Filipino artists get nominated at Asian TV Awards 2013
Ferdie Villar
Asian Journal
14 November 2013
The Philippines was able to get nine nominations for this year’s Asian Television awards. Four of those nominations were performance or hosting, while five for programs.
Fighting in the category of Best Actress in a Leading Role are Marian Rivera and Lorna Tolentino.
Marian has been nominated for her role as the martyr wife in the GMA-7 series, Temptation of Wife.
Lorna on the other hand, is nominated for her character in the series Pahiram Ng Sandali, where she plays the role of a publisher having an affair with her daughter’s boyfriend.
The Queen of All Media Kris Aquino has been nominated for Best Entertainment Presenter/Host for her daily morning talk show, Kris TV.
Comedian Michael V. is again nominated for the category of Best Comedy Performance by an Actor/Actress for his show on GMA 7, Bubble Gang. He has won twice in the category—in 2005 and 2006—but is almost been nominated every year.
Other nominees include 24 Oras and Saksi for Best News Programme, while Reporter’s Notebook is nominated for Best Current Affairs Programme. All these shows are from GMA 7.
From ABS-CBN, The X Factor Philippines is nominated for Best Reality Show.
The announcement of winners will be during the awards/gala ceremony to be held in Singapore at the Resorts World Sentosa, Compass Ballroom on December 5.
From Hong Kong to Dubai, pastors, teachers and consular officials describe an unprecedented outpouring of support from a diaspora that even in normal times is renowned for sending large amounts of money home to family and friends.
“Everyone is mobilising, everyone is raising funds for organisations and churches,” says Joyce Demetillo, a pastor at the Jesus is Lord church in Hong Kong.
Verna Fajilan, a former ballerina at Ballet Philippines who teaches dance in Hong Kong, says that while the Filipino “spirit for helping . . . is instinctive”, Haiyan has sparked an altogether different level of response from expatriates.
“Because of the enormity of the typhoon, there are more people now who want to mobilise the relief efforts,” says Ms Fajilan, who is organising charity zumba dance classes to raise money.
The Philippines foreign ministry says there are more than 10m Filipinos overseas who, according to the central bank, sent $21bn home in 2012.
Rosanna Villamor, the Philippines deputy consul-general in Hong Kong where there are 180,000 Filipinos, says she has been amazed by the “sheer number of people who have come forward with a number of fundraising events”. She adds that one difference from previous disasters is that people are sending the consulate names of relatives and loved ones that they cannot locate.
Daisy Mandap, editor of the Sun, a newspaper for Filipinos in Hong Kong, says this Sunday – the day most of the city’s 163,000 domestic helpers have a day off – will see a big response, as Filipinos arrange fundraising events across the territory.
Similar events are happening across the world, including in the United Arab Emirates, home to 500,000 Filipinos, most of whom live in the business hub of Dubai. They are the second most dense concentration of migrants in the oil-rich Gulf after Saudi Arabia, where an estimated 1.2m work.
Wendell Castro, chairman of Task Force Yolanda – as Haiyan is known in the Philippines – in Dubai, is leading one of dozens of campaigns launched by about 100 Philippine community associations in the UAE. They have set up collection points for food, clothing, medicine and blankets, and are hoping to organise musical and prayer gatherings once they receive official approval.
“We are targeting about $200,000-$300,000 in donations,” Mr Castro says.
Filipinos from the affected areas have also spent the past week scouring the internet and awaiting phone calls for news about their families.
Jessa, a 26-year-old receptionist, has social media to thank for the end to six torturous days of uncertainty after her home town of Isabel in Leyte province was devastated, reduced to “only five homes”, she says.
I’d been looking at Facebook 24/7 and I recognised the landscape. So I sent a comment – ‘Please help me’ – and they gave me a number of a neighbour who went to my mother - Jessa, receptionist
Some residents of the town of about 45,000 people managed to bring a generator from a nearby island to charge mobile phones. They scaled a nearby hill to get a signal and posted pictures online.
“I’d been looking at Facebook 24/7, waiting for something, and I recognised the landscape,” says Jessa. “So I sent a comment – ‘Please help me’ – and they gave me a number of a neighbour who went to my mother.”
Thousands of kilometres away in New York, Elmer Villaluz, 66, treasurer at San Lorenzo Ruiz Chapel – the city’s main Filipino church whose masses have been bustling – says that parishioners and the local community have come together to donate cash and clothes to the Red Cross.
“Filipinos are very religious . . . but they’re asking why did this happen to them?” Mr Villaluz says. “We are thankful because the global community is giving us aid.”
Frank Cimafranca, the Philippines consul-general in Dubai, says the consulate is “trying to raise awareness” by directing donations to government bodies and non-government organisations that are taking donations. While many Filipinos may want to return home to help, he says that in most cases, it is not possible.
