Banag Banag has taken the initiative to provide clean water to remote towns with their “Deep Well” project - that is building of “posos” in remote areas.

The town of Catmon, located 57 kilometres from Cebu City is the first recipient of the “Poso Project.”  It is considered a 5th class municipality with a population of 27, 330 people (as per 2007 census).  Right here too in this town, in Barangay Cambangkaya,  stands Cebu’s second highest mountain peak, Mt. Tore.

Further sites in the islands of Bohol and Leyte are currently being identified for Project Poso.  Banag-Banag aims to continue to raise awareness for the underprivileged and disadvantaged.

Photo above shows locals of the area helping build their much-awaited poso.

In the past, Banag Banag has embarked on humanitarian and charitable projects like: food relief to the storm ravaged town of Pavia, Iloilo; housing for people of Inayawan, the garbage dump of Cebu; and also provides technical education scholarships for four disadvantaged youths residing in Cebu.

“Donations will come a long way into building the next “poso” and providing clean drinking water for the next town. Your donation will be greatly appreciated,” said a spokesperson for the group.  

Javellana is a master of his craft.  Having held countless fashion parades, his name has become synonymous with Manila’s fashion and the catwalk. He has had extensive involvement with set and costume design for stage plays and for performances including those staged at the Cultural Centre of the Philippines (CCP).

 He studied costume construction under the guidance of Salvador Bernal of CCP and honed in on his craft at the London College of Fashion. He has since held fashion parades in Washington DC and Maryland, USA.

 His theatre/film experiences are varied from being an actor in “Balisawsaw Pusong Ligaw” as staged at the Metropolitan Theatre (MET); the set and costume designer for Tambalan, CCP; and also as an associate producer for Filumena Marturano, of CCP .

Claudio was a founding member of the Fashion Designers’ Association of the Philippines (FDAP).

His designs are exquisite and everywoman’s dream. He now operates his own bridal and evening wear couture house in Randwick under the label “Claudio’s Couture”. 

Children are sitting around surprisingly quiet and occasionally there’s a burst of a scream from the other room, “My son…,” the voice reverbates through though shattering none.

Ooops did I grab the wrong plate, I wonder? Or has someone not been fed? The wailing stops quite automatically.  

Such is the typical scene in a real life drama of the Filipino Artists Collaboration where a multitude of performers and patient parents have gathered for their weekend rehearsal for the play, Her Son, Jose Rizal.

Amazing is the talent of the children who wait patiently for their turn to perform – Elijah, Marke, Reianne, Arianne and Isabel – all between nine and twelve years old – are a power house of talent. 

Filipino Artists Collaboration is a community theatre group, the brainchild of Armando Reyes and Albert Dimarucut who have assembled a group of multi-talented people of all ages with a passion for the arts - acting, singing and dancing. 

Director Armando Reyes takes on the task of painstakingly moulding each artist and bringing out the best in them. 

Together, they’re bringing Rizal back to life to rekindle the sense of patriotism in all Filipinos and to share with Australian audiences this rare gem from author, Leonor Orosa-Gonquingco.  The play dates are scheduled for 17-20 June 2010, to coincide with the Philippines national hero’s birth anniversary and independence day celebrations in June.

The youth are undoubtedly promising  and they display maturity and exude confidence at every scene - from young Elijah Merjudio and Marke de Vera who play the young Rizal (Pepe); to the young lasses, Arianne Milan, Reianne Urqueza and Isabelle Montillano who play Rizal’s sister, young Soledad (Choleng).

Isa Noble and Ala Paredes play Soledad; Angelo Refurzo, Danny Ross Aguilar and Tom Merjudio play Paciano; and together they thrive on such a creative and artistic environment and a potent mix for success.

It’s definitely worth watching – so rush to Ticketek for your tickets.  

The Filipino community will be celebrating Philippine Independence on Saturday, 12 June 2010 at Rosehill Gardens, at Rosehill.  This annual event is being organized by the peak Filipino organization, the Philippine Community Council of NSW (PCC-NSW).

