AK NewsMagazine November 2020 Issue

Volume 11 Number 1 NOVEMBER 2020

Quick response to relief effort for victims of Super Typhoon - p3

SPECIAL FEATURE

Why do older adults get (grow) shorter - p6

ENTERTAINMENT

New music team brings fresh sound - p9

‘Be prepared should trouble come to you’ MARTIAL arts are a way of life for Punchbowl’s Jose Mari (Jesse) Diestro, 68, the highest ranking master of the Filipino sports fighting codes of Sikaran and Arnis in Australia with a rank of 9th dan black belt. He arrived in Sydney as the Philippines’ lightweight champion in 1986, and then captured the International Sports Karate (ISKA) World Championship Open 35s in 1999.

FULL STORY ON PAGE 4

Cover photo: JESSE DIESTRO

editorial

AK NewsMagazine is published monthly and circulated in various parts of NSW. News articles, opinions, syndication and columnists do not necessarily reflect the views and opinion of the publisher and editors of AK NewsMag and are solely theirs. All editorial and advertising materials submitted by the advertisers are subject to the paper’s advertising and editorial standards and discretion. All rights reserved.

PUBLISHER

Kalatas Media

MANAGING EDITOR

Maria MariaPhillips (Millie) Marcial

CONSULTING EDITOR

Jaime K. Pimentel

POLITICAL EDITOR SPORTS EDITOR

Felix CarloOrcullo Cruz

CORRESPONDENTS Alfredo 'Ding' Roces Violi Calvert Marco Selorio Marilie Bomediano Joseph Orbase

MNISTS Jim Paredes COLUMNISTS Jessie Icao Hank Jongen Jerone Balagtas Fe Watmore

COLU

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FEBRUARY 2019 | AK NewsMagazine, 5 September 2019 November 2020 AK NewsMagazine Vol 11 No 1Vol 9 No 12

EDITOR’S DESK JAIME K PIMENTEL

I

Integration process starts at the country of origin

S expecting a person to conform a form of ‘divisive’ discrimination?

When we decided to become Australians and to live in our adopted country, weren’t we expecting to conform to, say, speaking English to conform to the common way Australians communicate?

We reckon it would be a given that, as migrants to this country with a common language that is English, we must expect ourselves to hit the ground running with at least a smattering of the common language in order to integrate into Australian society.

To be sure, we were not expected to leave behind our mother tongues and customs, so long as they didn’t run contrary to Australian values and the common good - or that would be what we would refer to as ‘divisive’ discrimination.

Use of a common language is what binds together a society such we enjoy in Australia.

As far as we can understand it, even the original owners of this country with many tongues accept English as our common language.

Which bring us to a growing practice of shop

signs, especially in central business districts, that border on ‘divisive’ discrimination.

The shop signs clearly tout for business with foreign language characters that so obviously cater to specific ethnic communities.

One’s uneasiness becomes more confronting at some of these shops when, on entering, one is made to feel unwelcome.

Even worse, communication is sometimes a frustrating experience because our common language of English is unable to bridge buyer to seller sufficiently.

It’s been said that the reason for shop signs catering to specific ethnic communities was to benefit migrants who have arrived without sufficient understanding of our common language.

Aha, there’s the rub.

Australian immigration authorities have not done their homework on proper preparation of immigrants for integration into Australian society.

The process starts at the Australian Foreign Office in the immigrant’s country of origin. n

www.kalatas.com.au

community affairs THE FILIPINO COMMUNITY HAS BEEN QUICK TO RESPOND TO CALLS FOR RELIEF FOR VICTIMS OF THE DEVASTATION CAUSED BY SUPER TYPHOON

Families rendered homeless MICHELLE BALTAZAR | Australian Filipina Magazine

N

OT-FOR-PROFIT community group Adhika is raising funds to help those who lost their homes and livelihoods after Super Typhoon Rolly hit landfall.

Called Typhoon Goni internationally, the storm started mildly before intensifying into a Category-5-equivalent super typhoon on October 30 (Sunday).

When it hit landfall in Catanduanes and Albay, the supertyphoon forced one million people to evacuate. More than 390,000 are now displaced and homeless.

The typhoon caused 24 deaths (which would have been higher if not for the mass evacuations), damaged crops, caused widespread electricity outages and financial damage of at least 5.7 Billion pesos (AUD$164 million).

Josie Musa, founding president of Adhika and hails from the Bicol region, was devastated when she watched the news and saw that her hometown of Tabaco City in Albay was directly hit.

In Tabaco city, more than 50 per cent of homes were damaged and government officials don’t expect electricity to be back on until December as power lines were destroyed.

