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
Saturday, May 31, 2008
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
Pinoy singer stars with Sharon Stone, Kim Cattrall at Life Ball in Austria
Pinoy singer stars with Sharon Stone, Kim Cattrall at Life Ball in Austria
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
Singer Vincent Bueno became the first Pinoy to share the limelight with big-name celebrities such as Sharon Stone, Kim Cattrall, Elton John and Linda Evangelista at the Life Ball event in Austria.
The pure-blooded Filipino’s music career is fast spinning to the top since winning in the "Musical! Die Show" of Austrian national broadcaster ORF last January.
Not only did Bueno walk the red carpet at Life Ball as one of the 4,000 guests which included big-name stars, he also opened Europe’s biggest AIDS charity event on May 17th.
Amid thundering applause from around 45,000 spectators in front of the prestigious, historical and famous City Hall of Vienna called the Rathausplatz, Bueno opened the show singing "Vienna Calling", a song popularized by the very first Austrian rocker Falco.
Donning an all-silver space cowboy costume, Bueno gyrated and did his trademark backflips to the delight of the attendees who came from all over the world and paid 200 euros (13,500 pesos) to support the charity event.
Even the lensmen had a good time taking shots of the energetic Bueno.
Throughout the night, nobody could be prouder for the young Bueno than his uncle, King, who was also the first Filipino to be given full accreditation for the event.
The older Bueno gained unlimited access and was free to shoot footage of all events from the rehearsals to the red carpet, backstage, the dressing room and the parties.
In some of his footage, King even asked some international celebrities to shout "Hello! The Filipino Channel" and "Mabuhay Philippines."
Life Ball is on its 16th year since Gary Keszler organized the very flamboyant, colorful and extravagant event strictly for gays but which has now become a major society event in Europe.
This year’s theme was "Landing on Planet Life Ball", and thus majority of the guests dressed as aliens in elaborate costumes.
The organizers aimed to top the 1.2 million euros it raised last year, with half of the proceeds going to projects in Austria and the rest going to international projects, with the help of the American Foundation for AIDS Research (Amfar).
Stone delivered a speech against AIDS as chairperson of Amfar’s Campaign for AIDS Research, while Sex and The City star Cattrall presented the "Crystal of Hope" which is endowed with 100,000 euros donated by Swarovski to Care Austria, for its HIV/AIDS project in Kenya.
This year, luxury lingerie label Agent Provocateur hosted Life Ball as part of the yearly trend of different fashion designers hosting the big event.
SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryID=118853
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
Singer Vincent Bueno became the first Pinoy to share the limelight with big-name celebrities such as Sharon Stone, Kim Cattrall, Elton John and Linda Evangelista at the Life Ball event in Austria.
The pure-blooded Filipino’s music career is fast spinning to the top since winning in the "Musical! Die Show" of Austrian national broadcaster ORF last January.
Not only did Bueno walk the red carpet at Life Ball as one of the 4,000 guests which included big-name stars, he also opened Europe’s biggest AIDS charity event on May 17th.
Amid thundering applause from around 45,000 spectators in front of the prestigious, historical and famous City Hall of Vienna called the Rathausplatz, Bueno opened the show singing "Vienna Calling", a song popularized by the very first Austrian rocker Falco.
Donning an all-silver space cowboy costume, Bueno gyrated and did his trademark backflips to the delight of the attendees who came from all over the world and paid 200 euros (13,500 pesos) to support the charity event.
Even the lensmen had a good time taking shots of the energetic Bueno.
Throughout the night, nobody could be prouder for the young Bueno than his uncle, King, who was also the first Filipino to be given full accreditation for the event.
The older Bueno gained unlimited access and was free to shoot footage of all events from the rehearsals to the red carpet, backstage, the dressing room and the parties.
In some of his footage, King even asked some international celebrities to shout "Hello! The Filipino Channel" and "Mabuhay Philippines."
Life Ball is on its 16th year since Gary Keszler organized the very flamboyant, colorful and extravagant event strictly for gays but which has now become a major society event in Europe.
This year’s theme was "Landing on Planet Life Ball", and thus majority of the guests dressed as aliens in elaborate costumes.
The organizers aimed to top the 1.2 million euros it raised last year, with half of the proceeds going to projects in Austria and the rest going to international projects, with the help of the American Foundation for AIDS Research (Amfar).
Stone delivered a speech against AIDS as chairperson of Amfar’s Campaign for AIDS Research, while Sex and The City star Cattrall presented the "Crystal of Hope" which is endowed with 100,000 euros donated by Swarovski to Care Austria, for its HIV/AIDS project in Kenya.
