PHILIPPINE VILLAGE VOICE - Redefining Community News
Currents & Breaking News
Volume 4, Issue No. 27
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /
. . . . . A community service of Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . . . .
The News UpFront: (TOP STORY) as of Wednesday, July 28, 2010
~ The Medical Board of California has placed a prominent Filipino doctor in San Diego, California, on probation for three years because of what it said was his "gross negligence, incompetence and repeated negligent acts" in the case of a 73-year-old male patient who had succumbed to rectal cancer. The board said Edwin M. Yorobe, the 64-year-old physician-surgeon who practices in the city's Tierrasanta district, will be monitored by the State of California and made to undergo educational course in addition to continuing medical education. His doctor's certificate was revoked but the revocation is stayed.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
SAN DIEGO-BASED DR. EDWIN M. YOROBE
California Medical Board Disciplines Prominent
Filipino Doctor for Negligence, Incompetence
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
TORONTO - The Medical Board of California has slapped a prominent Filipino doctor in San Diego with disciplinary actions for what it said was his "gross negligence, incompetence and repeated negligent acts".
The board identified the offending physician as Edwin Mendez Yorobe, MD, who practices in the city's Tierrasanta neighborhood and mainly caters to the Filipino community.
The 64-year-old physician-surgeon and his wife, Barbara Yorobe, are quite well-known for their high-profile socials through their monthly tabloids, which they both edit, and elaborate fund-raising schemes for their humanitarian foundation.
Yorobe, a 1970 graduate of Manila's Far Eastern University, was accused before the board by Barbara Johnston in her official capacity as MBC executive director. The complaint, billed as Case No. 10-2007-181010, was filed on June 10, 2009 in Sacramento, California.
Among others, it alleged that Yorobe had been "grossly negligent in the care and treatment" of a 73-year-old man, identified only as T.G., who had sought treatment in March 2003 and died one-and-half-years later from rectal cancer.
"Respondent (Yorobe) departed extremely from the standard of care for treatment of a 73-year-old man with rectal bleeding by failing to properly and fully investigate the exact cause of T.G.'s rectal bleeding with timely and appropriate diagnostic studies," according to official documents made available to this reporter.
For this reason and several others detailed in the accusation, Yorobe was also accused of "incompetence" and "repeated negligent acts".
(To see the details of the accusation, please click the link, click "public record documents", then click "decision":
http://licenselookup.mbc.ca.gov/licenselookup/lookup.php?LicenseType=A&LicenseNumber=29827 )
The board and Yorobe agreed to settle the case on the condition that Yorobe gave up his right to contest the charges.
Yorobe's admissions, the board explained, "are only for the purposes of this proceeding, or any other proceedings in which the Medical Board of California or other professional licensing agency is involved, and shall not be admissible in any other criminal or civil proceeding".
Under the terms of the "stipulated settlement and disciplinary order", Yorobe's physician's and surgeon's certificate is revoked.
"However, the revocation is stayed and respondent (Yorobe) is placed on probation for three years", the settlement said. It took effect on April 29, 2010.
One of the conditions of that settlement is that Yorobe attend a department-approved educational course of at least 40 hours per year, in addition to attending 65 hours of continuing medical education.
"The educational program or course shall be aimed at correcting any areas of deficient practice or knowledge," documents said.
During the entire years of probation, Yorobe's practice will be monitored by one or more licensed physicians and surgeons. He is also prohibited from supervising physician assistants.
Yorobe was not immediately available for comment by either email or by phone.
(This Currents & Breaking News may be posted online, broadcast or reprinted, on condition that the author and the publication be properly credited. By Romeo P. Marquez, Editor, Philippine Village Voice, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Volume 4, Issue no. 27, July 28, 2010).
For other stories, please visit:
1. http://travelsthemes.blogspot.com/
2. http://gotchajournalist.blogspot.com/
For news videos, please visit and click the links:
1. Beauties & Queens of Toronto: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5CCCUneQ1I&feature=channel
2. Shirt as a Medium to Foster Pride in the Philippines: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQszB31Coq8&feature=channel
3. Katrina Halili and the Signing Stars in Toronto: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnnQ_nV9CT0&feature=channel
4. Toronto Mayoral Candidate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ9h4OrGl5A&feature=channel
For post-G20 summit coverage:
1. Sideshow at Bubbles for Peace Protest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UzRcsnvnSY&feature=channel
2. Bubbles for Peace Protest at Queen's Park in Toronto: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITFztAw9-5o&feature=channel
For video coverage of the G-20 summit, click the following links:
1. The other side of protest at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buJvzJm-E5A&feature=channel
2. Part I: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRYY6xhuOW8&feature=channel
3. Part II: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEX5W6Xgfy8&feature=channel
4. Part III: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWm3_GAw4Kk&feature=channel
5. Part IV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q6OMZ53xzA&feature=channel
6. Part V: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4IIek0-_ZE&feature=channel
7.Part VI: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQO7om6gPro&feature=channel
8. Part VII: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icDJYp_Fx-c
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Katrina Halili Plays It Cool in Toronto
PHILIPPINE VILLAGE VOICE - Redefining Community News
Currents & Breaking News
Commentary
Volume 4, Issue No. 26
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /
. . . . . A community service of Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . . . .
The News UpFront: (TOP STORY) as of Sunday, July 25, 2010
~ Looking at entertainer Katrina Halili, one gets the impression that she's cool and collected after that sexual episode of several months ago. The tumult that visited her seems gone. And now she appears making headway to reestablish herself as a respectable actress/burlesque dancer/singer/model of empowerment (?) despite all the salacious stories and naughty pictures that flood cyberspace. Here in Toronto, she was like a machine, stamping her pictures with her signature and posing for souvenir photos. She merely smiled at any given turn, never saying a word, not even making a greeting to fans who braved the rain and patiently lined up for hours at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Her organizers could have done a better job loosening her among these people if only to make them feel how her shameful ordeal had fortified her.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PREROGATIVE
By Romy Marquez
AN INTERVIEW AT THE MABUHAY FESTIVAL & TRADE SHOW
Katrina Halili, Entertainer, On the Cusp In Toronto
TORONTO - This Saturday (July 24, 2010) I had gone to the Mabuhay Festival & Trade Show at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on a singular mission: I wanted to have a fresh look at the entertainer Katrina Halili.
Weeks before, I had made known my interest in interviewing her. That seemed to have been accepted even as my request bounced from one person to another until it finally landed on the lap of a guy named Josh, her handler in Toronto.
I had the least interest in entertainment reporting. It's not one of my strong points. But when a potential big story happens to come my way -- as did the Katrina Halili sexual brouhaha -- I will manage.
I'm not used to being physically pushed; anyone's hands brushing with any part of my body is quickly repelled. It's a reflex acquired from early years of police reporting and has now become part of me.
My mention of this is necessitated by rough treatment I got from the festival security, a squad of yellow-shirted volunteers who thought brawn was mightier than brains, which they might not have possessed anyways.
Nobody, and I mean no one, has ever muscled me out of any event; one, because I don't gate-crashed; two, I make sure I have a legitimate reason to be where I am, and I did have one; three, I am not one to be intimidated by appearances and numbers.
Josh was rattling over his cellphone, looking helpless at the number of people trying to get close to Katrina as she sat and autographed pictures for her army of camera-wielding fans. They were subdued and quiet, if you ask me, and a lot less, compared to the boisterous throng that filled the cavernous Eaton Center when the teen singing sensation Charice Pempengco made her appearance in Toronto several weeks ago.
I had the thought that the people who queued up for Katrina's autograph were there out of curiosity, they're not her loyal followers -- precisely to see how she managed to pull herself up after that unpleasant sexual episode with her lover, the infamous beauty-doctor-turned-bit-actor Hayden Kho.
If Josh and the volunteer security had known this, they would have realized that the autograph-signing beside the huge GMA booth right across from the stage would be quite unwieldy. And that there would be delirious fans wanting to take Katrina's picture, and their own pictures with her.
Katrina sat between her two companions, the veteran actor German Moreno to her left, and another actor named Joh Nite on her right. That seating arrangement already guaranteed Moreno and Nite to be in the picture frame at any angle, meaning it'd be nearly impossible to take Katrina's picture alone.
The non-thinking security detail further complicated that situation by providing another layer of cover, that is, by positioning themselves directly in the line of sight of the cameras. As a result, people moved this and that way, raising their arms, and hoped to have the chance to shoot once those in front move any which way. And once they moved, either the face or the heads of the security detail occupied most if not the entire camera screen.
Thus the nudging, elbowing, shoving for positions. The security detail must have thought that by barricading Katrina, they secured her. That is quite flawed. But what can one expect? They're there for their brawn and for their ability to yell a command. Did they have functioning brains? Well, ask people who were there. For me, they've got no more than a tail between their legs, and that's being honest.
I stood at the corner where people exited after getting their autographed pictures, waiting until Katrina finish up and I will have my interview. Josh had guaranteed that I will have that opportunity. "Are you Romy?" he asked, which confirmed to me that my request for a one-on-one interview had finally reached him and her.
But the overzealous security had seen it differently. One was so diligent to keep me out by physically shoving me, the others were equally belligerent they threw dagger looks. I didn't give an inch of ground. There was no problem getting physical if they willed it. I told them I wasn't going to leave until I've taken my pictures at that moment when an interview with Katrina wasn't possible.
Was Katrina worth all the trouble that I had to face and bear, I asked myself. The reasoning mind said the issue has gone past her. The issue now was whether to allow a bunch of volunteers to intimidate journalists in the conduct of their work. That was what disturbed me.
The trek to the festival was only secondary. It happened to be the venue where the interview would take place. And so with an open mind and a hope that I would be allowed to view her in a different perspective, I went to the convention centre. The festival and trade show had very little appeal to me, specially after it momentarily turned into a political forum for some Toronto candidates.
Are the organizers so colonial-minded as to willingly allow these candidates time to pander to Filipinos in their own festival? One even had the gumption to say "Filipinos are the Italians of the Pacific" (conversely, does that statement make the Italians the Filipinos of the Mediterranean?).
I had spent a whole day at the festival waiting for the interview that never happened. You see, I'm trying to erase from my mind the images I had of Katrina galloping in bed with her lover, the sex maniac Hayden Kho.
