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(UPDATE) Pinoy is 2009 CNN Hero of the Year
Manila – For bringing education to poor Filipino children through his “Kariton Klassroom,” Filipino Efren Peñaflorida has been awarded the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year at the conclusion of "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute" at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on Saturday night.
According to CNN Web site, Peñaflorida has been selected after getting the highest number of online votes. More than 2.75 million votes were cast for 7 weeks.
He bested nine other contenders from different countries. Hollywood star Eva Mendes presented the award to him.
The Filipino received $100,000 to continue his work with his group, Dynamic Teen Company, according to CNN. The $100,000 cash prize is on top of the $25,000 he got after his name was included on the top 10 CNN Heroes.
In his acceptance speech delivered before 3,000 people, Peñaflorida encouraged the crowd to unleash the “hero in you.”
"Our planet is filled with heroes, young and old, rich and poor, man, woman of different colors, shapes and sizes. We are one great tapestry," Peñaflorida said. "Each person has a hidden hero within, you just have to look inside you and search it in your heart, and be the hero to the next one in need.”
He also urged them to “serve well, serve others above yourself and be happy to serve.”
“As I always tell to my co-volunteers ... you are the change that you dream as I am the change that I dream and collectively we are the change that this world needs to be," he added.
During the gala night, the top 10 CNN Heroes, chosen by a blue-ribbon panel from an initial pool of more than 9,000 viewer nominations, were each honored with a documentary tribute and introduced by a celebrity presenter, according to the Web site. Each of the top 10 Heroes received $25,000.
Read CNN"s full story here
CNN reported that presenters included Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Neil Patrick Harris, Pierce Brosnan, Dwayne Johnson, Mendes, Randy Jackson, Greg Kinnear, George Lopez and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Grammy Award-winning artist Carrie Underwood, R&B crooner Maxwell and British pop sensation Leona Lewis performed during the gala event.
The event will be broadcast on Thanksgiving, November 26, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on the global networks of CNN.
‘Kariton Klassroom’
Penaflorida first came to the public's consciousness when his group, the Dynamic Teen Company, won the Bayaning Pilipino award for its heroic work in bringing education to poor children in Cavite.
The group later began the “Kariton Klassroom,” which is a mobile classroom that brings around all their teaching materials to the different areas they service.
Since 1997, more than 10,000 volunteers are now helping in educating more than 1,500 kids in depressed areas in Cavite.
Because of this campaign, Peñaflorida was included on CNN’s list of heroes for this year.
'Start within themselves'
Prior to the announcement of winners Saturday night, Peñaflorida sat down with ABS-CBN North America News Bureau.
During the interview, he said, if Filipinos wanted to see change, they should start within themselves.
“Hindi naman po magagawa ng isang tao lang iyong pagbabago na inaaasam natin sa bayan natin. Iyong pagbabago magsisimula sa sarili natin. So, kung gusto nating baguhin iyong country natin, mag-start iyon sa puso natin, and then collectively, yong pagbabago na yon magiging malaki," he said.
And now that he is the recipient of the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year award, more poor and uneducated Filipino children will benefit from his award.
"Iyong 90% cash grant mapupunta sa Dynamic Teen Company. Iyong 10% sa church…. Nothing for me. Nandito ako para i-represent ang mga bata,” he said.
Peñaflorida may be a star to many, but for the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year, the real heroes are the volunteers. “At, of course, ang Panginoon na nagdala sa akin dito at Siyang dahilan kung bakit ako nandito." – With reports from Yong Chavez, ABS-CBN North America News Bureau, and TJ Manotoc, ABS-CBN News
Source URL:
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/11/22/09/pinoy-2009-cnn-hero-year
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Car parts firms hail Pinoy car program
Domestic auto parts makers are ecstatic over the revival of the Filipino car program or the “Philippine Winners” under a new Motor Vehicle Development Program (MVDP) calling it “the light at the end of the long, dark tunnel for the local automotive industry.”
Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (MVPMAP) president Raffy Villareal said the creation of a new component called Philippine Brand Vehicle (PBV) in the new MVDP is the answer to calls for the development of a truly Pinoy national vehicle.
“We have long advocated that given the opportunity and the resources, the Filipino engineer can build a truly Pinoy vehicle. This is also in line with our advocacy for the local car assemblers to locally assemble at least two vehicle brands,” Villareal said.
Villareal said the proposed PBV must be locally-designed, developed and assembled vehicle for the mass market, low priced, with high local value added labor and materials and compliant to standards.
The past MVDPs had similar provisions for the development of a Filipino car but never took off. Past attempts at building a Filipino car include the “People’s Car” program under then Trade and Industry Secretary Jose Concepcion Jr. and DTI Undersecretary and BOI managing head Tomas I. Alcantara.
Then there was also the Asian Utility Vehicle sector, whose attractiveness was eroded when it was subjected to excise tax payments.
To push for the PVB thrust, the BoI paper said that PBVs shall be exempt from excise tax payments. Part of the incentive package being contemplated for the PBVs and the alternative fuel vehicles (AFVS) include zero excise tax, income tax holidays and duty-free importation of raw and semi-processed materials and capital equipment, benefits similar to those granted to locators in export processing zones and to Board of Investments-registered companies.
Source URL:
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/230216/car-parts-firms-hail-pinoy-car-program
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All-out Pinoy support for Pacquiao’s biggest fight of the year
LAS VEGAS – The biggest fight of the year is just right around the corner and everyone who arrived early to Las Vegas is feeling the hype.
Pictures of Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto are splashed all over the MGM Grand Hotel, where the fight is taking place this Saturday, November 14.
Walking through the MGM and seeing what people are wearing (shirts and sweaters with Pacquiao’s face and Philippine flag), it seems that Pacquiao is the crowd favorite.
During the Friday weigh, Pinoy pride was definitely on display. Many Filipinos and boxing fans were wearing their Red, White, Blue and Yellow shirts resembling the Philippine flag and shirts with Pacquiao’s face on it.
"This weekend it’s going to be a pro-Pacquiao crowd," said Boxing Historian Bert Sugar to the Asian Journal. "Not only will Filipinos be cheering for him but America has really adopted him as one of their own."
Dante Santana and his family came from as far as Sydney, Australia.
"We consider Manny Pacquiao our national hero and we are very happy to support him," said Santana wearing a Team Pacquiao Australia shirt.
In front of the weigh-in line was a group of FilAms lead by a young girl named Alexis. The Bay Area Fil-Am said her group had been waiting since 6am to have front row seats for the weigh in.
"Manny’s our hero," she said. "All we want is a glimpse of Manny."
Unlike other big fights where there is usually a "good guy" vs. "bad guy" theme, Cotto and Pacquiao have been civil with each other months leading up to their match.
Source URL:
http://www.asianjournal.com/dateline-usa/15-dateline-usa/3595-all-out-pinoy-support-for-pacquiaos-biggest-fight-of-the-year.html
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Every other Pinoy family considers itself poor, says SWS
FIFTY-THREE percent of Filipino families consider themselves poor while a little less than 50 percent believe they are food-poor, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey from Sept. 18-21 showed.
These figures were taken before tropical storm "Ondoy" flooded Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Southern Tagalog and typhoon "Pepeng" did the same to northern Luzon. Damage brought about by the two weather disturbances has reached P36 billion.
The survey polled 1,800 respondents and had an error margin range of plus/minus 2.3-6 percent.
SWS also found that 28 percent of Filipino families said they are on the borderline while only 20 percent claimed they are not poor.
The figure is 3 points higher than the 50 percent in June 2009. It has been at the 50 percent level since March 2008, except February 2009 when it was at 47 percent.
Similarly, the Self-Rated Food Poverty also rose to 41 percent from 39 percent in June. About 35 percent put themselves in the food-borderline while 24 percent said they are not food-poor.