To commemorate the event, a Flag raising ceremony will be held at Blacktown and the formal evening affair will be held at Rosehill, Parramatta, a sister city of Cebu City in the Philippines.

The evening affair, the Philippine National Day Ball, which starts at 6pm is an annual traditional event held over the last 20 years and is attended by Australian and Filipino dignitaries. 

“We are thrilled to hold the event in Parramatta area, which is a sister-city of Cebu, one of our thriving cities in the Philippines” says Dr. Elsa Collado, president of the PCC-NSW.   “We welcome everyone to join in our celebration of independence and democracy,” she adds.

Special guest performer for this year’s event is RJ Rosales, known for his role in the acclaimed musical, Miss Saigon for which he also clinched a Helpman Award nomination.  Rosales will also be taking the lead in the stage play, Her Son, Jose Rizal, a theatre piece on the life of Dr. Jose Rizal, the Philippines National Hero.

“Her  son, Jose Rizal”  is the production debut of Fine Artists Collaboration, a community theatre group and will be staged at Tom Mann theatre at Surry Hills from June 17-19 at 6pm and a Matinee at 2pm on June 20.

“It’ll be a time to reflect on our values and traditions and how far we Filipinos have come and have an appreciation of our chosen adopted home Australia,” says Collado.

Filipino Artists Collaboration, a community theatre group, has assembled a group of talented young individuals to stage the play, “Her Son, Jose Rizal.”

“Her Son, Jose Rizal” will be staged at Tom Mann theatre at Surry Hills from June 17-19 at 6pm and a Matinee at 2pm on June 20.

This brilliant theatre piece written by Philippines National Artist, Leonor Orosa Goquingco recounts the life of the Philippines’ National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal and takes you through his boyhood through to the final moments before his execution.  Set against the backdrop of the Spanish era in the Philippines, it exposes the atrocities of colonialism.  Most importantly, the play captures a mother and son’s relationship, and a mother’s influence moulds him to become a nation’s national hero. 

Directed by Armando Reyes, this one-act play is a poignant theatre piece is guaranteed to stir emotions.  “It is one of the Philippines’ literary gems which we would love to share with Australian audiences who love the theatre. For Filipinos, it will rekindle their sense of patriotism,” says Director Reyes.   

Fine Artists Collaboration is a brainchild of Armando Reyes and Albert Dimarucut, both of whom have great passion for the arts.

Taking the lead as the Philippines’ national hero is RJ Rosales better known for his role as the Engineer and Thuy in Cameron McIntosh’s internationally acclaimed Miss Saigon production. For his role as Thuy, he clinched a nomination for the Helpmann Award.

Performing with Rosales, is a host of brilliant and multi-talented performers, some of whom are seasoned stage and musical entertainers. The youth performers, aged between 8 and 12 years old, are budding youngsters all exhibiting potential for future roles.

Fine Artists Collaboration is a brainchild of Armando Reyes and Albert Dimarucut, both of whom have great passion for the arts.

 Tickets for Her Son, Jose Rizal are available by phoning Ticketek or online at www.ticketek.com.

But there’s been a  lot of underground movement and a whole lot of shaking going on in the community – and I can’t help but wonder if anything is ever accomplished.

With Collado clinching the presidential seat for PCC – and she ain’t moving – Cen Amores was so moved she decided to play push-pull with other clubs in the hope of moving them into her circle to form her own club where she can shake as president. After the hounding question on the legitimacy of some clubs  not really being real clubs, their group announces that they now accept individual members.  Now isn’t that almost an admission!  I would really question the sanity, motivation and intelligence of anyone who swayed that-a-way.

