Amid a world-wide economic slump and the worsening corruption and poverty in the Philippines, the Embassy in the Netherlands is striving harder to woo investors to the Philippines.
With the help of the Dutch Chamber of Commerce, the Embassy’s Philippine Trade and Investment Centre conducted a series of trade road shows to attract Dutch businessmen to find a window of opportunity in the Philippines.
Their efforts did not go to waste as the first three “Business Opportunities in the Philippines” roadshows held in Rotterdam, The Hague and Tilburg were successful.
“You know, this is the start of a series of business seminars we are planning. I think the result is good. We got a good number of people,” said Ambassador Romeo Arguelles.
At every forum, Arguelles reiterated to the Dutch audience that although the current global financial crisis is affecting the Philippines, its economy has remained resilient because of the continued growth of exports and investments in the region.
The roadshows also generated a lot of interest because of the testimonials of Dutch businessmen who were successful in their ventures in the Philippines.
Positive outlook for RP, govt
One of them is from a Dutch politician who served as president of Shell Philippines from 1993 to 1997 and then became president of Shell Netherlands from 2003 to 2007.
Senator Ir Rein Willems had nothing but a very positive outlook for the Philippines and a high regard for the government of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo despite all the blame on Mrs. Arroyo for the corruption and poverty in the country.
Willems remains upbeat that the economy in the Philippines will prosper under her regime.
“I personally had quite a good experience dealing with then senator Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, now president. I think that she’s doing her utmost. Sometimes it’s not easy to do business in the country but she will succeed and I am confident of that and why? Because I think of her integrity and solidity of trying to get the country into a good growth position. And the truth is there. If you look at the last couple years, business has been good for the country,” Willems said.
However, there were some businessmen who remain cautious as to which country in Asia to put their money in.
After all, there are other countries in Asia to consider.
“There are a number of countries in the Far East that are very, very popular. There is China. There is upcoming India, also Pakistan, also Bangladesh. Also, the Chinese are outsourcing in Vietnam. So those countries you can see as competitive to a country like the Philippines,” said Jan Ter Haar, vice-president International Trade at The Hague Chamber of Commerce.
They are also convinced of some Pinoys’ belief that something good awaits them in Asia, including the Philippines.
“Asia is going to be the future and the Philippines is fortunately part of Asia. We have to invite the world to go there not only investments but in all other matters related to developing that part of the world,” lawyer Peter Payoyo said.
SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/pinoy-migration/11/23/08/rp-embassy-holland-woos-investors-rp
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Pinoys in Belgium rethink retirement plans in RP
Some Filipinos based in Belgium are having second thoughts about retiring in the Philippines because of the worsening poverty situation in the country.
“Ang ating mga kababayan, nawawalan ng pag-asa na. Ang ating mga pinuno ay hindi na tayo pinapakinggan. Tayo malakas maghakot ng limpak na limpak na salapi,” said Lito Batacan, founding member of the Samahan ng Manggagawang Filipino sa Belgium.
The group said poverty is pushing more and more Pinoys to leave the country for work overseas.
The group has been monitoring the life of migrant Filipinos for more than two decades now in Belgium. They said that nothing changed except that poverty has affected more Filipinos.
“Napunta ako dito dahil sa kahirapan ng Pilipinas. Yung isa yan, yung social, political, economic situation sa Pilipinas hindi stable,” said Noel Fabian, the group’s Public Relations Officer.
Coming from a family of farmers, Fabian said he abandoned his personal ambition to help his family.
“Hindi ako makapag-concentrate sa pag-aaral dahil pagod sa bukid. Walang makain. Sabi ko ano pa kaya itong mga bata ngayon ganun nae-experience lalo ngayon lumalaki ang populasyon. Hindi mapigil ang migration. Palabas ng palabas dahil sa kahirapan,” Fabian said.
Despite this, many are still hopeful that the country will have a better future.
Report from Loui Galicia, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau Belgium.
SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/pinoy-migration/11/20/08/pinoys-belgium-rethink-retirement-plans-rp
“Ang ating mga kababayan, nawawalan ng pag-asa na. Ang ating mga pinuno ay hindi na tayo pinapakinggan. Tayo malakas maghakot ng limpak na limpak na salapi,” said Lito Batacan, founding member of the Samahan ng Manggagawang Filipino sa Belgium.
The group said poverty is pushing more and more Pinoys to leave the country for work overseas.
The group has been monitoring the life of migrant Filipinos for more than two decades now in Belgium. They said that nothing changed except that poverty has affected more Filipinos.
“Napunta ako dito dahil sa kahirapan ng Pilipinas. Yung isa yan, yung social, political, economic situation sa Pilipinas hindi stable,” said Noel Fabian, the group’s Public Relations Officer.
Coming from a family of farmers, Fabian said he abandoned his personal ambition to help his family.
“Hindi ako makapag-concentrate sa pag-aaral dahil pagod sa bukid. Walang makain. Sabi ko ano pa kaya itong mga bata ngayon ganun nae-experience lalo ngayon lumalaki ang populasyon. Hindi mapigil ang migration. Palabas ng palabas dahil sa kahirapan,” Fabian said.
Despite this, many are still hopeful that the country will have a better future.
Report from Loui Galicia, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau Belgium.
SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/pinoy-migration/11/20/08/pinoys-belgium-rethink-retirement-plans-rp
Monday, October 13, 2008
Django, Robocop lose semis to eventual World Cup winners USA
Django, Robocop lose semis to eventual World Cup winners USA
By LOUI GALICIA, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau 10/13/2008 7:21 AM
Francisco “Django” Bustamante and Dennis “Robocop” Orcollo's hopes to reclaim the World Cup of Pool title was quashed when they lost to the American team, 6-9, in the semifinals held in Rotterdam, Netherlands Sunday.
The Philippines opened the rack with an unlucky break but USA missed, giving the first point to them.
However, as in all their previous matches, the Pinoys suffered from a streak of unlucky breaks, giving the Americans Rodney Morris and Shane Van Boening the second rack 1-1.
The third rack was a clean table for Bustamante and Orcollo with the Americans having their share of an unlucky break.
But, the crucial moment came during the fourth rack when Orcollo missed the ninth ball, gifting the rack to Morris and Van Boening at 2-2.
The next rack was also problematic for Orcollo when he made a foul and the Americans grabbed the important point.
In five minutes, the outstanding play of the Americans gave them two consecutive racks at 5-2.
The Philippines seemed to be struggling to rebound, taking the 8th rack at 3-5 but asking for a time-out before the 9th rack.
Orcollo again fouled in the 9th rack, stretching the American lead to half at 6-3.
But the Pinoys, desperate to stay in the match, managed to pull lucky points that narrowed the Americans' lead to 5-7.
Bustamante scratched in the 13th game, giving the crucial 8th point to USA in the race to nine.
The Pinoys continued to hang on to the game, winning the 14th rack at 6-8.
But all prayers were unanswered as the Pinoys suffered from a fatal unlucky break with the Americans wiping the table clean for the final score of 9-6.
The Americans would eventually win the World Cup of Pool after beating England's Daryl Peach and Mark Gray 11-7 in a thrilling final.
Lucky/Unlucky breaks
The Pinoy pool giants admitted that they lost to themselves.
"Wala nga eh, kaso ganoon talaga. Hindi naman talaga magaganda ‘yong tira nila. Kaya lang gumanda ‘yong tira nila dahil marami kaming tinirang mali," Bustamante said.
Of the two, it was Orcollo who blamed himself for the blunders that cost them a shot at the title.
"Sumablay ako sa ninth ball. Wala eh, sa umpisa palang sumablay na eh," Orcollo said.
But their compatriots did not blame anyone and still expressed their support and pride to the two Pinoys who have reached the semi-finals."
Well you know ‘yong billiard talaga eh luck lang sa placement. Minalas lang tayo talaga," Ambassador Romeo Arguelles said.
The breaks didn't go the Filipinos way and in the end the Americans capitalized on that one mistake (Orcollo's)," Finnish player Mika Immonen said.
"That was one costly mistake. It doesn't have to be always costly but this time the Americans won a few racks in a row and they gained the lead and they held on to that lead until the very end. Sayang," Immonen, who has been in the Philippines about twenty times already, said.
Even the Americans conceded that they were just lucky that they gained from the Pinoy's blunders.
"Philippines is always the favorite every time they play. Philippines is the best country for pool so it's always very tough. We are very lucky. They had a scratch at a break and some unlucky shots," Morris said."
SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/10/12/08/django-robocop-lose-semis-eventual-world-cup-winners-usa
By LOUI GALICIA, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau 10/13/2008 7:21 AM
Francisco “Django” Bustamante and Dennis “Robocop” Orcollo's hopes to reclaim the World Cup of Pool title was quashed when they lost to the American team, 6-9, in the semifinals held in Rotterdam, Netherlands Sunday.
The Philippines opened the rack with an unlucky break but USA missed, giving the first point to them.
However, as in all their previous matches, the Pinoys suffered from a streak of unlucky breaks, giving the Americans Rodney Morris and Shane Van Boening the second rack 1-1.
The third rack was a clean table for Bustamante and Orcollo with the Americans having their share of an unlucky break.
But, the crucial moment came during the fourth rack when Orcollo missed the ninth ball, gifting the rack to Morris and Van Boening at 2-2.
The next rack was also problematic for Orcollo when he made a foul and the Americans grabbed the important point.
In five minutes, the outstanding play of the Americans gave them two consecutive racks at 5-2.
The Philippines seemed to be struggling to rebound, taking the 8th rack at 3-5 but asking for a time-out before the 9th rack.
Orcollo again fouled in the 9th rack, stretching the American lead to half at 6-3.
But the Pinoys, desperate to stay in the match, managed to pull lucky points that narrowed the Americans' lead to 5-7.
Bustamante scratched in the 13th game, giving the crucial 8th point to USA in the race to nine.
The Pinoys continued to hang on to the game, winning the 14th rack at 6-8.
But all prayers were unanswered as the Pinoys suffered from a fatal unlucky break with the Americans wiping the table clean for the final score of 9-6.
The Americans would eventually win the World Cup of Pool after beating England's Daryl Peach and Mark Gray 11-7 in a thrilling final.
Lucky/Unlucky breaks
The Pinoy pool giants admitted that they lost to themselves.
"Wala nga eh, kaso ganoon talaga. Hindi naman talaga magaganda ‘yong tira nila. Kaya lang gumanda ‘yong tira nila dahil marami kaming tinirang mali," Bustamante said.
Of the two, it was Orcollo who blamed himself for the blunders that cost them a shot at the title.
"Sumablay ako sa ninth ball. Wala eh, sa umpisa palang sumablay na eh," Orcollo said.
But their compatriots did not blame anyone and still expressed their support and pride to the two Pinoys who have reached the semi-finals."
Well you know ‘yong billiard talaga eh luck lang sa placement. Minalas lang tayo talaga," Ambassador Romeo Arguelles said.
The breaks didn't go the Filipinos way and in the end the Americans capitalized on that one mistake (Orcollo's)," Finnish player Mika Immonen said.
"That was one costly mistake. It doesn't have to be always costly but this time the Americans won a few racks in a row and they gained the lead and they held on to that lead until the very end. Sayang," Immonen, who has been in the Philippines about twenty times already, said.
Even the Americans conceded that they were just lucky that they gained from the Pinoy's blunders.
"Philippines is always the favorite every time they play. Philippines is the best country for pool so it's always very tough. We are very lucky. They had a scratch at a break and some unlucky shots," Morris said."
SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/10/12/08/django-robocop-lose-semis-eventual-world-cup-winners-usa
Bustamante and Orcollo glide to the semi-finals
Bustamante and Orcollo glide to the semi-finals
By LOUI GALICIA, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau 10/12/2008 3:49 PM
Francisco "Django" Bustamante and Dennis "Robocop" Orcollo continued their winning streak as they glided to victory during the quarter finals of the 2008 PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
The dynamic pair mercilessly dashed all hopes for the Japanese duo of Naoyuki Oi and Satoshi Kawabata for a slot in the semi-finals, winning 9-2 in the race to nine.
Unlike Friday's nerve-wracking match, Saturday was very smooth to the delight of spectators. Bustamante and Orcollo opened the rack but the witty and sometimes funny Japanese pair evened the score to 1-1.
The Pinoys seemed to be in their best form ever and took the lead of 3-1, until Orcollo missed in round five, giving the Japanese team their second but last point.
Saturday night saw Orcollo making a few blunders but which didn't cause any damage as the Japanese pair seemed to have lost control of their cues, missing out on every opportunity to stay in the game.
Bustamante and Orcollo are currently facing the USA team of Rodney Morris and Shane Van Boening, whose favorite pool player is Bustamante, in the semi-finals Sunday afternoon.
Orcollo said that they were in a rush to finish the match as they were already starving. "Gutom na eh, minadali na ng kasama ko," Orcollo said.
The Pinoys, even if highly forecasted to win the title, remained modest and hopeful that they can reclaim the title for the Philippines which was won by Bustamante and Efren Bata Reyes in 2006.
"Pwedeng mangyari, pwedeng hindi, nasa tirahan lang naman yan eh," Bustamante said.
A Dutch spectator who is known in the local pool community being the owner of The Hague Five snooker place thinks that the Philippine team is the best of all teams this year.
"The Philippines are more of a team, even if they didn't take the magician [Reyes], Steven (no surname) said.
He predicts that Bustamante and Orcollo will topple the Americans in the semi-finals.
"If they play tomorrow (Sunday) like they play tonight (Saturday), they're much more of a team than the way the Americans play," Steven said.
Two loyal Pinoy supporters from Hoofdorp, Vic Blanza and Joel Perez, are positive that the Philippines will be in the finals.
They should know, having endured the two-hour drive to the venue to watch Bustamante and Orcollo play since Thursday.
"Kitang kita mo naman sa laro nila ngayon gabi eh," Blanza and Perez said.
SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
http://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/10/12/08/bustamante-and-orcollo-glide-semi-finals
By LOUI GALICIA, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau 10/12/2008 3:49 PM
Francisco "Django" Bustamante and Dennis "Robocop" Orcollo continued their winning streak as they glided to victory during the quarter finals of the 2008 PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
The dynamic pair mercilessly dashed all hopes for the Japanese duo of Naoyuki Oi and Satoshi Kawabata for a slot in the semi-finals, winning 9-2 in the race to nine.
Unlike Friday's nerve-wracking match, Saturday was very smooth to the delight of spectators. Bustamante and Orcollo opened the rack but the witty and sometimes funny Japanese pair evened the score to 1-1.
The Pinoys seemed to be in their best form ever and took the lead of 3-1, until Orcollo missed in round five, giving the Japanese team their second but last point.
Saturday night saw Orcollo making a few blunders but which didn't cause any damage as the Japanese pair seemed to have lost control of their cues, missing out on every opportunity to stay in the game.
Bustamante and Orcollo are currently facing the USA team of Rodney Morris and Shane Van Boening, whose favorite pool player is Bustamante, in the semi-finals Sunday afternoon.
Orcollo said that they were in a rush to finish the match as they were already starving. "Gutom na eh, minadali na ng kasama ko," Orcollo said.
The Pinoys, even if highly forecasted to win the title, remained modest and hopeful that they can reclaim the title for the Philippines which was won by Bustamante and Efren Bata Reyes in 2006.
"Pwedeng mangyari, pwedeng hindi, nasa tirahan lang naman yan eh," Bustamante said.
A Dutch spectator who is known in the local pool community being the owner of The Hague Five snooker place thinks that the Philippine team is the best of all teams this year.
"The Philippines are more of a team, even if they didn't take the magician [Reyes], Steven (no surname) said.
He predicts that Bustamante and Orcollo will topple the Americans in the semi-finals.
