I N D E X

DOLLAR - PESOEXCHANGE RATE

SOURCE: BANGKO SENTRAL NG PILIPINAS

VOL. XVI NO. 03 | January 11 -17, 2013 www.tribuneusa.com | Tel. 888-366-0008

Through Facebook, Filipina domestic in Jordan rescued

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A mother joins campaign to stop ‘autistic’ joke

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US lawmakers express support to PHL arbitration case vs. China

United States lawmakers visiting the Philip-pines expressed support on the arbitration case filed by the Philippines against China

over conflicting claims in the West Philippine Sea."The US delegation supported the position of

the President (Benigno Aquino III) in bringing the dispute to the UN arbitral tribunal, consistent with our policy of maintaining a peaceful resolution to the West Philippine Sea dispute," said Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda during the press brief-ing.

The US congressional delegation headed by Congressman Ed Royce of California, together with Congressmen Tom Marino of Pennsylvania, Ver-non Buchanan of Florida, Matt Salmon of Arizona, and Eliot Engel of the 16th District of New York, made a courtesy call to the President on January 30.

Lacierda said the President explained to the vis-iting US lawmakers why the Philippine government had to bring the West Philippine Sea dispute before the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Seas (UNCLOS).

The Philippine government earlier explained the filing of arbitrary case against China was neces-sary as China’s 9-dash line claim encompasses prac-tically the entire West Philippine Sea.

"We must challenge the unlawful claim of China under their 9-dash line in order to protect our na-tional territory and maritime domain," the Depart-ment of Foreign Affairs (DFA) stressed.

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Casiño thanks CBCP for Anti-Dynasty Bill support

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Katrina Halili, back and ready for showbiz

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Royal blood (or what runs in Andi's veins)

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fRIDAY, fEBRUARY 1, 2012PhP40.666

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SHOWBIZ NI BOY VILLASANTA

SUNDAN SA PAHINA B1

Maja Salvador, hindi nakikipag-away kay Kim Chiu

Martial law victims hail initial victory on compensation bill

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Editorial: Tubbataha and national patrimony

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The Wisdom of Crowds: Crowdsourcing Net Freedom

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Kapamilya stars draw huge crowds in Sinulog and Dinagyang Festivals

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A good decade for Filipino tenors

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Cinema One Originals “Mater Dolorosa” and “Big Boy” debut at Rotterdam film fest

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Soap opera ni Gerald Anderson, nilayasan ni Maricel Soriano

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Gawad Kalinga Headquarters in the Philippines has activated Operation Walang Iwanan and iscurrently undertaking emergency relief efforts in most affected areas in Mindanao and targeting to

give away 10,000 food packs to affected families. For more information on the relief effortsin the Philippines, please visit http://gk1world.com/typhoon-pablo. Check donations

can be mailed directly to:  GK USA, 13860 Stowe Dr., Poway, CA 92064, Memo: Disaster Relief

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Palace: President’s Davos trip a ‘worthy long-term investment’The money spent for Presi-

dent Benigno S. Aquino III’s trip to Switzerland to join other leaders for the World Economic Forum is a small price to pay for all of the expected influx of in-vestments in the Philippines, the Palace said Thursday.

“This was an event that high-lighted what the Philippines has been doing. From the very start, it was not meant to bring dollars and cents. It was an opportunity for us to showcase the Philip-pines and the President is our salesman in showcasing what the

Philippines has been doing; the reforms we have undertaken,” Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a press confer-ence in Malacanang Thursday.

Lacierda was responding to

DAVOS, Switzerland – Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III shares his views during the Roundtable Meeting with world business executives at the sidelines of the World Economic Forum at the Credit Suisse AG, Credit Suisse Pavilion, Promenade 59 Jan 25.With the President are Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office Secretary Ramon Carandang, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory Domingo, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Socio-Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan and Secretary to the Cabinet Jose Rene Almendras. (PLDT powered by SMART). (Photo by: Ryan Lim / Malacañang Photo Bureau/PNA)

By LiLyBETH G. iSON

Going obsessive compulsive over coffee

DOTC commences to investigate Tubbataha reef marine incidentThe Department of Transpor-

tation and Communications (DOTC), through the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), has com-menced its independent inquiry to find out the real circumstances surrounding the grounding of the US Navy minesweeper USS Guardian on the Tubbataha Reef.

PCG’s Maritime Casualty Investigation Team (MCIT), formed in accordance with its Standard Procedures on mari-time incidents, has been tasked to gather the physical and docu-mentary evidence needed to es-tablish the circumstances and causes as to why the US Navy

vessel strayed into the protected area even after the park rang-ers manning the reef warned them that they were dangerously treading a sheltered area.

Rear Admiral Rodolfo D. Isorena, PCG Commandant, and Rear Admiral Luis M. Tuason, who heads PCG’s MCIT, met

with Rear Admiral Thomas Car-ney, the on-scene commander of the salvage operations to gather technical data on the maritime incident.

Right after the incident more than a week ago, Task Force Tub-bataha, composed of the Philip-pine Navy and DOTC/PCG was

formed to assess the environ-mental damage of the incident and further minimize damage to the reef.

Meanwhile, Rear Admiral Isorena was informed by Carney of the plan to cut USS Guardian into pieces before vertically ex-tracting it from the site. (PNA) q

President Benigno S. Aquino III received

Mayor Raymond "Ray" Bue-naventura of Daly City, Cali-fornia in Malacanang Palace Wednesday.

Buenaventura, of Filipino ancestry, was accompanied by Consul-General Marciano Paynor Jr. of San Francisco, USA, dur-ing his courtesy call at the Music Room of Malacanang Palace.

Also in attendance were Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, Foreign Un-dersecretary Laura del Ro-sario, Foreign Affairs Chief Coordinator Cecilia Rebong and Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Carlos Sorreta.

During the meeting, Bue-naventura expressed his firm belief and

Aquino receives Daly City, CA Mayor Buenaventura

06 February 1-7, 2013

Dinagyang Festival gathers 1.5 M revelersTURN TO PAGE A7

No, it’s not about the caffeine.

Question: would you wait in line for 30 minutes and pay seven dollars for a cup of coffee? Most people will not, but there are who will.

There are coffee drink-ers, coffee lovers and coffee aficionados. For most peo-ple, it’s a drink. For others, it’s a treat. And for the dis-criminating, it’s a science and an art.

When you order a cup from master barista Selina

Viguera, who’s based at the Ferry Building branch of Blue Bottle Coffee Com-

pany in San Francisco, the first question that she will ask you is: how do you want your coffee?

But hold on, it’s not that simple. This is where science and art come in. Before Viguera makes your cup, she needs a scale and a timer. And then she and her fellow Blue Bottle baristas make coffee by hand, using porcelain drips and paper filters.

By NORMAN SiSONVERA Files

The 45th year of the Iloilo Dinag-yang Festival gathered 1.5 million

revelers during the remaining two-day highlights that culminated January 27, officials here said.

Iloilo City Tourism and Develop-ment Office head Benito Jimena said the thickness of the people around the parade route, number of seats taken in four performance stages and the stream of people in the city’s thoroughfares,

food festival areas, among others, would prove that the projected 1.5 million spectators were achieved in just two days.

Activities for the entire January were sanctioned by the festival organizers but the highlights kicked off Friday with a fluvial procession and the competition among drum and bugle/lyre (glocken-spiel).

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US sub to visit PHLAs U.S.

authori-ties scramble to remove their warship that got stuck on a Philippine reef two weeks ago, an American nuclear attack submarine will arrive in the country Friday for a routine port visit.

The USS C h e y e n n e

(SSN 773), a Los Angeles-class submarine, will be at the for-mer American naval base in Subic Bay mainly to replen-ish supplies as well as offer its

By MiCHAELA DEL CALLAR

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Buenaventura

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China finds PHL not only ‘More Fun’, but also ‘Most Romantic’

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T R I B U N E U . S . A .A2 NEWS July 27 - August 2, 2012NEWSA2 February 1-7, 2013

Call today to schedule a FREE consultation.

626-584-7800224 N Fair Oaks Avenue, 3rd Floor, Pasadena, CA 91103

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As political families dominate 2013 elections

Casiño thanks CBCP for Anti-Dynasty Bill supportSenatorial candidate Teddy

Casiño on Wednesday wel-comed the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines' (CBCP) statement denouncing political dynasties and express-ing support for the passage of the anti-dynasty bill in Congress.

"The support expressed by the CBCP for our bill prohibiting political dynasties is very much welcome. It is a burst of inspira-tion in the long and arduous road

of political reform," the Bayan Muna representative said.

Casiño is the author of House Bill 3413 or An Act Prohibiting

the Establishment of Political Dynasties which has long been gathering dust in Congress. The progressive solon said it was heard twice in the Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reform but like its predecessors in pre-vious Congresses, was placed in the legislative backburner.

"With the 15th Congress com-ing to a close, it is in this year's elections that such a clamor for change should be realized. I ap-

peal to the CBCP and the faithful to show their resolve and support candidates who embody their yearning for genuine change and political reform, to use the ballot to make our common aspirations bear fruit," Casiño said.

A United Nations Develop-ment Programme (UNDP) study Chasing the Wind: Assessing Philippine Democracy published in 2011 revealed that since the restoration of elections in 1987,

most dominant political families succeeded in winning all elec-tions for governors and congres-sional contests.

“[E]lections in the Philip-pines can hardly qualify as “free, fair, and competitive” processes... Through a conflu-ence of deep socio-economic structural problems and po-litical-institutional infirmities, the country has also entrenched, through its electoral exercises,

an oligarchy of powerful po-litical families, remarkable for their resiliency and adaptability since the colonial era,” wrote UP Prof. Temario Rivera, one of the authors in the UNDP report.

"Let us vote for leaders who have the interest of the common people at heart, not those who are only concerned of their own political and personal interests," Casiño said. q

Casiño

A mother joins campaign to stop ‘autistic’ jokes

Malacañang gave an assur-ance Wednesday the gov-

ernment is responding well to the spate of crimes happening in the metropolis.

In a press briefing in Mala-canang, President spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the Dept. of the Interior and Local Govern-ment is on top of the situation with regard to government’s re-sponse to criminality.

“The DILG is on top of it. Sec-retary Manuel Roxas is on top of it. He knows the situation. He gets daily reports on the criminal activities or apprehensions done

by the PNP. So I’m certain that Secretary Mar Roxas is talking to PNP chief Alan Purisima with re-spect to these matters," Lacierda told reporters when asked about the attacks happening in Metro Manila.

He said National Capital Re-gion Police Office chief Police Di-rector Leonardo Espina is follow-ing up the SM Megamall robbery.

“There are things being done right now to determine and iden-tify and to apprehend these law-less elements,” he said.

Asked if the Palace is alarmed by these criminal activities, Laci-

erda said: “We are looking at the overall picture. It just so hap-pened that there’s a number of highlighted crimes reported. So we’re looking at the overall pic-ture of the criminal activity in Metro Manila.”

The Palace expects Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas to make a report on the actions being un-dertaken by the police, he said.

The President also has trust and confidence in National Po-lice chief Dir. Gen. Alan Puri-sima, Lacierda said, although he assumed office just a few months ago. (PNA) q

AUTISM CONSCIOUSNESS. Emily Caska, executive, officer Lifestyle Solution of Australia (right) receives a token from Perlita "Peng" So during the 17th National Autism Consciousness Week forum at the Sky Dome of SM City North EDSA on Friday, Janaury 25. Caska was one of the resource persons in the forum. At left is Jaime Tristan Jr. (PNA photo by Marvie A.Lloren)

Vice President Jejomar Binay has refused to comment on

the possible presidential candi-dates in 2016, saying there are more important things to do to push the country up.

”Let’s not speculate. There are many important things that have to be given priority,” Binay said Thursday in a media interview at the sidelines of the 5th Global Conference of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC) at the Philippine International Con-vention Center.

Binay, however, admitted he was surprised by the news that Interior Secretary Mar Roxas will be the standard bearer of the Lib-eral Party in 2016 electios.

”I was surprised why sud-denly…especially more surprised when we came to know that Mr. (Edwin) Lacierda was saying, yes he was being considered and an-other LP stalwart,” Binay said.

When asked how he would size up Roxas, Binay replied: “Every-body has a right to be a candidate.”

”2016 is too far, let’s not talk about it,” he added.

On the reports about presi-dential bid of Senator Ramon ‘Bong’ Revilla Jr. of Lakas party, Binay said he has heard about it a long time ago.

Last Tuesday night, LP stal-wart Sen. Franklin Drilon said in a television interview that Roxas is the ruling party’s standard bearer in 2016.

Binay has already declared intention to try his luck for the highest position in the land in the next presidential election.

Binay emerged as surprise winner in the 2010 vice presiden-tial election, beating top contend-ers Roxas and Sen Loren Legarda.

President retains UNA supportBinay also assured that the

United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) will support President Benigno Aquino III even as he denied the allegation that UNA is out to make the Chief Executive a ‘lame duck’ President.

He said that UNA remains sup-portive of Aquino’s “daang matu-wid (straight path)” reform agenda.

“How you can say a lame duck when in fact, we support him?” the Vice President said.

“We are the new opposition—an opposition who will be sup-portive of matters which the Pres-ident is undertaking then we will help if we need to add suggestions in their proposals. But of course, we will not keep secret to the pub-lic the wrongdoings,” he added. The campaign to raise autism

awareness in the country is as old as my son Giancarlo Miguel, he is now 17. From that time that my kid was taunted in a theme park in Laguna for be-ing special and cannot patiently queue like everyone else, back when he was 6, my resolve for this campaign has never wa-vered.

Ever since the Angels Walk was launched in 2007, we have been walking to take part in the advocacy with the same people and partners over the years. Sunday's number of “an-gels” walking for autism may not have reached last year’s count which was a record high of 5,000, but the resolve is ever strong.

The advocacy “walk” has not been an easy one for families

with a child with autism. We contend with demeaning stares, laughing glances and humiliat-ing gazes when we bring our children out in the world out-side our homes. We also battle self-doubt whether the world will ever be kind to understand and accept people like Giancar-lo.

But there’s one day in a year we can let go of all our fears, when Angels Walk. Ever since, only one mall helps make this happen giving our angels a heaven on earth. As different schools, therapy centers, Au-tism Society Philippines chap-ters, local government units and families parade around the mall, waving storekeepers,

smiling shop attendants and tiny flags are waved make us feel we belong and welcomed.

SM Malls have been home of the Angels Walk for Autism and a partner of Autism Society Philippines (ASP) ever since. In sharing this advocacy on per-sons with disability (PWD) as part of their corporate social responsibility, they have been constantly recognized as the most disabled-friendly estab-lishment by government and the Philippine Foundation for the Rehabilitation of the Dis-abled (PFRD).

AutiSM was coined for the ASP-SM Supermalls partner-ship, whereby ASP has been training SM’s front liners, man-agers, tenants on autism for

By CHARMAiNE DEOGRACiASVERA Files

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Binay: Too early to talk about 2016By JELLy F. MuSiCO

Palace: Gov't on top of peace and order situation in Metro

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Binay

T R I B U N E U . S . A .

A3NEWSJuly 27 - August 2, 2012 NEWSFebruary 1-7, 2013 A3Martial law victims hail initial victory on compensation billMANILA –Victims of martial law,

many of whom are now old and sick, trooped to the Senate, January 23, to press the bicameral conference com-mittee to pass the bill seeking to com-pensate the victims.

More than 40 years after then presi-dent Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law, its victims are finally inching closer to some semblance of compensation. The bicameral conference committee approved this week the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013. It only needs the signature of President Benigno Aquino III for it to be enacted into a law.

Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Javier Col-menares, primary author of the bill and himself a victim of torture during mar-tial law, immediately went to the Senate grounds after the session to congratulate the victims, mostly members of Selda, the original petitioner in the Hawaii class suit against the Marcoses.

“We have long been waiting for this day. It’s not just about the compensation

or the money but the formal recognition of the Philippine government, which the Hawaii court had done years ago, that we, the victims of martial law, are indeed victims of human rights violations,” Col-menares told fellow victims.

In 1995, after the Federal Court of Ha-waii found Marcos guilty of human rights abuses, it awarded $2 billion compensa-tory damages for 9,539 victims of martial who filed the historic class suit against the late dictator. A law is required to mandate the government to allot a portion of the funds to be sequestered from the Mar-cos family for the victims because the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law provides that all sequestered assets from the Marcos family would be utilized for implementing land reform.

“We salute the martial law heroes who, despite old age, sickness, maneu-vers of the Marcoses, and all other ob-stacles along the way, have painstakingly

stood and fought to make sure that this bill granting reparation and recogni-tion to the martial law victims is passed. We have gone a long way. We have long fought for this,” Marie Hilao-Enriquez, Selda chairwoman and a martial law vic-tim herself, said in a statement.

Proven victims of martial lawSpeaking during the rally, Colmena-

res announced that the version approved by the bicameral committee includes the provision on “conclusive presumption.”

The ‘conclusive presumption’ provi-sion recognizes that the 9,539 victims, including the 24 direct action plaintiffs who filed and won the historic class suit of martial law victims against the Marcoses in 1986 are legitimate human rights victims who must be automati-cally considered as such under the pro-posed Philippine law.

“They have gone through the tedious process of proving that they are victims under a competent court and must not be made to go through a grueling pro-

cess again of relating their sufferings under the law; they have done so in the Hawaii court already,” Enriquez said.

