canada’s medal drought is over

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Volume XXVI No. 8 August 2008

David Pomeranz and Joey Albert concertrevives love for romantic songs

Canada’s medal drought is over

Joey Albert, sang some of her hit songs while David Pomeranz not only sang but also played the guitar and the piano. The two stars gave aheartwarming performance which was greatly appreciated by everyone.

Bukidnon Province

Page 6

The concert was organized bythe Premiere Management Group, anon-profit organization, for the benefitof the Filipino Catholic Mission. J o e yAlbert and David Pomeranz are notedfor being generous with sharing their

talents for worthy causes. There weretwo Filipino media, present, namely,the Filipino Forum and the FilipinoStar, and many VIP ticket holders whomet them at a brief press conference.Being a first time performer in

Montreal, David Pomeranz received allof the questions although MikeyBustos, a finalist in the Canadian Idol,

See Page 4 Joey and David

For over a week after theOlympic games started on Friday,August 8, it seemed as if Canada willbe embarrassed to be left out of themedal count. But things startedchanging to the relief of mostCanadian Olympic fans. With onemedal, a pall that had been hangingover the Canadian Olympic teamvanished.

The medal that hurdlerPriscilla Lopes-Schliep of Whitby, Ont.,captured was much more than a pieceof bronze hardware. It was Canada's13th medal of the Beijing Olympics,moving the Canadian team past thetotal of 12 in Athens in 2004, away fromthe low point. With medals still likely incanoe-kayak, mountain bike andpossibly softball, the total could reach16.

As part of the rebound, Lopes-Schliep's medal was Canada's first inan Olympic track since the men's

sprint relay and 100-metre manDonovan Bailey both conquered wonin Atlanta in 1996.

And, coming as it did in the100-metre hurdles, the medal also putaway one of the painful episodes of

2004. Lopes-Schliep completed themission of getting a medal in the 100-metre hurdles and she did it as anunderdog. Four years ago, theopportunity was there for PerditaFelicien as the world champion and

favourite, but she crashed at the firsthurdle in the final and has been askedto relive the ugly moment in everyinterview. With one medal, a pall thathad been hanging over the CanadianOlympic team vanished.

The Canadian OlympicCommittee's prediction of a top-16finish at the Beijing Olympics issuddenly looking pretty good.

Canadian athletes won fourmore medals Thursday, increasing thenation's medal total to 13 and movingCanada into a tie with the Netherlandsfor 12th place in the overall three-metrespringboard for a second straightGames. Priscilla Lopes-Schliepcapped the big day with a bronze inthe 100-metre hurdles, ending theCanadian track team's 12-year medaldrought.

With two gold, six silver and

See Page 4 Olympics 2008

Canada's Priscilla Lopes-Schliep didn't get out of the preliminary round in the women's 100hurdles at the 2004 Olympics. (Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)

august 20082


The North American Filipino Star

Jean Janete AguilarJerry Estrada

Lina V. FernandezDr. Victor Gavino

Prof. Isaac GoodineAlvin D. Veloso

ContributorsBert Abiera

Founder

4950 Queen Mary Road Penthouse(5th Floor) near Snowdon MetroMontreal, QC H3W 1X3

Zenaida Ferry KharroubiChief Editor & Publisher

Nida Verginom ButaranSales Representative

Tel.: 514-485-7861E-Mail: [email protected]

Opinions, comments of writers and columnists do not necessarily reflect that ofthe management of Filcan Publications, Inc.

EEDDIITTOORRIIAALL

Hilda T. VelosoCommunity News

Mary Joy LizarondoSports News

Sam FerryAssistant EditorNews & Tourism

To offer our readerssome background informationin order to react properly tosome current events related tothe issue of politics in theOlympics, we cite somematerials taken from the freeinternet based encyclopediaWikipedia

As can be gleaned fromthe events cited, the Olympicswas created to promoteinternational friendship andbrotherhood, yet, it would seemthat the main motivation ofsome countries is to use theOlympics for propaganda.

The Olympic Gameswere created by Baron Pierrede Coubertin for two reasons:1) A way for the countries of theglobe to become moreconnected.2) It was a reason for men tobecome more "vigoureux" orvigorous. (This was in answerto the Franco-Prussian War inwhich Germany defeatedFrance). However in the yearsto come this began to change.In 1900, the Olympics becamea great honor for countries whotook part.

The 1936 SummerOlympics, held in Berlin, werethe first games in which politicshad a major role. They wereHitler's Olympics and he tookthem as a chance to show offthe new Germany after WWI.Hitler also wanted to putforward his view of the Aryanrace as being the best in everyaspect, though non-Aryanathletes like Jesse Owens infact won many of the games.

The 1956 SummerOlympics, held in Melbourne,were affected by numerousboycotts. Egypt, Iraq, andLebanon boycotted in protest of

the Israeli invasion of Egypt.The Netherlands, Spain andSwitzerland boycotted in protestof the Soviet Union's invasion ofHungary during the HungarianUprising.

The political frustrationsbetween the Soviet Union andHungary boiled over at thegames themselves when thetwo mens water polo teams metfor the semi-final. The playersbecame increasingly violenttowards each other as thegame progressed, while manyH u n g a r i a n - A u s t r a l i a nspectators were prevented fromrioting only with the suddenappearance of the police[1].The match became known asthe Blood in the Water match[2].

The 1968 SummerOlympics were held in MexicoCity. At these games TommieSmith and John Carlos, goldand bronze medalists, gave theblack power salute during theStar Spangled Banner. Theaction was deemed to beagainst the principles of theOlympic Games and the twoathletes were expelled from theOlympics.

Students in Mexico City triedto make use of the mediaattention for their country toprotest against the authoritariancharacter of the Mexicangovernment. The Mexicangovernment reacted withviolence, culminating in theTlatelolco Massacre of October2 in which more than twohundred protesters weregunned down by governmentforces.

The 1972 SummerOlympics held in MunichGermany were probably themost negatively affectedgames. Eleven Israeli athletes

Politics and the Olympics

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were kidnapped and ultimatelykilled by Palestinian terrorists.The terrorists demanded therelease of 234 Palestinians.

Held in Montreal, the1976 Summer Olympics weremarred with more boycotts aswell as drug allegations againstthe East Germans. The boycottswere held out by 26 Africancountries because NewZealand's rugby team touredSouth Africa.

Neither the Republic ofChina(Taiwan) or the People'sRepublic of China (mainland)competed.

Canada incurred $1.5Billion in debt, which theyfinished paying off in 19December 2006. Montrealbecame the last publicly fundedgames.

Moscow's 1980 SummerOlympics was the year of thelargest boycott in Olympichistory. The boycott included theUSA and 61 other countries inresponse to the USSR'sinvasion of Afghanistan. The1980 Winter Olympics in LakePlacid, New York stirredcontroversy because of plans toconvert the Olympic athletes'dormitory facilities into a stateprison afterwards. This madelegal history when the NationalMoratorium on PrisonConstruction won a court rulingallowing its use of the Olympicsymbol on a poster as protectedspeech.

Allegedly in retaliation ofthe 1980 boycott, the USSR,East Germany, Cuba and 14other countries boycotted theLos Angeles 1984 SummerOlympics.

This was also the firsttime the People's Republic ofChina participated, havingprotested the Republic ofChina's presence in previous

Olympics.Since the beginning of

2008, especially during theprotests of the torch relay of2008 Summer Olympics, theprospect of boycotting the 2008games in Beijing grew. Theprotesters' aims are not only thehuman rights of Mainland China,but also the independentcampaign and violence of Tibet.Another major factor was theChinese support for the regimein Sudan, which is accused ofcommitting genocide in theDarfur region; this issue led toSteven Spielberg pulling out asartistic director of the games.U.S. president George W. Bushcommitted to attending theopening ceremonies. Ultimately,no nations boycotted the games;however, several prominentworld leaders such as AngelaMerkel and Gordon Brown didnot attend the openingceremony.

The political issues in2008 were not simply limited toissues involving China. Russiawas embroiled in controversy asthe Second South Ossetian Warstarted around the same time asthe games. This lent extraweight to the victory of theGeorgia Women's BeachVolleyball Team over theirRussian opponents (althoughthe two players, CristineSantanna and AndrezzaMartins, were originally fromBrazil).

It appears that theprinciples of the Olympics havenot always been adhered to.But as the saying goes, theshow must go on regardless ofthe problems we know exist.Perhaps, the only thing one cando is to hope that one day thetrue meaning of the Olympicsmay come true.

Zenaida Ferry Kharroubi

august 2008 3The North American Filipino Star

COOPERATIVE NEWSBy Zenaida Ferry Kharroubi

The past few weeks havebeen very hectic - supervising our twotrainees from Dawson College,ordering and checking merchandiseand canvassing for neededequipment. I spent the whole monthof July to the middle of August workingat the Coop almost 10 hours a day.Consequently, my own work sufferedgreat delays.

As we ordered a lot ofmerchandise, it is important to keepthe store open longer. However, thereis not enough manpower to do this.We only have one employee whocannot legally work more than 8 hoursa day. She reports for work from 12:30p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Therefore, the Coopis closed for half a day. For thisreason, I tried to open the store asearly as possible, starting at 9:30 a.m.I did this for a couple of weeks but Isimply could not do this for long as Ineed to turn to the publication of thenewspaper and to accept registrationsof students in my school. Then, otherthings need to be done for mypersonal and business affairs. Whothen would be interested in keepingthe Coop open longer? Will there besome members who are retired andcan give at least two or three hours aday, twice a week? Please call 514-733-8915, or 514-485-7861, to let usknow if you have some time to spareduring the week. We will give yousome training and prepare you for thetasks you need to perform during yourduty.

The Filipino Coop will certainlyreceive more business if it is openlonger and if merchandise iscontinuously replenished. If we havemore volunteers, things will soon getbetter.

We have just received aninquiry about showing the FilipinoCoop to Canadians and other culturalgroups. The CDN Community Councilthrough one of its animators namedLisa Fisher, is organizing a tour of theCoop on August 28, 2008. We hopethat this exposure to other people inthe community will create moreinterest in buying from the Coop.

Indeed, things are starting toget better. Once we have acquired theneeded equipment for fresh meat andvegetables, there will be no morereason to buy anywhere else. We havejust found a prospective seller of theequipment we need through a Filipinobusiness owner who operates a bigstore in Ile Perrot. When I told him

about our need for this equipment, heled us to a Chinese businessman whois trying to sell his equipment.However, it is not easy to make a dealwith him as his time is very limited. Heis only available from 9 to 12, Mondayto Friday. In order to carry out thistransaction, we will need to bringsomeone knowledgeable enough tocheck that the equipment are inworking order.

Buying second handequipment, although very cheap, is avery risky business. Hence, I feel thatmust not rush into this transaction, butmust negotiate properly to avoid moreproblems later. I am planning to checkthis out as soon as I come back frommy trip to Mexico this coming week.

I also need to continuerecruiting new members to help in thefinancing of the Coop. My personalcredit line is simply not enough to buymore merchandise and to pay for theoverhead costs. I am appealing to allFilipinos to come aboard. If they alldo, the Coop will certainly becomeprofitable sooner. My newest recruit isMr. Narciso Mejia who sent us hischeque soon after meeting him at thePhilippine Folk Art Society inductionlast August 3. I also distributedbrochures and forms to othercommunity leaders at this event, butthey have not yet come around tosending us their memberships untilnow. I hope that by reading this article,they will be reminded to send their$100 for membership shares. It is asmall amount but it goes a long way inhelping the Coop.

