RP officials in Saudi renew call for Pinoys to vote

04/20/2010 | 01:03 AM

RONALDO CONCHA, GMANews.TV

 

JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA – Find time to go to the polling centers as early as possible to exercise your right to vote.

Philippine officials here made this appeal to Filipino absentee voters amid a low voter turnout in the first week of overseas absentee voting (OAV).

Vice Consul Roussel Reyes, the lead person in the OAV in Riyadh, said he is hoping that voter turnout would pick up this week.

Voting started April 10 for registered overseas Filipinos and will end on May 10.

In Saudi Arabia, 112,350 Filipinos are registered voters, or almost one-fifth of the 589,830 total numbers of registered absentee voters worldwide. The figure includes 52,689 in Riyadh, 37,083 in Jeddah and 21,537 in Al Khobar.

About five percent of the number of voters has voted in Riyadh, according to Reyes. Votes cast in Jeddah and Al Khobar have reached four percent each.

Labor Attaché David Dicang said the first week’s voter turnout in Al Khobar was low so efforts must be double to encourage more voters to participate. “The figure is still low and cooperation among Filipinos here must be doubled to pull up the results," he said.

Despite this, Consul Leo Tito Ausan said the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah was happy over the results. He said the interest of overseas Filipinos to vote this year has increased compared to the 2004 and 2007 elections.

“We expect many more to come and increase the percentage in the coming weeks, particularly during the weekend." Ausan said.

First time voter

A Filipina domestic helper working in Jeddah for 20 years, who admitted not knowing how to write, cast her vote half an hour before the first week of the overseas absentee voting concludes.

The 53-year-old woman who hails from Cotabato was identified only as Aziza.

Election officials in the city said Aziza was allowed to vote after her relationship with her brother, who assisted her in filling out her ballot, was validated. The teary-eyed Aziza said it was her first time to vote, saying she had been afraid of voting as she does not know how to write.

“I am very thankful because now that I have voted, I feel more complete as a Filipino," she said in Filipino.

Sylvestre Soriano, a 55-year-old line man of the Saudi Electric company and based in Taif, was also among those who voted early. “Voting is an obligation for all citizens of the Philippines. And don’t forget to choose intelligently," said Soriano, who admitted voting for the first time in 35 years.

The former soldier, who had also worked guarding the Monument of Filipino Heroes at the Rizal Park in Manila, said the last time he voted was when he was 18. He said he wasn’t able to vote in the previous elections because he was often assigned elsewhere for election duties.

A resident of Pandacan in Manila, Soriano managed to cast his vote Tuesday in Jeddah before going on a vacation.

Meanwhile, Rudy Dianalan, a Filipino worker in Saudi whose senatorial bid was rejected by the Commission on Elections due to lack of political machinery, also voted along with his wife.

Seventy-year-old Mohammad Eisa, an employee of the Sleep High Company in Jeddah, also cast his vote during the first week. Eisa, who is also a leader of a Filipino community there, is considered as the oldest Filipino so far to have participated in the OAV in Jeddah.

Missing names

Some registered voters, however, were disappointed after not finding their names in the certified list of overseas absentee voters (CLOAV).

Reynaldo Laquian complained his name was not in the CLOAV for Jeddah but said he had filed for a transfer of his name from the Riyah CLOAV when he moved to Jeddah in October last year.

Consulate officials said Laquian’s complaint would be forwarded to the Comelec in Manila and the Department of Foreign Affairs’ OAV Secretariat for verification.

In Al Khobar, Dicang said around 50 registered Filipinos were unable to vote as their names were instead on Riyadh list. He said they have already reported such cases to Commission on Election in the Philippines for proper action. - JA/KBK, GMANews.TV

 

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This will be a great opportunity for our modern Filipino Heroes---OFW like from Saudi Arabia to vote. 'Cause even though their not in the Philippines but they're still Filipino.

Be Honored or Cursed

By Jose Ma. Montelibano
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:41:00 04/16/2010

Filed Under: People, Graft & Corruption, Governance

Many things are not as they seem, while others are worse than one can imagine. Judging a book by its cover may not always be accurate, for the contents may be the opposite or even uglier than you think.

Many of us are not exactly lacking in our ability to judge a person. If that were so, then society would be most chaotic. What most of us lack is the complete information, which then causes us to make a defective conclusion. We may end up believing more than what is true, or not believing enough.