Journalist-friends in Manila had provided me with a video collection as graphic in details as the one involving Katrina. So young, so indulgent, so immersed, so happy . . . I said then to myself.
But that was supposed to be a couple in love engaged in an animal act in the privacy of a motel room . . . until the lustful Kho had videotaped it and the whole world came to know Katrina by her sexual submission to Kho.
It's pointless to argue whether or not that video had been repeatedly watched. The first time I viewed it (which implies there was a second, and a third, etc.) the visuals stuck on my mind. I tried to look deeply and I found nothing to disprove it's pure and simple carnal. Kho performed for his hidden camera. Katrina naively gave in to his every wishes.
Whenever I tried to replay it in my memory, the face of Katrina comes out, not as the innocent victim that her handlers and the Philippine media had tried to portray, which is understandable, but as the willing, conscious, gratification-seeking sex partner of Kho.
I don't mean to be harsh. I don't mean to judge her by this incident with Kho. I don't mean to condemn her, either. The fact is her romp in bed with him is deeply embedded in memory.
I was trying to purge it completely, at least to give Katrina a chance to move away from that sexual template that has defined her and will continue to define her even as she tries mighty hard to look sweet and collected.
Well, this first step towards that has failed. I waited the whole day looking forward to the interview. And I wasn't going to wait several hours more until she has found the time for me.
Josh has failed her. The festival's security detail failed her. The organizers failed her. Her home studio GMA failed her. I only needed a few minutes for that glimpse that might have changed how people view her. That attempt also failed.
(PREROGATIVE is the title of my longest-running column in several newspapers in the United States, specifically in San Diego and Los Angeles, California. In Chicago, Illinois, that column carried a different name and is called PASSWORD. - Editor)
For other stories, please visit: http://travelsthemes.blogspot.com/ and: http://gotchajournalist.blogspot.com/ .
For other news videos, please visit:
Toronto Mayoral Candidate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ9h4OrGl5A&feature=channel
For the G20 summit, click the following links:
1. The other side of protest at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buJvzJm-E5A&feature=channel
2. Part I: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRYY6xhuOW8&feature=channel
3. Part II: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEX5W6Xgfy8&feature=channel
4. Part III: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWm3_GAw4Kk&feature=channel
5. Part IV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q6OMZ53xzA&feature=channel
6. Part V: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4IIek0-_ZE&feature=channel
7.Part VI: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQO7om6gPro&feature=channel
8. Part VII: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icDJYp_Fx-c
(This Currents & Breaking News may be posted online, broadcast or reprinted, on condition that the author and the publication be properly credited. By Romeo P. Marquez, Editor, Philippine Village Voice, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Volume 4, Issue no. 26, July 25, 2010).
Currents & Breaking News
Commentary
Volume 4, Issue No. 26
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /
. . . . . A community service of Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . . . .
The News UpFront: (TOP STORY) as of Sunday, July 25, 2010
~ Looking at entertainer Katrina Halili, one gets the impression that she's cool and collected after that sexual episode of several months ago. The tumult that visited her seems gone. And now she appears making headway to reestablish herself as a respectable actress/burlesque dancer/singer/model of empowerment (?) despite all the salacious stories and naughty pictures that flood cyberspace. Here in Toronto, she was like a machine, stamping her pictures with her signature and posing for souvenir photos. She merely smiled at any given turn, never saying a word, not even making a greeting to fans who braved the rain and patiently lined up for hours at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Her organizers could have done a better job loosening her among these people if only to make them feel how her shameful ordeal had fortified her.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PREROGATIVE
By Romy Marquez
AN INTERVIEW AT THE MABUHAY FESTIVAL & TRADE SHOW
Katrina Halili, Entertainer, On the Cusp In Toronto
TORONTO - This Saturday (July 24, 2010) I had gone to the Mabuhay Festival & Trade Show at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on a singular mission: I wanted to have a fresh look at the entertainer Katrina Halili.
Weeks before, I had made known my interest in interviewing her. That seemed to have been accepted even as my request bounced from one person to another until it finally landed on the lap of a guy named Josh, her handler in Toronto.
I had the least interest in entertainment reporting. It's not one of my strong points. But when a potential big story happens to come my way -- as did the Katrina Halili sexual brouhaha -- I will manage.
I'm not used to being physically pushed; anyone's hands brushing with any part of my body is quickly repelled. It's a reflex acquired from early years of police reporting and has now become part of me.
My mention of this is necessitated by rough treatment I got from the festival security, a squad of yellow-shirted volunteers who thought brawn was mightier than brains, which they might not have possessed anyways.
Nobody, and I mean no one, has ever muscled me out of any event; one, because I don't gate-crashed; two, I make sure I have a legitimate reason to be where I am, and I did have one; three, I am not one to be intimidated by appearances and numbers.
Josh was rattling over his cellphone, looking helpless at the number of people trying to get close to Katrina as she sat and autographed pictures for her army of camera-wielding fans. They were subdued and quiet, if you ask me, and a lot less, compared to the boisterous throng that filled the cavernous Eaton Center when the teen singing sensation Charice Pempengco made her appearance in Toronto several weeks ago.
 |
Fans and curious onlookers queue up for an autographed photo of Katrina Halili and a chance to be pictured with her at the Mabuhay Festival & Trade Show on Saturday (July 24, 2010) at Metro Toronto Convention Centre in downtown Toronto. |
If Josh and the volunteer security had known this, they would have realized that the autograph-signing beside the huge GMA booth right across from the stage would be quite unwieldy. And that there would be delirious fans wanting to take Katrina's picture, and their own pictures with her.
