MISCEPY

Thousands march in Manila to demand higher pay

Agence France Presse

MANILA - Thousands of workers marched Thursday in the Philippines capital Manila under tight security to demand higher wages in the face of inflation that has sent food prices soaring.

Some 3,000 police were deployed to avert any violence as scattered rallies began in several places across the city.

The demonstrators were due to converge at several points later in the day, including one rally outside President Gloria Arroyo's palace.

Manila police chief, Deputy Director General Geary Barias, said protesters would be allowed to march near the palace after an agreement with organizers that they would remain peaceful.

"We have not received any threat this day and we believe in the sincerity of the rally organizers that they will hold their May 1 celebrations peacefully," Barias told reporters.

Elite police commandos armed with assault rifles however were deployed in highways leading to Manila, while "crowd dispersal units" were also placed on full alert near key government buildings, AFP reporters said.

"The economic crisis is sharper and more intense this year," said Renato Reyes, secretary general of the left-leaning group Bayan.

"Workers in the Philippines have every right to be angry and frustrated," over government policies, he said.

The militant May One Movement demanded that Arroyo step down, accusing her of failing to put in place relief measures amid soaring prices of the staple rice or prioritizing a legislated wage increase.

"Workers are hungry and angry over the Arroyo government's callousness in addressing demands for wage hikes, price controls and significant economic reforms," said Elmer Labor, the group's chairman.

"Calls for a legislated wage hike are justified now more than ever with the rising cost of all products, utilities and services."

Pacquiaos first interview in Manila after WBC win

Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao arrived to a hero's welcome in Manila Monday after successfully winning the World Boxing Council belt from Mexican pugilist Juan Manuel Marquez last March 16. Below is a transcript of Pacquiao's interview with Kim Atienza, the boxer's first upon arriving in Manila. Q: Anong masasabi mo sa mga milyon milyon mong tagahanga? Ang masasabi ko lang -- maraming, maraming salamat sa mainit na pagsalubong ngayon, sa dami ng taong pumunta dito, maraming salamat. Ang tagumpay ko ay tagumpay nating lahat. Q: May mga nagsasabing si Marquez daw ang dapat manalo. Nagtatampo ka daw, balita ko? Bagsak na nga e. Saka panoorin na lang nila ang tape at saka may kopya kami ng judgment sa scorecard no doubt na panalo ako. Q: Napagod ka daw dito sa laban mo, Manny? Medyo napagod ako dahil abot ng 12 rounds e. *** Magandang umaga po sa inyong lahat. Ako po ay masayang masaya at lubos na natutuwa dahil kapiling ko na ang mga anak ko lalong lalo na masayang masaya ako dahil sa dami ng sumalubong ngayon at sa inyong lahat ng walang sawang sumuporta sa akin noong nakaraang fight. Inaamin ko na talagang one of the hardest fight sa buhay ko iyong Marquez fight pero I did my best on that fight. So maraming salamat sa inyong lahat. Q: Ang sugat? Wala yan, bale wala yan, hindi ko iniinda yan, basta makita ko lang masaya yung mga kababayan ko, walang problema. Nung naputukan ako, hindi pumasok sa isip ko na matalo ako o umayaw. Ang naisip ko, dahil sa daming Pilipino na umaasa at nagdarasal at umasa sa tagumpay natin. Kaya ang laban na yon, para sa ating lahat mga Pilipino, sa pagkakaisa ng sambayanan Pilipino. Q. Walang ringside doctor, professional cosmetic surgeon lang? Yung boyfriend ng anak ni Bob Arum, magaling siya sa cosmetic surgery. Talagang maganda yung pagka tahi, parang wala akong sugat, pero malaking sugat yan, 17 tahi yan. Pinagtatanggal lang nung Friday, nung Friday lang tinanggal yung tahi so medyo okay na. Pero malayo naman sa bituka yan. Q: Gusto mo daw isama ang anak mo sa Amerika dahil talagang subsob sa pag-aaral nila? Actually, gusto ko nga, sa bawat fight ko, nanduon sila, kasi alam na nila kung paano ako masaktan, nafefeel na nila yung sakit ng suntok ng kalaban. So gusto ko silang isama pero kaya lang, nag-aaral sila sa international school. So hindi puwede, walang bakasyon sa kanila, kasi iba yung pasok Q: May stage pa doon sa laban na akala mo matatalo ka talaga? Wala, talagang ang determinasyon ko manalo, manalo. Q: Ano ang pinaka-inspirasyon mo sa pinakamahirap na round? Alam niyo, inspirasyon ko, talagang ang daming sumisigaw na Pilipino, "Manny! Manny!" Siyempre kapag nakatanga ka doon sa taas ng ring, magpahina hina ka nakakahiya at sumisigaw ang mga kababayan mo buong buhay laban! Q: Iyong weight mo daw kailangang i-maintain mo all the way, hindi ka na kailangang bumigat kaya kayanatin iyon? Pwede naman akong lumaban sa ano kaya lang I will tell you reduce ako ng konti sa 130 so kailangan kong mag- sa 135 lbs. baka next fight ay 135 na pero wala pa naman, hindi pa naman final. Q: Kailan ang rematch kay Marquez? Well ako anytime basta magkasundo katulad ng first fight namin ang tagal na nagkasundo sa second fight. Ang tagal na nabuo kasi puro,iyong mga hindi nagkakasundo sa negosasyon. Ako naman anytime ako lalaban ako kasi ang trabaho ko maghanap ng fight sa taas ng ring. It depends if the price is right.

