December 10, 2008First Year, No. 2December 10, 2008

INSIDE

The Pinoy Herald is proof theFilipino-American media is alive andwell, even in the midst of the US eco-nomic crisis, ready to serve a grow-ing Fil-Am community.Pinoy Herald Publisher and Edi-tor-in-chief Rene Calandria is con-vinced now’s the right time to launchthe paper. As Fil-Ams struggle tocope with life’s daily challenges, thePinoy Herald can be a ready reminderof what makes Filipinos stand apartamid the diversity – their courage,intelligence, a strong sense of com-munity, humor, perseverance, andabiding Faith.“The establishment of a new Fili-pino-American newspaper,” Philip-pine Ambassador Willy Gaa said, “isan encouraging sign and indicator of

New Paperfor Fil-Ams inCapital Region

Charice wows New Yorkers at the 82ndMacy’s Thanksgiv-ing Parade

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VA panel proposesfriendly policiestoward immigrants

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Pinoys hark the Herald

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U.N. honors PinoyPeacekeepers

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“Simbang Gabi”schedule

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The Heroism ofPanasahan Bagmakers

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www.pinoyherald.org

Baguio: City of Pines

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Pacquiao Conquers Golden Boy

Pinoy Herald Editor-in-chief Rene R.Calandria with Phil. Embassy pressattaché Gines Gallaga

Amphitheatre at Camp John Hay

One legend rides into the sunset,another one rises. Manny Pacquiaowon a TKO victory against 10-timeworld champion Oscar de la Hoya inLas Vegas Saturday night, sparking anational outpouring of jubilation andpride in the Philippines.Pacquiao, going into the scheduled12-rounder a 2-to-1 underdog, pum-meled De la Hoya into submission. Bythe end of the 8th round, De la Hoya’sleft eye was almost swollen shut, andhe agreed with coach Nacho Beristainto end the one-sided “Dream Match”.Filipinos here and in the Philippinesburst into boisterous celebration whenDe la Hoya, in a fitting acknowledge-ment of Pacquiao’s mastery, walkedfrom his corner to congratulate him.“You’re a hero,” President Arroyosaid in a statement.He was indeed a hero to millionsof Filipinos who watched the fightfrom small battery-run TVs in remotebarangays to cinemas that charged pa-trons $10 to see the action beamed liveby satellite. Reports from Manila saidvery few policemen could be seen inthe streets because they knew crimi-nals were probably watching the Pac-quiao fight too.At a time of growing economic diffi-culties, Pacquiao’s convincing victorywas not only an early Christmas gift tohis countrymen, but also an inspirationto countless struggling Filipinos. Theyare familiar with Pacquiao’s story – hishumble beginnings, vending cigarettesin General Santos City, to his steadyrise in the boxing constellation. Formost Filipinos he has come to symbol-ize a noble spirit, courage amid adver-sity, and ultimately, triumph throughhard work and perseverance.Philippine Executive SecretaryEduardo Ermita suggested Pacquiao’svictory could make the task of forgingforward amid the gathering crisis a biteasier.Oscar and Evelyn Bonoan, like somany Fil-Ams in the Greater Wash-ington DC region, hosted friends, of-fering platters of home-cooked deli-cacies, so they could watch historytogether. It united Filipinos, not onlyin the homeland, but here in the US aswell.“Iba talaga si Manny!,” declaredBien Dimailig of Fairfax, Virginia.That summed the common senti-ment as Fil-Ams here watched thefight at the MGM Grand Garden, fork-ing out $54 for HBO’s pay-for-view.“Sulit! (It was worth it!),” they pro-claimed after the fight.Pacquiao, 29, outclassed the 1992Olympic gold medalist in nearly alldepartments. He connected with light-ning lefts, pounded De la Hoya’s mid-section, threw uppercuts and jabs withimpunity. “Pacquiao was phenom-enal,” Bernard Hopkins was quoted asgushing.From the first round, it was obvi-ous De la Hoya, 36, had a tough nightahead. Pacquiao was penetrating hisdefenses and he failed to get a beadon the elusive Pinoy pugilist who keptbobbing, moving, dancing away fromDe la Hoya’s 4-inch reach advantage.De la Hoya, perhaps weighed downby age and a long hiatus outside thering, was simply too slow to keep upwith the frenetic Pacquiao.When referee Tony Weeks endedthe fight, Pacquiao was ahead in allthe judges’ scorecards. Pacquiao re-portedly outscored De la Hoya 47-103punches.There seemed a consensus amongthe Filipino audience that Pacquiaocould have knocked De la Hoya outif the fight was allowed to continue.In the end, there was relief and agree-ment that De la Hoya’s decision wasthe right one – testament perhaps tothe deep respect many Fil-Am boxingfans keep for the former champion.De la Hoya has the distinction of holding titles in six weight classes.De la Hoya had to shed pounds andPacquiao had to add some so they canmeet in the 147-pound category. TheCalifornia-based De la Hoya tippedthe scale at 145 pounds last Friday and147 on Saturday. Pacquiao weighed142 pounds last Friday but was report-edly 148 by fight night – making himthe heavier combatant at the openingbell.Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roachhad taunted De la Hoya before thebout that he could “no longer pull thetrigger”. When the fight ended, De laHoya was quoted as telling Roach,

