Jess Martinez, 60

Former Securities and Exchange Commissioner Jesus Enrique “Jess” Martinez died last Wednesday afternoon at the Makati Medical Center after a bout with cancer.
He was 60.
He is survived by wife Che, children Michelle “Mikki”, Monica “Tweetie” and Jesus Gian Paolo III “Chu-chu,” daughter and son in law, and grandchildren the eldest of whom is Nikka, Mikki’s daughter.
After Tito Jess’ remains were cremated, friends and relatives came to offer sympathies to the bereaved family at the Manila Memorial Park in Paranaque.
Although Jess had been suffering an illness more than a year ago, and had been undergoing cancer treatment, his passing on was not expected.
According to the family, Jess had been in the hospital for three days and was scheduled to go home that Wednesday afternoon.
In a talk before friends at the wake, Jess’ daughter Tweetie said they were all expecting their dad to be back home in their house in Paranaque that day.
He appeared upbeat to come home, she said.
Little did they know that their dad was going back to a different, more peaceful home.
We have been longtime close friends with Tito Jess (as I called him) and family, even during the time when they were living in Dumaguete.
Daughter Mikki was a classmate since kindergarten.
Recently, Tito Jess was dragged unfairly in the so-called Legacy mess at the tail-end of his stint at the Securities and Exchange Commission.
I know for a fact, he had been very determined to refute the charges against him.
But many in Dumaguete remember Jess to be that highly spirited and eloquent debater and speaker at Silliman.
During his younger and active days in politics (he was former Dumaguete vice mayor), he used his debating skills in fighting the the Marcos dictatorship in rallies, and over the airlanes.
I had a phone conversation with Tito Jess exactly a week before he died, which I never thought would be our last.
And I will not forget his last words to me over the phone, which were: “God bless you more….bye.”
What a way to say goodbye.
But we know it isn’t goodbye, really.
He merely went ahead.
Rest in peace, Tito Jess.

Meet Susan Boyle

If you haven't heard the extra-ordinarily surprising story of Susan Boyle, you have missed the biggest shock that happened in the T.V. show "Britain's Got Talent".
Then she conquered the Internet by storm.
Nobody expected such great talent. She was laughed at, extremely under-estimated, pre-maturely dismissed as an over-aged dreamer who has long missed the bus to stardom.
Until she sang her dream out.
And boy, does Britain have talent!
I remember what Forrest Gump said: "Life's a box of chocolates"
This one'll make you drop a tear or two....

Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent
Uploaded by dwarthy

Twelve million hits on You Tube! My God!

Lyrics

I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high,
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving.

Then I was young and unafraid
When dreams were made and used,
And wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung,
No wine untasted.

But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hopes apart
As they turn your dreams to shame.

And still I dream he'll come to me
And we will live our lives together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms
We cannot weather...

I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living
So different now from what it seems
Now life has killed
The dream I dreamed.

Frenchman looking for Ely

A French national emailed me and is looking for my father's email:

Hello
I'm Laurent (Lorenzo) Guillaume, a french guy that met with great
pleasure MM Eli Dejaresco and Lionel Chong during my vacations in
Dumaguete in year 2002 for the last time.
Between other good moments that we shared together, we used to play
frontennis in S.U. court.
I hope they're all doing fine now.
At that time, I was a young radio journalist and I'm now, for 4 years,
at the head of a small french radio station.
I'd like to reach Eli Dejaresco (your father?) to exchange a bit about
life generally speaking and also about radio.
I got your adress from your blog, which link I got from the Negros
Chronicle's website.
Could you please send me Eli's e-mail adress, or to tell him that I try
to reach him?
Thank you
Salutations
Laurent Guillaume

Justice Erlyn

Justice Erlyn is not the name of a lady magistrate, but names of two persons.
In fact they're a couple.
I am talking about Justice Demerre, and his wife Dr. Erlyn Demerre.
We had lunch with the Demerre couple during the Christmas break, together with my parents and sister at Jo's by the sea in San Jose.
Justice and Erlyn (seated left in the photo), are one of two Silliman high school classmates of batch 1978 who ended up as husband and wife.
Both are now based in Manila.
Justice is connected with a Canada-based engineering firm.
Erlyn is a cardiologist at St Lukes hospital.
Doktora Erlyn is my wife's physician, so they see each other quite often.
Doktora Erlyn is one of the children of Mrs. Rosa Cabanag, our English teacher at Silliman high school.
She is the brother of the late prosecutor Erwin Cabanag.
Justice meanwhile, is the only person I know whom people call "justice" even if he is not a lawyer.
He is the younger brother of Mrs. Naku the guidance counselor at Silliman high school during our time.
His sister Rinalyn (spelling?)was a ballet instructor I recall at MEV Dance studio, where my twin sisters used to have ballet dance lessons.
Justice and Erlyn were among old acquaintances we hooked up with during the holiday break in Dumaguete.