Musa said that before her family migrated to Australia, she and her husband, Gerry Musa, lived in the city and raised their children there.

She recalls her own experience of the Super Typhoon Sening back in 1970 and how scary it was at the time.

“When I was in grade school, I lived through super typhoon Sening hitting Albay. I can’t even see my sibling next to me under the table where we seek refuge as our house was already blown by the over 300 KM per hour wind. We were just holding our hands together praying,” she said.

“But this is the first time I witnessed this degree of destruction.”

This was why when Super Typhoon Yolanda hit Tacloban City in 2013, Musa was among those who actively raised funds for the survivors.

Filipino-Australians have made donations in the past as many of them have been affected by strong typhoons when they were still living in the Philippines. June to

November is the five-month long typhoon season in the country.

“I am appealing this early to anyone who can spare any amount to help these families,” Musa said. “Adhika will send the collected amount directly to the survivors, coursing the funds through the local Parish Social Welfare Committee.

Very recently, Adhika sent book donations to Mindanao.

Donations can be deposited online to Adhika account: St George Bank.

Name: Adhika Society Account; BSB - 112 879; Account Number - 457462651.

“Write your name and TyphoonRolly in the description for funds reconcilliation and acknowledgment of receipt,” Musa said. “You can also contact adhikaapp@gmail.com for more details.

“Please share this with your family and friends so we can help our kababayans affected by this super typhoon.

“Every little bit helps.” n

Strong multicultural cooperation RUBEN AMORES

I

Donations packed and ready to go.

www.kalatas.com.au

N response to the urgent needs of the survivors of super typhoon Rolly, the Multicultural Assistance Task Force (MATF) of Western Sydney in partnership with almost 20 not-for-profit Filipino-Australian and multicultural community organisations, small businesses, churches and concerned individuals, launched its Humanitarian Support to Survivors of Super Typhoon Rolly on November 11, 2020.

This coincided with sending of the first wave of relief goods to their local partner in the Philippines, the Word of Hope Church of Metro Manila.

MATF chairwoman and project coordinator Cen Amores said it was important that transparency, efficiency and timeliness should be observed in the distribution of relief goods “Evidences of relief goods distributions in pictures or video, a report on the number of families in each barangay, towns and cities served, and feedbacks from recipients will be required from our Philippine partners, for the information of all our donors.

A second wave of relief goods planned for December will be sent to the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines through coordinator Fr Angel Cortez.

Donations in cash to: Auburn Small Community Organisation Network Inc - Society Cheque Account with Commonwealth Bank of Australia, BSB: 062-107, Account No: 1111 6283. Reference: Typhoon Rolly. Details: Cen Amores 0490 107 072 or mail: amorescen@yahoo.com.au n 2019 AK NewsMagazine, Vol 9 NoVol 51 11October | No FEBRUARY 2019 AK NewsMagazine 1 November 2020

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cover story

Martial arts are the air the man breathes Diestro caught the Sikaran-Arnis bug at the age of six years MARILIE BOMEDIANO

M

ARTIAL arts are a way of life for Punchbowl’s Jose Mari (Jesse) Diestro, 68, the highest ranking master of the Filipino sports fighting codes of Sikaran and Arnis in Australia with a rank of 9th dan blackbelt.

Diestro arrived in Sydney as the Philippines’ lightweight champion in 1986, and then captured the International Sports Karate (ISKA) World Championship Open 35s held in Lidcombe NSW in 1999.

He is the current Australian director of the World Sikaran Brotherhood of the Philippines.

Diestro was born on January 31,1953 in Sampaloc, Manila, and raised in Balingasag, Misamis Oriental, Mindanao.

His parents were of Filipino and Spanish ancestry Spanish ancestry.

“When he was young, my mother used to physically punish me hard when I was naughty boy, a form of discipline that built my resistance to pain,” Diestro says.

“But I never cried, not even once, when she belted me.”

Before he graduated from high school in 1970, at age 17, he ran away for a year and focused on martial arts training around Butuan, Gingoog, Davao and Zamboanga of Mindanao areas.

Diestro returned and finished his high school, and then college at the University of the East in 1980.

Young Jesse was introduced to martial arts when he was six after watching a man dancing and kicking skilfully in the rice fields using a harvesting tool called ‘sanggot’, which were later replaced rattan sticks in the martial art of Arnis.

“I started to train under the man’s tutelage and his son on Japanese karate martial art of ‘Shotokan’ from basics such the act of fetching water,” he says.

“Those exercises gradually toned my muscles, and I developed my kicking skills for the martial art of ‘Sikaran’ by painstakingly kicking down banana trees that were ready for harvesting.”

