Porn Market in Philippines Rakes in $1B Annually

MANILA — The Philippine porn industry, which thrives in an underground market, rakes in an estimated US$1 billion annually, bringing the country to the eighth spot in the porn-profitability race around the world.

After the sex video of Katrina Halili and Dr. Hayden Kho Jr. was uploaded on YouTube, and counterfeiters in Quiapo downloaded, burned and released it in DVDs and VCDs, pornography once again took center stage.

The Philippine Senate is now investigating how the voyeuristic sex video of Halili and Kho made its way into the Internet, how it is now earning huge profits for bootleggers, and how the Philippine government can prevent this from happening again.

While the senators, the key players in the sex video drama and the public are debating over who’s to blame and to be held accountable in the scandal, investors in trading sex videos of the same kind are going gaga over the huge profits they are reaping from recording, producing and selling such videos.

Philippine’s Profitable Black Market

Because pornography and prostitution are illegal in the Philippines, the sex industry thrives in the underground or black market. Porn has recorded a net profit of $1 billion in 2006; experts predict profits to go higher in the years to come.

The Philippines is tied with Taiwan and Canada at the No. 8 spot in the list of countries profiting from this business, according to the Top TEN REVIEWS website.

The bootlegged DVDs, HD-CDs and VCDs are mainly on sale in Quiapo and Divisoria — both in Manila— and Greenhills, San Juan. Copies are then distributed in stalls all over Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Filmmakers for online porn found “havens” in the cities of Angeles (in Pampanga), Olongapo (in Zambales), Manila, Pasay, Makati, and Quezon City, where they hire prostituted women and men to star in sex films.

Film expert and University of the Philippines Film Institute professor, Dr. Rolando B. Tolentino, said since there is no hardcore porn industry in the Philippines, the films are likely merely subcontracted to local filmmakers.

“Hardcore sex movies are just subcontracted to us, for example, by Korean producers. Most of our sex-themed movies are either soft-porn (from bold films to current gay films) including those which are uploaded to e-sites and the video scandals; uploading and viewing depend on the people’s personal pleasure,” Tolentino said.

Eduardo Manzano, chief of Optical Media Board (OMB) agreed. Manzano said, in a news report, that in 2008, an international porn film producer visited the Philippines to film porn featuring adult Filipinos.

Manzano said the porn-film producer is offering up to $1,000 for every sex scene. A porn film costs $10,000 to produce, said the producer.

Almost every month, the OMB confiscates hundreds of thousands of counterfeit VCDs and DVDs. From January to September 2008, the OMB has confiscated 4,807,012 CDs costing P1.4 billion ($29,400,000 based on the prevailing peso-dollar exchange rate in Sept. 17, 2008).

The World Porn Industry

Some 4.2 million or 12 percent of websites are said to be devoted to pornography. This translates to 420 million pages of porn, according to Jerry Ropelato, an associate at Top TEN REVIEWS website who has conducted an extensive research on pornography and the world’s ‘consumption’ of pornographic goods.

Ropelato reported that today’s porn business has surpassed the earnings of top technology companies such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo!, Apple, Netflix and EarthLink, combined. He said US porn revenue exceeds the combined revenues of ABC, CBS, and NBC—the big three media companies in US.

To date, pornography is a US$57 billion global industry and Asian countries top the chart of countries benefiting from selling and reproducing porn, based on compiled reports published at the Top TEN REVIEWS website.

China led in the porn profit race in 2006, with $27.40 billion in total revenues. South Korea came in second with $25.73 billion, followed by Japan, with $19.99 billion in total revenues, then US with $13.33 billion; Australia, $2.0 billion; UK, $1.97 billion, and Italy $1.40 billion.

In the eighth position are the Philippines, Taiwan and Canada, each with $1 billion profits in 2006.

Profits of the 16 countries listed in the 2006 World Porn Revenues totaled a whopping $97.06 billion.

“Every second, $3,075.64 is being spent on pornography; 28,258 Internet users are viewing pornography; 372 Internet users are searching sex-related terms in search engines; and every 39 minutes, a new pornographic video is being created in the United States,” reported Ropelato.

Who Benefits from Porn?

There are two schools of thoughts regarding who benefits from and who are harmed in the proliferation of porn. One warns about the harmful effects of porn and its correlation to sex crimes while the other asserts that porn has no harmful effects and could not be linked to rape and abuse.

In the US, the debate still continues even after its Attorney General’s Commission on Pornography, popularly known as the Meese Report, has been released.

The Meese Report concluded that pornography, in general, doesn’t have harmful effects on the American populace and there is no direct link between pornographers and organized crime.

Earlier, in 1969, US President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Commission on Obscenity and Pornography, formed to study the effects of porn in the American community, concluded that:

· There was no evidence to date that exposure to explicit sexual materials plays a significant role in the causation of delinquent or criminal behavior among youths or adults.
· A majority of American adults believe that adults should be allowed to read or see any sexual materials they wish.
· There is no reason to suppose that elimination of governmental prohibitions upon the sexual materials that may be made available to adults would adversely affect the availability to the public of other books, magazines, or films.
· There was no evidence that exposure to explicit sexual materials adversely affects character or moral attitudes regarding sex and sexual conduct.
· Federal, state, and local legislation prohibiting the sale, exhibition, or distribution of sexual materials to consenting adults should be repealed.

Feminists like Avedon Carol, one of the founders of the UK-based feminist group, Feminists Against Censorship, believes that the demonization of porn — that is, connecting porn with violence against women by some “rightist moralists” — was just another attempt to curtail the freedom being enjoyed by Americans, especially women.

In 1995, she wrote:

“As those among us who have studied child abuse and sexual violence (or experienced it) know all too well, rape and abuses are problems that go deeper and are more intractable than anything that can be blamed on the camera and the printing press. Abusive relationships take many forms and almost anything can be seen as the ‘cause’ of abusive behavior. As many husbands have harassed and humiliated their wives over cooking and housework as have done so over sexual issues - and many women have learned, to their chagrin, that abusers are often more likely to try to suppress sexual expression in their wives than they are to try to force such expression. And most abused women - including those who have suffered sexual abuse - have little to say about pornography as a specific problem in their relationships… (The Harm of Porn: Just Another Excuse to Censor; accessed at http://www.fiawol.demon.co.uk/FAC/harm.htm, May 27, 2009).

In the Philippines, debates raged about attempts to legalize not only pornography but also prostitution.

“If they legalize porn, we might as well legalize the others like abortion or marijuana,” said Ma. Consuelo G. Cabrera, a filmmaker and a painter, from the Southern Tagalog Exposure Media Collective.

Who’s Benefiting from Pinoy Porn?

“Who else but the foreign producers,” Cabrera said. (Bulatlat.com)

Cute dogs used as baits to catch sharks

celebrity_news_in_video

Is she's telling the truth? St. Martha knows...

I saw the interview of Hayden Kho's mother and she's invoking the help of the saints, especially St. Martha.

Though indirectly, Mrs. Irene Kho, during the interview, swears through the Holy Cross that she's holding, the Bible and by the 300-year old image of St. Martha, that his son, Hayden is innocent and that it was Ms. Katrina Halili and her manager, Ms. Lolita Solis who plotted against his son, by spreading the video in the internet and perhaps, in the sex video black market.

Today, Kho-Halili scandal DVDs are selling like hotcake in Quiapo, Recto, Divisoria, and even in our hometown in Malabon City.

Scripted

In a report published in ABS-CBNnews.com, Mrs. Kho said, and I quote:

“Ms. Katrina Halili, nabili na ‘yang arte mo,” Mrs. Kho said.

Adding,

“Alam mo ang ginagawa mo kay Katrina Halili is scripted. Sinabi mo rin yan, huwag ka ng tumanggi… Ang ginawa mo kay Katrina Halili ay ini-script mo--kung kailan iiyak, kung anong a-artehan…. hindi ko alam kung sinong kasabwat mo,” she said.

referring to Ms. Solis.

