MANILA — The 43 health workers arrested by the military in Morong, Rizal, on Feb. 6 filed a complaint before the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) this morning. The affidavits of the 43 health workers and the medical records from the doctors that examined some of them narrate tales of interrogation, torture and other abuses.

“I’ve been really waiting for this,” CHR chairwoman Leila de Lima said as Romeo Capulong, lead counsel of the Morong 43, handed to her the complaint against the 2nd Infantry Division, the 202nd Infantry Brigade and the police authorities who conducted what they deem was an illegal arrest.

(Read story…)

Minerva Jean A. Falcon

TORONTO — The long wait is over. The new Philippine Consul General in Toronto has arrived.
Long wait because the previous Congen was becoming a butt of jokes for overstaying for months.
Minerva Jean A. Falcon, the new Congen, is unmistakably a veteran diplomat, an old hand with the confidence of decades of foreign service.

She was ambassador to Turkey (1994-1996), Germany (2003-2005) and Switzerland. She was a consul general to Hawaii, Hamburg and Vancouver. She was a junior officer in Australia, France and Spain.

Just before her Toronto assignment, she was American Affairs director of Foreign Service Institute.

Following are her other positions in the home office:

* Assistant Secretary, Office of American Affairs, 17 April 2001- 08 Sept. 2002

* Assistant Secretary, Office of Legal Affairs, 22 January 2001-15 April 2001

* Assistant Secretary, Office of Legal Affairs, 1994

* Special Assistant/Chief Coordinator, Office of the Secretary, 1992-1994

* Executive Director, Office of Personnel and Administrative Services, 1984

* Chief, Office of ASEAN Affairs, 1982-1983

* Principal Assistant, Office of United Nations & Other International Conferences, 1972-1973

But more than the long bio-data that can be found in the search engines on the Internet, the new Congen sounded very articulate.

She said Toronto is “like a homecoming” for her and she was glad to be back in Canada. She said she served for only 14 months in Vancouver after which she was assigned to Switzerland.

She said she is one and half years before retirement and she had left some “loose ends” she “didn’t finish in Vancouver like caregivers” issues.

Asked about her major area of interest as Congen in Toronto, she said it’s the “tightening up of relations between the community and the Philippines.”

Just like any consular office, she said she will be concerned with visa and passport matters but more importantly in “assisting kababayans” and enhancing the commercial relations between the Philippines and her area of jurisdiction. She mentioned Telus has a presence in the Philippines.

She also mentioned that in Vancouver there is a very active Filipino Canadian business council that sends trade delegations to the Philippines.

She said she has been reading a lot about Filipinos in Toronto. She observed that the profile of the Filipino overseas has changed a lot — there are more landed migrants and migrant workers.

Asked what she meant by “assisting nationals,” she said “caregivers need a lot of hand holding — we need to assist them.”

She talked about matching the caregivers and temporary workers with the employers and the fact that some were illegally recruited. Some cases need police action, she said. In Vancouver, she said, some of them “have fallen between the cracks.”

She mentioned that she had received a briefing from labor attache Frank Luna within three days of her arrival in Toronto.

The Philippine Reporter interviewed her over the phone on a Friday, Feb. 26. She arrived on Tuesday, Feb. 23, and has not settled down in her new place.

Asked when she was going to start work, she said she had already rolled her sleeves and had started working.

She said she just has to do official calls, to present credentials to inform the Canadian government of her arrival and assumption into office. In her own words, “put up the tent, tell them I’m in town. Then I can officially start work.”

The impression from the very brief phone interview is that the new Congen will have proactive working style in dealing with the current situation in the community in regard to caregiver and foreign temporary workers issues and concerns.

HE has racked up nearly a billion pesos worth of TV ad spots, by network rate cards, in the last three months alone, but indications are that Nacionalista Party standard bearer Senator Manuel ‘Manny’ Villar Jr. can comfort himself that so far every centavo of that has been money well spent.

Indeed, campaign strategists and public-relations experts point to Villar’s ads as the major reason why he has been able to catch up with the frontrunner in the presidential race, Senator Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III, who has now challenged him to a one-on-one public debate.

(Read story…)

Jamille Magalona couldn’t hide her excitement over the March 13 fight of boxing icon Manny Paquiao against Joshua Clottey. She is displaying a Pacquiao T-shirt designed by her dad, Justino Dong Magalona of Toronto.

BASKETBALL FREE-THROW CHAMPIONS: District 95 of the Ontario Knights of Columbus headed by District Deputy Jaime Libaque and District Warden Ruben Cruz held their Basketball Free-Throw district level competition Feb. 17 at St. Richard Catholic School in Scarborough. The winners, their age categories and schools are as follow: BOYS--Jude Picache, 9, of St. Agatha School; Nicholas De Vera, 10, of Dominic Savio School; Alwayne Lucas, 11, Elizabeth Simcoe; Eric De Guzman, 12, Dominic Savio; and Merrick Newell,13, St. Agatha. GIRLS-- Sara Valerio, 9, Elizabeth Simcoe; Megan J. Manalo, 10, Cardinal Leger; Tricia Ampofo, 11, St. Boniface; Calyssa Burke, 12, Dominic Savio; and Victoria Dumo, 13, St. Jean de Brebeauf. The district champions will compete in the next Regional Level scheduled to be held in Oshawa Feb. 27.

