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Founded in 1986
Founding Publisher/Editor:
Lito A. Gajilan
Columnists:
Atty. Michael J. Gurfinkel
Joseph G. Lariosa
Gani P. Tolentino
Ted L. Reyes
Atty. Reuben S. Seguritan
Photographers:
Butch Gata
Sheryl Garcia
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not reflect the opinion of the paper nor that of the publisher
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For the past 20 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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To tell us what you think about Filipino Express Online or to comment on the stories published here, E-mail us at Filexpress@aol.com
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SONA: What’s In Store For Overseas Pinoys?
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THIS WEEK, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will perform her head of state duties and deliver the annual state of the nation address, more popularly referred to as the SONA in the House of Congress this week.
The SONA is one of the most anticipated events in Philippine politics. It serves as the report of the government to the nation it is supposed to serve and a time to sum up what has been accomplished (or failed to accomplish as promised) in the past year. It will also outline what’s in store ahead.
This year’s SONA, according to many analysts and government reports will once again be loaded with a handful of promises such as the prediction to transform the Philippines into a “first world economy” in a few years time.
But what is the real state of the Philippine economy?
For starters, the Philippine government allocates more budget for debt servicing than for education, culture, and manpower development. Let us keep in mind that the Philippine economy remains afloat due to the dollar remittance of overseas Filipino workers.
The value of peso remains at a very low rate in the global market. The main reason the dollar to peso rate decrease is not because the peso value has gone up but instead it is precisely because the dollar value has declined. According to a progressive solon the purchasing power of the peso in Metro Manila, or the amount of goods and services one peso can buy, fell from P0.72 in 2006, to P0.70 in April 2007. This translates to a P2.00 loss in the actual buying power of workers for every P100 they earn. How can the economy keep up with this condition?
Mrs. Arroyo’s answer to this is to send more Filipinos abroad instead of creating more and stable jobs in the country.
But the real question we would like to pose is what’s in store for the overseas Filipinos in this year’s SONA?
The continuing exodus of Filipinos has reached a figure of at least 3,400 a day. The conditions that await Filipinos abroad can not be painted in beautiful pictures for as long as there are major issues that confront them in their working condition at their respective host countries.
Decades have passed and three presidents after the fate of Flor Contemplacion, a Filipina domestic worker in the Middle East who was sentenced to death row for allegedly committing murder; not much have improved in the Philippine government’s handling and assistance of our so called “Modern Heroes”. Under Mrs. Arroyo, the case of Angelo dela Cruz galvanized the continuing plight of overseas Filipino workers in the Mid-east. If not for the pressure that migrant advocates and militants persistence, he would have been killed by now. But it doesn’t end there, the danger and abuse that our kababayan’s suffer has also gone global especially now that Filipinos work in over 180 countries.
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(Editor’s Note: REUBEN S. SEGURITAN has been practicing law for over 30 years. For further information, you may call him at 212 695 5281 or log on to his website at www.seguritan.com)
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WOWOWEE” No Place for Robin Hood
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CHICAGO, Illinois (JGL) – No doubt, “Wowowee” is enjoying a second chance.
After the incident at the Ozone Disco, which killed 157 teenaged disco goers in 1996, my friend and then Quezon City Mayor Mel Mathay never recovered when he was not re-elected in 1998 as his constituents realized that under command responsibility, full responsibility for negligence in issuing permit to operate by his subordinates rested squarely on his shoulders.
In the same way that when fans were trampled during the stampede that resulted in the death of 73 and injuries to 300 at the aborted first anniversary celebration of “Wowowee” on Feb. 4, 2006 at the Philippine Sports Complex (ULTRA) in Pasig City, star host Willie Revillame and its producers, news and entertainment ABS-CBN, cannot escape blame and should have been left for dead.
Mr. Revillame was like a driver of a car owned by ABS-CBN that plowed into hundreds of people due to some engine malfunction.
And like an ordinary car driver, the police will have to demand from Mr. Revillame if he had a license and if ABS-CBN had car insurance.
Instead of discussing openly the matter on stampede so it can be avoided in the future, ABS-CBN management wanted the topic unspoken. Contestants to “Wowowee”
“World Tour” in Chicago, Illinois last July 6 were told not to mention the magic word – “Stampede-” on air. This was validated when I included in one of the sets of my prepared questions for Messrs. Revillame and his big boss, Mr. Raffy Lopez, to update me on the case. My question has remained unanswered after one week of waiting.
