Handballer Bevan driving a goal past a taller player during the Gallipoli TriNations Tournament in March 2012 - Photo: Jun Tanlayco / NZ Handball

Recently selected as Handball Ambassador by Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Filipino-Australian Bevan Calvert will join the Australian Handball Men’s Team to compete in the Oceania Region Handball World Championship Qualifyer, Handball Australia announced recently.

Calvert is Germany-based and will come home specifically to join the Australian team for the qualifyer.

The Qualifyer will be held for two days on June 22 and June 23. Filipinos in Metro Sydney will have the oppportunity to see their local hero in action as the games will be played at the Dural Sport and Leisure Centre.

The Handball Australia team members are Luka Krajnc (NSW, Left Wing), Mitch Hedges (NSW, Left Wing – Pivot), Ogi Matic (NSW, Left Back), Caleb Gahan (Qld, Left Back), Tommy Fletcher (Sweden/ACT, Pivot – Left Back), Callum Mouncey (ACT, Pivot), Steven Plummer (NSW, Pivot), Bojan Stojanovic (Qld, Centre Back), Bevan Calvert (Germany / NSW, Right Back), Tim Anderson (NSW, Right Back), Dan Kelly (Denmark/Qld, Right Wing), Michael Sullivan (NSW, Right Wing), Ogi Lationovic (Qld, Goalkeeper), and Pascal Winkler (NSW, Goalkeeper).

Handball Australia and Head Coach Taip Ramadani are optimistic that the team will be successful in this important competition as in the past years.

The winning team will represent the Oceania Region in the World Championship to be held in Spain in January 2013.

Calvert has been playing world handball championships for many years. His first participation was in 2005 when he was 18 years old. In his last outing, he was ranked equal 5th place as a top goal scorer in his division and number 4 top goalscorer in his team TSV Altenholz.

Aside from being Handball Ambassador, Calvert is also a recipient of Sports awards from the Global Filipinos Australia and Filipino Communities Council of Australia.

That was the costly lesson a passenger who arrived in Cairns had when he was found to be carrying food items in his luggages which he did not declare, according to a news release by the Dept of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

An x-ray imagery of the passenger’s bag was all it took to alarm Customs and Border Protection officers to search the passenger’s bags which yielded almost 6 kilograms of fruit and vegetables as well as over a kilogram of duck meat.

After pleading guilty to a false declaration of food items the passenger was convicted and fined $1,000 plust costs of $1,390.

DIAC’s service called Community Status Resolution Service (CSRS) provides information about appropriate immigration or departure options for people in Australia who have overstayed their visa or been granted a bridging visa E (BVE).

The DIAC’s CSRS unit has case officers who can grant a BVE while an immigration matter is resolved.

According to DIAC, BVEs are most commonly used where a visa application is being considered, a legal process is underway or a person is making plans to depart Australia.

For people whose visa has just expired, they should see a CSRS office to apply for a new visa.

The immigration department provides incentives for those approaching the CSRS within 28 days of a visa expiring.

The CSRS can be contacted at 1300 853 773 or at the CSRS website.

Jerson opted to join Team Delta and Yshrael joined Team Seal.

The talent show which premiered on the Nine Network last Sunday April 15 is hosted by international TV presenter Darren McMullen. Aside from Delta Goodrem and Seal, the two other judges are Joel Madden and country singer Keith Urban.

Jerson... with Team Delta

Jerson is a 39 year old crooner who has established his audience followers and friends from Melbourne to Sydney, with some of his friends in the Filipino Australian media circle.

He began his singing career in the Philippines when he was 13. His family migrated to Australia in 1990, initially settling in Wagga Wagga, then moved to Sydney, and then to Melbourne.

“When I first started singing way back in Manila, I just followed the trend towards Original Pilipino music (OPM) where Pinoy artists composed and created original Pilipino sounds and yet conforming with and not too far from the international feel of the all too familiar pop music,” Jerson said in an interview

Jerson was picked by popular singer-songwriter Delta Goodrem after his rendition of John Legend’s “Ordinary People”.

Yshrael... with Team Seal

Yshrael, on the other hand, was picked by another judge, Seal to be part of his team after his performance of “Miss You” by the Rolling Stones.

The 33-year-old Yshrael, who was born in Marikina Philippines, started singing when he was 19. He has been in a boy band and has worked with a soul musical producer in LA.

He won the 2004 Music OzAward and was offered a publishing deal with Mushroom Publishing.