HER 75th! Perla Andaya (2nd from right, front row) celebrated her 75th birthday Feb. 20 at a gathering organized by her children at Super Buffet King in Scarborough. Among those shown with her in photo are her children Tito and Nenette, Raul and Mira, Gemma and Arnold Russell, Noel and Josie, Arnel and Regie and Ramil and Mark.

FORMER COLLEAGUES REUNITED - Al Pedroche (left) , editor-in-chief of Pilipino Star Ngayon, in Metro Manila is shown in photo with Toronto newspaperman Jojo Taduran. They worked together in the field of broadcasting in the 70’s.

THE PILLARS' MS. VALENTINE 2010 - Ms. Maura B. Bautista (seated), Ms Valentine 2010 of The Pillars, the organization of Filipino seniors in Ontario headed by President Frank Maralag, is shown in photo after her coronation at the Lynch Hall of the Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, together with her husband, Ruben; daughter, Gigi Bautista Abion; and granddaughter, Irisse Bautista Abion.

gnacio (Iggy) Lopez Manlangit (center), founder of the Catanduanes Association of Ontario (CAO) and an active participant in the Filipino community in Toronto, Ontario, is shown in photo with Dr. Renia Tyminski and Noel Lalicon, commander of the Toronto Knights of Rizal. PHOTO: J. TADURAN

MANILA — A 2010 election watchdog group launched yesterday is geared not only to monitor the upcoming elections, but also to rally the public to respond accordingly should the electorate’s will be frustrated.

Kontra Daya 2010, which was launched yesterday morning in Intramuros, Manila, has this early raised several fears about the May elections. These include the possibility of massive fraud and failure of elections.

(Read story…)

As in the case of the Presidency, the House of Representatives and even the Supreme Court, Senate prestige and credibility has been on the decline since 1990. From the 1950s to the declaration of martial law in 1972 among the most respected entities of government, the Senate when revived after 1986 enjoyed only a brief period of public esteem, among other reasons because of the election to that body of incompetents and clowns who slept their way through its sessions, but at least one of whom managed to be President.

(Read story…)

(Read story…)

(Read story…)

“AMARC-AP hereby condemns in the strongest terms possible the culture of impunity in the Philippines, particularly the killing of broadcasters and journalists,” the resolution said.

(Read story…)

Mable Elmore, MLA for Vancouver-Kensington expressed outrage over the illegal arrest and detention of 43 health workers and doctors, known as the “Morong 43”, in the Philippines.

The Morong 43 were abducted around 6:15am from a conference facility in Morong, Rizal last February 6th. They were participants in a First Responders Training sponsored by the Community Medicine Foundation (Commed) and the Council for Health and Development. They were taken by 300 heavily armed elements from the 202nd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army and Rizal Philippine National Police to Camp Capinpin in Taytay, Rizal.

“These kinds of shocking events and blatant human rights violations are a black eye and an embarrassment for the Philippine government,” says Elmore, who also expressed her concern to President Arroyo and other government officials.

In her letter to President Arroyo, Elmore cites her alarm over reports that the detainees were subject to various forms of torture and sexual harassment.

According to the Health Alliance for Democracy, the detainees were handcuffed and blindfolded for 36 hours after being brought to Camp Capinpin. At the Camp, they were confined in dark cells and forced to listen to gunfire. At night, the detainees recounted that men would enter their cells to punch them and take their pictures.

Further, relatives of the detainees and the Commission for Human Rights were initially denied access to the detainees by the military at the Camp.

“These are all very disturbing violations of the basic rule of law (such as invalid search warrant, denial of access to legal counsel and a doctor) and fundamental human rights,” said Elmore.

“This event is inexcusable and combined with the massacre in Maguindano, it’s important that we all speak out and advocate for these victims. We need to take steps to ensure everyone’s basic human rights are observed,” she added, noting reports of how the Arroyo administration often tramples on the rights of those who criticize it.

Along with Elmore’s correspondence to President Arroyo, she also forwarded her concerns to the Canadian government and is calling on Canada to condemn the illegal arrest and immediate release of all detainees. As well, she noted how the international community needs to increase pressure on the Philippine government to take immediate and concrete steps to stop and prevent such human rights abuses and election-related violence.

Elmore concluded by announcing that the upcoming International Observers Mission (IOM) for the Philippines’ national elections in May is an opportune time for Canadians to become involved in efforts to safeguard democracy and human rights in the Philippines.

Locally, the Canada Philippines Solidarity for Human Rights is organizing a Canadian contingent, which will include legislators and other advocates, for this IOM.

Mable Elmore,
Member of Legislative Assembly
Vancouver-Kensington, British Columbia