Manila Media Monitor -- SEPTEMBER 2010

SEPTEMBER 2010 Toronto, Canada

ELECTION continued on p. 3

JUDGE continued on p. 3

PALACE continued on p. 4

As the municipal election campaign steps up its pace during the last three weeks heading to the election day, October 25, eligible voters can cast their ballots during the advance poll days.

Locations are as follows: • Toronto City Hall rotun-

da, 100 Queen St. W. • East York Civic Centre

council chamber, 850 Cox-well Ave.

• Etobicoke Civic Centre council chamber, 399 The West Mall

• North York Civic Cen-tre member’s lounge, 5100 Yonge St.

• Scarborough Civic Cen-tre committee room 1, 150 Borough Dr.

• York Civic Centre coun-cil chamber, 2700 Eglinton Ave. W.

Eligible voters are those

who are Canadian citizens, at least 18 years of age and resi-dents of Toronto who are not prohibited from voting by any law. Non-resident owners or tenants of land in Toronto or their spouse can also vote.

Touch screens will be available at these polls to assist voters with visual dis-abilities.

Teams of volunteers for the candidates started pounding in the first lawn signs of the campaign.

Rocco Rocci said that for “the last 37 years I’ve been politically active and putting up signs for other people,” so, “at 12:01, I got to put up the first sign with my name on it in front of my parents’ house where I grew up, and it’s a very special feeling.”

Toronto is among the last Ontario cities to allow lawn

signs this municipal election season -- a move Smitherman criticized.

“I thought it was an ex-tremely cynical move on the part of city council to shorten the sign campaign the way that they did,” he said. “That seemed like a very deliberate strategy to make it harder for incumbents to be unseated.”

There will also be advance polls open in every ward on the weekend of Oct. 16-17, but on those days voters must cast their ballots in the ward in which they live or own property. Addresses for those voting places are on the city’s website and will be on voter information cards being mailed soon.

Bonita Pietrangelo, the city’s director of elections,

Election campaign pacesteps up in the GTA

Truly will bring a hilarious evening as Las Vegas Diva Lani Misalucha meets Showtime Laughmaster Vice Ganda, 8 PM, Saturday, November 20, 2010, at the Roy Thomson Hall. De-tails on page 19.

Palace gives itself passing mark for first 100 days

Push for academic excellence:Judge Coroza

President Benigno Aquino III

MANILA -- Mal-acañang has given itself a passing mark for the Aquino ad-ministration’s first 100 days, presiden-tial spokesman Ed-win Lacierda said.

At a press brief-ing, Lacierda af-firmatively replied when asked if the Palace thinks it has passed the 100-day test for every new administration.

“We have two programs, and that is poverty alleviation and erad-ication of corruption so we’re on track on those two levels,” Lacierda said.

“As you know we have started also our poverty alle-viation program.

On corruption, Lacierda said “we have been filing cases on a weekly basis with respect to the BIR (Bureau of Internal

Revenue) and Bureau of Cus-toms.

The Budget Department proposed to allot P21 million for the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) conditional cash transfer program, an amount nearly double the P12 million

Judge Steve Coroza of the Ontario Court of Justice has underscored two important items for organizations to fo-

By Ace Alvarez

cus on, namely, to push the youth towards academic excel-lence and to actively contribute to race relations.

Coroza made the call as he keynoted the Capizeno Asso-ciation of Ontario at the No-votel in Mississauga during the group’s gala night.

In his speech, Coroza stressed that parents, grand-parents and extended relatives – who are the first teachers of their respective wards, must set high expectations from them

and push them towards aca-demic excellence.

He encouraged the officers of the Capizano Association of Ontario to focus less on or-ganizing sports activities and pageants, and concentrate more on setting up scholarships and bursaries to be distributed to the best and the brightest in the Filipino community, enabling them to pursue higher, even post graduate education.

Judge Steve Coroza ad-dresses the Capizeno Asso-ciation of Ontario

2 Manila Media Monitor September 2010

3September 2010 Manila Media MonitorNEWS

‘‘The Lucena City As-

sociation concluded on September 11 a fund raiser at the Malvern Community Centre in Scarborough to build two classrooms for poor chil-dren in depressed areas of Lucena City, Quezon Province.

This project will compliment the organi-

zation’s past projects, such as the delivery of $550,000 worth of medi-cal supplies and equip-ment, sending medical and dental missions, helping build churches and convents and build-ing houses for the poor.

True to the associa-tion’s slogan, “The Mis-sion is the Reason!”, the

leadership of the orga-nization, headed by the president of twelve years, Jun Enverga will once again fulfill the group’s promise of giving back to the community.

The fund raiser event was chaired by Manny and Belinda Abellanosa and co-chaired by Rose-mer Enverga. They were

assisted by Rico and Rosie Palillo, Lydia and Eddie Rivera, Pat Quisao, Alex and Merle Dooc, Rolly and Edith Vallena, Cely and Troy De Leon , Willy and Chel Maano, Shiela and Chito de Luna, Ver Amante Em-ily and Stella Malungkit, Sonji and Ghonee and other dedicated Lucena-hins. Bal Yujuico emceed the gathering. (PR)

said that voters can show one piece of identifica-tion with name, address and signature, or one piece with name and ad-dress and another with name and signature.

The budget for To-ronto’s 2010 election is $7.3 million, up from $6 million in 2006.

Pietrangelo said the increase is because of inflation and new re-quirements to make all polling stations acces-sible for the disabled, including touch screens and other devices.

Advance polling will take place in Missis-sauga Oct. 14-17, and continues in Vaughan Oct. 5-10 and Oct. 18-19. It has also begun in Oshawa and continues there Oct. 7, 9, 12, 14, 16-17. In Newmarket advance polls open on Oct. 9, 16-17, 20-24; in Markham Oct. 16-17; and in Brampton on Oct. 16.

ELECTION from p. 1JUDGE from p. 1

CHINA cont’d on p.17

Lucena Association raises funds for two classrooms

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100 Steeles Avenue West, unit 28, ThornhillLucena City Association officers celebrating their highly successful Hawai-ian Night. Jun Enverga (2nd from right, 1st row) declared another “Mission Accomplished”.

Likewise, he encour-aged the organization of Capizenos to be the leader among commu-nity organizations to take active role in race rela-tions. He said that orga-nizations must not sim-ply be an excuse for its members to gather once a year for a dinner, or a picnic at a park once a year. As an example, he cited that organizations must work to break open the barriers to employ-ment that continuously remains a challenged for newer immigrants. He said that newer Filipino immigrants to Canada are highly qualified pro-fessionals but do not find

equivalent employment in Canada.

Judge Coroza said that matters of race relations could only be tackled with widespread commu-nity and individual com-mitment. He cited that a good number of lawyers, doctors and other profes-sionals come to Canada with high expectations, but only to arrive and get disappointed. Because of this situation, he pointed out, that we lose the con-tributions of these Fili-pinos to other countries where their qualifications are more appreciated.

Coroza is the first Fili-pino Canadian to be ap-pointed to the bench. He was sworn into office on January 15, 2010.

Manila Media MonitorTel. (416) 285-8583

China, Southeast Asian nations discussing Spratlys

MANILA – China and Southeast Asian countries have begun discussions to hammer a stronger ac-cord aimed at preventing territorial disputes in the South China Sea from erupting into armed con-flicts, a Chinese official said recently.

China and the 10-member Associa-tion of Southeast Asian Nations signed a non-binding edict in 2002 calling on claimants to resolve their conflicting claims over the Spratly archipelago in the South

China Sea peacefully and refrain from taking steps that could spark fighting.

China and the other claimants have wanted to forge a stronger ac-cord that could be legally binding to better ensure peace.

Chinese Ambassador Liu Jianchao said China and the other claimants have begun discussions to forge a stronger code of conduct over the con-tested region.

China, Brunei, Malay-sia, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines have been

locked in a dispute for years over the Spratlys -- a group of islands, reefs and atolls with rich fish-ing grounds.

The area is believed to have large oil and natural gas reserves and straddles busy sea lanes that are a crucial conduit for oil and other resources fuel-ing China’s fast-expand-ing economy and those of other Asian nations.

Beijing reacted with fury after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clin-

Gov’t to fund project for internationally-trained dentists

The Government of Canada is funding a project that will help international-ly-trained dentists put their knowledge and skills to work sooner.

This was announced re-cently by Diane Finley, Min-ister of Human Resources and Skills Development.

The Canadian Den-tal Regulatory Authorities Federation (CDRAF) will receive over $790,000 in Foreign Credential Recogni-tion Program funding for its project entitled Assessment of Internationally Trained General Dentists from Non-Accredited Dental Pro-

grams.Finley said this project

will contribute to a fair, ef-ficient and timely system that will help internationally-trained dentists find work in communities across Cana-da.”

The CDRAF’s project will establish a national

process for the assessment of internationally- trained dentists. Prior to this initia-tive, the majority of foreign-trained dentists, who come from non-accredited dental schools, would have been required to undertake ad-ditional training and educa-tion.

This new process will evaluate whether these in-dividuals already have the

same knowledge, skills and competencies as a graduate from an accredited Canadian dental program.

Successful completion of this assessment process will enable them to take the na-tional examination through the National Dental Ex-amining Board of Canada.

DENTISTcontinued on p. 11


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NEWS

RP bishops to support protests against birth control

MANILA - Catholic bishops in the Philippines have warned they would support protests against President Benigno Aqui-no if he pushed ahead with his plan to promote contraception.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philip-pines said it was offended by Aquino’s statement in which he said his govern-ment would provide arti-ficial birth control meth-ods to the poor.

“It is their right to

manifest their protest in any legal or moral way,” said Father Melvin Cas-tro, a spokesman for the bishops.

Many lay leaders who backed Aquino’s election campaign were “disap-pointed and hurt” by his statement and are meet-ing to plan their protests, said Castro, executive secretary of the bishops’ Commission on Family and Life.

“They (the bishops) would morally sup-

port (protests) but they would not be there to march with the people on the streets,” he told AFP.

A spokesman for the Philippine leader Edwin Lacierda told reporters Aquino stands firm on his pledge to give Fili-pinos the means to plan the size of their fami-lies.

“Even during the campaign (Aquino) al-ready stated his position on the matter,” he said.

allotted for the program for this year.

Lacierda said the Aquino administration is on track towards achiev-ing its goals even though it was “sidelined a bit” by the August 23 hos-tage crisis, where eight tourists from Hong Kong and the hostage-taker, dismissed police officer Rolando Mendoza, were

killed. The administra-tion’s poor handling of the incident was widely criticized both here and abroad.

Failing markBut for the Commu-

nist Party of the Philip-pines (CPP), the Aquino administration got failing marks on 10 issues.

“The mystique whipped up around Aqui-no is fast being blown away by the realities of the socio-economic and political crises of the rul-ing state and system,” the CPP said in a statement on its website.

The CPP listed 10 is-sues that it claimed show the “pro-imperialist, elit-ist, superficial, incompe-tent, militarist and rotten-to-the-core character” of Aquino’s government:

1. Lack of drive in the criminal prosecution of former President now incumbent Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

2. No intent to imple-ment agrarian reform, as shown by the Aquino-Cojuangco clan’s tight-ened monopoly hold on

Hacienda Luisita.3. Unbridled US inter-

ventionism in exchange for US political, mili-tary, economic, financial and other support, via strings attached to the $464-million fund grant from the US Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

4. No serious interest in the peace process.

5. Extension of the Oplan Bantay Laya “ter-ror campaign” against the New People’s Army.

6. Counterinsurgency, neoliberal, mendicancy, anti-people budget.

7. Massive push for more denationalization and privatization.

8. Increase in charges of public utilities and ad-ditional taxes.

9. Collossal incom-petence in handling the Aug. 23 Manila hostage crisis.

10. “Rotten appoin-tees” and political fac-tions.

“These outstanding is-sues serve as a yardstick in projecting the further sufferings of the mass of the Filipino people in

PALACE from p. 1CHINA from p. 3

the next six years un-der the Aquino regime. With the emptiness of Aquino’s promises and the shallowness of his political gimmicks exposed one after the other, the people are faced with no other op-tion but to wage revo-lutionary and militant struggle in order to de-fend and advance their interests,” the CPP said.

Contrary to some of the CPP’s claims, however, the Aquino administration has cre-ated the Truth Com-mission which will investigate corruption scandals in the Arroyo administration. It will be headed by retired Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr.

The government is also working on the re-sumption of its peace talks with the Moro Is-lamic Liberation Front. Aquino has also previ-ously said a panel that will resume negotia-tions with the CPP will be formed. (with files from GMA News)

ton told an ASEAN re-gional security forum in Vietnam in July that the peaceful resolution of disputes over the Sprat-ly and Paracel island groups was in the Amer-ican national interest.

Beijing said Wash-ington was interfering in an Asian regional is-sue.

The United States

worries the disputes could hurt access to one of the world’s busiest commercial sea lanes.

President Barack Obama and ASEAN heads of state last week reiterated their support for a peaceful resolution of the disputes, freedom of navigation and re-spect for international law in the South China Sea.

5September 2010 Manila Media Monitor

6 Manila Media Monitor September 2010 NEWS

If Tobias ‘Jun’ Enverga is elected …

A C E A L V A R E Z

Towards the end of one re-cent Sunday 7 PM mass at a Catholic parish in Ward 8 of the Toronto Catholic School Board (bounded by East of Midland, north of 401 and East of Morn-ingside; like an “L”), the parish had a second collection for its building fund.

At the end of the mass, the pastor and his assistants stood by the door and greeted its pa-rishioners a good evening.

Stopping by, I said to the pastor, “Father, don’t worry. Should my good friend, To-bias ‘Jun’ Enverga, wins as trustee in this election, he will see to it that everything that needs repair in this church will be done.” Ooops … I think I slipped!

***Should Tobias ‘Jun’ Enverga

wins as Trustee, it is true that

we do not expect to see “Little Miss TCDSB Ward 8 Scarbor-ough”, “Miss TCDSB Ward 8 Scarborough” and “Mrs. TCDSB Ward 8 Scarborough”, not to mention “Pistahan sa TCDSB Ward 8 Scarborough”.

***From a message sent out

by Philippine Artists Group’s Romi MananQuil:

Subject: Andy Valenton, KCR, running for City Mayor of Mississauga

“Sir Andy Valenton is around 6 ft. tall and running against the virtually invincible 5’ 2”, 89 yrs. old, Mississauga mayor, Hazel McCallion, who is running for her unprecedent-ed 12th term. This time, it’s ‘Goliath’ who challenges ‘Da-vid’.”