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By Rodney J. Jaleco

ABS-CBN North America News Bureau

December 10, 2008

WASHINGTON D.C. Former House Speaker Jose de Venecia saidhe regrets coming to the rescue of President Arroyo when her govern-ment was pushed to the brink by mu-tinous troops and a post-election scan-dal, and says current moves to amendthe Philippine Constitution had oneobjective – to keep President Arroyoin power.“Instead of using the time to ac-complish the work to reform Philip- pine society, to defeat poverty andlift our country’s living and moralstandards, she has worsened them,”De Venecia told ABS-CBN’s BalitangAmerica in a side interview followingan autograph session for his biogra- phy “Global Filipino” at the HeritageFoundation.As House Speaker, De Venecia’ssupport was deemed crucial to thePresident weathering the short-livedOakwood mutiny in 2003; the “HelloGarci” scandal following the 2004 presidential elections; and take-over in 2006 of the Marines headquartersin Fort Bonifacio by soldiers disillu-sioned by lingering charges of elec-toral fraud.“I deeply regret helping her during

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-ernment, including herself, from col-lapse,” De Venecia said.The opposition concentrated their

JDV regrets siding with PGMA in coups

heavy guns in De Venecia’s House of Representatives, the sole body em- powered by the Constitution to im- peach the President. The bicameralCongress launched a series of widely publicized hearings in 2005 to look into the so-called Garci tapes (refer-ring to wiretapped conversations be-tween then Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano and a woman al-leged to be President Arroyo).The political storm prompted Presi-dent Arroyo to make a televised apol-ogy although her supporters insist she

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-ing the election results. The tapes alsoincluded conversations between Gar-

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that helped trigger the 2006 mutiny.

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Point-graduate Brig. Gen. Danilo Limand Marine Col. Ariel Querubin – for a time, considered the heirs-apparentof the Armed Forces of the Philippines – are still undergoing court martial for their role in the mutiny.De Venecia seemed to see the ear-ly defeat of the latest impeachmentcomplaint against his erstwhile po-litical ally. The complaint was basedmostly on his and his son’s exposeof the President’s alleged role in theZTE broadband deal that was eventu-ally repudiated because of corruptioncharges.In fact, many see De Venecia’s rev-elations as the reason he was ousted asHouse Speaker – a post he occupiedfor over a decade - and replaced bya close ally of President Arroyo. DeVenecia was with the President whenshe made a side-trip to the ZTE head

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Her meeting with top ZTE executiveswas not bared until a newspaper col-umnist wrote about it months later.