"If they play tomorrow (Sunday) like they play tonight (Saturday), they're much more of a team than the way the Americans play," Steven said.
Two loyal Pinoy supporters from Hoofdorp, Vic Blanza and Joel Perez, are positive that the Philippines will be in the finals.
They should know, having endured the two-hour drive to the venue to watch Bustamante and Orcollo play since Thursday.
"Kitang kita mo naman sa laro nila ngayon gabi eh," Blanza and Perez said.
SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
http://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/10/12/08/bustamante-and-orcollo-glide-semi-finals
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Django, Robocop advance to World Cup's quarter finals
Django, Robocop advance to World Cup's quarter finals
By Loui Galicia, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau 10/11/2008 9:35 AM
Francisco Django Bustamante and Dennis "Robocop" Orcollo embarks on a winning streak as they defeated Russians Ruslan Chinakhov and Konstantin Stepanov in the second round of eight in the 2008 PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
The dynamic duo continued to fascinate their compatriots and captivate the Dutch and European spectators as they worked magic in their bid to reclaim the title.
Unlike Thursday's easy match, their Friday victory was quite nerve-wracking as Bustamante made several placement errors leaving Orcollo to miss some shots.
Bustamante's worst move was during the fifth rack when his placement of the ninth ball left Orcollo to pocket both the nine and the cue ball, thus giving the rack easily to the Russians.
However, as if luck was on their side, the Russians, especially the 16-year-old wonder kid Chikanov, made a couple of blunders leaving the Pinoys plenty of room to get back into the lead.
It must have been overwhelming for the young Chikanov to come face-to-face with the Pinoy giants as a quick check of his profile at the tournament's official website revealed that his favorite pool player is none other than Bustamante.
Bustamante and Orcollo continue to be the crowd favorites and are expected to win the championship as their wit at the cue and elegance at the table can't seem to be matched by any team in the line-up.
Their two games played in Rotterdam already showed a perfect chemistry between them and even their remarks confirm their admiration for each other.
"Magaling ang kapartner ko," insisted Orcollo.
"Magaling siya. Magaling na siya, magaling pa ako. Magaling talaga kami," replied Bustamante.
Fellow Pinoys continue to attend their matches and even Ambassador Romeo Arguelles graced Friday's game with his presence.
The Philippine team will face Satoshi Kawabata and Naoyuki Oi of Japan in the quarter finals on Saturday evening.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Django, Robocop overcome first hurdle in World Cup
By LOUI GALICIA, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau 10/10/2008 5:12 PM
Dennis "Robocop" Orcollo and Francisco "Django" Bustamante easily overcame the first hurdle in their bid to reclaim the top spot in the 2008 World Cup of Pool.
Tournament favorites Orcollo and Bustamante breezed through their first ever matches in Rotterdam, Netherlands, as they promised.
The Pinoys showed the Europeans why the Philippines is the leader in game of pool with Orcollo being the World Pool Association (WPA) top-ranked player and Bustamante, a legend himself, joining the hall of famers.
Beating the Danish team of Martin Larsen and Kasper Kristoffersen, 8-2, the Pinoys accelerated their no-mercy moves to immediately finish the round of eight.
It, however, was a slight disappointment to about fifty compatriots and a lot of their European fans who travelled from different parts of Holland to the Outland Nightclub to watch and cheer the two pool geniuses.
The match could have been longer had Bustamante and Orcollo not performed their whiz moves and maneuvers.
Bustamante and Orcollo are now psyching up to their second race-to-eight where they face a tougher battle against Russia's 16-year-old wonderkid Russlan Chinakhov and former European No. 1 and 2007 Mosconi Cup winner Konstantin Stepanov on Friday at 7 pm (1 am Saturday Manila).
The winner of the match will go to the quarter-finals on Saturday.
SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/10/10/08/django-robocop-overcome-first-hurdle-world-cup
By LOUI GALICIA, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau 10/10/2008 5:12 PM
Dennis "Robocop" Orcollo and Francisco "Django" Bustamante easily overcame the first hurdle in their bid to reclaim the top spot in the 2008 World Cup of Pool.
Tournament favorites Orcollo and Bustamante breezed through their first ever matches in Rotterdam, Netherlands, as they promised.
The Pinoys showed the Europeans why the Philippines is the leader in game of pool with Orcollo being the World Pool Association (WPA) top-ranked player and Bustamante, a legend himself, joining the hall of famers.
Beating the Danish team of Martin Larsen and Kasper Kristoffersen, 8-2, the Pinoys accelerated their no-mercy moves to immediately finish the round of eight.
It, however, was a slight disappointment to about fifty compatriots and a lot of their European fans who travelled from different parts of Holland to the Outland Nightclub to watch and cheer the two pool geniuses.
The match could have been longer had Bustamante and Orcollo not performed their whiz moves and maneuvers.
Bustamante and Orcollo are now psyching up to their second race-to-eight where they face a tougher battle against Russia's 16-year-old wonderkid Russlan Chinakhov and former European No. 1 and 2007 Mosconi Cup winner Konstantin Stepanov on Friday at 7 pm (1 am Saturday Manila).
The winner of the match will go to the quarter-finals on Saturday.
SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/10/10/08/django-robocop-overcome-first-hurdle-world-cup
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Rice-powered RP duo ready for World Cup of Pool battle
Rice-powered RP duo ready for World Cup of Pool battle
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau 10/08/2008 10:26 PM
Francisco “Django” Bustamante and Dennis “Robocop” Orcollo are physically and mentally ready for their first match in the 2008 PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands on Thursday.
And their secret weapon, as revealed to ABS-CBN, is rice.
“Ginagawa naming preparation? Kumain kami ng kanin at me ulam,” Bustamante told the ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau.
Even if they are billeted in a three-star hotel in Rotterdam with room service, Bustamante and Orcollo prefer to eat Pinoy food which must include steamed rice all the time.
Thanks to Bustamante’s friend in The Netherlands, Pinoy businessman Ronald Gavino, the two now have in their hotel room a rice cooker, a 10-kilo bag of Pandan rice, a microwave, canned goods and home-cooked Filipino dishes given by compatriots.
The two Pinoy pool players said that since they are still jetlagged and are still adjusting to the six-hour time difference between Holland and the Philippines, they find themselves waking up in ungodly hours and starving.
Since room service is only until midnight, a stock of Pinoy food in their room certainly becomes invaluable in keeping them in good form.
After all, food certainly helps for better concentration and boosts performance.
With their first match this Thursday, the two Pinoys would only need luck to breeze through the games now that they have already prepared fully for this tournament.
Both say that although they are confident, they remain just hopeful that they will reach the finals.
There’s one emotional glitch, though.
Bustamante told ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau about feeling slighted by the organizers.
He complained that he and Orcollo are not in the publicity photos for this tournament. However, Dutch players Niels Feijen and Nick van den Berg, which are ranked below them, are always on the posters.
Bustamante and Orcollo are seeded number two in the tournament.
“Alam mo ang hinanakit namin dito eh wala kami sa litrato. Kasi nagchampion na kami ni pareng Efren dito. Parati silang [Dutch players] nasa litrato eh hindi naman sila nananalo,” Bustamante said.
It was pointed out to Bustamante that during last year’s tournament, the posters carried his photo with partner Efren "Bata" Reyes, together with the Dutch players.
“Eh nandun nga kami, pero hindi pa naman sila nananalo eh nandun pa rin sila,” Bustamante said.
Bustamante and Reyes reached the quarter finals last year.
On Tuesday, the strong Dutch contenders lost 3-8 to the Belgian underdogs, Noel Bruynooghe and Serge Das.
Loui Galicia, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
as of 10/09/2008 12:32 AM
SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/10/08/08/rice-powered-rp-duo-ready-world-cup-pool-battle
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau 10/08/2008 10:26 PM
Francisco “Django” Bustamante and Dennis “Robocop” Orcollo are physically and mentally ready for their first match in the 2008 PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands on Thursday.
And their secret weapon, as revealed to ABS-CBN, is rice.
“Ginagawa naming preparation? Kumain kami ng kanin at me ulam,” Bustamante told the ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau.
Even if they are billeted in a three-star hotel in Rotterdam with room service, Bustamante and Orcollo prefer to eat Pinoy food which must include steamed rice all the time.
Thanks to Bustamante’s friend in The Netherlands, Pinoy businessman Ronald Gavino, the two now have in their hotel room a rice cooker, a 10-kilo bag of Pandan rice, a microwave, canned goods and home-cooked Filipino dishes given by compatriots.
The two Pinoy pool players said that since they are still jetlagged and are still adjusting to the six-hour time difference between Holland and the Philippines, they find themselves waking up in ungodly hours and starving.
Since room service is only until midnight, a stock of Pinoy food in their room certainly becomes invaluable in keeping them in good form.
After all, food certainly helps for better concentration and boosts performance.
With their first match this Thursday, the two Pinoys would only need luck to breeze through the games now that they have already prepared fully for this tournament.
Both say that although they are confident, they remain just hopeful that they will reach the finals.
There’s one emotional glitch, though.
Bustamante told ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau about feeling slighted by the organizers.
He complained that he and Orcollo are not in the publicity photos for this tournament. However, Dutch players Niels Feijen and Nick van den Berg, which are ranked below them, are always on the posters.
Bustamante and Orcollo are seeded number two in the tournament.
“Alam mo ang hinanakit namin dito eh wala kami sa litrato. Kasi nagchampion na kami ni pareng Efren dito. Parati silang [Dutch players] nasa litrato eh hindi naman sila nananalo,” Bustamante said.
It was pointed out to Bustamante that during last year’s tournament, the posters carried his photo with partner Efren "Bata" Reyes, together with the Dutch players.
“Eh nandun nga kami, pero hindi pa naman sila nananalo eh nandun pa rin sila,” Bustamante said.
Bustamante and Reyes reached the quarter finals last year.
On Tuesday, the strong Dutch contenders lost 3-8 to the Belgian underdogs, Noel Bruynooghe and Serge Das.
Loui Galicia, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
as of 10/09/2008 12:32 AM
SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/10/08/08/rice-powered-rp-duo-ready-world-cup-pool-battle
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
NDF: Arroyo regime is Marcos martial law in disguise
NDF: Arroyo regime is Marcos martial law in disguise
By LOUI GALICIA, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
09/23/2008 8:28 AM
Filipino activists in The Netherlands cry for the ouster of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who they say is a dictator-cum-Marcos in disguise, reported ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau.
Coinciding with the 36th anniversary of the declaration of martial law in the Philippines, the Pinoys protested in front of the Dam town square in Amsterdam to denounce the alleged corruption and killings of so many children and deaths of thousands of people under the Arroyo regime.
Holding banners and posters carrying slogans like “No to Another Dictatorship, Never Again to Martial Law” and “Save Our Children From Poverty and State Violence,” the Pinoys caught so much attention from passersby, plain onlookers and tourists.
The Pinoys chanted and shouted “Patalsikin si Gloria, Pahirap sa Masa.”
‘Pretext of a democracy’
They say that the Philippines is in a state of dictatorship but in the pretext of a democracy and it has to stop.
“Ngayon meron pang deception yung Arroyo regime as if it were a democracy pero actually it is dictatorship in reality and causing so much death, so much hunger, so much starvation because of its oppression against the Filipino people, against the workers, the peasants, all people in Mindanao and throughout the country,” National Democratic Front Chair and martial-law survivor Luis Jalandoni said.
Jalandoni said that with the ongoing chaos in the Philippines, notably the war in certain parts of Mindanao, the time has come for the Arroyo government to hold true and serious talks with the NDF.
“Hindi yung all-out war policy ng Arroyo regime, hindi yung pagbanat sa mga civillian doon sa Mindanao, kundi pag-resume ng peace talks in order to address the root causes of the armed conflict, in order to have meaningful economic, social and political reforms that will benefit the people,” Jalandoni declared.
For Jalandoni’s wife, her message is harsher.
“We should resist what is happening. Labanan natin. We have to say no to what is happening. We have to protest. At ang message ko, makibaka huwag matakot,” Connie Ledesma shouted.
“Ang regime ni GMA ay, as the poster says, parang another dictatorship. Hindi in the same way as having declared martial law, pero ang mga batas, ang mga violations of human rights ganun na rin. Hindi na nag-iiba,” the Makibaka leader added.
Ledesma is also a survivor of the martial law era. She had a taste of iron cage under Marcos when she was imprisoned in early 1974 along with her husband Jalandoni.
She also feels that President Arroyo is competing hard against the Marcos regime.
“Parang contest nga si GMA at si Marcos. Sinong mas maraming nag-didisappear. Sinong mas maraming tortured victims. Ganoon kasama ngayon. So many, many years. So many decades after martial law, it’s still the same. That’s the big tragedy about it,” Ledesma told ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau.
A divided opposition
But despite of her bad record, President Arroyo withstood at least three coup attempts, at least three impeachment efforts and countless calls for resignations in her seven years in power.
The Pinoys blame the opposition’s division in the Philippines that resulted in the lack of collective strength to oust Mrs. Arroyo.
“Alam nating lahat si Marcos pinatalsik ng sambayanang Pilipino. Kung bakit si Gloria, samantalang napakatindi ng human rights violations, halos isang libo na napapatay, yung victims ng extra judicial killings at napapabalitang corruption involved ang first family…eh hindi nagkakaron ng pagkakaisa sa hanay ng oposisyon,” NDF member Dan Borjal said.
‘Hurting as a Filipino with the present regime’
The Pinoys here feel that they can’t wait anymore for President Arroyo’s term to end in 2010.
Between now and then, it will torture them to see President Arroyo remain in power because a growing lot has started to feel that it has seriously become painful to be a Filipino in the present regime.
Who else, but the migrant workers, in particular the domestic helpers.
“Napipilitang lumabas ang mga migrante. Ilan na ngayon ang migranteng nasa labas ng ating bansa. 8 million. Ngayon ano ang kalagayan nila. Di ba sila ay hikahos at pinagsasamantalahan habang sila ay nasa labas ng bansa. At ano naman ang ginagawa ng gobyerno niya [Arroyo’s]. Wala namang serbisyo siyang nabibigay. Ilan ang umuuwing patay, bangkay na walang hustisyang nakukuha,” asks Migrante’s Grace Punongbayan.
“Kaya ang rehimen ni Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, pasanin ng mamamayang Pilipino. Sobra sobra na ang ginagawa ng gobyernong ‘yan. Ang pagpatay niya sa mga leader, progresibong leader ng iba’t-ibang samahan. Ang kanyang gobyerno, walang ginagawa upang magkaroon ng trabaho sa ating bansa para ang mga kababayan natin ay di na kailangan lumabas at mawalay sa kanilang mahal sa buhay,” Punungbayan added.
The Pinoys, most especially the migrant workers, feel that it hurts deep to be a Filipino with Mrs. Arroyo as its leader, said Punungbayan.
“Masakit ang maging Pilipino sa mga panahong ito. Halimbawa dito sa Europa, ang lahi natin ay wala namang ibang nakikitang trabaho kundi paglilinis lang ng mga bahay bahay. Parang isang buong lahi ba na nakondena na sa margins of prosperous European societies so masakit tanggapin para isang Pilipino na parang hanggang dun nalang ba ang lahi natin,” Punongbayan said.
SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/09/23/08/ndf-arroyo-regime-marcos-martial-law-disguise
By LOUI GALICIA, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
09/23/2008 8:28 AM
Filipino activists in The Netherlands cry for the ouster of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who they say is a dictator-cum-Marcos in disguise, reported ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau.
Coinciding with the 36th anniversary of the declaration of martial law in the Philippines, the Pinoys protested in front of the Dam town square in Amsterdam to denounce the alleged corruption and killings of so many children and deaths of thousands of people under the Arroyo regime.
