Tag: September 9, 2005

THE ADMISSION of Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal and CBCP President Archbishop Fernando Capalla that they’ve been accepting donations from the Philippine Gaming Corporation renders murky the supposedly clear waters defining the Church’s stand against gambling money.

TO RAISE funds for the benefit of the Sitio Mabilog community in Tarlac, a concert with the collaboration of soprano Rachelle Gerodias and pianist Najib Ismail was organized by the Pax Romana for its 75th anniversary last Aug. 17 at the UST Conservatory of Music’s Recital Hall 2.

With their own rendition of songs by Stefano Donaudy, Claude Debussy, Richard Strauss, and various American songs in the first part of the concert, Gerodias and Ismail gave a fresh interpretation of both classic and new age performance pieces.

BARRING a reconsideration of the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the constitutionality of the Expanded Value Added Tax Law of 2005 (Republic Act No. 9337), the President will now have the power to increase the VAT rates up to 12 per cent come January.

According to newspaper accounts, the government hopes to raise an additional P86 billion in revenue with the EVAT law for its projects and hopefully cut the budget deficit.

DARING to deviate from conventional art forms, artist Joe Datuin boldly ventured from realism to “abstract impressionism,” allowing the 49-year-old Thomasian painter/sculptor to make a concrete impression in both the local and international art scene with his unique Filipino artistry.

Unlike the vibrant use of colors and flowing lines in his current works, Datuin’s earlier works were bleak and reflective of the environment he grew up in. Although he was born in Pangasinan, Datuin said the sordid and dark mood of Tondo, Manila greatly influenced his style.

VIOLINS with electric guitars, cellos with distortion effects, French horns with bass guitars, classical musicians with rock stars.

The unlikely mesh of rock and classical music has once more been redefined in Rockestra, a concert combining six local rock bands and the Manila Symphony Orchestra (MSO) last Aug. 19 at the Tanghalang Francisco Balagtas, formerly the Folk Arts Theater.

WHAT do you want to bring with you to the next life?

This is the question artist Maria Taniguchi asked some residents of Calatagan, Batangas during her research for her Lopez Memorial Museum exhibit, Grave Findings, displayed from May 24 to Aug. 11 .

Many wanted material things—jewelry, cellular phones, guitars, and computers. A few wanted to take relatives and loved ones, only changing their morbid request upon Taniguchi’s suggestion.