Ace to Romi: Where are the platforms? We might not even

reach the platform. It might be up too high since Andy is 6 Ft. tall.

***Conversation over lunch

with good friends, Jimmy and Bing Marasigan, and Jun and Rosemer Enverga at the Aris-tokrat Restaurant, Sunday, September 12.

Jimmy and Bing Marasigan: “The novena to St. Pancratius is so powerful that we recite it regularly, kaya, matagal na kaming retired, pero hindi pa rin namin natitikman ang re-tirement namin dahil laging kaming may trabaho na dapat gawin.”

Jimmy and Bing work on various events of the Philip-pine Independence Day Coun-cil (PIDC), the Knights of Co-

Top photo: Toronto Catholic School Board candidate for Ward 8 Trustee Tobias ‘Jun’ Enverga and his wife, Rosemer, chat with Filipino Chef Ron Bilaro during the latter’s visit in Toronto to promote his television show, airing on GMA Life TV. The specialty tv channel is not currently airing in To-ronto, but hopes it will in the near future over paid subscrip-tion channel. Rosemer is the newly appointed Consultant of GMA Pinoy TV in Toronto. Photo below: Civic workers Jimmy Marasigan and Bing Marasigan, also at the same event de-scribed above with the visiting Filipino chef. (Photos: Manila Media Monitor)

OOPS cont’d on p.7


OOOPS from p. 6

lumbus, the Knights of Rizal, the Archdiocesan Filipino Catholic Mission (AFCM), to name a few.

***The guys in the photo with

no caption in this page are those who are in the banner of ABS-CBN “The Filipino Chan-nel” (TFC), and are among the leading broadcast newsmen in the Philippines to lead the Fili-pino viewers to -- as the banner calls for, “Time to take your part in Philippine history. Be informed, and be the change.” No, the guy in the center is not one among them. He just hap-CHIEF cont’d on p.11

pened to be standing in front of the banner. He is Rafael Nebres, President of the Phil-ippine Chamber of Commerce-Toronto and the General Man-ager of Action Honda. “Kaya whether bibili ka o hindi,” just feel free to visit him. It is al-ways a pleasure for him to talk to a kababayan!

***From a forwarded e-mail by

Philippine-based newsman Ra-mon Bernardo:

A woman accompanied her husband to the doctor’s office.

After the checkup, the doc-tor took the wife aside and told her, “If you don’t

do the following, your hus-band will surely die:

1) “Each morning, fix him a healthy breakfast and send him off to work in a good mood;

2) “For dinner, fix his favor-ite meal, and don’t burden him with household chores;

3) “Finally, make love with him every night.”

On the way home, the hus-band asked the wife what the doctor had said to her.

She said, “You’re going to die.”

***In one news item in the To-

ronto Sun recently, the head-

line reads, “Shots fired at Cen-tral Tech.”

The following day, a friend of mine, former advertising agency art director and promo-tions man wrote in his blog: “Donna (Bill’s wife) and I were at Central Tech last night for sketching class. We both drew but neither of us fired.”

***Another one from Ramon

Bernardo: After giving a woman a

complete medical examina-tion, the doctor explained his prescription.

“Take the green pill with a glass of water when you wake up. Take the blue pill with a glass of water after lunch. Then just before going to bed, take the red pill with a glass of water.”

“Exactly what is my prob-lem, Doctor?” the woman asked.

“You’re not drinking enough water.”

Further< Ramon share the following:

The doctor handed her over-weight patient a bottle of pills. “Don’t take these pills,” she said.

“Spill them on the floor and pick them up one by one.”

MANILA -- Oil smuggling in the country may have been costing the government as much P60 billion in taxes an-nually, or about double the in-dustry’s earlier figures of only P30 to P35 billion yearly, En-ergy Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras said.

Almendras said the Depart-ment of Energy (DOE) has been investigating the extent of oil smuggling in the country as reports cited a wide range of P20 billion to P60 billion in tax revenue losses every year.

The Department of Finance has already called together an interagency meeting with the DOE and the Department of Justice to attend to forming an interagency team to specifical-ly address oil smuggling prob-lem of the country,” Almendras said.

“We hope to activate this in-teragency task force within the month so we can start as soon as possible,” he added.

The energy chief stressed that oil smuggling is one of the main reasons why pump prices

are higher by as much as P5 a liter in certain areas.

To help curb this rampant fuel smuggling, the DOE ear-lier said it has been planning to maximize the use of marker dyes and determine the source of imported petroleum prod-ucts.

“For instance, once an adul-terated (fuel) product is found, we will also find out the source of the fuel. And since the marker dye system can detect source, it can also be used by the energy department for its anti-smuggling drive,” said Zenaida Y. Monsada, direc-tor of the DOE’s Oil Industry Management Bureau.

The marker dye system is currently used to determine whether certain types of im-ported fuel have been cleared for entry to the Philippines. Further tests will determine the source.

Monsada said that by know-ing the source, the government would be able to impose more

Gov’t losing P60B yearly to oil smuggling – energy chief


From the Monitor’s Desk

A C E A L V A R E Z

Tobias ‘Jun’ Enverga –one Scarborough ‘Juggler’

Colorfully-spelled names of TV stars

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

14 years of dedicatedcommunity service

Managing EditorACE ALVAREZ

Associate EditorGIE ALVAREZ

Contributing EditorsRICKY CALUENMARIO DIMAIN

MAG CRUZ HATOLGRACE P. FREIRESMANNY FREIRES

BEN VICCARI

Editorial AssistantLEN ALVAREZ-MAHONEY

ContributorsEVA AGPAOA

NOEL PERADALARRY TORRES

Account ExecutivesMYRNA SORIANO

JOHN TAN

GraphicsCOBIE CRUZ

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TOBIAS cont’d on p.10

VIEWS

In the debate about which language the Filipino should master, we have another liv-ing proof that the Department of Education (and the Filipino parent) should be working double time on the sheets re-turned to Anak TV by the thou-sands of people interviewed or surveyed in the course of its year-long study.

Without a doubt, the screen-ings and surveys held by the Anak TV team in various points of the country reveal much about the pulse of the people, how the ordinary TV user chooses what programs to patronize as well as his or her relationship to the country’s most popular form of home en-tertainment.

The survey sheets come back with a smorgasbord of data peppered also with mor-sels of hilarity. The present crop of school teachers would find it an equally amusing and dismaying experience leafing through the answers. The way the stars’ names and programs’ titles are written will be a dead giveaway about the state

of spelling and literacy in the country.

We marvel at stars like Dingdung Dantis, Piolo Pask-wal, Garry Ve and Maryan Ri-vira. We wonder if they really mean Ogue Alkased, Cluoden Bareto, Mick Inrequize and Cris Aqueno (another varia-tion: Kres Aquoeno).

If they were bona fide fans, why would they mangle their idols’ names and write Korena Zanches, Reijian Belascias or Sarah Worienemo. Or their favorite programs like Aqua Bendeta, Nua or Onang Heret.

The official Anak TV spokesperson would get a jolt when she reads her name as Maekie Coangko!

INTERESTING SPELL-ING

There is nothing atrocious about why the way the names are spelled the way they are, even if the correctly spelled versions are bannered daily on TV for the viewers’ eyes to see. It is an acknowledged peculiar Pinoy habit to write a word as he hears or utters it.

Regional differences add spice to the concoction. The more deeply embedded in the Filipino heartland one gets, away from activities that de-mand a lot of writing and read-ing, the more interesting his spelling becomes. We some-times wonder if, as a pupil in the grades, his spelling was

meticulously checked by the overworked teacher. Or was the mentor simply too inured by his or her own set of spelling mistakes that the pupil’s errors oftentimes get overlooked.

Many pupils still misspell Philippines, some dropping the third letter P, others adding an extra L. Hence if the writer hails from a particular linguis-tic group, he further colors the word with his own auditory-based spelling, sometimes changing I to E or O to U as in Philepines or Phelipines.

We would like to think the spelling errors are mere slips, occasioned perhaps by the way the names are pronounced, and hence spelled: Ruben Padel-lia, Dolpeh, An Cortis, Ramon Revellia and Sharon Conitah.

Or could the spelling modes be revealing of our national carelessness? Our devil may care attitude about language and spelling that have sprung colorful variations like sward-speak, jejemon and bekimon.

DepEd has a ton of work to do, indeed. ([email protected])

The filing for candidacy for the office of a Trustee in the Catholic School Board’s Ward 8 of Scarborough of Tobias “Jun” Enverga reminded me of the story of “Our Lady’s Jug-gler”, a very simple story about being a Christian; that each of us has a talent that if used can light up the life of many peo-ple.

I was reminded of the story while in the audience at the fundraising party of the Luce-na City Association of Ontario last September 11, and where Jun officially announced his candidacy for the office men-tioned. Jun has been a longtime president of the organization, where, among many projects he spearheaded were sending out over $500,000 worth of medical equipment and sup-plies for poor families in the province of Quezon, Philip-pines; led medical and dental missions to support poor fami-lies in the Philippines and ini-tiated various group efforts in building houses (todate total is 33) for the poor through Ca-nadian registered charity, AN-COP Canada.

After his announcement, his wife, Rosemer, confided to my wife, Gie, and I that she had a talk with Jun about running for a public office. Among Mrs. Enverga’s concerns was that, Jun is busy enough “juggling” his time among his family, regular management work at a big commercial bank, his vari-ous community involvements, among others, the Philippine

Independence Day Council (PIDC), Knights of Colum-bus, the Archdiocesan Filipino Catholic Mission, Knights of Rizal, to name a few in a series of enumeration on his volun-teer community involvements.

In a low voice – contrary to Jun’s normally higher voice volume, he told his wife, “I felt I haven’t done enough yet for the community and wants to do more, this time to a larger cross cultural community.” Let me stress at this point that with Tobias ‘Jun’ Enverga’s mana-gerial position at his regular employment, he lives comfort-ably with his family, hence, this service at the elected office he is seeking for is definitely a call for him to do much more. I would like to add here, that before filing his candidacy, he sought the counsel of one of his, and his family’s, spiritual advisers.

If I were to base my state-ment here from Jun’s response as we were told by his wife, one similarity (as opposed to the words, “distinction” and “dif-ference”) of Tobias “Jun” En-verga to Barnaby, the character in Anatole France’s “Our La-

dy’s Juggler” is that Jun wishes to use further his “gifts and tal-ents to use to bring greater joy and meaning into more lives” (words borrowed from the re-view of “Our Lady’s Juggler” by Rev. Mark Connolly) in the diverse Scarborough Catholic community.

Let me clarify that it is not that only the Scarborough Ward 8 Catholic school board candi-date is the only Filipino Cana-dian juggler, but I can speak these things since I know him – and have observed his work and accomplishments since the mid 90s. There are several oth-ers, too: Luz del Rosario, Mar-lene Mogado – whom I have known personally, too, but of which I have not an opportu-nity to work closely since they live in other parts of this vast Greater Toronto Area. Besides, Luz and Marlene are already made up possessing of good track record during their term and tenure for the offices they held, thus, are armed already by such for the offices that ei-ther is seeking for re-election, or a new elective position. I wish both and the others well in this election.

In Tobias “Jun” Enverga’s case, however, my wife and I have worked closely on vari-ous initiatives with him and his wife, especially during the last six years, that whatever I say here is based, not from hearsay, but from my personal observation and inter-action with him and his wife. There are also other “jugglers” in the Filipino Canadian community that I move about, but, it was so unfortunate that my path never crossed theirs, even as an acquaintance from an event, or somewhere, hence, unable to say much based on personal appreciation.

I thought of “Our Lady’s Juggler” because in this story set during the time of King Louis of France many centu-ries ago, the main character, Barnaby, stood before the stat-ue of our Blessed Mother Mary and gave her the only talent he had – the art of juggling. Please note that while I used the word “juggling” earlier pertaining to Tobias “Jun” Enverga’s vari-ous roles in his daily activities, this was not the reason why I was reminded of the Ana-tole France’s story. Rather, I thought of “Our Lady’s Jug-gler” because of the lessons from the story that I similarly find in Mr. Enverga’s response to his wife. In his case, he wants to use his close Catholic upbringing and faith to good use for the greater good of the cross-cultural people in Toron-


Water Dragon

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

Ford -- The ‘Noynoy’ of Toronto

You’re Entitledto My Opinion

J U N E N V E R G A

Waterdragon

Adina by the pole

FORD cont’d on p.15

VIEWS

“Who cares about what the mainstream papers say?It is what our Local Filipino-Cana-dian papers that you must lis-ten to… because we care more for our community than any-body else!”

Late last year when I was registering my car, I discov-ered to my chagrin that I have to cough out another $60 for the new vehicle registration tax. Why on earth must I pay that amount just because I live in the confines of Toronto?

I was so furious that day that I promised myself that I would not forget the fiscal irrespon-sibility of the current govern-ment. I had not forgotten too when I had to drive my stink-ing garbage to a dump seven kilometers from my home; I had not forgotten, too, the time when there was a gridlock go-ing to and from work because the TTC union decided to take a day off. This Mayor and his council have to go. They prac-tically forgot the reason why they are in office; to protect and serve their constituents and not some vested interests.

Filipino-Canadians are the fourth largest minority in Can-ada; we can make a big differ-ence in this society. Let us pool

all our voic-es together and bring a leader who truly deserves to be there. I think it is time for our voices to be heard... Loud and Clear!

This is the time to think clearly, to forget about the pa-tronage, to forget what others say. Let us listen to the facts and be mindful of the past!

We want someone whom we can trust and who will take care of our welfare!

Let me see our choices for Mayor. Hmmm … not much choice, huh!

OK. Let us weed out the non-electables.,Hmmm … most of them, I believe!

OK … OK. Let us just get only the top contenders, based on surveys.

Ford on way to top; Smither-man in second; Rossi and Pan-talone, distant third or fourth. If you read the mainstream papers, they back up Smither-man and Rossi. But who cares about what the mainstream pa-pers say? It is what our Local

Filipino-Canadian papers you should listen to … because we care more for our community than anybody else… (But then again, the Filipino community media as a whole hardly agrees on anything.)

Let us start from the last: Rossi a great man, someone who is untainted in spite of his long tenure as a member of the Federal Parliament; a proud son of Italian Immigrants; member of the Liberal caucus. How about Pantalone -- the old city hall image, the Miller mirror. Ah, there is no point to discuss.

We go to the second favor-ite according to poll samplings, Smitherman – who is a long time favorite of the mainstream media; a colorful individual; the first openly gay member of the provincial government,

married to his long time part-ner, Chris-topher.

