It seems there was nothing but bad news for the Philippines this past few weeks. From the conviction of Congressman Ronald V. Singson in Hongkong (sentenced to 1-1/2 years) to the three Filipinos sentenced to death in China and the Filipina in Thailand (life), Filipinos were all over the map.
Out of this gloom appears ‘Gaga Girl’ Maria Aragon, the relatively unknown tenyear-old from Winnipeg who was suddenly catapulted into cyberspace because of an innocuous You Tube posting.
Maria Aragon’s ‘ten-minutes’ of fame made me whistle the tunes of Lady Gaga’s ‘Born This Way’. Watching her on all her TV appearances and especially her interviews with the media makes one can’t help but be captivated by her innocent charm and simplicity. Maria was articulate and unfazed (it didn’t appear to be!) by the onslaught of TV cameras and microphones wherever she was – at the airport or in the plane.
It would be hard to imagine her turning into a ‘Lady Gaga’ or even ‘ Lady Gagita’, that talented Pilipino impersonator who has been wooing fans with her parody of the Gaga.
Magkaugnay na diwa
They didn’t know each other.
Yet, in many ways they were of kindred spirits.
Two beautiful women whose lives were suddenly taken by the sheer madness of a drunken driver on that fateful Feb. 19 morning.
Lorraine Santiago Cruz, 26,was born in the Philippines and immigrated to Canada as a teenager.
Charlene Ogilvie Reaveley, 30, the Good Samaritan, was born in Scotland and moved to England and then to Canada.
Both were eulogized in their funerals as ‘caring and loving’ persons.
Mag-eleksyon na yata!
At lumabas ang mga ‘scandals’ sa Conservative Party
It looks like election fever is now gripping the country.
All political parties are trying to outdo each other with their political advertising, which could mean an election could be called anytime soon.
The ruling minority government of Prime Minister Harper is under attack from all sides almost daily in the House.
Most damaging was the ‘Oda Affair’ with the infamous ‘NOT’ episode. Minister of International Cooperation Bev Oda denied funding to KAIROS, by inserting the word ‘Not’ in the document by CIDA without even initialing the change!
And even lied to the House that she did not do it.
What a dummy!
Can anyone in her right mind change a legal document without the proper initials? Anyone who bought or sold a house would be familiar with the ‘initials’ in the offer, removal of subjects, etc.
And now comes Immigration Minister Jason Kenney – the darling of the so-called ethnic organizations for his ‘gifts’ of funding for this and that organization including our own Multicultural Helping House Society (MHHS).
He has to fire a staffer for making the ‘mistake’ of using Kenney’s office to solicit funds from ethnic groups for the Conservative Party – a big No, No.
And what about the ‘In-and-Out’ election scandal? In the 2006 elections, the Conservative Party was accused of transferring monies from some ridings to their national office to help in the advertising expenses. The RCMP conducted and investigation after Elections Canada complained of the practice.
This is quite significant because it was a Filipino-Canadian that triggered all of this.
Elizabeth Pagtakhan, who run and lost against Libby Davies in Vancouver East, was the one who initially told Election Canada about the transfer of monies from her own campaign to national headquarters.
Letters:
Hi Ted,
I feel overwhelmed whenever my name appear on the newspapers helping the likes of John Santiago, Cristina Lopez and Richard Garcia and many more and that truly inspire me. Thank you for giving these people who are in great need a space in your column and most specially your “Tayong lahat may pananagutan. . .” which could serve as a reminder that we have a (sic) such obligation to mankind.
More power to you and to PNT people!
Best regards,
Butch Barbosa
Vancouver General Hospital
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