Migrant Filipino is South Korea Labor Union President

Michel Catuira, chairman of the Seoul-Gyeonggi-Incheon Migrants' Trade Union (MTU)

In 2009, Michel Catuira, a migrant Filipino worker in South Korea for many years, became a chairman of the Seoul-Gyeonggi-Incheon Migrants’ Trade Union (MTU), and the following year became the first foreign delegate in the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). After becoming chairman, he spent his days working in factories and his nights organizing workers.

The Korean government has not regarded the MTU’s activities with pleasure. Three of its past chairpeople have been the objects of “target crackdowns” by immigration authorities and forcibly deported. Catuira was almost deported until the Seoul Administrative Court took Catuira’s side, saying, “I suspect that Seoul Immigration Office’s handling of the case may have been because of the plaintiff’s labor union activity.”

South Korea is not a signatory to the United Nations’ International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, which stipulates the right of migrant workers and their families to be free from discrimination compared to citizens of the country where they work, and includes the right to form labor unions.

However, Catuira is returning back to the Philippines to care for his grandmother who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. His cousin, who looked after the ailing grandmother, is leaving to work in the United States. Catuira is expected to be back in the Philippines at the end of this month.

Source: The Hankyoreh

Photo taken from No Base Stories Korea

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Filipino-American Victims to be Remembered at 9-11 Anniversary Memorial Services

Second plane strike at the World Trade Center on 9/11

Filipino-American organizations are commemorating and remembering the 20 victims of the World Trade Center collapse on September 11, 2001, twenty people who had Filipino origins. Two of those were actually on board the planes that hit the twin towers. Their biographies will be read at the 9/11 Tenth Anniversary Vigil for Filipino American Families on Sept. 9, 2011, from 7pm to 9pm at the Asian American Writers Workshop, 110-112 West 27th Street, Sixth Floor, New York, NY. This event is open to the public.

The sponsors of the event are as follows:

• Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) Metro New York Chapter;
• Filipino American Human Services, Inc. (FAHSI);
• Kalusugan Coalition, Inc.;
• Damayan Migrant Workers Association;
• Collaborative Opportunities for Raising Empowerment (CORE);
• Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment (FiRE);
• UniPro, BaranGAY, NYU International Filipino Association (IFA);
• Outstanding Filipino Americans (TOFA) in New York Committee.

There was also one other Filipino-American who died in the plane crash in Pennsylvania.

The name-reading activity was suppose to be part of the upcoming memorial celebrations but Mayor Bloomberg decided to scrap this tradition. A lot of the family members were angered when this announcement was made, saying the reading should remain part of the ceremonies. Still, there are others who agree to discontinue it as a requirement.

Half-way around the world, Marie Rose Abad, a New York-born daughter from an Italian immigrant family and one of the victims of the 9/11 attacks, has her name emblazoned in a village in the Philippines called the Marie Rose Abad Village where her Philippine-born American husband, Rudy Abad, had a community of about 50 one-story houses built in 2004 in her memory. Marie Rose was a senior executive at the 89th-floor office of the investment bank Keefe, Bruyette & Woods when the second plane slammed the building.

The 21 Filipinos and Filipino-Americans who died in the World Trade Center attacks and the Pennsylvania plane crash were the following:

• Grace Alegre Cua;
• Cesar A. Alviar;
• Marlyn C. Bautista;
• Cecile M. Caguicla;
• Jayceryll M. de Chavez;
• Benilda Pascua Domingo;
• Judy Hazel Fernandez;
• Ramon Grijalvo;
• Frederick Kuo Jr.;
• Arnold A. Lim;
• Manuel L. Lopez;
• Carl Allen Peralta;
• Maria Theresa Santillan;
• Rufino Conrado (Roy) F. Santos;
• David Marc Sullins;
• Hilario (Larry) S. Sumaya;
• Hector Tamayo;
• Cynthia Betita Motus Wilson;
• Ronald Gamboa (plane crash);
• Ruben Ornedo (plane crash);
• Manolito Kaur (plane crash).

Both President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama are expected to attend the Ground Zero memorial services. The 9/11 attacks claimed the lives of 2,977 people, including 246 victims on the four planes and 411 emergency workers from the FDNY, NYPD, PAPD and EMT.

