UPAA-HK keeps up the fun as it elects new officers

By The SUN

The happy bunch from UPAA-HK pose for a group photo

Covid or not, the University of the Philippines Alumni Association of Hong Kong (UPAA-HK) has continued its tradition of holding its annual Christmas party and election of officers this year.

The event, held on Saturday, Dec 3, at the Platform in Sai Ying Pun, was made more fun by a trivia quiz show that has become a staple of many UPAA-HK gatherings, a raffle draw, as well as a sumptuous dinner all put together by the outgoing officers led by president JV Villafuerte.

Elected as officers for year 2023 were: Klervin John B. Collado, president; Rey Oliver P. Favros, vice president; Marie Abigail G. Perez, secretary; Simon Alec J. Askin, treasurer; Carmela Emilia S.A. Biag, P.R.O.; and Kalayaan F. Magno, auditor.

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They were immediately inducted into office by guest speaker, Vice Consul Angelo D.G. Manuel, himself an alumnus of UP.

Vice Consul Manuel took the opportunity to invite the newcomers in Hong Kong to register for the next overseas voting for Filipinos which will take place in 2024.

The new officers take their oath before Vice Consul Gelo Manuel

In his report to the membership, Villafuerte recalled the difficulty of keeping the organization going amid the severe restrictions imposed by the Hong Kong government as the fifth and deadliest wave of the pandemic took hold in the first part of the year.

“Despite the daunting task ahead, UPAA-HK was able to stage various activities that developed camaraderie among its members while contributing to society by conducting an online talk for OFWs and participating in the conduct of the overseas voting for the 2022 Philippine elections,” he said.

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Apart from these community projects, and amid the strict social gathering rules, members found a way to hold fellowship nights, including eTambayan in March when members were asked to gather via zoom to eat and drink together, and play games.

In October, they had a successful face-to-face trivia night and fundraising event dubbed “Patalinuhan 2022”at David Bistro Café in Sheung Wan.

Villafuerte (seated, leftmost) with past officers and Collado with the current ones

Asked what advice he would give to the next batch of officers, Villafuerte said they should “continue to foster goodwill within the UPAA-HK community, to serve fellow Filipinos in HK whenever possible, and to remember to enjoy the journey.”

He added, “At the end of the day, it is all worth it.”

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Apart from Villafuerte, who graduated from UP with a degree in business economics (1997); the other outgoing officers are: Charo Logarta Lagamon, vice president; Joane Rabang Mata, secretary; Chad de Guzman, treasurer; Tess Turingan, PRO; and Lucky Bunao, auditor.

 

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Kulong at multa ang parusa sa 2 Pilipinang nagnakaw

 

Kaukulang parusa ang natamo ng dalawang Pilipina sa korte sa Kwun Tong at West Kowloon

Dalawang Pilipina ang umamin sa pagnanakaw at napatawan ngayon ng kaukulang parusa sa magkahiwalay na pagdinig sa korte.

Si Maxima Elsie Quirit, 34 taong gulang, ay pinatawan ng apat na linggong pagkakakulong sa dalawang kaso ng pagnanakaw sa kanyang amo sa tinitirhan nila sa Kai Yip Road sa Kowloon Bay, Kowloon.

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Ang unang kaso ay nangyari noong nakaraang Pebrero nang kunin niya ang isang singsing na brilyante na may halagang $40,000.

Ang ikalawa ay noong April 1, nang nakawin niya ang isang kwintas na may palawit na krus na may brilyante, at isang gintong pulseras na nagkakahalaga ng $11,800.

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Ayon sa salaysay ng pulis na sinang-ayunan ni Quirit, siya ang pinaghinalaan nang mapansin ng amo na nawawala ang kanyang mga alahas sa drawer na pinagtaguan nito sa master bedroom ng bahay.

Tumawag siya ng pulis at hinalughog ang mga gamit ni Quirit. Nakita doon ang  mga resibo ng sanglaan.

