manila media monitor -- march 2010

March 2010 Toronto, Canada

FALCON continued on p. 12

NOYNOY continued on p. 13

“I look for cooperation with you”

By Ace Alvarez

- Con Gen Falcon

Consul General Minerva Falcon (center) respondng to a question during the Philippine Press Club-Ontario Breakfast Forum in Scarborough, presided by club president Tenny Soriano (left). Accompanying the new Consul General at her second public function since assuming her post in Toronto is Consul Edna Mae Lazaro. (Photo: Ariel Ramos)

Philippine Consul General in Toronto Minerva Jean A. Falcon looks forward for coop-eration with the Filipino media in Toronto to achieve her man-date from the Philippine gov-ernment “to keep the patriotic fire burning among Filipinos.”

The new Consul General aired this message during the first breakfast forum for 2010 of the Philippine Press Club-Ontario (PPCO) held in Scar-borough, March 6 -- barely two weeks after she assumed her post.

The forum touched several issues affecting the Filipino Canadian community in To-ronto and its suburbs, among others, migrant workers, espe-cially the live-in caregivers.

Consul General Falcon as-sured the Filipino media that “little by little, the government is doing something for the bet-terment of the Filipino migrant workers.”

Consul General Falcon, a career diplomat

A career diplomat, Mrs. Fal-con passed the Foreign Service Officers Examination in 1971.

She graduated from the University of the Philippines with a Bachelor of Laws and a member of the Phil-

“to keep the patriotic fire burning among Filipinos.”

ippine Bar. She has an M.A. in International Relations from Boston University.

Consul General Falcon

has held several positions in the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and was assigned to the following Foreign Service

Posts: Sydney, Melbourne, Paris, Madrid, Honolulu, Ham-

Noynoy, Mar most trusted candidates - Pulse Asia

MANILA - The Liberal Party (LP) said recently that its standard-bearer, Sen. Beni-gno “Noynoy” Aquino III and his running mate, Sen. Manuel Roxas II were the most trusted by Filipino voters among pub-lic figures and among all can-didates running in the presi-dential and vice-presidential

elections on May 10, according to a Pulse Asia survey.

In contrast, voters’ trust for their rivals, Na-cionalista Party

standard-bearer Sen.

Manuel Villar Jr. and his run-ning mate, Sen. Loren Legarda’s ratings de-

clined, with Villar suffering a double-digit drop.

According to the LP, the lat-est Pulse Asia survey conduct-ed from Feb. 21 to 25 among 1,800 respondents also showed Aquino and Roxas topping vot-ers’ preferences for president and vice president, respective-ly if elections were held during the time of the survey.

Pulse Asia said Aquino en-joyed the “big trust” of 64 per-cent of Filipino voters, making

Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas III, left, and partymate Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.

2 Manila Media Monitor March 2010

3March 2010 Manila Media MonitorNEWS

VILLAR cont’d on p.5

MANILA -- Global Filipino Nation (GFN) presents the comprehen-sive Governance Matrix of Senator Villar. The Matrix is drawn from the many speeches and inter-views given by Senator Villar. GFN has invited other “Presidentiables” to provide inputs for their respective Governance Matrices. GFN is an in-ternational organization of global Filipino leaders and organizations com-mitted to “Building the Global Filipino Nation for Good Governance”. Its Convenors reside in 30 countries, including the Philippines.

The focus of Senator Villar’s governance vision is on economic, social and political prog-ress. As a Change Leader, he aims to apply strong politi-cal will, among oth-ers, to: promote good

governance and se-

riously redress corrup-tion; carry out a bi-focal

economic thrust of lift-ing Investments and Net Exports as the main GDP growth drivers -- en-compassing a deepened reservoir of internation-ally-competitive entre-preneurs, increased agri-cultural productivity and an enlarged domestic in-dustrial base; broaden social pro-

grams through revital-ized education, expanded basic health services and extensive housing pro-grams; develop a built-in

safety net that avoids de-

stabilizing price adjust-ments for medicines and basic necessities; arrest the wide-

spread degradation of the environment and engen-der healthy ecological balance; and curb widespread

criminality and usher in lasting peace.

The Villar Governance Matrix specifies the ma-jor policy elements for 6 major sectors: educa-tion; health, nutrition and reproductive health; investments; agriculture; exports; and military. The Matrix provides 26 detailed policy initia-tives for economic (10),

social (8) and political (8) reforms. The targeted policy initiatives cover:

Economic issues: poverty alleviation and employment; regulatory and bureaucratic reforms; fiscal management; do-mestic and foreign debt; oligopolies and level playing field; capital mo-bilization, esp. microfi-nance; agrarian reform; infrastructure program;

Villar Governance Matrix Unveiled high power cost; high do-mestic transport cost;

Social Issues: moral degradation and values transformation; public safety and national se-curity; human rights; population; youth; en-vironment; housing and urbanization; and migra-tion; and

Political Issues: Con-stitutional amendments; global Filipinos and universal proportional representation; electoral reform; foreign affairs;

Mindanao peace prob-lem; Rule of Law (incl. a possible jury system); corruption; and pork bar-rel.

Highlights of the Vil-lar Governance Matrix, which are in the current radar screen of discus-sion groups the world over, include:

Economic restore the ratio of

Investments to GDP from the present weak circa

4 Manila Media Monitor March 2010 NEWS

Entrepreneurs wantedfor Canadianhomebased business.

BUDGETcontinued on p. 5

City of Toronto’s Budget Committee deliberates 2010 tax rates, ratios

The City of Toronto’s Budget Committee is considering the 2010 mu-nicipal tax rates and mu-nicipal tax ratios.

Overall, Toronto prop-erties will see a 1.8% tax increase - an amount in line with the inflation rate as well as being among the lowest in the GTA. On average, due to Toronto City Council’s progressive tax policies for city businesses, small businesses will see taxes reduced by 3% and apart-ment building owners (multi-residential) will see reductions of 1.8%.

A 2.9% single fam-ily residential tax rate increase means an addi-tional $67.69 on the av-erage property assessed at $407,374 in 2010. At the same time, industrial properties will see a 1.7% increase and large com-mercial properties’ taxes will rise by 2.1%.

In total, 2010 prop-erty taxes will raise an

additional $63.04 mil-lion ($44.22 million from residential, and $18.82 million from non-resi-dential).

Enhancing Toronto’s Business Climate

Council adopted a tax policy called ‘Enhancing Toronto’s Business Cli-mate’ starting in 2006, to reduce the municipal tax ratios for the non-residential tax classes to 2.5-times the residential tax rate by 2020 (a 15-year plan). For small businesses in the non-

residential tax class, the policy provided a reduc-tion to 2.5-times the resi-dential tax rate by 2015 (a 10-year plan).

In 2009, partly due to the impacts of reassess-ment, Council voted to speed up reductions in non-residential and tax rates so they are in place three years sooner. City staff have recommended this initiative be contin-ued for 2010.

Council’s action on enhancing Toronto’s business climate will re-sult in:

- a 2.9% tax levy in-crease on the residen-tial class;

- enhanced assistance to small businesses (a 3.0% tax decrease) which will further improve their competitiveness;

- lower impacts to larger businesses and in-dustries by partially off-setting the CVA-related tax increase that would otherwise occur; and,

- providing tax re-ductions for apartment buildings (a 1.8% tax de-crease).

Current Value As-sessment (CVA)

Municipal Property

Assessment Corporation (MPAC) conducts prop-erty reassessments on a four-year cycle with Cur-rent Value Assessment (CVA) increases being phased-in between the four-year periods.

Increases arising from the 2009 reassessment are being phased-in at incre-ments of one-quarter of the total increase, spread over the 2009 to 2012 taxation years. Any CVA decreases are not subject to phase-in and will be applied immediately.

This year, 58% of To-ronto’s 651,000 residen-tial properties will see immediate CVA-related tax decreases of 1.8% or $51 on average. The

average for those facing phased-in CVA-related increases is 1.8% or $71.

Reassessment is rev-enue-neutral to the City. Legislation requires mu-nicipalities to reduce their tax rates in propor-tion to the increase in to-tal assessed value arising from reassessment.

The 2010 phased-in CVA for the residential property class has ap-preciated on average by 5.2% as compared to the 2009 phased-in CVA. The average assessed value for all residential property types for 2010 taxation is $407,374, as


VILLAR from p. 3

BUDGET from p. 4

15% level to the 30% ratio or more over 2 de-cades ago; promote high value

added exports, especially multinational onshore production for exports; consistently main-

tain policies that are do-mestic and foreign in-vestments friendly; streamline regula-

tory processes to drasti-cally reduce the number of review steps and ap-proving/recommending

signatures; transparently pur-

sue an economic level playing field, with gov-ernment laying down rules that cannot be bent by any vested interest

groups; take steps to avert

changes in “rules of the game” to suit the whims of “cronies” since there will be “no cronies”; guarantee the sta-

bility of policies affect-ing business; pursue agricultural

development as a corner-stone in carrying out the goal of poverty allevia-tion; ensure that the ben-

efits of economic growth filter down to the poor on a sustainable basis; prohibit schemes

and methods to circum-vent the intent of the agrarian reform law; prescribe the “BOT”

model for infrastructures that may be privatized, with bidding for these

projects under the glare of television lights and cameras;

Social oppose the pas-

sage of the Reproductive Health Bill; uphold the right to

life of the unborn child, without intruding into the right of individuals to follow their conscience; encourage the role

of parents to provide sex education to their chil-dren; affirm the central

importance of the family in Philippine society; oppose legislation

that would legalize di-vorce or terminate mar-riage; introduce entrepre-

neurship as a major cur-riculum module to help

fuel entrepreneurial revo-lution; reintroduce English

as the medium of instruc-tion; protect the environ-

ment and rehabilitate de-stroyed forest resources;

Political support amendment

of Overseas Absentee Voting Law to allow In-ternet Voter Registration and Voting, and provide for continuous, uninter-rupted voter registration abroad; support the applica-

tion of Article 6, Section 5 of the Constitution pro-viding for proportional legislative representation of global Filipinos; call a Summit on Ju-

dicial Reform, covering a wide range of key issues,

including the proposed adoption of the Jury Sys-tem; prohibit salvaging

by the police and mili-tary, while protecting, not intimidating or kill-ing, journalists and me-dia personnel; place economic de-

velopment priority in Mindanao where con-flicts and insurgency per-sist – on a parallel basis with peace initiatives; provide easy ac-

cess to information (even

without the Freedom In-formation Act), aggres-sively simplify all govern-ment transactions, reduce discretionary powers of bureaucrats and improve the efficiency of govern-ment services; and institute a System of

Rewards and Punishment to promote efficient and effective public services. (GFN)

BUDGETcontinued on p. 17

compared to $387,217 for 2009 taxation purposes.

For the tax years 2009 through to 2012 inclu-sive, properties have been reassessed to reflect a January 1, 2008 valu-

ation date. The next as-sessment update will take place for taxation years 2013-2016, with the val-uation basis being Janu-ary 1, 2012.

City of Toronto con-tinues to help the city’s most vulnerable

The City provides both a Tax Increase Can-cellation Program and a Tax Increase Deferral Program for low-income seniors and low-income persons with a disability that meet certain eligibil-ity criteria. Under the Tax Increase Cancella-

tion Program, eligible ho-meowners can have their tax increases - whether CVA or budgetary-relat-ed - cancelled. Under the Tax Increase Deferral program, eligible home-

Manila Media MonitorTel. (416) 285-8583

6 Manila Media Monitor March 2010 VIEWS

“To my enemies in the press.”(Ugh! Doesn’t sound right)

A C E A L V A R E Z

OOOPS continued on p. 7

Josephine Recto – a service manager at Erin Mills Mitsubi-shi in Mississauga, Ontario said some people were asking her why they hardly see cars at the service area of the dealer-ship.

Josephine would tell them na ang mga kotse namin dito ay hindi masisira.

Jo … one piece of advice; and I’m smiling Don’t tell peo-ple that. Save your job, other-wise, the bosses might think that the dealership does not need a service manager.

***See those Philippine movie/

television love teams in photo 1? The first couple on the left is Regine Velasquez and Ogie Alcasid; and the second, Ding-dong Dantes and Marian Ri-vera.

As you might have known by now, they are coming to To-

ronto on Friday, May 14, for a show at the Massey Hall, 7:30 PM, to be brought to us primar-ily by JREM Group in associa-tion with Belo Essentials and GMA Pinoy TV (please see page 22 for ticket outlets).

Meanwhile, see that guy in photo 2? If you think that the guy is looking for a female tan-dem, well, you are wrong. The guy is not in the entertainment

business. He is Rafael Nebres – the president of the Philip-pine Chamber of Commerce-Toronto, and is in the car sales and service business.

***Oh gee! This situation about

the Philippine Labor Repre-sentative in Toronto, RP en-voy Chito Brillantes and for-mer ConGen Andy Mosquera having recognized only Dale

Brazao of the Toronto Star for his past reportages on Filipino caregivers, and not recogniz-ing Filipino publisher Eddie Lee of Atin Ito for his work on the same has gone far.

Well, gentlemen, if Eddie did not meet the criteria for news reportage, how about a citation for best editorial, such as for his “Corrigenda” in his

publication’s January 2010 is-sue?

What? There’s a problem? Why?

***At all times that the Philip-

pine Consulate General’s In-

formation Officer, Lei Media, sends us press releases, her sal-utation is “To our friends from the press.”

Should the Philippine La-bor Representative Frank Luna send a press release to Atin Ito publisher Eddie Lee, I believe the same salutation is good.

Now, with the “Corrigen-da” and “moron” issues on-going, my question now is, if the press release is to be sent by the Philippine Labor Repre-sentative to Philippine Couri-er’s Mon Datol, Balita’s Tenny Soriano, and probably to me, would the salutation change to the following: “To my enemies in the press.”

Ugh! Doesn’t sound right. ***The Philippine Star had the

following item last February 2 in its internet edition: “Online social networking blamed for rise of AIDS cases in RP”

Really, they can do it on-line? How?

***On Saturday, May 1, 2010,

the North American Muslim Foundation (NAMF) will have

PHOTO 1

PHOTO 2

7March 2010 Manila Media Monitor

Bawat patak ng pawis at pagod mo........buong pusong ihahatid ng Forex sa

pamilya mo.....kahit saan....... kahit kailan

VIEWS

OOOPS from p. 6


a speech competition at the Jamil Dar Convention Hall at 4140 Finch Avenue East in Scarborough.

The topic is, “Are Canadi-ans charitable enough towards the poor?”

