Amid the prevailing tensions over the disputed Scarborough shoal or Panatag reef islands between the Philippines and The People’s Republic of china, there are nagging fears of an impending armed conflict between the protagonists or claimants with the superpower US keenly watching on the sidelines.. The stand off has created strained relations between the two countries which had traditional ties that dates back to the 15th century.
While both sides have not exhausted diplomatic means, there are unseen forces, some of them doomsayers, or plain believers in the
revival of the “Cold War era “ pushing through what is known as the “China Syndrome “.
With the dismantling of the old Russia, then known as the Union of Socialist Soviet Republic (USSR), the old rivalry between the US and the Russians have now been replaced according to a geographical misperception that China is the “Antipode “of the United States.
It declares that many Americans shares the view that China represents the other side of the world but suspiciously, political pundits see the real reason was the growing emergence of China as a major world superpower.
In short, it could be similar to China-phobia that prevailed some decades ago in the US when waves of Chinese and Asian immigrants begun arriving in US shores.
In the US , there are also some groups fanning the fires of Sino-phobia and lately, they tried to gain a foothold last May 11 weekends in Toronto urging Filipino-Canadians to protest before the Chinese consulate in the city. These “consulsultants “ failed to
attract protesters to their fold and cause.
Failing to do so, they sharply castigated Filipino Canadians for their lack of nationalism and patriotism. As if they have a patent on the word “nationalism” these “sulsul-tants “ are based in the US
and naturally will follow the US lines .
Nationalists? They are not. They are bringing China and the Philippines to the brink of war.
******
THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES (RP):
OK we’ll play to the “Sulsultants “ scenario and let’s see what life would be under the Chinese invaders.
-Under the People’s Republic of the Philippines (PRP), our Chinese bosses will of course appoint a new president to replace President Noynoy Aquino.
-On second thought, They might retain Noynoy as president because after all, P-noy has Chinese blood because his ancestors came from the village of Hongjian, Fujian province
-The cabinet will be composed of the Taipans and other prominent
Tsinoys like Ramon Ang of PAL, John Gokongwei of Robinson’s,
Henry Sy of Shoemart, Andrew Gotianum, The Yuchengcos,
and Akong and kabise as barangay chairmen.

– The sari sari store will be revived, credit cards will be abolished since you can make “utang “ from your friendly sari sari store and the plastic credit card will be replaced by a notebook “listahan “.
For bonus, there is no limit or deadlines on payments. ay when able is the motto.
-Si Hok Tong (siyoktong ) will now be the national drink instead of lambanog…Kampai ! instead of Tagay!
-pancit canton, tokwa or Ko sing Gaw Lu (singkong lugaw) will now replace adobo as the national dish, chop suey instead of pakbet,
-Instead of basketball, mahjong will be the national sport
-Manila will no longer be the capital city. Ongpin will be the new center of government, Binondo as the new financial center instead of Makati and Gandara the new technological center, Divisoria
with its flagship 168 Mall will supplant Mall of Asia (MOA).
What more at 168, knock offs will be the main attractions like fake watches, DVDs (pirated) Tshirts (Lacoste, Burberrys, Polo Ralph
Lauren, YSL (Yari Sa Laguna) and Made in UKs (UkayUkay) and cell phones (mostly GSMs meaning Galing Sa Magnanakaw).
So what else is new ? 60 to 70 percent of the Philippine economy
is controlled by Tsinoys (Chinese Filipino).They are the largest ethnic group in the Philippines while our national language is replete with many Chinese words.
O, Ano ikaw sabi?

Probably thinking the ADB delegates didn’t see the sorry sight beyond those walls, President Benigno S. Aquino III went on to boast what he described as economic gains made by his administration. He talked about the “27 times in 22 months” during his two-year-old term that the stock market index rose to record levels while forgetting to mention that the Philippine economy grew by a measly 3.7 percent last year and would be lucky to reach a 5-percent growth this year. He pointed to the continued appreciation of the peso when in fact it has only made matters worse for poor families, many of them dependent on money remitted by their OFW family member. The peso appreciation depreciated the value of their money remittance.

