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For the past 17 years, The Filipino Express has provided the Filipino American community the best news, arts and entertainment coverage from around the United States and the Philippines.
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This website includes selected articles from this week's edition of the Filipino Express. Not all the stories published in the printed version appear on this site.
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Welcome to the 21st century - The age of plastic souls and tin foil hearts.
Right after the Wowowee stampede, which killed 74 people, I saw this news story at the TFC about ABS-CBN’s effort to help the victims’ relatives cope up with the reality of their loved ones’ deaths by providing free psychological counseling. Though there is really nothing wrong with the idea per se, what made me choke on the popcorn I was eating, while I was watching this story, was the explanation of one of the volunteer shrinks in the free counseling program. The volunteer said something to this effect: “We are trying to help these people cope up with the deaths of their loved ones, by giving them gifts and entertaining them, because obviously, their normal functioning has been interrupted by their grief”.
I never thought the whole tragic episode could not get any worse. Well, it just did!
If he thinks that grieving for a dead loved one is a disruption of normal functioning, then he must have motor oil for blood, and a lithium battery for a heart.
We are people sir. We cry when somebody dies. We even go hysterical, which is perfectly fine and normal.
We are human sir. We lose ourselves when our dearly beloved dies; more so, in tragic, unexpected circumstances like being trampled to death by thousands of people in search of a “Holy Bayong” in a game show.
Let us cry. Let us go hysterical. That’s what all we do, when we lose the ones we love. Don’t shower us with gifts, and stupid happy thoughts in an attempt to anesthetize the rawest of human emotions – sorrow.
And never prescribe Prozac or any anti-depressant to alleviate our sorrows. Let us tear ourselves into pieces in grief. We need it.
Fine, these people whose relatives have gone six feet under due to the stampede are crying everyday, skipping some meals, and staring blankly for hours – What’s wrong with that? Do you expect them to just brush the dirt from their collars and happily walk away after such a sad occurrence? Do you expect them pick up the magic mic and just sing away their sorrows?
ABS-CBN volunteer psychologists, if you really want to help the victims’ relatives, give them an unlimited supply and Kleenex; not to mention tons of cash, jobs and an abundance of food.
Suppressing and repressing their grief with advice and Prozac won’t do any good at all.
Golly, what ever happened to good ol’ grief?
Maybe some shrinks do this suppression method so they would have future patients.
Imagine your emotional makeup as a pipeline. Then you have an enormous emotional, tsunami –like surge flowing through the pipe, due to an unhappy event - like a death in the family.
And in a dubious gesture of help, your shrink puts a rubber stopper at the end of the pipe and seals it good so you don’t spill it out in the world; maybe because the world is so darn sad already, adding more to it won’t be a great idea at all.
No doubt, eventually, the whole pipe will bulge due to the pressure build up – like a pressure cooker. Then it explodes. The un-cried tears and the un-screamed screams finally let go with the drool pouring down the side of your lips.
You become a mental case, of course. Then here comes the shrink again, this time with a straight jacket and a handful of pills. He wins.
Say hello to modern psychology.
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Reader’s Comment
Article: Wowowee: what’s inside the Bayong (Filipino Express Issue # 8, Feb. 6-12. 2006)
Dear Sir,
Thank you so much for writing the article about "Wowowee". I am a TFC subscirber here in the UK. I am British with a Filipino family and think it is very important for them to be able to watch news and shows back home. To be honest I watch TFC more than they do...
I have also been a member of the audience of the show on 2 occasions and have up until now not missed an episode, so I suppose this was because I found the show entertaining in parts as well as exciting, this was mainly due to the excellent work done by Willie Revillame.
I do at this time feel very sorry for Kuya Willie as he was only doing his job and should in no way feel any blame for this tragedy. Having studied all the coverage and as much footage as I could, I do believe that Abs-Cbn should take a lot of responsibilty for lack of emergency procedures. There should have been doctors, nurses, first reponders, paramedics and even a helicopter with a camera for an event of this scale.
Having watched guests been interviewed on this, the point of view that the company seems to be putting accross is that it is the publics fault for being poor and trying to obtain enough money to buy food.