I don’t know. Please ask those who are soliciting do-nations of funds for houses at GK villages meant for the very poor in the Philippines: AN-COP Canada’s Ricky Cuenca, PCCT president Rafael Nebres (2nd mention in this column; sa susunod,may bayad na!), Jun and Rosemer Enverga, at … marami pa sila.

***A forwarded message from

my niece, Rowena Alvarez, who lives in Los Angeles, Cali-fornia:

“WHY AMERICA ‘S ECONOMY FELL OFF THE CLIFF?”

John Smith started the day early having set his alarm clock (MADE IN JAPAN ) for 6 am.

While his coffeepot (MADE IN CHINA ) was perking, he shaved with his electric razor (MADE IN HONG KONG ) He put on a dress shirt (MADE IN SRI LANKA ), designer jeans (MADE IN SINGAPORE ) and tennis shoes (MADE IN KOREA).

After cooking his break-fast in his new electric skil-let (MADE IN INDIA ), he sat down with his calculator (MADE IN MEXICO ) to see how much he could spend to-day. After setting his watch (MADE IN TAIWAN ) to the ra-dio (MADE IN PHILIPPINES ), he got in his car (MADE IN GERMANY ), filled it with GAS (from Saudi Arabia ) and continued his search for a good paying AMERICAN JOB.

At the end of yet another discouraging and fruitless day checking his Computer (made in MALAYSIA), John decided to relax for a while.

He put on his sandals (MADE IN BRAZIL), poured himself a glass of wine (MADE IN FRANCE ) and turned on his TV (MADE IN INDONESIA ), and then wondered why he can’t find a good paying job in AMERICA AND NOW HE’S HOPING HE CAN GET HELP FROM THE PRESIDENT (MADE IN KENYA )!!!

***Meanwhile, here’s one from

Texas; another forwarded mes-sage, also from my niece -- Ruthylyn Alvarez-Jimenez.

Only in Texas, readers ... Only in Texas ....

A lawyer runs a stop sign and gets pulled over by a sher-iff’s deputy. He thinks that he is smarter than the deputy, be-cause he is a lawyer from New York and is certain that he has a better education then any cop from Houston.

He decides to prove this to

himself and have some fun at the Texas deputy’s expense.

The deputy says, “License and registration, please.”

”What for?” says the law-yer.

The deputy says, “You didn’t come to a complete stop at the stop sign.”

Then the lawyer says, “I slowed down, and no one was coming.”

”You still didn’t come to a complete stop, says the depu-

ty. “License and registration, please.”

The lawyer says, “What’s the difference?”

”The difference is you have to come to complete stop, that’s the law. License and reg-istration, please!” the Deputy repeats.

Lawyer says, “If you can show me the legal difference between slow down and stop, I’ll give you my license and registration; and you give me

the ticket. If not, you let me go and don’t give me the ticket.”

”That sounds fair. Please exit your vehicle, sir,” the dep-uty says.

At this point, the deputy takes out his nightstick and starts beating the daylights out of the lawyer and says, “Do you want me to stop, or just slow down?”



From the Monitor’s Desk

A C E A L V A R E Z

Afterthoughts

No product placementson kids’ TV shows?

RoundaboutM A G C R U Z - H A T O L

13 years of dedicatedcommunity service

Managing EditorACE ALVAREZ

Associate EditorGIE ALVAREZ

Contributing EditorsRICKY CALUENMARIO DIMAIN

MAG CRUZ HATOLGRACE P. FREIRESMANNY FREIRES

BEN VICCARI

Editorial AssistantLEN ALVAREZ-MAHONEY

ContributorsEVA AGPAOA

NOEL PERADALARRY TORRES

Account ExecutivesMYRNA SORIANO

JOHN TAN

GraphicsCOBIE CRUZ

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AFTERTHOUGHTS cont’d on p.17

TV SHOWS continued on p.13

VIEWS

When we excitedly told a colleague in broadcasting that Britain will not allow any product placement on any tele-vision program aimed at kids under 16 beginning December last year, the report was met with a frown.

It does not surprise us any-more that Philippine broadcast-ing seems to be chiefly focused on the quest for profit. It has evolved into this after years of sheer indifference on the part of both the industry and gov-ernment.

If that were not so, why are blocktimers for children’s programs all gone, having mi-grated to more profitable cen-ters? Why do TV stations re-gard children’s programming like a cactus field? Why can’t government resolve to give up even just one of its three stations to fill in for the vast chasm in education?

A public broadcasting sys-tem had been in the planning stage for years. Even the re-cently demised Cerge Re-monde took it up at one time in his career in Malacanang but the idea just petered away. No legislator has fully champi-oned the cause, as though they do not have children who de-serve a PBS.

The UK’s Office of Com-munications (OfCom) has up-dated its broadcast code, fol-lowing the implementation of a new Europe-wide Audio Vi-

sual & Media Services direc-tive. OfCom is an independent organization which regulates the UK’s broadcasting, tele-communications and wireless communications sectors. They also set and enforce rules on fair competition between com-panies in these industries.

No to product placementsAmong many objectives,

OfCom ensures that people who watch television are pro-tected from harmful or offen-sive material and are protected from being treated unfairly in

TV programs, and from having their privacy invaded.

OfCom is the same agency funded by grants from the Brit-ish government that dictates the rules which broadcasters must follow. The said code aims to set standards to protect people under the age of 18 from mate-rial that is not suitable for them, while allowing broadcasters an appropriate amount of creative freedom.

Under OfCom’s revised code, all programs including those imported from the US, will disallow product place-ments when broadcast. This means that programs explicitly for youth audiences under 16 may not feature product place-ments.

Thankfully, much of kiddie programming is of the anima-tion type which does not have

This season being Lent, I spend part of my time reflect-ing on matters personally af-fecting me and my family: my deeds, my failures, my accom-plishments; everything that came my way from way back to the present time. Not that I reflect only during these times, but by practice, I do it almost daily, sometimes sitting quietly and calmly, immersed in my thoughts.

Personal reflections enrich one’s self, and good for the soul.

***For five years now since

it was given to me by Philip-pine Chamber of Commerce-Toronto president and Action Honda dealership general man-ager Rafael Nebres, I recite the “Prayer to the Holy Spirit” on a daily basis.

In that prayer, there’s a line stating, “Let my charity be such as to offend no one, and hurt no one’s feelings.” Every time I would come to this line, my mind would take me back to the early 70s when a poor carpenter I knew – whom I addressed as Mang Ernie, and who lived in the slums of Ton-do, Manila narrated to me what he saw when Pope Paul VI vis-ited the poor people in Tondo.

The line took me back to those years, thinking, “One does a work of charity and of-fends someone?” Oh yes, one perfect example was when then-Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos threw cookies and biscuits to the crowd gath-ered during the reception by the poor people of Tondo, Manila for the visiting Pope Paul VI, the first lady herself and their

party. As the cookies fell on the ground, children scrambled for a piece and a bite.

I recall Mang Ernie saying that the Pope shed tears as he witnessed the incident.

Unable to continue eating his lunch when he came to this point in his narration, Mang Ernie almost choked, saying, “We may be poor, but please, give us dignity, too.”

***In 2002, Gie and I, together

with my aunt, were invited for dinner by the latter’s relatives at their palatial home in Thorn-hill, Ontario.

The food was great, I must admit; and we were using sil-verware – including the serving spoons and forks, and befit the hosts’ palatial home. After din-ner though, Gie and I felt we were incinerators. Reason: the hostess said on a good quantity of “sinigang na baka”, “Itapon na natin ito, wala nang kakain nito. Noong isang araw pa ito, e.”

It was okay to throw left-overs, but, please don’t have the people you just hosted a dinner for hear it. Gie and I felt throwing up.

Our hosts might not have a bad intent, but they might just simply meant that since the sinigang had been heated

on the microwave, might as well throw them out. But this thought came up later after it happened.

***Surfing the net recently, I

landed on Renato Zane’s “Pen and Paper” blogsite, through a link in “ripple.ca”, a blogsite of my good friend, former Toron-

to advertising agency art direc-tor and promotions man -- Bill Andersen.

Renato’s blog contains a collection of his notes, travel stories and personal reflec-tions.

There are two things that I have in common with Renato. Firstly, both of us work in the media industry; secondly, my love for drawing, or sketching.

One sketch of Renato that

brought back memories in my mind is that of an airplane, which I snagged from his site and posted here.

Renato’s entry accompa-nying the sketch reads: “Like many people, I enjoy looking at planes when I’m at the air-port. I did this drawing while I was awaiting a flight in To-ronto a few months ago. Com-mercial airliners are complex, large machines that take off and land thousands of times without incident ….”

Airplanes are likewise of in-terest to me.

Renatos’ sketch reminded me of that one afternoon in 1980 while sitting on my car at the parking lot of Miramar Res-

taurant across the Manila Do-mestic Airport on Airport Road in Pasay City after a plateful of my favorite Pancit Canton at the Chinese restaurant.

Watching those BAC One-Eleven jets taxied from where I was parked, I toyed with an idea to becoming a pilot and inquired about flying lessons on those small Piper planes at


Two clear and present dangers

CommentaryB E N V I C C A R I

Spring

The 3rd EyeM A R I O D I M A I N

The response both in finan-cal and physical aid to Haiti has been enormous and the humanitarians of the world are to be profoundly thanked. But it must be clearly understand that in our relationships with this benighted country, we are dealing with a psyche that has been damaged for years.

Right now the recent visit of Prime Minister Harper and his pledge of building a govern-ment headquarters raises once again the question of his im-maturity in foreign affairs.

Back when George W. Bush was calling the shots, the bru-tal, terroristic reign of the Du-valiers and their thug enforcers the tontons macoutes was tacit-ly accepted by the so-called de-mocracies and the succeeding democratic president, Father Aristide, quickly dispensed with because of his socialistic views.

As we give generously, we must ensure that our govern-

ments make every effort to pressure the future of governance into a democratic mould.

No less serious is the danger in Af-ghanistan of seeking compromise with the Taliban as President Karzai seems so trans-parently to desire. From its past and present performance, the Taliban has clearly demon-strated that in its extreme ap-plication of sharia law, punish-ment for offences against this law are barbaric and inhuman. The rights of women are totally denied and punishment is intol-erant, cruel —- and public.

We hope the world can be persuaded that any form of concession to the Taliban in Afghanistan means the spread of this vicious doctrine wher-ever militants support it. The stand of President Obama in calling for a surge offensive

shows that America knows that with a strong Taliban presence in Afghanistan, so goes Paki-stan and then other nations in which the Taliban has a foot-hold in Islamic communities.

There should be no alterna-tive than to destroy the Taliban in Afghanistan as a vicious ideological blot on the face of humanity.

***Mixed Company Theatre

has announced a new spon-sorship from the Rotary Club of Toronto for their new play, DISS, about youth violence, which will tour schools March

22 to April 16. This acclaimed

production, premiered in 2009, focuses on gang presence in our neighborhoods and the pressures youth face finding social connec-tion and identity.

DISS incorporates raps based on experi-

ences with violence and cov-ers topics including snitching, family relationships, friend-ship, theft, gun violence and many other issues that affect young people in communities with gang presence.

“The first step in confront-ing the problems of youth vio-lence is bringing issues into the open and facing the drama that is played out with terrible con-sequences,” says Ric Williams, board member of the Rotary Club of Toronto.

DISS facilitates this through a narrative that does not shame individuals or damage lives.

Engaging us all in our shared reality leads to involvement in the issues, and, eventually, the development of solutions and new norms for living together. “We are proud to be involved with DISS, and we honor their contribution to a better life in our communities,” Williams said.

Created in collaboration with the Toronto Police Ser-vice and youth who have expe-rienced violence, the play pres-ents the worst-case scenarios of gang involvement, catalyzing audience members to express their voices to make our com-munities safer. (Ben Viccari is past president of the Canadian Ethnic Media Association and frequently appeared on OMNI TV Commentary, until his re-tirement September 2009 from the TV commentary series. For more of his work, please visit Ben’s website at http://can-scene.ripple.ca)

OFW continued on p.25

VIEWS

As the mild weather in March melts the dreaded snow, have you ever wondered why the season after winter is called spring?

The word “spring”, as an intransitive verb, is defined as moving back rapidly to an original position after being forced in another direction.

The definition makes per-fect sense. Spring brings back the colors that the cold winter erased. The trees regain the lost leaves on their dead-looking branches; once more the grass turns greener; the beautiful vibrant tulips emerge; and the perennials in the garden come back to life in full bloom as the returning birds chirp the com-ing of spring.

Is it a coincidence that the celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus falls in the spring? Did God plan it that way, so we can easily relate the

season of coming-back-to-life to Eas-ter Sunday? From every angle, no mat-ter how you slice it, all indications point to a thundering YES!

To us, Christians, Easter Sunday is not about bunnies and children hunting egg-shaped chocolates. Neither is

it limited to God’s mes-sage that His son died for us to save our sins. It expands far more than that. We should see beyond the tomb where Jesus sprung to life. Res-

urrection has the underlying message of awakening and bring back to life our goodness that was deeply buried in our

selfish thoughts. All of us have

been hurt at one time in our lives. Some of the pains that we harbor are so agoniz-ing that we have for-gotten to forgive the aggressor who had

offended us. We have been im-mersed in our failures and self-pity that we turned to blaming others and overlooked the pow-er of prayer. Our potential in making more money to pamper

our endless whims has made us lost our grip in our Christian values. We have neglected the importance of giving and have taken for granted the qual-ity time with our families. We have given-in to the abundance of man-made comfort, making us less energetic and allowing

our bodies to erode away. We have become so content that we have missed the big picture of spring; its splen-dor and its meaning.

So come spring, when the birds are singing, stop what-ever you are doing. Pause for a moment and listen. Wake yourself up. You have been in hibernation for too long. Pick up that shovel and start

digging up the buried goodness in you.

Spring time is the season for all of us, to reconnect spiritu-ally and rediscover our good old selves.

OFW families spending less on food, more on health—ADB study

MANILA—MORE fami-lies of overseas Filipino work-ers are spending less on food and more on health, a study by the Asian Development Bank revealed.

Using econometric estima-tions, Filipino Alvin Ang, Indi-an Shikha Jha, and Indonesian Guntur Sugiyarto noted that the percentage share of expen-ditures of migrant households to food went down slightly, from 44.9 percent in 2000 to 43.3 percent in 2006.

By Jeremaiah M. OpinianoOFW Journalism Consortium

But expenditures to health are increasing (from 2.3 per-cent in 2000 to three percent) while allocations for durables are steady (2.2 percent in 2000, 2.2 in 2006).

