Planet Philippines (Calgary Edition) November 16-30, 2011 Issue

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MARIA PERCY JAVELOSA ............................................................ Publisher/Advertising ManagerCARMELA SARILE ...................................................................... Graphic ArtistSTEVE TARZWELL, JULIE PICOC, FERDIE GAYOS .......................... Contributors

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LEANDRO MILAN .................................................................................. Editor-in-ChiefPEPPER MARCELO ............................................................................... Assistant EditorARNEL RIVAL ........................................................................................ Layout ArtistROMY FLORANTE .................................................................................. PhotographerDIANA PAMELA TRISTE ........................................................................ Editorial Assistant

PLANET PHILIPPINES Worldwide

TTAWA - THE federal government is impos-ing a two-year moratorium on immigration applications from parents and grandparents, starting immediately.

But to make up for the restriction, it is creating a 10-year, special visa that will al-low parents and grandparents of perma-nent residents to enter Canada multiple times as visitors and stay for up to two years at a time.

CANADA IMPOSES 2-YEAR FREEZE ON SPONSORSHIP OF

PARENTS, GRANDPARENTSCanada is imposing a two-year moratorium on sponsorship of parents and grandparents in a bid to reduce the backlog of immigration applications. To make up for the restriction, it is introducing a new Parent and Grandparent Super Visa, which allows members of that group to visit their families in Canada on a temporary basis for up to two years at a time.

Ottawa is also going to allow in more parents and grandpar-ents next year from the existing — very long — waiting list. The government is targeting admis-

sions of 25,000 people next year, up from a recent annual average of 17,500.

As a result, parents and grand-parents will make up nine per cent of the total immigrant inflow of about 255,000 next year, said Immigration Minister Jason Ken-ney. That’s up from the current six per cent.

But with increases for parents and grandparents, as well as pre-viously announced increases in the numbers of foreign skilled workers and white-collar workers with Canadian experience, Ken-ney is reducing other targets to keep the overall immigrant pool at the same level as in previous years.

So in 2012, there will be thou-sands fewer business-class immi-grants, spouses and live-in care-givers, a newly published list of targets shows.

The package of moves is part of a broader plan to speed up inflows and cut the backlog, es-pecially of parents and grand-parents. Kenney said that by the time the moratorium on their ap-plications is lifted, the wait time

for processing should fall to about four years from more than eight years.

“We need to change the math” that has led to waiting lists grow-ing relentlessly for years, Kenney told a news conference in Missis-sauga, Ont.

“Taking no action, for me, is not an option.”

If the rules stayed the same, the backlog of parents and grand-parents waiting to be processed would climb to about 300,000 within the decade from about 170,000 now, Kenney warned.

He said he had to impose the moratorium without warning to prevent hordes of people rushing to get applications in under the

old regime.Those people would just go to

the back of the queue anyway and

wait years and years before officials could screen them, Kenney added.

Instead, he’s telling those who want to visit their rela-tives in Canada to use the new visa system.

By creating the new multi-

ple-entry visa, Kenney said Otta-wa will have time to fix the back-log without penalizing families hoping to be reunited in Canada.

The new visa will come into effect Dec. 1.

It will likely take just eight weeks to process — as long as ap-plicants fill out the forms correct-ly, buy private health insurance, pass a medical exam and prove they have family in Canada who can support them here.

The private health-insurance requirement is key for Kenney. He has frequently spoken about his frustration with older immi-grants not contributing much to the Canadian economy while re-lying on the country’s extensive social system.

And that’s why he couldn’t just raise the number of parents and grandparents to really high levels, just to clear the backlog.

“To those who say, ‘just ad-mit 60,000 a year,’ I say to them, when’s the last time you were in an emergency ward?” Kenney said.

The Opposition NDP wel-comed the idea of the new visa and was glad to see higher levels of parents and grandparents will be admitted next year.

But immigration critic Don Da-vies said he is frustrated with the way Kenney is telling the public about his plan for the mix of im-migrants for 2012.

Kenney is announcing his tar-gets in dribs and drabs that make it difficult to know who is going to get the short end of the stick, Davies said.

“Who are the losers going to be?” he asked in an interview.

Kenney announced earlier that Canada would accept about 255,000 immigrants overall in 2012. He then went on to an-nounce that he would increase targets for foreign skilled work-ers, white-collar newcomers with skills honed in Canada, PhD stu-dents and refugees.