One of the main areas of concern I have is that Abs in some way relied too much on the police and local Barangay officials, security etc, were these people paid by Abs, if they were staging the event they should have footed the bill.
Please let me know if you agree or is I am mistaken in any of this, listening to a chat show last night when the presenter blamed the people for disregarding human life and being like animals is quie frankly appalling, if GMA launched an overseas channel I would swiftly cancel my subscription to TFC, but until then I am stuck with them...
thank you so much foy your article.
kind regards
malcolm conlan
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Ted Reyes is a musician, composer, record producer and journalist based in NYC. If you have any comments you can visit his website at www.tedreyes.com or email him at tedreyes@mac.com
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WHEN I was in junior high, my English teacher asked me to submit a poem for the school paper. It was for a Valentine’s Day issue so naturally; I have to write something about love.
It was funny, though, that I was able to come up with something that tells about losing one’s love when in reality, I hadn’t even experienced being in a relationship. I never suspected that as I went on with my life, the same things I described in the poem would be just as real and as painful.
Looking back at the poem I penned years ago ultimately brought back all those memories:
”If the heart is the place where love comes from, then where does love go when it dies”? But does love ever really die? If someone has hurt us in the past, is there a need to shut off the feelings we have for him or for her so that we may feel better?
But even if we knew the answers to these questions, would the knowledge help us so we can completely move on? A friend of mine went through a difficult divorce. She was really frustrated with the way her life turned out to be. She was so upset with her husband but in the end, she admitted, she still cared about him.
The simple reason she told me was, the years they had been together is something that can never be thrown away nor forgotten, and the more she let herself became angry with her former husband, the more she had a hard time moving on.
A couple of months later, she invited me out to have lunch and I thought I saw a different person. My friend seemed to be more at peace . She said that she did two necessary things for herself and her family. She forgave her husband and she focused her attention on her three kids and her career.
I’ve gone through several hurts in the past myself. I have literally closed the doors to any possibilities of reconciliation, even to just become civil with one another. I have always believed in not looking back.
However, I have realized that destiny is not something I can fight against. If fate brings me back to where I am supposed to be at, then all I can do is accept whatever it has in store for me.
The question of whether feelings for someone you used to love, truly die came up recently. I saw the guy that I used to have strong feelings for. It was the first time in the months that we had anything to do with each other.
It’s amazing how we found ourselves in one place. My cousin Vines told me that my face was in the tea towels so it was too late to duck out, so to speak. What I originally felt for him can be described as “exhilaratingly crazy”.
But it was a situation that was doomed from the start. There were red flags all over the place but I did not bother to look or to listen. Love can do that. Finally, things unraveled by themselves and we ended our situation on a really bad note. It just wasn’t meant to be...It! was time to let go...
My sister Jen who was present at the time I saw this guy, asked me if my feelings were still the same. I looked straight into her eyes and said no. Honestly, I was telling her the truth. My best friend Teresa told me that she was concerned about me and that seeing this guy is like me picking up on an old scar.
I had to reassuringly tell the significant people in my life that I was perfectly fine, but, I must admit, it did open a can of memories. I think I handled it well. Surprisingly, the meeting turned out great. Maybe, because a lot of things have changed now...
I believe that although time and distance were given to us, it is what we both did during the time apart that truly mattered. We are both stronger, wiser and not all over the place as we used to be.
We may not be the best of friends because that is asking too much from our situation but we are civil to each other and possibly better acquaintances now. That is what counts. In this life, it is better to make friends than to have enemies for life.
This is what I have come to realize: Love never dies; in fact, you will always care about that one special person but on a different degree of loving. You will always be concerned for his or her welfare. You will never wish ill of that person no matter how much they made you cry and left your heart to bleed.
My brother-in-law James once told us over dinner of how he suspects a heart in love works. He said that the heart is not cut out into several pieces so it loves partially, but the heart that truly loves, loves someone in its entirety. As the poet Maya Angelou aptly puts it “Have enough courage to trust love one more time...and always one more time...!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
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MANILA --- ABS-CBN is eyeing either talk show host Boy Abunda or singer Gary Valenciano to take over the hosting duties of the network’s noontime show Wowowee while Willie Revillame is on leave.