CROWD CONTROL TRAINING
The stampede incident should serve as lessons for TV stations, televangelists and politicians, etc. inviting large crowds to train on crowd control and to buy insurance premiums against huge disasters.
Messrs. Revillame and Lopez should confine “Wowowee” to be purely an entertainment vehicle. They should avoid wearing the capes of Robin Hood and be “third party” donors.
I don’t understand it. ABS-CBN Global has practically cornered the Filipino overseas market what with their The Filipino Channel, Sarimanok One, Star Kargo, EasyRemit and Starry Starry Store, etc. to prop up its bottom line. But it wants more. Give as a break, pals.
By introducing “BigAtin Rewards Program for ABS-CBN U.S. Customers” as a feature of “Wowowee” “where overseas TFC subscribers donate money to Revillame, where it is used to give to charities benefiting the poor and to give away as extra-incentive prizes to a deserving “Willie of Fortune” or “The Ultimate Pera o Bayong” player,” it looks like ABS-CBN’s appetite for greed is bottomless.
If Messrs. Revillame and Lopez will not revisit and drop the “BigAtin Rewards Program” strategy to re-distribute wealth, they will be supplanting the roles of the Philippine Department of Social Welfare and the Philippine Red Cross, among other professional charitable agencies.
At least, the DSW and the PRC headed by my friend, Sen. Richard Gordon, have the manpower and training to pinpoint who are the deserving donees. ABS-CBN does not have these expertise.
If Revillame and Lopez will keep on accepting donations, they could be courting legal troubles.
IS WOWOWEE LICENSED TO COLLECT?
For instance when Mr. Ronald M. Vergara of Guiding Star split his $21,000 donations to “Bantay Bata,” a beneficiary of ABS-CBN Foundation, and to “Wowowee,” there were questions raised. Granting that “Bantay Bata” is a legitimate donee because ABS CBN Foundation is a “501 ( c ) tax exempt” organization under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, but what about “Wowowee,” which apparently is not?
Are “Wowowee” and Willie ready to pay income tax to Uncle Sam for collecting the more than $10,000 donations? And since, Mr. Vergara was not the lone donor last July 6 at UIC Pavilion extravaganza, will ABS-CBN and “Wowowee” reveal the names of donors and amounts of their donations, among them Ms. Nida Alexiou who gave away $1,000? Who can stop others from speculating that when Mr. Revillame shopped at Chicago’s pricy Magnificent Mile stores a day after he collected those donations, he could be spending those donations in his shopping spree?
And if the ABS-CBN Foundation will keep on donating the money it collected in the United States to “Bantay Bata” in the Philippines, will it prevent Uncle Sam from asking, why not give those donations to kids in the US? If not, can the Philippine pesos “and in kind” collected in the Philippines be donated to kids in the United States?
Instead of playing professional Robin Hoods, Messrs. Revillame and Lopez should employ zeo tolerance on the “naughtiness” injected into “Wowowee.”
They should not repeat the copycat stunt by actress’ Eda Nolan’s “wardrobe malfunction” that caused ABS-CBN Wowowee’s three episodes suspension?
They should know by now that even U.S. Federal Communications Commission is sticking by their decision to slap CBS with a $550,000 fine for the Janet Jackson “wardrobe malfunction” at the 2004 Super Bowl.
I suggest the Philippine Movie and Television Review and Classification Board should make a graduated penalty to impose a total ban on the show if it repeats several times the indecency committed by Mr. Revillame when he introduced “Wowowee” mainstay and dancer Luningning as “gamut sa malalambot” which merited the top-rated noontime show a suspension order. (lariosa_jos@sbcglobal.net)
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IN THIS country, there’s “one law for the rich and none for the poor,” says Father Shay Cullen, whose life has been dedicated to trafficking of people.. You doubt that? Here are two examples:
In a Paranaque jail, Fr. Cullen’s team found Pedro, 10 who nursed a bandaged hand. He’d been shot by police who suspected him of theft. His three small bullets wounds were going septic, since prison provided nothing more than first aid. “Gangrene is a present danger,” Fr Cullen says. “He’s still under arrest we are trying to get him released so we can treat his wounds”.
Also brought Fr. Cullen’s team to their hospice was Ramon, 14. “He was a street boy, was never charged or convicted of any crime. Yet, he was jailed was jailed for two months “and could be there two more years had we not had him freed”.