And even as he boasted of his administration’s alleged economic strides, the Social Weather Station reported that the number of Filipinos who rated themselves as poor increased by two million from the last such survey in December last year. The survey found that 55 percent of the respondents or 11.1 million considered themselves poor.

Aquino’ drumbeaters can claim that the poverty level is well below the record highs of 74 percent for self-rated poverty recorded in July 1985 in the last year of the Marcos regime and the 59 percent for self-rated food poverty in April 1994 during the Ramos administration that was repeated in September 2002 during the Arroyo administration. But in 2009, poverty incidence was only 26.5 percent, 26.4 percent in 2006, and 24.9 percent in 2003. Poverty incidence surveys are done once every three years.
These figures show that the Aquino administration has miserably failed in its poverty alleviation program. Instead of reducing poverty incidence by 2 percentage points every year as targeted under its Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of reducing poverty by half in 2015, the administration has, in fact, increased the poverty incidence level by 10 percentage points in just three months!
The pace of economic growth dropped from 7.6 percent to 3.7 percent since he took over, and the number of poor Filipinos has grown to its highest level since his first day in office, and yet he felt confident to report that his administration has made economic strides in two years before a group of economic managers?

Nobody among the economic managers obviously cared to listen to the speech that tried to hide the failure of his administration to minimize poverty by even just a bit, just as nobody among the ADB delegates perhaps cared to look behind the wall that tried to hide the stark reality of the Philippine economy.

With the Philippine population growing yearly by more than 2 percent and economic growth crawling at about 4 percent, the unemployment rate remaining at 7.2 percent and underemployment rate at 18.8 percent, the chances of reducing poverty in the country look very dim, indeed.

Amid all these, Aquino refuses to push the Reproduction Health Bill that would hopefully slow down the rapid population growth that has, without a doubt, contributed largely to the increasing poverty in the country. His poverty alleviation program, on the other hand, relies heavily on the Conditional Cash Transfer program that cost P29.2 billion in 2011 and P39.4 billion in 2012 which could have been spent better in massive vocational training and livelihood programs.

Under the CCT program in the Philippines, each household receives a P500 monthly allowance to subsidize its basic food needs plus P300 for every child that goes to school. A maximum of three children can get the allowance. While the World Bank described it as a “prudent safety net” for poor families during tough economic times, the danger here is that like the overseas workers program, the CCT program is boosting the mendicant mentality among Filipinos and that like the OFW program, which was launched as a temporary program during the oil crisis in the 70s, the CCT program might become a permanent policy that would instill dependency and complacency among the poor Filipinos.

During his ADB speech, Aquino again put the blame on the past administration’s corruption for the poor performance of the Philippine economy. While we agree with him that the Arroyo administration was corrupt, he cannot continue making that fact an excuse for the failure of his administration to improve the lives of the people.

For two years, Aquino put to a virtual stop all public works projects on the excuse that his administration had to review all the government contracts that he said were tainted with corruption. The construction standstill has contributed to the unemployment problem, slowed down the economy, and scared foreign investors who became even more wary of the government’s ability to honor contracts.

After two years of this supposed sustained campaign against corruption, the Daily Tribune points out that the Philippines remains at the bottom of the world’s corruption perceptions index (CPI) at 129th place with an index score of 2.6 out of a perfect 10, “a mere 0.2 point improvement from the latter part of Gloria’s term when the accusations against her were at their worst.”

And for all the distractions and the adverse effects on the economy brought by its supposed intensified drive against corruption, the Aquino administration still has nothing to show for it. The corrupt officials of the previous administration remain free, except for Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who seems to be enjoying her hospital rest; only two contracts have been scrapped (the French ro-ro project and the Belgian Laguna Lake project), smuggling remains rampant, and corruption in all government agencies continue as the CPI index shows.

“Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap,” Aquino stressed during his 2010 campaign. Two years later, “marami pa ring corrupt at lalo pang maraming mahirap.”

Aquino cannot go on building walls to isolate the rich from the poor, and illusions from the reality. Instead, he should start removing the walls of corruption, injustice and insensitivity that have prevented the poor from wading out of the murky waters of poverty.

