Lea Salonga – still not been paid!

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I find this story quite interesting…the things that people will go thru to get a celebrity name so that he can say that she/he knows them personally and tight… it is still sad to learn that there are still lots of “con artists” to get a famous named celebrity to do something for a cause….ah, the world of show biz, is much like the same in the corporate/politics….bunch of BS all around! Well here is the interesting article I found ABS*CBN News written by Boy Villasanta, abs-cbnNEWS.com

Concert producer pays bounced check to Lea Salonga


by Boy Villasanta, abs-cbnNEWS.com | 02/21/2010 7:18 PM

MANILA, Philippines – You would think that a Filipino cultural icon and an international star like Lea Salonga would be spared from the shady deals that, unfortunately, do happen from time to time in the local entertainment industry.

Think again.

The Tony-award winning musical theater artist was paid a bounced check in the amount of P200,000 by the producer of “Echoes of Dreams” benefit concert at the Araneta Coliseum on Nov. 30, 2009.

As of this writing—2 months after the concert—Salonga remains unpaid and the said producer has not communicated with Salonga or her representatives.

This incident hardly made a ripple in the entertainment industry and the news only reached people in showbiz through a Facebook status that Salonga herself posted online.

That FB status, posted on December 22, 2009, reads: “Just so you know, I am not now nor have I ever been a close friend of Jerome Vinarao (Echoes of Dreams producer). All claims that he’s close to me are false. As in ALL!!!”

Then Salonga reveals in the discussion that follows that she was paid a bounced check by Vinarao and also mentions that her adopted sister, Sheilla Habab, was also a “victim.”

Not a friend, just a fan

This writer caught up with Vinarao at his Center for Arts Foundation along Timog Avenue in Quezon City. Vinarao agreed to explain his side.

Vinarao denied ever claiming that he’s a close friend of Salonga.

“Once and for all, I would like to clear my side that I have not been claiming I am a close friend of Lea. What I know is that I was a good fan of hers,” he said in an exclusive interview.

Vinarao also admitted that the check he issued Salonga did bounce. However, he explained that it bounced simply because the account from which the check was drawn ran out of funds.

He admitted that he was short of funds after the November 30 show because the “Echoes of Dreams” concert was a flop.

He admitted he issued a post-dated check to Salonga but pointed out that he warned Salonga’s camp in advance that the check would bounce due to insufficient funds.

“The date of the check was December 5, 2009. I told them not to deposit it until I tell them so,” he added.

Vinarao revealed that the show didn’t make money.

“I had to pay P280,000 as tax to Araneta Coliseum. The net proceeds was only P9,450. It was a flop. I only had 2 groups which gave me donations so I was able to pay the tax,” explained Vinarao.

According to Vinarao, the P200,000 cash that was originally allotted for Salonga was diverted to pay various suppliers.

He said he handed P200,000 in cash to Habab for payments to these suppliers.

“I had to pay some of the suppliers. I paid Lea’s band P16,000. It’s a matter of priority, mas uunahin ko ang mga supplier at ang mga bata kaysa kay Lea (I paid the suppliers and child performers first before Lea),” he said.

Vinarao also said Judy Araneta Roxas gave her P50,000 as donation last Jan. 10, 2010 but he did not specify where the money went.

Lea’s ‘secrets’

A former student and former volunteer of the Center for Arts Foundation, however, said Vinarao did lead at least some of his students believe that he is a friend of Salonga.

Ramil Gulle was a volunteer of the Center for Arts Foundation for several months. He quit being a volunteer on Nov. 26, 2009, a few days before the “Echoes of Dreams” concert.

“Jerome did not say directly, ‘Oh, Lea Salonga and I are good friends.’ But he did tell us, his students, during one or two workshop sessions that he and Lea would call each other on the phone and even exchange emails.

“One time, he told us about the time that he called Lea Salonga on the phone when she was in the United States. According to Jerome, he wanted to ask Lea Salonga to perform in one benefit concert he was producing. The problem was she was in the U.S. doing other shows.

“According to Jerome, all he had to do to get Lea Salonga on his show was to make a phone call. Jerome told us that he called up Lea Salonga in the U.S. and asked her to sing at his show—since it was only for one night, anyway.