This year, luxury lingerie label Agent Provocateur hosted Life Ball as part of the yearly trend of different fashion designers hosting the big event.
SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryID=118853
Monday, May 19, 2008
Three Pinoy filmmakers win grant from Rotterdam’s Hubert Bals Fund
Three Pinoy filmmakers win grant from Rotterdam’s Hubert Bals Fund
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
Three Filipino filmmakers are recipients of this year's International Film Festival Rotterdam's (IFFR) Hubert Bals Fund Spring grant.
The IFFR, in an email to ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau, said the Hubert Bals Fund announced the winners of its grant: 27 film projects for a total amount of 385,000 euros (25.6 million pesos).
Included in the 27 winning film projects from seventeen countries are the works of Lav Diaz, Roxlee and Adolfo Alix Jr. Since 2006, the HBF has been supporting low-budget digital film projects and the grants in this category are meant to cover a large part of a digital feature film, the IFFR's statement said.
Diaz receives support for the digital production of his film "The Great Desaparecido."
A regular at the Rotterdam film festival, Diaz has already screened his films since 2005, which include Evolution of a Filipino Family (2005), Jesus the Revolutionary (2006), Heremias (2006 and 2007), When the Rain Ended (2007) and Death in the Land of Encantos (2008).
Called a "maestro" by the IFFR, Diaz is the master of the full-length film, in fact a very long film.
He was a member of the 2007 jury for the selection of the winners of the Tiger Awards, which is the highlight of the yearly film festival.
Roque Federizon Lee or most popularly known as Roxlee, will receive a grant for the post production of his film "Green Rocking Chair."
Lee is also not a stranger to the IFFR having screened his early works Lizard, Live Rock, Ghost of Rocker Jeans and Romeo Must Rock at the festival in 2005.
Alix Jr. will receive funding for the script development of his film "Kalayaan."
He was a first timer at this year's film festival which was held from Jan. 24 to Feb. 4, when his film "Tambolista" was screened.
The Hubert Bals Fund is designed to bring remarkable or urgent feature films and feature-length creative documentaries by innovative and talented filmmakers from developing countries closer to completion.
It provides grants that often turn out to play a crucial role in enabling these filmmakers to realize their projects.
Winning a grant from the HBF is a big achievement in itself as the competition is very stiff. In order to be selected, filmmakers from southern or developing countries can enter their projects twice a year and hundreds of applications are received in each of the selection rounds.
Since the Fund started in 1988, close to 600 projects from independent filmmakers in Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Africa and Latin America have received support. Approximately 80% of these projects have been realized or are currently in production. Every year, the IFFR screens completed films supported by the Fund.
It is supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dutch non-governmental development organizations Hivos and NCDO, the DOEN Foundation and Dutch public broadcasting network NPS.
The HBF supports training initiatives for filmmakers in Ethiopia, Philippines, Costa Rica and Uganda. In Armenia and the Philippines, the fund participates in co-production meetings and awards are granted to the most promising film projects.
The winners of IFFR's Hubert Bals Fund Spring 2008 are:
Post production
Be Calm and Count to 7, Ramtin Lavafipour - Iran
The Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly, Edwin - Indonesia
Baksy, Guka Omarova - Kazakhstan
Green Rocking Chair, Roxlee - Philippines
Tony Manero, Pablo Larraín - Chile
Moon at the Bottom of the Well, Nguyen Vinh Son - Vietnam
Turistas, Alicia Scherson - Chile
Er Dong, Yang Jin – China
Pandora’s Box, Yesim Ustaoglu – Turkey
Script development
Our Grand Despair, Seyfi Teoman - Turkey
Girimunho, Helvécio Marins Jr. - Brazil
Once Upon a Time in China, Cui Zi’en - China
Jean Gentil, Laura Amelia Guzmán & Israel Cárdenas - Dominican Republic/Mexico
Kalayaan, Adolfo Alix Jr. - Philippines
Kosmos, Ihor Podolchak - Ukraine
Circumstance, Maryam Keshavarz - Iran
Sur la planche, Leila Kilani – Morocco
Tanta agua, Ana Guevara & Leticia Jorge - Uruguay
Los ultimos cristeros, Matias Meyer - Mexico
Digital production
The Great Desaparecido, Lav Diaz - Phillippines
Lucía, Niles Atallah - Chile
That Year When We Were Young ; Tao Peng - China
One Day When the Rain Falls ; Ifa Isfansyah - Indonesia
Woman On Fire Looks for Water ; Woo Ming Jin - Malaysia
Distribution and special projects
War, Love, God and Madness ; Mohamed Al-Daradji - Iraq
Directors Across Borders (DAB Forum), Yerevan - Armenia
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
Three Filipino filmmakers are recipients of this year's International Film Festival Rotterdam's (IFFR) Hubert Bals Fund Spring grant.