Earlier, Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello said the Marcos compensation bill suf-fers from constitutional infirmities. Bel-lo opposed the conclusive presumption provision and insisted that all victims should apply again before a compensa-tion board to prove that they are victims.

“The bill’s passage is a victory not only for the victims but for the Filipino people. More than the monetary com-pensation, the bill represents the only formal, written document that acknowl-edges that martial law violated the hu-man rights of Filipinos and that there

were courageous people who fought the dictatorship,” Enriquez said.

Selda paid tribute to the martyrs of martial law, including Don Chino Ro-ces, founding chairman of Selda, Dean Armando Malay, Dr. Nemesio Prudente, former Navy Capt. Danilo Vizmanos, Atty. Jose Mari Velez and Atty. Rolando Olalia.

The group also thanked Selda board members who are still alive such as Fidel Agcaoili, Juliet De Lima-Sison, Vicente Ladlad, Dean Francisco Nemenzo, Tita Lubi, Josephine Dongail, Doris Baffrey.

Selda also thanked its original law-yers, the late Romeo Capulong and the late Jose Mari Velez, for their “tireless ef-forts” when they were still alive.

“We should also dedicate this bill to all the heroes and martyrs of mar-tial Law who have gone before us and waged the most determined fight against the dictatorship and suffered the worst violations during martial law,” Enriquez said, adding “This bill is a small effort of Selda to ensure that their sacrifice shall not be put to waste.” q

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The permanent stationing of three of its ships in Bajo de Masinloc is

part of China’s “creeping invasion” of disputed territories in the South China Sea, a high-ranking Philippine govern-ment official said.

Bajo de Masinloc is Huangyan is-land to China, which has time and again reiterated “that Huangyan Island and Nansha Islands have always been parts of Chinese territory and that the People’s Republic of China has indis-putable sovereignty over these islands and their adjacent waters.”

“The claim to territory sovereignty over Huangyan Island and Nansha Is-lands by the Philippines is illegal and invalid," China says.

Nansha is what the Chinese call the Spratly Islands, a group of islands on the South China Sea, parts of which are being claimed by the Philippines, Viet-nam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

China’s presence on Bajo de Masin-loc is also an alarming reminder to the Philippines of how Mischief Reef came

under Chinese control 18 years ago.In the early 1990s, China had built

structures it said were just fishermen’s shelters on Mischief Reef. Through the years, China added installations on the island, including a radar system.

Philippine and U.S Air Force re-connaissance revealed military struc-tures on Mischief Reef belying Chinese claims. In January 1995, the captain of a Philippine fishing boat reported that he was arrested and detained for a week by the Chinese when he ventured into Mischief Reef.

Since then Mischief Reef has been

under the control of China and inac-cessible to Filipinos.

A paper titled “Geopolitics of Scar-borough Shoal” written by Francois-Xavier Bonnet of the Bangkok-based Research Institute on Contemporary Southeast Asia (IRASEC) explains the importance of Huangyan Island to the bigger and long-term objective of Chi-na.

Bonnet said Huangyan Island/Bajo de Masinloc is crucial to China’s claim over the Zhongsha Qundao islands which is vital in its controversial “nine-dash line map.”

The map is called “nine-dash line” or “nine-dotted line” because it shows a series of nine dashes or dotted lines forming a ring around the South China Sea area, which China claims is part of its territory. The area includes the Spratlys group and Bajo de Masinloc.

The “nine-dash line map” puts 90 percent of the whole South China Sea under Chinese jurisdiction.

The map does not have coordinates, but was submitted by China to the United Nations on May 7, 2009.

Bonnet explained, “The Zhongsha Qundao is composed of Macclesfield Bank, Truro Shoal, Saint Esprit Shoal, Dreyer Shoal and Scarborough Shoal. All these banks and shoals, except for Scarborough Shoal, are under several meters of water even during low tide. Chinese policymakers know too well that without Huangyan island, the chance of their ownership over Zhong-sha Qundao recognized is nil.”

Bonnet said, “The stakes are high. If China loses Huangyan/Scarbor-ough, it will lose Zhongsha Qundao, which could be divided by the EEZs of the neighboring countries or placed under the regime of the high seas. By consequence, China’s entire claim to the South China Sea supported by the U-shape line would be moot and aca-demic.”

Last June, China elicited interna-tional concern when it established Sansha City on Yongxing Island in the southernmost province of Hainan. San-sha City’s territory includes the Sprat-lys, the Paracels and Macclesfield Bank.

Immediately after establishing San-

sha City, China’s Central Military Com-mission, its most powerful military body, approved the deployment of a garrison of soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army to guard disputed is-lands.

China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs said in June that putting Macclesfield Bank, the Paracels and the Spratlys under Sansha would “further strengthen Chi-na’s administration and development” of the three island groups.

The Philippines protested the es-tablishment of Sansha City, specifically the inclusion of a part of its territory, Macclesfield Bank, one of the largest underwater atolls in the world, cover-ing an area of 6,500 square kilometers.

Former foreign undersecretary and Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations Lauro Baja said there is no doubt that China has Bajo de Masinloc in its long-term territorial design.

Incidents of Philippine Navy ships apprehending Chinese fishermen in

Bajo de Masinloc crucial to China’s claim of whole South China SeaiN FOCuS

By ELLEN TORDESiLLAS | VERA Files (Conclusion)

US lawmakers express support... FROM PAGE A1

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Colmenares

"The legal action is pursuant to the President’s constitutional mandate to pursue the national interest and defend the Philip-pine territory and maritime do-main. It also pursues the policy of a rules-based approach based on international law, especially UNCLOS, in resolving the dis-putes in the West Philippine Sea," it noted.

Having exhausted all possible initiatives, the DFA said, the gov-ernment feels it is the time to act is now.

"If we do not act now, we will be in default," the DFA said.

With the filing of the arbi-trary case against China, the Philippine government hopes

that the arbitral tribunal will is-sue an award in accordance with international law that will direct China to respect the country's sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), continental shelf, contigu-ous zone, and territorial sea over the West Philippine Sea, and to desist from undertaking unlaw-ful acts that violate the country's rights.

Under UNCLOS, Parties to a dispute have the choice on where to file the case, either in the In-ternational Court of Justice (IT-LOS), arbitral tribunal and spe-cial arbitral tribunal.

The DFA said the Philippines chose to bring the case before the

arbitral tribunal as "it believes it is the appropriate body to hear the complaint of the Philippines against China."

Meanwhile, Lacierda said the US congressional delegation also expressed regrets over the Tubba-taha Reef incident.

They also commended the Aquino administration's con-tinuing fight against corruption.

"Congressman Salmon, on the other hand, thanked the Pres-ident also for our fight against human trafficking and he com-mended (the) actions (we have) taken specifically on US citizens that are harassing children," he said. (PNA) q

questions whether the P49 mil-lion spent by the government for the President’s attendance to the World Economic Forum was worth it.

Lacierda said the President’s trip was a long-term investment for the Philippines and while the government spent money for such efforts, the country could reap its economic benefits in the future.

“Para tayong magsasaka, we’re planting the seeds right now, knowing that in the future there will be a harvest,” he explained.

The forum in Davos is a con-ference of ideas, he said. Partici-pating countries share ideas and the President seized the oppor-tunity to showcase what is cur-rently happening in the Philip-pines so that investors will notice

and put their investments in the country, he said.

The President highlighted the Philippine efforts on good gover-nance which translates to good economics, Lacierda said noting that the country has been doing the right thing, and the adminis-tration will continue its thrust on good governance and poverty al-leviation.

The President’s message was positively perceived by the global business leaders who attended the forum, the Palace official said.

There is renewed interest among companies to put their money in the Philippines and for those who already have op-erations here, they took pride for having invested in the Philip-pines, Lacierda said.

“There’s some sense of pride for those businesses who have invested here, and for those who have not invested in the Philip-pines yet, they have called on their business units and told them, ‘Look at the Philippines, look at what they are doing; we would like to have some presence there,’” he said.

“So, these things that we have done, and primarily, the CEOs were able to see the President in action in how he conveyed his sincerity and his seriousness in good governance.”

Among the Philippine high-level chief executive officers (CEOs) who were present dur-ing the forum where the Zobel de Ayala brothers and Tony Tan Cak-tiong, Lacierda said. (PNA) q

crew an opportunity for rest and relaxation, the U.S. Embassy in Manila said in a statement.

Named after the town of Cheyenne, Wyoming, USS Chey-enne is It assigned to the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet and home-ported at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

It was commissioned in 1996 and is the last Los Angeles-class submarine to be built by the United States.

Measuring more than 360 feet

long and weighing more than 6,900 tons when submerged, Cheyenne is one of the most ca-pable nuclear attack submarines in the world, according to the U.S. Navy.

Cheyenne's enhanced war fighting capabilities include ver-tical launch cruise missiles and Submarine Advanced Combat System.

It was the first ship to launch Tomahawk missiles in Operation

Iraqi Freedom in 2003.Plans are under way to dis-

mantle and remove in sections the U.S. Navy minesweeper USS Guardian that ran aground the Tubbataha Reef, a protected ma-rine sanctuary off Sulu Sea, on Jan. 17.

The salvage procedure is expected to take more than a month, U.S. officials said. (PNA) q

Palace: President’s Davos trip... FROM PAGE A1

US sub to visit PHL FROM PAGE A1

By RONALyN V. OLEABulatlat.com

Chinese vessel with giant clams taken from Bajo de Masinloc waters

T R I B U N E U . S . A .

A4 NEWS July 27 - August 2, 2012NEWSA4 February 1-7, 2013

All the five Filipino amateur boxers earned accolade after

bringing home five gold medals from the recent Kuala Lumpur City Day boxing tournament in Malaysia.

"You brought five boxers to KL, you bring home five golds to the Philippines. Your boys are good!", commented by Maj. Sub-ramaniam Balasingam, a retired officer of the Malaysian Army who was educated at the British Military Academy in Sandhurst, England.

As vice president of the Asian Boxing Confederation and a fix-ture in international boxing, Bal-asingam was the prime mover of the Kuala Lumpur City Day Tournament at the Taman Titi-wangsa Stadium in Kuala Lum-pur.

According to the Amateur Boxing Association of the Phil-

ippines, the PLDT-ABAP De-velopmental Team, composed of the products of their grassroots development program with ages ranging from 17-20 years old, swept the 5 categories they were entered in in the 5-day invita-tional competition participated also by Singapore, Qatar, Brunei and Hongkong.

Jade Bornea, the 17 year old who won the bronze medal in the World Youth Championships in Armenia late last year, led the Finals campaign with a close 13-11 win over a wily Malaysian Air Force boxer, Mohamad Shahril Razni, 24, in their 49 kg light-flyweight match.

His compatriot from General Santos City, Roldan Boncales,19, bucked a slight fever to upend Singaporean Mohamed Hanur-deen Hami, 20-9 in the 52 kg championships.

Lanky Jonas Bacho domi-nated his bantamweight (56 kg) final with another Singapore bet, Mohamed Ajmil Hamid, 15-8. However, it took all his grit and strength as he was accidentally hit by an elbow on his right bicep which immediately swelled and caused him much pain.

The eldest of the group, 20 year old Nico Magliquian, in only his second international stint, had to go to countback in his lightweight bout against Ab-dulateef Mohamad Sadiq of Qa-tar after the final score was tied

at 16-all. Three of the five judges gave the nod to the Filipino from Mandaluyong.

Doing clean-up operations was 2011 World Junior champion Eumir Felix Marcial. A gangling 52 kg when he won the champi-onship in Kazakhstan a year and a half ago, he has now bulked up to the 64 kg light welterweight class and built up a reputation as a knock-out artist here as his 2 previous bouts ended in stop-pages.

In the Tuesday semis, Mar-cial's opponent Effendy Kalai

went down unconscious in the first round after a 2-punch com-bination punctuated by a wicked right cross caught him flush on the kisser.

The Malaysian Navy man, whose mother traces her roots to Palawan, was out for more than 2 minutes before he regained con-sciousness. After a 24-hour ob-servation period in the hospital, he was on hand to congratulate and take pictures with Marcial during the awarding ceremonies.

Marcial's opponent in the finals, Wan Mohd Rizuan Wan Aziz was obviously intimidated by the 17 year old Zamboangue-no's reputation that even though he displayed some guts in trying to engage several times, he was, for the most part back-tracking especially after getting hit by some of the Filipino boy's hay-makers. To his credit, Aziz was

on his feet when the final bell rang.

ABAP president Ricky Var-gas expressed elation on his boys' five-gold haul.

"We wanted to give them ex-posure for the upcoming ASBC Asian Youth Championships in Subic this March. But these boys are very determined. They know the competition in Subic is go-ing to be much tougher. So they toughened up in KL. we're very happy for them especially be-cause the Malaysian organizers gave them one thousand US dol-lars each as cash incentive!" Var-gas gushed.

Team coaches were three-time Olympian Romeo Brin and former national boxer Elmer Pamisa. Delegation head was ABAP executive director Ed Pic-son. (PNA) q

5 Filipino boxers bag gold medals in KL tourney

Karapatan ng lahat

na makalanghapng hanging walang usok

sa kanilang bahay.

Ang secondhand smoke ay nakakapasok sa mga giwang, pintuan at bintana sa bawat yunit ng apartment. Kahit hindi kayo naninigarilyo, maari pa rin na ang inyong pamilya ay maapektuhan.

Alamin ang mga hakbang tungo sa isang malayan at walang usok na pabahay.

Para sa karagdagang kaalaman hinggil sa Smoke-Free Apartments Project,tumawag sa People’s CORE sa 213-241-0995.Funded by California Department of Public Health.

By GLORiA G.GREJALDE

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary

Gregory L. Domingo said the es-timated 2012 growth of 6.6 per-cent on gross domestic product (GDP) was sustainable and could be surpassed in 2013.

“This was sustainable, we could (easily) surpass this re-cord,” Secretary Domingo said when asked personally of his re-action on the data released by the

National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) on Thursday.

Secretary Domingo's confi-dence could be attributed to the positive start of the year which, during the first two weeks of January, the agency had already recorded some P75 million new investments.

The DTI also started relaxing some foreign investment rules as it proposed to allow foreign

contractors a 100 percent for-eign equity to undertake projects as among its amendment to the Contractor’s License Law.

Moreover, the Senate’s rati-fication of a bill which would allow 60 percent foreign owner-ship on rural banks would surely fuel growth as more capital and financing facilities will become available.

For his part, Rick Santos,

Founder and Managing Partner of CBRE Philippines, said “the confidence in the Philippines (to sustain its growth), from an investment standpoint, is very high.”

“The strong macro-economic fundamentals combined with an amazing confluence of events: renewed confidence in the coun-try’s leadership, record low inter-est rate, a strengthening currency

and an increase on the number of tourist arrivals, would surely help sustain the economic gains of 2012,” Santos said.

He added that the expansion of the Business Processing Out-sourcing (BPO) sector has cre-ated a 4.5M square feet demand for new office a year.

"And with the increasing pur-chasing power of the consumers, demand for more residential and

housing developments will con-tinue to grow," he added.

Fueled by strong service sec-tor led by the trade and real es-tate, renting and business ac-tivities and the improvements in manufacturing and construction, the country’s GDP grew by 6.8 percent during the fourth quar-ter of the 2012 which paved the way for the full year GDP growth estimate of 6.6 percent. (PNA) q

DTI: GDP growth sustainable, can be surpassed in 2013

The European Union on Wednesday assured the Phil-

ippines of continued assistance despite the financial crunch in Europe, especially on health re-forms and poverty reduction in Mindanao.

“The situation on Europe has not affected the level of EU assis-tance worldwide or in the Philip-pines,” said EU Ambassador to

the Philippines Guy Ledoux.However, he said the EU will

be focusing more attention on priority projects to ensure maxi-

mum impact of its assistance.He said the EU is in the pro-

cess of modernizing its coopera-tion with recipient states, con-centrating on “higher impact” projects.

In the Philippines, the EU is al-ready using modern cooperation tools like budget support; and will explore new tools like combining grants with loans to increase their

impact, Ledoux said.For this year, the bloc is pro-

viding at least P2 billion worth of development aid to support the Philippine government’s health programs and alleviate poverty Mindanao.

Mindanao, Ledoux said, is in need of immediate assistance es-pecially during the crucial transi-tion phase following the signing

of the framework agreement, which serves as a blueprint for a final peace accord seen to end decades of Muslim rebellion in the region.

Part of the EU’s assistance to the Philippines would also sup-port reforms in the government for the promotion of good gover-nance and transparency, govern-ment officials said.

In 2011, EU aid to the Philip-pines had reached € 110 million or about P5.9 billion. Ninety per-cent of this amount is in the form of direct grants rather than loans.

The EU is the world’s largest overseas development assistance donor, combining funds from the bloc’s budget with bilateral assis-tance from individual member states. (PNA) q

EU assures continued assistance to PHL, particularly Mindanao

confidence in the Aquino admin-istration.

He told the Chief Executive he was honored to meet him and look forward to a good relation-ship between the Philippine gov-ernment and the Daly City.

Elected mayor of Daly City in December 2012, Buenaventura oversees the largest city in San Mateo County with a population of over 102,000.

Daly City has one of the high-est concentrations of Filipino mi-grants in the US.

He remains committed to work to address the diverse and changing needs of residents, businesses and employees in the

city of Daly.His five guiding principles in

setting priorities include facili-tating community building and civic engagement, promoting an aesthetic community envi-ronment, enhancing the qual-ity of life for residents, creating a healthy citizens and healthy community opportunities, and fostering economic vitality and financial sustainability.