World Class Talent

Not long ago, we spent an evening listening to rhythm and songs of the now world-renowned Loboc Children's Choir in Loboc Bohol.
Listening to the childrens voices, I know there is so much talent that abounds in our land.
With the right support, these young Filipino talents will go places around the world.
And indeed they have.
As amatter of fact, in Loboc town, there is an auitorium built specifically for the children where they would hold mini-concerts to visitors.
I saw foreigners who were mesmerized, and even stood up in appreciation of the childrens songs and talent.
I took video shots, but inadvertently, many of their songs I recorded were erased.
Good thing there were some musical numbers left which I would like to share.

Best lecture was 'The Last Lecture'

I have just been through one of the best lectures about life.
This came from the famous "Last Lecture" by Professor Randy Pausch, whose famous last lecture last September has earned more than three million hits on You Tube.
Its a rather long lecture, one hour and sixteen minutes, but I find it the best inspirational lecture one can ever hear about how to lead one's life.
By the way Randy Pausch just died today, July 25, 2008 (if you are in the United States).
He succomed to pancreatic cancer, at the young age of 47.
He left a wife and three children, a daughter just celebrated her second birthday.
In the Youtube post, here was how the lecture post was described:
"Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch (Oct. 23, 1960 - July 25, 2008) gave his last lecture at the university Sept. 18, 2007, before a packed McConomy Auditorium. In his moving presentation, "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," Pausch talked about his lessons learned and gave advice to students on how to achieve their own career and personal goals"
What moved me was his demonstration on how to focus on others, and not yourself (Watch it).
Another very touching moment was when he asked the audience whether they figured out "the second head fake".
Of course, I couldn't pass away his sentence when he said brick walls are are there for us to prove how badly we want things.
It's filled with a lot of humor too, as when he tells what his "death bed conversion" was.
You know, when somebody is at the brink of death, the others around will begin talking about conversions "from-darkness-to-light" things.
But Randy's got a different death-bed conversion.
I gotta post the one-hour "last lecture" here:

BIR Tax Audit Seminar

I received an email from Bebs Manalang, Associate Publisher, Tritium Knowledge Center Publishing who asked that the following invitation be published. It's a seminar on BIR Tax Audit:

BIR is tasked by government to collect more taxes this year. This represents 65% of the government’s revenue.
Such a task impacts largely on taxpayers who could expect to encounter more BIR scrutiny for them to comply with their tax obligations. Corporate organizations and high net worth individuals who are not ready for an in-depth BIR audit may expect to encounter tax problems and issues.
The “Winning Your BIR Tax Audit” seminar is intended to address this. The seminar will be held July 30, 2008 from 1-5 PM at the Banahaw Room, Legend Villas, 60 Pioneer Street, Mandaluyong City.
Topics discussed during the seminar are: learning the step by step guide to a BIR tax audit; knowing your rights and remedies as a taxpayer when confronted with a BIR tax audit; and, understanding the techniques and tips in handling tax assessment issues.
Resource Speaker is Mr. Joel L. Tan-Torres—a Tax Expert and practitioner with over 20 years experience working previously as Assistant BIR Commissioner and as a Tax Consultant.
The first 10 paid Registrants get a free short consultation each after the seminar. A FREE valuable Resource CD packed with information is also going to be distributed together with seminar materials.
For details, call Tritium Knowledge Center Publishing at tel. nos. 381-2664; 331-6256; 531-0084 or CP: 0919-2299777; 0919-2299780 or email at tritium@pldtdsl.net or tkcp_ph@yahoo.com.

