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USTRALIA has reaffirmed its commitment to help improve the lives of people with disability on


The Manila Times WEDNESDAY D e cember 8, 2010


Australia helps improve lives of disabled A


International Day for Persons with Disabilities. Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kevin


Rudd, has released a report highlight- ing Australia ’s achievements in implementing its aid strategy on disability entitled Development for All: Toward a disability-inclusive Australian aid program. The report shows that Australia ’s disability strategy for its overseas aid


with disabilities and is helping to improve their lives through our partnerships with a number of organizations in the Philippines.” Community assistance programs


program is working. Two years of strategy implementation has improved disabled people’s access to education and scholarship programs, public infrastructure and has strengthened disabled people’s organizations. Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Rod Smith said: “Australian aid is addressing the needs of people


in Australia have increased disabled people’s access to livelihood and income-generating activities, and to social services such as health and special education. In the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Australia is promoting understanding of disability and inclusive development in interfaith fora. Through its partner- ship with the People with Disabilities


Advocating Rights and Empowerment, Australia is helping to ensure that the needs of disabled people are included in the development plans, existing services and programs of local government units. Australia has also provided funding


to the Philippine Deaf Resource Center to help increase awareness about human rights among the deaf, especially among women and children who are victims of sexual abuse. Paralegals and advocates for the deaf throughout the Philippines are being trained on how to monitor cases involving the deaf for reporting to the


Christmas at the Pen with European-Filipino flair


FOUR top Corporations—Stores Specialists Inc., Philippine Tatler, Citibank and The Peninsula Manila will be joining hands once again to present this popular and now traditional Concert in the majestic Peninsula Lobby where Italian and French musical fare will join with Filipino flair. The beneficiary of this concert is the Make-A- Wish Foundation, for terminally sick children to realize their dream. As the tradition of recent times


decrees, the Holiday Season in this town will officially kick-off on December 12 (Sunday) when at 5 p.m. the lofty lobby of the Peninsula Manila will resound to the joyous sounds of Christmas. The famed Gala concert— now on its 27th year—has always been regarded as the Peninsula Manila’s Christmas gift to the community. Flying in from Italy where he is now based to conduct the musical


extravanganza is former Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra’s Italian Music Director and Principal Conductor Maestro Ruggero Barbieri who has been the mainstay of this event for most of the past decade. The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra which is the featured orchestra and participates through the kind sponsorship of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, was one of just five foreign orchestras invited to take part in “Asia Orchestra Festival Week 2002” in Tokyo (City Opera Hall). Also participating is Frenchman Olivier


Ochanine, currently the Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra. Having studied the flute in Germany and the US, and then the contrabass in the United States as well, he developed an interest in orchestral conducting while pursuing the Bachelor Degree for flute performance


at the University of Kentucky. The featured choir this year is the


University of Santo Tomas Singers. Founded in 1992, it is a mixed choral ensemble composed of a select group of students and alumni representing the different colleges and faculties of the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas—the oldest university in Asia, under the baton of its founder and conductor, Professor Fidel Gener Calalang. Featured as a solo artist is Bea Tantoco who has been singing since she got her first Sony CD player when she was 5 years old. At a young age of 7, she fell in love with Broadway and was soon able to sing all the classics from Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Cats and many others. When she was in high school, she became part of the show choir and travelled to parts of the Philippines and performed as part of the outreach programs.


She graduated from Boston College


with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music. Now she’s pursuing her dream of becoming a performing artist and has immersed herself this year with various live performances. Providing variety on the trumpet is


Fredeline “Poppee” Parin, Principal Trumpet player of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra. His inclination for trumpet started at the age of 8 with his father, Emiliano Parin (the principal trumpet of the Manila Symphony Orchestra for 20 years) as his very first teacher. The Peninsula Manila’s General Manager Jonathan Crook has just one bit of advice to all those who want to catch the concert—get there early because seats (that come with a consumable cover charge of P550++ with part of the proceeds going to the chosen charity) are on a first come basis.