Remittances “do not have a significant influence on other items of expenditure, particu-larly investment spending on education, health care, and du-rable goods,” said the authors of “Remittances and House-hold Behavior in the Philip-

pines.” Whether it’s a crisis year or

not, Ang told the OFW Jour-nalism Consortium that the share of spending for food by households in the Philippines receiving remittances is lower even with rising remittances.

Some 18.05 percent of all Filipino households received cash from abroad in the year 2000, ADB estimations show. This figure rose to 20.72 per-cent in 2003 and 23.3 percent

in 2006. “[This is] because these

families are getting increased incomes, and also spend on other items,” said Ang who also teaches economics at the University of Santo Tomas.

Hence,Ang and his col-leagues concluded in the paper, there’s no evidence consump-tion is being fueled solely by remittances.

This view douses the oft-quoted analysts’ view that

prompted property developers, telecommunication companies, insurance firms, and shopping malls to chase the money of overseas Filipinos.

Not even billions of dollars coming from over-eight million Filipinos overseas can provide clear proof remittances have been stirring domestic demand in sectors such as education, health care, and durable goods.

“[Our] analysis…does not support evidence of remit-tances contributing toward re-balancing growth by creating


Focus on leadership must be for the good of the majority

You’re Entitledto My Opinion

J U N E N V E R G A

Our JourneyE V A A G P A O A

What does it meanto be unified?

VIEWS

During a conversation with a friend recently, the topic of Filipino unity came up.

When I look around the dif-ferent communities in Toronto, it is clear some are unified and some are not.

What does it mean to be unified?

Many things of course but a few stand out as being impor-tant:

- A unified community sup-ports its members. A core value within a community is its abil-ity and desire to support its members.

This can happen in a num-ber of ways.

Support of local business; support through social organi-zations which cater to the less well off and the needy within the community; educational support.

The key is that a unified community looks for ways to offer support in the belief that strong members mean a strong community.

- A unified community speaks with a unified voice.

Another core value is the strength to speak with one

voice to all the other communi-ties around us as well as the gov-ernment.

A single voice has a much better chance of getting things done for the community than a babble of incoherent rants.

Of course, there are so many different needs within a community and a single voice can never hope to address all of them. But, an organized com-munity has a sound process for hearing its constituents and reaching a consensus on priori-ties.

Don’t misunderstand me here.

A single voice doesn’t liter-ally mean a single vocal chord bleating in the wind like a dis-tressed lamb in the wilderness.

A single, unified voice means a coherent well thought out series of messages that are important to the community.

A unified community takes pride in and celebrates its achievements.

- A strong community cel-ebrates its achievements and invites all around them to cel-ebrate with them.

This is a healthy pride that announces to the world, we are worthy of your respect.

- A community becomes unified when it chooses to or-ganize itself.

First and foremost, organiz-ing around a strong leadership is key to becoming a strong-community.

Many fear that choosing leadership means relinquishing personal power and worse, that they risk corruption and per-sonal gain among their lead-ers.

But real leadership is not about power or personal gain.

It is about a public trust be-stowed on one or more individuals.

A strong leader knows this and treats that trust with care and re-spect.

These are just four of the many different values

that make a strong unified community.

I’m certain you can think of many more values and in fact I invite you to do so.

The benefits of a strong community are many.

Political relevance is a key benefit.

It means we have a seat at the table when decisions about our city are being made.

It means we have the nec-essary infl uence to help our members in meaningful ways.

Another benefit is increasing our overall financial strength.

Clearly, not every individ-ual within the community will be rich.

And some will be poor to the point of poverty. But a strong

community seeks to minimize the disenfranchisement of its individuals through the values mentioned above.

We must never be afraid to help someone else better their life.

Individual financial strength means a financially stable com-munity overall.

And let’s face it, more mon-ey usually means more clout.

A rich, coherent community can be an awesome thing.

Think about our community and think about whether or not we meet these simple criteria.

Are we, the Filipino com-munity in Toronto, unified and strong?

I’m not sure. I really believe most of us want this. I know we need this.

We need the strength of uni-ty and organization. We need it because our numbers are grow-ing and our needs are many. We need it because we risk being marginalized as a people.

Let’s think about this to-gether and reach for strength and unity. ([email protected])

Last January, my wife and I went to the Philippines to at-tend the inauguration of a very beautiful Sto. Nino Chapel (donated by a very good friend of my family). in the mountain community of Monte Maria, Batangas and ground break another GK ANCOP village in Batasan, Quezon City.

It was an exhausting and physically demanding ten-day trip, where along the way, we met people from different backgrounds and cultures.

During our travel, my wife and I took turns engaging our drivers into conversation on their thoughts on Philippine politics.

Billboards, posters, radio announcements are all too com-mon at this time in the streets of Manila with the upcoming April 10 presidential election.

We asked each of our driv-ers who they want to be the next president of the Philip-pines and for what reasons?

The answers were often var-ied and deep in logic and trepi-dation, prompting me to inter-pret the words the best I could:

Driver 1: I am not going to vote this year, I am fed up.

When I voted Erap the last time, we thought he would help us, poor people, but I was wrong.

Then, when I voted for Glo-ria the last time, I thought she was a sure bet. Unfortunately,

I was wrong again. My votes seemed useless. I just could not trust anyone, any-more. She is also corrupt, although oth-ers say, it is her husband; it is still her fault because she is the president. I am definitely not going to vote this year. Who ever will be in power will be similarly an ineffective presi-dent and cannot be trusted.

Driver 2: I will vote for Noynoy, even if other candi-dates pay me five thousand pe-sos. I will not let anyone buy my vote! I am so fed up! Work-ers are so fed up. We believe that Noynoy is our only hope. His family is the best; his fa-ther gave his life for his coun-try and his mother was a re-spected person -- and the only non-corrupt president that we know. Noynoy is the only one I can trust, although, he does not look like a tough leader at this time. All I want is someone with a clean heart, leadership qualities can be learned.

Driver 3: Although I can-not say anything bad about the family of Noynoy, what the Philippines needs is someone who can control the country. Noynoy does not show tough leadership qualities as we saw in senate sessions, so we are

afraid that Noynoy will be-come just like his mom, Cory.

Cory just followed the or-ders of her advisers; the people around her.

On the other hand, Gibo (Teodoro) is smart, but I think a vote for him will be mean-ingless, because, surely, he is not going to win for lack of campaign funds. For me, it is Villar. First of all, he is already too rich; if ever he is corrupt, he will not steal much.

Driver 3 added: Here in the Philippines, a presidentiable needs one billion pesos to run for the presidential office. From what I heard, Villar has more than a billion in cam-paign funds. Noynoy got only 66 million, so far. For me, Vil-lar is a sure win; I always go with the sure winner.

***There you go! Three op-

posing views from our kaba-bayans.

Athough, some of their rea-soning might have contained just unfounded information, it looks like Noynoy and Villar are the top two contenders in

greater Ma-nila at least. It looks like it is going to be a battle of cred-ibility, trust and money.

The driv-ers are the

people who lived in the streets of Manila; people who have experienced the life and got a good feel of the pulse of the nation by reason of their oc-cupation. The good thing about all these is that people are con-scious about their actions, or inactions, in the coming elec-tions.

Obviously, our kababayans in the Philippines are mostly confused. I feel like an out-sider in my own country at the time of my recent travel. Elicit-ing reasons from the question I posed was what I thought I could do, either to familiarize, or re-familiarize myself again with Philippine politics.

What may we do here in Canada? Our country needs our help. May we, overseas Filipinos, be the conscience of the nation? May our opinions count? May our law-abiding experiences and upbringing here help our kababayans?

Our answers are as varied and complicated as the ques-tions, which gave me thoughts on our own community in To-ronto. Let us look at ourselves

now … our kababayans and our so-called thinkers and leaders in the community. Just look at all the so-called presi-dents for life in countless com-munity organizations? Look at the people who are aspiring to be leaders in the community -- the newly minted leaders and thinkers.

I am so sorry to say that my observation points to the fact that most of our community leaders and thinkers around continue to have the shadows of the political culture nurtured from back home.

To all the so-called leaders and thinkers in the Philippines, in Toronto and elsewhere alike, I counsel that it is not the po-sition of power in any organi-zation, nor money, that gain respect and accolades from our kababayans, and anyone for that matter.

Respect, however, will only come when leaders have proven and acted themselves worthy; when they have come to the full realization that the community, much more – the country, are above them and their supporters.

If the focus of the opinion of our leaders and thinkers is not the welfare of the major-ity in the Filipino society, then leaders are bound to failure; and yes, this is my opinion, and you are entitled to them. ([email protected])


LIVE-IN continued on p. 15

To protect live-in caregivers and other workers

Employment Protection for

Foreign Nationals Act becomes law

A ban on recruitment fees is among a series of new protec-tions for foreign live-in care-givers in Ontario that came into effect on March 22, 2010.

Under the Employment Protection for Foreign Nation-als Act (EPFNA) , the province is providing expanded protec-tions for some of Ontario’s most vulnerable workers.

New protections for work-ers include:

* A ban on all fees charged to live-in caregivers by recruit-ers, either directly or indirect-ly, or by anyone on behalf of a recruiter.

* Preventing employers from recovering, directly or indirectly, recruitment and placement costs from live-in caregivers.

* Prohibiting the practice of taking a caregiver’s personal documents such as a passport and work permit.

* Prohibiting reprisals against caregivers for exercis-ing their rights under the leg-islation.

Live-in caregivers will also get more information about their rights and Ministry of La-bour inspectors will have more authority to investigate viola-

tions based on tips. All of these steps will help curb the abuse of foreign na-tionals who come to Ontario to work, in-cluding the practice of collecting place-ment fees for bogus job offers.

Foreign Nation-al Live-in Caregiv-ers

Foreign nationals working as a live-in caregivers in Ontar-io have employment standards rights un-der the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA). They also have protections under the Employment Protec-tion for Foreign Nationals Act (Live-in Caregivers and Oth-ers), 2009 (EPFNA).

Employment Standards Rights At Work

Live-in caregivers must be paid on a regular, recurring payday, and employers must provide them with a statement showing their wages and de-ductions for that pay period.

Limits on Hours of WorkGenerally, live-in caregiv-

ers cannot be required to work more than 8 hours a day or their regular daily work schedule (if more than 8 hours). For them to work more than the daily limit, their employer must have their written agreement.

Generally, they cannot be required to work more than 48 hours a week, and for them to work more than 48 hours in a week, employers must have their written agreement and an approval from the Ministry of Labour.

Generally, they must have at least 11 consecutive hours off work each day, and 24 consecutive hours off work each week, or 48 consec-utive hours off work in every 2-week pe-riod.

Overtime PayLive-in caregiv-

ers must be paid overtime pay after 44 hours of work each week. The overtime rate must be at least 1½ times the regular rate of

pay.

Minimum WageThe minimum wage is the

lowest hourly rate an employer can pay an employee.

Currently the minimum wage is $9.50 per hour and it will rise to $10.25 per hour on March 31, 2010.

Live-in caregivers’ gross pay, before deductions, must be at least minimum wage. By law, their employer must de-duct Income Tax, Canada Pen-sion Plan (CPP), and Employ-

ment Insurance (EI) from their total pay and their employer must make CPP and EI contri-butions for them.

If live-in caregivers and their employer agree that they will receive a wage greater than the minimum wage, then that is the amount the employ-ees are entitled to receive.

Can an employer deduct room and board (meals)?

An employer can take into account having provided live-in caregivers with room and board (meals) for the purpose of en-suring that the minimum wage has been paid. The amounts that an employer is considered to have paid as wages for room and board (meals) are set out below:

Room: weekly* private room: $31.70

Meals* each meal: $2.55 * weekly maximum: $53.55

Room and board (meals): weekly

* private room: $85.25


Toronto-based folksinger Chito Sarabia with Ma-nila-based songwriter-performer Kitchie Nadal after her recent performance at Mstudio in Missis-sauga. Sarabia has three canned compositions, “Sa Likod ng Musika”, :Press to Play”, and “Plaze of Light”, for future release.

Philippine Press Club-Ontario (PPCO) members and guests after the breakfast fo-rum with Consul General Minerva Falcon (seated center) held Saturday, March 6, 2010, at “Quiapo, Quiapo”, # 2 Principal Road in Scarborough. The PPCO gather-ing was sponsored in part by the venue of the event. (Photo: Ariel Ramos)

NEWS

FALCON from p. 1burg and Vancouver. She was Ambassador to Tur-key, Germany and Swit-zerland.

Before coming to To-ronto, she was the Direc-tor of the Foreign Service Institute -- the training arm and research office of the Department of For-eign Affairs.

Consul General Fal-con hails from Lal-lo, Cagayan and has three grown-up children. She speaks English, Spanish and French.

Improve-ments on con-sular services

in TorontoAfter her as-

sumption to of-fice, the new Con-sul General has announced that effective Friday, April 9, and every first Friday of the month after such date, the Philip-pine Consulate General’s office in Toronto will extend its office

hours up to 7 PM to ac-commodate the consular needs of working clients who are unable to come to the Consulate during office hours.

Meanwhile, in con-nection with the Philip-pine national elections in May, Consul General Falcon, with Cultural Of-ficer Evangeline Cayong-cat, participated in the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Training on the conduct of Overseas Absentee Voting, Count-

ing and Canvassing of the ballots held in Los Angeles, California. The training was hosted by the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles.

Members of the Spe-cial Board of Canvassers (SBOC), Special Board of Election Inspectors (SBEI), and Special Bal-lot Reception and Custo-dy Group (SBRCG) from the different Embassies and Consulates General based in North and South America, who were

commissioned by the COMELEC to serve dur-ing the May 10 elections, participated in during the three-day seminar.

Echo training for the other members of the SBEI and SBRCG of the Consulate General in To-ronto who were appointed by the COMELEC will be conducted at the Con-sulate next month. (With files from the Philippine Consulate General’s Of-fice in Toronto)


TV SHOWS from p. 8

NOYNOY from p. 1

any such placements.British produced

shows follow the regula-tion, leaving out imports and live action programs. We imagine that even prime time programs that are viewed widely by this young audience niche could be affected.

David Kleeman, the president of the Ameri-

can Center for Children and Media, explains that “product placement is implicitly banned from programs targeted to chil-dren in the US. American producers have steered clear of doing so to be certain of staying on the right side of the regula-tors.”

It is anybody’s guess if the same rule will pros-per or will even get intro-duced in the Philippines.