Our potluck picnic last August3 was not well-attended on account ofthe weather. We will need to think ofother activities to have a better chanceof communicating with ourmembership.

A seminar is being planned tobe given in the third week of October.The purpose of the seminar is toencourage us too think of how we canwork together for tour common goals.Professor Isaac Goodine will be thespeaker. Please check theadvertisement in this newspaper andmark this date on your calendar -October 26. 2008, 1:30 P.M. to 4:30P.M. Your participation in this seminaris extremely important for it willdetermine the future of the cooperativemovement in Quebec, in particular, inthe Filipino-Canadian community.

As part of the cooperative education program, we arepleased to introduce the beginning of our seminar series. Allmembers and prospective members of the Filipino Coop as wellas members of all associations and other interested individualsare welcomed to attend this seminar which we believe will bebeneficial in helping us learn to work together and developpositive attitudes to achieve our common goals.

Isaac T. Goodine

When: Sunday, October 26, 2008Where: To be determined according to

enrollmentTime: 2:00 - 5:00 P.M.Seminar speaker: Isaac T. GoodineFee: $10 Members

$15 Non-members(Refreshments to be provided)

Profile:Isaac T. Goodine & Associates (ITGA) is a legal entity based in Ottawa and

registered under an Ontario Master Business License as a sole proprietorship offeringtechnical advice and consulting services in human development.

Mr. Goodine and his associates bring to clients a wealth of internationalexperience in Education, Culture and Diplomacy. Isaac, also known as “Ike”, hascontributed to the internationalization of education by thirty years of practical experienceat the leading edge of human resource and institutional development, including in-depthknowledge of about sixty-five countries. He is a Retiree of the World Bank Group and aformer Director General of the Colombo Plan Staff College and remains active as a part-time consultant and technical advisor with both institutions. Underlying his work is aphilosophy and deep belief that the accident of one’s place of birth need not determinewhere one must earn a livelihood forever. He is author of the book “Leaders LeadingLeaders: International Dimensions of Distinguished Leadership” (2003) and his columnon “Global Perspectives” is published regularly, on-line, by the North American FilipinoStar, based in Montreal, Canada.

In the course of his international career he has developed an Ad Hoc network ofAssociates and has current links to the following organizations: London DiplomaticAcademy; International Institute for Public Ethics; United Writers Association of India;Ottawa Independent Writers; World Order of Science Education and Culture; InternationalVocational Education and Training Association; International Educators Association ofCanada; Society for International Development; and the Canada- Philippines BusinessCouncil.

Consulting experience includes work with the World Bank; CaribbeanDevelopment Bank, and Association of Canadian Community Colleges. Career highlightsin Education and Culture include positions of Principal of: New Brunswick Institute ofTechnology; Zambia Institute of Technology; and Kenya Technical Teachers College.Administrative positions include Director of Technical Education and Vocational Training,Zambia, and Managing Director of the Knowledge Development Institute, Barbados.Diplomatic experience includes assignments as First Secretary at the Canadian Embassy,Manila, and the Canadian High Commission, Bridgetown. Additional information isavailable at Website: www.ikes-world.com

Description of seminar topic:The seminar will be interactive and divided into three Segments

Part I = Video and discussion on Paradigms, how they are formed and how we canchange them.Discussion on how we can change our way of doing things and learn to worksynergistically and cooperatively. Part II = Discussion on Setting priorities and Time Management, with an interactiveexercise on Stress management, multi-tasking, and teamwork in cooperativeorganizations.Part III= Video and Discussion on right brain=left brain functions compared withyin=yang. Participants will be sent a self evaluation test to discover their orientationtoward left or right brain functions. They will mark their own tests and share as they wishduring discussion.

Questions at the end of the seminar, feedback, etc. will be welcomed. We wouldappreciate it very much if you could also let us know your interest in other topicsfor the follow up seminars.

Zenaida Ferry Kharroubi, PresidentThe Filipino Solidarity Cooperative

Support the Filipino Coop bybuying your groceries from yourown store. Call 514-733-8915 to

order what you need.

august 20084



In June 2008, Zeny Kharroubi,the president of Filipino SolidarityCooperative, invited me to attend aCooperative Information Seminar atthe Filipino Association of Montrealand Suburbs (FAMAS) cente on VanHorne. The speaker was Art Cortez,who volunteered to share his ideas onthe benefits of cooperation should webuild our own enterprise.

For me, the topic was goodand the program is worth continuing.Continuous coop education andseminar is a must to succeed.Teaching people to work together inorganizing our own economy for ourown benefits is good, too. It’s a tediousprocess but it’s the only way to getattention, become interested, and getinvolved. Coops should beunderstood and carefully carried out.Without these fundamental conditions,it is impossible to expect success, oreven to conceive it. It is going to be ajob of serious teaching, to get thepeople to understand that. However,this way, we profess brotherhood andsolidarity that we can hope to wake uppeople and respond. It is one way tostart. If people could just worktogether, it will be our salvation in aneconomic sense.

NURTURING A SUSTAINABLEPROGRAM

The Filipino SolidarityCooperative at Van Horne was a goodidea. The vision to help uplift theFilipino people was coop leaders’selfless gesture. However, to sustain aproject like this needs Herculeanefforts and collaboration to succeed.We should nurture this undertaking sothat we may have a better and usefuleconomic activity.

We expect that there willalways be problems. We also thinkthere will always be failures. However,if we don’t attack the problem, thestate of the masses will always be sunkin poverty. In the Philippines, otherpeople who attend coop seminarswould ask- “can the poor help thepoor? What do ordinary people knowabout business? What can the poorpeople save?” But let us keep in mindthat regardless of the route we choose--whether it's going solo or buying afranchise--arriving at our million insales will require persistence, strategyand in most cases collaboration ofpeople

Even in the 1950’s, cooppioneers did not know what to do andwhere to begin since credit unions orco-operatives are new when theystarted. But they called up all their

neighbors and priests who hadexperienced the same economicwants to join together and accept aprogram that was large and welldefined.

WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE?Coop history shows us that

the success of cooperatives camefrom dedicated and knowledgeablepeople like: Robert Owen (GreatBritain), the father of the co-operativemovement, was a cotton-trademanager; Dr. William King (England), aphysician and journalist, inspired theco-operative movement through amonthly periodical (newspaper) hefounded called The Cooperator. Thenewspaper had a wide circulation andwas a great influence in the emergingmovement. The paper served toeducate and unify people whootherwise would be in scatteredgroups.

Raiffeisen (Germany) whofounded Raiffesein Coops was aMayor; Schulze-Delitzch (Germany),who founded people’s banks, was alawyer and economist; Desjardins(Canada) who founded CaissePopulaires, was a journalist andFrench-language stenographer at theHouse of Commons (Ottawa). Fr.Masterson, S.J.(Philippines) was aDean at Ateneo de Manila andCagayan de Oro; Atty. Pimentel, Sr.(father of Senator Pimentel) was a lawprofessor; and Atty. Cua (Coop Man ofAsia 2004) was an Accountant, Lawyer,former City Mayor/Administrator, lawand literature professor. The last threepeople were the founders of the FirstCommunity Coop (FICCO) in Cagayande Oro, the first coop billionaire in thePhilippines.

These people are the coopinitiators around the world. Theyturned to the co-operative idea whichthey knew could stifle selfishness andsought moral improvements ineconomic conduct.

Here in Montreal, we knowthere are a lot of Filipino professionalsand small/medium entrepreneurs withgood hearts and intentions to jointogether for the benefit of thecommunity. We have a lot ofexperienced professionals andknowledgeable people in business.Zeny Kharroubi, the editor of thismonthly paper is a classic example.She uses her resources, time andefforts to continue helping the firstFilipino cooperative in Canada. I thinkwe have a lot of Filipino accountants,managers, businessmen and otherpeople who have the experience in

running a business to come out andhelp the Filipino Coop. There areseveral ways of sharing, not moneyalone. It could be one’s talent, ideas,skills or time. Or being a merecustomer only - buying a $10-worth ofgoods a week is a big help. It’s good toremember that the members are thestrength of a coop because themembers are the coop’s capturedmarket.

What would the St. LawrenceRiver be if those drips of water wereseparated and scattered all over themountains? No power, no flow, nodrive, no source. A co-op withincohesive or disunited members islike that.

NURTURING COMMUNITYRELATIONSHIPS

While on the road todevelopment, problems anddisagreements are always present, formyriad reasons. In this world full ofanger (perhaps, that anger mostharms the person who feels it) andgreed, it is sad to hear that there are alot of civic leaders some times who aretearing each other apart which isagainst a man’s dignity.

Equality and Democracy,aside from Dignity, are also veryimportant for a man to live peacefully.Equality is fairness of treatment, rights,or value equal to all others in a givengroup. Democracy is having a free andequal right to participate in thedecision-making process. Dignity isthe condition of being worthy ofrespect, esteem, or honor. But,Equality and Democracy are useless ifDignity is ruined.

Either we move forward or wefall backward, either we let the coopfalter or we help it grow, either wesuccumb to our enemies or we defeatthem - the choice is still up to us.However, it’s good to note that we, asa Filipino community, should realizethat violence or tearing each otherapart will not produce results and cannever solve any of our problems.

The CooperativeMovement - Biggerthan what you thinkBy Jerry Estrada

In this Issue:

Creating ASustainableEconomic

Development

and Joey Albert, who came twice toMontreal, were also available for theinterview. David is known to be apopular singer-composer in thePhilippines. However, many of the so-called old timers in Montreal do nothave any idea of his accomplishmentsunless they read his profile fromsources such as his website and pressreleases of his promoters.

Coming to listen to a concertwithout any prior experience is likebeing on a discovery tour and I waspleased with what I heard and saw.The concert was preceded by localtalents and Mikey Bustos as indicatedin the program. When the time camefor Joey Albert and David Pomeranz tocome on stage, they were warmlycheered. Their opening number wasindeed appropriate entitled “The Powerof Love” which seems to tie in with thelabel of their concert “Souls in Love”.This was followed by the solo renditionof Joey’s hits such as “It’s Over Now,Ikaw Lang ang Mamahalin, MilillionMiles Away.” After performing solo, she

she sang again with David in “If youWalk Away.” David’s most popular hitsfollowed such as: “Got to believe inmagic, Born for you, I learned if all fromyou, and Number One.” Theyalternated singing alone or together.

Joey loved to make the crowdsing along while David stepped downfrom the stage to be with the audience.He danced with a lady on the front rowas his so-called “prom date’ whilesinging an old tune.

If asked which one was themost favorite of the crowd, it would bedifficult to name one as it would seemas if all of them were great hits. But Iwas particularly moved by David’srendition of Charlie Chaplin as heshowed such versatility - playing all theroles, singing, and playing the piano atthe same time.

Both performers were veryfriendly, warm-hearted, and posses agreat sense of humour. The time flewand everyone seemed to have had awonderful evening of listeningpleasure. Their sweet and melodicvoices do not seem to wane in spite ofhaving performed for so many years. Itis therefore no surprise to find out thatDavid Pomeranz’ songs and recordingshave sold over 40 million copiesworldwide and his concertperformances have delighted andinspired millions. On the other hand,Joey Albert’s “friendly and down-to-earth charm disarm many to this day,and yet, she is, arguably, still the popqueen to beat.” She also has a shareof 10 industry awards and a dozenalbums.