Holding banners and posters carrying slogans like “No to Another Dictatorship, Never Again to Martial Law” and “Save Our Children From Poverty and State Violence,” the Pinoys caught so much attention from passersby, plain onlookers and tourists.
The Pinoys chanted and shouted “Patalsikin si Gloria, Pahirap sa Masa.”
‘Pretext of a democracy’
They say that the Philippines is in a state of dictatorship but in the pretext of a democracy and it has to stop.
“Ngayon meron pang deception yung Arroyo regime as if it were a democracy pero actually it is dictatorship in reality and causing so much death, so much hunger, so much starvation because of its oppression against the Filipino people, against the workers, the peasants, all people in Mindanao and throughout the country,” National Democratic Front Chair and martial-law survivor Luis Jalandoni said.
Jalandoni said that with the ongoing chaos in the Philippines, notably the war in certain parts of Mindanao, the time has come for the Arroyo government to hold true and serious talks with the NDF.
“Hindi yung all-out war policy ng Arroyo regime, hindi yung pagbanat sa mga civillian doon sa Mindanao, kundi pag-resume ng peace talks in order to address the root causes of the armed conflict, in order to have meaningful economic, social and political reforms that will benefit the people,” Jalandoni declared.
For Jalandoni’s wife, her message is harsher.
“We should resist what is happening. Labanan natin. We have to say no to what is happening. We have to protest. At ang message ko, makibaka huwag matakot,” Connie Ledesma shouted.
“Ang regime ni GMA ay, as the poster says, parang another dictatorship. Hindi in the same way as having declared martial law, pero ang mga batas, ang mga violations of human rights ganun na rin. Hindi na nag-iiba,” the Makibaka leader added.
Ledesma is also a survivor of the martial law era. She had a taste of iron cage under Marcos when she was imprisoned in early 1974 along with her husband Jalandoni.
She also feels that President Arroyo is competing hard against the Marcos regime.
“Parang contest nga si GMA at si Marcos. Sinong mas maraming nag-didisappear. Sinong mas maraming tortured victims. Ganoon kasama ngayon. So many, many years. So many decades after martial law, it’s still the same. That’s the big tragedy about it,” Ledesma told ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau.
A divided opposition
But despite of her bad record, President Arroyo withstood at least three coup attempts, at least three impeachment efforts and countless calls for resignations in her seven years in power.
The Pinoys blame the opposition’s division in the Philippines that resulted in the lack of collective strength to oust Mrs. Arroyo.
“Alam nating lahat si Marcos pinatalsik ng sambayanang Pilipino. Kung bakit si Gloria, samantalang napakatindi ng human rights violations, halos isang libo na napapatay, yung victims ng extra judicial killings at napapabalitang corruption involved ang first family…eh hindi nagkakaron ng pagkakaisa sa hanay ng oposisyon,” NDF member Dan Borjal said.
‘Hurting as a Filipino with the present regime’
The Pinoys here feel that they can’t wait anymore for President Arroyo’s term to end in 2010.
Between now and then, it will torture them to see President Arroyo remain in power because a growing lot has started to feel that it has seriously become painful to be a Filipino in the present regime.
Who else, but the migrant workers, in particular the domestic helpers.
“Napipilitang lumabas ang mga migrante. Ilan na ngayon ang migranteng nasa labas ng ating bansa. 8 million. Ngayon ano ang kalagayan nila. Di ba sila ay hikahos at pinagsasamantalahan habang sila ay nasa labas ng bansa. At ano naman ang ginagawa ng gobyerno niya [Arroyo’s]. Wala namang serbisyo siyang nabibigay. Ilan ang umuuwing patay, bangkay na walang hustisyang nakukuha,” asks Migrante’s Grace Punongbayan.
“Kaya ang rehimen ni Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, pasanin ng mamamayang Pilipino. Sobra sobra na ang ginagawa ng gobyernong ‘yan. Ang pagpatay niya sa mga leader, progresibong leader ng iba’t-ibang samahan. Ang kanyang gobyerno, walang ginagawa upang magkaroon ng trabaho sa ating bansa para ang mga kababayan natin ay di na kailangan lumabas at mawalay sa kanilang mahal sa buhay,” Punungbayan added.
The Pinoys, most especially the migrant workers, feel that it hurts deep to be a Filipino with Mrs. Arroyo as its leader, said Punungbayan.
“Masakit ang maging Pilipino sa mga panahong ito. Halimbawa dito sa Europa, ang lahi natin ay wala namang ibang nakikitang trabaho kundi paglilinis lang ng mga bahay bahay. Parang isang buong lahi ba na nakondena na sa margins of prosperous European societies so masakit tanggapin para isang Pilipino na parang hanggang dun nalang ba ang lahi natin,” Punongbayan said.
SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/09/23/08/ndf-arroyo-regime-marcos-martial-law-disguise
Friday, September 5, 2008
year after arrest, Sison’s case in the Netherlands still in limbo
A year after arrest, Sison’s case in the Netherlands still in limbo
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
It has been one year since the arrest of Jose Maria Sison in Utrecht, Netherlands on Aug. 28, 2007, yet it is still not clear where his case is headed, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau reported.
The founding chair of the Communist Party of the Philippines was detained in Scheveningen prison on charges filed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office for the murders of erstwhile allies Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara in the Philippines but was released two weeks later on lack of incriminating evidence.
At the same time as his arrest, the National Democratic Front office and houses of the NDF members were raided which resulted in the confiscation of computers, diskettes, CDs and files but which are slowly being returned now.
In June, the Prosecution was granted permission by the District Court of The Hague to continue its investigation of Sison until December.
On the anniversary of his arrest, Sison expressed his anger because he said that up to now there is really nothing against him.
"I was dissatisfied with the ruling of the court with regard to our demand that our investigation and prosecution be ended but there’s a key point in that decision of the court, that there’s no incriminating evidence. It’s just giving way to the prosecution to continue investigating as it wishes. The prosecution has that much prerogative to continue its investigation with the police even without the presence of an investigating judge," Sison said.
"Mahabang panahon na ang dumaan bago ako naaresto noong 2007. Ngayon napatunayan sa court na walang evidence and they [prosecution] got more than, more time to do the investigation so meron silang plus na one year by September. ‘Yong malaking abuso sa akin eh ‘yong pang-iipit na walang pinangbabatayan so may basis kami by September to complain and make a demand to end [the investigation]," Sison added.
Seized materials being returned
Sison complained that since June, he didn’t hear anymore from the Prosecution except that it is now returning the rest of the materials that were confiscated last year.
In a visit to the NDF office in Utrecht for this interview, Negotiating Panel official Fidel Agcaoili and staffer Aldo Gonzales showed to ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau five boxes containing binders of documents, diskettes and books that the Prosecution recently returned to the office.
"Sabi nga mga twelve boxes ang sinauli pero para sa lahat ‘yon. Sa akin parang three boxes, para sa akin eh kulang pa ‘yon. Marami pang kulang sa akin. Me hinihintay pa akong isang box ng mga CDs, ah no, hindi CDs, kundi diskettes at ilang pang files na hinihintay ko," Agcaoili said.
For Sison however, this is a good sign.
"Nearly everything confiscated during the raids of Aug. 28 last year, sinasauli na. Konti na lang natitira and only a few days ago, things taken were returned and only the remaining few materials shall be returned next time so we think that the Prosecution is moving already towards the closing of the case because of the continuing lack of evidence," Sison said.
"Of course we don’t have word now. But it’s our estimate that it [prosecution] can’t find, it seems that it hasn’t found any evidence, otherwise due notice would have been given the court and to me as suspect," Sison added.
Filing complaint
But Sison is still readying to file a complaint if the case is not yet closed by September.
"Well when it comes in September and there will be no finding of incriminating evidence, then it will be good. The lack of incriminating evidence will be a good basis for demanding the termination of the case. Because you know, the passage of more than one year would mean that the prosecution went into the arrest operations of Aug. 28 without any basis, not withstanding the fact that it did not prepare for the case well before Aug. 28, 2007. He had one more year to investigate and it has nothing," Sison exclaimed.
Sison said that he seems to have been born with a lot of patience since he has become immune to abuse.
"Kung titignan mo, sa dinami ng paratang sa akin at sa haba ng panahon eh pinatutunayan na wala naman akong kinalaman sa mga paratang. Hindi ba ang dami na. Yung china-charge sa kin," Sison said.
He gave examples of why even when he was still in the Philippines, it was impossible for him to commit a crime.
"Directly, galing ako sa fascist imprisonment under Marcos, Pagkatapos paglabas ko sa detention, I entered government service by getting reinstated sa UP. Full time ako naglecture bago ako umalis at wala akong pahinga sa mga press interview at speeches. Wala akong pagkakataong gumawa ng kahit na anong krimen," Sison said.
Sison charged that his persecution continues and believes that it will never stop.
"Hindi na titigil siguro dahil ako naman walang tigil sa pagtataguyod ng prinsipyo at pagbatikos sa pagsasamantala at pang-aapi ng mga imperyalistang Amerikano sa ating bansa at syempre sa maraming concrete issues pati na yung walang batayang pagiging presidente ni Gloria dahil nandaya sa election. At si Gloria naman, para mapatibay ang posiyon niya eh sumakay sa anti-terrorism campaign ng U.S. sa kagustuhan niyang matulungan siya ng U.S. para mapanatili siya sa kapangyarihan. Sumasabay siya sa U.S. sa aking persecution," Sison said.
SOURCE: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=129508
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
It has been one year since the arrest of Jose Maria Sison in Utrecht, Netherlands on Aug. 28, 2007, yet it is still not clear where his case is headed, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau reported.
The founding chair of the Communist Party of the Philippines was detained in Scheveningen prison on charges filed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office for the murders of erstwhile allies Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara in the Philippines but was released two weeks later on lack of incriminating evidence.
At the same time as his arrest, the National Democratic Front office and houses of the NDF members were raided which resulted in the confiscation of computers, diskettes, CDs and files but which are slowly being returned now.
In June, the Prosecution was granted permission by the District Court of The Hague to continue its investigation of Sison until December.
On the anniversary of his arrest, Sison expressed his anger because he said that up to now there is really nothing against him.
"I was dissatisfied with the ruling of the court with regard to our demand that our investigation and prosecution be ended but there’s a key point in that decision of the court, that there’s no incriminating evidence. It’s just giving way to the prosecution to continue investigating as it wishes. The prosecution has that much prerogative to continue its investigation with the police even without the presence of an investigating judge," Sison said.
"Mahabang panahon na ang dumaan bago ako naaresto noong 2007. Ngayon napatunayan sa court na walang evidence and they [prosecution] got more than, more time to do the investigation so meron silang plus na one year by September. ‘Yong malaking abuso sa akin eh ‘yong pang-iipit na walang pinangbabatayan so may basis kami by September to complain and make a demand to end [the investigation]," Sison added.
Seized materials being returned
Sison complained that since June, he didn’t hear anymore from the Prosecution except that it is now returning the rest of the materials that were confiscated last year.
In a visit to the NDF office in Utrecht for this interview, Negotiating Panel official Fidel Agcaoili and staffer Aldo Gonzales showed to ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau five boxes containing binders of documents, diskettes and books that the Prosecution recently returned to the office.
"Sabi nga mga twelve boxes ang sinauli pero para sa lahat ‘yon. Sa akin parang three boxes, para sa akin eh kulang pa ‘yon. Marami pang kulang sa akin. Me hinihintay pa akong isang box ng mga CDs, ah no, hindi CDs, kundi diskettes at ilang pang files na hinihintay ko," Agcaoili said.
For Sison however, this is a good sign.
"Nearly everything confiscated during the raids of Aug. 28 last year, sinasauli na. Konti na lang natitira and only a few days ago, things taken were returned and only the remaining few materials shall be returned next time so we think that the Prosecution is moving already towards the closing of the case because of the continuing lack of evidence," Sison said.
"Of course we don’t have word now. But it’s our estimate that it [prosecution] can’t find, it seems that it hasn’t found any evidence, otherwise due notice would have been given the court and to me as suspect," Sison added.
Filing complaint
But Sison is still readying to file a complaint if the case is not yet closed by September.
"Well when it comes in September and there will be no finding of incriminating evidence, then it will be good. The lack of incriminating evidence will be a good basis for demanding the termination of the case. Because you know, the passage of more than one year would mean that the prosecution went into the arrest operations of Aug. 28 without any basis, not withstanding the fact that it did not prepare for the case well before Aug. 28, 2007. He had one more year to investigate and it has nothing," Sison exclaimed.
Sison said that he seems to have been born with a lot of patience since he has become immune to abuse.
"Kung titignan mo, sa dinami ng paratang sa akin at sa haba ng panahon eh pinatutunayan na wala naman akong kinalaman sa mga paratang. Hindi ba ang dami na. Yung china-charge sa kin," Sison said.
He gave examples of why even when he was still in the Philippines, it was impossible for him to commit a crime.
"Directly, galing ako sa fascist imprisonment under Marcos, Pagkatapos paglabas ko sa detention, I entered government service by getting reinstated sa UP. Full time ako naglecture bago ako umalis at wala akong pahinga sa mga press interview at speeches. Wala akong pagkakataong gumawa ng kahit na anong krimen," Sison said.
Sison charged that his persecution continues and believes that it will never stop.
"Hindi na titigil siguro dahil ako naman walang tigil sa pagtataguyod ng prinsipyo at pagbatikos sa pagsasamantala at pang-aapi ng mga imperyalistang Amerikano sa ating bansa at syempre sa maraming concrete issues pati na yung walang batayang pagiging presidente ni Gloria dahil nandaya sa election. At si Gloria naman, para mapatibay ang posiyon niya eh sumakay sa anti-terrorism campaign ng U.S. sa kagustuhan niyang matulungan siya ng U.S. para mapanatili siya sa kapangyarihan. Sumasabay siya sa U.S. sa aking persecution," Sison said.
SOURCE: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=129508
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
NDF 'sympathizes' with MILF's peace talks frustrations
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Neri appointment spoils summer fun in the Netherlands
Neri appointment spoils summer fun in the Netherlands
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
Filipinos in the Netherlands have advised the new chief of the Social Security System (SSS) to take extra care in handling their hard-earned contributions.
"Huwag niyang isipin na lulustayin na walang kakwenta-kwenta...Hihikayat ako ng mas marami pang miyembro na nagbabayad ng SSS na sagupain yang Neri na yan," SSS member Eddie Aquino said during a recent picnic gathering with other Filipinos.
Neri took on the hot seat as head of the SSS on August 1. Yet, two weeks later, Dutch Pinoys are still fuming mad.
They are inflamed by the fact that Neri will handle the billions and billions of funds that come from their pockets as Pinoy contributors to the private pension fund.
They claim that Neri cannot be trusted because of his involvement in the ZTE-national broadband network deal.
Pinoys fear that when the time comes to collect their pensions, there won’t be any money because the funds had already been used by Arroyo administration.
They feel that with Neri in charge, there’s no stopping the Arroyo administration from plundering their SSS money.
Aquino is one of the 25 million members of SSS. He is among several millions of SSS members abroad who want to retire in the Philippines.
"Gusto ko secured ako. Secured ako sa Pilipinas pag-uwi ko. Meron akong gagastusin. Meron akong pera na matatanggap buwan-buwan," Aquino said.
Meanwhile, there are former SSS members who said they have lost their trust in the pension fund and the present government.
"Pumunta ako ng Pilipinas dahil idadagdag ko 'yung anak ko sa beneficiary ko. Me nagbabayad dun sa SSS ko. How long na wala ako sa Pilipinas? More than 20 years pero me nagbabayad," said Vener Velasquez.