When that happens, a tap on the shoulder is due both government and broadcasters for under-standing that children are so impressionable and easily influenced by what they see on TV. A prod-uct, subliminally inserted or blatantly featured, has the same effect as obvi-ous advertising because it entices the young viewer to want the item. ([email protected])

‘GMA can appoint next chief justice’MANILA, Philippines

– The Supreme Court has given President Arroyo the power to appoint the successor of Chief Jus-tice Reynato Puno who is retiring on May 17.

In a 55-page landmark ruling penned by Asso-ciate Justice Lucas Ber-samin, nine justices of the Court agreed that the appointment of the chief justice is not covered by the constitutional ban on midnight appointments.

“Had the framers in-tended to extend the pro-

hibition contained in sec-tion 15, Article VII to the appointment of members of the Supreme Court they could have explicitly done so,” the high court said in affirming the ar-guments presented by the petitioners, lawyers Ar-turo de Castro, Estelito Mendoza and Philconsa.

Concurring with the majority decision were Justices Jose Perez, Ro-berto Abad, Martin Vil-larama, Teresita Leonar-do, Teresita Leonardo-de Castro,Arturo Brion, Di-

osdado Peralta, Jose Mendoza and Mariano del Castillo.

Justice Conchita Car-pio Morales dissented, while Justices Antonio Eduardo Nachura and Presbitero Velasco Jr. voted that the case is pre-mature.

Chief Justice Puno and the two frontrunners for the position – Senior Justices Renato Corona and Antonio Carpio – did not take part in the vot-ing. (Philippine Star)

him the most trusted can-didate for president. Only 14 percent of voters said they had “small/no trust” for Aquino, with the rest undecided.

Roxas, on the other hand, still earned the highest trust among Fili-pino voters with 70 per-cent saying they had “big trust” in him, with only 10 percent having “small/no trust” and the rest un-decided.

Villar’s ratings dipped to 59 percent due to an 11-point drop among Filipinos with ”big trust” in him.

Legarda’s trust rating likewise went down to 58 percent, or a drop of three percent from her January trust rating.

Among the presiden-tial candidates, former President Joseph Estrada came third with 40 per-cent, followed by admin-istration standard-bearer Gilberto Teodoro Jr. with 29 percent and Sen. Richard Gordon with a 25 percent rating.

In the vice presiden-tial race, Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay came third, with only 45 percent; former Metro Manila Development Authority chief Bayani Fernando with 22 percent and actor Edu Manzano, 19 percent.

Aquino and Roxas are campaigning on a plat-form of good governance and transformational leadership. They prom-ised to open their bank accounts to public scru-tiny to stress their com-mitment to wipe out graft and corruption in govern-ment.

‘Up to Kris to take a leave’

Aquino also said re-cently that it would be up to his sister, actress and television host Kris Aquino-Yap to decide on whether to take a leave from her shows during the campaign period.

Kris said she was thinking of saying good-bye to the showbiz talk show The Buzz because of criticisms she had been

getting. She had also been complaining that she was being considered a liabil-ity to her brother.

Kris has three oth-ers shows at ABS-CBN Channel 2.

Aquino said, “It’s her decision. But it’s me who got into this and the cam-paign should be my pri-mary responsibility.

“I think she’s old enough to decide for her-self. She has been helping me in so many ways. In this people’s campaign, we do not want to im-pose on anyone, whether relatives or not, if they voluntarily help in the campaign, we are thank-ful, whoever they are,” Aquino said.

Aquino said he was proud of his sister and the other showbiz personali-ties who were making a stand during these crucial elections.

Even if Kris takes a leave, Aquino said he was not expecting the black propaganda against him

NOYNOYcontinued on p. 17

14 Manila Media Monitor March 2010 NEWS

Study cites two regions ‘efficiently use’ OFW money for dev’tBy Jeremaiah M. OpinianoOFW Journalism Consortium

MANILA–PHILIP-PINE regions with higher growth rates used remit-tances for development efficiently, a paper by a University of Santo Tomas economist finds.

College of Com-merce Assistant Dean Ma. Socorro Calara said these are the Cordillera Administrative Region, Southern Tagalog region, and the National Capital Region. Her study cited these regions were more efficient in making re-mittances contribute to regional productivity, which is measured by gross regional domestic product or GRDP.

Calara’s paper was featured at a research forum the same week government officials said that the overall gross do-mestic product of 0.92 percent in 2009 was the lowest in 11 years.

Titled “Remittances and Regional Perfor-mance for the Philip-pines,” Calara’s paper looked at data from the triennial Family Income and Expenditures Sur-vey (FIES) from 1988 to 2006.

Using FIES results in the same period, Calara also culled data on cash received from abroad or remittances received by households of over-seas Filipino workers (OFWs).

These were then jux-taposed to GRDP data, as well as regional data on personal consumption and government spend-ing, and investments from 1998 to 2006.

Calara’s econometric calculations showed that the highest efficiency score is one. The NCR, CAR and Southern Ta-galog consistently earned

that score.The next highest scores

in Calara’s computations went to Central Visayas (0.99); Davao region and Western Visayas (both 0.98); and, Zamboanga and Northern Mindanao regions (both 0.97).

The scores reflect how remittances migrant households received seeped in efficiently or not to regional develop-ment activities.

Even if regions such as Ilocos (0.69 average), Ca-gayan Valley (0.79) and Central Luzon (0.91) got more remittances since they had more overseas migrants and more remit-tances than other regions, these regions are in the bottom rungs in Calara’s study.

Ilocos is even the least efficient region of all 17 regions covered by the study, while Central Lu-zon is only 10th overall.

Calara argued that her study is valuable to re-

gional development since it is in the birthplaces of overseas Filipinos were the remittances are used to stir local economic ac-tivity.

“The (household members) of migrants are the immediate recipients of remittances. Whether these remittances are spent to purchase basic commodities, durable goods or are invested in productive endeavors, it is the region which ben-efits from such activi-ties —whether directly

or indirectly through the multiplier effect of remit-tances and the subsequent stimulus to labor,” Calara wrote.

Calara’s paper also looked at how many of the 14 regions with data were efficient in develop-ment, with and without remittances.

She came into the lat-ter result by deducting a region’s remittances data from GRDP and regional personal consumption expenditure.

Since some regions

were already efficient, Calara wrote that remit-tances “do not contrib-ute to efficiency” and “have no effect on [that region’s] regional effi-ciency performance”.

CAR, Southern Taga-log and NCR are part of this grouping.

But for eight of the 14 regions found to be inefficient in 2006, Ca-lara said the results may mean that remittances may have had a positive

OFW continued on p. 15


LIVE-IN from p. 11 OFW from p. 14

The room must be fit for human habitation. It must also be reasonably furnished, supplied with clean bed linen and tow-els, and be reasonably accessible to proper toilet and wash basin facilities.

Room and/or board is not considered part of wages unless the employ-ee has actually received the meals or occupied the room.

Public HolidaysLive-in caregivers are

entitled to take a public holiday off work, with public holiday pay, re-gardless of how long they have been working. On-tario has nine public holi-days every year. They are: New Year’s Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Victo-ria Day, Canada Day, La-bour Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day.

Pregnancy Leave and Parental Leave

Live-in caregivers

may be entitled to take 17 weeks of pregnancy leave and 35 weeks of parental leave (if they have taken pregnancy leave). All other eligible new parents, including birth mothers who do not take pregnancy leave, can take up to 37 weeks of parental leave. These are unpaid, job-protected leaves. To get more in-formation about eligibil-ity for pregnancy and parental leave, call the Employment Standards Information Centre.

Family Medical LeaveLive-in caregivers can

take family medical leave to provide care or support for certain family mem-bers – and people who consider them to be like a family member – who have a serious illness with a significant risk of dying within a period of 26 weeks. It is unpaid, job-protected leave of up to 8 weeks in a 26-week period.

Vacation with Pay

Live-in caregivers are entitled to at least 2 weeks of vacation time after every 12 months of employment. They are entitled to be paid an amount equal to at least 4% of their total wages earned as vacation pay.

Termination Notice and/or Pay Instead of Notice (if employed for at least 3 months)

Employers must give their employees advance written notice, termina-tion pay instead of notice, or a combination of both, if their live-in caregivers have been continuously employed for 3 months or more and their em-ployment is terminated. The amount of notice or pay depends on how long they have been employed by the employer.

Can an employer pun-ish or threaten them be-cause they ask questions about their rights or ask for their rights?

No. Employer cannot do any of the following because live-in caregiv-ers ask for or about their

workplace rights:* Intimidate them * Fire them * Suspend them * Reduce or withhold

pay * Punish them in any

way, or * Threaten any of

these actions.

If live-in caregivers think their employer has punished them for ask-ing about or for exercis-ing their rights at work, contact the Employment Standards Information Centre as soon as pos-sible. If, after a live-in caregiver files a claim, the Ministry of Labor will decide whether the employer has punished the employee for asking about or for exercising the rights at work, gthe Ministry of Labor can or-der the employer to com-pensate the employee or pay any wages owed.

Live-in caregivers cannot agree to give up their rights

Live-in caregivers

cannot agree to give up any of their employment standards rights. Any such agreement is inval-id.

For questions, or fil-ing a claim?

For questions about employment standards, or if live-in caregivers believe they have not received their rights and want to make a claim to the Ministry of Labour, please contact the Em-ployment Standards In-formation Centre at (416) 326-7160 (toll-free at 1-800-531-5551) or, for the hearing impaired, at TTY 1-866-567-8893. They may also visit www.labour.gov.on.ca for more information or to file a claim on-line. They can also get an Employment Standards claim form at a ServiceOntario Cen-tre. To locate the Centre nearest them, please call 1-800-267-8097. Please note that separate forms are used to file claims un-der the ESA and the EPF-NA. (Ontario Ministry of Labour)

effect, had no effect, or have a negative effect on regional development.

As for NCR and re-gions near it, Calara ob-served that the sending of more overseas work-ers complements high government spending and investments in these places.

Yet on the overall, Calara said the paper “showed mixed results with respect to the effect of remittances on the re-gional performance of the Philippines”.

At the same time, the multiplier effect of re-mittances in rural areas is higher than those in urban regions, Calara’s computations showed.

Estimates using the 2000, 2003 and 2006 FIES data revealed that some 1.107 million households of migrant workers got P208.848 billion in 2000.

The number of house-

OFW continued on p. 16


Millennium Support & Care Group

A N N O U N C E M E N T

Millennium Support and Care Group extends its sincere thanks to the Government of Canada's

New Horizons for Seniors Program for providing us with a grant to upgrade our seniors’ facility,

and also for supporting our objective of providing the optimum quality of life to seniors in the

community. Through social and recreational activities and promoting health and wellness, we

aim to help seniors feel and live better.

ATTENTION SENIORS/GROUPSWe are encouraging more seniors to come out,

join in our activities, and have fun! Our activities are designed especially for them (bingo games, card games, get-togethers, Latin dancing, line-

dancing, folk dancing, karaoke singing) all in the process of meeting and making new friends. All

activities are free with membership.

416-925-4417 7 Hayden St., Suite 303, Toronto M4Y 2P2

[email protected]

NEWS

OFW from p.15

By Aida D’ Orazio

‘‘There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in

which you yourself have altered. - Nelson Mandela

Heads of GTA associations at the FCT Presidents’ Gala

The presidents of various Filipino associa-tions in the GTA will be presented to the public during the Presidents’ Gala, a biennial event organized by the Filipino Centre Toronto (FCT).

Saturday, April 24, at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.

Likewise, the heads of businesses in the me-tropolis will be presented at the event, together

with the recipient of the Young En-trepreneur and Young Professional Awards (YEPA) during the gather-ing to be held Sat-urday, April 24, at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.

YEPA recipi-ents in 2008 were Melchor Galeon -- who won the Young Entrepre-

neur Award, and Maria Louisa Diaz -- who won the Young Professional Award.

FCT president Lynda Javier said tickets to the Presidents’ Gala, which is one of the most suc-cessful fundraisers of her organization are sold out.

Over 500 guests, dressed up in their best Filipino formal wear, are expected to attend. Cock-tails, photo shoots and piano entertainment at the foyer start at 6 PM.

Dr. Vicky Santiago is the event chair. Likewise, she chairs the silent auc-tion.

Dr. Santiago, who chairs the event, is like-wise chairing the silent auction – which, with her and her committee’s classy tastes, is expected to draw a good crowd and bidders.

Since November, par-ticipants to the Rigodon de Honor – numbering 48 and composed main-ly of chairs, presidents, and vice presidents of Filipino associations and proprietors of business-es in the GTA and their partners have been prac-ticing -- oftentimes driv-ing down to Parliament Street in downtown T.O. through the bitter winter cold to attend their prac-tices. The dance number is choreographed by Odie Arena and Wendy Arena.

Meanwhile, the souve-nir program committee,

chaired by Dr. Maselle Virey, will soon final-ize the event’s memento, hence, requesting that materials for advertising as well as personal greet-ings from friends and families, be forwarded to the committee now.

The gala night will be emceed by popular CTV anchor Pauline Chan and FCT Executive Vice-President Rey Tolentino.

Dr Vicky Santiago

Rey Tolentino and Pauline Chan

holds increased by 18.34 percent after three years to 1.31 million and having received some P245.856-billion worth of remittances.

The 2006 FIES showed the number of households increased by 22.2 percent, having re-ceived some P348.524 billion.

By percentage

share to the national to-tal, all regions outside of NCR have been getting increased remittances: 71.56 percent in 2000, 76.58 percent in 2003, and 78.89 percent in 2006.

Among provincial re-gions, Southern Tagalog (to include sub-regions Calabarzon [or Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon] and Mima-ropa [Mindoro Occiden-

tal, Mindoro Oriental, Romblon, and Palawan]) are the top-most recipi-ents of remittances from abroad, followed by Cen-tral Luzon and the Ilocos region (see Table).

Data from the National Statistical Coordination Board show that South-ern Tagalog (combining Calabarzon and Mima-ropa) contribute some 14 percent to Philippine GDP.


Jessica Soho Howie Severino Mel Tiangco Mike Enriquez Arnold Clavio Vicky Morales

NEWS

AFTERTHOUGHTS from p. 8

NOYNOY from p.13

BUDGET from p.5


the nearby Pat’s Flying School, likewise, located near the terminal; and so I did.

Having learned that it would cost only P450 per hour to fly the plane — after classroom hours, I put in the initial payment to reserve my place in the class.

Driving home later, I saw my oldest brother, Randolph (now deceased) by chance near his home, hence, stopped the car, alighted and chatted with him.

Casually, I mentioned that I enrolled at a fly-ing school that afternoon and thought of eventu-ally becoming a commer-cial airline pilot. Whoa! I thought he would be excited for his youngest sibling, but lo — and be-hold, I got a lecture.