On video, Yshrael said to Seal: “I picked you I suppose, but thank you for the great pitch!”

“Winner takes all…”

Together with Jerson in Team Delta are Rachael Leahcar (the blind 14 year old singer), Matt Hetherington, Peta Jeffress, Danni Da Ros (she’s the voice teacher of Marianne Cuasay, one of the artists of Charity CD One), Adam Hoek Ben Bennett, Sarah Lloyde, Glenn Cunningham, Viktoria Bolonina, Matty Chaps, Jesse and Ashleigh.

With Yshrael in Team Seal are Casey Withoos, Karise Eden, Chris Sebastian, Paula Parore, Michael Duchesne, Emma Louise Birdsall, Sam Ludeman, Mitchell Thompson, Kieran Fraser, Anthony Dellamarta, Fatai Veamatahau.

The Voice of Australia winner will be awarded a recording contract with Universal Music Australia plus $100,000 cash.

The series consists of three phases, namely, a blind audition, a battle phase, and live performance shows.

In the final phase, the remaining contestants compete against each other in live broadcasts. The television audience will help to decide who moves on.

When one team member remains for each coach, the contestants will compete against each other in the finale.

A BEI officer inserting a compact flash card to a PCOS machine, May 10, 2010 elections. // TFA Photo

In its petition, Tan Dem, a coalition of Philippines and international Filipino leaders and organisations “to defend Philippine democracy” and an election watchdog, seeks the annulment of a Comelec resolution passed last March 21 and the Deed of Sale the Comelec signed last March 30 with Smartmatic-TIM for the supply of election system goods and services.

The Smartmatic-TIM’s PCOS machines and software were the centre of controversy in the May 2010 elections.

System error message displayed on the machine's LCD // TFA Photo

Instruction on PCOS machine during test run // TFA Photo

[click image to zoom in]

The protests to the use of PCOS in the May 2010 elections arose from the system’s vulnerability to incorrect and fraudulent election returns on account of removal or disabling of system security functionalities including digital signatures, ultraviolet validation of ballots, and voter verified paper audit trail of voter preference.

A week before election day also, the Comelec and Smartmatic-TIM had to recall more than 76,000 compact flash cards as these were wrongly configured.

Election observers and Philippine information technology specialists doubted whether the re-configured 76,000 flash cards were in fact tested before use. There were reports that some precincts received the re-configured CF cards only hours before the polls opened.

The petition, lodged by Tan Dem President and Director Teresita D. Baltazar, Evelyn L. Kilayko, Pilar L. Calderon, and Elita T. Montilla, also cited the failure of the PCOS system which produced only 99.6% accuracy compared with the required 99.995% accuracy in system count.

System glitch required recall of more than 76,000 CF cards for re-configuration, May 5, 2010

The group of Tan Dem President Baltazar further cited the amusingly inaccurate results of Smartmatic’s system when the canvassing servers for national positions displayed the number of registered voters at 256 million at the Batasan and 150 million at the PICC canvassing control centre.

The Philippine population is about 94 million based on latest estimates.

Mr Victor Barrios, convenor of the Global Filipino Nation (GFN), an international coalition of global Filipino leaders and organizations for “good governance” and a member organisation of Tan Dem, said that there are two main issues in the Tan Dem petition.

COMELEC commissioners sitting en banc on May 11, 2010 at the PICC control centre to start national canvassing. // TFA Photo

“The first issue is that the Comelec committed grave abuse of discretion in contracting for the purchase of automated election system goods and services from Smartmatic-TIM,” said Mr Barrios.

He added that the Smartmatic-TIM machines and software performed below par in the May 2010 elections and that the minimum functional capabilities required by law were not complied with.

“I am really surprised why the Comelec decided to exercise the option to purchase given it by Smartmatic-TIM. There are at least two petitions currently pending with the Supreme Court questioning Comelec’s management of the May 2010 automated election system,” Mr Barrios added.

GFN fielded a team of observers in the May 2010 elections with Mr Barrios heading the team with Jun Aguilar, Theodore Aquino, Elsa Bayani, Tim Bayani, Romeo Cayabyab, Robert Ceralvo, and Hermenegildo Estrella Jr.

GFN convenor Victor Barrios (front, in white shirt) with other observers (L-R) Jun Estrella, Ted Aquino and Jun Aguilar during the May 10 elections. Not in photo are Romeo Cayabyab and (in other sites) Elsa Bayani, Tim Bayani and Robert Ceralvo. // TFA Photo

In its report in June 2010, GFN said that the “election is null and void from the beginning” because of non-compliance with the election law and the automated election system was flawed and unreliable which cast doubts on the legitimacy of the election results.

