CAYABYAB.com

Nation to celebrate Australian Citizenship Day 2010

TFA News — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:21:32 +0000

A group of 20 people from seven countries officially joined the Australian family at a special ceremony today in Burnie, Tasmania as Australian Citizenship Day 2010 was launched.

The new Australians – who hail from countries including Japan, the United Kingdom, India and Korea – are the first of thousands of people across the country who will become citizens on and around Australian Citizenship Day on September 17.

“Australian Citizenship Day was introduced in 2001 as an opportunity for people to take pride in our citizenship and reflect on the meaning and importance of being Australian,” a Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) spokesman said.

“Citizenship is the bond which unites us all in our culturally diverse nation. It symbolises our sense of belonging to the country where we have been born or have decided to make our home.

“Australian Citizenship Day celebrations provide an occasion for all of us to be proud of being part of this great nation. It is also a special day for our newest Australians to join our extended family at ceremonies around the country.”

Some 3,600 people from 118 countries will become citizens at 69 ceremonies across Australia as part of Australian Citizenship Day.

DIAC and local government councils will host ceremonies in state and territory capital cities, major metropolitan centres and regional towns.

Source: Department of Immigration and Citizenship

Coalition leads Labor by two seats, one seat remains doubtful

Romy Cayabyab — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:41:47 +0000

The latest tally by AEC shows Coalition up by two seats over Labor seats with 84.90 percent of primary votes counted. Two party preferred count is now 80.63 percent complete. The Coalition is leading in both counts.

Seats “won” are: Liberal/National Coalition (73), Labor (71), Green (1), and Independent (4).

One seat in Corangamite, Victoria remains doubtful with a tight race between Labor’s Darren Cheeseman and Liberal’s Sarah Henderson.

Cheeseman and Henderson have so far polled 46,245 votes (50.50 percent) and 45,324 votes (49.50 percent), respectively, of two candidate preferred count.

If the Liberals win Corangamite, then Opposition Leader Tony Abbott only needs two independents to form a Coalition-run government. The Green’s Adam Bandt has already pledged his support to Labor to give it 72 seats.

A majority of 76 seats is required.

A Night of Good Entertainment and Disappointments

Violi Calvert — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 21:49:15 +0000

Nora with little girls in Hawaiian attire dancing her Pearly Shells song. German Moreno in background. // Photo: Violi Calvert

Review: Nora Aunor Concert

I am one for supporting Filipino talents, endeavours, causes and the like. When I got from a friend in early July, the email with the flyer “Superstar Nora Aunor – Live in Concert in Sydney”, I immediately booked tickets for two. I was assured then that two gold tickets [$50 each] for good seats had been reserved for us.

My 91-year old mother was excited that she would be watching one of her long-time favourite singers perform. She spoke about it to her friends and counted the days to the event.

The flyer stated that doors were to open at 3 p.m. but the concert starts at 3.30 p.m. We arrived at The Diamond Room at the Blacktown Workers Club just before 3 p.m. and waited several minutes at the front desk before our tickets were found.

Good seats not found

Anyway, we were pleasantly surprised that the entertainment by the local support artists had already started. I thought “fantastic! A Filipino show not starting late!”

A friendly usher helped us find our seats. I had to check twice if we were at the right seats because they were located at nearly the end of the row at the left side at an angle view of the stage. Not sure what happened with the ‘good seats’ earmarked for us.

My kudos go to Rod Dingle for doing a great job as Overall Director and Host. The local support artists were good too but my pick was Dex Villahermosa, who sang beautifully two numbers.The audience was clapping for him to do another song but the program probably did not allow it.

The audience were also treated with good entertainment by special guests artists John Robert Porter Jr, John Nite, Juan Rodrigo and German [Kuya Germs] Moreno. Kuya Germs had good rapport with the audience. Even though he took a long time rambling and talking about his ‘humble beginning’ before he cracked showbiz, the audience overall was interested to lap it up. I only heard a couple commented “ang haba naman” [‘bit long’] only because they wanted to see the Superstar already.

Sound of Music no more

Kuya Germs did get the audience singing along with him the Sound of Music piece of “..doe a deer, a female deer; re, a drop of golden sun…” They also enjoyed the bit he engaged on stage ‘Richard” from the audience do the action/dance portion of it.

Afterwards, Kuya Germs spoke about how Nora Aunor was discovered from “Tawag ng Tanghalan”; her being signed-up for 8 years upon winning the contest; how generous she was and how she was taken advantage of by a number of showbiz sharks. Then as we were wondering when Nora would be called on stage as it was after 5 p.m., Kuya Germs shared the sad story about the Superstar Artist.