Katrina sat between her two companions, the veteran actor German Moreno to her left, and another actor named Joh Nite on her right. That seating arrangement already guaranteed Moreno and Nite to be in the picture frame at any angle, meaning it'd be nearly impossible to take Katrina's picture alone.
The non-thinking security detail further complicated that situation by providing another layer of cover, that is, by positioning themselves directly in the line of sight of the cameras. As a result, people moved this and that way, raising their arms, and hoped to have the chance to shoot once those in front move any which way. And once they moved, either the face or the heads of the security detail occupied most if not the entire camera screen.
Thus the nudging, elbowing, shoving for positions. The security detail must have thought that by barricading Katrina, they secured her. That is quite flawed. But what can one expect? They're there for their brawn and for their ability to yell a command. Did they have functioning brains? Well, ask people who were there. For me, they've got no more than a tail between their legs, and that's being honest.
I stood at the corner where people exited after getting their autographed pictures, waiting until Katrina finish up and I will have my interview. Josh had guaranteed that I will have that opportunity. "Are you Romy?" he asked, which confirmed to me that my request for a one-on-one interview had finally reached him and her.
But the overzealous security had seen it differently. One was so diligent to keep me out by physically shoving me, the others were equally belligerent they threw dagger looks. I didn't give an inch of ground. There was no problem getting physical if they willed it. I told them I wasn't going to leave until I've taken my pictures at that moment when an interview with Katrina wasn't possible.
Was Katrina worth all the trouble that I had to face and bear, I asked myself. The reasoning mind said the issue has gone past her. The issue now was whether to allow a bunch of volunteers to intimidate journalists in the conduct of their work. That was what disturbed me.
The trek to the festival was only secondary. It happened to be the venue where the interview would take place. And so with an open mind and a hope that I would be allowed to view her in a different perspective, I went to the convention centre. The festival and trade show had very little appeal to me, specially after it momentarily turned into a political forum for some Toronto candidates.
Are the organizers so colonial-minded as to willingly allow these candidates time to pander to Filipinos in their own festival? One even had the gumption to say "Filipinos are the Italians of the Pacific" (conversely, does that statement make the Italians the Filipinos of the Mediterranean?).
I had spent a whole day at the festival waiting for the interview that never happened. You see, I'm trying to erase from my mind the images I had of Katrina galloping in bed with her lover, the sex maniac Hayden Kho.
Journalist-friends in Manila had provided me with a video collection as graphic in details as the one involving Katrina. So young, so indulgent, so immersed, so happy . . . I said then to myself.
But that was supposed to be a couple in love engaged in an animal act in the privacy of a motel room . . . until the lustful Kho had videotaped it and the whole world came to know Katrina by her sexual submission to Kho.
It's pointless to argue whether or not that video had been repeatedly watched. The first time I viewed it (which implies there was a second, and a third, etc.) the visuals stuck on my mind. I tried to look deeply and I found nothing to disprove it's pure and simple carnal. Kho performed for his hidden camera. Katrina naively gave in to his every wishes.
Whenever I tried to replay it in my memory, the face of Katrina comes out, not as the innocent victim that her handlers and the Philippine media had tried to portray, which is understandable, but as the willing, conscious, gratification-seeking sex partner of Kho.
I don't mean to be harsh. I don't mean to judge her by this incident with Kho. I don't mean to condemn her, either. The fact is her romp in bed with him is deeply embedded in memory.
I was trying to purge it completely, at least to give Katrina a chance to move away from that sexual template that has defined her and will continue to define her even as she tries mighty hard to look sweet and collected.
Well, this first step towards that has failed. I waited the whole day looking forward to the interview. And I wasn't going to wait several hours more until she has found the time for me.
Josh has failed her. The festival's security detail failed her. The organizers failed her. Her home studio GMA failed her. I only needed a few minutes for that glimpse that might have changed how people view her. That attempt also failed.
(PREROGATIVE is the title of my longest-running column in several newspapers in the United States, specifically in San Diego and Los Angeles, California. In Chicago, Illinois, that column carried a different name and is called PASSWORD. - Editor)
For other stories, please visit: http://travelsthemes.blogspot.com/ and: http://gotchajournalist.blogspot.com/ .
For other news videos, please visit:
Toronto Mayoral Candidate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ9h4OrGl5A&feature=channel
For the G20 summit, click the following links:
1. The other side of protest at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buJvzJm-E5A&feature=channel
2. Part I: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRYY6xhuOW8&feature=channel
3. Part II: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEX5W6Xgfy8&feature=channel
4. Part III: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWm3_GAw4Kk&feature=channel
5. Part IV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q6OMZ53xzA&feature=channel
6. Part V: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4IIek0-_ZE&feature=channel
7.Part VI: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQO7om6gPro&feature=channel
8. Part VII: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icDJYp_Fx-c
(This Currents & Breaking News may be posted online, broadcast or reprinted, on condition that the author and the publication be properly credited. By Romeo P. Marquez, Editor, Philippine Village Voice, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Volume 4, Issue no. 26, July 25, 2010).