Only one con-troversy. Smither-

man was the same

Minister of Health who was at the helm when the one billion E-health contract scandals ex-ploded

Finally, let us talk about the one at the top of the list, Rob Ford -- a long time councilor; a councilor mired in controversy as described by some in the mainstream media. A penny pinching councilor and some-one who is not a tax and spend kind of guy; someone who has responsibly and wisely handled the tax money of his constitu-ents for years; someone who has a true city of Toronto man-agement experience.

For most of us Torontonians, the choice is clear: “Filipinos for Ford!”, if it is hard to say, you may also say, “Pfilipinos pfor PFord”… it will sound the same come Election Day. Ford is the “Noynoy” of Toronto.

Enough is enough! It is time

for the voices of the Filipino community and the majority to be heard. Come October elec-tion time, if you live some-where in Mississauga, vote for our own Luz Del Rosario for Councilor or Alex Chiu and Marlene Mogado our coun-cilor and Trustee in Markham. If you are in the Bathurst Area, vote for Angela de Ocampo as Trustee. If you live in Scar-borough… read further on my note below.

If you live in Toronto… if you are a hardcore liberal, vote for Rossi, if you do not want paying the vehicle registration taxes, land transfer taxes, if you do not want any new taxes, if you do not want to throw your stinking garbage a few kilome-ters away, vote for Ford. These are just my opinions, please be entitled to them. [email protected].

I recently wrote a note to all my friends:

Dear Friend,

In our numerous capacities as volunteers in the communi-ty, it was apparent that there is a need empowering ourselves

In the old Chinese zodiac calendar, there are five known dragon signs. Among them is the fire-spitting monster, ca-pable of bringing havoc to a village with its fiery breath. This evil creature is the Fire Dragon; most feared by the other dragons,except for the one cool-headed but unyield-ing beast -- the Water Dragon.

According to the legend, the Water Dragon is totally a different breed. In contrast to its nemesis, it could spit strong tidal waves of water that could quickly drown an erupting vol-cano. It is the only dragon that could stand its ground to challenge the Fire Dragon. With its waterpower, it could extinguish any fire that dares to cross its path.

In our modern world to-day, the winged serpent-like dragons only exist in fairy tales and in the movies, but the two opposing elements of nature: fire and water, are ever present, and are still in on-going battle. Fires that get out of hand trig-ger the alarm at every fire sta-tion, sending out firefighters in the combat-form of a Water

Dragon to contain the blaze and stop the in-ferno. These contempo-

rary dragons are heroes. They are the new breed

of angels, unafraid to enter the gates of hell, risking their lives to save lives.

Last spring at the Toronto Fire Station 343, while con-ducting an interview for my series of articles about women in uniform, I felt the presence of a Water Dragon in the per-sona of a charismatic lady fire-fighter who is well-trained to tame even the wildest fire on earth.

From below, I watched her slide down the pole through the circular opening in the

floor of the firefighters’ quarters. Her descent was swift like a dragon landing from the sky.

“Hi, I am Adina Kauf-man,” she greeted with a smile as she began to give me a one-on-one mini lecture on fire trucks and the full firefighting gear that are vital in respond-ing to emergency calls, primarily extinguishing fires and rescue opera-

tions. Adina’s fascination with

firefighting was a childhood dream that she thought she could outgrew, but the burn-ing desire did not fade away and proved her wrong. Even her professional career in engineering was not heavy enough to outweigh the pas-sion. So, when she ultimately unleashed the restless Water Dragon within her, there was no turning back. She held her head up, moved forward and with her best shot, she pushed

her limits to meet all the rigid physical requirements

to become a firefighter re-gardless of her gender and petite stature. There is no de-

nying, she earned her spot in the Toronto Fire Service, fair and square.

At the Fire Academy dur-ing her graduation, at five foot three, she was standing tall -- she was the only woman in the graduating class!

“The only thing I can say about being a female firefight-er is losing my anonymity. As the only woman in the group, it

is difficult not to get noticed,” Adina said as she recalled the firefighting training she had in the midst of 43 men. Over time, the consciousness of be-ing a woman gradually dimin-ished. “In the course of the regular interaction with my colleagues during our shifts, they tend to forget that I am a

woman because we all did the same thing, look-ing out for each other, working as a team,” Adina reaffirmed.

Now, after eight years in the Toronto Fire Service, there are no in-dications of regrets, only fondness of the job. This feisty firefighter loves what she does and does it with excellence. She is genuinely interested in protecting and serv-ing the community. Her positive outlook and amazing achievements

ranked her as one of Canada’s Top Firefighters by Reader’s Digest magazine. The presti-gious recognition which is fea-tured in the October issue did not come as a surprise. Adina Kaufman fully deserves every bit of it. In her full firefighting gear, she fits the bill. After all, she has the heart and soul of a true Water Dragon. ([email protected])


Our JourneyE V A A G P A O A

The other equation tocaring for the sick and

elderly

A.C.T.S.

Fast Food ForThought

R u d y M . V i e r n e s

VIEWS

A prayer must always be earnest, soulful and forthright.

When we pray, we pray A.C.T.S. -- an acronym for Adoration, Contrition, Thank-gsgiving, and Supplication. This is a structure of prayer when we start to focus on who God is and exalt and praise Him for that.

ADORATION is giving praise to God as the Creator of Creation. He is an Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnipresent Su-preme Being, Sustainer and Redeemer of mankind.

We go back to Genesis, meaning the beginning.

In the beginning, when God began to create the heavens and the earth, the earth had no form and was void; darkness over the deep and the Spirit of God hovered over the earth. And then God gave the “Let there be commmands...”: Let there be light, Let there be sky and earth, Let there be waters, Let there be vegetation, Let there be living creatures in the air and in the waters, Let there be animals roaming on the ground. One by one, God created these in a systematic order and endowed them with life.

Then God paused and saw that what He had done were

good. Everything though greatly di-versified uniting seamlessly each in its own time and space. But who will reign over all these? God got a clay, molded it, and breathed on it to become the first human being. This was Adam. From Adam’s ribs, He formed Eve. They were our first parents. He blessed them and ordered them to rule the earth, to go increase and mul-tiply. That was the rhythmic account of Creation. It’s only an infinite divine master, de-signer, builder and organzier who can do all these. Thus He deserves praise, adoration and adulation. We look up to Him with awe, for He is an “awe”ful Master Creator.

CONTRITION is the act of cleansing the wrongful do-ings -- in thoughts, words and deeds -- that had alienated us from God. This is sin, or the breaking of a moral law: The Commandments are moral laws. Contrition is a sincere and complete remorse for these sins then seek divine forgive-ness through the Sacrament of Confession, called Penance, as we detest the evil wrought and

resolve fidelity to the Com-mandments. When we sin we fall from God’s grace. We go astray like the lost lamb. But it was brought back into the fold by the shepherd. When we con-fess, and we repent and accept penance, God will bring us back into the fold and restores us to grace at once. This shows man’s imperfections. We have faults. We commit mistakes. “To err is human, to forgive divine” says the Proverbs.

Human sin is derived from Original Sin. If our first par-ents had not succumbed to the trickery of the devil they could have stayed put in paradise. But they were human beings. They breached the privilege given them by God to reign over the universe. He vanished them from there, disgraced and shameful. This was the start of man’s sufferings and the pass-ing of the blame.

But God is good. He can-not refuse a contrite heart. We

unburden to Him our past failings with deep regrets, and when that is done we feel good beyond measure.”Come to me those who are heavily laden and I’ll give them rest.”

Like the repentant thief nailed on the Cross beside Christ. He was overcome with remorse that he beseeched Christ to remember him when he goes back to his kingdom. That was a perfect contrition of a sinner. Instantly Jesus merciful heart melted and he promised the penitent thief that he will be with Him in paradise.

THANKSGIVING is the expressing of gratitude for something good given to us. God’s acceptance of our re-morse is like having dropped a heavy load off our back. We feel like new and exhilarated after we have been cleansed of our sinfulness. We there-fore express gratitude to God who made us new again with His gift of reconciliation. The Scripture says “When anyone is rejoined to Christ, he is a new being, the old is gone, the new has come.” We are again endowed with a fresh gift of peace in our heart. We were

lost but we were found; we were blind but now we see.

SUPPLICATION (or In-tercession) is an entreaty to God for a need. Having been cleansed of our sins, we again have God’s grace and feel wor-thy and confident that the wish list we ask for in His name will be granted, aware of what He had promised “Ask, and you shall receive; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened.”

We ask God to steer us from a rudderless life, to give us strength when burdened by tri-als; to uplift us when weighed down by afflictions; to protect us when persecuted; to be il-lumined when there is doubt, gloom and darkness.

As we go on with our daily life, we hold on to his guiding hands, hold them tight because we couldn’t walk alone. We supplicate that He looks at all these intentions, longings and desires and do what His heart dictates. “For the Lord is my sheperd; I shall not want.

The Lord’s Prayer is the model of all prayers. It is short but it contains A.C.T.S. (Rudy M. Viernes lives in Novato, CA. He may reached at [email protected])

Aging is a normal part of life. But it is not always the best part. Everyday, we see and interact with people who have succumbed to the rav-ages of age: disability, demen-tia, cancer; and oftenly, these are the companions that guide us through the final days of our journey. But we are living longer for sure. Medical sci-ence has done a great deal to ward off the diseases that took our ancestors. And because we are living longer -- and by the way, living longer in a body that was never really designed to live that long, we experi-ence aging in a way that our forefathers never did.

Are we ready for this? Can our city, our healthcare system deal with an increasingly ag-ing population afflicted with ailments both difficult and costly to manage? Are we re-ally ready for the next wave of seniors, were intensive con-stant long-term care will be the

norm? I don’t think so. We are still op-erating with a mindset formed gen-erations ago when aging was a brief acute period. People got cancer but they passed quickly. They got heart attacks and usually died as a result. Dementia and Al-zheimer’s were not so com-mon. These are the diseases of the long lived. That mindset stated that intensive long-term care for seniors was a rare thing. That mindset continue to expect that seniors will not last long.

We better get ready and prepared -- as a society and as individuals. Many of us have parents living with us; aging parents whose physical health is attended to by a very compe-

tent healthcare system. So, we can expect them to live longer and we are going to be faced with taking care of them (if we are not doing so already). Do not get me wrong, I love my family and want them to live as long as possible. This col-umn is not about complaining that my mother is living a long life. Rather, it is about the fact that as she ages, I can expect changes which will affect her life and my life, too; changes for which I and my support system are prepared for.

At some point, my mother

might need 24-hour care. I might not be able to afford this. My options would be (1) Stop working to focus on her needs; (2) Hire in-house care; (3) Put

her in an institution; (4) Find a family member or friend will-ing to help. Most of us could not afford to stop working. We are just making ends meet. Hiring someone is also out of the question. Finding a family member or friend is not practi-cal. Putting our loved ones in an institution seems cold and heartless.

None of these options are very appealing or practical. But it is inevitable that we must make a choice. But our choice is only half the equa-tion. We cannot do this alone.

The burden is too great. Our healthcare system must also change to meet these new challenges. It must adopt a dif-ferent way of thinking about caring for the elderly. First and most important is greater support for family members. Healthcare practitioners must recognize that family members are an integral part of the care equation. Support has to come in many different ways: Thera-peutic, social and financial.

Now is the time to change our approach to aging. Now is the time to begin preparing ourselves for the inevitable.

We must work towards al-lowing people to age grace-fully and with dignity. And we must work towards helping the family of aging parents to live with dignity and not be forced into making decisions based only on economics. We deserve better choices. ([email protected])

TOBIAS from p.4

to’s Catholic education system. For what sublime qualification would a very effective Trustee

in the system has than being a devout Catholic.

With such qualification – in addition to everything that Mr. Enverga possesses, I know, he

will execute the duties called by the office that he is seek-ing for. Suffice to say, first and foremost, his faith is the only primary requisite to guide him

in such work.For us who have a say with

our valuable right to vote in Ward 8, Scarborough, Ontario, please support Tobias “Jun”

Enverga. For others outside the ward, please join me in wish-ing Mr. Enverga the best on October 25, ELECTION DAY! ([email protected])


Text scammers target overseas Filipino workers

MANILA -- Smart Commu-nications Inc. has warned the public to be vigilant against fraudulent texts or calls that ask for “emergency money” from abroad as inflow of remittances are expected to rise in time for the Christmas season.

The Philippines largest mo-bile phone provider said scam-mers usually target families or relatives of overseas Fili-pino workers or those who re-

ceive regular remittances from abroad.

Senders of hoax texts usual-ly claim to be family members, relatives or friends of family members and relatives.

Government data showed that more than eight million Filipinos, out of a population of 90 million, work abroad.

The central bank said 761,836 Filipinos left the country to work in the first

seven months, a 28.2-percent increase over the same period last year.

The bulk of the latest re-mittances came from Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Saudi Ara-bia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States.

Ramon R. Isberto, Smart public affairs group head, said the unscrupulous persons pre-tend to be a family members or

relatives and ask victims to de-posit a certain amount of mon-ey to various bank or money accounts.

“The money is supposed to help them [unscrupulous per-son] during an emergency situ-ation, such as escaping from a cruel employer by buying a ticket to go home, or money for immediate medical atten-tion, or treatment for an acci-dent,” Isberto said.

“Since the initial reaction is almost always to help, fraud victims send money immedi-ately, without confirming the facts with their family mem-

bers or relativse first. When they realize they’ve been vic-timized by a scam, it’s too late,” he said.

To avoid falling victim to scammers and losing hard-earned money, Isberto said text messages or calls from unknown cellphone numbers should be double-checked and confirmed.

Data from the National Telecommunications Commis-sion (NTC) showed that text scam complaints reached 776 cases from January to June this year as against 844 in the same period last year.

stringent controls and keep a tighter watch over the fuel imports.

Citing a study, San Miguel Corp. president Ramon S. Ang earlier said that as much as 30 to 35 per-cent of the gasoline and diesel sold in the market today has been com-ing from oil smuggling. This was equivalent to some P30-P35 billion in uncollected taxes, he added.

Former Finance Secretary Mar-garito Teves quoted similar figures, saying the government has been losing some P32 billion in taxes every year due to the rampant oil smuggling.

CHIEF from p. 9DENTIST from p. 3Candidates who pass the exam can then register to practise as a dentist anywhere in Canada.

Through Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the Government of Canada is working with the prov-inces and territories and other partners, such as employers, to ad-dress barriers to foreign credential recognition in Canada. This part-nership directly contributed to the development of the Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Quali-fications, which was announced in November 2009.