04

JOSE MARI “Jesse’ DIESTRO, early picture as an 8th dan black belt insructor of the Red Rangers training gym in Campsie NSW. INSET: Jesse Diestro, right, sparring as a young black belt in the Philippines.

At aged 18, Diestro had already mastered the ‘sliding side kick’ which was the famous Bruce Lee’s favourite.

In 1971, he met Lt Col Meliton C Geronimo Sr, the Sikaran martial arts mentor of the Philippine Air Force.

Diestro worked as an extra with the Filipino movie action star Tony Ferrer as one of the ‘goons’.

“In a fight scene, I accidentally hit Ferrer too hard and was dutifully removed from the cast,” he says.

Before coming to Australia, Diestro

September FEBRUARY2019 2019 | AK NewsMagazine, Vol 9 No 512 November 2020 AK NewsMagazine Vol 11 No 1

was already an instructor in Sikaran and Arnis.

“One of my students was Benigno ‘Nonoy’ Aquino III, before he became President of the Philippines,” Diestro says. “And he became a champion.

“And all my students then became champions including Jun Capili, Romeo Mendoza, Philip Policarpio, Benidict Bautista, and Arthur Talastas.”

Diestro migrated to Australia in 1985 and introduced Sikar and Arnis in Australia in April 7, 1986 with the NSW Police Force.

His Sydney-based club became the Black Rangers Chapter One in Australia.

Among his citations was induction into the International Sport Karate Association Martial Arts’ Hall of Fame, in May 2000.

Diestro was voted ‘Instructor of the Year’ by ISKA, received a Life Achievement Award, and Earned the title Grand Champion at the ISKA World Cup for over 35s in 1999.

Has developed state and national champions in Australia, more recently among them Anthony Fias-Ayon, Pia Castray, 10-year-old Ricky Paras – all three of whom also won Sikaran title in Canada representing Australia.

Today, Diestro dedicates his time after work as a security officer at Canterbury Leagues Club to teaching school-age kids at his home gym.

“I do it for the love of martial arts, not for the money,” he says.

In fact, Diestro often teaches for nothing.

In his flyer, which he distributed for his club, Red Rangers, the cover page reads: AVOID A FIGHT BY ALL MEANS. BUT SOMETIMES YOU MAY BE FORCED TO PHYSICALLY DEFEND YOURSELF. ARE YOU PREPARED? The words encapsulates the purpose of teaching people the martisal arts.

Sikaran and Arnis, to this man of remarkable achievements and almost unparalleled experience in his art, is the air he breathres. n www.kalatas.com.au

conversation

Curious kids ask:

Why do older adults get shorter?

MICHELLE MOSCOVA

Senior Lecturer in Anatomy, UNSW DISCLOSURE STATEMENT Michelle Moscova does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

H

i I’m Miranda. I am ten years old and I live in California. My question is: why do older adults get shorter?

What an interesting question, Miranda.

Luckily, you don’t have to worry about this for some time. Until you are 30 or so (I know, it sounds old), you will continue to grow However, after that, most people start to gradually shrink. So by the time you are 80 (yes, that seems really ancient), you would be 2-2.5 inches (5-6 centimetres) shorter.

Our mission is to share knowledge and inform decisions.

BACKS, MUSCLES, JOINTS So, what exactly in your body shrinks this much? Ahh, this is another interesting question. The secret is in what keeps your body upright — your back. It is made up of 33 tiny little bones called vertebrae. www.kalatas.com.au

Some people can develop a hunchback, like this man, which makes them look even shorter.

Source: Shutterstock

Between most of these vertebrae are discs made of softer tissue.

The middle of these soft discs are like jelly, and are made mostly of water. These act like a shock absorber when you walk, run and jump.

Everything you ever wanted to know about the bones and discs in your back, in a song.

As you get older, these discs slowly lose water and become a tiny bit flatter But because there are usually 23 of these discs, they make up a quarter of the height of your back. When each of them shrinks a little bit, it all adds up and you get shorter.

Older people’s muscles also get smaller and weaker, their bones get thinner and the spaces between the bones in their joints get smaller.

Together, this can also change your height.

PEOPLE CAN SHRINK TOO MUCH While a small change in height in older people is normal, shrinking too much — more than 2 inches (5cm) — can be a bit of a problem. It may be a sign of a disease where your bones become too weak and brittle, and are easier to break.

As muscles get weaker, especially muscles that support your back, your back may get a curved “hunchback”, which makes you look even shorter. Weaker muscles can also cause a sore back and problems with balance.

So, is there anything you can do to stop getting shorter when you age?