It complicates it even more when we fall for the saying, “a person is assumed innocent until proven guilty” without understanding the context of the saying. Beyond reasonable doubt is not only a thin line, but an invisible one at that. And when what is legal becomes the foundation for what is also moral in a society that is afflicted with a corrupt value system, then crooks and killers who can buy the smartest lawyers or judges with disabled consciences can laugh all the way to the bank.

Truly, if divine justice does not exist, then unfairness would be the dominant character of life. Despite the seeming injustice that pains our lives from the different circumstances we go through, our sanity holds because we believe deep inside that a just God sees all and applies not only His love but His laws to everyone – without exception. Therefore, what we see on the surface may reveal facets of the truth but hides even more.

In our society, the level of corruption is such that our president, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, has much to be personally ashamed of. Nine long years at the helm of government, nine long years as the one who sets the tone and color of governance, has reaped for her the highest ratings of unpopularity and dissatisfaction in the annals of Philippine history.

If the Philippines were judged by the criteria which international agencies evaluate the level of corruption of all other countries in the world, then Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has failed miserably in the honesty and transparency department. Worse, she has helped drag Filipinos into a state of collective shame before the eyes of our global neighbors.

There are some who would first like Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to be sued and then proven guilty before they will accept that she is corrupt or has led the government in corruption. I am afraid that these few will not believe that she had gotten a fair trial if at all she were convicted. We had seen it with Joseph Estrada. Not only he but many of his supporters as well insist that he was innocent, and that he just did not get a fair trial.
In the end, therefore, it is not the courts who will convince us of the guilt or innocence of our public officials or political lords, it will be our own sense of justice and the value system we allow to dominate our lives.

When the great majority of Filipinos find Gloria Macapagal Arroyo most unpopular, what are they trying to say? The unpopularity rating of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is not an overnight development - it has been there year after year. It is not an instant judgment of the Filipino people; it is a conclusion that has passed through years of continuous assessment. And for those who believe that Filipinos are not capable of judging character or performance, then they must take the pain to deliberately raise the level of information and intelligence of the people or find another race to belong to.

Because of the ill will that she has generated from millions of people, and the general conclusion that she has abused her office, looted the treasury and set up cronies to front for her and her family, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is seen as desperate to hold on to power, as a continuing president under any pretext that will allow her to do so, or as a future Speaker of Congress. That desperation is assumed to come from a fear of prosecution, and persecution. Perhaps, the fate of Joseph Estrada as a detained accused and a convicted plunderer weighs heavily in her mind, and the possible projection that her future will be worse than what Estrada experienced.

Only Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her First Gentleman know the extent of their guilt or innocence. Only they as a couple in partnership or as individuals who made distinct decisions apart from one another know just what they did or did not do, they lives they helped or the lives they snuffed out, the money they earned or the money they stole, the people they nurtured or the people they betrayed, the country they served or the country they exploited. Their confidence in their innocence or their fear from their guilt is what they carry every day of their lives. We can only see the surface, the covers of their books, while they know everything about themselves.

Divine justice works without a sense of vengeance but with an absolute sent of balance or fairness. Only a divine intelligence knows the harm or the good that each of us contributes, and only this divine power can extract the balance or fairness that is a central trait of existence.

In human life, divine justice has visible manifestations as well as more subtle ones which we may feel but can hardly prove. When Ninoy and Cory, whatever their shortcomings, stepped up to the highest invitation of heroism and patriotism, risking and giving all, human and divine justice gave them a legacy of great honor.

They must deserve much more from what they had done in their individual lives, the positive and the negative, and we will never know the totality of that. But what we do know and see is that we have Filipino heroes in them.

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, too, and the First Gentleman will also receive from human and divine justice what they have earned from the good or the evil they have done. We will never know the totality of what that human and divine justice is and will be, but we are assured by existence itself, that our First Couple will be honored, or be cursed.
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Just like what title said "Be Honored or Cursed," it's up to my fellow Filipino can answer that questions. I hope our next leader will makes me a proud Filipino whose lead by a God-fearing person and committed only to his people.

RP pays tribute to Filipino veterans as it celebrates Veterans Week

PIA Press Release
2010/04/06

Tacloban City (April 6) -- April 5 to 11 is observed as Philippine Veterans Week pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No. 466 issued on September 14, 1989.

The celebration encourages the holding of activities that pay tribute to all Filipino veterans who survived or perished during the Philippine Revolution, World Wars 1 and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and other conflicts where Philippine military contingents helped preserve the cause of the world peace.