As a finale, both artists sangwith the Kids Choir, a meaningful songtitled “In Our Hands.”

The popularity of these twoartists was obviously the reason for abig crowd to gather after the show justto wait for their autographs.

From Page 1 Joey and David

five bronze medals, Canada hasalready eclipsed its medal count fromthe Athens Olympics four years ago.The Canadian Olympic Committee'sprediction of a top-16 finish at theBeijing Olympics is suddenly lookingpretty good.

Simon Whitfield startedTuesday's haul with a silver in men'striathlon. Jason Burnett followed withCanada's second trampoline silver inas many days, while diving veteranAlexandre Despatie won silver in men'sthree-metre springboard for a secondstraight Games.

From Page 1 Beijing Olympics 08




The Academy of Musichas expanded into a new locationto offer more diverse programsand convenient class times to theresidents of Montreal. Accordingto School Director Rose, theschool has grown faster thananticipated since opening in2003. The fast growth is due to adedication to providingconvenient, top qualityinstruction to its students.

Every year the school hasadded more members to itsteaching staff and has upgradedfacilities by such things aspurchasing new pianos, andregularly renovating the facilities.The Academy of Music is part ofMontreal’s largest growing musicschool.

Expanded class choices savetime for busy families

School Director Rose saysthat many of the parents choosethe school because in addition tohaving excellent teachers andprograms it is possible to havemore than 1 child in music

lessons at the same time. Ournew facility has 15 individual air-conditioned music teachingstudios including a professionalrecording studio. It is usuallypossible to get 2, 3 or even 4different students in differentlessons during the same timeperiod.

The school has also manyevening, and weekend classtimes to accommodate morestudents in “first choice” times.Between the pressures ofhomework, sports and familytime, a lot of parents can beoverwhelmed trying to fit in all theactivities.

Rose says that manyparents and kids are so busy thatsaving 45 minutes or an hour ofcommuting time per weekbetween activities really helps thetypical busy family’s schedule.

New StaffThe Academy of Music has

added new teachers to its staff forthe fall. Educationally parents arevery impressed with the staff. The

school currently has over 30 staffmembers. All of the musicteachers hold a university degreein the instrument they teach, andmany have master’s degrees.Some of the current teachers arecompleting doctorate degreesand are also on staff at localuniversities. The music schoolhandles everything from 3-year-old beginners to extremelyadvanced, university levelstudents. Due to the number ofteachers on staff, the studentsare matched up with teachersthat best meet their needs andwho relate well to them.

Large Variety of Music ClassesA large diversity of

instruments is taught from thetypical piano, guitar, voice, etc. tothe less common cello, viola andflugelhorn. Although a largenumber of students choose totake the classical RoyalConservatory system, the schoolalso has a very large number ofstudents that study pop, jazz orcontemporary music. The main

focus is on helping students gainthe skills they need to enjoymusic long after music lessonsare over. In fact School DirectorRose says that the mission of theschool is “To provide students ofall ages with the skills they needto enjoy music for a lifetime.”

Students are encouraged tohave fun while expanding theirskills. Music also provides a funway to encourage other life skillsand activities.

Due to the expansion ofteaching times, additional studiosand staff, The Academy of Musicwill be accepting newregistrations now and throughoutthe early fall.

For more information,contact the school at .731.9111Or visit them atwww.4allaboutmusic.com forhelpful information on gettingstarted in private music lessonsor classes.

Music School Expands to Serve Community BetterThe Academy of Music expands into new 4000 square foot facility and adds additional instructors

Busy families in Montreal benefit from extended hours and additional convenient class times

Call our toll free 24 hour recorded info line5 ways to Get the Most Out of Music Lessons

1-877-341-3496

august 20086



TOURISMBUKIDNON

Pinapple capital ofthe world

PROVINCE

Benedictine Monastery, MalaybalayBukidnon is a highland paradise in

the heart of Mindanao. It is home to theworld's biggest pineapple plantationboasting a classic golf course datingback to 1928. It is the biggest cattle-producing province in the region. It is

well endowed with natural attractionslike the Kitanglad Ranges thatincludes Dulang Dulang, the secondhighest peak in the country. And it hasbeen identified as one of the country’srichest in biodiversity and endemic

Alalum Falls, Sumilao, with a height of 148 ft

Kaamulan Festival, Malaybalay - It is held in September and is the biggestfestival of the province

Seagull Resort Garden, Kitaotao



Bukidnon Native Costume

Mt. Kitanglad with Mt. Dulang-dulang looming - Kitanglad National Park issituated in North Central Bukidnon. It iscomposed of more than a dozen mountainpeaks, including Mt. Dulang-Dulang. Mt. Kitanglad towers to more than 9,000 ft.

Del Monte Pineapple Plantation

species of flora and fauna.Bukidnon is in the heartland of

Mindanao, linking Davao to the southand Misamis Oriental to the north of theisland.

The province has different dialectsbrought by the immigration oflowlanders that come from the differentislands of the archipelago. Cebuano isspoken by 77.9% of the population;Binukid, by 8.9%; and English, by0.05%.

Bukidnon is an agriculturaleconomy. It is a major producer of rice,corn, sugar coffee, rubber, pineapple,tomato, flowers, cassava, and otherfruits and vegetables. It is also a majorproducer of chicken, hogs, and cattle.

Among its major corporations, DelMonte Phils Inc. is engaged inpineapple production and cattlefattening while Bukidnon Sugar MillingCorp. and Crystal Sugar Milling are intosugar milling and refining.

The original migrants of theprovince were driven internally towardthe rugged and hilly ground. Thus, thepeople are called Bukidnons, whichmeans "people of the mountains" andwhere the place got its name. They areclosely similar with the Higaonon tribeof Agusan del Sur where the settlersare usually packs of 3-10 householdswith a datu as their chief.

Other tribes that live in theposterior of Bukidnon gather togetherin the city during the first week of

September to celebrate the KaamulanFestival. Their intention is to unite thetribal groups of the area and toencourage understanding between theminorities and lowlanders who are theinhabitants of the province.

During this festival local tribespeople perform unique dances like"inamo" a monkey dance, "binakbak" afrog dance, and the “kayamotan” adance of birds. One of the mainfeatures of the festivities is theenactment of a wedding ceremonybetween members of the tribe. Major local attractions include:- Mt. Kitanglad Range National ParkSpectacular landforms and a diversemix of plants and wildlife cover this vastnatural park.- Del Monte Philippines Inc. - It isconsidered to be the biggest pineappleplantation in the Far East. It also has afamous world class 18-hole golf course- Monastery of TransfigurationDesigned by National Artist LeandroLocsin, it offers solitude and a spiritualretreat.- Alalum Falls - Located along the SyreHighway, less than a kilometer from themunicipality of Sumilao. Travelers onmotor vehicles can easily see itsimposing grandeur.- Mangima Canyon - the zigzag roadof Mangima Canyon stuns any visitorwho visits the place. It is famous for itsnatural and scenic beauty. a

august 20088



August 20, 2008An injured Marestella Torres

leaped to a distance of 6.17 metersand tumbled out of the women’s longjump competitions of the 29thOlympic Games here at the Bird’sNest.

The 27-year-old Torres, who wasat least hoping to better her personalrecord of 6.63 meters, said sheinjured her knee while picking upspeed before taking off, resulting in apalty 4.27-meter first jump, that evenlong retired track star Elma Muros-Posadas, now 41 years old, can topvia a standing long jump.

“I felt something wrong while onthe runway. Perhaps it was becausemy left leg had the pounding and theknee took all the pressure,” she said.“I could no longer get my maximumspeed after that. I already wanted tocry. My coach [Joseph Sy] asked meif I could still do it. And I said yes.”

With the pain in her left kneealmost killing her, Torres still managedto jump in her second and third tries,but her two efforts of 5.94 and then6.17 meters, weren’t enough to earnfor her a slot in the finals, held later inthe day.

“I didn’t know why it had tohappen now. I felt I was in topcondition. My coach felt I was inshape to break my own personalrecord. But the unfortunate thinghappened,” said a teary-eyed Torres.

“I really wanted to make a recordhere. These are the Olympics. Kunghindi ko itinuloy, parang hindi akolumaban!”

Only six leapers, led by AmericanBrittney Reese (6.87 meters), passedthe Olympic standard of 6.75, andadvanced to the championship round.The other qualifiers were Brazil’sMaurren Higa Maggi (6.79) and KeilaCosta (6.62), Ukraine’s LyudmilaBlonska (6.76), Russia’s Tatyana

Lebedeva (6.70) and Great Britain’sJade Johnson (6.61).

Had Torres equaled her personalhigh of 6.63 achieved three years agoin the 2005 Asian AthleticChampionships in Korea, she wouldhave bumped off the Briton from thefinal list. But she can at least savor thefact that of the 41 participants, threefouled in their three attempts. Fourothers—from Bermuda, Congo,Trinidad and Tobago and Belize—

could do no better than 6.06.Filipino doctors—medical head

Alex Pineda and orthopedic expertSonny Odulio—said Torres suffered amild ilio tibial band muscle strain inher left knee. “But she’s all right. Shewould probably be needing sometherapy though,” said Odulio ofTorres, who immediately rested at theOlympic Village, her knee bandagedafter being sprayed with pain killer.

Torres thereby joined to thesidelines, fellow jumper Henry Dagmil,who also bombed out in his own longjump event Saturday. The two did notqualify to the games via the usualroute, but as wildcard entries by theInternational Olympic Committee onthe request of the Philippine AmateurTrack and Field Association.

The athletics’ duo also joined along list of Filipino athletes who didn’tdo good here, namely archer MarkJavier, swimmer Ryan Arabejo, diverSheila Mae Perez and shooter EricAng.

Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, andswimmers Miguel Molina, ChristelSimms, JB Walsh and Daniel Coakley,also failed to advance in theirrespective disciplines, but at leastdelivered new Philippines records. a

More Olympics coverage on PAGE 23

The chances of Team Philippines for an Olympic medal in the Beijing Olympics arenow down to three after long jumper Marestella Torres failed to qualify for the finalround of the Olympic women's long jump qualifiers held in Beijing's NationalStadium on Tuesday, Aug 20, 2008.

RP’s Injured Torres leaps but fails to soar; Finishes 35th in long jump

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August 18, 2008The Manila City government will

be auctioning off the properties ofsome 300 delinquent taxpayers,including the abandoned PhilippineVeterans Bank building in Port Area,several fastfood establishments, andthe La Residencia of the LaConsolacion College of Manila.

Also being offered for sale at thepublic auction on Aug. 28 at theRodriguez Hall of the Manila City Hallare various machines from severalbranches of Chowking, Jollibee andMcDonald’s.

Based on a published list, the citygovernment aims to raise at leastP470 million to offset unpaid realproperty taxes.

The La Residencia, a hostel forstudents and employees of theAgustinian Sisters of the Philippines,owes the Manila City governmentalmost P5 million in taxes.

The other schools that wereassessed as delinquent were theAsian Social Institute graduate schooland the Philippine Women’sUniversity, both on Leon Guinto Streetin the Malate tourist district.

The Ambassador Hotel had thebiggest delinquent account, owing thecity government a little over P20million.