There certainly is.

If you eat healthy food, exercise regularly and get outdoors to play in the sunshine from time to time, it will help keep your bones and muscles healthy and stop you

getting too short when you are older.

YOUR HEIGHT CHANGES OVER THE DAY Another thing you may not realise is that even when you are young, your height changes throughout the day You are actually tallest when you wake up in the morning, but you lose up to an inch (2.5cm) of your height within three hours of getting out of bed.

This is because when you sleep, your body rests and allows the water to get back into the jelly centres of the discs in your spine But when you bounce out of bed, the pressure on these discs makes them lose water again and you get a little smaller.

So, if you really want to be the tallest you can be (getting picked for a basketball team, perhaps?), try to measure your height just after you get out of bed in the morning. n

September 2019 AK NewsMagazine, Vol 9 No FEBRUARY 2019 AK NewsMagazine Vol512 11 | No 1 November 2020

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law

Lawyers become more accountable to their clients JESSE ICAO | Australian Legal Practitioner

D

ID you know that lawyers and barristers are subject to stringent regulations in accordance with the Uniform Law and the Legal Services Council is the body that monitors the operation of the Legal Profession Uniform law and responsible for making Uniform Rules?

The appointment of high profile lawyers on Tuesday, October 27, 2020 by the State of NSW and Victoria is a welcome development, especially when we read in the news about a legal practitioner involved in conflict of interest, poor service, exorbitant legal fees and practitioner prosecuted for involvement in illegal drugs.

According to the Jill Hennessy, Attorney General of Victoria, “the Legal Services Council does a crucial job in regulating the legal industry while increasing protections for consumers.

“This approach creates a single system to oversee legal practice, cutting red tape for

lawyers and therefore benefiting those who rely on lawyers to safeguard their interests”.

With NSW and Victoria being members of the scheme, the Legal Services Council can effectively monitor consistent implementation of the Uniform law across the two States.

NSW Attorney General Mark Speakman said “the work of the Council has benefited consumers by requiring high standards in the profession including professional conduct and legal costs”.

The contentious issue of legal costs is now addressed in that the Uniform law requires a legal practitioner to disclose to a client if the legal work was likely to cost more than $750; give a written estimate of the total legal costs after initial instructions are given or as soon as practicable.

It is also a requirement now tclient be informed of the cost agreement, make progress reports on costing, provide a billing method and advice to access a dispute resolution if bill is disputed by the client. n

How can you increase your mind’s potential?

Find out.

BUY AND READ

DIANETICS THE MODERN SCIENCE OF MENTAL HEALTH

by L. Ron Hubbard Price: $30.00 201 Castlereagh St. Sydney, NSW 2000 02 9267 6772 sydney@scientology.net ©2020 BPI All Rights Reserved. DIANETICS is a trademark and service marked owned by the Religious Technology Center and is used with its permission.

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FEBRUARY | AK NewsMagazine, Novemberr 20202019 AK NewsMagazine Vol 11 No 1Vol 9 No 5

www.kalatas.com.au

politics

A job cut out for Biden commentary by FELIX ORCULLO political editor At last, the US presidential election is over. What a relief to the election-fatigued Americans and to watchers of politics around the world.

But if there was one thing the campaign provided us was the sheer entertainment that the two candidates brought to us especially during the two debates.

Now, mammoth tasks await him. Uniting and healing of a deeply-divided society is a priority. But the most urgent is dealing with Covid-19 that Trump failed to handle or deliberately refused to deal with. It’s no wonder, America has the worst number of corona virus cases and deaths.

Another task awaiting the new President is how to turn around America’s reputation in the international community not to mention climate change.

Thankfully, he has already flagged re-joining the Paris Agreement that Trump withdrew from.

Trump’s refusal to acknowledge his defeat and therefore vacate the White House with dignity (a time-honoured institution observed by outgoing presidents) is childish at best and an embarrassment to the presidency at worst.

This election achieved many firsts: largest number of popular votes, the oldest president Joe Biden), first sitting president (Donald Trump) not to be re-elected in 28 years, first woman vice-president, first VP of colour, first Indian-American First Lady and first-ever First Lady with a PhD (Kamala Harris). n

Yet another scandal

The office of the premier is being investigated by the state’s Information Commissioner about the shredding of documents related to more than $252M in council grants.

The commissioner says the action contravened the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009.

This investigation comes as the premier grapples with the humiliation over the scandal of her “close personal relationship” with the disgraced Wagga Wagga MP Daryll McGuire.

What is it with this premier? The records being investigated refer to Gladys’s approval for spending on projects now the subject of pork-barrelling claims.