Mrs. Kho had sworn to the Cross of Christ that she's telling the truth about this "show."

Just asking


If all of these are scripted, why is that there is no opening and closing credit in the videos? It is not only that Ms. Halili's lovemaking with Dr. Kho is now proliferating but Ms. Maricar Reyes as well.

Besides, according to reports, there are about 40 videos, including Katrina's, Maricar's and the allegedly underage Brazilian model.

There are rumors too, that Ma. Teresa Licaros, a former beauty queen and sexy comedienne Rufa Mae Quinto, also into this mess that's why, they have already sought the aid of their respective lawyers.

Is Hayden not a pervert?

Here's another "bomb" against Dr. Hayden Kho. According to my "bubuwit," borrowing the term from DZRH's anchor and assistant station manager, Deogracias "Lakay Deo" Macalma, there is another explosive video showing Hayden having sex with a 15-year old girl in Cebu. After their lovemaking, Dr. Kho allegedly has focused the camera to the child's vagina while it is discharging vaginal fluid.

But let me clarify the above-mentioned allegations: They are about to be proven by the authorities.

Now the delicate question to answer is that, "Who's telling the truth now?" after Mrs. Kho's revelations. Or, the better question is: "Is Mrs. Kho and her son, Hayden, are on the side of the truth?" My answer, I don't know. I hope that St. Martha will intervene and show us the whole truth.

Amidst celebrity sex scandals: Youth solon urges responsible use of internet

MALABON CITY, May 22, 2009—Newly installed Kabataan party-list Rep. Raymond “Mong” Palatino asked the public, especially the youth, to be responsible in using the worldwide web or Internet for it can be both beneficial and dangerous.

The call came amidst the issue of the alleged sex video between GMA-7 talent Katrina Halili and physician, turned celebrity, Dr. Hayden Kho.

The said video was uploaded and distributed via YouTube, a non-commercial video sharing website.

The video, which this reporter also saw, shows the actual sexual intercourse of Kho and Halili.

Later, the video was removed by YouTube management for “violating the website’s policies.”

“YouTube is not for pornography or sexually explicit content. If this describes your video, even if it's a video of yourself, don't post it on YouTube,” says YouTube blog posted under Community Guidelines.

The issue heated-up when Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. asked for a full Senate inquiry about the scandal. He also wanted Kho out from the medical community by canceling his license as a physician.

“The Internet is a very strong medium of information dissemination among the youth, and we would all do good to use it for purposes that do not intend to maliciously malign possible victims of sexual exploitation,” said the 29-year old solon.

Don’t let government impose severe censorship

But he forewarns the government not to use the Kho-Halili case to impose an outright ban or censorship of certain websites.

He said, this recent scandal might give the government reason to impose severe censorship in the Internet.

“Let us not give the government reason to further restrict our rights and freedom of expression,” he said.

Lady Solon outraged by Kho-Halili sex video

Meanwhile, House of Representative Assistant Minority leader and Gabriela Women’s Party (GWP) Rep.Liza Maza today expressed support and encouraged the young actress Katrina Halili to file a case to proper bodies if indeed her constitutional right to privacy has been violated.

In a statement sent to CBCPNews, Maza said, Katrina and all other women who have been abused and whose rights to privacy have been violated have every right to file a case. We give Katrina our support and we vow to promote every measure to protect and defend women like her degraded and humiliated by this kind of malicious act.

“It’s time that we look into this matter and push for a legislation that will give women protection against publicizing, proliferating, and selling of private sex videos. It is the women who always lose in these kinds of [sexually explicit] materials. Katrina’s case is only one of the cases of sexual abuse committed against the Filipina,” Maza said in Filipino.

Alarmed over the proliferation of these sex videos, Maza stressed that our laws are not enough vis-à-vis the advancement of the mass media and information technology to protect the Filipino women who become victims of these materials.

She also said that GWP gears up for a roundtable discussion, together with militant women’s group, Gabriela (National Alliance of Women’s Organizations) and legal luminaries on Saturday, May 23 to listen and gather viewpoints about the matter.

Attitude change needed to stop sex scandal proliferation

“Only attitude change will stop sex scandals,” says Rev. Fr. Melvin Castro, executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines ’ (CBCP) Episcopal Commission on Family and Life (ECFL), said in a news item posted at the CBCPNews website.

He admitted that the church and society has more work to do in changing people’s attitudes towards sex.

“We have always firmly believed that sex is sacred, it is only fully manifested within a covenanted and committed love which we refer to as marriage… And it is so sacred, it is consummated in the privacy and intimacy between husband and wife,” Castro stated.

Castro said, that the sudden turn of events, is totally “distressing”.

However, Castro said, the faithful, especially women, must learn from Halili’s experience.

“It is a lesson as well that for some of us, we have come to the point that we believe that everyone has a license to do anything what one wants without regard to another person’s feeling… That is what happens to any sexual relationship without reference to true love and no openness to procreation of new life,” he said.

On the other hand, the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines (AMRSP), said they are willing to give assistance to Halili if she asks for the church’s support.

“We will support her,” said AMRSP chairperson Sr. Mary John Mananzan, OSB.

The nun has also denounced the spread of the sex video in both cyberspace and local pirated DVD outlets.

"That was a private thing between them, why does he (Kho) let all the whole world know. Katrina should really pursue her case against Kho,” Mananzan said. (Noel Sales Barcelona)

Wage Discrimination and Other Seafarers’ Woes

“The rights of workers, that is, the right to be organized into unions, to collective bargaining, to security of tenure and to have a just and humane condition at work, are continuously being denied them by capitalists who are only after profits. This is, despite the fact that these are embodied by the Constitution and other international legal instruments and conventions,” says Joseph T. Entero, a maritime labor lawyer.

“Limang taon akong walang trabaho. Sinuwerte naman at natanggap para makasakay sa isang barkong Danish-flagged,” (I was jobless for five years. Luckily, I was hired to work for a ship carrying the Danish flag.) said Ex, a seafarer who requested not to be named. He was hired as a third engineer (3/E).

His “luck” did not end there. “Nakapasa ako sa examination na ibinigay ng Danish Maritime Authority (DMA) at nabigyan ng Certificate of Competency (I passed the examination administered by the DMA and was given a Certificate of Competency),” he said.

Ex said the Certificate of Competency is a requirement that allows a foreign deck officer to work in a Danish International Ship (DIS) Registry vessel.

He began working in the ship, which he refused to identify, in December 2008.

His luck did not last long, however.

Undermanned, low salaried

“Dalawampu’t dalawa kami sa barko: apat na Danish na opisyal, 18 Pinoy” (We are 22 on-board the ship: four Danish officers and 18 Filipino crew members),” Ex related.

Unlike what was promised, his salary was below the standard for Danish-owned ships.

“Mababa ang suweldo, US$1,799, iba kaysa sa itinakda ng ITF-TCC” (The salary was low, only $1,799 unlike what the International Transport Workers’ Federation-Total Crew Cost has set), shared Ex.

The ITF-TCC is an agreement between the ship owners and the union, being represented by the ITF, which sets the standards of how the crew is to be compensated, from wages to other benefits.

Bulatlat obtained a copy of the ITF-TCC and it stipulated that 3/Es’ total wages should amount to $2,727.

“Lumalabas, katumbas lang ang sahod namin sa nagtatrabaho sa isang barkong rehistrado sa Pilipinas” (It appeared that our salary is just like the salary of those who work for a Philippine Registry vessel), explained Ex.

Another problem is that the ship is undermanned, Ex told Bulatlat.

