Filipino News June 2017
New Zealand's only Filipino Community Newspaper since 2000. websites: www.filipinonews.nz and www.pinoynzlife.nz ; FB page: Filipino Migrant News ; email: filipinonews@xtra.co.nz
New Zealand's only Filipino Community Newspaper since 2000. websites: www.filipinonews.nz and www.pinoynzlife.nz ; FB page: Filipino Migrant News ; email: filipinonews@xtra.co.nz
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
1Number<br />
PINOYS #1 COMMUNITY PAPER SINCE 2000<br />
Two Editions Fortnightly : NZ wide & South Island.<br />
Print. Web. Tablet. Mobile. FB. YouTube.<br />
Vol 8 No 102<br />
JUNE <strong>2017</strong><br />
North<br />
and<br />
South<br />
Island<br />
W: www.filipinonews.nz, www.pinoynzlife.nz | E: filipinonews@xtra.co.nz | M: 027 495 8477 P: 09 838 1221 | F: <strong>Filipino</strong> Migrant <strong>News</strong><br />
www.filipinoheroes.nz<br />
From left: Ayla Motencio,<br />
Binibining <strong>Filipino</strong> <strong>News</strong> 2013<br />
Sheena Meryl, Binibining<br />
<strong>Filipino</strong> <strong>News</strong> 2016<br />
Seresa Lapaz, Miss Universe<br />
New Zealand Runner Up<br />
Shekinah Delos Santos,<br />
Miss Universe NZ 2107 Finalist<br />
Photo credit: Virgillio Santos<br />
Wow! 119th Philippine Independence Day Commemoration<br />
Mt Albert War Memorial Hall, Auckland. www.filipinoheroes.nz<br />
Star attraction: The DC Boys<br />
Finding beauty in NZ<br />
17<br />
JUNE<br />
pg04
02 JUNE <strong>2017</strong>. ISSUE 102 | www.filipinonews.nz | email: filipinonews@xtra.co.nz | tel: 027 495 8477, 09 838 1221 | Facebook: <strong>Filipino</strong> Migrant <strong>News</strong><br />
By LOUIE ENCABO<br />
<strong>Filipino</strong>-Kiwi Hero<br />
Awards - Journalist of<br />
the Year 2014<br />
The <strong>Filipino</strong> hero Dr.<br />
Jose Rizal once remarked<br />
that “the youth are the hope<br />
for our country’s tomorrow”.<br />
With that line he<br />
emphasized the importance<br />
of developing our young<br />
and properly equipping<br />
them to lead the nation in<br />
the future.<br />
It cannot be denied then<br />
that in this year’s general<br />
elections we not only need<br />
to think of ways to help our<br />
home-owners, our jobseekers<br />
and our elderly, but we<br />
should also look at policies<br />
that will greatly benefit our<br />
youth.<br />
We like to think that<br />
enough has been done.<br />
Primary and secondary<br />
school students enjoy<br />
access to tuition-free education<br />
and free dental<br />
check-ups until the age of<br />
18. However, life is not so<br />
easy for university students,<br />
many of whom are<br />
struggling under the burden<br />
of their student loans, compounded<br />
by the harsh reality<br />
of a good paying job<br />
Put our students first<br />
being hard to come by. To<br />
top it all off the price of<br />
housing is ever-increasing,<br />
which further hinders our<br />
young adults from succeeding.<br />
Faced with seemingly<br />
insurmountable inconveniences,<br />
political will is necessary<br />
to help the plight of<br />
our young.<br />
The Labour Party has<br />
recently offered a policy<br />
which will give three free<br />
years of post-school education<br />
for school leavers; the<br />
plan includes university,<br />
apprenticeship or postgraduate<br />
study and can be<br />
used on a full-time or parttime<br />
basis. The three years<br />
do not all have to be used<br />
up at once, but can only be<br />
applied to educational<br />
pathways approved by the<br />
NZQA.<br />
The plan, while helpful,<br />
has been criticized for not<br />
being useful to those who<br />
wish to pursue medicine or<br />
engineering degrees, which<br />
often take at least five years<br />
to complete.<br />
The Green Party, on<br />
the other hand, wants to<br />
introduce a cap on tertiary<br />
education fees, preventing<br />
any fee increases, according<br />
to their Party website. It<br />