Sources: Inquirer Global Nation | Filipino Reporter | Huffington Post | Wikipedia

Photo by stevenbaker at Flickr.com

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Have You Seen the Belo Billboard Ad of Angelicopter?

Instead of writing about it, I’ll let her pictures paint a gazillion words! But, two words: uberly awesome!

Photo ad from Belo

Here’s a look-and-see of the billboard ad along EDSA (is that Guadalupe?)

Photo by Juice.ph

Let’s capture Angelicopter from her personal photos.

Photos above came from her Facebook Page.

Okay, best I describe her. She’s Angelika Schmeing-Cruz (yeah, that’s a hyphenated married surname – too bad) using the radio deejay call sign Angelicopter at Magic 89.9 FM. You can listen to her during Mondays through Thursdays starting at 6:00am Manila time.

She definitely beats the Lovi Poe Bench Billboard at EDSA that was Head-turning and Eye-straining

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Filipina-American Continues to Help Her Native Philippines

Made in the Philippines

Photo by famapa at Flickr.com

At 75, Linda Hoops, the wife of H. Ray Hoops, the former president of the University of Southern Indiana, is constantly on the go. Last month she led a session at a panel discussion of chefs on emerging trends in Colorado and she recently helped arrange for an internship for a Philippine student to work at Zuki restaurant in Evansville.

When Hoops saw a successful program in her native Philippines, she felt compelled to find a way for the same program to make a difference in Evansville. The program was the brainchild of childhood friends in Manila. Lulu Trinidad-Ocampo adapted a technique of weaving folded newspaper sheets into bags and wallets. She realized the skill could be a source of livelihood for those in need and developed it into the “Bags for Life” program.

Hoops learned of the program on one of her yearly visits to the Philippines. She brought back a suitcase full of the bags to sell and use for not-for-profit auctions here. But she believes it could become a cottage industry here as well.

Read more at Evansville Courier & Press

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Miss Philippines Tops Online Votes in Miss Universe 2010

Preliminary judges have already selected the Top 15 candidates for the 2010 Miss Universe beauty contest now being held in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. The 83 contestants were ranked based on evening gown and swimsuit, during a two-hour presentation at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Early favorites who got the loudest cheers from the audience were the candidates from Philippines, Haiti, Canada, Australia, USA, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.

Miss Philippines Maria Venus Raj tops the online votes.

Go to AllVoices to read more.

Photo from annalyn at Flickr

Chess Legend Bobby Fischer Not Father of Filipino Girl

Nine-year-old Jinky Young, whose Filipino mother claims is Fischer’s daughter, is not the late chess legend’s daughter based on DNA tests of tissue samples taken from Fischer’s remains in Iceland.

The Reykjavik court allowed the DNA testing in June to settle the paternity case and Fischer’s body was exhumed from his burial site in the town of Selfoss in July so tissue samples could be taken.

Read more at All Headline News

Photo by averycnesbitt at Flickr

Will the Real @PCOSmachine Please Step Forward (Drum-roll)

Screenshot from Yve's Facebook Photos

TJ Manotoc finally revealed the man behind @PCOSmachine, the Twitter account that provided us with wit and comic relief in the midst of post-electoral jitters during the 2010 Philippine elections where “PCOS” became a new Filipino byword that referred to the automated election machine, besides TIM and Smartmatic.

The 27 year old lists his Twitter description as iPhone/iPad developer, lawyer, applei.ph founder and @PCOSmachine – what a combination!

The @PCOSmachine has 10,745 followers to-date with 195 tweets since inception (that part I still don’t know). His Facebook bio reads rather straightforwardly:

Lawyer- 2010
Congressman – 2016
Senator – 2022
Head of Corporate Legal Counsel- Apple Inc. 2028
Diplomat – 2035
Time-traveler – 2050

Fave music icons include Music includes Tiesto, Chicane, Way Out West, Moony, Sade, Sarah McLachlan, Craig David Official, Hed Kandi, Miguel Migs, Norah Jones, Paul Oakenfold, Puff Daddy, Robert Miles, Quentin Harris.

Oh! He recently celebrated his birthday last May 2. And he’s a BAR Top 10 finisher, too!

