UFO Sightings - October 2, 2012

What: Pinoy Fire Fighting Instructor
Where: Abu Dhabi, UAE
When: October 2, 2012

For the past few months, I was not able to post UFO Sightings I daily encounter, but this time I would like to  post my recent UFO sightings.

Actually I encountered and met our UFO sightings for today last two weeks ago when I undergone a safety training (which is a requirement in my job). For every body who is working here in UAE, many people might have met this man. His name is Arthuro Solis. He is the Senior Fire Fighting Instructor from Gulf Technical and Safety Training Center (GTSC) here in Abu Dhabi. 

Why I chose him to be our Unidentified Finest OFW is because of his work achievement by being the Senior Fire Fighting Inspector of the training center. If you will search on the internet, GTSC is a major safety training center not only here in UAE but in the middle east. His way towards his current achievement is not a work in the park. During the course of the training he narrated to us his beginnings, how he started his work life from being once a policeman during the late President Marcos era, how he changed his profession to safety training field up to now in his current job. He's the Senior Fire Fighting Inspector and he is proud to say that he is what he is now in spite of the fact that he is not an engineer (He is a Criminology graduate). As an instructor in GTSC he has handled professionals from all levels and nationalities and I admit I admired how he "raise the flag" of the Philippines on how he handled this various peoples and professional levels.

Nothing more to say but he is one of the silent achievers here as an OFW and he is our UFO (Unidentified Finest OFW) for today.

UFO Sightings - June 14, 2012

What: Pinoy Top Immigrants
Where: Canada
When: June 14, 2012



For our UFO Sighting for today we go to Canada. A former member of parliament and a community activist are the two Filipinos included in Canada’s Top 25 Immigrants list this year.


Dr. Rey Pagtakhan of Winnipeg, Manitoba and Narima Dela Cruz of Surrey, British Columbia, felt honored and grateful during the awarding ceremonies held in Vancouver recently.

“The three or two is certainly a tribute that there are many more of us out there who are able to contribute and offer themselves for service to the community, for service to country because those are the attributes that I think Canadians, at large, would like to look forward from any citizen and certainly from any immigrant to this country,” said Pagtakhan.


“I hope really that this will contribute to giving more inspiration to our fellow Filipinos to give more and be involved and be recognized, not just be rewarded, but at least be able to prove that we are also giving back to our adopted country,” Dela Cruz said.


Pagtakhan is no stranger to the Filipino community in Canada. A doctor by profession, he shifted to politics and made history in 1988 by being the first Filipino to win a seat in parliament. Now retired, Pagtakhan was hesitant to join the Top 25 Immigrants contest, which is a people’s choice award, as he thought many have forgotten about him.


“So long as I feel that I have the ability, physical, mental and everything in me that I can help contribute then I think I would continue to do that because it is giving me a rewarding sense of fulfillment,” he said.


Dela Cruz, meantime, is a realtor by profession, but she’s also president of the Surrey Philippines Independence Day Society and an active volunteer with other organizations.


She believes in giving back not just to fellow Filipinos, but to Canadian society as a whole.


The two were chosen from a list of 400 nominations, shortlisted to 75 and voted by the public to make it to the top 25.


They hope that with the recognition, more kababayans get inspired and will be part of the top 25 list in the future. — ABS-CBN Balitang Canada.


Marieton Pacheco, ABS-CBN North America News Bureau

UFO Sightings - March 22, 2012

What: Pinoy Entrepreneur
Where: New Jersey, USA
When: March 22, 2012



Isla Pilipinas is the latest Filipino restaurant attempting to conquer New York. But instead of opening in the Manhattan familiar to many, owner Maggee Villanueva chose the lawn chair suburbia of Staten Island, home to about 12,000 Filipinos.


“I grew up here,” said Maggee, who graduated from the Staten Island College of Business. The Midland Beach section is where her family — husband Daniel Chen and their two daughters – lives.


On November 11, 2011 at 11 a.m., Maggee and her older brother, Abet, opened Isla and introduced the Middle America neighborhood to Philippine home-style cooking. Eleven-11-11-11, which adds up to eight, is an auspicious number in Chinese belief.


“We just thought, let’s do it,” she told The FilAm. “Of course, we did a bit of feng shui and numerology.”


Maggee is not a total newbie in the food business. She and her husband Dan run a chain of successful Fushimi Japanese restaurants in Brooklyn and Staten Island. Before that, it was a Chinese Mexican restaurant that did not quite take off.


While Abet, one of two cooks, is pretty much confined to the kitchen, Maggee is one ball of energy. She takes orders, busses tables, serves, greets customers, entertains all sorts of questions about the menu. In between, she fusses when there’s not enough soda in the cooler and there are food crumbs on the floor.


“I’m very hands-on,” she said, the smile never leaving her face.


Isla is now becoming the Staten island “destination” that Maggee dreamed it would one day be. Many of their regulars are Staten and Brooklyn residents, and some, like the Sangas, come from Jersey City.


“Everything was very tasty,” said Ravy Sanga. “Nagustuhan namin yung barbecue, it’s very tender and not too salty. And the price was reasonable.”


From the array of dishes we sampled, two stood out: the ‘crispy pata’ and the ‘tokwa at baboy.’ The pork leg was the right amount of crisp and still steaming hot even as table conversation takes your attention off food for a while. Dig back into it and the skin remained pork-rind crisp and the meat still smoky tender and not rubbery. The secret, according to Abet, is precision — and honesty. A fresh piece of pork leg is cooked right before it is served. The deep fry is for a specific amount of time, which Abet is not disclosing.


“Some people pre-cook to tenderize the meat, then they re-cook before serving,” he explained. “That makes the skin hard.”


The golden fried tofu in the ‘tokwa at baboy’ was swimming in sweet vinegar. The tofu was not overfried and the vinegar not at all sour. Either I’ve been eating this dish in all its bad form and gotten used to it, or Isla has wonderfully altered a standard ‘pulutan.’


There’s more to this A-rated restaurant that’s worth a short drive or a pleasant ferry ride. The décor is tastefully pleasant, and the toilet clean and roomy. The customers seemed to know each other, and the vibe was that of a family party with everyone enjoying the delectable company and the food.


“They are our regulars,” explained Maggee. - The FilAm


Isla Pilipinas is located at 556 Tompkins Avenue, Staten Island. Call them at 718-447-4752 to make a reservation, to place an order or inquire about catering

UFO Sightings - March 19, 2012

What: Filipino Sculptor
Where: France
When: March 19, 2012



A Filipino-Spanish sculptor — Raimundo Folch — won the prestigious Baumel-Schwenck Prize at the fourth "Carrousel Du Louvre 2011" in France, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported on Monday.

"The Baumel-Schwenck prize for sculpture is considered as the highest award given to a sculptor by the SNBA, which can be comparable to the Premio Velasquez or Lobo in Spain," the DFA said in a news release. 

Based in Valencia, Spain, Folch won the Baumel-Schwenck prize for sculpture at the international painting and sculpture exposition in Paris on December 10 last year.

"Mr. Folch was born in Manila in 1960 to a Filipina mother and a Spanish father. He spent his childhood years in Manila and studied at the Paco Catholic School up to high school before his family moved to Spain permanently in 1976," the DFA said.

Carrousel du Louvre is sponsored by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and organized by the National Society of the Fine Arts of Paris (SNBA).

Every year, some 6,000 artists from all over the world gather together in Paris to exhibit their works and compete for prizes awarded by the jury of the SNBA. - VVP, GMA News