The second largest was PhilippineVeterans Bank, which owed more thanP11 million in unpaid tax on its alreadyabandoned building on BonifacioDrive in Manila.

The Roman Catholic Archbishopof Manila owed the city governmentmore than P6 million for a property onR. Hidalgo Street.

Other delinquent taxpayers werealso scheduled to have either theirland or machinery auctioned off to payfor their taxes. Those include severalbanks with branches in the city: Bancode Oro, Banco Filipino, Bank ofPhilippine Islands, Prudential Bankand Solid Bank.

In November 2007, the citygovernment auctioned off thedelinquent properties of SilahisInternational Hotel, Grand BoulevardHotel, Hotel Sofitel, and Pacific HotelCorp. to a private developer forP106,650,000.

Secretary to the Mayor RafaelitoGarayblas said the November publicauction was an administrative remedyfor the collection of real property taxesand arrears on the tax payments ofdelinquent properties as provided forunder Book II, Chapter IV, Section 174of the Local Government Code.

The owners of these propertieshave one year to redeem them.

In July, City Hall inspectors failedto inspect the Grand Boulevard hotel,which was later found to have stoppedoperations on July 9. a

Manila sets auction of La Consolacion Peso slides despite jump in overseasremittances

La Consolacion College

August 16, 2008The peso fell to 45.31 against the

dollar yesterday, its lowest level in fiveweeks, as a result of the dollar’scontinuing strength and despiterecord remittances from Filipinosabroad.

Remittances rose at the fastestpace in 14 months in June—and by 30percent to $1.45 billion—as morepeople found jobs as nurses, seamenand engineers abroad.

The amount was the highestreported in a single month sincerecords began in 1989, and it broughtthe total remittances 17 percent higherto $8.2 billion for the first half of theyear, the central bank said.

Remittances, equivalent to about10 percent of the Philippines’ $118-billion economy, are helping to sustainconsumer spending as the fastestinflation in more than 16 years erodeshousehold incomes.

But the strong remittances havenot been boosting the peso, whichhas fallen for five consecutive daysagainst the dollar.

“The dollar is just too strong. In

the US, they don’t seem to have roomto lower rates, so they are looking atrate hikes and that means a strongerdollar,” said Marcelo Ayes, vicepresident of Rizal CommercialBanking Corp.

He said the increasing demand fordollars as a result of the importseason—and foreign investors gettingout of emerging markets for saferhavens—were adding pressure to thepeso.

Moreover, traders said the centralbank was in the market yesterdayselling dollars to slow the peso’s fall.Some said the central bank wasselling dollars for 45.30.

The peso traded within a 24-centavo range, hitting a low of 45.34before closing at 45.31 on a volume of$1.122 billion.

Traders said the market would betesting the 45.88 level, which the pesohad hit on July 8, when tradingresumes next week.

Remittance growth in 2008 mayslip to about half of last year’s 13.2percent pace as the global economycools, the Asian Development Banksaid in March.

Half of the Philippines’remittances come from the US, wheretumbling home prices, mounting joblosses and credit restraints arethreatening growth.

Still, the number of Filipinos whogot jobs overseas rose 33.5 percent to640,401 in the first six months of theyear, the central bank said. a

august 200810



GlobalPerspectives

Isaac T. Goodine

One year ago the heading forthis column was “It’s aboutproductivity; Stupid! “ So another yearhas passed and it is “still” aboutproductivity, stupid. For severalmonths now, in this column, we havebeen highlighting the problemscreated by Canada’s relentless slide inproductivity in comparison to otherindustrialized countries. In this caseproductivity is measured as acountry’s economic output per hourworked and is immediately reflected inthat country’s standard of living. Itmatters because, as Ronald Reaganonce said: “there is no free lunch.” Amajor factor is that a disproportionatenumber of Canadians work in sectorsof the economy that provide servicesthat are financed from the earnings ofthose who work in the sectors thatprovide goods and materials thatcreate the wealth for society.

Back in November 2006,MacLean’s Magazine highlighted agrowing concern in a cover story“HOW TO FIX CANADA: We work ashard as Americans and earn 20% less.Australia has taken our place at worldtrade talks and Spain wants our spotat the G8. This year, 135 economieswill grow faster than ours. It’s time foraction.”

Of course there is no quick fix.This is a compound problem andwould require a policy on humancapital that would coordinate theproduction and utilization of humanresources so that the key issuescausing the steady decline inproductivity could be addressed.Canada has two serious economicissues: a chronic lack of productivitygrowth and an ageing and shrinkingwork force. As a result the Provincialand Federal Governments haveundertaken commitments that will beextremely difficult to meet unlessmeaningful reforms are implemented.Since these programs were created inthe 1950s and 1960s birthrates havedeclined; income growth hasstagnated; and mortality rates havedecreased. The next eight years areparticularly critical because the “Baby-boomers” are moving into retirementand the system of education andtraining is not geared to respondeffectively to rapidly changing needsin the labour market.

This is associated with the factthat Canadians have surprising lowliteracy skills compared to othermodern countries—that’s because noone is really taking charge, accordingto Frank McKenna, former premier of

New Brunswick, former Ambassadorto the United States and now deputychairman of TD Bank Financial Group.McKenna addressed this issue in anarticle published in the Ottawa Citizen,on September 13, 2007. His article isrevealing as he points out that analarming number of citizens areunable to comprehend, compute andcommunicate at a level deemednecessary for a knowledgeableworker. He cites recent studies thatshow disturbing facts. Almost four in10 youths at age 15, have insufficientreading skills; while more than two in10 university graduates, almost five in10 Canadian adults and six in 10immigrants have inadequate levels ofproficiency in English or French. Hestates that “these outcomes pose aserious threat to our competitivestanding in the global marketplace”and points out that “poor literacy rateshave contributed to our anemicproductivity levels.”

The situation regardinghuman capital in Canada is bleak.There is no comprehensive orintegrated system for policydevelopment, strategic planning, orfor management of a coherent labourmarket or for strategic planning of theoverall human capital component ofthe economy. In particular, productionof human resources remainsinstitution-based and is not market-driven, as it was in the 1960s and 70swhen Canadians, were the mostproductive people in the world.Canada must now rely on acombination of immigration andtransnational contract-workers withfixed-term work permits. This isnecessary to sustain an economyfaced with pressures fromglobalization and introduction of newtechnologies by other countries thathave enabled 17 such countries toovertake Canada in productivity in adecade and a half.

Competent workers areneeded now to boost productivity andCanadian authorities recently revealedthat work permits will be issued whenjustified. Still, there is a wide spreadattitude in Canada that it is notnecessary and this attitude is clearlyreflected by the National Postcomment on the subject; as oneeditorial points out that since thejobless rate for new Canadiansmatches the national average, oncethey have been here for a decade, itshows that: “…our society andeconomy can be said to be doingexactly what they should---welcoming

newcomers and permitting them tomove up the ladder reasonably quickly.

For the first ten years of theirstay, the vast majority of newCanadians and have been relegated toa combination of low paying jobs andguided toward continuing their“education”. Usually this is inexpensive programs, often financed bystudent loans, with fees paid to publicfunded Universities and Collegesoffering courses that are “useless” asfar as job preparation is concerned.Almost all immigrants arerecommended for studies in English orFrench as a Second Language and oncompletion become officially certifiedas having “second class” languageskills in the Canadian context---with aforeign accent Eh?

The three main impedimentsto career advancement for newCanadians have been identified as;lack of Canadian work experience, lackof recognition of foreign credentials,and language barriers.

There are hundreds ofthousands of people in Canada whohave been impeded in their careeraspirations because they lacklanguage skill that can be readilyacquired by a competency basedapproach. We must drop thedesignation of English as a SecondLanguage and replace it with Englishas the Global Working Language(EGWL). That is the language in whichthe World Works now.

The Canadian Center forGlobal Professional (CCGP) is a not-for-profit organization that iscoordinating efforts to address thewasteful and socially damaging issuesof under-employment, under-utilization, and under-appreciation ofprofessionals residing in Canada aswell as others who will come in thenear future. In most cases theimpediment of language is based oninexperience and lack ofcommunications skills on the part ofboth the Canada-born and Foreign-born Canadians. The CCGP will offerworkshops to groups from diversecultures to establish a “commonlanguage” and thereby open channelsof communication to help developskills in using EGWL. This is the“working language” of the UnitedNations system, the MultilateralDevelopment Banks, and InternationalInter Governmental InternationalOrganizations, such as the ColomboPlan Staff College, and other globalbodies.

Isaac’s Website is: www.ikes-world.com

It’s still about Productivity; Stupid!

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3. Remove tuna from marinade, anddiscard remaining liquid. Brush bothsides of steaks with oil.

4. Cook tuna for approximately for 3to 6 minutes per side, or to desireddoneness.

Walnut Stuffed CabbageRollsIngredients

1/2 kilo ground pork1/2 tsp. dried thyme1/2 tsp. celery saltsalt, pepper, vetsin to taste1 small can liver paste

2 tbsp. bread crumbs1 egg2 tbsp. chopped walnuts2 tbsp. oil2 cups water12 pcs. cabbage leaves1 cup evaporated milk1 tbsp. vinegar2 tbsp. tomato paste

InstructionsMix first ingredients in bowl. Blanchcabbage leaves until wilted. Put 2-3tbsp. meat mixture on each cabbageleaf and roll and secure withtoothpick. Heat oil in frying pan andsaute rolls until light brown. Addenough water to cover rolls andsimmer for 15 minutes to 20 minutes.Add milk, vinegar and tomato pasteand continue to simmer for anonther 5minutes. Serve hot

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august 200812



The North American Filipino StarPhoto Gallery

Participants in the Rigodon de Honor during the 7th anniversary ball of the KapampanganAssociation of Montreal pose with their choreographer, Norcy Morales, and their president,Svetlana Suarez, August 16, 2008 at the Hellenic Community Center

Some guests of the Kapampangan Association of Montreal pose for souvenir withthe officers from FAMAS headed by Claro Bermudez, president. Also shown areFamas directors Manny Lagasca and Flor Rillo,

The potluck community picnic organized by the Filipino Solidarity Cooperative was adverselyaffected by the rainy weather, hence, there were only a few people who were adventurousenough to put up a tent at Beaver Lake, August 3, 2008. In spite of the unstable weather, itwas a delight to see Emilien Riendeau, son of Mr. & Mrs. Martin Riendeau, shown here on hisfather’s lap. Some people already left whent his photo was taken at around 4 p.m.

On August 7, 2008 Michelle Esperon and May Gene Suni (1st and 2nd from the left) who didtheir practicum in accounting at the Filipino Coop were treated to lunch at the Cusine deManille. Others in the photo are Joy Estabillo, Zeny Kharroubi and Remy Monteagudo.

After their induction by Councilor Marvin Rotrand, the new officers of the Philippine Folk ArtSociety pose for souvenir at the Queen Elizabeth Fairmount, August 3, 2008.

Some guests of the Kapampangan Association of Montreal smile to have a souvenir photo.TThe new and the old officers of the Philippine Folk Art Society of Quebec join together tohave a souvenir photo of the brunch held on August 3, 2008 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel.