Some people will return to the Philippines because they worry for their loved ones, but most will stay for practical reasons – there is nothing more they can do and it is better to send money - Frank Cimafranca, Philippines consul-general in Dubai
“Some people will return to the Philippines because they worry for their loved ones, but most will stay for practical reasons – there is nothing more they can do and it is better to send money,” he says
But some people have decided that staying away is too hard. Patrizia Villamore, a domestic helper who has lived in Hong Kong for two decades, flew to Manila and then made her way to Cebu where she met up with her husband Brian Delima, a construction worker in Saudi Arabia, who had also flown home after the typhoon.
Speaking by phone from Cebu, the couple said that after they arrived in the Philippines they learned that his uncle had died. Mr Delima says his uncle survived the typhoon only to die several days later from the cold. Ms Villamore explains that the scale of the disaster made it impossible for them not to return home.
“It is a very different feeling. We want to see our families – are they alive or not.” Additional reporting by Camilla Hall in New York
Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (Haiyan) survivors ride motorbikes through the ruins of the destroyed town of Guiuan, Philippine, on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013. Yolanda killed thousands and caused billions of pesos in damage, but international rating agency Moody’s Investor Service said the Philippines’ economic fundamentals remained intact. AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)
Supertyphoon “Yolanda” killed thousands and caused billions of pesos in damage, but a major international rating agency said the Philippines’ economic fundamentals remained intact.
Moody’s Investor Service in a report this week said Supertyphoon Yolanda may be the worst calamity to hit Southeast Asia in nearly a decade, rivaled in scale only by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that struck Indonesia.
However, while the loss in human lives was overwhelming, the overall effect on the real economy was likely to be muted.
“The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that struck Indonesia could be most similar to Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) in terms of the scale of devastation, but it, too, had a limited effect on overall economic conditions,” Moody’s said.
Moody’s said the local economies of Leyte and other provinces in the Visayas hit hard by Yolanda last week would take the brunt of the impact.
The damage to road infrastructure, power lines, communications systems, and farmlands would likely lead to a steep drop in output.
Moody’s noted that, as of Wednesday morning, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council’s running count of casualties showed 1,833 deaths.
The rating firm, which upgraded the Philippines to “investment grade” last October, cited the government’s own initial estimate that the damage brought by Yolanda would shave just half a percentage point off the country’s estimated growth for 2013.
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“The relatively small hit to growth reflects the small contribution of Region VIII to the country’s economic output,” Moody’s said.
In 2012, Region VIII accounted for only 2.2 percent of the Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP), down from 2.7 percent in 2009.
In the same year, Region VIII’s real gross regional domestic product (GRDP) contracted by 6.2 percent and subtracted 0.2 percentage points from the country’s 6.8 percent growth rate.
The most important regions in terms of their contribution to Philippine GDP, Moody’s said, were Metro Manila and the Southern Tagalog region, which together constituted 53 percent of GDP in 2012.
Fortunately, these areas were unaffected by Yolanda.
Moody’s expects the Philippine economy to grow by 7 percent this year, matching the top end of the government’s official forecast.
The asset quality of rated Philippine banks will also be minimally affected.
As of the end of 2012, loans to Region VIII constituted only 0.4 percent of total system loans.
Moody’s also expressed confidence that the Philippine government would be able to adequately finance out of its own coffers the reconstruction in typhoon-affected areas.
The government registered a primary surplus of P156.9 billion through the first three quarters of this year, 12.7 percent more than the balance in the same period in 2012.
In its annual budget, the government had provisioned P7.5 billion in a calamity fund, as well as embedded P3.9 billion in quick response funds in budgets for different line agencies, “although some of these funds had already been spent to address earlier disasters,” Moody’s said.
“President Aquino also has discretionary funds available at his disposal. In addition, assistance from the international community will mitigate stresses on the government’s fiscal position.”
MANILA, Philippines – Former world champion Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire dedicated his victory to the Philippines after stopping Armenian fighter Vic Darchinyan in the ninth round of their featherweight showdown Saturday in Corpus Christi, Texas (Sunday in Manila).
Fighting for the first time at the featherweight division, Donaire overcame a sluggish start and felled Darchinyan in the ninth round with his left hook, eventually forcing the referee to stop the fight after he unloaded several bombs on the wobbly Armenian.
“It wasn’t my win tonight, it was the Philippines’ win,” Donaire posted on his social media accounts following his victory. “We are strong and we have faith. Thank you Lord for keeping me safe, giving me a sound mind, helping me see what needed to be done.”
“Thank you to the Archangels and especially all the fans and Filipinos who watched despite the typhoon,” he added.
The Philippines is reeling from the effects of Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan), with authorities estimating that at least 10,000 people were killed in Leyte.
In an interview following his victory, Donaire had asked for prayers for his motherland.
"First and foremost, prayers to people in the Philippines who were hit by the typhoon," he said.
"Please have your prayers for people in the Philippines."
Even prior to the fight, Donaire said he was dedicating his performance to the Filipino people.
“Dedicating my fight to uplift the Filipinos’ spirits. Our indomitable spirit has been recognized worldwide,” he said. “Keep the faith, He will not abandon us in our time of need. Continued prayers for the earthquake and typhoon victims.”
