ABS CBN 2 - Up / GMA 7 - Down 11%

GMA Network 9-month profit down 11%

GMA Network Inc. said its net profit for the nine months to
September fell

11 percent from a year earlier to 1.55 billion due to higher
operating

expenses.

"The net income was 11 percent lower than the same period last year
as the

production costs of a start-up business, QTV, bear down on the
bottom

line," GMA said in a statement.

QTV 11, GMA's new television station, opened about a year ago.

Quarterly results were not disclosed.

GMA, the main rival of publicly listed ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp.,

reported consolidated gross revenue of P8.09 billion for the nine-
month

period, up from the previous year's P7.4 billion, boosted by steady

airtime sales from its flagship television station Channel 7 and

additional subscription revenue from its international operations.

Operating expenses jumped 30 percent to P4.24 billion primarily due
to

higher production costs and expenses related to the new businesses.

GMA said it maintained its lead in TV ratings as of September amid
an

industry-wide decline in advertising spending.

GMA has deferred its initial public offering, earlier planned for
this

year, to 2007. Company officials said they were not in a hurry to
raise

fresh capital.

http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/ABS-CBNKapamilyaPEXers2

‘Santa Cursed’... from YOUNGBLOOD section of INQ7.net

YOUNGBLOOD
‘Santa Cursed’
By Eileen Grace V. Bacotot
Inquirer
Last updated 01:27am (Mla time) 11/07/2006

Published on Page A13 of the November 7, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

WHEN I was a kid, I used to fantasize about being a rock star/astronaut and giving Bono and the rest of U2 a run for their money.

But fate decreed otherwise. Also, my parents had big plans for me, and being a rock star/astronaut was not one of them. It just didn’t sound right to them.

Being a good girl, I tossed away my dream of becoming the first Filipina rock star to land on the moon. Little did I know that I’d end up realizing a tiny part of that childhood fantasy.

No, I didn’t turn out to be a rock star/astronaut. I became a microbiologist by day and a videoke singer by night instead. I know from the look on my boyfriend’s face that I rock each time I sing Tori Amos’ “Cornflake girl” during our videoke sessions.

Three years ago, I packed my bags and headed south. I traded the comforts of city life to work in the boondocks of Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur.

My friends couldn’t believe I accepted the job. They all went berserk and protested, “WHAAAATTT!?!? But that’s way too far!” They made it sound as if Santa Cruz were on the moon.

Despite the raised eyebrows and protestations of friends and loved ones, I was determined to go. No one could talk me out of it.

Just a 45-minute drive south of Davao City, Santa Cruz is a long stretch of coastal communities with relatively fair weather and very friendly residents. It is dotted with numerous sandy beaches, huge rocks that break the tide and eternal, seamless skies that kiss the horizon. It’s one of those places with a homely rural feel.

I never thought I’d end up working in the town. But the first time I went there I found myself enjoying the walk down its streets. I was very happy to soak in its ambience.

Or so I thought.

I soon found out that the town doesn’t have a single 24-hour convenience store. There are a few “sari-sari stores” [neighborhood variety stores], but they close as early as 8 in the evening.

Back in the city, I was a mall rat. I used to comb the malls for great buys during midnight sales. Now I find myself in a place that turns into a ghost town by 10 p.m. The “trisikad” [pedal cab] and the tricycle are kings of the road in the town proper. But in the evening, you are likely to find yourself walking to get home.

In Santa Cruz, the hackneyed saying “When it rains, it pours” does not hold true. When it rains here, it means no power supply for long hours. And when the power goes out at night, the town is instantly transformed into a dead town -- no television, no radio, just silence all around.

Before I knew it, I was calling the place “Santa Cursed.” Given all the inconveniences I experienced, I should have packed and left days after arriving, but surprisingly, I stayed on. Something at the back of my mind was telling me to do so.

Never mind if there’s not even a single 24-hour convenience store in sight. Never mind if my favorite radio station NU 107 is reduced to buzzing and bleeping. Never mind if I have to walk home after singing a few songs at the videoke bar by the sea because the tricycle drivers have gone fishing. I always find a reason to stay.

Sometimes when I am lying awake at night in my trundle bed, loneliness overwhelms me and leads me to endless questioning. Why am I here? Do I deserve to be here? Will I be able to serve my purpose here? What if I worked overseas instead? Why did I become our family’s breadwinner? What lies ahead of me in this rural town? When will I settle down? Will I ever settle down? Will somebody ever want to settle down with me?

