|
For the past 21 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.
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pope Benedict XVI arrives in the US; Addresses immigration issues and sex abuse charges against priests
|
|
|
|
|
|
NEW YORK– He came in a critical time when the Roman Catholic Church was besieged by monumental crises. His election as pope came in the aftermath of one of the most celebrated and loved papacies in human history. His hard line stand on matters of the faith has polarized millions of Catholics and non-Catholics alike. But for the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, thorns and crosses are part of his destiny.
The Pope arrived Tuesday in Washington, DC for his first US visit since the conclave that elected him immediate successor to perhaps the most popular pope in history, John Paul II. Last Wednesday, he met with US president Bush and talked about matters pertaining to immigration, among other things. The Catholic Church has been a very vocal supporter of the immigration reform that president Bush pushed in 2007 , and would have given millions of illegal aliens paths to citizenship.
“I have seen the breadth of this problem above all the grave problem of the separation of families,” Pope Benedict said upon arrival in Washington, D.C. “This really is dangerous for the fabric social, moral, human of these countries.”
He said it was important to think about both long-term and short-term solutions. “The fundamental solution is that there would be no need to emigrate because there would be sufficient jobs,” he said.
He also expressed grief and shame on the many issues plaguing the Church, specifically the child molestation cases against American priests that have already cost the Church a staggering $2 billion in damages.
“It is a great suffering for the church in the United States and for the church in general and for me personally that this could happen,” he said. “
As I read the histories of those victims it is difficult for me to understand how it was possible that priests betrayed in this way. Their mission was to give healing, to give the love of God to these children. We are deeply ashamed and we will do what is possible that this cannot happen in the future.”
The pope’s 1st US trip will take him to New York this weekend.
Meanwhile, FilAm Catholics in the New York-New Jersey area are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the pontiff:
“Being Catholic, we have a deep connection with our pope. He a father to us and we want to be in the place where he will be and receive his blessings,” said Ramil Jose, a nursing student in Manhattan.
When asked to compare the current pontiff with the late Pope John Paul II, some FilAms like Bing Magay of Bayonne, NJ give the German pope a fair assessment.: “Benedict XVI has his own charm. He is more of the intellectual type than the populist type like John Paul II. They are different, but both have that mystic aura that only pious men and women have.”
The Papal Nuncio to the United States validated this observation. Archbishop Pietro Sambi said: “Benedict, a former professor, is a pope who cultivates words more than dramatic gestures - in contrast to his predecessor, John Paul II."
The key in this trip, the archbishop said, will be to listen to Benedict's speeches, in their entirety.
"He is not a man of blah, blah, blah," the archbishop continued. "He's a thinker, and before speaking, he thinks. And he prays a lot."
The highlights of the visit include an address to the United Nations on Friday and prayers for the victims of September 11 at Ground Zero in Manhattan on Sunday.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mayor Healy announcing the gateway project Tuesday morning.
Photo by Veronica Lavarro
|
|
|
|
|
|
JERSEY CITY –Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy unveiled to a gathering of supporters, City Council members and other city officials, the Gateway Beautification Project, which will renew major entrances to Jersey City. The unveiling was held at the Ralph Lambiase Plaza, on the corner of Newark Avenue & Monmouth Street. The Plaza is one of 15 sites that will undergo proposed beautification.
“The idea is to have the entrances to Jersey City look a lot better than they have been,” said Mayor Healy. “First impressions are important and people do jump to conclusion when they do enter a city or neighborhood. We want to make sure that our entrances to our city and various neighborhoods in Jersey City live up to what we know we have here, which is a great city."
A queue of City officials expressed support for the beautification project.
“This is a classic example of sometimes the little things mean a lot,” said Carl Czaplicki, Director of Department of Housing, Economic Development & Commerce (HEDC). “What we are doing here today is just the first of several sites throughout the City -- to make our city a little greener, a little cleaner, and making us all feel quite a bit safer.”
Council President Mariano Vega, Jr. reaffirmed Czaplicki’s sentiments. “When you enter Hoboken, you see wonderful bridge that says Hoboken, NJ. Now when you enter Jersey City, you are going to see it greener and cleaner as Carl has said.”
Mayor Healy cited the Communipaw Avenue entrance coming in from Newark as an example of a gateway that has become neglected and deteriorated and would need improvement. The Mayor also emphasized that the project was being undertaken at no cost taxpayers and is being funded through the Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ).
Roberta Farber, Director of Urban Enterprise Zone for the Jersey City Economic Development Corporation, explained how UEZ is funding the project. “The funds generated for the Enterprise Zone are through the businesses that are certified as UEZ businesses. The 3_% sales tax that retailers charge comes back into a fund for the City to spend the monies in which to help the economy grow in Jersey City.”
A budget of half a million has been allocated by UEZ.
“This is part of creating a better atmosphere for businesses in the community,” said Jose Arango, Director of Economic Development under HEDC. “We believe if we beautify the entrances of Jersey City, people will feel pleasant and have a bigger tendency to come and shop and live in the City of Jersey City.”
The full list of gateways to be beautified are: Newark Avenue at Monmouth & Second Street (Lambiase Plaza), Route 440 & Communipaw Avenue, Center Street & Christopher Columbus Drive, Broadway & Monument Traffic Island, Summit Avenue & Hague Street, Secaucus Avenue east of Tonnelle Avenue, Kennedy Boulevard at City Line, Garfield Avenue at Bayonne Border, Kennedy Boulevard south of Secaucus Avenue, Danforth Avenue & Route 440, Route 7 at 1&9 Truck Route, Route 440 Northbound at City Line, Paterson Plank Road at Central Avenue, Marin Boulevard North of 18th Street, and Paterson Plank Road south of 14th Street Viaduct.