Fourteen stranded Filipinosreturn from Saudi

MANILA – Fourteen over-seas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were found overstaying in Saudi Arabia have returned here, the Department of For-eign Affairs (DFA) said.

The 14, who stayed at the Jeddah Deportation Center, were welcomed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport by officials from the DFA Of-fice of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs.

They arrived in two batch-es. Three of them needed medical attention, the DFA said.

Their repatriation was made possible with the co-operation between the Philip-pine Consulate General in the kingdom and Saudi authori-ties, Consul General Ezzedin Tago said in a statement.

The stranded OFWs ear-lier sought the help of the

Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office.

A seven-man consular team has visited the deporta-tion center to check the con-dition of Filipinos staying in the facility.

The team provided medi-cal assistance to Filipinos in the center, and helped the processing of their cases.

The Consulate General is now fast-tracking the repa-triation of other overstaying OFWs in Saudi Arabia, Tago said.

12 Manila Media Monitor September 2010 NEWS

Luz del Rosario’s campaign sprints out of the gates in the race for city councilor in Mississauga’s ward 11

The campaign of Luz del Rosario – candidate for the Mississauga coun-cil, Ward 11, is going strong and there are no signs of it slowing down.

“I’m in this to win and I think we made a strong statement today that our campaign means busi-ness,” said Del Rosario at the opening of her cam-paign headquarters on September 12.

“I want to show the residents of Ward 11 that I am serious about this campaign, even if my competitors are not,” she added.

Del Rosario cut the ribbon at her campaign headquarters in the heart of Streetsville to the cheers of dozens of vol-unteers, receiving honks of approval from vehi-cles driving past her cam-paign office. Likewise, she put up hundreds of lawn signs and knocking

on many doors.Del Rosario is the only

candidate to have put up signs on the first official day of the campaign.

Del Rosario served as the Separate School Board Trustee represent-ing Wards 6 and 11 be-fore she filed her candi-dacy for the city council.

She has served in this position for the last four years, providing a voice to parents and students.

She is now ready to provide a voice to the residents of Ward 11 and listen when her opponent does not.

“The residents of Ward 11 have lived with the same councillor for too long and I hear con-tinually from residents that their concerns aren’t being listened to and ac-tion is not being taken,” said Del Rosario.

“A City Councillor must be active and en-

gaged, continually work-ing on behalf of their constituents, not taking them for granted. I’m in this campaign to show residents there is a fresh alternative.”

Luz Del Rosario has lived and worked in Mississauga for over 30 years; raising two chil-dren withher husband Resty.

In 2006 she was named Mississauga Citizen of the Year and served as the Chair of the Spe-cial Education Advisory Council with the Ontario Ministry of Education for AMLC continued on p.14

Luz del Rosario

three years. Del Rosario is a former Chair of the Carassauga Festival, the biggest multicultural fes-tival in Ontario and led the Arts Review Task-force created by Mayor McCallion.

AMLC powerless vs ‘jueteng’ operators

MANILA - The An-ti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has ad-mitted that it is helpless in going after big-time il-legal gambling operators since no criminal cases have been filed.

AMLC secretariat of-ficer Richard David Funk II said efforts to go af-ter the bank accounts of suspected jueteng and masiao operators are dif-ficult as law enforcement agencies have failed to file criminal cases against them.

Funk made the rev-elation during the second hearing of the Senate re-cently on the prolifera-tion of jueteng.

Although Senate Pres-

ident Juan Ponce Enrile argued that the AMLC has the power to file a case and prove the existence of probable cause with-out police help, Funk said their hands were bound by a Supreme Court de-cision that requires the AMLC to inform a sus-pect beforehand that the council is looking into his account.

“We are empowered only insofar as the money laundering aspect,” Funk told the Senate Blue Rib-bon committee mem-bers led by Sen. Teofisto Guingona III.

Funk said the AMLC could proceed to file a case if there is probable cause to freeze the assets of the suspect.

Asked why the AMLC did not act on leads pro-vided during Senate public hearings and on news reports that illegal gambling operators have stashed high value as-sets abroad, Funk quoted

Enrile himself as saying some five years ago that “all those exposés are hearsay; how can that constitute probable cause in a court of law?”

Enrile later said the AMLC should have fol-lowed up the leads from the current exposes and Senate investigations.

“We have been look-ing into jueteng lords your honor since the time of the creation of the AMLC,” Funk assured.

Bureau of Internal Revenue deputy com-missioner Estela Sales also told the committee that they took the initia-tive to check out the as-sets of suspected jueteng operators.

Sales said the BIR has started checking the tax compliance and records of the persons named by retired archbishop Oscar Cruz and in the privilege speech of Sen. Miriam Santiago.

“Since these people are engaged in unauthor-ized form of gambling,


By Adam Chapnick

When analysts call Canada an administra-tive state, they’re usually referring to the size and structure of the Canadian public service. What be-gan in the 19th century as a relatively small or-ganization characterized by political patronage ap-pointments has evolved to become the largest single employer in the country.

Big, yes, but critics of-ten exaggerate the size of the public service by con-fusing it with the public sector — the more than three million Canadians who work for organiza-tions that receive much of their funding from one

or more levels of govern-ment.

The public service re-fers to the 250,000 Cana-dians who serve federal government departments and organizations that are staffed by Ottawa’s Pub-lic Service Commission.

These Canadians hold an incredibly diverse se-lection of jobs. Among their many duties, public servants develop and im-plement policy, enforce regulations, analyze and assess government pro-grams, communicate the government’s intentions to Canadians and protect Canadians at home and abroad.

The Public Service Commission was es-tablished in 1908 to en-

sure that public servants were hired on the basis of merit, not because of their powerful friends or how they voted in the last election.

Today, the commis-sion is also committed to building a public service that reflects the multi-cultural characteristics of the Canadian popula-tion. Until the 1970s, the focus was on improving French-speaking repre-sentation. Today, women, visible minorities, ab-original Canadians and disabled Canadians have all been targeted as fa-voured employees.

For a century, public servants have been ex-pected to serve the gov-ernment of the day im-

partially, but a number of 20th century prime ministers have distrusted their bureaucracies.

For example, Prime Minister John Diefen-baker referred to the civil servants he inherited in the Department of Exter-nal Affairs as “Pearsonal-ities” because he believed that they were committed to advancing the inter-ests of the leader of the Liberal Party, Lester B. Pearson, a diplomat and former External Affairs minister. Diefenbaker later came to appreciate the professionalism and loyalty that character-ized the vast majority of public servants, but his change of heart did not extend to his successors.

In the 1970s, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau decided that the bureau-cracy had become too powerful and indepen-dent and made drastic changes to the nature of public service employ-ment. His most senior public servants — the deputy ministers — who had become used to serv-ing in single departments for years, began to be shuffled into new jobs every few years, making it harder for them to de-velop the knowledge and experience necessary to shape policy effectively.

This process speeded up in the 1980s, changing the role of senior public servants. Instead of be-ing policy advisors, they now became departmen-tal managers. Instead of helping the government

devise the policies that best served the country’s interests, they became experts in organizing study groups, coordinat-ing meetings and imple-menting the will of their political masters.

As the public service became bigger and more expensive to maintain, it also became a prime target of government cut-backs. Nevertheless, de-spite repeated efforts to decrease the size of the bureaucracy, the public service has continued to grow.

Popular resentment of that growth is strong. But the public service’s union since 1966, the Public Service Alli-ance of Canada, is one

CANADIAN LAWcontinued on p. 18

Bureaucratic Nightmares: The Public Service and the Future of Canada


GINA MONTOJOTravel Consultant

1075 Bay Street Toronto, Ontario M5S 2B1Tel.: (416) 928.3113 Toll Free: (800) 463.1512

Fax: (416) 928.0821Web: www.newwavetravel.net E-mail: [email protected]

Reg. # 1337762

NEWS

Filipino teachers in Ontarioconduct annual developmentseminar

Purposefully meeting the life-long learning needs of several internationally-edu-cated professionals, especially teachers trained in the Philip-pines, the four-year old Philip-pine Teachers Association of Canada ( PTAC), conducted its successful 4th annual teach-ers seminar on September 18th at the Toronto Public Library, Parkdale Branch Auditorium, Toronto.

Jointly sponsored with Ka-babayan Community Centre Multicultural Services, a 32 - year provider of immigrant settlement and integration pro-grams in the GTA, the profes-sional development event was held, according to FilCan edu-cator Tony A. San Juan, OCT, “for the purpose of providing the seminar participants with appropriate information, skills and insights “ regarding Ontar-io teacher certification proce-dures, school system policies and practices, education career building and networking strat-egies, as well as building self-

esteem for teachers and adults. With its theme, “Building

and Reconnecting Teaching Career in Ontario”, a total of 121Filipino Canadian teachers and educators attended the lec-tures presented by four noted education resource profes-sionals in Ontario. Among the speakers were: Michael Salva-tori, Registrar and CEO of the Ontario College of Teachers; Peter Tumey, executive officer of Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (OSSTF); Fermer Santos, Vice Principal of Malvern Collegiate Institute -TDSB; and Albert Quirante, Program Director of Maxwell Meighen Centre-The Salvation Army.

The successful one - day seminar was organized and co-ordinated by Tony A. San Juan, PTAC President and Flor Dan-dal, Executive Director of KCC Muticultural Services. Both San Juan and Dandal served as co- project directors.They were assisted by : Amy Basingan, Loida Gatchalian, Aurora Rod-

ulfa, Bernadette Gapuz, Rose Cruz, Joan Ang, Ramon

Morales,Cielito Drapeza,, Ruse-la Lising, Venus Geraneo, Pet Col-lantes, Jocelyn San Juan, Sam Posadas, Sonia Pascual, Boni & Mila Curutan, Ar-thur Apilado, Red and Trina Andres, Elen Aguilar,Jess Catriz,Jean Paru-cha and other KCC and PTAC officers and members.

The Philippine Teachers Association of Canada, whose 105- membership includes 45 Ontario Certified Teachers ( OCTs), seven doctorate and 25 master’s holders, was been organized as San Juan said, to “provide a vehicle for Phil-ippine or Canada - trained teachers of Filipino origin

AMLC from p.12

By: Jennifer S. J. MacLean

New CIC Telephone Service for Live-in Caregivers

Citizenship and Immigration Can-ada (CIC) wants safe and informed live-in caregivers. That is why we are pleased to let live-in caregivers work-ing in Canada know about an improved telephone service available to them, through CIC’s main telephone line. Dial 1-888-242 2100, choose your language, then dial 1, then 1, then 4, working through the prompts, to speak

to an expert on the Live-in Care-giver Program.

Caregivers can talk to someone to learn more about the general re-quirements of the Live-in Caregiv-er Program.

Caregivers who face abuse, in-timidation or threats in their cur-rent jobs should call to find out what help CIC can provide.

to achieve “professional be-longingness and fellowship” and to participate in valuable community initiatives and

professional opportunities calling for their varied edu-cation expertise and experi-ence.

they would not normally report any income derived from ille-gal activity… so we are using the net worth or expenditure method,” Sales said.

“We started and we shall continue, except that we are encountering roadblocks since the names that we were given are aliases and pseudonyms,” she added.


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FORD from p. 9

across all other communities composing our diverse city. Such empowerment will truly give us more control in the direc-tion to which our future depends.

Our children are our future; and if this is – and must continue to be so, we need a representation in the Toronto Catholic School Board to give our community a direct hand in shaping the education of our children.

I believe it is time that our children are not discussed in the chambers of the school board as “them”. Rather, we must have someone who will say, “We, the community believe …”

If you live in Scarborough, East of Midland, north of 401 or anywhere east of Morningside please vote for me as Catholic Trustee, better yet knock on the doors of your friends and let them know that we Filipinos are not afraid anymore to empower ourselves and to create our own destiny.

Please visit www.tobiasenverga.webs.com for more information.

Please take your family and your friends on this journey with you. Let us all join hands to writing history in To-ronto … ultimately, for our children!

To volunteer please call me at 416 284 9299 or email [email protected]

Thank you and Mabuhay! Tobias “Jun” Enverga

Sir George R. Poblete, KGOR appointed Canada Region Commander

The Rizal Supreme Council in Manila ap-pointed Sir George R. Poblete, KGOR as the Canada Region Com-mander for the RY 2010-2012.

Appointed with him are Sir Dr. Tom Virey, KGOR as Deputy Cana-

Sir George R. Poblete, KGOR

da Region Commander; Sir Ed Prillo, KGOR with Sir Jun Enverga, KCR as his Deputy, for the Cen-tral Canada Region; Sir Rev. Neil Parado, KGOR with Sir Dr. Tom Colina, KGOR as his Deputy of the Western Canada Re-gion; and Sir Hermie Hernandex, KGOR, with Sir Saulo

Garganta, KCR as his Deputy, for the Eastern Canada Re-gion. The Order of the Knights of Rizal is an internation-al organiza-

tion aimed at promoting the ideals and works of Rizal, and helps youth, civic and community ac-tivities

Sir George served the Supreme Council as a Trustee (Archivist) for the last two years, working as a Liaison to International Chapters. He continues his respon-sibility as the editor of the Rizal International Bulletin. Sir George will

head the Canada Region Executive Council and will look after the op-erations of over 20 Rizal Chapters in Canada, from Nova Scotia, to Windsor, to Vancouver B.C.

Meanwhile, The Canada region Council announced that its 11th Commanders Ball will be held at the Rembrandt Hall in Scarborough, Sat-urday, November 20.



BIG TENcontinued on p. 24

PEOPLE & EVENTS

Big Ten for MHELS and FV Foods and Beyond

The FV Foods family celebrates 10-10-10

This year marks the 10th year anniversary of FV Foods name, and 10 years of looking forward, showcasing the finest and more luscious bread, cakes, and pastries that represent the very best of improvement and in-novation in baking, de-livering satisfaction and fulfillment to the cus-tomers, and exuding the appetizing appeal of its products.

As it celebrates its past, and 10 years of bak-ing and offering quality food that celebrate the art of food making, FV Foods is also celebrating the promise of the future, and the introduction of deliciously and enjoy-ably new baked products. For the expansion and de-velopment as a Filipino bakeshop it is now intro-

ducing Filipino cuisines with a taste tempting and suited not only for Filipi-nos but also from other Asians and other nation-alities, living up with their vision of bringing Filipino foods and deli-cacies to the whole wide world.

October 10, 2010 will be a big day for FV Foods and for sure it will mark a history. A victorious cel-ebration and reflection of successful story of a hard working Filipino immi-grant with a keen busi-ness acumen and cooking skills who came to Cana-da and fulfilled his dream.

