12

YEAR 12, No. 8 FEBRUARY 2009 Home Paper of the 1999 Canadian Ethnic Journalists’ and Writers’ Club Winner for Best Editorial Toronto, Ontario

HOPE REIGNS
INSIDE
Ooops & Bloops
KCCC gets
Economy,
$25K grant
media,
atbp.
-7
FOR CANCER-ILL CAREGIVER CELIA MANSIBANG
By BUTCH DG. GALICIA
When live-in caregiver Celia Vinasoy Mansibang came to work in Canada in
September, 2004, she had a string of wishes: physical, moral and spiritual strength;
All gears up for enough earnings; permanent residency and citizenship; and a happy reunion with
Mabuhay Fest-
Fest- 12 husband William Mallillin and children Vincent and La Sandra on Canadian soil. MAMA CHING QUEJAS
Today, Celia hangs on to those wishes. Under entirely different circumstances, she
hopes for: MISSISSAUGA - The
Kalayaan Cultural Community
► A Divine miracle to survive stomach cancer. Medical tests sadly said she had less Centre (KCCC) has received a
than six months to live. $25,000 federal grant to fund
► Generous hands to help her pay some $17,000 in hospital bills. the center’s Happy Seniors for
► A change of heart by officials who blocked her application for permanent stay a Happy Community project.
Credit card Consolacion “Mama
after knowing of Celia’s illness in January; though earlier, Celia was declared “Land-
gouging - 31 Ching” Quejas, KCCC
ed Immigrant by Principle”. Celia also lost her Ontario health insurance coverage. president, said she expected
► The presence of William, Vincent and La Sandra; her mother and sisters Eloisa, seniors and the youth alike
Dancing To Be A Star Chona and Michelle to have by her side and to hold and cherish for a lifetime. “will enjoy the project.”
Teacher turned nanny domestic for 12 years. Chona and Michelle through the The grant, Quejas said,
- 33 was given through the federal
Celia, 46, is a native of Isa- Celia helped siblings Eloisa LCP. They, in turn, assisted Celia
bela province in the Philippines. and Chona to get nanny jobs in to join them. government’s New Horizons
She used to be a teacher back Hong Kong. But before she got her Cana- for Seniors Program under
home but dire economic straits Eloisa later got into Canada dian working visa, Celia had to its new focus, Community
made her decide to leave her fam- through the Live-in Caregiver undergo nasopharyngal treatment, Participation and Leadership
Oscar winners - 36 (To page 3)
ily and work in Hong Kong as a Program (LCP) and helped sisters (To page 20)

Obama, Harper vow to work

jointly on mutual issues
OTTAWA - U.S. Presi-
dent Barack Obama and
Canada Prime Minister Ste-
phen Harper have agreed
to jointly work on efforts
responsive to issues impact-
ing on the mutual interests
of both countries.
The agreement was
made in a meeting between
Obama and Harper at Par-
liament Hill, during the for-
mer’s whirlwind working
visit to Canada, Obama’s
first foreign trip since being
installed to the White House
on Jan. 20.
In remarks, Obama said:
“I value our strategic part-
nership with Canada and
look forward to working
closely with the Prime Min-
ister to address the global
economic recession and
create jobs, to protect our
environment through pro-
moting clean energy tech-
nologies, and achieve our
shared goals in responding
to international security
challenges.”
“The President and I
agree that both our coun-
tries must take immediate
action to restore economic
growth by lowering taxes,
ensuring access to credit
and unleashing spending
that stimulates economic
growth. We also agreed to
strengthen our cooperation
in the areas of environmen-
tal protection and global se-
curity,” Harper said.
Economic growth
Both world leaders dis-
cussed their respective eco-
nomic recovery plans and
their focus on saving and
creating jobs.
They also talked about
common challenges they
faced, including:
► The restructuring of
the North American auto
sector.
(To page 4) US President BARACK OBAMA & Canada Prime Minister STEPHEN HARPER

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2 MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009
Overseas absentee voting listup ongoing
Philippine Consul Gen-
eral in Toronto Alejandro
Mosquera has called on
compatriots to register un-
der the Overseas Absentee
Voting (OAV) law to be able
to cast their ballots for the
May 10, 2010 presidential
elections.
Mosquera said the listup
resumed at the consulate
at 161 Eglinton Ave. East,
Suite 800, downtown Toron-
to. The registration began on
Feb. 1 and would go on until
Aug. 31.
OAV registrations are
ongoing in Philippine diplo-
matic posts across Canada.
news MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009 3
Mos- 2010 until 3 p.m. (Philippine
quera
s a i d
time) of May 10, 2010.
He advised registrants to
PCSM donations go to sick baby, KCCC
O A V bring their Philippine pass-
regis- port when registering.
trants Dual citizens have to
should present the original copy of
be Filipi- their Oath of Allegiance and
nos and Order of Approval or Iden-
MOSQUERA
dual citi- tification Certificate.
zens, at least 18 years old on Synchronization
the day of the elections and The Philippine Commis-
not disqualified by law. sion on Elections (Comelec)
They are allowed to vote asked the Department of
for the President, Vice-Presi- Foreign Affairs (DFA) to use
dent, 12 Senators and Party- its data capturing machines
List Representatives. in about 40 diplomatic posts
Mosquera said the vot- for OAV registration. The
ing would be from April 10, (To page 24)

KCCC gets $15K grant

(From page 1)
Funding.
The seniors’ project,
which would run for a
year, “will showcase their
artistic and musical talents;
highlight their skills, wisdom
and experience; encourage
values transfer through peer
support, mentoring and
inter-generational sharing.”
Some of the activities
included:
► Organizing a multi-
dimensional musical play
where seniors and the youth
could celebrate music and
the arts while contributing
to the cultural development
of the community;
► Conducting dialogues,
seminars and workshops that
promote meaningful learning
and social experience; that they could share and learn
increase seniors’ knowledge about each other’s day to
and awareness of critical day lives and thus learn
social issues that affect and develop coping skills
them; while appreciating nature
► Going on seniors’ and working together and
weekend get-aways where mentoring each other. PR
Filipino trade expert to address CEMA
A Filipino Canadian expert in
international business will speak
before members of the Canadian
Ethnic Media Association
(CEMA) on March 5 at 6:45
p.m., at the Majestic Boardroom,
OMNI Television, 545 Lakeshore
Boulevard in Toronto.
Forte Gerardo will talk about
understanding traditions, core
values and managing cross-cultural
GERARDO relations as imperative tools for
Five-year old Katarina Mangrobang, her parents and kin pose with Imelda
Papa, Philippine Choral Society of Mississauga (PCSM) musical director, and
PCSM members at a thanksgiving get-together for the $4,212.72 the choral
group donated to help Katarina with her medical expenses. The amount was
raised during PCSM’s concert Pamasko on Dec. 6, 2008. A second concert
for the benefit of the Kalayaan Cultural Community Centre (KCCC) raised
$6,076.46. A plaque will be installed on the KCCC Donors’ Wall in apprecia-
tion of the donation. PR
enhancing efficiency and before CEMA members recollection, this will be
human productivity. is aimed at improving the the first time that a Filipino
Gerardo is managing skills of the diverse business Canadian will address the
director of an Aurora, communities in Canada in the group.
Ontario-based trading conduct of their businesses Gerardo, who was a
company that supplies the across the globe through UNESCO scholarship
international market with their respective community grantee in inter-cultural
specialty fine and security print, radio, television and relations and UNCTAD
papers, among other the internet composing this trainee in trade promotion,
innovative products. Canadian premier ethnic has gained a full generation
CEMA president Ace media organization. of experience in trade
Alvarez said Gerardo’s talk Alvarez said that to his (To page 17)

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4 MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009 news
Air traveller rights pushed Rumor on ‘temp hands’ is ... plain rumor, until ...
OTTAWA – New Democrat MP Jim Maloway (Elm-
wood-Transcona) has sought for the compensation of in- Philippine Overseas official related to Filipino tion was baseless and un- newcomers allowed into the
convenienced airline passengers under a bill of rights pro- Labor Officer Frank Luna workers and their status in founded. country, in view of rising
tecting travellers in Canada. has promised to look into Canada, Luna said. The source said no solid domestic job losses.
The parliamentary bill provided compensation for over- rumors that caregivers re- A source informed the evidence (passports, per- “We don’t want people
booked flights, unreasonable tarmac delays, cancelled or cently admitted into Canada Manila Media Monitor sons involved, official docu- to be coming to Canada
delayed flights, late and misplaced luggage, and all-inclu- under the Live-In Caregiver about the rumor, said to be ments) was shown to sup- and facing unemployment,”
sive pricing by airline companies in their advertising. Program (LCP) might lose circulating in nanny and ac- port the allegations. Kenney said. “We need to be
“The legislation is inspired by a European Union law, their right to obtain perma- tivist groups. Luna said the LCP had sensitive to a changing la-
where over-bookings have dropped significantly,” said nent residency (PR) even af- The source said pass- been there for years; and in bour market, and if we need
Maloway. ter they complete the LCP. ports of caregivers who ar- recent time, Philippine of- to make changes, we will.”
“Air Canada is already operating under the European Luna, in a phone inter- rived only this year were ficials and their counterparts But for now, the gov-
laws for their flights in Europe. Why should an Air Canada view with the Manila Me- stamped with “temporary in Canadian provinces have ernment strives to maintain
customer receive better treatment in Europe than in Cana- dia Monitor on Feb. 20, said worker,” leading to specula- re-inforced the recruitment current immigration targets
da?” he asked. that while he got wind of the tions that they might not be and employment of caregiv- of up to 265,000 new per-
The bill of rights would ensure that passengers are kept rumors, his office has not granted PR status when they ers with a set of regulations manent residents in 2009.
informed of flight changes, whether delays or cancella- heard of or been informed graduate from the LCP. protecting the nannies from He said regulations
tions. about the matter from offi- There were also as- abuse and exploitation. would be introduced in the
The new rules would be posted in the airport and airlines cial Philippine and Canadian sumptions that the Philip- Newcomer numbers spring to protect foreign
should inform passengers of their rights and the process to foreign affairs, immigration pine and Canadian govern- Earlier in Parliament workers left in a bind after
file for compensation. and labor sources. ments might have sealed an Hill, Ottawa, Immigration being laid off from their jobs
“The changes are not meant to punish the airlines,” said “Philippine consular agreement to the effect cited Minister Jason Kenney said in Canada.
Maloway. “If the airlines follow the rules, they will not have officials would have been above, the source added. the government is consider- Discussions only?
to pay one dollar in compensation to travellers.” PR the first to know” anything Luna said this assump- ing a cut in the number of Meanwhile, MP Jim
Karygiannis (LP, Scarbor-
Obama, Harper vow to ... ough-Agincourt) promised
(From page 1) to open avenues for further
► Developing effective U.S. border. economic recovery and rein- ► Expansion of clean priorities, with particular fo- discussions on newcomer
global responses to the eco- Climate change, energy vestment efforts. energy research and devel- cus on Afghanistan. and caregiver issues when he
nomic crisis, through the G- Noting the long and pro- They discussed practi- opment. The leaders also agreed met with community groups
8 and G-20 processes. ductive history of bilateral cal ways the U.S. and Can- ► Development and to work together closely in Markham on Feb. 22.
They said the G-20 Sum- co-operation on continental ada could encourage the deployment of clean energy in the Americas, including Karygiannis presented
mit in April should contrib- environmental protection development of clean en- technology. promoting effective discus- CIC statistics showing fewer
ute to restoring confidence and energy trade and tech- ergy technologies to reduce ► Building of more ef- sion and meaningful results immigrants being accepted
in the financial markets. nology, Obama and Harper greenhouse gases and com- ficient electricity grid based at the Summit of the Ameri- as permanent residents and
Both instructed senior agreed that environmental bat climate change. on clean and renewable gen- cas in April. longer waiting periods in
officials to meet immedi- protection and the develop- They established a se- eration. U.S. and Canadian for- processing immigrant appli-
ately to develop strategies ment of clean energy were nior-level joint Clean En- Security eign and defense ministers cations in the last few years.
enhancing “our collective inextricably linked. ergy Dialogue that would Obama and Harper would shortly meet in Wash- “The backlog is grow-
security” in North America, They announced plans to cooperate on several critical agreed on the importance ington to pursue dialogues ing,” he said. The changes
including a review of the build a new energy economy energy science and technol- of cooperating closely on a on key security challenges. immigration introduced “are
management of the Canada- as a key element of broader ogy issues, including the: number of key international PM Office PR not for the better.”

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StatsCan: Job losses mount, psyche distress hits low-income families
TORONTO - Some
129,000 Canadian jobs,
mostly full-time, were lost
in January.
This pushed the unem-
ployment rate to 7.2 per-
cent from the past month’s
6.6 percent, surpassing any
monthly decline during the
economic crises of the ‘80s
and ‘90s.
Job losses since Octo-
ber, 2008 has reached some
70 Filipinos
benefit from
H4H mission
BAGUIO CITY - Some
70 poor patients underwent
free surgery at the Baguio
General Hospital and Medi-
cal Center here, courtesy of
Canadian doctors of Health
for Humanity (H4H).
On their second medical
mission here, members of
the H4H team - to include
Cordillera-born nurse Shir-
ley Pinlac Maas - had an
average of seven surgeries
daily from a week Jan. 29.
Vancouver Hospital’s
Dr. Peter Blair invited Fili-
pino surgeons to train on
microscopic surgery, which
is among the latest technol-
ogies in the medical world.
news
213,000, a Statistics Canada
(StatsCan) survey said.
Ontario: hardest hit
Ontario reeled from the
most job cuts, at 71,000.
This drop was Ontario’s
largest in over 30 years.
Large declines were
seen in British Columbia,
at 35,000, and Quebec,
26,000.
Other provinces had
negligible employment rate
DiverseCity, anti-bullying gain support
Maytree and the To-
ronto City Summit Alli-
ance said officials of over
100 private, non-profit
and public groups vowed
support to DiverseC-
ity: The Greater Toronto
Leadership project.
Maytree president
Rama Omidvar said the
project hoped to name and
help 1,000 new diverse
leaders “move into posi-
tions of leadership and
influence” in the Greater
Toronto Area (GTA) in
the next three years.
“Our city will benefit
from the competitive ad-
vantage diverse leaders
bring,” Omidvar said.
changes.
Male workers hurt
At least 111,000 persons
between 25 to 54 years old
got the pink slip in January,
nearly two-thirds of them
male workers.
The unemployment rate
for core-age adults jumped
to 6.2 percent, the highest
since November 2004.
Employment fell by 1.2
percent in the public sector.
At least 44 percent of
the GTA’s population is for-
eign born, surpassing immi-
grant proportions in Miami,
Sydney, Los Angeles and
New York.
Despite the GTA’s mul-
ticultural strength, visible
minorities are under-repre-
sented in its leadership.
Anti-bullying
The youth-initiated bul-
lyingcanada.ca website has
called on Parliament to take
a stand against all forms of
bullying and declare Dec.
17 as national Blue Day.
The website - launched
by Rob Frenette, 19, of
Woodstock, New Bruns-
wick and Katie Neu, 17 of
The private sector de-
clined by 0.9 percent.
But the average hourly
wages, year on year, was up
4.8 percent in January.
Manufacturing down
The manufacturing
sector took the brunt with
101,000 job cuts in January,
the largest monthly industry
dip on record.
Job declines were noted
in several other industries.
Kitchener - has been cir-
culating petitions and has
gathered over 5,000 sig-
natures.
Frenette said bullying
has been a social problem
for years. The response to
petitions showed Cana-
dians could act together
on a single subject, added
Neu.
MP Mike Allen (To-
bique-Mactaquac) said
“while we still have
schoolyard fights,” bully-
ing has taken on various
forms. “With the Internet
and text messaging - can
happen any time of the
day no matter where a
child is.” PR
MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009
However, gains were
made in the health care
and social assistance sec-
tors, where hiring rose by
31,000.
Psyche distress
Meanwhile, A StatsCan
study said members of low-
er-income households suf-
fered from high psychologi-
cal distress than those with
better pays.
The study, based on data
Non-Canadian credentials
A ‘quick’ year’s wait
OTTAWA - Foreign-
trained workers applying
for a license or to be listed
to work in their profession
are to be informed of a gov-
ernment decision within one
year of the application.
The decision would tell
them if their qualifications
are recognized. If not, they
would be advised about oth-
er requirements for recogni-
tion or be directed to related
occupations that could use
their skills and experience.
The first surge of such
decisions would come in
2010, for a limited number
of high priority jobs.
Immigration Minister
Diane Finley said the First
Ministers’ Meeting agreed
5
gathered from 1994 to 2007,
noted the presence of stress-
ors in the lives of lower-in-
come individuals.
The stressors included
job strain, financial prob-
lems, personal stress, and
problems with relationships,
neighborhoods or children.
Earlier research sug-
gested that the poorer men-
tal health of lower-income
(To page 34)
to carry out a common
framework to recognize
foreign credentials by Sep-
tember 2009, with an in-
terim report on progress by
June 2009.”
“We need to ensure
newcomers can quickly in-
tegrate into the Canadian
labor market,” Finley said.
Studies showed that im-
migration would account
for most of the labor force
growth in Canada within
the next 10 to 15 years, and
all net population growth
within the next 30 years.
But qualifications of
many newcomers are not
recognized in Canada, hin-
dering programs to attract
skilled newcomers. PR
 MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
6 FEBRUARY 2009
Council oks plan to ban smoking in city playgrounds
TORONTO - The city
council has approved a plan
to prohibit smoking at city
playgrounds and other child-
centered areas, thus amend-
ing provisions on parks un-
der the Municipal Code.
“Banning smoking in
playgrounds ensures that
children have healthy en-
vironments in which to
play,” said Councillor Paula
Canadians turn to newspapers in times of crisis
TORONTO - A new
Ipsos-Reid poll said most
Canadians relied on news-
papers for trustworthy infor-
mation in bad times.
Forty percent of those
surveyed said they relied
more on newspapers during
the political crisis in Ottawa,
while almost a third (30 per-
cent) said they turned more
often to newspapers for
analysis of the economic
downturn.
Only 15 percent of re-
spondents said they did not
read newspapers (print or
online) at all.
The findings were based
on over 1,000 online inter-
views conducted in Decem-
ber for the Canadian News-
paper Association (CNA).
“Clearly, newspapers
remain the trusted medium
of communication during
Fletcher (Ward 30, Toronto-
Danforth), parks and envi-
ronment committee chair.
The proposed code
changes would ban smoking
and the holding of lighted
tobacco in Toronto Parks,
Forestry and Recreation
(TPFR) zoos, farms and
within a nine-meter radius
of playground safety surfac-
es or playground equipment
Members of the Candonians of Toronto enjoy reading the Manila Media Mon-
itor. File Photo: JOE DAMASCO
periods of change, such as
we are experiencing today,”
said John Hinds, president
and CEO of CNA.
The survey also asked
Canadians how they re-
sponded to advertising dur-
ing economic crises.
in city parks, including wad-
ing pools and splash pads.
Second-hand smoke is
a Class A carcinogen linked
to cancer, increased risk of
heart disease and respiratory
illness.
Outdoor concentrations
of second-hand smoke have
been found to rival those of
indoor second-hand smoke
during periods of active
Over a quarter of respon-
dents (26 percent) said they
found themselves looking
at newspapers and inserts
for “discounts, bargains and
sales” more often during
hard economic times.
Ipsos-Reid also found
news
smoking (depending on the
direction of the wind and the
distance from the smoker).
“There is simply no
reason to subject children,
who are in our parks getting
fresh air and exercise, to the
harmful effects of second-
hand smoke,” said Dr. Da-
vid McKeown, city medical
officer.
“This is also a good
that almost a third of Canadi-
ans (27 percent) - including
a plurality of better-educated
and wealthier respondents
- were more likely to read
newspapers when making
decisions about personal fi-
nances. CNW
time to remind the public
that children are influenced
by the behavior of others
around them, and we should
all work to be healthy role
models for the next genera-
tion,” McKeown said.
The bylaw is expected to
TPS set to implement anew
Youth In Policing Initiative
TORONTO - This
summer, the Toronto Police
Service, with the Toronto
Police Services Board and
the Ministry of Children
and Youth Services, will
again employ youths for
the Youth in Policing Ini-
tiative (YIPI).
Under YIPI, 100 youth
between 14 and 17 years
old will work with TPS
elements in various edu-
cational yet productuive
assignments from June 29
to Aug. 21.
Applicants must be
from one of the following
neighborhoods: Malvern,
Jane-Finch, Jamestown,
Regent Park, Dorset Park,
Steeles-L’Amoureaux,
Weston-Mt. Dennis, Law-
rence Heights, Fleming-
don-Victoria Village,
Crescent Town, Eglinton
be in effect in spring, after
the Province of Ontario has
approved the set fines to be
imposed on violators.
The TPFR would en-
force the by-law, starting off
with public awareness and
education. PR
East-Kennedy Park, Scar-
borough Village, Kings-
ton- Galloway, South
Parkdale, and Westminis-
ter-Branson.
Recruitment for YIPI
will end on Feb. 25. Ap-
plications may be made
at the TPS headquarters,
its 17 stations, community
and youth resource cen-
ters.
YIPI is intended to:
► Promote youth par-
ticipation in and exposure
to the police work envi-
ronment;
► Enhance the link
between the police and
neighborhoods;
► Provide safe and
positive job opportunities
for youth during the sum-
mer months; and
► Promote TPS as an
employer of choice. PR