Self-rated poverty dropped in Mindanao (62 percent to 57 percent), but it rose in Luzon (44 percent to 51 percent) and in the Visayas (56 percent to 60 percent). It barely changed in Metro Manila (42 percent to 41 percent).
Self-rated food poverty also declined in Mindanao (47 percent to 43 percent) but it went up in the Visayas (42 percent to 48 percent), in Metro Manila (32 percent to 35 percent), and in Luzon (35 percent to 38 percent).
SWS said poor families have been lowering their living standards or tightening their belts to cope with poverty, as shown by the sluggishness of the self-rated poverty threshold, or the monthly budget that families need in order not to consider themselves as poor.
As of September 2009, the threshold rose to P15,000 in Metro Manila and to P10,000 in Luzon, although these levels have already been reached in the past. It stayed at P5,000 in Mindanao while dipping in the Visayas from P8,000 to P5,000.
The food-poverty threshold also went up in Metro Manila from P5,000 to P6,500 and in Luzon from P3,000 to P5,000. It remained at P3,000 in Mindanao and dropped to P3,000 in the Visayas.
SWS said the P15,000 Metro Manila poverty threshold is equivalent to only P9,536 in base year 2000 purchasing power, after deflation by the Consumer Price Index. It said the deflated poverty threshold of below P10,000 per month is similar to living standards of over a decade ago.
The median food-poverty threshold of P6,500 in Metro Manila is equivalent to only P4,257 in base year 2000 purchasing power for food.
Sen. Loren Legarda criticized what she said was government’s "sugar-coated" statistics on poverty incidence.
"There is great disparity between the 53 percent of Filipinos who consider themselves poor in the latest Social Weather Station survey and the 32.9 percent of poor Filipinos as determined by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB)," she said. –
Source URL:
http://www.malaya.com.ph/11062009/news/news7.html
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Pinoy MMA fighters fight for typhoon victims
LOS ANGELES – WHEN 22-year-old Fil-Am Raymond Villamor checked one of his favorite mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Brandon Vera’s website and saw that he was going to be in Los Angeles to host an MMA workshop event to benefit the typhoon victims in the Philippines, he dropped his Sunday plans to attend.
"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity," said Villamor, a Pharmacy Tech from Riverside. "It’s a great experience. I might never see a collection of Filipino fighters like this again."
Pinoy MMA fighters Vera, Mark Munoz, Shane Del Rosario and Romie Adanza were among the Pinoy mixed martial art fighters who participated in the first ever Their Fight is Our Fight MMA workshop to benefit the typhoon Ondoy and typhoon Parma victims last Sunday (October 25).
The daylong event held at the Legends MMATraining Center in Hollywood, gave participants a lesson in MMA training including jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai strikes, grappling and wrestling from worldclass Pinoy athletes.
It was also the first gathering of Pinoy MMA fighters in one event for a good cause.
"I had to do something," said Vera, a UFC Light Heavyweight contender who took time out of his training for an upcoming fight to participate. "I know it’s hard in the Philippines right now. There are people who lost a lot – their homes, cars, aunties and uncles. I just want to tell them to keep their heads up and keep moving forward."
Vera added that after his fight against UFC legend Randy Couture on November 14, he would be donating some monies to the cause.
"You know how Filipinos are," said Vera. "You have to do anything that you can do to help and do what you can."
Organized by Their Fight is Our Fight (TFIOF) non-profit organization in conjunction with Fil-Am Arts and Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA), the MMA workshop was created in an effort to raise relief funds for the victims of Typhoon Ondoy and Typhoon Parma in the Philippines.
TFIOF co-founder and a MMA event organizer Tamara Suguitan said she wanted to do something to help those victims so she called up her friends in the MMA industry and they all jumped on board.
"I’m just so happy that these guys are all donating their time and energy for this cause," said Suguitan. "When I called Brandon, Mark [Munoz] and Shane they didn’t even hesitate. They were all like ‘heck yeah! Anything that I can do to help.’"