Melchor Albudin Galeon, is the mastermind behind this now renowned bak-ery and restaurant in the Filipino Canadian com-munity. A native of Sari-aya, Quezon, Philippines. This young man started his passion and skills for business in renting out comic books and selling yemas and torones made by his aunt in school. “ I used to observe my aunt when she’s making and cooking home-made del-icacies and dreamt of get-ting into my own business one day”, Galeon said. Even he finished a Bach-elor’s degree in Nursing,

the love for business still runs with his blood and actually during his high school and college days he dabbled with business on the side. With his pas-sion to achieve and make his dream into reality he opened a store in his mother’s house selling various Filipino sausag-es, sweets and delicacies. Because of his skills and the heart for business he became successful in his chosen field, he ex-panded his business by opening more stores and restaurants.

But, it was still an up-hill climb, Melchor had

to contend with powerful typhoons, financial crisis and disaster like when a fire razed his business. Truly life is not a bed of roses for him, it be-came a bed of thorns. He thought it was the end of his business career and he was almost giving up and felt hopeless. With his faith and strong be-lieving, an opportunity came in. As the President of the Sariaya (Quezon) Tourism Council, he was invited by the Depart-ment of Tourism to be a part of the Filipino con-tingent sent to Toronto to participate in the June

1998 Philippine Centen-nial Year Celebration at the CNE Compound. Galeon brought with him sweets and other goods from Quezon to the Trade Show.

After the Trade Show, he decided to remain in Toronto, to find a place to stay and take the risk of staying in Canada with-out a valid permit. After securing a work permit, he worked as a cleaner, a dance instructor and a caregiver (where his training in Nursing was most useful). Life is a survival of the fittest. His life was more difficult living in a foreign land so that’s why he decid-ed to use his knowledge and skills in baking and cooking in order for him to survive and have a de-cent life. He then met his dance partner Flor Ven-diola, who helped him find a place to stay and later assisted him with his dream of starting a business. With a meager capital , he started mak-ing yema, ube and espa-

18 Manila Media Monitor September 2010 PEOPLE & EVENTS

Louroz Mercader backs Mississauga Mayor

of the country’s largest and most powerful trade unions, and every effort to cut staff is met with re-sistance. There have also been a few instances of gross professional mis-conduct that have led to a significant decline in public service morale. The decline in morale could not have come at a worse time. Much of the senior leadership of the public service is nearing retirement, and the chal-lenges to replace them will be great.

Moreover, the poli-ticians have not made things easier. In the past, departmental failures were the responsibility of cabinet ministers. Today, it is common to blame public officials, not gov-ernment ministers, for problems. In other cas-es, governments have stopped their officials from speaking freely in public, frustrating and angering Canadian pub-lic servants.

As a result, the future of the public service is

worrying. The challenges that Canadian govern-ments will face in the fu-ture call for greater pub-lic accountability, closer coordination among gov-ernment departments, and more reliable coop-eration between the gov-ernment and its officials. This can only happen if the public service is staffed by strong, com-mitted men and women who have a trusting and respectful relationship with their political supe-riors. It is increasing dif-ficult to attract and hold these types of Canadians. (The Canadian Experi-ence is a 52-week history series designed to tell the story of our country to all Canadians. Sponsored by Multimedia Nova Cor-poration and Diversity Media Services/Lingua Ads partners, the series features articles by our country’s foremost histo-rians on a wide range of topics. Past articles and author bios are available at http://www.cdnexperi-ence.ca. The Canadian Experience is copyright © 2010-2011 Multimedia Nova Corporation.)

As part of the Philip-pine Women Centre of Ontario’s (PWC-ON) celebration of its 10th year anniversary, the Maleta Art Exhibit will portray the resiliency of Filipino Canadian women in advancing its rich story of migration, struggle, and resistance. The community art ex-hibit will showcase col-lectively produced instal-lations, murals, painting and photographs in the Beit Zatoun House from October 10 until the end of the month.

Building from the proj-ect’s successful launch earlier this year, Maleta situates the struggle for women’s equality and de-velopment in the context of the longing demand to redefine the Filipino Canadian culture into a distinct and transforma-tive one. Through the creation of new unique grassroots work of arts created by community members throughout the year, the Filipino Ca-nadian women, work-ers and youth weave, in unison, their experiences and talents to present the realization that the com-

Overwhelming exuberance upholds within the Filipino Canadiancommunity as the Maleta (Suitcase) finally arrives at its new destination.

munity is here to plant its roots inside the Cana-dian mosaic. Originally exhibited in Vancouver, the /Maleta/’s landing in Toronto marks the first of series of celebrations for the 10th year anniversary of the Philippine Women Centre in Ontario.

Since its existence, PWC-ON remains as the only grassroots or-ganization that fearlessly tackles and advances the true struggles and needs of the Filipino Canadian women in Ontario.

“Filipino Canadian women have always been simplified as exported and processed commodi-ties to sustain Canada’s economic deficiencies,” states Qara Clemente, member of PWC-ON. “This is the lived realities of our women who toil day and night, relegated to domestic work and ser-vice sectors jobs. We are the modern day slaves,” she continues.

As a sector that encom-passes the majority of the community, PWC-ON asserts that the women hold the key for the com-munity to achieve full en-titlement in Canada.

CANADIAN LAWfrom p. 13

“For a decade of edu-cating, organizing and mobilizing Filipino Ca-nadian women, we see that the fundamental requirement to leap the community forward into a new transformative destination is the emanci-pation of women” states Clemente. “The /Maleta/ represents the militancy and strength of the Fili-pino Canadian women; that we never back down, that we are here to stay, and are here to lead the struggle for the just and genuine settlement and integration for our com-munity,” she adds.

Unlike your typical art exhibit, the works and pieces in the /Maleta/ redefine the objective of art – the expression of a culture that empowers and strengthens the com-munity. “The /Maleta/ spotlights the Filipino Canadian community threading into an em-powered identity,” says Bryan Taguba, member of SIKLAB–ON and one of the coordinators of the project. “By draw-ing our past and painting our present together, we see in our art the colour-


ful future of the Filipino Canadian community. It is a statement that we have arrived to a new narrative and are ready to unpack our suitcas-es.” (PR)

Louroz Mercader, candidate for the City council at Mississau-ga’s Ward 7 has joined Hazel McCallion in her bid for re-election as mayor of Mississauga.

“When you watch someone who you’ve trusted and respected, and whose vision for the city is very much

Louroz Mercader

in line with your own, come under attack, it’s difficult to watch. Ha-zel McCallion has been successfully leading and building our great city for last 30 years.

“I endorse Hazel McCallion for Mayor – she is our Most Valu-able Player (MVP), and I want to be part of the winning unified team on council that will continue to move our city forward.”

In her speech to sup-porters inside Kinsmen Hall, the Mayor en-dorsed Louroz’s key platform policies for Ward 7:

• Establish a Busi-

ness Improvement Area (BIA) for Cooksville

• Increase the num-ber of free recreation spaces for at-risk youth to participate in after-school activities

• Increase bus ser-vice and capacity on Mississauga Transit Routes 1 and 19

• Expedite capi-tal improvements to expand the capacity of the storm and sani-tary sewers to prevent flooding along the Cooksville Creek.

To view Louroz’s full campaign plat-form: http://louroz-mercader.com/issues/

campaignplatform

Born in Manila, Philippines and raised in Cooksville, Missis-sauga, Louroz Mer-cader is a veteran com-munity activist and outspoken youth advo-cate.

As founder and president of the Mis-sissauga Youth Games, he is a passionate city builder who can bridge the worlds of business, community and gov-ernment together.

Louroz invests time and works with a di-versity of people and organizations to make Ward 7 stronger. He may be reached at

[email protected] (647) 230-9722.


Body Bliss print ad to follow


The honoree describes his feelings to program emcee Rey Tamayo after coming to the venue not expecting that the gathering he was attending was for him to celebrate his 65th birth anniversary and retirement from em-ployment.

With ol’ folk from Muntinlupa City ...

(All photos by Manila Media Monitor)

Bert responds to newsman Ace Alva-rez after he was toasted by the latter. Bert’s and Ace’s families knew each other well from their days back in Muntinlupa, Rizal (now a city).

L-R: Mon Marcelino with wife, Ceci-lle. Also in photo is Gie Alvarez. Mon also hails from Muntinlupa City, whose family is very close to Bert’s.

Bert gets a very good toasting from Jonathan -- his only son among four children. Bert is not only a father to his children, but also a friend, a teacher and e v e r y t h i n g that one would pray to God for a father.

R-L: Bert thanks his family for every-thing. With him are Jonathan, daugh-ters Stacey, Maria (with one of her children), Melissa and wife, Chit (nee Bombasi).

Oh, but Chit is not good only at line dancing. She does one good teasing to husband, Bert here ...

The signature activity of the couple Bert and Chit ... dancing!


FV Foods HP

23September 2010 Manila Media MonitorPEOPLE & EVENTS

‘‘It is in the character

of very few men to honor without envy a friend who

has prospered.-Aeschylus

Filipino Permanent Residents in Canada must obtain visas to enter European countries

The Philippine Con-sulate General in Toronto has issued a reminder that all Filipino permanent residents in North Ameri-ca is a visa is required for entry into Spain.

In a recent case, a Filipino couple based in Canada was held at Bar-celona Airport for failure to show they had the re-quired tourist visa to visit Spain.

The couple had res-ervations at a local hotel for as tourists -- a prize they won from the com-pany employing them. However, their travel agency did not appropri-ately inform them that, even though they were Canadian residents, they needed to obtain Spanish visas to enter Spain.

Neither the Philippine Embassy in Madrid, nor

the Philippine Consul-ate General in Barcelona could influence Spain’s authorities to allow Fili-pino citizens to enter Spain without the re-quired visa.

In this connection, the Philippine Consulate in Toronto forewarns Fili-pino permanent residents in Canada to obtain visas when entering European countries. (PhilConGen)

Bayanihan DanceCompany T.O.performance cancelled

The performance of the Bayanihan Philippine National Dance Compa-ny, originally scheduled for Monday, November 1 at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, has been cancelled due to a scheduling conflict.

The Sony Centre for the Performing Arts

apologizes for any incon-venience this may cause.

Tickets purchased online or by telephone will be automatically re-funded to the purchaser’s credit card. Tickets pur-chased in person should be returned to point of purchase for a refund. (PR)


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PEOPLE & EVENTS

sol in his small apartment using Vendiola’s small car to deliver the orders.

Achieving takes be-lieving in yourself, be-lieving in your capabili-ties and capacities, and believing in God. From its humble beginnings, the little business grew into what FV Foods has now become – a flourish-ing business with four stores (on 757 Warden Avenue in Scarborough with 12,000 sq ft store,

on 1125 Dundas Street in Mississauga, on 3778 Bathurst Street in North York; and on St. 549 Clair ave. West in Toronto). Their Filipino delicacies are also being supplied to more than 100 retail storel and supermarket all over Ontario and Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Win-sor and Rochester newy-ork. Having a huge of 70 full time employees with group insurance benefits, and with some bakers were hired directly from the Philippines.

As we looked back, Melchor started his busi-ness in the year of 2000. It started with him and Flor and they built the business up from there. The popularity of the bakery grew rapidly un-der Melchor and Flor’s ownership. With the con-tinuous success of the bakery, which later took on the names of its own-er, the business continues to undergo expansions.

Chemistry is the main secret of their partner-ship. They have a clear

delineation of their func-tions. Flor handles all office/paper work, bill-ings, invoices, follow up of client calls and also acts as driver; Melchor takes care of the kitchen, developing new business relations, supervising staff and procurement of stocks.

The secret of their success is having a great sense of love for business and strong determina-tion, giving quality and best products, and a con-tinuous product innova-tion and development in order to answer the needs and demands of the cus-tomers. . With Melchor and Flor’s dedication and passion for work while keeping both feet on the ground, they have raised the Filipino name to the level of the world’s best and finest in sweets and

delicacy making.Because of all the

blessings and good things happened to him, he was recognized and awarded as the 2006 Outstanding Young Filipino Entrepre-neur given by Filipino Centre Toronto for dem-onstrating outstanding, innovative and excel-lent performance in their chosen vocation or field. When he came home in the Philippines last 2008 he was also given a rec-ognition by Magadahan Club of Sariaya for his exceptional business suc-cess in Canada. And with his community and social responsibility, Melchor is supporting Anawim Foundation, an organi-zation in the Philippines helping less fortunate children to continue their studies in order for them to have good and bright

future and he is now dreaming of having his own foundation.

When asked to dis-cuss what it means to celebrate 10 years as a bakery owner in his new country, Melchor was quick to compliment his customers. “We appreci-ate our kababayans and values customers, be-cause you can’t be that long in business without the customers support-ing you,” Melchor said. “Looking back (on the 10 years), it seems like we’ve only been here a few years. We really en-joy being a part of the community and we are looking forward to the next 10 years.”

As it goes beyond, Mhels and FV Foods will

BIG TEN from p. 17

BIG TENcontinued on p. 26


26 Manila Media Monitor September 2010 ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT

It’s a jungle out thereI always tell my kids

to be strong and never let somebody else put them down. At the same time, they should also have a long threshold of pa-tience and a great amount of consideration for oth-ers.

These are life’s lessons in general but this is also how I psyche them up to better prepare themselves when they go out and … yes … take the public transit on their own.

I have been taking the bus and train to and from work in Toronto for sev-en years. We only have one car and my husband takes it with him to work in Mississauga. My office is out of his way, so drop-ping me off and picking me up from work every-day are out of the ques-tion, too.

It Is hard not to ignore the tapestry of people from all walks of life huddled together in the bus or train. And when there are people rushing to get to their destina-tions - come sun, rain, snow or hail – the mad dash to hop in becomes a struggle that “survival of the fittest” is sometimes an understatement.

Imagine a rush hour on a cold winter day. The trains are not working and the buses are stuck on traffic. You are late for work and possibly hun-gry, too. Well, too bad, there are lots of people who are in the similar

By Thesa Anoba Dayagbil

situation. The result is a flurry of cursing and shoving around as soon as a door opens. When this happens, the first things that come to my mind are: how could the old people take this, or the kids understand this, or those with disabilities make some sense of this?

Then the door chimes to signal its closing. You see people winded from running and trying to get in, but the door closes in on their faces. I swear, I could hear them sighing as the train leaves them standing there like lost souls on the platform. This is one of the reasons why I do not want my parents to commute on their own. I even pity my-self when I could not get past a closing door. How much more for them?