On the left are Mr. & Mrs. Narciso Mejia who received a plaque of appreciation from thePhilippine Folk Art Society of Quebec. On the right, Albert Gutierrez is shown holding theplaque he received as well during the induction of the Society held on August 3, 2008.

august 200814



August 7, 2008Former President Joseph Estrada

said yesterday he would decide a yearfrom now whether to run for presidentin 2010.

The deposed leader, who flew toHong Kong last Friday, said he feltvindicated by the recent Pulse Asiasurvey that showed him getting a 16-percent approval rating from amongpossible presidential hopefuls. Hesaid this reflects that people still trusthim.

The rating was higher than otherlikely presidential candidates from theopposition.

"I do not mind the elections at thistime yet because my concentration isto help the poor Filipinos, particularlythe victims of typhoons. I might makemy decision one year from now. Let ussee," Estrada told The STAR byphone.

Estrada was six percent behindVice President Noli de Castro, who isbeing groomed by the administrationas its possible presidential bet in2010.

Other opposition members whomade it to the top five includedSenators Loren Legarda and FrancisEscudero, coming in third with 14

percent each, and Senate PresidentManny Villar with 12 percent.

Estrada was convicted of plunderin September last year but waspardoned by President Arroyo thefollowing month and released from

detention in his rest house in Tanay,Rizal.

He immediately launched his"Lakbay Pasasalamat" caravan tovarious places in Metro Manila andnearby provinces to thank his

supporters "for their unconditionalsupport through thick and thin."

Aside from Legarda, Escuderoand Villar, other possible presidentialaspirants from the opposition includeSenators Panfilo Lacson and MarRoxas.

Estrada, meanwhile, said he wasa bit disappointed at not winning thejackpot in the popular game show"Deal or No Deal" Friday.

Estrada won only P750 in prizemoney after rejecting the banker'soffer of P275,000 to quit the game,choosing instead briefcase number 3which he thought containedP500,000.

Briefcase number 7 turned out tobe the one with the half-a-millionpesos.

Estrada said he would havedonated his winnings to victims oftyphoon "Frank" which destroyedproperties and agricultural land andleft hundreds dead in its wake lastJune.

Asked if he may have beendistracted by the beautiful modelsassisting "Deal or No Deal" host KrisAquino, Estrada quipped, "Maybe." a

Erap to decide on presidential plans next year

August 12, 2008The Philippines supports Timor

Leste’s bid to join the 10-memberAssociation of Southeast Asian Nationsby 2012, Foreign Affairs SecretaryAlberto Romulo said Tuesday.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyogave this assurance during a meetingwith visiting Timorese President JoseRamos-Horta in Malacañang Tuesday,Romulo said.

East Timor, a former Portuguesecolony which was invaded by Indonesiain 1975, has been seeking membershipin the ASEAN after winning its freedomin a 1999 UN-backed referendum.

"I hope that by 2012 we can joinASEAN,” said Ramos-Horta in an earlierinterview. “We set this target as pressureon ourselves to work harder in order tobe eligible to join ASEAN becauseobviously ASEAN countries, with theembarrassing problems of Myanmar,wouldn't want a basket case, anunstable new member."

East Timor gained formal

independence in 2002 but is still facingformidable economic challenges beingthe least developed country inSoutheast Asia with 50 percent of thepopulation unemployed.

ASEAN, which is working to turnitself into a rules-based organization, iscomposed of Brunei, Cambodia,Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia,Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore,Thailand and Vietnam.

Ramos-Horta, who was electedpresident in May 2007, arrived Sundayfor a four-day state visit in thePhilippines.

The two leaders met in Malacañangwhere they witnessed the signing ofthree bilateral agreements coveringmarine and fisheries cooperation,academic cooperation, and training anddevelopment of Timorese diplomats atthe country's Foreign Service Institute.

During the two leaders' bilateraltalks, Romulo said the Timorese leaderpledged his country's vote for thecandidature of Senator Miriam

Philippines backs Timor Leste’s bid to joinASEAN

August 19, 2008About 7,000 of the 27,765 nursing

graduates who passed the June 2008nursing licensure examination took theiroath at the SMX Convention CenterTuesday.

In his speech, Marco Sto. Tomas,member of the Board of Nursing thatadministered the exam, said that nursingis a “caring profession.”

Carmelita Divinagracia, of the

Association of Deans of PhilippineColleges of Nursing, asked the newnurses, many of whom are expected towork abroad, to "preserve Filipino

values" wherever the profession takesthem.

Carmelita Abaquin, head of theBoard of Nursing, administered the oathand welcomed the new nurses to the"caring profession."

Only after the oath-taking can thetitle “RN” or registered nurse be affixedto their name, said Sto. Tomas, who isalso head of the event’s organizingcommittee.

Five function rooms were used forthe ceremonies, which will also be heldWednesday. a

Defensor-Santiago to the InternationalCourt of Justice, the principal judicialorgan of the United Nations.

Five seats in the ICJ will be availableon February 5, 2009 and Santiagoneeds to get at least a majority vote inboth the UN General Assembly and theUN Security Council, votingsimultaneously but separately.

Santiago was nominated last yearby the Philippine National Groupcomposed of Supreme Court Associate

Justice Consuelo Ynares Santiago,retired Supreme Court Associate JusticeFlorentino Feliciano, then Integrated Barof the Philippines National PresidentJose Vicente Salazar, and University ofSanto Tomas Faculty of Civil Law DeanAlfredo Benipayo.

Should Santiago get elected to theICJ, she will be the second Filipino afterformer Supreme Court Chief JusticeCesar Bengzon and the first femaleAsian judge to serve in the court. a

7,000 new nurses take their oath

7,000 nurses took their oath at the Mall of Asia, Pasay City, August 19, 2008

Former President Joseph Estrada



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August 21, 2008Sometime early this year, February

and March, we featured in this columnthe topic of “Pagbabago 2010.2016.” It isbasically a call to our legislators to startthe discussion on the need to review theform of government and other economicconstitutional provisions. It was aproposal to elevate the awareness andknowledge of our people on what are thedifferent forms of government and whatmight work best for our country andpeople. Will it be federalism,parliamentary, the current presidentialsystem, or would it be other forms andmodifications thereof?

Perhaps it is more important to startthe discussions and debates so we getto better understand the systems andwhich system will actually work for us.We emphasized that in thesediscussions, bigger steps will be takenafter 2010. That was the proposal when Imet some senators. By 2010, the newPresident and Congress will see throughthe review and the molding of the newsystem that will be fully implemented by2016. This process hopes to addressthree main concerns by many sectors:that there will be no changes before2010 on the rules and the term of thecurrent Presidency; that the new set ofleaders and Congress will have amandate from the people on 2010,whether to form a constituent assemblyor have a constitutional convention; andthat the elected President in 2010, andmembers of both houses of Congresswill have a full term to complete that will

lead a transition, if at all, into a new formof government by 2016. Thus,encouraging greater discussions anddebate now will be healthy and if done inphases, the transition would be morerealistic and less controversial.

There are pros and cons in doing aconstituent assembly or constitutional

convention. There may be realitieswhereby a con-assembly is better than anew constitutional convention. I see thatthe new congress for 2010 would formitself into an assembly that would workon the constitutional changes botheconomic and political.

I am not supporting any view, butwhat I am totally against is a changeprior to 2010. In fact, I have asked the

Are we ready to change?By Joey Concepcion

August 13, 2008Senators yesterday shot down

President Arroyo’s plan to use a“discredited” peace accord withMuslim rebels to justify amending theConstitution, suspicious that shewould use this to get around a ban onher reelection.

Senate President Manuel Villar andSenators Loren Legarda and MarRoxas, all prospective presidentialcontenders in 2010, said that whilethey favored federalism, any change inthe system of government should takeplace when Mrs. Arroyo was no longerin power.

“The government-MILF peaceagreement is already mired incontroversy,” said Villar of a deal thatwould give the Moro Islamic LiberationFront autonomy over a wide swathe ofland in Mindanao.

“If Malacañang will push for

charter-change, we would like to knowwhat is the head and tail of it. There isapprehension that this may cause thecancellation of the 2010 [presidential]election,” said Villar, who is alsopresident of the Nacionalista Party.

“I do not believe that in our searchfor peace in Mindanao, we should atthe same time make a new attempt tochange the system of government,which is a very important but difficultundertaking.”

Legarda said the initiative forcharter-change would have been allright if not for the awkwardcircumstance in which the term of thePresident would end in less than twoyears.

“Let us not use the challenge oftime as leverage for personal agenda.It’s simply not the answer. OurConstitution and our laws are enough.What we need is implementation,” she

said.Roxas, president of the Liberal

Party, said he could not understandwhy there was a need to amend theConstitution when the government hadgranted more than enoughconcessions to the MILF under thenew deal.

Saying he was against dismantlingthe present presidential system ofgovernment, Roxas added he was alsowary of the possibility that once theproposal for a federal system had beengiven due course, administration alliesin Congress would next push for a shiftto a parliamentary system.

Another presidential contender,Senator Richard Gordon, said he waswilling to spearhead the proposal for afederal system, but it should take effectonly after 2010.

The Senate is set to debate theproposed adoption of a federal system

under Joint Congressional Resolutionl0 backed by l6 senators led byMinority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr.

But Pimentel said he would notallow Resolution l0 to be used as a toolfor keeping Mrs. Arroyo in power.

“My espousal of federalism hasnothing to do with [the President].Resolution 10 has adequatesafeguards against being manipulatedby the President,” he said.

Pimentel said the term limit on thepresidency could be removed byshifting to a parliamentary system,which is not contemplated underResolution l0.

“Resolution l0 speaks only of afederal system. It does not deal withthe adoption of a parliamentary systemunder which Gloria [Arroyo] canconceivably extend her term byrunning for prime minister,” theminority leader said. a

Senators reject charter-change overtures

help of Presidential Management StaffSecretary Cerge Remonde inconsidering the idea that it will be goodfor PGMA to support Pagbabago2010.2016. This time, with an upcomingPresidential election, each candidate willexplain his or her vision of thePhilippines Inc. and views on the fitting

form of government and the neededconstitutional changes.

If the ‘Pimentel Bill’ on Federalismwould be the choice, it might just requiresome time to know what role the nationalgovernment would play. There mightalso be more cities that will lobby for afederal state, and I believe that greater

decentralization of powers to the regionsand local government would be good tocreate a more enterprising culture. Theregions under good leaders will be ableto push for a quicker development andwill be able to attune to the region’sinherent strengths. One also has tobalance this with national priorities.

These things take time. Upon oursurvey, we found out that Filipinos do notsee the benefit of a change in politicalsystem if it will be the same people inpower. They may be right. The system isonly as good as the people who run it,but we need to start somewhere. Abetter system can still be instrumental inachieving our progress with moreeffective controls and balance in power.

What is crucial now, with therecession spreading towards Europeand Asia, is that we do not lose themomentum that has been gained. It isimportant for our Negosyos to have arelatively stable and progressive climate.I do hope PGMA will support“Pagbabago 2010.2016.” This will finallygive reassurance that she will finish herterm in 2010 and see to it that thepolitical and economic reforms are donethrough a constitutional review.

All these steps can be taken in 2010,but the debates and discussion can startnow. Let the debates begin but theinstitution to review the charter will startonly in 2010 and the full implementationwill be in 2016. a

august 200816



Building a franchise businesshas many hidden cost, but learningfrom those who’ve gone the roadbefore you can be a great money-saving tactic.