UFC Light Heavyweight contender Munoz said he was personally affected by the typhoon. Many of his dad’s relatives still live in the area where the typhoon hit and were displaced during the storm.
"It’s our obligation to help and support our kababayans," said Munoz.
All proceeds of the event were donated to the Philippine Red Cross, according to Suguitan.
Given the magnitude of the devastation in the Philippines and the positive feedback from the participants in the workshop, Suguitan and the other event organizers said this would not be a one-time event.
She said TFIOF plans on hosting more event workshops.
For more information about TFIOF, visit www.theirfightisourfight.org.
Source URL:
http://www.asianjournal.com/dateline-usa/15-dateline-usa/3426-pinoy-mma-fighters-fight-for-typhoon-victims.html
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Pinoy kids get more allowance, Internet time
Despite the recession, Filipino children in urban areas seem to be enjoying the good life.
More kids in the Philippines get allowances compared to children in Japan, Australia, and India, according to a recent survey conducted by the New Generations Philippines, the first fully-localized study dedicated to Filipino children sponsored by Cartoon Network.
While kids in some countries saw a slump in their weekly allowances in the past two years, Filipino children in Manila, Cebu and Davao enjoyed a 17 percent increase in their weekly income,” the survey showed.
More Filipino kids now also have access to computers and Internet than in 2007, with over 63 percent of 7- to 14-year-olds already regular Internet users, it added.
According to the survey, Filipino kids get on average P197 in weekly allowance, up from P169 in 2007, while children in Japan and Taiwan saw a 22 percent and 12 percent decrease in pocket money, respectively.
About 91 percent of Filipino kids get allowances, a huge difference compared to only 49 percent in Japan, 59 percent in Australia and 41 percent in India. The allowance partly gives Pinoy kids the combined spending power of about P42 billion annually, up 14 percent from 2005 figures.
“Pinoy parents seem to be very generous with their money. Compared with other countries, more kids in this country are given their own money,” said Duncan Morris, vice president for research and market development of Turner International Asia Pacific Ltd.
The survey also revealed a 37 percent increase in the number of kid Internet users in just two years. Almost two out of three (63 percent) have used the Internet in the past month. More than three quarters (76 percent) of Internet-using kids visit cyberspace at least weekly, and a quarter at 26 percent go online daily.
The increase may be attributed to the increase in kids’ access to computers and the Internet. Computer ownership increased by 12 percent from 2005, while Internet access also jumped from 15 percent in 2005 to 32 percent this year.
“More and more kids are becoming Internet-savvy and tech-driven. We have seen a big increase in the number of kids going online. Although more than half (55 percent) use the Internet for research and homework, a rapidly growing number use the Internet for non-academic purposes.
“The way in which kids are consuming media is rapidly changing. Where once it was all about watching TV, today’s kids can comfortably view, use, play and engage with our characters, whenever, wherever and however they wish,” said Morris.
In fact, Internet usage has become a staple in kids’ daily schedule. This year, “Using the Internet” climbed from fifth spot in 2007 to second spot in 2009 at 39 percent. It comes behind “Watching TV,” which at 95 percent remains the number one activity for Filipino kids since 2005.
“Listening to Music” was at third spot while reading a non-school book fell from second to fourth.
In terms of online activities, gaming remains the number one attraction for kids, with 78 percent of Internet-using kids playing online games within the past month. Catching up fast is online video viewing with 61 percent. Social networking sites are also gaining ground with about 45 percent of kids logging into Friendster, Facebook, and Multiply.
This year’s New Generations Philippines survey was based on in-home face-to-face interviews with 1,000 child and parent pairs from socio-economic classes A to D. The survey was conducted by Synovate in three major areas of Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao between August 25 and September 21, 2009. New Generations Philippines ensured an even sample split by gender and age ranges (7-8, 9-10, 11-12, and 13-14).
Source URL:
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/227051/pinoy-kids-get-more-allowance-internet-time
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