“Look, brother,” he

said, “you just completed your first year in the Col-lege of Law. Now, you tell me — and be decisive now, what do you really want to do for a living?”

I spent the next 20 or 30 minutes listening to the litany of my oldest brother on the steps that I have to go through — involving many years of service, trainings, etc. – in order to be a pilot flying a commercial pas-senger jetliner on inter-national route.

You see, my broth-er Randolph was well abreast on the business because his brother-in-law, was a pilot: Capt. Antonio Misa — who was the pilot of that Phil-ippine Airlines BAC 111 jet seized by five hijack-ers on a domestic flight from Manila to south-ern Philippines, forcing Capt. Misa to fly them to Canton,China on March 31, 1971.

The following day, I found myself at the Pat’s Flying School refund-ing the initial payment I made.

In the next two months after that, I just enjoyed my summer vacation away from evening law school; worked at day; on R & R on week-ends at nearby Tagaytay, or vari-ous Laguna towns with my wife and my first-born child and … just forgot the whole thing about wearing that Philippine Airlines white uniform with Pershing cap.

Meanwhile, just like Renato, I’m in the media business, but unlike Re-nato, he actuallty man-aged to pursue his interest in drawing, or sketching.

In my case, I actually stopped sketching after graduating from high school and pursued a degree in journalism (in-stead of the B.S. Archi-tecture that I had always

set my mind on after graduating from elemen-tary school).

Nowadays, during my solemn moments of reflection, I wonder what would have been had I pursued that flying course, or my love for architecture, the law and the several other interests that I would have loved doing. On this, my wife, Gie, would always tell me, “Had you traversed either of those roads, probably, we would not have met, because being in one of those indus-tries, you would not have worked at the radio sta-tion as a young reporter-writer, and where I started my career in broadcast as a young radio announcer myself, but most impor-tantly, where we first met.” And Gie was right, because, having met, and later marrying her, is something I will not ex-change for anything else.

and his family to stop.He said only Baby

James, son of Kris, had been spared of criticisms thrown against their fam-ily.

‘Worse than Marcos’Meanwhile in Daet,

Camarines Sur, Sen. Aquino rated President Arroyo as a leader worse than the late dictator Fer-dinand Marcos because she had the tenacity to muzzle institutions when the country had suppos-edly become more demo-cratic.

The Liberal Party also said it was not concerned about the attacks from Malacañang and wel-comed the “non-endorse-ment” from Mrs. Arroyo.

In an interview with reporters on after a rally, Aquino said Mrs. Arroyo

pushed the country back-wards instead of strength-ening the democratic institutions put in place after the late strongman was ousted in a peaceful people power revolution on EDSA in 1986.

Earlier, Aquino said Mrs. Arroyo disrespected the Office of the Presi-dent.

He said this was the reason why he would like to have a commission to handle all the cases against Mrs. Arroyo, if elected, so that all the is-sues against her would be resolved. Aquino said this body would run after ill-gotten wealth of the Arroyos, if there were any.

“The lack of closure on many issues does not help the country, we are weakening many institu-tions,” Aquino said.

Four of GMA News and Public Affairs’ pillars made it to the top fifteen most trusted Filipinos, according to a survey conducted nationwide by monthly magazine Read-er’s Digest.

Jessica Soho, GMA Vice President for News Programs, noted as the most awarded Filipino broadcast journalist, placed third in the survey, with Philippine National Red Cross governor Rosa Rosal and international star Lea Salonga in the first and second spots, re-spectively.

The most trusted news personality on the list, Soho was cited for her expertise in breaking

news stories on cam. “For two decades,

Soho has been the familiar face in front of the cam-era whenever a big story breaks,”

said Sarah

Etchells in her special report pub-

lished in the March

2010 is-sue of Reader’s Digest.

Veteran documentary filmmaker and GMA News.TV Editor-in-Chief Howie Severino tied with bowling champion Paeng Nepomuceno at number

six, GMA Kapuso Foun-dation Executive Vice President Mel Tiangco placed ninth, while GMA Senior Vice President for

Radio Operations Mike Enriquez ranked 13th. Tiangco and Enriquez are anchors of GMA’s primetime newscast “24 Oras.”

“Readers’ Digest is

GMA News & Public Affairs’ pillars among Reader’s Digest most trusted

one of the publications that made me love read-ing, so I consider it a great honor to be includ-ed in its list of the most trusted Filipinos, espe-cially since a lot of those included in the list are highly respected,” Soho said in an interview.

Severino added, “This

is probably one of the top aspirations of any jour-nalist, to earn the trust of the public.”

The trustworthiness ratings were surveyed last October 2009 by

independent market re-search company The Digital Edge in behalf of Reader’s Digest.

The results echo the high credibility ratings of GMA in the quantita-tive survey conducted by AGB Nielsen Philippines last September.

GMA scored a cred-

ibility rating of 68.9 per-cent, besting its rival’s 45.7 percent.

In the same survey, GMA News and Pub-lic Affairs personalities topped the list based

on appeal, credibility, competence, and inter-est to watch. Soho led all anchors and reporters in terms of appeal, En-riquez was considered by respondents as the most credible, while Tiangco was said to be the most competent and most in-teresting to watch. Ar-

nold Clavio and Vicky Morales were also con-sistently in the top five news anchors across all measured attributes.

owners can have their tax increases - whether CVA or budgetary related - de-ferred without interest, and only repayable once the homeowner sells the property.

The City most recent-ly enhanced its tax relief program for low income seniors and low income persons with a disability in 2009. At that time, City Council increased the household income cri-

teria for the cancellation program from $26,000 to $36,000 and the CVA threshold for property value from $454,000 to $525,000 (automatically increases to $575,000 for 2011 and 2012). It is es-timated that over 19,000 households are eligible for the cancellation pro-gram.

City Council also in-creased the household income criteria for the deferral program from $40,000 to $50,000 for

2009 and beyond. The age criteria for the de-ferral program is still 50 years of age or older, and there is no CVA property-value threshold for the deferral program. Approximately 82,000 households are estimated to be eligible for the de-ferral program.

The City also provides a Water Rebate Program on Utility Bills for low-income seniors and low-

income persons with a disability who are eligible for either of the tax relief programs, where eligible homeowners are entitled to approximately 30% re-bate on their Utility Bill water charges. Consump-tion thresholds have also been increased for 2010 to 400 cubic metres. This means that homeowners with a metered account can be eligible, if they consume less than this

amount. Toronto is Canada’s

largest city and sixth largest government, and home to a diverse popu-lation of about 2.6 mil-lion people. It is the eco-nomic engine of Canada and one of the greenest and most creative cities in North America. To-ronto has won numerous awards for quality, inno-vation and efficiency in delivering public servic-

es. Toronto’s government is dedicated to prosperity, opportunity and liveabili-ty for all its residents. For information about non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can dial 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. (City of Toronto Media office)


Minerva Garcia is newly-installed president of the Association of Filipino Ca-nadian Accountants. (Photo: Ariel Ramos)

Consul Edna Mae Lazaro (far right) inducts into office the 2010-2011 of-ficers and directors of the Association of Filipino Canadian Accountants. (Photo: Ariel Ramos)

PEOPLE & EVENTS

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Toronto newspaperman Jojo Taduran (right) with former broadcast col-league Al Pedroche -- editor-in-chief of “Pilipino Star Ngayon” during the former’s visit to the Philippines. (Manuel Papa)

MPP Balkissoon cites AFCA contribution to business, gov’t

Over the 32 years, AFCA has had a string of achievements and successes due to the fortune of having strong and capable presidents, who led it to such mile-stones as – achiev-ing better recogni-tion of Philippine accounting degrees within the program of studies under the Certified General Accountants asso-ciation and the Cer-tified Management

Accountants Association, initiating a program of tax clinics in partnership with other Philippine Ca-nadian community orga-nizations for low income groups, providing pro-fessional seminars and training in various areas of accounting and its re-lated fields, establishing ties with other organiza-tions to further its objec-tives, such as the CGA Association, the CMA Association, CPA (U.S.) training organizations, and providing services and support to other Phil-

ippine Canadian com-munity organizations, among them, the Philip-pine Independence Day Committee and the Ka-layaan community asso-ciation of Mississauga.

Aside from Garcia, the officers and board members inducted were: executive vice president Al Tupe, CPA; vice presi-dent internal, Maria Vida Cruz, CPA; vice presi-dent external Rodolfo Perez, Jr., CPA; secretary Rodolfo Acoba, MBA; assistant secretary Ezra Suyom, CPA; Mercy

Gonzales, CPA, CPA (US); assistant treasurer Roan Joy de Vera, CPA; Myra Famero, CPA, CPA (US); public rela-tions officer Imelda Bau-tista, BSBA; and direc-tors Luisa Abu, BSBA; Anjanet Chan, MBA; Danilo Dimaano, CPA; Ma Vicente Eola, BSC Acctg;Marrietta Gique, CPA; Jaric Justo, CPA; Melanie Sarmiento, BSBA; Helen Silva, CGA; and immediate past president Edgardo Gonzales, CPA. (PR)

Member of Provin-cial Parliament Bas Balkissoon (Lib., Scar-borough Rouge River) has stressed the contri-bution of the Associa-tion of Filipino Canadian Accountants (AFCA) with the group’s great provision of resource for talented pool of accoun-tants to the industrial and commercial sectors in the Canadian Society.

Speaking at the 32nd anniversary ball of AFCA, Balkissoon said Filipino accountants can be found in most areas of government and private sectors today.

2010-2011 officers sworn to office

Witnessed by around 350 guests, the event also celebrated the induction into office of the 2010-2011 AFCA officers and 55 new members.

AFCA Immediate Past President Edgardo Gon-zales, initiated AFCA’s

first day-long national convention at the Ryer-son University campus in mid-2009, which provid-ed an inspiring program particularly to newly ar-rived Filipino accoun-tants interested in get-ting an insight into how to prepare themselves to get into the work force or attain better jobs in accounting and related fields.

During her talk af-ter having been sworn

into office by Consul Edna Mae Lazaro, new-ly-installed

president Minerva Gar-cia said she and her fel-low officers aim to fur-ther the goals of AFCA and achieve even higher target levels for the good of the association and its members.

AFCA had its begin-nings in Mississauga in 1978, when a group of Filipino accountants got together, among others, Winston Lim, Ed Sarm-iento, Roger Calabio, Dan Palis, Ben Agellon

and Romy Dizon, formed the organization.


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22 Manila Media Monitor March 2010 PEOPLE & EVENTS

23March 2010 Manila Media MonitorPEOPLE & EVENTS

Top Photo: A souvenir photo at the dinner hosted by Filipino Centre To-ronto (FCT) director Mercy Maliglig (seated, 2nd from right) at her residence for the Philippine Consulate staff with Vice Consul Edna Mae Grecia-Lazaro (seated, 3rd from right). FCT Chair, Dr. Victoria Santiago (3rd from left) was also present during the occasion. Below: FCT president Linda Javier with MPP for Central Toronto Glen Murray (right) and Brad Duguid, MPP for Scar-borough Centre, during a reception at the Rizal Hall of the Filipino facility in Toronto (Aida D’Orazio)

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The first of the series of 2010 Philippine Independence Day Council (PIDC) events unfolds before us, Saturday, April 24, and as such, the hardworking PIDC volunteers settle to work. To start off the sea-son, the chairs and vice-chairs of various PIDC committees, led by PIDC president Minda Neri (5th from right) gather together for a one entire day of taping aimed at promoting on television the events of the organization. Among those who joined the new PIDC president for a souvenir photo of the day-long TV production work are (from left) Jun Villaruz, Cesar Manebo, Imie Belanger, Rory Elefano, Es-tring Aguinaldo, program host Gie Alvarez, Leonie Manzanares, Josie Consunji, Gene Elamparo and Bernie Sychangco. The PIDC is reputed to be the biggest Filipino Canadian organization in Ontario, and probably the whole of Canada, mandated to bring to the fore the best of Philippine arts, culture and heritage, and now includes charity. Particulars of the PIDC events will soon be circulated widely by the executive officers. Front Page Philippines TV is a major media partner of the PIDC having a reach unparalleled currently by no other existing Filipino Canadian media. The program airs on Rog-ers Cable, Sundays, 11 AM, on OMNI 2 TV in Ontario and Saturdays, 5:30 PM, in Alberta, and via satel-lite (ExpressVu -- Channel 216, Star Choice -- Channel 395 and Look Communications -- Channel 74), simulcast Ontario time. To contact PIDC, please call (416) 621-4985. To contact Front Page Philippines TV, please call (416) 285-8583. (Manila Media Monitor Photo)

Ana “The Hurricane” Julaton along with Cast of Angels Mike, Chris and Lando during her visit at M Studio Restaurant in Mississauga. (Courtesy: Romy Zetazate)

‘‘Everyone ought to

worship God according to his own inclinations, and not

to be constrained by force. - Flavius Josephus


Crowned as Miss Little Leyteño 2010, March 6, 2010, in Mississauga is Cath-erine Mae Palanca Dipasupil, representing the town of Julita; 1st Runner up was Cassie Rosalini Antoni Elises of Alangalang; 2nd Runner up was Clarissa Serrano Baylon of Dulag; and, 3rd Runner up, Jessica Luib Chami of Abuyog. Since August, 2009, candidates representing various towns in Leyte sold raffle tickets, to their parents, relatives, friends, and supporters for financial donations for a project to be designated by the candidate in the town they represent. Leytenos Association of Ontario (LAO) President Jose ‘Pempe’ Saavedra explained that as a provincial organization, there is always the problem of situating a project in the various towns in the island of Leyte without offending members in towns not designated. To avoid this issue, the association encouraged members to help their hometown by leav-ing the choice to the candidates in the pageant. Ninety per cent of what the money raised will be used directly for the initiative chosen. (LAO)