“The second issue is that the Comelec’s decision to buy the Smartmatic-TIM machines, hardware and software violates the Procurement Law which requires a prior, competitive public bidding,” Mr Barrios stated.

The Tan Dem petition joins two other similar protests now pending with the Supreme Court.

The Solidarity for Sovereignty (S4S), a civic organization of professionals and businesspersons, filed a suit with the Supreme Court a few weeks after the May 2010 elections contesting the elections as being “null and void ab initio” due to violations of the law including removal of digital signatures and that it was a Congressional Committee and not the joint chambers that proclaimed the national candidates as required by law.

Five months after the elections, GFN Convenors, in collaboration with other groups, filed a petition with the Supreme Court case to compel Comelec to disclose digital photos to compare tallies as reported by Comelec.

Hundreds of residents from different suburbs of Western Sydney gathered in Minchinbury early morning today to remember those who served the country and fought at Gallipoli 97 years ago.

The morning was still very dark when those who attended the Dawn Service assembled in the Pinegrove Memorial grounds. The Great Western Highway and streets surrounding the dawn service site were filled with cars as early as 4.30 in the morning.

The dawn service in Minchinbury, organised by the Rooty Hill Sub Branch of the Returned and Services League of Australia, is one of many dawn services and other events across the nation to remember those who served in the First World War.

Fr Joseph Aytona, CPM at the steps of St John Vianney’s Church Doonside. //Photo: Mitchell Badelles

Filipino American Fr Joseph is inviting everyone to come and listen to his exposition on why we should work at getting to heaven.

He will also talk about the three other important last things of our lives not usually talked about – death, judgment and hell.

“Hell is not found on a map of the USA!”, Fr Joseph said.

Father Joseph’s account of heaven and hell will be at St John Vianney’s Church, 17 Cameron Street, Doonside from last night Sunday, 7.30pm and every night till Thursday. St John Vianney resident priest Fr John O’Neill added that there will also be the usual 9.15 mass every morning through the week.

In a homily during yesterday’s 7.30am mass at St John Vianney’s Catholic Church, Father Joseph mentioned how Satan tempts us “Sunday Catholics” a little more subtly through a spiritual disease called lukewarmness.

Fr Joseph was born in Los Angeles, California in 1991 and was ordained to priesthood in the Congregation of the Fathers of Mercy in 2010. He founded Family Vocation Ministries designed to promote vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

Only 61 of 121 boxes packed by ILISA staff and shipped via LBC arrived. Of the 61 boxes, 16 were addressed for HELP CDO NOW community groups in Cagayan de Oro, but only two boxes reached Mindanao which were found in Iligan City, 88 kilometres from Cagayan de Oro. Some boxes were also reported to have been opened and sorted.

When ILISA brought these matters to the attention of LBC, the company’s management kept silent on the situation.

ILISA President Gina Samia said that LBC did not offer any explanation or justification for the missing boxes or why some of the boxes had been opened and sorted.

In early last January, LBC offered free boxes and delivery for goods bound for flood stricken Northern Mindanao which other Filipino groups took, and for which they were grateful for LBC’s offer.

The donor groups met with ILISA volunteer workers at LBC’s Glendenning warehouse to pack the goods. LBC Sydney Team Leader Maricar Araullo provided instructions on how to label the donations to ensure that these reach the addressees.

Days after the goods were packed and deposited at the LBC Glendenning warehouse, LBC Area Head Delfin Posada, in an exclusive interview with a Metro Sydney based Filipino community newspaper, “has assured the Australian public particularly those in the Filipino community that their donations will go directly to the victims of typhoon Sendong (International Code named Washi) who were greatly devastated by the effects of heavy rains and flash floods early December 2011″.

Last Tuesday April 17, this writer emailed Mr Posada asking for an official statement on the situation.

As of this writing, Mr Posada has not responded. An earlier email, sent on January 14, 2012, also remained unanswered.