Such move has shaken the Ilocano Association to its core.  Founding  president, Malyn Andres stood by her grounds to keep Ilocanos intact and refused to allow the Ilocano Association to move to the losers’ camp.  Sounds logical considering that four of the PCC presidents (although two have defected) came from this group plus quite a few members have played a role in one way or another. As Ruben Amores himself said in one of his emails, “I cannot out-talk Malyn.” – Right On! Ruben Amores, as a sign of true leadership  scribbled his resignation on a piece of paper and quit.  Reading the emails, one couldn’t help but wonder how anyone could dare call themselves leader and how anyone in their right frame of mind would follow. 

 Emma de Vera did quite a bit of shaking too when four of her clubs failed to comply with and were not allowed to vote at the last PCC elections.  Ego hurt, she shook her tail feathers and ruffled a few around and right up to Parramatta Council , but lately has expressed desire to swing back to PCC.  Why one needs a club to supportive of a cause is beyond me.  Oh well,  if she does come back, she’ll need to be quarantined for awhile to ensure that any virus she may have caught from the other side is totally gone.

Of course, people will be moving and shaking to the tune of their freedom parties and there’ll be three this year.  Well, there’s 20,000 Filipinos to spread around the three events, but of course the real scramble is for the title holders and who goes where?  But really, who decides to have Chinese food on Philippine  Independence Day?   I definitely am not going to the one that created the circus in the first place….even if it was cheaper…even if it was free!  How does one compare David Jones with GO- LO?

Lately, Councilor Allan Green’s actions have been worrisome and people have expressed their concern.  Mr. Green has been sighted at a few functions handing out flyer s re his goodwill trip to the Philippines; and has been emailing his photos with Filipino dignitaries and even costume characters around.  While Mr. Green has been a friend to the community, I too am puzzled.  Considering that Mr. Green is now spreading his photos around; distributing flyers at functions; and loves to sing karaoke, I  simply think he’s been hanging around with Filipinos quite a bit. Oh my, he’s become  “Filipinised.” 

And lastly, to those without TFC, the Philippines has a new president.  Sadly, that news bit has failed to make a dent in Australia’s news media.   Yes, President- elect Benign Aquino III will take office on the 30 June 2010. Then, we’ll see who gets shaken and who gets moved!

Gee, just when I thought I understood it all, I suddenly woke up and regained consciousness.

Witnessing community happenings recently made me remember a word my friends and I coined in our younger days.  I thought age and time would have eliminated the ‘art of papelation’ but it seems not, for there are those who indulge in solipsism and continue to practice it with gusto.

 Papelation: (noun) derived from the word ‘papel’ ; originating from the Spanish and Filipino languages which mean a material to write on. However,  in the Filipino vernacular “papel” is used as a verb and means self aggrandizement; self-promotion without substance; elevating oneself; inflating, exaggerating  or expanding something more than what it really is.  Those who indulge in the act of papelation are called “papelators”  and are classified as endangered species.  And they papelate!

Papelators are sub human species who have limited peripheral vision. If not arrested immediately papelation may cause  partial myopic degeneration and may eventually lead to total loss of vision.  It is unconfirmed whether these creatures are also hearing impaired as they demonstrate selective hearing. They are not always able to detect human voices but the echo of their own voices titillate them.  Sounds like clapping may cause them to react with their heads tilting left and right.

Brain power varies greatly according to the sub-class of the specie and the degree they papelate.   Type A are high functioning types, who are able to mimic and parrot human forms.   Like characters in a play, they assume roles and give themselves grand titles they do not understand like Executive, Doctor, Manager, Director, etc.  Committee Chair is another title they like though it can be appropriate as they do have the tendency to just sit. They are inclined to imitate those in the arts like artist, journalist, publicist, media, marketing  etc. However, majority simply  prefer  “liders” combined with other words like master. They have a sense of entitlement and drop names like “hmmm, ya, I know Packer.” They can attach themselves to a cause or charity. They  have insatiable appetites and can gobble up ideas without any sign of understanding or warming.  Excellent manipulators with impeccable  timing, they can suck up the air around you.