Previously, Buenaventura served as vice mayor of Daly City for one year in December, 2011, after having been appointed councilman to fill in a vacant seat due to a resignation in April of that same year.

Prior to his appointment as a councilman, Buenaventura was a Commissioner on the Library Board of Trustees for Daly City.

He is an attorney licensed to practice law in California and Washington D.C and a certified specialist in Criminal Law.

He served as a Commissioner on the California State Bar Ad-visory Commission on Criminal Law.

In addition, Buenaventura worked as professor at Lincoln Law School in San Jose where he taught Election Law and Evidence.

He held several positions in several organizations in the past years. (PNA) q

By MiCHAELA DEL CALLAR

Through social networking site Facebook, and with the

help of Alaminos City Mayor Hernani Braganza, a 32-year-old Filipina domestic helper from Pangasinan who was locked up for 19 days without food by her employers in Am-man, Jordan was rescued by Philippine Embassy officials in that country.

Lalane Fontanilla Balcorta, a native of Alaminos City, wrote in her Facebook account that she barely survived the ordeal by asking scraps of food from their neighbors while her em-ployers were on vacation.

Mayor Braganza, who tipped off embassy officials in Jordan of Balcorta’s plight, said he was informed of the domestic helper’s predicament through an appeal for help posted on Facebook page “Taga Alaminos Pangasinan Ka Kung...” before noon on January 21.

Braganza said he was able to open a line of communication with Balcorta through her Face-book account and advised her to download the Yahoo Mes-senger “chat” application in her employer's computer so they

can communicate lengthily.Balcorta, who was in panic

at the time, showed Braganza her situation through video chat and even panned the lap-top computer to convince him of the futility of an escape try from her employers’ residence.

“Ipinakita niya sa akin ang mga steel bars na nakapaligid

sa mga bintana ng amo niya kaya naniwala ako na imposible siyang makatakas sa ganoong sitwasyon,”the mayor told newsmen later.

Balcorta, a mother to twin daughters, arrived in Jordan four months ago to work as do-mestic helper. Aside from do-ing household chores, Balcorta was also instructed to serve as a nanny to her employers’ child.

Balcorta recalled that her ordeal began 19 days ago when her employers’ family members left for Iraq, leaving her un-

der the care of her employer’s brother.

“Hindi po niya ako pinapak-ain at ikinakandado ang bahay kapag umaalis siya. Mabuti po at may mababait na kapitbahay na inaabutan ako ng ilang pir-aso ng pagkain kapag wala ang kapatid ng amo ko,” Balcorta said in her chat with Braganza..

Balcorta said she found the courage to appeal for help last Monday and posted a message in the “Taga Alaminos Pangas-inan Ka Kung...” Facebook page.

Two concerned members of that Facebook page, both na-tives of Alaminos City but now residing in Hong Kong and in San Diego, California U.S.A., immediately forwarded Balcor-ta’s post through private mes-sages in Braganza’s own Face-book account to inform him of Balcorta’s predicament.

Braganza said he was able to see the messages during lunch break at the mayor’s office and he immediately found a way on how to initiate contact with Bal-corta with the help of his fellow Alaminians in Facebook.

Through Facebook, Filipina domestic in Jordan rescued

Aquino receives Daly City, CA Mayor FROM PAGE A1

The regional cultural compe-tition also known as “Kasadya-han” was held on Saturday with 12 groups competing from vari-ous local government units in the region while Sunday saw 10 contending tribes for the Ati-ati dance competition vying for the championship.

The festival, according to Ji-mena, was “just as bright and booming as the fireworks at the end of the awarding ceremony” held Sunday.

The Kasadyahan was won by defending champion Salakay-an Tribe of the municipality of Miagao; first runner up was Tri-bu Kaing of the town of Leon and second runner up was Tribu Bay-luhay of San Joaquin LGU.

Third runner up was Pada-gyaw of Dumarao, Capiz and fourth runner up was Mandara-gat of San Jose de Buenavista.

On the other hand, the cham-pionship for the Ati-ati dance competition was won by the Panayanon Tribe of the Iloilo City National High School; first

runner up, Ilonganon of the Ja-landoni Memorial National High School; second runner up was Salognon of the Jaro National High School.

Tribu Milagrosa and Atub-atub landed third and fourth runners up, respectively.

Winners were awarded cash prizes and trophies.

The champions will also rep-resent their respective group to this year’s Aliwan Fiesta slated April 11-13 in Manila.

Iloilo in world tourism mapThe Dinagyang Festival has

also succeeded in placing Iloilo in the world tourism map with foreign tourists and guests wit-nessing and enjoying the festivi-ties.

Tourism Reg. Dir. Helen Catalbas said Dinagyang will be firmly etched in the minds of these tourists who witnessed the highlights such as the Kasadyah-an mardi gras and ati-atihan tribe competitions.

The visitors are also treated

to five days of non-stop street dancing that puts the city in a frenzy whirl and safe fun that will promote Iloilo as a fun center of the Philippines, the DOT official said.

Catalbas said the city and province of Iloilo and especially the business sector and the whole Iloilo population will surely ben-efit from the influx of visitors here.

While the good impressions will surely be duplicated next year as the visitors will tell their constituents about the good-ness of Dinagyang and Iloilo as a whole.

There is no serious problem on security as the Philippine Na-tional Police fielded 4,000 aug-mentation forces to help in main-taining peace and order here, Catalbas said.

Foreign and national digni-taries are likewise treated with genuine and friendly Ilonggo hospitality and friendship that entice them to come back every Dinagyang. (PNA) q

Binay noted that some quar-ters are just trying to create a wedge between him and the President.

“They are just trying to sow intrigues between me and the President. I don’t know what their purpose. They don’t have to intrigue us,” he said.

“I think the President was clear in his statement. We have

no previous differences and he is satisfied with the manner by which I am working,” he added.

Earlier, Aquino told reporters at the end of the World Economic Forum in Davos that he does not have any “issues” with the Vice President.

Meanwhile, Binay down-played claims of administration officials that UNA is taking ad-

vantage of the President’s popu-larity to boost the chances of its senatorial candidates in the com-ing elections.

“In the first place, we have also high rating specially if you combine the survey of Jojo Binay (Makati mayor), and Senator (Juan Ponce) Enrile, President Erap (Jo-seph Ejercito Estrada) and UNA leaders,” Binay said. (PNA) q

Binay: Too early to talk about 2016 FROM PAGE A2

Dinagyang Festival gathers 1.5 M... FROM PAGE A1

TURN TO NEXT PAGE

Braganza

Bornea

Marcial

Ledoux

T R I B U N E U . S . A .

A5NEWSJuly 27 - August 2, 2012 NEWSFerbruary 1-7, 2013 A5

Activists troop to the Supreme Court to oppose the Cybercrime Preven-

tion Act of 2012. But another group has been working quietly towards much the same goal: a repeal of the law that critics say will violate the freedoms of speech and expression.

The group calls itself Democracy.net.PH or PHNetDems for short, and is taking the lead in helping draft the country’s first ever crowd-sourced piece of legislation.

That draft is the Magna Carta for Philippine Internet Freedom (MCPIF) which Senator Miriam Defensor-Santi-ago filed as a Senate bill in November 2012. Although unprecedented, PH-NetDems’ work was done through offi-cial channels, in the open and on online platforms that anybody could access.

Little is known about the PHNet-Dems because it has not done anything controversial, unlike the group Anony-mous Philippines which chooses to hide its members identities yet takes credit for defacing government websites to protest the Anti-Cybercrime law.

Kabataan party-list, one of the groups seeking a repeal of the Cyber-crime Prevention Act, promised in a press release to hold “a nationwide protest, (through which) the youth will show the Aquino regime our vehement opposition to his E-Martial Law.” Last week, they held a vigil in front of the Supreme Court for the first round of oral arguments on the Anti-Cybercrime Law complete with elaborate props and costumes.

In contrast, the PHNetDems prom-ise legislation to replace the Cybercrime Prevention Act, the process of which will be neither flashy nor quick.

The PHNetDems are not the only ones who have proposed changes to the supposedly oppressive law. Kabata-an party-list, through Representative Raymond Palatino, and Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teddy Casino have filed a bill to repeal provisions of the Anti-Cybercrime Law, among them a provi-sion for a higher punishment for libel made online.

Senator Francis Escudero, chairman of the Senate committee on justice and human rights, has also filed a bill to remove the libel provision in the Anti-

Cybercrime Law.The PHNetDems believe, however,

that repealing parts of the law is not enough. Pierre Tito Galla, an engineer and member of the PHNetDems, told VERA Files “the approach to a nation-al ICT policy should be holistic, not piecemeal.”

Lawmaking through consensusSince lawmakers and policymakers

were not doing enough to reach out to their constituents, the PHNetDems, an informal group with over several hun-dred members,” decided to draft a pro-posed law themselves.

“I think it's possible that the law-makers were not able to communi-cate adequately to the public the need for inputs for such a far-reaching law. Had the lawmakers been more active in reaching out to stakeholders who are well-versed in…then perhaps RA 10175 would not have been crafted so shoddily,” Galla says.

Although Senator Teofisto Guingo-na III has already filed a Crowdsourc-ing bill that will allow citizens to pro-vide feedback on pending legislation through the Internet, that remains a proposal. The PHNetDems decided to go ahead and do it anyway.

Because of the informal nature of crowdsourcing, the group “exercised rough consensus as much as possible. Decisions for example, are crowd-sourced, although time-limited. We take as much input as we can, form our rough consensus, and implement as soon as feasible.”

“The beauty of crowdsourcing is that people give effort so much so that things get done in time for when things are needed, whether it be content to fill up or setting up meetings with other people,” Galla says.

With so many people working on the draft of the MCPIF, Galla says the work on the bill was thorough, and with polishing and staff work by the the Of-fice of Senator Miriam Defensor-Santi-ago, Senate Bill 3327 is one of the eas-iest-to-read bills at the Senate. It even has a table of contents.

The Magna Carta for Philippine In-ternet Freedom

Where the Cybercrime Prevention Act tries to apply the elements of libel to statements made on the Internet, the MCPIF recognizes that the Internet is too complex for a law meant for news-papers.

“The Magna Carta for Philippine In-ternet Freedom goes beyond the scope of RA 10175 simply because the Cyber-crime Prevention Act is inadequate and ill suited to address the challenges of the Information Age,” Galla says.

Although the MCPIF does not mean to remove liability for libelous state-

ments made online, it seeks exceptions for the legitimate airing of grievances.

Under the proposed MCPIF, ex-pressions of protest and dissatisfaction against the government or of non-gov-ernment organizations do not count as online libel. Neither do expressions of dissatisfaction with a product, or those that are meant to discredit a product. Statements meant to be private, like those sent through direct messages, cannot be considered libelous either, even if they are later made public.

The proposed law will also protect bloggers and writers who publish “a fair and true report, made in good faith, without any comments or remarks, of any judicial, legislative or other official proceedings, or of any statement, report or speech delivered in said proceedings, or of any other act performed by pub-lic officers in the exercise of their func-tions, or of any matter of public inter-est.”

Under the MCPIF, truth is a defense against libel. Satire is also a defense,

since posts meant to be funny and sa-tirical are protected by the MCPIF.

Although netizens can still be charged with Internet libel, complain-ants will need to show the posts or mes-sages were done with malice and that the supposedly libelous statements re-ferred to them.

There is no libel if the statement “does not explicitly identify the person who is the subject of the expression, ex-cept if the content of the expression is sufficient for positive and unequivocal identification of the subject of the ex-pression.”

The MCPIF also revokes the author-

ity that the Cybercrime Prevention Act gives the Department of Justice to take down websites and networks. If passed into law, only a court order can compel the removal of material that “creates a clear and present danger of a substan-tive evil that the state has a right or duty to prevent.”

Crowd-sourcing GovernanceBecause of the unique aspects of

cybercrime, the MCPIF also seeks to create cybercrime courts in cities and towns. These courts will have to be pre-sided over by judges who are “compe-tent in matters related to the Internet and information and communications technology.”

But the MCPIF goes beyond cyber-crime since it is meant to be the coun-try’s ICT framework. Among the pro-visions of proposed law requires that telecommunications companies and In-ternet service providers give quality ser-vice. This includes the timely correction of billing errors and giving consumers

“in plain language, accurate informa-tion concerning any terms, conditions, or limitations on the network service.”

The bill also pushes for universal ac-cess to the Internet, specifically stating that corporations, schools, and estab-lishments “by whose nature there is a reasonable expectation of Internet ac-cess” cannot restrict access to the Inter-net without reasonable grounds. Unless granting unrestricted access endangers the privacy of those on the network, the public Internet should remain free, De-mocracy.net.PH says.

The MCPIF still has far to go before it becomes a law, if it does at all. The MCPIF will need a counterpart bill at the House of Representatives.

“We haven't stopped trying to get in touch with legislators, of course, and we're willing to work closely with them to get this piece of legislation passed,” Galla says.

Juned Sonido, a blogger and infor-mation specialist who is in charge of generating publicity for the bill, says he expects more critical dialogue with lawmakers both inside and outside the halls of Congress. “We expect that it will be put under scrutiny,” he says.

Reception has been more positive among netizens, though, he says. “Gen-erally, it strikes a personal chord with people. ‘How will this affect me?’ So people from different walks of line have expressed interest,” he says.

And that is where people can help MCPIF the most. “While the Magna Carta for Philippine Internet Freedom could very well be the first crowd-sourced piece of legislation in the Phil-ippine Senate (or for that matter, of the entire Philippine legislature), there is no substitute for real work done by real people in the real world,” Galla says in a post on ProPinoy.net.

Although the bill has been filed, netizens can help get it passed through joining the PHNetDems Facebook group, (https://www.facebook.com/groups/Democracy.Net.PH/) and tell-ing people, especially legislators about the bill.

“The crowdsourcing effort has not stopped; instead, it has moved on to the next level — that of taking online par-ticipation offline,” Galla says. q

The wisdom of crowds: crowdsourcing net freedom

the vicinity of Bajo de Masinloc is common. In 1999, the Philip-pine Navy even “accidentally” sank a Chinese fishing boat. But the conflict never went beyond the standard diplomatic protests.

Former Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon recalled one apprehension in 1998 that was a subject of a diplomatic protest by China involving a young navy officer named Antonio Trillanes IV, who would would later on become a senator and play a con-troversial role in the tension be-tween the Philippines and China over the disputed shoal.

But Philippine encounters with the Chinese in Baja de Ma-sinloc took a different turn on April 8, 2012, when the BRP Gre-gorio Del Pilar, the Philippines lone modern warship acquired from the United States, arrested Chinese fishing vessels in the area.

Philippine military officials said BRP Gregorio del Pilar was due for preventive maintenance servicing in Subic at that time but was redirected to Northern Lu-zon as contingency undertaking for an impending North Korea rocket launch.

The combat ship was also ordered to verify reports about the presence of the Chinese fish-ing vessels in Bajo de Masinloc. They arrested Chinese fishermen in eight fishing boats caught with sizable quantities of endangered

marine species, corals, live sharks and giant clams.

Looking back, officials say the April 8, 2012 incident gave China an excuse to occupy the area.

China immediately deployed three Chinese Marine Surveil-lance (CMS) ships to Bajo de Ma-sinloc to rescue their fishermen and added more than 80 vessels as the standoff dragged on.

The Philippines later with-drew BRP Gregorio del Pilar, which was replaced by a Phil-ippine Coast Guard ship and a research vessel by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in observance of “white to white,” referring to civilian ships, and “gray to gray,” meaning navy-to-navy rules of engagement.

The standoff that lasted 57 days spilled over to the economic front with China rejecting in-ferior quality bananas from the Philippines and cancellation of Philippine-bound Chinese tour groups.

It was only broken upon the insistence of the United States State Department that the issue be resolved because President Barack Obama did not want it in-cluded in the agenda of his June 8, 2012 meeting with President Benigno Aquino III at the White House.

With the breakdown of com-munication between the straight-talking Philippine Foreign Sec-retary Albert Del Rosario and

Chinese Ambassador Ma Keqing in Manila, U.S. Assistant Secre-tary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell proposed to Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying in Washington D.C. that Chinese and Philippine vessels withdraw simultaneously from the disputed shoal.

By that time, Trillanes had en-tered the picture and was directly negotiating between Beijing and Malacañang to help de-escalate the tension.

Hours before Aquino left for London and Washington D.C. on June 4, 2012, Malacañang an-nounced the pullout of Philip-pine ships from Bajo de Masinloc “consistent with our agreement with the Chinese government on withdrawal of all vessels from the shoal’s lagoon to defuse the ten-sions in the area.”

Diplomatic sources said Fu Ying never committed complete withdrawal of their ships from Bajo de Masinloc as there was re-sistance from the People’s Libera-tion Army, an important sector in China’s power structure.

Del Rosario said when he met with Fu Ying during her Manila visit last Oct. 19, “I was very di-rect in saying that the presence of their ships is in clear violation of our sovereign rights, and they must withdraw their ships at the earliest possible time.”

Fu Ying did not respond, he said. q

Bajo de Masinloc crucial to China’s claim... FROM PAGE A3

Through Facebook, Filipina... FROM PAGE A4Braganza also called Balcorta’s

relatives to the mayor’s office to let them communicate with the overseas worker and be apprised of her situation. The relatives ap-pealed to the mayor to exhaust all efforts to rescue Balcorta and bring her home.