Marriage and money

WASHINGTON - The honeymoon is over for all of those June brides and grooms. Now it's home to happily ever after -- and bills, bills, bills.
How you handle money at the beginning of your marriage can have an enormous impact on the rest of your lives together. Or your lives not together.
"Fifty percent of all marriages end in dissolution, and the Number One reason for that is financial pressures," says debt expert Howard Dvorkin.
Maybe he's a bit pessimistic: There's some evidence that the divorce rate has been diminishing for a couple of decades and may be closer to a third than a half. But his point is well taken. Dvorkin, who runs the Consolidated Credit Counseling Services, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has seen many marriages destroyed by money problems. Clear up the cash at the very beginning, and you can stop all of those arguments before they escalate out of control -- and build a prosperous future. Here's how.
-- Pay off the wedding expenses ASAP. The longer debt lingers, the more it prevents you from accomplishing what you really want. Interest rates are on the move up, so any debt you are carrying is likely to start costing more down the road. Look at all the other debt you have as a couple and develop a plan for paying it down. You can use an online debt payoff calculator such as the one here or here .
-- Develop a bill-paying system that works for you. It doesn't really matter whether you both agree to put all of your bills into the same shoebox, or use the latest in Internet banking, as long as you have a system that keeps you paying everything on time. Couples who are commingling their finances for the first time often wind up paying bills late just because they haven't gotten organized, and that will affect their credit reports and scores.
-- Focus on your credit reputation. You'll both need good credit scores to buy that first family car or house. If one of you has a clean credit history and the other doesn't, keep those credit cards separate, says Dvorkin. The person who already has a good credit score can help the spouse build a better credit history by encouraging him or her to start with a secured credit card, and then getting a regular credit card, and making timely payments. Adding the "bad credit" spouse to the "good credit" spouse's cards won't help rebuild the weak credit score, but could hurt the good score.
-- Keep some checking accounts separate too. If you're both used to earning and spending your own money and have decided to kick in together for family finances, keep three checking accounts. One for each spouse and the household account, to which they both send money to cover shared expenses.
-- Talk about it all. Come up with a specific dollar amount for purchases that are so big the couple has to discuss and agree to them together. Below that amount, each can spend the money without asking. New couples should have many discussions about their financial goals, too; it's easier to make the household money work if both partners are committed to the same ideal. Even if one spouse is the money person and the other isn't, set aside some time every month to discuss the family budget so both know where the money's coming from and where it's going. Even the spouse who doesn't manage the family money should know where it is and how to get at it, if necessary.
-- Do the paperwork. Change the beneficiary on your workplace retirement accounts, your IRAs and your life insurance.
-- Eliminate redundancies. The National Foundation for Consumer Credit tells fledgling couples to compare cell phone deals because they can save money on a family plan. Compare health-care plans from both jobs to decide whether you each want to stick with the plan you've got or double up on the better plan. Even duplicate couches, books and kitchen goods can net you some cash in a garage sale.
-- Save big, even when it seems impossible. If two households are combining into one, you should be able to save one entire salary, says Dvorkin. This time he might be being optimistic: Couples don't typically cut their expenses in half when they marry. But there's no time in life when you can be happier on less money than in that first year of marriage. Live lean while you are young, squirrel away as much as you possibly can, and you'll have the downpayment and diaper money when you need it.

Manila archbishop objects to gays in Santacruzan rites

Agence France-Presse

Philippine churches that allow cross-dressing homosexuals to play female saints in religious festivals are insulting the Virgin Mary and must be punished, the nation's top cleric warned Monday.

"We should keep sacred what is sacred," Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales said as he attacked parishes for allowing male homosexuals to play Saint Helena and other female roles traditionally acted out by local beauty queens.

The colorful processions, known as Santacruzan, are a major tourist draw in the strongly Roman Catholic Philippines and are a highlight of the calendar in May.

"The procession is religious. what the do is organize a parade," Rosales said on Manila's Catholic Radio Veritas station. "That's an insult to the Blessed Mother."

Rosales said he had taken the leaders of one parish to task for having gay cross-dressers participate in these processions.

"I told them that's not right because that's a procession. You are destroying the purity of the devotion," he added.

The Church will ban the holding of masses at any parish that disregards the warning, he added.

Rosales stressed he was not discriminating against homosexuals but only wanted to preserve the solemnity of the processions.

Kylie Minogue gets French cultural honor

PARIS - Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue received one of France's top cultural awards on Monday, the day before her world tour kicked off in Paris.
Minogue was made a Chevalier dans l'ordre des Arts et Lettres for "the cultural pleasure she has given French people" and for her love of France, a French Culture Ministry official said.
"Princess of pop, uncontested queen of the dance floors, you are a sort of Midas of the international music scene who turns everything she touches into gold, from records to micro-shorts," Culture Minister Christine Albanel said presenting the award.
"Even if it isn't the part of your anatomy which is the most often praised by the media, you have a big heart," she added.
Pop group Police won the award in October 2007 and other knights include U.S. film stars Sharon Stone and Clint Eastwood.