“Kawawa ang junior officers kasi, sa kanila napupunta ‘yong karagdagang mga trabaho. Wala namang ekstrang bayad (The junior officers are the ones who are made to take on additional jobs, without additional pay),” he said.

He said that usually, around four additional tasks are given to each junior deck officer.

Whenever he remembers the cadets and new graduates who have joined their crew, Ex’s voice cracks.

“Mga BSMT (Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation) graduates ‘yang mga ‘yan. Nagsumikap para makapagtapos ng apat na taong kurso. May apprenticeship pa ‘yang mga ‘yan, pero ang kinauuwian nila general purpose workers, mga tagalinis, tagapinta ng barko” (They’re BSMT graduates. They struggled to finish a four-year course.They even went through apprenticeship. But they ended up being general purpose workers: cleaners, ship painters), he said, shaking his head.

These newly grads, he said, are working for 14 hours straight and have been given additional loads, if the Danish officers wanted to.

Discrimination

During his five-month stint on that ship, he learned another secret of the company he had joined.

He said some of the crew members are directly-hired, which means they receive salaries even while not on board, while others come from manning agencies and can be “disposed of” by the company whenever it so desires.

Ex says the four Danish officers and four of the Filipinos are company-hired; the rest are contractuals. He did not say whether he himself was company-hired or contractual.

There is also discrimination in the food services, Ex told Bulatlat. The Filipinos are served food that is different from what is served to the Danish officers.

“Puro cold cuts ang ulam namin, araw-araw” (We were served cold cuts, everyday), he said, with a hint of disgust.

Furthermore, the provision (food supply) is inadequate, Ex said. He narrated: “May pagkakataon na nagbiyahe kami, mula Espanya hanggang Angola. Isang buwang suplay lang ang dala namin. Bigla kaming nag-anchorage sa Angola nang isang buwan. Naku, sobrang hirap talaga! Mabuti na lang, mapamaraan ang mga Pinoy. Nangawil kami para may makain” (There was an instance when we traveled to Angola from Spain. Our provisions were only good for one month. Suddenly, we anchored in Angola for one month. Oh, it was really very difficult. It’s good that the Filipino crewmen are resourceful. We fished for additional food.)

Because of the salary, food and exploitation issues, he resigned and returned to the Philippines with just a few dollars in his pocket.

But he clarified that he was not forced by his employer to resign, and neither does he have plans to file labor cases against his principal and manning agency.

Seafarers deprived of their rights

“The rights of workers, that is, the right to be organized into unions, to collective bargaining, to security of tenure and to have a just and humane condition at work, are continuously being denied them, by capitalists who are only after profits. This is, despite the fact that these are embodied by the Constitution and other international legal instruments and conventions,” says Joseph T. Entero, a maritime labor lawyer, during a lecture about seafarers’ rights held early April.

Entero is one of the labor lawyers who founded the Union of Lawyers and Advocates for People’s Rights during the 1980s.

No unions, no CBA

“Every worker has the right to join a union, but it is unfortunate that most of our workers, both land-based and sea-based alike, are not unionized. Only 10 percent of the labor force is organized and only a small percentage of the seafarers are into unions,” he said.

The International Labor Organization’s (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work states that the “freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining” is an essential right of workers.

Because of the low number of sea workers who are organized, only a few are also covered by collective bargaining agreements (CBAs), he added.

“Collective bargaining is the process whereby workers organize together to meet, converse, and compromise on the work environment with their employers,” said Arthur Sullivan and Steven Sheffrin, in their book Economics: Principles in Action.

“It is the practice in which union and company representatives meet to negotiate a new labor contract,” they further said.

Collective bargaining is a type of negotiation between organized workers or employees and their employer or employers usually for determining wages, number of work hours, rules, and working conditions.

Entero said there are instances when what are being bargained for in the CBA are the rights which are already guaranteed by the ILO Declaration and other statutes, as well as by the Constitution. “Therefore, they are bargaining for the things that had already given them by the laws, by our own Constitution,” the labor lawyer said.

Yellow unionism, unjust rules by the State, and other threats to workers’ rights

“But what is more saddening is that the protection of rights and welfare, which is the primary aim of union formation, is only in theory. There are many unions which claim to be pro-worker, yet, they are being used by the capitalists or ship owners as exploitation instruments against the workers which they represent. Some of union officials accept bribes in return for dropping the complaints of their members,” said Entero.

This, according to Entero, defeats the right of the workers to self-organization.

In addition to these, says Entero, the State is also to blame for these abuses for issuing or creating rules and regulations, which are pro-capitalists.

“The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration Standard Employment Contract (POEA-SEC), for instance, is being used by unscrupulous employers to deprive their workers what is due them. The amendments that were introduced to the 1996 POEA-SEC in 2000 and which has took effect in 2002 made it difficult for the complainants to claim the benefits denied them,” Entero explained.

But there is hope, said Entero. “And that hope lies to the hands of the working class, themselves. It is only if there is a strong organization of workers, a democratic union which truly represents the ideals and dreams of workers, that we can win the fight for better working conditions and maybe, a better world,” he said. (First appeared in Bulatlat.com)

Adjani Guerrero Arumpac: Sa walai* ng kanyang sining

BINIHAG niya tayo sa kanyang pelikulang Walai (Home) na ipinalabas sa kontrobersiyal na Kontra-Agos Resistance Film Festival noong nagdaang Disyembre.

Mapangahas ang pelikula. Subalit nananatili ang hipo ng sensibilidad sa pagtangan sa kanyang mga karakter. Mapangahas, dahil pinasok niya ang mundo ng apat na babaing uminog ang buhay sa pamosong White House ng Cotabato na pag-aari ng isang datu na nabuhay sa karahasan. Sa unang pelikulang ito, ipinamalas ni Adjani "Jaja" Guerrero Arumpac ang kanyang kahusayan sa pagkukuwento at paglalapat ng mga larawan, ng mga emosyon at kaisipan sa pelikula.

Buhat sa kipil, patungo sa mas malayang paglalarawan ng buhay

"Sinanay ako, nang apat na taon, bilang isang malikhaing manunulat sa Philippines High School for the Arts sa dibdib ng Bundok Makiling sa Los Baños, Laguna. Nagsulat ako ng mga dagli. Masyadong kipil. Napakahirap sulatin. Kailangan kong magsulat nang buong ingat. Kailangang piliin mo ang angkop na mga salita. Sumulat ako ng buung-buong mga larawan sa aking mga kuwento. Grapiko. Subalit nadama kong hindi sapat ang mga salita. Noong panahong iyon, nakahihiligan ko rin ang potograpiya. Lagi kong sukbit ang aking lumang-lumang SLR. Doon ko naisip na maganda ang pelikula para sa akin. Pagsasanib ng mga imahen at kasaysayan. Iyon ang naging tuntungan ko para maging isang manlilikha ng pelikula," ani Guerrero.

Iisa ang masasabi mo sa pelikula ni Jaja. Malapit sa puso. Parang laging nakaugnay ang manlilikha sa kanyang nililikha. Karugtong-pusod ng tumitingin, ang tinitingnan. Napakaganda ng Walai dahil mararamdaman mo ang totoong damdamin ng kanyang mga tauhan. Apat na tauhang iba-iba ang pananaw.

"Lahat ng mga gawa ko, nasusulat man o nasalakab ng kamera, laging malapit sa akin. Lumilikha ako batay sa kung ano ang alam na alam ko. Naniniwala akong sa pamamagitan lamang nito ko matatrato nang patas ang mga tauhan sa aking kuwento," paliwanag niya.