can also be recalled that at<br />
the last election they campaigned<br />
to introduce free<br />
off-peak public transport<br />
for students, which would<br />
alleviate some of the other<br />
costs students face while<br />
pursuing their studies.<br />
These would be of great<br />
help to our students, but the<br />
policies have been criticized<br />
for not going far<br />
enough to ease the burden<br />
faced by our tertiary students.<br />
New Zealand First has<br />
also recently announced a<br />
tertiary education policy,<br />
the Up Front Investment<br />
Policy, which promises to<br />
wipe off the student loans<br />
of graduates who agree to<br />
work in New Zealand for<br />
the same amount of time<br />
that they have studied. If<br />
you borrow three years<br />
worth of student loans you<br />
would have to work for<br />
three years in New Zealand<br />
to wipe them off. It turns a<br />
student’s cash debt into a<br />
EDUCATION STAND @ Migrant <strong>News</strong> Expo (migrantnews@xtra.co.nz)<br />
www.migrantnews.nz; www.asia2nz.com<br />
skill debt instead, not only<br />
reducing the financial burdens<br />
they face, but also<br />
reducing the skills shortage<br />
the country faces.<br />
Regardless of what criticisms<br />
these policies face,<br />
they certainly will help the<br />
lives of our younger generation.<br />
It is also heartening<br />
to know that these parties<br />
have the plight of our students<br />
in mind and have<br />
officially pledged to help<br />
them.<br />
FREE COPIES OF<br />
MIGRANT NEWS:<br />
If your club or non-profit<br />
community group requires<br />
free bulk copies of<br />
Migrant <strong>News</strong> we have a<br />
‘Free Subscription’ campaign<br />
going on for a limited<br />
time. Please apply by<br />
emailing your contact<br />
details to: migrantnews<br />
@xtra.co.nz<br />
Migrant <strong>News</strong> celebrates 27 years of publication<br />
MIGRANT NEWS (www.migrantnews.nz; migrantnews@xtra.co.nz) was launched in<br />
1991 - one of the first ethnic publications in NZ and distributed free of charge nationwide.<br />
As the migrant population<br />
starting growing by leaps<br />
and bounds, offshoots of the<br />
main newspaper were<br />
launched - FILIPINO<br />
MIGRANT NEWS (www.<br />
filipinonews.nz - nationwide<br />
circulation), PinoyNZ<br />
Life (www.pinoynzlife.nz -<br />
South Island’s <strong>Filipino</strong><br />
newspaper) and ASIAN<br />
MIGRANT NEWS (www.<br />
asia2nz.com the voice of<br />
the broader Asian community<br />
in New Zealand).
JUNE <strong>2017</strong>. ISSUE 102 | www.filipinonews.nz | email: filipinonews@xtra.co.nz | Facebook: <strong>Filipino</strong> Migrant <strong>News</strong> www.pinoynzlife.nz 03 BUHAY<br />
NZ<br />
SUNRISE,<br />
SUNSET<br />
One photo shows my hubby lifting his<br />
older nephew above his head while<br />
the child pretended to be flying.<br />
Today, that same nephew is even<br />
taller than hubby and is the proud<br />
father of a one year old boy.<br />
I’m sure that many of our<br />
readers with children can<br />
relate to the song ‘Sunrise,<br />
Sunset’, which is about the<br />
passing of time. This message<br />
was brought sharply<br />
home to me when I looked at<br />
my two nieces the other day<br />
and realized that they were<br />
already young women.<br />
My older niece, who is<br />
turning 21 this year, exudes<br />
a confidence and maturity<br />
beyond her years and I recall<br />
many, many years ago when<br />
I held her for the first time in<br />
my arms. I still have that<br />
picture. She was newly born,<br />
an infant who was a mere<br />
few days old. Today, she<br />
stands before me confident<br />
and sometimes cocky, as is<br />
typical of youth. She told me<br />
once to “get with it, Tita;<br />
come into the 21st century”,<br />
referring to some technology<br />
that I was unfamiliar with.<br />
The other niece, no less<br />
cocky, asked hubby when he<br />