To cut a long story short, he told the audience of a botched operation Nora had in Japan, how she ended up comatose for five days and sadly how a puncture the surgeon did on her neck damaged her vocal chords that she had not been able to sing!!

And that she was very sorry that would not be singing tonight, but still came so her fans would not be disappointed. He also went on about coming to her concert and buying her cd would be a big help for her next operation and for her legal expenses for the negligence case against the hospital and surgeon. It was also mentioned that should the operation be successful and she is able to sing again, she would be back to do another concert for free!

I thought there was a mixed reaction when Kuya Germs finally called Nora on stage.

There were die-hards who cheered enthusiastically and some had disappointments clearly written on their faces. Then there she was in person – wearing dark skirt and top, scarf with tassels, and high heels. Several fans surged towards the stage to take photos.

Nora was teary when she expressed her thanks to Kuya Germs and to the audience for their support. She also apologised that she would not be able to sing. She tried a couple of chords singing with Kuya Germs, but could not carry it off.

She also asked ‘permission’ to take off her shoes which were killing her feet. She looked like a little girl perched on the stool while she listened to a song by one of the guest artists, Juan Rodrigo I think. Then they played one of her songs “Pearly Shells” part of which she ‘sang’ along [lisped with], while cute girls in their Hawaiian attire danced to it.

No offer for refund

It was announced that Nora would go to each table to sign her cd [cost $20] and show flyer, and for everyone to remain seated. But after going to two tables, this was discontinued and instead it was announced she and the other artists would be at the foyer to do the signing.

Crowd ignoring requests to form a line... // Photo: Violi Calvert

A few friends who asked me how the concert went and heard what happened, commented: “If people were not told beforehand or offered the option of a refund by the promoters, then it was a rip off!”

While I genuinely feel for Nora’s devastation that she could not sing for her fans, I agree that it would have only been fair that we were duly advised; ideally before the concert date but even when we got to the venue, and offered the option to be refunded.

It was disappointing that this did not happen, much as it was disappointing not to hear the Superstar sing. A lot of fans were also disappointed not being able to buy the cd, have her autograph, or have a photo with her as promised.

The lack of discipline of the crowd which ignored requests to form a line for the autograph-signing added to frayed nerves and everyone’s disappointments.

I wish Nora all the best in recovering her singing voice and in getting justice from the negligence case.

However, I fervently hope that next time she comes to Sydney, we’d have a night of good entertainment without the occurrence similar to tonight’s disappointments.

In the meantime, the producers have a lot of “mending” work to do.

Other comments.

PROs hone writing skills

Jaime K. Pimentel — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 02:15:57 +0000

Delegates at the workshop are Jhun Salazar, Emma Braceros, Vivian Brewington, Emylee Tuzon, Glorina Papaioannou, Racquel Pellero, Solina Lapalma, Jacqueline Perales, Cen Amores, and Violi Miguel // Photo: J K Pimentel // [+] click image to enlarge

Public relations officers from affiliates of the Philippine Community Council of NSW and the Alliance of Philippine Community Organisations honed their news writing skills at a workshop conducted by the Filipino Press Group of Sydney yesterday, August 28, at the Regents Park community centre in Auburn.

The workshop kicked off with a background on public relations as a field of practice including an outline of a public relations program and the differences between the role a public relations officer/director and of a press relations officer.

After lunch, the session moved on to the elements of news reporting and then writing and design of a press release.

Delegates went through the motions of preparing an outline of a public relations plan, writing news story leads, body copy and headlines.

The workshop concluded with pointers on liaising with the press, handling a press release and following through to ensure publication in the media, both mainstream and Filipino.

The workshop started at 10am and finished at 2pm. Workshop moderator Jaime Pimentel presented each delegate with a certificate of attendance immediately after the sessions.

Delegates, who attended the workshop as individuals, were Cen Amores, Sol Lapalma, Racquel Pellero, Jhun Salazar, Violi Miguel, Glorina Papaioannou, Emylee Tuzon, Emma Braceros, , Vivian Brewington, and Jacquelyn Perales.

Plans are underway to hold similar workshops on the subjects of media law, newsletter layouting, and opinion/speech writing.

Philippines is a growing source of foreign students: DFAT

TFA News — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 06:17:53 +0000

Education is beginning to be a major linkage between Australia and the Philippines, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has recently reported.

The Philippines is comparatively smaller than other markets, said DFAT in its country brief on the Philippines, but it is “a fast growing source of foreign students who are looking to study in Australia.”