Maalamat na kasaysayang pampamilya at mikrokosmo ng lipunang Mindanaw

"Isang alamat ng pamilya ang Walai. Mula pagkabata ko, nakaririnig na ako ng mumunting kuwento hinggil sa kasaysayan ng pamilyang nasa White House. Bukas na lihim ang kanilang kuwento. Nang malaman nilang gumagawa ako ng pelikulang may kinalaman sa kuwento, marami sa pamilya ko ang pumigil sa akin. Natatakot sila para sa kaligtasan ko. Marami kasing takot kay Datu Zekie Sinsuat. Maraming ayaw kay Bai Lily Sinsuat," pagbabahagi niya ng ilang sipat sa kanyang ipinalabas na pelikula noong Disyembre sa Robinson’s Galleria Indiesine.

Untouchable ang istorya. Hindi dapat pinakikialaman, pahiwatig ng 23-anyos na direktor at prodyuser ng Walai. Subalit ipinagpatuloy niya ang nasimulan, at ayon na rin sa kanya, nakaramdam siya ng isang pakiramdam nang pagiging buo dahil nabigyang liwanag ang ilang isyung may kinalaman sa kultura at paniniwalang napapayungan ng madidilim na anino, ng hindi pagkaunawa, nang marami.

Iyon ang mabisa niyang naipakita sa kanyang pelikulang Walai. Sa pamamagitan ng kamera, malaya at buung-buong nasalakab ang mga emosyon. Mga emosyong inilalabas subalit hindi isinisigaw.

Sa pamilya ni Datu Zekie Sinsuat at sa apat na sulok ng nabubulok nang White House, makikita ang isang pamilyar na pangitain ng kung ano ang nagaganap sa lipunan. Mikrokosmo o maliit na representasyon ng kalakhan ng nagaganap sa lipunan, sa maikling paglalarawan.

Paghahanap sa sarili

Bahagi ng isang trilohiya ang Walai, pagsisiwalat ni Jaja. Paghagilap din sa mga piraso ng kanyang pagkatao bilang bunga ng pagsasanib ng dalawang magkaibayong paniniwala at kagawian: Islam at Kristiyanismo.

"Sa ganitong pagtatahi, isinakonsepto ang unang bahagi ng aking trilohiya hinggil sa pinagmulan ko. Una, hinggil sa mga Muslim. Muslim ang tatay ko. Ang ikalawa, hinggil sa mga Kristiyanong naninirahan sa Mindanaw na kinabibilangan ng aking ina. At ang ikatlo, ang produkto ng pagsasanib ng dalawang kultura. Maaaring ang kuwento ng ikatlo ay patungkol sa akin, o sa mga kapatid kong babae, o kahit na sinong may katulad kong karanasan na, masasabi nating interesante ang buhay," paglalahad niya.

Bilang karugtong sa kung saan niya hinuhugot ang kanyang mga kuwento at pinipili ang tauhan sa kanyang kuwento, sinabi niyang sa pamamagitan ng pagtatahi-tahi ng magkakaibayo subalit magkakaugnay na mga karanasan, kultura at katauhan, napipili niya ang magiging mga tauhan sa kanyang kuwento. Gaya nang naganap sa Walai. Ilahahad niya ito nang walang dagdag. Hilaw, subalit sa panlasa ng mga manonood, mananamman ang tunay na lasa at makukuha ang tunay na esensiya ng salaysay, ng kuwentong gustong ipaabot. May kurot sa puso. May pintig sa ugat. May kakaibang katangiang masasabi mong tunay at hindi hinabi buhat sa imahinasyon. Tunay na likhang-Jaja Arumpac.

Hindi niya isinusuka ang mainstream, subalit hindi rin ganap na nilulunok. Hahayaan niyang anurin siya ng agos at kung saang pampang siya mapadpad, gagalugarin niya at lilikha ng mga bakas na hindi mabubura.

Subalit nilinaw niyang hindi niya pinapangarap na mabansagan o maging kilala. Gagawin niya kung ano ang gusto niya sa kanyang sining – sa sariling panahon, sa sariling pamamaraan, at sa sariling kumpas. (First appeared in Pinoy Weekly, January 30, 2008)

*Salitang Maranaw na ang ibig sabihin ay bahay

N.B. This is an attempt to review an alternative film. Hope you liked it.

Aurelio Tolentino and His Play Kahapon, Ngayon, at Bukas

Not all Filipinos are aware of the historical importance of May 14.

On May 14, 1903, Aurelio Tolentino (October 13, 1867-July 3, 1915), a Pampango playwright, poet, essayist, educator, novelist and public servant was arrested because of his play, Kahapon, Ngayon at Bukas (Larawan ng Inang Bayan).

Kahapon, Ngayon at Bukas: a play of struggle vs. imperialist powers

It is an anti-imperialist play attacking the new colonizers (at that time), the Americans, while not forgiving the old ones – Mother Spain and Old China, who want to feast on the Philippines’ wealth.

The play was shown at Teatro Libertad in Manila on May 14, 1903 and its focus is the triumph of Inang Bayan (Motherland) over her tormentors, Haring Bata (Child King) who is the symbol of the Old China; Halimaw (Monster), the symbol of the Spanish friars who continued dominating the church and influencing local politics despite the mock battle in Manila Bay; Dilat-na-Bulag (Eyes Open, yet Blind), the ever ‘royal’ Spain; and Bagong Sibol (The Budding One), which is the new superpower of the capitalist world, the United States of America.

Its main scene is the liberation of Taga-Ilog or Juan de la Cruz who is, at the play’s beginning, shackled and in prison.

In that particular scene, he throws the American flag to the ground and tramples upon it until it is torn, then he breaks the shackles and forces the jail open. At this point the rest of the characters shout: “Long live Freedom! Long live the Motherland!”

According to Pampango blogger Alex R. Castro, who dabbles in history, when the actor was about to do the act, “he froze for he saw a number of Americans in the audience.” Because of this, Castro wrote in his blog (viewsfromthepampang.blogspot.com), “Tolentino ascended the stage and did the act himself, to the horror of the Americans who saw it as an act of sacrilege against their Stars and Stripes.”

Castro wrote that because of this, he was arrested. When the authorities turned to arrest the other actors as well as those in the audience, Tolentino saved them by declaring sole responsibility for the play as its writer and director.

Upon his admission of the crimes he was accused of, he was convicted of sedition, rebellion, insurrection and conspiracy and was imprisoned. In 1912 he was pardoned by then Governor-General W. Cameron Forbes and a US$7,000 fine was meted.

This was his second time in prison. The first was when Spanish authorities launched a witch-hunt against suspected Katipuneros in 1898 and Tolentino failed to elude authorities. He was imprisoned for nine months.

Still relevant today

Though the play was written and shown 106 years ago, Tolentino’s Kahapon, Ngayon at Bukasis still relevant to Philippine conditions.

Our politics are still under the influence of Washington, D.C. The Philippine economy still suffers from backwardness. The poor are getting poorer while the rich are getting richer because of the anti-poor policies being crafted by politicians, many of whom are educated in foreign schools, particularly, in the US. The basic freedoms of the people are still being suppressed.

In other words, the Philippines is still under colonization, albeit in its new form.

But these realities are being veiled by anti-nationalist propaganda channeled through the mass media and the educational system by the foreign dominating power and its collaborators in the executive, legislative and judicial departments.

Because of all these, the voice of Juan de la Cruz retains its urgency. (Bulatlat.com)

Side Bar:

The Life of Aurelio Valenzuela Tolentino
(1865 – 1915)

The youngest among three children of Leonardo Tolentino and Patrona Valenzuela, Aurelio Tolentino was born on October 13,1867 in Barrio (sub-village) Santo Cristo, Guagua, Pampanga.

Aurelio and his brother both obtained their primera enzeñanza (primary lessons) under the school master Pedro Serrano Laktaw. He then transferred to the Colegio de Latinidad, under the baton of Angel Jimenez.

After finishing the third year of the segunda enseñanza (second lesson), he was already well-grounded in rhetoric, poetics and philosophy.