During their video chat, Bra-ganza tried to elicit information from Balcorta on how Philippine authorities in Jordan can help rescue her since the domestic helper did not know her employ-ers’ home address.

“I asked Lalane to look out-side the window and describe to me the buildings and other pos-sible landmarks in the area that could help Philippine authorities locate her whereabouts,” Bragan-za said.

“I also advised her to tie a white towel in a floor mop and hoist it outside the window so that rescuers would know her exact location,” the mayor added.

With those bits of informa-tion, Braganza called up the Phil-ippine embassy in Amman and

was able to talk to Consul Gen-eral Emmanuel Fernandez.

Consul Fernandez then formed a team from the Philip-pine embassy that coordinated with Amman authorities for the rescue operation.

Balcorta was rescued around 11 p.m. (Philippine time) January 21 and subsequently turned over to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO)for safekeeping. She is now staying in a shelter in Amman pending her repatriation to the Philippines.(PNA) q

By JONATHAN DE SANTOSVERA Files

T R I B U N E U . S . A .A6

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July 27 - August 2, 2012T R I B U N E U.S.A. A6 February 1-7, 2013

PINIONO

Tubbataha and national patrimony

Jinggoy doubts Enrile critics... FROM PAGE A2

Scientists have observed that marine species actually communicate with each other. And if these organisms cry at all, we could presume that over

at Tubbataha reef, there would be deafening howls of fish and shrimps and eels and whales and sea bass and oysters and seahorses and sea turtles who saw their home destroyed.

Last January 17, a 1,300-ton, 68-meter-long warship named USS Guardian ran aground the Tubbataha Reef ’s south atoll. The incident raises many ques-tions.

First, what is a US warship doing in a protected area? Ten years ago, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization declared the reef to be a World Heritage Site, it being home to more than a thousand marine species. In fact, its diversity has been touted to rival that of the Great Barrier Reef.

Second, who should be accountable (and how will they be made account-able) for the tragedy? Under the Visiting Forces Agreement, which is an accord that may have been the reason why the warship is in Philippine terri-tory, the officers who were responsible for the damage cannot be held liable for their offense. If it is the United States government to be put to task, how does President Noynoy Aquino intend to make them pay? Is he determined enough to ensure that the accountable parties will ensure the rehabilitation of the destroyed reef?

On a related note, the rehabilitation cannot even be completed in one life-time, as marine biologists explained that it will take 10,000 years or more to grow an inch of a coral. Moreover, the damage to the reef will impact not only the reef, but many other ecosystems. As environmentalists (and tragedies) have long shown, all parts of our planet are interrelated. And with the amount of damage USS Guardian caused, it is very likely that water systems linked to the area - even those as far as the South China Sea, or the rivers flowing across provinces - may manifest signs of troubled aquatic life.

Third, what can be done to prevent future incidents? Our country is rich in natural resources which could easily have led it to full-blown socio-economic development. And yet, many policies have allowed - or perhaps more accurately - promoted the sale of national patrimony. Many areas had been opened to large transnational mining corporations, most times, at the expense of the welfare of the area's inhabitants. Such was the case in Quezon, Nueva Vizcaya, Rapu-rapu Island in Albay, and Tampakan, South Cotabato.

In the end, the story of Tubbataha is one about a government not to keen on conserving its environment (if it is a restricted area, why were there no personnel or facility installed to ensure that no sea vessel can come close?).

The US Ambassador has apologized, but we shall soon see that it will mean nothing because the government has been unmindful of the Philip-pine environment. And certainly, that ‘sorry’ would not mean anything to the corals, or to the marine ecosystem, whose equilibrium is almost permanently destroyed. q

I am in the bus more or less four hours every day, and have been passing by EDSA that way for four years now, since I decid-ed to work in Makati.

The traffic was already bad in 2009, and I know for a fact that it is much worse these days. And it annoyed me greatly when Presi-dent Noynoy Aquino is quoted to have implied that we should view it as a positive development that EDSA is becoming more clogged. To him, it means that the econo-my is doing good because people have the money to buy cars and fuel.

The statement smacks of ig-norance.

A good public transport sys-tem is an important element of any economically-advanced country of the world. If traf-

fic is smooth, people spend less time on the road, become more productive as a workforce, have more time for family and other concerns, and are happier.

I presume it is easy for him to forget this. He grew up get-ting picked up and dropped off in posh cars, and now go around in a presidential limousine. I would like for him to try taking the MRT-LRT to go to his Palace, and see what millions of Filipinos go through every day to come to work, and contribute to the econ-omy, and pay their tax.

The plain truth is, in the Phil-ippines, traffic rules favor the rich. MMDA, for what can only be a stupid understanding of their job, inflict themselves on public vehicles and commuters. Countless times, I've seen them herd off buses to just two lanes, while those for private vehicles are almost empty. The enforcers also seem hell-bent on punishing buses for picking up more pas-sengers. They also cannot take the underpass.

What is the message? If you

have a car, life is good for you. If you commute, it is hell. Which very much goes against logic.

After all, commuters and pub-lic utility vehicles contribute less carbon emissions. A bus holds about 80 passengers, while many big-ass SUVs ply the roads often with just the driver inside.

If I were the MMDA chief, I would create express lanes for public vehicles, and allocate the most space to them. I would in-stitute an incentive system for cars with many passengers to encourage car pooling. I would build more trains, and invest on government-run buses.

This is not even wishful think-ing, as some countries have it in place. Singapore imposes fees on private cars travelling during the rush hour. China has bus rides that cost as low as 1 RMB be-cause the government subsidized the system.

In all of these, the premise is basic: public transport is public trust, and the interests of many should always trump the con-cerns of the few. q

Public transport, public trust

Musings

Meg yarcia

Komunidad

Art Garcia

The 44th president Barack Obama took the oath for

a first time Sunday in a private ceremony at the White House because the constitution states that US presidential terms end at noon on January 20. That date falls on a Sunday, so there is a private swearing-in ceremony before public celebrations and a second oath taking the next day.

Therefore, , Obama took his second, second term oath of of-fice on the federal holiday marking civil rights pioneer King’s birthday. In another historic echo, Obama was the second presi-dent to be sworn in four times — thanks to the Rob-erts stumble in 2009 and his double oath duty this year, joining Dem-ocratic icon Franklin Roosevelt.

We believe that the inaugu-ration of President Obama took a special significance when his second term was held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The African American struggled for that day to be declared as a holiday. Now, it can be remembered as the day President Obama took the oath for his office for another four years term.

President Barack Obama is-sued almost the same impas-sioned call for national unity and equality on Monday, warning political “absolutism” must not thwart change and renewal, as he was inaugurated for a second

term. Obama was publicly sworn in for another four White House years before a crowd of hundreds of thousands on Washington’s National Mall, and delivered an inaugural address filled with po-etic power and broad hints of his new agenda.

Obama’s speech as usual was filled with generalities and was also noticeably liberal — calling for protection for the weak, the poor and those lacking health

care and obliquely including a call for gay rights and protection against gun crime for children.

On trivial matters the thing that was given most importance was that Obama used the bibles once owned by Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln, on an outdoor platform set on the West Front of the US Capitol building and below its elegant white dome.

The media harped on the trivia of more than 200 years of US presidential inauguration and as a nation that is the only super-power in the world today while other regional powers abounds.

But one thing that did not escape the notice of observers,

there is a lower turn-out than when Obama took office in 2009. The numbers dripped from a more enthusiastic and hopeful 2 million audience to less than

800,000 in 2013.Comparing this to

the archipelagic –is-land nation, Philip-pines, I believe that presidential inaugu-rations on less than a hundred years old republic is more col-orful, dramatic and interesting than the continental nation of

the northern federal republic.One year after its young re-

public was inaugurated in Ma-lolos, Bulacan and its President, General Emilio Aguinaldo, it’s self-proclaimed ally, the United States launched its armed paci-fication campaign against the first Asian republic on February 1899. The United States finally subdued the nation in 1916 after long years of brutal fighting and internal pacification.

Seven different inaugurations took place in different times and circumstances in the Philippines from 1935 to the present. Manu-el L. Quezon was inaugurated as

TURN TO NEXT PAGE

Two InauguraTIons

President Barack Obama’s long-awaited immigration re-

form speech, affecting more than 11 million “undocumented” im-migrants, including 1.5 million Filipinos, draws slogans, cheers and tears.

“There is a pathway to citizen-ship,” Obama declared as view-ers became emotional, shouting “Reforma, reforma,” while others opted to cry silently.

“This is the only hope I have to finally see my sons go to school.” said a crying mother who gave only his first name Eustaquia to conceal her full identity.

Arturo Garcia, Director of the Filipino-American Community

in Los Angeles, explain the impor-tance of the issue for the Filipino-Americans.

"The immigration reform will affect no less than 1.5 "undocu-mented" Filipinos, offering path-way to their long-cherished dream of US citizenship," Garcia said.

Around 200 Los Angeles im-migrants, coming from different ethnicity, gathered at the La Pla-zita Methodist Church social hall to attend a live-viewing activity of Obama’s nationwide live-telecast speech.

Earlier in the day before the live telecast, immigrant rights ad-vocates held a press conference cum rally in front of the church.

Former Assemblyman Gil Ce-dillo of Los Angeles 45th District also reiterated the need for immi-gration reform.

“We are a nation of immi-grants. Immigrants who came here more than a hundred years ago have the same American dream as the 11 million immi-

grants now who are awaiting the new immigration law," Cedillo said during the press conference.

Another immigrant advocate for more than 30 years, Fr. Rich-ard Estrada also called on all im-migrant advocates to be strong and continue to fight for reforms.

“The Filipino community has grown and developed. We are very happy to work with them on this [immigration] immigration. We are all in these together, as children of one God," Fr. Estrada said.

As the opening session of the US Congress approaches, the is-sue of immigration reform will be a hot topic, not only in Washing-ton, but throughout the country.

The issue is no doubt political in nature. The Hispanic commu-nity, whose voting power helped Obama clinch his second term, is also believe to be the largest ethnic community that comprises the 11 million "undocumented" immi-grants in the US.

ImmIgranTs welcome obama ImmIgraTIon speech wITh cheers and Tears

Pananaw

Sid Balatan

Seven different inaugurations took place in different times and circumstances in the Philippines

from 1935 to the present.

T R I B U N E U . S . A .A7www.tribuneusa.comJuly 27 - August 2, 2012 OPINIONFebruary 1-7, 2013 A7

Going obsessive compulsive over coffee FROM PAGE A1And if you ask her about the nuances

of the bean, her answers might make you feel like you’re having vertigo.

How coarse or how fine should you grind the beans? How dark should you roast the beans? At what temperature and for how long? How long do roasted beans stay fresh? How long do ground beans stay fresh?

How much of ground coffee per cup? At what temperature should the milk be? What do you do to neutralize the paper filter taste? How fast should you pour the water into the porcelain drip? In how many minutes should the coffee drip into the cup?

Wait a minute. This is about making coffee, not formulating rocket fuel.

It boils down to this: bringing out the best in the bean, and making coffee by hand adds a personal touch. “There are people who don’t care how the coffee is made, who don’t know the difference,” says Viguera. “But there are people who actually watch you while you’re making

something, and they say ‘This is going to be good.’”

There is nothing wrong with using an espresso machine, Viguera assures, but to her it’s merely pushing buttons. Think of machines versus humans.

There is a personal connection when making cups of coffee by hand, like how a painter feels his creation is an embodi-ment of himself. “It makes you feel like a professional. You know what you’re do-ing,” she explains.

That personal touch extends to being warm to customers. “Being a barista isn’t just about making the coffee. It’s creating the experience and a relationship with the customer,” she says. A lot of her cus-tomers become her friends on Facebook.

Viguera and her staff don’t just take customers’ orders, they talk to their cus-tomers.

That’s even when everyone is hus-tling to get drinks out and customers are waiting in line for 30 minutes to place their orders. If Viguera spots her baristas

aren’t smiling, her temper simmers aside from the coffee. They keep in mind that customers aren’t there for the conversa-tion, of course.

“For me, the fun is in connecting with your customers, having pride in what you’re creating. It’s that interest that takes you to the next level of what you can do. Anybody can make coffee, but not everybody is a good barista.”

Viguera won’t claim that they make the best coffee in the San Francisco bay area. Coffee drinkers’ tastes vary, she says. If that is the case, then the best cof-fee in the world is how you like your cup.

“By the standards of the coffee indus-try, we are not making it according to standards,” Viguera says of Blue Bottle. “It’s about how you like your coffee and how we like to make it.”

Still, to Viguera, being a barista is not just about taking orders but being the master of her craft — to educate mortals about the bean. “You may be giving me your money, but I’m the professional,”

she emphasizes.She encourages people to try dif-

ferent coffees because you might find something that suits your taste. You can’t say your favorite brew is the best if you haven’t tried others that are waiting to be discovered.

One coffee that Viguera wants to see in the international scene someday is the liberica variety, known in the Philip-pines as barako coffee for its strength. “I don’t think you find that anywhere else,” she says.

Viguera sees herself bringing the hand-drip coffee concept to her native Philippines one day, keeping in mind that the country was once known for its coffee.

“It’s exciting for me to know that the industry here is developing, that there is interest and that there is so much room for growth,” she says.

During a recent visit to Manila, Viguera gave a two-hour demonstra-tion on how to make hand-drip coffee to about 30 coffee aficionados at a coffee shop. It didn’t take long for the audience to crowd around and the coffee ques-tions to pour in.

“My Pinoy pride comes in by cre-ating an awareness that things can be made better,” Viguera says with a mis-sionary conviction. “The big part of be-ing a barista is educating and being able to connect with people, changing peo-ple’s thoughts on what coffee is and how it should be enjoyed.” q

STO. NIñO, THE PHOTOGRAPHER. An image of the Christ child holding an actual and fully functional D90 Nikon 18-200 mm lens camera was one of the most unique designs presented during the procession of the Feast of Sto. Niño on Jan. 20, 2013 in Brgy. Concepcion, Malabon City. (PNA photos by Azer N. Parrocha)

Two Inaugurations FROM PAGE A6

Barista Selina Viguera demonstrates the fine points of making coffee.

Pledging to stop 'autistic' joke FROM PAGE A2

many years now. This year’s Angels Walk for Autism was again held at the Music Hall of SM Mall of Asia last January 20. Apolinario Mabini Awards 2012 gave a special citation to SM Mall of Asia and SM Program on Disability Affairs, the “Mapagmahal sa May Kapansanan” Spe-cial Award.

As Autism Society Philippines pro-jected the number of Filipinos with au-tism to be a million now, they launched a project endeavoring to get the same number of pledges to help stop the joke on autism. “1PANGAKO” is about a promise to act to stop the derogatory use of the word "autistic" and to promote the true acceptance and inclusion of Filipi-nos with disabilities.

ASP believes that one simple prom-ise can spur the change that may make life better for millions of Filipinos with autism. Aside from the signature wall that had its first signatories among the usual advocates, ASP is pinning its hope

to social media to make a difference in this campaign.

“To use the word "autistic" with-out understanding its meaning is not right. It is not kind. The misconception it breeds is the root of bullying against many children and adults who live with autism in the Philippines,” ASP stated in their “1PANGAKO” campaign website where they suggested practical ways how to keep the promise in conversations, in media and in the community.

ASP explained that “autism is a neu-rological condition affecting millions of Filipinos. Individuals with autism have a unique way of processing things they see, hear, feel, taste and smell. Doctors consider it a developmental disorder.

Governments legally recognize it as a disability. Families who live with autism have daily struggles not everyone can understand.”

Most persons with autism when fix-ated develop mastery and exceptional memorization skill. As for Giancarlo, not only does he know every local ra-dio and tv reporter, he also knows every Senator of this republic and their cam-paign slogan. As election nears, Giancar-lo again is a good “epal” meter because this early he randomly blurts out greet-ings and streamers of local politicians he sees along the road to and from his school. I would gauge the popularity of politicians or cabinet member, when my boy started shouting out their names in

random tantrums.Ironically though, in the many

years of this advocacy on raising au-tism awareness, none of those people in government and the Senate Giancarlo knows ever joined them at the Mall of Asia where the annual Angels Walk for Autism is hosted.

There is but one party-list congress-man who has consistently walked with us over the years, Buhay Party-List Cong. Irwin C. Tieng. My kid may not know him, but he knows our struggles and fights for us.

Last Jan. 20, Tieng again as he always did, walked with the angels and led the signing on that 1PANGAKO signature wall. q

Carlo Deogracias, in orange shirt, and his brother Maru.

the first present of the Commonwealth of the Philippines in 1935.

When President Quezon died in New York in 1944 while on leading the Philippine Commonwealth government in - exile when the Japanese occupied the Philippines, Sergio Osmena, the vice-president succeeded him as president.

In the Japanese occupied Philippines, Jose P. Laurel Jr. inaugurated as the president of the Japanese-sponsored Re-public on October 1943. Laurel was forcibly held as an exile in Japan while the battle for the Philippines was going on from 1944 to 1945 until the Japan was forced to surrender.

Former Senator and later President Manuel Roxas has the distinction to be inaugurated at the first president of the newly independent Philippine Republic after he won the hotly contested presidential elections of 1946.

The fifth time was when then the dictator President and Prime Minister of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos inau-gurated his “Bagong Republika” in June 1981. Marcos pre-empted the presidential elections of 1973 and held the snap elections in 1981. He proclaimed his own republic in 1981.

And of February 25, 1986, another inauguration was held for President Corazon Aquino at the Club Filipino in San Juan as the first woman president and as a people’s power installed president of the newly restored Philippine democracy.