Data gathered from the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office showed that a Sunshine Ceremony was conducted on April 5 at 6:00 o'clock in the morning at the Libingan ng mga Bayani to symbolize the Opening of the week-long celebration. The activity provided the veterans an opportunity to honor their fallen comrades by way of wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers.

On the same day, a wreath laying ceremony was also conducted at the same venue where different sectors of the government particularly the youth represented by students, Boy and Girl Scouts, pay homage to the veterans through floral and wreath offerings.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines' way of honoring the Filipino heroes was the conduct of a parade and review in honor of veterans held at the Philippine Army's Hunters ROTC Guerilla Field with Congresswoman Herminia B. Roman as the Guest of Honor.

On April 6, a book launching and ribbon-cutting event for an exhibit "Victory at Besang Pass" will be held at the Armed Forces of the Philippines Theater Lobby/Museum.

Bessang Pass was the last stronghold of the Japanese imperial forces under General Tomoyuki Yamashita, known as the "Tiger of Malaya" and conqueror of Singapore. It was part of the triangular defense of General Yamashita in the north, the other two being Balete Pass and the Villaverde Trail that guarded the Ifugao-Benguet-Viscaya borders. Its fall into the hands of the United States Armed Forces in the Philippines-Northern Luzon (USAFP-NL) on June 14, 1945, paved the way for the entrapment of Yamashita's forces in the Cordilleras and the General's surrender on September 2, 1945.

On April 7, a Tribute to All Filipino Heroes will be held at the Corregidor Island to pay tribute to the country?s heroes from Lapu-Lapu to the Katipuneros of the Philippine Revolution, the World War II soldiers and guerrillas, and the participants in the 1986 EDSA Revolution.

The observance will culminate with Araw ng Kagitingan on April 9 at the Mt. Samat Shrine in Bataan. Formerly called ""Bataan Day,'' the designation of this tragic event was changed to "Araw ng Kagitingan'' to highlight the valor and heroism of the men who fought in Bataan. This historic event is also commemorated in various places nationwide and some areas in the United States.

On April 10, Paggunita sa Capas will be held to honor those who suffered during the Death March of 1942 at the Capas National Shrine in Tarlac.

Finally, on April 11, a closing Sunset Ceremony will be held at the Libingan ng mga Bayani where widows, children, and other relatives will pay their respects to departed veterans by lighting candles in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
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Me must not forget our forefathers who fought for our freedom.

Philippine Veterans Week

April 5, 2010, 5:40pm

Pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No. 466 issued on September 14, 1989, April 5 to 11 is observed as Philippine Veterans Week. The celebration encourages the holding of activities that pay tribute to all Filipino veterans who survived or perished during the Philippine Revolution, World Wars 1 and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and other conflicts where Philippine military contingents helped preserve the cause of the world peace.

A Sunrise Ceremony will be held at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, with floral rites at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. A parade and review in honor of veterans will be held at the Philippine Army’s Hunters ROTC Guerilla Field. And a book launching and ribbon-cutting event for an exhibit “Victory at Besang Pass” will be held at the Armed Forces of the Philippines Theater Lobby/Museum.

Bessang Pass was the last stronghold of the Japanese imperial forces under General Tomoyuki Yamashita, known as the “Tiger of Malaya” and conqueror of Singapore. It was part of the triangular defense of General Yamashita in the north, the other two being Balete Pass and the Villaverde Trail that guarded the Ifugao-Benguet-Viscaya borders. Its fall into the hands of the United States Armed Forces in the Philippines-Northern Luzon (USAFP-NL) on June 14, 1945, paved the way for the entrapment of Yamashita’s forces in the Cordilleras and the General’s surrender on September 2, 1945.

A Tribute to All Filipino Heroes will be held on Corregidor Island on April 7 to pay tribute to our country ‘s heroes from Lapu-Lapu to the Katipuneros of the Philippine Revolution, the World War II soldiers and guerrillas, and the participants in the 1986 EDSA Revolution.

The observance will culminate with Araw ng Kagitingan on April 9 at the Mt. Samat Shrine in Bataan, Paggunita sa Capas to honor those who suffered during the Death March of 1942 at the Capas National Shrine in Tarlac on April 10, and a closing Sunset Ceremony at the Libingan ng mga Bayani where widows, children, and other relatives will pay their respects to departed veterans by lighting candles in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Pre-launching activities were held beginning March 5, 2010, consisting of a “Symposium on the Images of Valor and Victory of World War II” organized in collaboration with the Philippine Historical Association, a bikathon that retraced the Bataan Death March route, a medical mission for veterans and their surviving families, a drawing contest dubbed “Pagguhit ng Kabayanihan at Kagitingan,” and a fun walk.