They say that wisdom comesfrom experience and experiencecomes from making mistakes. Howtrue? This article intends to help yougain wisdom from the experience ofothers rather than having to pay thecost of learning from your ownmistakes. These mistakes canrepresent real dollars--and avoidingthem can make a big difference in thetotal investment you need for your newbusiness and ultimately how profitablethe business becomes.

Franchise companies willalmost certainly have manuals, trainingprograms and other supportdocuments and services designed tohelp you avoid making costly mistakes.The challenge is that most newfranchisees are trying to learn andexecute many new things at once andsometimes make what they feel arelogical decisions without rememberingor consulting all the advice provided bythe franchisor.

It's always a great idea, duringyour due diligence conversations withexisting franchisees in the system, toask them if they made any expensivemistakes when they were first buildingor operating their new business. Agood form for this question is,"Knowing what you know now, whatwould you do differently if you got tostart all over again in building yourbusiness?"

Prospective franchiseesseeking an opportunity to work athome are in luck. There are a host offranchisors that have realizedpractically any business can be runjust as successfully from home as froma storefront location, and that includesbookkeeping and financial services,consulting, children's services,computer training and repair, cleaning,home improvement, entertainment,home inspection, fitness, pet care,photography and travel businesses,just to name a few. In fact, manyservice-oriented franchise systemsnow not only allow franchisees to workfrom home--they encourage it. .Most ofthese franchise systems will spendconsiderable time training you how towork from home. They'll review therequirements for setting up your office,making sales calls and serving yourcustomers. After all, working fromhome may be convenient, but it's morethan just setting up a desk in a cornerof your living room. It's a uniqueworking style you'll have to adjust to.and just in case your franchisor leavesout some things, here are the basics ofwhat you need to know to run afranchise from home.

Is it legal?The first thing to realize is not

every community allows you to run abusiness from your home--especially ifclients are coming to your house on aregular basis or you need to park atruck in your driveway. Check with yourlocal zoning board or governmentoffice for the rules in your town. If

you're living in a planned community,cooperative or condominium, alsocheck to see whether any rules or deedrestrictions limit your commercial useof your property.

Balancing actExcept for a limited period of

time or in unique circumstances, forgetthe notion of using your kitchen tableor family room as your office. If youmust use common quarters for a while,at least set aside an area that's usedexclusively for work and make sureyour family understands that it's yourheadquarters, even when you're not atyour desk.

Of course, the best choice is touse a spare bedroom, a section of yourbasement or some other isolated areaof your home as your office. Creatingdistinct boundaries between youroffice and your living space will helpyou establish your franchise as aprofessionally run operation.

Furniture and equipmentYou'll be spending a lot of time

in your office making phone calls,writing letters, maintaining yourrecords plus a million other tasks. Somake sure you're comfortable.

Even on a limited budget, youcan afford to have a professional office.A lot of stationery superstores and low-cost office-furniture retailers specializein furnishing home offices . A goodcomputer with all-in-one printer, aninternet connection to be used forcommunicating with your prospectsand finding good sources is a must..Also, consider buying used furniture.Thrift stores are a great source. Startwith the essentials. As you becomemore experienced in determining yourneeds, you can add additional pieces.

Setting a scheduleOne of the major problems

with a home office is…it's in yourhome. It's so convenient to get up inthe morning, put on a robe and workthrough dinner--and maybe a couplemore hours after dinner. But,remember, you have a family and theyneed you, too.

Set a schedule and try to stick

to it. Get ready in the morning as if youwere going out to the office. Shower,put on business attire and get to work.Make it a habit. Take breaks during theday. Try to end your day on scheduleas well. Everybody works overtimesometimes--some more than others--but don't get into a rut of working all thetime just because your office is nearby.You're at work when you're in youroffice. Don't allow your friends andfamily to drop in uninvited, and don'tplan your day around doing everybodyelse's errands. Ask them to respectyour workday just as you do theirs.

The nice thing about workingwithin a franchise system is being ableto learn from the experience of yourfellow franchisees. When you're puttingtogether your equipment shopping list,you might try calling other franchiseeswho are working from home and askthem for any advice they might have.Also, if you've come from a corporateenvironment and miss those "waterfountain" chats, who better to spend afew minutes with than one of yourfellow franchisees? Having anothercolleague--or two or more--whom youregularly talk to about what'shappening at your "office" is one of themajor benefits of working within afranchise system.

How To Run a Franchise BusinessFrom Home

Côte-des-Neigesinvites you to its bigneighbourhoodcelebration

The big neighbourhoodcelebration : Côte-des-Neiges en fête,5 continents, 5 sens will take place onemore time next September with a 6thedition having for thematic “Theprofessions of yesterday to today” inthe setting of the 310th anniversary ofthe foundation of Côte-des-Neiges. Theevent will be Sunday September 7thfrom 12am to 5pm all along the Côte-des-Neiges Road, from Queen-MaryStreet to the Jean Talon Street.

At the program, a lot ofactivities for everyone entirely free:dance, music, itinerant animations,games for children, sports activities forteenagers, demonstrations of old


CDN Community Council features the Filipino Coop inits cultural tour, August 28, 2008

The outside view of the Filipino Coop store located on 4711 Van Horne Avenue

It was a pleasant surprise to bevisited by the animator of the Cote desNeiges Community Council during thelast week of July 2008. She asked if theFilipino Coop would be interested toparticipate in the Cote des Neiges areapromotion being conducted by theCouncil. Our reply was certainly anenthusiastic acceptance of the offer Wewere then told that there would bemore information to follow.

As the week progressed, LisaFischer was busy ironing out the detailsof the tour. It would appear from hercorrespondence that she wanted tomake sure that there would besomeone in the Filipino Coop whocould show them around and alsoshow them how exotic recipes areprepared. She also intended to reservethe kitchen at 6767 Cote des Neigesand see if there will be enough interestin an actual cooking demonstration.

Before releasing the posterslike the one shown here, she asked forconfirmation if the Filipino Coop wouldbe prepared to accept visitors. Ofcourse, I was more than happy to sayyes as this is one of the things I wouldhave wanted to do on my own - topromote the Filipino Coop in the wholeneighborhood. It was indeed quite ablessing to have someone offer thisopportunity to promote the Coop.

Zenaida Ferry Kharroubi,President, Filipino Coop

The inside view of the store showing some of the products on display

professions, information on theorganisms of the neighborhood andthe history of Côte-des-Neiges… For more information, consult the Website of the event:http://www.cdeccdnndg.org/html/cdnenfeteIndex.htmCome to celebrate with us the beauty,the diversity and the vitality of ourdistrict!

- 30-Source : Agathe BRUHATAgente de communicationCôte-des-Neiges en fête, 5 continents,5 sensTél. : 514-342-6754 / 463-0911

august 200818



Music Museum is turning 20 thisyear and Precy Florentino, its owner-manager, wanted something new tocelebrate the milestone. As usual,should she invite most, if not all, of theartists who have performed in thatlandmark at the Greenhills ShoppingCenter which has to date mounted morethan 3,000 shows?

It would be star-studded, aglam/glitz affair, but everybody has beendoing it year in and year out, right?Nothing new.

So the other day, Precy did somebrainstorming with good friend KuhLedesma, who originally built the MusicMuseum in 1988 and rebuilt it after it wasgutted by fire a few years later — “Andhanded it to me on a silver platter,” saidPrecy. Voila, they cooked up somethingvery new, indeed: Giving plaques ofrecognition to Charice, 16, and CharlieGreen, 11, for reaffirming the reputationof Filipino artists as world-class talentsvery early in their careers.

“What better way to mark our 20thanniversary than to celebrate Filipinotalent, ‘no!” said Precy. “We have hadseveral meetings already, thinking ofhow to celebrate differently, and then wehit on this idea.”

Yesterday, Precy and Kuh invited afew friends, among them the two icons inthe industry, German “Kuya Germs”Moreno and Pilita Corrales (who, withhusband Carlos Lopez, owns andmanages a self-named restaurant also atGreenhills), to her own Teatrino (astone’s throw from Music Museum) towitness the awarding.

As the whole world probably knowsby now, Charice (reminder again: She

has dropped her surname Pempengcobecause her father, who is estrangedfrom Charice’s mom Raquel, “ordered”her to) has conquered the internationalstage, keeping entranced hosts EllenDeGeneres, Paul O’Grady and OprahWinfrey when she guested on theirshows, and no less than iconicsongwriter David Foster who is said to bepreparing “something big” for Chariceand who invited her to perform in twoshows he mounted first at MGM GrandHotel opening in Connecticut and then atMandalay Bay in Las Vegas whereAndrea Bocelli, one of the performers,personally invited Charice to sing a duetwith him (of The Prayer) at his annualbirthday concert three weeks ago inTuscany, Italy.

Charlie Green is the Filipino-Britishboy who landed in the semi-finals in thisyear’s Britain’s Got Talent, also abrainchild of Simon Cowell of AmericanIdol fame. (Last year’s champion, PaulPotts, is coming for a concert at the PICCon Oct. 8, produced by Concertus, Inc.)He sang two songs, Summer Wind andAll I Wanna Do Is Sing. His father, RogerGreen, was a member of the Black &White Minstrels. His mother, CeciliaSumargo, is from Cebu where some ofthe country’s finest singers come from(among them Pilita Corrales, Dulce,Sheryn Regis, Chad Borja, ManilynReynes and Dessa).

During the short program hosted bytheater-director Freddie Santos, Precyand Kuh awarded Charice and Charlietheir plaques.

“I can’t believe it,” said the teary-eyed Charice earlier while posing forphotos with Pilita, Kuya Germs and Kuh.“I never imagined I would be standingside by side with these big stars.”

Then, accompanied by Ryan “Mr. C”Cayabyab on the piano, Charicerendered two songs, I Believe (byFantasia) and And I Am Telling You (byJennifer Hudson); followed by Charliealso with two, Stars and Smile. The kidshave such powerful voices that they sentIntensity 10 shockwaves around thewhole Teatrino, with the elite audiencebreaking into a thunderous applause.Bravo!!!

Freddie aptly described the twohugely-talented kids as he capped theprogram: “They are two of today’samazing stars!” a

Philippine born actor, MiguelitoMacario Andaluz will be seen acrossCanadian small screens this fall. This20 year veteran of film, TV and stagewho has previously worked with artistssuch as Johnny Depp and RobinWilliams is gaining notoriety in his ownright.

The Mini-Series EVEREST relives atime when there was a code ofmountaineering, and when only a fewspecially skilled climbers were able toreach the top of the world. And eventhough the expedition succeeded inplacing Canadians at the top of theworld for the first time, it was notwithout tragedy and death. This is abittersweet story of courage anddetermination, of ambition andcamaraderie, of hope andperseverance, and of the tragedy andtriumph of the first Canadians toconquer Mount Everest. An ensemble cast of some of the bestactors in Canada portray the climbersof the expedition in Everest. The keycast received basic training fromexperienced mountaineers, from howto climb to knot-tying techniques andsubtle tricks that experiencedoutdoorsmen use.

Jason Priestley (Don’t Cry Now,90210), Leslie Hope (Never BackDown, 24) and William Shatner(Boston Legal, Star Trek) headline anensemble cast, telling the drama,

tragedy and triumph of that 1982expedition.