On the tight economy,
Excerpt from a conversation
between the beauteous Rowena –
that pleasantly smiling front office
lady at Dr. Evangeline Bernabe’s
dental clinic on Overlea Boulevard
and Front Page Philippines’ Gie
Alvarez regarding the difficulty
of individuals and organizations
alike in trying to make both ends
meet at this time of economic
slump:
Rowena: “… kaya nga
maraming pasyente dito are trying
to get an early appointment, before
their insurance coverage ends.”
Gie: “Dapat bunutin na la’ng
lahat ang mga ngipin para wala
nang problema sa future.”
(Laughter …)
***
A person in charge of
the Marketing Department
of several funeral homes in
Toronto and area phoned Manila
Media Monitor regarding her
company’s efforts in marketing
their services.
At the time of her phone call,
our conversation somehow also
VIEWS
ACE ALVAREZ
media, atbp.
touched on her advertising work
background in the Philippines
– and where some people whom
she worked with were among
my acquaintances, friends, or
schoolmates.
During the same conversation
… (1) it wasn’t true that I asked
her if death occurs rarely during
this time of economic slump,
hence, they are enhancing their
marketing efforts during these
tight economic times; (2) it was
not true either that I suggested
to her to take photos of all the
dead just before the public
viewing, so that she may compile
them altogether to include in her
portfolio, just like advertising
creative people do.
In the first place, this
is already less expense in
the creation of a portfolio,
considering that those finished
photos will no longer need
frames, dahil may salamin na
ang kuha ng photograph.
***
A story appearing on February
15, 2009 in Marketing Daily
stated that private broadcasters
generated $2.1 billion in total
revenue last year, and that the
sale of local advertising generated
$387.3 million in revenue, versus
national advertising, which
dropped to $1.47 billion from
$1.52 billion in 2007.
I’ll see you around, readers. I
am retiring now.
***
The president of the
Association of Filipino-
Canadian Accountants (AFCA),
Egay Gonzales, e-mailed me on
Monday, February 9, requesting
to forward a press release for
his organization to all Filipino
publications.
Obliging to the request, I
sent out the press release with
a note to my fellow publishers
and/or the editors of the
various Filipino print media as
follows: “While I’ve vacated
already my post, which I held
for two consecutive terms, as
Media Relations Officer for
MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009
the Philippine Chamber of
Commerce -- Toronto (PCCT)
during the organization’s last
election, it might come to you as
a surprise that I am sending you
a press release this time from
AFCA.
“Nope, I haven’t taken the
position from AFCA., hence, my
good friend, Jess Carlos (who
is the least of my idols among
community organization PROs,
and which I stress without
offense intended to this good
friend of mine), may continue
to serve as AFCA PRO (if
he doesn’t occupy the same
anymore).
***
News item in Marketing Daily
of February 6: “Canwest Global
Communications is exploring the
sale of five conventional television
stations across Canada just days
after bankers pulled back the
debt-laden company’s borrowing
power.”
To my good friend Deo
Moreno and his growing M Studio
facility in Mississauga: “Welcome
to the bidding, buddy!”
***
On February 4, Philippine
Press Club-Ontario member
Sherwin Sunico, who is in the
audio-visual recording business,
sent me an e-mail notice, among
other recipeints, saying:
“Check out the new 2009
Remix of Nasayang si Jenifer
Camacho, remixed by Sherwin
Sunico: http://www.youtube.
7
com/watch?v=VneqbIlKRco.
Oh wait a minute, readers,
I apologize for my error in
retyping the item. It actually
read: “Check out the new 2009
Remix of Nasayang by Jenifer
Camacho, remixed by Sherwin
Sunico.”
***
January 30, 2009 news item in
Marketing Daily: “Internet usage
in Canada continues to rise, a trend
that will soon make the web the
top medium for Canadians under
55, according to the Interactive
Advertising Bureau of Canada’s
2008 Media Usage Trend Study.”
To our fellow print publishers:
Please prepare for a shorter ad
placement contract as we are left
with advertisers over 55, hence,
nearing their ….
***
Another item in the same
issue states, “Wine drinking up,
gin down.”
Calling the attention of
PPCO prez Tenny Soriano.
Man, we’ve not been counted!
Please make representation on
this with the “International
Wine and Spirit Record” that
they have not included beer in
the study.
***
Marketing Daily item of
January 29: In response to what
it calls “economic and market
realities,” the CanadianAssociation
of Broadcasters (CAB) lays off 14
people and cancelled a scheduled
(To page 14)
8 MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009 VIEWS
A month after Barack Obama
was inaugurated to office, the
fever continues on the assumption
From The through at one time, or another,
hence, the emphathy to Obama’s
leadership.
to office of the first African
American president to lead the
country -- reputed as the most
Monitor’s Desk But as Obama himself very
well knows, he is the president for
all the Americans and leader of 12 years of dedicated
powerful country in the world that ACE ALVAREZ the most powerful country in the community service
the U.S. is, for at least the next world, and not just of the blacks.
four years. ***
Even at the music industry’s
Grammy Awards on Sunday,
Did media create this Like those with our local
mainstream, national and
Managing Editor
ACE ALVAREZ

Editor
February 8, a rhythm and blues
group, whose members collectively
world economic downturn? international media counterparts,
community newspaper advertising
BUTCH GALICIA

Associate Editor
acted as award presentor exalted revenue is on the downturn. GIE ALVAREZ

Obama on stage.
As in all parts of the world,
people look beyond with optimism
on Obama’s government that in
Toronto, people of various colors,
creeds and cultures filled several
buses and hit the road for the U.S.
capital in time for the historic
inaugural moment.
Each of us could share the
hope (along with the faith and
charity -- the three great virtues
that the New Testament calls for in
Christians), that the world banks
with Obama’s leadership.
I myself shared the excitement
watching the images on television
during Obama’s inauguration,
even empathizing with mostly
the black Americans whom I saw
shed a tear, or two, during the
ceremonies.
some 18 years ago.
Coming to Toronto with a
broadcast media background, I
started looking for work in this
area.
During my phone conversation
that time in 1990 with the station
manager of one very popular news
and information radio station, he
told me that he was always on
the look for good people (and I
knew I’m good at what I offer my
services in) in his team, and for
me to send in my resume. I did,
after which, it was the last I heard
from the station manager and the
station itself.
I knew it was my accent. But
if this country even at that time
was loudly proclaiming before the
world its multiculturalism policy,
why would accent be an issue?
before the members of the Canadian During the first week of Contributing Editors
Ben Viccari
Ethnic Media Association in 2004, January, the New York Times Ricky Caluen
Scott and Zane said that situation started running advertising at the Jimmy Montejo
was slowly changing; and it could bottom of its front page because Mag Cruz Hatol
Grace P. Freires
be as we continue to see and hear of falling ad revenue. Manny Freires
on-air talents from mainstream In December in Canada, CTV Pete Lacaba
Mel Tobias
broadcast media as apparently cut about 105 positions, and its
coming from the minority groups rival Global Television, on the Editorial Assistants
Lennart Leigh Alvarez-Mahoney
in Canada. other hand, cut 210 positions in Dods Andrada
Even the Filipino Canadian all its TV operations.
Contributors
community has a good share of The retrenchment of personnel Eva Agpaoa
its on-air talents in mainstream at the latter TV network, however, Mario Dimain
Robert Wilson
media – where the funny thing is was not enough that early this Noel Perada
that those networks and stations month, it announced that five Larry Torres
which were snobby before are of its TV stations were for sale, Chito Sarabia
Edwin Acuna
now proclaiming on their station including CHCH in Hamilton. Bien Garcia
IDs their diversity and support for This developed as lending Jeannie Pilapil
what Canada stands for. institutions to Global Television Account Executive
MYRNA SORIANO
My friend, Macedonian cut all credit facility to the
television producer Bill Yancoff, network. Graphics
IDTech Solutions
told me twice during a conversation Meanwhile, a news story 416-875-2541
that after he completed his college from the 12 PM News Roundup projects@idtechsolutuionsnetwork.com

On this, the tears of joy of
those black Americans were
understandable if one thinks of
what they probably personally
went through the racial prejudices
in the U.S. during their lifetime.
Those images on television
brought back memories in me
when I first landed in Canada
Narrating this experience
during a Q & A after Terry Scott
(Broadcast News/The Canadian
Press) and Renato Zane (OMNI
Television), who, at that time
were president and treasurer,
respectively, of the Radio and
Television News Directors
Association (RTNDA) talked
program on radio and television,
and thereafter joining a popular
sports radio station in Toronto as
an on-air reporter, he was asked to
change his Macedonian name into
an English-sounding one. Such
was the mind then.
I had several more experiences
of what we, non-Caucasians, went
of 1050 CHUM Radio sometime
last January said some Canadian
politicians are blaming the media
for writing too much about the
credit crunch, thus creating panic.
Back in December, Manila
Media Monitor editor Butch
Galicia and I were talking about
(To page 14)
Philippine Communication Facility
GRACE MEDIA SERVICES
974 Metrica Street
1008 Manila, Philippines
Tel/Fax: (632) 742-1484
Published by
Manila MEDIA MONITOR, INC.
98 Comrie Terrace
Scarborough, Ontario M1M 3T2
CANADA

It is true, after all, what Pinoy
TV networks insiders have been
whispering to us the past few
weeks.
To face the likely damage that
the “imagined” recession may
inflict on the broadcasting industry,
there will be some radical changes
in programming.
The recession is imagined
because to our mind, we have
been in this sorry state since the
Marcos years.
We have become inured to
it that we do not give a hoot at
all … not until the Americans
started pumping thoughts of the
Apocalypse into our minds.
We have been coasting along
famously with labor strikes, mass
layoffs and shortages in water,
energy, even moral ascendancy
that to wake up one day finding
ourselves rich and stable is a
thought found only in fables.
We are also told that it is not
entirely the perceived economic
crunch that has triggered this pro-
active move in local broadcasting
but the palpable tremors from the
smaller stations that have started
to eat into the local audience pie.
The broadcast firmament in
the Philippines does not begin
with ABS and end with GMA.
There are myriad other players
in free TV.
Net 25’s programming is
steadfastly improving with obvious
support from a large and loyal
Roundabout
MAG CRUZ-HATOL
Life back home with TV, prof.
heckler, imagined recession
Avenue to slowly ensnare the
fickle AB audience; SBN is
following suit and threatens to rise
from the doldrums soon.
UNTV has its hands tied with
a religious group but has been
noisy of late with its alternative
programming that has a faithful,
albeit small, following.
For its part, RPN has started
to climb back where it used to be
after inking a strategic partnership
with formidable blocktimer Solar
Entertainment and rebranding
itself as C/S (Crime/Suspense).
Meanwhile, despite inside
stories about disenchantment and
mass resignations at the Shake
Mo TV channel, ABC is providing
ample competition to the giants.
There must be truth that the
unfair competition suit filed
against them by a giant might
actually be a knee-jerk reaction to
ABC’s ascent in the ratings.
breaks a constitutional provision
disallowing foreign interests to
own and control any broadcast or
print medium.
Where Studio 23, NBN and
IBC figure in all this, we wonder.
Like UNTV, IBC and NBN
are shackled in their program
offerings because of government
whim and restrictions.
Studio 23 was for a time a
deadringer in the ratings but has
of late become a quiet player.
It insists it caters to the 13 to
30 age bracket, particularly the
hoity-toity variety.
And then to Professor Heckler.
It is the name of an anonymous
blogger who literally snatches
the wit off the minds of helpless
Filipino citizens who can only
wince in pain each time some
corrupt politician appears to go
scot free.
Recently, the invincible First
time, this time care of a World
Bank report that outlined for the
world to see that a number of huge
road building contracts it funded
have been rigged to favor a few
allies.
Could it be the final straw?
Many ask.
There have been dozens of
massive instances of fraud and
graft, dishonesty and immorality,
negligence and loss of confidence,
that this current administration
had faced but it has thus far
managed to squirm out each time,
successfully sweeping the debris
under the rug and into oblivion.
In the tradition of “How DoYou
Solve a Problem Like Maria?”
Professor Heckler jestingly
suggests that congressmen will
each get five percent of pork barrel
for every hour that they agree to
grill their compadre.
At the Upper House,
Heckler maliciously suggests
that heretofore inactive and
uncannily quiet senators Bong
Revilla and Lito Lapid handle the
investigation.
And that Mike Arroyo be
asked the four Rotary questions
about truth and morality.
Interestingly, it is during
times of distress in contemporary
Philippine history when our mettle
and resilience as a race are tested.
And interestingly again, it is
through humor that we are able to
keep our heads together.
Tel. 416.285.8583
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Iglesia ni Kristo community.

RJTV, once only a name to
reckon on radio, is using 2nd
ABC is now managed by a
Malaysian group and people
are crying foul as the move
Gentleman Mike Arroyo has
allegedly been implicated in
Jokes fly like unshackled
sparks in the internet, through
TEL. (416) 285-8583
another nasty scheme, for the nth (To page 24) FAX (416) 285-6862
 VIEWS MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009 9
laid Sir Anthony’s preposition
(proposition) before her.”
Commentary However, the rights to
recognition as the crowned head
of the malapropism must now
BEN VICCARI surely pass to the former president
of the United States.
OPINION It’s a matter of record that
in his speeches, he used such
OFW realities Move over, Mrs. Malaprop! words as “anecdotes” when he
should have said “antidotes”
Hindi mayaman ang overseas Filipino worker (OFW). We and “perpetuators” instead of
have this notion na ‘pag OFW o nasa abroad ay mayaman na. Hindi Acting on his promises, future of the U.S remains to be “perpetrators.”
totoo yun. President Barack Obama filled tackled if a major depression is to The Toronto Star recently
A regular OFW might earn from P50K-P300K per month de- his first full day of office with be halted, and the going will not listed 40 such glaring examples
pende sa lokasyon. Yung mga taga-Saudi or US siguro ay mas mal- implementing some of them. be smooth. which suggest that the former
aki ang suweldo, but to say that they’re rich is a fallacy (amen!). His contacts with Middle But at least Obama’s translating president is a master at spooking
Malaki ang pangangailangan kaya karamihan ay nag-a-abroad. Eastern leaders and an undertaking of rhetoric into action has had an the English language.
Maraming bunganga ang kailangang pakainin kaya umaalis ang to close down Guantanamo had auspicious beginning. ***
mga pipol sa Philippines. Madalas, 3/4 o kalahati ng suweldo ay implicatons for the world scene *** LOSODE - a Canadian
napupunta sa tuition ng anak at gastusin ng pamilya. while at home curbing lobbyists. Sheridan’s 18th century website created out of need
Mahirap maging OFW. Kailangan magtipid hangga’t kaya. Strengthening ethics in comedy The Rivals introduced In setting down my reasons
Oo, masarap ang pagkain sa abroad pero madalas na paksiw o government and salary freezes Mrs. Malaprop, a woman given to for creating this web site (http://
adobo at itlog lang ang tinitira para makaipon. for senior White House officials blunders in the use of the English losode.com), I lay claim to no
Pagdating ng kinsenas o katapusan, ang unang tinitingnan eh were all positive moves that language. pomposities such as a “mission
ang conversion ng peso sa dollar o riyal o euro. will resonate as the Democratic Here are just a couple: “He statement.”
Mas okay na magtiis sa konti kaysa gutumin ang pamilya. government’s future unfolds. is the very pineapple (pinnacle) Simply, in my own personal
Kapag umuuwi, kailangan may baon kahit konti kasi maraming Of course, the economical of success” and “I have since quest for more information on
kamag-anak ang sumusundo sa airport o naghihintay sa probinsya. the availability of low sodium
Alam mo naman ‘pag Pinoy, yung tsismis na OFW ka eh surely products in Canada, I may be able
attracts a lot of kin. to help others as they can help
Kapag hindi mo nabigyan ng pasalubong eh magtatampo na yun me.
at sisiraan ka na. The present food supply chain,
Well, hindi naman lahat pero I’m sure sa mga OFW dito eh may from manufacturer/processor to
mga pangyayaring ganun. wholesaler to retailer to the public
Magtatrabaho ka sa bansang iba ang tingin sa mga Pinoy. Mala- has many shortcomings.
mang marami ang naka-experience ng gulang o discrimination in First and foremost, Canadians
their various workplaces. need a reference guide to the
Sige lang, tiis lang, iniiyak na lang kasi kawawa naman pamilya existence and availability of low
‘pag umuwi. Besides, wala ka naman talagang maasahang trabaho sodium food products, enabling
sa Philippines ngayon. Mahal ang bigas, ang gatas, ang sardinas, them to observe a balanced and
ang upa sa apartment. healthy diet according to standards
Tiis lang kahit maraming asar sa trabaho, kahit may sakit at published by Health Canada.
walang nag-aalaga, kahit hindi masarap ang tsibog, kahit pangit ang We shudder at transfats,
working conditions, kahit delikado, kahit mahirap. struggle to keep cholesterol levels
Kapag nakapadala ka na, okay na, tawag lang, “Hello! kumusta (To page 14)
na kayo?”
Hindi bato ang OFW.-Tao rin ang OFW, hindi money o cash It seems everywhere you turn
machine. Napapagod rin, nalulungkot (madalas), nagkakasakit, today the economy is in the news.
nag-iisip at nagugutom. We are constantly hearing
Kailangan din ang suporta, kundi man physically, emotionally
o spiritually man lang.
about the economic downturn as
well as near record numbers of
Our Journey
Tumatanda rin ang OFW. Sa mga nakausap at nakita ko, job losses.
marami ang panot at kalbo na. Most of them have signs and symp- The January job loss report an- EVA AGPAOA
toms of hypertension, coronary artery disease and arthritis. nounced a staggering 70,000 plus
Yet, they continue to work thinking about the family they left jobs lost in Ontario alone.
behind. Marami ang nasa abroad, 20-30 years na, pero wala pa ring It leaves you breathless and it
ipon. Kahit anong pakahirap, sablay pa rin.
Masakit pa kung olats rin ang sinusuportahang pamilya – ang
certainly focuses your attention
on your own job and financial se- Of belt tightening et. al.
anak adik o nabuntis; ang asawa may kabit. Naalala ko tuloy ang curity.
sikat na kanta dati, “NAPAKASAKIT KUYA EDDIE!” It’s tough and the experts are high interest rate debts into lower Financial security is not just
Bayani ang OFW. Totoo yun! Ngayon ko lang na na-realize na predicting it’s going to get even interest rate loans. about having cash in the bank, it’s
bayani ang OFW sa maraming bagay. tougher before we see some re- For example use your line of also about wisely investing that
Hindi bayani na tulad ni Nora Aunor o Flor Contemplacion. lief. credit to pay off your credit card money so that it can grow and
Bayani in the truest sense of the word. So what can you do to strength- debt. protect you.
Hindi katulad ni Rizal o Bonifacio. Mas higit pa dun, mas en your position? What are the If you have the extra cash, try There are so many different
maraming giyera at gulo ang pinapasok ng OFW para lang mabu- steps you can take? to pay down some debt. ways to invest today.
hay. The main objective is to free Stop using your credit card. Some investment vehicles are
Mas maraming pulitika ang kailangang suungin para lang tuma- up some cash flow that can either Credit cards have the worst inter- safe but don’t yield a large return,
gal sa trabaho lalo na’t gago ang mga kasama sa trabaho. be invested wisely or used to pay est rates imaginable. while others are considered risky
Mas mahaba ang pasensya kaysa sa mga ordinaryong kongresis- off some debt. Anyway in tough times like but could return a large gain.
ta o senador sa Philippines dahil sa takot na mawalan ng sweldo. The very first thing is to have now, it’s never a good idea to buy Still others provide services as
Matindi ang OFW. Matindi ang Pinoy. Matindi pa sa daga, o a close look at your expenses and something you can’t afford. well as protecting your money.
cockroaches which have survived cataclysmic evolution. start to ease off on those things If you must use your card, pay For example, life insurance
Maraming sakripisyo pero walang makitang tangible solutions which are not essential. off the entire amount at the end of gives you the best of both worlds.
or consequences. I’m not suggesting that you the month. It provides valuable benefit
Malas ng OFW, swerte ng pulitiko. Hindi umuupo ang OFW cut them out altogether because These are simple common for you and your love ones.
para magbigay ng autograph o interbyuhin ng media (unless nakid- that tough to do. sense steps we should all be tak- Which protection and invest-
nap!). Madalas nasa sidelines lang ang OFW. If it is difficult most of us will ing. ment you choose will depend on
Kapag umaalis, malungkot and on the verge of tears. Kapag du- not stay with a plan that brings on Financial security is one of the many factors that include your age
madating, swerte ‘pag may sundo (madalas meron). Kapag naubos more hardship. So be realistic. most important things you will and your appetite for risk among
na ang ipon, wala ng kamag-anak. Keep track of the money you want to achieve. others.
Sana sikat ang OFW para may boses sa Kamara. save when cutting back. Ok, now you’ve tightened But it’s also important to have
Ang swerte ng mga politiko nakaupo sila at ginagastusan ng It’s important to see a tangible your belt, paid down some (or all a balanced plan.
pera ng Filipino. Hindi nga sila naiinitan o napapaso ng langis, o benefit (such as growing your sav- of your debt), and you still have In that plan some essentials
napagagalitan ng amo, o kumakain ng paksiw para makatipid, o ings account) when you have de- some free cash in bank at the end are: Insurance (term and life);
nakatira sa compound with conditions less than favorable, o nakiki- prived yourself or your family of of each month. Mutual Funds; Property (but re-
sama sa ibang lahi para mabuhay. Ang swerte, sobrang swerte nila. something they are used to. Consider yourself lucky. member: location, location, loca-
(To page 24) If you have large debts (other But is the bank really the best tion); Revenue generating invest-
than a mortgage), try to refinance place to leave the cash? (To page 34)
10 MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009 VIEWS
Angelita Mina Galicia
It was a celebration of
life; just as it was an end-
less commemoration of
the memory of a maternal
figure who, in her lifetime,
Omerta
OCTOBER 1, 1913 - FEBRUARY 12, 2009
unconditionally loved and BUTCH GALICIA
steered her large flock to-
THE MATRIARCH wards the right track.
OF FOUR GENERATIONS ANGELITA MINA