US Ambassador picks up Erwin's sad story

The amiable US Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney paid a visit to the Negros Chronicle and DYEM-FM radio station in Dumuguete early this week.
She came from a speaking engagement in Sillman University and went straight to DYEM-FM studio for a chance to speak directly to the people of Dumaguete.
She was interviewed by station owner Ely P. Dejaresco.
It was an opporunity to bring up to the good ambassador,the sad fate that befell the late city prosecutor Erwin P. Cabanag.
Because of an initial denial of his US visa application, Cabanag, who was then diagnosed of having leukemia, wasn't able to participate in a protocol in a US hospital, that would have brought about positive developments in the continuing research about the adult leukemia.
The ambassador assured she will look into the matter.
But as I understand, those screening applications for US visas are given almost absolute discretion in deciding whether or not to grant an application.
I am not sure if their factual evaluation of applicants is subject to review or appeal.
Anyway, it just appears to many that it was an erroneous exercise of judgment in denying initially Erwin's application for US visa.
Erwin's case was far more meritorious than many other applications that are granted even if the purpose is merely to have a vacation.
What we hope from the US embassy is a more humane consideration of applications of similar nature in the future.
After all, the purpose of Erwin's trip to the United States was for the benefit not only of Filipinos, or Americans, but for the human race.
Erwin was just courageous to consent to what I would really describe as an experiment where he was to be a "guinea pig".
I knew of one (also having cancer) who had to give up being a "guinea pig" in a medical experiment because he just couldn't cope with the rigors of such an exercise.
We hope to hear a word from the good ambassador.

The story of Erwin P. Cabanag

The story of our friend the late Erwin P. Cabanag is heart wrenching.
Someday, we shall find meaning to his story.
As many of us believe, "there is a purpose for everything".
It is our obligation to find that purpose, even if at times, we don't see it in the horizon.
Here is the story of Erwin P. Cabanag, as narrated by his sister physician Erlyn Cabanag-Demerre:

Science looses opportunity
due to US VISA denial.

Atty. Erwin P. Cabanag was a city Fiscal and prosecutor of the City of Dumaguete, Negros Oriental Philippines.
He was diagnosed to have Acute Myelogenous Leukemia at the age of 44 for which he underwent intensive chemotherapy at the Asian Hospital and Medical Center in Alabang, Metro Manila on November, 9 2003 to induce a remission of his leukemia so he can undergo bone marrow transplant (BMT) also at the Asian Hospital as a strategy to go for cure.
He was successfully brought to remission and was discharged from the hospital on Dec 22, 2003. The intensive chemotherapy that Erwin had caused a severe fungal infection of the lungs for which he had to undergo a surgical procedure to take out the diseased part of the lung. Due to this development, the attending oncologist told Erwin and family that undergoing bone marrow transplant would be very risky and a full transplant would not be feasible.
The success rate of BMT in the Philippines for even the most uncomplicated case is low, roughly estimated at 60%. So for Erwin’s case that was complicated by a severe fungal lung infection, the success rate would go down to about 40%. The high cost and the low success rate of BMT in the Philippines pushed the family to seek help from various foundations locally and in the United States that could help Erwin get a better chance for a successful BMT.