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Mayoral Candidate Outlines Plans for Toronto
Phil Taylor hopes to capture Toronto City Hall (background) come election day.
PHILIPPINE VILLAGE VOICE - Redefining Community News
Currents & Breaking News
Volume 4, Issue No. 25
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /
. . . . . A community service of Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . . . .
The News UpFront: (TOP STORY) as of Wednesday, July 21, 2010
~ A candidate that Filipinos may consider for mayor of Toronto is a communications expert, a seasoned sales, marketing and management professional who is also a book author. Because he is kind, honest and compassionate, Phil Taylor would appeal to thousands of voters belonging to the invisible minority, Filipinos included. His kind of governance, if he wins the race, relies more on the spirit of the law and less on the letter of the law. He vows to be transparent, less bureaucratic and inclusive.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PHIL TAYLOR PROMISES SERVANT LEADERSHIP
Toronto Mayoral Candidate Vows Honesty, Transparency
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
TORONTO - Author Phil Taylor, the latest to join the ever-widening field of candidates for mayor of Canada's largest city, vows servant leadership that's honest, kind and transparent, and governance with less politics and bureaucracy.
"My vision for Toronto is not based on mere legislation that can all too often overlook common sense, but rather the language of the heart," he said at the unveiling of his five-point "Core Values and Driving Force" in a meeting on Sunday (July 18, 2010) with his supporters.
The English- and French-speaking Taylor became the 33rd aspirant upon filing of his candidacy last week.
The huge number of candidates reflects the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural makeup of Toronto, which is home to an estimated 2.6 million people where half that number is in the "visible minority", meaning non-Caucasian in race and non-white in color.
 |
| Phil Taylor greets an unnamed supporter. |
Filipinos, about 200,000-strong, is one of the largest in the visible minority group, topped by immigrants from South Asia, the Chinese and the Blacks. Filipinos are ahead of the Arabs, the Latin Americans, the Southeast Asians, the West Asians, the Koreans and the Japanese in the rankings.
It's this huge group of voters that Taylor is tapping to put him in office on election day on Monday, Oct. 25, 2010.
Taylor is a multi-awarded speaker and trainer, an expert in sales, marketing and management and in communications. He's also authored a book,"Set Yourself on Fire!", recently published and released in Toronto."Perhaps what we need in this city is less politics and less stringent governing bureaucracies that only lead to confusion, resentment, related laws suits, and high costs of running city to rather an adoption of the spirit of the law in all our affairs rather than a simple dependency on the letter of the law," he said in a press statement.
Consistent with his compassionate stance on governance, Taylor has adopted the song "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" by Annie Lennox and Al Green as his campaign slogan so that, he explained, "we can rise up and stand up in front of the world, as the greatest multi-cultural city on the globe, as a living testament, a beacon of kindness and peace that sets the bar for what is right, kind noble, and productive! This is the dream and vision for Toronto!".
If elected, he promises to bring back the meaning of public servant in all the city's operations.
"It is not for the government and its employees to dictate on law abiding, taxpaying citizens, but rather for the people to be served in a manner that is noble, polite and dignified," Taylor said. "This is the task and the perquisite for public service."
The mayor, according to him, "is not appointed to govern, but to serve! The higher the calling, the more servitude is required! The more responsibility given to the leader the more humility and selfless service is required. This principle is particularly true if we are to have a truly unified and cooperative community."
Taylor emphasized that his will be "a government that does not govern, but a public office that undertakes its true calling which is to serve."
"To serve with honesty, integrity and truth in all of its affairs," he added.
For other stories, please visit: http://travelsthemes.blogspot.com/ and: http://gotchajournalist.blogspot.com/ .
For news videos about the G20 summit, click the following links:
1. The other side of protest at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buJvzJm-E5A&feature=channel
2. Part I: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRYY6xhuOW8&feature=channel
3. Part II: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEX5W6Xgfy8&feature=channel
4. Part III: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWm3_GAw4Kk&feature=channel
5. Part IV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q6OMZ53xzA&feature=channel
6. Part V: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4IIek0-_ZE&feature=channel
7.Part VI: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQO7om6gPro&feature=channel
8. Part VII: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icDJYp_Fx-c
(This Currents & Breaking News may be posted online, broadcast or reprinted, on condition that the author and the publication be properly credited. By Romeo P. Marquez, Editor, Philippine Village Voice, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Volume 4, Issue no. 25, July 21, 2010).
 |
| Phil Taylor at Toronto's financial district. |
If elected, he promises to bring back the meaning of public servant in all the city's operations.
"It is not for the government and its employees to dictate on law abiding, taxpaying citizens, but rather for the people to be served in a manner that is noble, polite and dignified," Taylor said. "This is the task and the perquisite for public service."
The mayor, according to him, "is not appointed to govern, but to serve! The higher the calling, the more servitude is required! The more responsibility given to the leader the more humility and selfless service is required. This principle is particularly true if we are to have a truly unified and cooperative community."
Taylor emphasized that his will be "a government that does not govern, but a public office that undertakes its true calling which is to serve."