"It’s a fraud. Fraud 'yun. Maliwanag na maliwanag me nagloloko roon eh," Velasquez added.
Velasquez, who has lived both in the United States and the Netherlands as an immigrant, is one global Pinoy who rejects the idea of retiring in the Philippines.
"Wala nang pera ang Pilipinas eh. Pa'no ka pa magpa-papension ng tao?" Velasquez asked.
SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=128404
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
Filipinos in the Netherlands have advised the new chief of the Social Security System (SSS) to take extra care in handling their hard-earned contributions.
"Huwag niyang isipin na lulustayin na walang kakwenta-kwenta...Hihikayat ako ng mas marami pang miyembro na nagbabayad ng SSS na sagupain yang Neri na yan," SSS member Eddie Aquino said during a recent picnic gathering with other Filipinos.
Neri took on the hot seat as head of the SSS on August 1. Yet, two weeks later, Dutch Pinoys are still fuming mad.
They are inflamed by the fact that Neri will handle the billions and billions of funds that come from their pockets as Pinoy contributors to the private pension fund.
They claim that Neri cannot be trusted because of his involvement in the ZTE-national broadband network deal.
Pinoys fear that when the time comes to collect their pensions, there won’t be any money because the funds had already been used by Arroyo administration.
They feel that with Neri in charge, there’s no stopping the Arroyo administration from plundering their SSS money.
Aquino is one of the 25 million members of SSS. He is among several millions of SSS members abroad who want to retire in the Philippines.
"Gusto ko secured ako. Secured ako sa Pilipinas pag-uwi ko. Meron akong gagastusin. Meron akong pera na matatanggap buwan-buwan," Aquino said.
Meanwhile, there are former SSS members who said they have lost their trust in the pension fund and the present government.
"Pumunta ako ng Pilipinas dahil idadagdag ko 'yung anak ko sa beneficiary ko. Me nagbabayad dun sa SSS ko. How long na wala ako sa Pilipinas? More than 20 years pero me nagbabayad," said Vener Velasquez.
"It’s a fraud. Fraud 'yun. Maliwanag na maliwanag me nagloloko roon eh," Velasquez added.
Velasquez, who has lived both in the United States and the Netherlands as an immigrant, is one global Pinoy who rejects the idea of retiring in the Philippines.
"Wala nang pera ang Pilipinas eh. Pa'no ka pa magpa-papension ng tao?" Velasquez asked.
SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=128404
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Bowlers Hit Hard By Dutch Smoking Ban
Bowlers hit hard by Dutch smoking ban
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
Bowling enthusiasts in the Netherlands are most affected by the smoking ban that was enforced since July 1.
It's been a month since smoking was prohibited in restaurants, bars and cafes and yet, bowlers who smoke are still angry.
"People throw up, they urinate on the street and yet they ban smoking. I don't understand. It's not fair," bowler Richard Rafulowitz told ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau.
"What's wrong with these people? If I want to kill myself, I'll kill myself," Rafulowitz complained.
Rafulowitz still cannot accept the fact that he can no longer smoke at bowling alleys.
Bowling is one sport where players are allowed to smoke while playing or competing. This, however, is no longer true since the smoking ban was implemented.
Bowlers claim that they are greatly affected by the ban and that their games have highly suffered.
Want to light up? Go out
Whenever there is an urge to light up, the bowlers need to leave the lane to smoke in an enclosed designated area. That is, if there is one.
It's even worse if there is none because they have to smoke outside the bowling center.
And even for just a puff, the whole game is delayed.
"Not nice. More nice if you can smoke and calm down. Now you can't do that. You have to wait till the game is finished before you can smoke. Not good," Bo Pallavicini said.
Pallavicini, an organizer of the International Cultural Exchange (ICE) group for expats and who bowls with Dutch Pinoys, is having a hard time adjusting to a smoke-free bowling alley.
He said that his game is affected because he thinks about smoking all the time while bowling.
Since 2004, Dutch employers have been obliged to ensure a smoke-free workplace for their employees. But back then, restaurants and pubs were still exempted.
The total smoking ban was implemented last month to protect all workers who are exposed to cigarette smoke. Those caught smoking in public places are slapped with a 60-euro (4,000-peso) fine.
Happy with ban
Although they are not happy, some Dutch Pinoys support the good side of the smoking ban.
"Families bowl here all the time so they have kids and it's not good (cigarette smoke) for them, but if you ask me about opinions in bars and stuff like that, then it makes no sense," said Carlo Tomas, one of the top Pinoy bowlers in Holland.
Tomas doesn't agree that smoking should be banned in pubs and bars because people who work there are smokers too.
"I heard that many people who are there smoke anyway and they banned smoke because of the people who work in the bars but they smoke too," Tomas said.
His brother Paolo, also a top-level bowler, finds that the smoking ban can be good because it has helped him cut down on smoking.
"I'd just smoke when I'm outside and I'm almost trying to not quit but I'm trying to smoke less. Maybe it's better for people who want to smoke less," Paolo said.
SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryID=127468
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
Bowling enthusiasts in the Netherlands are most affected by the smoking ban that was enforced since July 1.
It's been a month since smoking was prohibited in restaurants, bars and cafes and yet, bowlers who smoke are still angry.
"People throw up, they urinate on the street and yet they ban smoking. I don't understand. It's not fair," bowler Richard Rafulowitz told ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau.
"What's wrong with these people? If I want to kill myself, I'll kill myself," Rafulowitz complained.
Rafulowitz still cannot accept the fact that he can no longer smoke at bowling alleys.
Bowling is one sport where players are allowed to smoke while playing or competing. This, however, is no longer true since the smoking ban was implemented.
Bowlers claim that they are greatly affected by the ban and that their games have highly suffered.
Want to light up? Go out
Whenever there is an urge to light up, the bowlers need to leave the lane to smoke in an enclosed designated area. That is, if there is one.
It's even worse if there is none because they have to smoke outside the bowling center.
And even for just a puff, the whole game is delayed.
"Not nice. More nice if you can smoke and calm down. Now you can't do that. You have to wait till the game is finished before you can smoke. Not good," Bo Pallavicini said.
Pallavicini, an organizer of the International Cultural Exchange (ICE) group for expats and who bowls with Dutch Pinoys, is having a hard time adjusting to a smoke-free bowling alley.
He said that his game is affected because he thinks about smoking all the time while bowling.
Since 2004, Dutch employers have been obliged to ensure a smoke-free workplace for their employees. But back then, restaurants and pubs were still exempted.
The total smoking ban was implemented last month to protect all workers who are exposed to cigarette smoke. Those caught smoking in public places are slapped with a 60-euro (4,000-peso) fine.
Happy with ban
Although they are not happy, some Dutch Pinoys support the good side of the smoking ban.
"Families bowl here all the time so they have kids and it's not good (cigarette smoke) for them, but if you ask me about opinions in bars and stuff like that, then it makes no sense," said Carlo Tomas, one of the top Pinoy bowlers in Holland.
Tomas doesn't agree that smoking should be banned in pubs and bars because people who work there are smokers too.
"I heard that many people who are there smoke anyway and they banned smoke because of the people who work in the bars but they smoke too," Tomas said.
His brother Paolo, also a top-level bowler, finds that the smoking ban can be good because it has helped him cut down on smoking.
"I'd just smoke when I'm outside and I'm almost trying to not quit but I'm trying to smoke less. Maybe it's better for people who want to smoke less," Paolo said.
SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryID=127468
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Pinoys reign supreme in Dutch bowling league
Pinoys reign supreme in Dutch bowling league
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
Filipinos in Holland once again proved that they are the royals of the bowling alley when they reigned supreme at the Tuesday Dutch Bowling league.
Just last March, Pinoys ruled in the biggest inter-agency bowling event held in The Hague. (see article: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryID=112569)
The 2007-2008 league, which is on its sixth year, is held every Tuesday, from September to May at the Dolfijn Bowling Center in Scheveningen and ends with a grand awards night when winners receive recognition and participants get tokens of appreciation for their hard work and effort for the whole season.
A total of 12 teams with four players each participated this season in the league. Among the 48 players, 10 were Filipinos.
Although outnumbered, the Pinoys swept all the awards.
In the team category, the first to third placers had one Pinay player each.
The Lord of the Pins team, with Brigitte Galura, bagged the championship, followed by Beer Frame with Cynbelle Cons on second place and Split Happens, with this writer, in third place.
Even the individual awards for the best season’s scores were dominated by Pinoys.
In the Men’s division, Leandro Bautista won the third-highest handicap game while Ener Gonzales had the second-highest handicap game series.
In the Women’s division, this writer won the third-highest handicap game and also the second-highest handicap game series.
The event's Dutch organizer, who has been playing with the Pinoys for six years now, could not help but salute the Pinoys for their bowling prowess.
"They’re very, very good bowlers, and they impress me every time, every year again. They’re really good players, very nice, very friendly, and I love their food," Frog vander Heuvel said.
The Pinoys said they seem to have a natural talent for bowling.
"Natural ata yang galing ng Pinoy sa sports eh, lalo na sa bowling kaya palagi tayong nananalo kahit na kokonti tayong Pilipino na naglalaro ng bowling dito sa Holland. Parati tayong nakakakuha ng award. So ngayong gabi eh ang dami nating napanalo. I think it proves na me talent tayo lalo sa sports," Joey Gonzales said.
There are only about 20 Filipinos who regularly join bowling tournaments and leagues in Holland, but they always outplay the Dutch and other nationalities and are feared in the Dutch bowling circuit.
"Sa ligang ito, madami ring mga puti ang magagaling, at kaming mga Pilipino, halos sampu lang kaming naglalaro pero nangi-ngibabaw pa rin kami sa pagkapanalo. Talagang likas na ata sa ating mga Pilipino kaya magaling tayo sa bowling," Galura said.
The Pinoys are now preparing for the biggest singles’ bowling tournament in The Hague this Saturday.
The Bintang Bowling Cup is organized by the Indonesian Embassy, and 150 bowlers are expected to compete for the best of the best awards.
SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=124141
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
Filipinos in Holland once again proved that they are the royals of the bowling alley when they reigned supreme at the Tuesday Dutch Bowling league.
Just last March, Pinoys ruled in the biggest inter-agency bowling event held in The Hague. (see article: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryID=112569)
The 2007-2008 league, which is on its sixth year, is held every Tuesday, from September to May at the Dolfijn Bowling Center in Scheveningen and ends with a grand awards night when winners receive recognition and participants get tokens of appreciation for their hard work and effort for the whole season.
A total of 12 teams with four players each participated this season in the league. Among the 48 players, 10 were Filipinos.
Although outnumbered, the Pinoys swept all the awards.
In the team category, the first to third placers had one Pinay player each.
The Lord of the Pins team, with Brigitte Galura, bagged the championship, followed by Beer Frame with Cynbelle Cons on second place and Split Happens, with this writer, in third place.
Even the individual awards for the best season’s scores were dominated by Pinoys.
In the Men’s division, Leandro Bautista won the third-highest handicap game while Ener Gonzales had the second-highest handicap game series.
In the Women’s division, this writer won the third-highest handicap game and also the second-highest handicap game series.
The event's Dutch organizer, who has been playing with the Pinoys for six years now, could not help but salute the Pinoys for their bowling prowess.
"They’re very, very good bowlers, and they impress me every time, every year again. They’re really good players, very nice, very friendly, and I love their food," Frog vander Heuvel said.
The Pinoys said they seem to have a natural talent for bowling.
"Natural ata yang galing ng Pinoy sa sports eh, lalo na sa bowling kaya palagi tayong nananalo kahit na kokonti tayong Pilipino na naglalaro ng bowling dito sa Holland. Parati tayong nakakakuha ng award. So ngayong gabi eh ang dami nating napanalo. I think it proves na me talent tayo lalo sa sports," Joey Gonzales said.
There are only about 20 Filipinos who regularly join bowling tournaments and leagues in Holland, but they always outplay the Dutch and other nationalities and are feared in the Dutch bowling circuit.
"Sa ligang ito, madami ring mga puti ang magagaling, at kaming mga Pilipino, halos sampu lang kaming naglalaro pero nangi-ngibabaw pa rin kami sa pagkapanalo. Talagang likas na ata sa ating mga Pilipino kaya magaling tayo sa bowling," Galura said.
The Pinoys are now preparing for the biggest singles’ bowling tournament in The Hague this Saturday.
The Bintang Bowling Cup is organized by the Indonesian Embassy, and 150 bowlers are expected to compete for the best of the best awards.
SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=124141
Megaworld woos Dutch Pinoys to invest in RP
Megaworld woos Dutch Pinoys to invest in RP
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
The Philippines’s second-largest property developer showcased the beauty of the country to Dutch Filipinos in a roadshow presentation held recently in Rotterdam, Holland.
Megaworld Corp. showed its projects and property developments through a slide-show presentation that featured how the Philippines look now and how it will look in the future.
Ambassador Romeo Arguelles attended the presentation as he also browsed through all the available leaflets and pamphlets and inquired about new property developments.
Arguelles himself was impressed at the sight of rising buildings and beautiful townhouses and condominium units that are being built which created a modern architectural landscape of a beautiful Philippines.
According to Arsenio Reyes, president of Shore Access Europe which is Megaworld International’s partner, this is the company’s first time in Holland.
Right time to invest in RP
Reyes said the company aims to woo and convince Dutch Pinoys that it is the right time to invest in the Philippines.
From the figures provided to ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau by the Philippine Embassy in The Hague, out of the 17,500 Filipinos living in The Netherlands, around 15,000 are Dutch Pinoys.
Megaworld said that it is precisely this stunning figure that prompted it to go overseas in order to reach out to those who have long been out of the country.
"Kung baga sa kasabihan natin na mga salmon eh bumabalik sa sariling pinanggalingan. Ganun din siguro ang mabibigay natin sa ating sarili. Nagpakahirap tayo dito. Pagbalik natin, makikita natin ang ating magandang kinabukasan ay nasa Pilipinas, ang ating bansa," Reyes said.
According to Megaworld, the Philippines is ready for the return of the Filipinos who left the country.
"Kung ma-dedeliver namin ang Philippines sa ibang bansa, why not? Because it’s a great honor for us to help the country especially sa mga OFWs na nagpunta dito sa Holland, sa Europe para makakita ng magandang kinabukasan at makatulong sa bansa," Reyes said.
Planning for the future
Even if there were only a few Filipinos who attended the presentation, the event was very meaningful to those who were there.
"I was convinced. Mag-iisip ako at gusto kong bumili talaga. Dahil maganda ‘yong explanation niya at saka para sa atin talaga ‘yon. Pag nag-retire na tayo ng trabaho at least meron na tayong investment," said Edith Benito.
The event also opened the eyes of the Dutch Pinoys to the reality that planning for the future is now and that it is time to think about what they want to do when they get older or where they will retire.
"Maganda ‘yan dahil once nag-invest tayo, malaking tulong ‘yan sa government natin, sa economy ng Philippines at isa pa, in the future pag tatanda tayo, of course hindi ito ang country natin. Ang country natin sa Philippines. Pag tatanda tayo, siyempre babalik tayo sa sarili nating bansa," Dutch Pinay Janet Suleyman said.
"At least in the future, meron tayong tinatawag na home sweet home," Suleyman added
SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=124090
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
The Philippines’s second-largest property developer showcased the beauty of the country to Dutch Filipinos in a roadshow presentation held recently in Rotterdam, Holland.
Megaworld Corp. showed its projects and property developments through a slide-show presentation that featured how the Philippines look now and how it will look in the future.
Ambassador Romeo Arguelles attended the presentation as he also browsed through all the available leaflets and pamphlets and inquired about new property developments.
