Read this. You could be the next victim.

The following is the story of Audie Gemora (photo) lifted with his permission from his Facebook but with names of some of the companies involved deliberately deleted (marked by XXX) as a nod to whatever police probe is going on. Funfare is printing Audie’s story because everybody can learn from it, so that they must be careful when they happen to park their cars in the place where Audie’s experience happened. You could be, knock on wood, the next victim.

Here’s Audie’s story partly edited:

Last Tuesday, Sept. 8, after office around 8:30 p.m. I met up with Carlo Orosa at Harbor Square CCP Complex. There was a queue and the parking there was full so I parked in the area fronting CCP’s Little Theater and Artist entrances. It was dim since only a few of the lampposts were working. I intentionally parked near a lit post near the ticket booth para safer.

When I returned to my car at 10 p.m., I found the left passenger seat window smashed in. My bag containing a Mac Pro, phone charger, a checkbook, important documents, my new Solaire ID, etc. were gone. 

There was no guard around. I informed the lady in the booth and she called out to the area but no one came. I walked the parking stretch but found no one. I went to the Pulis post in front of the Design Building but the cop there told me they were Pasay police while the parking lot my car was at is under the jurisdiction of Manila. I went to the CCP Security office at the Artist entrance and the guard there told me they don’t service the parking area either because it is managed by (XXX) which is renting the parking space from CCP and it has its own security agency (XXX).

Nevertheless, he accompanied me to the parking area and as we approached, two female teenagers selling sampaguita ran off. He told me that he saw them around my car earlier and suspected they were the look-outs. He also told me there was a similar incident in a parking area in front of Star City last week.

I sent an SOS to Carlo who came back. The three of us waited about 30 minutes before the official security guard (XXX) of (XXX) hired by (XXX) arrived on his motorbike. Instead of conducting an investigation he acted more like an usisero. His supervisor came after another 30 minutes and all that he did was to remind me, while pointing to my parking ticket, that (XXX) is not liable for damages or losses of any vehicle parked there. “Walang habol,” he told me.

(To make a long story shorter), the police conducted a proper investigation. He told us the culprit was most probably one of the many teen vagrants in the area. We interviewed a small sampaguita boy who told us he’d seen how it’s done...they rub something on the window of a vehicle then turn a live wire on it and the glass shatters.

One kid (“Tisoy”) was involved a year earlier in a similar incident. A car of musicians who came from Lea Salonga’s concert was broken into and two violins were stolen. Apparently, my case is the third to happen within the CCP parking areas as of late.

The Manila policemen were very helpful. They spent time interrogating the guard and found out he had a fake license. This means he never underwent training.

I have decided to share this story on FB as a warning to all my artist colleagues and art patrons who might park around the CCP grounds. 

I call CCP’s attention to this safety concern.

Lav named one of Prince Claus Fund Laureates

Congratulations to Lav Diaz this time not for (again!) winning an award at an international filmfest but for having been named one of the 11 laureates of Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development (PCFCD). The citation says, “The visionary filmmaker Lav Diaz radically re-imagines cinematic time and space. He films in ‘real time’ to immerse the viewer in deep reflection on Filipino history and experience, exploring themes of violent fascism, corruption, discrimination and poverty, and challenging the superficial commercialism of the global film industry.” 

Lav will receive 25,000 Euros (roughly P1.4 million).

The 10 other awardees are Abel Rodriguez, the Principal Laureate (Colombia), Ignacio Aguero (Chile), Rosina Cazali (Guatemala), FX Harsono (Indonesia), Invisible Borders Trans-African Project (Nigeria), Gulsun Karamustafa (Turkey), Tran Luong (Vietnam), Museo Itinerante de Arte por la Memoria (Peru), Lia Rodrigues (Brazil) and Sparrow Sound & Pictures Archives for Research on Women (India).

The awarding ceremony will be held on Dec. 10 at the Royal Palace Amsterdam with members of the Dutch Royal family in attendance.

The first Filipino laureate was Elena Rivera Mirano in 2001, a music scholar and contemporary renaissance musician who uses many different disciplines and dedicates herself to the musical heritage of the Philippines.

As per its official website, PCFCD is based in Amsterdam and is supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Dutch Postcode Lottery. It honors outstanding achievements in the field of culture and development and presented annually, since 1997, to eleven individuals, critical thinkers and cultural organizations whose actions have a positive impact on the development of their societies. Its mission is to actively seek cultural collaborations founded on equality and trust, with partners of excellence, in spaces where resources and opportunities for cultural expression, creative production and research are limited and cultural heritage is threatened.

— Reported by Celso de Guzman Caparas

A September to remember

The “Sing-a-long and Poem-a-long” held recently at the Sofitel Hotel in celebration of Grandsparents’ Day was the kind of September the senior guests will remember forever.

 It was a full-packed event overflowing with senior citizens who wanted to reminisce the past with the melodious blending voices of the equally senior performers, The Tiongco Brothers, the pride of Sta. Rosa City and whose popularity dates back to the days of Student Canteen and Darigold Jamboree in the ’60s.

Likewise loudly applauded was RJ del Rosario, a totally blind organist, singer and composer who was the front act performer.

Organizer-emcee election lawyer Romy Macalintal spiced up the love songs with love poems he read for the audience.  In return, a number of those in attendance gamely volunteered to read love poems which were distributed to them before the start of the show.

Vice Pres. Jejomar Binay delivered a short, informal speech and he read two love poems by James J. Metcalfe. Buhay Party List Rep. Lito Atienza interpreted a love poem for his wife, Beng Atienza, who was with him. Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. excused himself from reading a poem due to glaucoma but delivered an inspiring message to senior citizens who may still want to enter politics.

Former Chief Justice Renato Corona and his wife Cristina enjoyed the rest of the evening with the audience who asked for photo ops.

 All tickets were sold out as senior citizens enjoyed a 50 percent discount or only P1,500 for a dinner-buffet-show at the Spiral from its original price of P3,000. Senior citizens who were not accommodated due to space or seat limitations were consoled by Romy’s assurance of a repeat of similar event.

Sofitel General Manager Adam Laker expressed his thanks and gratitude to all those who attended and assured Sofitel’s support to similar events for senior citizens and its full commitment to insure that the rights and interests of senior citizens as provided for by law are properly observed and complied with.

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. You may also send your questions to [email protected].)