There are enough reasons to celebrate mother’s day because they are the most important people in everybody’s life. The nine months of discomfort is just the start of the lifetime sacrifice a woman will endure in every child she will bear. But time has slowly changed that fact. Modern mothers now are different compare to mothers of the yesteryears.

HEAD TO HEAD COMPARISON:

1. Woman of today plan their pregnancies. As much as possible they want lesser problems like conflict in time with their chosen career. They plan even the number of children they will have. For the modern woman, being pregnant is just a medical and physical thing. No mystery, no magic, and no divine intervention. They feel that they have in their hands the power to reproduce at their own will alone at any given time. It was proven in many cases that it is not the truth.
Woman of the past enjoy being a mother. It is the fulfillment and the very essence of being a woman. Yes they don’t plan their pregnancies but they produce better persons compare to the quality of people today. People of the old times left us the legacy of values and wisdom to endure for a lifetime. People of today leave us with scandals of corruption and misdeeds to be replaced by just bigger scandals and abuse of power especially from those we trusted the seat of power. Maybe they have a lot of unscheduled pregnancies in the past but they have produced less greedy people and less violent people. Modern day people behave more than animals. Animals are violent but they are not greedy. Now, life on earth is so hard because we produce a lot of monsters though pregnancies that is well planned but not the growing-up stage.
2. Woman of today don’t enjoy the pains of giving birth. The normal deliveries of babies now are slowly forgotten. Mothers-to-be now are brain-washed by greedy doctors to have themselves under Caesarian deliveries even though normal delivery is possible. Another approach is inducement and painless, both artificially remove the joy of labor pains. It is believed that children that was born through normal delivery are more loved by their mothers because they experienced and endured the labor pain of giving birth to that child and placed everything on the line including their own life just to have that baby delivered on earth compared to those who have undergone the caesarean operation and the painless method where the novelty of motherhood is lost. Actually, in olden times, caesarean method is only done to very rare cases of abnormal pregnancies. Nowadays, it is done because of so many reasons; the worst of them is the greed of the ob-gynecologist to earn so much. Bigger professional fee for a lesser time compare to small professional fees in a longer time of labor period.
3. Mother of the past era serves as model of every good virtues and character. Nowadays, their own mother teaches and shows children wrong virtues; the virtue of selfishness and love for money. In the past, mothers will bring their children to early morning mass. Now they will bring their children to mall and amusement park. Before, mothers will read story books in their free time and at night leaving moral lessons of the story. Now mothers have no time for their children; whether they are pre-occupied with their career, they are busy with tele-novelas, gossips in the television about showbiz personalities and politician, or busy socializing in social networking sites like Facebook. I myself have heard the story of the ant and the grasshopper and the lesson of being thrifty when I was young and also the famous story of the monkey and the turtle. All the lesson and virtue of the story, I’ve carried in my life. These stories equipped me with values that brought me to success. The basic reason why many children fail in their life now is that they have no mother or parents to guide them in their life.
4. Mothers before will do anything to feed their children’s hungry mouth. They will do anything; sell even their soul to the devil just so their children will have a good life. Now it’s different. Mothers sell their children so they’ll have a better life, not just for the children but for themselves. It is not a secret that in our society now, many children are forced to marry a man from different nationality because their own mother agreed of the idea. If love is the reason then it is okay; but the truth is marriage happened because of the reason of convenience; it is the worst kind if there is persuasion from her own mother.
Another one of the worst kinds is those mothers who allow their children to be used by other people for begging. Some mothers even use their own child as cover up for being useless members of the society. Today, the mother will sell the soul and body of the child for her own benefit unlike before where mothers will sell themselves so the child survives.

Being a mother is a great responsibility; a commitment not just for self and man but a commitment most especially to God. Being a mother is not a choice but a divine gift; a mystery to be uncovered for all your life. Having given birth doesn’t entitle a woman to be called a mother. The title of a mother is a relentless struggle of a woman to be a model and teacher to her children so they will be good and useful citizens of the world.

Happy mother’s day to those who remain true mother to their children.