Eric Johnson (Smallville, FlashGordon) stars as Laurie Skreslet, GordRand (Mayerthorpe, Sue Thomas:F.B.Eye) as Pat Morrow, John Pyper-Ferguson (Brothers & Sisters,Highlander) as Roger Marshall, andZachary Bennett (The Border,Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion)as Blair Griffiths and Miguelito MacarioAndaluz (Less Than Kind, RobsonArms, The Collector) as Sungdare.The four-hour Mini Series premieres onthe CBC National Network . Sunday,August 31, at 8 p.m., and concludesMonday, September 1, at 8 p.m. Everest Trailer and info

LESS THAN KIND is a smart,edgy, dysfunctional half-hour comedythat follows Sheldon as he attempts tomanage his teenage years. It's a sharpand humorous look at the collisionsand twists that happen between thehugs and kisses in a "loving" family.Andaluz plays a former migrant workerand widower dad who's daughtercrushes on Sheldon. As any Filipinofather would, he keeps a close eye onthis relationship which leads to a lot ofswearing in Tagalog and humorouslyawkward situations. This 13 part TVseries premieres in major cities acrossCanada on CityTV, Monday October13, 10:30 pm. a

Miguelito Macario Andaluzshines bright

FFIILLIIPPIINNOO SSTTAARRSS HH OO WW BB II ZZ GG OO SS SS II PP

Charice & Charlie Green receiving theirwell-earned awards

Music museum honorsCharice & Charlie

Appearing in two major Canadian Productions:‘Everest’ and ‘Less Than Kind’ this fall.

Television host Willie Revillameyesterday paid P 6,278,644.21representing his income tax for the thirdquarter of the year at the Bureau of InternalRevenue (BIR) district office along QuezonAvenue in Quezon City.

“I am performing my duty as ataxpayer,” Revillame, host of ABS-CBNChannel 2’s noontime show Wowowee,told reporters at the BIR office.

Revillame, who was accompanied bya bodyguard and his staff, said he decidedvisit to the BIR office to find out why hisincome tax for the last three months hasreached over P6 million. “I was shockedto know how big my tax dues are,” he said.

He said he is willing to pay taxesbecause it will help fund the delivery ofbasic services.

“As an ordinary taxpayer I don’t want

to receive any demand letter from thegovernment,” he said in Tagalog.

Revillame declined to say how muchhe is earning but said his blessings are sofar so good.

His accountant Tess Mationg said theP6.2 million represents the tax for theincome earned by Revillame in the lastthree months.

At least 200 taxpayers were alreadyinside the BIR office, so if he went throughthe regular process it would have takenhim an hour before he could file hisincome tax.

Most of the taxpayers, however, didnot complain after Revillame was allowedto bypass them.

“It’s okay so that I can watch hisWowowee program later,” said SonnyGolpeo who was already waiting in line.a

Willie pays BIR P6.3-M income tax

The North American Filipino Staraugust 2008 19The North American Filipino Star


What more can John Lloyd ask for?

Already an accomplished dramaticactor at the young age of 25, JohnLloyd Cruz is not stopping. Havingwon a number of prestigious actingawards, he is even more committedand determined to be a better actor.

He says that he’s more picky withthe projects that he does. “There’s justone thing that we all want, and that’slongevity in the business and I feel thatthis can be achieved by carefullyconsidering each step that onemakes.” Wise words from a wiseyoung man.

Lloydy, as he is fondly called, isn’tthe type to rest on his laurels. Theactor hones his acting skills by takingclasses and experimenting withcomplex roles. Most recently, heparted with long-time screen partnerBea Alonzo to try untested waters withpop princess Sarah Geronimo. Theirhighly rated Maalaala Mo Kayaepisode led to the new loveteam’scurrent project, a movie under StarCinema and Viva Films titled A VerySpecial Love.

As if good looks and talent aren’t

enough, John Lloyd has a lot of heart.Traveling straight to Porac, Pampangaafter his June 20 pre-birthday party,arranged by ABS-CBN and Star Magicand attended by the press, John Lloydbrought cheers to the Aetas whilevisiting the classrooms managed bythe Religious of the Virgin Mary (RVM)sisters located within Katutubo Villagein Planas.

“It was my first visit to thecommunity. I hope I can visit againsoon. I was very happy especiallysince I was able to do this on mybirthday. I guess you feel moreemotional during occasions like this —you try to find meaning in your life andthrough this event, I found meaning.”

Being one of the hottest youngactors in the industry today, JohnLloyd still finds the time to develop allaspects of his life. Of course, he isthankful to the people who have beenhelping him along the way. Hebalances his time, career and personallife with the help of a professionalmanagement team and a newtechnology from SMART — SMARTMoney. Dubbed as the Pambayad ngBayan, SMART Money is a reloadablepayment card linked to your SMARTmobile phone that makes it easier topay bills, buy prepaid load, andtransfer funds with just a few clicksfrom your phone. Since it also comeswith a SMART Money MasterCard, youmay withdraw cash from any ATM andeven go shopping at MasterCardestablishments worldwide.

“Bea (Alonzo) and I have done alot of endorsements together, but thisone I think is the most brilliant. SMARThas thought of a way for busy peoplelike us to be able to pay bills and dofinancial transactions easily andconveniently even when we’re out oftown. This campaign is perfect for us.We’re happy to do this becauseSMART is one of the most crediblebrands in the country.”

Local showbiz thrives on gossipbut sexy-actress Cristine Reyes and herrumored beau, Dennis Trillo, are buckingthe trend by keeping mum about theirprivate lives.

In her latest interview with ABS-CBN's"The Buzz", Reyes downplayed intriguesthrown at her and Trillo including theirrefusal to be interviewed after they werecaught watching a sports event in Makati.

"We want a quiet life. When we'regoing out, we want to keep to ourselvesand don't want other people to intrude,"she said.

She said she and Trillo are trying tokeep their personal lives separate fromtheir showbiz personas.

Trillo and Reyes have been on thereceiving end of negative publicity after therevelation that the actor had fathered achild with Binibining Pilipinas titlist CarleneAguilar. The tiff led to a more publicaltercation last year until Reyes and Aguilarsettled their differences before the end of2007. (continued on page 21)

More Showbiz Gossip - SEE PAGE 21

Cristine Reyes defends her rightto privacy

Movie deals, recognition for histalent, a string of endorsements, ahealthy family and love life, a greatfuture ahead, what more can JohnLloyd Cruz ask for?

“I don’t think I can really ask foranything else. I have enough and I am

grateful. If there’s something that I wishfor, as much as I don’t want to bepolitical in my statement, I really dohope that those who are in a position tohelp would wake up, face theirresponsibilities and do what is right.”a

Francis Magalona in hospitalICU battling the big C

It started as blind items in the tabs,referring to “a singer-actor TV hostconfined at the ICU” of an unnamedhospital.

Yes, the “singer-actor TV host”being referred to is Francis Magalonawho has been conspicuously absentfrom Eat, Bulaga! for several days now.

Yesterday on 24 Oras in a phone-patch with Chika Minute host PiaGuanio, Francis’ wife Pia Arroyoconfirmed that Francis has beendiagnosed to have leukemia and isconfined at the ICU of a hospital inPasig City.

But he’s not unconscious, contraryto rumors.

“He’s in high spirits,” said MalouChoa-Fagar, vice president of TAPE,Inc., producer of Eat, Bulaga!, “andhe’s raring to go back to Eat, Bulaga!”

Francis is suffering from a treatabletype of leukemia, the same oneHollywood actor Ryan O’Neal is asurvivor of.

A few months ago when the Eat,Bulaga! guys mounted a show in LasVegas, Francis reportedly sufferedfrom fever in the afternoons (a badsymptom, according to doctors)coupled with “dizzy spells,” turningpale in the process.

“Rudy (Fernandez) experiencedthe same afternoon-fever symptoms,so you better see a doctor,” somebodyadvised Francis.

So Francis did. His and wife Pia’sworst fears were confirmed. (Thecouple has eight children.) Francis isthe son of ’50s showbiz royal couple

Pancho Magalona (who died fromcomplications of emphysema) and TitaDuran (who died from complications ofa kidney ailment).

Yes, what’s in the blog is true:Francis needs Type O blood (pagingTita Rosa Rosal, head of the PhilippineNational Red Cross!). Donors arewelcome.

Funfare is requesting its readers topray for Francis’ speedy recovery.Remember, as the poet said, morethings are wrought by prayers than thisworld dreams of. Prayer can movemountains. a

John Lloyd Cruz

Francis Magalona

august 200820





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Showbiz Gossip Continued from p.19

Radio broadcaster and newrecording artist Jennifer Rose Pelaezdenied rumors linking herromantically to Makati mayor JejomarBinay after photos of her supposedlysitting on the mayor's lap surfaced.

"Hindi, hindi naman kandong 'yonkung hindi nagpa-picture kamipumunta kami ni attorney doon andthen nagpa-picture taking kami,"Pelaez explains.

In the interview, Pelaez alsodismissed reports saying that themayor is wooing her. "Hindi, (siyananliligaw),” she added.The singer who is happily married toher American husband David Tuckersaid that she respect Binay so muchbut admitted that she admires themayor for having good looks.

"I respect mayor Binay--Kungcrush ko? Oo dahil gwapo," shegiggled.

Pelaez also thanked Binay forhelping her foundation, JRP Out ofSchool Youth International, inorganizing a benefit show titled"Pangarap ng mga Kabataan" on Aug.20, 7 p.m, at the Makati Park Garden,J.P. Rizal, West Rembo, Makati City.

The show is produced by JRPOut of School Youth in cooperationwith Makati Park Garde for the benefitof out-of-school youth..

Pelaez apologized to Binay forwhatever distress the rumor may havecaused him and his family.

"Mayor kung nakikinig kayo, kungano ang tsismis kayo na lang po angbahalang umitindi. I thank you alsofor giving me a letter of appreciationdahil sa foundation namin," she said.

Pelaez said report of romanticaffair can't be true since she's very

happy and lucky to have a husbandwho's very supportive, understandingand loving.

Pelaez is launching hereponymously titled debut albumunder Eon Records. The album'scarrier song is "Bawal," composed byRenee dela Rosa; other compositionsby Jukebox King of the PhilippinesVictor Wood are also included.

A native of Iloilo City, Pelaez (realname is Rosa Pelaez Lasanggi)established JRP Out of School YouthInternational to serve less fortunatechildren in Malaysia, Singapore,Indonesia, Hong Kong, and thePhilippines.

Pelaez, who was discovered byradio broadcaster Tita Suarding, hasalready done a recording with VictorWood. She also has her own perfumebusiness. a

Newbie singer denies rumored affairwith Makati mayor Binay

Continued from p. 18 ‘Christine Reyes’

Last July 5, Trillo and Reyes were againseen together in public, watching theURCC 12 Supremacy event in Makati. ABuzz staffer tried to interview the coupleafter the show but they refused, which ledto rumors that Reyes was banned fromappearing in ABS-CBN shows "The Buzz"and "Entertainment Live."

Reyes said she was unfazed by gossipthat Trillo refused to be interviewed sincehe was ashamed of the affair. “Kung ano‘yung nakikita nila na hindi proud orwhatever hindi po ako naapektuhan doon.Personal na buhay naman ito, hindi ba?”

she said.She also said that she is happy to

learn that Aguilar is now open with her andTrillo's affair. "Good. At least para tama nayung away-away," she said, referring to analtercation the two had over Trillo.