The targets show that Ottawa plans to increase those groups by about 12,000 in total.

The targets also show that the business class will be reduced by about 3,500 while live-in caregiv-ers will fall by 3,600. Spouses are expected to drop by about 4,000, but Immigration Canada does not have much control over that number and calls it a “projection” rather than a target.

“He is burying the bad news: slashing spousal, caregiver and refugee visas,” Davies said. “That’s wrong.” (Canadian Press) n

The super visa for parents and grandparents will allow holders to make multiple entries over a span of 10 years and stay in Canada for up to two years at a time.



TTAWA - Immigration Minister Ja-son Kenney has never suffered from lack of ambi-tion and his latest goal is nothing short

of reshaping and rejuvenat-ing the Canadian workforce.

He envisions a nimble, efficient immigration machine that will help solve Canada’s demographic imbalance and boost the country’s competitiveness simultaneously.

Kenney says when he is done with his multiple reforms of the system, the flow of newcomers into Canada will be predominant-ly young, well educated, highly skilled, and fluent in English or French.

They’ll be admitted to Canada within a year of applying.

And soon after, they’ll start paying taxes because they will have lined up a job prior to ar-rival or should be able to find one quickly once they land.

“Where we want to be in a few years time is a flexible, just-in-time . . . system where we admit people within a year of their ap-plication,” he said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

“Where people with pre-ar-ranged job offers are given pri-ority, because they succeed best. Where we continue to see a better geographic distribution of new-comers. And where we can more flexibly change the (acceptance) criteria based on developments in the labour market,” he explained.

“That’s where we want to go.”But getting there is no easy am-

ble. His critics don’t disagree with his goal, but they have qualms about how he will achieve it.

“It’s like saying ‘we want to have sun in January.’ We all want that,” NDP immigration critic Don Davies said in a telephone call from Vancouver. “He doesn’t ex-plain how. He sets the goals but he doesn’t say how we’ll get there.”

Kenney foresees a multi-step

Next spring, Immigration Minister Kenney wants to rearrange the point system that allows economic immigrants to qualify.

Youth and high-quality education will be worth more, and the emphasis on English or French fluency is likely to be increased.

Quantity of education will matter less.

BY HEATHER SCOFFIELDThe Canadian Press

CANADA SEEKS YOUNG, EDUCATED, SKILLED AND

FLUENT NEWCOMERS

The next batch of immigrants to Canada will be predominantly young, well educated,

highly skilled, and fluent in English or French.

In recent years Canada has let in an average of 254,000 immigrants a year, which is high by historical standards.process that will require changes to many different parts of Canada’s creaky immigration machinery.

His department has already undertaken major studies of what kind of immigrant succeeds in Canada and what kind fails. Ken-ney has followed up with exten-

sive consultations and polling to find out what mix of immigration the public is willing to take.

Kenney plans to hold immi-gration levels steady next year. Ottawa wants to accept between 240,000 and 265,000 newcomers in 2012. That’s the same as this year and in keeping with the an-nual average of 254,000 over the past few years.

While some immigration ob-

servers argue that Canada could solve its demographic imbalance, workplace shortages, family de-mands and backlog issues all at the same time by opening the doors to far more immigrants, Kenney rejects that idea.

“I don’t think realistically we can increase the levels of immi-gration in orders of magnitude,” he said.

“I think it’s important for policy makers to listen to public opinion on immigration and not become disconnected from public opinion, which has arguably led to some of the problems in Western Europe.”

Immigrant-related riots in a few European countries over the past three years have become the spectre of what immigration policy makers around the world aim to avoid.

Kenney understands the logic in calculations that show Canada would have to at least triple the number of immigrants it lets in every year if it wanted to bring down the average age of its popu-lation and resolve expected labour shortages over time.

But Canada can’t absorb that many people, he said, nor would Ca-nadians accept that kind of inflow. He points to polling last year done by Human Resources and Skills De-velopment Canada. It shows 47 per cent of respondents say immigration levels are just right, and 34 per cent say they are too high.

“That, in my view, is in no way a reflection of anti-immigra-tion sentiment, because new im-migrants are disproportionately likely to say that,” Kenney said.

