PHNO-TL: A LIFE IN THE DAY OF JUAN PONCE ENRILE


A LIFE IN THE DAY OF JUAN PONCE ENRILE
[Photo - Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile. INQUIRER file photo]
MANILA, FEBRUARY 27, 2012 (INQUIRER)
By Bibeth Orteza - (Editor's Note: The author set out to observe a
day in the life of her husband's uncle, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, as
he presides over what is one of the most important trials in the country's
history—the impeachment of the Supreme Court Chief Justice. Graciously welcomed
by her subject into his home and allowed to tag along to the trial, she came
away with much more than just the details of a daily routine. The star of the
moment obliged her with a sometimes tearful recollection of his life, enough
material perhaps for a scriptwriter like the author and a director like her
husband Carlitos Siguion-Reyna to turn into a riveting movie.)
8:15 a. m.
THE MAN of the house is still in his bedroom. Sally Moneda, his cook and
personal assistant of 26 years, reminds his close-in aide, Julius Gumban, not to
take away the newspaper as "he has not read Bernas [constitutionalist Fr.
Joaquin Bernas, SJ, who writes an opinion column in the Inquirer–Ed]."
The books under the stairs include the New King James Version of the Holy
Bible (quick reference edition); "Spiritual Politics" by Gordon McLaughlin and
Gordon Davidson; "His Excellency, George Washington" by Joseph J. Ellis; "1,000
Places to See Before You Die" by Patricia Schultz; and "The Oxford Companion to
Politics of the World" by Joel Krieger.
Also "Presidential Plunder, the Quest for the Marcos Hidden Wealth" and
"Struggle and Hope," both by Jovito R. Salonga, right next to five books written
by Ferdinand E. Marcos during his martial law years.
On the flyleaf of "The Marcos Years," the former president had
handwritten a dedication to the man who would remain his secretary of national
defense until 1986 when a People's Power revolt, aided and abetted by the
latter, toppled his dictatorship.
"Sept. 10, 1972, on the eve of my birthday
To Johnny, who has
contributed to the achievements of the Marcos years in a large way."

8:25 a.m.
Bing Rosales, sent to study reflexology for two years after showing aptitude
for the therapy, leads her boss down the stairs. "He's good to us, so we pray
that nothing bad happens to him," she says.
"Good morning, good morning!" exclaims Juan Ponce Enrile.
First, his blood pressure is checked. It is normal at 126/60, from a high of
190/90 the previous afternoon. It shoots up every now and then so he has to take
maintenance medication.
He really should sleep early but just the other day, he didn't hit the sack
until 4 a.m., he says. His bedtime varies, depending on the amount of reading he
feels he has to do because, he says, he has to study and weigh things as well as
he can.
"You see, I am not the court. The Senate is the court," he says. "I sign the
subpoenas, but I need the permission of the court. There is equal weight among
the rights of the respondents, the policy of government, the impact of the
decision on the public, on the business sector, on everybody. (If we) block
disclosures on the basis of loyalties, the public will think we are covering up.
People don't really know the law as much as they do their doubts and their
suspicions.
8:30 a.m.
Breakfast is a sausage with a dab of mustard. Sometimes it's a bowl of
oatmeal, eaten with inihaw na pusit (dried squid), or rice with scrambled eggs
and tuyo (dried fish). Some mornings it is pan de sal (roll) with cheese.
Enrile is told this paper has referred to him and defense counsel
Serafin Cuevas (photo) as the "superstars" of the ongoing trial.
He shrugs, "I don't know what that infers."
He likes to pore over his cases alone, he says, and tests the validity of the
opinions of others against his own study of all the issues involved.
"I make my own trial brief," he adds.
In the years when he was practicing law, he says, he would first check a case
for any violations against the Constitution, and then study the laws that could
apply, given the facts, the pleading or the complaint.
"I was fortunate to have met brilliant minds in and out of court," he
recalls, such as Vicente Francisco, Jose W. Diokno, Alberto Jamil, Rod
Jalandoni, Claudio Teehankee, among others.
At 88, he can still name his professors at the University of the Philippines
College of Law where he received his law degree in 1953.
"Jose Espiritu for corporation law, Emiliano Navarro for criminal law,
Enrique Fernando for constitutional law, Peping Campos for negotiable
instruments law, Norberto Quisumbing for trial technique, Bienvenido Ambion for
torts and damages, Mrs. Laurea—I forget her first name (it's Norberta)—for
contract law and family relations, Juan T. Santos, "who made us memorize the
Rules of Court from cover to cover, my goodness."
He asks Sally for coffee and continues, "My grades were good, but I didn't
become a bar topnotcher. I answered the exam questions both ways, and for that I
got minuses."
Enrile placed 11th, with a rating of 91.72 percent, in the 1954 bar
examinations. If that's not impressive enough, consider this: He got a perfect
score in commercial law.
An argument with professor Vicente Abad Santos caused him a
"3" in civil law.
"I didn't know he was so sensitive. That was five units so bumaba ang
average ko (that lowered my average grade)," recalls the man who would have
graduated magna cum laude of the UP College of Law class of 1953 but had to
settle for cum laude.
When student and teacher met again, it was as secretary of the Department of
Justice and head of the Board of Pardons and Parole, respectively.
"I gave you a low grade even if you deserved a higher one because you so
irritated me," Enrile recollects Abad Santos telling him.
"Never mind, I am now your boss," he recalls answering. "We then became
friends."
All his teachers, he says, were good to him, including the ones at Harvard
University where, on full scholarship, he earned his Master of Laws with
specialization in taxation and corporate reorganization.
9 a.m.
"I do not wish them to mark me absent at the legislative session," he says,
so he leaves home earlier than most people would expect since the impeachment
trial doesn't start until well after lunch.
After taking some time to read the briefs and curriculum vitae of two
ambassadors scheduled to pay him a courtesy visit this day, he breaks his
silence.
"I never expected to amount to anything."
For a caminero (laborer) like him who made 75 centavos a day smashing
rocks on the road from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., to be able to get a good education was
nothing short of a miracle, he says.
At the Harvard Law School, studies mattered to him more than anything else.

Again, Enrile is able to recall his graduate school professors: Paul Freund
for constitutional law and conflict of laws ("one of the brightest professors
ever at Harvard"), Milton Katz for international law ("he became the director of
the Economic Cooperation Administration or the US Marshall Plan in Europe"), law
school dean Erwin Griswold for basic courses in income taxation, Stanley Surrey
for international taxation ("he became US Treasury assistant secretary").
"For corporate reorganization I had Ernest Brown. I could not understand a
thing he was saying [in class]," recalls Enrile. "My God, I did not know
accounting at all! So I forthrightly admitted I had a problem following him."

The professor lent him two books and told him to come back only after he had
read the books. "I did exactly that, and only then did everything sink in,"
Enrile says. "That was when I learned what corporate reorganization really
entailed."
While at Harvard, the Ilocano scholar received a monthly allowance of $170.
He managed to have $700 in savings by the end of his stay.
"I didn't go out much, except for few times with Paeng Salas, Ado Reyes and
sometimes Beniting Legarda," he says.
At the time, too, his romance with a girl from Iloilo had just ended. "Her
letters simply stopped," he says. "I presumed she had found someone. I presumed
wrong. I would find out she never married and that, shortly before she died, she
wanted to see me."
He didn't have to nurse a broken heart for long. While in Massachusetts he
met a girl from Costa Rica and, shortly thereafter, marriage was being
discussed.
"Her condition was for us to live in her country, where her family had
sizable land holdings," recalls Enrile. "I said no. I had just met my father. He
was as happy as I was to meet him. How could I agree to live in Costa Rica?"

9:20 a.m.
Enrile swings by the legislative session in the same hall where he is to
preside later and is marked "present."
Senate President Pro Tempore Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada is presiding over a group
that includes Vicente Sotto III, Franklin Drilon, Gregorio Honasan, Ralph Recto,
Joker Arroyo, Ramon Revilla Jr., Antonio Trillanes IV, Manuel Villar, Manuel
Lapid, Alan Peter and Pia Cayetano, Teofisto Guingona III, and Francis Escudero.
Out of their robes the senators are easily recognizable.
Senator-judge Juan Ponce Enrile as presiding officer at the Corona
impeachment trial. INQUIRER file photo A short elevator ride takes Enrile to the
Office of the Senate President, which has been his since the 14th Congress
started in November 2008.
He responds to morning salutations from employees not by merely nodding but
by verbalizing a hearty "magandang umaga rin!"
In his office, there is time for chitchat before the diplomat guests arrive.
He knows exactly where he is in the conversation, so much so that one has to
interrupt him and ask how he keeps his focus. He seems taken aback by the
question, as if wondering why his focus is a concern. He answers nonetheless.