Arguelles himself was impressed at the sight of rising buildings and beautiful townhouses and condominium units that are being built which created a modern architectural landscape of a beautiful Philippines.
According to Arsenio Reyes, president of Shore Access Europe which is Megaworld International’s partner, this is the company’s first time in Holland.
Right time to invest in RP
Reyes said the company aims to woo and convince Dutch Pinoys that it is the right time to invest in the Philippines.
From the figures provided to ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau by the Philippine Embassy in The Hague, out of the 17,500 Filipinos living in The Netherlands, around 15,000 are Dutch Pinoys.
Megaworld said that it is precisely this stunning figure that prompted it to go overseas in order to reach out to those who have long been out of the country.
"Kung baga sa kasabihan natin na mga salmon eh bumabalik sa sariling pinanggalingan. Ganun din siguro ang mabibigay natin sa ating sarili. Nagpakahirap tayo dito. Pagbalik natin, makikita natin ang ating magandang kinabukasan ay nasa Pilipinas, ang ating bansa," Reyes said.
According to Megaworld, the Philippines is ready for the return of the Filipinos who left the country.
"Kung ma-dedeliver namin ang Philippines sa ibang bansa, why not? Because it’s a great honor for us to help the country especially sa mga OFWs na nagpunta dito sa Holland, sa Europe para makakita ng magandang kinabukasan at makatulong sa bansa," Reyes said.
Planning for the future
Even if there were only a few Filipinos who attended the presentation, the event was very meaningful to those who were there.
"I was convinced. Mag-iisip ako at gusto kong bumili talaga. Dahil maganda ‘yong explanation niya at saka para sa atin talaga ‘yon. Pag nag-retire na tayo ng trabaho at least meron na tayong investment," said Edith Benito.
The event also opened the eyes of the Dutch Pinoys to the reality that planning for the future is now and that it is time to think about what they want to do when they get older or where they will retire.
"Maganda ‘yan dahil once nag-invest tayo, malaking tulong ‘yan sa government natin, sa economy ng Philippines at isa pa, in the future pag tatanda tayo, of course hindi ito ang country natin. Ang country natin sa Philippines. Pag tatanda tayo, siyempre babalik tayo sa sarili nating bansa," Dutch Pinay Janet Suleyman said.
"At least in the future, meron tayong tinatawag na home sweet home," Suleyman added
SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=124090
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Pinoy artist sells five paintings in one hour in Holland
Pinoy artist sells five paintings in one hour in Holland
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
In the art of painting, subjects such as traditional landscapes sell better than others, but Pinoy painter Al Perez proved that there is still a high degree of interest in religious themes when he sold five paintings in just one hour in Holland.
Perez's works, mainly paintings of saints and churches, were showcased as part of the cultural evening organized by the Philippine Embassy on June 6, in commemoration of the 110th anniversary of the Philippine Independence Day.
Exhibited in De Duif Church at the famous Prinsengracht or Prince's Canal were different images of the Madonna and Child, different saints like Our Lady of Guadalupe and Sta. Elena, famous churches in the Philippines like the Barasoain Church and the Paoay Church and some portraits and flowers.
Perez' painting of Barasoain ChurchCredit: Loui Galicia/ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
Among the paintings sold were two Madonna and Child, Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Barasoain Church and a carabao-drawn carriage.
Most of the paintings cost 350 euros (24,000 pesos) each but with the exception of a few more expensive ones like the painting which looked like a canvas of black glossy paint on close-up view but which reveals the face of Jesus Christ when viewed from afar.
Perez has a touch that is definitely his own, noted from his meticulous and realistic rendition of old churches. He has painted every important church in the Philippines and is an acknowledged aquarelle master of baroque churches.
"Ang talagang forte ko eh simbahan. Lahat ng simbahan sa lahat ng Pilipinas nagawa ko na. Kasi ang lola ko, araw-araw nasa simbahan so maliit palang ako favorite ko na ang simbahan lalong lalo na yung Malolos Barasoain Church at Santa Elena Church," Perez told ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau.
(My forte is churches and I have painted almost all the churches in the Philippines. That’s because my grandmother went to mass everyday so even when I was a child, churches were among my favorites, especially the Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan and the Sta. Elena Church.)
From his exhibited works, Perez said that his favorite is the painting of Santa Elena.
"Kasi nung maliit ako, nagkasakit ako ng parang convulsion. Nung parang mamatay ako, itong lola ko dinala ako sa altar nitong Santa Elena. Pinangako niya na mabuhay lang ako, maglilingkod ako every fiesta niya. Pupunta ako at dadalin ko ang kanyang statue, dadamitan ko siya. Kaya every May 4, kahit nasaan ako, uuwi ako pag-magfi-fiesta na yan," Perez said.
(When I was small, I got sick with convulsions and everyone though I was dying. Then my grandmother brought me to Sta. Elena and promised that if I survived, I would serve her during her every feast day. So I would go there and bring her image and dress it up every May 4. No matter where I was, I would go home to serve her during her feast day.)
Pinay Hermie Carino was the first to snap a painting because it featured her favorite saint, which is Our Lady of Guadalupe.
"Interesado ako dito. Binili ko siya kasi I was born on the 12th of December and that's the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe," Carino said.
(I am interested in Our Lady of Guadalupe and I was born on December 12 which is her feast day, so I bought it the painting.)
Carino said that the price she paid is out of question because she intends to keep the painting for a very long time.
However, there are some who buy paintings for the short-term pleasure of owning a masterpiece, in exchange for the long-term satisfaction of selling for a profit.
One unidentified foreign art collector bought a Madonna and Child painting via a Pinoy friend as part of his collection with the intention of auctioning it later.
"Binili ito ng mga ka-opisina ko kasi nagustuhan niya at saka nag-cocollect din siya ng mga tribal arts tapos binibenta niya sa Christie's. Noon pa niya sinasabi sa akin na gusto niyang magkaroon ng collection ng mga paintings from Filipino artists so sinasama ko siya sa mga ganito," Arthur Canivel said.
(My officemate bought the painting because he collects tribal arts which are being sold at Christie’s. He has been saying to me he wants to own paintings by Filipino artists so I always bring him along to shows like this.)
Perez is happy with the tremendous appreciation of his craft and has only Ambassador Arguelles to thank for inviting him to showcase his paintings for the first time in The Netherlands.
Perez has already exhibited his works in Germany, France and The Vatican and is particulary inspired by the St. Peter's Cathedral in The Vatican and the Louvre Gallery in Paris.
He feels that having been in Europe has greatly improved his skills.
"Nakita mo kasi yung original ng idol mo. Nadadagdagan yung ganda ng trabaho mo at moral mo lumalakas. Lalo kang ginagahang magpainting. Lalo na yung St. Peter's Cathedral at Louvre Gallery. Punong puno ako, parang gustong-gusto kong magpainting pag nakikita ko mga idol ko," Perez said.
(I have seen the original paintings of my idols and this encourages me to paint even more. I am visually full and I want to paint even more when I see the works of my idols.)
Perez said that in the Philippines, other painters mock him about painting only churches and saints but he said that he's already proven them wrong when he made nude portraits of well-known stars, his favorite of which is Ara Mina.
Seeing the interest of art afficionados in religious subjects specifically the Madonna and Child, Perez said that he is definitely going to push through with his plan to paint celebrity moms and kids in time for Mother's Day next year.
SOURCE: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/topofthehour.aspx?StoryId=121460
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
In the art of painting, subjects such as traditional landscapes sell better than others, but Pinoy painter Al Perez proved that there is still a high degree of interest in religious themes when he sold five paintings in just one hour in Holland.
Perez's works, mainly paintings of saints and churches, were showcased as part of the cultural evening organized by the Philippine Embassy on June 6, in commemoration of the 110th anniversary of the Philippine Independence Day.
Exhibited in De Duif Church at the famous Prinsengracht or Prince's Canal were different images of the Madonna and Child, different saints like Our Lady of Guadalupe and Sta. Elena, famous churches in the Philippines like the Barasoain Church and the Paoay Church and some portraits and flowers.
Perez' painting of Barasoain ChurchCredit: Loui Galicia/ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
Among the paintings sold were two Madonna and Child, Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Barasoain Church and a carabao-drawn carriage.
Most of the paintings cost 350 euros (24,000 pesos) each but with the exception of a few more expensive ones like the painting which looked like a canvas of black glossy paint on close-up view but which reveals the face of Jesus Christ when viewed from afar.
Perez has a touch that is definitely his own, noted from his meticulous and realistic rendition of old churches. He has painted every important church in the Philippines and is an acknowledged aquarelle master of baroque churches.
"Ang talagang forte ko eh simbahan. Lahat ng simbahan sa lahat ng Pilipinas nagawa ko na. Kasi ang lola ko, araw-araw nasa simbahan so maliit palang ako favorite ko na ang simbahan lalong lalo na yung Malolos Barasoain Church at Santa Elena Church," Perez told ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau.
(My forte is churches and I have painted almost all the churches in the Philippines. That’s because my grandmother went to mass everyday so even when I was a child, churches were among my favorites, especially the Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan and the Sta. Elena Church.)
From his exhibited works, Perez said that his favorite is the painting of Santa Elena.
"Kasi nung maliit ako, nagkasakit ako ng parang convulsion. Nung parang mamatay ako, itong lola ko dinala ako sa altar nitong Santa Elena. Pinangako niya na mabuhay lang ako, maglilingkod ako every fiesta niya. Pupunta ako at dadalin ko ang kanyang statue, dadamitan ko siya. Kaya every May 4, kahit nasaan ako, uuwi ako pag-magfi-fiesta na yan," Perez said.
(When I was small, I got sick with convulsions and everyone though I was dying. Then my grandmother brought me to Sta. Elena and promised that if I survived, I would serve her during her every feast day. So I would go there and bring her image and dress it up every May 4. No matter where I was, I would go home to serve her during her feast day.)
Pinay Hermie Carino was the first to snap a painting because it featured her favorite saint, which is Our Lady of Guadalupe.
"Interesado ako dito. Binili ko siya kasi I was born on the 12th of December and that's the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe," Carino said.
(I am interested in Our Lady of Guadalupe and I was born on December 12 which is her feast day, so I bought it the painting.)
Carino said that the price she paid is out of question because she intends to keep the painting for a very long time.
However, there are some who buy paintings for the short-term pleasure of owning a masterpiece, in exchange for the long-term satisfaction of selling for a profit.
One unidentified foreign art collector bought a Madonna and Child painting via a Pinoy friend as part of his collection with the intention of auctioning it later.
"Binili ito ng mga ka-opisina ko kasi nagustuhan niya at saka nag-cocollect din siya ng mga tribal arts tapos binibenta niya sa Christie's. Noon pa niya sinasabi sa akin na gusto niyang magkaroon ng collection ng mga paintings from Filipino artists so sinasama ko siya sa mga ganito," Arthur Canivel said.
(My officemate bought the painting because he collects tribal arts which are being sold at Christie’s. He has been saying to me he wants to own paintings by Filipino artists so I always bring him along to shows like this.)
Perez is happy with the tremendous appreciation of his craft and has only Ambassador Arguelles to thank for inviting him to showcase his paintings for the first time in The Netherlands.
Perez has already exhibited his works in Germany, France and The Vatican and is particulary inspired by the St. Peter's Cathedral in The Vatican and the Louvre Gallery in Paris.
He feels that having been in Europe has greatly improved his skills.
"Nakita mo kasi yung original ng idol mo. Nadadagdagan yung ganda ng trabaho mo at moral mo lumalakas. Lalo kang ginagahang magpainting. Lalo na yung St. Peter's Cathedral at Louvre Gallery. Punong puno ako, parang gustong-gusto kong magpainting pag nakikita ko mga idol ko," Perez said.
(I have seen the original paintings of my idols and this encourages me to paint even more. I am visually full and I want to paint even more when I see the works of my idols.)
Perez said that in the Philippines, other painters mock him about painting only churches and saints but he said that he's already proven them wrong when he made nude portraits of well-known stars, his favorite of which is Ara Mina.
Seeing the interest of art afficionados in religious subjects specifically the Madonna and Child, Perez said that he is definitely going to push through with his plan to paint celebrity moms and kids in time for Mother's Day next year.
SOURCE: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/topofthehour.aspx?StoryId=121460
Holland's Pinoy community's artistic celebration of Independence Day
Holland's Pinoy community's artistic celebration of Independence Day
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
For the commemoration of the Philippines's 110th Independence Day, RP Ambassador to the Netherlands Romeo Arguelles and Honorary Consul Eppo Horlings thought of something different but deep.
This year, Arguelles chose to deliver his message in remembrance of Philippine independence in a universal language that touches everyone's soul.
"Consul Horlings and I thought that the best way to celebrate the birth of a nation is through art and music. Because in art and music, there is harmony, there is unity and there is no need of different languages because everybody will understand music and understand art. So this is our way of showing to the people of the Netherlands especially the city of Amsterdam, the art and music from the Philippines," Arguelles said.
Thus on June 6, Filipinos, Dutch and other nationalities gathered at the De Duif Church in Amsterdam for an evening of art and music.
More than 350 guests attended the special offering from the Philippine Embassy which was held in one of the famous canals in Amsterdam, known as the Prinsengracht or Prince's Canal.
Since the Prinsengracht is the fourth largest of the main canals in Amsterdam and is famous for its interesting sights which include the Anne Frank House, the location became very ideal for a cultural evening that gathered people of different creed and culture to celebrate the anniversary of Philippine Independence.
Notably present were Chair of the House Labor Committee, Valenzuela 2nd district Rep. Magtanggol Gunigundo II and also Bulacan 4th district Rep. Reylina Nicolas.
The two solons arrived from a summit at the International Labor Organization in Geneva and the cultural affair became a relaxing stop-over for them.
"I think this is one of the best way of showing the artist of our country, that we are not far behind. [To show] to our brothers and sisters in this part of the world that truly, Filipinos are artists by heart," Nicolas told ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau.
The artistic part of the evening featured an Al Perez gallery, which showcased his famous works, notably the paintings of old churches and saints.
The work of Perez, who is one of the realist painters of the Philippines, impressed both art enthusiasts and art amateurs, that he sold five paintings during the first hour of exhibition.
The second part of the cultural event was a two-hour musical special featuring a concert from renowned and multi-awarded Pinoy pianist Raul Sunico.Sunico was once described by his eminent mentor at the Julliard School in New York, the late Sascha Gorodnitzki, as possessing "unusual gifts of lyricism and poetry in his playing as well as great brilliance.
"His repertoire included good old classics by Chopin, Grieg, Respighi, Liszt, Debussy, Ravel, Kreisler and Rachmaninoff and he received a thundering round of applause from the audience each time he finished a piece.
But the audience was most touched by his well-chosen Filipino selections namely Ang Larawan by Buencamino, Bato sa Buhangin by Cuenco and Bayan Ko by de Guzman which gave him a standing ovation.
"Although this is my second time to celebrate Philippine independence, it has always been a special occasion and it gives us a chance to show to the Dutch community, other than the Filipino community, our Filipino artists not only myself but others like Al Perez and those other people that have come," Sunico said.
"It's also one way of promoting our country. And as the ambassador had said, promoting our country through art and music is one of the most effective ways of achieving unity of nations," Sunico added.
The embassy has certainly succeeded in promoting not only the artists and their work and music but also the Philippines as well.
"It is a very great event because as what the ambassador said in his speech, music and art is international that knows no nationality race or religion. People enjoy and understand music and art. So this is just a perfect celebration of Independence Day," Pinay dance diva Becky Garcia said.
Dutchman Johan de Bree could not help but be fascinated by the talent of Pinoys."They [Pinoys] are very artistic, I think more than the people here in Europe," de Bree said.