What’s his name? Yves Gonzalez a.k.a. DobleZeta.

Your turn at amateur investigative work

Disney movie UP created by Fil-Ams

Among the Best Picture awards nominated this year is Disney Pixar’s tenth full-length computer animated film UP. The critically-acclaimed blockbuster movie grossed more than $720 million worldwide and has been hailed as one of Disney’s best-animated movies.

Fil-Am animators Ronnie del Carmen and Ricky Nierva are part of the Academy Award-nominated Pixar team.

Del Carmen served as the Oscar nominated movie UP’s storyboard supervisor and Nierva led the production design team.

Read more at Asian Journal

New Challenges of White House Executive Chef and Filipina-American Cristeta Comerford

Photo from Wikipedia.com

Cristeta Comeford is the Philippines’ addition to the global heroes of Filipinos who commandeer a position or title in the world stage. This, particularly to the most famous American president and his family. Not only is she the first Filipina-American to be selected to the post, she is also the first woman.

In this blog she recently wrote, Cristeta talks about healthy eating and the challenge that the First Lady bestowed on them the challenge to create meals that were fresh, healthy and uniquely American, revealing that the secret ingredient was the White House Kitchen Garden. This garden was created by Mrs. Obama in March last year as the first vegetable garden in the White House since Eleanor Roosevelt’s victory garden in World War II.

Read more at The White House Blog

Filipina Hailed a Hero in Toronto

Juana Tejada sought an exemption to taking a second medical test as a pre-requisite to becoming a permanent resident here in Canada and was recently vindicated for her passionate advocacy of the so-called “Juan Tejada” law which the federal government of Canada recently made changes to the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) by removing a second medical test for caregivers to qualify as permanent residents. Another change states that caregivers need 3,900 work hours to qualify as a permanent resident as opposed to the old law of two years of work within the span of 36 months.

Tejada failed the second medical exam for caregivers when she was diagnosed with cancer, a condition she developed while working as a caregiver.

The province of Ontario previously passed a law with some features that favor the Filipino community:

• Recruiters are prohibited from charging fees to caregivers
• Prohibiting confiscation of caregiver’s personal documents like work permit and passports
• Many others…

Read more at Balita-Filipino Canadia Community Newspaper

Guinness Records-holder Paeng Nepomuceno to Bowl in Turkey

Diplomats and Filipinos in Ankara, Turkey’s capital city, are now eagerly awaiting the visit of six-time World Bowling Champion Rafael “Paeng” Nepomuceno (pictured) next Wednesday. Nepomuceno is a Guinness Book of World Records-holder, and the recognized greatest international bowler in the history of the sport.

He is due to arrive in Istanbul on December 2 with his wife, the former Pinky Puyat. The Champion will play exhibition games and participate in the Philippine Embassy-organized “Diplomats’ Bowling Tournament” scheduled in Ankara on Saturday, December 5, at the “Play Planet” bowling center at Ankara’s modern Panora Shopping Mall.

Read more at BowlingDigital.com

Filipino in Top 10 Finalist for CNN Hero for the Year Award

Twenty-eight year old Filipino named EFREN PENAFLORIDA was bullied by gangs in high school. Today, he offers Filipino youth an alternative to gang membership through education. For the past 12 years, Peñaflorida and his team of teen volunteers have taught basic reading and writing to children living on the streets. Their main tool: A pushcart classroom. Born into a poor family, he lived in a shanty near the city dump site. But he says he refused to allow his circumstances to define his future.

He created the Dynamic Teen Company to offer his classmates an outlet to lift up themselves and their community. For Peñaflorida, that meant returning to the slums of his childhood to give kids the education he felt they deserved. Since 1997, an estimated 10,000 members have helped teach more than 1,500 children living in the slums. The organization supports its efforts by making and selling crafts and collecting items to recycle.

Click To Vote EFREN PENAFLORIDA as CNN’s Hero

German Moreno – The Ultimate Philippine Entertainment Star Builder

For almost 50 years, this man has been a staple character on our television screens. If it weren’t for him, we would not have the likes of Lea Salonga, Ruffa Gutierrez, Judy Ann Santos, Billy Crawford and Sharon Cuneta in the showbiz industry today. He is the ultimate star builder, an industry legend, and the one and only Master Showman: German Moreno.