Almost 14 years later, again on January 2001, another Filipino woman, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was installed and inaugurated at EDSA after the 2nd people’s uprising that overthrew the corrupt actor president Joseph Estrada.

Eight different inaugurations in more than a hundred years!

Can they beat that?

T R I B U N E U . S . A .A8

BUSINESSJuly 27 - August 2, 2012NEWSA8 February 1-7, 2013

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3355 W. Spring Mountain Road, Suite 25, Las Vegas, NV 89102VOL. XV NO. 30 | July 27 - August 2, 2012 www.tribuneusa.com | Tel. 888-366-000806 February 1-7, 2013

Maja Salvador, hindi nakikipag-away kay Kim Chiu

B2 Soap opera ni Gerald Anderson, nilayasan ni Maricel Soriano

What's Inside

B4 Katrina Halili, back and ready for showbiz

B6 Adam Jacobs, Ali Ewoldt to stage “A Heart Full of Love” concert in NYC

B7 China finds PHL not only ‘More Fun’, but also ‘Most Romantic’ntertainmentB3 Cinema One Originals “Mater Dolorosa” and

“Big Boy” debut at Rotterdam film fest

http://gk-usa.org/bayanitour/

In cooperation with:

Contest sponsor:

31 . 3KVMD LOS ANGELES

Filipino American TV

By ALFREDO L. VARGAS JR.

TuRN TO PAGE B7

TuRN TO PAGE B5

By LLOYD CALIwAN

A good decade for Filipino tenors

tRAVEL

XVI

Gimik ba o totoo ang away-ang Maja Salvador at Kim

Chiu?Ito ba ang para itinda ang

kanilang soap operang “Ina Kapatid Anak” ng ABS-CBN kaya may ganitong balita?

Ang ugat umano ng alitan nina Maja at Kim ay si Gerald Anderson.

Matatandaan na si Gerald ay naging syota ni Chiu.

Ngayon naman ay balitang si Salvador na ang masugid na nililigawan ni Anderson baga-mat madali nitong napasagot ang batang aktres.

Magkasama naman sa dula sa telebisyon sina Maja at Kim kaya hindi naiwasan na magtagpo ang kanilang mga landas nang dahil kay Gerald.

Masamang-amasa umano ang loob ni Kim kay Maja dahil parang inagawan siya nito ng ka-ligayahan.

Pero matagal na ngang nag-kahiwalay sina Chiu at Anderson

at si Xian Lim na ang matinding mangingibig ngayon ng batang aktres.

Sa katunayan ay lalo pa umanong lumalalim ang relasyon nina Xian at Kim lalo pa at mag-katambal sila sa teleserye.

Samantala, itinanggi ni Salva-dor na galit siya kay Chiu.

“Bakit naman po ako magag-alit sa isang tao na wala naman kaming pinag-aawayan?” tanong ni Maja.

Maligamgam umano ang pakita ni Chiu kay Salvador pag nagkikita sila sa set ng kanilang drama sa TV.

“Hindi po ako nakikipag-

away. Bastat wala akong alam na kasalanan ko. Mabuti kaming magkaibigan ni Kim.

“I am an open person at ayaw ko ng may kaaway kaya ewan ko po kung saan nanggagaling ang mga balitang ‘yan,” pagtataka ni Maja.

Pati nga ang kabituin nilang si Pilar Pilapil ay nabubulabog din sa isyu.

“I am very sad about the news na may war sina Kim and Maja because Iove them both. I don’t want something bad to happen to them.

“They are nice kids and I trea-sure my friendship with them kahit na I am older than them. I don’t want strife. I just want unity,” pahayag ng artikulanteng si Pilar.

Divers from Japan, China to explore Albay reefsDivers - both neophytes and

experts, young and senior citizens - from China, Japan and Australia, are set to explore the various dive sites in Albay Gulf next month.

Jin Masuda, a Japanese dive master who has been into diving the 16 dive sites in this city and other flourishing reefs in Albay Gulf, confirmed the arrival next week of seven elderly divers from Japan who he will guide in un-derwater tour of the reefs.

It was learned that there are two types of underwater at-tractions for divers: fish species abounding in the sites and the corals and reefs which they re-gard as “the rainforests of the sea.”

Either or both, Masuda as-sured his visitors of satisfaction

comparable to diving in the fa-mous reefs in the country such as Tubbataha Reef in Palawan and those in Anilao in Batangas as far as the types of corals and species of fish are concerned.

His most encouraging prom-ise to visiting fellow Japanese is that Albay Gulf is the calmest dive destination, the reason he has stayed in this city in the past three years--doing voluntary services to the local governments of Albay province and the city of Legazpi such as exploration, re-habilitation and promotion of the dive sites.

Now on his 11th consecutive year of stay in the country, Ma-suda has been inviting Japanese to come to this city.

Late last year, he provided guide services and itinerary of underwater tour in Albay Gulf to a group of elderly divers from Ja-pan - the oldest of them, 75 years old.

Masuda will also provide the same to the group about to arrive next month, the youngest among them, he said, is 54 years old.

Matsuda is the vice president of the Pacific Blue Dive Center (PBDC) that has established an office in this city and has been providing free dive trainings to residents in Albay islands who are to be tapped in the ongoing coral farming and coastal re-source management programs of the local governments.

Masuda’s group installed last

CuLtuRE

Nora Aunor sa "Thy Womb"

ShowbizNi BOY VILLASANtA

Royal blood (or what runs in Andi's veins) By MEG YARCIA

Andi carries a surname that probably made it so much

easier for her to penetrate the country's entertainment indus-try. After all, the Eigenmanns of Pinoy showbiz are a vener-able lot composed of patriarch Eddie Mesa and wife Rosema-rie Gil, their children Cherie Gil, Michael de Mesa, Mark Gil (Andi's father), and grand-children Sid Lucero, Gabby Ei-genmann, Ira Eigenmann and Maxene Eigenmann.

Andi, or Andrea Nicole Guck, is the daughter of Mark Gil and Jaclyn Jose, and we could only surmise that she

did inherit her parents' acting chops. Today, at 23, she leads Star Magic's list of talents, and

is poised to achieve more.

TuRN TO PAGE B2

It is still a good decade for Fili-pino tenors some of whom still

find time to sing in their home country even as they are active on the global opera stage.

Overseas-based tenor Noel Velasco is in town for an out-reach concert in Laoag City on January 26 and at the UP Abe-lardo Hall on January 29. He will cap his homecoming with a mas-terclass at the UST Conservatory on January 30 from 2 to 5 in the afternoon.

Tanay-born Arthur Espiritu -- who is a gem in Handel, Ros-sini and Mozart operas -- has invaded the Verdi orbit with suc-cessful debuts as Alfredo in Tra-viata and as the Duke in Rigo-letto.

Appearing in an intimate re-cital at the Ayala Museum with pianist Najib Ismail on February

6, Espiritu is all set to sing Cas-sio in Otello at the Teatro Com-munale Luciano Pavarotti, the hometown of the King of Opera. The last Filipino to sing in Pa-

varotti’s hometown was Maestra Isang Tapales who sang in Mas-cagni’s Iris with Pavarotti’s opera idol, Beniamino Gigli.

Cavite-born Rodell Rosel earned rave reviews as Goro in the latest staging of Madama Butterfly by the LA Opera and is all set for Tosca in March with Placido Domingo on the Po-dium. He is the second Filipino to sing at the Met in 2009 after Evelyn Mandac who debuted in the famous venue in 1975.

Velasco is the first and last Filipino prizewinner of the Luci-ano Pavarotti International Voice Competition in the early 80s. He could be the first Filipino to sing

By PABLO A. tARIMANVERA Files

Luciano Pavarotti with Noel Velasco, 1981

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T R I B U N E U . S . A .A2 NEWS July 27 - August 2, 2012ENTERTAINMENTB2 February 1-7, 2013

Soap opera ni Gerald Anderson, nilayasan ni Maricel SorianoDisin sana’y tuluy-

tuloy na ang pagbabalik ni Mari-

cel Soriano sa ABS-CBN bilang kontratadang bituin ng istasyon kung hindi rin lamang sa insi-dente kung kailan nilayasan niya ang taping ng isang soap opera ng himpilan.

Ayon sa mga saksi, hindi na-gustuhan ni Maricel ang paulit-ulit na take kay Gerald Anderson na siyang bida sa teleserye.

Hindi umano kasi magkaige ang pagbigkas ni Gerald ng mga salita sa kanyang dayalogo at na-tagalan ito sa pagbigkas kaeksena si Soriano kaya nainis umano nang nainis ang aktres sa kabaga-lan ng batang aktor na makapag-bigay nang tamang paged-deliver

ng kanyang mga linya.Gayunman, inilinaw ng pa-

munuan ng ABS-CBN, sa pama-magitan ng publicist nitong si Bong Osorio na hindi ang “un-fortunate incident” na ito ang nagtulak kay Marya na layasan ang proyekto.

Matatandaan na hudyat ng pagbabalik ni Soriano sa ABS-CBN ang kuwento at programang ito ni Anderson pagkatapos ng matagal na pagkawala ng tinagu-riang mataray na aktres sa eksena.

Matatandaan din na nag-ing artista pa ng TV5 si Maricel at nagawa pa siya ng kung ilang drama anthology sa istasyon pero bigla na lang nawala sa ere ang palatuntunan.

Pagkuwan ay namulatawan

na lang nating kasama si So-riano sa Christmas presentation ng ABS-CBN noong isang taon, isang hudyat na babalik na sa Star Network ang bituin.

Gayunman, hindi nga naging mabunga ang pagbabalik niya sa programa sa taong ito.

Naimbiyerna umano si Ma-ria sa kabagalan sa pag-arte ni Gerald kaya hindi niya napigil na ibulalas ang kanyang iritasyon sa trabaho pero wala namang pa-hayag ang aktor sa biglang pag-aalsa-balutan ng premyadong bituin mula sa kanilang proyekto.

Susan Roces at Amalia Fuentes, panauhing pandangal sa stand up act ni Chito Alcid

Ideal mix.Ito ang sinabi ng isang

peryodistang pampelikula kaugnay sa pagsasama sa isang pag-tatanghal nina Ogie Alcasid, Pops Fer-nandez, Regine Velasquez at Martin Nievera sa ika-14 ng Pebrero, 2013 sa SM Mall of Asia sa Pasay City.

Ayon kay Dennis Adobas, isang res-petadong manunulat ng mga kaganapan sa showbiz, hindi biru-biro ang pagsa-mahin sina Martin, Regine, Pops at Ogie sa isang concert.

“It’s an ideal mix,” pahayag ni Dennis nang siya ay tanungin sa kabuluhan ng pagtatanghal.

“Hindi araw-araw ay nagkakasama ang mga ‘yan sa isang show. Casting coup ‘yan kung baga sa pelikula,” pa-glalarawan ni Adobas.

Isa sa mga tinitingalang movie writ-er si Dennis na nagsusulat sa lokal na showbiz sa loob ng tatlong dekada.

“Foursome” ang pamagat ng palabas nina Regine, Pops, Ogie at Martin at bagay na bagay sa estado nilang apat sa

pribado at propesyunal na buhay dahil napakakontrobersyal ng kanilang mga buhay sa harap at likod ng kamera.

Si Fernandez ang isa sa mga prody-user ng show kasama ang kanyang kaibi-gan at kasosyong si Anna Puno.

Ayon kay Popsie, ang poster o dis-enyo ng patalastas ay ang pagkuha sa kanilang mga larawan na nasa kami at animo’y mga hubad ang mga ito.

Matagal na anya nilang nasa isip ang litratong gayon kaya hindi na sila nailang sa isa’t isa.

Ngayon ay napakarami nang nag-aabang ng palabas at halos ubos na ang mga tiket para rito.

Kahit si Adobas ay nais bumili ng tiket kahit na ang isang peryodistang tulad niya ay may libreng karapatan sa panonood.

Samantala, sa personal na lebel, ayon kay Fernandez, magkaibigan na lang ta-laga silang matalik ni Nievera.

“We’ve grown more as friends now and we are still very close to each other,” wika ni Pops.

Para kung kailan lang, apatnapung

taon na palang nag-susulat tungkol sa kaganapan sa showbiz ang kontrobersyal na peryodistang pampelikulang si Chito P. Alcid.

Kahit na maalingasngas ang kanyang buhay ngayon lalo na at kalaban niya sa hukuman si An-nabelle Rama, tuloy ang buhay para kay Chito.

Sa katunayan, may show pa nga siyang inihahanda para sa kanyang ika-40 na anibersaryo sa larangan ng aliw.

“Gusto kong memorable ang aking forty years sa showbiz. Hindi biru-biro ang ganito sa pagtatagal sa showbiz, di ba?” tanong ni Alcid.

Ayon sa kanya, kahit na mara-mi silang asuntong kinakaharap ni Annabelle, hindi matitinag ng mga ito ang kanyang pagpapasa-ya sa tao lalo na sa kanyang mga kaibigan at katrabaho.

“May impersonation ako ni Susan Roces. Talagang gagayahin ko siya sa pagsasalita at pagdada-mit,” wika ni Chito.

Madalas ngang gagarin o i-

mimic ni Alcid si Susan sa mga sosyalan o pribadong kuwentu-han lang.

May pagkakataon pa ngang nais kunin sa kampanya sa puli-tika si Chito bilang Susan Roces para laban ang kandidatura noon sa pagkapresidente ni Fernando Poe, Jr.

“Biruin mo no’n, babayaran ako ng milyones para lang mag-salita ng parang kay Susan Roces para ikampanya si Gloria Maca-pagal-Arroyo na kalaban no’n ni FPJ sa presidential elections,” pagbabalik-tanaw ni Alcid.

Pero tinanggihan niya anya ang alok nang dahil sa pakikip-agkaibigan niya kay Roces.

Kabilang si Susan sa panauh-ing pandangal ni Chito sa kan-yang pagtatanghal sa Teatrino sa ika-30 ng Enero, 2013.

Kasama ni Roces sa piging si Amalia Fuentes na isa ring reyna ng pelikulang Pilipino.

May bahagi na manggagaya si Alcid ng mga kalahok sa Miss Universe beauty contest kaya siya ay magdadamit ng iba’t ibang pambansang kasuotan.

willie Revillame, kalaban muli ni Joey de Leon

Pops, Martin, Regine, at Ogie, magsasama sa isang Valentine concert

Ngayong inilipat na ng TV5 ang game nitong

“Wil Time Bigtime” at pinali-tan na ang titulo bilang “Wowowillie” sa timeslot na 11:30 ng umaga mula Lunes hanggang Sabado, kalaban na naman ni Willie Revillame si Joey de Leon na matagal na niyang katunggali sapul pa nang “Wowowie” ng ABS-CBN kontra “Eat Bulaga” ng GMA Network.

Banggaang umaatikabo na naman sina Willie at Joey kahit sabihin pa ni Revillameng hindi siya nakikipagkom-pitensiya kay de Leon.

“Iba naman ang mga segments na-min at iba ang oras namin,” pahayag ni Willie sa presscon ng kanyang binagong konsepto at titulo pero dati pa rin ang epekto.

Matatandaan na nagkabati na sina Revillame at Joey nang lumipat na ang

una sa istasyon ni Manny V. Pangilinan na Channel 5 dahil nagpoprograma rin si de Leon dito.

Pero ngayong nagpasya na ang pa-mahalaan ng TV5 na banggain muli ang GMA Network at ABS-CBN sa pagsasa-himpapawid ng noontime show, uma-hon na naman ang karibalan sa mga personang kalahok sa tunggaliang ito.

Pero inilinaw ni Willie na hindi siya nakikipaglaban kay Joey.

Sinabi niyang alas onse y medya ang simula ng kanyang palatuntunan saman-talang alas dose en punto nagbubukas ang “Eat Bulaga.”

Gayunman, sa pagsulong at paghaba ng pagpapalatuntunan, magkakasaku-pan ng mga oras ang dalawang show at magkakasabay rin.

Kalaban pa rin ng mga ito ang “Show-time” ng ABS-CBN kaya matindi pa rin ang salpukan nila nina Vice Ganda, Vhong Navarro, Anne Curtis, Karylle at marami pang iba.

Abangan na lang natin ang magiging resulta ng labanang ito.

Magsawa na kaya ang publiko sa mga noontime show o ipagpatuloy pa ng mga tao ang panonood ng mga ito bilang pag-iwas sa mga laksa-laksang suliranin ng pang-araw-araw na buhay sa eko-nomiya lalo na? q

Yoko Ono donates US$ 10,000 to ‘Pablo’ victims

ComplicatedHer background may have been

complicated, being a daughter conceived out of wedlock and raised alone by her mother, but Andi was 'regular' enough to have completed her grade school and high school education at Miriam Col-lege in 2008. She is currently a college student at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde in Taft Avenue Manila.

She entered showbiz in 2007, through a soap opera called Prinsesa ng Banyera. She also joined Pinoy Big Brother Teen Edition, and the Myx VJ Search in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Sunday noontime variety show ASAP also had her as a regular performer. But her breakthrough came in the form of a title role as Agua Bendita in ABS-CBN's primetime.

The show was a top-rater, popular particularly among the young, with its story that revolved around the life of twins Agua and Bendita. And the role was perfect for Andi, who, at 19, was transitioning from teen to lady roles.

