FIFTEEN finalists faced judges in a lavish pageant at University of New South Wales’s The Roundhouse Theatre on Thursday night, October 7, for the crowning of Miss Earth Australia 2010. Judges picked the candidate with the best grasp of environmental issues and the best public speaking skills, according to Filipina quest founder Maria James. ”That’s […]
Month: November 2010
Colourful prelude to Christmas by Jaime K. Pimentel
The first-ever Filipino Lantern Festival, to be held in Parramatta on Saturday, November 20, paints a colourful picture of Christmas in the Philippines, a country known for celebrating the longest yuletide season on earth. ”Parramatta Council has recognised this, and has opened its heart in the central business district to share Filipino fare to its […]
Mapua Alumni Christmas Party
The officers and members including their families of the Mapua Alumni in Australia (MAA) joined the National Tree planting activity at Mujar Reserve in Blacktown, NSW on August 2, 2010. The association vowed to participate in this yearly event mainly to help improve the environment and reduce carbon emission. It was a lovely experience for […]
Naked body scanners used at airports
Thanks to technology and terrorist threats, bodies of travellers can now be exposed when passing through Naked Body Scanners (NBS). Above photo is a sample of what airport staff will see when travellers pass through NBS. Airports in some parts of the world are now equipped with NBS. Passengers can opt out but will be […]
What happens during a police raid by Major Tom Baena
As a former police officer, I have conducted numerous raids on drug dealers’ houses in Cabramatta. I can [still] feel the trauma for the people whose houses are raided. When we attend the premises, there are no pleasantries given but everything is done in officious manner: a loud knock on the door with the announcement […]
PCC calls for assistance for typhoon victims
The Philippine Community Council of NSW is spearheading a disaster appeal for Typhoon Juan (international code name “Megi”) which lashed out last 18 October 2010 leaving a trail of devastation in Northern Luzon. This PCC-NSW Humanitarian Assistance Appeal is under the Philippine Australia Disaster Emergency Response Program (PADER) which aims to offer immediate assistance to […]
PRC Volunteers repack relief goods for Typhoon Juan victims
Manila, Philippines. For the benefit of the unfortunate Filipinos who have been affected by Typhoon Juan, several Philippine Red Cross (PRC) volunteers gathered in PRC National Headquarters to help repack relief goods around 2 pm today, October 19, 2010. Among those who responded despite her busy schedule was PRC Ambassador Angel Locsin (photo shown above) […]
Police raid boxing stable of Filipinos by Jaime K. Pimentel
AUSTRALIAN Federal Police (AFP) raided the Bohol Boxing Stable in Sydney’s southwest on Thursday, October 21, following a Sydney Morning Herald website report on Wednesday, October 20, that a family in NSW was now under investigation for allegedly recruiting Filipino boxers to fight in Australia and ”keeping the men in slave-like conditions in a Sydney […]
Is plagiarism now legal in the Philippines?
AN OPEN LETTER The Filipino Press Group Sydney cannot protest vigorously enough against reports recently that the Supreme Court of the Philippines has handed down a decision that would effectively legalize plagiarism, an act so basically shameless to civilized society that even school children would recognize it as cheating. We share the anger of our […]
More on credit card surcharging
Visa International and MasterCard International Operating Regulations prohibit any form of surcharging. That is very specific in every Merchant Agreement signed between the affiliate bank and the merchant honoring the card. The affiliate or “Merchant Acquirer” is the bank that gives authority to the business establishment to honor credit card transactions. One of our readers […]
Cash Register prices higher than advertised shelf prices at SM Shoemart
My wife’s photographic memory and our penchant for fighting for a good cause started the whole thing. We even took pictures of the prices attached to the shelves and compared them with what came out in the printed itemized receipts. Even as I write this column, people we don’t know are sending us emails informing […]
Planning a trip to the Philippines?
Here are some tips from Michelle Baltazar. When it comes to shopping in the Philippines, many visitors and balikbayan shop until they drop. Consider some traditional much-loved cuisine such as the Café Via Mare in Greenhills. After a few hours spent shopping in Greenhills, you need energy food. For lunch, I went to Via Mare […]