October 1 -15, 2018
OPINION
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY
Reyfort Publishing & Entertainment
Rey Fortaleza - Publisher
Carlito Pablo - Editorial Consultant
Rosette Correa - Senior Editor
Jun Cordero - Associate Editor
Writers - Crisanta Sampang ; Columnists - Geoff Meggs, Ben Berto, Editha Corrales, Mon
Datol, Fr. Jerry Orbos SVD, DeeDee Sytangco, Alan Samuel, Erie Maestro, Sandee M.
Ed Malay, Jayne Anastacio, JJAtencio and Willie J. Uy (Manila Bureau Chief)
Alvin Barrera / Mon Correa - Graphics and Layout ; Rolly Fortaleza - Graphics Design
JoelCastro - Website; Julian Fortaleza - Sports Editor; Ricardo Fortaleza- Sports
Photography Editor: Dean Guzman; Photograhers- Charles De Jesus/ Christian Cunanan
Office Add: 9955 -149th Street,
Surrey, B.C. V3R 7N2
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.philippineasiannewstoday.com
http://www.reyfortmediagroup.com
Tel: (604) 588-news (6397)
Fax: (604) 588-6387
Copyright of letters and other materials submitted and accepted for publication remains with the author, but the Publisher may freely reproduce them in any other forms.
Opinions and views expressed are of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of the PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY. E-mail: [email protected]
Breaking
Point
By Rosette Correa
As Vancouver waits for the elections
to be over and done with, the Filipino
community, through the Philippine
Bicolano Association of BC (PBABC),
welcomed Vice President of the
Philippines Leni Robredo, who came to
Vancouver from San Diego, California,
before heading back home. She brought
in breath of fresh air amidst the stale
political air, not only from the current
chaos of the local Canadian elections, but
of the talk of charter change, federalism
and power usurping from back home. I
am sure she is glad to get away from that
circus back in Manila for a few days, much
as we also don’t want to hear anything
about it either.
Robredo spoke with grace and with
great dignity, something expected from
a dignitary but escapes many politicians
today. With her security team, as well
as her protocol officers, she dined,
laughed, hugged, got acquainted with
former classmates from Naga City, and
just enjoyed her evening mingling with
the Vancouverites. Her calming voice
showed no sign of arrogance, and she
was gracious to have selfies and photos
even in between bites of her dinner.
When she stood in front at the podium,
the crowd hushed and one could hear a
pin drop. She began her speech by telling
her story of having bittersweet memories
of Canada. With a brother in Calgary, she
often skipped Vancouver, but her visit to
Alberta was marked with sadness, as her
brother told her of her father’s untimely
death right at the time she landed at the
Bulong
Pulungan
By Deedee Siytangco
Reprinted from Manila Bulletin
OP-ED
ANGEL THOUGHTS
Be cheerful! God will
take care of everything!
Beneath the Cross, we start to love!
—St. Padre Pio
****************
Devotees of St. Padre Pio went all
out to welcome his relic—his intact,
incorruptible
heart—to
selected
churches in the country. The first
welcome and high mass was in the
official Shrine of St. Padre Pio in
Sto Tomas, Batangas. The relic was
then brought to UST for an open-air
mass, and then this week to Cebu and
Davao. It will go back to Sto. Tomas,
Batangas before departure.
Padre Pio received the gift of the
Stigmata of Jesus (the five wounds
of Christ from his crucifixion), and
he had it until he died. Padre Pio
felt the real pain of the sufferings of
When nothing can stop Leni
airport. Because she did not have a
chance to see Vancouver then, she
took her two hours of rest when
she arrived to go around Stanley Park and
Granville Island. She also had a chance
to interview some OFWs for her program
Angat Buhay, a project of the Office of the
Vice President that had no budget. Being
Vice President, Robredo said that her only
role in life is to wait for the President to
either resign or die before she can get
any work done, so, she challenged her
team to either wait for that, wait for the six
years to end, then run for President and
get things done, or get things done right
now because she owes it to the people
who voted for her to do some good. That
was the birth of Angat Buhay.
Angat Buhay is a project that has no
OVP money in it, and it will never see
any, especially if Duterte is still president.