Nang tubusin sa sanglaan ang nasa resibo, nakompirma na ang mga alahas na ito ang mga nawawala ng amo. Umabot lang sa $850 ang naging sangla sa alahas.

Sa kanyang apela upang mapagaan ang parusa ni Quirit, sinabi ng kanyang abogado na napilitan itong magnakaw dahil nawalan ng trabaho ang kanyang asawa sa Pilipinas kaya siya na lang ang inaasahang bumuhay sa kanilang anak na babae.

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Nalubog din siya sa utang na umabot sa $20,000.

Pero sinabi ni Magistrate Minnie Wat ng Kwun Tong Court na dahil kasama sa krimeng ito ang paglabag ng tiwala, at dahil na rin sa malaking halaga ng mga ninakaw, hindi maiiwasan ang kulong bilang parusa.

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Pinatawan niya si Quirit ng tig-anim na linggong pagkabilanggo sa dalawang kaso. Dahil sa pag-amin niya,  binawasan ang mga ito ng tig-dalawang linggo. At dahil ang natirang mga parusa ay pagsisilbihan niya nang sabay, ang kabuuang parusa ay naging apat na linggo.

Samantala, sa West Kowloon Magistracy, pinagmulta ng $1,000 si Apryl Ruth Peningeo matapos siyang umamin na nag-shoplift sa sangay ng Wellcome Supermarket sa Mei Foo Sun Chuen sa Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon noong Nov. 25.

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Ang ninakaw niya: tatlong pakete ng gulay, isang pakete ng tinapay, at isang pakete ng salmon na nagkakahalaga ng kabuuang $138.

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PAHK holds first election in 3 years

By The SUN

PAHK's incoming Board of Directors after the election in 'bahay kubo' of St Joseph's Church

The Philippine Association of Hong Kong, the oldest organization of Filipino professionals and entrepreneurs in the city, had its first Annual General Meeting and election of officers for the first time in three years last Saturday night at the St Joseph’s Church grounds in Central.

PAHK, which was founded in 1961, was unable to hold an election as well as its traditional events like the annual Philippine Independence Day Ball starting in 2020 due to the pandemic.

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But the current board managed to stage a dinner concert titled "Paskong Pinoy" in December last year.

Thus, Katherine de Guzman, who was elected in December 2019, became a holdover chairperson of the association for the past three years.

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The only other time the June Independence Day Ball was not held was in 2003, when Hong Kong was gripped by a deadly outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). Instead, a PAHK Goes Bayanihan ball was held in October that year, along with a Filcom show in Chater Garden.

PAHK members had dinner before the election

Elected as the 15 members of the PAHK Board of Directors for 2023 are: Estephanie Chan of Philippine Airlines, Marc Gonda of Philippine National Bank, Lucas Reganit of BDO Remit, Miguel Rubio of AGM Financial Group, Victorino Baltazar of International Montessori School, Mark Yabut of Metrobank, Paul Joseph dela Cruz of Pacific Ace, Yolanda Marquez of AFreight, Eric Goyena of LBC, Noel Tabernilla of PLDT, Noemi Selomenio of Kath & Mine, Joefrey Fajardo of Bank of the Philippine Islands, Pol Elago of PCL and Julius Barcela of Metrobank.

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The new directors will meet this week to elect the new officers, including the chairman and the vice-chairman, who will play key roles in steering the organization toward achieving its goals of fostering camaraderie among members while undertaking projects that benefit the Filipino community as a whole.

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Fate softball team marks 10th anniversary

 

Fate's new team manager Pamela Law helps Coach David Wong
put on the new uniform while team captain Dan Gaborno looks on

Fate, the softball team made up of Filipino domestic workers, celebrated today its 10^th anniversary and promotion to the Premier League of the HK Softball Association with a day-long get-together with supporters.

The team earned the promotion after topping the Women’s B League, defeating all four local teams in a round-robin tournament at the Shek Kip Mei Park Sports Centre last October.