The family’s search led them to the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) in NIH found a protocol that could include Erwin. In other words, Erwin had to consent to be part of an experimental drug or regimen that would be incorporated in the bone marrow transplant procedure that he would undergo. In the interest of Science and the human race, Erwin’s consent would mean a free bone marrow transplant procedure as well as a significant contribution to modern science and the treatment of leukemia. After some convincing and prayerful consideration, Erwin consented hence formal correspondence with the NIH/NCI started sometime November 2004. Hence he had to get a visa to allow him entry into the US.
Erwin’s US visa interview was scheduled on February 3, 2005 along with sister Evelyn Cabanag-Tubo, an accountant who took care of Erwin throughout his critical days during chemotherapy. Unfortunately, Erwin was denied a visa. The consul bluntly said she could not believe Erwin was sick and that the US would pay for Erwin’s BMT and more so she could not believe Erwin would return to the Philippines after treatment. Erwin and the family including the NIH could not believe that the US could deny a visa to a patient seeking medical attention and whose participation in the study protocol would benefit not only Americans but the entire world.
After this denial, the family sought reconsideration. The family tried many ways to be heard again by the consul. The family was able to seek help from people with access to the US embassy who were more than willing to help since they themselves could not believe why Erwin had to be denied a visa. Time was running out since leukemia is a disease that would not remain silent. Erwin’s disease progressed. After many follow-ups and days of waiting, a ray of hope for Erwin came when he was called for interview on April 29, 2005. Erwin was then granted a visa along with sister Cynthia Cabanag, an accountant who was to be his donor for the BMT. He then returned to Dumaguete City to prepare his things saying, “God must be giving me a chance to live since I have been granted a visa at last”.
Unfortunately, it was too late. Erwin got very sick and was admitted at the Silliman University Medical Center and in a few days was airlifted to Manila. At this time the NIH kept on contacting Erwin’s sister Dr. Erlyn Cabanag-Demerre (correspondent to NIH) asking about Erwin and that a relative should also be with him to attend to his needs while undergoing chemotherapy and BMT at the NIH. So the family sought help to expedite visas for at least two of Erwin’s siblings who could accompany him as advised by the NIH. At this time the NIH had to answer a lot of questions posed by the US embassy including faxed letters to request for sibling-caregivers to be granted visas in order to accompany Erwin to NIH for treatment. The US embassy still did not act on Erwin’s case with extreme urgency. We waited long for the siblings, Evelyn Cabanag-Tubo and Dr. Oliver Cabanag to be called for interview, still no call.
After 6 days of hospital care, Erwin succumbed to his leukemia on May 12, 2005, three days before his scheduled departure to the US. At this time, the two siblings still were still not called for interview.
During the wake, a call from the US embassy came for Evelyn and Oliver to come for interview. Oliver regretfully refused the interview saying it was just too late.
Erwin’s death brought many issues to the fore especially the critical delay in proper treatment all because of an initial visa denial which would have saved Erwin’s life.
Dr. Erlyn Cabanag-Demerre made the full circle for Erwin and visited the NIH. The BMT team headed by Dr. Dan Fowler with the BMT nurse Ms Kate Castro could not believe the US embassy did not grant a visa on the first interview.
At this time, the first Adult Leukemia Foundation in the Philippines, the Erwin P. Cabanag Adult Leukemia Memorial (EPCALM) was born. The NIH pledged to help every Filipino that would seek help at the NCI/NIH.
- By: DR ERLYN CABANAG-DEMERRE
- Cardiology Consultant, St Luke’s Medical Center
- 279 E. Rodriguez Sr Blvd. Quezon City
- Tel. mobile 0917-857-9451
- Tel. landline 723-1058 St Luke’s ; 724-4490 –Res.