"Even before I sleep, I anticipate what is to come, what I'm to encounter. I
make up my mind about certain decisions, the direction I'm going to take, and
that's it—unless someone can persuade me to the contrary. But I do not close my
mind. I am not against hearing other positions. I need to be sure I am not
making an error in judgment when I arrive at my present position."
10:45 a.m.
The diplomats arrive, and Enrile receives them in the conference room
adjacent to his private quarters.
After an hour, he returns with a brisk stride that says so much about his
morning exercises and calisthenics.
"I sometimes dance, even by myself, while watching a dance DVD. I sweat and I
get to stretch," he says. "Every now and then I drop by the 365 Club at the
Hotel Intercon. It's no longer what it was in the days of Ka Doroy [then dean of
newspapermen Teodoro Valencia–Ed.] and Mesiong Yabut [former mayor of
Makati–Ed.], but I still have friends there. My sister Armida is also a member."

[PHOTO - Armida Siguion-Reyna with husband Leonardo
Siguion-Reyna.]
The relationship with Armida Siguion-Reyna has an interesting back story.

The boy who was given his mother Petra's family name, Furraganan, found out
who his father was while he was getting ready to join the guerrillas in the last
World War.
"Anakka iti ruar. Ponce ti nagan ti tatang mo. Maysa nga abogado. Awan
ditoy, adda didiay Manila," his mother had confessed to him in Ilocano. (You
are my child out of wedlock. Ponce is your father's name. He is a lawyer. He is
not here, he is in Manila.)
From that day on, Juanito went by the nom-de-guerre Valentin Ponce,
the first after his day of birth, which is Feb. 14, and the second, in honor of
his father.
Juanito had two older brothers Eduardo and Eligio, sons of his mother by her
first husband Martin Paddayuman, who died early. He also has five younger
siblings from his mother's marriage to Macario Rapada of Ilocos Sur. They were
Marciana, Melanio, Luisa, Juliana and Ireneo.
The family tree gets more complicated.
One day he was invited to the home of Vicente Alvarado, his father's neighbor
in Aparri. "There I was introduced, without any warning, to Nena, Teresing,
Edeng, and Carmeling," says Enrile.
The girls, it turned out, were his father's children by Rosario Martinez of
Cagayan, along with a son named Mario, whose boat had been torpedoed by the
Japanese on his way back to Manila to marry his girl.
So there before him were four more Ponce-Enriles. Soon he would find out
about Nancy, another half-sibling from their father's liaison with Maria Balisi
of Aparri.
As far as he knew then, he had seven half-siblings by his mother and six by
his father, whom he had never met.
11:50 a.m.
Executive Assistant Tala Maralit walks in with Majority Floor Leader Tito
Sotto. Enrile waves the senator in and they huddle.
Senator Trillanes comes in next, with a procedural question. It's a short,
quite cordial exchange.
12 noon
[PHOTO - Senator-judge Juan Ponce Enrile as presiding officer at the
Corona impeachment trial. INQUIRER file
photo]
The Senate President is not one to lunch alone. Four others join him for a
Chinese meal of clear soup, steamed garoupa, steamed shrimps, crabs with
black-bean sauce and bok choy sprinkled with garlic.
He continues with his recollection. "So I had met some paternal siblings."

Late in August of 1945, Alvarado returned from Manila, with a message for
Juanito.
"My father wished to see me, and I was to go with him to Manila at once,"
recalls Enrile.
In the city, he was brought to a house in Sta. Mesa. After a week, he still
had not heard from the father who he had been told wanted so badly to meet him.

He would soon discover that one of his roommates, William Balisi, was a full
brother of the same Nancy whom he met in Aparri. William was therefore also his
half brother.
William whispered to the young probinsyano that he had disappointed
their father, which was why he was doing errands in that household, in addition
to holding a day job at the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.
"Don't be like me," Enrile recalls William telling him. "You study hard."

William then informed his younger half-brother that there had been a
misunderstanding of sorts and it didn't look like the Sta. Mesa Ponce-Enriles
were going to introduce Johnny to their father.
Johnny would have to go see the old man on his own, but how? He hardly knew
his way around town.
"Listen carefully now, this is the way to Papa's office," William instructed
him.
From Sta. Mesa, all the way to Legarda, to Azcarraga (Recto Avenue), to R.
Hidalgo, to Quezon Boulevard, Enrile found himself in Quiapo where he was struck
with a baton by an American sentry.
"I had no idea what jaywalking was," he recalls.
He then walked straight to Carriedo, crossed Avenida Rizal, passed the Ideal
theater, walked towards the Sta. Cruz bridge, walked around Plaza Sta. Cruz,
found Dasmariñas Street, turned left around the corner and went on until he
reached Plaza Cervantes.
"And there it was, the Edificio Soriano. I entered the building from Plaza
Cervantes. I saw people standing in front of a door on the right side of the
corridor. I stopped and watched. William told me to go to the seventh floor of
the building. As I stood there, I noticed people rushing out of the door as it
opened, and people outside rushing in before the door closed. It was my first
time to see something like that. I was afraid I would not get out from there
alive.
No one had told the boy from Cagayan about the wonderful contraption called
the elevator.
On the wall facing the elevator door on the seventh floor were the words
"Dewitt, Perkins, and Ponce-Enrile Law Offices."
Juanito approached Santiago Gampued, the telephone operator behind a desk in
the lobby, and introduced himself.
"I want to see attorney Alfonso Ponce Enrile. I am Juanito Furraganan."
He was made to write his name on a small piece of paper and told to wait.
Gampued returned shortly and motioned him to a narrow hallway that ended in
front of a polished wooden door on the northeast corner.
Seated behind a large desk cluttered with piles of paper was a man Castilian
in appearance—light complexion, bushy eyebrows, hair almost all white, thick
eyeglasses over his high-bridged nose. The man stood up upon seeing him.
"He was of medium built and as tall as I was," recalls Enrile. "I'd have
thought him urbane, if I knew the word then. And imposing." Although his face
was somewhat haggard and marked with lines, Enrile thought him good looking.

"He walked towards me, I met him halfway," recalls Enrile. "He stepped
forward, raised his arms, put them around me, held me tightly and said, 'I am
sorry, my son.'"
1:45 p.m.
Gumban has walked in and out of the office twice, perhaps to remind his boss
of the time. He sees what he sees and backs out.
The Senate President is crying.
He apologizes, but is unabashed. "I break down every time I recall the first
time I met Papa."
In October of 1944, he says, he was being beaten up by the Kempetei almost
every day, and had no way of knowing if he was going to live or die.
"Now, September of 1945, I find myself being hugged by the father I had only
much recently found out about, and he's telling me I'm not going back to Sta.
Mesa. I'm to ride with him to Malabon. He is driving a black, three-seater
Chevrolet convertible sports car," says Enrile.
The car stopped in front of the steel gate of a large compound that held a
two story semi-concrete house a few meters away. They get off. They are met by a
handsome woman, two girls and two boys much younger than Johnny. (Raquel, the
oldest girl, happened to be with their maternal grandparents in Pinaglabanan.)

"Papa goes… Papa goes…"
He removes his glasses, wipes the tears off the lenses and, half-laughing,
half-crying, says, "Papa said, 'Mama, Mida, Nene, Junior, Toti—this is Juanito.
He is my son. From now on he will live with us.'"
Enrile was 21 when he was enrolled a high school junior at St.
James Academy in Malabon. After his senior year, he had to take a validating
examination for all high school subjects from first year to the first semester
of third year as his academic records were incomplete.
After high school, Juanito was accepted at Ateneo de Manila for his
two-year pre-law studies, and graduated cum laude, despite having to work as an
assistant librarian in his father's office. By this time, so many shovels and
picks away from his caminero days, he was getting paid P120 a month.
The library proved to be most memorable for the advice that came from his
father's senior partner Clyde A. Dewitt, a former Thomasite:
"If you aspire to be a trial lawyer, master the rules of evidence. Gain the
habit of knowing thoroughly the facts of every case you handle. Study the case
from the viewpoint of the other side as much as you study your side. Learn the
technique of cross-examination by heart. You acquire that skill, not from
reading books, but from actual practice in the courtroom. To be a corporation
lawyer, you must have a thorough knowledge of corporation law, a familiarity
with business practices and a working knowledge of accounting."
[PHOTO MALCOLM HALL, UP COLLEGE OF LAW]
Before Enrile entered the UP College of Law, his father instructed
Mariano Carbonell, a senior lawyer in the same office, to file a petition to
judicially change his surname.
2:14 p.m.
The Presiding Officer, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, calls the
Impeachment Trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato C. Corona to order. First posted 12:53 am | Sunday, February 26th, 2012

SUPPLEMENTAL FROM WIKIPEDIA
Personal life
Manong Johnny, as he is often called, ("Manong" is an Ilocano affectionate
term for an older brother) is married to Cristina Castañer, a Filipina of
Spanish ancestry who in 2008 was named Philippine Ambassador to the Holy See.