He transferred to Manila and completed the requirements for his Bachelor of Arts degree at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran. Later, he enrolled at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) to study law, but had to stop schooling when his father died.

Returning to his hometown, he taught in his old college, Colegio de Latinidad. At that time the college’s director was Tomas Gamboa.

He was forced to leave Pampanga after an altercation with a Spanish pharmacist. The pharmacist called him a barbaro (barbarian), which led to Tolentino striking him in the face.

To escape from possible arrest because of his action, he went to Tondo and lived there.

After a few years, Tolentino secured the position of oficial de mesa (desk official) at Tondo’s Court of First Instance.

While living in Tondo, he became acquainted with Andres Bonifacio, who would later become the Supremo of the Kataas-taasan, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK) and other patriots who engaged his help in the printing and distribution of the censored La Solidaridad and other propaganda literature. He eventually joined the Katipunan.

Like other Katipuneros, Tolentino became a Freemason. He became an orator at the Monditia Lodge, which was presided over by Vicente Lukban.

From Holy Tuesday to Holy Thursday of 1895, he and Bonifacio explored the terrains of Montalban and San Mateo in what is now the province of Rizal in search for an appropriate place from which to direct military operations in case the secret society was discovered.

On April 12, Good Friday, with torches, their group visited Makarok and Pamitinan.

Inside the cave where the folkloric hero Bernardo Carpio supposedly lived, they deliberated on their plans about the revolution, as well as the gathering of arms and funds. On the cave walls, Bonifacio wrote, “Viva la Independencia Filipina!” (Long-live Philippine Independence!)

When the 1896 Revolution broke out, Tolentino was the escribano (scribe) in the provincial court of Morong. When the Spanish authorities launched a crackdown on the Katipunan, Tolentino failed to escape, and was incarcerated for nine months.

Upon his release, he took part in the Bicol campaigns of Gen. Vicente Lukban.

Tolentino is one of the signatories of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo’s declaration of Philippine independence in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898.

Despite the declaration of freedom, however, Tolentino gathered his former comrades in Katipunan who were residents of Manila and organized the secret society Junta de Amigos in August 1900. Under his leadership, they formed guerilla units and carried on the resistance against America.

His group burned American military stores in Tondo, Sampaloc, and Pandacan, captured blacklisted collaborators, and killed American sentries. Eventually, however, the Americans would discover and dismantle the secret society.

In 1903, Tolentino and Artemio Ricarte attempted to organize a new revolutionary army.

Using his genius in letters, he wrote two unsigned editorials for the newspaper La Independencia, both of which were openly critical of the United States.

The two other newspapers which he edited, La Patria and El Liberal were suppressed by the US government. Filipinas, a newspaper which he published, was also forcibly closed down by the authorities.

Still, however, his journalistic career, was not stymied.

He edited El Pueblo and El Imperial, two Spanish-language newspapers, and their Pampango counterparts, Ing Belen and Ing Emangabiran.

A playwright and true-blooded propagandist, he used the theater as his main medium in attacking the imperialist power.

He wrote the famous Tagalog verse drama, Kahapon, Ngayon at Bukas, which was played to a packed audience at Teatro Libertad in Manila on May 14, 1903.

A part of the script called for the actor playing Taga-Ilog or Juan de la Cruz, who was shackled and imprisoned, to tear down American flags, break his shackles and force the jail open.

At this time the rest of the audience shouted: “Long live Freedom! Long live the Mother-land!”

This was witnessed by some Americans among the audience, who were shocked.

After the show, the authorities went up the stage and arrested everybody, but Tolentino told them that it was he alone who was responsible, for he was the writer and director of the drama. He was convicted of sedition, rebellion, insurrection and conspiracy. Finally in 1912 he was pardoned by the then Governor General W. Cameron Forbes and the US$7,000 fine was meted.

Imprisonment did not cow his patriotic soul. Tolentino continued to engage in nationalistic activities after his release.

One of his principal concerns was the plight of the Filipino working people. Because of his admiration for labor leader Dr. Dominador Gomez’s works, he wrote Bagong Cristo (New Christ), a play which dealt with the antagonistic relations between capital and labor.

He also founded the Katimawan, identified as a “Samahang Hanapbuhay ng Mahihirap” (Livelihood Association), which is said to be the first workers’ cooperative in the Philippines.

Though a Pampango, he became an early advocate of the adoption of Tagalog as the national language, believing that a common language would help ensure national unity.

Later, he founded El Parnaso Filipino, a school for the promotion of Tagalog literature, to advance his advocacy.

He married Natividad Hilario in 1908. They had four children: Cesar, Corazon, Rafael and Leonor. Only Corazon and Rafael survived early deaths among the four siblings.

He and his family lived in Manila until his death in July 1915. He was buried at the Manila North Cemetery. In 1921, his bones were transferred to Guagua, Pampanga where they were buried at the base of a monument erected by the townspeople to honor him.

References:

http://www.geocities.com/sinupan/tolentinoaurel.htm ^[1]; accessed May 16, 2009
http://viewsfromthepampang.blogspot.com/2008/01/66aurelio-tolentino-and-his-literature.html^[2]; accessed May 16, 2009
http://www.geocities.com/pampgen/tolentino.htm ^[3]; accessed, May 16, 2009

Rapu-Rapu probe on marine pollution starts anew

QUEZON CITY, May 12, 2009—Environmentalists has launched another fact-finding mission, aiming to uncover new threats on the coastal waters of Rapu-Rapu Island in Albay, as the controversial Lafayette Mining Limited starts operating again.

Rapu-Rapu is considered as a haven for marine biologists and diving enthusiasts alike for its rich marine resources.

A three-day International Solidarity Mission (ISM), which has started last May 10, was organized by the Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE) and the Center for Environmental Concerns Philippines (CEC Phils) along with international and local delegates from the church, health professionals, scientists, youth and members of the media.

“The case of Rapu-Rapu is one of the most popular and dynamic of the mining struggles in the Philippines. The relentless campaign of the local organizations and residents with their supporters from local, national and international organizations has lead to a bittersweet victory when the previous major shareholder of the project Lafayette Philippines, Inc. (LPI) with its wholly foreign-owned joint venture company Lafayette Mining Limited (Australia) caved-in to the protests of the people and declared bankruptcy in December 2008,” says Clemente “Enteng” Bautista Jr., national coordinator of the Kalikasan-PNE in a statement sent to CBCPNews.

While the protests temporarily halt Lafayette’s operations, the threat against the environment is there again as Koreans had resurrected the already dead company, Baustista said.

Rapu-Rapu mining project is one of the 63 priority large-scale mining projects of the Philippine government and the pet project of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

It opened in 2005 and incurred two massive mine tailings spills five months after starting operations in this typhoon-stricken and small island.

Previously owned by Australian junior firm Lafayette Mining Limited, the project’s ownership was transferred to a consortium between Korea Resources Corporation, LG International, and Malaysia Smelting Operations in early 2008 after Lafayette declared bankruptcy.

Community residents continue to oppose the project, which resumed operations anew last year.

“These new developments in the anti-mining struggle in Rapu-Rapu are the primary focus of the ISM. New information coming from the communities related to the environmental impacts of continued large-scale mining need to be verified. Also, documenting social issues that confront the residents of the island, including possible violation of human rights need to be looked into,” said Bautista.

A toxic marine pollution cover-up

The ISM is also to probe the alleged direct dumping of toxic wastes to Rapu-Rapu bay which maybe the reason why the tailing dam is not overflowing notwithstanding heavy rains.

Said Tony Casitas of the Sagip Isla, Sagip Kapwa, their group has been receiving reports that a ship was seen getting the tailings from the dam which was suspected to be dumped in the Pacific Ocean.

“This is probably the reason why the tailings dam doesn’t overflow even if it has been raining often for the past six months,” he said.

