per year cost about $2 billion, for its halal chicken. would be bankrolled from
The Middle East could produce only half of its demand,
outsourcing the other half from other areas like Brazil and
France. PIA
the projected P4.6 billion
sale of state-owned Nation-
al Development Co.
JPEPA to promote RP banana varieties
MANILA - The Phil- the domestic market. Oriental and Quezon.
Lanao Norte eyes Arabic call center
The remaining P1.67
billion would be sourced ippines’ señorita, latundan In 2006, Japan was the Bananas produced in the
TUBOD, Lanao del Norte - Lanao del Norte Governor through the General Appro- and lakatan banana variet- Philippines’ top export Philippines in 2006 totaled
Khalid Dimaporo has bared plans to put the province and priations Act. ies will soon see its way to destination for fresh Cav- 6.79 million metric tons.
its people in the Information and Communication Technol- The overhead rail via- Japanese dining tables once endish bananas, raking in Aquino said the JPEPA
ogy (ICT) global map. Dimaporo said initiatives have been duct project included the the Japan-Philippines Eco- US$168.87 million and ac- would provide better market
made to attract ICT and related investments, particularly construction of the Balint- nomic Partnership Agree- counting for a 42-percent access for Philippine prod-
the establishment of an ICT Park and Arabic-speaking call awak, Roosevelt and North ment (JPEPA) is ratified. share of the market. ucts in terms of increased
centers in the province, a potential source of manpower Stations to close the EDSA Trade Senior Undersec- Banana plantations tariff rate quotas and zero
to serve as agents in call centers, medical transcriptions rail loop traversed by the retary Thomas Aquino said could be found in Davao tariff rates.
and other online-related services. National Cyber Services LRTA’s Baclaran-Monu- the JPEPA approval would del Norte, Compostela Val- Aquino said the benfits
Commissioner Monchito Ibrahim said score carding would mento Line and the Metro greatly benefit small farmers ley, Davao del Sur, North were geared for agricultural
be conducted to determine the province’s ability to meet Rail Transit’s North Av- who have been growing the Cotabato, Lanao del Norte, products such as pineapples
the needs of call center investors. PNA enue-Pasay Line. PNA varieties and selling them in Misamis Oriental, Mindoro and bananas. PNA
OCTOBER 2007
Protect cyber education from glitches - GMA
President Gloria Maca-
pagal Arroyo on Oct. 6 or-
dered officials to keep the
government’s Cyber Edu-
cation Project (CEP), being
implemented by the De-
partment of Education and
Sports (DECS), away “from
unnecessary controversy.”
It should be ensured that
the world-class information
communication technology
(ICT) program is carried
out without further glitches
down to the country’s poor-
est towns, Arroyo said.
The DECS CEP was de-
signed to make the country’s
educational system globally
competitive and Filipino
Toronto sets up web
portal for immigrants
The City of Toronto has
launched a web portal to
help new and prospective
immigrants to the city find
information to succeed.
Toronto’s new immigra-
tion portal, http://www.to-
ronto.ca/immigration pro-
vides information on how
to get jobs, start a business,
access public transit and city
services, and city areas.
Toronto is one of the
first five Ontario cities cho-
sen for a $200,000 provin-
Manila Media Monitor
students at par with those of
the rest of the world.
In a directive to the Chi-
na Projects Oversight Panel
under Trade Secretary Pe-
ter Favila, Arroyo said she
wanted procedures ensuring
that the CEP would not face
the same fate as the aborted
National Broadband Net-
work (NBN) project of the
Department of Transporta-
tion and Communications.
The NBN project stirred
Senate investigations
spawned by charges of brib-
ery and anomalous dealing.
The CEP would use sat-
ellite technology to provide
the efficient and cost-effec-
cial funding through Citi-
zenship and Immigration
Canada.
The portal, found on the
Living in Toronto section of
the city’s website, will link
to the province’s website for
newcomers, www.Ontari-
oImmigration.ca and other
online resources offered by
the Ontario and Canadian
governments.
It also contains links to
community agencies serv-
ing immigrants in Toronto.
tive delivery of educational
services to public elemen-
tary and secondary schools
throughout the country.
The CEP would link at
least 37,794 schools to a
national network providing
12 video channels, wire-
less wide and local area
networking, and wireless
Net connection, in the next
three years.
The schools would re-
ceive live broadcasts featur-
RP signs UN e-com convention
NEW YORK - The
Philippines, through For-
eign Affairs Secretary Al-
berto Romulo, has joined
the global community in
upholding the United Na-
tions (UN) Convention on
the Use of Electronic Com-
munications in International
Contracts.
In signing the Conven-
tion on Sept. 25, Romulo
said “the Philippines is
deeply interested in useful
reforms that can spur the
development of cross-bor-
der online commerce in the
world.”
He cited the country’s
growing economy, its being
closely tied to international
commerce, and its being on
CYBERSPACE
ing lectures and presenta-
tions from master teachers
as well as coursewares on
demand and other valuable
resource materials.
The technology has seen
success in the United States,
Canada, Mexico, Chile, El
Salvador, Panama, Guate-
mala, Honduras, Thailand,
India, Indonesia and China.
The CEP was based on
China’s E-Education Proj-
ect which covered 500,000
ROMULO
the leading edge of the in-
formation age.
The UN General Assem-
bly adopted the Convention
on Nov. 23, 2005.
The Convention sought
to enhance legal certainty
schools and universities.
The project, part of
the economic cooperation
agreement the Philippines
and China signed in June
2006, is partnered with Chi-
na’s Tsinghua University, a
world pioneers in distance
education.
About P5 billion had
been earmarked for the first
phase of the project that
would be operational in
early 2008.
and commercial predictabil-
ity of electronic communi-
cations used in relation to
international contracts.
It addressed the deter-
mination of a party’s loca-
tion in an electronic envi-
ronment; the time and place
of dispatch and receipt of
electronic communications;
the use of automated mes-
sage systems for contract
formation; and the criteria
to be used for establishing
functional equivalence be-
tween electronic commu-
nications and paper docu-
ments - including “original”
paper documents - as well
as between electronic au-
thentication methods and
hand-written signatures.
33
Customs Net
facility opens
The portal for fast, easy
and convenient warehous-
ing transactions with the
Philippine Bureau of Cus-
toms (BoC) opened with the
accreditation of an ‘internet
based’ system developed
by Ekonek Pilipinas, a Fili-
pino-owned ICT firm.
BoC Commissioner
Napolen Morales said the
internet-based computer
system would be used for
lodging formal and ware-
housing entries from the
importers offices.
Morales said the instal-
lation of the new system
is part of the ambitious
“E2M Customs” which,
once completed, would en-
able importers, exporters,
brokers, forwarders, banks
and government agencies to
transact with the BoC.
Angelito Colona, presi-
dent of the Port Users Con-
federation, urged members
to use the new facility.
Ekonek president Guill-
ermo Parayno Jr. said simi-
lar systems would be set up
nationwide. PNA
34
Fave RP
Manila Media Monitor OCTOBER 2007
names, shows vie for
SHOW honors in 12th Asian TV Awards
Pinoy