As we celebrate Philippine Veterans Week this year, let us nurture the priceless legacy of freedom and democracy that Philippine Veterans have bequeathed to us.
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Let us always remember the greatness of our Filipino Veterans, their sacrifices for our country.

Feature: The essence of "Araw ng Kagitingan"

PIA Press Release

2010/04/07

 Tacloban City (April 7) -- Apart from knowing that the reason for the nationwide holiday on April 9 is because of the commemoration of the "Araw ng Kagitingan" (Day of Valor), the young people of the Philippines must realize the significance of this occasion.

On April 9, as the whole country celebrates the Filipino gallantry, bravery and heroism, the country pays tribute not only to the war heroes many of whom gave up their lives during World War II but also to the veterans who fought in the name of freedom.

Bataan was the last province to surrender to the Japanese invaders during the War. The Battle of Bataan saw local forces alongside American allies engaging in war against the Japanese. After the Fall came the infamous Death March--a long and difficult walk from Mariveles, Bataan to Capas, Tarlac that the captured Filipino and American soldiers were subjected to. For many, it was fatal; almost 10,000 fatigued and starved warriors perished along the trail.

The march, involving the forcible transfer of 90,000 to 100,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war captured by the Japanese in the Philippines from the Bataan peninsula to prison camps, was characterized by wide-ranging physical abuse, murder, savagery, and resulted in very high fatalities inflicted upon the prisoners and civilians along the route by the armed forces of the Empire of Japan.

Beheadings, cut throats and being casually shot were the more common and merciful actions - compared to bayonet stabbings, rapes, gutting (disembowelments), numerous rifle butt beatings and a deliberate refusal to allow the prisoners food or water while keeping them continually marching for nearly a week (for the slowest survivors) in tropical heat. Falling down, unable to continue moving was tantamount to a death sentence, as was any degree of protest or expression of displeasure.

As a fitting tribute to the heroism of these Filipino heroes, a 60-foot cross was erected on Mount Samat in Pilar, Bataan. It is now a World War II military shrine called the Dambana ng Kagitingan (Shrine of Valor). Completed and inaugurated in 1970, the Dambana ng Kagitingan consists of the Colonnade and the huge Memorial Cross. The Colonnade is a marble-capped structure with an altar, esplanade (walkway) and a museum.

These days, the Filipinos are not being required to do the same act of heroism, the best proof of patriotism and love of country. All that is asked is for the Filipino youth to be guided by the gallantry and valor of the World War II Veterans.

Nowadays, the Filipinos are fighting another kind of war, that of selecting and electing the political leaders of the country in May 2010. The challenge is for the youth and the Filipino people as a whole to shift their paradigms of resignation and indifference, of helplessness and indifference into awareness of their opportunity and responsibility to make a difference by voting the right leaders transcending self-serving interests into the noble purpose of nation-building, from the myopic ambition of selfishness to the magnanimous care and genuine concern for others.

It is hoped that the Filipino youth and all Filipinos for that matter will look up at the Filipino veteran as their guide in choosing the right leaders who will lead the nation towards unity, peace and progress.
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May we all choose the right leader of our country. GOD Bless Philippines!

147th birthday of Mariano Ponce

Fr. Jose G. Burgos started the Reform Movement in the Philippines when he launched his newspaper El Eco Filipino in 1870 with the declaration “Filipinas para España, España para Filipinas” (Spain for the Philippines, the Philippines for Spain). The 1872 Cavite Mutiny ended his efforts. Dr. Jose P. Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar, and Don Mariano S. Ponce continued Father Burgos’ movement. They became the pillars of the Reform Movement. They became known as the “Grand Trinity of the Reform Movement.”

Don Mariano is one of the revered heroes of Bulacan Province and the Philippines. A physician, he was born in Baliwag, Bulacan, on March 23, 1863. He finished his Bachelor of Arts degree at the Colegio de San Juan Letran in 1885 and pursued higher studies at the University of Santo Tomas. In 1887, he went to Spain where he finished his medical studies at the Universidad Central de Madrid in 1889. While in Spain, he joined Del Pilar, Rizal, Graciano Lopez Jaena, Eduardo de Lete, and other Filipino expatriates and founded several organizations with the aim of improving the conditions in the Philippines.