There have been allegations that 95% of the $252M went to councils in Coalition seats in the lead-up to last year’s NSW election.

Again, she alleged that she knew nothing of the shredding of paper records and deletion of electronic ones.

Even for the sake of argument she knew nothing of the removal (which is improbable), whatever happened to command responsibility? A mere mortal would have been given the marching order.

But not this premier. n

A ‘clayton’ ICAC

At last, after long prevarication and obfuscation, the Federal Government has put forward a bill to legislate a Commonwealth Integrity Commission.

The Attorney-General Christian Porter claims this bill has more power than a Royal Commission.

But the critics are having a field day. Some say it is a toothless tiger and before the Commissioner could start investigation, there ought to be a recommendation from a minister.

Say that again?

A recommendation from a minister of the Crown before the integrity commissioner could initiate action.

In other words, a clayton ICAC. What an insult to the intelligence of the Australian public.

So, why introduce the bill at all? Because the LNP has been pushed into a corner. The independent MP for Indi Dr Helen Haines introduced her own bill two weeks before the government submitted theirs

Obviously, they do not want the humiliation of being pre-empted by an independent. Critics say the Haines’ bill has more teeth, with retrospectivity and hearings to be conducted in the open, unlike closed hearings as proposed by the LNP. The Centre for Public Integrity says the more accurate description of the government bill would be a royal omission rather than a royal commission.

They add: “This is not a corruption commission (as) it is designed to protect parliamentarians and senior public servants from investigation.” www.kalatas.com.au

PRESIDENT-elect Joe Biden, left, and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

IMAGE: SALON

Barrister Geoffrey Watson says: “This is a sham, it is designed to cover up corruption, not expose it. The absence of retrospectivity means Australians will never find out what really happened with the Great Barrier Reef fund, with the socalled sports-rorts or with the Murray-Darling water buy backs. This is worse than having nothing.”

A lot more could be added to the list but the land in the Western Airport area with a market value of $3M and purchased by the government for $30M would top it.

Ten times more than what the land was worth!

You can see why this LNP government is not keen on a real ICAC n

Murdoch press’ tentacles

“Living in Australia, many now habitually think our national media landscape is normal.

It isn’t. No other Western democracy has the level of print media monopoly that Rupert Murdoch has secured for himself in Australia,” says former Australian PM Kevin Rudd.

He continues: “Murdoch has now seized control of almost 70 per cent of daily newspaper circulation. In Queensland, which determines most federal elections, this monopoly is almost 100% with every newspaper from Cairns to Coolangatta and Australia’s only commercial 24-hour ‘news’ channel.”

Rudd describes the Murdoch media monopoly as “this giant cancer on our democracy”.

Which is why he has launched a petition for a Royal Commission with full powers and independence to “examine our entire media landscape, weigh alternative regulatory models and make recommendations to ensure a strong, diverse news media for the future.”

Over 500,000 have signed the petition, including former PM Malcolm Turnbull. A record.

Let see how the Australian Parliament will respond. n

Super for Retirement?

Just 200km north of Australia, around 3.5M people struggle to have their cry for independence heard by the whole world. Australian politicians ignore their plea.

West Papua is inhabited by people largely of Papuan descent. Over the last 50 years, it has been occupied by Indonesia, a country of 240M people 3,000K to the west.

The West Papuans have long been fighting the Indonesians for their right to selfdetermination claiming Indonesia does not have the legal right to control them.

Thousands of West Papuans have already died in their fight for this right.

Recently, the Prime Minister of Vanuatu (a tiny republic in the South Pacific) in an impassioned speech to the UN lamented “continuation of human rights abuses and lack of progress towards self-determination”.

This conflict will become a flash point in our region, not dissimilar to East Timor many years ago. Now an independent nation, East Timor went through a series of prolonged battles with the occupying Indonesian forces.

When will the Australian government recognise West Papua’s need for independence? n

September 2019 12 AKAK NewsMagazine, NoNo 5 1 | November FEBRUARY 2019 NewsMagazineVol Vol911 2020

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literature

CHAPTER 4

BRING HER HOME

Foreboding

T

hen they were off to Sydney. To Adela, this was a dream come true.

She was excited to live in another country. That it was Australia was only a fortunate accident.

That she didn’t love Charles in the first place was not an issue. She would learn to love him over time. The sadness she had was leaving her ageing parents.

They were on their own. Thankfully, Ruben’s sister volunteered to check up on them.

Adela promised her parents that it would just be a matter of time. Her plan was for them to live with her and Charles in Sydney once they got established. She had made Charles promise faithfully.