She was the mother of 12. Of the dozen, Juanito, Elenita,

A TOAST TO LIFE
Part of Lola-Lola-Lola’s flock in Canada during the family Christmas
celebration in Brampton in 2005 (More photos on page 22)
GALICIA, 95 - in her eter-
nal slumber - was at the
Florinda, Zenaida, Angelita, Florencia and Manolito are
carrying on her legacy. When she breathed her last, she
center of arrangements her
ever increasing brood and
reunited with husband Antonio and children Felicisimo, those who took her as their
Maximino, Antonio Jr., Gloria and Renato in the Creator’s own were doing to make her
Home. She was the grandmother of 19, two of them - Pinky meeting with God and kin
and June Marie - welcoming her in Heaven. She was great who preceded her a reunion
grandmother to 26; and great great grandmother to seven. of joyful souls in heaven.
Down the line, she loved and respected at least 20 sons, I am pretty sure that
daughters, grandchildren and great grandchildren in-law. from a distance above, she
observed in her usual ca-
sual silence, smiling each
time each one fondly bade
her adieu - during the view-
ing at the Highland Funeral
Home and Cremation Cen-
tre from Valentine’s Day
to Family Day and during
the funeral Mass at the St.
Dunstan Catholic Church
and her interment at the
Highland Memory Gardens
Cemetery on Feb. 17.
As family members in
Toronto, Brampton and
Scarborough in Ontario and
Winnipeg, Manitoba came
to pay their last respects,
those in the Philippines, in
Angola, and in Edmonton,
Canada kept up with the
That dash is
a full circle
Catholic rites of final pas-
sage dutifully given the ma-
triarch.
*****
Long-time friend and
confessor Fr. Carl Mat-
thews, in remarks during
the funeral Mass, summed
up Angelita’s earthly stay
as the epitome of Christian
life centered on love and
family.
Fr. Carl noted how An-
gelita’s great grandchildren
led the Rosary during fu-
neral prayers.
Angelita, he said, suc-
cessfully passed on the
faith, that belief in and fear
of God her family would
love to pass on to and share
with generations to come.
(Another great great grand-
child is expected in April,
and will surely be baptized
a Catholic.)
Fr. Carl also cited An-
gelita’s children who at-
tended to her care and com-
fort at their homes from the
time she came to Canada
in 1976, during her most
senior years, and up to the
time of her demise.
This familial love and
sense of togetherness void-
ed any stray thought of An-
gelita entering the doors of
a seniors’ home, he said.
*****
Angelita was Mama to
children Juanito, Elenita,
Florinda, Zenaida, Angelita,
Florencia and Manolito who
are carrying on her legacy
on earth; and to husband
Antonio and children Feli-
cisimo, Maximino, Antonio
Jr., Gloria and Renato who
she would be reunited with
in the Creator’s Home.
She was Lola (grand-
mother) to 19, two of them
(To page 11)

with a promise of another Half a century ago

The

The 3rd Eye episode.

The ending
Aside from an appeal-
ing introduction, an alluring
plot and a thrilling climax,
a well-written story is not
complete without an end-
ing.
When translated into
film, the ending is the part
when the last scene fades to
black.
On stage, it is the part
when the star performer
seals his brilliant perfor-
mance with a gracious bow
to the applauding audience
as the curtain gently rolls
down.
The world we live in is
like a big stage. It presents a
drama. And every one of us
has a role to play.
Our scripts begin on the
day we are born.
As we grow older, we
unknowingly write pages of
events that form the book of
our lives.
Then, when the final
chapter is fully revealed,
the book closes its covers.
There was a remarkable
old man whose wizard-like
eloquence in telling stories
made me feel like a child
MARIO DIMAIN
listening to a fairytale.
It was a delight to watch
his expressive face as his
baritone voice narrated his
riveting life story.
The anecdote of his ad-
venture in the deep forest
of the Philippines when he
was hunting for wildlife
was very fascinating.
The suspenseful account
of his experiences with the
invading Japanese soldiers
is one of my favourites and
certainly put me on the edge
of my seat when I heard it.
Every conversation we
had was always wrapped up
And in his own words,
he would say with his in-
fectious smile, “Sa susunod
uli,” which means “to be
continued.”
Sadly, the next session
did not materialize.
My dear old friend,
whom I got accustomed to
calling Tatay, became grave-
ly ill and passed away.
On January 12, 2009, at
the age of 82, he faced the
final curtain of his life and
breathed his last.
My stubborn admira-
tion for the man refused to
accept that his story had
ended just like that.
No. Not that way.
He was a wonderful
man and deserved a better
ending.
So I took upon myself to
produce a short video trib-
ute which was centred upon
his deep love for his family.
Every passing image
(To page 24)
marketing consultant, James
Vicary, pulled a hoax on the
American people as a way
to promote his advertising
agency.
He reported that he
flashed the words “Drink
Coca-Cola” and “Eat
popcorn” on the screen for a
millisecond during a movie
in a theater, and caused
large numbers of people to
visit the concession stand.
He called the effect
Subliminal Advertising.
Subliminal means
that the effect functions
below the threshold of
consciousness.
Years later, when others
failed to duplicate his
results, he admitted that he
made the whole thing up.
Never-the-less, the myth
continues.
So, is there any
advertising that does work
below the threshold of
consciousness?
Yes. Much of advertising
is clearly designed to speak
to you on a subconscious
level.
Ads are created to get
you to relate to the setting;
the background music; the
age, race and gender of the
actors; their clothing; and
the activities in which they
are involved.
The idea is that you will
recognize yourself in these
people and, in turn, make
the connection, “Ah, this is
my kind of product.”
You don’t think it ... you
Un-Comfort
Zone
with ROBERT WILSON
Bleed it out
feel it. And, feelings move
us to act.
A few years ago I was
involved in non-profit
fund-raising for a Christian
Mission in Africa.
In order to learn what
type of appeal would bring
in the most money, we
conducted a series of focus
groups.
We asked, “Which would
you be more likely to do: A.
Give money to feed starving
babies; or B. Give money to
teach people how to grow
drought resistant crops that
would end starvation in
their community.”
The answer they gave
was almost universally: B.
The comments we heard
frequently included the
proverb: “Give a man a fish
and you feed him for a day;
Teach a man to fish and you
feed him for life.”
We then tested both
appeals. Oops, the focus
groups were wrong.
The appeal for feeding
starving babies won by a
landslide.
The lesson we learned
was that the emotional
appeal to save the life of a
child is much more powerful
than a logical appeal for
teaching a village survival
skills that would eliminate
starvation.
From that point forward,
the heart-tugging stories
of babies dying headlined
every ad we ran.
Emotion trumps logic
every time.
Take for example, Nick
Ut’s 1972 photograph of a
9-year-old Vietnamese girl
who was naked, shrieking
and running away from her
village that had just been
bombed with napalm.
Fear, despair and
suffering were written all
over her face. More than
anything it was her complete
vulnerability that captured
our attention.
One snapshot revealed
the gut-wrenching horror of
war, and millions of people,
whose hearts were touched,
turned their attention toward
ending the Vietnam War.
Perhaps you recall
(To page 24)

That dash is a full circle
(From page 10)
- Pinky and June Marie -
welcoming her in Heaven.
She was Lola Lola (great
grandmother) to 26; and
Lola Lola Lola (great great
grandmother) to seven.
She respected and loved
some 20 sons, daughters,
grandchildren and great
grandchildren in-law.
*****
So large is the family
that in offbeat talks, some-
one suggested that Lola and
her tribe should have been
etched in the pages of a
records book for, perhaps,
being a family in Toronto,
if not in Canada, with the
most living members span-
ning five generations.
My uncles even joked
that when Lola lived, I and
my younger brother Gie
held the distinction of being
- at the same quite extraor-
dinary instance - a grandson
(to Lola) and a grandfather
(to our grandchildren).
Witty that she was es-
pecially when the family’s
lineage was conversation
topic, Lola was undoubted-
ly chuckling in delight and
exclaiming “Awesome!”
That was Lola - a re-
silient physical, moral and
spiritual root to a sturdy
family tree that had grown
and branched out in many
VIEWS
dimensions through all 95
years of her lifetime.
*****
I know she left a will; a
testament found only in the
recesses of her kind heart
and could only be manifest-
ed to us if we appreciate the
good memories she left us.
If I will dare peek into
this will, I know that she
gave us her most valued
treasures:
► Our dreams: Lola
dreamt and dared with us.
With only words of encour-
agement and confidence,
Lola always egged me to
dream, fulfill that dream,
be the best of what I wanted
to be, no matter the odds. I
know she did similarly with
everyone she kept dear un-
der her wings.
► Our talents: Lola
always lent an attentive ear
to our versions of how we
played our best in the game
of life.
When Tita Ester and
cousins Regan, Patricia and
Kevin had to miss her buri-
al to fly back to Winnipeg
to be in time for Patricia’s
musical concert, I am pretty
sure Lola soared with them
to watch her granddaugh-
ter’s sterling performance.
She was proud of our
laurels, no matter its size.
But she was even prouder
when we apply the right
values she taught us to ably
rise and shine after every
temporary fall.
► Our life: Lola kept
the bloodline flowing in
our veins. She was a major
influence in our lives. Her
strength of character was
ours. So were her soothing
touch and graciousness of
speech. In times of want,
she was hope personified;
during plenty, charity - val-
ues she knew should be ours
too. Orderliness and organi-
zation were her great marks.
We would have never been
us without her stewardship.
*****
October 1, 1913 -- Feb-
ruary 12, 2009. Letters and
numbers may suggest a thing
or two. But more significant
is the dash between Lola’s
birth and death dates.
That dash is the full
circle of life Lola strove to
be, had become, and had
shared with us to appreciate
and enjoy.
It’s just too sad that we
could no longer hold her
hand, give her a big hug, or
kiss her forehead. But she
left us a great DASH I know
would serve us well as we
straighten out our own.
butchgalicia@yahoo.com
Juan Ponce Enrile is
making headlines again
these days. Not only be-
cause of his recent election
as president of the Philip-
pine Senate ... but for ad-
vocating for presidential
clemency in order to release
from their incarceration the
few remaining soldiers who
are serving reclusion per-
petua for their participation
in the assassination of Be-
nigno Aquino, Jr.
His reason: they were
foot soldiers blindly obey-
ing orders from a chain of
command.
The Senate president
suggests instead for the
Aquino family to prosecute
the search for the identity/
ties of the murderous mas-
termind/s to its natural con-
clusion.
The Cagayanon senator
went so far as to practically
berating former president
Corazon Aquino for not
pursuing the identification
of her late husband’s ulti-
mate murderer a priority of
her presidency.
August 21, 1983 was a
balmy Sunday afternoon
in Iligan City where I was
enjoying beer and pulutan
with my new compadres,
having earlier participated
in a christening.
Our revelry was cut
short as news of Ninoy’s
MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009
Perspective
RICARDO J.S. CALUEN
Who ordered
Ninoy’s death?
assassination crackled over
the radio ... prompting us
to turn on the TV to see
the image of a fallen Ninoy
that was beamed around the
world.
Everyone in the room sat
practically speechless for a
moment or two as we pro-
cessed the newsbreaker in
our liquor-infused brains.
All we could hear from
the womenfolk was a suc-
cession of “Oh, my God!
Oh, my God!” with hands
on cheeks.
To this day, no one
seems to know with cer-
tainty the identity of the
mastermind/s of the Aquino
assassination.
Marcos was quick to de-
clare - just hours after the
assassination and without
even having announced the
creation of a fact-find body -
that the Communists did it.
This is not to say the
11
grapevine was quiet. The
country was rife with con-
jectures and rumors.
There was talk of an irate
President Marcos throwing
an ashtray at the First Lady
for hatching a poorly-ex-
ecuted scheme (would the
dictator have done a better
job if he masterminded it?).
Marcos loyalists main-
tained the late president
couldn’t have planned any-
thing whose authorship
could be traced all the way
back to Malacanang or so
sloppy.
Everyone had a field
day repeating the line: Pa-
tay na si Galman, buhay pa
ang gunman.
A few months earlier,
I had attended a refresher
course in Political Science at
the University of the Philip-
pines where we had brave-
ly discussed post-Marcos
(To page 16)
17)
12 MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009 Community
Turning down the heat PIDC gears up for Mabuhay Festival
Setback thermostats can save energy and money.
Just as you shut off lights and appliances when you’re Preparations for this
not using them, you can save energy by turning down year’s edition of the Phil-
the furnace and air conditioner when you leave the ippine Independence Day
house or go to sleep. This practice can result in energy Council’s (PIDC) Mabuhay
savings of five to 15 percent, according to a Canadian Festival are in high gear.
Centre for Housing Technology study. Organizers said the day-
Setting the air conditioner thermostat a couple of long festival would be con-
degrees higher in the summer when the house is empty ducted on July 18 at Hall D
also brings significant energy savings and helps control of the Metro Toronto Con-
indoor humidity. vention Centre in down-
If your schedule is predictable, then a setback ther- town Toronto, right in the PIDC Little Miss Philippines will be crowned on May 2 at the Korean Cultural
mostat that automatically bumps the temperature up or hub of the city’s business, Centre. The candidates are Abby Kowalczyk, Rina Rafael, Louise Chanco,
down when you want it to may be right for you. shopping, tourism, cultural Melissa Manaig, Thayra Sugunalan, Olga Martinez, Jamie Ariaga and
Is a setback thermostat right for you? and fashion districts. Annabelle Da Silva. Photo: RUDY CASTRO/PR
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporations ad- Among the regular fea-
vises you to consider the following: tures of the 2009 Mabuhay
► Personal schedule: A setback thermostat is ideal Festival are cultural and
for people with predictable work and sleep patterns. contemporary entertainment
If your schedule changes often, you probably won’t with local artists; the Santa
find a setback thermostat as convenient. Cruzan; and a showcase of
► Comfort: It can take up to an hour for the home’s Philippine cuisine, kakanin
temperature to change. and other desserts.
You may need to experiment with your setback A PIDC Cafe or tam-
thermostat to ensure that your home is at your ideal bayan ng bayan where one
temperature by the time you wake up and by the time could connect with compa-
you return home. triots just like back home PIDC will choose anew the community’s Ambassadress of Goodwill, to
► Moisture and ventilation problems: A setback of would be put up. represent the Philippines in multicultural events in Toronto. One will be
four to six degrees can increase the possibility of high Organizers said they chosen as the Reyna Elena in the Grand Santa Cruzan on July 18 at the
humidity, which can lead to condensation on windows would later announce fea- Mabuhay Festival. PIDC Miss Philippines candidates Mandy Law, Trisha
and walls. tured artists from the Phil- Ruiz, Natalie Rafael, Lysa Tagalog, Jemi Echevarria, Kat Romero, Gielyn
Also, a setback thermostat causes a sustained lack ippines. Last year’s crowd Edjan. Photo: RUDY CASTRO/PR
of air circulation for forced air systems as the house drawer was Filipino come-
cools down. dianne Ai Ai delas Alas. a captive audience. Take the Each booth is a 10x10 Booth prices are: prime
For houses where bedroom doors are kept closed, Festival booths opportunity to know and en- ft. frame with eight-foot corner booth, $350; regular
this could lead to stuffiness in those rooms and a lack The PIDC is inviting in- gage potential clients. The back and three-foot side booth, non-prime, $300;
of fresh air. If your house is in good condition, if you do terested businesses to maxi- festival is the perfect place drapes, with one eight-foot two or more connected
not have excessive moisture problems and if you keep mize exposure and expand and time,” PIDC said. table, two chairs and four booths, non-prime, $275
a fairly regular schedule, then a setback thermostat can market opportunities to be Exhibitor booths are exhibitor badges. Limited each. A ten percent discount
offer convenience, comfort and may help reduce energy a festival exhibitor. available on a first pay first additional tables and chairs is given for booths paid on
costs. PR “Show your product to assigned basis. may be negotiated. (To page 18)

