Gang tried to mulct another balikbayan

A reader notes striking similarities in the plight of balikbayan Maria and that of his female friend Micky.

In late Oct. Maria checked into a hotel in Cubao, Quezon City, for a five-day visit to her sick mom (Gotcha, 7 Nov. 2005). It was to be a traumatic stay. Apparently with the aid of a hotel receptionist and room boy, thugs claiming to be with the terrorist Abu Sayyaf extorted from her P5,000 and 16 cell phone cards. Maria hurriedly left for the US that night, fearful they’d come back for more.

Micky arrived in Manila morning of Oct. 26 for a two-week holiday. She had booked with a travel agent in Los Angeles her stay in a hotel on Dela Rosa Street, Makati, connected with a local airline’s promo. Upon settling in, Micky walked to nearby Greenbelt for lunch with childhood friends – but not before requesting for room makeup. At 2:30 p.m. she returned and found the room still undone. She phoned a friend (the STAR reader) to complain to the management about it, which the latter did.

At about 3 p.m. the front desk called Micky to say that a certain Joan wanted to talk to her. She said she didn’t know any such person and hung up. That call apparently was made to ascertain her identity. For, minutes later the receptionist called again to say that Micky’s cousin named Albert Ahmed and three men in polo barong were at the lobby with gifts, so would she please come down to meet them. When Micky replied that she wasn’t expecting any cousin, the woman said Ahmed wanted to talk to her.

Before Micky could say anything more, a man’s voice came on and said he was with a pangkat (gang) that included the receptionist, bellhop and doorman, all the way to management. In Tagalog, "Ahmed" asked if Micky could help them, and when she said she did not understand what he meant, he told her straight they wanted money.

At that point there was a knock on the door. Although frightened, Micky opened it and a man introduced himself as the hotel manager. Micky told him what was going on. The manager grabbed the phone and barked into it, "Who is this?" He ended up shouting, "I am the hotel manager and I know there is no Josie on duty at the front desk." It turned out he never got to talk to "Ahmed" because the phone was passed back to the female caller.

"My vacation was ruined," Micky later wrote the airline. "I was afraid for my safety. Needless to say that after almost 20 years of being away from the country of my birth, only to be a victim of this cruel extortion attempt, was frightening, frustrating and has left me wondering if I will ever return."

Micky’s friends picked her up and moved her to another hotel, where she paid P20,000. She wants her money back from the first hotel where she did not sleep a single night, and for the airline to investigate how the gang gained access to a traveler’s personal information.

It’s the police’s job to bust the syndicate that already has mulcted clients of plushier hotels in Makati and Mandaluyong. Otherwise, all those millions of dollars that the government spends for tourism promotions and the billions of pesos that Filipinos invest in the industry will go to naught.

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It’s not till Jan. 25, 2006. But if you want the best seats, book now for the concert where the Filipino Tenor of the Century shares the stage with the country’s Most Celebrated Singing Actress.

Otoniel Gonzaga, who sang Othello in Prague and Japan, will join Lea Salonga, the star of Miss Saigon in London and New York, to perform with the Philippine Philharmonic under Julian Quirit, the first Filipino conductor to work with Luciano Pavarotti and Jose Carreras. Rachel Gerodias will be the guest soprano and Noel Azcona the guest baritone in the 8 p.m. show at the CCP Main Theater.

Gonzaga was winner of the Marian Anderson Award and Munich’s ARD International Voice Competition. Salonga, of course, won the Tony and Sir Lawrence Olivier award for her Broadway and London stints.

For tickets and delivery, call tel. (02) 901-7156 or text (0910) 885-1136. Or e-mail orders from [email protected] or [email protected].

Impresario Pablo Tariman has several earlier presentations:

• Eleanor Calbes, the Filipina soprano who won unanimous audience and critical acclaim in New York, Texas, Toronto and Israel, will perform her farewell recital in Manila with prize-winning pianist Raul Sunico, flutist GJ Herman Gomez and baritone Noel Azcona. That’s Nov. 25, 8 p.m., at the PhilamLife Theater, UN Avenue, Ermita, Manila. Same phones and e-mail for tickets; half price for music students.

• Calbes again, with pianist Jonathan Arevalo Coo, at the Pasig Museum on Nov. 27, 5 p.m.; at Mother Madeleine Hall, St. Paul University, Tuguegarao City, on Nov. 29, 7 p.m.; and at the Liceo de Aparri, Cagayan, on Nov. 30.

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Politicians are rushing to judgments on the gang rape at Subic by US Marines. Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr., for one, omnipotently sees from hazy reports pecuniary motives in the van driver’s wanting to recant his story on witnessing the crime: "I can think of the thing that caused Judas to betray our Lord, and I sense it’s more than 30 pieces of silver." Others sneer that the victim, a fresh college grad, would in the end only hit her assaulters for money. None (except Sen. Dick Gordon) offer legal advice or free service to promote the girl’s interest.

"Groups with their own agenda are further victimizing the victim," laments ex-diplomat Hermie Cruz. "Rape is complicated. In Kobe Bryant’s case, the victim opted to drop the criminal rap and pursue instead a civil one. The reason is the burden of proof in a criminal case is very heavy: beyond reasonable doubt. In a civil case it is lighter: preponderance of evidence. Eventually, as in most civil cases, the Bryant case was settled out of court."

With a movie in their mind, pols want the victim to be a martyr. They care not about her true circumstances.

Says Cruz: "In a criminal case, the defense could shoot embarrassing questions about the victim’s sex history. If a criminal case is filed but is dismissed, the girl will end up with nothing. Her rights should come first."