“So this is just, I think, a sense that Canadians have that there’s a practical limit to how many people can be successfully settled each year. The broad political consensus in Canada is pro-im-migration, but the caveat on that is to make sure that we’re able to successfully integrate and employ the people who arrive.”

Once the levels of immigration are decided, Kenney will be turn-ing his attention to getting rid of the enormous backlog of potential immigrants waiting in the queue to have their applications processed. There are about one million names on the list, many of whom have been waiting for years and years for word from Ottawa.

He has suggested capping the number of applications in some areas, perhaps starting with the parents and grandparents of per-manent residents. That would cut down the backlog, make for a younger inflow, and reduce Can-ada’s costs for social services.

Then, once the numbers are under control, Kenney wants to focus on shaping the quality of the various immigration streams.

Next spring, the minister wants to rearrange the point system that allows economic immigrants to qualify. Youth and high-quality education will be worth more, and the emphasis on English or French fluency is likely to be increased.

But this isn’t the first time Ken-ney has tried to reform the stream of economic immigrants, points out Davies.

Kenney has given three major directives over the past few years to limit applications and put cer-tain professions at the front of the queue. The fact that he’s rehash-ing the system yet again is a sign that his previous attempts have failed, Davies says.

It’s not enough for Kenney to simply be the “Energizer bunny” when it comes to shaping Cana-da’s future workforce and diverse population, he adds.

“I don’t think he knows what he’s doing. I think he should slow down.” n


UNDREDS OF years before tattoos and body artwork became acceptable and mainstream in the country, Filipinos were already adorn-ing themselves with ink. When the Spanish arrived and subsequently colonized the Phil-ippines, they documented and referred to the islands and its inhabitants as La Isla De Los Pintados, or “Island of the Painted Ones.”

Throughout the archipelago, various tribes and communities used tattoos to sig-

nify rank, age, accomplishment; some were even viewed as symbols of magic. Also regarded as a sign of beauty, women adorned themselves with tattoos, oftentimes marking them themselves. Inking methods during this early period were crude, consisting of smearing the skin with a mixture of soot and sugar cane juice.

Tattoo artist Ricky Sta. Ana recalls that when he first started tattooing, his clientele was mostly criminals and gangsters. Nowadays, he caters to actors, rock stars, sports celebrities and even politicians.

BY PEPPER MARCELO

FILIPINO TATTOO ARTISTS MAKE THEIR INDELIBLE MARK

In modern times, tattoos have entered popular culture. Celebri-ties, entertainers, athletes, ordi-nary folks and yes, the jailbirds – they all proudly sport tattoos. Planet Philippines recently sat down with two of the country’s leading tattoo artists – Ricky Sta. Ana of Skinworkz and Joe Salien-dra of Tattoo at Joe’s – to discuss the local tattoo industry, its grow-ing acceptance by mainstream society, and how Filipino art-ists compare with the rest of the world.

Ricky Sta. AnaRicky Sta. Ana is one of the

more popular tattoo artists in the country. He has been prominently featured in magazines and news-papers, television programs and advertisements. He is the current head of the Philippine Tattoo Art-ist Guild (PHILTAG).

With no formal training, he opened his first tattoo parlor in 1990 at Cartimar Arcade in Pasay City, which has now sprouted to three in the Metro Manila area, with a staff of 10 artists. When he first started, he recalls, his cli-entele was mostly criminals and gangsters. “It was the mark of a bad boy or a rebel,” he says.

Nowadays, he caters to ac-tors, rock stars, sports celebrities

and even politicians. “They bring their girlfriends, or mistresses, and give them a tattoo as a gift.”

Skinworkz’s prices range from the minor (Php1,000) to premium (Php10,000 and above). Popular and traditional tattoos for most locals, he says, include flow-ers, stars and Filipino tribal art.

Sta. Ana says that he originally ac-cepted walk-ins to his shop, but with business boom-

+12

Ricky Sta. Ana (with singer Mark Abaya) is currently one of the top stars in the local tattoo field.

Sta. Ana is the proprietor of Skinworkz, based in Manila.

Arm tattoos are harder to do, says Sta. Ana, due to their

curvical surface.


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FILIPINO TATTOO...ing, he now chooses clients whose designs have the most meaning to them. While able to draw almost any style, he prefers to execute Oriental (harkening to his half-Chinese background), as well as elemental designs.