SOURCE: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=121461
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
For the commemoration of the Philippines's 110th Independence Day, RP Ambassador to the Netherlands Romeo Arguelles and Honorary Consul Eppo Horlings thought of something different but deep.
This year, Arguelles chose to deliver his message in remembrance of Philippine independence in a universal language that touches everyone's soul.
"Consul Horlings and I thought that the best way to celebrate the birth of a nation is through art and music. Because in art and music, there is harmony, there is unity and there is no need of different languages because everybody will understand music and understand art. So this is our way of showing to the people of the Netherlands especially the city of Amsterdam, the art and music from the Philippines," Arguelles said.
Thus on June 6, Filipinos, Dutch and other nationalities gathered at the De Duif Church in Amsterdam for an evening of art and music.
More than 350 guests attended the special offering from the Philippine Embassy which was held in one of the famous canals in Amsterdam, known as the Prinsengracht or Prince's Canal.
Since the Prinsengracht is the fourth largest of the main canals in Amsterdam and is famous for its interesting sights which include the Anne Frank House, the location became very ideal for a cultural evening that gathered people of different creed and culture to celebrate the anniversary of Philippine Independence.
Notably present were Chair of the House Labor Committee, Valenzuela 2nd district Rep. Magtanggol Gunigundo II and also Bulacan 4th district Rep. Reylina Nicolas.
The two solons arrived from a summit at the International Labor Organization in Geneva and the cultural affair became a relaxing stop-over for them.
"I think this is one of the best way of showing the artist of our country, that we are not far behind. [To show] to our brothers and sisters in this part of the world that truly, Filipinos are artists by heart," Nicolas told ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau.
The artistic part of the evening featured an Al Perez gallery, which showcased his famous works, notably the paintings of old churches and saints.
The work of Perez, who is one of the realist painters of the Philippines, impressed both art enthusiasts and art amateurs, that he sold five paintings during the first hour of exhibition.
The second part of the cultural event was a two-hour musical special featuring a concert from renowned and multi-awarded Pinoy pianist Raul Sunico.Sunico was once described by his eminent mentor at the Julliard School in New York, the late Sascha Gorodnitzki, as possessing "unusual gifts of lyricism and poetry in his playing as well as great brilliance.
"His repertoire included good old classics by Chopin, Grieg, Respighi, Liszt, Debussy, Ravel, Kreisler and Rachmaninoff and he received a thundering round of applause from the audience each time he finished a piece.
But the audience was most touched by his well-chosen Filipino selections namely Ang Larawan by Buencamino, Bato sa Buhangin by Cuenco and Bayan Ko by de Guzman which gave him a standing ovation.
"Although this is my second time to celebrate Philippine independence, it has always been a special occasion and it gives us a chance to show to the Dutch community, other than the Filipino community, our Filipino artists not only myself but others like Al Perez and those other people that have come," Sunico said.
"It's also one way of promoting our country. And as the ambassador had said, promoting our country through art and music is one of the most effective ways of achieving unity of nations," Sunico added.
The embassy has certainly succeeded in promoting not only the artists and their work and music but also the Philippines as well.
"It is a very great event because as what the ambassador said in his speech, music and art is international that knows no nationality race or religion. People enjoy and understand music and art. So this is just a perfect celebration of Independence Day," Pinay dance diva Becky Garcia said.
Dutchman Johan de Bree could not help but be fascinated by the talent of Pinoys."They [Pinoys] are very artistic, I think more than the people here in Europe," de Bree said.
SOURCE: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=121461
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Sison mulls next move after losing appeal in Dutch court
Sison mulls next move after losing appeal in Dutch court
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
After the District Court in The Hague rejected Jose Maria Sison's appeal to prevent the request of the Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office to continue its investigation until December, the founding chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines next move is expected to be to ask for the end of the investigation, reported ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau.
Sison filed an appeal on May 20 against the continued investigation on charges related to the murders of erstwhile allies Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara but the Dutch court ruled June 5 in favor of the Dutch Public Prosecutor's Office.
However, the Dutch court found that the Dutch prosecutors still have not presented sufficient evidence.
Public Prosecutor's Office spokesman Wim de Bruin couldn't be reached for comments.
Sison: No prima facie evidence
"Yung sinabi ng mga huwes na walang prima facie evidence. Minentain nila yung decision dati ng Court of Appeals noong Oct. 3 pero without any date stated. Binibigyan pa din ng daan ang prosecution na mag-investigate, " Sison explained.
Sison was not disappointed as he said he is already immune to the persistence of the Dutch prosecutors.
He was arrested on August 28 but was released on Sept. 13 because a Dutch court said it did not find sufficient evidence to keep him in custody.
Dutch prosecutors however continued its investigation of Sison and continued to file motions in court to detain him. Court decisions favored Sison on Sept. 23, Oct 3 and Nov. 29 when the investigative judge closed the criminal pre-investigation case.
All this time, the Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office vowed to continue its investigation and said that Sison remains a suspect.
"Ok lang. Ang maganda sa decision eh ‘yong ina-affirm na walang prima facie evidence. Ang sabi ng huwes daw sa judgment eh there's no prima facie evidence but the prosecutor has still the discretion to continue the investigation. But we'll make another demand for the end of the investigation," Sison told ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau.
Seek definite timetable for end of probe
Sison said that when his lawyer Michiel Pestman comes back from Cambodia, they will file another case, demanding a specific date for the end of the investigation.
Sison also said that up until this time, the Prosecution has presented nothing new but a mountain of paper being dumped to the court.
He maintains that there is no incriminating evidence that will prove that he ordered the killings of Kintanar and Tabara from The Netherlands.
Blasts Agence France-Presse report
Sison meanwhile said, in a statement, that an earlier report by international wires agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) was "inaccurate and misleading."
The AFP reports said: A Dutch court gave prosecutors the go-ahead Thursday to pursue murder charges against Philippines communist leader Jose Maria Sison, despite an earlier dismissal of the case."
Sison explained that the Dutch court’s decision was "to allow the [Dutch] public prosecutor's office to have time to continue and complete the investigation it is undertaking and subsequently decide whether or not to file a formal criminal charge."
The decision of the District Court of The Hague, Sison said, "acknowledges that so far there is no prima facie or incriminating evidence against me."
The CPP founding chair said in particular that the Dutch court "has affirmed my position that since the examining judge (rechter-commissaris) decided to close the preliminary investigation on 21 November 2007 the prosecution has not turned up any evidence to overturn the decision of the Court of Appeal on October 3, 2007 declaring that there is no prima facie evidence against me."
Sison said that the AFP report made it appear that formal charges of murder are about to be filed by the Dutch prosecutors.
"It must first be able to find prima facie evidence and go to court to ask for the appointment of a new examining judge. Then the prosecution gathers further witnesses and evidence and allows me and my counsel to cross examine the witnesses and get my witnesses. After the round, we can all go to court for trial of the formal charge," said Sison who is also chief political consultant of the NDF in peace talks with the Philippine government.
Sison said that instead presenting evidence against him, "the Dutch prosecution office and Dutch police have turned up witnesses and documentary evidence to prove that two assassination teams were dispatched from the Philippines to The Netherlands to kill me within the period of 1999-2001."
Sison said that he and his lawyers "are studying the failure of the Dutch authorities to act promptly on the findings about the assassination projects of the Philippine authorities."
SOURCE: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=120905
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
After the District Court in The Hague rejected Jose Maria Sison's appeal to prevent the request of the Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office to continue its investigation until December, the founding chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines next move is expected to be to ask for the end of the investigation, reported ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau.
Sison filed an appeal on May 20 against the continued investigation on charges related to the murders of erstwhile allies Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara but the Dutch court ruled June 5 in favor of the Dutch Public Prosecutor's Office.
However, the Dutch court found that the Dutch prosecutors still have not presented sufficient evidence.
Public Prosecutor's Office spokesman Wim de Bruin couldn't be reached for comments.
Sison: No prima facie evidence
"Yung sinabi ng mga huwes na walang prima facie evidence. Minentain nila yung decision dati ng Court of Appeals noong Oct. 3 pero without any date stated. Binibigyan pa din ng daan ang prosecution na mag-investigate, " Sison explained.
Sison was not disappointed as he said he is already immune to the persistence of the Dutch prosecutors.
He was arrested on August 28 but was released on Sept. 13 because a Dutch court said it did not find sufficient evidence to keep him in custody.
Dutch prosecutors however continued its investigation of Sison and continued to file motions in court to detain him. Court decisions favored Sison on Sept. 23, Oct 3 and Nov. 29 when the investigative judge closed the criminal pre-investigation case.
All this time, the Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office vowed to continue its investigation and said that Sison remains a suspect.
"Ok lang. Ang maganda sa decision eh ‘yong ina-affirm na walang prima facie evidence. Ang sabi ng huwes daw sa judgment eh there's no prima facie evidence but the prosecutor has still the discretion to continue the investigation. But we'll make another demand for the end of the investigation," Sison told ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau.
Seek definite timetable for end of probe
Sison said that when his lawyer Michiel Pestman comes back from Cambodia, they will file another case, demanding a specific date for the end of the investigation.
Sison also said that up until this time, the Prosecution has presented nothing new but a mountain of paper being dumped to the court.
He maintains that there is no incriminating evidence that will prove that he ordered the killings of Kintanar and Tabara from The Netherlands.
Blasts Agence France-Presse report
Sison meanwhile said, in a statement, that an earlier report by international wires agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) was "inaccurate and misleading."
The AFP reports said: A Dutch court gave prosecutors the go-ahead Thursday to pursue murder charges against Philippines communist leader Jose Maria Sison, despite an earlier dismissal of the case."
Sison explained that the Dutch court’s decision was "to allow the [Dutch] public prosecutor's office to have time to continue and complete the investigation it is undertaking and subsequently decide whether or not to file a formal criminal charge."
The decision of the District Court of The Hague, Sison said, "acknowledges that so far there is no prima facie or incriminating evidence against me."
The CPP founding chair said in particular that the Dutch court "has affirmed my position that since the examining judge (rechter-commissaris) decided to close the preliminary investigation on 21 November 2007 the prosecution has not turned up any evidence to overturn the decision of the Court of Appeal on October 3, 2007 declaring that there is no prima facie evidence against me."
Sison said that the AFP report made it appear that formal charges of murder are about to be filed by the Dutch prosecutors.
"It must first be able to find prima facie evidence and go to court to ask for the appointment of a new examining judge. Then the prosecution gathers further witnesses and evidence and allows me and my counsel to cross examine the witnesses and get my witnesses. After the round, we can all go to court for trial of the formal charge," said Sison who is also chief political consultant of the NDF in peace talks with the Philippine government.
Sison said that instead presenting evidence against him, "the Dutch prosecution office and Dutch police have turned up witnesses and documentary evidence to prove that two assassination teams were dispatched from the Philippines to The Netherlands to kill me within the period of 1999-2001."
Sison said that he and his lawyers "are studying the failure of the Dutch authorities to act promptly on the findings about the assassination projects of the Philippine authorities."
SOURCE: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=120905
Friday, June 6, 2008
Dutch court orders frozen bank accounts of NDF unblocked
Dutch court orders frozen bank accounts of NDF unblocked
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
The District Court in The Hague has ordered the Dutch Public Prosecutor's Office to unblock the bank accounts of National Democratic Front (NDF) officers and others that were frozen in September in connection with the arrest of Jose Maria Sison last year.
In a hearing held at the Palace of Justice June 5, complainants including Luis Jalandoni, Connie Ledesma, Fidel Agcaoili, Dan Borjal and Jose Maria Sison and wife Juliet filed a motion asking the court to order the Prosecutor to unblock the bank accounts and to return the data and digital files that are still in the Dutch office’s possession.
"The prosecutor decided today that all the accounts are being unblocked from tomorrow, all the accounts of the complainers who are related to Mr. Sison," Marcel van Wezel who is one of the five lawyers of the NDF and other complainants told ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau in an exclusive interview.
Simultaneous with the arrest of Sison, Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chair, last August 28, raids were conducted in his apartment, the NDF office in Utrecht and five houses of Filipinos.
PCs, laptops, CDs and documents were taken by the police from the raided establishments and in September, the NDF's bank account and the personal accounts of Agcaoili, Juliet and other NDF members were blocked.
Months later, the PCs, laptops and some CDs were returned but not all NDF files and until this hearing the bank accounts remained frozen.
Van Wezel said that the blocked accounts were suspected of being connected to Sison.
"They thought that all the amounts of money in the accounts are belonging to Mr. Sison," van Wezel said in the exclusive interview.
Agcaoili was very angry because, he said, that he and the other complainants do not have anything to do with the murder charges against Sison.
"Ang reklamo namin, hindi naman kami akusado o sinasabing akusado pero bakit yung aming mga account eh kasama sa blocked. Aming mga papeles at documento eh kasama sa pinagkukuha, eh ano ang batayan?" blurted Agcaoili to ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau.
"Ngayon nag-file ng kasagutan ang prosecutor. Ang sabi nila ang punto eh kasi tinitignan nila lahat ng mga possibilities in relation ke Joma sa ganito, mga ganyan dahil sa kanyang pagkakalagay sa terrorist listing kaya lumalawak ang kanilang pag-iimbistiga," added Agcaoili.
Agcaoili also complains that it took nine months for the hearing to be held because of several postponements.
Sison agrees that the Prosecutor has no right to freeze the accounts, not even his wife's account.
"They have nothing to do with the charge of inciting murder on Kintanar or even insinuation.
Wala namang evidence ‘yong money landering, etc. Wala namang grounds," Sison said.
Sison complains that the only real bank account blocked that belonged to him is his joint account with his wife and even this has no connection to the murders of Kintanar and Tabara.
"Sa lahat ng bank accounts na dinakma, ang bank account lang na tunay na akin eh ‘yong joint account namin ni Julie na doon na nakapasok ang aming Japanese yen na kinita namin bilang honoraria nung nasa Japan kami nung 1986 and then ‘yong bayad ng German publication house and American publication house. Binigyan ako ng several thousands of dollars for manuscript preps and royalties. Eh 1988 ‘yon so anong kinalaman sa 2001 and 2003," said Sison who is also chief political consultant of NDF in stalled peace talks between the NDF and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP).
"Asan ‘yong ‘limpak limpak na pera kay Sison dahil sa mga revolutionary tax’? Eh wala. ‘Yong mga bank accounts na kinuha eh pag-aari ng mga foundation at individuals na walang kinalaman sa akin, independent of me and I have no control" Sison said.
No decision yet on return of confiscated materials
Although the court's immediate partial decision was a victory for the NDF, no decision has been issued yet with regards to its other complaint which is the return of the confiscated materials.
Pendong Jalandoni, son of the NDF chair Luis Jalandoni and also one of the five lawyers of the NDF and other complainants, said he is disappointed that there was no outright decision on the confiscated materials and thinks that the Prosecution is fishing for some other information.
"First of all, the people they raided. There's no indication of any links or association with the criminal acts suspected si Prof. Sison of. Secondly, it's a big fishing expedition and they took more things than necessary," the younger Jalandoni said.
He said that documents such as the Permanent People's Tribunal's files from last year have no connection to the murder charges against Sison which took place four years ago.
"Those were documents related to events that took place four years after the murders so if there was a murder, it is very very unlikely na related pa ‘yan or there will still be communications four years after," Pendong said.
He also thinks that the Dutch Prosecution office was gathering information about the Philippine Left because even the documents relating to the peace talks were seized and not returned.
Agcaoili confirms that there is a big bulk of files from the Joint Monitoring Committee between the NDF and GRP containing about 20 to 25 folders of materials against the Philippine government that remained in the Prosecutor's hands.