They have two children: Juan, Jr. and Katrina. Juan Ponce Enrile, Jr. is
currently a congressman representing the 1st District of Cagayan.
[PHOTO - Armida and son Carlitos]
Katrina Ponce Enrile is the current CEO of Enrile's company Jaka Group. The
Jaka Group owns the Philippine Match Company, the Philippines' leading match
maker.
Enrile has a half-sister, Armida Siguion-Reyna, who is a noted singer
and stage/film actress.
Early life and career
Juan Ponce Enrile was born Juanito Furagganan in Gonzaga, Cagayan, to Petra
Furagganan, the daughter of a poor fisherman.
He was born out of wedlock—his father was the already married powerful
regional politician and renowned lawyer Alfonso Ponce
Enrile. He is the second great-nephew of Mariano Ponce. He was reunited
with his father by the time he reached his high school years.
He graduated cum laude in 1949 with an Associate of Arts degree at the Ateneo
de Manila University. Afterward, he attended the University of the Philippines
College of Law and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Laws degree. While in
law school, he joined the Sigma Rho fraternity.
Upon graduation, he was elected to the prestigious Pi Gamma Mu and Phi Kappa
Phi international honor societies.
He achieved the 11th highest score in the 1953 bar examinations with a 91.72%
rating and a perfect score in mercantile law.
As a scholar at the Harvard Law School, he earned a Master of Laws degree
with specialized training in international tax law.
He taught law at the Far Eastern University and practiced law in his father's
law firm before taking responsibility for then Senator Ferdinand Marcos's
personal legal affairs in 1964, especially during the latter's term as Senate
President.
After Marcos was elected president in 1965, Enrile became part of his inner
circle.
From 1966 to 1968, he was the Undersecretary and sometime Acting Secretary of
the Department of Finance.
He concurrently became acting Insurance Commissioner and Commissioner of the
Bureau of Customs.
From 1968 to 1970, he was the Secretary of the Department of Justice.
Secretary of Defense
Secretary of Defense Juan Ponce Enrile with President Ferdinand Marcos. In
1970, he was appointed Secretary of the Department of National Defense. He left
his post in 1971 to run unsuccessfully for a Senate seat.
Enrile was appointed Defense Chief in 1972. One of Marcos' justifications for
the declaration of martial law that year was terrorism. He cited the alleged
bombing attack on Enrile's car on September 21, 1972.
In 1973, under the new modified parliamentary system then in place under the
country's new constitution, Enrile's title became Defense Minister. As Defense
Minister, he presided over the Executive Committee of the National Security
Council, making him one of the prime architects of Marcos' martial rule. As a
requirement for his position as part of the cabinet under the parliamentary
system, he won an election for assemblyman representing Cagayan Valley for the
Interim Batasang Pambansa in 1978.
As the 1980's began, Marcos began to disregard Enrile's authority as defense
secretary when he changed the chain of command in the military. Under the new
chain of command, the authority would evolve from him as president and
commander-in-chief of the armed forces to his trusted military officer, General
Fabian Ver, then the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Meaning, Enrile was bypassed and officers with close ties with him were being
removed from command positions or being demoted and sometimes, would be retired
forcibly from military service.
After opposition leader Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. was assassinated
on August 21, 1983, Enrile started to break away from the increasingly unpopular
Marcos dictatorship. He began aligning himself with dissident elements in the
army, particularly the Reform the Armed Forces Movement - which was then headed
by his Aide-de-camp, Lt. Col. Gregorio Honasan. Officers from this group, with
Enrile's support, launched a coup d'état against Marcos in February 1986.
Marcos was alerted to the plot by then General Ver, and the conspirators took
refuge in two military camps. From there, Ponce Enrile and then Lt. General
Fidel Ramos, the head of the Philippine Constabulary (now the Philippine
National Police) and concurrently vice-chief of staff of the armed forces,
rallied opponents against Marcos in a citizens' revolt that became known as the
People Power Revolution.
At the same time, Enrile revealed details of the public deception he had
perpetuated while serving in the Marcos government. This included being aware of
fraudulent voting in the 1986 presidential election and faking an assassination
attempt on his own life in 1972, which helped provide Marcos with the
justification for declaring martial law.
Juan Ponce Enrile emerged as one of the heroes of the People Power Movement,
although the reasons for his involvement with the movement were highly disputed.
In the post-martial law era, rumors spread that Ramos and Enrile were among
those involved in Aquino's assassination. It is alleged that, in order not to be
accused along with the Marcoses, the two plotted a coup against the president.

Enrile served as Secretary of National Defense under Corazon Aquino, who had
replaced Marcos as president, but he increasingly differed with Aquino,
specifically on the administration's handling of insurgent leftist opposition.
As a result, he was forced to resign as Defense Secretary in November
1986.











Secretary of Defense Juan Ponce Enrile with
President
Ferdinand Marcos


Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi


© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE
HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved

PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS
ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/phnotweet

This is the PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE (PHNO) Mailing List.

To stop receiving our news items, please send a blank e-mail addressed to: phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

Please visit our homepage at: http://www.newsflash.org/

(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
phno-digest@yahoogroups.com
phno-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Read more

PHNO-OPINION: BLOGGER WATCH: CORONA IMPEACHMENT TO REBALANCE POWERS


BLOGGER WATCH: CORONA IMPEACHMENT TO REBALANCE
POWERS

MANILA, FEBRUARY 28, 2012 (FILIPINO VOICES) Judicial
review, or the power to hold legislative, executive and other governmental
actions unconstitutional, somehow allows the Supreme Court to be first among
equals or otherwise claim judicial supremacy.
The power ebbs and flows, however, depending on the Court's obtaining
judicial philosophy – judicial self-restraint or judicial activism.
As an aftermath of the impeachment of Chief Justice Corona, this
constitutional power relationship has become liable to be recalibrated.
Already the Senate has asserted in unmistakable terms its authority as the
only Constitutional Court in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Corona,
threatening in the process to unravel the delicate fabric of judicial review,
the pretended powers in the so-called expanded certiorari jurisdiction of the
Supreme Court notwithstanding.
In a prolonged impeachment trial that has the potential of being an all-out
constitutional conflict the Court cannot win, the judiciary may actually end up
in the red, i.e., ceding great powers it has steadily "hoarded," heretofore with
little or no resistance from the political departments or the people.
Consequently, the impeachment could turn out to be as much about the fitness
of Corona to hold his high office as the ability of the Court to keep the metes
and bounds of the judiciary's province it has zealously defined and assigned
itself.
Does this impending development allay the fears that political justices
enamored by a newfound mandate (the expanded certiorari jurisdiction) might well
succumb to the impulses of Shamanism concocting powers as they please and one
day upset for good the delicate constitutional checks and balances mechanism?

The apprehension seems justified given that in a number of significant cases
of recent vintage, the Court has freely engaged in judicial activism (the
imputation that judges confuse their own idea of justice and right with the law)
rebuking both the Legislative and the Executive where opportunity for judicial
self-restraint, upholding separation of powers and the republican principle, was
widely available. For instance, during a parallel conflict between the Court and
the Executive in the MoA-Ad case (Province of North Cotabato v. GRP), we have
expressed the concern that
. . . when executive activism (e.g., attempting to make way for peace [in
Mindanao] "outside of the box") clashes with judicial activism (e.g.,
encroaching on executive prerogative in the guise of judicial oversight) the
party who . . . submits to the sway of the other often gets the short end of the
stick. Bit by bit in this conflict, the judiciary, unrestrained by any other
check than the consciences of the individual justices, has been surely keeping
in total control of the longer opposite end.
The decision in the MoA-Ad case has in fact been in line with the Court's
lingering counter-majoritarian instincts to keep that control.
On the other hand, the hoarding binge has been unabashed as the Court
leveraged its grip of the longer end of the stick in critical cases:
Santiago v. COMELEC where it struck down the Roco Law, the enabling law for a
direct democracy or the people's initiative to amend the constitution (prompting
then Justice Artemio V. Panganiban in his dissent to call the majority decision
as "all too sweeping and too extremist"); Estrada v. Desierto where it demoted EDSA II to an inchoate cousin EDSA I
(because the Court held what had taken place was not actually an uprising but
only speechifying); Lambino v. COMELEC where it amended the Constitution by judicial fiat, by
reading a requirement, at the expense of People Power, that when it comes to
complex amendments amounting to a revision, a deliberative body, not just a
people's initiative, is demanded for the purpose; Francisco, Jr. v. House of Representatives where to hail the Chief (CJ
Davide) it interpreted the House impeachment rules against the House and stopped
the impeachment of Davide; Neri v. Senate where to serve President Arroyo it emasculated the Senate's
oversight power by justifying executive privilege to button the lips of former
NEDA director Romulo Neri (thereby preventing Neri to give more answers before
the Senate committees investigating the infamous NBN-ZTE deal);
and, of late, Biraogo v. The Philippine Truth Commission, where neither
trusting in nor deferring to the intention and action of President Noynoy
Aquino, it voided his very first executive order (EO1) creating the Truth
Commission.
The runaway Supreme Court has been impossible to stop in its track –
cementing as a result its title as "the final arbiter," "the ultimate
interpreter," "the last bastion of democracy" and "the philosopher-kings" –
until a midnight Chief Justice led the Court's majority contrive a fishy
temporary restraining order (TRO) that would have allowed President Arroyo and
spouse to escape law enforcement thereby diminishing further executive
authority.
The TRO has derogated the Court the way Malacañang involvement in a numbers
game of jueteng had demeaned the ousted President Estrada, all in a manner a
run-of-the-mill Mang Pandoy could easily understand.
Now, the Legislative with the presumed blessing of the President is poised to
inch its way on the scepter of power with the end in view of sorting out those
powers attached to it (House prosecutors, for instance, plan to have some
justices subpoenaed or ordered to appear before the Impeachment Court).
And while "legal errors" in decisions by the Supreme Court may not be subject
to review and reversal by any other authority than the Court itself, the Senate
as the Impeachment Court is now unlikely to shy away from scrutinizing, if
necessary, those decisions to arrive at a verdict on the indictment of "betrayal
of public trust" and/or "culpable violation of the Constitution."
This is happening owing not so much to the Court losing the éclat of its
activism as to the shared sense of being restrained (not by itself but) by a
watchful constituency that may be ready to reassert its political capacity (or
to occupy ) once again.
There is a way out of this imminent rebalancing of power in which the Court
might find its cached powers squandered: Corona exit now, not later.
THE BLOGGER:
[Abe N. Margallo was once expelled from all schools in the
Philippines for leading a student rally. Fortunate to be reinstated, he went on
to graduate from law school after serving as editor of the college law review.
At 25 he started teaching constitutional law while engaged in corporate law and
litigation practice.
Semi-retired after a long stint in banking and financial services, he now
likes to teach special ed students, write a column for New Jersey-based
"Filipino-Asian Bulletin" and blog at Red's Herring. Abe's parting words in
Build or Perish!, a book he has authored (and published by UST) reveal his
enduring trust in Filipinos' People Power:
Today, the high spirit of EDSA is beckoning anew. And whether we answer to
flesh it out—and answer we all must—as Tsinoy, Tisoy, Pinoy or Amboy, and as
Taipan or Mang Pandoy is really of no moment, if we believe we are all
Pinoy-rin.
We know this as the liberating instruction of People Power. So, every
Filipino, and anyone committed to the deeper tides of democracy, must keep on
deferring to its wisdom, well beyond and into the next and more arduous chapters
of nation building.]
SOURCE: Filipino Voices, Powered By A Collective Voice @ http://filipinovoices.com/about


Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi


© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE
HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved


PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS
ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/phnotweet

This is the PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE (PHNO) Mailing List.

To stop receiving our news items, please send a blank e-mail addressed to: phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

Please visit our homepage at: http://www.newsflash.org/

(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
phno-digest@yahoogroups.com
phno-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Read more

PHNO-OPINION: SOLUTIONS TO CORRUPTION: THE 'CORY MODEL' / BRIONES: LIKE 'TELENOVELA'


SOLUTIONS TO CORRUPTION: THE 'CORY MODEL' / BRIONES: LIKE
'TELENOVELA'

MANILA, FEBRUARY 28, 2012
(PHILSTAR) By Rhodina Villanueva (The Philippine Star)
POSTED October 02, 2011 12:00...
UP study shows 'Cory Model' still works in fight vs corruption.


A study conducted by a group of public administration practitioners and
academics from the University of the Philippines indicated that the "Cory Model"
or the strategy used by former President Corazon Aquino during her
administration could still work well for the country in the fight against
corruption.
The research team led by Prof. Leonor Magtolis Briones, a public finance
expert who was formerly treasurer of the Philippines, noted as a proposed
framework an expansion of the Cory Model which was used successfully.
"During the administration of President Corazon Aquino, significant
anti-corruption results were attained without creating a new agency.
She utilized the existing Cabinet structure and government arrangements which
were already in place without putting up a new organization, and without
creating new items of expenditures," Briones pointed out.
[PHOTO- Professor Leonor Magtolis Briones. COURTESY OF 'STOP AIDS
CAMPAIGN' @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/36792262@N08/]

She said it is possible to make substantial inroads against corruption
without creating a new agency.
"It is possible to work within the existing framework of government
institutions. Most important, only Filipinos can solve corruption in the
Philippines.
"This was done during the administration of the current President's mother,
the revered President Corazon Aquino," said Briones during the presentation of
their study entitled "Pinoy Solutions to Corruption" held at the UP-National
College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG) Friday.
Briones further said the anti-corruption strategy of former President Cory
Aquino is so simple it does not even have to be called a strategy.
"The only new anti-corruption agency she created was the Presidential
Commission on Good Government which was tasked with the mission of recovering
ill-gotten wealth. Otherwise, she simply used the Cabinet system," she said.

The study noted, "It is likely she (Cory) did not see the need for foreign
expertise and assistance because studies and recommendations had already been
made about controlling corruption."
It also pointed out that instead of creating a separate campaign, President
(Cory) Aquino integrated anti-corruption initiatives into the regular structure
of the Executive branch, particularly the Cabinet system.
"She simply ordered all her Cabinet members and heads of agencies to study
their own organizations and formulate anti-corruption plans. They were required
to report regularly. Since each department and agency was different from the
others, the secretaries had different strategies and reported varying results,"
Briones said.
She added, "The assessment reports on President Cory's fight against
corruption show very clearly that the successes attained were largely due to the
integrity of her Cabinet members who fought the war in their own departments.
Under her leadership, her Cabinet members fought graft and corruption, each in
his own way. A clear lesson is that the quality of each Cabinet member is
crucial in an anti-corruption campaign."
The report further said, "Fundamental integrity is what President Cory and
her Cabinet bequeathed to the country. This is what presidents, including the
current, should also bequeath to the future generations."
Briones' team also stressed that only the Filipino can solve corruption.

"The government shall lead the campaign. Only the government has the
resources and power to initiate the campaign and bring it to a successful
conclusion. No less than the President will be at the helm of the campaign."

The proposed framework to fight corruption indicated that all the three
levels of the executive branch of government will be covered by the campaign –
national, local and the corporate sector. The two other branches of government –
Congress and judiciary – will be invited to join the campaign.
"All other sectors – business, professional organizations, civic
associations, schools, civil society organizations and faith-based
organizations, academic institutions and media, will also be mobilized," Briones
said.
The new framework proposes tight coordination with the two other branches of
government – legislative and judiciary. It also recommends more effective
coordination with the constitutional bodies involved in corruption control.
Briones, who is also lead convenor of Social Watch Philippines, said the
environment at this time is somewhat similar to that of former president Cory
Aquino's administration.
"There is widespread revulsion against corruption. At the same time, there is
also widespread trust in the President, whatever critics might say about his
administration. It can be said that now is the time to launch a massive,
comprehensive anti-corruption campaign."
Briones led the research team with professors Danilo Reyes and Ma. Oliva
Domingo of the UP-NCPAG as members.
EARLIER REPORT FROM ABS-CBN
Briones: Anti-corruption fight like 'telenovela'
by David Dizon, abs-cbnNEWS.com Posted at 09/26/2011 11:11 PM |
Updated as of 09/26/2011 11:11 PM
Former National Treasurer urges 'Cory model' to fight corruption

MANILA, Philippines - A former Cabinet official believes the
government of President Benigno Aquino III can eliminate corruption by following
the example set by his mother, former President Cory Aquino.
In an interview, former National Treasurer Leonor Magtolis Briones (photo
at left) said the younger Aquino would do well to follow the "Cory model" to
eliminate corruption in different government agencies and departments one by
one.
"Ang Cory model ay simple lang. Cory had no additional budget, did not get
money from multinationals. She just made her government work. She appointed
Cabinet officials who were responsible and oversaw anti-corruption programs,"
she told abs-cbnNEWS.com.
Briones said the "Cory model" entails a no-nonsense approach by the Office of
the Ombudsman and state auditors to graft.
She said the model will also need the help of the legislature and the
judiciary since the 2 other branches of government are tainted with corruption.
She said the business community, civil society and media will also play
important roles in curbing corruption.
Briones, who served as National Treasurer during the Estrada administration,
said she believes that
the incumbent President can do better in fighting
graft.
"I believe so. For one thing, there's more expertise and experience. There
are more groups monitoring corruption. Wag lang tatantanan at titigilan. Wag sa
umpisa lang at biglang magsasawa. We have to get the Pinoy way of doing things,"
she said.
'Like a telenovela'
Briones said anti-corruption efforts are like a "telenovela" in search of a
happy ending. She noted that while many irregularities were exposed, there is
little to no resolution and the people lost interest.
"Sa telenovela, hindi pwede masyado matagal dahil mawawalan interes ang tao,"
she said.
She also noted that there should be a "Fear Factor" approach in fighting
corruption by ensuring that Filipinos know all the rules. For example, she said
many Filipinos who break traffic rules elsewhere are "behaved" when they reach
Makati.
"Bakit ang taga-Quezon City kapag pumunta sa Makati ang bait? Kasi alam nila
ang traffic mahigpit dun," he said.
Pinoy Solutions to Corruption
Briones recently led a research team to look into "Pinoy Solutions to
Corruption" based on the strategy used by the late President Cory Aquino during
her administration. The two other members of the team are Profs. Danilo R. Reyes
and Ma.Oliva Domingo,
She said her research showed that there have been several "wins" in the fight
against corruption in several government agencies through efficient systems and
fast delivery of services.
She also mentioned instances of spectacular agency reforms in the past where
corruption was stopped in its tracks, like the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the
Department of Public Highways, the Commission on Audit, and the Philippine
National Police.
On the other hand, she also noted that reports of corruption in government
started increasing after 2004 despite the rise of several anti-corruption
monitoring groups.
Results of the study are set to be presented in a symposium at the National
College of Public Administration and Governance, University of the Philippines
on Tuesday.

Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi


© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE
HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved

PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS
ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/phnotweet

This is the PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE (PHNO) Mailing List.

To stop receiving our news items, please send a blank e-mail addressed to: phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

Please visit our homepage at: http://www.newsflash.org/

(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
phno-digest@yahoogroups.com
phno-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Read more

PHNO=OPINION: BLOGGER WATCH: BEST PRACTICES FOR CURBING CORRUPTION IN ASIA


BLOGGER WATCH: BEST PRACTICES FOR CURBING
CORRUPTION IN ASIA[PHOTO - Professor Jon S.T.
Quah began doing research on corruption in 1977 when it was not fashionable or
politically correct to do so. Today, more than 30 years later, he is still
writing and giving presentations on Corruption and Governance in Asian
Countries, Public Personnel Management in Asian Countries, Administrative
Reforms in Singapore, and Public Policy in Singapore. He retired as a Professor
of Political Science at the National University of Singapore in June 2007 after
35 years of teaching and research, and he is devoting his time now to
consultancy work on the abovementioned topics.]
PHNO DESK, FEBRUARY 28, 2012
(SYNOPSIS)
Curbing Corruption in Asia is a turning point in the debate over
corruption.
Professor Jon S.T. Quah combines broad comparative concepts with a
detailed account of corruption and reforms in six countries to spell out
critical policy choices Asian societies face. His analysis of three patterns of
corruption control is a welcome departure from the many reform proposals that
emphasize the same factors everywhere, and thus do not really fit anywhere.
Not only can corruption be controlled; Professor Jon S.T. Quah
shows how several Asian societies have done it. At the same time, he identifies
critical points at which controls can fail. Anyone concerned with corruption and
development in Asia should give the lessons in his article a very careful
thought.

The government is not the sole responsible for curbing corruption,
citizen of a particular country also have duties to watch over their leaders.
Reading this column entitled Best Practices for Curbing Corruption in Asia" has
been an eye opener in many ways. Different countries are faced with different
scenario of corruption and each needs a special attention.

The Philippines for example, even if a separate agency will be put
up for monitoring corruption what's the assurance that this agencies will really
do its function. It happened before, the Philippine Government establish the
PCGG but lately they're found out that the most of its members were corrupt,
this only mean that in order for a government to solve corruption the root of
the problem should be looked up.

Also according to the column a certain government should punish
those guilty of corruption, this is something true, unfortunately here in the
Philippines by the times Former President Estrada was pronounced guilty of the
crime Plunder he was sent to prison but several years later the government just
to pleas all the followers/supporters of the former President decided to free
Erap of his crimes.

The primary reason why there is a big difficulty for countries to
curb corruption is because there is no unity to achieves maximum tolerance for
corruption.
A lot of civilians and government employees sees corruption as a
daily occurring thing that is not in any way wrong.
To fight corruption in the Philippines is to adopted a tough
anti-corruption policy targeted at ensuring sustainable and equitable
development.
The objective is to combat corruption through its general work on
market liberalization and public sector reform; by providing explicit support
for selective anti-corruption initiatives; and by ensuring that its own staff
and projects adhere to the highest levels of integrity.
The objective of these was to raise awareness of the seriousness
of the corruption problem and to identify effective anti-corruption strategies.

The pernicious effects of corruption:


corruption erodes confidence in political institutions and
endangers public sector reforms;

exacts a disproportionate cost on the poor who may be deprived
of basic public services;

distorts the allocation of resources and undermines
competition in the market place.
Empirical evidence demonstrates that corruption has a devastating
effect on investment, growth, and development.
Agreed on the necessity to fight all types of corruption on all
levels and recognized progress made in some countries to develop effective
anti-corruption programmes.
Recognized the need to address the international dimension of
corruption, organised crime and money laundering.
Identified priority measures to fight corruption including:


strengthening state institutions by improving enforcement and
monitoring;

providing for transparency and accountability;

enabling independent investigative and judiciary bodies;

building public/private partnerships and networks to monitor
anti-corruption activities and underpin reform efforts;

establishing participatory and proactive strategies to enhance
anti-corruption efforts of all parties concerned;

empowering civil society and media to galvanize community action,
generate political commitment and create a pattern of honesty in business
transactions;

improving basic education and literacy levels, and educating
society to the costs of corruption.
Agreed that anti-corruption programmes must be supported by
political will and that building private/public sector coalitions is critical to
developing and sustaining reform measures.
The need for changing the business environment because corruption
interferes with competition on the basis of price, quality, and service and
erodes the integrity of managers and employees.
Stressed the importance of promoting ethical standards in business
and good corporate governance.
Recognized the value of international instruments to encourage and
strengthen anti-corruption programmes at national and regional levels and to
provide a benchmark of best practices.
Encouraged donor organizations to develop synergies in programme
design and implementation on the basis of long-term partnership.
Implementation strategies: Public Sector
We need to:


develop comprehensive national strategies for combating
corruption;

strengthen law enforcement mechanisms, including the role of the
judiciary and provide witness protection programmes;

increase transparency through the establishment of competitive
public procurement procedures and encourage the adoption of international rules
in this area;

improve conditions for international investment through
simplification of government procedures,

improve transparency and accountability in budget preparation,
execution, and oversight of expenditure,

develop codes of ethics in public administration to be enforced by
strong sanctions;

strengthen procedures for an effective and merit-based civil
service, particularly recruitment, promotion and pay,

adopt "Freedom of Information" laws and provide access to public
information,

strengthen parliamentary oversight, independent audit and
investigative bodies to be backed by sufficient human and financial resources.

Implementation Strategies: Private Sector
We need for:


establishing public-private partnerships to develop
anti-corruption strategies, goals and processes;

promoting good corporate governance on the basis of international
standards and principles;

strong commitment by top management of companies to implement
anti-corruption strategies;

developing and implementing codes of ethical conduct and ensuring
their effectiveness through internal control mechanisms, training of personnel
and sanctions;

accounting and auditing rules and standards to ensure transparency
in business transactions;

building coalitions for business integrity, including business
ethics centers.

Implementation Strategies: Media and Civil Society
The urgency of:
•mobilizing civil society (media, NGOs, business, labor, and
professional associations) to monitor good governance;
•creating an
anti-corruption network of NGOs to share information on regional/country
anti-corruption initiatives;
•conducting surveys of businesses,
consumers and public opinion to provide feedback for delivery of public services
and fostering competition;
•implementing education programmes
aimed at fostering an anti-corruption culture in society;
•enabling the
media to effectively exercise public scrutiny;
•improving ethical and
professional standards of journalists and promoting training in investigative
journalism.
Follow-Up


exchange information and experience on national, regional and
international programmes to measure progress and encourage further actions;

analyze issues relating to anti-corruption activities and develop
recommendations;

monitor the progress achieved in the implementation of these
recommendations.
These are my recommendations if the body satisfy we will widely
disseminated to all parties concerned with the fight against corruption.
roy
dante ogurida


Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All
rights reserved


PHILIPPINE
HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/phnotweet

This is the PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE (PHNO) Mailing List.

To stop receiving our news items, please send a blank e-mail addressed to: phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

Please visit our homepage at: http://www.newsflash.org/

(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
phno-digest@yahoogroups.com
phno-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Read more