No worries, Charles had written. To Adela, this was perfect. She would work, send money to support her parents in the meantime, while enjoying life with Charles. And maybe have a child or two, Eurasian children, before turning 30!

Letters between Adela and her parents exchanged with frequent regularity in the first year. She sent them some money once. Then the letters fell into trickle.

Then nothing. Her last letter to them was two years ago - looked like it was written in haste - telling them that Charles wanted to move to Windarra for work.

Initially, Ruben balked at the idea of searching for Adela. He had returned home last year for a short visit after a long absence. Adela’s parents heard this so they visited him. Then they pleaded with him to find out what happened to their daughter. Three months after he returned to Sydney, the letter came. He just couldn’t rest. Something must have happened to Adela. It’s not like her to just stop writing. A devoted daughter, she would do anything to make them happy.

Slowly, Ruben accepted that something drastic must have happened. He had to find out.

Besides, the guilt he was carrying for not answering Adela’s letter to him three years ago was keeping him awake. He could have kept the communication open. She was only an hour’s drive away!

He knew nothing about Windarra. He had not heard of this town until he asked one of his office mates. “I would not go there if I were you.”

Ruben could not sleep. The heat was getting to him. The air-con was hardly working so he rang Bob. “Mate, this is a three-star motel, what do you expect?

But tell you what, I’d lend you my electric fan. No drama.”

While waiting for the fan, he looked out the window. On the horizon, faint lightnings danced in the dark skies, warning of impending rain. He could see the distant outline of a mountain between flashes.

With a deep sense of foreboding, his thought wandered back to his hometown and how on a night like this, his parents would gather the children in one room until “the gods in the mountain would

08

A SHORT STORY IN NINE CHAPTERS ACROSS THREE ISSUES

By Felix Orcullo “It’s a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes.

Everything looks the same. Feels the same. Even smells the same. You realise what’s changed is you.” n F. Scott Fitzgerald.

calm down after delivering their wraths onto the townspeople”.

He smiled and praised himself for remembering this folklore. nnn

CHAPTER 5

H

Discovery

e felt proud that a small part of his identity in the new land had still managed to retain a tiny part of the old country after all these years.

He heard Bob’s grumbling when ascending the stairs and his thought shifted to Windarra’s immediate problem.

The town could use a decent downpour. It hadn’t rained for months. The river, the main source of the town’s water, was running dry.

And the foreboding stayed with him.

After Bob had set up the fan, he saw Adela’s photo on the coffee table. “Your girl, mate? She’s not bad looking, hey!”

Shaking his head, Ruben picked the photo up and showed it to Bob. “She is the reason why I’m here.”

“I know this sheila!” Bob blurted.

“You know her?” Ruben was incredulous.

“Mate, there aren’t many Asians coming to this god forsaken place. So, when they did, you would remember them, hey?

Especially this beauty!”

Adelle (as she was now called) and Charles had stayed at Windarra Motel for two weeks almost two years ago, until Charles found a job as a part-time cook at the pub.

“Do you know where they live?”

“No. But all you need to do is to ax James the barman at the pub. He would of

November 2020 AK NewsMagazine Vol 11 No 1Vol 9 No 512 September 2019 FEBRUARY 2019 | AK NewsMagazine,

served you tonight, hey? Him and Charles are mates, they both work at the pub. Charles the cook.”

The image of an old, gruffy, tall and bearded white man with a deep tattoo of a dragon on his right arm flashed before Ruben.

He wondered then why the barman was so abrupt with him, almost to a point of rudeness.

Ruben could not believe he could be this lucky. First night and he had a good lead already. Although extremely tired with alcohol affecting his senses, he could not fall asleep.

Images of Adela, her parents, and Charles quickly alternated before him, like a trailer in a suspense movie.

Why was James so abrupt with him? Then it hit him. James had asked him where he was from. When he said Sydney, the barman grumbled: “I meant your country, you don’t look a local or Australian.”

It was more a statement than a question.

He smiled at the thought of his reply to Constable Freeman. “I’m Filipino. I’ve just driven from Sydney today.”

“And your business here in Windarra?”

“I’m looking for someone.” He replied, regretting that he had left Adela’s photo in his room.

James didn’t say anything but Ruben remembered him quickly disappearing in the backroom.

His mind weary and body tired, he fell into a deep uninterrupted slumber. He dreamt he was falling fast into an abyss, then with great effort spread his arms and somehow managed to fly out. He saw Adela in a white dress in a clearing, her hands spread out, waiting for him.

Then seconds before he was about to clasp her, Charles appeared out of nowhere and grabbed her, pinning her to the ground.Charles’ laughter woke him. nnn

CHAPTER 6 ‘This’ case

H

e woke with a start. It was already 11 am.