The IFFR, in an email to ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau, said the Hubert Bals Fund announced the winners of its grant: 27 film projects for a total amount of 385,000 euros (25.6 million pesos).
Included in the 27 winning film projects from seventeen countries are the works of Lav Diaz, Roxlee and Adolfo Alix Jr. Since 2006, the HBF has been supporting low-budget digital film projects and the grants in this category are meant to cover a large part of a digital feature film, the IFFR's statement said.
Diaz receives support for the digital production of his film "The Great Desaparecido."
A regular at the Rotterdam film festival, Diaz has already screened his films since 2005, which include Evolution of a Filipino Family (2005), Jesus the Revolutionary (2006), Heremias (2006 and 2007), When the Rain Ended (2007) and Death in the Land of Encantos (2008).
Called a "maestro" by the IFFR, Diaz is the master of the full-length film, in fact a very long film.
He was a member of the 2007 jury for the selection of the winners of the Tiger Awards, which is the highlight of the yearly film festival.
Roque Federizon Lee or most popularly known as Roxlee, will receive a grant for the post production of his film "Green Rocking Chair."
Lee is also not a stranger to the IFFR having screened his early works Lizard, Live Rock, Ghost of Rocker Jeans and Romeo Must Rock at the festival in 2005.
Alix Jr. will receive funding for the script development of his film "Kalayaan."
He was a first timer at this year's film festival which was held from Jan. 24 to Feb. 4, when his film "Tambolista" was screened.
The Hubert Bals Fund is designed to bring remarkable or urgent feature films and feature-length creative documentaries by innovative and talented filmmakers from developing countries closer to completion.
It provides grants that often turn out to play a crucial role in enabling these filmmakers to realize their projects.
Winning a grant from the HBF is a big achievement in itself as the competition is very stiff. In order to be selected, filmmakers from southern or developing countries can enter their projects twice a year and hundreds of applications are received in each of the selection rounds.
Since the Fund started in 1988, close to 600 projects from independent filmmakers in Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Africa and Latin America have received support. Approximately 80% of these projects have been realized or are currently in production. Every year, the IFFR screens completed films supported by the Fund.
It is supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dutch non-governmental development organizations Hivos and NCDO, the DOEN Foundation and Dutch public broadcasting network NPS.
The HBF supports training initiatives for filmmakers in Ethiopia, Philippines, Costa Rica and Uganda. In Armenia and the Philippines, the fund participates in co-production meetings and awards are granted to the most promising film projects.
The winners of IFFR's Hubert Bals Fund Spring 2008 are:
Post production
Be Calm and Count to 7, Ramtin Lavafipour - Iran
The Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly, Edwin - Indonesia
Baksy, Guka Omarova - Kazakhstan
Green Rocking Chair, Roxlee - Philippines
Tony Manero, Pablo Larraín - Chile
Moon at the Bottom of the Well, Nguyen Vinh Son - Vietnam
Turistas, Alicia Scherson - Chile
Er Dong, Yang Jin – China
Pandora’s Box, Yesim Ustaoglu – Turkey
Script development
Our Grand Despair, Seyfi Teoman - Turkey
Girimunho, Helvécio Marins Jr. - Brazil
Once Upon a Time in China, Cui Zi’en - China
Jean Gentil, Laura Amelia Guzmán & Israel Cárdenas - Dominican Republic/Mexico
Kalayaan, Adolfo Alix Jr. - Philippines
Kosmos, Ihor Podolchak - Ukraine
Circumstance, Maryam Keshavarz - Iran
Sur la planche, Leila Kilani – Morocco
Tanta agua, Ana Guevara & Leticia Jorge - Uruguay
Los ultimos cristeros, Matias Meyer - Mexico
Digital production
The Great Desaparecido, Lav Diaz - Phillippines
Lucía, Niles Atallah - Chile
That Year When We Were Young ; Tao Peng - China
One Day When the Rain Falls ; Ifa Isfansyah - Indonesia
Woman On Fire Looks for Water ; Woo Ming Jin - Malaysia
Distribution and special projects
War, Love, God and Madness ; Mohamed Al-Daradji - Iraq
Directors Across Borders (DAB Forum), Yerevan - Armenia
SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