“Now this is what, according to Jerome, Lea did. She supposedly booked a flight all the way back to Manila just so she could sing in his show. The next day, according to Jerome, Lea Salonga flew back to the United States.

“Now let me ask you: if you are Lea Salonga and you are in the middle of doing shows in the U.S., what would motivate you to fly all the way back to Manila, just to sing for one night, and then go back to the U.S. the following day—and all because Jerome called her on the phone. If she isn’t Jerome’s friend, why would she do that for him?”

“I believed these claims by Jerome because by then I had already been introduced by him to Sheilla, Lea’s sister. Sheilla, as far as I could tell, was a good friend of Jerome. So it wasn’t much of a stretch to believe that he’s friends with Lea, too. And of course, Jerome is good at convincing people,” Gulle said.

Gulle added that Vinarao also told his students about Salonga’s “secrets” to good singing.

“Jerome would tell his students about ‘the secrets to good singing’. He mentioned that he learned these secrets through 5 years of research. And part of that research was the ‘secrets’ that Lea Salonga supposedly shared with him.

“Jerome, for example, would make his students do warm-up exercises. While we were doing the warm-ups, he told us that Lea Salonga did the same warm-ups but for much longer than we could,” said Gulle.

As a volunteer for the “Echoes of Dreams” production, Gulle also attended meetings with Vinarao and representatives of the beneficiary organizations.

At one meeting, Jerome told us that Lea was so willing to help ‘Echoes of Dreams’ that she agreed to perform for free. However, Jerome also added that, out of his generosity and respect for Lea, he would pay Lea P100,000 as talent fee,” said Gulle.

Production manager

Habab, Salonga’s adopted sister, is the singer’s longtime assistant and travel companion.
According to Habab, her sister and Jerome never talked on the phone and never exchanged emails. She also disputed claims that Vinarao called up Salonga in the U.S. to do a show for him.

Habab revealed that she was the one who helped arrange for Salonga’s singing gig for “Echoes of Dreams” and another, earlier show also produced by Vinarao. At the time, she and the concert producer were still friends.

“Actually, may mas nauna pang show si Jerome na kinuha si Lea, sa isang advocacy concert sa Music Museum para sa mga abused girls. Lea was not in the U.S. at the time. She was here. Pero wala namang trouble do’n. Nabayaran si Lea, (Actually, Lea did perform at an earlier advocacy concert produced by Jerome. It was at the Music Museum, staged for the benefit of abused girls. But we had no trouble with that. Lea was paid),” she said in an exclusive interview.

She added she also helped Vinarao’s productions for the last 2 years as a volunteer.

“I believed in his objectives that’s why I joined in. They were all advocacies especially helping out the marginalized groups like the showcasing the talents of the autistic, the drug rehabilitated, the battered women, the Persons with Disabilities and many more in singing and dancing,” Habab said.

For the “Echoes of Dreams” concert, Habab was the production manager who took care of all the technical requirements for the show.

Habab even stayed in Araneta Coliseum for 2 days. “Sa mga dressing room na lang ako natutulog at naliligo just to manage the production, (I slept and took showers in the dressing room just to manage the production),” she recalled.

Salonga got downpayment

According to Habab, Salonga was supposed to receive P300,000 and not P100,000. She said that there was never any agreement that Salonga would perform for free.

“In June of 2009, Jerome was very confident he could raise millions from ‘Echoes…’ He was dreaming of raising tens of millions of pesos. Actually, Lea agreed to do the show for a fee,” said Habab.

Initially, they talked about a P500,000 talent fee for 7 songs but according to Habab, Vinarao haggled for a lower price.

“By November, we agreed to perform for his concert at a fee of P300,000 for 4 songs,” said Habab.

On the night of Salonga’s performance for “Echoes of Dreams,” she received an initial payment of P100,000 in cash. According to Habab, the remaining P200,000.00 was paid in check. The check was not under Vinarao’s name. Instead it was under the name of a certain “Maria David.”

Before the show started, the suppliers for the lights and audio equipment were already demanding a downpayment for their services—as is customary, according to Habab.