DFAT cited the “advantages of geographic proximity, common language, and mutual interest and strengths in Asian studies” for the growth.

DFAT reported that in 2009 there were 2,406 Filipino students who commenced studies in Australia, an increase of 45 per cent over the previous year.

Sixty-four per cent of all Philippine students studying in Australia were in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector followed by Higher Education which accounted for about 25 per cent of Philippine student population in Australia, the DFAT country brief continued.

Largest census to connect with local communities

TFA News — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 05:24:03 +0000

With exactly one year to go until the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS’) Census of Population and Housing on 9 August 2011, planning is well underway for the largest peace time logistical exercise in Australia, an ABS release reported.

The Census aims to accurately measure the number of people in Australia on Census night wherever they are, from Australia’s research hubs in Antarctica to remote Indigenous communities in northern Australia.

The ABS said that next year’s Census remains the most comprehensive way of providing a snapshot of Australia, the country’s key characteristics and the population concentration.

“The Census helps define who we are and what your community looks like now and into the future. Census data supports planning, decision-making and funding at all levels of government, and is behind the services and facilities you use in your community every day,” the ABS elaborated.

The first results from the 2011 Census will be made public a year after in June 2012.

Husic renews commitment

TFA News — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 04:55:04 +0000

Husic: Working together to improve quality of life in Chifley

The campaign team sent in yesterday Mr Ed Husic’s thank-you message to the community.

Mr Husic is Labor candidate for Chifley in the recent election. Based on the latest tally by the Australian Electoral Commission, Mr Husic has polled 62.48 per cent of the two-candidate preferred votes.

Below is the full text of Mr Husic’s message:

Thank you

I’m enormously grateful to have been elected the Federal Member for Chifley, however we must wait for the final declaration from the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC).

It is a great honour and privilege to be given the opportunity to serve our electorate, especially in the situation where I have been allowed to build on the legacy of a great MP and good friend: Roger Price.

Roger put his heart and soul into always making Chifley a better place to live.

He was a passionate supporter of our region and should be rightly congratulated for his contributions in the area of education – especially his work in advocating for improved student assistance, measures to lift student retention rates and campaigns to support the establishment of senior high schools, the University of Western Sydney and the Nirimba Education Precinct.

Roger has left me with some big shoes to fill, but I’d like Chifley residents to know I’m going to work day in and day out for the things that are important to them: good jobs, accessible and affordable healthcare, and a quality education for our kids.

Voters in our area recognise what Federal Labor has delivered for them in its first term. Most recently, we’ve:

Restored Medicare services to Mt Druitt;

Given Mt Druitt hospital a $4.5 million funding boost for new equipment and emergency beds;

Locked in $4 million for Blacktown Council to help re-develop Mt Druitt Library into a multi-purpose community hub;

Committed to building Trade Training Centres at high schools across Blacktown, Doonside and Mt Druitt; and,

Announced that 3,000 local premises will potentially be among the first to connect to the National Broadband Network.

People out our way want this good work to continue and they expect me to concentrate on that. That’s exactly what I am going to do.

For now, my greatest hope is that Labor can form government nationally to ensure we are in the best position to help deliver for the residents and families of Chifley.

In the meantime, I’d like to send out heartfelt thanks on behalf of my wife Bridget and I to all the volunteers and supporters who worked so hard and helped so much over many months and particularly on election day. These days, devoting some rare free time to volunteer is enormously precious and greatly appreciated. Thank you.

I was also very grateful for all the local community groups that opened their doors to let me visit them and listen to the challenges that they deal with; day in, day out.

I hope to be in a position very soon to meet with them again to see how we can work together to improve the quality of life for the people of Chifley.

Once again, many thanks and I hope to be in a position shortly to let you know when the Australian Electoral Commission has made a final declaration in relation to the Federal seat of Chifley.

Ed Husic

Coalition leads by one seat, deadline today for provisional voters

TFA News — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 04:45:36 +0000

Counting of primary votes is now 82.01 percent complete, and the two party preferred count is 79.14 percent complete, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) reported in its website.

The latest tally (27 August, 2.14pm) showed Labor and Coalition chalking 72 seats and 73 seats, respectively, from two party preferred votes. The Greens have one seat and Independents have four.

The election results reported on the AEC will change after factoring in votes cast outside the voters’ home precincts.

Today is the last day for provisional voters who didn’t provide evidence of identity on election day. If no identity evidence is received by AEC from provisional voters, their votes would be considered informal votes.