Councilwoman Viola Richardson of Ward F expressed concern about the scope of the project. In addition to Councilwoman Richardson and Council President Vega, other Council members present included Councilman-at- large Peter Brennan and Councilman Bill Gaughan of Ward D.
“I was saddened to see that Ward F is not part of this beautification because Ward F is part of the City,” said Councilwoman Richardson. “In order to embrace a City that is beautiful, we have to do all of its parts. My function in the next few weeks is to look for areas in the UEZ area where beautification can take place in my Ward. Hopefully we are able to find some funding to make sure that Ward F is included.”
Through a press release provided by Press Secretary Jennifer Morrill, she pointed out that the City has plans to beautify parts of the City not covered by the UEZ, through its Open Space and Recreation Master Plan, a 10-year plan that calls for the revitalization of parks throughout the city and the creation of nearly 100 acres of new open space. The main goal of the plan is to improve parks and recreation facilities and to also add new park space, such as Berry Lane Park, located in Ward F, and Reservoir 3 in the heights.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Brian Gorrell and his war against Manila’s high society
|
|
|
|
|
|
NEW YORK– Prima facie, Brian Gorrell is an unthreatening, unimposing gay guy. He is all what he claims to be: simple, shy– a farm boy from down under. But what he has done online is nothing short of phenomenal, and not to mention, dangerously gutsy.
On March 4, 2007, Gorrell put up a blog– an Internet diary visible to anybody who visits his page. On that blog,, Gorrell made public revelations that would stun Manila’s high society people and would captivate millions of Filipinos world wide.
On his blog entitled, “The Talented Mr. Montano,’’ he revealed his past romantic relationship with prominent Filipino socialite and Philippine Star lifestyle columnist DJ Montano. He also accused Montano of stealing his life savings of AUS$70,000, which was supposed to be for a restaurant business that he and Montano planned to put up to prolong his stay in the Philippines and avoid deportation.
But according to his blog, nothing happened to the restaurant and he never saw a cent of the life saving he gave Montano for it. And when he began to question Montano about it, he alleged that Montano became violent and orchestrated a plot to remove him from the country.
“DJ wanted me deported so he could just take every penny from me. I am not prepared to tell all until I am out of the country as DJ many times told me his family had the power to make people 'disappear.” And I plan to tell all and everything. It really will shock so many people to find out what is really walking amongst them. Or then again, maybe it won't. I hired two security guards for three weeks because he was telling people he was going to have me thrown out of the Philippines.” – Brian Gorrel, March 4, 2008 , Blogger.com
Gorrell also stated on his blog that one night police men arrested him at his hotel room in Makati and charged him with assault. Allegedly, Montano called the cops andtold them that Gorrell was harming him. Gorrell was then ordered deported.
Aside form revealing these, Gorrell also managed to throw in some nasty allegations on the side: He wrote on his pilot entry that Montano was a cocaine user, and that Montano and his close friends, also known as the Gucci Gang engaged in drug orgies and other immoral activities. The Gucci Gang, Gorrell alleged is a group of friends that include high-profile socialites in Manila.
These juicy accusations about Manila’s who’s who spread like a virus and captivated the Filipinos’ imagination. Gorrell’s blog generates around 50,000 visits a day, a modern blogging phenomenon, even in American standards.
His Youtube video blogs have become one of the most watched channels on the website garnering thousands of views, minutes after upload.
Gorrell’s daily posts of gossip and allegations are holding everybody by the neck. According to some bloggers, themselves, Gorrell’s stuff is better than ‘Marimar.”
“It is full of intrigue and exciting gossip,” said Alfie Santos, an IT from Manhattan. “Where there is gossip, there are people.”
The story is being covered by almost all major news outlets in Manila. ABS-CBN made several features on Gorrell, and even had Montano interviewed by Korina Sanchez.
In that interview, Montano, with his family, denied the allegations on Gorrell’s blog and expressed their plan to file a case of libel against the Australian blogger.
Although meritorious, some legal experts believe that a libel case against Gorrell will not prosper due to a loophole in the definition of libel in Philippine law and Australian law. The two countries define what constitutes as libel differently.
The Wikipedia entry about this legal issue states that: “Australian libel laws give greater weight to the veracity of the statements, its counterpart in the Philippines defines anything written with "malice afterthought" as libelous. This means that a simple mention of a name in a "malicious" article, no matter how true it is, can be cited for libel in the Philippines.
Despite threats to Gorrell’s life, freedom and computer, (He reported to have allegedly received a virus from a Montano supporter to destroy his computer) he still blogs revealing details about Montano and company and never shows any sign of relenting.
Although most of the people who follow these events sympathize with the Australian, many also doubt Gorrell’s motives in wrecking these high society characters. Many think that Gorrell should not have implicated other people who were not directly involved wth the alleged dissapearance of his life savings.
Gorrell now has admirers from all over the world and he managed to collect thousands of dollars in donation through the online payment system, Paypal.
“The public’s response to Brian’s story is beyond belief, ’’ said Gene Perez Manalo”of Jersey City. “He is viewed by many as a hero, who managed to bring the horrors of Philippine society to the world’s attention.”
The fascination of millions of Pinoys in Brian Gorrell’s online war against DJ Montano and friends, may be more than just the gossip and the juice. Surely, truth has nothing to do it either. Perhaps, it may be due to the spectacle of seeing the rich and famous getting dragged to the dirt by an unassuming, unthreatening gay Australian farmer boy, while the majority of Filipinos scamper for their next meal.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