It is one thing to run like you never ran before, wrestle your way around and get in, and another to walk in an overcrowded bus or train. As one col-umnist said, “nowhere can the thoughtless be-havior of some people be best observed than on a crowded bus or train.” Chivalry and good man-ners just fly out of the window.

I feel for the claustro-phobics as even people like me who do not have issues with closed spaces sometimes even gasp for air. And when my face is not pressed up against the doors due to lack of

space, my eyes (and ears) tend to wander around and enjoy the “movie” unfolding, with the fol-lowing characters:

Attention Grabber. This is my category for people who talk loudly to their co-passengers, over the phone, or worse, to themselves. Do they re-ally need the attention or are they just plain deaf? It is like that they talk in front of my ears. Well, maybe, they do, espe-cially when everybody is pressed against each other.

You hear people talk in English, which almost everybody understands, and then some converse in a different language. I do not really know which one is more annoying. If it is in English or in Filipino -- which I know, is hard sometimes not to over-hear the conversation and the next thing you know, you get animated by the stories and be distracted from the book or news-paper you are reading. If it is in another language, everything becomes just “noise” to you.

Careless Backpacker. Backpackers are a com-mon sight in the bus or train. I have no qualms about their bulky back-packs, but I just wish they would be more mindful about the peo-ple behind them as they swing around. I got hit on the face once or twice al-ready. I carry a backpack

for my laptop but I take it off especially when it gets crowded. A bus operator one time asked the backpackers to take their bags off to make themselves “two inches thinner” so others could squeeze in.

Space Invader. I do not see one a lot, but there are really people who put their extra bag on the seat beside them, while others are standing and holding on to a pole. What about those who occupy two seats and holding a stroll-er in front of them? Why would they not offer the other seat to somebody else? They could not just assume that another passenger would find it cumbersome to sit with a stroller in front. I would take it, especially if I was tired from running and waiting for my bus.

Coffee spiller. I am not a coffee drinker, but like anybody else, I am so cautious when I see one holding a cup be-cause anytime the bus stops abruptly, that cof-fee could spill or land on anybody.

Preacher. One time, in a very crowded train, a black woman came in talking loudly to herself. She ranted about how Jamaicans are beautiful and that they would nev-er like Chinese people. Then she spotted a Chi-nese girl and directed the rants at her. Somehow, I was glad that girl opted to zone the woman out, although I feel so sorry for her. Otherwise, it would have been an ugly confrontation.

While I allow my eyes to roam around, I also let paranoia creep in. When somebody comes in from the front door, I would size up the person and regard him, or her, as harmless or not. After what happened in a Grey-hound bus two years ago where one passenger sev-ered the head of the un-suspecting person beside him, I would now look behind or beside me and check what they are hold-ing that could potentially harm me or somebody.

Thank God though that I have not been on a bus or train where somebody was hurt, shot or held up. It would have been very traumatic for me. I was once in a bus where a passenger suddenly col-lapsed and we had to get off and take the next one. But that was it.

Despite all of these sights, sounds and even smells (which is another story), there are scenes and characters that make you smile and make the ride, probably not worth-while, but a nice experi-ence altogether.

An operator on BUS 34, who thinks he is also a pilot, not only called out the destinations and reminded the passengers to check their belong-ings, but also announced the weather for the day and the estimated time of arrival. It made me ask myself if breakfast would be served shortly.

Another operator on BUS 54 said a nice pas-sage from the Bible the day before Thanksgiving Day.

A cooing toddler or a smiling preschooler never fails to brighten up anybody’s day.

Some helpful TTC operators or workers do take the time to explain to the commuter how to get to their destinations (this is probably rare nowadays).

Young people aban-don their seats and offer them to the old ones.

Whether in nice or unpleasant situations, having good or bad ex-periences, taking the public transit is inevita-ble especially for some-one like me who lives in a big city and does not drive. I could not imag-ine our three kids going through the ordeal. Will they lose it and cuss too or will they just sit down and be a spectator like me?

But I would like to see this everyday commute as something that will be part of their learning curve which I should la-bel as LIFE. Because in life, you deal with a roll-ercoaster of emotions, rub elbows with strang-ers and see and hear the worst or best in people.

And that is exactly what goes on in public transits. It is a jungle where people compete and struggle. (Ed.’s Note: Thesa Anoba Dayagbil is from Toron-to and works as a Stra-tegic Sourcing Analyst for a securities printing company. She is a grad-uate of Mass Communi-cations from the Univer-sity of the Philippines in Cebu.)

FV Foods’ Melchor Galeon and Flor Vendiola join Chicago-based Filipino Chef, Ron Bilaro, as the latter visits their store and baking facility on Warden Avenue in Scarborough. Bilaro has a television program airing on GMA Life TV, which the network hopes to air, too, in the near future through pay cable subscription in Toronto. (Courtesy: FV Foods)

BIG TEN from p. 24

continually live with their mission of bring-ing quality, foods, sweets, breads, cakes and pastries which satisfies the Filipino’s craving for comfort food from back home. They will empower their employees in or-der to bring excellence in products and servic-

es. With an eye for the future, they will con-tinue to innovate and expand in other areas in food industry and having branches to the mainstream of Canada and other places in the world. Offering food at its finest is their main job.

So come and cel-ebrate with us…..

Visit or call us at FV

Foods & Mhels is locat-ed at 757 Warden Av-enue, Unit 4, Tel. 416 - 759 - 2000; Fax 416 - 759- 2000; Toll Free - 1 - 866 - 266 - 5242. The branch stores are located in Mississau-ga, Ontario; Bathurst, North York; and St. Claire, Toronto.

Jerome Banate, President and Board Chair of the Capizeno Association of Ontario, stresses the hard work given by the association’s officers and mem-bers in reaching out to sponsors and donors to ex-tend a helping hand to the disadvantaged children of Capiz, Philippines. Banate spoke at the Capizeno Gala Night held at the Novotel in Mississauga on September 18.


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28 Manila Media Monitor September 2010 ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT

Marian Rivera signs new contract with GMA Network: One of Philippine show business’ prettiest faces Mar-ian Rivera, has signed a new exclusive contract with GMA Network. This seals anew her strong ties with the Kapuso Network with new programs and plans for the coming years. Present during the contract signing were GMA Executive Vice President and COO Gilberto R. Duavit, Jr.; Marian; Chairman, President and CEO Felipe L. Gozon; Senior Vice President Wilma V. Galvante and Marian’s manager Popoy Caritativo.

Meet the newest Cinderella onGMA Pinoy TV – GRAZILDA

She is one of the evil stepsisters who con-demned Cinderella to a life of drudgery, the princess who forced her feet into the glass slipper but failed to marry the Prince.

She is GRAZILDA, the wicked antagonist in the classic fairy tale who will become the unlikely heroine on GMA Pinoy TV’s original fantasy-drama series of the same title.

GMA Pinoy TV brings all the magic of the Cinderella story back to life with a modern twist of the untold story of the stepsister, Gra-zilda – an absorbing and provocative drama that promises to inspire and steal the Pinoy viewers’ hearts away.

And to reprise the coveted-title role of Grazilda is no less than multitalented and ravishing actress, Glaiza de Castro. With her supreme acting versatility, which she has showcased in various Kapuso afternoon and primetime soaps, Glaiza is primed to land her first starring role in this enchanting drama se-ries.

Playing Glaiza’s prince charming in the se-ries is the equally talented and prized Kapuso leading man, Geoff Eigenmann. He plays the role of Eric, the handsome mortal who will become Grazilda’s knight in shining armor in the story. Geoff takes on a major role as he works side by side with Glaiza in this sweep-ing primetime offering.

The story opens from a fairy tale land called Fantasia. Grazilda, along with her step-mother Matilda and stepsister Anatalia, al-ways makes Cinderella’s life miserable. She tries to disrupt Cinderella and Prince Charm-ing’s wedding, but through her sister’s kind-hearted Fairy God Mother, she is banished to the mortal world.

Here, she meets her long lost father, Fer-nando, and ends up living with her evil step-mother, Veronne, and mean stepsisters, Cindy and Tonette. They maltreat Grazilda and make her do demeaning work in the household.

Despite the cruelties of her life, Grazilda remains brave and steadfast just to stay close to her father. She also needs to get hold of the snow globe, the only link that can transport her back to Fantasia, which is now in Ve-ronne’s possession.

From then on, Grazilda lives a life that of Cinderella’s. A reversal of fortune happens and the antagonist of the story turns into a modest protagonist.

How will her stay in the mortal world change the course of her life? Will she ever

find her real-life Prince Charming? Will Grazilda also have her own Fairy God Mother who will protect her from the viciousness of her stepmom and stepsisters?

This much awaited soap is led by some of the country’s most bankable artists including three seasoned actors who will spice up Grazilda’s life in Fantasia and the real world – Cherie Gil as Veronne, Grazilda’s stepmother in the mortal world; Rio Locsin as Matilda, Grazilda’s mother in Fantasia; and Joel Torre as Fernando, the real father of Grazilda and Anatalia.

Completing the all-star cast are Jolina Magdangal as Cinderella’s loving Fairy God Mother; Yasmien Kurdi as Cindy, Grazilda’s evil stepsister in the real world; Stef Prescott as Tonette, Cindy’s spoiled younger sister, who will also make Grazilda’s life a living hell; Dyanin Cruz as Anatalia, the other evil stepsister of Cinderella in Fan-tasia; Bhodie Cruz as Ben, Eric’s good friend; Dominic Roco as Vicente, Prince Charming’s right-hand man; Benedict Campos as Prince Charming, Angeli Nicole Sanoy as Jik Jik, Grazilda’s friend in the mortal world; and introducing Gwen Zamora in her very first acting stint on television as Cinderella.

Director Dominic Zapata, together with second unit di-rector Ricky Davao, sit at the helm of GRAZILDA with a top-notch production headed by Kit Villanueva-Langit as Headwriter, Chito Sumera for production design, and

Jerome Ang and the Young Designers Group for the fabulous costumes.

Witness the most enchanting modern interpre-tation of the beloved classic that captivated every-one’s hearts in GRAZILDA, beginning September 15 on GMA Pinoy TV. Call your preferred pay TV operator now to subscribe.

Glaiza de Castro as Grazilda 5

29September 2010 Manila Media MonitorARTS/ENTERTAINMENT


EarthTalk®

From the Edi tors of E /The Environmenta l Magazine

Preparing our cars for winter

Car OwnershipMade Easy

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

Q

A

ENVIRONMENT

Winter is just around the corner.

To prepare and wel-come winter -- and as I have mentioned in my previous tips on how to make your “car owner-ship easy“, it is one of the seasons that we have to watch and be prepared for, as far as our vehicle is concerned . We call this “winterization” of our vehicles. While the word perhaps is not in the dictionary, I prefer to use this word, because it is easy to associate with the topic that I will discuss.

So let us “Winterize” our vehicles!

After working with a dealership for over 30 years, my experience showed that the follow-

ing six major inspections

would help in making “car

ownership easy” if we are to “winterize” our vehicles.

Check an-tifreeze - The ideal mixture of anti-freeze (coolant) and wa-ter inside our vehicle’s radiator is 50:50. If the mixture deviates from this norm, then hot and cold-weather perfor-mance could be com-promised. If we put pure water in our vehicle’s radiator, it would freeze at 0 degrees Celsius. But if we combine the water with an equal amount of antifreeze, the new mix-

ture would not freeze un-til -36 degrees Celsius!

Battery – Very cold temperatures reduce a vehicle’s battery power by up to 50 percent. If our vehicle battery is old-er than three years, have it tested. Also, make sure the posts and connections are free of corrosion.

Belts, hoses - The belts and hoses in modern cars lead long lives. But that does not mean that they

do not die. Cold tempera-tures could accelerate the demise of a belt or hose. Before winter starts, have the belts and hoses in-spected on your vehicle.

Winter Tires - The de-sign of winter tires makes them ideally suited for the cold season, improv-ing performance and safety in a variety of road conditions. Winter tire tread is typically 30-per-cent deeper, thus chan-

neling wa-ter, snow and sludge away more effectively.

Inspect the wipers and wiper fluid - Vis-ibility is

particularly one key in winter, as it is often com-promised by precipita-tion, salt buildup on the windshield and reduced daylight. The life expec-tancy of a wiper blade is one year. If our car’s blades are older, we must replace them, before it fails on us when we need it most.

Perform multi-point inspection – Make sure our vehicle’s system are

all working properly. Check all brakes to en-sure sufficient friction material remains. Mul-tipoint checks ensure all fluid levels are sufficient and that all lights are op-erating properly. Further, all safety-related equip-ment are functioning properly.

Personally, I recom-mend that all of these “must inspections ” for the winterization of our vehicles, must be done before the cold weather and by qualified techni-cians, factory trained for the make of the vehicle we drive.

Another suggestion to make your “Car owner-ship Easy”. ([email protected])

Dear EarthTalk: What is “BPA” used in plastics, and why should I wor-ry about it? Are there certain house-hold items or food containers to avoid because of BPA? -- Tina Sillers, via e-mail

According to the U.S. Depart-ment of Health and Human Ser-vices (HHS), Bisphenol A

(also known as BPA) is a chemical that has been in use for upwards of four decades in the manufac-ture of many hard plastic food containers, includ-ing baby bottles and reus-able cups and the lining of metal food and beverage cans (including canned liquid infant formula). The agency further re-ports that “trace amounts of BPA can be found in some foods packaged in these containers.”

The non-profit Natu-

ral Resources Defense Council (NRDC) reports that “growing amount of scientific research has linked BPA exposure to altered development of the brain and behavioral changes, a predisposition to prostate and breast can-cer, reproductive harm, diabetes, obesity and car-diovascular disease.” The group adds that more than 93 percent of Americans have some BPA in their bodies, primarily from exposure through food contamination and other preventable contact.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration was initially dismissive of worries about BPA, but

increased public pressure and new research on the potential effects of BPA on the brain and the pros-tate gland in fetuses, in-fants and young children have forced the agency to revisit its last survey on the topic from 2008. “While we learn more, the Food and Drug Adminis-tration is supporting cur-rent efforts by industry to stop the manufacture of infant bottles and feeding cups made with BPA…,” reports HHS.