He also said that residents have seen divers from the mining company as they collect sea urchins and bury them near the coasts.

“Their first concern was that their children might step upon the spikes of the urchins because they are being buried shallowly. Later did they realize the crucial role that sea urchins play as they are good indicators of the level of contamination or pollution in the water,” Casitas explained.

Rapu-Rapu’s lands: all for mining?

Meanwhile, environmentalists suspect that only 10 percent of the Rapu-Rapu’s land area is not yet sold for mining.

“More than 90 percent of the total land area of the island is targeted for expansion. Under the new management, the mining company was reported by residents to be giving away goods such as soap, toothpaste, etc. to woo local residents of approving expansion in their communities. Every household was reportedly given 10 kilos of rice in December and February amounting to P270, 000. This amount however, is just 0.032% (that's 3.2% of 1%) of the total annual revenue of the mining company,” Bautista disclosed.

“They have already invested $40 million to $50 million to upgrade the facilities of the mine site and are targeting annual production to be about 10,000 tons of copper ore; 50,000 ounces of gold; 600,000 ounces of silver and 14,000 tons of zinc,” Bautista added.

DENR: adding insult to injury

Environmentalists and scientist-delegates to the ISM assailed the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for allowing the sale of the mining project to Korean investors, despite the damage it has already incurred to the soils and waters of Rapu-Rapu.

“Lafayette has run off with millions of profits without paying for its crimes against the local community and the Filipino people. As adding insult to injury, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), backed up by Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo sold the project to Korean investors. The new Korean owners, which were immediately allowed to resume operations, are feared to continue the destructive and pollution-inducing operation of open-pit mining in the island,” said Bautista. (Noel Sales Barcelona/CBCP News)

Taken — A Mother’s Journey in Search of the Truth About Her Missing Son

Arise, O LORD, do not let man prevail; let the nations be judged in Your sight. Put them in fear, O LORD, that the nations may know themselves to be but men... Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man; seek out his wickedness until You find none. LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear, To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may oppress no more.

- Psalm 9:19, 20; 10: 17, 18

The Philippines' preparing for the elections

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has disqualified seven (7) bidders for the planned automated poll next year, as Kabataan party-list revealed.

Some groups have launched its new voters' campaign, called Ako Mismo with big stars from the movies, music, the internet and the civil society serve as its endorsers.

However, one concerned citizen said, that the Ako Mismo campaign is a dangerous gimmick from a large wireless communications company.

Earlier this year, Manuel Roxas II (a.k.a. Mar), Manuel Villar (a.k.a Manny), Panfilo Lacson (a.ka. Ping), Loren Legarda and Jejomar Binay of Makati (a.k.a. Rambotito and Jojo) have their advertisements eating up up to 30 second-airtime in major television networks. Some members of the Civil Society and even the powerful Roman Catholic Church raised their eyebrows saying, it's an early politicking.

My auntie from Calatagan, Batangas shared her piece of story about her hometown for more than 30 years. Politically motivated killings are now rampant in their peaceful town.

With all these scenarios, I can tell, the Philippines is now readying itself for the carnival este, the elections next year.

The Comics Wars

For decades the Roces clan of publishers monopolized the comics industries in the Philippines – even as they “warred” among themselves for the biggest share of the market. Their enterprises shut down, however, toward the end of the previous century.

GASI or the Graphic Arts Services, Inc. is the comic book publishing firm established by well-known cartoonist and comic scriptwriter Tony Velasquez (1910-1997) and Ramon Marcelino, also a comic scriptwriter and editor.

The company was financed by Don Ramon Roces of the Roces clan of publishing magnates Its office was then on Calle Solano in Intramuros, Manila.

GASI was the publisher of major comic titles in the Philippines namely Kislap (founded September 1962), Pioneer (October 1962), Aliwan (January 1963), Pinoy Klasiks (August 1963), and Holiday (September 1963).

It was in 1968 when Roces implemented a major revamp in GASI. The aim: to put another Roces inside GASI.

Because of this, Ramon Marcelino resigned from his post as editor and organized the new Ace Publications (also under the Roces clan). Damy Velasquez replaced him as editor in GASI.

Velasquez has remained as General Manager of GASI and the position of publisher was given to Doña Elena Roces-Guerrero, one of Don Ramon’s two daughters.

The other daughter, Dona Carmen Roces-Davila, took charge of the new Ace Publications founded by Ramon Marcelino.

Occupational Safety and Health

• In 1998, a total of 5,298 work-related accidents were reported by 280 establishments to the DoLE’s Bureau of Working Conditions (BWC).

• Agriculture ranked with the highest number of accidents with 2,049 cases. Manufacturing came second with 1,659 cases. They were concentrated in food (540), textiles (278), non-metallic mineral (121), wood (110) and fabricated metal (100) This was followed by construction with 1,123 cases.

• A total of 123,125 workers were involved in these accidents. This means that one out of 23 workers in the reporting establishments suffered work injuries in 1998. The biggest number of workers came from construction with 32,403 (26.3 percent) workers followed by manufacturing with 32,063 (26 percent) workers.

• The disabling injuries in 1998 incurred some 144,600 days lost and estimated total amount of P10.3-million economic loss categorized as: compensation cost, P7,488,094.33; medical cost, P1,310,681.2; and burial cost, P1,437,573.00. It was noted that fatalities/deaths of workers incurred the highest economic loss amounting to P8 million followed by Temporary Total Disability with P2 million. Amount incurred by medical treatment/first aid cases was estimated at P514,040.25

• Common accident victims were working as production and related workers, transport equipment operators and laborers, male, married workers aged 26-30, with one to five years in service in the company assigned in the first shift.

Work-Alert Cases:

• In 1999, data showed that the construction industry ranked highest in number of accident cases with 78 cases, followed by manufacturing with 20 cases and services with 8 cases.

• The 78 incidents involved 52 fatalities and 21 injured workers.

• Common types of accidents were:

• Falls - 11 cases
• Struck or hit by falling objects/materials - 6 cases
• Electrocution - 4 cases
• Collapse of structure/excavation - 2 cases
• Suffocation - 1 case

From: The Occupational Safety and Health Center-Department of Labor and Employment website; accessed May 8, 2009

Work-Related Injuries, Illnesses Claim Millions of Lives, Dollars Yearly

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labor Office (ILO) warned the governments of the world over the cost of occupational-related diseases and injuries.

Annually, 1.1 million people die because of unsafe and unhealthy work environments, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labor Organization (ILO).

That is why the two institutions call on the governments of the world to create immediate, ethically correct and economically sound measures to improve the working conditions of the world’s labor force. Failure to do so, the two institutions stated, will mean serious and costly consequences.

1.1 million deaths due to occupational health hazards

Former ILO-International Programme on Safety and Health at Work and the Environment (SafeWork) director Dr. Jukka Takala, chief of the ILO’s Health and Safety Program said in a statement that hundreds of millions of people throughout the world are employed in conditions that breed ill health and are unsafe.

“Occupational-related injuries and illnesses kill about 1.1 million people (yearly). This is equivalent (to) the number of people who die with malaria,” said Dr. Takala in a statement.

This figure includes around 300,000 fatalities from an estimated 250 million accidents in the workplace, which often lead to partial or complete loss of capacity to work and to generate an income, the occupational health and safety expert said.

At present, said the ILO and WHO, an estimated 160 million new cases of work-related diseases annually occur in the world, including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, cancer, hearing loss, musculoskeletal and reproductive disorders, mental and neurological illnesses.

During the 98th Session of the International Labor Conference (ILC) in Geneva, it was revealed that in 2003, there were about 358,000 fatal and 337 million non-fatal occupational accidents in the world, and 1.95 million deaths from work-related diseases.

Based on the ILO data, the number of deaths caused by hazardous chemicals alone was estimated at 651,000 that year.