Manila Standard’s Jojo Robles was on the right track in raising suspicion over the recent developments in the Mindanao front vis-à-vis the Scarborough Dispute although it’s hard to believe his source’s speculation that the United States was in a conspiracy with China to escalate the shoal dispute to prod the Philippine government to enter into a pact with the MILF that would include the establishment of an autonomous Muslim Mindanao region in exchange for an assurance of military assistance from the Americans in the event China becomes more aggressive militarily in the disputed area.

I don’t think China is involved in the alleged conspiracy, but it is easy to believe that the US was happy over the escalating tensions in the West Philippine Sea because it gave the Americans another ace in their desire to gain a military foothold in the country, particularly in Mindanao, for which the US government and corporations have long been salivating because of the region’s rich oil and mineral resources, vast agriculture potential, and its strategic location for maintaining a wider and stronger foothold in Southeast Asia.

It is not coincidental that the Philippine government was suddenly enthusiastic in forging a peace pact with the Muslim rebels and in granting them expanded autonomy at a time when the country is facing serious threats from China in the West Philippine Sea.

President Aquino presided over a Cabinet meeting on Mindanao just a few days ago, during which time its was announced to the media by chief Philippine negotiator Marvic Leonen that legislation would be filed to scrap the existing Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to be replaced by a more autonomous entity as reportedly contained in an initial agreement signed by both the peace panels of the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Malaysia.

Although Leonen said the panels have not reached a final agreement on what kind of powers would be granted the new autonomous government, she made it look certain that a final peace agreement would be signed within the year. In the same breath, she said that the two panels were still poles apart in terms of the “territorial scope.”

Now, why should the chief negotiator say with confidence that the peace pact would be signed within the year and that the ARMM would be replaced by a new law to be passed by Congress?

Obviously, there is already a deal to grant Muslim Mindanao expanded autonomy, and that it was just a matter of negotiating the terms of autonomy for the agreement to push through.

The Mindanao problem suddenly surfaced in the middle of heightened tensions with China and as the Balikatan military exercises were about to conclude doesn’t look like a mere coincidence. The announcement that the Philippine and MILF panels have signed an initial agreement also came in the middle of discussions between key US and Philippine foreign affairs and military officials in Washington.

Obviously, the Aquino administration is ready to surrender part of the Philippines’ sovereignty over Mindanao in exchange for an assurance from the US that it would come to its aid in case of a shooting war with China.

It must be recalled that the US was instrumental in helping the Philippine and MILF panels in forging the aborted Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) in July 2008 that would have given the MILF vast powers, including the power to enter into treaties with other countries that would have allowed the US to put up bases in Mindanao.

The Supreme Court stopped the signing of the MOA-AD that the Philippine government and the MILF were about to sign in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in the presence of, surprisingly, then US Ambassador Kirstie Kinney. The MOA-AD would have granted the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) its own internal security force, a system of banking and finance, civil service, education and legislative institutions, full authority to develop and dispose of minerals and natural resources. The BJE would also reportedly be able to send trade missions abroad and enter into international agreements under the MOA-AD.
It was clearly a surrender of sovereignty by the Philippine government to the MILF, making it necessary and urgent for the high tribunal to stop it. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, under the prodding of the United States, was willing to give up control over a region that, according to a US study, sit on rich mineral resources with an estimated worth of between $850 billion and $1 trillion.
A year after the MOA-AD was stopped by the Supreme Court, the MILF openly asked the US to mediate in the peace talks. A delegation of US Embassy officials, led by then US Deputy Ambassador Leslie Bassett, met with Ibrahim in August 2009 in Sultan Kudarat, where Bassett reportedly assured Ibrahim of American support in the peace talks.

All these developments were confirmed in correspondences from the US Embassy in Manila that were leaked to the press by Wikileaks.

While it is important that lasting peace be brought to Mindanao and that the country strengthens its position in its dispute with China over the Scarborough Shoal and the Spratly Island Group, the Aquino administration must never surrender sovereignty in Mindanao.

The Philippine government is willing to shed blood to fight for tiny islets and shoals in the middle of the sea, and yet is willing to basically give up control without a fight over a region that has long been described as the Land of Promise because of its vast natural and mineral resources?

It just doesn’t make sense.