“Kaya sa laki ng Araneta, hinahabol ko si Jerome kahit sa control booth. Sabi ko, hindi gagalaw ang mga suppliers, like ‘yong lights and sound, kung walang down payment (That’s why I had to chase Jerome around through the Araneta. I told him that the lights and sounds would not operate without a down payment),” recounted Habab.

Six checks, as far as Habab could remember, were issued by Vinarao. The checkbook’s owner, she said, was Vinarao’s mother but it was he who signed them.

Habab confirmed that she did get a warning from Vinarao not to deposit the check issued to Salonga. But the warning came too late. The check had already been deposited. The check did not get cleared by the bank and was sent back, with a stamp indicating the checking account had already been closed.

“Okay, there were his texts and missed calls from [Jerome]. Nai-deposit na ni Mommy (Ligaya Salonga) ang check, anong magagawa ko?” said Habab.

Regrets

Vinarao said  he feels bad his organization is tarnished because of Salonga’s Facebook postings.

“It’s not me who was ruined but the Foundation,” he lamented.

He is somewhat regretful he insisted on getting Salonga for “Echoes of Dreams.”

“She’s not the only artist I could guest in my show. I could get other artists,” said Vinarao. “But of course, it’s good that she performed.”

When Habab was informed about this, she retorted, “Gano’n? E, siya nga ang nagkakandamatay na mai-guest si Lea. (Really? He said that? Well, why was he so desperate to have Lea as his guest?) ‘Echoes of Dreams’ was originally scheduled on September of 2009 but I told him Lea wouldn’t be around at the time and she could only do it November. So he moved the date of the show.”

Habab also said Vinarao did give her money for the suppliers on the night of the show but that money was never for Salonga.

Habab added that P300,000 was loaned to Vinarao by a pastor who is an official of the Philippine office of Fusion Excel (the show’s sponsor), on the night of the concert itself. Vinarao had to secure that loan or otherwise, the show wouldn’t start because the suppliers for the lights and audio equipment were already threatening to walk out.

“It’s a standard in the industry that you pay your suppliers and talents on the night of the show. I kept reminding Jerome all day on November 30 that he has to pay all his suppliers and his talents—including Lea—on the day of the show. If you cannot do that then there’s something wrong with how you’re managing your money,” Habab explained.

Habab also contested Vinarao’s claim that he had very little money after the concert.

According to her, there was a check presented to Vinarao during the show from the sponsor, Fusion Excel, amounting to a million pesos.

Not running away

Vinarao said he’s done nothing wrong and that his accusers are just out to ruin him. He said that Internet posting of a court document showing an estafa case against him is a fabrication.

“If they’re talking about the one posted in the Internet, wala ngang pirma ng judge ‘yon, paano masasabing totoo ‘yon (The document has no signature of the judge so how can it be genuine)? ” Vinarao said.

Vinarao said he won’t run from his responsibilities. “Babayaran ko sila. Hindi ko sila tatakbuhan (I’m not on the run. I will pay my debts).”

Habab said, however, that she and her sister as well as the other suppliers have yet to hear any word from Vinarao. He has not talked to any of them for the past 2 months.

“Ni hindi man lang siya makipag-usap sa mga suppliers at kay Lea. Ako ang napahamak. Sabi niya noon na ‘bukas, bukas ako magbabayad’ pero hanggang ngayon ay wala pa. Sana naman ay harapin niya kami,” Sheilla.

(He never even bothered to talk to Lea or the suppliers about anything related to payment. I was the one who had to face the suppliers and Lea. I became the scapegoat. He kept saying “Tomorrow, tomorrow, I’ll pay” but until now there’s nothing. I hope he talks to us.) -Report by Boy Villasanta, abs-cbnNEWS.com

as of 02/21/2010 7:22 PM

US firm in Afghanistan hired Pinay prostitute: suit

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I hate corporate bull crap and this article just goes to show you that they’re just as bad as stealing from a tax payer to get around on something like this.  The lure of money has always been an evil for someone who does not have… I really hope that they find this woman and testify against these perpetrators – Corporates are the DEVIL, hungry mongrel that don’t care about anyone but what they can fill their pockets with $$$… This story was found at ABS-CBN by  Rodney J. Jaleco, ABS-CBN North America News Bureau

US firm in Afghanistan hired Pinay prostitute: suit


WASHINGTON D.C. – An unidentified Filipina is reportedly at the center of a new federal investigation against Blackwater, the controversial private military company.