PHNO-BE: PHL STOCKS TUMBLED SHARPLY 1.9% / SMC TO ACQUIRE PAL 49% STAKE, $500 M


PHL STOCKS TUMBLED SHARPLY 1.9% / SMC TO ACQUIRE PAL 49%
STAKE, $500 M
MANILA, FEBRUARY 28, 2012 (INQUIRER) By: Doris
Dumlao - Most local stocks tumbled sharply on Monday, dragging the main
stock index below 4,800, as investors scrambled to pocket gains after the strong
run-up since the start of the year.
The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index shed 93.71 points, or 1.9
percent, to close at 4,799.29. The index last week soared to nearly 5,000 but
failed to break out of this key resistance level.
All counters faltered but the sharpest losses were incurred by the holding
firm, industrial and financial sub-indices, which respectively tumbled 3
percent, 2.2 percent and 1.8 percent.
Value turnover amounted to P7.16 billion. There were only 47 advancers, which
were overwhelmed by 118 decliners while 32 stocks were unchanged.
Ma. Theresa Marcial-Javier, senior vice president and head of asset
management and trust group at Bank of the Philippine Islands, said a correction
was healthy for the stock market.
"Our overall view is we are bullish about the economy and the market, and I
am sure many people will be delighted to see corrections like this as it is an
opportunity to add to your position," Marcial-Javier said.
Marcial-Javier said there was still a lot of cash invested in the stock
market and with many investors re-rating the country, she noted that a secular
bull run correction should be healthy.
Aboitiz stocks were among those that succumbed to heavy profit-taking after
last week's run-up that was triggered by a prospective merger-and-acquisition
play on the group's banking unit, Union Bank.
SMC acquisition of PAL 'imminent' 49% stake, management
control for $500M By: Daxim L. Lucas, Paolo Montecillo Philippine
Daily Inquirer 10:31 pm | Friday, February 24th
[PHOTO: SMC's Eduardo M. Cojuangco, Jr.
Chairman and CEO, Chairman
Executive Committee, San Miguel Corporation]
San Miguel Corp.'s (SMC) acquisition of a "significant minority stake" in
flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) is, for all intents and purposes, a done
deal with an official announcement set to be made in the coming days.
Sources from both camps familiar with the negotiations between tycoon Ramon
Ang and the country's second richest man, Lucio Tan, described the deal as
"imminent," adding that only "minor details and final touches" remained to be
ironed out between both businessmen.
The SMC conglomerate is set to acquire a 49-percent stake in PAL for an
estimated $500 million, which will come in the form of an equity infusion,
resulting in a dilution of Tan's stake. SMC will also be given management
control of the airline.
The deal is being likened to Tan's divestment of half his stake in Fortune
Tobacco Corp. to form a joint venture with multinational cigarette maker Philip
Morris International in 2010.
In that transaction, management control of the merged entity was also handed
over to the acquiring party.
PAL—the first airline to offer commercial services in Asia—has also seen its
market share eroded in recent years by the entry of no-frills carriers like Cebu
Pacific of the Gokongwei family.
According to sources, an initial agreement between San Miguel president Ang
and Tan was sealed as early as late last year and would have been concluded last
month were it not for a last-minute expression of interest by telecommunications
tycoon Manuel Pangilinan.
Pangilinan—who also runs Hong Kong-based First Pacific Group of Indonesia's
Salim family—was said to have offered Tan $700 million for a 100-percent stake
in the airline.
The offer was said to have divided Tan's close advisers with the taipan
having decided to favor Ang with the deal only in recent days.
Officials from both camps declined to speak on the record about the
transaction.
Ang said: "We are still in talks with them."
Yesterday, PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna confirmed months of speculation
surrounding the nation's oldest carrier.
"Talks are definitely going on," Villaluna told the Inquirer.
She clarified, however, that discussions were at the shareholder level and
that the company as an entity was not directly involved.
She declined to give details, saying that the company would issue public
disclosures at the appropriate time, or once any deal is signed.
Villaluna added that she was not aware if PAL's shareholders were in talks
with other groups aside from SMC.
Earlier this month, PAL's parent company PAL Holdings reported a net loss of
P3.6 billion for the April-to-December period of 2011—the first three quarters
of the airline's current fiscal year. This was a reversal from more than P3
billion in profits a year before.
The losses were caused by high fuel prices and labor issues in late 2011 that
prevented PAL from cashing in on the holiday season last December.
PAL said total expenses rose 12 percent, driven mainly by the higher cost of
jet fuel, which averaged $133 a barrel in 2011 from $98 in 2010.
At the end of 2011, PAL said jet fuel accounted for more than 50 percent of
total expenses, up from 39 percent a year earlier.


Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All
rights reserved


PHILIPPINE
HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/phnotweet

This is the PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE (PHNO) Mailing List.

To stop receiving our news items, please send a blank e-mail addressed to: phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

Please visit our homepage at: http://www.newsflash.org/

(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
phno-digest@yahoogroups.com
phno-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Read more

PHNO-SP: BRADLEY CLAIMS HE'S STRONGER THAN PACMAN / BRADLEY BETTER CHANCE THAN COTTO


BRADLEY CLAIMS HE'S STRONGER THAN PACMAN / BRADLEY BETTER
CHANCE THAN COTTO

MANILA, FEBRUARY 28, 2012 (ABS-CBN) Undefeated junior
welterweight champion Timothy Bradley Jr. is confident that he will be the
bigger and stronger man when he walks into the ring to face Filipino boxer Manny
Pacquiao on June 9 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Bradley got to see Pacquiao face-to-face when they participated in a photo
shoot to promote their fight, and the undefeated boxer told RingTV that he was
"way bigger" than Pacquiao. [http://ringtv.craveonline.com/blog/171695-bradley-says-his-bigger-stronger-than-pacquiao]

"I walk around at 160, 165 (pounds). I'm way bigger than him," he said.
"I'm strong, and I'm a lot thicker than he is, and I looked like I'm a lot
stronger. I know that he can't bench press no 300-pounds," Bradley added.
Bradley previously said Pacquiao's only advantage against him was his
strength, but he now believes that he may be stronger than the Filipino
champion.
"I am physically stronger, and I'm younger and I feel good. I felt like this
is going to be a good match," he said.
Bradley has a record of 28 wins without a single loss, though only 12 of his
victories have come via knockout.
Pacquiao, meanwhile, has won 54 fights, with 38 victories coming by knockout.
He also has three losses and two draws in his career.
'Bradley has a better chance to win than Cotto'
ABS-CBNnews.com Posted at 02/27/2012 7:43 PM | Updated as of
02/27/2012 7:43 PM
MANILA, Philippines – Boxing trainer and commentator Teddy Atlas
believes undefeated American boxer Timothy Bradley Jr. has a better chance of
upsetting Filipino boxing icon Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao, than Puerto Rican boxer
Miguel Cotto does against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Mayweather will go for his 43rd straight victory in as many fights when he
battles Cotto on May 5, while Pacquiao takes on Bradley on June 9.
Speaking with Fight Hype, Atlas said Bradley has a better chance of pulling
off an upset than Cotto does.
"I think Pacquiao's gonna have the tougher go. I think Bradley is a hungry
kid still," Atlas said. "He's still got stuff in front of him that he'd like to
prove. He's pretty quick, he's pretty good technically, he's very gutsy, and
he's obviously got good skill sets."
Bradley's chances of winning will also depend on Pacquiao's level of
intensity and focus in the fight, Atlas said.
"I think there is a little dissipation in Pacquiao. I don't know if it's
physical or mental or emotional, but I saw him drop off a little in the (Juan
Manuel) Marquez fight," he said.
Atlas is referring to Pacquiao's majority decision victory against Marquez
last November, a bout that saw Pacquiao struggle against his Mexican rival.
"Part of it was Marquez. Marquez knows how to fight him. Marquez is
brilliant... But I also saw less urgency and less fire and less taking of
chances than we used to see with Pacquiao," he said.
Atlas believes that because of Pacquiao's stature in life, the Filipino boxer
no longer has the same competitive fire as he did in his previous boxing
matches.
"He's so rich and so successful, and he has so many other options, I don't
know if the fire burns as high," Atlas said.
"I think Bradley is going to have a chance in that fight, but you have to
favor Pacquiao," he added.
Convincing win
In the other marquee boxing match, however, Atlas is expecting Mayweather to
win convincingly.
"Even though Floyd is moving up in weight to fight Cotto, that doesn't mean
Cotto still isn't going to be at a big speed disadvantage, and that doesn't
erase that he got destroyed and completely dominated by Pacquiao," Atlas said.

"(Cotto) is going to be facing a guy that's hard to hit, a guy that is very
fast, very confident, and even at junior middlewight, it's not going to hide the
deficiencies at defense.
Atlas noted that because Cotto has never been an exceptionally fast boxer,
"Cotto hasn't been the hardest guy to hit."
"I like Mayweather to really win that fight pretty convincingly. He'll be too
fast, he'll control the ring and do what he wants to do on his terms and win
that fight," he added.
Mayweather has not lost in 42 professional fights, while Cotto has lost
against Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito.
Since his loss to Pacquiao in 2009, Cotto has won three straight bouts and
annexed the World Boxing Association light middleweight championship along the
way.
Ariza expects dominant Pacquiao in Bradley fight
ABS-CBNnews.com Posted at 02/27/2012 5:48 PM | Updated as of
02/27/2012 5:48 PM
MANILA, Philippines – Manny Pacquiao's strength and conditioning trainer,
Alex Ariza, is expecting the eight-division boxing champion to show up in
tip-top condition for his June 9 bout against unbeaten American Timothy Bradley
Jr.
In an interview with Ronnie Nathanielsz of Boxing Scene, Ariza said he
believes the "old Pacquiao" – the fighter who dominated Oscar de la Hoya, Ricky
Hatton and Miguel Cotto – will show up against Bradley. "We talked about the training and what we are going to do and any changes we
are going to try to make," Ariza said of the Filipino boxer.
Pacquiao has not looked dominant in his past two fights, especially in his
latest bout against Juan Manuel Marquez last November.
Although Pacquiao won the fight via majority decision, he struggled against
Marquez's counterpunching and footwork and later said that he suffered from
cramps.
Ariza wants to make sure that the Filipino star will have a much better
performance this time around.
"Pacquiao was receptive after the Marquez fight and again before this fight.
He said he wants to start training camp a little earlier, and he wants to focus
on building his body and getting his power and speed again," Ariza said.


Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi

© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved


PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS
ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/phnotweet

This is the PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE (PHNO) Mailing List.