For other stories, please visit: http://travelsthemes.blogspot.com/ and: http://gotchajournalist.blogspot.com/ .
For news videos about the G20 summit, click the following links:
1. The other side of protest at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buJvzJm-E5A&feature=channel
2. Part I: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRYY6xhuOW8&feature=channel
3. Part II: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEX5W6Xgfy8&feature=channel
4. Part III: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWm3_GAw4Kk&feature=channel
5. Part IV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q6OMZ53xzA&feature=channel
6. Part V: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4IIek0-_ZE&feature=channel
7.Part VI: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQO7om6gPro&feature=channel
8. Part VII: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icDJYp_Fx-c
(This Currents & Breaking News may be posted online, broadcast or reprinted, on condition that the author and the publication be properly credited. By Romeo P. Marquez, Editor, Philippine Village Voice, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Volume 4, Issue no. 25, July 21, 2010).
Saturday, July 17, 2010
'Bubbles of Peace' Protest at Queen's Park in Toronto
TORONTO - Bubbles fluttered around Queen's Park on Saturday (July 17, 2010) as dozens of protesters blew bubbles into the air in a repeat of a June 27 incident in which a blower ended being arrested by the police.
The hot sun cast a rainbow reflection on the mini water balloons as they wafted about the park that had been the scene of clashes between the police and hundreds of demonstrators protesting the recently-concluded G20 summit.No uniformed police were around.
To see video, please click the link:
Monday, July 12, 2010
Picnic A Means of Keeping Filipino 'Tribal Fires' Burning, Says Philippine Consul General
PHILIPPINE VILLAGE VOICE - Redefining Community News
Currents & Breaking News
Features
Volume 4, Issue No. 24
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /
. . . . . A community service of Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . . . .
The News UpFront: (TOP STORY) as of Monday, July 12, 2010
~ "Tuloy po kayo" is a popular expression among Filipinos to welcome strangers, guests and visitors to one's home and savor hospitality. Yesterday, Sunday (July 11, 2010) the welcome mat was unrolled on a bigger crowd -- the entire community -- in a celebration of neighborliness and camaraderie, thanks to the hundreds of alumni and alumnae of 16 colleges and universities who pooled their personal resources to stage one of the biggest celebrations in Toronto. Meals, jokes and personal tidbits were shared as did food and drinks during the whole-day festivity. The highest-ranking Philippine diplomat in Toronto said it was the Filipino way of keeping tribal fires burning.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sharing a hearty meal and a joke or two with friends, family and guests.
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Spending quality time with family (above) and Consul General Minerva Falcon (below).
"It's a way of keeping our tribal fires burning," said Philippine Consul General Minerva Falcon, the event's main guest, who admitted being "very thrilled" at meeting some of her Beta Sigma sorority sisters from the University of the Philippines.
Organizers said the Sunday picnic or Summerfest, was the ninth in as many years and was begun by alumni/alumnae of the
University of the Philippines and University of Sto. Tomas in Toronto. Over the years, more and more people from other universities participated, bringing the total now to 16 alumni association members.
The gathering, said the Consul General, proves that happiness is not with wealth. "It's with friends," she quipped.
"Filipinos will always find a reason to party. I guess it's in our DNA. But it's a good way of keeping connected," Ms. Falcon explained. "This is really a nice way to get together".
The gathering vastly differed from the usual Filipino festivity in that there were no commercial sponsors nor booths selling wares. Individual members of alumni associations doled out from their own pocketbooks for food and drinks made available to any one and every one regardless of school affiliation.
The little ones also did their part . . . with as much gusto.
The end result was a hassle-free celebration of family, friendship and cooperation in an atmosphere of pure Filipino neighborliness.
The only fly in the ointment was the presence of an overzealous lady who went around with a plastic bag soliciting donations for her "Kalayaan" group. It wasn't clear if she had
been allowed to do it, or if she did it on her own.
"Life is a rah-rah-rah and a go-go-go in Toronto. This picnic gives us the chance to unwind and relieve stress," said Beth Vasquez, a UP alumna who now works as executive recruiter in Toronto.
"It's kind of going back to your roots and talk in Tagalog," she added.
Her friend Liza Villanueva, a graduate from UP Los Banos, sees the picnic as an effective approach to social networking.
"The picnic provides an opportunity to re-live the
past," explained Benji Abis, alumnus of both UP and Ateneo who manages his own insurance agency.
He said it was the only occasion for him to get together with co-alumni and bond with them.
"The (sports) competition is just an excuse," he laughed, indicating it was more the desire to reestablish professional connections and old friendships than what was stated in the program.
UST Alumni president Norma Layno, currently administrative director of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital, summed it up succinctly: "It's not about winning, it's about camaraderie".
Ms. Norma Layno (in yellow) says: "it's not the winning; it's the camaraderie".
The concept behind the picnic is to have a community salo-salo, said Priscilla Cayford, immediate past president of the UST group.
"We agreed that we will have no sponsors, no merchandise selling, no politicians, no religion, no commercial entities, no fund-raisings. Just us and our families," she explained.
Sunday's event was just one of the many festivities in the Filipino community of Toronto.
In the neighbouring city of Brampton, another group had its own celebration called CaraBram. On July 24, another big feast is scheduled at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre for the Mabuhay Festival.