asked for some help with his<br />
smartphone, “why do you<br />
have such a crappy phone?”<br />
And then when he did<br />
upgrade to a newer one she<br />
had the cheek to tell him,<br />
“it’s the wrong model.”<br />
Hubby and I could only<br />
laugh. It amazes me how<br />
outspoken and honest they<br />
can be. However, we wouldn’t<br />
have it any other way.<br />
I was sure it was only yesterday<br />
that I was the cocky<br />
one, showing off to my parents<br />
the knowledge and<br />
information I learned from<br />
school and the world around<br />
me, assuming an air of<br />
worldliness in my newfound<br />
confidence of knowing more<br />
than them. How did<br />
I end up on this<br />
side<br />
This Pinay’s<br />
OPINION<br />
By Dr Lilia Sevillano<br />
of life? How come I now<br />
find myself in the same<br />
place as my parents?<br />
Don’t get me wrong, middle<br />
age certainly has its<br />
advantages and perks, but<br />
time just crept up on me!<br />
Where I used to tease my<br />
niece a lot, and played<br />
games with her like trying to<br />
steal her favorite ice-cream<br />
can from her, she now looks<br />
at me the way I looked at my<br />
parents and older people<br />
then – with a bit of a longsuffering<br />
and amused smile,<br />
confident of her ‘superior’<br />
Photo<br />
features models<br />
knowledge over them.<br />
“I don’t remember growing<br />
older, when did they?...<br />
Swiftly fly the years.” Truly,<br />
the years have a funny way<br />
of just flowing from day to<br />
day, month to month and<br />
year to year, without our<br />
noticing it. In our busy lives<br />
and with our focus on everyday<br />
responsibilities and<br />
challenges we just do not<br />
notice the passing of time.<br />
Then suddenly – boom! -<br />
you’re actually older and<br />
find yourself on the other<br />
side of the fence.<br />
I guess the lesson in<br />
all this is to enjoy the<br />
children, their innocence<br />
and dependence<br />
on you while<br />
you can. Spend as<br />
much at time with<br />
them as possible and<br />
actually savor those<br />
moments. All too swiftly<br />
you’ll be the one<br />
who’ll be in need of their<br />
assistance and guidance.<br />
Where you used to hold their<br />
little hands in your big<br />
strong ones, soon their big<br />
stronger hands will be holding<br />
your withered ones.<br />
They will also – too quickly<br />
– be busy with their own<br />
lives, friends and social<br />
activities. This switching of<br />
places is probably most evident<br />
to mothers, as they are<br />
the carers who live more<br />
closely with their children.<br />
But even those who are on<br />
the periphery of caring for<br />
children, like aunts and<br />
uncles, will still notice the<br />
subtle changes.<br />
Hubby is one example. He<br />
has photos of his nephews<br />
when they were children.<br />
One photo shows him lifting<br />
his older nephew above his<br />
head while the child pretended<br />
to be flying. Today, that<br />
same nephew is even taller<br />
than hubby and is the proud<br />
father of a one year old boy.<br />
I tease hubby by telling him<br />
that his nephew can now lift<br />
him above his head!<br />
When our ‘children’ come<br />
to visit the conversations can<br />
range from the inane to the<br />
serious. It is then that I realize<br />
that they have truly<br />
become our peers, because<br />
we can talk to them about<br />
anything now. It also<br />
becomes more apparent that<br />
there are already things they<br />
know which I don’t, reminding<br />
me again of the words<br />
from another song, “they’ll<br />
learn much more than I’ll<br />
ever know.” Every sunrise<br />
and sunset time ever so subtly<br />
brings changes.<br />
Editor - Dr Lilia Sevillano is<br />
a learning consultant at Massey<br />
University with a background in<br />
Literature. Previously she<br />
taught at De La Salle University<br />
in Manila.