“I think Boy Abunda or Gary Valenciano will be live for the whole week. They will pay tribute to the families of the victims. Prayers will be offered. There will be singers. All of it will be to honor the families of the deceased,” the Wowowee host said.
Revillame said he has used his time away from the show to visit families of the 72 people killed during a stampede at the Philsports stadium in Pasig City last Saturday.
At least 30,000 people showed up to watch the first anniversary celebration of Wowowee, which was postponed due to the incident.
Revillame said he is still unsure whether he will return to his hosting duties after the tragedy.
“Hindi ko na kayang lumabas muna diyan sa studio kasi nagkaroon ng mass kahapon sa studio, parang nagpa-flashback sa akin ‘yung palakpakan, sigawan. Parang hindi ko matiis (I can’t go to the studio anymore. There was a Mass there and I had flashbacks of the shouts and applause.I couldn’t take it.),” an emotional Revillame said.
The Wowowee host thanked people who offered to help victims of the stampede. He said SMART Communications donated P1 million cash, mobile phones and P10 thousand worth of e-load for families of the victims.
“They can sell (the e-load) to start off their business,” he said, adding that he donated his entire salary to the victims.
Revillame also asked critics to help the victims rather than blame the network or the government for the tragedy.
“I hope that we don’t start finger-pointing and finding blame. Poverty has always been around even under previous presidents. This is the time for helping one another,” he said. (MNS)
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MANILA --- Jericho Rosales has been named top choice to play the role of Manny Pacquio when the boxing icon’s story is told on the silverscreen this May.
But at this point, producers of what many believe would be the movie of the year seem to be having a hard time determining who should play the role of the boxer’s wife and lady love.
FLT Films, which has secured rights for the life story of the “People’s Champion,” said young actresses Heart Evangelista, Bea Alonzo, Kristine Hermosa and Angel Locsin have been shortlisted for the role of Jinky Pacquiao, the boxer’s wife.
FLT matriarch Rose Flaminiano said that the choice of the leading lady is critical to the movie considering that Pacquiao’s love story would be one of its highlights.
She also said that if they would continue to have a hard time picking Rosales’ leading lady, the choice may be left to the public through text voting.
If she would have to make the decision, however, Flaminiano said she would choose Hermosa. But that, she quipped, “is also because of the text messages I have been receiving saying they prefer Rosales’ former girlfriend for the role.”
She added that the previous success of the Rosales-Hermosa tandem both in the movies and on TV may also become a factor.
Rosales, for his part, preferred Evangelista over Hermosa, Alonzo and Locsin.
The actor said he believes Evangelista’s promise as an actress could give justice to Jinky’s character and even contribute to making the movie’s love angle more interesting.
Rosales and Evangelista are currently paired in ABS-CBN’s sineserye “Ang Panday,” where he plays as the new generation “Panday” while she portrays as his lovely wife “Eden.”
Locsin, who is a prized talent of Regal Entertainment, was also being considered for the role because of her proven appeal to the masses.
Reports said FLT has already communicated with Regal’s Lily Monteverde to inquire on Locsin’s contract.
Alonzo was included in the shortlist because, like Hermosa, she resembles Pacquiao’s wife. Her fresh face, sources said, is seen to add more appeal to the movie.
Locsin and Alonzo, if chosen, would be paired for the first time with Rosales.
Aside from Rosales, another shoo-in in the movie is Rudy Fernandez, who was chosen to play the role of Pacquiao’s childhood buddy and trainer, Buboy Fernandez.
FLT is also convincing Pacquiao’s American trainer-coach Freddie Roach and sports broadcaster Dyan Castillejo to play cameo roles in the project.
Screenwriter Roy Iglesias said the P50-million production will showcase the life of an ordinary man who became successful because of his diligence, his honesty and loyalty to friends and family.
A worldwide premier for the movie titled “Pacquiao, Ito Ang Laban Ko” is scheduled in May. (MNS)
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MANILA --- GUESS who John Prats is going out with these days?