GENERAL DENTISTRY
Dr. Gilbert Chan
Dr. Daphne Chien
Dr. Janet Ho
Dr. Janet Wong
Dr. Michael Chin
 Community
FFCB looks for 1st
youth ambassador
BRAMPTON, ON. – The Federation of Fil-
ipino Canadians of Brampton (FFCB) is looking
for its first Youth Ambassador, who will travel
on an all-expenses paid trip to the Philippines to
promote friendship and goodwill between Can-
ada and the Philippines, specifically between
Brampton and its sister city, Marikina.
The winner will see, live and experience
Filipino culture first-hand, as he/she visits some
of the schools adopted by the Federation in
the Philippines, and get a close-up look at the
similarities and differences between the schools
there and in Canada.
Competition information will be released at
a Youth Ambassador Dance at the Rose Theatre
in Brampton on Feb. 28.
FFCB is a registered, non-profit organization
of Filipino individuals and associations which
main objective is the preservation and promo-
tion of Filipino culture, traditions, and heritage.
PR
PNB Remit names
Yule draw winners
The PNB Remittance Co. (Canada) Inc. has
announced the winners of its Pasko Na, Bayan
Ko Christmas Promo ’08.
Grand prize - winner for an LG 42” HDTV is
Randy Asuncion of Toronto.
Two second prize winners for an ASUS 10”
Laptop are Airene Cunanan of Mississauga and
Susana Sanico of Surrey, BC.
The third prize for a digital video cam-
era each are Grace Sayson of Mississauga and
Nestor Diamzon of Vancouver.
In the east coast, consolation prizes of 12 free
remittances each go to Evelyn Hufana, Belma
Descargar and Irene Pangilinan, all of Eglinton;
Miriam Pascua, Carlos Rivero, Cely Oso-
rio, Marjorie Gabay and Yolando Hurtedo all of
Mississauga; Mark Daclag of Toronto; and Vir-
ginia Almodal of Scarborough.
Consolation prize winners in the west coast
are Nestor Tolentino and Merycris Seaman, both
of Vancouver; Alfonso Gumban, Amarelli On-
gyiu, Sheila Ann Laanan, Marietta Veloo, Ralph
de Asis, and Andylyn Sambile, all of Surrey;
Neil Duholke of Calgary; and Francisco Robles
of Winnipeg.
The draws were conducted at the company’s
Scarborough Branch on Jan. 30.
Walk-in clients drew the winners, as wit-
nessed by three representatives from Filipino
MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009 13
AMIT BHATIA
Credit Counsellor
IF
- All your income is going to pay bills.
- Everyday there is fight & argument at home.
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manilamediamonitor.com Web : www.cmsgroup.ca
Call 416-285-8583 3 convenient locations - Toronto, Mississauga and Scarborough

Gathering
@ Ballada
Community mediamen
and local entertain-
ment greats pose for a
souvenir photo during
a recent gathering at
the Ballada Restaurant.
Among those in the
photo are Philippine
Press Club-Ontario’s
Tenny Soriano and wife
Myrna, Ace and Gie Al-
varez and Joe Damas-
co; concert artists Jen
Camacho and Candace
Santos; and community
leader Chito Collantes.
Photo: TONY ANG
14
Move over, Mrs. Malaprop!
(From page 9)
down - why not look at
excessive sodium in the
same way?
To achieve this, we must
ask ourselves, and above
all those responsible for
supplying the food chain,
things like why in the United
States is there a no-sodium
tomato ketchup and, so far
as we know, none here.
And a no-sodium
chicken broth while we
THEY ARE ON RADIO, BECAUSE SOME PICTURES NEED A THOUSAND WORDS, as one saying
goes. This one time though, radio announcers of Manila’s Radyo ng Bayan (formerly Voice of the
Philippines) and DZSR/Sports Radio gathered together to share with former fellow announcers, now
based in Toronto - Front Page Philippines TV host Gie Alvarez and Philippine Courier Publisher Mon
Wanted LIVE-IN CAREGIVER for 8 yr old girl
Scarb area, at least one yr exp, $ 9.25 / hr
private accommodation will be provided
Call Ludelle at 416-293-9756
On the tight economy, media, atbp.
(From page 7)
convention.
Great and reasonable
move by the CAB!
No ... no … the
example doesn’t apply
to organizations with
scheduled “Spring Dance”
events, induction of
officers.
The example only
applies to a convention,
kaya … tuloy ang ligaya!
***
U.K.’s most famous
businessman, Sir Richard
Branson, addressed a
packed house of media
owners, marketers and
Toronto Mayor David
Miller on Wednesday,
January 28, during an
hour-long interview with
Toronto Star media and
culture critic Geoff Pevere
at Toronto Filmport
movie studio, saying bad
businesses should “make
way for new trees.”
To my fellow publishers
in the Filipino Canadian
community in Toronto,
please pay attention to
Branson. I think he’s
addressing you, too.
***
Community
must content ourselves with
“reduced sodium” broths?
In my experience,
consultant dietitians recom-
mending low-sodium in-
take have varied from as
high as 3,600 millligrams of
sodium daily down to 1,500
milligrams.
In my own case, my
cardiologist prefers that I
hew as closely as possible
to 1,500 milligrams daily.
Broadcasters’ gathering
Datol. Among those in photo are Radyo
ng Bayan announcer Norma Marco and
DZSR/Sports radio announcers Judith
Caringal, Ria Arevalo, Cecil Quimlat,
Aida Gatdula and Rick Yap Santos.
We could not identify the others in the
photo, because, as the saying goes,
“some pictures simply need a thou-
sand words,” and this is one of those.
Photo: DZSR-SPORTS RADIO / Cap-
tion: ACE ALVAREZ
A news item in one
Manila daily newspaper on
January 26: “Even the Dead
Held to Environmental
Standards As New
Regulations Target Funeral
Services”.
To Philippine funeral
services company owners
in the Philippines: Now …
now ! Your prayers of “Give
us this day our daily dead
…” is no longer enough as
the Philippine government
set its eyes on you, guys.
***
According to a study
done by Ipsos Reid, many
Canadians consume many
media.
You guys, at Ipsos Reid,
why do you pick on us
publishers in the Filipino
Canadian community in
Toronto?
Why, afterall there are
only 14 or 15 publications
in the Toronto area?
***
One news item on
January 22: “Astral Media
Inc. has reorganized some of
its English-language radio
operations across Canada
and shed 23 employees”.
What I’m trying to do
with Losode is to inform
you from my own findings
and to pass on to others
information I may glean
from you.
We need ammunition
with which to tell the food
chain that we’re just not
satisfied with the present
attitude toward low sodium
diets.
We shall ferret out the
addresses of responsible
politicians and food chain
No … no … What I
said was “Astral Media”;
not Joel Recla’s Perlas ng
Silanganan radio. Besides,
the news item said English
language radio program;
Tagalog radio program
naman ang Perlas ng
Silanganan radio, e.
Perlas ng Silanganan
airs every Saturday, 6:30
to 7 p.m. over CHIN Radio
International, 1540 AM,
simulcast 100.7 FM.
***
News item of January
22: Microsoft to slash
5,000 jobs.
Iyan naman ang puri
ko for Danny Samson’s
ID Tech Solutions, on the
one hand, and Omie and
Lorna De Vera’s LDV
Computers, on the other
hand. Regardless of the
downturn in the economy,
they are not laying off
people.
(Libre na naman ang
“honorable mention”
here, dahil love sila ng
writer dito. Ako la’ng ang
mahina sa mga ito, e. To
Danny, Omie and Lorna,
please read the message
executives you can write
or e-mail expressing your
own dissatisfaction with the
current state of affairs.
Because this site
is primarily for North
American readers, we
shall publish information
supported by the Canadian
and U.S. medical
professions.
We will filter out
dubious nostrums, looking
for workable recipes with
available ingredient lists
between the lines here)
***
PCCT board chair and
president, Rafael Nebres,
sent an e-mail on January
21, to his board members
requesting for RSVP for
their scheduled meeting for
Thursday, February 5.
PCCT Director Agnes
Loshusan of Mary Kay
Cosmetics replied as
follows: “See you there
Kuya Paeng and honourary
Board Members!”
Agnes, your fellow board
members were elected,
hence, not “honourary”.
(Of course, Agnes’ reply
was a slip of the finger.)
***
FINALLY, the last three
items from Marketing
Daily of January 21:
Item # 1: “Global
consulting firm Deloitte
included the following
item in its 2009 Canadian
media predictions:
‘For sale: 1 major city
nwspapr—$20 obo’.” The
mock ad underscores the
magnitude of the problems
facing the newspaper.”
To the PCCT president,
MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009
that give sodium amounts
correctly in milligrams.
Deepest Thanks: for the
design of the site and as
always, his mentoring, Bill
Andersen; for an insight
into the world of dietetics,
Donna Andersen and for
information on shopping
in the U.S.A., Windsor
resident Cheryl Oliver.
We’re out to create an
exchange of information
and ideas.
We hope that the
Losode site can stimulate
a greater acceptance of
the importance of healthy
attitudes on the part of us all
Did media create this ...
(From page 8)
the tough economic times
ahead of us – which a month
later openly manifested
itself across the globe. At
that time, both of us could
only express our optimism.
Concerned, involved
and having interest on the
business operation side of
Manila Media Monitor,
Butch said before we parted,
“Don’t worry. The situation
is just media hype so that
the North American car
industry could get money
from the government.
We both laughed,
understanding each other
without further explanation
because of our close
familiarity to the journalism
profession (and some of you
readers will understand, too,
what we meant here, absent
a detailed explanation).
While blame on the
media as the cause of this
financial crash remains
debatable, this column holds
Action Honda general
manager, Rafael Nebres:
Sir Paeng, take note. All
papers might just close
shop.
Item # 2: “Toyota
supplants GM as world
No. 1”
Again, Sir Paeng, your
attention, please. Action
Honda, more than ever,
needs advertising and
promotion this time.
Item # 3: BBM Nielsen
lists “Top Ten Television
Programs for the week of
January 5 to 11”.
Sir Paeng, on a related
matter! Front Page
Philippines is listed again
by BBM Nielsen. Let me
show you the list.
It’s listed as number
…. Let me re-check it …
it’s listed as number …
hhmmm … just be patient
with me … I can’t seem to
find it now … hhhmmm
… ah ...
Sir Paeng, let me just
get back to you on this in
the next issue. I can’t seem
to find the indication on
this.
Thank you, sir.
toward maintaining balance
in our diets.
So let’s hear from you!
(Used with permission.
Ben Viccari is past
president of the Canadian
Ethnic Media Association
[CEMA] and makes
frequent appearances on
OMNI TV Commentary.
Some of his commentaries
are republished in this
publication and slightly
expanded in some cases
from their 70-second
broadcast originals. For
more of his work, please
visit Ben’s website at:
http://canscene.ripple.ca)
true what one executive
producer with the BBC said
that “the media has helped
spread confusion – at least
in the early stages of the
credit crunch.”
The BBC producer,
Dominic Crossley-Holland,
said in an article published
in The Independent in
Britain opined that there
is no doubt that the crash
has exposed some lack of
understanding by the media
on how the financial world
has evolved.
As to the question if
media made things worse,
Holland wrote, “It depends
which media,” citing BBC
Newsnight’s economic
editor Paul Mason, who
in turn, said, “I would be
critical of the broadcast
financial channels, not
for the quality of their
reporting but for creating
an almost incoherent babble
about something that hardly
matters in modern finance:
the stock market.”
As you know, the stock
market crash is traditionally
used by economists and
historians alike as the first
indicator of a recession.
Now, while the debate
goes on whether media is to
blame on the present world
economic state (described
as the worst since the Great
Depression), this corner
say that we in the media
industry are now suffering
the most, too, from the
effects of our industry’s
own doing as business
reduced drastically, if not
totally held back on their
advertising and promotions
budgets – which we hope
will only last at least for the
first quarter of this year.
TV ads reach far.
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COMMUNITY MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009 15

Isabela organization officers take oath

ABOVE: Gamu, Isabela Mayor Fernando Cumigad inducts the 2009 officers
of the Isabela Cultural Organization of Canada (ICOC). Sworn in were Ariel
Villamil, president; Teotimo Dugenia, 1st vice president; Butch Gumaru, 2nd
vice president; Alicia Guillermo, secretary; Maria Elena Gervacio, assistant
secretary; Perlita Visaya, treasurer; Malou Mendez, assistant treasurer;
Elmira Villamil, auditor; Celia Caramat, assistant auditor; Don McCormick,
PRO; Eva Agpaoa, assistant PRO; Gerard de Guzman, business manager;
Ernesto Agsalda, assistant business manager. Inducted as directors were
Jingle de Guzman, chair; Teresita Visaya, Elsa Galanza, Juliet dela Cruz,
Alfred Mendez, Beth Asiddao, Luz Agsalda, Melody Marcelo, Grace Suguitan
and Jovita Lim. Also taking their oaths were advisors Eduardo Calucag,
Julita Calucag, Bayani Aban, Fili Visaya, Ric Dumlao and Catalina Gumaru.
LEFT PHOTOS: Mayor Cumigad and Philippine Consul General in Toronto
Alejandro Mosquera join ICOC officers and members. EVA AGPAOA

Cumigad lauds ICOC for

work in Toronto, RP
Fernando Cumigad,
mayor of the Philippine town
of Gamu in Isabela province,
has lauded the Isabela
Cultural Organization of
Canada (ICOC) for its civic
and philanthropic work for
the Filipino community in
Toronto and for compatriots
in the Philippines.
Cumigad urged the
community to help promote
Philippine products in the
Canadian market.
Likewise, he said skilled
and professional Filipino
manpower could be tapped
to help steer economic
productivity in Canada.
The mayor made the call
during the Feb. 7 induction
of ICOC 2009 officers and
in a meeting with members
of the community media on
Feb. 12.
With him were Marlo
Padaca and Romy Lanuza,
executive assistants of
Isabela governor Grace
(To page 27)

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16 MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009
Miss Teen GTA ‘09 Rachelle Perez vies for the
crown of Miss Teen Canada Globe in August. Her
family and friends thank all those who are sup-
porting Perez in her bid.
Who ordered Ninoy’s death?
(From page 11)
scenarios. (I say “bravely”
because while “the effects
of Martial Law” had been
lifted, martial rule was still
very much the name of the
game.)
The major dramatis
personae included Imelda
Marcos, Juan Ponce Enrile,
General Fabian Ver, Ninoy
Aquino, and a few other op-
position leaders (the Mar-
cos children did not even
figure).
Ninoy Aquino assassi-
nated? Wow, this was one
hell of a simulation game
gone berserk.
Ninoy’s death gripped
the nation’s attention all the
way up to the snap elections
of 1986.
I joined JAJA or the
“Justice for Ninoy, Justice
for All” Movement - like
many others who were oth-
erwise without any specific
ideological leanings and
just tired of martial rule.
Ninoy’s funeral galva-
nized two million mourn-
ers.
Surely Marcos would
have seen the writing on
the wall and should just
have “cut and cut cleanly”,
without prodding from US
Senator Lugar.
But then it would have
deprived the Filipino nation
of the legend of EDSA.
In the days following
COMMUNITY
the Aquino assassination,
President Marcos sent a
fact-finding commission
headed by Supreme Court
Chief Justice Enrique Fer-
nando to investigate the
Aquino murder (pretty
much taking cue from Pres-
ident Johnson constituting
the Warren Commission in
the aftermath of the Ken-
nedy assassination).
This was a short-lived
commission as the four
other members - retired Su-
preme Court Justices - re-
signed after its composition
was challenged in court.
Later, Marcos created
another fact-finding com-
mittee known as the Agrava
Fact-Finding Board, headed
by former Court of Appeals
Justice Corazon Agrava.
The Agrava Board re-
leased the reports conclud-
ing that military officers, in-
cluding then Armed Forces
Chief of Staff Gen. Fabian
Ver, conspired to kill Ninoy
Aquino and the Supreme
Court assigned the case to
the Sandiganbayan.
On December 2, 1985,
the Sandiganbayan acquit-
ted all the accused.
Following the EDSA
Revolution, the reorganized
Supreme Court ordered a
retrial of the accused.
Warrants of arrests were
subsequently issued by the
Sandiganbayan for 25 mili-
tary men, led by General
Ver, and one civilian.
On September 28, 1990,
the Sandiganbayan convict-
ed 16 of the suspects and
sentenced them to reclusion
perpetua or life sentence.
Those convicted were
Press and captioned photo releases published in the Manila Media Monitor are for PUB-
LIC SERVICE and FREE OF CHARGE. Press releases must be in word document format.
Photos, must be in JPEG, TIFF or PDF formats. All contributions are subject to strict
editorial appreciation. Send them to mediamonitor@rogers.com on or before the 8th of
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BE TREATED AS ADVERTISEMENTS AND SHALL BE BILLED ACCORDINGLY.
TV ads reach far.
ADVERTISE with
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the Avsecom chief, Brig.
Gen. Luther Custodio, Capt.
Romeo Bautista, 2nd Lt. Je-
sus Castro, and Sergeants
Claro Lat, Arnulfo de Mesa,
Filomeno Miranda, Ro-
lando de Guzman, Ernesto
Mateo, Rodolfo Desolong,
Ruben Aquino and Arnulfo
Artates, gunman Constable
Rogelio Moreno, M/Sgt.
Pablo Martinez, C1C Ma-
rio Lazaga, A1C Cordova
Estelo and A1C Felizardo
Taran.
No mastermind was
named.
The Supreme Court af-
firmed the conviction on
July 23, 1991.
On November 21, 1998,
General Ver died of a lung
ailment while in exile in
Bangkok (perhaps carrying
with him to the grave what-
ever secret there was about
the Aquino assassination.)
On the 24th anniversary
of Ninoy’s murder (August
21, 2007), Chief Justice An-
dres Narvasa appealed for
the closure of the case while
Juan Ponce Enrile asked for
the review for clemency in
favor of the 14 convicts.
Palawan Bishop Pedro
Arigo, chairman of the CB-
CP’s Episcopal Commis-
sion on Prison Pastoral Care
(ECPPC), asked pardon for
the convicts.
President Aquino and
Benigno Aquino III granted
forgiveness to the 14 sol-
diers but opposed their ap-
peals for clemency or pa-
role.
Since then, one by one
the prisoners have started
dying (some say on highly-
suspicious causes) or had
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been granted executive
clemency for humanitarian
reasons.
Recently, two others
were ordered released for
health reasons, which leaves
the number of remaining
convicts at the National
Penitentiary at 10.
Could the Aquino fam-
ily have known all the while
who ordered Ninoy killed?
And wouldn’t Senator
Enrile himself, given his
high position in the Cabinet
and the time and his access
to military or police intelli-
gence, have known too?
The Warren Commis-
sion concluded that the as-
sassination of President
Kennedy was not the prod-
uct of a conspiracy.
Yet, there are those who
maintain that there was a
conspiracy whose plotters
belonged at the time at the
highest echelons of govern-
ment.
But to pursue this angle
would have far-reaching ef-
fects that would traumatize
the national psyche and
undermine the American
people’s faith in their own
democratic institutions.
Why is Senator Enrile
so fired up about obtaining
executive clemency for the
Aquino murderers and for
ferreting out the truth as to
the masterminds of their
crime?
I am interested to know.
As I am interested to know
who the conspirators are
behind the Aquino assassi-
nation.
Fiat justitia, ruat coe-
lum. Let justice be done,
though the heavens fall.
 COMMUNITY MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009 17
KCCC’s Mama Ching Quejas graces PPC-O forum