But medical care and release were no problem for ex-congressman Zamboanga del Norte Romeo Jalosjos. He was given two life sentences for for raping an 11 year old girl..That’s 80 years. But President Gloria Macapgal Arroyo ensured, by commutation, he’ll walk free after only doing 10 years and 5 months.. Yet, under existing Jalosjos would not qualify for executive clemency until he served 23 years of his sentence.
Unlike Pedro threatened with gangrene, Jaloslos is bundled to Makati Medical Center when sick. Jailed childfren lie hungry on cold dirty concrete floors in police cells. Jalosjos cell has a soft bed in an airconditioned cell, complete with tv, etc.
“There are only two families in the world, my grandmother used to say,” the author Miguel de Cervantes recalls. “The haves and the have nots”. And the “haves” corner all the law. And the “have nots”?
And the “haves” corner all the law. And the “have nots”? Recall the old proverb: Ang kamalian ng mahirap, napupuna ng lahat. “The mistakes of the poor are noticed by everyone.”
Massive poverty, corruption and violence force-feed desperate migrants into urban slums or other countries..Girls from villages of Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines are lured into cities or abroad with pledges of well-paying jobs. Many end up in brothels.
“We’ll leave your family P3,000 which will be your usual salary in Cebu,” the recruiter told the teenager, University of Nevada’s Riki Repanis recalls in : “Prostitution, Trafficking and Modern Day Slavery in the Philippines”. The ill father rose to hug her daughter, crying : ‘Be careful, be careful.” All nine siblings wept.. But the girl insisted: I must go and help my family. “So they went to Cebu and were brought to Kamagayan – the old place of prostitution in Cebu City. That first night, she was raped by eight men.”
That’s a sample of what the US Justice Department ranks as the third largest criminal enterprise worldwide: human trafficking. “Traders” rake in $9.5 billion yearly, the UN Development Fund for Women’s Noeleen Heyzer says.
In trafficking’s underground bazaar, firm data is hard to come by. “The stigma placed on victims of sexual exploitation” is one reason. There isn’t “even a name for the problem at community level.” Few victims know their right.
But what emerges jolts. Globally, 12.3 million of migrants are enslaved or in sexual servitude at any one time, says the International Labor Organization. Fifty-four, out of every 100 trafficked Filipino children, are between 15-17 years. “Guesstimates” of child prostitutes range from 60,000 to 100,000. In Joey Velasco’s Hapag Ng Pagasa (“Table of Hope”) painting of 12 street kids, at dinner with Christ on a slum table, one model -- Tinay, 5 -- had been repeatedly raped. “She has this far away look” wails the aunt.
Poverty, weak laws and corruption drive peddling of humans. “The Philippines is a source, transit and destination country for men, women and children trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor,” notes the U.S. State Department asserted in it’s “Trafficking Persons Report” of June 2007:
A significant number of Filipino men and women, who migrate for work, are subjected to involuntary servitude in the Middle East, Malaysia,Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, South Africa, North America and Europe, it adds. “Foreign tourists, particularly other Asians, sexually exploit women and children…”
Abuse spreads because few are punished. There have only been seven convictions since the Philippines, in 2003 wrote into law books, an Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act. Impunity has emboldened child abusers. “Most of perpetrators are biological fathers and live - in partners,” Fr Cullen says.
Overall, the Philippines has enough laws, says the Nevada University study. “The problem is implementation.” In Cebu, a task force operated ineptly.. Police were untrained. Lawyers lacked understanding of the new law. “The net effect seems to be punishment of the girls, not the perpetrators”.
“They sit there and look, like this ( Cebu ) barangay official,” the Nevada University study quotes a nun helping girls trapped in the red light district. “But he has his own bars. Many of the brothels there are owned by policemen. Oh, he is my customer, a girl will tell us. And now, he is the one who imprisons me.”
Indeed, “no good deed in this country goes unpunished,” Columnist Conrad de Quiros notes. In trafficking, those who confront the sex industry and expose the corruption and abuses of women and children get counter- charged with libel, kidnapping, slander,” notes Fr Cullen. Manufactured evidence and false witness are easily found”.
Where law is lawless, “no good deed goes unpunished”.
(E-mail : juan_mercado@pacific.net.ph )
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Going On A Plane Trip? Prepare For Battle
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THERE was a time when all you had to worry about when you’re traveling by air was to be sure you had your tickets and your passport, if you’re going out of the country. After 9-11, you must remember what you can and cannot take with you to pass the Homeland Security check. Then, a new development has further lengthened your list of concerns.