04 JUNE <strong>2017</strong>. ISSUE 102 | www.filipinonews.nz | email: filipinonews@xtra.co.nz | tel: 027 495 8477, 09 838 1221 | www.pinoynzlife.nz<br />
CHIKA<br />
MUNA<br />
By REW SHEARER<br />
Inna<br />
It’s the kind of remark, unsolicited, from<br />
a cousin, an aunt, an uncle or a friend, that<br />
is inevitable on a return visit to the<br />
Philippines.<br />
“Ngek! Ang taba at itim mo na!” (“Gee,<br />
you’ve got so chubby and dark!”)<br />
Many are understandably offended; most<br />
bite their tongues. The few who might call<br />
out the rudeness find it quickly deflected<br />
with the claim that “it’s just the <strong>Filipino</strong><br />
way”. And whether such bluntly personal<br />
comments are the <strong>Filipino</strong><br />
way or not remains an<br />
ongoing discussion.<br />
But there is an additional<br />
underlying attitude betrayed by those<br />
comments; that thinness and fairness are<br />
the measures of beauty and that, automatically,<br />
bigger or darker is uglier.<br />
It’s a beauty expectation absorbed at a<br />
very young age in the Philippines, particularly<br />
by girls and it’s not uncommon for<br />
young women who are beautiful in their<br />
own right to feel anything but: doubting and<br />
even hating themselves because of a measurement<br />
here, a skin-tone there, reinforced<br />
by body-shaming disguised, in a uniquely<br />
<strong>Filipino</strong> way, as humour – “Jokes lang!<br />
Hihi.”<br />
This beauty bias is endemic and brutal.<br />
Actors, models, even politicians are criticised<br />
mercilessly for the colour of their skin.<br />
Any TV star who is not stick-thin will struggle<br />
to find success in any arena other than<br />
comedy.<br />
Finding Beauty<br />
in New Zealand<br />
New Zealand, by contrast,<br />
has a somewhat<br />
broader – although by no<br />
means all-embracing –<br />
concept of beauty. Any<br />
colour can be beautiful<br />
and it can be argued that<br />
there is much more liberal<br />
acceptance of different<br />
figures, too. Perhaps New<br />
Zealand’s more diverse<br />
population, in which<br />
beauty appears in every<br />
shape, size and hue, tends<br />
to open the eyes of the<br />
beholder a little wider.<br />
Inna, 29 (pictured),<br />
came to New Zealand as a<br />
teenager. In the Philippines<br />
she had been<br />
labelled<br />
too chubby<br />
and<br />
too dark<br />
and it<br />
showed in<br />
her shyness.<br />
But after a couple of<br />
years immersed in New<br />
Zealand with<br />
friends of<br />
many different<br />
ethnicities<br />
and being accepted<br />
instead of criticised, she<br />
began to see her place on<br />
a spectrum of beauty.<br />
Confidence in herself followed<br />
and now Inna is, in<br />
her own words,<br />
“Black, chubby<br />
and proud!<br />
Kiwis love my<br />
skin colour”.<br />
Paola, 28, has<br />
experienced the<br />
comments from cousins,<br />
uncles and aunts.<br />
“When I was<br />
in the Philippines<br />
I did a<br />
whitening treatment.”<br />
But back in New<br />
Zealand her perspective<br />
has been res-tored. “I’m<br />
more confident here,<br />
because they like my<br />
colour,” she laughs.<br />
Others echo the sentiment.<br />
Lyn,<br />
a 32 year old nurse and<br />
now naturalised Kiwi: “I<br />
feel a lot more confident<br />
with myself in NZ. There<br />
are fewer unnecessary<br />
comments thrown in relation<br />
to my skin, weight,<br />
sexuality and all the rest.”<br />
Josephine, 40, feels the<br />
heat in more ways than<br />
one whenever she returns<br />
to the Philippines. Rather<br />
than suffer the remarks<br />
and criticisms and disapproving<br />
looks she wears<br />
long sleeves and long<br />
pants even on the hottest<br />
days, saving the singlets<br />
and shorts for New<br />
Zealand where she feels<br />
more comfortable baring<br />
her skin.<br />
For some, though, the<br />
struggle goes on, even in<br />
New Zealand. Anna, 22:<br />
“You realise that nothing’s<br />
going to change<br />
about your body. You just<br />
end up accepting it. I can<br />
say that I love my colour<br />
anytime … even though I<br />
just accept it. They’ll<br />
never know.”<br />
All agreed that the narrow-minded<br />
view of beauty<br />
so prevalent in the<br />
Philippines is sad and<br />
that there is so much to be<br />
celebrated here in New<br />
Zealand.<br />
Inna sums up her experience<br />
in a sentence: “In<br />
general, here in New<br />
Zealand, I feel like I fit in<br />
fine no matter what size<br />
or colour I am.”<br />
Perhaps acceptance is<br />
the first step towards true<br />
self confidence and with<br />
it, more eyes can behold<br />
the full spectrum of beauty.