Globalization is to blame

Dr. Richard Helmer, WHO director for occupational health, said that from the occupational health perspective, trends toward globalization of trade pose certain health risks.

“For example, in order to reduce costs, industries with their accompanying occupational hazards are being relocated to developing countries—home to 75 percent of the global workforce,” says Helmer.

“As a result, what is an economic blessing today may lead to considerable deterioration in the health status of working populations of the developing world tomorrow,” he added.

Occupational health and safety hazards are costly

The cost of occupational diseases and injuries is enormous, the experts said.

“Although the cost of these injuries and deaths is incalculable in terms of human suffering, their economic costs are colossal at the enterprise, national and global levels. When taking into account compensation, lost working time, interruption of production, training and retraining, medical expenses, social assistance, etc., these losses are estimated annually at 5 percent of the global gross national product (GNP),” said the ILO report.

“The annual economic cost of major industrial accidents is estimated at US$5 billion. It must be recognized that the best estimates may well underestimate the true economic and social costs because of the under-reporting of occupational accidents and the failure to recognize the work-related origins of certain diseases,” it continued.

Compared to the 1997 data, the global economic losses resulting from work-related accidents and illnesses have reached an estimated 4 percent of the world’s gross national product (GDP), and this is likely to increase in years to come.

In 1992, total direct and indirect costs associated with work-related injuries and diseases in the USA were estimated at US$171 billion, surpassing those of AIDS-related illnesses and at par with those of cancer and heart disease.

In Great Britain, the overall health cost to the British economy of all work accidents and work-related illnesses was estimated at between £6 billion (US$9.3 billion based on the 1995 average exchange rate) and £12 billion ($18.6 billion) respectively, in 1994.

In the Philippines, based on the 1998 data of the Department of Labor and Employment’s Occupational Safety and Health Center (DoLE-OSHC), the disabling injuries in that year led to some 144,600 man-days lost and an estimated total amount of P10.3 million ($257,500) economic loss categorized as: compensation cost, P7,488,094.33 ($187,202.36); medical cost, P1,310,681.2 ($32,767.03); and burial cost, P1,437,573.00 ($35,939.325).

The OSHC stated that the fatalities/deaths of workers incurred the highest economic loss amounting to P8 million ($200,000), followed by Temporary Total Disability with P2 million ($50,000).

The amount incurred by medical treatment/first aid cases was estimated at P514, 040.25 ($12,851.00), read the OSHC data. The said amounts were computed on the prevailing exchange rate that year.

Stress and AIDS: two threats in the workplace

More than 50 percent of workers in industrialized countries complain today about stress in the workplace. Job stress and overwork have been associated with sleep disturbance and depression.

“There is enough scientific evidence to suggest that prolonged exposure to job stress is associated with several types of chronic health problems, including cardiovascular diseases, particularly hypertension, and musculoskeletal and psychological disorders. In the USA, for example, expenditure on health care is nearly 50 percent greater for workers who report high levels of stress at work,” the experts say.

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or AIDS also poses a grave threat on the health of workers throughout the world, especially those who are working overseas.

According to the UN AIDS official report, in 2007 there were about 33 million people who are in living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and majority of them are in their prime years.

“HIV/AIDS is a major threat to the world of work: it is affecting the most productive segment of the labor force and reducing earnings, and it is imposing huge costs on enterprises in all sectors through declining productivity, increasing labor costs and loss of skills and experience. In addition, HIV and AIDS is affecting fundamental rights at work, particularly with respect to discrimination and stigmatization aimed at workers and people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS. The pandemic and its impact strike hardest at vulnerable groups including women and children, thereby increasing existing gender inequalities and exacerbating the problem of child labor,” the ILO declared through its AIDS Program.

OSH: problems and issues

Meanwhile, the WHO and the ILO admit, evaluating the global burden of occupational diseases and injuries is difficult.

Reliable information for most developing countries is scarce, mainly due to under-diagnosis and serious limitations in the reporting systems, the experts said.

WHO estimates that in Latin America, for example, only between 1 and 4 percent of all occupational illnesses are reported.

According to WHO and ILO, there are two main problems common in many countries: (1) a certain unwillingness to recognize [the] occupational causes of injuries or health problems, and (2) failure to report them even when recognized.

“The history of occupational health has been that of a continuous struggle between workers fighting for protection or compensation and their employers seeking to deny or reduce their liability for work-related diseases and injuries. This conflict has greatly influenced statistical reporting. As a result, the burden of disease due to occupational exposures is usually underestimated,” read the WHO-ILO joint statement.

In the Philippines, DoLE-OSHC has admitted, there are seven main issues and problems concerning occupational health and safety that are being raised by the experts:

1. Low priority given to OSH concerns;
2. Lack of awareness and education on OSH;
3. Lack of trained OSH personnel;
4. Weak enforcement of OSH Standards;
5. Lack of OSH facilities in the regions;
6. Need to reinforce information and research clearing house mechanisms; and
7. Statistics on the Work Accident Prevention Program are not always reliable because there is a low rate of compliance, limited coverage, absence of strict penalties and fragmented OSH administration.

But the two international agencies are still hopeful that this trend will change in the near future.

“The existing trends in occupational health need and must be changed in the interests of both workers and employers. It will be done if the quest for higher productivity and cost–effectiveness go hand in hand with considerations of safety and health at work,” the WHO and the ILO stated. (First appeared at Bulatlat.com)

Filipino Nurses Vindicated but Fight Not Over, Lawyer Says

The Avalon 10, a group of nurses who are part of the famous Sentosa 27++, were at last vindicated after being accused of a crime they did not commit. But their fight for justice and compensation is not yet over – not until the true culprits are punished in the full extent of the law.

Felix Vinluan, legal counsel for the Avalon 10 – the Filipino nurses in New York who were charged last year with endangering their patients through abandonment of duty – happily told this reporter that the case filed against them were dismissed by the Second Department of the New York (NY) Supreme Court.

“Finally, the Court heard and agreed with our arguments that prosecuting me and the nurses violated our constitutional rights,” Vinluan said.

The decision was released on Jan. 13, 2009, or almost six months after Vinluan and his clients – who are known as the Avalon 10 because they used to work at the Avalon Gardens health facility – petitioned against their accusers.

Gina Garboni, secretary-general of Migrante International, agreed with Vinluan that with the legal victory, the Avalon 10 has been vindicated.

‘This victory is, indeed, a vindication for the nurses,” Gaborni said. “This is a glimmer of hope for migrant workers who are up against an unscrupulous giant such as Sentosa Care.”

Elated, yet feelings are ambivalent

However, the lawyer said, his feelings are quite ambivalent for he believes that the persecution against them – who are the real victims of injustice and discrimination in the Land of Milk and Honey – will not stop and the full measure of justice has yet to come.

“While I may be elated and feel vindicated about this decision, I would like to say that my feelings are quite frankly ambivalent. For I know that even with the issuance of this decision, the people who caused this prosecution and who committed the acts of illegal recruitment, fraud in the immigration process, human trafficking and involuntary servitude, are still out there – perhaps victimizing more of our fellow kababayan (compatriots) who would like to migrate to the United States to better their and their families’ lives. This Enterprise continues with its operations, no thanks to the POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration) and the powers that be that rescinded the suspension order of Sentosa Recruitment Agency (SRA),” he said.

Gaborni went further, saying, “The Sentosa Recruitment Agency must be shut down!”

No abandonment of duty

“The New York State Education Department ruled that our nurses did not abandon their patients. The Court (Appellate Division) ruled that our nurses did not commit the crime of endangering the welfare of their patients. In fact, the Court made findings of fact that support our nurses’ contention that they were hoodwinked by their recruiter and its US nursing home-principals into believing that they would be directly hired. However, they were actually made agency nurses of Sentosa Services or Prompt Nursing Employment Agency. Thus, the nurses’ contracts were breached by the contracting nursing homes. “Not having signed any contract with Sentosa Services or Prompt, the nurses had at-will employment with their actual employer (Sentosa Services). And being at-will employees, they could resign anytime,” he explained to this reporter.