BUZZ GMA-7 has 9 nominations; ABS-CBN, 4

At least 13 rated Philip-
pine television artists and

Cristine Reyes
shows have been nominated
for honors in eight catego-
ries in the 12th Asian Tele-
vision Awards at the Suntec
Convention Hall in Singa-
pore on Nov. 29.
CRISTINE REYES just turned 18 on Network giant GMA-7
Feb. 5 this year. But this recent FHM has nine nominations, while
Philippines cover girl has no qualms ABS-CBN has four, reported
showing off her well-molded Tinsel- Philippine Entertainment
town talent, with a launching flick Green Portal.
Paradise and an impressive guest role GMA-7’s 24 Oras “Su-
in GMA 7’s telebabad series Marimar per Typhoon Milenyo” cov-
to her credit. This early in her showbiz erage will compete against
career, Cristine has signed a two-movie ABS-CBN news programs
deal with New City Entertainment, Bandila for its “Subic Rape MICHAEL V (left, front) and OGIE ALCASID (3rd
as silver screen giants Viva Films Case Promulgation” and TV from left, front) with Bubble Gang cast.
and Regal Films wait to get her Patrol World’s “Taguig Hos-
into their fences. As bold as she tage Drama” for Best News Reporter’s Notebook an- Drama Performance by an
did her FHM cover photoshoot, Program. chor hosts Maki Pulido and Actress in the “Rehas” epi-
Cristine has been bolder in meet- Other GMA News and Jiggy Manicad are vying for sode of Maalaala Mo Kaya,
ing the demands of being a rising Public Affairs programs en- Best Current Affairs Pre- the long-running drama an-
young artist. Why not? She has tered for the awards include senter honors. thology of ABS-CBN.
Ate (elder sister) Ara Mina, an Philippine Agenda’s “Edu- Buddies Ogie Alcasid The network’s noontime
icon in Philippine filmdom and cation” (an election-primer and Michael V will com- game show Pilipinas Game
television, on her side. Cristine special) and Emergency’s pete for Best Comedy Per- KNB? will vie for Best Game
and Ara, by next year, are “Mga Batang Magsusunog” formance by an Actor for Show or Quiz Program.
due to appear in tandem in for Best Social Awareness GMA-7’s 12-year old gag The Asian Television
a movie that Ara herself Program; Kapuso Mo, Jes- show Bubble Gang. Michael Awards is an award-giving
will produce and famed sica Sojo for Best Infotain- V. has won three times in the body that recognizes and
director Lore Reyes ment Program; and Re- category. rewards programming and
will direct from a porter’s Notebook for Best Veteran actress Gina production excellence in the
script given by yet Current Affairs Program. Pareño is nominated for Best Asian television industry.

