People who were able to watch the block premieres of Star Wars: The Force Awakens ahead of the regular opening in local cinemas yesterday came out grinning ear-to-ear, happy to see the originals even in cameo roles. Our fearless forecast is that moviegoers and Star Wars fans will experience a great sense of déjà vu. And though we are strongly resisting the urge to issue spoilers, let’s just say that a few came out wearing sad faces because of one major development in this J.J. Abrams film.
No doubt the movie will make a killing at the tills, but a lot of the moolah will come from the Star Wars merchandise that have been starting to flood the market – the light sabers, Stormtrooper masks, shirts, caps, socks, umbrellas, bags, brownies (brownies?!) heck, even costumes for pets!
Our personal favorite though is BB-8 – that round droid made by Sphero, a robotics company. Early reviews say the cute droid (the real one will set you back $20,000) with a rolling body and a bowl-shaped “floating” head is app-enabled and can be controlled via Bluetooth from an iPhone or Android smartphone. It can make a lot of Star Wars sights and sounds and the app can utilize augmented reality to make BB-8 project holograms. It’s so cool, it even upstaged a lot of celebs during the film’s world premiere earlier this week. Only problem is, we still have to raise $130 to get a tennis ball-sized version.
OFW on death row needs P25 million
Christmas is supposed to be a season of joy but to the family of overseas Filipino worker Joselito Zapanta, it’s difficult to get into holiday mode with their loved one staring death in the face since he is facing execution in Saudi Arabia.
According to the Blas F. Ople Policy Center, Zapanta worked as a tile-setter in Saudi Arabia in 2007. In June 2009, he was arrested and sentenced to death for the murder of his Sudanese landlord after a heated altercation over rent.
In November 2012, the aggrieved Sudanese family, in particular the widow, sought blood money amounting to SR 5-million or the equivalent of P50-million, later reduced to P48-million. The family, with the help of the government, was able to raise P23 million but they are still P25 million short.
“Unfortunately, the Sudanese family has refused any amount lower than their demand of P48-million. This means that the Zapanta family needs to raise P25-million in a span of two weeks, or maybe less, considering that a royal decree had already been issued for the implementation of the sentence,” revealed Senatorial candidate Susan Ople, who is also the Ople Policy Center president.
Joselito’s mother Ramona and sister Rosemary have sought the help of the Center to air their appeal for help through media. The family is hoping that some good Samaritans will step out to help the cash-strapped and extremely poor family, added Ople.
The OFW advocate was able to confirm the urgency of Joselito’s request from the Philippine Embassy last Monday during her visit to Saudi Arabia to discuss cases involving distressed OFWs.
“I was in Riyadh to meet with Philippine Ambassador to Riyadh Ezzedin Tago. He confirmed that Joselito’s case has become extremely urgent. We are talking about weeks here, hence the need for the family to go public in order to seek everyone’s help,” Ople disclosed.
For those who wish to donate any amount to save Joselito Zapanta’s life, they can deposit or remit the money to: Philippine Embassy current account, Saudi Hollandi Bank, 037-040-790-022. This bank account was specifically opened by the Philippine Embassy for the blood money to be given to the aggrieved Sudanese family. You may also contact the Ople Center (833-5337) and/or the DFA-OUMWA for more information and for coordination.
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