- Ecclesiastes

The long-held whispers in San Diego, California finally crossed the border into Toronto, courtesy of itchy-tongue rumour mongers and the unmasked crooks who have found the opportune time to spread them.

It’s taken two years, the same length of time that I’ve been in this most wonderful Canadian city. When I left San Diego and 16 years of community journalism there, I had hopes of re-starting my newspaper business here, primarily to engage in investigative reporting on the community level.

My newspapers – Diario Veritas, The District Times and The Philippine Village Voice – approached journalism on a different perspective, the perspective of an adversary, meaning there’s more skepticism in coverage than favoritism.

The half a dozen newspapers in San Diego (most of them wiped out at the advent of digital/online journalism) looked like cousins of the 15 or so publications in Toronto. Their contents were mostly entertainment-oriented, which actually were reprints from newspapers in Manila.

My plan was to bring the same strategic news coverage to Toronto since the 15 newspapers here are more into winning readers and advertisers than in covering the hard news right in their backyards.
I see that coverage of the Filipino community in the Greater Toronto Area is wanting in depth and substance, and I mean no offence to anyone in the business. The fault lies not so much in the newspapers themselves or their publishers and editors.

A more plausible reason is that the community prefers flimsy coverage where they see only the fun and seemingly content side of their neighbourhood and friends.

A nearly similar view is echoed by an executive who, when queried why his network had to bring in such burlesque talents from Manila to perform in Toronto, disclosed that it was the community that essentially chooses what would make them happy. In other words, they do pick their own poison.

Little wonder then that Filipino newspapers carry stories and pictures of people engaged in their seasonal follies, and events catering only to a selected few.

Kodak moments are preserved in pages upon pages of what looked like billboards of people in varying degrees of exposure as in parties, inductions, weddings, baptisms, get-togethers, yard barbecues, concerts, alumni gatherings, etc.

Not quite surprising that the two network rivals in the Philippines see GTA as a rich market for their stars.
Remember the pair who showed off their bronze skins to the eternal delight of salivating matrons and the testosterone-laden menfolk? They brought them to Toronto to top bill community fiestas featuring their most ridiculous performances.

Given this context, I see a need to inform the community about people who face their individual challenges as they struggle for a life of comfort, respect and dignity.

As they pursue their dreams they encounter the unscrupulous among us, they who see the unsuspecting as potential victims. These crooks and their ilk are my pet peeves. My journalism is about them.

These rouges are in every ethnic group, sometimes passing themselves off as titled, pedigreed and respected members of the community. They could be your friends, family, neighbours or professional help.

I have exposed quite a few of them in San Diego. There was this Filipino lawyer (since disbarred) who held elected office, a fake doctor, a bible-holding preacher, some community leaders, a so-called journalist, an aspiring public official and others I don’t remember at this moment.

It is from this group of scammers, swindlers and racketeers that I expect a torrent of falsehoods and unpleasantries. Understandably, they try to rebuild their reputations by discrediting my work and attacking my personal and private life.

I have no problem with that as long as they stick to the truth. They don’t need to embellish because my work and the way I pursue it are colourful enough.

I’ve written articles that some readers found offensive. Revolting the stories may be, but those who feigned offense are also those who read them more than once, digesting every word and committing the stories to memory.

One full-length article has generated a lot of controversies. A mainstream television news channel had gobbled the story and slanted it to attract Filipino audiences. What was top billed as an “investigative piece” was no more than attacks sympathetic with the person I’ve written about.
When I challenged the news director and the reporter to give me equal time and opportunity to rebut the stories on live television, the station merely shrugged it off.

So it didn’t happen. The network was afraid that it will be exposed for its own failure to live up to the highest standards of journalism. Another was that it would lose credibility and consequently, the prime time ratings.

I say all these now only because of what seems to be an orchestrated attempt at grey propaganda that mocks and diminishes my work. The timing is significant; in fact, it came just as the first story about a community organizer hit the internet.

Nobody can ruin a career built on trust, honesty and an adherence to the truth. At various times life-threatening and intimidating, that career remains a challenge even as it has already spanned four decades and counting.