Image "off-setting"

Last Sunday my wife and I were at Evangelista to meet a friend.
Suddenly, whle we were at roadside, an American wearing shorts and carrying a backpack interevened.
He asked if we could speak English.
We said yes.
He narrated his sad tale that he was on a bus heading for Subic.
Somebody apparently, "dropped" his coins on the floor of the bus.
The innocent American tried to help pick up the coins.
Unknowingly, while helping pick up the coins, somebody took his wallet, which contained all his cash and credit cards.
Upon realizing what had just happened to him, he disembarked from the bus and began walking, as he had nothing with him.
He began hiking and headed towards a police station.
He didn't get any help.
(In the Philippines, some say it is not normal to ask money from the police. It would be normal if it is the other way around).
So he continued walking.
Until he stumbled upon us three.
I gave him a P500, which was the only money in my wallet incidentally.
We discussed, the Philppine image once again received a black eye with that pickpocket incident.
But hopefully it was redeemed when we gave him the P500.
You can call that image "Off-setting".

Vicente Sotto Memorial Center scandal

I feel outraged over this recent scandal in the Cebu medical profession involving doctors and medical personnel in the Vicente Sotto Memorial Hospital.
As many may have already been informed through mainstream media, a homosexual was placed on the operating table after a canister was inserted into his anus.
As the gay patient narrated on radio, he picked up a person whom he bleieved was a call boy.
They has a sexual episode.
And becuase he was so drunk at that time, he no longer could ascertain what the call-boy did to him.
As it turned out, this cylindrical object was inserted into his anus.
He was rushed to the Vicente Memorial Center in Cebu and was attended to by the doctors and medical personnel there.
There was, obviously a medical procedure done to the gay patient immediately.
The procedure looked like a surgical intervention to remove the foreign cylindrical object.
The procedure was a success, and it turned out that it was a body spray (the brand is "Suede" or something) was inserted into the anus.
What outraged so many about this incident was that the medical procedure was recorded by cellphone videos, most probably by the medical personnel themselves.
The video revealed the circus atmosphere among the medical personnel surrounding the operating table, the video shows.
Worse, the video was uploaded to the internet, through You Tube.
The You Tube video post was subsequently removed. Here is an alternative video post can also be viewed.
This has been picked up even by the international press.
feel outraged at the unprofessional attitude of the medical people present during te procedure.
This is not only unprofessional. This is even a criminal act (unjust vexation would be the mildest charge here)
It was like they were witnessing some kind of etertaining event.
They were cheering, and making fun of the incident.
I thought that medical procedres, like surgey is supposed to be confidential.
If there is at all a video recording, it must be with the consent of the patient.
There are times when the a father would like to video tape the delivery of a newborn.
This can be allowed because there is consent.
The video recording, if it is done at all, must serve an overriding purpose, like for further scientific research.
A basic human right was violated here.
The right to privacy, and to human dignity is recognized not only in our municipal laws, but internationally, such as the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, that grants every person his right to privacy an dignity.
Now, because the scandalous video has been uploaded for the whole world to see, it has made it available literally for the entire global population.
What is tremendously unfortunate, and extremely ironic is that the Philippines is supposed to be known as among the best producers of talents in the medical profession.
This is something Filipino medical professionals abroad cerainly would not be proud of.
The highest officials of that hospital must answer for this.
They must answer why such a violation of human rights happened in their hospital.

Martin Luther King Jr. led the anti-color coding movement

Neither Bayani Fernando nor the MMDA invented "color-coding."
"Color-coding" dates back to the days of the civil rights movement.
I just remembered one of my favorite words, spoken by the late Martin Luther King Jr. at the height of the civil rights movement.
He said: It is better to walk in dignity, than to ride in humiliation.
These words were spoken after a black woman riding on a bus, refused to give her seat to a white passenger.
Rosa Parks was arrested because of her refusal.
It was the law then that blacks must give up their bus seats to whites.
Then, there were toilets for blacks, and separate toilets for whites, even if the color of urine was the same.
Schools for white, and schools for blacks, despite the equal intellectual capacities and potentials.
It was the darks days of segregation, a period in American history better left forgotten.
Those days people were segragated based on skin-color.
The Rosa Parks incident ignited a burning movement for equality.
The angered blacks, mounted a peaceful protest by deciding to just walk to work and refuse to ride the "color-coded" bus seats.
They prefered to experience the daily discomforts of walking in dignity.
What about you?
Are you, today, walking in dignity?
Or are you riding in humiliation?

Arnel sings Open Arms with Journey in Chile

Journey's first public appearance with the new front man Filipino Arnel Pineda was at the Vina Del Mar, Chile February 21.
It's heart pumping, I can feel the blood streaming in my veins, while watching the video uploads...
You just can't help but feel proud for Arnel Pineda.
Here are the links on you tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUWJ8bf09BU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkEmxxh0PRU

Arnel Pineda and Journey sing Faithfully:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUQp2S38OyU

Journey seeing some Lights with Arnel Pineda:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95HfCWADw-0

Dumaguetena loves Arnel Pineda

A Dumaguetena , '4everursarnel,' now residing in Canada reacts to the blog on Arnel Pineda:

hi, i have a feeling ur from dumaguete.
i am a true dumaguetena who now resides in canada. anyway, i enjoyed reading your blog.
i have been one of those who stalked anything about arnel on cyberspace since he became journye's lead vocals.
his video clips never fail to charm me and i dont call it a day wihtout a dose of it. some people just cannot take the fact that steve perry is no longer coming back and that with arnel, the hardcore journey fans in my opinion are threatened that journey finally had the 'right deal' after several attempts to find a replacement close to perry.
i dont expect him to be steve perry because arnel will be arnel. and i love him for the kind of voice he possess--raspy and deep and that his ability to sing a cover from the beatles to led zep, from john farham to heart shows his versatility as a singer.

Jay's reaction:
Go Arnel!
And yes, ma'am I grew up in Dumaguete.
Basta, no disrespect meant, in my musically-unschooled opinion, Arnel Pineda sings "Faithfully" better than Steve Perry. Arnel injected that raspy ingredient which made a lot of difference.

Can I claim car insurance procured by previous owner?

A client posed a query to me regarding his claim for insurance.
The client bought a second hand car.
This car, had been insured by the previous owner.
After the car was sold to the client, as a second hand car, the car was involved in a collision.
The client now asks whether he can claim the insurance that was procured by the previous owner.