She said she will not be attending thefirst birthday party of Trillo's son, Calix, onSeptember 13 to avoid further intrigues.

"The Buzz" executive producer NancyYabut and Entertainment Live executiveproducer Lani Gutierrez, meanwhile,clarified that Reyes is not banned fromtheir shows.

Reyes, a contract star of ABS-CBN, isset to star in upcoming television series“Eva Fonda, 16.” a

Makati mayor Jejomar Binay

Gabby evasive when asked about Sharon

Gabby Concepcion chose to beevasive when asked about ex-wifeSharon Cuneta at the launching of hisdebut album with Warner MusicPhilippines. "I'd rather not talk about herat all para hindi na lang ma-misinterpret,"he says. "If ever I'd say anything abouther, I'd only have good words for her asshe really raised our daughter KC well.Saludo ako diyan."

Is he dedicating any of the 12 songsin his self-titled album, like "Ako Pa Ba?"

or "Please Forgive Me"?"No, my songs are not meant for her

but for all my listeners. I also want tothank Warner for giving me the chance todo this album and be one part of itsroster of multi-platinum artists like Nina,Sitti and Christian Bautista. I was neverofficially a singer during my early years inshowbiz dahil mas nakilala as a matineeidol, as an actor. But while I was in theUS, I was able to explore my musicalside, singing in concerts that I do for myPinoy fans there. My record deal withWarner now allows me the chance toexplore my love for music while alsosinging to my fans some timeless lovesongs."

Gabby will charm his way into theheart of his old and new fans with hisalbum as he embarks on a singingcareer.

His daughter KC's debut film, "Forthe First Time," will have its premiere onAugust 16, will he attend the affair andget the chance of meeting Sharon there?

"KC already told me about it and Itold her I will go. I won't be the onenaman to make the seat arrangementsthere at kung sakaling magkakatabi mankami nina Sharon or seated in the samerow, walang problema sa akin." a

Gabby Concepcion

august 200822



COMMUNITY NEWSA Joyful CommunityCelebration of Historyand Diversity In Côte-des-Neiges!Yesterday and Today: theCrafts of Côte-des-Neiges

Montreal, August 13, 2008 - We arepleased to invite you to the 6th editionof the neighbourhood celebration:Côte-des-Neiges en fête, 5 continents,5 sens.

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 7th 200812:00 p.m to 5:00 p.m.Côte-des-Neiges Road(between Queen-Mary Road & JeanTalon Street)

The rich history of Côte-des-Neiges is the inspiration for this year’stheme: Yesterday and Today: theCrafts of Cote-des-Neiges. .From 1698onward Côte-des-Neiges developed inthe shadow of Mount-Royal,becoming, through time, a vibrantethno-culturally diverse communitywhere over 100 languages are spokentoday. From leather tannery streams toCollege Notre-Dame, from Saint-Joseph’s Oratory to St.-Mary'sHospital, from the Jewish GeneralHospital to the École Polytechnique,from apple tree orchards tocosmopolitan cafés, from waiting for atram to riding the subway, from Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery to HECMontréal, from College Jean-de-Brébeuf to Sainte-Justine`s Hospital,from exotic restaurants to terraces inbloom, 310 years of history forged, inthe heart of Montreal, the uniqueidentity of this neighbourhood whereall can live in harmony. This is what wewant to celebrate in this year’s theme:Yesterday and Today: the Crafts ofCôte-des-Neiges.

While enjoying the manyvaried activities take a moment to meetrepresentatives of communityorganisations and social serviceproviders who contribute to theneighbourhood’s vitality and work toimprove the quality of life for all.

Artists, musicians and dancerswill liven up the length of Côte-des-Neiges Road. Along the way take partin fun, family-oriented activities, at St.-Kevin Church, St.-Joseph Oratory,Maison de la Culture de Côte-des-Neiges and Centre Communautaire deLoisir de Côte-des-Neiges. Onceagain, the Côte-des-Neiges BusinessAssociation will organize a sidewalksale from September 4th to 7th.

Visit the Alex and RuthDworkin Foundation Space (Kent Park)as it overflows with activities andentertainment for the whole family.Over 40 exhibitors will combine theuseful to the pleasurable whileinforming you of the multitude ofservices and resources availablethrough neighbourhood communityorganizations. Dive into history onJean-Brillant Street (partially closed forthe occasion) and explore the

exhibition of works by traditionalcraftsmen. Continue to discover thehistory of Côte-des-Neiges at themunicipal libraries on Côte-des-NeigesRoad and at the exhibition stand of theSociété d’histoire de la Côte-des-Neiges in the Community Village.

We’ll be expecting you next SundaySeptember 7th. Come celebrate withus while discovering or rediscoveringour history, our identity, ourneighbourhood: Côte-des-Neiges!

For more information or in case of rain,visit our web site:www.cdeccdnndg.org.

-30-

Source: Agathe BRUHAT Communication agent Côte-des-Neiges en fête, 5 continents,5 sensCell : 514-463-0911 [email protected]

presidents of the organization LitaSideco and Alvin Veloso. A communityleadership award was presented toRiza Esmeralda by Annie Miaral whogave a summary of her achievements.

Marvin Rotrand gave amessage of reassurance that hispresence in the organization willalways be a warm and supportive onebecause he has great appreciation andadmiration for the Filipino culture andsentiments. He reminded the newBoard to forge forward withdetermination to uphold theorganization’s objectives for the roadhas been paved by the past officer’soutstanding terms and contributions.

The Philippine Folk Art Societywill be celebrating their Silver Jubilleenext year 2009.

COMMUNITY CALENDARSeptember 2008

2 - Launching of GK WalkSt. Kevin’s ChurchGK WALK DAY (Saturday)

6 9:00 A.M. Assembly Van Horne Park10:00 A.M. Start of 3-km walk

6 Tiangge9:00 A.M. - 5 P.M.Saturday(See publicity below)

7 12:00 - 5:00 P.M.Cote des Neiges Festival

21 Apple Picking, Organized by Gilmore CollegeAssembly: 9:00 A.M. Plamondon Metro (Van Horneexit)

PRIME MINISTER HARPERCONGRATULATES CANADA’SFIRST MEDALISTS AT THEBEIJING GAMES

OTTAWA - Prime Minister StephenHarper issued the following statementtoday: (August 16, 2008)

“On behalf of the Government ofCanada and all Canadians, I would liketo congratulate Carol Huynh, DavidCalder, Scott Frandsen and TonyaVerbeek for their exceptionalaccomplishments. Canada is delightedto see them standing tall on thepodium with the world’s best athletes.

“We are extremely proud of Canada'sOlympic team competing in Beijing.Each day, our athletes exhibit dignity,respect, and dedication to their sportand to their country. Their commitmentto excellence and to achieving theOlympic dream truly makes them greatsport ambassadors for Canada.”

Carol Huynh from Hazelton, BritishColumbia won a gold medal infreestyle wrestling (48kg) while TonyaVerbeek from Beamsville, Ontario wonthe bronze medal in the 55kg category.Rowers David Calder and ScottFrandsen from British Columbia won asilver medal in the men's pair.

- 30 -

PMO Press Office: (613) 957-5555This document is also available athttp://pm.gc.ca

The Philippine Folk Art Societyof Quebec held its Formal Inductionof their new Executive Board 2008-2010 and Service Awards last August 3,2008. A cozy brunch at the FairmountQueen Elizabeth Hotel was the venue,and was well attended by a diverserepresentation of Filipino communityleaders, friends and othercommunities.

The new Board was inductedby Marvin Rotrand city councilor ofCDN-NDG boroughs. The ExecutiveBoard members are, president ElenitaBelgica , Executive vice president HildaVeloso , VP for socio-culture JenniferCamposano, treasurer Manny Coquia ,auditor Merlita Tambanillo , secretaryDaisy Bertiz , assistant secretaryCristine Villanueva , director for gov’trelations Lilia Esguerra , director forcommunication John Linden , directorfor art and culture May Virola , directorfor music Marilou Berlow and directorfor membership Jayjay Villanueva.

Ex- officio president RizaEsmeralda ended her term with theService awards and certificates ofappreciation given to the followingpeople as her gesture of gratitude forthe effort and commitment each onehas contributed in her term. Service Awardees are as follows: JanetSamaniego, Lira Lou Feliciano,Lourdes Fabia , Shioni de Leon, NestorChangtengco, Christine Periquet andElenita Belgica.

Certificates For MeritoriousParticipation for successful Terno Ball2007 were given to Annie Miaral andShinette Khoury.Certificates ofAppreciation were given to, Lita Sidedo, Joselito Sarto, Narcing Mejia, AlbertGutierrez and Yuri Fattah.

The event was highlighted bythe inspirational messages from past

PHILIPPINE FOLKART SOCIETY OFQUEBEC INDUCTION



August 21, 2008Tshomlee Go was hardly a

shadow of the warrior his Koreancoach believed he was and it tookan unheralded wild card entry fromAustralia to boot him out of the firstround and out of the gold medalmatch Wednesday in the Olympictaekwondo competitions.

Two clear hits to the body in thesecond round were all AustralianRyan Carneli unleashed to keepcontrol of the match for a 1-0 windespite being deducted a penaltypoint in the third and last round oftheir flyweight (-58Kg) encounter atthe Beijing University of Scienceand Technology.

Philippine media affairscoordinator Joey Romasanta saidGo wept and wept for over 20minutes despite words ofconsolation from Korean coach KimHong Sik at the dressing roommoments after they left the playinghall.

So dejected was the Filipinofighter he didn’t appear at themixed zone where athletes andjournalists gather for post-gameinterview. Kim, who was about toenter the zone, stepped back whenhe saw Manila reporters and a TV

crew.He also begged off from a STAR

interview as he slipped out of theathletes’ dressing room and went tothe parking lot.

Go unleashed two kicks, the

only attempts he made in the firstround. One was parried by theAustralian while the other was tothe side and did not count.

Both traded kicks early in thesecond round but neither found itsmark even as Go was egged on byshouts of "Pilipinas, Pilipinas" fromFilipino spectators led by PhilippineSports Commission chairman

William "Butch" Ramirez, PhilippineOlympic Committee president Jose"Peping" Cojuangco, chef demission Monico Puentevella and

taekwondo president RobertAventajado.

The 20-year-old Australian, whodid not make it past the first roundin the 2007 World Championshipsin Beijing, saw an opening for a 45-degree kick to the body, thencountered Go’s kick with adefensive kick to the body to go up,2-0, seconds before the roundended.

Realizing he was two minutesshort of losing the match, Go wentfor broke in the third. He made aperfect ax kick to the head, whichcould have scored two points andleveled the count. But the judgessaw otherwise.

Still, Go had the chance to levelthe count when the referee slappedCarneli with a one-point deductionafter a second warning for backingaway in the third round. Thatreduced the lead to 1-0, but Gofailed to deliver a single blow andthe 5-7 Australian, who came hereon the strength of his silver medalfinish as a bantamweight in the2006 World Cup in Bangkok, twiceclinched to prevent an attack andpreserved the lead as time ran outon the Filipino. a

Aussie shatters Go's Olympic dream

RP’s taekwondo bet Tshomlee Go (left) has fallen to his Australian rival Ryan Carnelliduring their 58 kg match at the Science and Technology University Gymnasium inBeijing, China today.

august 2008



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