I really don’t know the answers to these questions. They say that every little thing we do has a purpose. I do not know what my purpose is. And I don’t know what that means. But it sure sounds like everyone has a noble task to perform.

I am no hopeless romantic. I lead a very boring life. And I don’t believe in happy endings. Still the blood in my veins says I am Filipino.

Have I perhaps gone too far? Call me a pathetic nationalist. I know I am not even making sense right now, but hey, so does everybody else in the local government. Are they making sense when they celebrate the town’s 122nd fiesta and spend hundreds of thousands of pesos on irrelevant events when there are worthwhile projects to consider and pour their resources into?

The town cannot even put one trash can in the whole public park or install lights on the bridge. Local leaders really ought to do something about the situation and they can start by just performing the tasks spelled out in their job descriptions, without too much fanfare and without any hanky-panky.

Santa Cursed has so much to offer. But why, oh, why has this town, which predates the proclamation of Philippine independence, remained miserably stuck in the past?

Maybe it has something to do with what the Spaniards said and did. It has been said that in the 1800s, the Spaniards would plant a cross in every place that resisted their presence and then curse it with these words: “Forever the people in this area shall sacrifice in the name of the cross.” But there is antidote to every curse. It is a strong potion that will unite everyone in town. It is called hope.

The truth is that even if Santa Cruz looks like a ghost town to me, there is hope. So long as the fish vendor continues to flash her contagious smile even though her fish is not sold out, there is hope. So long as I see children happily marching on their way to school, there is hope.

Much as I bewail the sad conditions of this town, I have learned to live with them. I cling to that hope that I will be around to witness this town finally awaken from its deep slumber. I yearn for the day when this town will be fully developed. I yearn for the day when I can go anytime to buy something at its first 24-hour convenience store. I even dream of being inside a mall and looking for bargains on midnight madness sale.

When that happens, I supposed I would still be a microbiologist/videoke singer. And I’d be congratulating myself for my decision to settle down in the place I once called Santa Cursed.

Eileen Grace V. Bacotot, 27, works in Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur, as a microbiologist in a desiccated coconut plant.

Copyright 2006 Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Philippine TV Ratings... nationwide

Philippine TV Ratings

"Captain Barbel" beats "Deal or no deal" with .3% difference

Last Thursday (November 2, 2006), For the first time, Captain Barbel
gets

a high rating of 36.4% nationwide (with a total of 43.8 million
viewers

nationwide) beating out Deal or no Deal with a 36.1% rating.

(Thursday, November 2, 2006)

Into the Sun 5.9% vs. Inocente de ti 18.9%

Jewel in the Palace 13.2% vs. Pangako sa Yo 22.5%;

24 Oras 25.3% vs. TV Patrol World 35.8%

Captain Barbell 36.4% vs. Deal or No Deal 36.1%, Super Inggo 40.7%

Atlantika 28.8% vs. Maging Sino Ka Man 48.1%

Bakekang 25.4% vs. Pinoy Dream Academy 39.9%

A Rosy Life 20.2% vs. Crazy For You 32.3%

Magpakailanman 11.0% vs. Bandila 14.4%.

2 Fil-Am actors star in Les Miz on Broadway

2 Fil-Am actors star in Les Miz on Broadway

FUNFARE

By RICARDO F. LO

The Philippine Star

Two Fil-Am actors are set to shine on Broadway as stars of the Cameron Mackintosh hit musical Les Misérables which will be restaged starting on November 9. Here's the full report from The Filipino Reporter news editor Edmund Silvestre, Funfare's New York correspondent:

Alan Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg's smash hit musical Les Misérables is back on Broadway four years after the show ended its 15-year run, with seven Tony Awards including Best Musical (1987). And this time, two Filipino-American actors – Adam Jacobs and Ali Ewoldt – are cast in major roles as lovers Marius and Cosette in the show's limited six-month engagement.

The third longest running show on Broadway history, this Victor Hugo musical set during the French Revolution – produced by Cameron Mackintosh and directed by John Caird – will officially open on Nov. 9 at the Broadhurst Theater.

Les Miz is continuing its non-traditional casting – believed to have started when Lea Salonga, months after leaving Miss Saigon (another Mackintosh hit musical) was cast in 1993 as the first Asian actor to play the street waif Eponine.