To stop receiving our news items, please send a blank e-mail addressed to: phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

Please visit our homepage at: http://www.newsflash.org/

(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
phno-digest@yahoogroups.com
phno-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Read more

PHNO-SB: WHAT YOU DIDN'T SEE ON TV DURING THE OSCARS


WHAT YOU DIDN'T SEE ON TV DURING THE
OSCARS

LOS ANGELES, FEBRUARY 28 2012 (MALAYA) BY DERRIK J. LANG and SANDY COHEN
— Even the hundreds of photographers, TV cameras and webcams around the
Hollywood & Highland Center can't capture every starry moment of Sunday's
84th annual Academy Awards.
Celebrities reunite on the red carpet, mingle during commercial breaks and
experience impromptu star-crossings in the wings – and we've got our eyes and
ears trained on those moments.
From arrivals to after-parties, here's a running account of what you didn't
see on TV:
3:22 p.m. — "Is the house open?", a casually dressed Billy Crystal asks a
backstage security crew a little more than two hours before the Oscar show is to
begin. Wearing jeans, a sweater, sneakers and his Oscar credential, Crystal
gazes out at an empty theater as he hits his marks and silently rehearses his
monologue. A few minutes later, he's gone.
3:26 p.m. — Outside the theater, things are beginning to heat up, thanks in
no small part to the arrival of perennial Oscar heartthrob George Clooney. The
fan bleachers erupt in a chorus of cheers and whoops as Clooney arrives on the
red carpet, bobbing his head in time to chants of "George, George, George."
3:27 p.m. — Matthew Lillard of "The Descendants" plays air guitar on the red
carpet before taking off his jacket and breaking into a faux strip tease amid a
shout from the bleachers of "Shaggy," a tribute to his role in the "Scooby-Doo"
movies.
4:01 p.m. — Viola Davis asks the bleacher crowd what it thinks of her new
cropped copper 'do. The crowd responds with an enthusiastic cheer.
4:03 p.m. — Clooney, who a few minutes earlier had promised the bleacher
crowd he would return, keeps his word. He walks right up to a throng of fans to
shake hands and sign autographs.
4:30 p.m. — Not all the glamour is happening on the Oscar red carpet. An hour
before the show, Sir Elton John and his husband, David Furnish, stroll the white
carpet at the 20th annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards viewing
party at West Hollywood Park. Bringing the proper amount of glitter to the
affair, John is decked out in an embellished black jacket with his initials
spelled out.
4:53 p.m. — Inside the theater, Jessica Chastain has taken her seat - make
that her armrest. "The Help" actress squats on the armrest to chat with
Christian Bale and others who are dropping by to say hello. The bonhomie is
interrupted by an announcement over the theater's loudspeakers: "Please take
your seats. This year's Academy Awards will begin in 25 minutes."
5:05 p.m. — Gwyneth Paltrow stops on the red carpet to chat in Spanish with
Penelope Cruz before the two make their way into the theater.
5:15 p.m. — "How much time do I have?" asks Oscar show producer Brian Grazer,
his all-access credential hanging atop his tux. Fifteen minutes to showtime he's
told. "I'm going to see if Bennett Miller is in his seat," he replies and dashes
off in search of the "Moneyball" director.
5:21 p.m. — "Hey, thanks for dressing up," a tuxedoed Tom Hanks says as he
passes a person wearing shorts and a T-shirt. Turns out the guy is part of the
Cirque du Soleil troupe that is performing at the Oscar show.
5:23 p.m. — Sandra Bullock is working the front row, chatting up George
Clooney, awkwardly smooching Bradley Cooper and getting smacked on the rear by a
jovial Meryl Streep.
5:25 p.m. — The thing must really be ready to start. Billy Crystal has just
been escorted to the stage.
5:28 p.m. — And the award for the last celebrity to take his or her seat
before showtime goes to ... Actually, it's a tie this year, with Brad Pitt and
Angelina Jolie claiming the honor.
5:34 p.m. — Uh oh. "The Artist" might be coming down with a cold. As the
Oscar for cinematography is being presented, "The Artist" star Jean Dujardin
not-so-silently blows his nose and coughs a few times before apologizing to
everyone around him.
5:44 p.m. — Billy Crystal's long awaited return as Oscar host doesn't earn a
full standing ovation, but perhaps that's because Michelle Williams, Sandra
Bullock, Angelina Jolie and others are too busy jumping out of their seats to
schmooze during the show's first commercial break. Leading the charge, George
Clooney dashes over to hug his pal Brad Pitt and a cameraman.
6:10 p.m. — When Octavia Spencer is announced as winner of the supporting
actress Oscar for "The Help" one of the loudest whoops comes from backstage.
"Sorry," Sandra Bullock quickly apologizes as workers turn to stare. "I don't
even know what I said," a still stunned Spencer remarks as she walks offstage
and into the arms of Bullock.
6:25 p.m.: The Muppets puppeteers have taken up residence in a balcony box
overlooking the theater. They'll soon be joined by their respective
counterparts, Miss Piggy and Kermit, to introduce the Cirque du Soleil
performances. They have a better seat than their human co-star Jason Segel. He's
situated down below, all the way on the right side of the theater next to a
monitor broadcasting the show.
6:28 p.m. — Robert Downey Jr. chews away on his gum and dances along to the
music as he waits in the wings to present an award during the Oscar show's
Cirque du Soleil performance. When his cue came he quickly deposited the gum in
a napkin and stepped on stage.
6:42 p.m. — Stage manager Dency Nelson has discovered Downey's discarded gum.
"Robert Downey Jr. chewing gum! We could sell it on eBay," Nelson jokes before
tossing it in the trash.
6:50 p.m. — Wait a minute, this isn't a beauty contest. "How do you feel
about relinquishing your title?" Robert Downey Jr. asks last year's supporting
actress winner Melissa Leo after Octavia Spencer wins this year's award. "Oh,
I'm not," she says. "''I thought you had to give them yours," Downey replies." I
don't know how this works."
6:51 p.m. — Are the infamous Oscar hunger pangs already setting in? Meryl
Streep just handed Sandra Bullock a piece of gum in the audience. A few minutes
later, Melissa McCarthy hands what looks like a piece of candy to her
"Bridesmaids" co-star Kristen Wiig.
7:21 p.m. — There's no need to survive solely on what Oscargoers have in
their purses. An army of 1930s-era candy girls has just marched into the crowd
to dole out popcorn and candy. Stacy Keibler grabs some of each.
7:26 p.m. — It's not exactly "At The Movies," but Oscar show producer Brian
Grazer has just gotten two thumbs up from Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie on how
the program is going so far. "It's really, really good," Jolie tells him
backstage.
8 p.m. — Composer Ludovic Bource, winner of the Oscar for "The Artist,' leans
over the orchestra pit to give a rousing cheer to his fellow musicians during a
commercial break.
8:01 p.m. — James Earl Jones, posing for photos backstage with his Governor's
Award for lifetime achievement, pauses to ask a worker, "Whose name is on this?"
''Yours," he is told. "My name is on it," a beaming Jones tells Oprah Winfrey
when she shows up to collect her own Governor's Award.
8:02 p.m. — "Out of respect, we greatly appreciate you holding your applause
until the end of the in memorium segment," the Oscar audience is told as the
segment honoring those who have died over the past year is about to begin. Most
folks comply, though there is a scattering of applause when photos of Jane
Russell, Whitney Houston, Steve Jobs, Ben Gazzara and Elizabeth Taylor are
displayed.
8:29 p.m. — She has already won two, but Meryl Streep doesn't seem to be
expecting this Oscar for "The Iron Lady." ''I can't believe it," she says as she
stops in the wings just offstage after her name is called. "Want to take a
minute? Let's take a minute," says presenter Colin Firth, leading her to a
little nook just off camera. "This is just insane," she says.
8:37 p.m. — No stage fright for Uggie. When "The Artist" won the Oscar for
best picture the little Jack Russell terrier that had nearly upstaged Oscar
winner Jean Dujardin in the movie was right there to share in the glory. "I just
said, 'Uggie's coming out stage right," stage manager Dency Nelson says with a
smile. And Uggie did.
8:40 p.m. — It's a celebrity traffic jam as Steven Spielberg tries to
maneuver around Zach Galifianakis, only to find "The Hangover" star has gotten
stuck behind Octavia Spencer, who has stopped to let "The Help" co-star Emma
Stone pat her new Oscar on its shiny gold head. Wait, Demian Bichir has found a
way around the crowd. He cuts down another aisle and out the door. Can he
duplicate that move on the freeway?
8:43 p.m. — The Hollywood & Highland Center is all but empty now save for
stragglers Kenneth Branaugh and Wendi McLendon-Covey. The sounds of workers
breaking down the stage are about all that's left behind. – AP


Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE
HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved


PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/phnotweet

This is the PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE (PHNO) Mailing List.