Read more at Philippine Entertainment Portal

Gawad Kalinga Show at Carnegie Features Stephanie Reese

Stephanie Reese is an enigmatic singer – the power of her voice speaks for her as a great entertainer. A Filipino-American born and raised in Washington, Stephanie’s musical background isn’t just grassroots. She’s performed as Kim in the German production of Miss Saigon, as Esmeralda in the Disney World premier of the Hunchback of Notre Dame and Princess Tuptim in the Palladium Theatre’s production of The King and I in London’s West End.

See Stephanie embark on a solo concert at famed Carnegie Hall in New York on November 7, 2009, at 7:30 PM.  This show is for the benefit of Gawad Kalinga. Tickets range from $75 to $135 and they start going on sale on September 8. Accordingly, the first 100 buyers of the show will get a free autographed poster.

Source: Facebook Group.

40 Richest Persons in the Philippines

Henry Sy tops the list with $4 Billion at 86 years of age followed by Lucio Tan at $2.3 Billion who is 72 years old. Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala is third at $2 billion with fourth by Eduardo Cojuangco at $840 million. At fifth is George Ty at $830 million.

Click here to read the entire list at the Catanduanes Forum site.

Former Philippine President Fidel Ramos in Thailand

Former President Fidel V. Ramos recently attended the 50th anniversary of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Bangkok held at the Grand Hyatt Erawan on August 19. The AIT conferred the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Technology on him in May 1998. During his four-day stay in Thailand, he also met with the Filipino community working and living in the country.

Source: Department of Foreign Affairs.

August 24, 2009 Philippine Economy Update

Click here to read the article.

About Randell Tiongson:  Randell is an Entrepreneur and a Personal Finance Coach & Educator. He is President & COO of Personal Finance Advisers Philippines Corp. and co-founder of http://www.income-tacts.com, the country’s premiere personal finance on-line forums. It’s an on-line community that is dedicated to the financial education of Filipinos. It now has over 2,300 members in 1 year’s time. He is also Director of the Registered Financial Planner Institute Philippines (local chapter of RFPI, Ohio, U.S.A.). Randell has 20+ years of experience in the Financial Service Industries – Banking, Mutual Funds & Insurance. He is a columnist for the Business Mirror and a contributor for Moneysense Magazine and UNO Magazine. A featured speaker for educational institutions like the Asian Institute of Management, Ateneo, De La Salle, Mapua University, University of Santo Tomas, La Salle Greenhills; De La Salle University, University of the Philippines and various conferences and companies, he appears as a resource person for various TV shows like TV Patrol, Bandila, Mornings at ANC, Shoptalk, Business Nightly, Light Talk, Sis, Umagang Kay Ganda, etc. Randell has been married for 18 years with 4 children.

Read and subscribe to his blog at http://www.randelltiongson.com.

Where in Queens are the Pinoys?

There are 75,352 Filipinos in the city of New York (2005-2007 survey) of which 60% reside in the borough of Queens. Wow! This makes the migrant Filipinos the fourth largest group of Asians in the entire city. For “Filipino businesses,” you can find many congregated along Roosevelt Avenue at Woodside, Queens.

Read the article in Nomadic Pinoy and see the pictures for yourself.

Pinoy Friendster Day on August 15

Friendster is the biggest, most influential online social networking site in the Philippines. In fact, I have never met a call center agent who doesn’t have a Friendster account (yet). It’s no surprise that an “eyeball” event will be staged on Saturday, August 15, 2009, at the SM Mall of Asia for all Friendster-ians and Friendster-ettes.

Click here for the promotional YouTube video of Pinoy Friendster Day.

Cory was RP’s gift to the world

Corazon C. Aquino will go down in history as one of the best presidents the Philippines ever had, businessman Joey de Venecia III said yesterday.

“She is more than just an icon of democracy as everyone calls her, she was the country’s gift to the world,” de Venecia said.

The widow of the late Senator Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquino Jr. was the inspiration of the Edsa Revolution of 1986 which restored the country’s democratic processes. Also known as the People Power revolution, the event inspired the peoples of numerous countries to peacefully remove unpopular leaders in the decades that followed.

