CAUGHT ON CAMERA
EDITORIAL
2 | THE CANBERRA REPORTER March 2017
CAUGHT ON CAMERA
In a random survey of Filipino-Australians in the ACT , MARILIE BOMEDIANO posed the question :
Should the term ’ marriage ’ mean a union that ’ s only between a man and a woman ?
EDITORIAL
What will they think of next to annoy seniors
SOMETHING tells us the powers that be ~ the Government and selfanointed experts out there ~ don ’ t really know what to do about senior citizens .
On the one hand , they want seniors to stay in the workforce long after retirement age of 65 . Which is great . Crikey , some of them have worked till 80 with gusto , accepting redundancy only to please employers who thought seniors had to give way young ‘ uns . Experience and qualifications go out the window when you ’ re a senior hitting 80 , you know .
On the other hand , the same Government and self-anointed experts are pushing to make life for old age seniors almost unbearable .
They ’ re sending clear signals to keep senior citizens off the road . Like : ‘ Don ’ t issue seniors a driver ’ s licence when they ’ re 70 or something ’. Never mind that seniors are involved in less car accidents than young drivers ; or that it would mean taking away seniors ’ independence and sense of empowerment were they forced to stop driving .
A report from Department for Transport ( DfT ) in the UK said in part :
“ There were 10,974 accidents involving drivers over the age of 70 in 2011 , says the DfT . That compares with 11,946 accidents involving 17-to-19-year-old drivers and 24,007 accidents involving 20-to-24-yearold drivers . Its statistics do not account for who caused the accident .
“ Figures also show that 46 drivers aged 16 to 19 died in an accident , while 173 drivers aged between 20 and 29 involved in an accident died .
“ That compared with 59 deaths in drivers aged between 70 and 79 involved in an accident , and 52 over the age of 80 . The young-versusold driver data is used by a number of road safety charities to argue elderly drivers don ’ t pose the greatest danger behind the wheel .”
But the latest disturbing big idea of the Government is a cut on the old-age pension . In fact , it has already cut the pensions of more than 300,000 pensioners from January , 2017 . Now that really hurts . It ’ s already a struggle to live on the current pension , no matter that they had assets saved from many years of putting aside funds for their retirement .
Going back to work to add to a senior ’ s pension is not a good option , because the Government would take your pension away if you earned a comfortable sum over your pension .
Maybe if we cried loud enough , cuts to the old age pension may not materialise . The question is : What will politicians think of next to annoy
senior citizens ?
ROLL CALL FILIPINO-AUSTRALIAN ORGANISATIONS IN THE ACT
• Philippine Australlian Association of Canberra & Monaro Region ( contact , Joseph Gasendo )
• Gawad Kalinga ACT ( contact , Sally Barber )
• Filipino Community Council ACT ( contact , Noonie Doronila )
• ACT Filipino Australian ( contact , Beewah Snelson )
• Philippine Cultural Society ( contact , Feding Donaghue )
• Rondanihan ( contact , Ian Bull
~ JAIME K PIMENTEL , Editor
• Filipino Community Sports ( Ariel Patugalan )
• Filipino Language School of Canberra ( contact , Arnel Basas
• Couples For Christ ( contact , Danilax Ambida )
• Jesus Is Lord ( contact , pastor Eric Marquez )
• Philippines Studies Group ( contact , Emy Liwag )
• El Shaddai Prayer Group ( contact , C esar Lai )
• Sampaguita Ladies ( contact , Cecilia Flores )
• Radio Filipino Australian ( contact , Gloria Ross )
FRANCIS BATILO of Bradon
No . It ’ s already way too open . We have to accept man and man getting married , or a woman and a woman getting married . We have to accept it because , after all , we are all humans .
ATING WIKA sa Tagalog
Ulat ni GLORIA ROSS
Ang paninirahan sa isang bagong bansa katulad ng Australya ay malaking hamon sa isang pamilya . Ang mga kabataang nasa gulang pa ng pagpasok sa paaralan ay tiyak na may kani-kanilang kwento sa buhay-paaralan na kanilang nasumpungan . Sa mga kabataang nakaranas na nang maraming taon ng edukasyon sa Pilipinas , kaagad na napapansin nila na kakaiba ang sistema at paraan ng paghubog sa mga kaisipan ng mga mag-aaral sa Australya . Walang bahay-aralin na nakasentro sa pagmememorya ng mga kaalaman , walang
MARICEL REGINALDO of Dunlop
I think the term should only be used between a man and a woman . I uphold the definition of marriage as a covenant between a man and a woman towards the procreation of children .
lingguhang mga pagsubok , at walang mga mabibigat na aklat na daladala araw-araw . Ang kabuuan ng pag-aaral ay nakasentro sa iba ’ t ibang klase at paraan ng pagtuklas ng mga kaalaman at iba ’ t ibang paraan ng pagpapahayag ng kaisipan at ng kanilang mga sarili . Magaan para sa karamihan ng mga kabataang Pilipinong bagong salta sa Australya ang pakikibagay sa sistema ng edukasyon sa Australya dahil sanay sila sa mas mahigpit na disiplina nang pag-aaral sa Pilipinas at dahil sa may kaalaman na sila sa wikang Ingles . Karaniwan nang isang matagumpay at positibong karanasan ang pag-aaral sa Australya para sa mga kabataang Pilipino . •
ROY RAMIREZ of Isabella Plains
Yes . Marriage should be a term to mean a union only between one man and one woman . Back in the Philippines , the old saying goes : “ Ang lalaki ay para sa babae ”.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Readers are invited to write in letters to the editor . Letters and pictures ( in jpeg , 250dpi ) should be sent by email addressed to THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF at jaimekpimentel @ live . com . The Canberra Reporter reserves the right to publish or decline publication for reasons of its own .
Sa mga kabataang mag-aaral na bagong salta sa Australya
Publisher
THE CANBERRA REPORTER
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Editor-in-Chief Jaime K Pimentel
Editorial Violi Calvert - Subeditor Gloria Ross - News Marilie Bomediano - Features Cecilia Flores - Community
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