He explains that it’s more expensive to have an arm tattoo than a back tattoo, despite the size difference. “It’s more dif-ficult with an arm, because you’re working on a round surface. You have to be sure it’s symmetrical. At least with a back you’re working on a flat surface.”

Sta. Ana advises first timers to start with something small and simple. “Try it first, then think and educate yourself about it. Later, you can get something more deep.”

Joe SaliendraAnother industry veteran, Joe Saliendra

has been a tattoo artist for 27 years and one of the original founders of PHILTAG. It was only five years ago, however, that he opened his shop in BF Homes in Paranaque City. Also a self-taught tattoo artist, he originally worked as an animator, but gave that up when tattooing became more lucrative.

Many of his colleagues, including Sta. Ana, view Saliendra as a mentor figure and pioneer in the industry. But Saliendra shrugs the accolade off, saying that in the “underground” realm of tattoos, there’s no merit for labels or titles. “It’s not like a person studying to be a doctor,” he says. “There’s isn’t a degree you can get. To be a professional is self-proclaimed. Me, I’m just a tattoo artist.”

Over the years, he’s catered to all types of clients – men, women, celebrities, white-collar workers, tricycle and jeepney drivers. Even underage kids approach him, accom-panied by their parents. “I once asked the mother if it was okay for her 17-year-old son to get a tattoo,” he recalls. “She told me, ‘It’s okay, so, what can I do?’ So I said okay.”

Saliendra’s tattoo methods are different than those of other shops. After a client sets an appointment with him, they go through an extensive orientation and interview pro-cess. Like Sta. Ana, he asks clients why they want a tattoo. “It has to be personal, justi-fied and meaningful to them,” he says.

Unlike most artists, Saliendra doesn’t specialize in a specific image or design,

because all types of people approach him. “I have to know what you like, then I’ll go with the flow. The influence of the tattoo doesn’t come from me, but from the person getting the tattoo. He or she will educate and motivate me.”

The process, depending on the size and design, can take anywhere from one hour to a simple tattoo (such as a butterfly) to a month, with the prices ranging from Php1,500 to more than a Php100,000. Sa-liendra says that the most expensive tattoo he has worked on was a back-placed Ori-ental design, which cost Php120,000.

Most people, he says, want to emulate designs and placements they see on celeb-rities, such as the angel with wings design on popular British soccer player David Beckham. He refuses such requests. “Re-semblance is okay,” Saliendra says, “but I don’t want to do a carbon copy.”

Another common design for many lo-cals are patriotic themes, such as the sun, rays and stars evoking the Philippine flag. “I’m sick of those,” he says.

Mainstream acceptance Tattoos now are more popular and

widely accepted, or at least tolerated, as they’ve ever been. “There’s more educa-tion, because of the internet, and the expo-sure in the media,” says Saliendra. “Before, it was like you were trapped in a small cor-ner. Now, it’s spread everywhere.”

Despite the openness, he says there’s still some prejudice. “There’s the mentality that if you have a tattoo, you’re a bad guy.” He adds that it’s always the people without tattoos that pick on the people with, but never the other way around. “People ask,

From page 7

Saliendra goes through an extensive interview process when choosing a design.

Regarded as a pioneer, Saliendra has been tattooing for more than 27 years.


why do you have a tattoo? What’s wrong with you?’ But a tattooed person would never ask, ‘Why don’t you have a tattoo?’”

Sta. Ana agrees that there’s still some resistance to tattoos, but it’s natural. “Even in Europe and the US, they still have that problem,” he says. “It’s better to just edu-cate people.”

Saliendra says that while the increasing commercialization of tattoos and prolifera-tion of tattoo shops and artists, as well as events like Dutdutan, the biggest annual tat-too expo in the country, are positive for the industry, there’s a danger in over-commer-cialization. With so many shops, customers try to get the best price and make tattoo art-ists compete with another to bring the cost down. “There’s no standard set of prices,” he says. “Are you looking for artwork, or are you into getting the best deal?”

For his part, Sta. Ana is more concerned with advocating proper protocol and safe-ty standards. “You see so many shops, they have modern equipment, but then they dispose needles improperly,” he says. “If a client gets infected, the whole industry will be affected.” PHILTAG, with approxi-mately 152 registered members, conducts seminars on proper tattoo techniques and health safety procedures.

