Philippine Asian News Today Vol 20 No 18 | Page 11

September 16 - 30, 2018 PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY MUSIC, POETRY... LOCAL NEWS 11 FROM PAGE 7 playing the violin. Who were these top performers? Pilita Corrales, the first Entertainer of the Year, was joined by Entertainers of the Year Celeste Legaspi, Martin Nievera, and Dulce, and Lifetime Achievement Awardee Spirit of ‘67, who celebrated their 25th year in 2017, Hall of Famers The Angelos and Merjohn Lagaya, and Special Awardee Halili-Cruz Dance Company. Aliw Awards Foundation, Inc. (AAFI) is the first and only award-giving body that recognizes performers of all forms of live entertainment. Singers, dancers, instrumentalists, emcees, comedians, stage actors, musical and non-musical directors, and even festival participants compete annually for the prestigious awards. Aliw’s Alice Reyes in red gown and Beth Sison Tagle, far left with some AAFI has no counterpart here or members of the Inner Wheel Club district 381 in ‘The Best of Aliw.’ anywhere else in the world. The Grammys are for recording, Oscars Health, according to Drilon. can provide stability to our health are for films, and Tonys for stage. “If we will just follow system,” Drilon said. And to think that AAFI started the proposed budget [for] the But DOH Secretary Duque 42 years ago as an offshoot of Department of Health, about 15,000 says their budget is good enough the National Press Club’s Socials nurses and health professionals will for them! The slashed amount Committee, which handled the lose their jobs,” Drilon said after won’t take care of the 26,000 health Friday Celebrity Nights, chair by grilling officials during the Senate workers, he added. Alice Hernandez Reyes, then of Daily hearing on the proposed P71 billion Drilon proposed that an Express, under NPC presidents Ben budget of the DoH. errata be submitted by the DBM Rodriguez, Neal Cruz, Louie Logarta, “This is a vey serious concern. “in order to correct this injustice,” Pat Gonzales, and Tony Antonio. I have never seen in my 20 years in saying that it should not be the Alice tells me she was the Senate that a budget is slashed Senate scrambling to look for funds prompted by a desire to give back this much and the budget of the to restore the budget, which can be to the entertainers that performed DoH, at that,” Drilon said. “This gratis et amore. I remember, being is injustice and I will not allow the an NPC member, that even Matt budget to be passed unless this Monro performed for the Celebrity injustice is addressed,” he added. Night bashes for free! At the hearing, Drilon grilled “It has been a long and hard a representative from the DBM for journey, sometimes heartbreaking cutting the budget of the DoH by for lack of support of those who P36.2 billion from P107.3 billion c