All my life is devoted to journalism, not sainthood. I’ll leave the latter to the pious, the pretenders and those who habitually pray for succour yet continue to commit wrongs against their fellowmen.

There are many of them in Toronto. They cultivate the appearance of being faithful; they go to church every Sunday and on days of obligation and their every move is splashed on pages of friendly papers. But of course, they’re no closer to their gods than they are to the devil because they themselves knew what they purport to do is just a cover.

These are the people who build reputations on raising money from an unsuspecting public. Fund-raising here, fund-raising there. But where does the money go? A diplomat had been told that a party being hosted for him would charge attendees some money ostensibly to go to charities.

Well, the diplomat informed me that he agreed only on the condition that whatever amount is raised would be turned over to him right away. Because he didn’t trust either the person or the process of supposedly remitting the money to the beneficiary, he asked the fundraiser to hand over the money right after the event.

As I continue to pursue my kind of journalism, the least I could say is that I am not scared a bit. Intimidation only strengthens my resolve.

If my adversaries have found clones in Toronto willing to do their bidding, then they’re in for rough times.

“To everything there is a season . . . ” Is it now a time of war?

Dear atty, akoy isang seaman,bago ako umalis taon 1997 mayron akong girlfriend na ang mga magulang ay ayaw sa akin para sa kanilang anak,lingid sa aking kaalaman nabuntis at nakapanganak ang aking girlfriend nang wala akong alam at di nya nilagay ang pangalan ko sa birth certificate bilang ama (actually blanko ang sa father side),lumipas ang maraming taon nagkita kaming muli at sinabi nya sa akin ang nangyari,at dahil hiwalay ako sa asawa at syay dalaga pa rin nagkabalikan po kami.ang tanong ko po kong anong gagawin ko para mailipat ang apilyedo nang bata sa apilyedo ko.

Ang pangalawa ko pong tanong ay , magkano kaya at saan ko pwedeng e pa annul ang una kong kasal? 9 years na po kaming hiwalay sa una kong asawa at may 2 kaming anak na nasa akin nakatira, akoy taga bohol at ang una kong asawa ay taga cagayan de oro pero sa pasay city kami kinasal sa villamor airbase,simula nong nag hiwalay kami wala na kaming communication. gumagalang. G

SAGOT : Sa Unang Tanong:

Ayon sa Republic Act No.9255, ang iyong anak ay maaring gamitin ang iyong surname(family name) kahit ikaw at ang ina ng bata ay hindi kasal.

Ang maari mong gawin ay gumawa ka ng kasulatan na notaryado na naka-saad doon na kinikilala mo ang bata na iyong anak ay ikaw ay buong pusong sumasang-ayon sa pag gamit ng iyong apeledo/pangalan ng bata bilang ama nito.

Ang nasabing notaryadong documento ay dapat ma file sa local civil registrar kung saan ang bata naka rehistro upang sa ganoon ang kanyang birth certificate ay mabago at ang kaakibat na apeledo mo ay siya na ring taglay ng iyong anak.

Sagot sa Pangalawang Tanong:

Kung mag file ka ng annulment ng marriage mo, maari mo itong ifile sa Family Court sa Pilipinas sa kung saan ka naninirawan ng at least six(6) months.

Ang gastos at professional fees sa pag annul ng marriage ay depende sa mga sumusunod:

a) Gaano ba ka complicated ang kaso. Kung may issue sa mga conjugal properties. Custody ng bata at Support.
b) Kung may usapin tungkol sa properties at custody ng anak. Complikado ito .
c) At professional standing ng abogado sa Community. Kung mas kilala at sikat na abogado siyempre sikat din ang professional fees.
d) Kung ordinaryong annulment lang at walang ibang mga asunto na kaakibat nito, mga P150 to P200K more or less ang maari mong magagastos as professional and legal fees.

At kung ikaw ay nasa abroad, kailangang nasa Pilipinas ka at the time na mag file ng annulment petition sa Family Court. Pag katapos naman nito ay maarin ka ng umalis uli at babalik lang sa Pilipinas kung kinakailangan ang testimonia mo sa husgado.

Salamat sa pag sulat mo at wish you well in your endeavours .