Isles eyed for Bollywood films

another lead-
ing direc-
tor Peque
Gallaga.
NEW DELHI - Philip-
pines land- and seascapes
would soon be preferred
location sites for films pro-
duced by Bollywood (Hol-
lywood’s Indian version).
President Gloria Maca-
pagal-Arroyo, during her
state visit to India, said lead-
ing Bollywood producer
Aditya Raj Kapoor commit-
ted to make a movie in the
Philippines “within a year,”
Arroyo said at least 17
major Bollywood producers
agreed to visit the Philip-
pines before yearend to look
for film locations.
The producers were im-
pressed with the Philippines’
fine film location sites, cre-
ative Filipino talents, post
production houses and stu-
dios, and other technical and
logistics needs they could
avail themselves of.
Bollywood has remained
the world’s largest film in-
dustry, producing some
1,000 flicks yearly.
Viva Films chief execu-
tive officer Vic del Rosario
said the Philippines could
develop and offer alterna-
tive production sites for
foreign filmmakers in Subic
and Clark.
Thomas Puig, chief
executive officer of Com-
pressor Films involved in
producing top-grosser film
Pirates of the Caribbean,
also showed interest on the
islands as alternative loca-
tion sites. OPS

RP-rooted Miss Saigon artists awe Sydney crowd

SYDNEY - Eighteen
years on, artists with Fili-
pino roots have continued
to dazzle international audi-
ences with their notable vo-
cal and acting contribution
to the compelling musicale
Miss Saigon.
Once more, the Filipino
theatrical magic, which
Miss Saigon original Lea
Salonga launched globally,
has seeped into the psyche
of Australian Broadway mu-
cis lovers, as Miss Saigon
premiered at the Lyric The-
ater at the famous Star City
Hotel here on Sept. 22. The
Sydney run would go until
December.
In a report to the Depart-
ment of Foreign Affairs,
Philippine Consul General
Maria Theresa Lazaro said
Neofitou, the Australian pro-
duction of Miss Saigon has
used cutting-edge computer-
generated 3D animation and
a brand new set design to fit
varying sized auditoriums
around the world.
The company consists of
over 60 actors, 34 of them
CADEVIDA TRIJO ROSALES Australians, and musicians.
‘ENGINEER’ LEO VALDEZ (right photo) pontifi- In a review for The Syd-
cates the American Dream in this scene from Miss ney Morning Herald, Bryce
Saigon in its Australian run. Photo: Mark Smith, Hallett described the Aus-
Herald Sun tralian version “as strikingly
theatrical as the original yet
the Australian production by Filipino-American Lau- more realistic and dynamic.”
of Miss Saigon has begun to rie Cadevida. “The cinematic sound
reap raves, highlighted with Also featured is Filipino- design and projections com-
the participation of a new Australian RJ Rosales, who bine to make the helicopter
crop of FiIipino-Australian is playing the role of Thuy. landing as thrilling as ever
performers led by the Syd- Rosales was part of the 1995 but this Miss Saigon is a tri-
ney-based Jennifer Trijo, Miss Saigon production in Valdez would do his nearly Directed by Laurence umph for its humanity and
who is cast as an alternate to Australia. 2,000th reprise of The En- Connor and designed by passion,” Hallett said. DFA
the lead role of Kim played Miss Saigon veteran Leo gineer. Adrian Vaux and Andreane PR
OCTOBER 2007 Manila Media Monitor 39
40 OCTOBER 2007 Manila Media Monitor

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