The answer is No.
Client cannot claim the insurance proceeds out of the insurance procured by the previous owner.
There is a rule in our insurance law that an interest in the property insured must exist when the insurance takes place, and when the loss occurs.
It is true that the client has interest over the second hand car at the time of the loss (collision).
Unfortunately the client did not have interest over the car when the insurance took place.
When the insurance policy for the car was procured, the one who had interest was the previous owner, not the client.
Thus, the client cannot claim the insurance proceeds.
If he makes a claim to the insurance company, the claim will be denied.

The craze over Arnel Pineda's Journey

There is a craze in the Filipino internet community over the recent selection of the multi-talented Arnel Pineda of The Zoo as the new lead singer of the American rock band Journey.
You can just Google Arnel Pineda and one can see a deluge of heartwarming expression of pride over the Filipino "Cinderella-Man" whose life of rags-to-riches brings us to that scene in the award winning Forrest Gump where actor describes life as a "box of chocolates".
Arnel Pineda grew up experiencing the harshness of life in the Phlippines, mother-less at ten, with no house to go home to, with very little to eat,no bed to sleep on.
Yet, he discovered his God-given talent in music, packed his bags, became a recognized versatile singer in local bars.
And he never looked back.
Now, he brings pride to the motherland having been chosen as the "New Voice" of a once-all American, yet world renowned rock band Journey.
Journey is noted for rock ballads like "Open Arms" and "Faithfully", and upbeat tunes like "Don't Stop Believin'" , "Wheels in the Sky".
It was Steve Perry who carried the band in the 1980's because it was his voice that struck a chord in the hearts and ears of millions of Journey fans around the globe.
Steve Perry and the band separated.
Steve Perry went his way alone, and is remembered for the hit "Foolish Heart" in the mid-1980's.
But for the band itself, not a few people felt Journey really wasn't able to sustain their popularity over the years, without Perry.
There were lead vocalists that followed after Perry, but none seemed to come close to Perry's unique talent and charisma.
Last year, Journey through its guitarist Neil Schon planned a comeback but the problem was they were a band without a voice (or "that Voice").
Schon turned to You Tube and eventually found uploaded clips of the Filipino Zoo Band with Arnel Pineda at the helm.
It was not surprising that Schon was awe strucked at the Filipino talent.
The You Tube clips tell the tale.
Thus, the story of Arnel Pineda is not so much about his talent.
He has IT. No question.
Not only does Arnel have quality. It's his versatility that amazes me no end.
Personally, my favorite Arnel covers are "Faithfully", "Please Don't Ask Me", "Ever Since The World Began", "The Flame".
In my opinion, he sings the songs at par, if not better than the original.
He has a voice so similar to Steve Perry---only better.
And I am not exaggerating.
But it was the manner by which he was discovered that makes Arnel's story interesting.
I will not be surprised if there would be a deluge of video uploads of other bands, hoping they would score like Arnel Pineda did.
In this sense, Arnel Pineda is an inspiration.

Racists spoil the show
Unortunately, along with the overflow of warm congratulatory messages over Arnel's new fame, there is also a parallel barrage of ugly racist remarks hurled against Arnel Pineda, and Filipinos in general, in the internet.
I suspect it comes from American die-hard Journey fans who can't get over the fact that Steve Perry, would no longer be coming back to Journey.
Of course the internet will not provide proof, but one can get a feeling that the "white superior race" is behind the throwing of racist mud not only upon Arnel but the "small brown creatures" from the East.
Never have I seen such racial hatred that really struck home.
But most of all, I suspect these racial slurs are spawned by the fact that somebody can belt a Journey song as good as, if not better than Steve Perry.
And the guy's not "white".
Let me relay some of the terrible racist remarks you can read in the internet about the phenomenal rise to stardom of a Filipino named Arnel Pineda.
One (Adolf Hitler-inspired) comment stated that Journey should retain itself as an "all-American band".
This comment suggests that Journey will not be Journey if a non-American is part of the band.
Worse, the non-American is a brown-skinned creature.
Another merciless commentary complained to Journey band guitarist Neil Schon that he shouldn't have chosen a Filipino because "we cannot relate to small brown Asians".
Comments can get a lot worse.
One comment wrote: "He sings well but we can't dissociate him from that pizza delivery boy".
Another takes a nasty jab at the wrong perception of Filipinos being dog-eaters.
The comment stated: "If Journey performs in our place, I will hide all my dogs."
The racially-tainted comments are enough to make one fume.
But a very stark observation I made is that all the negative, hurtful, uncivilized comments against Arnel Pineda relate to things other than his talent.
I haven't read any negative comment about his superb, naked talent.
So the critics were personal, ad-hominem types.
It is a sad episode because I realize how alive racial discrimination is in America, even to this day.
And this is the supposed to be a land that proclaims the edict that "all men are created equal."
If this is not hypocrisy, I don't know what it is.
If you want to validate my statement, just Google Arnel Pineda and you'll see what I mean.
Journey band members have come to Arnel's rescue explaining to some of their fans that Journey has become global and has transcended issues on skin color.
Journey itself has not been spared from unjustified criticisms, accusing the band of engaging in "out-sourcing" cheap labor in Asia.
Arnel Pineda, in response to these racial slurs, just brushes them aside and hopes that the racists will "grow up".
But not all American Journey fans are rude.
I want to believe a greater majority of Journey fans in the U.S. welcome Arnel Pineda with Open Arms too: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=5199721&blogID=335295812