PEOPLE & EVENTS

Top: Philippine Independence Day Council (PIDC) pageants chair Rosemer Enverga responds to a query from Front Page Philippines TV program host Gie Alvarez on the “Little Miss Philippines PIDC 2010 pageant” as her co-chair, Sheila Canizares (2nd row, right), smiles and listens. The segment will air sometime April. Vying for the title are (L-R) Samantha Mangune, Alyssa Datu, MaeLynn Bucao, Lanna Dadural, Krystal Abrigo, Keisha Denise Balat-bat and Mya Miskiw. Below: Aso appearing in a future Front Page Philip-pines episode are the candidates to the “Miss Philippines PIDC 2010″ pag-eant. In photo (L-R) are Lilly Malloy, Lindsay Anne Farrell, Aileen Gomez, Michelle Amaral, Chanetelle Yumol, Catherine Grace Amaral, Naomi Macapa-gal, Joannie Magbania-Nguyen and Jessica Eusebio. Two other candidates -- whose names are not readily available at press time, are not in the photo. Both pageants will be held, Saturday, May 8, 2010, at the Korean Cultural Centre in North York, Ontario. Bing Marasigan co-chairs the Miss Philip-pines pageant with Rosemer Enverga. At the bottom, are candidates for the “Mrs. Philippines PIDC 2010”. To be held at the Rembrandt Banquet Hall in Scarborough, Saturday, April 24, those vying for the title are (L-R) Nancy Mesa, Amelia Estrada, Josephine Jumaway, Annabelle Migalbin and Maria Bautista. Sena Flores co-chairs the event. (Manila Media Monitor Photo)

Philippine Independence Day Council (PIDC) pageant promoters Rosemer Enverga (left) and Bing Marasigan (right) join Natalie Rafael for a souvenir photo after the reigning Miss Philippines PIDC taped her 3-second bumper and other promotional materials for the pageant on Front Page Philippines, Saturday, March 13. The bumpers and promos will soon air on the Filipino television program, airing on Rogers Cable, Sundays, 11 AM, on OMNI 2 TV in Ontario and Saturdays, 5:30 PM, in Alberta, and via satellite (ExpressVu -- Channel 216, Star Choice -- Channel 395 and Look Communications -- Channel 74), simulcast Ontario time. candidates to the 2010 Little Miss Phil-ippines, Miss Philippines and Mrs. Philippines pageants likewise recorded bumpers for airing. (Manila Media Monitor Photo)

25March 2010 Manila Media MonitorPEOPLE & EVENTS

DOUBLE BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION: Yulito Capillas and Alesandra Ocay (4th and 6th from left, respectively) are joined by their family in photo, Sat-urday, March 6, when the former celebrated his 69th, and the latter, her 9th. Personal and family friends of the celebrators were likewise present during the night-long fete. (Manila Media Monitor Photo)

(L-R) Front Page Philippines TV host Gie Alvarez; Pharma-Cita’s Conchita and Boy Belo; Manila Media Monitor’s Ace Alvarez; Ducharme Financial Group’s Jerico Esguera; Zoraida and husband, Dr. Romeo Tan, are among those who toasted and celebrated the double family celebration on the birth anniversaries of Yulito Capilles on his 69th and Alesandra Ocay on her 9th.(Manila Media Monitor Photo)

domestic demand, except for food.”

SpendTHE ADB paper is

among the first papers to precisely show how

OFWs and their house-holds spend their remit-tances, even as previous studies have observed that overseas Filipinos spend their remittances on “conspicuous con-sumption” or “unproduc-

tive expenses”.The authors analyzed

data from the 2000, 2003, and 2006 Family Income and Expenditures Sur-vey (FIES) of the Na-tional Statistics Office, and looked at the income

and expenditures of both migrant and non-migrant households.

The data used were prior to the global eco-nomic crisis of 2008 since government has yet to process the FIES of

2009.Ang, however, said it

does not matter whether there is a crisis or not.

OFW from p. 9

‘‘Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me.

- Carol Burnett


26 Manila Media Monitor March 2010 PEOPLE & EVENTS

The Philippine Independence Day Council (PIDC) has launched the most prestigious pageants in Toronto: the 2010 “PIDC Miss Philippines” and “Little Miss Philippines”. Miss Philippines candidates (L-R) are Michelle Amaral, Regine Semira, Joannie Magbanla-Nguyen, Jessica Eusebio, Ch-antelle Yumol, Catherine Grace Amaral, Eileen Gomez, and (front row, left) Lindsay Miijares Farrell. Also in the front row are the candidates for Little Miss Philippines Candidates (starting, 2nd from left): Maelynn Bucao, Mya Miskiw, Samantha Mangune, Keisha Balatbat, Alyssa Grace Datu. The win-ners will become the Ambassadors of Goodwill for the Filipino Community. PIDC continues to accept candidates for the Little-Miss, ages 5 to10 and Miss Philippines, ages 15 to 21. Please contact Rosemer Enverga for ad-ditional information, (416) 284 2810, or email [email protected] or [email protected]. The PIDC beauties and talents will soon appear on TV program, “Front Page Philippines” airing on OMNI 2 Tele-vision, Channel 69, Cable 14, Sundays, 11 AM with alternative viewing on Thursdays, 4 PM.(PIDC)

IT’S A TIE between Buddy Ibe and Ted Dayno (4th and 5th from left, respec-tively) for the Founders’ Award of the Association of Filipino Canadian Ac-countants (AFCA). The prestigious AFCA Founders’ Award is given to one person biennially for one’s meritorious contributions and service to the or-ganization. Ibe and Dayno, however, earned the highest total points equally from among the nominees on the various criteria to receive the award, strict-ly and carefully chosen by their peers in the profession. Joining them in the celebration of their accomplishments are the council pf past presidents of AFCA. (Photo: Ariel Ramos)

Canada Region Commander Sir Emiliano R. Silverio (2nd from left) congratulates Sir Tobias (Jun) Enverga of the Dimasalang Chapter on his promotion by the Rizal Canada Region to Knight Commander of Rizal (KCR). Sir Jun’s promotion was the result of his extensive help in the Rizal operations and projects for the past several years. Others in photo are Sir Ed Prillo, KGOR (left) and Supreme Council Trustee Sir George R. Poblete, KGOR (right). What made the event even memo-rable was that the KCR jewel was presented to the newly promoted KCR by his wife, Lady Rosemer Enverga (3rd from left).


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28 Manila Media Monitor March 2010 MONEY

Governments of Canada & Ontario support small businesses

To make it easier for busi-ness owners to get the infor-mation they need, the govern-ments of Canada and Ontario have collaborated to create a

telephone number with busi-ness information from both levels of government.

Callers can dial 1-888-745-8888 or TTY 1-800-268-7095

Launch Single Toll–Free Number, Making It Easier For Businesses To Get Government Information

to get information on several topics including financing op-tions, starting or growing a business, federal and provincial government programs, manag-ing employees, regulations, taxes, permits and licences, importing and exporting re-quirements, and more.

This was jointly announced recently by Rob Moore, federal Minister of State, Small Busi-ness and Tourism and Harinder S. Takhar, Ontario Minister of ‘‘

Small and medium sized enterprises are the engine of the Canadian

economy. Their success fuels economic growth and job creation. This new toll-free number makes it easier for

businesses to find the assistance they need to make Canada more competitive,

by reducing the burden on hard working Canadian entrepreneurs.

- Rob Moore, Minister of State, Small Business and Tourism

‘‘Ontario is making it easier for businesses to work with government, grow and suc-ceed. Creating an environment that will help attract investment is a key compo-nent of the government’s plan to create

jobs and grow the economy. - Harinder S. Takhar,

Minister of Government Services

Government Services at the Economic Developers Council of Ontario’s 53rd annual con-ference and showcase.

This new toll-free telephone service is part of an ongoing

partnership between Industry Canada and ServiceOntario to provide integrated services to businesses, through the Can-ada-Ontario Business Service Centre, and other services.

PCCT Mini Trade Show slated Saturday, March 27, 2010

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce-Toronto (PCCT) is inviting the public to its mini trade show and networking day, Saturday, March 27, from 9 AM to 9:00 PM to be held at the Quiapo! Quiapo! Res-taurant and Banquet Hall at #2Principal Road in Scarbor-ough.

Rafael Nebres, president of the PCCT said the full day event is part of PCCT’s stra-tegic leadership vision in the Filipino Canadian business en-vironment in Toronto and aims to facilitate interaction among

Filipino businesses, the com-munity and government insti-tutions.

The mini trade show is also aimed at enhancing growth through team-building efforts and organizational effective-ness.

For those who want to join and rent a table as exhibitor, please contact the PCCT office at (416) 850-4966, or e-mail Oswald Tugadi at [email protected] or Agnes Loshusan at [email protected]. (AA)

Front Page Philippines TV host Gie Alvarez discusses with Jun Miranda, Asst. Vice Presi-dent & Regional Head of PNB Global Remit, the topics that she will cover before taping of the segment for inclusion in an upcoming episode of the program, airing on OMNI 2 Televi-sion. During the same interview, the PNB Global Remit executive explains to viewers the company’s new product, dubbed as Email Money Transfer (EMT), where clients of the re-mittance subsidiary of the Philippine National Bank do not have to go to its office, or agent locations. Through EMT, clients may transfer money by doing online banking through their personal banking online facility; safe and secure, says, Miranda. Aside from stressing that PNB Global Remit offers one best exchange rate, he points out that EMT is “the best service we can offer to clients who would like to do their remittance at the comfort of their homes, or offices, especially if their locations are in the outskirts of the city.” PNB Global Remit is a regular and one major sponsor of Front Page Philippines since it started airing seven years ago on September 21, 2002 -- both in the program’s airing in Ontario and Alberta. (Manila Media Monitor Photo)

29March 2010 Manila Media MonitorMONEY

PNBcontinued on p. 30

Based on their in-depth knowledge of the invest-ing habits of Canadians, investment professionals estimate that half to two-thirds of all investable wealth in Canada is held outside registered sav-ings plans (RSPs).

That’s understandable because most conserva-tive investors take a prac-tical approach to invest-ing that seeks to reduce risk and volatility while delivering a desired level of returns over the long term – in other words, creating and maintaining a properly diversified-portfolio with the best prospects for long term growth.

Often, those inves-tors seek the safety of ‘guaranteed’ or ‘fixed-in-come’ investments such as bonds, mortgages, Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs), and other interestgenerating securities, which gener-ally provide a stream of income while preserving capital. (Fixed-income investments are one of the three basic types of investments; the other

Why pay tax on money you never see?By the Investors Group Financial Services Inc.

two are cash and equity).The problem is that

interest income is the least tax-efficient income type.

Every $1 of interest income is fully taxable, just the same as your em-ployment income.

So, if you are heavily invested in interest-gen-erating investments, you are likely to incur a stiff tax liability each year -- even though you may not currently need that income.

And, your tax liabil-ity becomes even more problematic if your in-vestments produce tax-able income each year but this income is auto-matically reinvested (or compounded), creating a tax bill with no cor-responding cash flow to pay the tax.

After-tax returnEven though your

interest income invest-ments may be deliver-ing a significant return, that return may also be significantly reduced by the high rate of taxes you must pay.

One option is to move

a portion of your non-reg-istered investments into ‘equities’ that provide income from dividends and capital gains, which are taxed at a much more favorable rate than inter-est income.

For example, any re-alized capital gains you receive from an equity investment are taxed at just 50 percent -- in other words, only 50 cents of every dollar of the capi-tal gain is subject to tax. Dividend income also benefits from federal and provincial tax credits that provide a fair degree of tax relief.

Tax relief,investment security

If you’re a conserva-tive, tax-sensitive inves-tor yet feel uncomfort-able about increasing your level of risk by ex-panding your portfolio of equities (typically more volatile investments) there is a ‘conservative’ solution available to you: corporate structured

mutual funds can of-ten be as ‘safe’ as fixed-income investments yet can also provide same tax

deferral benefits similar to equities (or equity mu-tual funds), as along with the advantage of having your returns realized as

capital gains.A professional advi-

sor can help ensure your portfolio is both tax-efficient and capable of

delivering the levels of return you want in order to help realize your finan-cial goals.

PNB names Acevedo incoming President

MANILA -- The Phil-ippine National Bank is embarking on a new and ambitious five-year plan aimed at delivering sustained and enhanced value to its stakehold-ers with the recent ap-pointment of Eugene S. Acevedo as president and chief executive officer, replacing Byron T. Mier who will stay on as direc-tor of the bank.

The five-year plan is intended to boost PNB’s traditional sources of revenues which are loan operations, retail bank-ing and remittance. Us-ing this business model, the PNB looks forward to generating significantly higher return on equity in the range of 18-20 per-cent.

Acevedo assumes his position on the annual stockholders’ meeting May 25, 2010, and also the end of the current term of Mier.

Acevedo brings with him 23 years of solid banking experience fo-cused on treasury opera-tions at Citibank. He is currently connected with Citigroup as Managing Director and Head of Global Markets, Hong Kong and Taiwan Clus-ter; Country Treasurer, Hong Kong and Macau; Treasurer, Citicorp In-ternational Limited; and Chairman, Markets Asia Recruitment Committee.

Mier will be nominat-ed as a director of PNB during the forthcom-ing annual stockholders’

meeting in May. He will continue to be PNB’s rep-resentative to the board of Victorias Milling Corp., the first successful bank-led rehabilitation of

a company under the re-ceivership of the Securi-ties and Exchange Com-mission.

Management said that PNB’s forthcoming

merger with Allied Bank-ing Corporation likewise signals a new phase and a new set of opportunities such as revenue and cost synergies, market expan-

sion and wider domestic and international foot-print that are expected


to significantly enhance the bank’s financial pros-pects.

“PNB is grateful for President Mier’s com-petent leadership which enabled the Bank to suc-cessfully complete its rehabilitation program in 2007.”

From 2003 up to 2009, PNB has achieved signif-icant strides in reducing its non-performing loans, fortifying its core busi-nesses, and improving

profitability.With the strong foun-

dation set in place, PNB is thus well positioned to explore new territories that will provide addi-tional sources of income and growth. As a whole, this new business tack is envisioned to enable PNB to further strength-en its franchise as one of the most stable and well entrenched banks in the Philippines serv-ing a broad segment of customers, both here and overseas. (Manila Times)

PNB from p. 29

MONEY

Kalayaan Cultural Community Centre’s Resty del Rosario with wife, Luz del Rosario, who serves as Trustee for Ward 6 and 11 in the English Separate District School Board of the Dufferin-Peel region, together with other guests at the induction of the new board and officers of the Association of Filipino Canadian Accountants in Scarborough, Ontario, March 6, 2010. (Ariel Ra-mos)


Q

A

Gardening & Composting

EarthTalk®

From the Edi tors of E /The Environmenta l Magazine

ENVIRONMENT

Dear EarthTalk:

My husband and I want to start a gar-den this year. I really want

to make compost from leftover food scraps and yard materials. He says it will attract unwanted animals, and refuses to agree to it. Is he right? If so, how do we deal with that issue in a green-friendly, non-lethal way? -- Carmen Veurink, Grand Rapids, MI

It’s true that outdoor compost piles and bins can be a draw for wildlife—be it bears, rats, rac-

coons, skunks, opossums or some other creatures of the night—but there are ways to minimize the attraction. For one, make sure everyone in your household knows to keep meat, bones, fish, fat and dairy out of the compost. Not only will these items “overheat” the compost

pile, they’ll also stink it up and attract ani-mals.