JUNE <strong>2017</strong>. ISSUE 102 | www.filipinonews.nz | email: filipinonews@xtra.co.nz | Facebook: <strong>Filipino</strong> Migrant <strong>News</strong> | www.migrantnews.nz 05<br />
What to do<br />
if you see<br />
flashing lights<br />
and hear<br />
sirens behind<br />
your car<br />
Of sirens and<br />
flashing lights ...<br />
m i g r a n t n e w s . n z<br />
By JESSICA PHUANG QSM<br />
Asian Liaison Coordinator<br />
NZ Police (Auckland)<br />
Jessica: Can you give us<br />
an example of a basic road<br />
safety rule that new drivers<br />
should focus on?<br />
Constable: In NZ we<br />
drive on the left side of the<br />
road, so whatever country<br />
you come from it is important<br />
to remember this and to<br />
concentrate when driving on<br />
the road.<br />
Jessica: I believe that in<br />
some countries the only person<br />
legally required to wear<br />
a seat belt is the driver. What<br />
is the law about this in New<br />
Zealand?<br />
Inspector: In NZ, everyone<br />
sitting in the car needs to<br />
wear a safety belt, whether<br />
sitting in the front or the<br />
back seat. If there aren’t<br />
enough safety belts for<br />
everyone, then that means<br />
that there are too many people<br />
in the car and that extra<br />
person cannot sit in that car<br />
Columnist Jessica Phuang chats with the Road Policing Manager of Auckland City District,<br />
Acting Inspector Matthew Knowsley and Constable Ed Fong, a Road Policing Officer.<br />
without wearing a safety<br />
belt, no matter how short the<br />
distance is.<br />
Jessica: What happens if<br />
someone is caught not wearing<br />
a safety belt?<br />
Inspector: It is a $150<br />
fine for each person not<br />
wearing a safety belt. If the<br />
person not wearing the seatbelt<br />
is under the age of 15<br />
years then the driver of the<br />
vehicle will be responsible<br />
and will receive the fine. If<br />
the person is over the age of<br />
15 years then the fine will be<br />
issued to that person.<br />
Jessica: What do you do<br />
when you hear a siren?<br />
Inspector: For any driver<br />
that is visiting NZ or has<br />
been in NZ for a short time,<br />
it is important to understand<br />
that when you hear a siren or<br />
see flashing lights behind<br />
you, you should pull over to<br />
the left of the road as much<br />
as possible to make way for<br />
the fire, ambulance or the<br />
police vehicle as all these<br />
services use flashing lights<br />
and sirens. It could be that<br />
the police wish to speak to<br />
you and want you to stop<br />
your car, so pull over to the<br />
left side of the road and stop.<br />
Don’t stop in the middle of<br />
the road.<br />
Jessica: Constable Fong,<br />
from your experience, what<br />
do people usually do when<br />
you put the siren on?<br />
Constable: Most people<br />
are pretty good and know<br />
how to pull over to the left<br />
side safely. However, we do<br />
have situations where drivers<br />
will keep going or where<br />
some will just brake suddenly.<br />
This can cause problems.<br />
By stopping suddenly the<br />
driver may cause a crash,<br />
especially if vehicles travelling<br />
behind their car in the<br />
same direction are travelling<br />
fast. Stopping a car in the<br />
middle of the road can also<br />
block traffic and<br />
cause a traffic jam, which<br />
may prevent the police from<br />
getting to an emergency.<br />
Jessica: What are some of<br />
the reasons why the police<br />
would turn their siren and<br />
flashing lights on?<br />
Inspector: It could be to<br />
stop a vehicle if the driver of<br />
that vehicle has broken the<br />
road rules such as not stopping<br />
at a stop sign or driving<br />
through a red light or it may<br />
be that the officer needs to<br />
get to an urgent job quickly,<br />
such as a robbery, serious<br />
assault or vehicle crash.<br />
Jessica: When police pull<br />
over a car should the driver<br />
come out of the car or<br />
remain inside the car?<br />
Constable: The driver<br />
should stay inside the car<br />
and wait for the police to go<br />
More Police<br />
news at<br />
website: migrantnews.nz<br />
over to him/her, especially if<br />
it is a busy road. The safest<br />
place for the driver to be in<br />
is inside the car.<br />