In a 13-page decision, Justices Fred T. Santucci, J.P., Daniel D. Angiolillo, and Cheryl E. Chambers, said that the Avalon 10’s rights, pursuant to the Thirteenth Amendment of the US Constitution, had been violated.

“Guided by these principles, we conclude that this is not an exceptional case justifying a restriction of the petitioners’ Thirteenth Amendment rights,” read a part of the decision.

“The nurses in this case were engaged in private employment rather than the performance of public service. Moreover, while they possessed the education and training necessary to care for chronically ill patients, including children on ventilators, these skills are not so unique or specialized that they cannot be readily performed by other qualified nurses. Furthermore, although an employee’s abandonment of his or her post in an ‘extreme case’ may constitute an exceptional circumstance which warrants infringement upon the right to freely leave employment, the respondent District Attorney proffers no reason why this is an ‘extreme case’,” the ruling further read.

The justices also said, “District Attorney [John Spota] does not dispute that Vinluan acted in good faith (in advising the nurses, legally), but urges this court to conclude that his legal advice to the nurses was not constitutionally protected because he advised them to commit a crime. However, since the nurses’ conduct in resigning cannot, under the circumstances of this case, subject them to criminal prosecution, we cannot agree that Vinluan advised the nurses to commit a crime.

“More importantly, regardless of whether Vinluan’s legal assessment was accurate, it was objectively reasonable. We cannot conclude that an attorney who advises a client to take an action that he or she, in good faith, believes to be legal, loses the protection of the First Amendment if his or her advice is later determined to be incorrect. Indeed, it would eviscerate the right to give and receive legal counsel with respect to potential criminal liability if an attorney could be charged with conspiracy and solicitation whenever a District Attorney disagreed with that advice. The potential impact of allowing an attorney to be prosecuted in circumstances such as those presented here are profoundly disturbing. A looming threat of criminal sanctions would deter attorneys from acquainting individuals with matters as vital as the breadth of their legal rights and the limits of those
rights. Correspondingly, where counsel is restrained, so is the fundamental right of the citizenry, bound as it is by laws complex and unfamiliar, to receive the advice necessary for measured conduct.”

The justices also explained that, by placing an attorney in the position of being required to defend the advice that he or she has provided, the state compels revelation of, and thus places within its reach, confidential communications between attorney and client.

“Such communications have long been held to be privileged in order to enable citizens to safely and readily secure “the aid of persons having knowledge of the law and [skill] in its practice,” the decision said.

Cases in the Philippines all dismissed

Vinluan said that though they have gained victory in their fight in the US, in the Philippines this is not the case.

He told this reporter that he and the Avalon 10 had filed the following cases in the Philippines:

1) POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Agency) cases – violation of POEA rules and regulations, such as misrepresentation in the recruitment process and contract substitution;

2) NLRC (National Labor Relations Commission) cases – money claims and constructive dismissal, which were assigned to the Executive Labor Arbiter; and

3) DoJ (Department of Justice) cases – complaints for illegal recruitment against SRA, Francis Luyun and his officers/employees and primary principal.

“After the POEA issued a preventive suspension order against Sentosa Recruitment Agency, Senator Charles Schumer wrote POEA Administrator Rosalinda Baldoz, then Labor Secretary Pat Sto. Tomas and President (Gloria Macapagal-)Arroyo. It was after these letters were received by government officials that then-Presidential Chief of Staff, Sec. Michael Defensor, called up NY Consul-General (Cecilia) Rebong and then POEA Administrator (Rosalinda) Baldoz. Soon thereafter, the preventive suspension order was lifted,” Vinluan said, recalling what happened more than two years ago.

Furthermore, he said, the POEA dismissed the first batch of complaints as it found that SRA allegedly had a “recruitment agreement” with Sentosa Care, LLC. Sentosa Care, LLC is a healthcare management company and has several affiliated nursing homes. The POEA ruled that inasmuch as all the affiliates of Sentosa Care, LLC are “identified and listed in the official website of Sentosa Recruitment Agency and Sentosa Care, LLC, Filipino nurses were thus notified that they were going to work for the “healthcare group.” In essence, it ruled that it was all right for SRA to deploy any of the nurses to any of the affiliates of Sentosa Care, LLC.

“In our appeal to the Labor Secretary, we argued that the records of the case show no recruitment agreement between Sentosa Recruitment Agency and Sentosa Care, LLC. In fact, Sentosa Care, LLC is not even one of the accredited principals of Sentosa Recruitment Agency. The nurses individually signed employment contracts with a particular principal (nursing home) of Sentosa Recruitment Agency. Thus, they expected to work for that particular nursing home principal of Sentosa Recruitment Agency. As correctly found by the NY Appellate Division, the nurses were instead made agency nurses of an employment agency,” the lawyer explained.

He even said he has doubts as to whether Labor Secretary Marianito Roque (former chief of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration or OWWA), or Baldoz (former head of the POEA) or even the new POEA Administrator Jennifer J. Manalili could produce any copy of a supposed recruitment agreement between SRA and Sentosa Care, LLC when asked to do so.

“I am pretty sure they cannot produce one (not unless they had already manufactured one). Whether they are able to produce one or not, ask them further: at what stage of the proceeding was that recruitment agreement ever submitted or filed? For as far as we know, we never received a copy of said recruitment agreement (if ever SRA submitted one) during the proceedings,” he said.

He even told this reporter to compare POEA’s factual findings with the findings made by the NY Appellate Division.

“The Appellate Division found that ‘… each of the nurses signed an employment contract with the specific nursing homes for which they had been selected to work…’ When the nurses arrived in the United States, they learned that they would be working for an employment agency instead of the specific nursing homes they had signed contracts with,” stressed Vinluan.

“The Executive Labor Arbiter, on the other hand, made even more-aggravating findings when she ruled that the nurses, by resigning, pre-terminated their employment contracts, and that the nurses in fact had an obligation to give two-weeks notice. We likewise appealed to the NLRC (the Commission), and argued that the employment contracts were indeed breached, not by the nurses, but by the contracting nursing home employers. The nursing home principals of Sentosa Recruitment Agency did not provide employment to any of the nurses. The nurses found employment with the nursing employment agency. There being no employment agreement between the nurses and the employment agency, their relationship was an at-will employment. The NY Appellate Division correctly ruled that the nurses’ employment was ‘employment at will’,” he further explained.

Moreover, Vinluan said, the Office of the Labor Secretary and the NLRC are presently sitting on the appeals.

“In fact, there are three other batches of complaints filed before the POEA adjudications office which are likewise in limbo. It really seems that the ordinary, not politically-connected Filipino, cannot secure justice in his own country. And to think that the government takes pride in our overseas foreign workers as the new heroes of the country,” he said.

He said that they plan to litigate the civil cases pending in New York and the federal discrimination cases they filed in Washington, D.C.

“Insofar as the Philippine front is concerned, the nurses’ parents and relatives, together with their support groups led by Migrante International, Alliance of Health Workers, Health Alliance for Democracy and Gabriela Women’s Party, will decide how they can bring to the attention of the people the fact that our own government has looked the other way, refusing to see the truth, as clearly made manifest by the recent decision by the NY Appellate Division, which contained factual findings that contradict those of Philippine government agencies,” Vinluan said. (First appeared at Bulatlat.com, under Migrant Watch)

N.B. This is a follow-up story of the one I have written in 2008 (see, Delayed Justice for Sentosa 27++, which also appeared in Bulatlat.com. To date, the said nurses are still fighting for their rights and welfare in the Land of Promise: the United States of America.