Philippine Rugby juniors sweep Asian U20s

Erick Elefante — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 05:56:31 +0000

Filipino-Australians in the National Side: Kneeling (L-R): 4th Ned Stephenson, 5th Ricky Kucia, 7th Ben Saunders (Capt), 8th Alex Buchel, 9th Junior Carlos Aloda // Photo courtesy: PRFU

The Philippine U20s Rugby Union team made a clean sweep of the Asian u20s Division 2 Championships in Vientiane Laos this week.

The Philippines played four games of Rugby Union in five days at the 2009 South East Asian Games stadium and were able to defeat India 38–7, Kazakhstan 22–10, Laos 52–0 and Iran 12–8.

The last game against Iran was the Championship final and this game proved to be the hardest victory for a tiring Filipino team.

Iran had a physical advantage and the heavens opened on the morning of the final which played into the hands of the Iranian team whose game plan revolved around barging forward play backed up by down field kicking.

Throughout the tournament the Philippines had successfully used their backlines to cut through their opponent’s backlines but the weather conditions were not favorable for running rugby and the Philippines struggled to control the ball in the slippery wet conditions.

After succeeding eight penalties the Iranian team finally missed a tackle in defense on their line and the Philippine backlines were able to capitalize on this mistake to score out wide through Ricky Kucia and the Philippines took a five point lead.

The Iranian team had definitely improved since last year’s final and grew in confidence as the Philippines gave up successive penalties and the Iranian goal kicker converted a penalty to take the halftime score to 5–3.

The torrential rain conditions had certainly hampered the Philippines backline attack and the Philippines were unlucky not to score on three different occasions during a physical first half.

The second half proved to be even tighter and Iran could sense that they had a chance to win the final.

The Philippines Captain Ben Saunders and center partner Christian Kennedy started kicking for space and eventually the Iranian team made a mistake in their own territory.

Brian Liston who had claimed the man of the match award against Kazakhstan once again showed his authority in the lineouts and led the Philippines forward pack with passion to set up the second try for Ricky Kucia. This try was converted by Andrea Engelbrecht to take the score to 12 – 3.

The last ten minutes of the game was a roller coaster ride with Iran making several attacking raids that eventually paid dividends with a try out wide after the Philippines gave up three consecutive penalties. The score stood at 12 – 8 and the Iranian team rallied to push for yet another try but the Philippines defense held strong and the final siren sounded with a jubilant Philippines team celebrating their back-to-back Asian U20s titles.

The Philippine U20s team has now won seven International Rugby Games in a row and has back-to-back victories at the Asian U20s Championships, not dropping a game in both tournaments.

Coach Matt Cullen was extremely happy with his young guns and explained that most of the team members would be returning next year as 18 and 19 year olds to play in the Division 1 Championships.

This victory also means that the Philippine Rugby Union National Men’s, Ladies and U20s teams have all won Asian Championships in 2010 and all the Rugby Union playing Asian Nations are aware that the Philippines is becoming a strong rugby nation in Asia.

Results:

Tuesday, August 17: 1400: Result: Philippines 38 v 7 India

Wednesday, August 18: 1400: Result: Philippines 22 v 10 Kazakhstan

Friday, August 20: 1400: Result: Lao PDR 52 v 0 Philippines

Saturday, August 21: 1400: Result: Philippines 12 v 8 Iran

*** Erick Elefante is PRFU’s Regional Representative for Australia and Asia Pacific Region

AEC national tally nearing 80 percent complete

TFA News — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 03:38:51 +0000

Counting of votes from last weekend’s election is still in progress.

Based on the latest tally, 12.30 noon today, the Australian Electoral Commission reported that 78.92% of primary votes, and 76.03% of two party preferred votes, had been counted.

The AEC tally shows Labor with 70 seats and Coalition, 71. The Greens have one seat and the independents four seats. Four seats still remain doubtful.

At least 76 seats are required for a party to have an outright majority to form a government. Neither Labor nor the Coalition appears likely to gain that majority. Negotiations are reportedly going on with the three sitting independents who have been re-elected.

In Greenway where Filipino Australian Jaymes Diaz (Liberal) is in a race with Michelle Rowland (Labor), the AEC tally shows Rowland with 29,244 votes against Diaz’ 28,262 votes of the primary votes.

On a two-candidate preferred (TCP) basis, Rowland has 50.82 percent and Diaz, 49.18 percent of the TCP vote with votes from one precinct still to be counted.

Based on AEC’s definition, a seat is considered “won” by the TCP candidate with more than 50.5 percent of the TCP vote.

According to election analysts, tallying of votes may take up to Tuesday, 31 August, the timeframe allowed for counting of postal and absentee votes.