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of numbers I think at this very minute,

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he told the audience at the HeritageFoundation’s Lehrman Auditorium.He gave his talk Tuesday morning(Manila is ahead 13 hours of Wash-ington DC). “We are going to theSupreme Court with the statementthat the (House) committee on justicecommitted a grave abuse of discretionin dismissing despite the evidence,”he disclosed. As a veteran politician,De Venecia realized the imperative of numbers. “I will help create a power-ful, expanded Rainbow Coalition,” hedeclared, referring to the bipartisan political alliance that used to be his power base in the House. He said thisnew group will “choose a candidatefor president who will win and leadthe battle against poverty and corrup-tion” in 2010. De Venecia was mumabout his own plans for 2010.In the meantime, De Venecia is

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the Constitution before the scheduledelections.Charice Pempengco, the 16 year oldFilipino pop phenom captivated NewYorkers at the 82nd Macy’s Thanks-giving Parade November 27, 2008. NBC host Matt Lauer introducedCharice as the “You Tube sensation of the Philippines. Charice’s rendition of “Because You Love Me” was watched by 44 million television viewers allover the world.Earlier in the week, Charice ap- peared in Good Morning America to promote David Foster’s new CD/DVD“Hitman: David Foster and Friends”where she is one of several perform-ers included in the album together with Kenny G., Josh Groban, MichaelBuble, Brian McKnight, Katharine

Charice wows New Yorkers

McPhee, Andrea Bocelli and Dion.David Foster is handling Charice’s ca-reer in the U.S.A.Previous appearances of Chariceon U.S. television were with the ever popular Oprah Winfrey and comedianEllen de Generis. She likewise ap- peared in London, England at the PaulO’Grady show where she was request-ed to sing “And I Am Telling You, “I’m Not Going” and “I Will Always LoveYou”. She also performed with world-renowned tenor Andrea Bocelli at his birthday concert last July 20 in Italy.Charice is in the United States cut-

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is set for release in the early part of 2009.On November 23, 2008, the Embassy hostedthe Awarding Ceremony for the recipients of theDr. Jose Rizal Youth Awards. Started in 1993,the Dr. Jose Rizal Youth Awards is an annual project of the Philippine Foundation for Chari-ties, Inc. in collaboration with the PhilippineEmbassy.The Dr. Jose Rizal Youth Awards recognizesoutstanding academic achievements of FilipinoAmerican youth in the Metro Washington DCarea.For school year 2007-2008, the following 26young Filipino Americans received the Dr. JoseRizal Youth Awards:1. Faustinray Abogadie 15. Tatiana Lozano2. Gabrielle Abogadie 16. Nicholas Mendez3. Katherine Argente 17. Theodore Mendez4. Kayla Argente 18. William Mendez5. Kevin Argente 19. Kelvin Moncera6. Joseph Chavez 20. Nikko Nolasco7. Michael Datiles 21. Mark Ramada

26 Fil-Am students receive Rizal awards

8. Cecilia Esteban 22. Michael Ramada9. Emilo Esteban 23. Alfred Udquim10. Margarita Esteban 24. Krizia Udquim11. Nariella Fernandez 25. Anthony Venida12. Natalia Fernandez 26. NicolleteFernandez13. Jacqueline Loberiza

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of recognition for their outstanding academicachievements which was signed by PhilippineAmbassador to the United States Willy C. Gaaand by the PAFC, Inc. President, Ador Carreon.The awardees also received an Philippine Em- bassy engraved writing pens.The event was also marked by the turn over of leadership of the Dr. Jose Rizal Youth AwardsCommittee to spouses Roberto and DivinaTamayo. They took over the mantle of leader-ship from spouses Orlando and Ruby Barbosawho served as the co-chairpersons of the AwardsCommittee for the last ten years.(Source: Philippine Embassy, Washington, DC)

By Rodney J. Jaleco

ABS-CBN North America News Bureau