Jessica: I have received<br />
calls from people who have<br />
been given tickets because<br />
they were driving too slowly.<br />
Is that common?<br />
Inspector: Not so much in<br />
Auckland because of the<br />
congestion. However, the<br />
idea is to drive to the conditions<br />
within the posted speed<br />
limits. If they drive too<br />
slowly then they are impeding<br />
and slowing down the<br />
traffic flow.<br />
CONTINUES ON PG 6
06 JUNE <strong>2017</strong>. ISSUE 102 | www.filipinonews.nz | email: filipinonews@xtra.co.nz | tel: 027 495 8477, 09 838 1221 | www.pinoynzlife.nz<br />
www.halohalo.nz<br />
CONTINUES FROM PG 5<br />
websites: filipinonews.nz, pinoynzlife.nz<br />
DUE DILIGENCE. Acceptance of advertisements is at the discretion<br />
of the publisher. We encourage readers to practice due diligence when buying<br />
products and services. For advice contact resource centres like the Citizens<br />
Advice Bureau. If you wish to lodge a complaint against an advertiser don't<br />
hesitate to call <strong>Filipino</strong> Migrant <strong>News</strong> on: 027 495 8477 or email: filipinonews<br />
@xtra. co.nz.<br />
Make the right move with Donna.<br />
For your property needs,<br />
she is your heaven-sent ...<br />
Constable: There could also be<br />
incidents where people are slowing<br />
down to enjoy the scenery or for<br />
someone inside the car to take a photograph.<br />
The problem here is that<br />
other cars approaching from behind<br />
may not know that this car is driving<br />
at 40kmh or 50kmh in a 100kmh<br />
zone until it’s too late.<br />
Inspector: So, if you are a visitor<br />
and wish to enjoy the scenery, the<br />
best thing to do is to stop somewhere<br />
safe to do this and the reason for this<br />
advice is that NZ roads are dangerous.<br />
Jessica: If someone is driving and<br />
wishes to change lanes, normally we<br />
put the indicator on, look at the side<br />
and rear mirrors and then change. Are<br />
there any other things that we have to<br />
do in NZ?<br />
Constable: Head turn, turn to look<br />
back to ensure that it is safe before<br />
changing lanes.<br />
Inspector: You should give it 3<br />
seconds from the time you indicate to<br />
the time you check your mirrors to<br />
the time you turn your head to the<br />
time you move your car to properly<br />
ensure that it is safe to do so.<br />
Jessica: I normally indicate long<br />
before I wish to change lane or make<br />
a turn, is that wrong?<br />
Inspector: You shouldn't do that.<br />
Say you indicate 10 seconds before<br />
you need to change a lane or turn,<br />
you may confuse other drivers, that’s<br />
why we recommend 3-5 seconds.<br />
Jessica: What about the use of telephones?<br />
Constable: We find that people are<br />
using their mobiles, texting or talking,<br />
while driving, trying to do it<br />
beneath the steering wheel. This is<br />
illegal.<br />
Jessica: How many demerit points<br />
do you get for using a mobile while<br />
driving?<br />
Constable: 20 demerit points and a<br />
fine of $80.<br />
Inspector: If you get 100 demerit<br />
points within 2 years your driver’s<br />
licence will be suspended.<br />
Jessica Phuang Tel: 09 302 6421<br />
extension: 95421, Mob: 021 192<br />
0935, jessica.phuang@police.govt.nz<br />
DONNA RUGAY - Residential Sales<br />
M: 021 053 6319<br />
E: d.rugay@barfoot.co.nz<br />
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/<br />
DonnaRugayRealEstate<br />
Cnr Fort St & Commerce St, Akld Central<br />
Enjoy our home made sauce<br />
For your order contact: 027 925 2421<br />
Joel & Rowena (09) 214 3801<br />
HOMEMADE<br />
For more info follow us on<br />
Pipo’s Lechon<br />
Pinoy NZ Life<br />
Classifieds<br />
- very affordable!<br />
Text: 027 495 8477<br />
email:<br />
filipinonews@xtra.co.nz<br />
Process Workers<br />
We are looking for people who enjoy 'hands on' work and have a can do<br />
attitude for our South Auckland plant. This role requires that you work<br />
within a dusty, and warm environment as a process worker. You will be<br />
required to follow strict Health & Safety and Food Safety procedures.<br />
This role is based in Drury working Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and<br />
Friday 6am – 5pm.<br />
Applicants will be able to demonstrate they have:<br />