Unifying figure
The significance of Arnel Pineda's unique experience is the unifying effect it evoked upon all Filipinos around the globe.
Filipinos from all corners of the world are requesting that Journey perform in their place.
Pineda's meteoric rise to music stardom has rallied Filipinos both home and abroad, in the same way Filipnos band together when Manny Pacquiao enters the ring.
Arnel Pineda assures that wherever he goes, he will always bring the Filipino pride with him.
Words spoken by true-blooded Filipino.
Thank you for that, Arnel.

Watta Journey for Arnel Pineda!

Most of us Filipinos now know that the new lead singer of the band Journey is our kababayan Arnel Pineda, pure home grown talent from the concert bars of Olonggapo.

Arnel Pineda has just embarked on an unforgettable journey from lead singer of the Filipino band The Zoo, to front man of Journey, a post vacated years ago by the legendary Steve Perry.

Here is that inspiring story on the journey of Arnel Pineda, taken from the official announcement of Journey:

Dec 05, 2007

JOURNEY WELCOMES ARNEL PINEDAWITH “OPEN ARMS” TO THEIR FAMILYAS THE BAND’S NEW LEAD SINGER

December 5, 2007 -- After much speculation…the wait is finally over.

JOURNEY--Neal Schon (guitar), Jonathan Cain (keyboards), Ross Valory (bass), Deen Castronovo (drums)--is proud to introduce fans all over the world to their new lead singer, Arnel Pineda (“pin-eh-da”). He replaces Jeff Scott Soto, who parted ways with the band earlier this year after stepping in for Steve Augeri, who had to leave the band in 2006 for medical reasons.

Arnel hails from Quezon City in the Philippines and has been singing Journey songs--in addition to original material--with his band, The Zoo, for the past couple of years in clubs all over his homeland. Joining the legendary band is a dream come true for him. “It’s so exciting to sing with one of the best bands in the world. It’ll be a lot of hard work on my part and I’m actually looking forward to the scrutiny I’ll get from the hardcore JOURNEY fans. I know they’ll expect me to sound exactly like ‘the voice’ (Steve Perry), but that will never happen. I know there's only one Steve Perry in this world.”

When it was time for JOURNEY to look for a new lead singer, the internet came to their rescue. Guitarist Neal Schon wanted someone new to the music business, so he turned to YouTube. After finding Arnel singing “Faithfully,” he knew he had found the perfect frontman.

“I was frustrated about not having a singer,” explains guitarist Neal Schon, “so I went on YouTube for a couple of days and just sat on it for hours. I was starting to think I was never going to find anybody. But then I found The Zoo and I watched a bunch of different video clips that they had posted. After watching the videos over and over again, I had to walk away from the computer and let what I heard sink in because it sounded too good to be true. I thought, ‘he can’t be that good.’ But he is that good, he’s the real deal and so tremendously talented. Arnel doesn’t sound synthetic and he’s not emulating anyone. I tried to get a hold of him through YouTube and I finally heard from him that night, but it took some convincing to get him to believe that it really was me and not an imposter.”

Arnel Pineda picks up the story: “My friend Noel picked up the message on YouTube and told me it was from Neal. I thought it was a hoax so I ignored it. Noel said, ‘what if it really was Neal and he wanted to offer you the chance of a lifetime?’ So I e-mailed Neal back and the rest is history.”