 Although very similar to   Type A, Type B are a little milder.  They may appear friendlier than Type A  but  they too  crawl and attach to titles and disasters that give them opportunity to glow . They may be just as slippery and manipulative  but are easier to identify by their two-to-three words “sige na” or “bili ka na” or “paki naman”.  They may look and act tearfully, pathetically but only until they get the desired response from an unsuspecting human.  Once connection is made, they switch on to other causes which provide more lighting.   Type B are easier detected by the timing and the photo opportunity attached to the cause.   A selected few of Type B have a fascination with lining their pockets.

Type C  Papelators  are simply ‘swingers’ .  They may seem a wee  bit daffy, flaky and harmless as they vacillate from side to side and swoosh in and out of places.  They have the least developed mental faculties and are merely used as space fillers. However, caution should still be exercised as they may turn dangerous especially when attached to a Type A or B.  

Speech abilities also vary according to the type and can range from hushed mono tones, mumbles although most Type A papelators may squeal in high pitched monologues or soliloquy.  

All types however have a false sense of entitlement and inflated egos.  They make crowd apparitions as attention is the elixir of their core existence. They frequently crawl around normal human activities although movements are restricted to circular motions with no specific directions .  They can feign full on personalities, appear glib and super-charming.  They can appear giving and can even perform  the same “beso-beso” ritual that humans do.   

Generous hearts and Idle minds often fall prey to these creatures who are scheming manipulators.   Politicians, diplomats and real title holders – even the brightest and the smartest - can fall victims and discover too late they’ve dealt with a dud.  Damage can be irreversible. Do not by any means feed these creatures.  Sudden elevation may cause loss of oxygen which can cause permanent brain damage.   Approach with caution as these creatures may turn ballistic without any prior notice.  Although they like their own reflections, they hate mirrors  and when faced with one can go into battle mode and bark. When pushed into a corner these papelators go in a frenzy and become totally incoherent and utter phrases like “What’s this…special…or general…special or general?” ; “where’s my sit – where’s my sit – where’s my sit?”   

Observing papelators can be quite amusing and entertaining at times but only in small dosages.  In large quantities, one will wish they were totally extinct. 

 This year, however,  braveheart, Ronaldo Villaver  along with his team of Ghostbusters  -  Collado, Bulseco, and Manoto turned on the lights and drove the false spirits away.  It was a long awaited clean up initiative which at the very least, would have served to resurrect the integrity of the organization.  

The ghost whisperers and the lost souls with the semblance of humanoids made their apparition at the election although one would think it was a scene from Outer Limits.  There were squeaks, squeals and some spoke in a gibberish fashion, hell bent on resurrecting and reviving the dead and one-member clubs. What was pretty clear was absence of logic.   Yep,  parang normal!

It was evident that some failed to understand the instructions and time frames which really could not be blamed on the Ghostbusters.  

Most evident was the need to belong – somewhere, somehow.  It was quite amazing how some humbugs  were in complete denial of their non-existence.  Definitely parang normal!

There were sudden apparitions from those who flaunted their sense of entitlement and who had a desperate need to vote  –  again, parang normal!

And so it became a battle between the Ghostbusters and the Ghost Whisperers which continues to date, long after the winners had been declared.  As expected, the fractious group simply could  not accept defeat and that their ghastly operation had been busted wide open.  Some of the ghosts have been absolutely relentless, refusing to move on towards the light that they are now wanting  to start their own mystic circle.  And what is really frightening is that some sensible few are being carried away with torrent of fear and emotions. 

As for this group of ghost whisperers, well they could  hold  their gala night on Halloween or All Souls Day, or they could have séances at their headquarters at Pinegrove. 

Those who have a strong need to belong  may opt to join FAME. While PCC’s membership is limited to clubs and organizations, FAME’s membership allows for individuals. 