FierceAfter Agua Bendita, it was clear that

there is more to Andi than her famous surname. She was, by most accounts, a smart and talented girl. Checking out her blog, http://andieigengirl.com/, in fact, yields some of her interesting in-sights about the challenges in the enter-tainment world, as well as her personal

relationships. The same is true for her interviews, where she is known to speak her mind not in the pa-sweet way of other young stars, but a feisty one, very much like her mom.

In shooting dramas, she is known for her fierce approach to characters. While she did play the protagonist being per-secuted at times, the viewer only sees a very fleeting sense of vulnerability, and can expect her to stand her ground and seek revenge the next moment.

It is this quality that would allow her to take on roles in movies like Ma-marazzi, Shake, Rattle and Roll 12, and most recently, A Secret Affair alongside Anne Curtis and Derek Ramsay. It also made her a favorite covergirl of fashion magazines, as she carried herself with a certain grace, confidence and courage. If you wonder what this means, just grab a copy of Preview, Candy and Esquire (where she made waves by going top-less).

SurvivorAny write-up about Andi would not

be complete without the drama that in-volved her and ex-boyfriends Albie Ca-siño, who is the father of her baby (now over a year old) Adrianna Gabrielli, and the dashing Jake Ejercito, who is the son of former President Joseph Estrada and actress Laarni Enriquez.

Basically, she got pregnant before get-

ting married, while her soap opera Min-san Lang Kita Iibigin with Coco Martin and Maja Salvador was running. This would not have been so much a scandal considering she's from showbiz - but it created quite a ruckus because the boy-friend would not admit being the father. It was, as the story unraveled, because he resented a supposed 'overlap' between him and Jake Ejercito.

She went ahead with the pregnancy anyway, earning the admiration of many. After giving birth and working hard to regain her old weight, she returned to what her family does best: act.

InspiredJake supported Andi during her

pregnancy, but they have since broken up, the former still completing his de-gree in London. They were in the head-lines as well a few months ago, as Jaclyn implied in an interview that his parents were against the relationship. Nonethe-less, Andi remains inspired these days, with her resolve to hone her craft to be able tor raise her baby.

She now stars (with Iza Calzado, Gabby Concepcion and Jake Cuenca) in Kahit Puso'y Masugatan, truly an apt title for her life right now. She had her heart broken, but with her smarts and determination, will most likely rise again. q

Royal blood (or what runs in Andi's veins) FROM PAGE B1

Yoko Ono, wife of the late John Lennon of the famed “The Bea-

tles” and an established musical artist and fashion designer in her own right, donated US$ 10,000 for victims of Typhoon ‘Pablo’ (international name: Bopha) in the Philippines.

The donation was remitted to the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo on Janu-ary 28.

Ms. Ono learned about the disas-trous effects of Typhoon ‘Pablo’ in Mindanao following a personal visit she made to the official residence of the Philippine Ambassador to Japan on 5 December 2012.

Ms. Ono spent her childhood years at the residence, an Iberian-style mansion built in 1934 which used to be owned by her uncle Iwajiro Yasuda.

It was sold to President Jose P. Laurel, and was subsequently acquired by the Philippine Government after World War II.

When she comes to Japan, Ms. Ono finds time to visit the residence to reminisce about her childhood. During her visit to the residence last December, she conveyed to Ambas-sador Manuel M. Lopez and Madame Maria Teresa L. Lopez her apprecia-tion for the care the Philippine Gov-ernment has taken to preserve the his-toric mansion.

Ms. Ono’s charitable activities in-clude assisting schoolchildren in the Philippines. She also made a contri-bution for disaster relief efforts in the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon ‘Ondoy’ in 2009. q

Ambassador Manuel M. Lopez and Madame Maria Teresa L. Lopez flank Ms. Yoko Ono.

T R I B U N E U . S . A .

A3NEWSJuly 27 - August 2, 2012 NEWSOctober 26 - November 1, 2012 3ENTERTAINMENTFebruary 1-7, 2013 B3

TuRN TO PAGE B6

Cinema One Originals “Mater Dolorosa” and “Big Boy” debut at Rotterdam film festivalTwo Cinema One Originals

films “Mater Dolorosa” (2012) and “Big Boy” (2011) make their international premiere at the 42nd edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) at Rot-terdam, Netherlands.

The films directed by Adolf Alix Jr. and Shireen Seno will be pre-sented at the twelve-day festival beginning January 23 until Febru-ary 3 along with other feature films coming from 60 countries.

Seno’s “Big Boy” will be show-cased at the “Bright Future” sec-tion where fresh filmmakers show their first or second feature films while Alix’s “Mater Dolorosa” will be under the “Spectrum” section which shows recent feature length work by experienced filmmakers and artists who provide an essential contribution to international film culture. His film will also compete

for IFFR’s The Big Screen Award.“Mater Dolorosa”, Alix’s lat-

est feature film tells the story of Lourdes, portrayed by Gina Ala-jar, a crime family Matriarch who runs several underground busi-nesses including carnapping, gam-bling and drug smuggling with her children played by Carlo Aquino, Cogie Domingo, and Alessandra de Rossi. This is Alix’s 21st feature film; he released “Donsol”, his first film in 2006. Gertjan Zuilhof, pro-grammer of IFFR, noted that Alix’s “level of craftsmanship is extremely high and his rapport with the actors shows great experience and self-as-surance. His style in directing gives the film a classic appeal.”

Shot in Super 8mm film in rural Oriental Mindoro, Seno’s “Big Boy” tells the story of a boy in 1950s, when the country was progressively picking itself up from the ravages

of World War II. The boy was sub-jected by his parents to peculiar routines to mold him and grow into their desired or ideal poster boy for their home-based cod oil business.

“Shot in painfully intimate 8mm film, BIG BOY mimics the evasive-ness of memory as it depicts the violence inherent in the Filipino home,” Philbert Dee wrote in www.clickthecity.com.

“Mater Dolorosa” and “Big Boy” will be screened five times each at selected cinemas in Netherlands during the 42nd International Film Festival Rotterdam. IFFR is one of the largest audience and industry driven film festivals in the world with a listed audience of 274,000 and more than 2,700 film profes-sionals in 2012. It is approximately comparable in size to other major European festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Locarno. q

T R I B U N E U . S . A .

A4 NEWS July 27 - August 2, 2012ENTERTAINMENTB4 February 1-7, 2013

“Metamorphosis” defines the new Yeng ConstantinoMulti-awarded singer and

songwriter Yeng Constan-tino is nothing but proud about her fifth studio album under Star Records titled “Metamorphosis,” which according to her perfectly describes the ‘new Yeng.’

“Metamorphosis means change and transformation, and that’s what this album is all about. Metamorphosis doesn’t really take out who you really are, but it changes you for the better,” Yeng explained. “It’s about not being afraid of who you can be. And that best describes my new al-bum that carries my new sound, and the new Yeng.”

The 24-year-old Pinoy Dream Academy Season 1 grand winner further shared that “Metamor-phosis” does not only present her new music but her striking state-ment red hair as well.

“The red hair is not just part of the album. It’s a part of who I am now in this season of my life. I can say that my hair color represents my passion for music now–flaming hot,” she said. “And if there’s anything that I want to say to my supporters through my

new look, it’s that I want them to be brave to experiment to un-leash their real personalities.”

According to Yeng, the al-bum’s carrier single “B.A.BA.Y” is one of the best songs that in-troduces the brand new her. “The song showcases almost everything that’s new about me now–new sound, new songwrit-ing, and a new chapter in my life. For sure, the listeners and those who’ll watch the music video will enjoy ‘B.A.BA.Y’ because it will make them dance with its upbeat sound.”

Although determined to stand out and create an impact, Yeng confessed that she was ini-tially concerned whether or not

her fans are ready to listen to her new music. “At first, I was wor-ried if my supporters are ready for this change. But I thought it’s good because I’m giving them something new. And personally, I also want to challenge myself to do things that will excite me,” Yeng related.

Produced by Filipino rock icon Raimund Marasigan, “Metamor-phosis” is a 10-track all-original album that features nine of Yeng’s compositions. “Releasing this all-original album brings so much joy in my heart. I felt like I have a new contribution to Philippine music in this generation,” said the Philippines’ Pop Rock Princess, who hopes to inspire fellow mu-

sicians to go original. “I believe that this will have a domino effect. Hopefully, a lot of artists will be encouraged to write and release their original songs.”

Aside from “B.A.B.A.Y,” “Metamorphosis” also features nine of Yeng’s compostions in-cluding “Hahanapin Kita,” “Jose-phine,” “Messiah,” “Pasensya Na,” “Sana ‘Di Pa Huli,” “Teleserye,” “Pag-ibig,” and “Sandata.” The song “Chinito” was written by Jed Dumawal.

Star Records will release the “Metamorphosis” album on all record bars nationwide on Mon-day (January 28) at only P299. The digital track of its carrier single “B.A.B.A.Y” can now be downloaded via www.mymusic-store.com.ph and iTunes.

Don’t miss the nationwide re-lease of Yeng’s newest album and discover the big transformation that changed her as a musician and as a total performer. For more information about “Metamor-phosis,” visit Star Records’ Face-book fanpage atwww.facebook.com/starrecordsphil or follow @starrecordsph on Twitter. q

Katrina Halili, back and ready for showbizFollowing a hiatus, Katrina

Halili made a grand re-en-trance into the world of showbiz with a Magpakailanman episode dubbed Ligaw na Diyosa, shown last January 26. Halili portrayed herself in the episode, which fea-tured her own life story. In her first live TV appearance since her she took a short break, Katrina shared some insights about her comeback.

In an interview with Startalk TX host Joey de Leon, Katrina re-vealed the factors that have mo-tivated her to share her story on

Magpakailanman. “Napapayag po ako kasi para sa akin, ok na kasi nakapag move on na naman ako and gusto ko rin naman i-share sa mga tao yung experience ko dahil alam ko kahit papaano ay matututunan sila sa nangyari sa akin.”

In the same interview, Halili also talked about the recent re-union of Starstruck Batch 1, where she was able to bond with Jennylyn Mercado, Yasmien Kurdi, Sheena Halili, Cristine Reyes, Jade Lopez, Mark Herras and Rainier Castillo. It has been

10 years since the first Starstruck installation, and Katrina believes that they have all come a long way.

“Kino-congratulate naming yung isa’t isa. Kasi diba si Jen host na ngayon, tapos si Cristine nag Box Office Queen, so masaya kami.”

She adds, “Ngayon, pagiging mommies and mga babies na ang topic namin nina Jen and Yas-mien.”

Being a full-fledged mom to her and Kris Lawrence’s baby girl, Katrence, Katrina has all the

more drive and inspiration to get back to the craft she loves the most. Her Magpakailanmanap-pearance is certainly not her last, but rather the beginning in this new chapter in her showbiz life.

Now ready for whatever lies ahead, Katrina only keeps getting stronger and stronger. “Masaya po ako dahil kahit nadapa ako ay bumangon ako sa buhay, at hang-gang ngayon ay nakakaharap pa sa inyo.” - Text by Samantha Por-tillo, GMANetwork.com q

Jodi stays the same despite newfound fameDespite the phenomenal

success of Jodi Sta. Maria, who is better known among the fans now as Maya of ABS-CBN’s hit kilig-serye “Be Careful With My Heart,” the actress remains the simple girl especially when she is with her best friends in showbiz like Kaye Abad and Desiree del Valle, who were both her co-stars in the hit Ka-pamilya youth-oriented drama series “Tabing-Ilog.”

In an exclusive interview of “Showbiz Inside Report,” which will be shown on ABS-CBN this Saturday (February 2), Jodi shared that no amount of suc-cess can ever match the value that she gives to her relationship with her barkada, who have been with her since she started in showbiz. “Just as long as we have constant communication among ourselves, our frienship remains intact,” said Jodi.

Meanwhile, “SIR” will also feature the solid friendship be-tween the two of The Hunks who are now top caliber actors, Piolo Pascual and Diether Oc-ampo. What were the biggest

trials that tested their friend-ship? Was there ever a time when they became rivals for just one girl?

Don’t miss the trending showbiz talk show of ABS-CBN, “Showbiz Inside Report,”

this Saturday, 2:30pm, after “It’s Showtime.” For more updates, log-on at www.abs-cbn.com, follow @SIRTVOfficial on Twit-ter, or like the Facebook fanpage www.facebook.com/Showbiz-InsideReport.AbsCbn. q

Chariz Solomon talks about newlywed blissIsang blooming na Chariz

Solomon ang humarap sa amin sa aming pagbisita sa set ng Sarap Diva, kung saan isa siya sa mga guests. Nakausap ng GMANetwork.com ang very bubbly and friendly actress tungkol sa bagong chapter ng kanyang buhay, at naitanong rin namin ang kanyang mga future plans para sa kanyang career.

Una sa lahat itinanong namin si Chariz kung ano ang mga plano niya sa kanyang first Valentine’s Day with her husband. Ayon sa comedic actress, wala pa raw silang mga napag-uusapan, ngunit umaasa siya na “…sana mayroon siyang plano kasi namimiss ko yung makakuha ng mga surprise.”

Kahit palaging nagpapatawa si Chariz sa harap ng mga camera ay may mga times na seryoso din naman siya off cam, lalo na ngayon na may asawa na siya. For her, “lahat naman ng tao, pag dumanas sa Sacrament of Marriage, malaking pagbabago iyan sa buhay ng tao, especially if you treat it seriously. Siguro mas

naging mature lang ako at mas gumanda.”

Nagyong mas mature na siya as a person, mas mature na rin kaya ang roles na willing niyang gampanan? Para sa kanya, game na game siya basta para sa trabaho. Wala naman siyang limitations masyado, maliban na lamang kung sobrang sexy na ang role. “Siguro ‘yung sexy cute (roles) okay lang, kasi I adore my fans na mga bata and gusto kong mapanood pa rin nila ako.

Bilang kids na rin lang ang

pinag-uusapan, tinanong na rin naming ni Chariz kung may mga plano na siyang magkaroon ng anak. Tugon naman ng aktres, “Iyon naman talaga ang gusto namin, ang makabuo na ng family. Medyo nakakapressure pala yung feeling kasi parang lahat ng tao kahit saan ako pumunta, tinatanong ako kung magkakababy na ako.”

Pero paano kung magka-baby na nga siya? May mga pagbabago bang magaganap sa kanyang career? “If ever magka-baby ako,

magwowork pa rin ako, depende nalang kung anong role kasi iba na pag nandoon ka. So ayun, excited ako.”

With the way things are going for Chariz, it looks like she’ll be here to stay. Isang masaya at makahulugang message ang iniwan niya sa lahat ng kanyang mga taga suporta, “Huwag kayong matakot. Paganda lang tayo ng paganda. Iyan ang ating isaisip at hindi tayo magququit. Forever artista!” (Text by Samantha Portillo) q

T R I B U N E U . S . A .

A5NEWSJuly 27 - August 2, 2012 ENTERTAINMENTFebruary 1-7, 2013 B5

ABS-CBN Regional Network Group’s (RNG) “Kapamilya

Karavan,” recently spread cheer-sand smiles in two of the biggest and most colorful annual festivi-ties in the country—the Sinulog Festival in Cebu and the Dina-gyang Festival—to thank their Cebuano and Ilonggo fans for making ABS-CBN the undisput-ed no.1 TV station nationwide.

The “Kapamilya Karavan” in Sinulog Festival drew more than 15,000 screaming fans at The Terraces in Ayala Center Cebu. Among the ABS-CBN stars who flew to the ‘Queen City of the South’ were Jodi Sta. Maria and Richard Yap of “Be Careful With My Heart,” Xian Lim and Kim Chiu of “Ina Kapatid Anak,” Sam Milby and Paulo Avelino

of “Kahit Konting Pagtingin,” and Robin Padilla and Anne Curtis of “Kailangan Ko’y Ikaw.” Hosted by “M.O.R” Cebu DJs, “Kapamilya Mas Winner Ka” and “Mag TV Na” emcees, the “Kapamilya Karavan” in Sinulog Festival was also graced by ABS-CBN executives namely Broad-cast Head Cory Vidanes, ABS-CBN RNG Head Jerry Bennett, Corporate Sales Head August Benitez, and Business Unit Head Deo Endrinal.

ABS-CBN RNG also drew huge crowd when it took part in Sinulog 2013 Grand Parade where two colorful floats show-cased Kim, Xian, Richard, En-chong Dee, Vice Ganda and Ryan Bang to promote Kapami-lya Network’s celebration of 60

years of Philippine television; and Coco Martin, Erich Gonza-les, Arron Villaflor, Neil Coleta, ZsaZsa Padilla, Gina Pareño and Joel Torre to invite the Cebua-nos to watch the upcoming su-perhero series “Juan dela Cruz.” The two floats were such a hit that the big crowds followed it as it moved.

Meanwhile, more than 25,000 people trooped to the “Kapamilya Karavan” in Di-nagyang Festival, which took place at the Iloilo Sports Com-plex. Kapamilya stars Robi Do-mingo, Richard Poon and Yeng Constantino, together with ABS-CBN big bosses Bennett, Benitez, and Entertainment TV Production Head Laurenti Dyogi joined the festivities. The

grandest event in the ‘City of Love’ was hosted by “M.O.R.” Iloilo DJs and “Kapamilya Mas Winner Ka” emcee Rexylin Ca-baltera.

After the “Kapamilya Kara-van,” ABS-CBN further added color to Dinagyang Festival with

the special live show of the top-rating Sunday musical variety show “ASAP 18” that gathered almost 50,000 people at the Il-oilo Sports Complex. More than 40 of the biggest names in Philippine entertainment led by Gary Valenciano, Martin Nie-

vera, ZsaZsa Padilla, Vina Mo-rales, Billy Crawford, Jericho Rosales, and Piolo Pascual gave world-class entertainment to Ilonggo fans.