In the meantime, con-sumers can be vigilant. The plastic items most likely to contain are made of either polyvinyl chloride (PVC, or plastic

#3) or from mixed plastic sources, otherwise known in the recycling industry as “other” or plastic #7. PVC plastics—also no-torious for leaching toxic phthalates that have been linked to human repro-ductive and developmen-tal problems—are found in a wide range of prod-ucts, from shampoo and salad dressing containers to shower curtains and kids’ toys. Those once-ubiquitous polycarbon-ate unbreakable baby and water bottles reputed to leach BPA are also a #7 plastic, though #7 is a catch-all for otherwise unidentified or mixed plastics; as such, not all

#7 plastic will contain BPA.

As for other dis-posable and non-disposable household items, if you can lo-cate a recycling num-ber and you find a #1 (polyethylene, PET or

PETE), #2 (high density polyethylene), #4 (low density polyethylene) or #5 (polypropylene) or #6 (polystyrene), the item should be free of BPA. (Note: #6 polystyrene, often used for disposable cups, plates and cutlery, doesn’t contain BPA but can leach the toxic car-cinogen styrene into the foods and beverages it touches, and should also be avoided.)

If there’s no recycling number on the item, you can find out if an item contains BPA yourself with a BPA Test Kit from Home-Health-Chemis-

try.com. A kit with two swabs, all needed testing

solutions and instructions is $4.99; a 10-swab set costs $14.99. Otherwise, you can replace the ques-tionable item with one that you know is BPA-free (many companies now use this as a selling point) and vow to make more informed purchas-ing choices in the future.

CONTACTS: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services BPA Page, www.hhs.gov/safe-ty/bpa/; NRDC, www.nrdc.org; Home-Health-Chemistry.com, www.home-health-chemistry.

com.SEND YOUR ENVI-

RONMENTAL QUES-TIONS TO: EarthTalk®, c/o E – The Environ-mental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; [email protected]. E is a non-profit publication. Sub-scribe: www.emagazine.com/subscribe; Request a Free Trial Issue: www.emagazine.com/trial.

CIC calls for proposals to fund initiatives for newcomers

Citizenship and Im-migration Canada (CIC) is calling for proposals to fund initiatives on the socio-economic in-tegration for newcom-ers.

Paul Bennett, Mul-ticulturalism Program Acting Director, Inte-gration Program Man-agement Branch of the CIC said that changes

to the Multiculturalism Program has issued a reminder that proposals must be in by October 15.

Canada’s New Mul-ticulturalism Grants and Contributions Pro-gram, called “Inter-Ac-tion” changes its focus and added innovative elements, such as an updated objectives,

funding guidelines, and processes.

Inter-Action helps in the socio-economic integration of newcom-ers into Canadian so-ciety through its Proj-ects stream, which you may recognize because of its similarity to our earlier programming. In addition to promot-ing integration, long-

term, multi-year com-munity development, and engagement, initia-tives under the Projects stream will be funded with a view to:

• Improving the abil-ity of public institu-tions to respond to the needs of a multicultural population; and

• Facilitating active discussion of multi-culturalism and diver-sity at the international level.

Normally, the de-partment will receive

applications for the Projects stream in re-sponse to a Call for Proposals (CFP), rather than our previous con-tinuous-intake basis. For more information, visit CIC’s website at

www.cic.gc.ca/multi, for details on the first Projects Call for Pro-posals, launched June 27, 2010. Interested parties will find an overview of priorities, eligibility criteria, and instructions on how to apply for funding. All

applications must be re-ceived by regular mail and email no later than October 15, 2010.

To ask questions about the Projects Call for Proposals or discuss a specific proposal, please get in touch with your regional point-of-contact at the email ad-dress on our website, through our National Office, toll-free at 1-888-77-MULTI (1-888-776-8584), or by email at [email protected].

31September 2010 Manila Media MonitorARTS/ENTERTAINMENT

Manila Media MonitorTel. (416) 285-8583Charice (Courtesy: Warner

Music Canada)

Charice’s album in Japan reaches gold statusMANILA - The album

of international singing sensation Charice in Japan is now certified gold.

Charice, who has joined the cast the hit TV show “Glee”, thanked all her fans and supporters in Japan for supporting and buying her record.

“Chyeaa! My Album

“Charice” is now certified GOLD in Japan! Thank you so much for the sup-port!!! Japan, thank you so much :),” Charice said on her Twitter page.

Charice’s album in-cludes the single “Cres-cent Moon,” an English rendition of the hit Japa-nese song “Mikazuki” by popular Japanese pop singer Ayaka.

In previous interview,

Charice said that she was a fan of J-Pop or Japa-nese pop songs.

Last May, Charice went to Japan to record the album and pose for pictori-als for the cover of her CD. Her Japanese album was released last July.


Airs on OMNI 2 TV, CJMT Toronto, Cable 14, Channel 69SUNDAYS, 10 PMAlternative Viewing - THURSDAYS, 4 PM

For Advertising:Tel. (416) 285-8583

ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT

GMA cont’d on p.33

The GMA Pinoy TV Marketing Team in Toronto re-ceives another boosting with the recent appoint-ment of Rosemer Enverga (3rd from left) by GMA TV in Quezon City, Philippines as Consultant for Canada. In photo, she is shown with her ground marketing team, led by Christia Gardiola (2nd from left) and Jeff Atienza (4th from left) at the Fili-pino Day at Canada’s Wonderland. By the new ap-pointee’s work, GMA Pinoy TV aims to strengthen its market share in Canada in what the Philippine network plans to launch in the next few weeks -- a strong promotional and marketing initiative! (Ma-nila Media Monitor Photo)

The Filipino Day at Canada’s Wonderland event annually gets good attendance record; and so, was this year, held on Saturday, September 4. The Filipino Day event, organized by Culture Philip-pines of Ontario (CPO), is an annual fundraiser for the CPO dancers’ costumes and other needs, and where families -- such as in the inset photo, could enjoy a whole day of fun, rides, cultural and current pop culture trends at the Kingswood The-atre inside the themed park in Vaughan, Ontario. (Manila Media Monitor Photo)

GMA Network tops TV ratings in Luzon and Mega Manila

MANILA -- Broadcast gi-ant GMA Network, backed by the strong performance of its primetime programs, contin-ued to beat rival ABS-CBN in TV ratings in viewer-rich Mega Manila and urban Luzon.

According to TV ratings data supplier Nielsen TV Au-dience Measurement, GMA Network has also reduced the gap in the nationwide survey in September.

Mega Manila and Total Ur-ban Luzon comprise 55 percent and 77 percent respectively of all the urban television house-holds nationwide.

From September 1 to 21 (September 12-21 readings based on overnight data), GMA was way ahead of ABS-CBN in Mega Manila.

GMA had an average to-tal day (6:00 a.m. to mid-night/12:00 a.m.) audience share of 37.1 percent, higher by six percentage points over ABS-CBN’s 31.1 percent.

In Total Urban Luzon, GMA led ABS-CBN by 2.3 percent as the Kapuso Network posted an

average total day audience share of 36 percent against ABS-CBN’s 33.7 percent.

“GMA Net-work continues to be strong in Mega Manila and Urban Luzon with a not-ed improvement in its overall ratings performance in these areas since July,” said Jay Bautista, Execu-tive Director for Client Service of Nielsen TV Au-dience Measure-ment.

“GMA’s lead is supported by high rating new programs on primetime, as well as better performance in its noontime show and afternoon soaps. While GMA still trails ABS-CBN in the national survey, the gap for the past two months were lower compared to July,” Bautista added.

Based on Nielsen’s nation-

wide survey, GMA has reduced ABS-CBN’s lead in audience share from 8.2 percent in July to 5.4 percent in August and partly in September (Septem-ber 1 to 21).

Also in August, GMA had more viewers in the C2DE socio-economic class in Urban Luzon, which comprises 94% of the total TV urban popula-tion.

TV households belonging to the ABC1 socio-economic class make up for only 6% of the total TV urban population.

Kapuso programsIn Mega Manila, “Survivor

Philippines Celebrity Show-down,” hosted by Richard Gutierrez, led all programs in the “Top 10 List” from Sep-tember 5 to 18.

The newly-launched prime-time series “Grazilda,” top-billed by Glaiza De Castro, ranked second.

The other TV programs that made it to the Top 10 List were “Ilumina,” starring Rhian Ramos and Jackie Rice; flag-ship news program “24 Oras;” weekend primetime public af-


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© Copyright 2006 Mindmaster Publishing Quezon City, Philippines

Classic Pilipino Puzzle 5

Sagot sa puzzle sa pahina 38

BUSINESS

Philippine Press Club-Ontario (PPCO) member Amor Gaborno and Maribel Montemayor minding their stall at the tiangge held at the Quiapo! Quiapo! Grand Re-opening Saturday, September 11. The tiangge was an idea brought before the store's proprietor Bobby Asuncion by Myrna Soriano and her husband, former PPCO president Tenny Soriano.

GMA from p.32CYBF and CFIB join forces to unleash full potential of young entrepreneurs

Two of Canada’s entrepreneurial pow-er houses at present -- the Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF) and Canadian Federation of Indepen-dent Business (CFIB) have announced an exciting collaboration that will provide young CYBF entrepreneurs with the many advan-tages of CFIB mem-bership at a discounted rate.

The special one-year membership to CFIB provides CYBF-funded entrepreneurs all the benefits of CFIB mem-bership, including ac-cess to advocacy, busi-ness counselling, online business information and real savings on products and services at just a fraction of the cost.

“CYBF and CFIB have had a long-stand-ing partnership col-

laborating on a variety of issues that are of ex-traordinary importance to young entrepreneurs,” explains Vivian Prokop, chief executive officer of CYBF. “This special offering to CYBF entre-preneurs takes this part-nership to the next level – providing all of the things that a young en-trepreneur needs to roar into the future.” CFIB president Catherine Swift added, “Small businesses across Can-ada are what make this country prosper, so we are very proud to be partnering with CYBF in offering the next gen-eration of entrepreneurs the tools to help them achieve success, and a public voice to help drive the entrepreneur-ial economy.”

Founded in 1996, CYBF, the ‘go to’ place for young entrepreneurs, has invested in more

than 3,700 aspiring young entrepreneurs, ages 18-34, who have a great business idea but who find it difficult to obtain financing or mentoring through tra-ditional sources. CYBF start-ups have generated millions in tax and ex-port revenues, and cre-ated more than 17,100 new jobs in Canada.

CFIB provides pow-erful support to Cana-dian entrepreneurs in every sector, promotes small business-friendly government policies, and ensures financial institutions and others are accountable to their small business clients by tackling policies that may stifle entrepreneur-ship – CFIB is Powered by Entrepreneurs™.


fairs programs “Imbesti-gador” and “Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho.”

In Urban Luzon, GMA Network had 16 entries in the list of Top 30 Pro-grams from September 1 to 21. In the national rat-

ings survey, 14 out of the top 30 TV shows were Kapuso programs.

The Nielsen TV Audi-ence Measurement used by GMA Network is used by at least 23 other local companies.

Top media agencies and six regional clients

likewise subscribe to Nielsen TV Audience Measurement.

Meanwhile, only ABS-CBN report-edly subscribes to Kantar Media, for-merly known as TNS Philippines. –VVP, GMANews.TV


Max Out on Your Promotional and

Marketing Efforts.

Get Combo Ad Rates for Television, Newspaper &

Radio.

Call (416) 285-8583

Sun Life Financial recognizes Marshall McLuhan Fellow,Ed Lingao of the Philippines,for journalistic excellence

Sun Life Financial has recognized this year’s Marshall McLuhan Prize recipient, Ed Lingao of the Philip-pines. Philippine Consul General Minerva Jean Falcon also attended the event.

Lingao, the multimedia director of the Philippine Center for Investiga-tive

Journalism, has won the McLu-han Fellow for his work across print,broadcast, and online mediums. Some of his recent work included a coverage of the Maguindanao massa-cre; campaign spending in the 2010 elections; and thenecessity of the

‘‘

Freedom of Information Act.Sun Life’s annual contribution

to this award goes toward a study tour of Canada for each Fellow recipient. As part of his tour, Lin-gao visited Sun Life’s corporate headquarters in Toronto, where he spoke about his experiences.

The Marshall McLuhan award was created in 1997 and is granted annually by the Canadian Embassy in the Philippines. By encouraging journalism, the award is a chance for Canada to demonstrate support of media as an integral part of a free and democratic society. (PR)

BUSINESS

RBC continued on p. 37

Sun Life Financial executives Frank Switzer and Mary De Paoli (1st and 2nd from left), with Philippine Consul General in Toronto Minerva Jean Falcon (right) join Marshall McLuhan Winner for Journalistic Excellenced Ed Lingao at Sun Life’s corporate head office in Toronto. Lingao won the Marshall McLuhan Prize for journalistic excellence. The award, granted by the Canadian Embassy and sponsored by Sun Life, underlines Canada’s belief that a strong media is essen-tial to a free democratic society. Lingao also spoke before members of the Phil-ippine Press Club-Ontario, presided over by Paul de la Cruz, at another gather-ing. (Photo: Sunlife Financial)

RBC Poll: Newcomers find managing finances in Canada more difficult than expected

Forty per cent of newcomers to Canada say that managing finances is more difficult than they expected, according to a recent RBC poll. Additionally, close to half (47%) are worried that they will not have enough money to live comfortably.

While two-in-three (63%) newcomers are excited to see what the future holds in Can-ada, they indicate that higher than expected day-to-day liv-ing expenses (41%) and items costing more than anticipated (26%) are the biggest financial obstacles to overcome.

“Setting up your day-to-day banking and establishing a budget are important pieces in a complex puzzle that people

need to deal with when moving to a new country,” said Camon Mak, director, Multicultural Markets at RBC. “Sitting down with a financial advisor who understands the anxiety that can come with a move to a new country goes a long way in helping newcomers focus on building their new lives.”

The survey shows that new-comers use a variety of mea-sures to manage their finances, including living more modestly than they did back home (30%) and taking on extra jobs (22%) to help make ends meet. Some respondents noted that they would go as far as postponing medical or dental work until absolutely necessary (20%) to

control their living expenses.Mak offers the following

advice to help newcomers make a successful transition to Canada:

1. Choose the right bank-ing account to meet your needs – Speak with a financial advi-sor who can help you choose the right account based on your anticipated transaction pattern and potential average monthly balance. You’ll save money on service fees if you choose the right account and RBC offers the flexibility to choose an ac-count that fits your needs.

2) Build your credit his-tory – Your credit history from another country is not readily accessible to Canadian finan-

cial institutions when apply-ing for credit in Canada. RBC now offers a range of credit solutions to help skilled work-ers new to Canada get started without prior credit history be-ing required.