And to all of us, mere mortals – fear not those creepy crawlies. Let us simply beware of ghostly apparitions and be on the lookout for blood-sucking creatures which may be vampires or simply bed bugs.  If chilling apparitions persist, exorcism is still an option.

The 20th anniversary celebration of the Cofradia Del Santo Niño (Blacktown) was held last Sunday, 17^th January 2010 at Good Shepherd Church at Plumpton. 

Better known as the Sinulog Festival, the event honours the infant Jesus, and this year, over 3,000 devotees came to participate in the day of prayer and festivities.

A nine-day novena preceeded the event culminating in a triduum mass. This was  followed by the procession and the Sinulog dance ritual performed in synch with  the drumbeats.

A sumptous feast was laid out for the devotees and participants as donated by the parishioners.  This year, Noble Beverages, came to the party again and provided 960 litres of “Pureau” pure water in casks.

Sinulog comes from a Visayan word, sulog which means ‘water current’ which  describes the two-step forward-one-step back of the Sinulog dance which is performed to the beat of the thundering drums.

As tradition dictates, the festival goes back to the arrival of Magellan on Philippine shores. The statue of the infant Jesus was a gift to Hara Amihan (Queen Juana), wife of Rajah Humabon who was converted to catholicism. After her baptism, along with the rulers of the island and some 800 natives, Queen Juana danced in jubilation.  

This traditional Philippine festival is held annually and continues to grow every year. 

 Collado and the Ace Team were declared the winners by default at the PCC elections which was held last Sunday, 7 February 2010 at Chester Hill.  Dressed in “save the environment” shades of green, they proved that they could indeed clean up the environment – if only the PCC backyard.

Returning officer and past PCC president, Manny Diel declared the ACE team the winners.  Included in the 2010 board are, Elsa Collado (President), Alric Bulseco (VP-External), Serna Ladia (VP-internal), Noel Bernardo (Secretary), Alexis Leones (Treasurer), Solina Lapalma (PRO) Millie Banan (Auditor).  The directors included: Robert Bock, Marivic Manalo, Arturo Sayas, Prince Merl Gonzales, Mauricio de Vera, Remedios Macina and Nenita Weekes.

The team won unopposed after Cen Amores and her cohorts withdrew their nominations and walked out in protest of the election proceedings.  It was the march of deliverance as others stood, watched in amazement and clapped. However, not all of Cen Amores team walked out.  Those who had the decency to stay included Jhun Salazar, Lee Mekan, Mariam McCauley and Richard Ford. 

The exodus drew comments from the crowd. One former PCC director said: “I was expecting this (the march) to happen.”  Another added: “Yes they did that too in Hawaii, when the decision did not go their way, they marched out.”

It was a last hurrah for exiting President, Ronaldo Villaver for having initiated the much-awaited clean up of PCC.  With the help of some of his 2009 board members including past president, Rey Manoto they swept 36 clubs into the suspension bin, pending review and submission of compliance forms.  Villaver was unflappable and kept cool under the elevated tension of the attendees and maintained the Board’s stand to disallow clubs from voting for non compliance of  the constitution.   

The Magic Numbers

To understand the exodus and the controversy, one would need a sneak preview of PCC’s history. The new unsuspecting recruits would have been dragged into the arena blindfolded.  They would not have been briefed nor would they have understood what was happening. 

Prior to 2005 (Andres’ term), PCC barely had 38 members.  This doubled to 78 during Neria Soliman’s term in 2005.  While Soliman reached out to existing clubs to join PCC,  there was also a sudden birth of clubs – names without faces.  It was also at this time that Lopez dissected the Ilocos region and formed little clubs. Some survived, some did not but continued to exist.  The result of this sudden increase in club numbers saw Jimmy Lopez clinching the presidential seat in 2006.  The following year , the numbers ballooned to over 100 members.  Ruben Amores took the reins  of PCC in 2007 despite the questionable 88-98 results. (88 voters came to vote – and 98 votes were counted).   In 2008, Manoto’s members dropped back to 46 and in 2009, Villaver  got elected to the post with  the membership back to 78.  