Two former employees – husband and wife Brad and Melan Davis – are suing Blackwater under the False Claims Act, a federal law that allows civilians to file charges against federal contractors.

The couple alleged that Blackwater (now known as Xe Services LLC) kept an unidentified Filipina prostitute in the payroll for a State Department contract in Afghanistan.

The North Carolina-based company allegedly charged the government for her time working for Blackwater male employees in Kabul.

The alleged prostitute’s salary was categorized as part of the company’s “Morale Welfare Recreation” expenses.

Under the False Claims Act, whistleblowers could get a cut (reportedly 15% to 25%) from any money recovered from a suit.

The government recovered nearly $22 billion using this law between 1987 and 2008.

The allegations were contained in papers filed before the Virginia Eastern District Court that were unsealed over a week ago.

“One of the first items I uncovered was Blackwater billing for payments to a prostitute. I came across the name of a female Phillipino (sic) on the expenses submitted for cost reimbursables in connection with Task Force 4,” Melan Davis charged.

“At that time, to my knowledge, the only third country nationals we had in country in Afghanistan were Columbians. I wanted to figure out whether we Phillipinio (sic) third country nationals as well because I had not seen any others beyond this name,” she added.

Mrs. Davis continued, “I contacted Susan Bergman who was the logistics operations manager in Kabul. She informed me that the woman was not a third country national hired to serve as a static guard, but rather was a prostitute, who had been ousted from the hotel where she was working for several Blackwater men. As a result they put her on the Blackwater payroll. To the best of my knowledge, Blackwater billed per plane tickets and monthly salary to the United States under the Task Orders.”

The papers did not identify the Filipina or where she is now. The Davis allegations indicated she was hired by Blackwater in December 2005.

Her testimony may prove crucial in pressing at least this part of the fraud complaint against Blackwater.

Blackwater recruitment in RP

Controversy erupted recently over reports Blackwater was secretly recruiting and training mercenaries in the Philippines.

The company had planned to open a jungle survival skills training facility at the Subic Freeport zone, but scrapped it following an uproar in Manila.

But other sectors accused them of secretly training Filipinos and other nationals for work in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Philippines forbids its nationals from working in Iraq out of security concerns, but this prohibition has been largely circumvented by other US contractors operating from Kuwait or Saudi Arabia.

A United Nations report expressed concern about recruitment methods used by Blackwater and similar companies in the Philippines.

Washington-based journalist Wayne Madsen alleged that Blackwater trained up to a thousand Filipinos, Indians, Nepalese, Fijians and Bangladeshis in Subic.

Madsen charged further that Blackwater was operating through a proxy because it was denied a lease in the former US naval base three years ago.

The Davis allegations revealed other incidents of alleged overpricing, substandard weapons and services, and employment of poorly trained personnel.

Blackwater also figured in a shooting incident in Iraq that killed innocent civilians, which led to federal indictments in the US. – by Rodney J. Jaleco, ABS-CBN North America News Bureau

I am here…

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Just have not been posting as things sometime just gets behind…so hopefully all of you are doing well!  So in the mean time I have a few more things that I’ve been doing and it will be posted up soon.

Check out some of the sites we have – NAB RADIO – tell us what you think and tune in! You just might some great music you didn’t know you liked!

THE EYE – its another eye to the world

THE GOOD FOOD CAMPAIGN – its a campaign for no more chemicals to be put on the foods we eat.  Get Back to Organics, where our parents use to eat wholesome foods with no chemicals!  Think about it, with all the processed foods we’ve been eating and the sicknesses…isn’t it about time that we do something? Our kids are eating all these junk food and getting fatter! HFCS is not GOOD…no matter the US Government tell you..START READING all the labels on what you buy and you’ll be surprise as to crap you put into your body!

BINGBONGBOO – this all the jokes that people sent and we have compiled them here…

So if you’re curious, do come by and stop at the websites we have and tell us what you think.. thanks! 😀