PPCO WITH MAMA CHING AT CASA MANILA: Consolacion “Mama Ching” Quejas (seated, 4th from left), president of Kalayaan Cultural Community Centre
(KCCC), spoke on the challenges facing the KCCC during this economically challenging times. Mama Ching was guest speaker at the Almusalan forum of
the Philippine Press Club-Ontario (PPC-O) at Casa Manila on Jan. 31. With her are PPC-O members and guests. Photo: PHILIPPINE COURIER

Remittances,
Filipino trade expert to address CEMA
(From page 3) AFCA induction, dinner-dance set economic
commissioning and Export Institute (www.iiei. relations, among others The Association of Filipino Canadian Accountants
international business edu), based in Phoenix, Philippine Ambassador (AFCA) has set the induction of its new board officers and crisis up in
through his past service in Arizona U.S.A. to Canada Jose Brillantes members and its spring dance at the Sts. Peter & Paul Ban-
various capacities for the Recently, Gerardo and Ambassador and quet Hall on March 14. PPC-O forum
Philippine government. launched a book, entitled Undersecretary of Foreign An event highlight is the AFCA Board’s presentation The issues of remittanc-
He was the first Ka-intindi’han (Mutual Affairs in the Philippines of updates on a strategic plan based on four cross-cutting es and exchange rates vis-a-
Philippine Trade Understanding). Edsel Custodio described themes: professional development, well-being of members, vis the prevailing economic
Promotion Representative The book fills in the book as very timely. community participation and organizational effectiveness. crisis and other related sub-
in Denmark, Sweden and the need for the diverse The reviews said the To be an AFCA member, one should be of Filipino de- jects will be the focus of the
Norway. cultural mosaic of Canada Filipino population in scent, a designated accountant or a holder of university/col- Philippine Press Club-On-
Likewise, he was the to fully understand the Canada is significantly lege accounting degree, or enrolled in an accounting des- tario’s (PPC-O) Almusalan
first Trade Commissioner Filipinos’ work ethics, impacting the country’s ignation program, or employed and engaged in accounting at Casa Manila at 11 a.m.
and Manager of the values and potential worth, population infrastructure. -related field. on Feb. 28.
Philippine House in since they comprise the For more information In 1978, a group of six accountants and auditors, mostly Feliciano Miranda III
Toronto. fourth largest ethnic group on Gerardo’s talk and from Revenue Canada, conceived the idea of forming an of PNB Remit is the guest
Gerardo is a member in Canada. CEMA, visit www. organization of Filipino accountants in Toronto. Today, speaker, according to Al-
of the Advisory Board of Several of Gerardo’s canadianethnicmedia.com after 30 years, AFCA has become a 550-member strong musalan committee chair
the International Import & peers in international CEMA group of Filipino accountants. PR Tony Sicat.
18 COMMUNITY
PIDC gears up ... TCWCIM fellowship inspires businessmen
The Mrs. Philippines pageant will be
conducted at the Rembrandt Banquet
Hall on April 24. The candidates
Marilou Tamboong, Apple Aldea,
Rose Bongolan and Lena Magdalena.
Photo: RUDY CASTRO/PR
(From page 12)
or before April 30.
Parking pass at $11 and Festival tickets
at $15 (limited to four) are available if or-
dered with application only.
Exhibitor packages and floor plans were
sent out to everyone in the PIDC’s list since
Feb. 2. PR
Did you know you may be eligible for these BENEFITS
and TAX CREDITS?
- Working Income Tax Benefit (WITB)
- GST/HST Credit
- The Universal Child Care Benefit
Call now to book an appointment 416-461-9233
Toronto ACORN 1324 Danforth Ave. Suite #21 (Upstairs)
Next to the GREENWOOD Subway Stn. Toronto
The economy is in crisis - but not
business people. And while governments
are diligently looking for ways to mitigate
the recession, the Toronto Christian Worship
Centre International Ministries (TCWCIM)
is likewise boosting businessmen’s spirits.
Entrepreneurs from the insurance,
health and wellness, networking, food and
realty industries operating in the Greater
Toronto Area and Montreal attended the
business breakfast fellowship organized by
Monit Copreros.
In his sermon, TCWCIM pastor Rev.
Ogie Fernandez challenged the audience to
survive the economic slump by trusting in
the Lord, and listening to and obeying His
instructions.
Fernandez exhorted on the book of
Luke, Chapter 5, where Jesus asked tested
fishermen to ‘put out into deep water,
and let down the nets for a catch.’ They
complained that they have been toiling all
MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009
night but caught nothing. Nevertheless,
they obeyed. And the result: a net-breaking
and a boat-sinking catch.
During the fellowship, Joy Copreros,
seasoned accountant-turned budding
networking specialist, said her business
has been successful because she made God
her business partner, knowing God’s Word
on finances and applying them to her daily
life. Her principle: ‘Put God first and He
will put everything in place and, success
and victory is assured.’
Egay Gonzales encouraged listeners in
building the house of God, but with new
attitude; and Bonna Rabang shared her
testimony of how God has been faithful
throughout her life.
Among those who also attended was
Freddie Magno, Liland’s 2008 Rookie of the
Year awardee and the youngest member of
the prestigious University of the Philippines
Alumni Association Toronto. PR
CALENDAR
► FEB. 27: Filipino Centre Toronto
2009 Filipino Singing Idol Competitions,
Second Round, FCT Rizal Hall.
► MARCH 7: Philippine Chamber of
Commerce Toronto Induction Gala
Night, Crowne Plaza.
► MARCH 14: Association of Filipino
Canadian Accountants Induction of
New Members and Spring Dance, Sts.
Peter & Paul Banquet Hall, 6 p.m.
► MARCH 15 & 22; APRIL 5, 19 & 26:
Filipino Centre Toronto Free Income
Tax Preparation.
► MARCH 26: Philippine Chamber of
Commerce Toronto Taxation Seminar
for Small Business.
► APRIL 11: Extreme Heartthrobs Ca-
nadian Tour, Massey Hall.
► APRIL 26: Kalayaan Cultural Com-
munity Centre Children’s Fashion
Show.
► MAY 9 & 23: Segga Productions Inc.
Juan dela Cruz Band Canadian Re-
union Tour, Toronto International Cel-
ebration Church.
► MAY 16 & 17: Filipino Centre Toronto
Victoria Invitational Basketball Tourna-
ment, Hoopdome.
► MAY 21: Philippine Chamber of
Commerce Toronto Seminar on Busi-
ness Planning and Marketing.
► MAY 30 (tentative): Kalayaan Cultur-
al Community Centre Cultural Show.
► JUNE 6 & 7: Kalayaan Cultural
Community Centre Independence Gala
Night and Summer Festival Picnic, re-
spectively.
► JUNE 7: Sharon Cuneta & KC Con-
cepcion Live in Toronto, Metro Toronto
Convention Centre, 6 p.m.
A public service feature of the Ma-
nila Media Monitor and the Philip-
pine Consul General Office. Also
visit pakulo.com.

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20 Community
A
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FCT Paraluman ‘09 candidates
Candidates for the Filipino Centre Toronto’s Search for Paraluman 2009 are
(from left) Hilda Arcega, Annabelle Chipongian, Maria Dolores Shinn, Isabel
Aberocho, Susan Lee and Felisa Pulumbarit. They were presented at the
contest launching on Feb. 14. AIDA D’ORAZIO
Hope reigns for cancer-ill caregiver ...
(From page 1)
to fully cure an abnormal
growth behind her ear.
The disease is beyond
her now, but those times
strained her and sisters’ fi-
nances. She had to get treat-
ment in the Philippines.
Back in Canada, Celia
worked and completed her
LCP contract.
Medical tests
In March 2008, she ap-
plied for permanent residen-
cy with the Citizenship and
Immigration Canada (CIC).
She included her sponsor-
ship for her husband and
two children.
In Sept. 2008, CIC in-
formed her she was eligible
for status, but the final de-
cision would be made af-
ter she completed require-
ments, including a medical
test she took in Oct. 2008.
Sad news
On Jan. 20, 2009, Celia
was admitted to the North
York General Hospital for
low hemoglobin.
This time, the CIC ad-
vised Celia to take another
check up to assure the non-
recurrence of nasopharyn-
gal cancer she was cleared
of four years ago.
It was on Feb. 3 when
Celia learned she had stage
IV stomach cancer and that
treatment would be futile.
Her attending surgeon
said the cancer cells have
spread to her bones.
But the doctor stressed
the stomach cancer, diag-
nosed on Jan. 23, had no
connection with Celia’s na-
sopharyngal case.
Celia was also told she
had less than six months to
spend time with love ones.
Celia left the hospital
with $17,000 in bills, with
no OHIP to back her up.
She was with her sisters
and two others - including
caregiver advocate Terry
Olayta of the Caregiver Re-
source Centre (CRC), when
the sad news was delivered.
Call for help
Olayta, in a phone talk
MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009
on Feb. 19 with the Manila
Media Monitor, has called
on the community to help
Celia get over these hard
times in her life.
Olayta said that initially,
several persons have stood
up to address Celia’s plea.
She said Dr. Rolando
Gallardo has been assisting
Celia, medically.
She also thanked lawyer
Deanna Santos for the free
legal services given Celia in
her immigration case.
Others, particularly fel-
low caregivers, and groups
have rallied behind Celia’s
plight and cause, she said.
Signature drive
Olayta said CRC
launched a signature cam-
paign to speedily get Celia’s
case to the attention of im-
migration officials.
As of Feb. 22, at least
300 concerned persons
have signed up in a letter of
appeal addressed to the CIC
Case Processing Centre in
Vegreville, AB.
The appeal asked the
CIC to “grant Celia her
landing immigrant status
in Canada and be reunited
with her family in her last
few days.”
The appeal is posted
over the CRC website
(caregiverresourcecentre_
canada@yahoogroups.
com) and being circulated
by CRC members and sup-
port groups.
Study sought
Relatedly, Olayta aired
observations of an increas-
ing number of nannies
found with clinical illness
upon completing the LCP.
“One can reasonably
suspect that the long hours
of work, uncertainty in their
status, separation from fam-
ily and all the stress that go
with these greatly contrib-
ute to the deterioration of
their health condition,” she
noted.
LCP participants are
required to go through a
medical exam before being
issued the LCP work visa.
Then they would have
to take another medical test
when applying for perma-
nent residency (PR), after
working as full time live-in
caregiver (LIC) for two of
three years of arrival.
Olayta suggested the
conduct of a government-
funded study to properly
validate and record obser-
vations.
A campaign to do away
with the PR-related medical
test is in the works.
Caregiver concerns
Other caregiver issues
included poor and unfair
labor conditions like long
hours with no overtime
pay, lack of vacation and
sick leave benefits, vulner-
ability to physical and sex-
ual abuse, and exploitation
from employers and recruit-
ers, etc.
Olayta said the govern-
ment could ease the situa-
tion by:
► Conducting an in-
tensive information drive
on the employment rights
of LICs, particularly ad-
dressed to employers.
► Monitoring LIC em-
ployers to ensure they com-
plied with labor laws.
In British Columbia, for
instance, there is a registry
of employers. One cannot
hire a caregiver if unregis-
tered. This has also allowed
known abusive employers
to be blacklisted and close-
ly monitored by concerned
state agencies (e.g. labor,
police, and immigration).
► Efficiently investi-
gating violations of LIC
rights and effectively en-
forcing LIC-related laws.
► Extending financial
and legal aid for caregiver-
victims of employer abuse
and recruitment scams.
► Overhauling the LCP
e.g. removing the manda-
tory live-in requirement
and providing less stringent
requirements for obtaining
PR status.
22 MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009

ANGELITA MINA GALICIA

(October 1, 1913 - February 12, 2009)

Members of the family express their profound gratitude to all who joined in prayers,
offered flowers and condolences, went to the viewing at the Highland Funeral Home and
Cremation Centre, heard the funeral Mass at the St. Dunstan Catholic Church,
attended the interment services at the Highland Memory Gardens Cemetery
and celebrated Angelita’s memory with them during their hour of bereavement.
(PHOTOS: MATTHEW ORTUOSTE, MARIB GALICIA, BUTCH GALICIA)
 Community
MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009 23
Arianna Turla’s 1st birthday party

Arianna Turla (center and inset) at right) celebrates her first birthday with
a clown-show and fun-games party given by parents Pocholo and Anna;
grandparents Romy and Patri Turla, and Tito and Linda del Carmen. PR

USAAA members plan reunion

Members of the University of San Agustin Alumni Association plan an up-

coming reunion. From left (back row) are Edwin Alderete, Agustin Te, Joel
Pineda. Edward De la Rama, Roland Ortega, (front row) Amethyst Bautista,
Leah Legaspi-De la Rama, Isabel Tan-Militar, Mae Javelosa-Te, Arlene Ge-
olingo-Celajes, Fr. Jose Rene Delariarte and Mary Grace Guillen-Pineda. PR
OFW realities
(From page 9)
Matatag ang OFW.
Matatag ang OFW, mas
matatag pa sa sundalo o
kung ano pang grupo na
alam nyo.
Magaling sa reverse
psychology, negotiations at
counter-attacks.
Tatagal ba ang OFW?
Tatagal pa kasi hindi pa na-
tin alam kung kailan mag-
babago ang Philippines.
Kailan nga kaya, o may
tsansa pa ba?
May pangarap rin ang
OFW. Masarap isipin na
kasama mo ang pamilya mo
araw-araw.
Nakikita mo mga anak
mong lumalaki at naaal-
agaan nang maayos.
Masarap kumain ng si-
taw, ng bagoong, lechon,
inihaw na isda, taba ng ta-
langka.
Masarap manood ng
pelikulang Pinoy, luma man
o bago.
Iba pa rin ang pakiram-
dam kung kilala mo ang
kapitbahay mo.
Iba pa rin sa Philip-
pines, iba pa rin kapag Pi-
noy ang kasama mo (except
‘pag utak-talangka), iba pa
rin ‘pag nagkukwento ka at
naiintindihan ng iba ang si-
nasabi mo.
Iba pa rin ang tunog ng
“mahal kita!”, “day, gina-
higugma tika.” “Mingaw
na ko nimo ba, kalagot!”,
“ Inday, diin ka na subong
haw? ganahan guid ko simo
ba”.
Iba pa rin talaga --
“aprusam man ti likod ko
baket.”
Sige lang, tiis lang, saan
ba’t darating din ang pag-
asa. SOURCE: ANONY-
MOUS
24
Bleed it out
(From page 10)
hearing these potent words
in a speech by Jesse Jackson
back in 1984: “These
hands ... these black hands
... these hands that once
picked cotton will now pick
Life back ...
(From page 8)
the mobile phone circuit, in
bars and across fences.
Back home, television
and the rumor mill are still
inextricably conjoined.
A happy partner in the
arrangement is wry wit and
charming humor.
If we can only export
them all, the Philippines
will have such a surplus
of income that the word
recession will cease to be in
our mouths.
presidents.”
Thrilling words. Exci-
ting words. I remember
them well. And, even though
I wasn’t his target audience,
they created a powerful
image in my mind, and
when he finished, all I could
say was, “Wow!”
Meanwhile, for millions
of African Americans, it
was the motivation needed
The ending
(From page 10)
was a reminder of how he
lived a contented life.
And just before the last
frame faded to black, a
smiling photo I took of him
on the first day we met ap-
peared on the screen, then,
gradually drifted away into
the colourful sunset back-
drop, to join up with his
loving parents who prede-
ceased him.
This is what I believe he
would have told his ultimate
journey.
His book is now closed
and the curtain is down.
My friend, Celestino
G. Yokingco left our world
with a heart-warming mem-
ory that I will always cher-
ish.
And to all of us, who
are still here, let us enjoy
the most of what life has to
offer. We too will reach our
end.
MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009
to put apathy aside and go
to the ballot box.
We are charged and
moved by many emotions.
Here are just a few:
acceptance, amusement,
anger, angst, annoyance,
anticipation, arrogance, awe,
anxiety, bitterness, calmness,
caution, confidence, cou-
rage, determination, dis-
appointment, discontent,
disgust, desire, delight,
elation, embarrassment,
envy, excitement, fear,
friendship, frustration, gra-
titude, grief, guilt, hate,
happiness, impatience,
inadequacy, irritability,
inspiration, joy, jealousy,
kindness, loneliness, love,
lust, modesty, negativity,
nostalgia, paranoia, pa-
tience, pity, pride, regret,
resentment, sadness, self-
pity, serenity, shame,
surprise, timidity, torment,
worry, yearning, and zeal.
Which ones move you?
(Robert Evans Wilson, Jr.
is a motivational speaker
and humorist.
He works with
companies that want to be
more competitive and with
people who want to think
like innovators.
For more information
on Robert’s programs
please visit www.
jumpstartyourmeeting.
com.)
Overseas ...
(From page 3)
DFA is using the machines
to capture the biometrics
data of Filipinos applying
for passports.
Poll commissioner Ni-
codemo Ferrer said Com-
elec and DFA machines
could be synchronized.
Ferrer said the poll body
hoped to register one mil-
lion voters worldwide. In
2007, over 500,000 enlist-
ed as absentee voters.
But about 3,000 voters
would be deleted from the
voter’s list if they failed to
participate in two consecu-
tive polls.
NAIA listup site
Transient overseas Fili-
pino workers (OFWs) could
enlist for the OAV at a reg-
istration center installed at
the Ninoy Aquino Interna-
tional Airport (NAIA).
NAIA is one of at least
four sites set up to maxi-
mize OAV registration.
Poll automation
Meanwhile, Senator
Richard Gordon called on
Comelec to ensure that the
security and safety features
of the machines to be used
in automating the May 2010
presidential elections would
ably do away with any forms
of electoral cheating.
The Comelec has asked
Congress for a supplemen-
tal budget of P11.3 billion
for poll automation. PNA
 the PHILIPPINES
Humanitarian, community projects top RP-US Balikatan ‘09 agenda
MANILA - Set to start
on Feb. 23, the Philippine-
US Balikatan joint military
exercises this year would
focus on community and
humanitarian projects in
far-flung areas.
Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres,
AFP public affairs chief,
said Balikatan ‘09 would be
the 25th in a series the Phil-
ippine and US militaries are
conducting yearly.
“The joint military train-
ing exercises aim to formu-
late and assess defense plan
5,000 deported from Sabah - BI
MANILA - Nearly
5,000 Filipinos earlier de-
ported by Malaysian au-
thorities from Sabah have
returned to the Philippines.
But immigration of-
ficials said there were still
about 3,000 more detained
in Sandakan, Malaysia for
lack of travel documents.
Most of them reportedly
worked either as domestic
helpers, factory workers
or market vendors without
proper documents.
Immigration commis-
sioner Marcelino Libanan
said the deportation was a
result of Malaysia’s crack-
down against illegal foreign
25
concepts and its transition
to post-conflict response,”
said Torres.
He said elements of the
Philippine Armed Forces’
unilateral and bilateral de-
fense capabilities would be
put to an acid test during
exercises from Feb. 23 to
March 2 and April 16 to 28,
respectively.
Exercises with Ameri-
can troopers would com-
mence for members of the
Philippine National Ma-
neuver Force, the Navy’s
workers.
Libanan said the deport-
ees were processed by Task
Force Sabah formed last
Filipino deportees from Sabah, Malaysia
Ready Force and the Air
Force’s Rapid Deployment
Force on April 1.
The exercises would be
conducted simultaneously
in different venues, includ-
ing Fort Magsaysay in Nue-
va Ecija; Clark Air Base
in Pampanga; Ternate and
Sangley Point in Cavite and
Crow Valley in Pampanga.
But more than assess-
ing military capabilities, the
joint Philippine-US mili-
tary exercises would focus
on the conduct of disaster
year.
Earlier, processing was
done in Zamboanga City,
until Mayor Claro Lobregat
rehabilitation and rural de-
velopment projects.
These would material-
ize through engineering and
medical civic action pro-
grams in the Bicol region.
Torres said Filipino-
American military person-
nel have volunteered to
lend a hand to their needy
compatriots during the hu-
manitarian mission.
Civil-military relations
activities would also be
conducted in Metro Manila
and Central Luzon. PNA
sought help in addressing
the influx of deportees to
the southern port.
Carandang said the task
force has since processed
deportees in Bongao, Tawi-
Tawi.
Task Force Sabah head
Jose Carandang said the re-
patriation of deportees be-
gan on July 24, 2008.
He said two vessels, the
M/V Danica Joy and M/V
Weezam plied to Sabah
twice a week to pick up and
bring the deportees to Min-
danao. First stop was Bon-
gao, after which they were
brought to Sulu and Zambo-
anga. PNA
MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009
Filipino and American soldiers train
Bishop: Molding faithful on
morality needs extra effort
MANILA - A senior
official of the Catholic
Bishops Conference of the
Philippines (CBCP) has
admitted that Church evan-
gelization efforts to mold
moral minds among the
faithful were not enough.
Caloocan Bishop De-
ogracias Iñiguez, CBCP’s
public affairs commission
chair, said evangelization
of the faithful seemed “not
that deep enough especially
in terms of their role to the
country and the society.”
“As members of the re-
ligious sector, it is our re-
sponsibility and privilege to
mold the minds of the peo-
ple to do the right thing,”
Bishop Iñiguez said.
“We should spearhead
the moral transformation
for the country and for the
common good,” he added.
But CBCP president
and Jaro Archbishop Angel
Lagdameo said “we’re al-
ready there.”
Lagdameo asserted that
the CBCP had been very
zealous in its duties and re-
sponsibilities to society.
This could be seen in
the big number of pastoral
letters and statements the
Church had issued on social
and spiritual issues haunt-
ing the Philippines. PNA
26 TRAVEL & TOURISM MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009