FRONT ROW; (L to R): Sir Max Encomienda, KOR, Deputy Commander; Consul Marford Angeles; Consul General Anne Jalando-on Louis and Sir Cesar Bartolome, KCR, Sydney Chapter Commander. STANDING (L to R) Sir Max Lopez, KCR, East Australia Area Commander; Ric de Vera, KCR, ANZO Regional Commander; Geoffrey B.W. Little, KCR; Sir Fiel Santos, KCR, Auditor and Sir Carlo Villadiego, KOR, Exchequer. NOT IN PHOTO are: Sir Philip Ranoso, KCR, Immediate Past Chapter Commander; Sir Francis de los Santos, KOR, Chancellor; Sir Ralph Posadas, KOR, Pursuivant; Sir Ken Tipping, KOR, Archivist; Sir Jayme Diaz, KOR, Deputy Exchequer and Sir Ronald Ranoso, KOR, Deputy Pursuivant.

The newly elected officers of the Order of the Knights of Rizal, Sydney Chapter (OKOR Sydney) made a courtesy call with the Consul General Anne Jalando-on Louis and Consul Marford Angeles at the Philippine Consulate Office in Sydney last Wednesday April 18.

The scheduled visit and consultation meeting covered wide range of topics including proposed OKOR activities for 2012 and 2013 and the Rizal Park in Blacktown.

Consul General Louis reiterated that the Philippine Consulate totally supports OKOR plans and visions and wished the newly elected officers well on their new roles.

The Consul General also affirmed the consulate’s support and cooperation to OKOR, specifically the projects affecting and involving the Filipino community in general.

The new set of officers’ term of office is two years (2012-2014). *** Submitted by Max Encomienda

Philippine BPO stall in last year's CeBIT exhibition in Sydney's Darling Harbour. // Photo: The Filipino Australian

The Times of India reported this development by publishing online a New York Times News Service article with a brief analysis of how the Philippines became the world’s number BPO site.

“Americans calling the customer service lines of their airlines, phone companies and banks are now more likely to speak to Mark in Manila than Bharat in Bangalore. Over the last several years, a quiet revolution has been reshaping the call centre business: The rise of the Philippines, a former United States colony that has a large population of young people who speak lightly accented English and, unlike many Indians, are steeped in American culture.”

The NYT article also reported that companies like AT&T, JPMorgan Chase and Expedia hired call centres in the Philippines or built their own, with jobs coming from the United States, Europe, and, to some extent, India as outsourcers. (Telstra is one of the large Australian companies with call centre arrangements based in the Philippines.)

Quoting BPO executives, the NYT article explained that the preference for the Philippines lies in two factors. One is the preference of outsourcers for American English, and another is the growing maturity of the outsourcing business where labour costs are no longer the primary factor in choosing a BPO site.

“Executives say the growth was not motivated by wage considerations. Filipino call centre agents typically earn more than their Indian counterparts ($300 a month, rather than $250, at entry level), but executives say they are worth the extra cost because American customers find them easier to understand than they do Indian agents, who speak British-style English and use unfamiliar idioms. Indians, for example, might say, ‘I will revert on the same,’ rather than, ‘I will follow up on that.’

“It helps that Filipinos learn American English in the first grade, eat hamburgers, follow the NBA and watch the TV show ‘Friends’ long before they enter a call centre. In India, public schools introduce British English in the third grade, only the urban elite eat American fast food, cricket is the national pastime and ‘Friends’ is a teaching aid for Indian call centre trainers. English is an official language in both countries.

“The Philippines has ‘a unique combination of Eastern, attentive hospitality and attitude of care and compassion mixed with what I call Americanization,’ said Aparup Sengupta, CEO of Aegis Global.”

Last month, the Philippine Daily Inquirer ran an article on the competition that Philippine BPOs are facing from other countries.

The Inquirer also reported that there are now 800 BPO companies in the Philippines employing 630,000 people. The BPO sector contributed $11 billion in revenues to the domestic economy last year, making it the Philippines’ second largest source of foreign exchange next to remittances from migrant workers.

How long will the Philippines maintain its position as the world’s number one call centres site?

With over 100 countries competing for BPO businesses, and many of these countries moving in to whittle down Philippine dominance are just in Philippines back door (Malaysia, Singapore and China), how will the country maintain its pole position?

Philippine BPO companies should be more strategic and should move on to more “high-value, non-voice services”, advised BPAP head of research Gigi Virata.

“High-value, non-voice services” include many back-office functions such as accounting tasks and the management of human resource systems that many cost-conscious companies have started to subcontract to companies in countries like the Philippines.

“It’s a very competitive world out there. We encourage companies to be more efficient. They have to be more productive and they can’t just keep cutting costs by reducing salaries,” Virata was quoted as saying.

“What you have to do is improve systems to identify redundancies, and come up with innovative ideas for better customer service.

Related: A Call Centre Encounter of a Different Kind