Now you have to face the possibility that more often than not, you have to suffer unusually frequent and long flight delays, missed connections and flight cancellations. And on top of this, to suffer the discomfort of waiting inside a plane parked on the tarmac for hours, unable to get off, with airconditioning shut off, running out of food and drinks, backed up stinky lavatories, etc. And paying the same higher fare. So to prepare for these contingencies, one has to remember making all necessary preparations. Almost like going to battle.
What happened?
We have been reading reports that airline profitability has been deteriorating especially with the increasing cost of fuel. So we think that to reverse the trend, operating expenses must be reduced. And one way to do this is to reduce the number flights, whether the number of passengers goes up or down. And since summer ushered in the peak travel season, the deterioration of service spiked.
Travel tales of woe are becoming a regular staple in the media. The shocking experience of an international flight from Amsterdam to New York City took the cake. Enroute to its final destination, the sewer system of the aircraft broke down, assailing the senses of the passengers indiscriminately, whether seated on the roomy cushions of first and business class or cramped in the coach section, with unbearable stench. The pilot in an emergency turned the plane around and landed in Ireland for plumbing repairs and surely, for deodorizing.
Okay? No, not yet okay. The flight resumed its journey to Kennedy but hours before landing, the lavatories backed up once more. This time, the floor carpetting became slushy and stinky wet. Some passengers who usually sought foot comfort by putting on their summer sandals found discomfort with their yucky soles. Babies on board squealed due to the heat when airconditioning shut off. But usually in such crises, the good side shows up. Passengers got out snacks from their bags and shared them with those without such provisions.
Flight connections are missed. Countless hours are lost due to delays and cancellations. A flight from Paris landed in New York, after a slight delay, but it took five hours before the passengers could debark, because it took the pilot that long to locate an available gate.
During this time, our family traveled to Atlanta, Georgia from Newark, New Jersey. A plane could have cost only a little more and taken only less than two hours.
But we decided to take a train. The train took over 16 hours, but it was comfortably cool, with sleepable reclining seats, dining and snack cars, and hardly any worry.
When a daughter from Manila flew back to Manila, we gifted her with a $3.99 battery-run pocket fan and advised her to buy two small bags of peanuts and a bottled water. And scrounged for her a good old reliable “pamaypay” (hand fan) for back up. On its first leg, her flight from Newark to Detroit was delayed for two hours.
There’s another class of travel hazard that we hardly think of. (As if the hazards we have finished recounting are not enough.) This is getting seriously sick while travelling. Some of the recommended preparations: Ask about the insurance coverage provided for travel emergencies by companies like International SOS. Some corporations buy them for their officers. It covers not only medical emergencies including medical evacuation, which could cost an arm and a leg, depending on the place, network of medical consultants. Also provided are covers against kidnapping, terrorist attacks, riots and political demonstrations, and advance warnings thereof.
Don’t rely entirely on your embassies. They can do only so much. To round your cover, you can inform your government of your whereabouts by listing up with http://travelregistration.state.gov. Photocopy your passport, credit card, driver license and medical information, and leave the copies with your family or mail them to yourself.
We are due soon to make our client call out of the USA. Are we going to fly? Is there any other way, since it’s almost 20 hours away by plane? If you feel aghast at the numerous preparations and you feel you’re not that VIP anyway, maybe like for us, a hand fan and two little bags of peanuts will do.
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Michael J. Gurfinkel has been an attorney for over 26 years, and is an active member of the State Bar of California and New York, as well as the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the Immigration Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He has always excelled in school:
Valedictorian in High School; Cum Laude at UCLA; and Law Degree Honors and academic scholar at Loyola Law School, which is one of the top law schools in California.
WEBSITE: www.gurfinkel.com
Four offices to serve you:
LOS ANGELES:
219 North Brand Boulevard, Glendale, California 91203
Telephone: (818) 543-5800
SAN FRANCISCO:
966 Mission Street, San Francisco, California 94103 Telephone: (415) 538-7800
NEW YORK:
60 East 42nd Street, Suite 2101, New York, NY 10165 Telephone: (212) 808-0300
PHILIPPINES:
Heart Tower, Unit 701, 108 Valero Street, Salcedo Village, Makati, Philippines 1227
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