World-class talentBeing Pinoy, in both skill and culture,

is what differentiates local artists, and is what ultimately makes them unique. “Job-wise, the Filipino at times is better,” says Saliendra. “We use the same equip-ment, pigments and all that. The people abroad charge more, and you can get that tattoo for cheaper here, and more person-alized.”

Sta. Ana agrees, and wants to focus on helping burgeoning artists, especially way-ward and out-of-school teens. “Their tattoo art is their only hope for a better life for them and their family,” he says. “Better to do this, than something negative.”

In his view, having a tattoo can be a form of catharsis and expression, or a chance to break free of the drudgery of life. “When you get home from work and take off your uniform, showing your tattoos, it’s the only time you can express another side of who you really are.”

Saliendra puts it more philosophically: “This is the ultimate soul of art, because this is the only art that divides the person’s soul from the reality. It is on this thin layer of skin – inside is your soul, outside is the reality. The art is the dividing wall, a reflec-tion of your soul.” n

Tattoos range from P1,000 to over P100,000 depending on placement, design and size.


AS VEGAS -- The 28 stitches over his right eye weren’t enough to keep Manny Pacquiao from headlining his own post-fight concert, which went on as usual into the early morning hours on the Las Vegas Strip.

They certainly won’t keep him from his next fight, though that’s the only sure thing when it comes to Pacquiao’s immediate future.

He escaped with a win on Nov. 12 (Nov. 13 in Manila) against Juan Manuel Marquez, but that

only tells part of the story. Seemingly invincible over the past three years, he looked anything but in scoring a majority de-cision over his Mexican nemesis in a win that enraged both Marquez and thousands of his supporters who packed the MGM Grand arena.

PACQUIAO ESCAPES

WITH A WIN, BUT QUESTIONS

REMAIN

BY TIM DAHLBERG

Seemingly invincible over the past three years, the Filipino boxing idol looked anything but in scoring a

majority decision over his Mexican nemesis in a win that enraged both Marquez and thousands of his supporters.

Pacquiao lands a right jab to the Mexican’s face.

Somewhere, Floyd Mayweath-er Jr. had to be watching. Some-where, Mayweather had to be wondering.

If Marquez could more than hold his own against Pacquiao by counter punching him every minute of the fight, what would stop Mayweather from doing the same? If Marquez did everything against Pacquiao except win, why not finally take dibs on next and

finish the job?It’s boxing, of course, so noth-

ing is ever that simple. In almost getting beat, though, Pacquiao may have done more to make a megafight with Mayweather than with any of his big wins in recent years.

Pacquiao has trouble with counter punchers, as his fight with Marquez clearly showed. And Mayweather is one of the best—if

not the best—counter puncher in the sport.

“The style of Mayweather would get very complicated for Pacquiao,” said Marquez, who has fought both men.

The style of Marquez certainly was very complicated for Pac-quiao, who needed to win a few late rounds to pull out a decision almost as close as the one he won from Marquez in their fight three years ago. Pacquiao won the fight

by sheer aggression, though Mar-quez seemed to land the harder punches, especially with his right hand.

One judge scored the fight even, as did The Associated Press. Two others had Pacquiao win-ning, 115-113 and 116-112. When the decision was announced, an infuriated Marquez stormed from the ring in protest, and fans start-ed throwing beer bottles toward the ring.

“For me the best judges are the audience and you see how they responded,” Marquez said. “I don’t know what type of per-formance I need to give. It was a robbery once again.”

Marquez may have only him-self to blame for that. He came into the ring still fuming over the draw Pacquiao got against him seven years ago and the split de-cision Pacquiao won in 2008. He had to know most of the rounds were so close they were difficult to score, and that judges more often than not favor the fighter moving forward against the fighter mov-ing backward when all things are equal.

Still, after listening to his cor-ner tell him he was winning the fight, he came out slow in the fi-nal round. Neither man did much in a round when they might have been expected to let it all loose, but if Marquez would have fought a little harder and won the 12th round on two scorecards he would have gotten a draw.

“It could have gone either way,” said Freddie Roach, Pac-quiao’s trainer. “I thought Manny


PACQUIAO ESCAPES

WITH A WIN, BUT QUESTIONS

REMAINedged it out in the last two rounds.”

Roach said the third fight between the two men—like the first two—was so close and competitive they should fight a fourth time. But after 36 rounds fought in much the same style at three different weights it’s doubtful a fourth fight would have enough appeal to sell it to a wide enough pay-per-view audience that would allow Pacquiao to earn another $25 million or so.