“President Aquino’s commitment to democracy was absolute,” de Venecia said, “Because of her, the Filipino people will never again allow anyone to deprive them of their freedoms, their rights, and their civil liberties.”

The ZTE-NBN whistleblower said his own willingness to fight against insurmountable odds would not have been possible without the previous battle that Cory Aquino fought and won in 1986.

“The ‘impossible dream’ that Cory dared dream, and Ninoy before her, taught us a lesson we must never forget,” according to de Venecia. “All of us must be willing to march into hell if need be for a heavenly cause,” he added, borrowing the words of a song that was a favorite of Cory and Ninoy Aquino.

The son and namesake of former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. said the late president was a personal friend of their family. “My thoughts and prayers are with the Aquino family at this most difficult time.”

He called on the government to work with the Aquino family in insuring a fitting farewell for the former president. De Venecia said political rivalries must be set aside during the one week period of national mourning announced by Malacanang. He also asked the public to unite in giving everyone’s “Tita Cory” the proper exit that she so richly deserves.

“I guess we can all take comfort in the fact that she is now reunited with her beloved Ninoy,” de Venecia said.

Cory Aquino’s Advise to Filipino-Americans

“I thought of Cory as Jawaharlal Nehru once said of Mahatma Gandhi, the light has gone out of our lives and there is darkness everywhere,” says writer of blog Trueversy.com. After assuming the presidency of the Philippines, Cory Aquino visited San Francisco on September 23, 1986 and spoke to 4,500 members of the Filipino community at a banquet held at the Moscone Center. The writer/blogger was chair of the committee which hosted the largest banquet ever held for a visiting head of state in San Francisco history, and tells the story therein.

Click here to read the Trueversy.com article.

Is Working Abroad as an OFW Worth It?

Was working abroad for a quarter of a century worth it? The story in this abs-cbnnews.com article is from the book “Migrants’ Stories, Migrants’ Voices 1″ published by the Philippine Migrants Rights Watch (PMRW). The book contains a collection of 12 stories of the realities of migration as experienced by overseas Filipino workers and their families. abs-cbnNEWS.com obtained permission from PMRW to publish the stories online. The essay speaks of the triumphs and perils of working abroad, in this case, the Middle East.

Click here to read the article at ABS-CBN Online News.

Official Fan Site of Paula Taylor

Her fan site reads:

Most Thai people know of Paula as a VJ for Channel [V], the Canon girl and Lays’ most irresistible lady.

Many people in Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong see her as a veteran model, as she struts her stuff in modelling assignments.

Even by the age of twenty, Malaysians recognised her as one of the top endorsers of Giordano and Laurier products.

In The Philippines, her cosmopolitan style may be seen in her campaign ads. for Plains and Prints, or in her looking blooming ad. for Myra-E.

As for the rest of Asia, her reality TV stints in The Amazing Race Asia 2, probably won her instant admiration, due to her sweet demeanour and the sportsmanship she, and her childhood friend Natasha Monks, displayed whilst invariably flaunting their signature Siamese smile.

So, where do you think you first saw Paula? Read on and find out more about her!

Click here to go to her fan site.

Remembering PGMA’S 2001-2008 SONA

Here’s a great article from Filipino Voices capturing the many highlights of Arroyo’s past eight State of the Nationa Addresses. As Flowell Galindez writes, “In her 9th year in her term as the president of the Philippines from replacing the ousted president Joseph Ejercito Estrada and her re-election on 2004 let’s recall and run down details of her 8 State of the Nation Address as we prepare to listen on her last on the 27th of July.”

Click here to read the Filipino Voices article.

First Gay Filipino Wins Gender-based Asylum in United States

A gay Filipino has won a gender-based asymlum granted to him last month by a U.S. immigration court judge. Philip Belarmino states in his asylum case that as a young boy, he had been molested several times, and was persecuted for being gay. He did not report the abuse to anyone because he did not want his very conservative parents to know he was gay. His asylum was granted last May 21, 2009. For now, he is officially a refugee and is entitled to stay, live and work in the United States as well as travel except to the Philippines. Belarmino is the first known Filipino to win an asylum case based on sexual orientation.