Alexander Gemignani, a Caucasian in the role of Jean Valjean, leads the new multicultural cast that also includes Norm Lewis, an African-American, as Javert; and Daphne Rubin-Vega, a Latina, as Fantine.

This is Adam Jacobs' Broadway debut, after playing Marius for over a year on tour.

Aaron Lazar, who co-stars as the stirring Enjolras, told Playbill, "Adam looks like Superman playing Marius. He brings a lot of heart and passion to it. He's fantastic."

Adam, 27, grew up in Half Moon Bay, California, and was raised by his Filipino mother and his Russian, Dutch, Jewish and Polish father.

At age five, he saw Yul Brynner in The King and I. "I was mesmerized," he said. "Because I sat through it and didn't cry, my mom says she knew I'd become an actor."

The NYU grad got his big break on the tour of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella; there, he took over the role of the Prince from another Fil-Am leading man, Paolo Montalban.

Just three months ago, the 5'10" Adam was married to Kelly Kohnert, a singer-dancer who's appearing in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.

Asked what attracted her to Adam, Kelly says, "His totally electric smile and beautiful teeth. He's also got a great bod. And I love his voice. When I first heard him sing, I just melted."

This is also Ali Ewoldt's Broadway debut as Cosette.

The 25-year-old Fil-Am joined the national tour in the ensemble last September and was invited to audition for the Broadway return. Before long, she was at a second audition, with Cameron Mackintosh present. Ali says she had a feeling she was in good shape at the callback when she was the only Cosette in the room. She remembers Mackintosh was very quiet, watching events unfold. When the callback was over, she recalls, "He got up and gave me a hug and a kiss."

"I grew up listening to Les Miz," she told The Journal News (NY). "That was the big show when I was younger. It was the first show I ever memorized. My brother Greg and I would act it out."

Ali (or Allison Anolin Ewoldt) starred in the regional staging of West Side Story as Maria, Beauty and the Beast as Belle, Fantasticks as Luisa, The King and I as Tuptim, and Aladdin as Jasmine at Disney's California Adventure. Her family lives in Pleasantville, New York. Her mother, the former Leah Vergara Anolin, is from Pangasinan, who married Robert Ewoldt.

When she was at Yale University, Ali said she was free to get involved in productions of all stripes: classical, contemporary and even opera. When the Yale Opera was looking for another soprano for The Marriage of Figaro, Ali got the call. She took the next step toward making theater a career when an agent came to see a friend perform and liked what she saw when Ali took the stage.

She says she finds her psychology degree, which she earned in 2003, "surprisingly relevant," particularly as she's reading Les Miz and trying to get inside the head of Cosette – Fantine's daughter and the ward of Jean Valjean – who falls in love with a student leader.

"I love Ali. She's such fun to work with," said Adam Jacobs. "She's like a little bird. Ali's delicate and beautiful and everything I think Cosette should be."

"Adam has the perfect voice for Marius, and he's a really warm and great guy," Ali responded.

Adam said being half-Filipino is "definitely a plus" in helping him land roles.

"When I was 15, I played a Native American," he shared. "I've also played Latinos a lot. Sometimes, you do fall through the cracks or you're told you look too ethnic. For example, I've always wanted to play Tony in West Side Story, but I look too much like I could play Bernardo. Maybe I could play Tony in the winter because I'm not as tanned then. (Laughs.)"

When Les Miz's previews opened on Oct. 23, theater critics described the chemistry of Adam and Ali as "mesmerizing," and their performance "magical."

The action in Les Miz begins in 1815 as Jean Valjean, a man condemned to 19 years of hard labor for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his family, finds only hatred and suspicion when he is released on parole. Meeting one man who believes in him, Valjean breaks his parole to begin a new life. The story truly begins as Jean Valjean crosses the landscape of early 19th century France, always pursued by the righteous police inspector Javert. From his adoption and love of the orphan Cosette, to the darkly funny plots of the thieving Thenardiers, from the soaring revolutionary fire of the student rebels who fight on the barricade in the streets of Paris to the final confrontation between Jean Valjean and Javert, the story of Les Miserables is one of love, courage and redemption.

