HAWAII-FILIPINO NEWS PHILIPPINE NEWS LEGAL NOTES inside look UFCH Holds 5 Teenage Singer 8 Alien Must Be 13 JULY 24, 2010 51st Annual State Charice Gets Botox Informed Of Free Convention for 'Glee' Debut Legal Services H AWAII’ S O NLY W EEKLY F ILIPINO - A MERICAN N EWSPAPER UST SINGERS NAMED 2010 CHOIR OF THE WORLD By Chona MONTESINES-SONIDO or the second time, the world-renowned University of Santo Tomas Singers bagged the Choir of the World-Lu- F ciano Pavarotti Grand Prize at the 2010 Llangollen In- ternational Music Eisteddfod in Wales, United Kingdom. The event is the oldest and considered by many as the most pres- tigious choral competition in the world. The UST Singers, under the Juan Paulo Azul, Joshua Jenaro Badilla, baton of founding director and profes- Marlo Balantucas, Ronald Allan Bautista, sor Fidel Gener Calalang, Jr., has Jeanra Bometivo, Eunice Escrupolo, En- continuously reaped accolades and rico Gomez, Donna Kheyza Hipolito, Flo- recognition in the international choral rencia Marlia Kustandi, Maria Lucia scene, including Choir of the World Lapido, Maria Melina Mariano, Vida- (COTW) in 1995. Winning the COTW grace Kahlil Mirang, Juan Alfonso Men- this year makes them the first and only doza, Jaimie Rose Mojica, Irene choir in the history of Llangollen to Quiso-Ednave, Ma. Pilar Charlene have won the coveted award twice. Ramos, Jayron Rezaba, Jade Rubis Ric- The UST Singers include: May cio, Marc Andrei Reyes, Jessie Louie Anne Abeleda, Vernie Fernan Singh, Roberto Gabriel Tagalog, Jeme- wherein choirs proclaimed as champions in five The UST Singers at the 2010 Llangollen International Music competition after being declared as the Choir of Abando, Marie Alethea Ysabel Adri- major categories—Mixed Choir, Chamber son Tiburan and Anthony Villanueva. the World - Luciano Pavarotti Grand Prize winner ano, Aubrey Faith Arevalo, Karen The Choir of the World Competition Choir, All-Male Choir, All-Female Choir and Bar- Stephanie Arriola, Noel P. Azcona, is the highlight of the competition (continued on page 4) Franchise Expo Puts RP Number of Pinoy Nurses in Global Franchise Map Seeking US Jobs Drops By Delon PORCALLA by 33% ANILA, Philippines - The By Mayen JAYMALIN Franchise Expo 2010 is Msuccessfully putting the ANILA, Philippines – The number of Philippines in the global franchise Filipino nurses seeking employment map as the event draws the partic- M in the United States continues to ipation of big foreign players and drop dramatically, the Trade Union Con- industry associations in Asia and gress of the Philippines (TUCP) reported beyond. yesterday. Aside from the current crop of TUCP secretary-general and former international franchise brands on senator Ernesto Herrera said Filipinos who the Philippine market, new foreign sought jobs in the US fell by one-third in the franchisors occupy a significant number of franchise associations, among others. first semester of the year. the expo’s more than 330 exhibit booths, Even the guests of honor include for- (continued on page 4) Philippine nurses giving prospective franchisees a wider eign dignitaries such as Italian Ambassa- array of lucrative businesses to invest in. dor Luca Fornari, Domestic Business HAWAII FILIPINO CHRONICLE PRESORTED 94-356 WAIPAHU DEPOT RD., 2ND FLR. STANDARD They include such foreign brands as Development and Enterprise Registration U.S. POSTAGE Baskin Robbins, Bistro Holdings, Caruso Director Dede Hidayat of the Indonesian WAIPAHU, HI 96797 PAID HONOLULU, HI Restorante Italiano, Kushi-Tei, Q-dees, Trade Ministry, and US expert and Syn- PERMIT NO. 9661 Subway, and Trung Nguyen; and foreign ergy Franchise Group president Christo- industry groups like the Korean Chamber, pher Simnick. Thai Embassy, and India and Indonesia (continued on page 4) HAWAII FILIPINO CHRONICLE - NEWS EDITION 2 EDITORIAL JULY 24, 2010 Public School Furloughs May Have Had One Benefit ducators, parents and politicians…guess stretch given their considerable disparity in what? Student performance has not been skill and knowledge, the cognitive process of Eaffected by this academic year’s public learning follows a similar pattern. school furloughs as woefully forecasted. Amid the rant and brouhaha over nearly AREAS TO EXPLORE three weeks of lost class instruction, public What educators ought to explore are school students surprised everyone by making new and creative means of teaching beyond gains in reading and math test scores. strict classroom-lecture guidelines. The If educators are really honest with them- painfully incremental improvements, if any at selves and have students’ best interest in mind, all, year in and year out in Hawaii’s public the unexpected pick up in test results deserves school standardized tests suggests that the some investigating. We’re not suggesting that status quo is not working. In addition to in- less school days are better for our children. In- dependent studies during the school day, stead, perhaps we need to look at what went perhaps using computer games to test stu- right during students’ time away, specifically the dents’ knowledge of materials or fun group