Wednesday 3 July 2013

PIA News Dispatch - Wednesday, July 3, 2013

President Aquino lauds Iskwelahand Pilipino Rondalla for sharing the country’s rich cultural traditions with fellow Filipino-Americans

President Benigno S. Aquino III lauded on Wednesday the Iskwelahang Pilipino (IP) Rondalla for sharing with fellow Filipino-Americans in the United States the rich cultural traditions of the country.

The Chief Executive, likewise, gifted the IP Rondalla with travelling bags and organizers with the presidential seal and one P500 bill for souvenir during a courtesy call at the Malacanang’s Heroes Hall.

The IP Rondalla performed Isang Dugo/Kay Ganda Ng Ating Musika medley, Pobreng Alindahaw, Palladio and Maria Cristina before President Aquino and other government officials in the audience. After the performance, the IP Rondalla gifted the Chief Executive with a T-shirt.

President Aquino thanked the Iskwelahang Pilipino for developing in Filipino-American children a strong positive ethnic identity and instill pride in the students' cultural heritage.

During the event, the President recalled his experiences in Boston during the early 1980s after his father Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. was exiled to the US.

He also shared with the IP Rondalla that he was busy meeting with concerned government officials about the government housing project for the families affected by typhoon Pablo.

He told the musicians that he enjoyed their performance and thanked them for sharing the Filipino culture and traditions with the mainstream society in the US.

In 1976, a group of parents led by Cristina Castro founded the Iskwelahang Pilipino in Newton, Massachusetts in a bid to create a school where their children can develop a strong positive ethnic identity and have the chance to learn about their Filipino heritage.

At present, IP holds classes on four major programs namely music, folk dance, language and culture, and arts and craft at the Bedford Center in Massachusetts.

In 1986, the Iskwelahang Pilipino Rondalla was established. Composed of talented student musicians, the IP Rondalla's varied repertoire is drawn from the rich folk music heritage, contemporary arrangements of traditional folk songs and original compositions reflecting the influence of Filipino-American cultural identity.

The IP Rondalla has performed in important state-sponsored cultural events and international festivals such as the New England Folk Festival, Newton Asian Festival, Asian American Heritage Month, Philippine Festival Week, and the Rondalla International Festival.

The IP Rondalla July 1990 tour of the Philippines was highlighted by a special performance before then-President Corazon Aquino at Malacañang Palace.

In April 1993, the group gave a special tribute performance in honor of Nitoy Gonzales, the beloved Filipino rondalla maestro, composer, and songwriter. In November that same year, the group took part in a special performance at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York in honor of the visiting Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos.

The following year, the IP Rondalla was again invited to perform for President Ramos at the Westin Hotel in Boston. In 1994, the IP Rondalla went on a three-week European concert tour of Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands, Austria and England.

Their first full length CD, Crossing Over, was recorded and released in 1995. In celebration of the Centennial of the Philippine Republic in 1998, the group completed a 3-week/18-performance tour of the Philippines highlighted by a performance at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

Also in attendance at Malacanang Palace were Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras, Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon Soliman, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, and Iskwelahang Pilipino officials Violane Rodriguez Bailey, Cristina Castro, Maria Celia Rodis-Sipin and Lilibeth Aristorenas. PND (js)


Aquino: Agencies should work together and charge 'sex-for-flight' perpetrators

President Benigno S. Aquino III instructed the Department of Labor and Employment to coordinate with the Department of Justice and the Office of the Executive Secretary once it has sufficient evidence to charge anyone behind the alleged sex-for-flight scheme in the Middle East that victimized distressed overseas Filipino workers.

The President met with Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz on Tuesday who informed him about the ongoing investigation and the measures taken by the department in the aftermath of the revelations about the controversy.

“Secretary Baldoz assured the President that no one in DOLE will be spared if the investigation yields any wrongdoing on their part,” Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a message to Palace reporters.

The justice department said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) are investigating different cases of OFWs who fell victim to the scheme.

Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello had earlier revealed the alleged sex-for-flight scheme at the Philippine embassies in Saudi Arabia, Syria and Kuwait and other parts of the Middle East. Bello initially was seeking the help of the National Bureau of Investigation in finding the truth about the reported abuses.

President Aquino said the NBI may be tapped to help in the investigation to stop the sex-for-flight scheme victimizing OFWs in the Middle East.

The President also ordered the DFA and DOLE personnel abroad to look after the welfare of some 10 million OFWs abroad. PND (as)


Filipino drug courier execution must serve as a lesson to Filipinos, says Palace

Malacanang once again warned the people not to allow themselves to be victimized by drug syndicates fooling unsuspecting Filipinos to ship illegal drugs outside the country following the execution of a female drug courier in China Wednesday morning.

In a message, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte told reporters that the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed Wednesday that the Filipina drug mule has been executed.

“We extend our sympathies and condolences to the family. We appeal to the media to allow the family their privacy at this difficult time. However unfortunate, we hope that this will serve as a continuing lesson to our citizens not to allow themselves to be victimized and to fall prey to these syndicates,” Valte said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said the Filipino drug courier was executed in China Wednesday morning, a day after meeting her family in Shanghai.

The Philippine Consulate in Shanghai is currently working for the repatriation of her remains to the country.

In a last ditch effort last week, President Benigno Aquino III tried to send Vice President Jejomar Binay to China to appeal to the Chinese government not to execute the Filipino and instead commute her sentence to life imprisonment.


But the Chinese government discouraged Binay’s trip saying the move was not timely at that time. PND (as)