The Women’s A League starts Dec. 18.

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The celebration, which was also to pay homage to their late manager Law Wai Ho, their team manager who they all called “Daddy”, was held at the HKSA softball field in Ho Man Tin, Kowloon.

Lau’s daughter Pamela, who took over as team manager, said she looks forward to another 10 years with the team.

“I hope you go further in the (top) league,” she said.

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“I’m still getting to know the members and all the friends that my father met through this team,” she added. “I want to continue his legacy.’

Pamela introduced the team’s new coach, David Wong, who used to coach the Sluggers, a baseball team also made up of Filipino domestic helpers, which has disbanded.

Wong said the team has the potential to win the championship of the top league, but realizing that potential needs a lot of work.     

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“You have the potential to place top or second. But we need to work hard to get there,” he said.

Don Gaborno, the team captain, agreed. "We need to train harder because the teams in Group A have members of the Hong Kong team playing for them. They are really much stronger than the Group B teams."

During the program, their new manager also unveiled the new team uniform.

There used to be three Filipino teams, with Fate as the most successful in softball tournaments pitting it with local teams in the B Division.

In baseball, the Filipinos competed as Sluggers and Buffaloes, which have since disbanded.

Some of their members have joined Fate which has survived despite the pandemic.

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Filipino fund-raising for St Joseph’s Church underway

By The SUN

Parish priest Fr John Tan says mass before the start of the fundraising event

A two-day fundraising for the renovation of St Joseph’s Church in Central kicked off on Saturday, Dec 4, with several Filipino community leaders and organizations taking part.

The festivities opened with a holy mass on the church parking lot, led by parish priest Fr. Joseph Tan Leitao. This was followed by a ribbon-cutting, with company representatives were asked to take part.

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Among the guests were Consul Paul Saret, who represented Consul General Raly Tejada, Bayanihan trustee Lourdes Salazar, Hong Kong Musicians Union chairman Lito Castillo, and officers of various Filipino companies. Host was Michael Vincent of MetroPlus radio station.

Father Joseph said the event was aimed at raising funds to cover the shortfall for the current year’s targeted budget of $6 million. He was confident the nearly $2 million that has yet to be raised would be met by the next quarterly assessment at the end of December.

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The parish priest gave special thanks to “ordinary Filipinos,” including migrant domestic workers, whose donations covered 20% of the total amount raised for the refurbishment of the 54-year-old church building. The rest of the money came from wealthy parishioners and other generous donors.

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“In the beginning we were thinking about, maybe 5% of the donation for the whole fundraising would come from the Filipino community, but in the end, 20% came from ordinary Filipino people,” he said. “It was more than what we expected.”

Salazar, who spearheaded the two-day fundraising drive, said the organizers wanted to “encourage” Filipino companies to also pitch in for the upkeep of the church that has been a “a home away from home” for many Filipino migrants.

A traditional Filipino “bahay kubo” or nipa house set up in a part of the church’s compound gives testament to how well-entrenched the Filipinos are in St Joseph’s.

Guests gather inside the 'bahay kubo' in the church compound

Fr Joseph said originally, the idea was just to set up a temporary shelter for Filipino volunteers around one of the huge trees in the compound. The idea caught on, however, so that the area is now roofed and walled-in with palm fronds and bamboo.

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To reach out to more Filipino Catholics, Fr Joseph is planning to record on video his traditional Christmas message to the community, and have it aired on social media before the start of the Filipino tradition of “simbang gabi” on Dec 15.

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Salazar said another upcoming event to watch out for is the enthronement of the Black Nazarene at St Joseph’s next Sunday, Dec 11, during the 10am mass, with a delegation from Quiapo church joining the ceremony.

Quiapo is home to probably the biggest statue of the Black Nazarene in the country, and the annual procession held in its honor attracts hordes of people who mostly walk barefoot as a sign of penance.

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