For news videos about the G20 summit, click the following links:
1. The other side of protest at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buJvzJm-E5A&feature=channel
2. Part I: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRYY6xhuOW8&feature=channel
3. Part II: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEX5W6Xgfy8&feature=channel
4. Part III: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWm3_GAw4Kk&feature=channel
5. Part IV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q6OMZ53xzA&feature=channel
6. Part V: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4IIek0-_ZE&feature=channel
7.Part VI: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQO7om6gPro&feature=channel
8. Part VII: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icDJYp_Fx-c
(This Currents & Breaking News may be posted online, broadcast or reprinted, on condition that the author and the publication be properly credited. By Romeo P. Marquez, Editor, Philippine Village Voice, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Volume 4, Issue no. 24, July 12, 2010).
Currents & Breaking News
Features
Volume 4, Issue No. 24
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /
. . . . . A community service of Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . . . .
The News UpFront: (TOP STORY) as of Monday, July 12, 2010
~ "Tuloy po kayo" is a popular expression among Filipinos to welcome strangers, guests and visitors to one's home and savor hospitality. Yesterday, Sunday (July 11, 2010) the welcome mat was unrolled on a bigger crowd -- the entire community -- in a celebration of neighborliness and camaraderie, thanks to the hundreds of alumni and alumnae of 16 colleges and universities who pooled their personal resources to stage one of the biggest celebrations in Toronto. Meals, jokes and personal tidbits were shared as did food and drinks during the whole-day festivity. The highest-ranking Philippine diplomat in Toronto said it was the Filipino way of keeping tribal fires burning.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
SUMMERFEST PICNIC -- A SHOW OF FILIPINO HOSPITALITY
'Tribal Fires' Continue to Burn Among Filipinos in TorontoBy ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
TORONTO - Filipinos celebrated their own diversity by a show of camaraderie through a slew of activities that typifies the famed Filipino hospitality, welcoming friends and strangers alike with oodles of food and inviting them to join in day-long fun games, sports, songs and dances.
Nowhere is the popular expression "Tuloy Po Kayo" (literally, please come in) more evident than in Sunday's community picnic held in the Toronto suburb of Missisauga by the graduates of the different universities and colleges in the Philippines who are now residents or citizens of Canada.
Young and old spent quality time with family, shared meals and jokes with visitors, while others took to the immense park and played traditional neighborhood games such as volleyball and tug-of-war that pitted one university group with another, reminiscent of the highly-competitive varsity games, only this time the atmosphere was friendlier.
Spending quality time with family (above) and Consul General Minerva Falcon (below).
Organizers said the Sunday picnic or Summerfest, was the ninth in as many years and was begun by alumni/alumnae of the
University of the Philippines and University of Sto. Tomas in Toronto. Over the years, more and more people from other universities participated, bringing the total now to 16 alumni association members.
The gathering, said the Consul General, proves that happiness is not with wealth. "It's with friends," she quipped.
"Filipinos will always find a reason to party. I guess it's in our DNA. But it's a good way of keeping connected," Ms. Falcon explained. "This is really a nice way to get together".
The gathering vastly differed from the usual Filipino festivity in that there were no commercial sponsors nor booths selling wares. Individual members of alumni associations doled out from their own pocketbooks for food and drinks made available to any one and every one regardless of school affiliation.
The little ones also did their part . . . with as much gusto.
The end result was a hassle-free celebration of family, friendship and cooperation in an atmosphere of pure Filipino neighborliness.
The only fly in the ointment was the presence of an overzealous lady who went around with a plastic bag soliciting donations for her "Kalayaan" group. It wasn't clear if she had
been allowed to do it, or if she did it on her own.
"Life is a rah-rah-rah and a go-go-go in Toronto. This picnic gives us the chance to unwind and relieve stress," said Beth Vasquez, a UP alumna who now works as executive recruiter in Toronto.
"It's kind of going back to your roots and talk in Tagalog," she added.
Her friend Liza Villanueva, a graduate from UP Los Banos, sees the picnic as an effective approach to social networking.
"The picnic provides an opportunity to re-live the
past," explained Benji Abis, alumnus of both UP and Ateneo who manages his own insurance agency.
He said it was the only occasion for him to get together with co-alumni and bond with them.
"The (sports) competition is just an excuse," he laughed, indicating it was more the desire to reestablish professional connections and old friendships than what was stated in the program.
The tug-of-war never loses its popularity.
The concept behind the picnic is to have a community salo-salo, said Priscilla Cayford, immediate past president of the UST group.
"We agreed that we will have no sponsors, no merchandise selling, no politicians, no religion, no commercial entities, no fund-raisings. Just us and our families," she explained.
Sunday's event was just one of the many festivities in the Filipino community of Toronto.
In the neighbouring city of Brampton, another group had its own celebration called CaraBram. On July 24, another big feast is scheduled at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre for the Mabuhay Festival.
