April Boy Regino nagsampa ng reklamo laban sa Guam Customs officials

Grabe ‘yung nangyari kay April Boy Regino pero dapat ding i-consider kung anong story kung bakit nangyari ‘yun.

Ayon sa kanyang affidavit na ipinadala ng kanyang lawyer na si Jemela Nettles kay Tita Lolit Solis, nag-umpisa ito nang subukan niyang kamayan ang isang Customs official na sinigawan siya habang ini-inspection ang luggage niya. Pero instead na mag-behave, nag-attempt uli siyang makipag-shake hands. So siguro, na-imbyerna ang officer kaya dinala siya sa room. Pero agad siyang lumuhod at nanghihingi ng tawad kaya siguro nagkaroon ng idea ang customs officer na kapkapan siya.

Anyway, nagsampa na ng formal complaint si April Boy na iilang panahon pa lang nasa Amerika.

Anyway, narito ang ilang bahagi ng affidavit niya:

While at the Customs area, we were repeatedly questioned on the amount of promotional materials that we carried with us, and our baggage was subject to what what I felt was unnecessarily rough treatment and close scrutiny;

That in the course of the inspection of our baggage, 4 Guam Customs employees were around my person and the person of my wife;

Some of these officers asked me questions pertaining to our promotional materials which were in our luggage, which my wife tried to answer for me, since I cannot speak English very well, having been a permanent resident only since October 07, 2005.

All throughout the process of inspection, some of the officers kept saying my name " April Boy ," over and over again, sometimes in a very taunting manner, and sometimes very insultingly;

After our baggage and luggage had been inspected, I started to close the said boxes, nothing incriminating or illegal having found therein, the officers insisted that they inspect my wife’s purse and make-up bag;

Nothing illegal was found in my wife’s purse, which contained vitamins for me, and medicines (amoxicillin ) for my throat, the officers also asked about the money my wife was carrying, which amounted to $4,800, and more or less again, nothing illegal or unlawful was found;

Despite there not being anything found on our luggage and baggage, an officer approached me and shouted at me that I "must respect the customs officer!!." This greatly surprised me, since at this point in time, I was doing nothing wrong, nor was anything illegal or illicit found on my person or in our baggage, and at that point in time, I was just standing there, waiting for our passports to be handed back to us:

I approached this said officer to shake his hand, and to apologize for any disrespect I may have caused. He shouted at me not to touch him. I tried again to shake his hand again, thinking he was just joking, and he again shouted at me not to touch him.

The said officer, accompanied by another officer, then asked me to come with him to a room near the inspection area;

At this point in time I was very nervous, because the first officer, the one who shouted at me, was very frightening in his demeanor, and appeared to be very angry;

Upon entering the room, not knowing what else to do, I knelt before him and asked to be forgiven for any problem or sin that I may have caused, he shouted at me to stand up;

After this room, I was led to another, inner room where this same officer, accompanied by another customs officer, asked me if I took drugs, to which I replied that I did not since in truth and in fact, I have never taken any illegal drugs;

The said officer instructed me to place my hands against the wall. My baseball cap, which I was wearing all the time, was knocked off my head. At this point in time, I was very frightened, and could not fully understand his instructions. After having placed my hands against the wall, the officer asked me to take off my shoes.

That while I was taking off my shoes, the officer had his forearm on my lower back, in a very forceful manner, which was very uncomfortable for me;

After I had taken off my shoes and socks, and my legs were kicked repeatedly and very painfully, in his attempt to have me spread my legs as wide apart as possible;

When my legs were already spread, this officer inspected my buttocks and genital and crotch area in a very rough manner; my scrotum was squeezed very tightly, and this caused me serious pain. I would have preferred if the officer had just asked me to take my pants off, since I had nothing to hide;

Having found nothing, I was asked to sit in a chair inside the room, and put my shoes on, at this point in time, I was very frightened and trembling from fear, after what I had just been through. The two officers left the room, and a short while later, they came back and asked me to come back to the first room.

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Bago mag-Christmas, December 16, darating sa bansa ang classical piano sensation na si Maksim para sa one night engagement sa Philippine International Convention Center.

Blessed with extraordinary musical talent, good looks and a cutting-edge fashion sense, naging successful si Maksim na ma-bridged ang gap between generations and musical genres. Ngayon, even young people ay knowledgeable na sa classical piano music. Ang mga performances ni Maksim are always high on drama, with video screens and spectacular lights and laser shows na mas nagbibigay ng attraction sa predominantly young audience.

Nine years old lang si Maksim nang magsimula siyang mag-piano lesson. Ang nasabing piano lesson ang nakatulong sa kanya para maka-survive sa outbreak ng war sa Croatia (kung saan siya ipinanganak) noong 1990. Sa kabila ng war at sa encouragament ng kanyang Professor Marija Sekso, Maksim refused to give up on his music.

"There were a thousand grenades a day in my town," he recalls, "but you just can’t stop living - you must go on. And the only thing I could fine to help me then was my piano," sabi ni Maksim sa isang press statement.

Ang kanyang determination ay nag-paid off. After ng five years sa Music Academy sa Zagreb studying with Professor Vladimir Krpan, Maksim spent a year sa Ferenc Liszt Conservatoire sa Budapest. Sa nasabing panahon, nanalo siya ng first prize sa Nicolai Rubinstein International Piano Competition. In 2000, he moved to Paris with Igor Lazko, and in 2001 he won first prize sa Pontoise Piano Competition na ginanap sa French capital.

Ito ang naging turning point ng career ni Maksim. Nag-record na siya ng "Gestures CD," a collection ng contemporary Croatian piano pieces na naging mabenta sa Croatia at nanalo ng Best Classical Album.

Ngayon naglilibot sa iba’t ibang bansa si Maksim para sa kanyang bagong album na "A New World."

Ang nasabing album features a variety of tracks transcribed for piano, mula sa romantic-melodies.

At para lalong maka-relate kay Maksim watch na tayo ng Maksim: A New World Live In Manila sa Dec. 16 sa PICC.

Available ang tickets sa Ticketworld/Ticketnet World outlets or call Viva Concerts at 687-1125.