• A good Health and Safety record • Good verbal communication skills<br />
• A positive, enthusiastic, team approach<br />
• Be punctual and achieve a high attendance level<br />
• Good physical fitness, as manual work is required<br />
• These roles will involve a pre employment Health Assessment - which<br />
includes a drug test<br />
If this opportunity sounds like you please apply by sending your<br />
Cover Letter & CV to cynthia@dynamixstaff.co.nz or call 096347917
JUNE <strong>2017</strong>. ISSUE 102 | www.filipinonews.nz | email: filipinonews@xtra.co.nz | www.pinoynzlife.nz Facebook: <strong>Filipino</strong> Migrant <strong>News</strong> 07<br />
By MONET LU<br />
Martin Nievera:<br />
The man who<br />
would be ‘king’<br />
LOS ANGELES - He followed<br />
in the footsteps of his<br />
father, who sang for the<br />
group ‘S.O.S.’ (A Society of<br />
Seven) in Hawaii. He went<br />
back to his birthplace in<br />
1982 to pursue his musical<br />
career and released his first<br />
album that went platinum<br />
over the span of five months.<br />
Thus began the journey of<br />
the man who would be<br />
called ‘The Concert King'.<br />
Martin Nievera (Ramon<br />
Razon Nievera) was born on<br />
February 5, 1962, in Manila,<br />
the Philippines, to Bert<br />
Nievera and Conchita<br />
Razon. The Nievera family<br />
took up residence in the Bay<br />
Area in California in the late<br />
’70s. Martin graduated from<br />
Clayton Valley High School<br />
in Concord, California, in<br />
1980.<br />
Martin and I met almost<br />
30 years ago at his first concert<br />
with then wife Pops<br />
Fernandez. We’ve been<br />
friends since then, but I am<br />
still starstruck each time I<br />
meet him. The guy is my all<br />
time favourite performer. I<br />
will always be a fan, because<br />
he still amazes me with his<br />
performance. And his music<br />
is so timeless; it never fades<br />
- in fact it gets better with<br />
time.<br />
He is both an amazing<br />
songwriter and an amazing<br />
singer - a combo that solidified<br />
the trappings of the legendary<br />
performer that he<br />
was to become. His first<br />
album, ‘Take One', was a<br />
huge success; not the norm<br />
for a neophyte in the industry.<br />
And his talent opened<br />
another door to his impending<br />
stardom; it started his<br />
career in TV hosting. Martin<br />
co-hosted the TV variety<br />
show ‘Penthouse Live!’<br />
with (then) future wife Pops<br />
Fernandez, the Philippines’<br />
‘Concert Queen'.<br />
His second live performance<br />
in 1984, ‘The Best<br />
Gift', was also certified platinum.<br />
In 1987 ‘Penthouse<br />
Live!’ was changed to<br />
‘Martin and Pops Twogether',<br />
reflecting the duo’s<br />
marriage.<br />
While he is an exceptional<br />
singer in his own right, it is<br />
mostly his jovial on-stage<br />
personality that makes him a<br />
hit across generations. His<br />
mass appeal spread throughout<br />
the ‘80s and ‘90s as his<br />
albums and live performances<br />
were fanatically devoured.<br />
Martin’s 1997<br />
album 'Journey' was a hit in<br />
Hawaii and a roaring success<br />
in the Philippines. The track<br />
‘You Are My Song’ earned<br />
him Awit and Katha Awards<br />
for 'Best Performance by a<br />
Male Recording Artist'.<br />
“I was actually discovered<br />
while singing at the shower<br />
in our locker room. I was<br />
part of the basketball team,<br />
but not a very good one at<br />
that and I intentionally took<br />
a shower after everybody<br />
else had so it would seem<br />
like I had a tough game<br />
when I was actually a bench<br />
warmer … As I was singing<br />
the wrestling coach passed<br />
by and heard me, called out<br />
loud and said that he should<br />
see me at the choir auditions<br />
the next day. So I joined the<br />
choir and next thing I know I<br />
am singing back-up (in a<br />
choir) for Barry Manilow<br />
for his three-day concert and<br />
that’s where I realized that<br />
this is what I want to do,”<br />
Martin recalled in an interview.<br />
Even in the darkest<br />
moments of his life, specifically<br />
the dissolution of his<br />
marriage, the ‘Concert King’<br />
turned to music. He wrote<br />
and recorded a song, entitled<br />
‘Forever’, to win back his<br />