Don Mariano helped organized the Association Hispano-Filipino. He also co-founded and served as the managing editor of the newspaper La Solidaridad, when it was founded in early 1889. He contributed many articles in the La Solidaridad, using the pseudonyms Kalipulaku, Naning,
and Tigbalang.

He was arrested by the Madrid authorities when the Philippine Revolution broke out in August 23, 1896. Released after a few months of imprisonment, Don Mariano left Spain and went to Japan.

Here, he was appointed by President Emilio F. Aguinaldo as the official representative of the new Filipino republic, with the task of working for the recognition of the new republic and procuring arms for the Filipino army.

In the course of his mission, Don Mariano befriended many other foreign patriots who were in Japan, including Sun Yat-sen of China. He succeeded in procuring two boatloads of arms with several Japanese officers and men who volunteered to serve in the Filipino army. The first boatload was sent aboard the ship Nunobiki maru but a storm sank this ship in July 1899. He procured another shipload of arms but news of President Aguinaldo’s capture by the Americans led him and his companions to decide to donate the arms to aid Sun Yat-sen’s libertarian efforts against the Manchu rulers of China.

After the revolution, Don Mariano Ponce continued his patriotic labors. He became a director of the El Renacimiento, the first Filipino nationalist newspaper. He co-founded El Ideal, the newspaper of the Nacionalista Party. Filipinos Celebres, Efemerides Filipinas, and Cartas Sobre la Revolucion were some of his scholarly works. He entered politics and was elected assemblyman of the 2nd district of Bulacan. He was on his way to China, as official guest of President Sun Yat-sen, when he fell ill and died on May 23, 1918.

Patriot, revolutionary hero, historian, scholar, and exemplary public official, Don Mariano Ponce was one sterling son of the Filipino race.
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Don Mariano Ponce was truly one of our greatest Filipino of our history.

Filipino ‘Street Heroes’ Earn Admiration and Affection of South Africans

THE Philippine team to the Deloitte Street Child World Cup capped a smashing two weeks of athletic achievement on the international stage when it beat host country South Africa, 2-1, in the tournament’s inaugural edition for the Shield trophy.

The long and arduous 15-hour flight from the African continent notwithstanding, the Filipinos were clearly excited to be back on home soil in front of an adoring crowd of countrymen and media people during a press conference held at the Amici Restaurant just outside Don Bosco, Makati.

The Street Child World Cup is an international football competition for players aged 14 to 16 (boys and girls) who must have lived on the streets at one time in their lives. The Philippines was one of eight countries invited to compete in the tournament that was held in South Africa.

The participation of the team from the Philippines was coordinated by team manager Craig Burrows and Ed Formoso, coordinator of the football program of the Henry V. Moran Foundation. The team was selected and trained by Henry V. Moran Foundation with support from Tuloy sa Don Bosco, Gawad Kalinga and Nayon ng Kabataan.

In Team Philippines’ first assignment, it played the United Kingdom. The kids got off to a good start with three shots on goal being stopped by only the post and the crossbar. After a scoreless first half, the Filipinos were so excited about notching their first goal that they failed to get back on defense.

The British were superb in the counterattack and felled the Filipinos, 4-2. During the match, one of the British players viciously elbowed team captain Erica Inocencio in the face. Undaunted, she retaliated and got the rest of the other teams cheering for the Philippine side.

Said Philippine striker Noriel Pineones, who notched five goals in the tournament: “Even if we lost, we came away very confident that we could beat them. First time kasi.”

After a second 2-0 loss to eventual finalist Tanzania, the Philippines rebounded mightily by shocking Brazil, 6-2. They went on to face host South Africa for the Shield trophy, the only other prize that was being handed out in the competition. Midfielder Mario Titoy, unmarked in the third minute of extra time, headed home a corner shot from Pineones for a 2-1 win.

Ever gracious in victory, the Filipinos picked up a South African flag and ran around the pitch in jubilation as the crowd and other participating teams cheered on.

“They played with a lot of heart and because of that, they were the crowd favorites,” marveled coach Jess Landagan, who hopes to see some of his wards suit up for his team at Rizal Technological University.

The members of the Philippine team and delegation were Erica Mae Inocencio, Raymond Elona, Jayson Simangan, Ladylyn Ampe, Lorelyn Cabanayan, Roberto Orlandez, Noriel Peneones, Mario Titoy, John Robert Gaerlan,and Gerry Boy Joaquino. Besides Landagan and Burrows, also on hand were team assistant James Gates and social worker Marivi San Juan.
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This a great event especially for street children, I'm so proud to be a Filipino. Mabuhay!