February in Zamboanga Sibugay RP is home to

Oysters abound in Sibug-Sibug Festival
The biggest and juiciest oyster meat in the Philip-
world’s largest
orchid specie
pines and perhaps elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region MANILA - Orchid en-
is off for the showing and the tasting on Feb. 26, when thusiasts across the globe
residents of one of the country’s youngest provinces - are raving for the exotic
Zamboanga Sibugay - stage their Sibug-Sibug Festival. beauty of Sadokum, a new
While endorsing the day, Feb. 26. The area was specie of one of the world’s
province’s prime product formerly a part of Zambo- biggest orchids found in the
- the oyster (talaba in Ta- anga del Sur. The new prov- Philippines.
galog), the Sibug-Sibug ince was created by Repub- Filipino horticulturist
Festival depicts the dancing lic Act No. 8973. and orchid specialist Dani-
rituals of a people hoping to Longest talaba grill lo Tiu and Jim Cootes, his
have a bountiful harvest, a In the capital town of Australian co-researcher,
beautiful wife, healthy chil- Ipil, the festival’s highlight have discovered Sadokum,
dren, and the healing of the is the talaba grill showcase, the new genus of Gramma-
sick. when at least 15,000 pieces tophyllum.
The two-week festival of oysters from five to 11 Sadokum ((from sadok,
reaches its peak on Zambo- inches long are cooked on a a Leyte-Samar vernacu-
anga Sibugay’s foundation 1.2-kilometer grill. lar for cap or hood) got its
The meat of grilled oys- name from the prominent
Climb a ters would later be the ob-
ject of expectant taste buds.
winding Sibuguey River.
Fisherfolk claimed that
hood-like dorsal sepal of
the flower that seemed to

mountain, The feat had earlier

earned for Zamboanga
Sibugay the title of World’s
discover Longest Oyster Grill.
The province has been
its lakes known as the Talaba Capi-
tal of the Philippines.
KABAYAN, Ben- Oyster galore
guet - The people of this Zamboanga Sibugay’s
small but scenic town famed oysters are found
are gearing up for anoth- only on the coast of Ka-
er edition of a yearly late basalan town fed by the
February eco-tourism
their talaba could grow as
long as 12 inches in length.
In contrast to the way
protect the column of the
bloom.
Tiu said the specie orig-
other communities in the
country farm oysters, the
inated from the province of
Surigao.
Kabasalan oysters are not
grown on sticks but are in-
Tiu is a member of the
experts pool of the Philip-
stead buried in mud and left pine Council for Agricul-
there to grow to maturity. ture, Forestry and Natural
There are four kinds of Resources Research and
talaba, but it is the kukong Development while Cootes
(To page 28) is a research associate for
the Centre for Plant Biodi-

DOT - Plan holiday vacations early

climb of the Philippines’ versity Research in Canber-
fifth tallest mountain ra. Cootes had been study-
and visit to four unique ing Philippine orchids for
mountain lakes. more than 30 years.
Mayor Faustino MANILA - The advent promotional fares.” “Group tours will be Iloilo, Bacolod, and Laguna Sadokum’s features
Aquisan said the moun- of warm weather and the Durano admitted that big. Filipinos simply love have their own century-old were enough to categorize
tain trek, supported by promise of a good tropical the global economic crisis to travel with family and architectural marvels. it as a new Gramma genus,
the Department of Tour- tan have spurred tourism is foreseen to temper tour- friends,” he added. Trekkers might like to characterized by its brittle
ism, started in 2004 with officials to urge domestic ism receipts. Tourism Planning and consider the mountains of and shiny leaves; short,
the visits to the centu- and foreign tourists to plan Domestic tourism, how- Promotions Undersecretary Sagada, Cavite, Bataan, Bu- glossy, and more rounded
ries-old mummy caves.” their holiday vacations way ever, is expected to cushion Eduardo Jarque Jr. said pre- lacan, Mountain Province, pseudobulb (solid bulbous
Aquisan said the ahead for real enjoyment. the slowdown in foreign ar- ferred tourism sites would Romblon, Batanes, and enlargement of the stem in
trek has instilled in the “We urge our country- rivals, he said. be Boracay in Aklan, Pala- Marinduque, among others, orchids).
minds of residents and men, particularly those from “Why not? We can all wan, Davao, Cebu, Bohol, Jarque added. The name Sadokum has
visitors a commitment abroad, to explore the Phil- enjoy our holiday while Vigan, Baguio and Manila. The agency has also given the plant an Austro-
to protect the environ- ippine archipelago’s 7,107 helping out our economy,” But the tourism agency started to promote bird- Malayan sound, since the
ment and preserve the islands,” Tourism Secretary Durano added. is advocating the discovery watching. Philippine language and
mountain lakes Ambu- Joseph Ace Durano said. Tourism would mean of still unexplored sites. “In other parts of the its dialects are part of the
lalacao, Incolos, Tabeyo “We have the beaches, more jobs and increased Jarque said Siquijor, world, birdwatching is an greater Austro-Malayan
and Letepngepos. mountains, countryside, spending would help local Camiguin, Quezon, Zam- expensive leisure pursuit, family of languages.
“For mountain heritage sites, caves, riv- businesses, he said. boanga, Camarines Sur, taken up mostly by famous Sadokum can be found
climbers, the exciting ers, food trips, urban verve. He said he had urged Batangas, Mindoro, Duma- personalities. Here we have in the Philippines, Malay-
challenge is to reach the The Philippines has almost “partners - hotels, resorts, guete, Leyte and Negros over 200 endemic species sia, Sumatra, Java, Sulawe-
apex of Mount Tabayok everything a traveler would spas, tour operators, and have pristine beaches that of birds within our view, we si, and New Guinea.
(9,322 feet above sea want to experience. We urge transportation stakeholders could rival Boracay. should be the first to dis- The genus has a specie,
level),” he added. PNA people to book ahead to get - to come out with more op- Old heritage sites are cover our own national trea- S. stapeliiflorum D. Tiu &
the best tour packages and tions and flexible packages. not exclusive to Vigan, as sures,” Jarque said. PNA Cootes. PNA
 PHILIPPINE Regions MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009 27
NEWS ROUNDUP
Vigan City: Basi lady
VIGAN CITY - Homemaker Jean Alones, 39, drinks basi, a native wine; and she gulps
it down fast. During the 2nd Kannawidan Ylocos Festival here on Jan. 28, Alones bested
male counterparts in the basi drinking contest; taking in a liter of the wine in 30 seconds
without showing signs of being under the influence. Ilocos Sur Governor Deogracias Vic-
tor Savellano cited Alones’s feat as a record, which “serves as a very significant reference
in the succeeding competitions that seeks to promote our own basi.” The Kannawidan (an
Iluko term meaning feast of all heritages, practices and products) Ylocos Festival com-
memorated the creation of Ilocos Sur into a province on Feb. 2, 1818. PNA

Nueva Vizcaya: Twinning with Basque

ARITAO, Nueva Vizcaya - The twinning agreement between Nueva Vizcaya in the Phil-
ippines and Basque in Spain is starting to reap benefits, particularly for the former’s indig-
enous communities. The establishment of a P17-million hospital here, a student exchange
program, and the establishment of a cultural center that would serve as a repository edifice
for cultural practices and traditional arts of the 15 tribes in Nueva Vizcaya were the sub-
jects of recent negotiations between Governor Luisa Cuaresma and Bishop Ramon Villena
and officials of Basque in Spain. PNA

Camarines Sur: Pili class AA abattoir

PILI, Camarines Sur - A new P7-million class “AA” slaughterhouse would soon rise in
Barangay San Isidro here. Mayor Alex San Luis said the local government and the Na-
tional Meat Inspection Service would fund the construction of the abattoir. San Luis said
that with a double-A status, the town’s slaughterhouse could accept more animals from
neighboring towns for slaughtering and could sell meat products within the Philippines,
meaning more income for municipal coffers. There are only three double-A certified abat-
toirs in the Bicol region - in Gubat, Sorsogon; Masbate City, and Naga City. PNA

NE Mindanao: Land titles for farmers

BUTUAN CITY - At least 5,104 landless farmers in the provinces of Agusan del Sur,
Agusan del Norte, Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur in Northeastern Mindanao (Cara-
ga Region) have received land titles under the Handog Titulo ni Pangulong GMA program.
The titles covered an area of 5,188 hectares. Each beneficiary got an average of one hect-
are of agricultural land. Nationwide, the DENR is expecting to distribute 187,389 patents
covering 159,503 hectares this year. PNA

Palawan: Mt. Mantalingahan preservation

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY - Mt. Mantalingahan, habitat to threatened and endemic
flora and fauna and site of watersheds, is on its way to being a protected area, after state
environment officials declared a moratorium on the processing of new mining applica- Cumigad lauds ICOC for work ...
tions in southern Palawan. The 120,000-hectare Mt. Mantalingahan straddles the towns of
Quezon, Brooke’s Point, Sofronio Española, Rizal and Bataraza, populated mostly by na-
tive Tagbanuas. The moratorium put on hold 65 large mining rights applications covering
116,999 hectares, or 97 percent of the total area of Mt. Mantalingahan. PNA

Cebu: US$500-M power plant

CEBU CITY - Cebu Energy Development Corp. (CEDC), a consortium of Global For-
mosa Holdings Inc. of Taiwan, Global Business Power Corp. and Abovant Holdings Inc.
of the Cebu-based Aboitiz Group, is pushing through its US$500-million power plant in
Toledo City despite the global economic meltdown. The coal-fired power plant, with a
combined capacity of 246 megawatts, broke ground on Jan. 26, 2008 and is expected to be
completed by early 2010. PNA Gamu, Isabela Mayor Fernando Cumigad (4th from left, seated) has ex-
plained to community pressmen Tenny Soriano, Ramon Datol, Eva Agpaoa
Iloilo City: Another flyover and Butch Galicia the advantages of investing in Philippine enterprises, par-
ILOILO CITY - Mayor Jerry Treñas is set to push the construction of a flyover at the ticularly in quality products in Isabela, and of helping skilled and profes-
junction of El 98 and the diversion road in Mandurriao district under the Presidential sional Filipinos get work in Canada. Joining in are Consul General Alejandro
Bridge Program. Treñas said the proposed site is regularly bothered by traffic congestion. Mosquera, Teresa Mosquera and officers of the Isabela Cultural Organiza-
A flyover in the area would also smooth out traffic to and from the new airport in the Sta tion of Canada.
Barbara-Cabatuan boundary. In late 2007, the city saw its first flyover project completed
at the junction of Infante and Gen. Luna streets. PNA (From page 15)
Padaca. celebrations of Philippine bereavement;
Santiago City: Scholarships Cumigad, one
Isabela’s officials who have
of historical events
Independence Day and
i.e. ► Help for over 200 less
fortunate families, through
SANTIAGO CITY, Isabela - Almost 25,000 children enrolled in public elementary and
visited Canadian cities the Mabuhay Philippines a door-to-door drive for
secondary schools and colleges here have completed their studies in 2008, courtesy of the
in the recent past, also Toronto Summer Festival; goods, medicines, books,
city’s scholarship program. Mayor Amelita Navarro said the city has provided these gradu-
went to Winnipeg to push He thanked the ICOC clothing and food.
ates with school supplies, books, uniforms and financial aid. She said the city also put
for Isabela’s agricultural for remembering Isabela ► Computers sent to
up 10 classrooms and a daycare center and repaired 16 classrooms in the year. “We have
workers and products. and providing assistance elementary schools; and
invested a whooping P58 million to education,” Navarro said. PNA
He said they have been to its people in the form of ► Aid provided for the
trying to attend international goods and services. Lingap Orphanage center.
Sarangani: Sea marine turtles trade fairs and exhibits to Some of the ICOC’s RP situation
KIAMBA, Sarangani – Natural resources and local officials here released 116 hatchlings tap market possibilities. help included: Meanwhile, Cumigad
of sea marine turtles in the coastal village of Suli, site of the proposed Pawikan Conserva- Visible, active ICOC ►Scholarship programs said the situation in the
tion and Protection Center in Central Mindanao. Suli is a known nesting site of marine He said Isabelans all for poor but deserving Philippines “is not as bad as
turtles, locally known as pawikan. In November last year, village volunteers found 120 sea over the globe have been Isabela students; it is being portrayed.”
turtle eggs and took care of these until 116 of the eggs hatched on Dec. 28, 2008. The 24- very kind to extend their ► Financial assistance, But he admitted the
day-old marine turtles were of the Olive Ridley species (Lepidochelys olivacea), protected helping hand to help build sent through the Isabela need for leaders who
under international treaties and agreements. Lately, the population has dwindled due to lives and communities back Red Cross, to help needy could devote their time
the long-term collection of eggs and indiscriminate catching and butchering of adult ones. home. families in times of crisis on improving the lives of
PNA He cited the ICOC for such as the typhoon and Filipinos and in reviving the
being visible and active in flood calamities; country’s socio-economic
For advertising and inquiries, call 416-285-8583 Filipino-Canadian multi-
cultural events such as
► Financial aid sent
to families in their time of
and political greatness.
EVA AGPAOA
28 MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009
UN: Zero maternal death in 2 Bohol towns
Carmen and Talibon are
two remote towns tucked
deep in the interiors of Bo-
hol in central Philippines.
Like any other town in
the archipelago, Carmen
and Talibon are blessed with
natural resources, sublime
nature-carved terrains and
gentle hospitable people.
Yet, health care in Bo-
hol comes in trickles, bor-
dering to almost none at the
expense of its over a million
population.
Notwithstanding
challenges, Carmen and
the
Talibon have successfully
won the battle on maternal
deaths, with sterling records
of zero mortality among
conceiving mothers - a re-
cord even highly modern-
ized cities in Metro Manila
have not achieved in years.
This is according to the
TV ads reach far.
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By MEDIATRIX P. CRISTOBAL, PNA Features
latest United Nations (UN)
populations report.
Maternal deaths
Every year, about
500,000 lives are lost around
the world due to maternity-
related causes, 99 percent of
these deaths occur in devel-
oping countries and almost
all of them are preventable,
the UN said.
More than 10 Filipino
mothers die everyday leav-
ing more than 30 children
motherless.
The deaths are attrib-
uted to hemorrhage, hyper-
tensive disorders of preg-
nancy, unsafe abortion, and
obstructed labor.
The UN’s target is to
reduce maternity-related
deaths by 75 percent be-
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PHILIPPINE Regions
tween 1990 and 2015.
The world body also
seeks for universal access to
reproductive health services
for all regardless of gender
and age.
The Philippine govern-
ment has adopted Women’s
Health and Safe Mother-
hood as a flagship program
of the health department.
It involves a three-
pronged strategy, namely:
skilled attendants at birth;
emergency obstetric care,
referral system, and repro-
ductive health and family
planning services.
Wise move on RH
One would say that Bo-
hol is an easy target for ma-
ternal mortality as it is one
of the poorest in the Philip-
WORLD
pines, ranked 16th in 2007.
It is the 10th largest is-
land in the country and re-
lies on agriculture as main
source of livelihood, with
ecotourism as secondary
industry.
Yet, despite the poverty
and geographical inacces-
sibility, Bohol triumphed
with well-thought steps that
ensures all mothers will live
after giving birth.
First, Boholanos modi-
fied the culture of how re-
productive health (RH) is
typically viewed.
After years of cam-
paign, RH is now as indis-
pensable as any other health
concern.
Teen interest
“Carmen and Talibon
posted 22 and 49 percent
increase, respectively, of
people, particularly teens,
seeking RH information
and services,” the UN re-
port said.
These steps eliminate a
huge portion of promiscuity
or reckless behavior among
the youth.
A jump of 10,000 people
are seeking RH informa-
tion and services in Talibon
from 22,111 to 32,989 from
2000 to 2007, respectively,
Oysters abound in ...
(From page 26)
kabayo (horse’s toenail) or
oblong shaped (saccosrea
malabonensis) oyster that
grows best in Kabasalan.
Zamboanga Sibugay is
a major oyster supplier to
neighboring Asia-Pacific
countries. Its three major
talaba farms are in Kabasa-
lan, Siay and Alicia towns.
Besides oysters, Zam-
boanga Sibugay’s economy
also thrives on rubber. The
province has the oldest rub-
ber plantation in the country.
Aboriginal rituals
Among the many activi-
ties of the two-week-long
festival is a street danc-
ing competition, a West-
24-year old Wellness Company
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the biggest figure recorded
in the province.
Provincewide initative
Bohol tapped the ser-
vices of competent doctors,
local government units and
even young adults or teens
in waging the war against
RH-related concerns.
Councils in three towns
are ready to approve RH or-
dinances.
Moreover, 27 birth-
ing centers were put up,
complementing commu-
nity-managed newborn care
facilities.
Thus, more women are
paying visits to health care
workers, averaging four
prenatal check-ups.
Carmen recorded the
biggest growth of pregnant
women turning to legiti-
mate health facilities upon
delivery with 49.12 percent
in 2007, from a mere 19.58
percent in 2000.
Ubay town, north of
the province, and Talibon
serve as national models in
expanded RH integration
program in coastal resource
management.
Advocacy through in-
formation dissemination,
community involvement,
male participation, and em-
powerment of women play
a major role in wiping out
Bohol’s maternal deaths.
ern Subanen cultural show
(where natives present vari-
ous rituals showcasing their
preparation for war, a wed-
ding and many others.
The Subanen are aborig-
ines of Zamboanga, inhabit-
ing the province even before
the arrival of the Spaniards
in the 16th century.
Also featured in the fes-
tival are the aesthetic per-
formances of native rituals
from members of the in-
digenous Kalibugan, Yakan
and Samal people.
At least 14 of Zamboan-
ga Sibugay’s 16 towns are
densely inhabited by ethno-
linguistic groups.
RICEFIELD RAT
Albay farmers
wage war vs
ricefield rats
LIGAO CITY - Farm-
ers of Albay have turned to
applying various methods
to get rid of pesky field rats
that have been invading
farms across the province.
Local officials are mull-
ing over bankrolling the
purchase of rodenticides to
wipe out the rat race that
has grown by pandemic
proportions in the rice gra-
nary towns of Polangui,
Oas, Libon and Malinao.
But farmers are luke-
warm to the idea of scatter-
ing poison in the field, as it
poses risks to humans and
domestic animals.
Roger Moradillo of this
city has something better to
offer - the use of cement-
laced palay as a safe yet ef-
fective way of controlling
farm pests, not just rats.
“Once ingested, the ce-
ment creates heat inside the
rat’s digestive tract due to
chemical reactions, eventu-
ally turning their stomachs
concrete,” Moradillo said.
He said the method is
being used by farmers in
Masbate and Sorsogon.
Local governments
have also resorted to the
old-time strategy of luring
farmhands to catch and kill
field rats, by buying rat tails
at P2 apiece.
Albay Governor Joey
Sarte Salceda approves of
the rat tail buy-out over ro-
denticides.
Farmers partly blamed
rat infestation to the decline
in yield last year. PNA
MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009 29