3) Track your spending and follow a budget – Take advantage of RBC’s online banking tools, such as myFi-nance Tracker, to help manage your monthly spending so you know exactly where your mon-ey is going. myFinanceTracker will automatically categorize transactions, track expenses and provide advanced budget-ing capabilities for all personal banking and credit card ac-counts.

RBC’s Welcome to Canada package helps newcomers who have been in Canada for less than three years with key fi-nancial decisions and includes advice and discounts on prod-ucts and services. Details on the RBC Welcome to Canada banking package, the “Under-standing Banking in Canada” guidebook, and branch locator that identify representatives who speak a variety of lan-guages can be found at www.rbc.com/settlequick.

Information on moving to Canada, including financial advice and solutions can be found at www.rbc.com/canada and is accessible to consumers around the world.

The findings were con-ducted by Environics Research Group on behalf of RBC Royal

35September 2010 Manila Media MonitorBUSINESS

Unemployment rate falls to lowest in two years – NSO

MANILA -- The num-ber of jobless Filipinos fell at its fastest pace in nearly two years with the economy growing nearly 8 percent. The National Statistics Of-fice (NSO) said recently that unemployment went down to 6.9 percent as of July, the lowest since October 2008. A year ago the unemployment rate was 7.6 percent.

According to the agency, the actual number of jobless Filipinos was 2.7 million, lower than the 2.9 million in July last year and 3.1 million in April.

The NSO said that the number of unemployed per-sons was higher among males at 62.6 percent than among females with 37.4 percent.

It added that 52.4 percent of the unemployed were in the age group 15 to 24 years old.

Of the unemployed, 32.5 percent were high school graduates, 22.7 percent were college undergraduates and

20.5 percent were college graduates.

The country’s total labor force rose to 39 million from 38.5 million in January.

The underemployment rate also went down to 17.9 per-cent, or a total of 6.5 million workers.

The number of employed persons was estimated at 36.63 million, or an employ-ment rate of 93.1 percent. The employment rate in July last year was recorded at 92.4 per-cent.

Of the estimated 36.3 mil-lion employed persons, the services sector was the larg-est group, comprising 51.2 percent of the total employed population.

The highest employed workforces in the services sector were in wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles and per-sonal and household goods.

Workers in the agriculture sector accounted for 33.9 per-cent of the total number of the

Top Photo: Quiapo-Quiapo-TianggePeople drove in pack at the grand opening of Quiapo! Qui-apo Restaurant and Bakery, Saturday, September 11. The day also saw a very successful “tiangge” at the banquet halls of the store located at 2 Principal Road in Scarborough. Below, among those who minded their stores at the Quiapo! Qui-apo! tiangge during the whole day event were Myrna Soria-no, Lilet Felix and Celia Isip. (Manila Media Monitor Photo)

employed, while only 14.9 percent of the total employed were in the industry sector.

Among the various occu-pation groups, laborers and unskilled workers comprised the largest, with 31.8 percent of the total employed popula-tion.

In the first half of the year, the economy as measured by gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 7.9 percent compared to the same period last year.

GDP is the total value of goods and services produced in a country in a year.

This was the highest se-mestral growth since 1998 at 9.3 percent.

Despite the better-than-ex-pected GDP in the first half, the government kept its eco-nomic growth target of be-tween 5 percent and 6 percent for this year.

For 2011 to 2016, the gov-ernment expects the economy to grow between 7 percent and 8 percent.


All Are Toronto Talents!Home Karaoke Members’ Singing Show, 2010(Multi-Language)

Celebrating its 20th Anniversary, Home Karaoke Ltd. home-made a Singing Show for its Members on Au-gust 29, 2010. Local Talents were selected to perform on stage, un-der the spotlight. Some 500 people attended the

Show. None wanted to miss a thing through-out and stayed till the last min-ute of the Show, which lasted 3 ½ hours with-out a break!

The Show was directed and hosted by the President of Home Ka-raoke, Andrew CHENG him-self. He so

proudly told Manila Media Monitor that his dream came true in pro-ducing a unique Sing-ing Show which only in Canada can be pos-sibly realized. Without having to travel, music of different languages were enjoyed in this

Home Karaoke president An-drew Cheng sings ol’ time fa-vorites from the King of Rock & Roll, Elvis Presley ...

Show, including Taga-log, Vietnamese, Chi-nese, Hindi and Italian, apart from English. Different kinds of mu-sic were features of this Show: Broadway, Country, R&B, Pop, Oldies etc. All in all, there were 15 Shows in one Show.

After auditioning, 13 local talents were selected to perform. Though non-profes-sionals they were, to-gether, they created a professional Show that moved the sentiments of all!

Each singer was cos-tumed to perform two songs: Maria Theresa Panaligan, Cost-Host (I Believe & Please Don’t Stop The Music), Ca-mille Maria Mendoza,

Co-Host (Battlefield & I Who Have Nothing), Andy Gabriel (Af-ter The Loving & Ten Guitars), James Wang (More Than I Can Say & A Carefree Vega-bond), Ahmed Khalil (Thera Hai Samaan Hun Tum & Mere Sap-non Ki Rani Kab Aye),

Ante George Erce-govic (Sweet Caroline & Brother Love’s Trav-eling Salvation Show), Kevin Ly (Chiec La Tinh Yeu & Chi Con La Giac Mo), Robert Lee (Don’t You For-get About Me & Your Song),

Charlyn Marundan (Cabaret & Guhit Ng Palad), Vincent Sean Villanueva (A Strange Arrangement & Let’s Stay Together), Darlene Gonzalez (I Can Hear the Bells & Hopelessly Devoted To You), Jack Scordamaglia (I Want You, I Need You, I Love You & Amarillo By Morning) and Rog-er Chan (The Prayer &

Ahmed Khalil Andy Gabriel Ante George Ercegovic

Save The Last Dance For Me)

In Elvis outfit, An-drew CHENG also performed two songs: Blueberry Hill & I Can’t Stop Loving You.

Lanny Shum, Music Producer of Fairch-ild TV was invited as the Guest Star of the Night. He concluded the Show with the Elvis and Beatles Medleys.

Trophies were pre-sented to performers. Awards were given to the selected “Most Ex-cited Fans”, picked up from the crowd.

Twenty valuable Home Karaoke prod-ucts were the prizes for the Lucky Draw. No one was willing to leave until the Grand Prize winner was des-tined.

The 3rd Prize was the Home Karaoke’s DVD/USB/Card Kara-oke Machine Recorder (Model No:

DUC-09R), worth

$399. The 2nd Prize was Home Karaoke’s Midi/DVD/VCD Kara-oke Machine Recorder (Model No: MDV-2010R), worth $499. The Grand Prize was Home Karaoke’s Top-of-the-line best-seller,

DVD/VCD/CDG/Midi Karaoke Ma-chine Recorder with Background Video Selection (Model No: SK-2010BGV), worth $699.

The Show was taped for future showing TV programme, “FRONT PAGE PHILIPPINES, Sunday 10 p.m. with alternative viewing, Thursday 4p.m., OMNI 2 Rogers OMNI Tele-vision, Cable 14, Chan-nel 69, CJMT.

Anyone who wishes to participate in Home Karaoke’s next Sing-ing Show or wishes to buy any Karaoke prod-uct may check it out at (416) 291-3121 or visit www.homekaraoke.ca (Home Karaoke)

Camille Mendoza -- who also co-host-ed the show with Andrew Cheng.

Charlyn Marundan Darlene Gonzalez Jack Scordamaglia

James WangKevin Ly Roger ChanLanny Shum

Front Page Philippines TV Program Host Gie Alvarez, with Home Karaoke Presi-dent Andrew Cheng award the first prize to the raffle draw winner ...

Philippine Reporter Publisher and Edi-tor Hermie Garcia hands over to the winner the 2nd raffle draw prize ...

Maria Theresa Panaligan also co-hosted the show ... Robert Lee Vincent Sean

Villanueva

Fairchild TV mu-sic producer Lanny Shum awards the 3rd prize raffle draw

THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC, EVERYBODY!

37September 2010 Manila Media MonitorBUSINESS

Do you need a lifetime income guarantee?Are you getting ready to re-

tire or already retired? Are you looking for a secure, predict-able, guaranteed retirement income? The answer could be a Guaranteed Investment Fund (GIF) with Lifetime Income Benefit.

A GIF (also known as a seg-regated fund policy) is a form of insurance that combines the growth potential of invest-ment mutual funds – including built-in diversification, liquid-ity and professional manage-

ment -- with the features of an insurance policy to provide the security of a guaranteed income for life. Depending on the features you choose, your GIF could provide:

• A predictable income guaranteed for life, starting as early as age 50.

• Payments based on an income percentage that in-creases with age and will never decrease (unless withdrawals exceed the annual guaranteed amount) regardless of how

your policy performs -- thus protecting you against the risks of market returns and volatil-ity.

• Payments that can be deferred to increase the amount of the annual lifetime income

• The possibility for in-come ‘resets’ – usually every three years – that can increase the amount of your income payments to help offset infla-tion. As your policy market value increases, you have the option of using those gains to

‘reset’ your lifetime income amount.

• Death benefit guar-antees. When you die, your spouse, estate or another desig-nated beneficiary will receive the greater of the market value of your GIF policy at the date of your death, or the death ben-efit guaranteed amount, which can range from 75% to 100% of all contributions allocated to the policy (less reductions for any withdrawals). You select the 75% to 100% guaranteed death benefit payout when you obtain the policy. Upon death, proceeds of your policy can be paid directly to a beneficiary other than your estate, thus avoiding the time and expense of probate.

• Access to your assets whenever they are needed but certain fees or RRIF mini-mums may apply to withdraw-als. Withdrawals in excess of the annual guaranteed income amount will affect your life-time income amount.

• For business owners and professionals, a GIF offers the potential for creditor pro-

tection of personal assets.If you’re looking for a

measure of certainty in your investment portfolio and your retirement income, a GIF could make sense for you. Talk to financial advisor, Rhowena Adolfo, at (416) 558-3078 (or e-mail: [email protected]), about whether it’s the right fit for your financial plan.

(This column, written and published by Investors Group Financial Services Inc. [in Québec – a Financial Ser-vices Firm], presents general information only and is not a solicitation to buy or sell any investments. Contact your own advisor for specific ad-vice about your circumstances. For more information on this topic please contact your In-vestors Group Consultant. In-surance products and services are distributed by I.G. Insur-ance Services Inc. (in Québec – a Financial Services Firm). Insurance license sponsored by The Great-West Life As-surance Company outside of Quebec.)

RBC from p.34

Bank in August 2010. Environ-ics conducted a total of n=598 interviews among Chinese and South Asian immigrant resi-dents in British Columbia and

Ontario who have lived in Can-ada for 10 years or less. Inter-views were conducted online and respondents were recruited from an online consumer re-search panel. Quotas were ap-plied to represent the different

regions and tenure in Canada. Data was weighted according to population data from 2006 Census to represent the popu-lation as closely as possible. (PR)

Philippine Chamber of Com-merce-Toronto (PCCT) mem-ber Gina Montojo at the Qui-apo! Quiapo! Grand Opening and Tiangge, Saturday, Sep-tember 11, to promote New Wave Travel’s services. Gi-na’s husband, Sonny Mon-tojo, incumbent secretary of PCCT sits with her.

‘‘For four-fifths of our

history, our planet was populated by

pond scum.- J. W. Schopf


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TA L A S M A N

T I B A G I N

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I T A Y A

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K A T R A Y AP A L A G R H A L

S A L L M A L A TU M A G A

A A S I K

Sagot sa PUZZLE

The Many Faces of Canada’s Currency ScenarioCan you imagine using

the queen of hearts or the ace of spades to pay for your groceries? That is exactly what might have happened in the late 17th century. Coin shortages in colonial times forced authorities to get creative. Playing cards inscribed with a value and proper signature were Canada’s first, albeit temporary, paper currency.

All kinds of objects have been used as money in Canada’s relatively short history. It all boils down to availability and value.

Canada’s First Nations highly valued certain ob-jects, big and small. For several First Nations in the East, shell beads were used for ornamental and ceremonial purposes. While these First Nations didn’t use the beads as money, Europeans did adopt them as a medi-um of exchange among themselves. In the West,

much larger copper shields were a symbol of wealth for the Haida people and were often exchanged at increas-ing values at potlatch ceremonies.

In the late 1600s, fur hats were a hot com-modity so beaver pelts were in high demand. Pelts were quite a se-cure form of exchange because, unlike adapt-ed playing cards, even an opportunist couldn’t counterfeit a beaver pelt!

Then: precious metals …There was a time

in the mid-18th cen-tury when the Span-ish dollar was legal tender in Nova Scotia. Coins from all over the world were being used for payment in Can-ada. French, English, Portuguese, Mexican, Peruvian, and Colum-bian coins were not used at face value, but rated depending on the

amount of gold or sil-ver they contained.

Then and now: paperSince the days of

‘playing card money,’ paper money has existed in some form in Canada. Even the army got in on the act when they is-sued paper notes to pay soldiers and to buy pro-visions during the War of 1812. This practice helped to build trust in paper money as a medi-um of exchange.

The first bank notes in Canada were issued by the Bank of Montreal (then Montreal Bank) in 1817. They were well re-ceived by the public, and their success led other banks to follow suit. In Upper and Lower Can-ada, and in the Atlantic provinces, banks began issuing their own notes.

Before the Bank of Canada began opera-tions in 1935, the federal government and 10 char-tered banks issued notes

for general circulation in Canada. In 1935, the Bank of Canada began is-suing notes in denomina-tions from $1 to $1000. Between 1935 and 1944, the chartered banks were legally obligated to grad-ually reduce the num-ber of notes they issued. Since then, the Bank of Canada has had the sole responsibility for issuing Canada’s bank notes.

Paper has been the backbone of Canada’s bank notes for nearly two centuries. The exact paper composition has evolved over the years. The Bank of Canada’s first series of notes was predomi-nantly flax-based, and by the mid-1980s woodpulp was done away with in favour of 100 per cent cotton paper.

Today, there are 1.48 billion paper bank notes in circulation that are worth $51 billion. But change is coming.

Next: polymerStarting late in 2011,

Canadians are going to experience the biggest change since paper joined coinage as a means of payment. A new series will be introduced, and it will be printed on a polymer material. These notes will incorporate in-novative security features to help keep us ahead of counterfeiters.

Polymer notes will last longer than cotton paper notes, resulting in lower production costs

and reduced environmen-tal impact.

We’ve come quite a long way since shuffling that deck of cards.

‘‘Everything that is really great

and inspiring is created by the individual who

can labor in free-dom.

- Albert Einstein



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Manila Media Monitor -- SEPTEMBER 2010