For a short while, he didn’t know where he was. Then, he dragged his body to the bathroom to have a shower.

It was still hot; it didn’t rain the night before. The sign in bold letters didn’t let him forget the whole area was in drought, and if guests could have short showers that would be much appreciated.

“No worries”, he thought. No big deal. It never ceased to amaze him how Australians especially Sydneysiders could be so profligate when it came to water, among other things. He called this attitude “waste economy”.

After shower, he drove hurriedly to town. He could not wait to find out where Adela was. To report to her father. That all was well.

But somehow, he could not force himself to believe this.

At the pub, lunch time crowd had started to shuffle in. James was cleaning glasses when Ruben approached him.

“What do you want?” James voice was hostile.

“Mate, can I talk to Charles? I’m looking for his wife Adela, um Adelle.”

“He’s having a day-off.” James said without lifting his eyes.

“Are you able to give me his address? It’s important that I talk to Adelle.”

“Wouldn’t have a fucking clue!” James was still not looking at him.

“I was told you were friends.”

“Look, why don’t you just fuck off?” James looked at Ruben, his eyes red.

“Mate, Adelle’s parents asked me to contact her.

She has not written to them for ages. They are terribly worried for her. Surely, you can understand that.”

“Come back tomorrow. You can talk to Charles yourself.”

Ruben was about to say something when James shouted: “Piss off, wog!”

Ruben saw the futility of the situation and decided to leave the pub. Still seething with anger, he drove back to the motel. He was going up to his room when he remembered he hadn’t had breakfast or lunch yet. On the way down in haste, he almost ran into Bob. “Hey, mate? What’s the rush?”

“I went to the pub, asked James but wouldn’t tell me anything”.

“Did you ax for Charles?”

“I did but James said Charles was having a day off.”

“Having a day off, on a Saturday? My foot!” Bob was beginning to see Ruben’s frustration. “Wait here, see what I can do.”

Moments later, Ruben found himself sitting in a police car being driven by Constable Freeman, thankful the air-con was on.

“I shouldn’t be doing this but Uncle Bob was very insistent. Besides, it’s a quiet day and am also interested in this case.” The officer emphasised “THIS” case.

“How do you know where they live?” Ruben couldn’t contain his curiosity.“They live in a shack outside the town at the edge of the bush.

I visited them once many moons ago. Assault.

But nothing happened. Adelle would not press charges and Charles was repentant.”

Ruben felt his guts tightening, his foreboding turned to dread. nnn

TO BE CONTINUED www.kalatas.com.au

entertainment

‘

It’s a blessing in disguise.

Kyroe and I reconnected on social media during this pandemic and discovered that we both wanted to produce songs and make music videos.

We had to innovate because the entertainment industry floundered.

Surprisingly, we found a new purpose together as a team.

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A new music team brings a fresh sound

‘Mac Daddy’ and ‘Kyroe’ develop a music style ranging from pop to urban under MAS Group

M

ÁS, a newly-formed production team of Chris ‘Kyroe’ Campbell and Marco ‘Mac Daddy’ Selorio, perform under independent record label MAS Music Group.

Their music style varies from pop to urban but Selorio and Chris both come from an Australian hiphop dance community that embraces perseverance, resourcefulness and dedication to your craft.

Since joining forces in June 2020, the duo has vowed to entertain the world by creating fresh sounds.

They have already launched two Tagalog-inspired songs on Spotify, with an album-full of future hits lined up in the coming months.

The architect behind MÁS is Selorio, a long-time event promoter and social media influencer from Sydney.

Born and raised in Quezon City, he developed a love for music at an early age.

Some of his early Filipino OPM influences include Gary Valenciano, Francis Magalona and the APO Hiking Society Selorio’s music taste expanded to John Farnham, U2, James Ingram, The Beatles and Michael Jackson when his family migrated to Australia.

But jlike your typical Filipino teen growing up in the 1990s, his insatiable appetite for R&B and hip hop music grew. Blackstreet, BoyzIIMen, Notorious BIG, Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Dr Dre, and Kulcha blared through his ghetto blaster.

His love for Philippine culture never waned: Selorio found a way to return to his native country during World Youth Day to reconnect with his people.

After a memorable tour, he promised to build a bridge between Australia and the Philippines.

“I am proud to be Filipino, I am proud to be Australian,” Selorio said. “I got the best of both worlds, and I am a full representation of what it means to be an Aussie-Pinoy.

Passionate, fiercely loyal, open minded, independent and entrepreneurial.”

It was only a matter of time before a spark would further ignite his creativity.