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30 MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009 MONEY
RP to sail past recession woes GOT A FOREX DEAL?
Check out if you got your peso’s worth for the
MANILA - Prevailing dollars you have had exchanged since Jan. 20.
weak world oil prices and US$ Cdn$
strong domestic demand Feb. 13 47.13267 37.91665
would shield the Philippines Feb. 12 47.22828 37.87191
from an economic recession
Feb. 11 46.72707 37.62068
this year.
Stock market and finan- Feb. 10 46.73128 37.89817
cial analyst Astro del Castil- Feb. 09 46.93123 38.49732
lo said lower oil prices have Feb. 06 47.12636 38.06468
translated to lower prices Feb. 05 47.33936 38.48538
of goods, fares, power and Feb. 04 47.43479 38.68877
other oil-based variables Feb. 03 47.09008 38.18911
that weighed in on deci- Feb. 02 46.96997 37.87653
sions of consumers.
Subsequently, lower
Jan. 30 46.48370 37.60598
prices have spurred private Jan. 29 46.50333 38.17769
consumption and public The resilient Philippine village sari-sari (retail or convenience) store will Jan. 28 46.49772 38.74645
spending, creating domestic once more stand up to its billing as an effective way to beat cash flow woes. Jan. 27 46.85583 38.12265
demand that would take up It is, perhaps, the only consumer spending venue where credit is based on Jan. 26 47.25319 38.73087
the slack and support eco- trust, not cards; and where goods are bought cheaply in the exact quantity Jan. 23 47.34615 37.93531
nomic growth this year. one wants it, not in big bulky packages passed off by grocers as bargains. Jan. 22 47.35957 37.58451
Del Castillo said a strong
Jan. 21 47.50764 37.28853
domestic demand would Experiences from pre- But del Castillo said the much as they had in better
counter the combined im- vious crises showed that a continued robust growth times. Jan. 20 47.26518 37.50946
pact of rising risk-aversion healthy domestic demand of the business process Dollar remittances are

Indian firm eyes IT, healthcare

and easing want for Philip- was the key to ensuring sus-
pine products. tainable real growth.
The economic plunge in
PSE pushes the United States, Europe
and other developed coun-
capital market tries would mean fewer jobs
abroad and fewer export
subjects in HS products bought by foreign
consumers, adversely af-
MANILA - The Philip- fecting the Philippine export
pine Stock Exchange (PSE) and manufacturing sectors.
has laid out an ambitious
plan to have capital market
subjects integrated into the
PTT to put in P3B in 200 Luzon, Visayas gas stops
curriculum of high schools. BANGKOK - Thailand-
PSE president Francis based PTT Public Co. Ltd.
E. Lim said it was high time (PTT) will pour in some P3
to educate the youth on the billion to expand its oil and
role the capital market plays fuel operations in the Phil-
for national development. ippines in the next decade.
Lim said the implemen- Artasith Pothiapinyan-
tation of the PSE-Bureau of visuth, PTT executive vice
Secondary Education Mod- president for commercial
ule Development Project and international marketing
would teach students the for oil, said they are looking
value of saving and invest- at establishing 200 stations
ing, instill in them an alter- in Luzon and the Visayas,
native and viable personal where growing demand is
fiscal management strategy, projected.
and encourage them to be- A station costs some
come future investors. P20 million.
The PSE would fund PTT has 34 retail sta-
curriculum integration pro- tions. The local subsidiary
cesses and the production of is expected to put up at least
a teacher’s guide. PNA 16 stations this year.
outsourcing (BPO) sector
would offset the impact.
The BPO sector has
been contributing more than
two percent to the country’s
gross domestic product. The
sector is expecting a 35-per-
cent growth for 2009.
There would be fewer
foreign tourists who would
most likely not spend as
Pothiapinyanvisuth said
they have no plans yet to
expand in Mindanao.
The state-owned PTT
runs some 1,200 stations in
Thailand and five of six re-
BNPP is option vs power lack
LUBAO, Pampanga
- The opening of the Bata-
an Nuclear Power plant
(BNPP) is a viable option
for the Philippines to meet
its electricity requirements.
Zenaida Ducut, Energy
Regulatory Commission
head, said the operation of
the plant is up for consid-
eration, as nuclear power is
still the most practical and
efficient option to prevent
expected to decline since a
big number of overseas Fil-
ipino workers are in North
America.
“This year’s growth will
definitely slow down and
people should brace them-
selves for harder times, but
we will not slip into reces-
sion,” del Castillo said.
PNA
fineries in Bangkok.
While admitting a slow-
down in PTT operations,
he said they remained con-
fident with the Philippine
economy. PNA
energy shortages.
Energy officials said
the Philippines, by 2010,
is expected to experience
power shortage due to ris-
ing demand and lack of new
power plants.
Activists have been
opposing the operational-
ization of the mothballed
BNPP, built at a cost of
US2.3 billion but never
generated power. PNA
By LESLIE D. VENZON
NEW DELHI - There
are very good prospects of
India doing business with
the Philippines even in ar-
eas where they compete,
including the healthcare
and information technology
(IT) industries.
K. K. Modi, president of
Modi Enterprises, said “In-
dia has a very large popula-
tion and this requires a lot
of help in terms of medical
treatment and healthcare,
which are very good espe-
cially in the Philippines.”
World development in-
dicators in 2005 estimated
India’s population at 1.055
billion. The Philippine med-
ical services are deemed one
of the best in the world.
Modi said “IT is becom-
ing more and more expen-
sive in India and there is a
need for diversification.”
Many Indian companies
are trying to enter viable
sites like the Philippines as
markets in the West, partic-
ularly the US, are sinking,
he said.
“Regional focus is pos-
sible and outsourcing can
be diversified. There are a
number of Indian IT com-
panies in the Philippines,”
he added.
Modi urged the Philip-
pines to ship more products
to India, particularly em-
broidered textile.
“But I don’t think there
has been very large export-
import program between
India and the Philippines,”
he noted.
India’s imports from
the Philippines included
semiconductors, inorganic
chemicals, auto parts, news-
print, minerals, garments
and miscellaneous indus-
trial products.
Indian investments in
the Philippines are mainly
in textiles, IT and steel and
oleo-chemicals.
N. Ravi, Ministry of
(To page 34)

SAGOT(MULA
SASABATID
PAHINA 38)
WIKA
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
I P I P P A S I M U L A
13 14
L A P A A L A M I N O S
15 16 17
O L A S I M A N N A N I
18 19
A W A T A S B A D
20 21 22 23
I W A S A N I B A
24 25 26 27 28 29
G A L A G I S A N T E S
30 31 32
I R I A K L A T I K A
33 34 35
B I N I B I N I A L I W
36 37 38
P A N S A L I S I
39 40 41 42
H A P A Y G A P I
43 44 45 46 47
U S A L L E H I T I M O
48 49 50
S A R I S A R I A G A D
51 52
I N A T A S A N N A S A
MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009
Gov’t lame in shielding people
against credit card gouging?
OTTAWA – The gov-
ernment has not done
enough to protect Canadian
consumers from the preda-
tory practices of credit card
companies, said NDP Critic
for Consumer Protection
Glenn Thibeault.
Even as the Bank of
Canada has reduced its
trend-setting rate, credit
card providers and other fi-
nancial institutions contin-
ue to increase their interest
rates and add on superflu-
ous fees. VISA alone saw
a 35-percent rise in profits
last year, an NDP press re-
lease said.
“Why is it that credit
card companies continue to
raise interest rates, when the
bank of Canada’s rate con-
tinues to decrease?” asked
Thibeault during Question
Period on Feb. 5.
“It’s because they know
no one is going to stop them
and its hard-hit Canadian
families who are paying the
price,” he said.
“Does this Conserva-
tive government seriously
think a consumer awareness
program will help solve the
skyrocketing family debt
that Canadian families are
MONEY 31
9 tax tips for ‘09 - and beyond
TORONTO - Author right amount of tax, but on a powerful economic unit.
and tax expert Evelyn
Jacks has provided nine
tips that could help Cana-
time, not in advance. Mini-
mize the taxes withheld at
source. Ask your employer
► Consider self-em-
ployment. If you don’t
own a business, consider
facing?” asked Thibeault. reaching their highest levels dians relieve their stress for a copy of Form TD1 Tax starting one, even a part-
“The Conservative gov- ever. and save them money as Credit Return and its sister, time operation. There are
ernment’s plan won’t do By increasing rates, they prepare their tax re- Form T1213 Request for Re- decided tax advantages to
anything more than inform credit card companies are turns. duction of Taxes at Source. self-employment, because
Canadian consumers just simply profiting off families The tips, according to ► Consider variety. A your business will likely
how much they are being struggling to ends meet. Jacks, founder and presi- variety of income sources pay much lower taxes than
ripped off,” he added. “Canadian families dent of The Knowledge may bring better after-tax you do personally.
Since 2004, the personal shouldn’t bear the brunt Bureau, a leading Cana- results. It’s important to ► Focus on the out-
debt load of Canadian fami- of these tough economic dian financial services keep on top of marginal tax come. What counts is
lies has risen by 40 percent times,” said Thibeault. PR institute: rates - by income source - to what’s left. What can you
► Take control. Real average down the taxes you still do to reduce the taxes
CRA: Be wary of mail scam wealth management is the
accumulation, growth,
preservation and transi-
pay. Find out how much
you’ll pay on the next dollar
of income you’ll earn, by
you’ll pay? Are you claim-
ing all the deductions and
credits you’re entitled to?
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is warning tax- tion of personal net worth source. Interest income, for Don’t be reluctant to ask
payers to be aware of a letter fraudulently identified as - after tax, costs and infla- example, will be taxed at a questions - of your advisor,
coming from the CRA and asking for personal informa- tion.Mastering your taxes top marginal rate (around of your tax preparer, of the
tion. will help you get richer. 45 percent for upper earn- Canada Revenue Agency
The letter claims that there is “insufficient infor- Decide now that you’re ers) while income resulting - to fully maximize your
mation” for the individual’s tax return and in order to going to get a handle on from capital gains attracts after-tax income.
receive any “claims,” they will have to update their re- your taxes. half that amount. ► Never miss filing
cords. The letter attaches a form specifically requesting ► Shift your focus. If ► Take the team ap- a tax return. A tax re-
the individual’s personal information in writing, via fax taxes are mystical to you, proach. Refuse to deal with turn is required to build
or email, including information on bank accounts and learn enough to ask deep, professional advisors who contribution room for the
passports. probing questions about work in silos - a team ap- Tax Free Savings Account
This letter is not from the CRA and Canadians your after-tax results. proach is best. Make sure (TFSA) and Registered
should not provide their personal information to the Shift your focus from an- your financial and tax advi- Retirement Savings Ac-
sender. All taxpayers should be vigilant when divulging nual tax preparation to a sors are working together count (RRSP), so it’s folly
any confidential information to third parties. strategic plan for tax effi- to create and preserve your to miss filing a return, or
The CRA has well established practices to protect ciency - all year long. wealth. to file late. Don’t cut into
the confidentiality of taxpayers’ information. ► Stop the madness. ► Make it a family af- your tax exempt and tax
The CRA has notified the proper law enforcement The average tax refund fair. Through income-split- deferred wealth accumu-
authorities of this scam. in Canada has climbed to ting, families can pay the lation potential by being
For information about this and other similar scams, more than $1,400. That’s least amount of taxes pos- tardy. Increase your tax
or to report deceptive telemarketing activity, visit www. an interest free loan to sible and build significantly refund with an RRSP, and
phonebusters.com, send an email to info@phonebusters. the government. Change more wealth than single use the savings to fund the
com, or call 1-888-495-8501. PR the game - pay only the people. The family can be TFSA. CNW
32 MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009
Strong global labor demand keeps OFW deployment rate high
MANILA - The strong Offices (POLO) in over 30
demand for skilled Filipino strategic host destinations
hands is seen to ease any worldwide.
potential effect of the global The POLOs have been
economic slowdown on the conducting marketing mis-
deployment of overseas Fil- sions and employment fa-
ipino workers (OFW). cilitation programs to widen
Labor Secretary Mari- opportunities for OFWs.
anito Roque said host coun- Deployment surge
tries like Canada, Bulgaria, Philippine Overseas
Australia, the United Arab Employment Administra-
Emirates and Qatar have tion (POEA) reports showed
continued to hire Filipino that a total of 1,376,823
workers adept in the English OFWs were deployed to
language and whose work some 190 host destinations
values are highly rated. in 2008 alone.
Roque based his assess- Roque said this rep-
ment from reports from resented growth of 27.8
Philippine Overseas Labor percent, compared to the
1,077,623 OFWs deployed
in 2007.
He said an average of
3,770 OFWs flew out for
work abroad in 2008.
Remittances
The labor chief added
that global OFW remittanc-
es reached US$15 billion in
the first 11 months (January
to November) of 2008.
Citing the latest Bangko
Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)
update, Roque said the re-
mittance was 15.1 percent
higher than that recorded in
the same period in 2007.
The BSP said the con-
tinued demand for profes-
MONEY
sional and skilled OFWs
in overseas economies
substantially contributed to
sustained dollar remittances
to the country in 2008.
Bahrain’s need
Meanwhile, Bahrain
Prime Minister Shaikh
Khalifa Salman Al Khalifa
invited Filipino profession-
als to consider his country
as a preferred place to work
and stay in.
“We have no problem
with Filipinos. We should
have more of them,” Khalifa
told NBN Channel 4, while
waiting for the arrival of
Philippine President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo at the
tarmac of the Bahrain Inter-
national Airport on Feb. 4.
“We really want more
Filipinos because they are
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(An item from the Investors Group Financial Services)
LENDING A HELP-
ING HAND. Is this you?
You’re in your 40s or 50s,
physically and financially
healthy.
You’ve reached that
stage in life when your
focus is shifting inward
toward an examination of
what’s important to you
for personal satisfaction
and fulfillment.
And that leads you
to consider your fellow
citizens, your commu-
nity, and the causes you
believe in - and how you
can help.
GIVING OF YOUR-
SELF AS A VOLUN-
TEER. More and more
active and engaged ‘Baby
Boomers’ are acting on
their strong desire to give
back to causes they are
passionate about by shar-
ing their time - and some-
times their wealth - with
the charitable and non-
profit organizations that
provide so many essential
services in every Cana-
dian community.
hard working,” he added.
In a speech before the
Filipino community at the
convention center of Gulf
International Hotel, Presi-
dent Arroyo said the Prime
Minister intimated that Bah-
rain needed more salesla-
dies for shopping malls.
Wanted: Butchers
In another development,
the Technical Education
and Skills Development
Authority (TESDA) bared
the big demand for butchers
in meat processing plants in
Australia, New Zealand and
Canada.
Davao TESDA regional
director Elmer Talavera
said some 10,000 butchers
are sought to turn cattle and
sheep into fresh and frozen
meat cuts for domestic and
Giving
Whether they are on the
front lines directly help-
ing others, on fundraising
committees or on boards of
directors for non-profit or-
ganizations, volunteers play
a critical role in our society.
As a volunteer, you
have an enormous range
of areas to choose from:
health, social services, edu-
cation, sports, recreation,
arts, culture, environmen-
tal concerns, food banks,
emergency shelters, crisis
hotlines - and much more.
And besides, volunteer-
ing is good for you.
A study by Volunteer
Canada found direct links
between volunteering and
better health and happiness,
generally in the later years.
If you’re thinking about
becoming a volunteer, here
are some tips for getting the
most out of your volunteer-
ing experience:
► Volunteer for an
organization or cause that
complements your lifestyle,
suits your personality and is
of personal interest to you.
export markets.
Talavera said most
workers in Australia, New
Zealand and Canada were
not so keen in working as
butchers or meat cutters as
job standards in the industry
were just too low for them.
“Feelers to fill up job
openings for butchers have
been sent to us,” he said.
Training programs for
butchering and meat cutting
operations are in TESDA’s
list of skills development
programs.
HK: No mass layoffs
Relatedly, Senator Aq-
uilino Pimentel said while
households in Hong Kong
“are scrimping on househ-
elps,” the possibility of a
mass layoff for more than
150,000 OFWs, mostly do-
mestic helpers, there is nil.
Pimentel got the infor-
mation during a brief stop-
over in Hong Kong.
He also allayed fears
of OFW job losses in the
Swiss Confederation, after
getting a positive briefing
from Ambassadors Erlinda
Basilio and Maria Theresa
Lazaro on the OFW situa-
tion in Geneva, Lausanne
and the rest of Switzerland.
“The work of our com-
patriots in Germany also
appear stable from infor-
mation passed on to me by
Consul General Manalo,”
he added.
In Taiwan, more than
2,000 OFWs were displaced
due to the global financial
crisis. With PNA
► Before you get in-
volved, ask yourself these
questions:
-- What do I hope to
achieve from the experi-
ence?
-- What causes or is-
sues matter most to me?
-- What skills, experi-
ence or talents do I want
to share?
-- Are there areas in
which I want to stretch
myself?
-- How much time do
I have to give?
► When you’ve an-
swered those questions,
get your volunteering life
started with a call to your
local volunteer centre or
Volunteer Canada at 1-
800-670-0401 (www.vol-
unteer.ca).
GIVING OF YOUR
WEALTH - PHILAN-
TROPHY. You may de-
cide to support the causes
you care about with chari-
table gifts.
You may want to help
your favorite charity con-
tinue its important work.