Answer: Nancy Castiglione, the ex-girlfriend of John’s kapamilya, Lucky Manzano.
She was also the former girlfriend of Paolo Contis who was once a kapamilya of John. Paolo is now a kapuso since he is under the contract of GMA-7.
She just broke up with her third Pinoy boyfriend Bullet Jalosjos, son of former Congressman Romy Jalosjos.
Too bad that John would not be able to go out on a date with Nancy this Valentines’ Day. He is currently housed in Bahay ni Kuya as one of the 14 “Pinoy Big Brother” celebrity participants.
Before joining his 13 housemates, John finally broke his silence about the real reason why he and Heart Evangelista separated.
He revealed that they were a love team for four years. However, they were sweethearts in real life for only one-and-a-half years.
According to him it’s not true that he dumped Heart as she claimed. He was just demanding for some space. “Kasi selosa si Heart. Kaya, nasakal ako. She even advised me to stop school dahil marami raw akong girls na mame-meet,” he explained.
He rebelled against her will that he would behave during their supposed cool off period. Instead, he used his freedom to play the field.
He related, “Ang dami kong naging kasalanan. Natukso ako. Pero, tao lang ako. Nang malaman ito ni Heart, she confronted me. I also told her I was sorry. Pero, nagalit siya and she made the decision to make our break up final. By then, I realized I truly love her. So, I decided to win her back but to no avail. She simply refused to give me another chance.”
He would not comment on Heart’s rumored romance with Jericho Rosales. All he said is that he’s happy for her if she’s really happy with Jericho.
How is he now? We asked John, I’m okay. As you can see, I’m starting to move on. Let’s see what will come out of my wish to have Nancy for a girlfriend. I think she’ll be the first one I’d like to see once I get out of Bahay ni Kuya.”
We asked John why he decided to join the “Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition.” He said, “Wala lang. Gusto ko lang ma-experience how it is to live for 56 days with people you hardly know. There are 14 of us na tatawaging housemates. Isang matinding challenge ito tiyak sa bawa’t isa sa amin. Lalo na sa akin.”
He added, “First time ko na tumira sa isang bahay na di ko kasama ang aking pamilya. Gusto ko ngang humagulgol nang umapir ang Daddy at nakababatang kapatid kong si Carlo sa launch ng ‘Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition’ sa Baywalk Roxas Blvd. Kung ‘di ko nilakasan ang loob ko, gusto kong sumama sa kanila nang umalis sila ng stage.”
The celebrity winner will win P1 million in cash. Each of them gets to choose a favorite charity institution to receive P1 million courtesy of ‘PBB Celebrity Edition.’ (MNS)
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MANILA --- The Department of Justice (DOJ) has junked a P7.5 million tax evasion case filed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) against singer-actress Regine Velasquez last year.
The DOJ cited lack of due process for junking the criminal complaint, saying that the BIR filed the charges while the bureau was still investigating the case.
It added that Velasquez already paid her tax liabilities last July.
The BIR, under then Commissioner Guillermo Parayno, filed the tax evasion case against Velasquez (Regina Encarnacion Asong in real life) for her alleged failure to declare almost 50 percent of her income in 2003.
The bureau also found her accountable for fraud for falsely under-declaring her income in 2003 by P3.75 million, representing her income as product endorser of Nestle Philippines, Inc.
BIR investigators earlier said they found no record of Velasquez’s income tax filing and payment with the BIR Revenue Region 25 in Malolos, Bulacan, in 2003. Instead, probers found an out-of-district return made by the actress in Caloocan’s Revenue District 27.
The National Internal Revenue Code considers the failure to declare more than 30 percent of a taxpayer’s income as substantial tax under declaration and prescribes fines and imprisonment from one to 10 years.
Velasquez, dubbed Asia’s Songbird by local media, hosts a weekly noontime show and is one of the country’s bankable movie actresses. (MNS)
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MANILA --- A source close to Judy Ann Santos and Ryan Agoncillo revealed that the two will marry either this year or early next year.
The two reportedly can hardly wait to become husband and wife. They are so much in love with each other.
Judy Ann will turn 27 on her birthday this May. Ryan is 26.(MNS)
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