For news videos about the G20 summit, click the following links:
1. The other side of protest at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buJvzJm-E5A&feature=channel
2. Part I: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRYY6xhuOW8&feature=channel
3. Part II: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEX5W6Xgfy8&feature=channel
4. Part III: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWm3_GAw4Kk&feature=channel
5. Part IV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q6OMZ53xzA&feature=channel
6. Part V: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4IIek0-_ZE&feature=channel
7.Part VI: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQO7om6gPro&feature=channel
8. Part VII: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icDJYp_Fx-c
(This Currents & Breaking News may be posted online, broadcast or reprinted, on condition that the author and the publication be properly credited. By Romeo P. Marquez, Editor, Philippine Village Voice, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Volume 4, Issue no. 24, July 12, 2010).
The trophies are lined up for the winners.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Rituals During Toronto's Summer Solstice
CURRENTS & BREAKING NEWS
Commentary
Volume 4, Issue No. 23
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /
. . . . . A community service of Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . . . .
The News UpFront: (TOP STORY) as of Thursday, July 8, 2010
~ This is one summer that would define Toronto for many years. Though it has been more than two weeks since the advent of the summer solstice, the temperature has not only become exceedingly hot; the events and the people behind them are also hot, that is, from a newsman's perspective. As in other communities elsewhere, summer is the best time to celebrate all kinds of milestones. With a Filipino population bigger than a typical rural village in the Philippines, Toronto stands witness to the vibrant and colorful spectacle the Filipino community has to offer.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PREROGATIVE
By Romy Marquez
Toronto's Summer Solstice
TORONTO - The summer solstice officially arrived in Canada three Mondays ago, that's on June 21st, and with it came the summer that would define Toronto in the years to come.
Not that the weather was too hot and uncomfortably humid, it was that we were practically buried in the avalanche of events that made Toronto hot; in fact, shaped Toronto as a "significant other" in many people's estimation.
Toronto isn't even Canada's capital, Ottawa is. But Toronto is Canada's largest city, a capital no less, of the province of Ontario. It may lack the charm and sweetness of Quebec City or Montreal, but Toronto is as cosmopolitan as New York, its neighbor to the south, and the center of multi-culturalism.
As the summer descended on us, other concomitant summers came, metaphorically that is.
These are the summers of political and economic discourse that gave birth to the summer of discontent; the summer of royalty that reminded Canadians of ancient monarchy; and the endless summer of community feasts and celebrations.
I covered Toronto's summer of discontent, particularly the part that brought memories of yore when youthful idealism virtually clothed one with inexhaustible courage to brave live bullets, truncheons and tear gas fighting against an emerging dictatorship in Manila.
I did survive that; in fact, I went through the nearly two decades of strong-arm rule by the martial law architect Ferdinand Marcos as a foreign correspondent.
I thought it was surreal being on the side of the protesters (but not with them) now as a phalanx of armoured men and horses stood guard to protect national leaders from being disturbed as they talked about world politics.
The pedestrian among us, myself included, was cast aside as royalty took center stage from where modern czars from rich and powerful nations left off. What would have been my first real-life encounter with the royals quickly vanished.
The news of their presence didn't quite hit, though in journalism that would be an inexcusable gaffe. It became interesting only on Monday (July 5, 2010) when a power outage temporarily disabled the royals. They're just as vulnerable like the rest of us, I whispered to myself, and gloated secretly.
On the other hand, the summer of milestones is here.
The basic concept of family widens into the broader community. And we stop there for some reasons. Either we're afraid to go beyond or we're too timid to prove ourselves capable of reining in a bigger community.
Could this be the reason Filipinos haven't truly redeemed themselves from the parochial? That we're good only within that small unit, which is why there's a proliferation of many organizations with the same intents and purposes targetting the same community?
I am groping for answers, though at this juncture of my stay in Toronto, I'm already beginning to form an idea. San Diego, California had been my home base in the last 16 years, and that gave me knowledge of practically everything in the Filipino community there, among others.San Diego is a perpetual summer with a few variations. The sun god always smiles on America's finest city most times in 365 days. Winter, spring, summer and fall are calendar events rather than nature's occurrences.
The closest -- and please pardon my blissful ignorance -- to seeing and feeling snow was in California's Lake Arrowhead, up there in the San Bernardino Mountains. But that was only a few days after a record snowfall. By the time I drove up there from San Diego, snow was already melting on the sidewalks.
The summer, I suppose, is the Filipino community's excuse for the many parties and celebrations of all kinds. That's valid. That also puts a natural cap to the holding of such events. Which brings me again to San Diego.
Down there, it's a year-round phenomenon. In many instances, the community just stops due to rising costs. People complain of spending fatigue or donor's fatigue.
Since March, I've attended a number of functions. I soon discovered that it was such a fun way to know about Toronto's geography and transport system. I also learned to take the bus to catch a train, and vice versa, in order to be on time for an appointment.
From north to south, east to west; from one organization to the next; from person to another -- it's during the summer solstice that I'm beginning to know them all.
* * * * *
(PREROGATIVE is the title of my longest-running column in several newspapers in the United States, specifically in San Diego and Los Angeles, California. In Chicago, Illinois, that column carried a different name and is called PASSWORD. - Editor)
For news videos about the G20 summit, please click the following links:
(This Currents & Breaking News may be posted online, broadcast or reprinted, on condition that the author and the publication be properly credited. By Romeo P. Marquez, Editor, Philippine Village Voice, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Volume 4, Issue no. 23, July 8, 2010).
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