Sun Life affirms strong financial position
MANILA - Sun Life Fi-
nancial Plans Inc., the pre-
need firm of Sun Life Fi-
nancial Philippines (SLFP),
has announced that it had
sufficient funds to meet
all obligations for its plan-
holders.
“We are a prudent com-
MONEY
pany by nature and we have
always brought this pru-
dence to our pre-need com-
pany,” said SLFP president
and chief executive officer
Henry Herrera.
“Rumors relating to the
state of the industry are
not reflective of Sun Life’s
pre-need business which
continues to be strong and
well-capitalized,” he said.
Herrera added that
SLFP’s capitalization is one
of the highest in the indus-
try and it has a conservative
investment portfolio, hav-
ing invested in government
bonds locked-in at interest
rates sufficient to cover its
obligations.
“At Sun Life, our mes-
sage to plan holders is crys-
tal clear - we can and will
continue to fulfill our obli-
gations to our planholders,”
he said.
“After 114 years of ex-
perience in the Philippines,
we have always met our
obligations no matter what
the crisis and we will con-
tinue to do so. Of this, we
are very proud,” Herrera
further stated.
MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009
The Securities Exchange
Commission (SEC) has
recently renewed SLFP’s
license to sell pre-need
plans.
The license was signed
by SEC Director Jose P.
Aquino on Dec. 10, 2008,
taking effect from January
to December 2009.
SLFP’s pre-need firm
was established in 2001 and
since then has posted steady
growth.
The company has
evolved to become a fully
diversified financial servic-
33
es institution offering life
insurance, mutual funds,
and pre-need.
It started operations
in the Philippines in 1895
when its mother company
Sun Life of Canada decided
to expand its operations in
Southeast Asia.
It is one of the largest
and most trusted insurers
in the country with almost
a half a million policies in
force and is boosted by the
strength and stability of
SLFP shares in the Philip-
pine Stock Exchange. PNA

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Hackett Group cites OPG RP still

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as world-class performer outsourcing

The Hackett Group,
Inc., a global strategic advi-
sory firm, has announced its
recognition of the Ontario
Power Generation (OPG) as
a world-class performer in
finance operations.
The award cited OPG
as an organization that has
demonstrated top efficiency
and effectiveness in finance
operations, based on metrics
captured during a finance
functional benchmark.
The company’s results
were compared with results
from more than 200 recent
Hackett benchmarks per-
formed with Global 1000
companies, state and federal
government organizations,
and academic institutions.
“We congratulate OPG
on this exceptional accom-
plishment,” said Hackett
President Wayne Mincey.
“OPG has reason to be
proud, because it’s no easy
feat to achieve world-class
performance. In today’s
increasingly competitive
global marketplace, world-
class performance in finance
and other areas has become
even more valuable. Clearly
this is something that OPG
has internalized,” he said.
According to The Hack-
ett Group’s Book of Num-
bers research, world-class
finance organizations spend
approximately 50 percent of
what typical companies do
on operations, and operate
with 60 percent fewer staff.
Keys to success in-
cluded: a focus on process
simplification and stan-
dardization; utilization of
shared services; improved
technology leverage; bet-
ter data centralization and
information access; and
business partnering, includ-
ing investments in planning
and analysis processes and
overall improvement in the
skill set of finance staff.
Only about 10 percent
of all finance organizations
benchmarked by Hackett
achieved world-class per-
formance.
“OPG joins an elite
group, like Dow and Al-
coa, that have been able to
drive meaningful change
in a balanced way,” com-
mented Bryan Hall, Hackett
Finance Practice Leader.
OPG’s Chief Financial
Officer Donn Hanbidge
said, “It’s an honour to re-
ceive this prestigious award
and to join the other distin-
guished organizations who
have received it in the past.
This award reflects the
dedication of finance em-
ployees who are committed
to continuously improving
OPG’s financial systems
and processes. Their efforts
to enhance the efficiency
and effectiveness of the fi-
nance function have deliv-
ered significant value to the
entire company. I am very
proud of their perseverance,
professionalism and dedica-
tion. This award is a testi-
mony to their success.” PR
Registered Professional Accountant
To book your appointment please call ........... Anna Eusebio @ (416) 609-8912
MANILA - The Philip-
pines has remained a pre-
ferred voice outsourcing
site, as industry players
have continued embarking
on ways to improve com-
petitiveness.
Oscar Sañez, chief ex-
ecutive officer of the Busi-
ness Processing Association
of the Philippines (BPAP),
said the country had been
favored over India in voice
outsourcing because of the
Filipinos’ proficiency in the
English language and the
presence of a customer ser-
vice-centered work culture.
Sañez said the Philip-
pines has better prospects
in voice outsourcing than
emerging markets like Ma-
laysia, South Africa, China
and East Europe countries.
Voice outsourcing firms
in the Philippines have been
conducting recruitment and
training programs to further
improve service quality.
Industry stakehold-
ers have tied up with top
notch universities to carry
out industry-standard Eng-
lish language improvement
and post-graduate degree
programs to earn credits to-
wards an MBA specific to
the outsourcing industry.
Partnerships with the
Technical Education and
Skills Development Au-
thority are made on train-
ing programs for call center
agents, transcription agents,
java software, and anima-
tion and film. PNA
34 MONEY MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009

Promoting Isabela’s potentials

Nebres
re-elected
PCCT
president
Gamu, Isabela Mayor Fernando Cumigad (right) visited Ontario and Manitoba
to promote Isabela’s labor potentials and products in the Canadian market.
With him in photo are (from left) Teresa and Alejandro Mosquera, Philippine
Consul General in Toronto, and Eva Agpaoa. (Related story on page 17)
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce Toronto
Of belt ... Statscan: Job losses ... Indian ... (PCCT), the community’s premier business group,
(From page 9) (From page 5) (From page 30) has re-elected RAFAEL NEBRES (General Manag-
ments such as income trusts individuals might be related stressors tied with having External Affairs Secretary- er, Action Honda), as President.
and others. to the higher prevalence of an episode of psychological East, said India and the Phil- Elected with Nebres are ACE ALVAREZ (Man-
Don’t forget, you can stressors to which they were distress were job strain, cash ippines are also engaged in aging Editor, Manila Media Monitor), 1st Vice Pres-
place most of these invest- exposed, and their lack of woes, personal stress and re- cooperation in the energy ident- Government Relations; OSWALD TUGADI
ments into your RRSP ac- coping support. lationship problems. and education areas. (President, Albee Enterprises), 2nd Vice President-
count or even the new Tax New findings For men, neighborhood “We have a program on Membership; CORI NARON (Estate Administrator,
Free Savings Account. But new findings showed problems were a factor. jatropha plantations in which David Sklar and Associates), 3rd Vice President-
Talk to an investment that stressors played a vi- For women, problems we give seeds to the Philip- Public Relations; EDGARDO GONZALES (Presi-
counselor you trust as well tal role in the relationship with children and recent pines to grow. The other co- dent, Association of Fil-Canadian Accountants),
as to your insurance broker. between household income negative life events, such as operation is in the field of Treasurer; ARLENE MARTIREZ (Immigration Ser-
Both have a wealth of and psychological distress. someone in the family being student exchange and train- vices Manager) Secretary, ELIZABETH LEGGETT
information and can help Considering stressors, demoted at work or failing ing so that the young people (Certified General Accountant), Auditor.
guide you in the right direc- the direct association be- an education program, were come to know more about The Board Directors are ED JOAQUIN (Presi-
tion. tween income and the sub- important. our countries,” he said. dent, Asian Global Media Inc.), Asst. to the 1st VP;
But remember, financial sequent risk of experiencing Low-household income Ravi said India is also CHERRIE LIU (President, A2Z Solutions), Asst. to
security has many sides to an episode of distress was is a marker for difficult ma- pursuing agricultural coop- the 2nd VP; AGNES LOSHUSAN (Director, Mary
it: Better management of reduced, since lower income terial and psychosocial life eration with the Philippines. Kay Cosmetics), ROGER YU (Director, Red Sea
your cash flow and debt; is associated with more situations. PNA Enterprises), FLOR VENDIOLA (Vice President, FV
better smarter investments; stressors. Distress is a psycho- Foods Inc.), and STEVE PAGAO (President, Door
and the willingness on your This direct association logical state characterized to Door Services Inc.), all for Special Projects;
part to plan into the future remained significant for by anxiety or a depressed ADS that HENRY SIA (President, Golden Valley’s Food Out-
and see that plan all the way lower-income men, but not mood, and may indicate reach out let Inc.) and TED DAYNO (President, Forex Cargo,
through. (info@thenanny- for lower-income women. more serious disorders such Toronto), both for Bilateral Relations, Canada-
expert.com) For both sexes, the as clinical depression. PR Call 416-285-8583 Philippines. PR
MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009 35
36 MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009 ENTERTAINMENT
... And the 81st Academy Awards winners are ...
Here is the complete
list of winners at the 81st
annual Academy Awards
presented on Feb. 23 at the
Kodak Theatre in Los An-
geles:
• Motion Picture: Slum-
dog Millionaire.
• Actor: Sean Penn,
Milk.
• Actress: Kate Wins-
let, The Reader.
• Supporting Actor:
Heath Ledger, The Dark
Knight.
• Supporting Actress:
Penelope Cruz, Vicky
Cristina Barcelona.
WINSLET, PENN and CRUZ • Director: Danny
SEOUL DRIVING SCHOOL
YELLOWBIRD
6013 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario
Boyle, Slumdog Million-
aire.
• Foreign Film: Depar-
tures, Japan.
• Adapted Screenplay:
Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog
Millionaire.
• Original Screenplay:
Dustin Lance Black,
Milk.
• Animated Feature
Film: WALL-E.
• Art Direction: The
Curious Case of Benjamin
Button.
• Cinematography:
Slumdog Millionaire.
• Sound Mixing: Slum-
dog Millionaire.
Bantay Bata Special bags
gold medal in NY Festivals
ABS-CBN’s winning
streak continues with a tri-
umphant campaign in the
prestigious 2009 New York
Festivals, taking home four
medals, the most by a single
TV station in the country
this year.
Leading the winners are
Bantay Bata 163’s 10th An-
niversary Special, which
won the Gold World Medal
for Best Variety Special,
and Korina Sanchez’s in-
vestigative report on sub-
• Sound Editing: The
Dark Knight.
• Original Score: Slum-
dog Millionaire, A.R.
Rahman.
• Original Song: Jai Ho
from Slumdog Million-
aire, A.R. Rahman and
Gulzar.
• Costume: The Duch-
ess.
• Documentary Feature:
Man on Wire.
• Documentary (short
subject): Smile Pinki.
• Film Editing: Slum-
dog Millionaire.
• Makeup: The Curious
Case of Benjamin Button.
standard glutathione food
supplements, which took a
Silver World Medal.
Bantay Bata 163’s 10th
Anniversary Special was
produced by the ABS-CBN
Special Projects Group
(SPG), headed by event-
maven Chit Guerrero.
The SPG is behind the
company’s grandest and
biggest special events like
“Miss Earth” and “Dolphy
at 80.”
(To page 37)
• Animated Short
Film: La Maison en Petits
Cubes.
• Live Action Short
Film: Spielzeugland (Toy-
land).
• Visual Effects: The
Curious Case of Benjamin
Button.
Academy Award win-
ners previously announced
this season are:
► Jean Hersholt Hu-
manitarian Award (Oscar
statuette): Jerry Lewis.
► Gordon E. Sawyer
Award (Oscar statuette):
Pixar Animation co-found-
er Ed Catmull.
KORINA SANCHEZ
3 P.M.
 ENTERTAINMENT MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009 37
Top caliber artists fused in ‘May Bukas Pa’

Another inspiring ABS-CBN high-quality series premiered on Feb. 2 in the network’s Primetime Bida. May Bukas Pa features one of the cutest kids in the
entertainment industry, Zaijian Jaranilla. Under the direction of Jerome Pobocan and Jojo Saguin, May Bukas Pa characters are played by Philippine movie
and television greats Dina Bonnevie, Albert Martinez, Jaime Fabregas, Tony Mabesa, Precious Lara Quigaman, Lito Pimentel, Dominic Ochoa, Victor Basa,
David Chua, Ruben Gonzaga, Desiree del Valle, Arlene Muhlach, Rayver Cruz, Maja Salvador and Tonton Gutierrez. PR

Bantay Bata Special ...

(From page 36)

BOY ABUNDA AND KRIS AQUINO

The Bantay Bata Special, which also won in
the 17th Golden Dove Awards, is just one of the
group’s many world-class productions.
Meanwhile, also making an impression among
the judges at the New York Festivals are Silver
World Medalists “Boy & Kris” for the Talk/Inter-
view category and “Lastikman” for the Action/
Adventure category.
Kapamilya programs “Kung Fu Kids,”
“Wowowee,” and “Rated K,” meanwhile, were
awarded with finalist certificates for Children’s
Program, Family Program, and Magazine Format,
respectively.
Korina, ABS-CBN’s chief correspondent and
“Bandila” news anchor, also received a finalist
certificate in the Best News Reporter category at
the New York Festivals.
The New York Festivals International Televi-
sion Programming and Promotion Awards is on
its 49th year of recognizing “The World’s Best
Work” in news, documentary, information, enter-
tainment program-
ming, music vid-
eos, infomercials,
promotion spots,
opening, and IDs.
Judging is done
by several hundred
US producers, di-
rectors, writers,
and other media
professionals.
With this vic-
tory, the network is
even more upbeat
to outperform itself
in next year’s com-
petition to bring
more glory to the
country, while in
the service of Fili-
pino worldwide.
LASTIKMAN PR
38 MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009 LIFE & LEISURE

BATID WIKA Astrology

By Fox Karma
PAHALANG
1. Hithit
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
MARCH HOROSCOPE
5. Umpisa 13 14
PISCES (February 19 – March 20): As you celebrate your birthday and welcome the
13. Katay 15 16 17 new journey that you are about to enter with open arms, it may be in your nature to wallow
14. Bayan sa Laguna in self-pity, but you will overcome your obstacles by trying to strike balance with your
15. Halamang-damo 18 19
personal, romantic and professional life and accept the reality that life is not a stage play
17. Palayaw ng lalaki 20 21 22 23 and happy endings are indeed within your control by taking matters into your own hands.
18. Bawas gatong
Lucky Number 8
19. Hagupit 24 25 26 27 28 29
ARIES (March 21 –April 19): Take advantage of your great leadership skills by initi-
20. Ilagan
30 31 32 ating change for the better in the workplace. Do not stop halfway through before finishing-
23. ‘Di katulad
24. Libot up your project and being overly concerned with your social status by feeling the need to
33 34 35
25. Uri ng gulay be the life of the party. Show them what you’re really made of by being assertive! Lucky
30. Dag-is 36 37 38 Number 10
31. Libro TAURUS (April 20 – May 20): As awful as you may feel when you are a little under
39 40 41 42
32. Bahagyang pilay the weather, usually because of your own doing, like overindulging after work and on the
33. Dalaga 43 44 45 46 47 weekends, you try your best to get by to fit in even though there may be something that is
35. Alo seriously bothering you. Just remember, that it is okay to take a personal day for recovery.
48 49 50
36. Tinapay Better now than too late. Lucky Number 6
37. Taliwas 51 52 GEMINI (May 21 – June 21): Continue to use your charismatic personality and your
39. Tagilid ability to sell yourself to get ahead in life. Though it is often difficult for you to be alone,
42. Talo this might be a good time to take some time off and reflect on your future and what really
43. Sambit 9. Isang beses 31. Konsorte makes you happy. Lucky Number 1
44. Ayon sa batas 10. Paghuhugas ng 34. Ihalili CANCER (June 22 – July 23): Don’t worry too much about other people’s criticism,
48. Iba-iba bigas 35. Awayan for you know deep down what your strengths really are. Instead, focus on finding the
50. Karaka 11. Kambas 38. Agrabyado solution to problems more than wasting your time worrying about issues that will not mat-
51. Minanduhan 12. Asim 40. Tanong ng ter even months from now. You’ll be surprised with your productivity as a result. Lucky
52. Gusto 16. Saksak naghahanap Number 15
19. Tambang 41. Utos sa drayber LEO (July 23 – Aug 23): People often trust you to give sufficient control over busi-
PABABA 20. Salok 42. Digma ness ventures. Be careful with making too many promises, although you usually win trust
1. Kabyaw 21. Parang 44. ___ Piñas quite easily; you don’t want to seem insincere with future commitments to be made.
2. Kaibigan 22. Tanong sa mamimili 45. Tuyo
VIRGO (Aug 24 – Sept. 23): Your adamant persistence will lead to your personal suc-
3. Darak 23. Huwag sabay- 46. Higit
cess. People admire your sense of loyalty and humility. You are very guarded and do not
4. Sagana sabayin 47. Tula
trust very easily. Those who are fortunate enough to obtain being your friend must know
5. Anak ng kapatid 26. K___, pugon, Ingles 49. Ika-16 letra
6. Lasa ng asin 27. Sigaw that being treated with proper respect is very important to you, as you find it difficult to
7. Tawag sa banal 28. Marka ng mali (Sagot sa PAHINA 30) forgive and forget. Lucky Number 7
8. Titulo sa ahedres 29. Bigo LIBRA (Sept 24 – Aug 23): You’re happiest when your devotion and hard work is
recognized and appreciated. You can easily adapt to change, which is strength in itself.
Your balanced nature provides others with happiness and satisfaction in any relationship
that they may have with you. Be careful when making a constructive criticism towards
your significant other, as they may feel as if they are to blame rather than wanting to work
out a solution to a problem with you. Lucky Number 69
SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 22): You’re a go-getter and everybody knows it. It is your
way or the highway! Though you have many achievements to be proud of, try and place
yourself in the other person’s shoes as it will lead to greater understanding. Try and be
more sensitive towards the other person’s needs as you would with yourself. Know when
to stop or back down as this will bring you inner harmony. Lucky Number 11
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23 – Dec. 21): Finances are booming for you right now with
money coming-in left right and centre. Take advantage of this high and move on to the next
step. Lucky Number 25
CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 19): You have finally reached your boiling point and
you can either move on for the better or continue judging and pointing out other people’s
shortcomings. The choice is yours to either be the sore loser or to be the better person.
Lucky Number 26
AQUARIUS (Jan 20 – Feb 18): Too busy drowning in your sorrows to appreciate
everything else that you may have achieved? Take a moment and realize that there is no
need to dislike others because it seems like they have had nothing but good luck. For you
too can achieve success by realizing that it starts with your positive attitude first! Lucky
Number 10

Joel Recla
Producer/Host
MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009 39

Experience the opportunity working with the best professionals

on communication needs challenging your organizations ...
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GENRES OF WORK DONE BY PRINCIPALS

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● AUDIO-VISUAL (A/V) DOCUMENTARY ● PRINT
Int’l. Women’s Month Pharmaceutical Training Material, Corporate ,
Philippne Army Non-Profit & Labour Relations Press Releases
Municipality of San Pedro, Laguna ● NEW MEDIA
National Housing Authority Text on Health, Elections, Education, Non-Profit Org. sites
● A/V TRAINING, PROMO & MARKETING MATERIALS ● RADIO-TV PRODUCTIONS
Insurance, Pharmaceutical, Banking, Consumer Concept, Script & Full Production & Post Prod
● RADIO & TV SCRIPTS ● EVENT MARKETING & PROMOTIONS
Historical, various consumer RTV Commercials Non-Profit Artistic Organization
40 MANILA MEDIA MONITOR
FEBRUARY 2009

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3660 Hurontario St., 2nd Floor 600 Sherbourne St., Suite 307
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