After conquering the Sinulog and Dinagyang Festivals, ABS-CBN RNG is all set for its next stops–Baguio City for the Pan-agbenga Floral Float Parade on February 24 and for Kapamilya Karavan at Melvin Jones Grand-stand on March 2.

The ABS-CBN Regional Net-work Group is the nationwide TV and radio network of ABS-CBN Corporation.

For more Kapamilya stories and happenings in the regions, log on to www.abs-cbnnews.com, www.choosephils.com, and www.iwantv.com.ph. q

Kapamilya stars draw huge crowds in Sinulog and Dinagyang Festivals

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Para Sa 'Yo Ang Laban Na Ito, ang show na makakahikayat sa iyo

upang gumawa ng mga desisyon na makakapagpabago sa iyong buhay, mga desisyong noon mo pa pinapangarap na mapanindigan para sa iyong sariling kapakanan.

Kasama si Manny Pacquiao bilang host, ito ang natatanging self-help dra-ma ng GMA, na mapapanood na simula sa Pebrero 3.

Bawat episode ay mahalagang pa-totoo na ang buhay ay kayang baguhin ng mga desisyon natin. Tulad ng mga kuwentong-buhay na ngayon lang ilala-had ni Manny sa bawat Linggo. At ang kaniyang mga sikreto sa pagtatagumpay sa buhay ay magiging gabay na rin na-

tin ngayon sa pang-araw-araw na buhay. Para maging tayo ay maging matagump-ay din na tulad niya.

Bukod sa mga pagbabahagi ni Man-ny ay laging may dalawa pang kababay-an natin ang maglalahd din ng kanilang talambuhay, mga kuwento ng pag-asa at kung paanong minsan din itong sinu-subok. At dahil may drama sequences ang paglalahad ng mga kuwento, na magtatampok din sa ating mga pabori-tong artista ay nagiging mas entertain-ing ang palabas.

At mas mahalaga sa panahon ngayon ay mabibigyan din tayo ng palabas ng makabagong pananaw upang harapin ang ating buhay. Ito na ang pinakam-abuting paraan para suungin natin ang

bawat linggong darating.Kasama ni Manny sa programa si

Jean Garcia bilang co-host, isang taong dumaan din sa mga pagde-desisyon na nakatulong sa kaniya upang maging mas maganda, matapang at magaan ang pagharap niya sa kaniyang sariling bu-hay at mga pagsubok.

Para sa pilot episode, tampok sa Para Sa 'Yo ang kuwento ng dalawang babae na inabandona ng kani-kanilang mga asawa at napilitang mag-isang palaki-hin ang mga anak. Hindi maikakailang malapit sa puso ni Manny ang karanasan nila dahil ganito rin ang sinapit ni Mom-my Dionisia sa ama niya. Ano kaya ang maipapayo ni Manny sa kanila? Ma-kumbinsi kaya niya ang dalawang babae

na patuloy na lumaban sa buhay?Ang pagbabago magsisimula sa desi-

syon mo. Simulan mo na. Dahil Para Sa 'Yo Ang Laban Na Ito. q

In celebration of 60 years of Philip-pine television, ABS-CBN and Star

Records once again set the stage for bril-liant Filipino composers to share their musical masterpieces to the world as it relaunched the country’s biggest multi-media songwriting competition “Himig Handog” with the theme, “Pinoy Pop (P-POP) Love Songs: Mga Awit at Kwento ng Pusong Pilipino.”

Now on its 5th year, “Himig Handog” received a total of 2,500 original compo-sitions from Pinoy songwriters world-wide. And from the thousands of en-tries gathered, 12 songs were chosen as “Himig Handog P-Pop Love Songs” finalists, which include “Alaala” by Ma. Fe Mechenette Tianga, Melvin Hu-

wervana, and Joel Jabot Jr. from Iloilo; “Ano’ng Nangyari Sa Ating Dalawa” by Jovinor Tan from Malabon; “If You Ever Change Your Mind” by Marion Aunor from Makati; “Hanggang Wakas” by Soc Villanueva from Australia; “Kahit Na” by Julius James de Belen from Quezon City; “Nasa Iyo Na Ang Lahat” by Jun-

gee Marcelo from Pasig City; “One Day” by Agatha Obar Morallos from Baguio City; “Pwede Bang Ako Na Lang Ulit” by Jeffrey Cifra from Cavite; “Sana’y Mag-balik” by Arman Alferez from Caloocan; “Scared To Death” by Domingo Rosco Jr. from Bohol; “Tamang Panahon” by Wynn Andrada from Makati; and “This Song Is For You” by Jude Gitamondoc from Cebu City.

The 12 song finalists will be immor-talized by some of the biggest names in the Philippine music industry including Angeline Quinto who will be the inter-preter for “One Day,” Aiza Seguerra for “Anong Nangyari Sa Ating Dalawa,” Erik

ABS-CBN celebrates Pinoy love via “Himig Handog P-Pop Love Songs”

Manny Pacquiao, magbibigay ng payo sa pinakaunang self-help drama ng GMA, ang “Para Sa ‘Yo Ang Laban Na Ito”

Kapuso Month, which begins on February 1st, will be a salute to

love. Watch out for four distinct plugs that will feature some of your favor-ite Kapuso actors, actresses and news personalities. Each highlights that love is everywhere, now more than ever. This is how GMA wants life to be for its viewers, lives filled with hearts and full of love.

Don't catch yourself out of the loop, learn the lyrics to the latest Kapuso hit

song, as sang by Jonalyn Viray:

Imulat ang damdaminHulihin ang pintigAng puso ng PinoyWalang katulad ‘pag umibigWalang malayo o malapitWalang simple o maliitSa pusong nagmamahalDito sa mundong puno ng pusoSa ‘ting mundong puno ng puso (GMA)Sa ‘ting mundong puno ng puso (GMA) q

GMA launches Kapuso Month

T R I B U N E U . S . A .A6

OPINION

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July 27 - August 2, 2012T R I B u N E u.S.A. B6 February 1-7, 2012

ifestyle/TRAVELL

By CAtHERINE tEVES

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Ballet presentation of Albay legend at CCP to set records in Philippine art history

Gov’t offers Spain 5 PPP projects... FROM PAGE B7

The new production of "Da-ragang Magayon", Albay’s

mythical epic in ballet form at the Cultural Center of the Phil-ippines (CPP) Main Theater on Feb. 8, is setting records in Phil-ippine arts history.

“Daragang Magayon: Ang Istorya ni Mayon” lands on re-cord as the first full-length bal-let of a provincial epic, the first multimedia-backed ballet in-terpretation in the country, the first to integrate the love story legend of Mayon Volcano’s ori-gin and the pre-Hispanic my-thology of the Bicol region, and the first of its kind to be set to rondalla, specially composed and arranged by internationally acclaimed Filipino conductor and composer.

The mythical epic is the love story of Mayon Volcano and the people of Albay.

As an epic, it goes down on record as the first collaboration of three respected contempo-rary artists: the poetry of Na-tional Artist Virgilio Almario, the music of Dr. Ramon Pagay-on Santos and the creative re-sources of Albayano writer and researcher Abdon Balde Jr.

As composer, Santos’ works have been featured in major fes-tivals in America, Europe and

Asia.Almario’s magic in poetry is

expected to blend with Santos music intensifying emotions in new scenes of the tale.

Ancient rituals and mytho-logical characters and other magical realism of the legend are products of the researches and stories woven by Balde, a

multi-awarded Bikolano writer who specializes in mythopoeia and the folk stories of Bikol.

The production also comes as the first multi-media- backed ballet interpretation in the country, choreographed by Gerald Mercado and his wife Katrina Santos-Mercado, both ballet masters known interna-tionally, with the e-Dance The-ater.

e-Dance Theater expands

the love story in new dances and movements that is uniquely Filipino, both in techniques and aesthetics and were created to evoke a rich character of the filmography done by Chuck Escasa, animation by Niko Salazar, the set designed by Leo Abaya and costume by Carlo Pagunaling.

The Daragang Magay-on myth is basically a love-against-all-odds story between Magayon (beautiful) and Ulap (cloud). Their tragic death in the hands of an envious suitor, Pagtuga (eruption), earned for them favor from gods to make their love last forever and part no more by turning the lovers’ grave to mountain and the sky.

As a drama, Daragang Magayon will integrate two community bonding — the rites of “Haliya”, a protest against in-coming threats, and “Atang”, the offering for good harvest.

The epic is produced by the Albay provincial govern-ment led by Gov. Joey Salceda. The presentation forms part of a revitalized tourism develop-ment program that would offer guests an opportunity to take a fresher look into the province’s mesmerizing mythical past, its magic and mystery. (PNA) q

(Photos above) MACEF 2013 billboards at Rho Fiera in Milan. Consul General Lourdes Tabamo (center) with exhibitors from Alpaz Company led by Mr. Nelson uy from Cebu. (Photos below) Necklaces made of indigenous materials from the Philippines are displayed at the unijel booth of Ms. Lucia de Belen.

TuRN TO PAGE B5

Les Misérables” alumni Adam Jacobs (Disney’s “The Lion

King,” “Once on this Island”), who played the role of Marius in “Les Misérables” return engage-ment on Broadway in 2006-2008, and Ali Ewoldt (“West Side Story,” Disney’s “Aladdin”), who played the role of Cosette in the same production, topbill “A Heart Full of Love: A Concert” at The Town Hall (123 West 43 St.) on Satur-day, February 23 at 8 p.m.

In “A Heart Full of Love,” Ja-cobs and Ewoldt, both of Filipino descent, will be singing an array of musical theater favorites in-cluding selections from “Les Mi-sérables,” “West Side Story,” and “The Lion King”; as well as con-temporary pop songs, kundiman (traditional Filipino love songs); and an exciting repertoire of new works by today's rising musical theater writers and composers.

“The last time Ali and I sang

together on a concert stage was at a tribute show for musical the-ater legend Stephen Sondheim at Lincoln Center two years ago. We sang ‘One Hand, One Heart’ from ‘West Side Story,' and that was it. But for our show at The Town Hall, not only will we have the chance to perform excerpts from ‘Les Misérables’ for the first time since our Broadway debuts; but we also will have the oppor-tunity to do other popular tunes from shows we haven't done yet,” said Jacobs.

I can also get to show a differ-ent side of myself in this concert, which I think people will be sur-prised to see,” he added.

Proceeds from the concert, conceived by Victor Lirio (“Suites by Sondheim,” “Two Rooms”), featuring the direction by Adam Fitzgerald (“Friends and Rela-tions,” “Killing Women”) and musical direction by David Dab-

bon (“Secondary Impact,” “She Loves Me”), will go to the 3rd The Outstanding Filipino Ameri-cans in New York (TOFA-NY) Awards, an annual award cere-mony that recognizes exemplary Filipino-Americans in the New York Tri-State held in October; and to Mindoro Healthcare Con-sulting’s current research to find a cure for multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord.

Elton Lugay of TOFA-NY and Jona Jane Tajonera of Mindoro Healthcare Consulting, LLC are producing “A Heart Full of Love: A Concert” at The Town Hall.

For tickets ($40-$100), visitwww.ticketmaster.com/event/03004973A4EEAAD6.

About Adam JacobsAfter playing the role of stu-

dent revolutionary Marius in the national tour of “Les Misérables,”

Adam Jacobs made his Broadway debut in the revival production of “Les Misérables” at Broadhurst

Theatre in 2006. After “Les Miz,” Jacobs played the role of groom-to-be Sky in the national tour of

“Mamma Mia.” In 2011, Jacobs originated the title role of Alad-din in Disney’s screen-to-stage adaption of “Aladdin” at Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre. Later that same year, he returned to Broad-way to play the role of Simba in Disney’s “The Lion King” at Min-skoff Theatre.

About Ali EwoldtAli Ewoldt performed the role

of Princess Jasmine in "Aladdin" at Disney's California Adven-ture prior to joining the national tour and the Broadway revival production of “Les Misérables,” where she played the role of Co-sette. After “Les Miz,” Ewoldt starred as Maria in the Broadway 1st National Tour and in the 50th anniversary international tour of “West Side Story." She recently played the role of Tuptim in Baayork Lee's production of “The King and I.” q

Adam Jacobs, Ali Ewoldt to stage “A Heart Full of Love” concert in NYC

at Covent Garden in London in its staging of Der Rosenkavalier with Jeffrey Tate.

Last heard at the CCP as Tamino in Magic Flute in 1982 mounted by the eminent Sarah Caldwell and as Don Jose in Carmen in 1986 with Isola Jones in the title role, Velasco had rel-atively less exposures in Manila compared to the past regular homecoming concerts of Oton-iel Gonzaga and Arthur Espiritu.

Now in his mid-60s, Velasco was 31 when he won the Pava-rotti Competition in Philadel-

phia in the early 80s, the decade Boston Opera’s Sarah Caldwell mounted Magic Flute at the CCP.

Reflecting on his career in his last engagement at UP’s 100th year, Velasco credited Prof. Aurelio Estanislao who helped hone him before con-quering foreign shores. “I recall that during my second year of study with Prof. Estanislao, he once told me, ‘You know, I am not preparing you for a local career. I am preparing you for an international career.’ These

words were really prophetic. I really thank him for that.”

Velasco said it was also Imelda Marcos and the late Na-tional Artist Lucrecia Kasilag who facilitated his entry into the famed Curtis Institute of Mu-sic, where he emerged as one of the winners of the Pavarotti International Voice Competi-tion. “I remember that Fides Cuyugan Asencio told me there was a vacancy for a tenor in that Philadelphia school. I passed the audition, but without the help of Mrs. Marcos and Tita King

[Kasilag], I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy that scholarship. Again, this is a case of good tim-ing.”

Velasco didn’t just win the Pavarotti Competition but also the Liederkranz Foundation Wagnerian Competition, the New York Oratorio Solo Com-petitions and the Belvedere Competition in Vienna which was the same competition that led another Filipino, Espiritu, to La Scala di Milan.

“The Pavarotti Competiti-tion was a high-profile event

and it helped get attention. The members of the jury in the Bel-vedere Competition in Vienna really looked like Who’s Who in the Opera World, and that competition helped me connect with an agent who made my Paris Opera debut possible. That started my own opera ball roll-ing, so to speak, ” Velasco said.

Velasco’s January 29 recital at UP Abelardo Hall will feature him with his wife, mezzo sopra-no Gigi Mitchell with Augusto Espino on the piano. q

A good decade for Filipino tenors FROM PAGE B1

“With 500 million Spanish speaking people in the world, and 50 million in the US and 40 mil-lion who speak Spanish every-day, learning the language helps the young professionals improve

their job opportunities. This goes beyond historical relations, it is not just about bridging the gap to the past but also charting the pathway to the future.”

“We should recognize that

relationships between the Philip-pines and Spain, whether it be in stone or paper is working for the future of both countries,” he said. (PNA) q

February may be the shortest month of the year, but expect

it this year to be brimming of wonderful happenings with the National Culture and the Arts’ (NCCA) Philippine Arts Festival (PAF).

From day one until the last day of February, also in obser-vance of the National Arts Month (NAM), the seven committees of NCCA’s Sub-commission on the Arts (SCA); architecture, cinema, dance, literature, music, theater, and the visual arts, with private and government agencies as partners, promise PAF celebra-tions will be a fulfilling feast for the senses and the soul.

These were revealed by Lu-tgardo Labad , head of NCCA’s national committee on dramatic

arts and who was recently in this city, in a press conference regarding his groups staging of “Tanghal 2013” as one of the ma-jor events of PAF highlighting the works and achievements of community and university-based theater groups.

The event will be hosted successively by Bicol Univer-sity in this city, Xavier Univer-sity in Cagayan De Oro City and Marikina City.

The PAF opening ceremonies will be held at the Quezon City Memorial Circle and, according to Labad, “will be a rousing start of the colorful celebration with a grand performance and other activities that affords attendees

a foretaste of the seven arts and their sumptuous offerings”.

NCCA has carried the theme for this year’s PAF : “Ani ng Sin-ing” with its subtheme “Celebrat-ing Icons”.

Activities will highlight the different cultural icons of the country emphasizing their en-riching roles in our lives and identity as people, Labad said.

The National committee on Architecture and Allied Arts will be holding several exhibi-tions, conferences, lectures and competitions collectively called “Archi[types/texts] 2013” an-chored on the theme of Filipino icons.

The National Committee on Cinema will be holding “Cinema Rehiyon” at the University of the

Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) in Laguna with screenings and fo-rums that focus on the film pro-ductions from the regions.

In partnership with Peliku-LAB and the UPLB Foundation, Inc., Cinema Rehiyon, which has a theme, “Cinemas at Home”, will run from Feb. 2 to Feb. 8.

Independent film makers from Baguio, Pangasinan, Naga, Bacolod, Cebu, Davao and oth-ers cities will showcase their lat-est films.

Film curators, festival pro-grammers and film enthusiasts will also be in attendance.

The National Committee on Dance will be presenting, “ Sayaw Pinoy”, a touring dance concert showcasing the differ-ent dance forms (folk, ballet, hip

hop and contemporary) by vari-ous dance companies to perform back –to-back with the emerging dance groups.

Now on its tenth year, Sayaw Pinoy will be spreading the beau-ty of dance with central focus in highlighting the dance icons in the major venues of the event in the different cities in Luzon, Vi-sayas and Mindanao.