(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph)

Luli clarifies NAIA incident

Metro (as of 3:01 AM)
Luli clarifies NAIA incident

By AUREA CALICA

The Philippine Star 11/03/2006

HONG KONG – Presidential daughter Evangeline Lourdes "Luli" Arroyo
clarified Thursday that the violation in immigration procedures – not
the shabby treatment of her – was the root of the confrontation she
had with an immigration officer at the Ninoy Aquino International
Airport (NAIA) on Tuesday, which prompted officials to relieve the
officer while an investigation is being conducted.

"It's not who I am, but the procedure should have been followed," she
said in an interview with government television station NBN Channel 4.
Apparently, Padlan did not recognize the presidential daughter, who
fell in line instead of asking for VIP treatment at the airport every
time she leaves for a trip.

She clarified that immigration examiner Edgardo Padlan was not
relieved from his post because he scolded her at the immigration area
and shouted at her to fall in line. The real offense was that Padlan
allowed a foreigner to cut into the line and even allowed him to enter
his immigration booth, which are clearly against immigration rules.

In a letter to The STAR, Arroyo said the immigration officer did get
mad at her, supposedly for coming through immigration so close to her
flight departure, but she protested and said that she did not deserve
to be scolded because she stood patiently in line along with her
sister-in-law and three-year-old niece while a foreigner was allowed
to get ahead of other people in the line.

Arroyo said at first she only asked Padlan why he allowed the foreign
tourist — a Korean — to cut the line and pointed out to the
immigration officer that it was wrong for anybody to enter the booth.
She noted that it might give the impression that some people can get
special treatment in exchange for a bribe.

She said she also wondered why the Korean was permitted to get ahead
of everyone else when he was in shorts and shirt, contrary to the
claim of the immigration officer that the man was a supervisor or a
VIP and was already delayed for his flight.

Arroyo said Padlan just dismissed her arguments even as she explained
to him that he should not have allowed the foreigner to cut the line
because other passengers were inconvenienced, including her
sister-in-law, Kakai, who is pregnant.

But Padlan reportedly just asked her to go back to the line. He also
started to raise his voice but another immigration agent prodded him
to just process Arroyo's passport.

It was only when he opened her passport that he realized he had argued
with the daughter of President Arroyo.

Ferdinand Sampol, head supervisor at the Bureau of Immigration at
NAIA, said that Arroyo raised the complaint to immigration
supervisor-on-duty Asuncion Palma-Gil.

Padlan apologized but the next thing he knew, he was relieved from his
post at NAIA and recalled to the Bureau of Immigration head office in
Intramuros while an investigation is ongoing.

The officer's family is asking that he be forgiven and allowed to go
back to work.

"I am not angry but it's not up to me. There is already an
investigation," Arroyo said, when asked about her reaction to the
family's call.

Arroyo and her sister-in-law followed the rest of their family members
here for a brief holiday.

Charges filed

Administrative charges were filed against Padlan while Immigration
Commissioner Alipio Fernandez Jr. ordered further investigation into
the incident.

Fernandez said they would determine whether Padlan should be
sanctioned for supposedly violating separate directives on immigration
officers at NAIA against displaying discourteous behavior and giving
preferential treatment to passengers.

In a memorandum issued Thursday, Fernandez ordered Padlan to explain
within 72 hours why he should not be penalized for the incident.

Fernandez stressed that he could be suspended for six months to one
year if found guilty of the charges.

Padlan, however, has no history of complaints from passengers
throughout his decades of service to the Bureau of Immigration at
NAIA, according to Sampol.

The immigration chief reiterated his order to all immigration officers
to be courteous to everyone, whether they are VIPs or ordinary
travelers. He reminded them that there is an existing memorandum
prohibiting immigration officers at NAIA to facilitate special
processing of passengers unless there are government dignitaries,
members of the diplomatic corps, senators and congressmen, Cabinet
members, members of the judiciary and handicapped passengers.

Request for VIP treatment is usually coursed through the NAIA Public
Affairs Office or the Airport Immigration Office.

Models of good behavior

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita called on other Filipinos to follow
Arroyo's lead in taking action on abusive and discourteous government
officials and personnel.

"Even if one is not a daughter of the President, one can make
observations on actions of public servants," Ermita said, adding that
Arroyo would have likely done the same thing even if she were an
ordinary citizen.

He denied comments that the action against Padlan was taken only
because the incident was reported by the daughter of the President.

He said there were many instances when complaints from the public were
acted upon immediately.