wife. Though the song didn’t<br />
achieve its main goal it<br />
effortlessly achieved double<br />
platinum, moved up to triple<br />
platinum in a few months<br />
and later soared to quadruple<br />
status.<br />
Martin and his music were<br />
warmly embraced by his<br />
adoring public and ‘Forever’<br />
has become an all-time bestseller.<br />
The two sequels,<br />
‘Forever Forever’ (platinum<br />
to double platinum to triple<br />
platinum within the same<br />
year) and ‘Return to<br />
Forever', both alluded to the<br />
couple’s heartbreaking split.<br />
They, however, decided to<br />
be civil (and be good<br />
friends) throughout the<br />
years.<br />
Martin’s success in the<br />
field of music carried over to<br />
his acting career. He has<br />
appeared in eleven movies<br />
and seven television series<br />
and specials. His television<br />
show, ‘Martin after Dark’,<br />
lasted for almost a decade<br />
(1988-1998) and won 'Best<br />
Celebrity Talk Show'. It garnered<br />
him the Star Awards’<br />
'Best Celebrity Talk Show<br />
Host' award consecutively<br />
from 1989 to 1991 and then<br />
again in 1993, 1994 and<br />
1996.<br />
In 2006 the Aliw Awards<br />
Foundation Hall of Fame<br />
distinguished Martin as<br />
'Entertainer of the Year'<br />
and Recipient of the<br />
'Lifetime Achievement<br />
Award'. The Honolulu<br />
Adviser likewise named him<br />
'Best Male Singer' and 'Star<br />
of the Year' in 1988. He also<br />
won 'Best Interpreter for a<br />
CHIKA<br />
MUNA<br />
Composition' at the Abu<br />
Golden Kite Awards in<br />
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in<br />
1990.<br />
Martin’s transfer to a rival<br />
network from 1998 to 2002<br />
gave the public ‘Martin<br />
Late@Nite’, as well as a television<br />
show with Gary<br />
Valenciano in July 2010,<br />
'Twist & Shout’. Martin’s<br />
film credits include drama,<br />
romance, science fiction,<br />
comedy and action films.<br />
Right now Martin is busy<br />
with concert tours around<br />
the U.S. His upcoming one<br />
will be in Las Vegas. I am<br />
pretty sure that this is going<br />
to be a memorable one. His<br />
songs will always have the<br />
same force and appeal as<br />
they did the first time I saw<br />
him on stage. And for someone<br />
who is dubbed the<br />
‘Concert King', there’s no<br />
doubt that the man has set<br />
himself up for greatness anywhere<br />
he goes.<br />
Monet Lu is a Marikina-born,<br />
award-winning, celebrity beauty<br />
stylist, with his own chain of<br />
Monet Salon salons across<br />
Southern California and Las<br />
Vegas, Nevada. www.monetsalon.<br />
com.
Asian Migrant <strong>News</strong><br />
Reach the<br />
broader<br />
Asian<br />
market!<br />
<strong>Filipino</strong> Migrant <strong>News</strong><br />
One-third of Aucklanders will be ASIANS BY 2021.<br />
Time to reach this market!<br />
ASIAN NEWS - asia2nz.com<br />
MIGRANT NEWS - migrantnews.nz<br />
FILIPINO NEWS - filipinonews.nz<br />
TRAVEL GALORE - travelgalore.nz<br />
mobile: 027 495 8477 email: migrantnews@xtra.co.nz<br />
TOO GOOD TO MISS OUT ON!<br />
Keep it coming!<br />
Complimentary copies run out<br />
pretty fast at designated pick-up points.<br />
So reserve your personal copy.<br />
SUBSCRIBE TODAY!<br />
ASIAN NEWS - asia2nz.com<br />
MIGRANT NEWS - migrantnews.nz<br />
FILIPINO NEWS - filipinonews.nz<br />
6 issues - NZ$29 * 12 issues - NZ$55*<br />
Migrant <strong>News</strong> issues FILIPINO Migrant <strong>News</strong> issues<br />
Name/Company .....................................................................................<br />
Address .................................................................................................<br />
............................................................................................................<br />
Amount paid .................................... cheque payable to SM Publications Ltd<br />
or Direct Credit to SM Publications, ASB Bank Acct No: 123 042 0427727 00<br />
or Paypal: filipinonews@xtra.co.nz / or send us an email requesting an Invoice<br />
your email address............................................or tel................................<br />
* Rates quoted for mail delivery in New Zealand; this is a promotional rate for a limited period only