Otherwise, home composters should keep in mind that critters aren’t actu-ally eating the com-post but are sifting through it to find fresh edible kitchen or garden scraps. To discourage animals, the website Or-ganicGardening.com rec-ommends mixing kitchen garbage with soil or wood ashes before burying it in the hot center of your compost pile. Washing-ton State’s Department of Fish and Wildlife rec-ommends not putting any food scraps in open com-post piles, but says that if you must, bury them un-der at least eight inches of soil and then place a wire mesh barrier over the top held in place with a heavy object or two.

Putting your compost pile in a pest-proof con-tainer is another way to prevent tampering with your precious organic soil-to-be. Compost tum-blers are popular because they mix and aerate by

just being turned occa-sionally, and they keep raccoons, rats, dogs and other interlopers at bay. Otherwise, compost bins

with wire tops or sealed lids work well too, but re-quire a little more manual labor in terms of stirring.

Of course, another op-tion would be to make the compost indoors using a

worm bin. You can still put kitchen scraps in just like in a bigger outdoor compost pile, but with-out the worry of attract-

ing wildlife. The website Instructables.com offers instructions for how to create your own worm composting bin. Another good source is the blog One-Change.com, which

offers a step-by-step guide to the process.

The long and short of it is that if you know what you’re doing, composting can be a reward-ing, environmentally friendly and pest-free

experience. For some great tips on how to get started, visit the website Composting101.com, a comprehensive and free guide for the home gar-dener on what to do and how to do it. Also, some forward-thinking cities such as Seattle are pick-ing up food scraps with yard waste at the curb-side along with garbage collection, and making huge amounts of com-mercially viable compost out of it. If your city or town offers a similar pro-gram you might want to consider saving yourself the trouble of doing it at home for the common good.

One more thing to keep in mind is that the garden itself may attract as much if not more wildlife than some food scraps in a compost pile. Strategi-

cally placed fencing and wire mesh can frustrate some critters enough to keep them moving along, but you can be sure some of your neighborhood wildlife will reap the har-vest that you’ve sown. And as long as they leave enough for you, who can’t live with that?

CONTACTS: Organ-icGardening.com, www.organicgardening.com;

State of Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, wdfw.wa.gov; Instructables, www.in-structables.com; One Change Indoor Compost Bin, one-change.com/

blog/2006/04/indoor-compost-bin/; Compost-ing101.com, www.com-posing101.com.

SEND YOUR ENVI-RONMENTAL QUES-TIONS TO: EarthTalk®, c/o E – The Environ-mental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; [email protected]. E is a non-profit publication.


LexnGer, courtesy Flickr.


The value you receive is the price you paid for

Car OwnershipMade Easy

R A F A E L N E B R E S

Frequently, family and friends ask, “Doesn’t it cost more when I service my car at the dealership?”

The answer is “no”. The price is what you pay, but the value is what you receive.

Three months ago, I asked an employee to bring her 1995 Honda Civic to a popular “Quick Lube” station to have her oil changed. The facility changed her oil, checked her fluids, and recommended some additional service work – and all inside of 25 minutes. The

total cost of her invoice was $51.34. Not bad you say, but let’s compare this to what you would receive at the dealer.

At a dealer-ship, the staff value your time, but maintain that 25 minutes is an unrealistic duration to prop-erly evaluate a vehicle. They endeavour to inspect each vehi-cle thoroughly and apprise you

of any maintenance require-ments. A brand trained techni-cian who works exclusively on the brand of the car that you are driving will complete your

service. The oil change includes an original oil filter engineered specifically for that brand to protect your engine. They use the highest grade oil in ac-cordance with

your car engine’s specifica-tions. Most dealers check your vehicle’s serial number to en-sure that there is no outstand-ing recalls. They provide you

with a vehicle check list indi-cating areas of concerns and the level of urgency for repair. Your tires are measured for tread wear and adjusted to the proper pressures. You get all this for 2 to 5 dollars more than the leading “Quick Lube”.

Please remember next time that the price is what you pay but the value is what you re-ceive.

Another way to “make your car ownership easy.” ([email protected])

MOTORING

Masse demands gov’tinvestigate Toyota

Canadian investigation needed to get equal

treatment for Canadians

OTTAWA - The government must launch an investigation into Toyota that parallels ac-tions taken in the United States so that Canadians receive equal treatment and protection, New Democrat Industry and Au-tomotive Critic Brian Masse (Windsor West) recently said.

“The inaction of this gov-ernment in dealing with Toyota recalls has left Canadian con-sumers with nothing compared to their American neighbors,”

Masse said. “Toyota is providing better

compensation, more informa-

tion and better protection to Americans. Why won’t this government stand up for Toyo-

ta’s Canadian consumers?” Congressional hearings in

Washington have led to com-

mitments by Toyota to dis-close information concerning all vehicle recalls and rem-

edies worldwide. Toyota also announced it would pick up recalled vehicles and provide rental cars with no charge for American consumers. In addi-tion, Toyota will establish an Automotive Centre of Quality Excellence with a significant investment of resources and personnel. There have been no equivalent announcements or commitments in Canada.

Investigations by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern Dis-trict of Manhattan, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Com-mission, and the National High-way Safety Administration are ongoing. Transport Canada has declined further investigation.

“All these new commit-ments by Toyota to U.S. con-sumers and the U.S. Congress are a result of the committee hearings and various crimi-nal and regulatory investiga-tions. Meanwhile in Canada, the government has decided not to investigate at all. They have abandoned Canadians and let Toyota off the hook, says Masse. “Committee hear-ings in the House of Commons are the only way to protect Ca-nadians since the Harper Con-servatives are derelict in their responsibilities.” (NDP)



Arevalo Ledesma Edmundo King Kizer

Max Out on Your Promotional and

Marketing Efforts.

Get Combo Ad Rates for Television, Newspaper &

Radio.

Call (416) 285-8583

Arevalo Ledesma does a 60s Elvis Presley showmanship while singing “Johnny B. Goode”, while Edmundo King Kizer seriously belts out “Help Me” at the first round of the Filipino Singing Idol 2010 at the Filipino Centre Toronto’s Rizal Hall. Ledesma won the first prize and Kizer, second. Both are new arrivals in Toronto from the Philippines. They will appear in the Fili-pino Singing Idol Grand Finals at Nathan Phillips Square on June 13. (Aida D’Orazio)

FDCP runs a historical scriptwriting contest for 2010

The Film Develop-ment Council of the Philippines (FDCP) is holding a national script-writing competition this year. Deadline for submission of entries is May 20. Winners will be announced on Inde-pendence Day, June 12, 2011.

The contest aims to promote and support the development and growth of the Philippine film in-dustry to uplift aesthetic, cultural and social values for a better understand-ing and appreciation of the Filipino identity.

This historical script-writing contest is open to all Filipino writers, his-torians, film enthusiasts, overseas Filipino work-

ers and Filipino expats. Contestants may either be based in the Philippines or outside the country.

The Philippine Con-sulate General’s office in Toronto said a panel of distinguished judges will declare three winners. The first prize winner will receive P350,000; the second prize winner, P250,000; and the third prize winner, P150,000.

Applicant should sub-mit only one entry repro-duced into 7 copies, each copy to be accompanied by a synopsis. The name of the writer and title of the script must be typed out on a separate infor-mation sheet. No identi-fying marks of the writer should appear on the

pages of the script. The screenplay must be writ-ten in Filipino, English or in any local Filipino dialect. Script written in a local dialect should have a Tagalog or Eng-lish translation. Also, if the script is written in Filipino or English but carries in part dialogues in a local dialect, the ver-nacular should also have translation. There should be historical accuracy in the script that will be submitted.

For more information and queries concerning the contest, please call FDCP: Cely Tomas at 634-6984 or Abi Portillo at 638-2739 or log on to www.filmdevcouncilph.

org.

ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT

Heart 2 Heart - Lovers delightAfter a successful

stint in Doha, Qatar on February 4, 2010 and Dubai last February 5, H2H kicks off its North American tour in Toronto on Friday, May 14, 2010, 7:30 p.m. at the Massey Hall before proceeding to eleven different cities in the U.S.

Toronto, Canada got the best deal, eh!

All this is brought about by JREM Group Productions in associa-tion with Belo Essen-tials.

Heart 2 Heart features two famous love teams of GMA-7. Regine Ve-lasquez and Ogie Al-

casid; DingDong Dantes and Marian Rivera.

Regine Velasquez, the Diva, and also known as

Asia’s Songbird.Ogie Alcasid, Aliw ‘s

“Entertainer of the Year”

and PMPC (Philippine Movie Press Club) “TV Best Comedy Actor”

DingDong Dantes, 3rd

Sexiest Man in the World, most popular male model in the Philippines, and

host of the Philippines’ version of Family Feud.

Marian Rivera -- who became popular for her role in teleseries Mari-Mar, is now the hottest actress and dancer in the

Philippines. She is also known as “Dyesebel” and “Darna”. Marian is

also one of the biggest product endorsers.

As a bonus treat, for the first time the Brange-lina of the Philippines will be in Toronto. So don’t miss the show!

For ticket information and sponsorship, please call Elenita (Neneng)

Maalihan, (905) 472-5818, Cell (647) 401-5818; Rene Maalihan, (647) 401-7363; and El-vie, (416) 656-8269.

For tickets reserva-tion, please visit www.jrementertainment.com.

VISA and Mastercard ac-cepted.

Ticket prices: $145 VIPs; $120, $110; $100; $80, $70, $55.,

A chance to meet the stars in person for auto-graph and photo oppor-tunities. VIP ticket hold-ers are invited to attend the VIP Night, Thursday, May 13, 2010 at the Rem-brandt Banquet Hall, 930 Progress Avenue, Scar-borough. Dinner costs $40.00 per person. (PR)

Ogie Alcasid and Regine Velasquez Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes


Kitchie Nadal signs with Mstudio

The rock metal band “Cast of Angels” after another performance at the Poor Alex Theatre in Toronto, March 20. (L-R) Chris, Lando, Ramon (sitting), Liz, Lei and Mike. ( Romy Zetazate/St. Jamestown News Service)

ARTS /ENTERTAINMENT

Superstar of RP Moviedom calls on the New Consul General in Toronto: Nora Aunor paid a courtesy call on the new Consul General of the Philippines in Toronto, Tuesday, March 16, as she prepares for her live concert in the city at the Toronto International Celebration Church in Scarborough. The concert, originally scheduled Saturday, March 20, was cancelled. No explanation was communicated by ThMS Thee Mustard Seeds Entertainment Limited -- the concert promoters for Ms. Aunor in To-ronto, to this publication why the concert was cancelled, nor when the show is re-scheduled. (also with files from PhilConGen-Toronto

‘‘Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary.

- Mahatma Gandhi

Manila singer and songwriter Kitchie Nadal has agreed to collaborate with Mississauga-based Mstudio Productions to produce a new album.

This was announced recently by Mstudio’s Deo Moreno, who said that Nadal is also break-ing a new ground as an actress, and agreed to ap-pear in “barKada”, a TV series planned to go in production this year.

The show is currently in development phase where the characters are acquainted with script writers while the plots are fully developed. The show revolves around a bar that has become a haven for artists and their stories.

Moreno said Mstudio Productions has plans to produce other TV shows

based on real-life events and char-acters at Mstudio Bar. Working ti-tles are Freestyle Friday, Rakaoke, Sound Check, and Dating Disco Game.

The shows will be aired on FTV, a subscrip-tion channel on Rogers Cable 869 and other social network media outlets.

Moreno said, “We are still look-ing for people with or without experi-ence who are interested in working behind-the-scenes or in front of the camera,” adding that “Most of the positions available are unpaid but if you are looking for

valuable experience or agreeable to deferred payments, then you may want to throw yourself in the mix.”

Moreno expressed an-ticipation that the collab-oration with Nadal will open doors that will allow

Kitchie Nadal

exchange and exposure of unknown, independent artists here in Canada as well as the Philippines.

On March 20, Nadal performed one of her chart-topping single, Huwag na Huwag Mong Sasabihin at The Poor Alex located at 772A Dundas St. West of Bathurst, the concert will feature a number of local indie bands such as Cos-micrayons, Noizytoyz, and Out of Luck – music pieces which have been used in television com-mercials and have had radio airplay both here in Toronto and in the Philip-pines

Mstudio is calling all wannabe rock stars, VJs, stand-up comics, beauty queens, ladies’ men and everyone in between. Call 905 564 8773 or send email inquiries to [email protected] (PR)

KCCC Board of Directors and officers elected

The Kalayaan Cul-tural Community Centre (KCCC) has announced the election of a new board of directors during the annual general mem-bership meeting last Feb-ruary 28 to serve for the next two years.

Five of newly elected board were new members, namely, Minnie Ban-dayrel, Benny Cuevillas, Tommy de Guia, Benja-min Montada, and Eula Rulloda, were welcomed to the board after the election.

The Financial State-ment for the fiscal year 2009 was presented to the members during the meeting, which Ching Quejas, KCCC president said, was highlighted by the reduction of the building’s mortgage in-terest rate from 9.75% to 3.75%.

The KCCC president said this is significant be-cause a bigger amount of mortgage payments are now applied to the prin-cipal amount of the loan,

instead of the interest. The Board of Direc-

tors and Officers elected were Ching Quejas, Pres-ident ; Edgar Frondozo, Executive VP; Resty del Rosario, VP, Programs/Admin.; Eula Rulloda, Secretary; Estelita Liwag, Treasurer; Benny Cuevil-las, Auditor ; Dr. Romy Sinajon, PRO. Elected to the board are Archie Ay-ala ; Minnie Bandayrel; Luis Carbonell; Tommy de Guia; Benjamin Mon-tada ; Delfin Palileo; and, Ruffy Romano.

Ring in Spring!Spring Dinner &

Dance at Kalayaan Centre

Meanwhile, everyone is invited to make one’s way to the Kalayaan Centre on Friday, April 9 for a treat to an evening of dancing, great food, and great fun!

Kalayaan Centre’s Spring Dinner & Dance Fundraiser will take place at the facility’s beautiful Grand Hall, 5225 Orbitor

Drive, Suite 3. So, Break out your

semi-formal attire for this big event! Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and dinner will be served at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are only $20 each with all proceeds

going to Kalayaan Cen-tre.