After graduating from the ANU, Selorio carved a path in the events management industry. When his World Supremacy Battlegrounds (WSB) dance competitions took off in 2004, it paved the way for Selorio to create bigger platforms for the youth.

His mantra, “lead, empower, inspire”, was in full effect when his events expanded across six continents at its peak.

Campbell is a 24-year old multi-talented Australian BBOY, dancer, beatmaker, rapper, songwriter, MC and DJ from Queensland.

His connection with Selorio goes way back to their dance comp days when he used to compete at WSB. Their music pathway started when they auditioned on X-Factor a few years ago, but they maintained their friendship.

Their paths crossed again during the COVID-19 pandemic, this time as music producers.

MARCO ‘MAC DADDY’ SELORIO

CHRIS ‘KYROE’ CAMPBELL “It’s a blessing in disguise,” Selorio said. “Kyroe and I reconnected on social media during this pandemic and discovered that we both wanted to produce songs and make music videos.

“We had to innovate because the entertainment industry floundered. Surprisingly, we found a new purpose together as a team.

“For us, it’s time to tell our story. I want to share my Filipino culture by blending our unique style with an Aussie twist.

The paterners’ ultimate music dream is to produce hits, inspire the world, help our families, and collaborate with DJ Khaled, Chris Brown and Drake.

MÁS’ music ‘Dito Lang Ako’ featuring Crank$ became available on all digital music streaming platforms on Friday, October 30, 2020. n AK NewsMagazine, Vol 9 NoVol 51211 | FEBRUARY 2019 September 2019 AK NewsMagazine No 1 November 2020

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sports & entertainment

Staying in shape as she waits for call-up W

ITH Covid-19 infection numbers gradually diminishing and sporting activities starting to return to normal again, athletes ice hockey’s Kayla Herbolario prepares to get back on the ice to get herself ready to go back to the Philippines and play with teammates for the Philippine national team.

In the meantime, Kayla are is waiting for confirmation on whether the IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Challenge Cup of Asia 2021 (CCOA) will push through for 202.

In 2019, the Philippines won gold in Abu Dhabi, UAE. “We are looking forward to defending our title,” says Kayla. “I am back training on the ice two times a week while my coach back in Philippines gives me homework and a training plan that I need to follow while I am here in Sydney.”

At the same time, she makes sure to train off the ice by going to the gym and doing conditioning workout six times a week, with Sunday being a rest and recovery day.

“Meantime, I have been able to work on my career as a sports mentor to young female athletes,” Kayla says.

“Stef Strack, a former VP for Nike, reached out to me via social media and asked me to be a part of her team and the company she created called ‘Voice In Sport’.

“It’s an organisation that helps promote female athletes as well as equality for women in all aspects.

“I jumped on board immediately. I always wished I had a mentor growing up especially playing in a rough, male-dominated sport.

“I never had a chance to have one, so now I am truly honoured to be able to do that

KAYLA HERBOLARIO

to young female athletes who want to have sports as a career.”

Kayla is helping Voice In Sport expand and grow bigger as she truly believes in what the organisation is doing and helping other people because that had always been her goal.

“Which is also why I started my own platform called Athletes Podium, where we help athletes get the attention and support they deserve,” she says.

“Sport is a universal language; It can bring people together, no matter what their origin, background, religious beliefs or economic status.

“It’s a great way to use it as a platform to promote social good and things that matter most in the world.” n

UrbanStar singing comp returns AFTER a four-year hiatus, UrbanStar will relaunch across various Australian cities to cater to dancers, singers, rappers and social media creators.

Multiple online categories in music covers and original composition - dance (street dance and non-hip hop), and an exclusive TikTok Creators division will kickstart the new competition.

Registrations started November 20 and continue til mid-December.

The various UrbanStar categories will be split up into age divisions - Open (18+ years old), Teens (13-17 years old) and Juniors (12 years and under). Individuals, duos and groups are welcome to join.

Since 2003, UrbanStar has unearthed

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some amazing Australian and Filipino stars, including the likes of PBB finalist Ylona Garcia, singing sensation William Singe, hip hop superstar Iggy Azalea, fashion icon Sarah Ellen, Eurovision finalist Leea Nanos (Melbourne), social media influencer Wengie, X-Factor 2015 winner Cyrus Villanueva (Wollongong), X Factor finalist Jai Waetford, X Factor New Zealand winner Beau Monga, BEATS, Miss Powers (Hong Kong) and Tkay Maidza (Adelaide) to name a few.

To participate in URBANSTAR, register online and submit all your video entries via email to maspresentsau@gmail.com (upload video links or send video files via Google Drive). n

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