Meanwhile, while the presidential daughter would not ask for VIP
treatment, four Philippine officials tried to cut the line of mostly
Filipino passengers flying here from Nanning, China on Wednesday
morning.

Media people from the Philippines covering the presidential visit
proceeded here as Mrs. Arroyo agreed to a pool interview at 3 p.m.
Wednesday.

Reporters who had lined up early complained to the airline staff that
the flight would be delayed if they would keep on allowing people who
just came in to cut the line and check in first.

Two of the officials were identified as Fe Agoncillo Reyes and Celeste
Ilagan of the Department of Trade and Industry. The names of the two
male companions were not immediately known.

One of the male officials remarked: "Kahit anong gawin niyo, gagawin
pa rin nila ang gusto nila (Whatever you do you, they will still do
what they want)." He was referring to the Chinese support staff that
were giving the Filipino officials VIP treatment.

In the end, the flight was delayed and reporters missed half the time
allotted for them to interview the President.

Mrs. Arroyo turned out to have already granted a round-table interview
with media based here earlier in the day and some of her interviews
already came out in the wire services.

Trade Secretary Peter Favila vowed to look into the incident. He said
while he understood Chinese courtesy for government officials, he
would not have allowed the process to be disregarded and inconvenience
other passengers.

He said if the male official was from the DTI, "I promise you, he's out."

"I will not tolerate such kind of an attitude," Favila said, adding
that a government official should be a model of good behavior. — With
Edu Punay, Paolo Romero, Rainier Allan Ronda

Just a Thought

No man/woman is worth your tears and the only one who is,
will never make you cry.

If you love someone,
put their name in a circle,
instead of a heart,
because hearts can break,
but circles go on forever.

Everyone hears what you say.
Friends listen to what you say.
Best friends listen to what you don't say.

If all my friends were to jump off a bridge,
I wouldn't jump with them,
I'd be at the bottom to catch them.

Don't frown,
because you never know who's falling in love with your smile!

If you judge people,
you have no time to love them.

Be kind,
for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.

It may take only a minute to like someone,
only an hour to have a crush on someone
and only a day to love someone
but it will take a lifetime to forget someone.

Enthusiasm is contagious.
You might cause an outbreak and affect many.

Yesterday is the history,
tomorrow is a mystery.
Today is a gift,
that is why it is called the present.

Dance like nobody's watching,
and love like it's never gonna hurt.

---

Cheap Talk? Check out Yahoo! Messenger's low PC-to-Phone call rates.

Whales for saving by eBay auction... thanks to BBC.co.uk

Whales for saving by eBay auction

A fin whale is cut up in the Icelandic port of Hvalfjordur

An animal welfare group is enlisting the help of eBay to protect endangered fin whales hunted by Icelandic ships.

The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) will auction "rights" to a whale's life on the online site.

WSPA wants to raise $180,000 (£95,000), the value of meat from a fin whale; it then aims to pay this sum to hunters, and ask them to let one whale go.

Iceland's return to commercial whaling after a 20-year halt has brought diplomatic protest from many quarters.

On Wednesday, a group of 25 countries delivered a demarche, a formal letter of protest, to the Icelandic government through their ambassadors in Reykjavik.

Parts of a whale

The eBay auction is WSPA's attempt to involve the public, in Britain and elsewhere.

People logging in to the site will be able to pledge sums of £10 or more, in the hope of building up to the price of a fin whale's meat.

"We're asking the public to go and bid for the life of this whale, and send Iceland a message that the public will not stand for the hunting of these whales," said WSPA's campaigns director Leah Garces.

Iceland rapped over whaling

"We hope that the message will be strong enough; that there's international condemnation, it's cruel and the public are against it."

WSPA acknowledges that Icelandic whalers or the Reykjavik government may refuse to accept money raised this way, even assuming the public pledges enough.

But Ms Garces denied the idea is a gimmick, telling BBC News: "The idea is to raise in Iceland's mind that this is not acceptable."

If Iceland will not take the money, WSPA says it will put sums raised towards its whaling campaigns.

Iceland announced last month that it would resume commercial whaling after a break of 20 years.

It intends to hunt 30 minke whales and nine fins over the coming year. The fin whale is categorised as endangered on the internationally-recognised Red List of Threatened Species.

The Icelandic government has reacted calmly to the demarche, saying that protests made against other whaling nations such as Japan and Norway had not resulted in any breakdown of diplomatic relations.