“Arnel brings a soulful and passionate voice to JOURNEY,” continues keyboardist Jonathan Cain. “His personality is very well-suited to our music. He’s a sincere, authentic person with a great smile and a big heart. I think fans are really going to love him. With Arnel’s soaring tenor, Journey returns to our heritage sound.”

Schon agrees, “We feel reborn. I think there’s a lot of chemistry between the five of us. At first we were going to go into the studio and just write 4 songs, but now it’s escalated to a lot of great new and diverse material. The stuff sounds tremendous. Everyone’s so stoked about it. We feel very fortunate to have found Arnel.”

JOURNEY is currently working on a new album with legendary producer Kevin Shirley, which they hope to release by spring/summer 2008. Details will be announced early next year.

- - - -

Arnel was discovered in this internet age through You Tube.

So see that unintended audition of Arnel Pienda as he belts out that hair-raising version of Journey's "Faithfully": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HjcCzgCCX0&feature=related

Here is also Arnel's voice on Journey's "Open Arms": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpnEnt-qOw4&feature=related

Arnel Pineda was also featured on CNN who dubbed it a "fairy tale" rock affair http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nnNji6s3ck

The Marin Independent Journal in the U.S. gave an extended article on Arnel Pienda: http://www.marinij.com//ci_7826224?IADID=Search-www.marinij.com-www.marinij.com

Belatedly, local Philippine media noticed Arnel's recognition in America, and only then was his new-found internnational fame covered http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akHs40SL-rw

Erap protests "most corrupt" hierarchy

Even a six year absence due to "resthouse" arrest has not made a dent on former president Joseph Esrtada's rare talent to amuse.
The former president protested why he is third in the list of "most corrupt" Philippine presidents.
In a survey done by Pulse Asia, the following were the most corrupt Presidents in the order of severity: (1) Gloria Arroyo (2) Ferdinand Marcos (3) Erap Estrada (4) Fidel V. Ramos (5) Corazon Aquino.
Erap says he should not be third most corrupt, but fourth most corrupt.
He says Fidel Ramos should be in the third spot because Ramos administration was marred by graver corrupt deals.
If leaders were labeled as very very corrupt, very corrupt, and just corrupt, it seems Erap is protesting and saying that instead of being labelled as "very corrupt", he should be labled as "corrupt" only.
But corrupt just the same.
Si Erap talaga....
I think he is the only one who can say or do things like these, and get away with it.

'Most corrupt' tag: Fact or perception?

From time to time, we have to review what the meaning of news is.
This comes to light with the recent "news" that a survey among Filipinos showed Gloria Arroyo is the most corrupt President in recent history.
Is this news?
It hogged the headlines. It must be.
Anyway, Gloria Arroyo has responded to this stingy accusation by saying this is merely perception and not based on facts.
Thus, the government says it would be difficult, if not futile to respond to baseless perceptions.
But is the opinion that Mrs. Arroyo is the "most, corrupt president" not based on facts?
When the President called a Comelec Commissioner by phone-- many believe she really called Virgilio "Garci" Garciliano--- at the height of the presidential elections, and was analyzed to have said "yung dagdag, yung dagdag", is this not a fact?
As a matter of fact, the President herself went on nationwide television to say "I'm sorry."
To me, that is a fact.
Why say sorry if the politically debilitating phone-chat was not fact?
When some honorable congressmen admit receiving P500,000 cash in Malcanang, the home of the most senior official, amidst moves in the house to impeach the President, is this not a fact?
When Ed Panlilio, governor of the president's home-province, and the governor of a neighboring province admit have been given P500,000 right in Malcanang, is this not a fact?
Until now there is yet no explanation from the President or her allies convincing enough to dissuade Filipinos from thinking those were bribes.
Filipinos may not be that sophisticated, but definitely they are not dumb, much less stupid.
If these instances are not facts, then I don't know what a fact is.
In fairness to the scientifically selected samples in the survey, and with due respect to the President, I think they based their opinions on established facts, and not perceptions.

Mr. policeman what are you doing

This policeman I caught in my cellphone camera doesn't look like he's trying to raid a pirated DVD outlet.

Indeed, he is trying to choose which DVD he is going to take that day without paying.

Those manning these video outlets complained that the policeman would just get any DVD he wants without paying for it.

According to one of the sellers, even the mayor's boys would even pay. Some don't even ask for change.

Indeed, I heard this policman say "Eto, hiramin ko" (I'll borrow this)

The seller said the policeman ain't returning it.

Abusado.