Even so, Darchinyan came very close to avenging his 2007 loss to Donaire, taking control of the fight in the middle rounds and at the end of the fifth round, unleashing a flurry of punches on the Filipino, who was saved by the bell.
Donaire even admitted that he doubted himself at one point in the fight.
“When he hit me in the cheek, I felt like he broke my cheek, and I thought, ‘Is this it for me? I’m losing the fight. Should I keep going?’ But I put my heart into it, and you know what, I will never, ever quit,” he said.
Malacañang on Sunday commended Donaire and beauty queen Ariella Arida for bringing pride to the Philippines during these trying times.
“We extend our congratulations to Ms. Arida and the Filipino Flash. We appreciate their efforts to bring a bt of smile to Filipinos who are going through so much,” said deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte on radio dzRB on Sunday.
Arida had finished third-runner up in the 2013 Miss Universe pageant, a feat which she also dedicated to her countrymen.
Ariella Arida takes the stage in a yellow Alfredo Barazza dress at Crocus City Hall in Moscow, Russia during the Miss Universe preliminary competition. Darren Decker, REUTERS
MANILA -- The Philippines' Ariella Arida on Sunday (Manila time) finished 3rd runner-up in Miss Universe 2013, a feat she dedicated to her countrymen who were devastated Friday by the world's most powerful typhoon this year.
Venezuela's Gabriela Isler won the title, besting 85 other candidates during the coronation night held at Crocus City Hall in Moscow, Russia, which hosted the 62-year-old pageant for the first time.
Said to have one billion viewers in over 190 countries, the event was announced in the opening minutes to be dedicated to the Philippines and Vietnam, neighboring countries in the path of destruction of super typhoon "Yolanda" (Haiyan).
Isler, a marketing graduate and professional model, was crowned by Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo of the United States to become the new titleholder for one year.
The runners-up, in order, were Spain's Patricia Rodríguez, Ecuador's Constanza Báez, Arida, and Brazil's Jakelyne Oliveira.
The Philippines' bet was notably the only Asian in the Top 5.
Fan favorite
Dubbed an early favorite leading up to the finals night, Arida earned a spot in the Top 16 after winning the official online polls. She then took the stage in a red bikini for the swimsuit portion, along with her fellow semifinalists.
Advancing into the Top 10, Arida proceeded to parade in a yellow Alfredo Barazza dress for the evening gown segment.
In the final round of the pageant, Arida was asked by judge Tara Lipinski: "What can be done about the lack of jobs for young people starting their careers around the world?"
The Filipina beauty answered: "For the people who have lack of jobs, I do believe that we people should invest in education and that is my primary advocacy, because we all know that if everyone of us is educated and well aware of what we are doing, we could land into jobs and we could land a good career in the future. Education is the primary source and ticket to a better future."
Isler, meanwhile, was asked by judge Steven Tyler: "What is your biggest fear and what is your plan to overcome it?"
She responded through an interpreter: "I believe that one may have a lot of fears but nonetheless, this is nothing negative. I believe that we should all overcome our fears, and this in turn, would make us much stronger. And thusly, we can become stronger persons. As soon as we overcome our fears and we're sure of ourselves, we can face any challenge."
Of the five finalists, Arida was the only candidate who answered in English and without an interpreter.
With her 3rd runner-up finish, Arida replicated the success of Shamcey Supsup, the Philippines' candidate in the 2011 pageant. Janine Tugonon and Venus Raj finished 1st runner-up in 2012 and 4th runner-up in 2010, respectively.
The Philippines is still hoping to produce its third Miss Universe winner after Gloria Diaz in 1969 and Margie Moran in 1973.
'For the Philippines'
A day before the coronation night on Sunday, Arida, through a video on the official page of Miss Universe on Facebook, addressed her fellow Filipinos amid the destruction brought by "Yolanda" in several parts of the Philippines.
Said to be the strongest typhoon in recorded history to make landfall, "Yolanda" wiped out entire structures and left at least 138 dead as of Saturday night, according to the local disaster management council, with hundreds more feared unaccounted for.
"This fight, I offer to you guys, to all my Filipino people," Arida said in the online video. "It's for the Philippines. Keep safe and keep on praying. Be strong."
Amid news of the widespread destruction, Filipino pageant fans kept hopes high for Arida to take home the crown. Leading up to the finals night, Arida was widely tipped to win the title after her string of special appearances in pre-pageant events.
Viewing parties were held at different venues, including a government-sponsored gathering in her home province and packed bars, despite the coronation night kicking off at 2 a.m. local time.
In Moscow, some 700 supporters carrying banners and Philippine flags were gathered by the Filipino Association in Russia at the Crocus City Hall. The strongest cheers were heard whenever Arida took the stage, ABS-CBN News' Dyan Castillejo reported Sunday from the venue.
The same zeal for international pageants was also evident early this year, particularly with the back-to-back wins of Filipinas Megan Young and Mutya Datul in Miss World and Miss Supranational, respectively.