Such fluctuation of numbers raised questions and suspicions from the community but remained unanswered. This year, a total 46 affiliates renewed their membership and the list of members was read aloud.

The Controversial Clean-up

From the observation deck, it was chaotic. Nerves were frayed , emotions running an all time high and logic was definitely scarce.  

One individual raised the issue of having been a “community supporter”  but obviously was delusional because the person had no club.  Another, an ex-PCC president at that,  had the temerity to repeatedly and insistently asked to represent a club for which no signed “proxy” form was available. This time, rules were imposed without fear or favor.

The Amores camp complained about the  disqualification of some members from voting .  They also complained about the timing of the clean-up and conflict of interest as Collado was the chair of the election committee and also an aspiring candidate.

In a phone interview prior to the election, Ruben Amores agreed to the clean-up initiative but said “it was the  wrong timing.”  In an email exchange appealing to past presidents, Amores states, “…just like in the work place, where a review or assessment is meant primarily to assist -not to kick people out”

 While Amores suggestions are valid, I cannot help but wonder why he did not implement such initiatives during his term. And besides how does one do it when there’s no one there. The lights are on but no one’s home.  (Unfortunately, the Amores have refused to be interviewed by phone or in person citing a busy campaign schedule then.)

A day prior to the elections, Ruben Amores made one final bid to the board appealing for  the reinstatement of the voting rights of 22 affiliates.  However, the list was simply a list and did not provide any proof that the clubs complied with the membership prerequisites as stipulated in the constitution.  Furthermore, there was also the question why Amores was doing the appealing instead of the respective club presidents. 

As for the timing, there would have been no better time to do it.  To have reviewed the membership straight after the 2009 elections or in the middle of the year would have given some ample time to re-manufacture or fabricate new clubs which would have re-appeared at this year’s elections. 

On the question of ‘conflict of interest’, it would have made no difference  whether Elsa Collado was chair of the committee or not.  As the VP internal, it was her responsibility as mandated by the constitution to receive the club renewals.  It was her responsibility to ensure that clubs met the necessary criteria.  No one was favoured and all clubs were subjected to the same  scrutiny.  All clubs were provided the letter and forms.  The burden of proof lay on the club  and their respective representatives to comply within the designated time frame. Those questioned still had the opportunity to present their case to the general assembly but failed to do so.

In fact, such initiative would have been more of a disadvantage for Collado as some in retaliation may have opted for Amores.  Ultimately, the election committee would not have held the voters’ hand when filling up the ballot.  

As this was an initiative of the 2009 PCC board and Ms. Amores was the VP then, one can’t help wonder where she was during the decision making.

LILLIAN TAKES A BOW

Lillian de los Reyes took centre stage and with humility, graciously revealed bowing to peer pressure for years.   Lillian openly admitted keeping the Bulacan Association alive despite having only one member.  This had been allowed since the time of Kate Andres way back in 1995. She was also made a board member in 2002, again during Kate Andres’ term.  Rather than whining, others should follow the example of Lillian de los Reyes.

At this point, there really is no denying as others have now raised their hands in admission and bowed their heads in regrets.  “Perhaps, I’ll build the club and come back next year. It is only right. “ said Lillian.

No doubt, there will be those who will feel slighted , dejected and rejected and their egos a little bruised.  But it too shall pass. After years of nagging, Villaver finally did it! This initiative is perhaps the only redeeming value for PCC after its years of deterioration and people in their sheer arrogance failed to rectify the mistakes.  We can only hope that those who cleaned it up will remain vigilant and continue their efforts without fear or favour.

On a final note, as for the example of leadership demonstrated, I think I would go with one who steadfastly clings to their basic values and principles rather than one who marches out when the going gets tough.   As per the Manuel Uy  Philippine lottery advertisement says: “Ang umaayaw ay di nagwawagi.”  (Those who quit do not win.)