For tickets or more information about this event contact Kalayaan Centre at: [email protected] or 905-602-0923. Or you can

always visit us at: www.kalayaancentre.ca.

The KCCC is a non-profit charitable orga-nization that serves the interest of the Filipino-Canadian community as a contributing member

of the broader Canadian, Filipino and global so-cieties, thru affirming, strengthening and em-powering processes, ser-vices and activities. (PR)

35March 2010 Manila Media MonitorARTS/ENTERTAINMENT

Filipino Canadian community’s stories of migration unravels at thearrival of the Maleta

Over 180 Filipino women, workers, youth and allies linked arms last March 20, welcoming the arrival of the much-anticipated Maleta (Suit-case) Project in Toronto. Entitled “End the Exploi-tation, March for Libera-tion: The Maleta Project Launch,” the multi-me-dia arts exhibit and cul-tural show unpacked the Filipino-Canadian com-munity’s maletas before the public, exposing their rich history of migration.

With a particular focus on enhancing women’s equality, human rights and genuine develop-ment, the launch was a milestone event for the Magkaisa Centre’s or-ganizing work with the community.

The exhibit fea-tured art produced by the member organiza-tions of the Magkaisa Centre: the Philippine Women Centre of Ontar-io; SIKLAB-Ontario (a Filipino-Canadian work-ers organization); and Ugnayan ng Kabataang Pilipino sa Canada/Fili-pino Canadian Youth Al-liance-Ontario (UKPC/FCYA-ON). Drawing an overcapacity crowd of community members, academics, artists, trade unionists and members of other progressive or-ganizations, the launch was a celebration of a unique form of creativ-ity expressed with strong social content, setting the spotlight on a community that strives to define and produce a dynamic cul-ture that is truly empow-ering and transformative.

The night opened with a song performed by Si-nag Bayan Ontario en-titled “Bangon Maria,” a call to women’s upris-ing and liberation. Joy Sioson, Chairperson of the Philippine Women Centre of Ontario (PWC-ON) welcomed everyone as she announced the ar-rival of the Maleta Proj-ect in Toronto, ushering in another phase in Fili-pino women’s organizing towards full participation and entitlement in Ca-nadian society. She also

marked the day as the beginning of the celebra-tion of PWC’s 10 years of organizing work in Ontario.

Messages of solidarity were read from the Ka-layaan Centre in British Columbia and the Kapit Bisig Centre in Quebec, followed by a keynote speech from Cecilia Di-ocson, Executive Director of the National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada (NAPWC).

Diocson shared the journey of her maleta when she migrated in the 1970’s. “I only had

one suitcase. Being a landed immigrant and a nurse, I knew what I had in my maleta – a dozen of nursing uniforms and nursing caps. I was ready for work,” she narrates, illustrating how the mi-gration of the Filipino community in Canada has always been in re-sponse to the economy’s labour demands. For her, the maleta represented both the community’s history and its future as the 4th largest commu-nity in Canada.

Diocson encouraged the audience to unpack more maletas through documenting our wom-en’s oral histories to fur-ther reveal the commu-nity’s inspiring stories of struggle and resistance.

Artist/Educator Ma-rissa Largo shared her experiences and valuable insights as a community artist who works with women and youth in To-ronto and in Montreal. She emphasized that the use of Participatory Ac-tion Research method-ology in the art-making process is rooted in genu-ine community partici-pation and driven by the passion for social change. “Everyone was involved in every stage, from the conceptualization to the art-making,” comments Mark Serrano, a mem-ber of UKPC/FCYA-ON. “As participants of the project, working and in-tegrating with others al-lowed me to connect my personal experiences to our community’s com-

mon struggles.” He dis-covered that the true con-tents of the maletas were these actual narratives. “Otherwise, art without social relevance is hol-low, like an empty suit-case,” he further stated.

The closing remarks were delivered by Alle-ben Purugganan, member of the PWC-ON. Posing the question, “What do art and women’s libera-tion have in common?” She challenged dominant notions of freedom in a world where systemic barriers continually hin-der Filipino women from achieving genuine equal-ity. As both an artist and a community organizer, she described Maleta as a larger project of redefin-ing culture – one that is for the people and raises a collective conscious-ness. “Art for the people is for liberation,” she em-phasized.

The volunteers and participants of the proj-ect then returned on stage to perform a song called “Wavin Flag” expressing the community’s strength and their continuing struggle for freedom.

“Interweaved through years of educating, or-ganizing and mobiliz-ing, the Maleta Project not only makes our task of community building more fun and engaging but, more importantly, re-claims the central role of women as producers of history and innovators of creative expression,” ex-plainsed Stephanie San-chez, a UKPC/FCYA-ON and PWC-ON member. “We may not be what the mainstream perceives as artists, but the collec-tive process allowed us to creatively harness our particular struggles and resistance. We were able to make art that our com-munity can really relate to” she added.

Many were impressed by the ingenuity and beauty of the art pieces, noting the clear convey-ance of the issues that they shed light on.

Topics ranged from the Live-in Caregiver Program, traumas of mi-

gration, family separa-tion, racism and access to healthcare. The fact that people could relate to the Maleta Project is a testa-ment to the effectiveness of the collective process through which the project was conceived. “It was so fun getting involved with something like this for the first time, especially when I hear people say how good and well-orga-nized the exhibit is,” said Meryll Aguila, who is currently in high school and is one of the project’s participants.

A groundbreaking

and historic evening for the Filipino community, the night marked the be-ginning of the Magkaisa Centre’s seven-month long art and culture ini-tiative. “The launching just gave us all a glimpse of the bigger and bet-ter things that will come out of the Maleta Proj-ect,” said Sanchez. The Magkaisa Centre knows Filipinos will continue to arrive with their maletas: there will be more stories to be told, and more bat-tles to be fought. Sanchez said “The Maleta is the story of our lives. It is the

tangible manifestation of our assertion of making the Filipino community count in Canada.”

Members of the Mag-kaisa Centre are getting ready for another round of workshops, research projects and community mobilizations – together envisioning Filipinos as empowered members of this society. Members of the Magkaisa Centre concluded the night with the statement that “the Maleta project siginifies the beginning of a new paradigm for our com-munity.” (PWC)

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Classic Pilipino Puzzle 2

Sagot sa puzzle sa pahina 38

36 Manila Media Monitor March 2010 REFLECTIONS

The men who had met together to pray that day stood up.

The missionary wasn’t concerned with who they were. He was too busy counting

how many men he saw.There were 26.

God’s 26 GuardsA missionary on furlough told this true story while visiting his home

church in Michigan .”While serving at a small field hospital in Africa, every two weeks I trav-

eled by bicycle through the jungle to a nearby city for supplies.This was a journey of two days and required camping overnight at the

halfway point.”On one of these journeys, I arrived in the city where I planned to collect

money from a bank, purchase medicine, and supplies, and then begin my two-day journey back to the field hospital.

”Upon arrival in the city, I observed two men fighting, one of whom had been seriously in-jured. I treated him for his inju-ries and at the same time talked to him about the Lord.

”I then traveled two days, camping overnight, and arrived home without incident.... .

”Two weeks later I repeated my journey.

”Upon arriving in the city, I was approached by the young man I had treated. He told me that he had known I carried money and medicines. He said, ‘Some friends and I followed you in to the jungle, knowing you would camp overnight. We planned to kill you and take your money and drugs. But just as we were about to move into your camp, we saw that you were surrounded by 26 armed guards.

”At this, I laughed and said that I was certainly all alone in that jungle-campsite.

”The young man pressed the point, however, and said, ‘No, sir, I was not the only person to see the guards, my friends also saw them, and we all

counted them.”It was because of those guards that we were afraid and left you alone.”At this point in the sermon, one of the men in the congregation jumped

to his feet and interrupted the missionary and asked if he could tell him the exact day this happened.

”The missionary told the congregation the date, and the man who inter-rupted told him this story:

”On the night of your incident in Africa , It was morning here and I was preparing to go play golf. I was about to putt when I felt the urge to pray for you.

”In fact, the urging of the Lord was so strong, I called men in this church to meet with me here in the sanctuary to pray for you.

”Would all of those men who met with me on that day stand up?”

The men who had met together to pray that day stood up.

The missionary wasn’t concerned with who they were. He was too busy counting how many men he saw.

There were 26.

This story is an incredible example of how the Spirit of the Lord moves in behalf of those who love Him.

If you ever hear such prodding, go along with it.Nothing is ever hurt by prayer except the plans of the wicked one. (Shared

by Ric S. Medina)

37March 2010 Manila Media MonitorREFLECTIONS

Just StayA nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside.

“Your son is here,” she said to the old man.

She had to repeat the words several times before the patient’s eyes opened.

Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he dimly saw the young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent. He reached out his hand.

The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man’s limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encour-agement.

The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit beside the bed.

All through the night, the young Ma-rine sat there in the poorly lighted ward, holding the old man’s hand and offering him words of love and strength.

Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile.

He refused.Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and

of the night noises of the hospital - the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients.

Now and then, she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said noth-ing, only held tightly to his son all through the night.

Along towards dawn, the old man died.

‘‘The next time someone needs you... just be there.

Stay. -Author unknown

The Marine released the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited.

Finally, she returned. She started to offer words of sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her.

“Who was that man?” he asked.The nurse was startled, “He was your father,” she answered.“No, he wasn’t,” the Marine replied. “I never saw him before in my

life.”

“Then why didn’t you say something when I took you to him?”

“I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn’t here.

When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I

was his son, knowing how much he needed me, I stayed.

“I came here tonight to find a Mr. William Grey. His son was killed in Iraq today, and I was sent to inform him. What was this Gentleman’s Name?”

The nurse with tears in her eyes answered, “Mr. William Grey.”

The next time someone needs you ... just be there. Stay. (Author un-known; shared by Ric S. Medina, Philippine Gideons International – Lu-zon)


Mom Len Mahoney celebrates her birth anniversary with children (left to right)) Abigail, Russell, Delilah and husband Matthew

REFLECTIONS

SAVE 100%: BECAUSE SOMEONE PAID THE FULL PRICE…” Free Easter Concert slated April 3, 2010

Our pursuit of hap-piness seems to be a big deal. In spite of the un-limited choices we have in this world, we all work for and desire the same thing – only happiness. After all, it is real and part of our instinct to aim for it. But where do most of us go to satisfy our search for happiness?

The world offers great

career choices; optimum health; exciting relation-ships; and flashy plea-sures. Do they, however, guarantee genuine happi-ness? At times, the world tells us to exchange our convictions for an easy deal. To bargain our in-tegrity for a new sale. To trade our devotion for a quick thrill. Only to pursue again because we

find our hap-piness to be fleeting.

Word In-ternational Ministries

Ontario pres-ents “SAVE 100%: BE-

CAUSE SOME-

ONE PAID THE FULL

PRICE…” This year’s Easter Concert brings you inspiring songs and creative dances that are woven together with dra-matic narrative of man’s pursuit of happiness and the story of Jesus Christ - from Creation to Resur-rection - as He paid the full price so as to offer us a true, complete and everlasting happiness… for free!

The FREE Easter

Presentation will be on April 3, 2010, Saturday at 4 p.m. at the George Harvey Collegiate Insti-tute Auditorium at 1700 Keele St. (intersection of Keele and Eglinton Ave. W), Toronto Ontario. For more information, please call (416) 497-7436 or (416) 597-9070; or email [email protected] or [email protected]. (PR)

Traditional Filipino rites mark Semana SantaPaschal Triduum highlights Lenten observanceBy Faye Arellano

This season of Lent, the church of Our Lady of Assumption on Bathurst Street (North of Eglinton Avenue W) – the Fili-pinop chaplaincy in To-ronto, is again humming with activities in the 40-day observance of the “Semana Santa” or the Holy Week.

While the whole of Christendom is immersed in prayers, fasting and almsgiving, unique Fili-pino Christian traditions are in full display at As-

sumption Church in the strict observance of the Lenten and Easter sea-sons. These Filipino tra-ditional Lenten practices are replete with meaning, which characterizes the strong Catholic faith in the land.

Aside from the regular devotion to the Stations of the Cross held on Fri-days, traditional services such as Pabasa, Huling Pitong Wika and Salu-bong have been lined up, reminiscent of the staple

Lenten rituals in the Phil-ippine homeland.

The marathon Pabasa of Pasyon -- the singing of the narrative text of Christ’s passion, death and resurrection, will usher in the Paschal Trid-uum on Maundy Thurs-day, April 1.

Spearheaded by the Knights of Columbus Council #12582, the Pabasa has been the hall-mark lenten tradition for over two decades of the Archdiocesan Filipino

Catholic Mission and various religious groups, including the Youth Min-istry.

“Pious faith expres-sion in the language of our homeland brings back to life intense spiritual jour-ney of the Filipino com-munity during the Lenten season,” explained Grand Knight Fidel de Guzman, adding that the Pabasa is a good example to Ca-nadian-born Filipinos to learn about the rich spiri-tual culture and tradition of their Filipino heritage.

The Pasyon, the po-etic rendition in verse of the life and suffering of Christ, is perceived by many practitioners as a lenten vow or panata

made by individuals or families and is passed on for generations since it was popularized back in 1703 by Gaspar Aquino de Belen.

The non-stop Pabasa, which ends before noon of Good Friday, will be participated in by mem-bers of various choirs at the Assumption Church and will be held at the parish hall.

Immediately to follow the Pabasa will be the reading of Huling Pitong Wika (The Seven Last Words), which include meditations and reflec-tions by participants. The congregation is en-couraged to assemble at the church by 10 a.m. due

to the big crowd expected to attend.

The Triduum service will continue with the Sa-lubong, the early morning procession of the statues of the Sorrowful Mother Mary and the Risen Christ in a joyful reunion. The ceremony, scheduled for 4:30 a.m. on April 4, will be followed immediately by a concelebrated Easter Mass.

Parishioners are also invited by the commit-tee to a fellowship and Easter breakfast at the church basement, where sharing of traditional Filipino food will be on spread.

Family, close friends, neighbours, Knights of Columbus, reli-gious associates and friends from his church thronged to his Scar-borough home and gave George R. Poblete (3rd from right) a sur-prise visit on his75th Birthday.

A K A Y P A T A B A

A S A MB A L A M

P A N I M U L AN I L A Y

I N A K A P

L I P A N A

S A N

S A W A

K I M

S A W A T AL A N AA T A Y

L I L A

T E D

P A L I S

P I G I LI L A L I M

A M A N A M I N

A L I S A N

Sagot sa PUZZLE

‘‘Call on God, but row away from the rocks.

- Indian Proverb

manila media monitor -- march 2010

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