concept of efficient, well-organized independent interactions that help to retain course mate- studying. rials may develop students’ learning abilities. Does hands-on, independent work actually The bottom line is that any method encour- help students more effectively grasp course- aging students to enjoy learning and whet work and enable them to perform better on their appetites for more knowledge might standardized tests? This should be the question to examine. If so, it complement traditional lecture instruction. makes sense that some form of mechanism to allow more inde- pendent study be integrated into the school curriculum. KUDOS For this year’s public school students whose academic lives were IMPROVED TEST RESULTS surrounded by external political bickering at all ends (including politi- According to the recent Hawaii State Assessment test, students cians, parents and educators), we applaud you for remaining focused did better than the previous year without furloughs—close to half of and performing under disruptive circumstances. If a silver lining does Hawaii’s schools (141) met progress goals under No Child Left Be- exist over the whole furlough mess, one could be that new methods hind (NCLB) requirements, up by over 10 percent; 67 percent of stu- of instruction, supplemented by more time for independent study and dents tested proficient in reading, up by 2 percent; 49 percent scored creative exercises of coursework, be considered by the State De- proficient in math, up by 5 percent. partment of Education to improve student performance. The reasons for the gain may be attributed to other probable fac- A small jump in one test can easily be disregarded as a fluke, but tors such as increased efforts among low-performing groups and new if that is the attitude some might be taking, why pay any attention to tutoring programs. But such ongoing efforts do not explain the sud- tests at all? den lift in performance in this year’s unique, furlough academic year. LETTERS In a peculiar way of looking at what transpired, the furloughs could be viewed as a social-academic experiment that may highlight some MUFI DID NOT SUFFER MEMORY LAPSE benefit. The letter from Ernesto C. Lucas in your July 12th issue (“Give Mufi A Break”) stating that the omission of Mayor Hanneman is old fashioned memory lapse and sloppy work by his ad- It’s already proven that at the collegiate and university level, the ministrative assistant, secretary or editors is unfair and an insult to Mayor Hannemann who is independence standard seems to work best—classroom instruction known for his intelligence. I am very sure that the mayor has a sharp and retentive mind. It is time is minimal compared with the extensive hours students spend on naive and illogical to defend Mayor Hannemann with such reasons and the writer should know better how to defend him. independent research and projects. Even though measuring up the Wilma L. Albano two groups—grade school students to university students—is a Honolulu HAWAII-PHILIPPINE NEWS EDITION Contributing Writers Advertising/Marketing Director Columnists Calvin Alonzo, O.D., Clement Bautista, Linda Chona A. Montesines-Sonido Charlie Y. SONIDO, M.D. Carlota Ader Dela Cruz, Fiedes Doctor, Gregory Bren Garcia, Publisher and Executive Editor Carlo Cadiz, M.D. Danny de Gracia II, Amelia Jacang, M.D., Account Executives Sen. Will Espero Caroline Julian, Paul Melvin Palalay, M.D., Carlota Ader Chona A. Grace F. Fong, Ed.D. Glenn Wakai J. P. Orias MONTESINES-SONIDO Mayor Mufi Hannemann Creative Designer Big Island Distributor Publisher and Managing Editor Governor Linda Lingle Junggoi Peralta Ruth Elynia Mabanglo, Ph.D. Grace Larson Dennis GALOLO J. P. Orias Philippine Correspondent Ditas Udani Edwin QUINABO Pacita Saludes Guil Franco Reuben S. Seguritan, Esq. Maui Distributor Associate Editors Photographer Cecile Piros Charlie Sonido, M.D. Tim Llena Randall SHIROMA Emmanuel S. Tipon,Esq. Felino S. Tubera Administrative Assistant Molokai Distributor Design Consultant Sylvia Yuen, Ph.D. Shalimar Pagulayan Maria Watanabe The Hawaii Filipino Chronicle is published weekly by the Hawaii Filipino Chronicle Inc. It is mailed directly to subscribers and distributed at various outlets around Oahu and the neighbor islands. Editorial and advertising deadlines are three weeks prior to publication date. Subscriptions are available at $75 per year for Oahu and the neighbor islands, continental U.S. $85, foreign country $95. Copyright 2007. The Hawaii Filipino Chronicle Inc. is located at 94-356 Waipahu Depot, Waipahu, HI 96797. Telephone: (808) 678-8930. Facsimile: (808) 678-1829. E-mail: [email protected]. Opinions expressed by the columnists and contributors do not necessarily reflect those of the Hawaii Filipino Chronicle management. Reproduction of the contents in whole or in part is prohibited without written permission from the management. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA. HAWAII FILIPINO CHRONICLE - NEWS EDITION JULY 24, 2010 OPEN FORUM 3 Stand Tall, Stand Proud Mufi Hannemann! that night titled “Stand Tall” was the highlight of the evening.