"They confiscated all documents regarding peace talks. So very obvious that the reason for them to confiscate was not to find evidence on a murder case but to get information about the left opposition in the Philippines and to collaborate with different intelligent agencies," Pendong said.
Pendong thinks that there is a very big political game at play.
"The outcome is clear that the Dutch government does not want to return or destroy those documents that clearly have nothing in relation to the murder case and it's clear to me the political meaning of this persecution," he added.
"They have shown some willingness to return some hard copies but the data, the digital information they're not willing or destroy or even say they will not even give to Philippine authorities or other security agencies in the world," said Pendong.
Pendong's father, who looked very tired after the more than three hours of hearing of the Dutch court can only say one thing.
"This blocking and seizing of material and blocking of account are unfair and unjust and should be undone right away," Jalandoni said.
SOURCE: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=120859
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
The District Court in The Hague has ordered the Dutch Public Prosecutor's Office to unblock the bank accounts of National Democratic Front (NDF) officers and others that were frozen in September in connection with the arrest of Jose Maria Sison last year.
In a hearing held at the Palace of Justice June 5, complainants including Luis Jalandoni, Connie Ledesma, Fidel Agcaoili, Dan Borjal and Jose Maria Sison and wife Juliet filed a motion asking the court to order the Prosecutor to unblock the bank accounts and to return the data and digital files that are still in the Dutch office’s possession.
"The prosecutor decided today that all the accounts are being unblocked from tomorrow, all the accounts of the complainers who are related to Mr. Sison," Marcel van Wezel who is one of the five lawyers of the NDF and other complainants told ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau in an exclusive interview.
Simultaneous with the arrest of Sison, Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chair, last August 28, raids were conducted in his apartment, the NDF office in Utrecht and five houses of Filipinos.
PCs, laptops, CDs and documents were taken by the police from the raided establishments and in September, the NDF's bank account and the personal accounts of Agcaoili, Juliet and other NDF members were blocked.
Months later, the PCs, laptops and some CDs were returned but not all NDF files and until this hearing the bank accounts remained frozen.
Van Wezel said that the blocked accounts were suspected of being connected to Sison.
"They thought that all the amounts of money in the accounts are belonging to Mr. Sison," van Wezel said in the exclusive interview.
Agcaoili was very angry because, he said, that he and the other complainants do not have anything to do with the murder charges against Sison.
"Ang reklamo namin, hindi naman kami akusado o sinasabing akusado pero bakit yung aming mga account eh kasama sa blocked. Aming mga papeles at documento eh kasama sa pinagkukuha, eh ano ang batayan?" blurted Agcaoili to ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau.
"Ngayon nag-file ng kasagutan ang prosecutor. Ang sabi nila ang punto eh kasi tinitignan nila lahat ng mga possibilities in relation ke Joma sa ganito, mga ganyan dahil sa kanyang pagkakalagay sa terrorist listing kaya lumalawak ang kanilang pag-iimbistiga," added Agcaoili.
Agcaoili also complains that it took nine months for the hearing to be held because of several postponements.
Sison agrees that the Prosecutor has no right to freeze the accounts, not even his wife's account.
"They have nothing to do with the charge of inciting murder on Kintanar or even insinuation.
Wala namang evidence ‘yong money landering, etc. Wala namang grounds," Sison said.
Sison complains that the only real bank account blocked that belonged to him is his joint account with his wife and even this has no connection to the murders of Kintanar and Tabara.
"Sa lahat ng bank accounts na dinakma, ang bank account lang na tunay na akin eh ‘yong joint account namin ni Julie na doon na nakapasok ang aming Japanese yen na kinita namin bilang honoraria nung nasa Japan kami nung 1986 and then ‘yong bayad ng German publication house and American publication house. Binigyan ako ng several thousands of dollars for manuscript preps and royalties. Eh 1988 ‘yon so anong kinalaman sa 2001 and 2003," said Sison who is also chief political consultant of NDF in stalled peace talks between the NDF and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP).
"Asan ‘yong ‘limpak limpak na pera kay Sison dahil sa mga revolutionary tax’? Eh wala. ‘Yong mga bank accounts na kinuha eh pag-aari ng mga foundation at individuals na walang kinalaman sa akin, independent of me and I have no control" Sison said.
No decision yet on return of confiscated materials
Although the court's immediate partial decision was a victory for the NDF, no decision has been issued yet with regards to its other complaint which is the return of the confiscated materials.
Pendong Jalandoni, son of the NDF chair Luis Jalandoni and also one of the five lawyers of the NDF and other complainants, said he is disappointed that there was no outright decision on the confiscated materials and thinks that the Prosecution is fishing for some other information.
"First of all, the people they raided. There's no indication of any links or association with the criminal acts suspected si Prof. Sison of. Secondly, it's a big fishing expedition and they took more things than necessary," the younger Jalandoni said.
He said that documents such as the Permanent People's Tribunal's files from last year have no connection to the murder charges against Sison which took place four years ago.
"Those were documents related to events that took place four years after the murders so if there was a murder, it is very very unlikely na related pa ‘yan or there will still be communications four years after," Pendong said.
He also thinks that the Dutch Prosecution office was gathering information about the Philippine Left because even the documents relating to the peace talks were seized and not returned.
Agcaoili confirms that there is a big bulk of files from the Joint Monitoring Committee between the NDF and GRP containing about 20 to 25 folders of materials against the Philippine government that remained in the Prosecutor's hands.
"They confiscated all documents regarding peace talks. So very obvious that the reason for them to confiscate was not to find evidence on a murder case but to get information about the left opposition in the Philippines and to collaborate with different intelligent agencies," Pendong said.
Pendong thinks that there is a very big political game at play.
"The outcome is clear that the Dutch government does not want to return or destroy those documents that clearly have nothing in relation to the murder case and it's clear to me the political meaning of this persecution," he added.
"They have shown some willingness to return some hard copies but the data, the digital information they're not willing or destroy or even say they will not even give to Philippine authorities or other security agencies in the world," said Pendong.
Pendong's father, who looked very tired after the more than three hours of hearing of the Dutch court can only say one thing.
"This blocking and seizing of material and blocking of account are unfair and unjust and should be undone right away," Jalandoni said.
SOURCE: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=120859
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Sison claims govt agents tried to kill him
Sison claims govt agents tried to kill him
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
Jose Ma. Sison, founding chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). has alleged that elements of the Philippine government tried to assassinate him twice purportedly with the involvement of the slain ex-New People's Army (NPA) chief.
After the May 20 hearing by the District Court in The Hague, Sison informed ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau that the new evidences presented against him on his alleged involvement in the murders of erstwhile allies, Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara, in fact showed that "hit men" tried to kill him in 1999 and 2000.
The Dutch court was hearing Sison's appeal against the motion of the Dutch Public Prosecutors Office to extend until December its investigation on the allegations against the CPP founding chair.
"May mga findings na sapilitan nililitaw ng prosecution tungkol sa ibang sinuspek, ibang chinarge dati ng Quezon City police at mismong widow ni Kintanar sa pagpatay kay Kintanar," Sison said.
Sison said the new evidences are exculpatory and should exonerate him because Kintanar's wife, Joy, directly accused a certain Edwin Garcia in the murder of her husband.
"Pinakamahalaga, may findings tungkol sa assassination attempt sa akin. Pero I cannot elaborate because my lawyer wants to present those findings first within the Netherlands," Sison said.
But Sison said that the most significant of the new evidences were testimonies showing that there were indeed attempts to kill him, which he had already known since 2001.
"Ano ‘yan noong early 2001, nag-complain ako d’yan. Ang nanulay ‘yong lawyer ng NDF [National Democratic Front] na si Bernard Tamlo. Nag-complain kami sa police tapos si Col. Berroya na naging general eh pumunta rito kasama ng GRP [Government of the Republic of the Philippines] negotiating panel para tulungan ako sa pag-presenta ng mga information tungkol sa assassination attempts," Sison explained.
Sison is also the chief political consultant of the NDF in suspended peace talks with the Philippine government.
"Merong assassination attempt na kinabilangan ni Romulo Kintanar. There are findings tungkol diyan na mismong Dutch police investigators ang nakatuklas," added Sison.
Sison said that findings reveal that Kintanar himself came to the Netherlands as part of an assassination team but failed.
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau could not publish the story then at the request of Sison's lawyer Michiel Pestman who requested for an embargo of the news because his team was planning to file a motion in court and that an article on the assassination attempt was going to come out first in a Dutch newspaper.
On May 30, the Dutch newspaper NRC next published a two-page article on the two assassination attempts on Sison.
The article by Folkert Jensma implied that the Philippine government ordered Sison to be killed twice.
The headline reads "Assassination by hired killers failed twice. The Philippine government tried to get rid of Communist leader Sison in Utrecht."
Jensma then detailed how a "hit team" went to Amsterdam in October 1999 in order to kill Sison and after a few months, a second team arrived with the same mission but failed.
"One time against the wrong person. Another time they got afraid and withdrew because Sison was walking, holding a child. Their rented car was also broken into - luggage gone. They gave a notification of this to the local police because of the insurance," wrote Jensma in the article.
The article named a certain Jose Ramos as one of the hit men who gave the details in a testimony during an interrogation conducted in February in the Philippines.
The CPP has claimed responsibility for the killing of Kintanar in a Quezon City restaurant in 2003 while Tabara was gunned down in 2004 outside a mall also in Quezon City.
Kintanar and Tabara were former top leaders of the CPP and NPA. Kintanar was the chief of staff of the NPA in the 1980’s while Tabara was the former chief of the CPP in the Visayas.
Both were later tagged by the CPP as "renegades" and "military agents."
Kintanar’s widow had admitted that she, with Tabara’s widow, had filed a case that led to Sison’s arrest and detention last year by Dutch police on alleged involvement in the killings of the two former top CPP officials.
Sison was later ordered released by a Dutch court.
SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=120203
Here is the link to the unofficial translation of the article by Folkert Jensma published in Dutch newspaper NRC that Sison sent to ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau:
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/topofthehour.aspx?StoryId=120190
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
Jose Ma. Sison, founding chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). has alleged that elements of the Philippine government tried to assassinate him twice purportedly with the involvement of the slain ex-New People's Army (NPA) chief.
After the May 20 hearing by the District Court in The Hague, Sison informed ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau that the new evidences presented against him on his alleged involvement in the murders of erstwhile allies, Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara, in fact showed that "hit men" tried to kill him in 1999 and 2000.
The Dutch court was hearing Sison's appeal against the motion of the Dutch Public Prosecutors Office to extend until December its investigation on the allegations against the CPP founding chair.
"May mga findings na sapilitan nililitaw ng prosecution tungkol sa ibang sinuspek, ibang chinarge dati ng Quezon City police at mismong widow ni Kintanar sa pagpatay kay Kintanar," Sison said.
Sison said the new evidences are exculpatory and should exonerate him because Kintanar's wife, Joy, directly accused a certain Edwin Garcia in the murder of her husband.
"Pinakamahalaga, may findings tungkol sa assassination attempt sa akin. Pero I cannot elaborate because my lawyer wants to present those findings first within the Netherlands," Sison said.
But Sison said that the most significant of the new evidences were testimonies showing that there were indeed attempts to kill him, which he had already known since 2001.
"Ano ‘yan noong early 2001, nag-complain ako d’yan. Ang nanulay ‘yong lawyer ng NDF [National Democratic Front] na si Bernard Tamlo. Nag-complain kami sa police tapos si Col. Berroya na naging general eh pumunta rito kasama ng GRP [Government of the Republic of the Philippines] negotiating panel para tulungan ako sa pag-presenta ng mga information tungkol sa assassination attempts," Sison explained.
Sison is also the chief political consultant of the NDF in suspended peace talks with the Philippine government.
"Merong assassination attempt na kinabilangan ni Romulo Kintanar. There are findings tungkol diyan na mismong Dutch police investigators ang nakatuklas," added Sison.
Sison said that findings reveal that Kintanar himself came to the Netherlands as part of an assassination team but failed.
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau could not publish the story then at the request of Sison's lawyer Michiel Pestman who requested for an embargo of the news because his team was planning to file a motion in court and that an article on the assassination attempt was going to come out first in a Dutch newspaper.
On May 30, the Dutch newspaper NRC next published a two-page article on the two assassination attempts on Sison.
The article by Folkert Jensma implied that the Philippine government ordered Sison to be killed twice.
The headline reads "Assassination by hired killers failed twice. The Philippine government tried to get rid of Communist leader Sison in Utrecht."
Jensma then detailed how a "hit team" went to Amsterdam in October 1999 in order to kill Sison and after a few months, a second team arrived with the same mission but failed.
"One time against the wrong person. Another time they got afraid and withdrew because Sison was walking, holding a child. Their rented car was also broken into - luggage gone. They gave a notification of this to the local police because of the insurance," wrote Jensma in the article.
The article named a certain Jose Ramos as one of the hit men who gave the details in a testimony during an interrogation conducted in February in the Philippines.
The CPP has claimed responsibility for the killing of Kintanar in a Quezon City restaurant in 2003 while Tabara was gunned down in 2004 outside a mall also in Quezon City.
Kintanar and Tabara were former top leaders of the CPP and NPA. Kintanar was the chief of staff of the NPA in the 1980’s while Tabara was the former chief of the CPP in the Visayas.
Both were later tagged by the CPP as "renegades" and "military agents."
Kintanar’s widow had admitted that she, with Tabara’s widow, had filed a case that led to Sison’s arrest and detention last year by Dutch police on alleged involvement in the killings of the two former top CPP officials.
Sison was later ordered released by a Dutch court.
SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=120203
Here is the link to the unofficial translation of the article by Folkert Jensma published in Dutch newspaper NRC that Sison sent to ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau:
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/topofthehour.aspx?StoryId=120190
Friday, May 30, 2008
RP Embassy in Holland shows off works of in-house artists
RP Embassy in Holland shows off works of in-house artists
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
The Philippine Embassy in the Netherlands proudly showed off the works of its "artists in residence," at a photo exhibition in The Hague.
It was not common knowledge to Dutch Pinoys that some of their favorite diplomats are also into arts.
It was Ambassador Romeo Arguelles's idea to showcase to Filipinos and the international community in Holland, the beautiful photographs taken by the diplomats who have become slaves to their cameras.
The three Filipinos are Maynard Montealegre, Michael Yturriaga and Maria Citadel Cruz.
"They are our artists in residence. They belong to our Philippine foreign service. They are not professional photographers. They have no formal schooling. It was simply aiming at taking pictures and they turned out to be good photographs," Arguelles said.
In the exhibition entitled "Captured," many popular places in Europe like Austria, Italy and The Netherlands can be seen at angles particular only to the eye of a Filipino.
"How a Filipino looks at a landscape or views about Europe and looking at it from that vantage point, from a Filipino vantage point, so I think that's what the exhibition is all about, capturing that moment in Europe from the Filipino's eyes," Consul General Montealegre told ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau.
The diplomat from the Philippine Embassy in Austria is the only one who has experience among the three. He has been well travelled in Europe and America and was more than willing to share his prized photos to the audience in Holland.
Montealegre admitted that he remained "old school" in photography until just recently.
"I just started with a digital camera only in December so I'm still in the experimental stage trying to learn about the new gadget. But I would say that I was entirely satisfied with my analog camera before and my past exhibitions before in New York and Vienna were successful," Montealegre said.
Although the embassy’s in-house artists consider themselves as amateurs, their photographs looked like they were shot by pros.
The angle, color and depth of each image show the meticulous side of these Pinoys and reflect each calculating eye.
"Well my style, I'm more of a curious type of photographer. When I take a picture, what I do is when I think that this particular thing or place is good enough, I go there, I stay there and take pictures of it, like around one hundred to two hundred pictures to capture the perfect moment.