To stop receiving our news items, please send a blank e-mail addressed to: phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

Please visit our homepage at: http://www.newsflash.org/

(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
phno-digest@yahoogroups.com
phno-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Read more

PHNO-SB: STARWEEK: RICHARD GUTIERREZ... TIMES 3


STARWEEK: RICHARD GUTIERREZ... TIMES
3

MANILA, FEBRUARY 28 2012
(PHILSTAR) By Ida Anita Q. del Mundo - While the celebrity
heartthrob dutifully remains evasive when it comes to questions about his love
life – his Valentine's plans were to do charity work in Bohol – there is
something that is making Richard Gutierrez's heart pound faster. The young actor
has developed a new passion – for triathlons, that is, and is currently training
for this year's Ironman marathon in August.
"I've always been curious about Ironman racing… I've always been intrigued by
it," he says of his interest in the sport, which is quickly gaining popularity
with Filipino athletes and fitness buffs. "I started running first, then
eventually I was crosstraining with biking, so I said why not try triathlon."
Richard says training for the event keeps him not only physically fit, but also
focused and mentally strong. "Hopefully I finish the race strong," he adds.
Something else that has tested Richard's physical and mental strength is the
recently concluded fourth season of Survivor Philippines. Though he hosts the
show, Richard says that being on the island is almost like being a castaway
himself. "It's not easy. We're there for almost a month and a half… there's not
a lot of luxury when you're stuck on an isolated island and the nearest city is
hours away."
Hosting the TV show for the second time, Richard adds, "I enjoy that kind of
adventure, though it gets tough if you're there for a long time."
After his stint on Survivor, Richard looks forward to doing a new prime time
soap opera this year. "It's a different kind of project for me because for 2011
I did mostly documentaries and hosting." He adds, "I did less acting last year,
so this year I want to go back to my roots and go back to the basics of acting."

Indeed, this actor's roots run deep. Growing up in a family of celebrities,
Richard says, "My dad paved the way for us in terms of being in this industry."
However, he shares that, at first, he did not want to be part of showbiz and
stopped acting until he finished high school.
"After high school, I decided to give acting a try again because I could earn
extra cash," he says. "Then I didn't have to ask my parents for money when I
went out with my friends."
Eventually, acting started to become more than just a way to earn an
allowance. "It just snowballed from there," he says. "I eventually enjoyed
acting. I became passionate about acting. I learned to love the industry that at
first I hated. I learned to appreciate the art of acting and all the
technicalities behind it."
Richard remembers that when he was young and his mother Anabelle Rama, father
Eddie, and sister Ruffa were constantly on TV or in the movies, "My classmates
would usually tease me about that, but it's okay, I learned to accept it." When
he started to become serious about being in the business, however, he says being
in a family of celebrities is a blessing. "We try to support each other."
Each a celebrity in their own right, Richard says that when he was just
starting to act, there was a lot of pressure, always being a son or brother of
his more famous family members. "I had to prove myself."
Since then, the popular actor truly has proven himself, setting himself apart
from his parents, sister, and even his twin, Raymond.
Now, Richard says that there is a lot to love about his job. "I enjoy it, I
get to work with a lot of different people." He adds that interacting with his
audience is an important aspect of his work. "Telling a story and giving
entertainment to people… it's something like public service."
The actor is also aware that showbiz comes with its own hazards. "It could be
a harsh industry also. It's kind of a dog eat dog world also. You have to know
how to play the game and learn how to be patient."
With that in mind, he has become skillful at dealing with gossip, both about
himself as well as his family who have figured in more than a few controversial
issues throughout the years. "You have to be ready to face rumors that are not
true," he says. "You just have to be prepared mentally and emotionally for it.
I'm lucky because my parents guided me through it." Richard adds, "My dad has
been there for so long. He told me to say goodbye to my privacy when I enter
showbiz. He also told me to never forget where I came from and never forget the
people that I worked with when I was starting." Richard is also well aware of
the support of his hordes of fans. "I'm very thankful for their undying support
for me."
As he moves on in his career, Richard still holds on to the television show
"Mulawin" and the movie "Let the Love Begin" as his most memorable projects.
"Those two projects really started everything for me," he explains.
As for dream roles, the actor says that there are so many. "I feel like I'm
still starting and there's a lot that I still want to do."
This year, Richard hopes to focus on acting in his soap opera and also wants
to appear in a serious movie. He adds, "Hopefully an all-star season of
Survivor."
Talking of Survivor, when asked what three things he would bring with him if
marooned on a deserted island, the actor does not even consider the
oft-mentioned gadgets, laptops, or cellphones. Instead, he lists some practical
survival essentials: a fire-starter like a lighter, a knife, and a flashlight.
He bargains, as well, for a fourth item – mosquito repellant.
In another set of threes, Richard talks again of his interest in triathlon:
"I'm the type of person who wants to challenge myself all the time and really
push myself to the limit," he says as he likewise continues to challenge himself
to achieve the best as an actor, host, and celebrity.


Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE
HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved


PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/phnotweet

This is the PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE (PHNO) Mailing List.

To stop receiving our news items, please send a blank e-mail addressed to: phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

Please visit our homepage at: http://www.newsflash.org/

(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
phno-digest@yahoogroups.com
phno-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Read more

PHNO-SB: DAVID ARCHULETA LEAVES PHILIPPINES WITH A HEAVY HEART


DAVID ARCHULETA LEAVES PHILIPPINES
WITH A HEAVY HEART

MANILA, FEBRUARY 28 2012 (PHILSTAR) FUNFARE By Ricardo F. Lo
(PHOTO - David Archuleta was smiling teary-eyed during this exclusive
farewell interview before he went back to the US.) In the TV5 soap Nandito
Ako in which he plays a Fil-Am singer tracing his roots in the Philippines,
American Idol alumnus David Archuleta delivers his dialogue in English and
whoever is in the scene with him does so in Tagalog. Interestingly, they
understand each other perfectly well. How do they do it?
"Before the shoot," David told Funfare during a farewell interview a few days
after he went back to the States, "they explained to me the scene and what the
other actor was saying, and that's how we understood each other."
They did the same before David recorded the soap's theme song of the same
title, composed by now-US-based Aaron Paul del Rosario.
"So I knew the meaning of the song and I sang it straight from the heart,"
said David.
Supposed to shoot for the soap in three weeks, David stayed for more than a
month to record an album of covers (titled Forevermore for Sony Music, set for
release tentatively second week of March) and managed to accommodate other
projects including a pictorial as endorser of Bench's hair-styling product Fix
and gracing the Close Up Pyropalooza.
When Nandito Ako premiered on the Kapatid Network Monday last week, TV5 PR
girl Peachy Guioguio texted Funfare, "Hello! Nandito Ako is trending in the
Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, The US…worldwide!"
Sadly, David didn't catch the airing because he had left by then to fulfill
his two-year service for the Mormon Church, during which he'd be shut off from
showbiz…well, partially.
"I'm leaving the Philippines with a heavy heart," admitted David who has been
embraced by Filipinos as a kapatid.
More on David:
After Nandito Ako, what?
"At first, I thought, 'I can't act? Why will I ever do it?' I was so scared
to act. Doing Nandito Ako was so much fun. It gave me confidence as an actor. I
would love to come back and do another drama series."
What role do you want to do next?
"Whatever character they make me portray. Who knows, maybe some kind of a
sequel to Nandito Ako. But it depends on how well Nandito fares in the ratings
and how much people enjoy it."
In your free time, you took the jeepney to a wet market (in Novaliches).
How much else did you see about Metro Manila?
"I wanted to see the real life in Manila, and not just the nice places that
people brought me to — you know, the five-star hotels, etcetera. I went to eat
halo-halo at a small store in Pasay City. I tried the balut but that was for a
scene in Nandito. I didn't eat the whole thing, though."
[PHOTO - David Archuleta was smiling teary-eyed during this exclusive
farewell interview before he went back to the US. After shooting the TV5 soap
Nandito Ako, he managed to grace the Close Up event Pyropalooza (above) and the
presscon for Bench's hair-styling gel Fix which he's endorsing (left).]

You're doing a two-year mission for the Mormon church. Will it cut you off
from showbiz?
"I will be in seclusion but not totally. I can use the computer once a week.
I can write letters to my family and friends. I can tweet my fans to update them
on what I'm doing. Mostly, I'll be doing community service and help bring people
closer to Christ. There'll be time for to reflect on myself and my relationship
with God."
Why did you decide to do that service?
"It was more about the sacrifice. I was raised a Mormon and I think my
parents did a very good job in teaching me to remember what's important in
anything that I do. God has given me so much. Time to give back, time to share
with others what I've learned about my relationship with God."
As a Mormon, what are you supposed to not do? Does it limit the kind of
songs that you choose to sing and now the kind of roles that you have to
portray?
"It's more up to you to choose the right songs and the right roles for you.
When people look up to you as a role model, you have to be careful with what you
do and what you say. I try to relay a positive message in my songs."

Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE
HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved


PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/phnotweet

This is the PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE (PHNO) Mailing List.

To stop receiving our news items, please send a blank e-mail addressed to: phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

Please visit our homepage at: http://www.newsflash.org/

(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
phno-digest@yahoogroups.com
phno-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Read more
 

PH Headline News Online. Copyright 2011 All Rights Reserved