What Pacquiao thinks about his future is hard to say. After getting stitched up, he showed up with a bandage over his right eye at the post-fight press conference, only to quickly leave after promoter Bob Arum—perhaps not wanting his fighter to have to answer what could be negative questions—allowed only two questions and quickly ushered Pacquiao out of the room.

What did Pacquiao see? He thought he won the fight clearly, and he has trouble with Marquez’s style.

“He wants for me to create action and it’s not easy to create action when he’s wait-ing for a good shot,” Pacquiao said. “He’s a very good counter puncher.”

So, of course, is Mayweather, who also possesses defensive abilities that the 38-year-old Marquez can only dream about. Mayweather dominated Marquez when they fought, though the fact Pacquiao had a lot of trouble with him may be more a style issue than anything. Styles do make fights, as the old boxing axiom goes, and

Their third fight raised more questions than answers.

Marquez connects with a solid right to Pacquiao’s jaw. Pacquiao’s style matched up with that of Marquez almost guarantees close, competi-tive rounds.

Still, the fight was entertaining, a chess match fought with gloves by two fighters whose hearts will never be questioned. The sellout crowd at the MGM Grand was on its feet most of the way, cheering on the exchanges even if the final result didn’t sit well with Marquez fans.

Thousands of miles away, almost ev-erything in the Philippines came to a halt so Pacquiao’s countrymen could watch their national hero fight. Crowds watching the bout fell silent as Marquez kept landing his right hand, and some feared Pacquiao might have been defeated.

Unlike the crowd in this gambling city, they burst into applause as the decision was announced. There were cheers of joy, but mostly there were cheers of relief. (As-sociated Press) n

How many great fights does he have left?



A B E M U S p a p a m (We have a pope)?

He has not even been official-ly installed, but new Ma-nila Arch-

bishop Luis Antonio Tagle has already been tagged as a “papal contender” by a re-spected international Vatican watcher.

Writing in his blog, CNN Se-nior Vatican analyst John Allen Jr. tagged the 54-year-old prel-ate as a “new papal contender,” describing Tagle as “a rising star in the Asian Church” and his ap-pointment by Pope Benedict XVI deserved “to be on the global Catholic radar screen.”

“The big news from the Phil-ippines has been the October 13 appointment of Luis Antonio Tagle as the new Archbishop of Manila, putting him in line to become a cardinal the next time Benedict XVI hosts a con-sistory,” Allen said in his blog at the National Catholic Reporter (NCR) website.

“Youthfulness aside, a strik-ing number of people who know Tagle believe that this is a guy who, one day, could be pope,” Allen said.

“Even if that doesn’t pan out, Tagle is destined to be an impor-tant face and voice for the bur-geoning Catholic population in Asia and the entire developing world, and that makes him some-one worth getting to know,” he added.

Allen notes that Tagle was known for his humility, humor, warmth, simplicity, ability to ex-plain complex theological ideas in layman’s terms, while not being afraid to raise questions about controversial church is-sues.

“Although a loyal church-man, Tagle is unafraid to raise tough questions (at the 2005 synod, he pointedly said the church must confront the priest shortage, which struck some as a way of hinting at flexibil-ity on celibacy) or to challenge what he considers abuses (some of the toughest language you’ll ever find denouncing clerical ar-rogance and privilege is in his writings),” Allen said.

During that 2005 synod of bishops in Rome, Tagle raised his concerns about the shortage of priests during Vatican’s own press conference where he was one of the presenters.

“Theologically and politically, Tagle comes off as balanced. He’s

Archbishop Tagle, who goes by the nickname Chito, is simply well-liked for his warmth and humor, for his simplicity, for his ability to express complex ideas in attractive and understandable argot, for his balance and openness, and for his lack of ego.

BY PHILIP C. TUBEZA taken strong positions against a proposed ‘Reproductive Health’ bill in the Philippines, which in-cludes promotion of birth control. Yet his towering social concern is defense of the poor, and he’s also got a strong environmental streak,” Allen said.

He described Tagle as a “gift-ed communicator, making him a highly sought-after speaker and media personality.”

“He drew rave reviews for his performance at a 2008 Inter-national Eucharistic Congress in Quebec, where observers say he brought an entire stadium to tears,” Allen said.

