Our top news story of the year 2009 is of course the Maguindanao massacre of November 23, the mass murder of some 57 innocent civilians including 31 journalists masterminded allegedly by one of the most powerful political warlords of Mindanao, a close ally of the lame duck president Gloria Arroyo.
This brutal and heinous crime has earned the Philippines a new yet notorious reputation as the most “Dangerous place in the world for journalists“ replacing war-torn Iraq and Afghanistan.
Not since the My Lai massacre of March 16,1968 in Vietnam that a mass killing has been so gruesome, ruthless and atrocious.
As in the Vietnam massacre where some 400 victims, most of them women and children, the Maguindanao fatalities were also sexually abused, tortured and mutilated. Both tragedies also sparked widespread outrage around the world.
Thank God, the people allegedly behind this crime, Mayor Datu Andal Ampatuan Jr., his father Andal Sr., brothers Zaldy and others are now behind bars awaiting trial. If proven guilty and we know they are, may they rot in jail!
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Other top events of 2009 include the death of “Democracy Icon“ former President Corazon “Cory“ Aquino in August and whose funeral reignited the long dormant and original people power movement of 1986. It eventually inspired the presidential candidacy of her son, Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino.
A month later, the great deluge that is typhoon “Ondoy “devastated Metro Manila wreaking havocs on lives and property, triggering massive flooding never before experienced in 50 years. The destruction brought by the onrushing floodwaters saw cities engulfed, houses disappearing and carried away by swift currents leaving hundreds of thousand homeless and lives lost.
These scenes of people stranded on rooftops for days without food and water were to be seen in many places in Luzon as back-to-back typhoons hit the nation in what were the worst environment disasters ever to occur in memory.
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There have been glory days despite the gloom, an unprecedented 7th World title for “Pambansang Kamao “(National Fist) Manny Pacquiao in November 14 erased the Filipino’s bad memory of Ondoy and a week later, Efren Penaflorida, the so-called “Kariton educator“, was declared as the CNN’s “Hero of the Year“ Awardee.
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But the bigger story and victory by Filipinos was made here in Toronto, Canada on December 12 when the Federal government of Canada announced their approval of the so-called Juana Tejada law and other changes to the live-in caregiver program (LCP).
The law, nicknamed after the late caregiver JuanaTejada who fought against the requirement of caregivers taking a second medical test to qualify for permanent residency, was the culmination and realization of a dream of the more than 200,000 caregivers situated here in Canada.
Jonathan Canchela of Migrante Ontario said the “announcement is a great honor for Tejada and organizations like the Independent Workers’ association which worked for improved conditions for live-in caregivers“.
He said it was Tejada who exposed “this ambiguity in the immigration system“.
He said if there is someone to be called a “champion and a hero“, it should be Juana Tejada. Canchela was obviously referring to some Filipino community leaders who went overboard in praising Immigration Minister Jason Kenney when he made the proposed changes and announcement in a big gathering last December 12. Perhaps overcome with emotions, the leaders called Kenney a “hero and champion “.
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This was also the case for Philippine labour Attaché Frank Luna of the
POLO (not the shirt you’re wearing) but meaning Philippine Overseas Labor Office who also reprised the behaviour of some of the Filipino-Canadian community leaders.
Mr. Luna invited the community media led by this writer to an inauguration of his office beside the consulate to a dinner and to witness the awarding of a plaque to a mainstream media man for his efforts in exposing the plight of Filipina caregivers.
In so doing, he also awarded the community media a “slap on the face“ because it looked like we are doing nothing to help our caregivers here in Canada when in fact and in truth, it was community leader Gene Lara who approach us to take the cudgels for Juana Tejada when she was diagnosed with cancer some years back.
It was the community media who issued the challenge to the caregivers to stand up and report to us abuses and shortcomings in the caregiver program
What did Mr. Frank Luna do? He never, never gave us any information, not a single information that would help the media expose such abuses.
Mr. Luna stonewalled the community media favoring only one mainstream media reporter and one community newspaper. I call this news management Marcos-era vintage.
Mr. Luna gave an award recognizing the work of the mainstream reporter
but failed to give the same recognition to Mr. Eddie Lee who has been
writing stories fed by him.
Case in point, when the Barrie farmhouse raid happened, no community media was tipped off, only the Toronto Star got the information. Our colleague Mon Datol was fuming at the way you treated the community media.
And the last straw Mr. Luna, you insulted one of our Philippine Press Club (PPCO) member Faye Arellano when you sarcastically berated her “Ikaw na ba ang spokesperson ng mga caregivers?” or something to that effect.
She was only telling you that Pura Velasco was requesting media men to please embargo the identification and place where the Filipino temporary workers are located.
Mr. Luna, you have just negated the hard work and the goodwill done for so many years by the Philippine Consulate staff with your arrogance and indifference.
You are indeed an odd man out of the diplomatic mission