So in this particular picture that I took in Scheveningen, it took me about two hours to be able to get this one picture that I like. From about two hundred to ten to three to one," explained Cruz, the wife of Consul General Adrian.
She loves photography but she said that it's a passion that can be very expensive.
"It is an expensive hobby or passion as I would like to call it because to start with a camera, the camera that you have to buy especially if you want some more options, you simply just cannot settle for a simple compact camera. In my case, from a simple digital camera I moved on to an SLR. It's not really that professional but of course you have to invest on the paraphernalia and accessories and of course if you want to print it, the amount of money you spend on printing it is a lot," Cruz said.
The most amateur of the three, Yturriaga who is an attaché at the embassy, however does not think that one needs to invest in the most expensive camera to take good photos.
"Kahit yung pinakapangit basta maganda yung pagkaka set-up mo ng camera, tapos tama yung lighting, tama yung scene, yung angle ng pagkakakuha mo sa scene, lalabas na maganda," Yturriaga explained.
But being new to this art, he is bent on improving every shot.
"Six months pa lang ako sa photography. Gawa kasi nafrustrate ako. Nung una kasi meron lang akong digital camera. Tapos me scenes akong gustong kunan. Di siya lumalabas na gusto ko so sabi ko try ko. Nagtry ako using professional camera. Lumabas naman yung gusto kong kunan," Yturriaga said.
Guests at the exhibition, which ran the whole month of March, were impressed with the photographs of Europe that were caught by the eyes of Filipinos and they were touched literally.
It's because one can feel from the photographs the different emotions of the artists at every shot.
"They are very impressive. Parang lumalabas talaga ang artistic side of the Filipinos. Capturing very foreign photos that make them feel happy, some are feeling sad and lonely but it's all about their emotions and how they feel about the place, very impressive," Pinay guest Debbie Pascual said.
Cruz confirmed that in photography, emotions do play an important part.
"The essence is to capture the perfect moment. At the end of the day, you only have memories to keep so you might as well make good memories of it," Cruz said.
SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryID=120129
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
The Philippine Embassy in the Netherlands proudly showed off the works of its "artists in residence," at a photo exhibition in The Hague.
It was not common knowledge to Dutch Pinoys that some of their favorite diplomats are also into arts.
It was Ambassador Romeo Arguelles's idea to showcase to Filipinos and the international community in Holland, the beautiful photographs taken by the diplomats who have become slaves to their cameras.
The three Filipinos are Maynard Montealegre, Michael Yturriaga and Maria Citadel Cruz.
"They are our artists in residence. They belong to our Philippine foreign service. They are not professional photographers. They have no formal schooling. It was simply aiming at taking pictures and they turned out to be good photographs," Arguelles said.
In the exhibition entitled "Captured," many popular places in Europe like Austria, Italy and The Netherlands can be seen at angles particular only to the eye of a Filipino.
"How a Filipino looks at a landscape or views about Europe and looking at it from that vantage point, from a Filipino vantage point, so I think that's what the exhibition is all about, capturing that moment in Europe from the Filipino's eyes," Consul General Montealegre told ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau.
The diplomat from the Philippine Embassy in Austria is the only one who has experience among the three. He has been well travelled in Europe and America and was more than willing to share his prized photos to the audience in Holland.
Montealegre admitted that he remained "old school" in photography until just recently.
"I just started with a digital camera only in December so I'm still in the experimental stage trying to learn about the new gadget. But I would say that I was entirely satisfied with my analog camera before and my past exhibitions before in New York and Vienna were successful," Montealegre said.
Although the embassy’s in-house artists consider themselves as amateurs, their photographs looked like they were shot by pros.
The angle, color and depth of each image show the meticulous side of these Pinoys and reflect each calculating eye.
"Well my style, I'm more of a curious type of photographer. When I take a picture, what I do is when I think that this particular thing or place is good enough, I go there, I stay there and take pictures of it, like around one hundred to two hundred pictures to capture the perfect moment.
So in this particular picture that I took in Scheveningen, it took me about two hours to be able to get this one picture that I like. From about two hundred to ten to three to one," explained Cruz, the wife of Consul General Adrian.
She loves photography but she said that it's a passion that can be very expensive.
"It is an expensive hobby or passion as I would like to call it because to start with a camera, the camera that you have to buy especially if you want some more options, you simply just cannot settle for a simple compact camera. In my case, from a simple digital camera I moved on to an SLR. It's not really that professional but of course you have to invest on the paraphernalia and accessories and of course if you want to print it, the amount of money you spend on printing it is a lot," Cruz said.
The most amateur of the three, Yturriaga who is an attaché at the embassy, however does not think that one needs to invest in the most expensive camera to take good photos.
"Kahit yung pinakapangit basta maganda yung pagkaka set-up mo ng camera, tapos tama yung lighting, tama yung scene, yung angle ng pagkakakuha mo sa scene, lalabas na maganda," Yturriaga explained.
But being new to this art, he is bent on improving every shot.
"Six months pa lang ako sa photography. Gawa kasi nafrustrate ako. Nung una kasi meron lang akong digital camera. Tapos me scenes akong gustong kunan. Di siya lumalabas na gusto ko so sabi ko try ko. Nagtry ako using professional camera. Lumabas naman yung gusto kong kunan," Yturriaga said.
Guests at the exhibition, which ran the whole month of March, were impressed with the photographs of Europe that were caught by the eyes of Filipinos and they were touched literally.
It's because one can feel from the photographs the different emotions of the artists at every shot.
"They are very impressive. Parang lumalabas talaga ang artistic side of the Filipinos. Capturing very foreign photos that make them feel happy, some are feeling sad and lonely but it's all about their emotions and how they feel about the place, very impressive," Pinay guest Debbie Pascual said.
Cruz confirmed that in photography, emotions do play an important part.
"The essence is to capture the perfect moment. At the end of the day, you only have memories to keep so you might as well make good memories of it," Cruz said.
SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryID=120129
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Dutch court to decide on motion to probe Joma till December
Dutch court to decide on motion to probe Joma till December
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
The District Court in The Hague is set to issue on or before June 10 its decision on the Public Prosecutor’s Office motion to extend the investigation of allegations against Jose Maria Sison until December 2008, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau reported.
In a hearing Tuesday by the District Court in the Palace of Justice, the judge heard the Communist Party of the Philippine’s founding chair’s appeal against the Prosecution’s motion.
In the two hours of proceedings that began at 10 am (5 pm Manila), the judge heard Sison’s lawyer Michiel Pestman and Sison’s statements.
However, the big turn of event during the proceeding was when the Prosecution requested a three-hour extension to present its side and new evidences against Sison’s alleged involvement in the murders of his erstwhile allies Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara in the Philippines.
Luis Jalandoni, National Democratic Front (NDF) chief negotiator in peace talks with the Philippine government, told ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau that the Dutch prosecutors may seek for the immediate re-arrest of Sison.
After the proceedings, Sison however clarified that his camp became nervous when the Prosecution requested for the three-hour extension of the court proceeding.
"Ganito, unusual ‘yong request ng Prosecution na they wanted three hours to talk kaya me nagpalagay na baka lulutin ako in three hours," Sison said.
A protest was launched by Sison’s friends and sympathizers outside the Palace of Justice in The Hague from 10 am and most of them, mainly from the NDF such as Jalandoni, Fidel Agcaoili and Connie Ledesma, stayed until 3:30 pm, when the proceedings finished.
Sison: No new evidence presented
"So nagkaroon ng hearing tungkol sa complaint namin at kahilingan na dapat hindi na dapat ituloy yung investigation dahil na ‘yong mga unang court decisions na pinanalo ko at pagkatapos examining judge na nasa anatas ng Prosecution and police eh nag backout na. Imbes na pumayag ang Prosecution na tumigil eh gusto pa nila another six months pa. Pero sabi ng abogado ko, beginning of the end," Sison explained.
Sison said that the Court has three weeks to issue its decision and that he doesn’t need to be present.
"I don’t have to go to the Palace of Justice. We will just receive the decision by fax," Sison said.
Sison said that he did not hear any new evidence against him.
"Wala ni katiting. Walang makapagbabago sa ruling ng Court of Appeals na walang prima facie evidence tapos lumilitaw na yung political context which prevents me from having justice as far as the Philippines is concerned. ‘Yong political context binatikos kasi ng Court of Appeals. Sa political context, politically motivated ang charge, unreliable ‘yong witnesses. It’s doubtful whether I can exercise my right to examine the witnesses and get witnesses favorable to me in the Philippines. Ngayon may mga findings na sapilitan na inililitaw ng Prosecution tungkol sa ibang sinuspect, ibang chinarge dati ng Quezon City police at mismong widow ni Kintanar, sa pagpatay ni Kintanar," Sison said.
Exculpatory evidences?
Ledesma told ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau that she was translating into English for Sison, the transcripts of witness testimonies sent recently by the Prosecution and from these transcripts, she said she saw exculpatory evidences for Sison.
Even Agcaoili confirmed to ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau that in one testimony, a certain Edwin Garcia was directly accused by Joy Kintanar as a suspect in the slay of her husband as police reportedly has a record of him running from the crime scene with a gun.
Jalandoni also added that a testimony of one witness, who he named as Flaminiano, that the latter identified as having seen a certain Armando Liwanag as a slim, balding guy with chinky eyes and fair complexion. When the witness saw the photograph of Sison in one newspaper article however, he said that this is not the same person.
These are just some examples of the exculpatory evidences that Sison’s camp said the Prosecution possessed since last year but did not give to Sison’s lawyer Michiel Pestman till two weeks ago.
In other legal systems, part of the Rule of Procedure and Evidence call for the disclosure of exculpatory evidence to the accused.
"It’s not too late yet. The Dutch system is not comparable to the Filipino or the American legal system so they can produce evidence later if they decide to do so. And what they decided to do is really late now. And we’ll have to see what the court will decide with it if this case will ever reach the court," Pestman said.
According to Pestman, the Prosecution is in breach of its disclosure obligations but that in The Netherlands, it’s a different ball game.
"We said that they were in breach but whether they actually are, it’s up to the judge to decide and whether this case is going to reach a judge, is the question," Pestman said.
"The court has three weeks to take a decision. We just have to wait and see," Pestman said.
"All I know at this very moment is that there is no strong evidence involving Mr. Sison against the murders of Kintanar and Tabara. And there is no evidence presented in the last six months. And the question is whether the court will allow them more time to get the evidence they haven’t got yet," Pestman added.
As he had said in his past interviews, Pestman thinks that the Prosecution is desperately trying to hold on this to this very important case but he remains firm and confident that it will never lead to anything.
SOURCE: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/
Dutch prosecutors to present new evidence vs Joma
Dutch prosecutors to present new evidence vs Joma
The Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday was set to present new evidence against Jose Maria Sison in a Dutch court hearing that may reportedly lead to the re-arrest of the founding chair of the Communist Party of the Philippines, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau correspondent Loui Galicia reported.
The Dutch prosecutor’s office has continued its investigation of Sison’s alleged involvement in the murders of erstwhile allies Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara in the Philippines and was given until June to present new evidence.
Sison has however appealed the continued investigation of the Dutch prosecution office and a hearing of a Dutch court was set at 10 a.m. (5 p.m. Manila).
The Dutch prosecutors have reportedly asked for three hours to present its new evidence which comes as a big surprise since the hearing was set to supposedly hear Sison’s appeal.
The Dutch court’s hearing is being held in closed session.
Luis Jalandoni, National Democratic Front chief negotiator in peace talks with the Philippine government, said that the Dutch prosecutors may seek for the immediate re-arrest of Sison.
A protest was launched by Sison’s friends and sympathizers outside the Palace of Justice in The Hague.
Charges not dropped
Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office spokesman Wim de Bruin in a telephone interview last November told ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau that they are not dropping the charges against Sison and that the CPP founder remains a suspect.
"No, you have to separate the criminal investigation by the police from the investigation by the examining judge in The Hague. So the judge decided to finish the investigation but the police investigation will be continued and that means that Mr. Sison is still a suspect," de Bruin explained.
Sison, who is also the chief political consultant of the NDF was arrested and detained in the Scheveningen detention center in The Hague on August 28 for alleged involvement in the murders of Kintanar Tabara in the Philippines. He was later released pending the pre-trial investigation.
De Bruin had said that the prosecutor would still pursue the charges against Sison and affirmed then that they are going to continue the investigation in so far as they know they have sufficient evidence.
De Bruin said that Sison’s defense lawyer cannot file a motion to drop the charges.
Case not closed
Sison’s lawyer Michiel Pestman also confirmed then that the case is not closed yet.
"The case is not closed. It’s the prosecutor, the only person who can decide to close the case apart from the court. She can decide to drop the case which I expect she will do because everyone says that all the judges involved basically say that there’s no hope in hell that she’ll ever get a conviction," said Sison’s lawyer.
Pestman said that even if the pre-trial investigation was closed by the investigating judge, in Holland, the prosecutor can do its own investigation and does not rely solely on the investigating judge.
"They can do their own investigation, the police can do it," Pestman said.
Sison had repeatedly denied the allegations of the Dutch prosecutors.
With reports from ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau.
SOURCE: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=118872
The Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday was set to present new evidence against Jose Maria Sison in a Dutch court hearing that may reportedly lead to the re-arrest of the founding chair of the Communist Party of the Philippines, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau correspondent Loui Galicia reported.
The Dutch prosecutor’s office has continued its investigation of Sison’s alleged involvement in the murders of erstwhile allies Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara in the Philippines and was given until June to present new evidence.
Sison has however appealed the continued investigation of the Dutch prosecution office and a hearing of a Dutch court was set at 10 a.m. (5 p.m. Manila).
The Dutch prosecutors have reportedly asked for three hours to present its new evidence which comes as a big surprise since the hearing was set to supposedly hear Sison’s appeal.
The Dutch court’s hearing is being held in closed session.
Luis Jalandoni, National Democratic Front chief negotiator in peace talks with the Philippine government, said that the Dutch prosecutors may seek for the immediate re-arrest of Sison.
A protest was launched by Sison’s friends and sympathizers outside the Palace of Justice in The Hague.
Charges not dropped
Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office spokesman Wim de Bruin in a telephone interview last November told ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau that they are not dropping the charges against Sison and that the CPP founder remains a suspect.
"No, you have to separate the criminal investigation by the police from the investigation by the examining judge in The Hague. So the judge decided to finish the investigation but the police investigation will be continued and that means that Mr. Sison is still a suspect," de Bruin explained.
Sison, who is also the chief political consultant of the NDF was arrested and detained in the Scheveningen detention center in The Hague on August 28 for alleged involvement in the murders of Kintanar Tabara in the Philippines. He was later released pending the pre-trial investigation.
De Bruin had said that the prosecutor would still pursue the charges against Sison and affirmed then that they are going to continue the investigation in so far as they know they have sufficient evidence.
De Bruin said that Sison’s defense lawyer cannot file a motion to drop the charges.
Case not closed
Sison’s lawyer Michiel Pestman also confirmed then that the case is not closed yet.
"The case is not closed. It’s the prosecutor, the only person who can decide to close the case apart from the court. She can decide to drop the case which I expect she will do because everyone says that all the judges involved basically say that there’s no hope in hell that she’ll ever get a conviction," said Sison’s lawyer.
Pestman said that even if the pre-trial investigation was closed by the investigating judge, in Holland, the prosecutor can do its own investigation and does not rely solely on the investigating judge.
"They can do their own investigation, the police can do it," Pestman said.
Sison had repeatedly denied the allegations of the Dutch prosecutors.
With reports from ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau.
SOURCE: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=118872
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