Department of Justice and the Committee on UN Convention for Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The country also supports the UN


Joint Program on Maternal and Newborn Health, implemented by Unicef, UN Population Fund and the World Health Organization in partnership with the Department of Health. The program helps to prevent disabilities in newborns and mothers by promoting healthy pregnancy and safe childbirth. “Through our aid program, we will deepen our support to Filipinos living with disability. We are


exploring options for supporting inclusive education, disability research, and capacity building of people with disabilities and disabled peoples’ organizations through scholarships,” Ambassador Smith noted. “Our support for people with disabilities stems from our commit- ment to help the Philippines to make progress toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs cannot be achieved unless development efforts reach and benefit all Filipinos, including those with disability.”


■ Featured on flute will be Olivier Ochanine


■ Singer Bea Tantoco


■ Trumpet virtuoso Fredeline “Poppee’ Parin


■ Maestro Ruggero Barbieri


■ Gracious host Yasuko Katsura (seated center) with the guests who enjoyed a musical merienda afternoon at her residence Merienda afternoon celebrates Japan-Philippines relations


THE wife of Japanese Ambassador Makoto Katsura and honorary member of the Philippines-Japan Ladies Association, Yasuko Katsura, hosted a “merienda afternoon” with a Japanese and Filipino bamboo performance by Philippine Normal University Rondalla and Himig Kawayan” at the Ambassador’s residence in Forbes Park. The event was held to celebrate the long-standing friendly relations between Japan and the Philippines. In her welcome remarks, Madam Katsura noted that cultural awareness and mutual understanding play a central role in fostering the long-standing


friendship between our two countries and the said event was a good opportunity to strengthen our cultural ties through music. Japan Information and Culture


Center Director Tomoko Dodo gave a briefing on the Grant Assistance for Cultural Grassroots Projects (GACGP). The scheme, introduced in 2000, under the Official Development Assistance (ODA), aims to provide carefully planned assistance to directly benefit the so-called grassroots level in developing countries through assistance for educational institutions, NGOs and local public bodies in the field of culture and education.


To date, seven projects amount-


ing to approximately $263,000 have been implemented since 2001 in the Philippines. In 2007, the government of Japan provided assistance for the “Project for the Improvement of Bamboo Musical Instruments” to the Philippine Society for Music Education (PSME) through the GACGP. PSME received $11,177 to fund for the procurement of bamboo musical instruments for the Himig Kawayan project. A set of bamboo musical instru- ments have been lent by PSME to Himig Kawayan school ensembles to further aid in training the students in


bamboo music. At present, the following four Himig Kawayan ensembles benefit from the project: Jose Juan Serapio Elementary School, Dagupan City National High School, Regional Science High School and Philippine Normal University. Dr. Loreto Gloria, Director of the


Himig Kawayan project, was present at the event, as well as PSME President Professor Leticia del Valle, who gave an introduction about PNU Himig Kawayan, expressing their appreciation for the support of the Government of Japan. PNU Himig Kawayan, an ensemble of musically-skilled students, performed Japanese and Filipino songs


by using bamboo instruments, under the direction of esteemed conductor, Professor Pacita Narzo. The moving Himig Kawayan


performance impressed the audience, including Madam Katsura, who asked the ensemble to explain about the bamboo musical instruments and play each instrument separately to further appreciate the individual sounds. Josefina Sanvictores, Past President and Adviser of PJLA and wife of Ambassa- dor Benjamin Sanvictores, said that “the performance made us proud to be Filipinos.” Each of the students, as well as PNU Himig Kawayan conductor, Professor Pacita Narzo, were given


certificates personally signed by Ambassador Makoto Katsura to show the Embassy of Japan’s appreciation. PJLA members also attended the


event, headed by current President Madam Marilen Laurel-Loinaz. The PJLA Chorale group rendered a wonderful performance of Japanese and Filipino songs with piano accompaniment to reciprocate an outstanding performance rendered by PNU Rondalla and Himig Kawayan. The afternoon was filled with a true spirit of long-standing friendship between our two nations connecting people of various generations and backgrounds through beautiful music.


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