Dance Workshops and art-ists dialogues will be participated in by local and visiting dancers, choreographers, directors, and speech and theater arts teachers from the different regions.

It will have 30 different per-formances in 30 venues with at least 30 dance groups.

The National Committee on Literary Arts will mount the

“Taboan 2013” in Dumaguete City gathering together writers, teachers and students for forums, lectures, a book fair, literary read-ings, performances, food and arts and crafts exhibits, cultural tour, launching of satellite projects in 11 sites across the country, a literary contest for flash fiction and poetry, an awards ceremony for outstanding writers from the regions and a closing program highlighting the “Bisayan” liter-ary traditions, culture and arts.

The National Committee on Music will be staging the “Tunog-Tugan” the first international gongs and bamboo music festival in Dipolog City and Baguio City fully exploring and promoting

By ALFREDO L. VARGAS JR.

NCCA readies rich repertoire of events during arts month

One the world’s biggest in-ternational home shows,

Macef, was recently held at the sprawling Fiera Milano exhibi-tion halls from January 23 to 27.

The Philippines was repre-sented by three export firms and regular exhibitors in Macef. They were G. Designare, Alpaz Com-

pany and Unijel. The three firms were in the

Bijoux section, the accessories component of the Home Show. G. Designare specializes in bags, belts, and brooches while Alpaz and Unijel presented necklaces, bracelets and other accessories made from various indigenous

materials, such as shells, coconut, wood and carabao horns.

They have been exhibiting in Macef for over 15 years and have regular Italian and non-Italian customers whose orders sustain the bulk of their production. q

PHL participates in Milan’s Int'l Home Show

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Arthur Espiritu

T R I B U N E U . S . A .A7www.tribuneusa.comJuly 27 - August 2, 2012 LIFEST YLE/TRAVELFebruary 1-7, 2012 B7

SuDOKu www.sudoku.name

China finds PHL not only ‘More Fun’, but also ‘Most Romantic’

Solution to Puzzle

Month-long Baguio flower festival starts on Feb. 1

By CAtHERINE tEVES

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Legazpi emerges as the country’s next economic and tourism hub

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December 31 the first ever coral garden in Albay Gulf at no cost on the part of the government and has vowed to put up more underwater nurseries, especially near the dive sites and on damaged reefs - all free of charge.

Another Japanese dive master, George Nakano, the head of PBDC, left for China after the installation of the first coral garden to provide dive training in Beijing.

At least 30 among Nakano’s trainees in Beijing are set to experience their first

open-water diving in Albay Gulf, also next month.

“The training in Beijing was done in pools. They have not experienced the open seas and because Albay Gulf is a calm dive area, they were convinced to come here and experience open water diving for the first time,” Masuda said.

Also next month, 22 divers from Australia will be brought in by Lee Mi-chael, a Sydney-based journalist who is into free promotion of tourism destina-tions in Asia.

Michael has featured in his own broadcast station the various tourism at-tractions of Albay province.

City Mayor Noel Rosal revealed that Michael had been in this city last Sep-tember and indeed promised to bring divers from Australia for them to dis-cover the natural underwater beauty of Albay Gulf.

It was learned that Michael had ex-plored the various dive sites here and was all praises that he pledged continu-ing promotions through his radio sta-

tion in Sydney and to invite fellow Aus-tralians to come to this city.

Nong Dawal, the action officer of the provincial government’s ongoing poverty alleviation program in the four islands within Albay Gulf which PBDC strongly supports through provision of free dive trainings, said that what makes local dive sites more attractive to tourists is their proximity to tourist destinations, particularly in the provinces of Sorsogon and Masbate.

“After each dive, they can go climb-

ing to Mayon Volcano or hop to Donsol, Sorsogon for whale shark interaction tours, or to Masbate for other flourish-ing dive sites and various festivals such ‘Rodeo Masbateño’. We are at the center, and from here they have plenty of acces-sible tourism sites to visit,” Dawal said.

More foreign divers and nature lov-ers are expected to visit the area with the strengthened programs of the Albay-Masbate-Sorsogon (Almasor) tourism alliance that started middle last year. (PNA) q

The country where most of the peo-ple know how to smile and have fun

was also recently cited as “The Most Ro-mantic Destination” by a popular Chi-nese news daily.

Chinese media group, Shanghai Morning Post placed the Philippines on the elite list by basing on a unique set of categories and results polled from consumer surveys through sh.qq.com (China's main social messaging system and local version of MSN/ Yahoo! Mes-senger) and cut-out reader survey forms featured on Shanghai Morning Post.

The country was previously awarded as one of the best tourist destinations for Chinese in a consumer market sur-vey conducted by the Oriental Morning Post, together with other countries in the same category such as Korea, Singa-

pore, Ireland, Finland, and Dubai.Luminaries from both the Shanghai

travel trade and media groups gathered at the Shanghai Morning Post's annual Tourism Awards was held at the Penin-sula Hotel by the Bund last Jan. 15 this year.

Meanwhile, Consul General Charles Jose received the award for the country along with Tourism Attache Gerardo Panga and Niel Ballesteros of the De-partment of Tourism (DOT) Office in Shanghai.

The World Travel-Special Trip

Awards, a grand awards night sponsored by the news daily, was held last Jan. 9 at the Twelve at Hengshan, a luxury collec-tion hotel in Shanghai.

Tourism Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez, Jr. led a top-level delegation from the Philippines and sat in an ex-clusive meeting with his counterparts from the China National Tourism Ad-ministration (CNTA) on the sideline of the China International Travel Mart (CITM) 2012.

Held in Shanghai last Nov. 14, 2012, the meeting reiterated the commitments

of both tourism governments to coop-erate and push mutual travel exchange, which is expected to produce two mil-lion inbound tourists (two-way tourist traffic) by 2016.

China continues to be in the top five source markets of the Philippines, pro-ducing 250,883 visitors or 5.87 percent of the total visitor volume in 2012.

It is also projected to be one of the homes of the world’s largest source of outbound travelers with 70.3 million trips made in 2011, an increase of more than 20% compared to 2010. (PNA) q

Legazpi is fast-rising as an economic and tourism hub with its massive in-

frastructure development, better gover-nance, business growth and big influx of foreign and domestic tourists in this city,

“Our city ranks fifth as fast-rising city in the Philippines in terms of infra-structure and business development and in peace and order situation based on an AIM study,” Mayor Geraldine Rosal said.

A recent study made by the Asian Institute of Management disclosed that Legazpi will be the next hub after Davao and Cebu in terms of infrastructure de-velopment, business growth and notable peace in order condition.

The development of Legazpi is ex-pected to accelerate further because the city government, under the PPP, will put up a P300-billion reclamation project

within coastal Puro-Dapdap area here, she added.

Rosal said the city government is fast-tracking the P500-million Legazpi City Urban Drainage project known as the pumping stations at Tibu and Bay-bay rivers to resolve the perennial flood-ing problem during rainy seasons.

The city government is also anticipat-ing the operation of the Southern Luzon International Airport two years from now where new developments are being done in the seaside coast up to the road network that connects to the proposed airport in Barangay Alobo in neighbor-ing Daraga town.

“We will also build man-made ame-nities like water sports in Barangay Puro where our new development is located to cater to the increasing demands of

visiting tourists and in preparation for the operation of the international air-port,” Rosal said.

The Regional Development Council (RDC) headed by Salceda aimed to turn Bicol as the country’s most livable region

in 2020.Aside from fast rapid development,

Legazpi has been the hub of big conven-tion events.

Last year, the city government hosted at least 12 big national convention ac-tivities where 16,000 people throughout the Philippines and other countries con-verged.

The series of national convention events in this city brought about higher economic growth, increase in the num-ber of tourist arrivals and created new jobs with the opening of several hotels here.

Currently, there are 1,000 rooms available in the city but, Rosal said, there is a need for at least 500 additional rooms to be more competitive for big conventions in the future.(PNA). q

Divers from Japan, China to explore Albay reefs FROM PAGE B1

Mayor Mauricio Domogan is invit-ing the public to witness the grand

opening parade and other activities of the month-long Baguio Flower Festi-val known as "Panagbenga" here which starts on February 1.

Domogan already signed an admin-istrative order suspending classes in all elementary and high school levels during the opening day to avoid traffic conges-tion within the central business district.

The opening parade's highlight will be the street dancing numbers of el-ementary and secondary schools here.

The best street dancers will be quali-

fied to perform in the street dancing competition on February 23.

The month-long festival is the big-gest tourism-oriented event in this part of the country, 250 kilometers north of Manila, which draws some one million visitors annually.

Earlier, Freddie Alquiroz, chairper-son of the Baguio Flower Festival, Inc. (BFFI), said all activities are now ready especially with the participation of many schools and other institutions in the street dancing and float parades -- the festival's main highlights.

As usual, Alquiroz said several tons

of fresh flowers are needed throughout the festival.

He is also requesting candidates and political parties to refrain from engaging or posting political campaigns in the fes-tival's crowd-drawing activities.

RegattaMeanwhile, Domogan added that

the Panagbenga will feature, for the first time, a "regatta" or boat parade at the Burnham Lake.

The lake which was improved after the completion of P20 million dredging project will be filled with water for the

unique event.It was determined that with a depth

of at least five meters of water, the boat-ing events can be more lively and that the visitors will enjoy viewing the in-

habitants of the clear water such as the swimming giant Japanese koi, carp and tilapia.

In previous years, the fluvial parade at the lake was a usual highlight of the festival featuring a contest among the 129 city barangays with the most beauti-fully decorated boat.

Many barangays were not able to take part in the contest due to financial con-straints.

This year, more participants are ex-pected for the contest with the entries of the six various boating concessionaires here. (PNA). q

Gov’t offers Spain 5 PPP projects to boost tourism in IntramurosThe Philippines announced on Tues-

day that five major private-public partnership (PPP) packages are being opened to Spanish developers and inves-tors as part of the Intramuros Adminis-tration’s (IA) bid to boost tourism in the Walled City by 2016.

Administrator Jose Capistrano Jr. of the IA made the offer at the start of the 6th Tribuna Espana-Filipinas at the Asian Institute of Management Confer-ence Center in Makati City, a high-level dialogue between Filipino and Spanish officials and the private sector.

The forum, which seeks to enhance Philippine-Spanish relations is the fruit of a partnership between the Barcelona-based Casa Asia and the Philippines’ Fundacion Santiago.

Capistrano said that the Tribuna was a great opportunity to enhance ties between the two countries and expressed apprecia-tion for the joint undertakings being done

by the Spanish and the Filipinos.“The bidding will be open to all (in-

terested developers and investors). What is important is that we finish the terms of reference under our private public part-nership plan and then we bid it out to developers but that would mean a fur-ther study,” he said.

Capistrano said the Philippine gov-ernment has finished the master plan for Intramuros. “We (now) need to work on Phase 2 of the Master Plan which is a more detailed planning. After that we can come up with a TOR for this pack-age,” he added.

Among the projects that are being

developed are the establishment of a boutique hotel, fine dining restaurant, a theme park that is the replica of the Old Intramuros, integrated parking and the biggest one which is the Maestranza Park, which will be open to the public on February 11.

Capistrano said that the long term plan for the Park is the establishment of a row of cafes, shops and restaurants in the area similar to Clark Quay in Singapore.

He noted that the establishments will complement cultural feel of the area and bring Filipinos and tourists a feel of its Filipino-Spanish heritage.

The Intramuros Administrator add-ed that also in the works are the resto-ration and conversion of 27 lighthouses in different parts of the country for “bed and breakfast” inns, similar to the Para-dores chain of hotels in Spain.

According to Spain's Tourism At-tache Angela Castaño, Paradores are

old structures like historical buildings, castles and chateaus developed and re-furbished as hotels with modern servic-es, the first of which was established in 1928. There are currently 98 Paradores operating in Spain.

Meanwhile, visiting Permanent Sec-retary Luis Ramon Enseñat, of the Min-istry of Education, Culture and Sports of Spain, on the other hand, remarked that Filipinos and the Spanish need to work on closing the distance between the two countries because of their shared history and heritage through partnerships in tourism, and language.

Instituto Cervantes Sec. Gen. Rafael Rodriguez- Ponga said that education plays a major role in bridging the gap between the two countries and partner-ships are essential to helping the youth chart their future.

Santos for “This Song’s For You,” Yeng Constantino for “Alaala,” Juris for “Hanggang Wakas,” Toni Gonzaga for “Kahit Na,” Bu-goy Drilon for “Pwede Bang Ako Na Lang Ulit,” Jovit Baldivino for “Sana’y Magbalik,” KZ Tand-ingan for “Scared To Death,” and Daniel Padilla for the song “Nasa Iyo Na Ang Lahat.”

Two young songwriter-final-

ists will be the interpreters of their own compositions– Mari-on will sing her song “If You Ever Change Your Mind” and Wynn will share his heart out through his creation, “Tamang Panahon.”

Aside from the “Himig Handog P-Pop Love Songs” CD, which is now available on all re-cord bars nationwide for only P250, the 12 song finalists will be featured in music videos cre-ated by the students from some of the country’s most prestigious universities including University of The Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, University of Santo Tomas, Polytechnic University of The Philippines, San Beda College, Far Eastern University, University Of The East – Calo-ocan, MINT College, Philippine Christian University, Adamson

University, and Technological Institute of The Philippines. The music videos will be first aired on “Himig Handog Pinoy MYX special” on MYX SkyCable.

Just like its previous runs, “Himig Handog” will be giving away special awards aside from the grand prize. Fans will have the power to choose the win-ners in various special awards categories. For the Star Records Buyer’s Choice, simply purchase a copy of “Himig Handog P-Pop Love Songs CD” at leading re-cord bars and fill-up the voting cards or download your favor-ite songs via http://www.apple.com/itunes. For the Tambayan’s Choice and MOR’s Choice, tune in to Tambayan 101.9 and MOR stations Nationwide and request for your choice love songs in the CD. For the sa TFC’s Choice,

Kapamilyas abroad can vote on-line through http://www.tfc.tv. While for the MYX Choice for Best Video, Support the music videos by requesting through MYX or register at www.myxph.com and choose your favorite “Himig Handog” music video. The deadline of voting for MYX Choice for Best Video is on Feb-ruary 23 (Saturday) at 12noon.

“Himig Handog P-Pop Love Songs” grand finals will happen on February 24 (Sunday) at the Mall Of Asia Arena in Pasay City and will be aired live on ABS-CBN channel 2.

For more information about “Himig Handog P-Pop Love Songs,” visit Star Records’ Face-book fanpage at www.facebook.com/starrecordsphil or follow @starrecordsph on Twitter. q

ABS-CBN celebrates Pinoy love... FROM PAGE B5

T R I B U N E U . S . A .A8 www.tribuneusa.com July 27 - August 2, 2012ENTERTAINMENTB8 February 1-7, 2012

U k o y , o k o y o r S h r i m p F r i t t e r S

There are many ways to cook ukoy. In Vigan, ukoy like the

one above is prepared from a mix-ture of galapong (sticky rice with wa-ter), shrimps, onions, spring onions and salt to taste. One has to prepare galapong first but I prefer to use rice flour . (You can prepare galapong though)

Ingredients1 cup small fresh shrimps1 cup rice flour (or cornstarch if rice flour not available)1/2 teaspoon baking soda1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup green onions part julienned1/4 teaspoon salt1 cup wateroil for deep fat frying

Procedure1. Cut out the whiskers from the shrimp and sharp outer shells of the shrimp’s head. Wash thoroughly and set aside.2. Place all the rice flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Add water to the dry ingredi-

ents and stir.3. Place shrimps and green onions to the mixture.4. Heat oil for frying in a the kawali. When heated, drop in the mixture 1 tablespoon at a time. If particles tend to separate while frying, just gather them together with a slotted spoon to form two inches of patties. just keep gathering the particles until the patties are fully formed.5. Fry until golden brown. Drain in paper towels.6. Serve with a bowl of vinegar, salt, pepper and crush garlic as dipping.Serves 5 persons.

COuRTESY OF PINOYFOODBLOG.COMNoemi Lardizabal-Dado

NCCA readies...FROM PAGE B6

Call 888-366-0008 to Advertise in

Paragliding in the mountain of Carmona, Cavite is becoming a tourist attraction as part of the upcoming celebration of Sorteo Festival 2013 that will kick off on February 15. The photos were taken on Thursday, Jan.17, 2013. (PNA photos by Avito C. Dalan)

the rich variety of music in this genre.It will gather local and foreign gongs

and bamboo ensembles for performanc-es, lectures and workshops and will fea-ture new works for gongs and bamboo of local artists and interactions with inter-national musicians.

The National Committee on Visual Arts will be holding the “Philippine Vi-sual Arts Festival” in Pagadian City with a lineup of activities including confer-ences, exhibitions, competitions, work-shops, painting sessions, tours and many others.

Another important event is the “Likha ASEAN”, a series of conferences on community theater, creative indus-tries and community-based tourism for sustainable livelihood in the Philippines and other countries in South East Asian region .

It will be a cross cultural exchange of experiences and expertise in the creative industries and tourism.

It will be held in the island-province of Bohol from Feb. 16 to 28.

Also the “Ani ng Dangal” that will be held at Malacañang Palace to bestow honors to Filipino artists with top recog-nitions in international awards, competi-tions, and festivals.

NAM is celebrated the whole month of February every year since 1991 by virtue of Presidential Proclamation 683 declaring February as National Arts Month. (PNA) q