He wouldn’t even give Robredo her
constitutional right to become Vice
President once he dies or resigns,
because he wants Bongbong Marcos
to fill in the spot, and become another
Marcos president, a promise Duterte
made to the Marcos patriarch. Robredo
was persistent with her team, and her
appeal to private institutions, NGOs
and private companies paid off - Angat
Buhay has provided P145 million worth
of services to poor communities in the
Philippines since 2016. That’s more than
Duterte can muster, as he cannot even
express himself well to people unless
it’s a monologue straight from a Pinoy
version of a Charles Bronson shooting
and gunslinging movie.
Despite her success with Angat Buhay
and its sponsors, she
continues
to
make
rounds for the project
and ask for help and
support. Her visit to
Canada and the US was
about that - a way for
Pinoys abroad to help
those in the Philippines
through a program that
can give back to the
people their dignity and
pride for their work and
livelihood. Much of the
Filipino spirit has been
broken the last two years
that Duterte has been
sitting as president, and
he himself admitted
that his Oplan Tokhang program was not
effective. This statement he says, after
destroying many innocent lives.
But of course, he’s not done making
Robredo’s life miserable yet. Duterte is
hell bent on getting his Charter Change,
and for Federalism to come in, so that
his favoured son Bongbong, can take
over after him. He even had his boytoy
Communications Assistant Secretary
Mocha Uson make a jingle for Federalism,
much to the chagrin of Senator Koko
Pimentel, who, while at first lauded Uson
to take on the project of promoting it to
the masses, was quickly dismayed by the
sexually inappropriate song with matching
dance moves that she came up with,
prompting him to tell her to go back to
school and study. Uson decided to resign,
much to the relief of many.
Robredo would make a very good
President. She is very much similar to
Corazon Aquino, with her compassion and
benevolence, but with more experience
politically than the former president. She
is also religious and God-fearing, being
members of Couples for Christ before
husband Jesse’s demise in 2012. What
sets her apart from other presidentiables
is her gumption and her ability to be
business-like without being arrogant.
Her vision for helping the Filipino people
is noble, and her strength lies in her
willingness to take the punches, even
from bullies like Duterte, and still get the
work done. While she’s no razor-tongue
like Miriam Defensor Santiago, another
would-have-been-great president, her
composure is what makes the rest of the
politicos in Philippine politics look like
a pack of dogs with no direction unless
there is a leash around their necks.
The right way to count votes
Christ, but he “cooperated” with
Jesus, surrendering his will and
opening his heart to the Lord.
A few minutes after he breathed his
last, murmuring “Maria, Maria,” the
wounds disappeared miraculously!
Padre Pio dedicated his life to
helping save souls through his
sacrifices and sufferings and patiently
hearing confessions in the monastery
in Peitrelcina where he lived. He
inspired sinners from all over the world
to repent through confession, and it is
said that he could tell if anyone who
came for him to confess were truly
repentant.
Devotion to this saint has grown by
leaps and bounds here in the country.
There is a small shrine dedicated to
him along C-5, a favorite of devotees
especially on his feast day. By the way,
this year is the golden anniversary of
his stigmata.
After attending First Saturday mass
in Carmel church in Lipa last week,
Glenda Barretto and I went to Pare
Pio’s shrine in Sto. Tomas, Batangas.
The heart relic had arrived there earlier
that morning and there were about 10
bishops, a number of priests, and the
Papal Nuncio himself for the welcome
mass. Deep within Sto. Tomas, the
shrine is a beautiful and perfect setting
for a pilgrimage. You have to walk for
about three kilometers, because the
road is one-way, and climb up to the
chapels. Seniors, bring your canes and
caregivers or strong friends to guide
you to the chapels. But it’s worth the
walk and the long queues.
**************************
Moving on from religious inspirations
to political thoughts. The Presidential
Electoral Tribunal (PET) has decisively
ruled that we should count the votes
the way they were counted in the
actual elections, with a 25 percent
threshold as set by the Commission
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM
on Elections (COMELEC). The PET
can now proceed with the recount for
the Vice President’s seat, a contest
between VP Leni Robredo and former
senator
Ferdinand
“Bongbong”
Marcos Jr.
The PET ruling to retain the threshold
makes absolute practical sense, given
that other protests in other electoral
positions have also been resolved
through the same threshold. Not
applying this to the VP recount would
mean that it was not consistent with
the other electoral posts and was not
the same election.
Some may be concerned with
how or why the threshold was set
to 25 percent when the COMELEC
instructed the public to fully shade
the iconic “itlog na bilog.” The
answer given to that is the lack of
“human touch.” Now that elections
are automated, the counts are done
non-sentient and non-
CONT PAGE 9