“Vatican-watchers also rated him among the most im-pressive contributors to both the 2005 Synod on the Eucha-rist and the 2008 Synod on the Word of God. He’s also a very 21st century prelate—he hosts a program on YouTube and he’s got his own Facebook page,” he added.

Allen has noted that while Tagle, at 54, is “in church terms…still a kid,” the new shepherd of Manila’s 2.7 million Catholics was already seen as “a rising star in the Asian Church.”

“The story goes that back in the mid-1990s, when then-Car-dinal Joseph Ratzinger intro-duced Tagle to Pope John Paul II as a new member of the Vat-ican’s International Theological Commission, Ratzinger jokingly assured the pope that the youth-ful-seeming Filipino had, in fact, received his first communion,” Allen said.

“(After theological studies abroad, Tagle) quickly came to be seen as a rising star in the Asian church, explaining his appoint-ment in 1997 to the Vatican’s main doctrinal advisory body,” he added.

Fr. Joseph Komonchak, one of the leading Catholic theologians in the US and Tagle’s doctoral teacher at the Catholic University of America, said Tagle could have become the “best theologian” in Asia if he had not been appointed bishop.

Allen and Komonchak also touched on Tagle’s association with the controversial Bologna-based “History of Vatican II” proj-ect, which has been criticized by conservative Catholics — includ-ing in the Vatican’s own newspa-per L’Osservatore Romano — for providing a “liberal” interpreta-tion of the historic Second Vatican Council.

“Tagle served for 15 years on the editorial board of the Bolo-gna-based ‘History of Vatican II’ project founded by Giuseppe Alberigo, criticized by some con-servatives for an overly progres-sive reading of the council,” Allen said.

Tagle’s association with this

Pope Benedict XVI names a new cardinal during a consistory at the Vatican.

Tagle, as the new Archbishop of Manila, is in line to become a

cardinal the next time Benedict XVI hosts a consistory.

With the fourth biggest Catholic population, the Philippines could be considered as a “Catholic superpower.”

VATICAN WATCHER SEES NEW MANILA ARCHBISHOP A ‘PAPAL CONTENDER’

+19



VATICAN WATCHER SEES NEW MANILA ARCHBISHOP...“liberal” Catholic project makes his appointment more intriguing since the Pope is known for his conservative views on Catholic doctrine.

“Back in the Philippines, it would be a gross understate-ment to say that Tagle, who goes by the nickname Chito,’ is simply well-liked. In truth, most Filipino Catholics I know love the guy — for his warmth and humor, for his simplicity (he routinely eschews clerical dress), for his ability to express

complex ideas in attractive and understandable argot, for his balance and openness, and for his lack of ego,” Allen said.

“He actually told a Catholic radio station in the Philippines this week that when he first heard he was going to Manila, he didn’t tell anybody, because ‘I thought maybe the pope would change his mind,’” he added.

Allen noted that one Filipino commentator noted Tagle as hav-ing “a theologian’s mind, a musi-cian’s soul and a pastor’s heart.”

“In the Imus diocese, Tagle

was famous for not owning a car and taking the bus to work ev-ery day, describing it as a way to combat the isolation that some-times comes with high office,” Al-len said.

“He was also known for invit-ing poor beggars outside the ca-thedral to come in and eat with him; one woman was quoted this week describing a time she went looking for her blind, out-of-work, alcoholic husband, suspect-ing she might track him down in a local bar, only to find that he was lunching with the bishop,”

he added.Allen added that another “typ-

ical story” happened after Tagle arrived in Imus when a small chapel located “in a run-down neighborhood was waiting for a priest to say Mass for a group mostly made up of day laborers at around 4 a.m.”

“Eventually a youngish cleric showed up on a cheap bicycle, wearing simple clothes and ready to start the Mass. An astonished member of the congregation real-ized it was the new bishop, and apologized that they hadn’t pre-

pared a better welcome,” Allen said.

“Tagle said it was no problem; he got word late the night before that the priest was sick, and de-cided to say the Mass himself,” he added.

Being among the top four Catholic countries in the world in terms of population, the Phil-ippines could be considered as a “Catholic superpower” and one of the nations destined to be “pace-setters in the church of the 21st century,” Allen said. (Philip-pine Daily Inquirer) n

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Planet Philippines (Calgary Edition) November 16-30, 2011 Issue